Crystal Palace defeated West Ham 2-1 on Thursday thanks to an incredible solo effort from Jordan Ayew at the death. Ayew had provided the assist on Cheikhou Kouyaté’s equalizer for Palace in the 68th minute, but he saved his ultimate contribution for last.
Tottenham’s top four aspirations were lifted Thursday following a 2-1 win over Brighton at Spurs’ Stadium. Brighton took a first half lead through Adam Webster, but Tottenham roared back with second half strikes from Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Alli’s classy winner in the 72nd minute was a continuation of the Englishman’s fine form under manager José Mourinho: since the Portuguese’s appointment, Alli has scored five goals and provided three assists in eight games.
If you watched Chelsea’s dominate 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday, you might be justifiably worried that Christian Pulisic is in another “rough” patch for the time being. After scoring five goals in three Premier League matches during a tear between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, the American went five matches without a goal or assist.
“When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master,” is what Frank Lampard presumably said to José Mourinho following Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday. After suffering four defeats in their last five Premier League games, Lampard elected to switch to a back three and relied on excellent performances from Willian, Mason Mount and Marcos Alonso to drive Mourinho’s side inside its shell at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It's been nearly a year since Miguel Almirón made his big-money move to Newcastle United from Major League Soccer's Atlanta United.
In Atlanta, the Paraguayan scored 22 goals in 68 appearances over the course of two seasons. He was one of the attacking powerhouses of the league and one of the main reasons Atlanta's expansion season in 2017 and title-winning 2018 campaign were both large successes.
Monterrey gave Liverpool all it could handle in today’s FIFA Club World Cup semifinal in Qatar. The two sides exchanged early goals through Naby Keïta and Rogelio Funes Mori, but it was the substitute Roberto Firmino who scored the dramatic winner in second half stoppage time to book Liverpool’s place in the final, where they’ll meet Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo.
Jurgen Klopp was out of town. All the club’s top players were out of town. Basically all of Liverpool’s first team was in Doha, Qatar, preparing for a Club World Cup semifinal against Monterrey.
So Liverpool left U-23 coach Neil Critchley in charge of a bunch of kids for the club’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Aston Villa. The Reds got smashed.
Arsenal threw Mesut Özil under the bus, but it wasn’t even enough to save the Gunners’ match against Manchester City on Sunday from being blacked out in China.
Kevin De Bruyne is not the fastest player. He’s not the strongest nor is he even particularly physically imposing. But De Bruyne vs Arsenal was an absolute joy to watch on Sunday.
De Bruyne had two goals and an assist in the first half alone as Manchester City ripped Arsenal to shreds 3-0 at the Emirates on Sunday. The redheaded Belgian was at his glorious best, dictating the match and providing fantastic finishes. If not for Gunners keeper Bernd Leno, KDB would’ve had at least three or four goals.
Remember the year 1970? That was a fun time right? Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia, Apollo 13 safely returned after the oxygen tank leaked, the Beatles broke up... OK, maybe it wasn't that great, but who the hell knows, I wasn't even born yet.