Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Liverpool Frustrated in Champions League Final

Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final as the Premier League side was unable to get on the scoresheet despite firing 26 shots at the Real Madrid net and putting nine of them on target. Thibaut Courtois was the Man of the Match for the Spanish champions as the former Chelsea keeper’s nine saves included two of the spectacular variety at the expense of Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. The nine saves were a record for a Champions League final. The only goal of the game came in the first half when Trent Alexander-Arnold lost track of Vinicius Junior who easily tapped in the pinpointed pass of Federico Valverde for the Real Madrid goal.

Alexander-Arnold was a force going forward for the Reds, but the unmarked Vinicius Junior made the Liverpool defender pay the price for his wanderings. Karim Benzema was later ruled offside on a controversial negation of a goal which would have doubled Real Madrid’s lead. Frustrated Liverpool dominated the balance of play. Goalkeeper Alisson faced only two shots on target, one of which was the Vinicius winner. Liverpool failed to score in regular or extra time in any of its three cup finals this season, defeating Chelsea on penalty kicks in both the Carabao and FA Cup finals. The Reds’ quest for more titles failed on successive weekends as Manchester City secured the Premier League crown by a single point and Real Madrid continued its magical run to a record 14th Champions League title. Los Blancos defeated Premier League teams Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool, in addition to French league champion PSG during this year’s title run. Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager to win the coveted title four times. Remarkably, Ancelotti was managing a poor Everton squad just one year ago. Saturday’s frustration for Liverpool fans began even before a ball was kicked as logistical issues outside the stadium led to a delayed match start, dangerous crowd conditions and teargassing of supporters by local Paris police. A formal investigation of the chaos has been launched. 


Nottingham Forest Joins Premier League Next Season


Nottingham Forest will play in the Premier League next season for the first time in 23 years after the club defeated Huddersfield 1-0 on Sunday in the Championship playoff. Nottingham Forest thus joins Fulham and Bournemouth in earning promotion to England’s highest division, replacing relegated Burnley, Watford and Norwich.

The high financial stakes of Sunday’s matchup, with lucrative promotion on the line, led to a tense, unartistic match decided by a Huddersfield own goal in the first half. The means, however, mattered little compared to the end achieved by a Nottingham Forest squad which was bottom of the division when Manager Steve Cooper assumed the reins in September. Cooper guided the club to a fourth-place finish in the table, an FA Cup quarterfinal appearance and now promotion to the Premier League. 



Departures


A bad weekend for Liverpool fans got worse with reports after the Champions League loss that Sadio Mane had informed teammates that he would be leaving the Merseyside club this summer. The reported destination of choice for Mane is Bayern Munich where Robert Lewandowski has been vocal in his own desire to leave for Barcelona. Mane has been integral to Liverpool’s success the past few years, but the club should be assured of Mohamed Salah’s presence for at least one more year and transfer additions Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota provide other attack options to cushion the blow of losing the prolific Senegalese forward. Mane’s departure and overall flagging goal production during the late stage of the season, however, may have Liverpool looking for a fresh face in the transfer window to spruce up their front line.


Ralf Rangnick will not be continuing in any capacity with Manchester United. The interim coach of this past season was to have assumed a consultancy role, but it has now been revealed that he will discontinue any ties with the club. Rangnick had indicated weeks ago that he would be heading the Austrian national team while incongruously juggling the Manchester United consulting gig. Red Devil Manager Eric ten Hag, however, seems not to have been a fan of Rangnick crowding his space and Manchester United fans will be pleased to see an end to the failed Rangnick experiment. 


 

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Friday, May 27, 2022

Champions League Final Preview

 Liverpool faces Real Madrid in Paris on Saturday for the chance to capture the Reds’ second Champions League trophy in the last four years.

Following Chelsea’s victory last year, a Liverpool win this weekend would mark the third time in four years that a Premier League team would have won Europe’s most coveted trophy. Liverpool’s most recent title, a 2019 victory over fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, came one year after a loss in the 2018 title game to Real Madrid. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah went out early in that 2018 game, the victim of a questionable tackle by Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. Salah has recently commented on his desire to square that defeat, comments which have not gone unnoticed by Real Madrid in preparing for Saturday’s match. The aging Spanish squad was expected to be in rebuilding mode this season but captured the Spanish La Liga domestic title and Super Cup.

Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester City have already fallen in dramatic fashion to Real Madrid in this year’s Champions League competition. Karim Benzema has 44 goals in 45 matches for Los Blancos this season and is accompanied up front by the speedy and improving Vinicius Jr. The young forward struck for 17 goals and 13 assists in La Liga this season. Ancient midfielders Luca Modric and Toni Kroos are capable at any point of threading a clinical pass to either of the two front-line scorers. Defensively, Real Madrid can be exploited by the high energy Liverpool attack featuring Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota.

The key to the match, however,  may well be the health of Liverpool center back Virgil Van Dijk and midfielder Fabinho. Both have had recent injuries but are expected to play on Saturday. Van Dijk sat out the last two league games and his presence in the middle of the Liverpool defense guarding against Benzema and Vinicius could swing the match.

Liverpool’s fine season, despite the disappointment of a narrow second place finish in the league, would be well rewarded if they can capture Europe’s greatest crown as their third trophy this season.


Jose Mourinho Wins Another Trophy 

Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur Manager Jose Mourinho captured his fifth European trophy when Roma defeated Feyenoord 1-0 in the inaugural Europa Conference League final.Despite experiencing his most acclaimed Premier League success during two different stints with Chelsea, Mourinho’s single European Cup win managing an English side was Manchester United’s Europa League title in 2017. Mourinho has now won 26 trophies across all competitions during his career. That number potentially could have been 27 if Mourinho had not been unceremoniously sacked by Tottenham Hotspur shortly before the 2021 Carabao Cup final. Mourinho’s Roma squad this year included former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham. Abraham scored 27 goals across all competitions and went viral during the Conference League final when he was observed giving a knowing wink to his bench as he feigned injury to waste the clock as Roma edged toward victory. Abraham’s newfound mastery of “the dark arts” was, of course, attributed to the tutelage of his serial winning manager.
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Tuesday, May 24, 2022

MANCHESTER CITY ARE CHAMPIONS ! Citizens Overcome Early Deficit As Liverpool Also Wins; Spurs Cinch Champions League; Leeds Survives; Burnley Relegated; West Ham Loss Hands Europa Spot To Manchester United


Manchester City Captures Title

Manchester City overcame a two-goal deficit to surge past Aston Villa and capture its fourth Premier League title in the last five years. Aston Villa set the stage for final day drama in the title race when former Liverpool player Philippe Coutinho scored in the 69th minute to put the  league leaders at a two-goal disadvantage for a second consecutive match. Manager Pep Guardiola again made the necessary adjustments for his team to respond. Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, inserted as a substitute to play a forward role for only his fourth time under Guardiola, sparked the champions’ comeback. Gundogan scored twice, either side of a goal by Rodri, as City scored all three of its goals inside a six-minute span beginning at the 76-minute mark of the second half. The remarkable comeback established Manchester City as champions despite a 3-1 victory by Liverpool over Wolverhampton. Manchester City finished the season with 93 points, one more than Liverpool, while compiling a goal differential which exceeded the goals scored by 17 of the other 19 Premier League clubs.


Manchester City had already scored its third goal on Sunday before Mohamed Salah broke a 1-1 deadlock to put Liverpool ahead for the first time in the 84th minute at Anfield. Salah finished his league season in a tie with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min for the Premier League’s Golden Boot.

An Andy Robertson’s goal five minutes later completed the scoring for the Reds. Liverpool remarkably chased Manchester City to the finish line by going undefeated at home this season and going unbeaten in 2022 league play. The Reds have one more match to play as they attempt to capture a third trophy of the season by winning the Champions League in Paris versus Real Madrid next Saturday. 
 

Spurs Clinch Champions League As Too Little Too Late For Arsenal


Tottenham Hotspur secured Champions League football for next season by rolling over Norwich 5-0 as Son Heung-min scored a brace in the Spurs rout to tie Mohamed Salah for the league scoring lead. Relegated Norwich failed to register a single shot on target. Spurs finished the season by winning four times in an undefeated five match run to leapfrog Arsenal into the top four in the season’s final weeks. The one draw during that run was with Liverpool and effectively cost Liverpool the league title. Dejan Kulusevski also scored a brace for Spurs on the final day. The addition of Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, who had two assists versus the Canaries, from Juventus in January was instrumental to Spurs late season success. Manager Antonio Conte’s club was eighth in the table in late February before beginning its climb to the Champions League places. Participation in Europe’s top club tournament makes an extended stay in north London more enticing for Conte, Son and one-time wantaway star Harry Kane. Kane scored against the Canaries to finish with 17 goals on the season despite a miserable start to the campaign.


Arsenal finished its season with a 5-1 defeat of Everton. Everton had little interest in the match after ensuring its Premier League survival in a dramatic win over Crystal Palace on Thursday. Arsenal thus faced little opposition in snapping the two-match losing streak which cost the Gunners Champions League football for next season. Unlike Spurs, Arsenal did not reinforce its roster in January after culling several players and may rue fighting for the top four during the stretch run with a thinned roster. Despite late season disappointment the Gunners improved two places from last season’s finish and return to Europe to compete in next season’s Europa League.


Leeds Win Relegates Burnley

 

The relegation battle ended with Leeds and Manager Jesse Marsch securing their survival with a 2-1 victory at Brentford while Burnley lost 2-1 at home to Newcastle. Leeds needed to better Burnley’s result as the two clubs entered the final match day level on points but with Burnley holding a vastly superior goal differential. A tense match in Brentford saw Leeds’s Raphinha score the first goal on a penalty kick in the 56th minute. A tying goal by Brentford in the 78th minute was followed just two minutes later by a red card which reduced the Bees to 10 men. Leeds’s Jack Harrison scored the stoppage time winner against undermanned Brentford for Leeds’s first win in six matches.


Burnley was unable to match Leeds’s Sunday success and thus relinquished its hold on survival. The Clarets made things interesting when Maxwel Cornet cut Newcastle’s lead in half after two goals by the Magpies’ Callum Wilson. Burnley were unable to find the tying score, however, and even a point would have been insufficient given Leeds’s late winner. The Clarets’ seven year stay in the Premier League thus ends after a miserable season during which the club sacked iconic Manger Sean Dyche. Only Norwich scored fewer goals this season than the Clarets. Leeds, meanwhile, escaped relegation by capturing four points in their final two matches after losing three in a row. 


Hammer Fall Hands Europa To Manchester United


West Ham will not be returning to the Europa League after a 3-1 loss at Brighton. The Hammers squandered a one goal halftime lead to lose for a third time in their final five matches. A win would have moved the club into sixth position in the table past a Manchester United side which lost at Crystal Palace. West Ham Manager David Moyes expressed anger with his players after the match for bottling their chance to return to the Europa League, a competition where the Hammers advanced to the semifinals this past season. Instead, the Hammers will have to settle for the less prestigious Europa Conference League after a seventh-place league finish. West Ham captain Mark Noble played his last game in the Premier League after 414 appearances.

Victorious Brighton concluded a late season run where the Seagulls lost only to titlists Manchester City in winning five and drawing three of their last nine league matches to finish in the top half of the Premier League for the first time. Manchester United were the beneficiaries of West Ham’s defeat as the Red Devils secured Europa League qualification despite their 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace. The Eagles’ Wilfried Zaha scored the only goal of the match versus his former club. Manchester United lost a sixth consecutive away match as it finished with its lowest ever Premier League point total. New Manager Eric ten Hag was in the stands at Selhurst Park for a firsthand view of the challenge he faces. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, recovered from its disheartening loss at Everton on Thursday to finish a promising season on a positive note. The 12th place Eagles finished the season with a positive goal differential in the topflight for the first time since 1991.


Other Action...


Ross Barkly scored a stoppage time goal to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Watford. Relegated Watford had tied the match in the 87th minute before Barkley’s winning header. Third place Chelsea finished the season 19 and 18 points behind Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively. Leicester defeated Southampton 4-1 to cap a four-match unbeaten run to end its season. Ayoze Perez scored a brace for the Foxes. Jamie Vardy and James Maddison also scored for Leicester as Maddison ended his season by scoring in four consecutive matches.
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