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. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

FA Cup 3rd round draws are out- Defending champions to host Reading

The Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round draws are out and Manchester United will host Reading, Manchester City will travel to East London to face West Ham and Chelsea will face Notts County.

A total of 64 teams, inclusive of the 20 top flight teams and 24 Championship sides will compete for the prestigious trophy.

The draw will add more stress to the schedule of Premier League sides.

Holders Manchester United will face Reading at home, while Manchester City will travel to London to another Premier League side West Ham.
Chelsea will face Notts County and Arsenal will travel to Preston.

Everton will challenge Leicester in an all Premier League clash. While other club from Merseyside, Liverpool will play hosts to Newport County of Plymouth.

See the full draw below.

Ipswich v Lincoln or Oldham

Barrow v Rochdale

Manchester United v Reading

Hull v Swansea

Sunderland v Burnley

QPR v Blackburn

Millwall v Bournemouth

West Ham v Manchester City

Brighton v Charlton or MK Dons

Blackpool v Barnsley

Wigan v Nottingham Forest

Birmingham v Newcastle

Chelsea v Notts County of Peterborough

Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday

West Brom v Derby

Everton v Leicester

Liverpool v Newport County of Plymouth

Wycombe v Stourbridge or Northampton

Watford v Burton

Preston v Arsenal

Cardiff v Fulham

Stoke v Wolves

Cambridge v Leeds

Bristol City v Shrewsbury or Fleetwood

Huddersfield v Port Vale

Tottenham v Aston Villa

Brentford v Halifax or Eastleigh

Bolton v Crystal Palace

Norwich v Southampton

Sutton United v AFC Wimbledon

Accrington Stanley v Luton

Rotherham v Oxford or Macclesfield​

All ties to be played between 6-9th of January 2017.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Fabregas avoids punishment

Chelsea and Manchester City are charged by FA for failing to control their players as a consequence of what happened at the Etihad on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas escapes punishment over his part in the incident. 

The FA have charged both clubs under Rule E20 and given them until 6pm on Thursday to respond. An independent regulatory commission will then decide what action to take, and previous behaviour will be taken into account with Chelsea now facing a sixth charge for this offence.

A brawl which was followed up as a result of cynical challenge from Sergio Aguero on David Luiz saw more than 30 people involved including players, coaching staff and stewards on the pitch towards the end of Chelsea's 3-1 win. 

Fabregas was seen not reacting to Fernandinho's actions as he dragged him into the crowd. 

Taylor confirmed that Fabregas was only booked for 'adopting an aggressive attitude' so the incident was referred to a panel of three former referees to view it independently and judge whether it was a red card offence. However, they did not reach a unanimous decision.

Fernandinho was sent off for shoving Fabregas over an advertising hoarding in retaliation and City teammate Sergio Aguero also saw red for the ugly challenge on David Luiz that sparked the trouble.

The FA statement read: 'Both Manchester City and Chelsea have been charged for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative behaviour.

'It follows an incident in the 95th minute of the game on Saturday [December 3 2016]. Both clubs have until 6pm on 8 December 2016 to respond to the charge.

'Meanwhile, Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas will not face any further action in relation to an incident involving City's Fernandinho.

'Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite referees. Each referee panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence. For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.'

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

5 star Arsenal rout West Ham as Alexis stole the show, and other Premier league results

Saturday saw a lot of goals in the premier league, it all started with Chelsea as they came from behind to beat Manchester City and extend their run to 8 straight premier league wins.

Manchester City took the lead right at the end of first half through a Gary Cahill own goal. In the 2nd half City could have been 2-3 goals up, had they have taken their chances as Kevin De Bruyne came closest to double the lead but his effort came off the crossbar from 2-3 yards out.

Chelsea didn't look back after this as Diego Costa(60'),  substitute Willian(70') and genius Eden Hazard(90') scored goals to punish City at the Etihad.

City finished the game with 9 men as Sergio Aguero was shown red for a horrendous challenge on David Luiz and in the aftermath of the incident, Fernandinho was also sent off for grabbing Cesc Fabregas' neck. It was completely lack of discipline from City players who had a frustrating evening due to some questionable refereeing and the punishment by league leaders Chelsea.

Chelsea stay top of the Premier league while Manchester City lost their first game at home since March. 

Alexis Sanchez stole the show as Arsenal put 5 past the Hammers.

West Ham's miserable season continues as the North London club ran riot.

Arsenal completely dismantled the West Ham defense at Alexis Sanchez was at the heart of it. He grabbed a 14 minute hat-trick un the second half to take the match ball home.

The gunners dominated the game and left no loopholes. With this win Arsenal move above Manchester City to 2nd place, but Liverpool is only a point behind with a match in hand.

Sanchez and Ozil combined to give Arsenal the lead following an error from West Ham defense. Ozil scored his 8th goal of the season.

In the 2nd half Arsenal punished West Ham defense by scoring 4 goals, 3 of them by Sanchez and one brilliant strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Andy Carroll scored the goal for West Ham which was nothing but a mere consolation.

Alexis Sanchez, with his treble is now joint top scorer in Premier league this season, with 11 goals. Chelsea's Diego Costa also has 11 goals.

In other results,

Crystal Palace scored 3 against Southampton at Selhurst Park. Christian Benteke scored a brace. It was a much needed win for Palace as they are fighting a relegation battle.

Sunderland defeated defending champions Leicester City at the Stadium of Light. Black Cats won the game 2-1.

Tottenham rout Swanse City 5-0. With braces from Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane. Tottenham, who suffered their first defeat of the season last week at Stamford Bridge at the hands of Chelsea hit back in style.

With this win they keep in touch of top 4.

Stoke City beat Burnley 2-0 at home.

West Bromwich Albion beat Watford 3-1 at home. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Honours even at the Emirates, FC Bayern shocked in Russia and other Champions league results

Matchday 5 had some real drama and some brilliant matches. Some great comebacks and some shock defeats.

Group A

Arsenal vs PSG

Arsenal and PSG were fighting for the top spot in group. Both have not lost any match in group stage this season and gave it all out for a win at Emirates.

PSG started the game on the front foot and it took them just 17 minutes to grab the opener, a nice build up saw Thiago Motta finding Blaise Matuidi on the left, who ran into the box and squared it for Edinson Cavani at the far post, who poked the ball home.

Arsenal struggled to get hold of possession for the major part of the first half but somehow managed to earn a penalty after Olivier Giroud robbed Krychowiak off possession just outside the box and found Mesut Ozil, who played a brilliant reverse pass to Alexis Sanchez on the right, Krychowiak came sliding in after Alexis cut inside and just clipped his right foot. The referee pointed to the spot and Olivier Giroud leveled the score at the stroke of halftime.

In the 2nd half Arsenal looked completely a different team, sustaining continuous pressure on PSG and thus found their reward on the hour mark, when Carl Jenkinson, teed up by Sanchez, fired a cross in the box from the right and Marquinhos clearance ricochetoff shin's of Marco Veratti for an own goal.

PSG didn't hold back and the substitute Hatem Ben Arfa proved to be the culprit for Arsenal. His corner found Lucas Moura free on the far side, who was left unmarked and he sent his header towards goal which took a subtle touch off Alex Iwobi's head and went away from Ospina. Arsenal paid back for the own goal with an own goal thus leveling the score again.

Both managers threw everything to grab a winner but it ended all square at the Emirates and PSG lead Arsenal at top of the table with one matchday left.

In another group A match, Basel and Ludogorets played out a 0-0 draw in Bulgaria. The fight for a place in Europa league is still on.

Group B

The most trickiest group as 3 teams are in contention for the top two places.

SSC NAPOLI vs DYNAMO KYIV

The hosts were left frustrated by the Ukrainian side. After having so many chances, they had only themselves to blame as lack of sharpness in the final third cost them two points. Napoli are still top of the group but they would be really upset as they could have wrapped the group as table toppers.

They face Benfica away on last matchday.

BESIKTAS vs BENFICA

The most incredible match of the night as Besiktas came from three goal deficit to earn a point. Benfica scored three goals in the first 30 minutes of the match and had plenty of other chances but Besiktas rallied in the second half and Vincent Aboubakar leveled the score in the 89th minute to snatch a point and Benfica would really have been kicking themselves as they blew away a three goal lead and the chance to advance to knockout stages.

Group C

Celtic vs Barcelona

Two Lionel Messi goals on either side of the half helped Barcelona win in Glasgow and thus advancing to knockout stages while securing top spot in the Group.

Neymar assisted the first goal as it was a vintage Barcelona build up and Lionel Messi finished it.
In the 2nd half Suarez was brought down in the box and Lionel Messi stepped up to grab his second of the night and thus sealing all three points and top spot in the Group.
Leo Messi is the top scorer in group stages this season with 9 goals in 4 matches he has started. He is chasing Cristiano Ronaldo's record of most goals in Group stages. 

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's side last game in Champions league saw them defeat Barcelona at the Etihad.
City could have challenged Barcelona for the top spot but they only managed a draw against a sturdy Gladbach defense.

Gladbach took the lead in 23rd minute through Raffael after mounting early pressure on City's defence.
City equalized after a brilliant play through David Silva in the first half stoppage time.

2nd half saw both teams receiving Red Cards for poor challenges. First Lars Stindl of Gladbach barged into Otamendi and saw red, then minutes later Fernandinho pulled Raffael off the ball and was shown red. Though City protested for their red card as they thought it was harsh.
Both teams shared the spoils in the end and Manchester City with the draw went through to knockout stages behind Barcelona.

Group D

FC Rostov vs FC Bayern 

The biggest upset of the matchday 5 happened in Russia when the mighty Bayern lost 3-2 to FC Rostov.

Rostov produced a brave performance against the 5 times European champions. Althiugh Bayern went ahead through Douglas Costa when Renato Sanches ran into the box past defenders and fired a shot, the goalkeeper saved it but a horrible clearance from Rostov send the ball in the path of Costa who launched a thumping strike into the goal. FC Rostov equalized just 8 minutes later when Costa misplaced a pass and Poloz pounced on it and he send the ball to Sardar Azmoun who showed brilliant composure inside the box , taking advantage of Boateng's slip and send the ball past Bayern goalkeeper.

In the 48th minute a controversial penalty decision was given when Rostov's Noboa goes down under a challenge from Boateng, replay showed he got the part of the ball but referee didn't hesitate in pointing to the spot and Poloz buried the chance to give FC Rostov the lead.
Bayern stored parity just 2 minutes later, after a good link-up play between Renato Sanches and Ribery, who then teed up Bernat to finish home. It was blistering strike into the ceiling of the goal from the left-back.

Rostov continued their confident play and earned a free kick in the 64th minute. The free kick specialist of the team, Christian Noboa, took the charge and sent the ball around the wall and into the goal. It was a stunning strike from the specialist.

Home crowd got behind their team as it was deafening atmosphere in the stadium.
Rostov were leading the match and hold their nerves in the dying moments to beat Bayern.
It was their first ever champions league win and it would go down as the most memorable night in the club's history.

Bayern will now finish second in the group behind Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid vs PSV Eindhoven

Atletico Madrid were the only team to have a 100% record in this season's champion league and they capped it with another comfortable win against the Dutch club.

Atletico won 2-0 on the night with goals from Kevin Gameiro assisted by Griezmann and Antoine Griezmann. Both goals were scored in the 2nd half.
Griezmann was the man of the match for his one assist and a goal.

The win saw Atletico Madrid topped the group with one game to spare.

This is how the matchday 5 unfolded and 12 teams have already qualified for the knockouts while remaining 4 positions will be fulfilled on the last matchday.
Some groups are still waiting for their table toppers as the last matchday will surely be an exciting one.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Liverpool, Manchester United held while Yaya Toure has a fairytale return for City

Manchester United played some good football at Old Trafford against the Gunners. 

Red devils dominated Arsenal for a majority of the game. They had a penalty appeal discarded when Antonio Valencia after some neat footwork got into the box but was brought down by Nacho Monreal. Everybody included Mourinho thought it was a penalty but referee denied. While first half was goalless, it set up the pace for second half and a goal was inevitable.

With Manchester United finding the back of the net in the 69th minute through Juan Mata, the player who had to prove himself against a manager who sold him earlier.
United made a good move down the right with Pogba playing a through pass to Ander Herrera on the right flank who pulled it back in the box where Juan Mata was unmarked and made a neat finish.

There were some other chances for Manchester United but they failed to score. Arsene Wenger was determined to end his winless run at Old Trafford, so he brought Olivier Giroud on the field.
Arsenal kept digging for the equalizer and they found it in the 89th minute when Olivier Giroud made a majestic leap to meet Oxlade Chamberlain's cross from the right wing.

The match ended with spoils shared by two juggernauts of the Premier League. Arsenal remain 4th with 25 points and United on 6th with 19 points.

Liverpool were held for a goalless draw at Saint Mary's. 

Credit : Reuters

Reds had a frustrating day out as they failed to find a goal with Coutinho, Firmino, Sadio Mane all came agonizingly close but failed to find the back of the net.

Although they still remain at top of the table but they wouldn't deny the fact that they could have extended the lead and solidified their position as league leaders.

City wins at Selhurst Park 

Yaya Toure made his first premier league start under Pep Guardiola and he revered the occasion by scoring a brace.

City were kept silent until the 39th minute when Yaya Toure after receiving a pass in the box from the right from Aguero, exchanged a little one-two with Nolito before launching an emphatic strike into the back of the net.
City led Crystal Palace at halftime.
In the second half Palace ramp up their pursuit of an equalizer, pressurizing City and eventually got their reward. It was the half time substitute Conor Wickham, who, after receiving a pass from Wilfried Zaha, made a bit if space for himself and strike the ball through Bravo and into the goal.

City had to wait till 83rd minute to find the winner. And it was the Ivorian again, a good delivery into the box from the corner by Kevin DeBruyne and Yaya Toure made one of the simplest of finishes from 5 yards out.

City held onto their lead and won the game 2-1. City on level points with Liverpool.

Other results:- 

• Stoke City 0-1 AFC Bournemouth
• Everton 1-1 Swansea City
• Watford 2-1 Leicester City
• Sunderland 3-0 Hull City

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Transfer Round Up

Get the latest news and rumours about the transfer market

Harry Kane puts Tottenham contract talks on hold, Manchester United on alert 

England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane has yet to sign a new contract with the North London side. He is reportedly asking £120 a week salary, which Spurs are not prepared to pay at this time. 

Manchester United have kept tab on Harry Kane for last 18 months and according to reports from Daily Star, Red Devils could make a bid in region around £50m to bring the striker to Old Trafford ahead of next season. 

Tottenham still in hunt to sign Bruma

According to reports from Turkish journal, Taksam, Spurs have not given up on dynamic Galatasaray winger Bruma. 

They earlier had an offer rejected by Galatasaray in summer. 

Daily Mirror claims that Spurs are not happy with Mamadou Sissoko's start to life at White Hart Lane and want to bring the winger to boost their chances of winning a Premier League title. 

Joe Allen to stay at Stoke 

According to reports from Daily Express, Stole City chairman Peter Coates said that Stoke need not to sell their best players in January transfer window. 

Joe Allen has been in an exceptional form and he hopes that he will stay with The Potteries for a long time to come. 

Elseid Hysaj to replace Matteo Darmian in January? 

The 22 year old Napoli defender has been one of the best defenders in Serie A last season starting 37 of 38 games. José Mourinho is eyeing the Albanian as a replacement of Matteo Darmian with an offer of £26m. 

Darmian has failed to gain a spot for himself in the starting line-up under Mourinho. 

Manchester United to bring Andrea Belotti to solve goal crisis? 

The Torino striker has been in an impeccable form, gaining attention from worldwide. While he has a contract until 2020 with the club and reports are there Torino want him to sign an extension and also will insert a buy-out clause in his contract. 

According to reports from an Italian journal, Manchester United will try signing him to solve their goal crisis.

Although United have Ibrahimovic in the side, they have the least goals scored in the Premier League this season among the top 6 sides. 

A fee around €50m will be ideal to lure him away from Torino. 

Manchester clubs in a battle to sign Serge Aurier? 

Reports from Daily Star claim that, City will try to hijack Manchester United's bid for PSG right back Serge Aurier. 

There were reports that United scouts were present in France's friendly against Ivory Coast last Tuesday to watch Serge Aurier. 

But according to latest rumours, Pep Guardiola wants to sign him as a first right back choice for the team. 

It will be interesting to see who wins this battle between both Manchester clubs. 

Chelsea to loan out Loftus-Cheek in January

Chelsea manager has prepared to send out youngster Loftus-Cheek on loan in January in order to give him more playing time. Loftus-Cheek has struggled to find a place in Conte's starting line-up. He needs regular football to develop as a player and Chelsea are reportedly ready to accept offers from rival clubs too. 

So these were some latest rumours in the transfer market. 

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