The weekend witnessed spectacular soccer around the world. New leaders emerged in England and Spain. German champions retained top spot with a victory and despite of draws, both PSG and Juventus maintained their position at the summit.
Arsenal reached Liverpool as the leader of the pack. The game was almost finished within 20 minutes. Liverpool was 4-0 ahead by that time. Interestingly, in score line of 5-1, Suarez was absent. Skertel and Sterling scored 2 goals each. It was Arsenal’s heaviest defeat this season and reignited Liverpool’s claim for EPL. In the entire game, Arsenal could manage only 7 shots towards goal. Manchester City played very poorly. They could make only 2 promising moves in entire game against lowly Norwich City. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. They could have even lost the game as Norwich was very threatening in last 10 minutes. Since Kun Aguero’s injury, the knife of most lethal side of the EPL is getting blunt. Manuel Pellegri’s team now has scored only 1 goal in 2 games and he now should search Plan B.
Chelsea took advantage of the situation and returned to top since August with resounding 3-0 victory over the Magpies at home. Manchester United’s draw against bottom side Fulham put serious question mark on legitimacy of Moyes’s job. The team came with full strength on the ground. Rooney, Van Persie and Juan Mata were in the starting line up. For most of the time, the team was behind and searching the equalizer. 2 goals in 3 minutes put them ahead but it was the defensive error which allowed Bent a close range header for an equalizer. Even the presence of Mick Hucknell of band ‘Simply Red’ in VIP box couldn’t inspire the side.
One of the matches in Italy which regularly witness large scale violence is Rome derby. This time, it was a stalemate without a goal. Roma enjoyed more possession; shots on goal but couldn’t find the net. Totti showed his class again but Gervinho was well guarded by Lazio’s defence. The draw halted Roma’s 6 match winning run in all games. Roma failed to close 9 points gap of Juventus at the top. Juventus also played a 2-2 draw against most improved side of Serie A, Hellas Verona. Buffon made a comeback in the game after the red card suspension against Lazio. Verona scored in 94th minute of the game through Gomez Taleb to deny leaders all 3 points.
In La Liga, top spot is reserved for 2 clubs only. Athletico made an outside entry in the previous week and their moments in sunshine was short lived. Their second defeat of the season to relegation candidate Almeria came at the worst time. Barcelona snatched the lead with 4-1 win over Sevilla. Interestingly, all the top 3 in La Liga are tied on 57 points and only goal difference (of 6 goals only) is separating them. Madrid derby on 2nd of next month could be the decider of the leader.
In Bundesliga, Bayren is showing no signs of mercy. They crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 at home. Bayren is looking to break all record in Bundesliga. They have won 18 out of 20 games played in domestic League this season and rest 2 are draws. Both Leverkusen and Dortmund won their matches to add some pressure on invincible Munchen.
It was draw for 3 of the top 4 sides of Ligue 1 but it couldn’t affect the standings. Game between PSG and Monaco was the game of the titans. Coach Laurent Blanc has every reason to be livid at Thiego Silva, whose own goal allowed Monaco the equalizer. Both Cavani and Falcao didn’t feature in the game of French League. There was no further shake up in French League and PSG retained their 5 points lead to their nearest rivals Monaco.
2 goals of Gustavo Adrian Ramos took him to pole position in Bundesliga’s top scorers for the first time, eclipsing Lewandowski. Christiano Ronaldo didn’t play due to red card he received in the previous game. The leaders fail to score for their club in all the other top leagues.
It was an action packed weekend. In EPL position at bottom is dangerous as only 8 points are separating the bottom 11 clubs. We could see new leaders in England and Spain. Hope for an equally good soccer show next week. Till then, keep dreaming football.