Klopp's wards triumph
Liverpool successfully started the second campaign for the main trophy of the club world Cup. The last time the Reds took part in the tournament in 2005 and then reached the finals, but there they lost to the Brazilian São Paulo. It is noteworthy that in the semifinals, the champion of the CONCACAF Champions Cup again became the rival of the Champions League winner. True, if 14 years ago Liverpool opposed the Costa Rican Deportivo Saprissa, then this time the Mexican Monterrey became the opponent of the Merseysides.
In the last four meetings with non-European teams, the Merseysiders suffered three defeats, and the debut of the reporting match also did not exclude such a development. Already in the 11th minute, an exact hit by Nabi Keita brought Liverpool forward, but after three minutes, Rogelio Mori restored the status quo.
The denouement occurred only at the 17th second of the compensated time. A substitute in the 85th minute, Roberto Firmino escaped from the guardianship of the defender and with one touch sent the ball into the net. The author of the program was Trent Alexander-Arnold, the leader in assists for the Premier League players in 2019. The English lateral has 20 assists, which is one more than the Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
As in 2005, a duel with the Brazilian team awaits in the Liverpool finals. This time, the opponent of Jurgen Klopp's squad will be Flamengo, who easily beat Saudi Al-Hilal. It is all the more remarkable that it was the red-blacks who became the first non-European team to beat the Merseysiders. In 1981, the "vultures" won a landslide victory with a score of 3: 0.
Grand Victory in the English League Cup
The Premier League leaders did not experience problems in confrontation with teams from the country's lower football divisions in the quarterfinals of the English League Cup. “Manchester United” defeated “Colchester” from their fourth championship in the field - 3-0, and Manchester City confidently took the upper hand over opponents from “Oxford” - 3: 1. Moreover, if the "Red Devils" played on their field, then the "townspeople" were visiting.
It is noteworthy that the wards of Ole Gunnar Solskher took only ten minutes to remove questions about the winner. In the period from the 51st to the 61st minutes, they scored three times. The defeat was laid by Marcus Rushford, for whom this goal was the 14th of the season and allowed him to repeat his best achievement in his career. At the same time, the Englishman could make a double, but he was prevented by the defender of the guests Ryan Jackson, who noted his own goal. The final point in the match put Anthony Martial.
Unlike the neighbor, Manchester City came forward in the middle of the first half, but allowed Oxford to recoup. At the 25th second of the second half, Matty Taylor revived the intrigue, but not for long. Rahim Sterling scored a double and crossed out the chances of the hosts to win. However, to the credit of Oxford, it is worth noting that its players acted in an over-attacking manner, having performed 18 shots on goal of the City. This became an anti-record citizens under the leadership of Josep Guardiola. The last time their goalkeeper was so often bothered in February 2016 - in a confrontation with Chelsea in the FA Cup.
The most intense was the duel of Everton and Leicester. In the middle of the first half, wards of Brendan Rogers twice upset Jordan Pickford, but at the end of the meeting the club from Liverpool managed to restore balance. First, Tom Davis scored, and in the first minute added his name on the scoreboard lit Leighton Baines. It’s all the more offensive that it was the old butterscotch who eventually became one of the meeting’s anti-heroes. Along with Jenk Tosun, he did not realize a penalty in the post-match series, which was used by the “foxes”.
Bayern Willpower and Monchengladbach's Champion Ambitions
This season, the most titled club in Germany alternates successful matches with intense ones, and the guest meeting with Freiburg was no exception. Thanks to the quick goal of Robert Lewandowski, Bayern came forward in the 16th minute, but the opponent did not think to give up. Soon after the start of the second half, Vincenzo Griffo remained undisguised in the penalty area and with a spectacular shot from the air, he opened Manuel Neuer’s goal.
The main character of the meeting was young Joshua Zirkzee, who at the time of the game turned 18 years old 210 days. He appeared on the field in the 90th minute and became the youngest Dutchman to ever score in the Bundesliga. The forward received a pass from Serge Gnabry and threw the ball between the legs of compatriot Mark Flecken. A little later, Gnabry distinguished himself and set the final result, playing on finishing after his own long-range strike.
This success allowed Bavaria to score 30 points and catch up with the third-placed Dortmund Borussia, while the bumblebee teammates from Monchengladbach again climbed to the top of the tournament table. The “foals” of the house prevailed over the Paderborn, the main outsider of the Bundesliga, and together with Leipzig they have 34 points each.
Alassan Plea showed himself most vividly. First, the Frenchman scored on the 13th second of the second half, and then helped the team earn 11-meter. Lars Stindl approached the “point” and consolidated his advantage. Another achievement designed by Patrick Herrman. The midfielder entered the field for the 140th time from the bench and caught up with Halil Altıntop, the Bundesliga record holder for this indicator.
Ronaldo series
Juventus began a new winning streak, having hardly gained the upper hand over Sampdoria. All the goals fell on the first half of the meeting: Paulo Dybala with an effective strike from the summer opened the score, Gianluca Caprari powerfully struck from the penalty area and restored equality, and the author of the winning ball was Cristiano Ronaldo, who distinguished himself in the fifth match in a row. Moreover, the goal was not only important, but also beautiful. The Portuguese in a high jump closed the canopy of Alex Sandro, breaking from a height of 256 cm. According to DAZN, for this striker needed to jump 71 cm.
The second half was remembered by a fierce struggle, which resulted in six yellow cards at once. The same Caprari distinguished himself most of all with a minus sign, having received two mustard plasters in 16 minutes. Moreover, the first was issued for talking with the referee, and the second - for a blow to the face of Merih Demiral.
The crushing victory of PSG and the success of the former opponent of “Zenith”
The current French champion PSG did not experience problems in the 1/8 finals of the League Cup. Wards of Thomas Tuchel at a party did not leave a chance for Le Manu, sending four goals into his goal. Key roles were again played by Kilian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria, who chalked up the goal and assists. At the moment, the Frenchman and the Argentinean are the leaders of League 1 in the number of effective actions - 22 and 19, respectively.
Lyon also secured a ticket to the quarter finals of the tournament. The former opponent of Zenit in the group stage of the Champions League beat Toulouse also with a score of 4: 1. Bertrand Traore scored a double, and Jean Lucas and Martin Terrier completed the rout of the opponent. The guests have a goal of prestige on account of Cuadio Kone.
Carrera's success
Former Spartak head coach Massimo Carrera scored his second victory as AEK head coach. If the strong Xanthi was defeated on the weekend, this time one of the outsiders of the Greek championship, Asteras, fell. In anticipation of the guest meeting, the players from Tripolis had a losing streak of six matches in their liabilities, but they gave a real fight to the opponent. They surpassed their counterparts in the number of shots on goal (9: 7) and lost with a minimum difference in the score of 1: 2.
Already in the seventh minute, the hosts earned the right to the 11-meter, which was confidently implemented by a regular penalty kick Petros Mantolas. And at the very beginning of the second half, the ex-forward of Rubin Marco Livaya doubled the advantage. 12 minutes before the end of the meeting, Luis Fernandez burst into the penalty area and, with a beautiful shot under the crossbar, reduced the gap, but there weren’t enough guests for more.