Unbeaten Streak Ends
If there was a team that could end the unbeaten run of Manchester City, then it’s Liverpool at anfield. City’s unbeaten run came to an end at the home of the reds in what was a very entertaining game by all standards. Liverpool were playing in the PL for the first time after the £142.5m sale of Philipe Coutinho to Barcelona and with record signing Virgil Van Dijk missing out on making his premier league debut, it meant Liverpool were not only missing a huge influence in their attack, but we’re also going to face the league’s best attack with a defence that has being heavily criticised in the last 3 years. Liverpool drew first blood in the first 10 mins after a brilliant strike from distance by Alex Oxlade Chamberlain found the bottom corner but Leroy’s Sane’s goal few minutes before the break gave an indication that maybe Liverpool needed to spend another £75m on a goalkeeper. Loris Karius coming in for Mignolet didn’t do himself any favours in claiming the number one spot for himself. Guardiola described Klopp as the ‘master of the counter attack’ and the German lived up to the bill as Liverpool increased the pace of the game, countered city with purpose and in a spell of 9 minutes scored three times. A late resurgence from City kept the reds on the edge for the last 10 minutes but it wasn’t to be as Liverpool saw out the game and ended the unbeaten run.
It’s been good while it lasted as the Manchester City have proven themselves to be a level above everyone else. A record 18 consecutive league wins was achieved along the way and city, with everything still to fight for can hold their head up. For Liverpool, this was an encouraging start to life without Coutinho with Mane, Firmino and Sallah performing at this level. However, familiar problems still rear it’s ugly heads as the team just cannot shut shop. A trip to Swansea is next on the cards for the reds while city look to bounce back against Newcastle United
Anoeta curse broken
The last 11 years have seen Barcelona produced arguably the best team ever in Europe and certainly the best team in the 21st century. This has also included the emergence of the phenomenon thatvis Lionel Messi. However, for 11 years, not even him, could ensure Barcelona came out of Anoeta with a win. When Sociedad went 2-0 up after 35 minutes, a repeat of the past 11 years’ results looked to be on the cards. Barcelona however put up an impressive comeback with top performers Paulinho, Messi and Suarez (2) amongst the goals. They maintain their 6 point lead at the top of the table with while staying unbeaten along the way. Ernesto Valverde has created a special kind of balance in this Barcelona team that really needed that. Lionel Messi’s genius has been a tall factor but several unsung heroes in goalkeeper Ter Stegen and Paulinho should not go unnoticed. Also, Luis Suarez has put away his early season struggles to return to form at a crucial time for the Catalan giants. As La Liga is all but wrapped up, a UCL tie with old foes Chelsea next month is key on Barça’s calender and with the form hey are in, they wouldn’t be too bothered going into that game.
Madrid Woes Continue.
Zinedine Zidane stood rooted to the spot, staring onto the pitch, his eyes revealing the dissapointment and the anguish. You can imagine the many questions going through his head and the many scenarios that might be playing in his head. Madrid had lost again. One would probably say that given their poor run of form the loss might not be a surprise but the manner of the loss is what might sting the Madrid fans and players alike. After dominating play for large parts of the game, in a game where it seemed like it was the desire of the Madrid attack versus a really determined Villareal goalkeeper, Villareal surprised the hosts and snatched all three points. In the 86th minute, Villareal broke on the counter, after surviving lots of Madrid’s onslaught on goal, drawing a smart save from Keylor Navas and the rebound fell kindly for Pablo Fornals who lofted the ball over the hapless Madrid shot-stopper to hammer one more nail into Madrid’s coffin. Fans, players and the coach has called for togetherness in this difficult period but truthfully, given the temperament of Florentino Perez and the Madrid fans in such situations, Zidane is surely sitting on a time bomb and the earlier Madrid start grinding results, the better.
Aubameyang saga
Dortmund left Aubameyang out of the squad to face Wolfsburg for the umpteenth time this season. Aubameyang was not in the squad altogether and football fans and Dortmund fans have began to question the relationship between the two parties. For Dortmund to leave Aubameyang out of the squad and brave the idea of starting Swedish youngster Isak in the game against Wolfsburg only mean two things; the board is displeased about Aubameyang’s committment to the club or the management is frowning on the Gabonese international being a senior member of the squad, setting a bad precedence to the youngsters in the squad. Even though a reason has not be given yet, it is believed Aubameyang once again stayed longer than his break as this time he was given days off to attend the CAF awards in Ghana. The player is however clearly not happy at the club and had several bids turned down last summer for his services after he declared his intentions to leave. So the question still remains, is Dortmund still angry at Aubameyang for deciding he wanted to leave last summer or Aubameyang is not a happy man at the club and is flouting rules to get himself out.
Bonus
Harry Kane
Harry Kane becomes Spurs’ all time goal scorer after netting twice against Everton. Kane continued to break records as he edged Teddy Sherringham to score 98 goals.
Tony Chapron’s Bizzare Red Card Incident
In France, a refree claimed all the headlines as he red carded a player for tripping him unintentionally. Referee Tony Chapron tripped himself on the heels of Nantes midfielder, Valentin Rongier in the match against PSG. After the refree tumbled to the ground, he kicked out at the player before red carding the player in the end. Bizarre.
The Green Turf 
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