Monday 3 October 2016

Champions League Matchday Two Review

Ahead of the International break, Matchday two saw some sides looked to record back-to-back wins while others hoped to claim their first success of the campaign.

E
Tottenham made the long journey to CSKA Moscow looking to bounce back from an opening loss. They did just that by securing a narrow 1-0 win courtesy of a 71st minute strike from Son Heung-Min. 

Monaco looked for consecutive victories as they hosted Bayer Leverkusen who drew their opener. The sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw that saw the game remain scoreless past the hour before Javier Hernandez fired the Germans ahead. The hosts salvaged the draw with a last-gasp leveller from Glik. 


F
After an opening win, Borussia Dortmund hosted Real Madrid who also looked to add to their perfect start. An early strike from Pierre Aubameyang put the hosts ahead before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled just before the interval. Raphael Varane put the visitors ahead on 67 minutes only for them to be denied the win by a late equaliser from Andre Schurrle for 2-2.

Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw faced off with both looking to bounce back from opening losses. The hosts secured all three points with two first half strikes from Ruiz and Bas Dost for a 2-0 win.



G
After drawing their opening game, FC Copenhagen hosted Club Brugge who were looking to bounce back from an opening loss. The sides remained level into half-time before the Danes ran riot as they raced into a 3-0 lead with a Denswil own goal followed by efforts from Delaney and Santander. The rout was completed late on by Jorgensen for 4-0.

Leicester City had hopes of consecutive wins as they hosted former winners FC Porto. The Foxes did indeed secure back-to-back wins with a 25th minute strike from Islam Slimani enough to claim the three points.



H
After an opening defeat, Dinamo Zagreb looked to stage a shock as they hosted Juventus. Sadly for the Croatians, they were easily beaten with Juve going into the interval 2-0 ahead after strikes from Miralem Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain. The Italians sealed the win before the hour mark as Dybala struck and the rout was completed five minutes from the end by Dani Alves for 4-0.

Sevilla looked to back up their opening draw with a win as they hosted Olympique Lyonnais who had claimed an opening win. This time around it was to be the hosts who took the points with a narrow 1-0 win coming courtesy of a 52nd minute strike from Ben Yedder.



A
Arsenal and FC Basel faced off at the Emirates both looking to remain unbeaten after opening draws. The Gunners struck early through Theo Walcott after just seven minutes and he doubled the lead on 25 minutes for 2-0. The lead proved to be too much for the Swiss to overcome as 'The Arsenal' moved top of the group.

After also drawing in the opening week, Ludogorets Razgrad and Paris Saint Germain went head-to-head. The hosts took an early lead through Natanael with 15 minutes played before the French champions levelled four minutes before the interval through Blaise Matuidi. The comeback was complete on the hour mark as Edinson Cavani struck a five minute brace for 3-1.


B
Besiktas looked to remain unbeaten as they hosted Dynamo Kiev who also hoped to claim their first win. The Turks opened the scoring through Ricardo Quaresma just before the half hour but the Ukrainians drew level just after the hour mark through Tsyganov to ensure a share of the points.

Napoli were in the hunt for consecutive victories as they hosted Benfica who looked to build on their opening draw. The Italians struck first as Marek Hamsik opened the scoring on 20 minutes before a rapid treble just before the hour saw Dries Mertens score a brace either side of a penalty from Milik for a 4-0 lead. The visitors staged a comeback with strikes from Guedes and Salvio but to no avail in the 4-2 loss.



C
Barcelona looked to build on a huge opening win as they travelled to face Borussia Monchengladbach who looked for their first win. The hosts struck first as Thorgan Hazard fired in on 34 minutes before Arda Turan levelled for the Catalans just after the hour mark. The turnaround was complete on 73 minutes as Gerard Pique sealed the points for the visitors.

After an opening humiliating loss, Celtic hosted a Manchester City side looking for consecutive wins. The Scots made a superb start as Moussa Dembele struck inside three minutes before Fenandinho drew City level on 11 minutes. Raheem Sterling scored for both sides in the space of eight minutes with an own goal on 20 minutes gifting the hosts the lead before he levelled for City for 2-2. Celtic went ahead for a third time as Dembele scored his second just two minutes after half-time but City hit back again through Nolito on 55 minutes and a six-goal thriller was how it ended as the sides shared the points.



D
After both securing opening wins, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich faced off hoping to remain unbeaten. The hosts opened the scoring in the 35th minute with a strike from Carrasco and they held on to the narrow lead to claim the narrow 1-0 win.

FC Rostov and PSV Eindhoven both hoped to get off the mark in the group and they did just that as they shared the points in a 2-2 draw. Propper fired the Dutch into the lead after just 14 minutes only for the hosts to level in the 28th minute through Poloz. The hosts completed the comeback with Poloz's second just nine minutes later but a Luuk De Jong effort just before the interval salvaged a draw.

Sunday 2 October 2016

City Stay Top While Reds Demolish Hull

After a busy week, the review has to be missed out and just the results posted but it will resume with game-week seven ahead of the International break.




Thursday 22 September 2016

EFL Cup Third Round Results

After the European cups began properly last midweek, the final entries into the EFL Cup came in the third round and as always there were a few surprise results.For this round just the results, round four will see a review.








City Stay Top While Reds Defeat Chelsea

Gameweek five in the Premier League turned out to be a very high scoring one with seven sides firing in three or more goals with just four shut-outs across the ten games.

Friday night saw a huge clash at Stamford Bridge as unbeaten Chelsea hosted free-scoring Liverpool. The Reds opened the scoring on 17 minutes after Dejan Lovren volleyed in a clever cross and they were 2-0 up nine minutes before half-time as Jordan Henderson rifled in a long range effort past a helpless Thibaut Courtois. The Blues reduced the deficit just after the hour mark as Diego Costa continued hit superb scoring streak for 2-1. Both sides pushed for further goals but to no avail as Liverpool secured the points.

Saturday's review begins with the action from the KCOM Stadium as Hull City hosted Arsenal. The Gunners got off to the better start of the two with Alexis Sanchez putting them in front after just 17 minutes. Hull were dealt a blow just before half-time with the dismissal of Jake Livermore and the visitors took just 15 minutes of the second half to extend their advantage as Sanchez struck for a second time. Robert Snodgrass slotted in a penalty to keep the hosts in the contest but a Theo Walcott strike within three minutes made it 3-1 before Granit Xhaka fired in for 4-1 in the final minute.


Leicester City looked to back-up their superb win in Europe as they hosted Burnley at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes led just before the interval as Islam Slimani fired in to open his account in the 45th minute before doubling the lead just four minutes after the restart. The Clarets' afternoon got worse rather than better as Ben Mee's 77th minute own goal confirmed a 3-0 win for the hosts.

Manchester City hoped to maintain their 100% record at the top with a visit from Bournemouth. Kevin De Bruyne gave the hosts the lead on 15 minutes before Kelechi Iheanacho doubled the lead in the 25th minute. The win looked to be safe for City less than four minutes into the second half as Raheem Sterling struck before Ilkay Gundogan made it 4-0 six minutes after the hour mark. The only blot on a perfect afternoon for the hosts came on 86 minutes as Nolito was sent off.


West Ham travelled to face West Brom at The Hawthorns looking to claim their first win after a poor start to the season. Their hopes suffered an early blow as Nacer Chadli slotted in a penalty after just nine minutes. Salomon Rondon doubled the lead eight minutes before the interval before James McClean looked to have sealed the win by half time at 3-0. Chadli struck his second of the afternoon to put the Baggies 4-0 up before two goals in as many minutes from Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini's penalty made it 4-2 but the Hammers were unable to cut the gap further as the hosts celebrated a win.

After a superb start to he season, Everton looked to continue their success as they hosted Middlesbrough. Boro opened the scoring in the 21st minute after a shot deflected in off Toffees 'keeper Maarten Stekeleberg before Gareth Barry levelled three minutes later on his 600th PL game for 1-1. Seamus Coleman put the hosts 2-1 up with half-time approaching and but for Boro it was to be a 3-1 deficit at the interval with a late strike from Romelu Lukaku After such a packed first half goal-wise, the second half was a draw as the Toffees held their two goal lead for the win.


Super Sunday began at Vicarage Road as Watford welcomed Manchester United hoping to claim back-to-back wins. The Hornets struck the opening goal on 34 minutes as Etienne Capoue continued his scoring streak for 1-0. United drew level through Marcus Rashford on 62 minutes but were denied as little as a point by a late-show from the hosts with Juan Zuniga made it 2-1 before Troy Deeney confirmed a 3-1 success with a penalty in the final minutes.

Crystal Palace hosted a Stoke side yet to win this season at Selhurst Park and the hopes of such a win for the Potters were dented early on by Scott Dann's ninth minute opener and further hampered within two minutes as James Tomkins doubled the lead. Palace struck twice more in a four minute period in the second half with James McArthur and Andros Townsend scoring in the 71st and 75th minutes. Stoke's miserable afternoon did have a positive end as Marko Arnautovic made it 4-1 late on.


Southampton eased to victory in Europe on Thursday night and they looked to complete a perfect week as they hosted Swansea City. The game was a close one with just a single goal needed to settle the points, Charlie Austin stuck the winner for the Saints in the 64th minute.

The final game of the weekend saw Tottenham look to bounce back from defeat in Europe as they hosted Sunderland. A tight game saw just one goal with Harry Kane striking in the 59th minute for 1-0. The afternoon got worse for the visitors as they went down to ten men late on with the dismissal of Adnan Januzaj. 



Wednesday 21 September 2016

Europa League Matchday One Results

A delay due to a busy weekend means just the results for the first week of the groups stage, hopefully the first review will come in the second Matchday.







Friday 16 September 2016

Champions League Matchday One Review

Mid September in the football season means the beginning of the highly anticipated group stage of the Champions League and while some of the notable names are missing this season there a few newbies who will hope to make a name for themselves.

A
Tuesday night saw the first games with Basel hosting Ludogorets and a tight game it proved to be with the side sharing the points in a 1-1 draw. Barbosa put the visitors ahead just before half-time only for them to be pegged back ten minutes from the end by Steffen's equaliser.

A battle between two top sides as Paris St Germain hosted Arsenal and the hosts made an immense start with Edinson Cavani scoring in the opening minute. The lead lasted until deep into the second half when Alexis Sanchez levelled for the Gunners.. Both sides would end the evening with ten men after late dismissal for Marco Verratti and Olivier Giroud. 



B
Benfica opened their campaign by hosting Besiktas and they came so close to securing a opening win after an early strike from Cervi looked to be enough for a 1-0 win. However, the Turkish side salvaged a point in the final minutes through Conceicao. 

Dynamo Kiev and Napoli face each other in the other game in the group with the hosts taking the lead just before the half-hour mark through Garmash before a nine-minute brace from Milik put the Italians into a 2-1 lead. Kiev's hopes of levelling suffered a blow with 20 minutes left with the dismissal of Sydorchuk as the visitors held on for the win.



C
Barcelona started their push towards glory with a stunning 7-0 win over a poor Celtic side. Lionel Messi fired the Catalans ahead inside three minutes before doubling the lead just before the half hour mark. The second half saw a master-class from the hosts as Andres Iniesta, Neymar and a hat-trick strike from Messi made it 5-0 on the hour. The rout was completed by a brace from Luis Suarez on 75 and 89 minutes.

Manchester City's game at home to Borussia Monchengladbach was postponed due to a flooded pitch but the re-arranged game took place on Wednesday with City storming to a 4-0 win.

An early penalty from Sergio Aguero saw him double the lead on 29 minutes to leave the German's with a uphill task which only got worse as the Argentine completed his hat-trick on 76 minutes for 3-0. The gloss on a fine home performance came in the final stages as Kelechi Iheanacho struck for 4-0.


D
Bayern Munich stormed to a 5-0 win in their opening game against FC Rostov with Robert Lewandowski slotting in from the penalty spot on 28 minutes ahead of a second goal just before the interval from Thomas Muller. 

An eight minute brace from Kimmich sealed the win before the hour mark but the rout was completed in the final minute by Bernat. 

PSV Eindhoven played host to Atletico Madrid in what turned out to be a close contest overall with the points sealed for the visitors just before half-time as Niguez struck for 1-0.




E
Bayer Leverkusen opened their campaign with the hosting of CSKA Moskva and raced into a 2-0 lead in as little as 15 minutes with Mehmedi and Calhanoglu firing in. However, the Russians fought back superbly with two goals in as many minutes with Dzagoev scoring before Eremenko levelled for 2-2 which is how the game ended.

Tottenham began their European stay at Wembley with a hosting of AS Monaco. The French side opened the scoring through Bernado Silva in the 15th minute before they were 2-0 to the good on 32 minutes after Lemar struck. Spurs pulled one back on half-time through Toby Alderweireld  but it was in vain as they began with a 2-1 defeat.



F
An opening game to forget for Legia Warsaw as they suffered a 6-0 demolition at home to rampant Borussia Dortmund. Mario Gotze struck an early opener after just seven minutes before a rapid double from Papastathopoulos and Marc Bartra made it 3-0.

Guerreiro and Castro extended the lead either side of the hour mark before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completed the rout three minutes from the end.

Real Madrid staged a last-gasp smash and grab as they won 2-1 against Sporting Lisbon. The visitors took the lead through Cesar on 47 minutes and looked on course to claim a surprise win as the game entered the final minutes. However, a superb free kick against his former side from Cristiano Ronaldo levelled the game before the visitors' hearts were broken by Morata's strike.



G
Club Brugge were the first ever trip in the competition for Leicester City who looked to make an instant name for themselves. They did just that as Marc Albrighton fired them ahead inside five minutes before Riyad Mahrez fired in a stunning effort for 2-0. The Foxes confirmed a famous three points with Mahrez slotting in a third goal from the penalty spot.

FC Porto and FC Copenhagen shared the points in their opening meeting with Monteiro's 13th minute opener cancelled out by Cornelius on 52 minutes for 1-1. The Danes suffered a blow on 66 minutes with the dismissal of Gregus but the Portuguese side were unable to claim the win with the man advantage.


H
After claiming their third consecutive Europa League title back in May, Sevilla began their Champions League campaign away to Juventus.

The sides were evenly matched across the 90 minutes as they shared the points in a 0-0 draw.

Completing the first review of the campaign is Olympique Lyonnais' hosting of Dinamo Zagreb in which the French side eased to a 3-0 success.

A 13th minute opener from Tolliso set them on their way before Ferri doubled the lead four minutes after half-time for 2-0. The three points were sealed three minutes before the hour mark with Cornet striking for 3-0.

Wednesday 14 September 2016

City Stay Top While Reds Thrash Foxes

The Premier League season resumed after the International break but just a few days before the opening games of the European group stages so a good result was paramount for those with a packed week.

The weekend opened with the Manchester derby as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola renewed rivalries as Manchester United hosted Manchester City at Old Trafford. City made the first breakthrough as Kevin De Bruyne struck on 15 minutes before Kelechi Ihenacho doubled the lead with 36 minutes on the clock. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continued his superb scoring form with a 42nd minute strike for 2-1 and after a close second half, City held on for the narrow win.

Arsenal hosted Southampton at the Emirates with the Saints looking to record their first win of the season after a mixed start. Their hopes were given an early boost after a deflected effort went in off Gunners 'keeper Petr Cech on 18 minutes before an equaliser from Laurent Koscielny made it 1-1 after half an hour. A 2-1 win was sealed late on for the hosts as Santi Cazorla slotted in a penalty.



Bournemouth looked to secure their first win of the season as they hosted West Bromwich Albion at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries did just that as they claimed a narrow 1-0 win with a 79th minute strike from Callum Wilson.

Hull City looked to continue their good start to the campaign as they travelled to face Burnley at Turf Moor. The game proved to be a close one with the sides not only remaining level past half-time but also as the game entered the final 20 minutes. However, the deadlock was broken by the hosts as Steven Defour fired them in front with 19 minutes to go but a last-gasp leveller from Robert Snodgrass denied the Clarets as City salvaged a point.



Middlesbrough hosted a Crystal Palace side still searching for their first win of the season after a mixed start. The Eagles struck the opening goal of the game through Christian Benteke on 16 minutes before Boro levelled through Daniel Ayala eight minutes before half-time for 1-1. The points went to the visitors though with the crucial strike coming just two minutes after the interval from Wilfried Zaha. 

Stoke City hosted Tottenham Hostspur at the Bet365 Stadium with Spurs looking to go into their Euro campaign on a high. The first half was a close one but the visitors just edged it as Son Heung-Min fired them ahead on 41 minutes. He doubled the lead on 56 minutes before Dele Alli made it 3-0 just before the hour mark. The rout was completed with 20 minutes left as Harry Kane fired in for 4-0.



The last of the 3pm games was the London derby between West Ham United and Watford at London Stadium. The Hammers got off to a superb start as Michail Antonio fired them ahead inside five minutes before he doubled the lead on 32 minutes for 2-0. Watford went into half-time level after two goals in the final four minutes of the half from Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney. Their comeback was completed by two further strikes either side of the hour mark as Etienne Capoué and José Holebas secured a 4-2 win.

The late kick-off came from Anfield as Liverpool hosted Leicester City in their first home game of the season as the newly revamped Main Stand opened. The Reds struck first as Roberto Firmino slotted in after just 13 minutes with Sadio Mané doubling the lead on the half hour mark. Leicester hit back through Jamie Vardy eight minutes before half-time but it was in vain as Liverpool struck twice more in the second half with Adam Lallana making it 3-1 before Firmino's second goal in the final stages completed a superb 4-1 triumph.



Super Sunday saw just a single game but an interesting one as Swansea City hosted Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium. Diego Costa continued his stunning start to the season as he fired the Blues ahead on 18 minutes but a superb three minute period either side of the hour mark saw the Swans take a 2-1 lead. Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled with a penalty before Leroy Fer struck but they had to settle for a point as Costa salvaged a 2-2 draw for Chelsea with his second strike with eight minutes to go.

The final game of the weekend came with the Monday Night Football from the Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Everton. The sides played out a very close first half and remained level as the hour neared but a superb 11 minutes from the Toffees saw the three points secured as Romelu Lukaku struck on the hour before further strikes on 69 and 71 minutes completed his hat-trick and a 3-0 win.