The 3-1 lead has taken a beating this year. The Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers also blew 3-1 leads in the NBA playoffs. The Cleveland Inidians blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
In the "year in review" pieces declaring 2016 the year of the blown 3-1 lead, one notable choker has consistently been overlooked.
Borussia Dortmund.
Yeo Moriba, the mother of Paul, Florentin and Mathias Pogba, is one of our favorites over at The18. From her spot in the the Adidas “Football Needs Creators” ad (“He’s always been very creative, doing everything his own way”) to raising three sons by herself on a housing estate outside of Paris, Yeo Moriba is the matriarch for us.
While we were all busy drinking, eating turkey, napping and arguing over the results of the election with family, AS Roma’s Diego Perotti was living a much more active lifestyle by playing in a Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
Roma would win the match 4-1, cementing their place as winner’s of Group E, and Perotti scored a stunner with a rabona chip that found the back of the net. Did he mean it?
Diego Perotti on his rabona goal vs. Viktoria Plzen:
Fenerbahce's Europa League trip to Manchester took an interesting turn when the team's plane hit a bird and had to land in Budapest, Hungary.
The team, which features former Premier-Leaguers Robin van Persie and Martin Skrtel, posted this on Twitter:
Kafilemizi Manchester'a götüren uçağın camına kuş çarpması nedeniyle, uçak Budapeşte'ye zorunlu iniş yaptı. Endişe verici bir durum yok. pic.twitter.com/tYhUWp2omJ
Mauro Zarate made an emotional return to Fiorentina on Thursday for their Europa League group stage encounter with Qarabag. Zarate had been given leave by the club to return to Argentina to be with his wife, Natalie Weber, through the beginning of the season.
Weber was diagnosed with breast cancer, a tragic development following the announcement of a miscarriage earlier this year. Zarate and Weber are a beloved high-profile, celebrity couple in Argentina.
Francesco Totti celebrated with 40th birthday on Tuesday, a milestone that encapsulates 25 seasons at one club, AS Roma. Totti has been as effective as ever for the Giallorossi, scoring two goals and registering two assists in just 192 minutes of Serie A action this season.
His league play was rewarded with a start and rare 90 minutes of action in Thursday’s Europa League encounter with Romanian opposition Astra Giurgiu. The Roman delighted supporters at the Stadio Olimpico with another vintage performance.
Is he finally, well and truly back? Alexandre Pato’s performance in Villarreal’s 2016-17 Europa League debut was nothing short of inspirational. Of course, let’s not get too carried away. Honestly, Pato wasn’t even the best player on the pitch. Jonathan dos Santos took home the Man of the Match award with the kind of performance Villarreal fans have come to expect from him.
Home