Kane's effective return
The match of the 27th round of the Premier League submarine between “Burnley” and “Tottenham” almost ended in hand-to-hand combat. This is due to the sensational defeat of the Londoners fighting for medals. After the final whistle, guest mentor Mauricio Pochettino was so annoyed with the misfire that he almost lashed out with fists at judge Mike Dean. As a result, the men spoke in raised voices, and the specialist was restrained by referee assistants and even some players.
Already at the post-match press conference, the Argentine apologized for his behavior and admitted that he was wrong. But even an apology may not save the coach from disqualification.
“Only we are to blame for today's defeat. This match was key for Tottenham in the title race. We missed a huge opportunity. The team wanted to win. At the end of the meeting there were a lot of emotions. We understand how this game was important for us. We were disappointed. I made a mistake. I had to go to the locker room and drink some water. Stupidity happens, and you react. Perhaps I will apologize to the referee, ”said Pochettino.
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Another important event of the meeting was the return to service of Harry Kane after an ankle injury two weeks ahead of schedule. Forward not only spent on the field all 90 minutes, but equalized in the middle of the second half. True goal "Tottenham" did not help, because in the end the hosts still pulled out a victory.
Hodgson Record
Another important event is the record of Roy Hodgson, head coach of the Crystal Palace. An experienced specialist became the oldest trainer in the history of the Premier League. On the game with “Lester”, he led the team at the age of 71 years and 198 days and for six days improved the achievement of ex-mentor “Manchester United” Bobby Robson.
The third place in this list is taken by another former mankuniantsev coach Alex Ferguson (71 years, 139 days).
“Crystal Palace” in the historic match congratulated Hodgson with a crushing victory - 4: 1.
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First hat trick
And on Friday in the championship of England another significant event took place. On the road, Watford smashed Cardiff City with a hat trick of Gerard Deulofeu. It is curious that the Spaniard in the current season did not shine with high performance, since there were only three goals in the Premier League before the reporting match.
Yes, and this hat-trick was for the attacker first in his career, if you do not take into account three goals, which he recorded at his own expense in one of the games for Barcelona B in Segunda.
The current season has already become for Gerard the most productive in his career, because he had never scored more than four before, and this time he has already distinguished himself seven times in all tournaments.
Three balls from Messi
But the main event on Saturday, of course, was another benefit of Lionel Messi in Example. The Argentinian never falls below a certain level, but in some matches he comes true inspiration of genius.
That is exactly what happened during the confrontation of Sevilla and Barcelona. Just Lionel’s partners turned out far from everything that day, and after the first half the Catalans were surprisingly inferior. Moreover, both missed ball Ernesto Valverde wards have organized themselves.
Messi before the break was marked by a handsome goal. The tenth number of “Barca” struck the meeting exactly under the crossbar after the filing of Ivan Rakitic on the left.
After the break, the football player continued the performance. In the middle of the second half, he struck a “radio-controlled” strike into the near nine from the penalty line, taking advantage of a partner’s discount.
Finally, in the end of the match, Messi finished off his opponent by himself. First, with a sixth sense, he predicted a rebound from the defender's foot and threw the goalkeeper, and then sent a date with the goalkeeper Luis Suarez - 4: 2.
After the match, Sevilla head coach Pablo Machin was laconic: "We did not know how to stop the best player in the world."
By the way for Messi, this hat-trick became the 50th anniversary in his career. 44 of them he designed in football, “Barca”, and another six - in the national team of Argentina. At the same time, the main rival Lionel for the title of the best footballer of the planet of recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo, has 51 hat-tricks.
The defeat of "Seville" allowed to climb to fourth place in the standings Examples humble "Getafe". The team of Pepe Bordalez beat the outsider “Rayo Vallecano” at home and seriously claims to be the first in the history of the club to get into the Champions League.
The third victory of “Bavaria” and the next misfire of “Borussia”
In Germany, the third victory in a row won the “Bavaria”. Munich at home with a minimum score beat Berlin "Hertha" thanks to an accurate strike by Javi Martinez.
A successful result allowed Niko Kovacs wards to catch up with Borussia Dortmund in the standings. Now both teams have 51 points each. True, the yellow-black match his 23rd round of the Bundesliga with “Bayer” will be held on Sunday.
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But the affairs of another “Borussia” - Menhengladbakhskoy are getting worse and worse. More recently, the team confidently held in second place, but in the last three meetings of the national championship scored only one point. On Saturday, the team of Dieter Hekking completely ceded at home to Wolfsburg - 0: 3, with Admir Mehmedi replacing the team after the break with a double of the guests.
18th Pentac Ball
In Italy, the 25th round of Serie A started with the third consecutive victory of Milan, which allowed the team to gain a foothold in fourth place. This time the Rossoneri was crushed at home by Empoli fighting for survival.
Not without the next goal of the newcomer team Krzysztof Pentek. It was he who opened the scoring at the very beginning of the second half. The ball was for the Pole fifth in five games for Milan and 18th in the current season of Serie A. In the tournament scorers, he is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has one more direct hit. Not surprisingly, Pontek in the new team does not cease to admire.
“Krzysztof successfully mastered and works hard, but he is not one of those who excel in training. He takes care of his condition, does everything based on his own feelings. It is practical, focused on important things and prepares for each match. On the eve of each game, Pentek asks coaches about the characteristics of the opponent’s defenders. All the details are important to him, ”quotes the words of Milan head coach Gennaro Gattuso Football Italia.
Double Mbappa
And in France, Kilian Mbappé continues to score at an industrial rate. On Saturday, his PSG confidently beat Nim, and the forward himself issued a double. In the current season of Ligue 1, the young striker now has 22 goals in 20 matches, that is, on average, he scores more than one ball per game (1.1).
Surprisingly, according to this indicator, Mbappa is even ahead of Messi, who scored 25 goals in 23 meetings. Examples or an average of 1.08 goals per game.
Winter in Turkey
If in most of Europe at the weekend there is quite warm weather, then hot Turkey was suddenly covered by heavy snowfalls. As a result, leading in the national championship, “Istanbul” with Fedor Kudryashov in the team failed to finish the national championship match with “Bursaspor”. The teams did not spend 20 minutes on the field.
This has already happened in the history of Turkey. So, in December 2013, the Champions League match between Galatasaray and Juventus was stopped. As a result, the meeting was finished the next day, and the hosts in the 85th minute produced a fateful victory that allowed them to get into the playoffs.