Dogbe defends title, Liverpool top, City held, Arsenal, Inter, more.

Isaac Dogbe’s first title defence of his Super Bantamweight belt couldn’t have gone any better as he floored Japanese boxer Hidenori Otake in the first round in their Arizona bout. Dogbe knocked his opponent down early in the first round with a good hook but Otake did well to recover and fight back with some shots of his own. However a flurry of punches and good shots from Dogbe left the referee with no choice but to to wave off the fight and call it for Dogbe. Dogbe, who promised a knock out duly delivered. What’s next for him is unifying the Super bantamweight division and he wasted no time in calling out his opponents. He will now target the WBC, IBF and WBA belts.

What does this mean for Ghana Boxing?

Over the last few years, Boxing in the country has taken a nose dive and has rather been at a state most sports fans aren’t happy about. The jury is still out on the support these boxers get from the GBA. The likes of Gameboy Tagoe are doing their best to make a name for themselves. There is no doubt however that Dogbe is the darling boy in the sport now. He has drawn comparisons to the ‘professor’ himself, Azumah Nelson and rightly so. The undisputed Face of Boxing in Ghana now is winning over the Ghanaian fans with every bout and every victory. He is single handedly developing the country’s interest in the sport again and our sole world champion looks like he has a lot more in his drawer. The sky is very much the limit for our young, 25-year old maestro.

For Otake, it is his first knock out loss in his career and his first defeat in 4 years. Dogboe promised to uproot him and uproot him he did. The signs were clear and a storm was approaching. You will expect Otake to know a storm when he sees one but you can pardon him this one time. This wasn’t just any storm, this was a Royal Storm. NEHO!!!

Liverpool Top

3 games played, 7 goals scored and absolutely none conceded. Liverpool couldn’t have hoped for a better start and as Manchester City slipped up at Wolves, Mohammed Salah’s 20th minute goal was more than enough to take the reds to the top of the table. It’s been all joy this season For Liverpool as they bid to end their 28-year wait to be Champions of England once again. In perspective, there are not too many surprises here as almost everyone will predict Liverpool winning their first three games of the season against West Ham, Crystal Palace and Brighton. The manner in which they won however shows how much this team has grown and how hard they are trying to do away with bad habits. In the last two games, they have needed their defence to step up and they duly delivered. Virgil Van Dijk has been a commanding figure in the heart of defence with Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold being as impressive as ever. The next six fixtures present tougher fixtures as Liverpool face sides a lot closer to them at the top of the table. This will give them an opportunity to duly assess themselves and know how good they are as a team and whether they are really contenders or pretenders.

City Held

For those who didn’t watch the game, this wasn’t entirely a sit back, park the bus style of ultra defence tactic that secured Wolves the point. To be fair, they’re were a bit pragmatic- expected of a newly promoted side who are facing a team that won the league by 100 points last season- but Wolves gave a good account of themselves. They were extremely unlucky a week ago and the performance they put up at Leicester deserved at least a point. They put that behind them and fought hard to get a point against the champions. City on the other hand are right to feel hard done as they hit the woodwork thrice. The controversies surrounding Wolves’ goal also leaves a sour taste in the mouth of Pep Guardiola’s men. Either way, this is a very enlightening indicator as to the type of challenges ahead of them if they are to retain their title.

Arsenal

Unai Emery got his first win as an Arsenal manager at home to West Ham on Saturday. Arsenal did it the hard way, coming back from being 1-0 down to win 3-1. This is a welcome win as the gunners endured back to back defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening two games of the season. The next few fixtures present Emery and his charges with relatively easier opponents on paper and they are expected to make up some grounds on their rivals.

Inter

Inter let go off a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at fulltime against Torino at the Guissepe Meazza stadium. Belloti and Meite scored for Torino in the second half to cancel out goals by Ivan Perisic and Stefan De Vrij in the first. Inter looked to be cruising before Torino pulled one back in the 55th minute. They then piled on the pressure and got the equaliser 8 minutes later. It’s been a tough start for Inter after last season’s impressive outing. There is still a long way to go and improvement must come fast if the Nerazurri are serious about this title challenge again.

Bonus : Manchester United face Tottenham Hotspur today in the final game of Matchweek 3. As the pressure mounts on Jose Mourinho, you will expect a reaction from United after the awful performance a week ago at Brighton. Tottenham themselves are aiming to make a huge statement by keeping up pace with Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the table. Kick off is at 19:00 GMT.

Eli Avot

The Aftermath : Pep schools Unai, Liverpool off the mark, United, more .

Are City that good or are Arsenal far behind? Both conclusions are valid. If Unai Emery ever needed a good idea of ‘where Arsenal were as a team’, then Sunday’s game was the perfect lesson he could ever get in the Premier League. The anger and fury with which he walked down the tunnel told the whole story of how much he hated what he saw. Everyone related to Arsenal would have hated that too. It is one thing to lose a game to the champions, but to see Arsenal being dominated and beaten in that manner at their own backyard was embarrassing at worst and demoralising at best. After 13 minutes, Raheem Sterling gave City the lead with a shot that cut through Arsenal’s sleeping defence. From then onwards, City had Arsenal exactly where they wanted them. They had pinned the gunners against a wall and Emery’s boys were struggling to find an answer. Both teams set out to press each other. The difference; while City played out of Arsenal’s press with ease at times, Arsenal just couldn’t cope at the other end forcing them into mistakes and hence giving the ball away far too many times than they would have desired. They gave Arsenal no opportunity and space to pass out wide and mount any form of attack whatsoever. City attacked from out wide with their wide players causing mayhem for Arsenal throughout the first half especially. In the second half, Unai Emery introduced Alexandre Lacazette in place of Aaron Ramsey, perhaps the player most affected by the breakdown in play of Arsenal. For about 10 minutes after this substitution, Arsenal had their best spell and had a few openings where they could have and should have scored but in the 64th minute, Bernado Silva scored after some neat build up to end any form of resistance Arsenal tried to put up. From then onwards, it was City seeing the game out, just keeping the ball far away from Arsenal and further frustrating them. In the end, the scoreline rather flattered Arsenal and the gulf in quality between the two teams was evident for everyone who cares to see.

For Unai Emery, it was a day of lessons, and it doesn’t come bigger than one from the champions in the first game of the season. The good news is he only plays city once more in the league this season, the bad news is the next game is against fellow London rivals Chelsea, who are coming at the back of an impressive 3-0 away win. In all this, the lesson to be made clear(if it wasn’t clearer already) is that, there is a lot of work to be done on this Arsenal team.

Pep and City

In the first two games against Chelsea and Arsenal, City produced a very dominant display and saw out both teams with relative ease. Their next 6 games see them face the 6 promoted sides from the last two seasons and you are not wrong in expecting this to continue for sometime. Pep Guardiola has built a machine. The ceiling of this city team is as high as ever and like my favorite commentator Peter Drury said, “City are serious about this whole thing again”.

Liverpool up and firing.

The only negative maybe on the day was that one member of the fabulous trio failed to get on the scoresheet. The EPL returned to Anfield and so did normal service. Mohammed Salah opened the scoring(no surprises there), Sadio Mane added two more and Daniel Sturridge rounded everything up. It was a routine win for Liverpool and they duly flexed their muscles over a West Ham side that still have a lot to learn. I personally pick them as my favorites to win the title. It’s still early days yet but the signs are good but then again, I know a side that beat West Ham 4-0 in their first game a season ago.

United, Mourinho, Ed Woodward

United sailed to a 2-1 win over 2016 champions Leicester City in the first game of the 2018/2019 season on Friday night. They put behind them, a very underwhelming transfer window where the coach Jose Mourinho was left ‘handicapped’ as most of his requests were not granted. Jose, as usual, made his thoughts known even though it turned out to be him complaining a bit too much. Then there is a lingering problem in his relationship with some players like Paul Pogba(his post much comments isn’t making the situation any better) and Anthony Martial who do not really agree with the way he wants them to play. Ed Woodward, the main man in charge hasn’t done a good job in resolving this problem. If you aren’t going to get your manager his targets,then you sack him and get one who is on the same page as you. Moving forward however, someone must budge, it looks like it isn’t going to be Jose and the likelihood of both Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial getting moves away is very low. They therefore have to buy into the manager’s plan and give it one more shot. And I just remembered , Paul Pogba was their best player on Friday. I don’t think all is lost for United. On the contrary, I believe this squad is good enough and more than capable of mounting a decent title challenge.

Barça

Barcelona clinched the Spanish Super cup by beating Sevilla 2-1 in a hard fought game played in Tangier, Morocco. There were no surprises as Barcelona have beaten Sevilla 10 times in a row and the 3rd time in the Spanish Super cup. This is the first time the final was played on foreign soil and also as a one legged tie. Ousmane Dembele got the winner in the 78th minute after all the pressure finally paid off. The 20-year old world champion is looking forward to having a brilliant season after his first season was interrupted by injuries and many other setbacks. With him in form, Barcelona have got a brilliant outlet who will be very crucial to their successes this season.

Bonus:

Inter’s Lautaro Martinez scored a stunner in a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on the final game of the ICC. The 20-year old is going to be very important to Inter’s campaign as they return to the Champions League for the first time in 6 years and seek to mount another Serie A title challenge.

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The Fan’s Eye.

The football league season is looming upon us and the excitement and the hysteria just got louder especially with most clubs still preparing for the new season. The English Premier league would be the first to kick-off on the 10th of August with a mouth-watering encounter between Manchester United and Leicester. English clubs would at the same time look to wrap up transfer business before the 10th of August after most clubs voted in favour of a close of the transfer window before the start of the season in a referendum last year. La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and all the other major leagues in Europe are set to start weeks later to complete a total comeback of football hitting our screens again. Here are a few talking points for the upcoming season purely from a fan’s point of view.

La Liga’s Loss……..

Ronaldo appreciates the Juventus fans after scoring against them in last season’s Champions League

Ronaldo won a record 5 Champions league titles with Real Madrid

In one of the surprises of the transfer window Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, following a declaration at the end of last season and fueled and accelerated by a contract stand off with the Madrid hierarchy, Cristiano Ronaldo left the Bernabeu and signed for Juventus. In a smart move for Juventus and Serie A in a whole, La Liga has lost a big gem. Ronaldo since his arrival from Manchester United in the summer of 2009, has become the club’s top scorer netting an astonishing 450 goals in 438 appearances, winning every honour available in the Spanish division including an amazing overhaul of the Champions League Trophy in the latter parts of his career with Real Madrid. With Cristiano Ronaldo gone, how does La Liga deal with the reduced hype surrounding the league, what does it spell for the rivalry that fans forged between him and Messi and what does this mean for the El Classico( which is one of the most viewed fooball matches in football) and finally what does this mean for Real Madrid who has lost a talisman in Ronaldo. Is there another Galatico coming in or Florentino Perez would stick to the squad he has and would Gareth Bale finally step out his shadow since Ronaldo is gone. Interesting times ahead.

…..Serie A’s Gain

Cristiano Ronaldo during his medicals

Ronaldo poses showing off the Bioconeri’s iconic badge

Ronaldo in Juventus Colours

Cristiano Ronaldo was welcomed by many fans at the Turin airport and even though the Juventus fans were the ones who celebrated the most, most Serie A fans would be happy that the Italian league is finally returning to the days when it was at the top of Europe and could attract the best of the best. When the rumours began to surface, Juventus shot up significantly on the stock market and had an unbelievable increase in followers on all their Social Media platforms not to even talk of shirt sales and the scramble for season’s match tickets. According to KPMG,Juve’s stock price increased by 32% between July 2-July 19 and it’s️ Market cap also increased from €650m-€700m to €900m between July 2-July 9. For Serie A, most players have elected to stay in the league after the transfer was announced and the return of Leonardo Bonucci (who reportedly left the bioconerri amidst rumours of a bad blood with coach Allegri) back to the club is a typical example of the pull Cristiano Ronaldo is beginning to have on the Serie A. Serie A chiefs would definitely be thankful to Juventus for bringing Ronaldo in. Ronaldo’s brand alone would give the Serie A the publicity and increase their match views on all platforms. Serie A just got lit.

The Top 6 Race Just Got Tighter.

With the English Premier League set to start on Friday, the top 6 clubs in England are gearing up for an incredible challenge among themselves. Last year’s Champions, Manchester City given their performance in the Community Shield against Chelsea do not seem to have stepped off the gas. Guardiola is a man who is drunk with success and this City team with the addition of Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City, do not look any less stronger than what they were last year. Last year’s Champions League finalists, Liverpool are probably the team who looks to be the closest challenger to City. A summer that included the capture of Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Shaqiri and Keita. With the presence of the deadly trio from last season (Salah, Firmino and Mane), Liverpool are set to challenge well this season and what’s more Klopp has hinted that the club’s summer transfer business could still not be over. Arsenal have also moved away from the Arsene Wenger era and fans are quite optimistic about new manager Unai Emery who brings a new style of playing football to the Emirates. Backed by the signings of Greek defender Sokratis, goalkeeper Bernd Leno, defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira and youngster Guendouzi, Arsenal are definitely stronger than they were last season and with the club still progressing with talks with representatives of Aaron Ramsey over a new deal, Arsenal will definitely challenge this season. Chelsea, like Arsenal have brought in a new Manager; Maurizzio Sarri who is set lead the team to play an exciting brand of attacking football and with the acquisition of Sarri’s midfield general from Napoli and the holding on to players like Hazard coupled with the news of an imminent arrival of Athletico Bilbao’s young goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga (after Courtois looks set to leave to Real Madrid), Chelsea will definitely present a stern test to the other top contenders. Manchester United, even though amidst the complains and bickerings of Mourinho, have not lost any major player and have brought in midfield enforcer Fred from Shakter Donestk and with the form of Alexis Sanchez in pre season, United would aim to outwit their neighbours to winning the title. United fans would understandably want to see more incomings and with rumours about Alderwield and Yerry Mina surfacing, we could see one more signing at the Old Trafford. Tottenham fans are probably the most concerned among the big six clubs. In as much as holding on to their players was and is a priority, bringing in new blood to provide competition for the already existing bunch is key and Pochettinho would definitely know that. Spurs have however ran a team based on a core defensive and attacking combination and we have observed over the years that, new signings do not really have the chance to break into this team.

PSG’s Champions League Ambitions.

New Paris Saint Germain boss, Thomas Tuchel

PSG have already claimed their first silverware of the season after beating Monaco 4-0 to win the Trophée des Champs

PSG have still not managed to win the Champions league even after the investment that its Qatari owners have made. Last season, Mbappe and Neymar; two of the brightest young stars in the world joined the club and the fans were optimistic that this group of players would deliver them their long revered trophy. It was however not to be as they crashed out at the hands of Madrid and as usual, then head coach Unai Emery failed and even though he delivered a domestic double, he was sacked. Another new season, another new manager in the shape of Thomas Tuchel, same old Champions league ambition. Thomas Tuchel has been tasked this season to bring the European trophy to the French capital. With only Gigi Buffon as the only stalwart signing, Tuchel( who is a known as giving his youngsters the confidence to play) is set to lead this ‘ Champions League thirsty’ bunch of players into another season. Will PSG finally conquer Europe or just be Champions of France or even worse, lose it all.

Do The Chasing Pack Have A Chance?

The English Premier League has got an astonishing pull both on the transfer and commercial market and this summer, apart from the big six, the chasing pack have brought in lots of quality in terms of technical,managerial and playing staff. Clubs like Everton, Wolves, Fulham, West Ham and the others have all brought in top class coaches and players to help their cause and bridge the increasingly widening gap between themselves and the big six. Burnley came close last season by finishing seventh on the log and as such earned themselves a spot to compete for a place in the Europa league. The big question is, which of these clubs is ready to do another Leicester? Which of them have the mentality and fortitude to shock the big guns on a regular to be able to break the jinx and bring back the excitement of Leicester’s incredible season.