At times Southampton looked shattered. Lost of confidence and wondering what they are doing on the pitch. Jurgen Klopp in his post match interview said: “In games like this you kill the mood of the opponent with the counter press. There was a moment in the second half where Southampton had the ball and there were four players surrounding the one. The boys are really ready for this hard work and that is what I love the most“.
It is no secret that the counter press is one of the most important characteristics of every Jurgen Klopp team. Whenever they lose the ball, they pursue their opponent like a mob going after its victim. This particular tactic forces mistakes out of the opponent and it was evident in the game on Saturday as Vestegaard and Hoedt especially, were caught out a few times. And when they do win the ball, the quality of runs from the front three in behind gives anyone on the ball a variety of options to thread a pass through.
It’s now 7 wins out of 7 in all competitions, 4 goals conceded with only two coming in the league. But even with that, you might not be wrong to expect a higher ceiling for this team as the key performers from last season, (Mane, Firmino, Salah) are yet to hit top gear.
Arsenal win but still didn’t impress
Petr Cech was MOTM after Arsenal’s win against Everton on Sunday and that tells the story of the game. Just to point this out, I do believe a goalkeeper can have a good game with his side not being poor but that was far from the case in the first 45 minutes at the Emirates. The manner with which the Everton attackers tore through the Arsenal defence in the first 15 minutes especially leaves a lot to be desired. In the end, Arsenal would have to thank the profligacy of Everton’s attackers and the quality of Petr Cech for keeping them in the game on that first half. A better side would have punished Arsenal and they know this as Manchester City and Chelsea punished them after a slow start in the first 20 minutes earlier in the season. You can only beat what is in front of you and so far Arsenal have done a good job at that with 4 wins in a row but there is this sense of worry and lack of confidence in the Arsenal defence that still is a major problem Unai Emery has to solve.
Inter leave it late again
After a miraculous late comeback in midweek UCL clash against Tottenham Hotspurs, Inter had to endure another frustrating wait this time around(VAR ruling out two goals from Naingolan and Asamoah) until the closing stages of the game to snatch a victory against bogey side Sampdoria. This time, it was Marcelo Brozovic who replicated the heroics of Matia Vecino in midweek. This win proves to be very vital as pressure mounts on Luciano Spalletti after just two wins in 5 games this season. Injuries and lack of form to key players Icardi and Perisic have been Inter’s main problems this season but back to back wins should be a good point for them to restart their season. They face Fiorentina next and will be looking to make it 3 wins in a row after recording just 1 in the 4 before.
Joshua too good for Povetkin
Anthony Joshua overcame a slow start In the first three rounds to beat Aleksander Povetkin in Wembley on Saturday. It was never in doubt actually but a slow start threatened an upset before Joshua got a hold of the bout and imposed himself. Two successive knock downs and a cut above the eye of the Russian was enough for the bout to be over in the 7th round. The wait continues as to whose Joshua’s next fight with calls coming in for a rematch for Dillian White after Joshua knocked him out in their 2015 fight but there is only one name every one wants and that is Deontay Wilder. Joshua v Wilder at Wembley is the dream fight.
Tuesday and Wednesday nights have been lit up once again for football fans and this week things got as exciting as it could ever be as the Champions League kicked off in such an amazing fashion. Hat-tricks, comebacks, red cards and goals galore; that’s what the new Champions League season served us this week. Here’s an in depth analysis of how events punned out.
Inter are Back with a Bang.
Icardi celebrates scoring the leveller with Nainngolan.
Boy,! how we missed moments like this from Inter. Inter pulled off an amazing result to claim all three points against Spurs in Italy. A performance that had sheer determination and brilliance written all over it, saw the Milan club come from a goal down to beat Spurs at the death. Spurs looked like they were in control in the first half and Inter were, in large periods of the first half keeping their shape and biding time. Spurs took a deserved lead in the early stages of the second half after Christian Eriksson’s shot deflected via Miranda and looped over the hapless Inter goalie, Handanovic to score. Inter then began to push forward and Spurs began to look like the side they have been this season; little below par in their defensive performances. Inter finally broke through after Kwadwo Asamoah’s cross was met by a fierce volley from the foot of Mauro Icardi (who had been kept quiet by the Spurs defense till that moment) to level the scores. Inter then grabbed a last gasp winner in added time after a corner to the far post was headed back into the box by Stephan De Vrij for Matthias Vecino to prod home sending the whole stadium into ruptures. Spurs manager Pochettino defended his players in the post match press conference after questions were raised about his decision to leave both Toby Alderwield and Kieran Trippier home and why his team have for the first time lost three games on the bounce. For Inter, its a valuable win that gives them 3 points and gives them hopes of qualifying in this group and much more importantly lightening up the San Siro after a long Absence.
Cristiano Ronaldo Sees Red on His Champions league Debut With Juventus.
Ronaldo apperas to be clearly inconsolable after he was red carded.
Stunned, in tears, screaming in frustration, hands in the air and utter disappointment in his body language. That is the best possible way to describe how Cristiano felt after being red carded after less than an hour in the Champions League match against Spanish club Valencia. Ronaldo had an impressive first 20 minutes and looked eager to continue his goal scoring exploits from the weekend. However in the 29th minute, after consultation with his linesman, German referee Felix Brych brandished the red card to Ronaldo after an off the ball incident with Jeison Murillo. Ronaldo appeared to have knocked Murillo to the ground and launched a kick-out on the defender before grabbing and pulling out his hair. Ronaldo was livid and as he trudged slowly off the pitch in tears and inconsolable as his team mates gave him pats of support on the back. Ronaldo would normally miss one game according to the laws of the champions League but may miss up to three games should UEFA extend the ban. Juventus however won the game by two goals from the penalty spot both scored by Miralem Pjanic.
Ronaldo appered to grab the hair of Murillo after knocking him down.
Liverpool Triumph at Anfield as PSG Stars Flop on The Night
Firmino celebrates scoring the winner
In the much anticipated and talked about fixture of the group stage in a group that has been labelled the ‘group of death’, Liverpool triumphed over Paris Saint German through a late Firmino goal after PSG seemed to have grabbed a point after going two goals down. Liverpool started the more purposeful of the two and were rewarded after 30 minutes from a Daniel Sturridge header. Sturridge justified his surprise inclusion into the match day squad with a brilliantly taken header from a Robertson cross after ghosting in between the two PSG centre backs. It was two nil in no time after James Milner scored from the penalty spot after the referee judged a clumsy Juan Bernat tackle on Wijnaldum as illegal. Liverpool bossed the game as Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani were largely kept quiet. Then PSG was handed a lifeline as Thomas Meunier expertly volleyed home a cross after it was deflected into his path via an Andy Robertson touch. The second half was no different from the first, Liverpool bossing play and the PSG midfield in disarray with the front three walking in the shadows. Liverpool had a Mo Salah goal chalked off for a foul on goalkeeper Areola and moments later, he misplaced a pass that fell for Neymar who surged into the box before Mbappe took the ball from his feet and fired home. With PSG starting to feel that they could go on to win after minutes of pressure, Mbappe was robbed of the ball in the middle of the park and the ball fell to substitute Firmino( who according to Klopp walked into training in the morning to declare himself fit after he was declared not fit to play) who lashed a low drive across the face of goal to score in the dying embers of the game. For Liverpool, nights like this define the attitude Klopp has instilled in his boys and more importantly the three points. PSG on the other hand need to improve massively to be able to go further in the competition.
Both Neymar and Mbappe appear glum after the loss.
Man City Given Rude Awakening By A Youthful Lyon Side.
Maxwel Cornet wheels away in celebration after scoring the opener.
Manchester City lost at the hands of a youthful Lyon side by 2goals to one in their own backyard on Wednesday night. With an animated Pep Guardiola( who is serving a touchline ban because of his sending off against Liverpool in last year’s quarter finals) looking on from the stands, Manchester City were stunned by Lyon. Lyon opened the scoring in the first half, through Maxwel Cornet who fired home after Fabian Delph made a rash attempt to clear Fekir’s cross. Lyon added a second two minutes before the break as Nabil Fekir hit a low drive past Alisson. It could have been three had Memphis Depay slotted past Ederson after he was sent through by a brilliant Ndombele pass but it wasnt to be. Manchester City pulled one back after the hour mark but Lyon stood firm to take all the three points back to France. Bruno Genesio’s celebrations at full time showed how important this win was for him. For City, its an open secret that, they are the group favourites and were expected to have blown Lyon away but in truth City must know things will get tougher than last season and so should they.
Mikel Arteta was on the sidelines for City as Guardiola watched on from the stands.
Bonus:
Lionel Messi Hat-trick King
Lionel Messi with the match ball after netting a hat-trick
Lionel Messi scored his eighth Champions’ League hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven as Barca run-riot at the Camp Nou with a stunning free-kick to open the scoring. That makes Lionel Messi the player with the highest number of Champions’ League hat-tricks with Ronaldo close behind with seven.
Renato Sanches Scores for Bayern Again.
Renato Sanches appreciates the ovation from his former team’s fans
In case you have forgotten, the 2016 golden boy winner still plays for Bayern. After a loan spell that he would easily want to forget with Swansea, Renato is back in the ranks at Bayern. Niko Kovac opted to play Sanches in a deep lying role in midfield and gave the youngster a starting berth and the youngster didn’t disappoint as he scored the goal that put the gloss on the scoreline to make it three. His performance received a standing ovation from the fans after he was being subbed.
Mariano 7 Diaz.
Madrid’s new no. 7 celebrates with Marcelo and Asensio
Holders, Real Madrid also began their title defence in style as they romped Roma by three goals to nil. Isco opened the scoring with a delightful free-kick before Gareth Bale scored the second. The third, a sensational curling effort from youngster, Mariano Diaz (who recently returned to the Bernabeau and dared to wear the no. 7 shirt) was the pick of the goals. Picking up the ball on the left side of the box, shifted it onto right foot and fired past Olssen into the top corner. Madrid fans would hope Mariano will be the new gem that will develop into a goal scoring machine much like the player who used to don the No. 7 jersey he now dons.
The Champions’ League is back in full force and European football is here to make boring weekdays a thing of the past. On August 30 UEFA organized the draw to officially unveil the new Champions league season and as was expected the draw turned out to be interesting and mouth-watering clashes have been set up increasing the excitement around the competition this season. And with UEFA twitching the rules a bit in order to shift the kick-off times to as early as 4pm, this season’s Champions’ League is set to be widely viewed than the previous editions. Here, we look at the top five match ups that you shouldn’t miss.
Inter Milan vs Spurs
Harry Kane will be looking to emulate Gareth Bale’s heroics the last time the two sides met.
Spurs open their Champions League group stage with a trip to Italy on Tuesday, 18th September having at the back of their minds their last outing against the Nezurri in the 2010 Champions league. Down by four unanswered goals by half time, Gareth Bale was the talk of the second half as he pulled back 3goals with a combination of slaloming runs and sheer brilliance. Even though the match ended 4-3 in favour of Inter, Spurs qualified at the expense of Inter after winning the second leg by 3-1. Spurs are gradually becoming a team that challenge well to enter the Champions league and put on stellar performances in the group stage matches and then fall short when its most needed. In a group that also has Barcelona and PSV, both clubs really have to win this to keep them in pole position to qualify. Going into the first leg, both clubs have lost twice on the bounce in their respective leagues and for Inter, after long years of abscence from Europe’s elite, will look to make a mark on the Championship. Both clubs are in crunch times of the season, both clubs need to impress and both clubs simply have to find a way to win.
PSG vs Liverpool
Liverpool’s front three would need to be razor sharp for the PSG test
Blistering pace in attack, exciting midfield, an increasingly developing defense and a reliable shot-stopper; both clubs are arguably on the same level the only difference is that Liverpool is the most experienced of the two and last year’s losing finalist while PSG have been chasing success in the Champions League since Qatari money came in and have been largely unsuccessful. PSG are however the team with the stars and would look to subdue a Liverpool side that have also equally spent in the last window and are closely knit by the togetherness and confidence Klopp has instilled in them. The biggest test for Liverpool now will be replicating last year’s feat or even better ( even though some people will feel they have no option than to win silverware) this season and Klopp and his men might pretend that they would just want to enjoy their football but these thoughts are certainly playing at the back of their heads.
PSG’s ice cold front three which makes this fixture the battle between the front threes of both teams.
PSG’s achilles heel has been failure to win the Champions’ league after winning all there is to win in France and with Thomas Tuchel now tasked to lead the charge, it is the Champions’ League or nothing these days for PSG’s hierachy and the fans alike and so PSG would surely be taking this year’s Champions League very seriously and would face one hell of a test in the frame of Liverpool.
Inter Milan vs Barcelona.
Mauro Icardi will lead his team out the tunnel in the Champions League this season
Inter Milan feature again on this list literally because we have missed them in the Champions League. Inter up against Barcelona brings back memories of the Mourinho-led Inter that punished Guardiola’s Barcelona in the 2009/10 Champions League season. Mourinho got one over his long time rival in an epic semi-final clash after winning sensationally at the Guiseppe Meazza and putting up a defensive masterclass at the Camp Nou( in what has till today been often used as a template against Barcelona). Both teams are arguably far from the level they were in those times and this time, they’ ll be meeting as two teams with brilliant and intelligent players who have equal chances of winning.
Mourinho who won the semi-final with Inter won the Champions league that season with the Nerazzuri
Barcelona probably has the upper hand given their exploits when Inter were away and the mere fact that Barcelona has a Messi that can produce something out of nothing. No matter how we might see it as fans we miss this fixture because of how things turned out the last time the two met and we would need to see them square up against each other again.
Messi would need to show his undoubted class in the Champions league this season
Juventus vs Manchester United
Ronaldo’s debut Champions League season with Juventus will have him return to the Old Trafford.
This fixture is largely down to the Ronaldo factor. Anytime Ronaldo plays against his former club, there is an exceptionally emotional feel to the match and this would most certainly be no exception. Apart from the Ronaldo factor, Juventus have really strengthened their squad this season and are probably together with Atletico Madrid one side that do not get lucky when it comes to the Champions league. Allegri would have to be able to combine and perfectly finetune this team to be able to get the best out of them. Thankfully for Allegri, Juventus face a test against Valencia who are no push overs and would ceratinly be a very good match to test their fettle before they face United later on. United on the other hand have gone through a tumultuous summer and a start to a season that has been below par for a club of their standard. United too with Mourinho at the helm are as good as they can be and would have to be at their brilliant best to be able to go far in thus year’s Champions Leaue. Apart from Ronaldo making his Champions league debut with the old ladies and in doing so would have to face his former club, This fixture would definitely be an exciting one to watch.
Jose Mourinho Addresses the media in the press conference before the clash with Young boys
But for a nervy end to the game, Liverpool were very comfortable and absolutely deserved the victory. In the end, the scoreline flattered Spurs as the reds were rather profligate in front of goal. 2 goals either side of half time from Wijnaldum and Firmino respectively, was enough to hand Liverpool all 3 points from Wembley. The first, seen by Goal line technology after a bit of pinball in the penalty box and the second a rather scrappy goal from Firmino after some good work by Sadio Mane. Erik Lamela got one back for Spurs with the aim of sparking a comeback but it turned out to be a consolation as it was too little, too late for the lillywhites. After the brilliant 3-0 away win at Old Trafford, they were expected to build on it and maybe mount a serious title push but defeats away to Watford and Liverpool last Saturday means they drop out of the top 4 and move into 6th place. The champions league returns and a trip to Guissepe Meazza is calling. The good news for spurs would be that their opponents on Tuesday,Inter, aren’t having the best start to the season either. But one thing for sure, as the champions league returns to Milan, you would expect them to be up for the occasion.
For Liverpool, this game just continues to show how much they have and continue to improve as a team. In a game that threatened to be their first tough test of the season, they excelled with flying colours with Joe Gomez in particular standing out in defence. He was faced with the challenge of seeing to Harry Kane and he, together with Virgil Van Dijk, handled him very well, limiting him to the fewest touches of any outfield player in the first half and very little sight on goal. It’s going to be a tough month ahead for Liverpool and I believe we will all find out how good they are after the next few games.
Salah and Mane
On Saturday, Liverpool’s forwards were guilty of being wasteful in a game that should have seen Liverpool go out of sight even before Tottenham’s late consolation. What is disturbing is that there seems to be rumors of a rift between both players. This is a stark contrast to the very attitude that got them firing last season. It’s Liverpool’s best shot at the league in a very long time, and if they are to end their 29-year league drought, they will need both of their top players to not only settle everything between them but to be on their best form. These rumors certainly defeat that course. The social media attacks on both players from their respective fan bases isn’t helping either and they will need to sort things out quickly. The champions league returns on Tuesday and they will be looking to produce another impressive campaign but first, they have to see off Paris St. Germain. The French champions come into this year’s competition with lots of expectations and Liverpool would need to be at their best to get a decent result on Tuesday.
Ronaldo opens Juve account
Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace saw Juventus beat Sassuolo 2-1 to maintain their 100% start to the season. It’s been a long wait by his standard, but after 28 shots, he broke his duck( same number of shots it took him to score his first goal last season). Juventus haven’t really hit Top Gear this season and there is a feeling that the very best is yet to come. With their most priced asset off the mark, you can expect this to be the beginning of something very special.
Eden Hazard
After an outstanding world cup where he won the silver ball, Eden Hazard seemed to have built on that with his best ever start to a league season. Hazard scored just his second hattrick in the EPL for Chelsea in a 4-1 win against Cardiff on Saturday. Cardiff got a surprise lead in the first 10 minutes but Hazard scored twice to give Chelsea the lead heading into half time. He then converted a penalty to complete his hattrick while Willian completed the scoring with a fine shot from outside the area. The 28-year old Belgian now takes his tally to 5 goals in just 3 starts for the season and is definitely in the form of his life. Chelsea took a strong stance against selling him in the summer and that looks like the best business they did in the summer. The next step is tying his future down to Stamford Bridge. That should be the priority.
Inter
After 4 games, Inter have 4 points from a possible 4. A poor start to the Serie A for the Nerazurri after a very promising transfer window raises doubts in the mind of interesti around the world. Saturday’s loss to Parma was a new low in a season in which the Inter faithful expect nothing less than a good title push. The champions league returns to the Meazza this Tuesday,after a 6 year absence. English side Tottenham provide a tough test for Luciano Spalletti’s men. 3 points is a must if Inter are to qualify from the tough group they have been drawn in.
Bonus:
Douglas Costa was red carded this week for first elbowing, then shoving and finally spitting on Sassuolo player, Di Francesco in Juve’s 2-1 win. It was a disgusting act and he was giving his matching orders. A lengthy ban is expected and the player might also face several other sanctions.
The Green Turf 