The first victory of Smolov in Spain
After the move of Fyodor Smolov to Celta, Russian fans began to closely monitor the team from Vigo. The same thing happened at the turn of the century, when Alexander Mostovoy and Valery Karpin played for the Galicians. For Smolov himself, last Sunday was doubly important: on February 9, he celebrated his 30th anniversary and for the first time received a place in the starting lineup of Celta. About the decision of the mentor Oscar Garcia became known a few days before the meeting at the stadium "Balaidos".
On a visit to Severta, who was in great need of glasses, she was granted Sevilla, which, if successful, could return to third place in the standings.
However, the game scenario turned out to be unsuccessful for the guests, although everything started well. In the middle of the first half, Sevilla led thanks to a goal by Youssef En-Nesiri and could squeeze an outsider long before the end of the meeting, but did not realize a number of promising moments.
Retribution for extravagance came in the 78th minute, when Iago Aspas just struck from an acute angle. Already in the compensated time, Pione Sisto, after a swift combination, sent the ball to the far corner with a rebound from the bar - 2: 1. Smolov on the field at that time was gone. In the 88th minute he was replaced by Santiago Lorenzo.
On his birthday, the Russians had a hard time. He has not yet managed to get the optimal form, because the season in the RPL will resume only after a month, and in training Fedor has to force his own training.
However, in the reporting match, the forward tried very hard, did a lot of work and even received a yellow card. In his asset also appear two shots on goal. I remember the shot from outside the penalty area during the first half, when the goalkeeper caught the ball in the lower corner with some effort. In addition, the Celta rookie made 12 accurate and 10 inaccurate passes and violated the rules three times. It is modest for the central striker, but it is also important that Smolov may have brought good luck to his new club. The Celts interrupted the eight-match losing streak (five draws and three losses) and left the relegation zone. Celta will be preparing for the next round in 17th place, having 20 points in the asset.
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Me 30🔥🤷🏻♂️ Changing decades be like🤘🏼 Hala Celta⚽️⚽️
Publication by Fedor Smolov (@ smolovfedor_10) Feb 9, 2020 @ 11:45 am PST
Victories of Real Madrid and Barcelona
Real Madrid experienced certain difficulties in the away game with Osasuna. "Creamy" arrived in Pamplona after a series of unpleasant events. Firstly, in the middle of last week, they could not reach the semifinal of the Spanish Cup. The disappointment of Madrid a little brightened up by the fact that the “Barcelona” suffered a similar fate.
Secondly, on the eve of the game, the coach of Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane got into an accident, heading to train the team. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the road incident. After observing all the legal formalities, the coach moved to another car and continued the trip.
At first, it seemed that the black streak of Real Madrid would continue. At least in the 14th minute of the match, Garcia Unai put Osasuna ahead. However, even before the end of the first half, Isco equalized, and Sergio Ramos turned the game in favor of Real Madrid. Thanks to this, the 33-year-old defender, who has not been different since November, has established a unique achievement. The captain of "Real" is the first and so far the only player to score in Example 17 years in a row. For the first time, Ramos scored in Sevilla back in 2004.
At the end of the match, Lucas Vazquez consolidated the advantage of Real Madrid with the transfer of Karim Benzema. The duty pass in the opening meeting of the championship elevated the 32-year-old Frenchman to the rank of the best assistant in the history of the Madrid club. Moreover, the number of assists for the “Real” (132) Benzema ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo himself (131).
Already in the added time, who replaced Luke Jovic set the final score - 1: 4. So, despite all the problems, Real Madrid retained the leadership in the Example.
According to a similar scenario, the game of Barcelona with Betis in Seville (3: 2) took place. In the course of the first half, the hosts twice pulled ahead through the efforts of Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir, who earned a deletion towards the end of the meeting.
But the genius of Lionel Messi helped the Catalans snatch victory. The Argentinean did not score that evening, but he gave three assists and helped distinguish Frankie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Clement Langle. Thus, in the standings Examples “Real” and “Barcelona” are still shared by three points.
Zeros of Bavaria and Leipzig
In the central match of the 21st round of the German championship met Bayern Munich and Leipzig. From the meeting at the "Alliance Arena" they expected a real spectacle. However, the meeting of the first and second teams of the Bundesliga by and large disappointed. The home team had a lot more possession of the ball (70% of playing time), but could not convert long rallies into dangerous shots. As a result, the Munich team only shot three shots on target, the guests only once. As a result of a rather boring game, a goalless draw was recorded. Thus, the status quo remained in the champion race.
To a large extent, the Dortmund Borussia contributed to this, on Saturday losing to Bayer in Leverkusen (3: 4). Wards Lucien Favre in case of victory could push Leipzig from the second line, but instead they now risk leaving the third position. This will happen if the Mönchengladbach Borussia take at least a point in their home game against Cologne. This meeting was also due to take place on Sunday, but was delayed due to a powerful cyclone. The organizers admitted that they could not guarantee the safety of the fans and staff of the stadium. For the same reasons, a number of games were canceled in other European countries.
So, in the Netherlands and Belgium, because of the hurricane, it was necessary to postpone all matches, in England - two meetings of the Championship and the game Manchester City - West Ham. The fate of the Sheffield United vs. Bournemouth bout was almost in doubt until the last moment. But the starting whistle on the Brammel Lane still sounded, and the match ended with the victory of Sheffield - 2: 1.
⚠ MATCH POSTPONED ⚠
Due to extreme and escalating weather conditions and in the interests of supporter and staff safety, today's @premierleague match against West Ham has been postponed.
🔵 # MCIWHU # ManCitypic.twitter.com / 6tcPM4t5OM
The incredible Milan derby and the change of leader
An impressive comeback in the Milan derby allowed Inter to lead the Serie A standings. At first, everything turned out quite unpromising for the black and blue ones. For the break, the nominal guests were two goals apart. One after another, the Rossoneri fans were pleased with Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who already scored a goal in this confrontation in the third decade (in 2006-2009, the Swede played for Inter, in 2010-2012 for Milan).
However, in the second half, wards Antonio Conte answered with four goals scored. Their authors were Marcelo Brozovic, Matias Vesino Falero, Stefan de Vrey and Romelu Lukaku (4: 2).
Now Inter has 54 points. Juventus has the same amount, which on Saturday lost to Verona (1: 2), but the Milanese are ahead of the Turin in additional indicators.
🙌 | Gioia
Tutti assieme, per festeggiare una vittoria MEMORABILE! 🥰 # InterMilan 4⃣-2⃣ # DerbyMilano # FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/VOD0t2RHuL
And in the back of the “Old Signore” breathes “Lazio” (53 points). The Romans away were stronger than Parma (1: 0). The victory was brought to them by the exact blow of the former striker of the Moscow Lokomotiv Felipe Caichedo in the 41st minute.