Aftermath

Lyon cuts PSG’s lead to 8 points, Madrid’s 7 goal rout and more………

Lyon Stun PSG

PSG travelled to a Lyon side that fielded a host of youngsters without injured star, Neymar. The match was keenly contested and Lyon matched PSG in every way on the day. The match was a proper derby match with three moments of brilliance  that produced lovely goals and a moment of somewhat madness from Dani Alves that got him sent off. Lyon opened the scoring when captain Nabil Fekir converted a free-kick over about 40yards out closer to the throwline on the right. The ball sailed over the wall and into the net via the side post leaving the PSG shot stopper, Alphonso Areola helpless. PSG turned on the heat and launched a foray of attacks on the Lyon goal but Lyon would survive them all and in one of these attacks Kylian Mbappe  clashed with Lyon goalie Lopes and was stretchered off the field. The breakthrough would finally come for PSG after Dani Alves went on a marauding run on the right and clipped a cross in. The cross was met by the left boot of Layvin Kurzawa who volleyed an unstoppable finish into the top corner with Lopes rooted to the spot. PSG were back on level terms. Then in the second half Dani Alves got himself red carded in a moment of madness that left the refree furious. After his challenge on a Lyon player was deemed illegal by the refree, Alves rushed onto the refree and vented his anger on the refree over his decision. The refree, surrounded by a lot of players, brandished the red card and Dani Alves took an early shower. As if to say that was not enough, in the closing minutes of the game ( in time added on), Lyon scored and Memphis Depay scored another beauty. Receiving the ball on the left side, he cut into his right, skipping past two players before releasing a scorcher of a shot that went straight into the net. The Lyon bench went into ruptures, the players on the field and the Lyon fans were jubilant and it was a befitting end to a derby we would not forget in a long while. 

Alexis Who??

Arsenal have been in the news in recent times over a transfer saga that has stretched from last summer concerning the futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. The latter has been the centre of a transfer tussle between the two Manchester top guns, United and City. United have all but won the race after City pulled out. There has been talk about the saga destabilizing the Arsenal dressing room with Arsene Wenger conceding to the fact that it might have unsettled the dressing room because of how the issues have not been settled as quickly as possible. But Arsenal looked like a team who have brushed the issues aside against Crystal Palace and won the game by 4 goals to nil in a stellar first half performance that saw defenders Monreal and Koscielny score before Lacazzette latched onto Ozil’s back heel flick to round off the scoring against Palace. The weaknesses began to show in a drub second half performance that saw Palace pull one back. Arsenal surely need to strengthen both in attack and defence and the news of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s potential arrival may come at a good time.

Dreams FC win G8 tournament.

The dream of the Dream FC players and staff couldn’t have been more real this weekend. In a tournament where they became giant killers after winning against Kotoko and winning the ultimate prize against Accra Hearts of Oak. Dreams FC who have just regained promotion this year into the Ghana Premier League in the season ahead stunned Accra Hearts of Oak to win the first major silverware of the season. Hearts took an early lead through Daniel Kordie’s thunderbolt of a strike from 25 yards that beat Isaac Amoako. Dreams equalized through Kweku Adjei Darko  seven minutes later  with a composed finish. Dreams were awarded a penalty in the 63rd minute and Leonard Owusu converted beautifully from the spot. Things got worse when Hearts captain Inusah Musah received his marching orders after a second yellow card offense. Dreams won the tournament deservedly and will only seek to improve upon this performance as the season gears to start.

Huge Sigh Of Relief For Zidane.

Its looking like Madrid is getting to feature every week these days on here and once again they feature in this piece, this time for the good reasons. Who would not like to talk about a match that produced 8 goals. Deportivo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before Madrid turned on the heat with two goals in the space of ten minutes to overturn the deficit. The onslaught continued in the second half with Gareth Bale netting his second of the day. Luka Modric and a Cristiano Ronaldo brace brought the score up to six. Nacho put the gloss on the scoreline to also register a brace. The purpose, desire and intent was alive in the Madrid gameplay. One could sense that the players just knew they had to win it and win it convincingly to appease the fans. Zinedine Zidane will heave a huge sigh of relief because the pressure has been taken off him a bit but both he and the players know that this should be a springboard not a flash in a pan.

Watford Sack Marco Silva

The Pozzo family have once again axed a manager. Seven managers in the last five years and this is probably the one with the most bizarre reasons of sacking. Marco Silva started brilliantly this season but with only one win in 11, given their record, its quite understandable that Watford might consider sacking Marco Silva. However, the official club statement stated that, the change was necessary because Marco Silva’s head was turned before the Christmas festivities by another premier league club( referring to Everton’s Approach for Marco Silva). The statement read “the catalyst of this decision is that unwarranted approach, something the board believes has seen a significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardized”. This has caused a stir among the media over whether the decision to sack Marco Silva ( given the reason stated in the official club statement) was a justifiable one.  Javi Garcia however takes over the reigns as manager on an 18-month contract.