29th trophy for Guardiola and Prince William on the podium
The main event of the day was the final match of the English League Cup, in which the current winner of the Manchester City trophy and Aston Villa met at Wembley Stadium. Of course, the “citizens” were considered the clear favorites of the confrontation.
And they fully justified their status. Already in the middle of the first half, the wards of Josep Guardiola almost removed all questions about the winner of the meeting, having distinguished themselves twice. Sergio Aguero and Rodrigo Hernandez scored goals in the team.
True, shortly before the break, Aston Villa revived the intrigue, reducing the gap to a minimum through the efforts of Mbwani Samatta. In the second half, the “lions" desperately tried to recoup, especially in the stands they were supported by Prince William, a big fan of the team, but they could not score the second goal.
Thus, Manchester City won the League Cup for the third time in a row and became the second team to take this trophy successively three times or more. Also, the "townspeople" won the eighth trophy under Guardiol and the sixth final of six, led by a Spanish specialist. For him, this trophy became the 29th in his career.
Misfire favorites in the Premier League and harsh criticism from Roy Keane
Meanwhile, in the Premier League synchronously lost points, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Mankunians significantly complicated life in a match with Everton own goalkeeper. Already in the third minute, David de Gea managed to knock the ball right into Dominic Calvert-Lewin, from which the shell flew into the net.
Guests recouped shortly before the break thanks to an accurate long-range shot by Brun Fernandes. The newcomer of Manchester United marked the third goal in the team. In the second half, the wards of Ole Gunnar Sulscher struggled to snatch victory, but failed to do so.
And de Geah was most severely commented on by Roy Keane. The former captain of Manchester United, known for his brutality, admitted that he would “lynch” the Spaniard in the locker room for such a blot.
If the Mankunians initially had to recoup, then Tottenham twice scored in the home game against Wolverhampton, but as a result they were left completely without points - 2: 3. The goals of Stephen Bergwain and Serge Aurier were not enough to win. In the second half, the guests scored twice and not only won, but also beat the opponent in the standings.
- Reuters
Draw “Atletico” and “match thriller” in Seville
In addition to El Clasico, in which Real Madrid beat Barcelona, Spain had enough other interesting events. For example, “Atletico” once again lost points. This time the Madrid failed to beat Espanyol on the road. Diego Simeone left for the break, losing in the long run, but in the second half he managed to recoup.
Competitors in the fight for third place took advantage of the opponent’s misfire. Sevilla had a very difficult match with Osasuna. After the first half, nothing foreshadowed the team problems, because it led - 2-0. And at the very beginning of the second rival, in addition, remained in the minority. But this did not stop the middle peasant in an incredible way to distinguish himself twice and recoup. However, in the time added by the referee, the Sevilla footballers showed their character and scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute.
And “Getafe” retained the nerve cells for its fans and defeated the outsider “Mallorca” in a corporate style with a minimum score, thereby providing invaluable assistance to “Celte” Fedor Smolov.
Gift for Bavaria
In the Bundesliga, Leipzig presented an excellent gift to the leading Bavaria. The main pursuer of the Munich team, who until recently himself headed the standings, at home shared his points with Bayer, who scored a good move.
The teams exchanged goals scored in the middle of the first half. The score was opened by Leverkusenz midfielder Leon Bailey, but after three minutes Patrick Chic restored the status quo on the scoreboard. In the future, the victory could have been won by the guests rather than the hosts, but the fans did not see more goals, and Leipzig was already three points behind Bavaria.
- globallookpress.com
- © Hartmut Boesener via www.imago-images.de
Performance record in Italy and hat-trick Zapata
In a busy fight with Italy's coronavirus, only two matches took place on Sunday, but one of them turned out to be truly amazing. Atalanta, close to reaching the quarter finals of the Champions League, scored seven goals against Lecce.
At the same time, the first half turned out to be very difficult for the Bergamaskans. They quickly scored two goals, but managed to lose the gained advantage before the break. But in the second half, the guests did not leave the opponent any chance, and Duvan Zapata scored a hat-trick.
This match was the most productive in the Italian championship in almost three years. In May 2017, Lazio defeated Sampdoria with a score of 7: 3. At the same time, “Atalanta” for the third time this season sent seven goals to the opponent's goal in Serie A. Earlier from the wards of Gian Piero Gasperini suffered “Udinese” and “Torino”.
It is not surprising that Bergamaski with 70 goals (on average about three goals per match) by a large margin are the most productive team of the tournament.
The victory of “Roma” in Sardinia and the accomplishment of Mkhitaryan
No less spectacular match was held by Cagliari with Roma, who scored seven goals for two. The team from Sardinia opened an account in the middle of the first half, but the Romans answered with three goals, while Nikola Kalinich scored a double.
Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not leave the field without a goal. In the end, he scored the fourth goal of his team, and a little earlier he scored in his asset a point for an assist. It is curious that the player scores two points for performance in the second Serie A match in a row.