Sunday, 11 December 2016

A 'Three'-ling day of Football

5 out of 6 Premier fixtures saw homeside score 3 goals against there opponents as the day turned out to be obsessive with the number 3.
In LaLiga Santander, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Real Sociedad also hit 3 goals each.


It all started with Watford vs Everton in the Premier League at Vicarage Road.


A struggling Everton side was up against Watford. After going a down by a Romelu Lukaku goal, Watford replied strongly with 3 goals and thus took the game out of Everton's reach.

A late Romelu Lukaku second saw some hope for the Merseysides but Watford held their nerves and ran out a 3-2 winners.

Arsenal vs Stoke City also saw a scoreline which included 3.


Arsenal started the game dominantly as they played around the ball comfortably in the Stoke's half, but it was Stole City who drew first blood.

A penalty was awarded to Stoke after Granit Xhaka appeared to have deliberately elbowed Joe Allen on his face while defending and thus leaving referee with no choice. It looked a cynical foul but Xhaka was lucky not be sent off.
CharlieAdam on his birthday, gifted himself and the team with well taken penalty, sending Peter Cech the wrong way. Arsenal were behind as the clock hit the 30 minute mark.

Arsenal had to reply back and they didso, with a brilliant Arsenal link-up play as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain released Hector Bellerin on the right with a piercing pass, who crossed it inside the box for a Theo Walcottt finish at the near post with the outside of his boot.
Arsenal grabbed the equalizer before halftime.

In the second half, a brilliant lofted cross by Oxlade-Chamberlain into the heart of penalty area found Mesut Ozil all alone as he headed a beautiful looping header into the goal to give Arsenal the lead with 50 minutes on the clock.

Stoke City had their chances with Peter Crouch coming closest as he was brought in as a substitute. He would have scored with his first touch from the corner but it was parried away Peter Cech.

Minutes later, Arsenal got their 3rd, as another substitute Alex Iwobi, ran into the box after Alexis Sanchez was fouled just outside the box. The ball fell onto the path of Iwobi as the referee played the advantage and he finished a low shot into the right corner giving goalkeeper no chance.

A 3 goals and 3 points for Arsenal as they move to the top of Premier League for the time being.


Another 6 goals thriller was witnessed at KCOM stadium where Hull and Crystal Palace hit 3 goals each.



Hull City took the lead after a penalty was awarded but it appeared out to be horrible decision by referee as the replay showed a no contact and a clear dive by the Robert Snodgrass. But Hull City grabbed the opportunity with both hands as Snodgrass gave the Tigers the lead.

Crystal Palace came back strong and equalised with a Christian Benteke penalty. Karma played some role as Snodgrass brought down Wilfried Zaha in the box and Benteke rolled the ball home to level the score.

Zaha gave Palace the lead in the 70th minute with a tremendous effort into the roof of the net.
The lead lasted for just 2 minutes as Hull City stored the parity with Adam Diomande who showed some great feet in the box.
Hull were back in lead in the 78th minute with Snodgrass and Livermore combining as Crystal Palace were stunned.

But Palace didn't give up and got their equalizer again and Wilfried Zaha was the architect as he sends a beautiful cross onto the head of substitute Frazier Campbell.

The game ended 3-3.


Burnley also hit 3 goals against Bournemouth as Jeff Hendrick stunner was the goal of the game.




After going down by 2 goals inside the first 20 minutes, Bournemouth had no other option but to reply back. They did so just before halftime when Benik Afoebe pulled one back.

In the second half Burnley scored their 3rd with George Boyd as Bournemouth only found a late goal through Charlie Daniels to make scoreline look a bit respectable.


Swansea City also hit 3 goals against Sunderland in the bottom of the table clash.



The battle of relegation took place in Liberty stadium as Swansea and Sunderland went head to head.

Sunderland last week defeated the champions Leicester City and hoped for another win against struggling Swansea City.

But the 3 goals in second half sealed a win for the Swansea City as Sunderland moved to the bottom of the table and Swansea City pulled out of the bottom three. It was just third win of the season for the Swans.


A Jamie Vardy treble inspired Leicester City to a 4-2 win against Manchester City



The game of the night took place at King Power stadium. Leicester City had struggled this season and couldn't find their rhythm, but against they seemed to have found the lost touch as Jamie Vardy and Andy King scored goals inside first 5 minutes to stun Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.



It looked like the champions reinvigorated their lost spirit and put up a goal feast. Jamie Vardy grabbed his 2nd from a brilliant counterattack as Riyad Mahrez provided an assist.

City were 3-0 down at halftime.
In the second half, City were punished again by Vardy for their sloppy defending as Vardy hit his 3rd of the night.

City got two late goals as consolation but it was Jamie Vardy's night all the way. As the champions found their lost touch in the night when it mattered. 

City remained at 4th place in the table.



In LaLiga Santander, Barcelona ran out 3-0 winners away against Osasuna. Luis Suarez opened the scoring before a Leo Messi double sealed 3 points for the Catalans.





Sergio Ramos is the saviour again



Real Madrid took lead through a brilliant strike from outside the box by Alvaro Morata in the 50th minute but Deportivo hit 2 goals in as many minutes through Joselu as Real Madrid were left trailing at the Bernabeu, with 67 minutes on the clock.
It was the last league game of the year for Real Madrid before they travel to Japan for the Club World Cup. A win was must for Los Blancos as they had to keep their six point cushion at the top.

Substitute Vasquez and Mariano combined to store the parity with 84 minutes on the clock. A deadly cross by Vasquez found Mariano's header as the youngster proved his worth in style.

Stage was set for Sergio Ramos as in the 93rd minute of the match, Toni Kroos' delivery from a corner found Ramos' header to win 3 points for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the private box.
It was an ecstatic moment and Real Madrid proved why they are on this unbeaten streak. It was an amazing header by Ramos almost inevitable.
3 points in the bag and the unbeaten streak is upto 35.


Real Sociedad won 3-2 against Valencia




Valencia went 2 goal down by at Anoeta but showed great spirit to fight back. Willian Jose grabbed a double in the first 25 minutes. But Valencia grabbed one back through Dani Parejo penalty. 

The second half was more pulsating as Carlos Vela missed a penalty totake the game away from Valencia. The dram continued as Joao Cancelo saw 2nd yellow in the 83rd minute to add misery to the Valencia.

Sociedad scored their 3rd in the 91st minute as the game was put to bed but Valencia grabbed one back in 94th minute as they showed great fighting spirit.

It ended 3-2 at Anoeta and Valencia are now 7 games without a win in LaLiga Santander. 

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Thursday, 8 December 2016

UEFA Champions League round up

As this season's UEFA Champions League group stages came to an end, take a look at all the results from Matchday 6.



Juventus 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb




Juventus secured first place in Group H with relative ease, cruising past Dinamo Zagreb to stay unbeaten in the season's competition thanks to second half strikes from Gonzalo Higuain and Daniele Rugani. 


Lyon 0-0 Sevilla




In France, Lyon and Sevilla played out the night's only goalless draw as the Spanish side secured qualification for the last 16, meaning that their three-year streak of winning the Europa League will finally come to an end. 


Porto 5-0 Leicester City


Leicester City had already qualified for the knockout stages as the group leaders, so Claudio Ranieri named a completely 'out of the box' squad, which included players who were playing their first match in two years.
As expected, Porto thrashed the English Champions.




Andre Silva's goal in the sixth minute set the tone for a miserable night for the Foxes, with Jesús Corona smashing home a stunning volley to double the damage not long after as Ben Hamer looked on hopelessly. 

Hamer's presence was indicative of just how much Claudio Ranieri was willing to rotate his side in the match - the goalkeeper making his first appearance for the reigning Premier League champions for almost two years. 




Yacine Brahimi made it three with a slick backheel on the verge of half-time, with Silva's second goal from the penalty spot meaning that Leicester conceded four goals for the first time in a single European game. It was 5-0 shortly afterwards. It didn't matter. 

Porto's win meant that they will go into Monday's draw in Group G's second place behind Leicester.

Club Brugge 0-2 FC Kobenhaven


Copenhagen fell just short of the knockout round despite a 2-0 win over Club Brugge. 


Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Monaco




Both the teams had their place secured in the knockouts, but it was a moral boosting win for Bayer Leverkusen.
Monaco, on the other hand, will be disappointed with the performance although they finish the group at the top.
Goals from Vladlen Yurchenko and Julian Brandt gave the German side a 2-0 lead before a late own goal put the result beyond doubt.

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 CSKA Moscow



The North London club secured a place in Europa league as they had their first win in European competitions at their new stadium, Wembley.

Spurs failed to qualify for the champions league last 16 after losing too much of points at home, but will play in Europa league thanks to a 3-1 win over Russian outfits CSKA Moscow.

Spurs were 1-0 down at the middle of first half when Andre Dzagoev gave the visitors the lead.

But, Dele Alli and Harry Kane both struck from inside the box before the break to swing the game back in favour of the north London side, who welcomed back Toby Alderweireld into first team action midway through the second half as they rounded out a 3-1 win. 


Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund


Los Blancos extend their unbeaten streak to 34 games, but failed to top the group as they blew away a 2 goal advantage in the second half.


A brace from Karim Benzema put Real Madrid 2-0 up but strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus gave Dortmund the draw and a point to secure top spot.

The holders finish the Group as runner-up.


Legia Warsaw 1-0 Sporting CP


In the fight for the group's Europa League spot, Legia Warsaw triumphed over Sporting to leapfrog the Portuguese side thanks to a first-half strike from Guilherme.


The draws for last 16 will be declared on December 12. 


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