Real Madrid. Barcelona. That equals to El Clasico. In the Copa Del Rey semifinal, Real played against Barcelona at home. 1-1 on aggregate. Real, without Ronaldo, were like pieces of paper during some parts of the match. However, the scoreline doesn’t suggest that Barcelona were having it easy.
Real were dominating, I really mean it. Their 7:2 ratio on their shots sums that. Vinicius Junior gave Barcelona problems in the first half. The closest happened when his shot was barely save by Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen.
Anyways, Messi had a quiet night after scoring his 50th hattrick and 650th goal in an amazing 2-4 comeback win over Sevilla away. Suarez scored after a beautiful back pass by Ousmane Dembele. 18 minutes in and Barcelona are threatening again with Dembele. Suarez is on french defender Raphel Varane’s left. Varane attempts to clear the ball but it it deflects off his knee. Own goal. Then a penalty in about 180 seconds. Suarez scores from the spot. 0-3 Barca.
Ronaldo was just 17 players after all. There is no motivation in the current Madrid squad. They need someone, a saviour- to win the Champions League 4 times in a row.
Matchday 28- A humiliating day for Kieran Trippier. In Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Spurs at home, Kieran Trippier intended to pass the ball to Lloris, who performed poorly on the night. A miscommunication occurs and the ball rolls awkwardly towards the net. Lloris and Trippier just watch, stunned. That was the highlight of Matchday 28 in the EPL. Pedro also performed some magic.
As for Liverpool, they are back into form with a 5-0 win over Watford at home. They’ve been recently underperforming and its good to see them back into action. The title race is on.
The Sky Blues edged over West Ham 1-0, with a penalty scored by Sergio Aguero. Bernado Silva, who had just come on, made an immediate impact and sprints toward the West Ham penalty box. He gets tripped. Aguero scores to allow City to win 1-0. City should have performed better, honestly. They missed almost every chance. The goal means Aguero has scored 161 goals in the Premier League. Two more goals and he will be the 7th highest scorer in Premier League history.
The Red Devils won over Crystal Palace away 1-3. Romelu Lukaku, the #9 Striker scores twice and Ashley Young scores as well. Arsenal defeat Bournemouth 5-1, and more.
Leicester City have just signed former successeful Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. He also managed to take Liverpool to nearly win the league in 2014. Will Leicester improve with new tactics and be at the top half of the table?
Lastly, North London Derby and Mersiside Derby are kicking off on 2 Mar, 1.30pm and 4 Mar, 5.15pm British time respectively. Who will win?
Liverpool and AC Milan were about to play each other to clinch the Champions League. Little did AC Milan know that they would surrender a 3-0 half-time lead…
Just 53 seconds after kickoff, captain Paolo Maldini scores, making it 1-0 to Milan. Milan dominate the match at first. Then in the span of five minutes, two goals are scored by Milan by Argentinian Striker Jorge Crespo, in the 39th and 44th minute, with a cheeky chip. 3-0 to Milan. Game over at half time itself. Milan are celebrating in the dressing room. However, Milan’s cheers inspire the Liverpool players. Something magical is about to happen…
AC Milan are still 3-0 up at 50′. 53′- nothing happens. But a minute later, Captain Steven Gerrard lofts a header past Milan goalkeeper Dida . Milan don’t care, they think that they’ve won the champions league. Their overconfidence backfires on them. 2 minutes later, Smicer beats Dida with a long-range shot into the bottom-left of the goal. LFC are a goal behind. Milan are more careful- maybe too careful. Gerrard was brought down in the box by defender Gennaro Gattuso. Xabi Alonso’s penalty is saved, but the rebound allows him to score. Mission accomplished. From 3-0 down, LFC have equalized.
Extra Time follows. Liverpool kick off in the first half of extra time. However, Milan are getting desperate. Very desperate to make it 4-3. In the early stages, Pirlo’s shot went over the crossbar. 2 corners were awarded to Liverpool, but they failed to score. Milan’s Shevchenko took a shot, but Dudek saved it. Rebound. Shevchenko takes another shot from 6 yards, but again, the ball is saved by heroic Dudek. A free-kick by Liverpool is saved by Dida. Extra time ends. Penalties it is.
Liverpool, after 4 penalties, is leading 3-2 at Istanbul. Shevchenko needs to score. Scoring the decisive kick against Buffon in 2003, he shoots to the middle. Dudek dives to his right but his left hand saves the ball just in time.
City win the Carabao cup, but it wasn’t as easy as the 6-0 win over Chelsea than yesterday. Chelsea improved in their style of play, which allowed them to draw ‘the best team in Europe’ 0-0. However, when it came to penalties, it was even harder.
Raheem Sterling was City’s hero-scoring the decisive shot to win 4-3 on penalties for City. City have won their first trophy this season. Can they win the ‘quadruple’, with such amazing players in their squad?
Liverpool drew Man Utd 0-0, in a dull and boring game. Egyptian Mohammed Salah was trolled by Man Utd fans after he was pocketed by Luke Shaw.
The Red Devils would have scored the winning goal after Luke Shaw’s free-kick towards the back post, allowing Chris Smalling to score. However, to the visitors’ relief, the offside flag is up.
Honestly, Manchester United should have won this. Liverpool played an ugly match injuring 3 players before halftime. But we shall see who prevails at the end of the season- Liverpool or Manchester City?
(Picture below) : Alexis Sanchez and Jordan Henderson battle for possession.
It’s Matchday 38-the final matchday- in the 2011/12 season. The title will be in Manchester- but the title race will involve both clubs- Man Utd and Manchester City. Both are tied at 86 points but The Sky Blues are leading on goal differential.
Manchester United and Manchester City play their decisive match at the same time. At the 20th minute, English Star Wayne Rooney scores against Sunderland, ultimately being the only goal of the game.
Man City lead after 19 minutes since Rooney scored for the Red Devils. The first half ends 1-0 in favour to both Manchester teams. Nothing happens in the second half of Man Utd vs Sunderland. But it’s a totally different story for City. Djibril Cissé scores in the 48th minute. The stadium is in deadlock silence. QPR midfieder Joey Barton sees red giving City an advantage. But in the 66th minute, QPR forward Jamie Mackie scores, stunning the Etihad. QPR lead 2-1.
Man Utd fans are Old Trafford are celebrating after that unexpected goal. Littile would they know, history would take place. Oh, and for the first time, well-known commentator Martin Tyler will lose his cool.
The fourth official indicates 6 minutes of injury time for the City match. In that span, something magical would happen. Just wait, and believe.
90+2′. Edin Dzeko scores. 2-2. However, Man Utd vs Sunderland ends at 1-0. Man Utd have 89 points, while City have 87. They just need one more goal, and the league is theirs. 2 minutes on. City are pressuring. Aguero passes. An unmarked Aguero then runs to the front of his teammate who has the ball. Aguero gets it, does slight dribbling and shoots.
“AGUEROOOOOOO!”,Martin Tyler loses his calm. He is stunned. After 10 seconds, he says “I swear you’ll never see that again.” Aguero scored 15 seconds before the timer is up. Old Trafford get the news. Their joy is turned into despair. Aguero gets a yellow but no one cares. Anyway, it was some last-minute drama you will never see again, I promise you.
Aguero, then wearing number 16, celebrates as City create some very rare last-minute drama.
The Sky Blues then go to win the game, with practically just 5 seconds on the clock, and win the league on goal differential. What was a first-half goal surrender, ended up into being one of the most unforgettable games in Football history.
Catch up on Tuesday or Wednesday for my article on Liverpool’s comeback against AC Milan!
” They are different now because they have won 11 games. They have more confidence. With Mourinho it was different, but he is a smart manager, one of the best, everyone knows that,” the ‘Egyptian King’ tells sky sports.
“They were struggling a bit but are performing better now.”
He also adds that though both teams have stars which were not born in either city, he says the game ahead is still ‘big’ for all of them (referring to everybody including him that is involved in LFC vs MUFC).
“From being a kid I know this is one of the biggest games in the world,” he said.
Now the current manager of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp is a rather controversial manager. For example, he blamed the snow for his team’s 1-1 draw against Leicester City. Ironically, he made sure that ONLY his side was cleared up at half-time. However, there is no admitting that he is one of the best managers in the world right now.
The German strangles a water bottle as his side equalize against Manchester City away.
1. Borussia Dortmund
Managing Dortmund from the 2008/09 season, he did not do too well after his team ended up in 6th place. But the best was yet to come. In the 2009/10 season, his team ended up in 5th place. One season later, he won the Bundesliga with Dortmund, their 4th title. Again, they won it in the 2011/12 season. For the next two seasons, Dortmund ended up in second, but Klopp became famous when in the 2012/13 UEFA champions league group stages, his team topped the group, which included Real Madrid, Ajax, and Manchester City. With 14 points, his seeded team went all the way to the final, defeating Real Madrid in the process. In the Der klassiker final, they lost to Bayern 2-1, with Robben scoring a beauty at the 89th minute.
In the 2014/15 season, BVB won the German Super Cup. However, after a poor start to the season, Klopp announced that he would leave the club at the end of the season in April 2015.
“I think I’ve made the right decision. Some player decisions were made late and there was no time to react,” he says, referring to the departure of Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze.
2. Liverpool F.C.
Brendan Rodgers was sacked before their 1-1 draw during the Merseyside derby, leaving the reds at a pathetic 10th place. After taking over his place, Klopp won 13 games, drew 9 and lost 8, in 30 games in the epl. Definately not the best, however, he managed to push the team from 10th to 8th place at the end of the season. In the Europo League, Klopp outclasses his former team; Dortmund- to win 5-4 on aggregate from being 2-4 down on aggregate at half-time during the 2nd leg. However, they lose to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
As for the 2016/17 season, his side improve tremendously, winning 22, drawing 10, and losing just 6 games in the full 38-games epl season. They ended in 4th with 76 points.
In the 2017/18 seasoon, Klopp won 21, drew 12 and lost 5. They ended in 4th again with 75 points. They topped the group with 12 points, won F.C Porto 5-0 on Aggregate in the R16. But their most notable achievement was thrashing Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 5-1 in the Quarters, by Tactically outclassing them. They won 3-0 at home and 2-1 away. They edged over AS Roma; who stunned Barcelona in the quarters by winning on away goals. Winning them 7-6 on aggregate, they lost to Real Madrid 1-3 due to a Karius concussion, resulting in two errors by the goalkeeper.
The 2018/19 season. They are against Manchester City in the title race. They have finished second in the group with 9 points; and drew Bayern 0-0 during the first leg of the Round of 16. Klopp can work wonders with not even the best squad. He just needs to win the Premier League to shove off all those losses. (Europa Leauge final, 2 UCL finals)
Ricardo Kaka was one of the best players of his generation. Amazing goals, free-kicks penalties e.t.c., the Brazilian won the Ballon d’Or in 2007, a year before the Messi-Ronaldo domination. Signing for AC Milan in 2003, he was soon dubbed an amazing footballer. But 10 years later, he wasn’t, him! Why?
The Madrid failure
There is just one reason; Real Madrid! In 2009, many clubs with amazing players wanted him. He chose Real Madrid; a decision he would regret forever. Signing for the team, the number 8 shirt was his. CR7 made his life go into a downward spiral which would not allow him to reverse course.
Ronaldo just completely outshined Kaka in every aspect. Feeling that the fans cared more about Ronaldo and the tactics were meant for Ronaldo and not him. In his first season, Madrid were drubbed 5-0 against Barcelona in the Camp Nou. Kaka’s performance deprooved; fans booed him and wooed for Ronaldo. But there is one more and more sensible reason.
Jose Mourinho- The man who is too honest
His relatinship with Mourinho just sucked. Mourinho never adressed him well, subbed him off in every match and did everything Mourinho would do. Kaka’s feelings got the better of him- till his football was affected. Mourinho’s tactics never complemented his style of football.
In 2013, fed up of Real, he returns to Ac Milan. However, he was never the same player again. Now playing in Brazil, it is hard fornew football fans to recognise him.
A quote which showed Kaka’s greed in 2009: Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?” by Brian Tracy.
Byren Moreno, the referee of Italy vs South Korea, takes the beautiful game into a whole new level, to the point where Italy gets mad.
#2002worldcup #italyvssouthkora
Introduction
My title summarises the controversies of what was supposed to be a beautiful sporting event. The 2002 world cup, the first of its decade and millineum, was just… STUPID.
South Korea, the co-hosts of the tornament along with Japan, reached the semi-finals of the world cup, but in an ugly fashion. While Turkey and Senegal deserved their amazing campaign… South Korea just didn’t.
What happened?
They were unrecognisable after the group stage. Topping the group with 7 points, they edged out Eusebio’s Portugal 1-0, not fair and square. But the two games which were yet to come would make people despise the 2002 world cup.
1a: South Korea 2-1 Italy (Silver Goal)
In 2002, during extra time, if somebody scores a gaol the match would end. From the 90th to 120th minute, the goal would be called a ‘silver goal’. Byron Moreno a ‘referee’, refereed the match and was absolutely bonkers. He hardly made a call in Italy’s favour. It was mainly in the second-half where he screwed up and leave a scar on Italian fans. He gave Francesco Totti a red card for diving. Haha. WHAT DIVE?! There were so many penalities which should have been awarded; the Azzuri should have won at least 3-‘2’. There were so many harsh tackles and one tackle caused Alessandro Del Piero’s head to ooze with blood. JUST A YELLOW. He gives a penalty to South Korea(which Legend Buffon saves) which was unfair. I really can’t say much to writing, so do take an effort to watch the match highlights. As of Byron Moreno his life is hell now. He got arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport for attempting to smuggle 6 kilograms( over 13 pounds) of heroin, hidden in his underwear. He was sentence to 2.5 years in prison. When asked about it, Buffon said, ” On the day, he had 6 kilos of heroin, not on his body but in his system,” he remarked like a savage.
1b. Spain 0(3)- 0(5) South Korea
In the quarter-finals, Spain took on South Korea. What was expected to be a 2-0 win for Spain ended up in a scandalous loss in a penalty shootout. Two of their beautiful goals were rule ‘offside’. The problem here is the Linesman (Now VARs); not the referee. Thus, there is not much to talk about in this match.
South Korea are struck with joy as they win the penalty shootout 5-3 in their favour.
Conclusion
After losing to Germany 0-1 in a match with a fair referee, they lose to Turkey, another underdog, 2-3. I would want to conclude by saying that I hope no other scandalous referees ever enter the World Cup again. I wish the world cup didn’t have any notorious moments, but that’s just makes it the ‘World Cup’.
Frank Rijkaard does a dirty move-literally: By spitting on Rudi Voller.
FootballFanatic 