The Unai Emery era at Arsenal started off with questions about how his side would differ from Arsene Wenger's and two straight losses to Manchester City and Chelsea. In August there were questions all around the squad.
The Champions League on TNT has had its share of snafus. But what we saw on Tuesday might have been the toughest to watch for fans of the beautiful game.
Turner Sports has not proven a great steward of the world’s most popular annual tournament since taking over the U.S. broadcast rights from FOX starting with the 2018-19 season.
Liverpool advanced to the Champions League Round of 16 in the most fraught style imaginable, relying on Mohamed Salah’s brilliant solo goal to triumph 1-0 over a Napoli side that spent the majority of the match mirroring the laissez-faire demeanor of manager Carlo Ancelotti.
I imagine that Ancelotti and Napoli spent all manner of time preparing for the threat of Liverpool and Salah, but it really doesn’t matter when you point the Egyptian on a straight path toward your goal.
It was a battle between David (Deborah?) and Goliath (...no clue) in the FA WSL yesterday as second from bottom Brighton took on third place Chelsea. The Blues are clawing to stay on pace with Arsenal and Manchester City, who both remain locked at 27 points at the top of the table and have a five point cushion between themselves and the London club.
Newcastle United wingback DeAndre Yedlin was sent off for the first time in his 73-match Premier League career on Sunday during Newcastle’s crushing 2-1 defeat to Wolves. With the score level at 1-1 in the 57th minute, a terrible touch from the USMNT defender allowed Wolves’ Diogo Jota to charge through on goal, and Yedlin’s tactical foul outside the box resulted in a straight red card as the last defender.
During yesterday’s Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, a Blues supporter could be seen allegedly directing racist abuse at City forward Raheem Sterling.
Chelsea defeated Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, handing the Citizens their first Premier League Loss in seven months. But one idiot fan may have marred the entire victory with a vile display of racism.
N’Golo Kanté and David Luiz both scored for the Blues, who jumped back into third in the Premier League table with the win. Chelsea dulled the City attack like no other team has been able to do in England this year. Even late in the match when goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga gave the ball away, the Spaniard redeemed himself moments later with a save on Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal put 14 shots on goal against Huddersfield Town on Saturday at the Emirates. The only two that actually hit the target came from the Gunners’ diminutive defensive midfielder. And it was an incredible Lucas Torreira goal vs Huddersfield that saved Arsenal from dropping points for the second time this week in a 1-0 victory.
On Wednesday, Jose Mourinho said his team scored four goals and tied 2-2. On Saturday his team scored four goals and won 4-1.
It’s a common refrain to say Jose Mourinho loves boring, defensive football. It’s mostly true these days, especially as he seems to favor long balls to big men in the box over any sort of technical play. His best results of the season (the win over Juventus springs to mind) have come via Route 1 football.
Kids these days and their dad-gum vidja games!
At least, that’s what tabloids across Europe want you to think, as they try to blame Mesut Özil’s back injury on a Fortnite “addiction.”
Özil, Arsenal’s German No. 10, hasn’t played since Nov. 11. He’s been having back problems, according to the club.