Match of the Week
Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona
Big games in Europe bring big teams together and this fixture is no exception. Even in the Europa League. Manchester United looked fairly good early on with Bruno Fernandes having an effort saved by Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. But it was the Manchester United skipper who ultimately proved his team’s defensive undoing, pulling down young Barca fullback Alejandro Balde just inside the Manchester United penalty area. Robert Lewandowski was the man to take and score from the spot, giving Barca the lead at Old Trafford and on aggregate. United had a scare just before the break, as David de Gea had his botched clearance intercepted by pressing Barca forwards only for his defence to come to his aid. United then got themselves level with Fred taking down a pass from Bruno Fernandes before burying it in the bottom corner. Half an hour later United’s continuous attempts paid off as Antony provided a classy finish on the back of two blocked attempts from Garnacho and Fred, sending United through to the next round of the Europa League.
Player of the Week
Ángel Di María- FC Nantes 0-3 Juventus
Di María was back in France and back to his best. Just five minutes in he scored an absolute peach of a goal from just inside the box with the finish arcing into the opposite top corner. Quarter of an hour later Di María was called on once more to score a penalty he earnt after tearing the Nantes defence to shreds only for Nicolas Pallois to block his shot with his arm. Di María stepped up and confidently placed it past the keeper doubling I Bianconeri’s lead. It took until the seventy-eighth minute to get his hat trick as a scramble in the box leading to Dusan Vlahovic scooped the ball into the air leading to Di María getting the back of his head onto it. This proved just about enough to take over the line, despite protests from Alban Lafont- the Nantes goalkeeper.
Let Down Match of the Week:
Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
With Liverpool building some form the one team they didn’t want to face was their ‘bogey’ team. But they did just that and instead of Liverpool going out for the win they sat back and let Crystal Palace come to them. This almost proved fatal as a poor pass back from Trent Alexander-Arnold reached Jean-Philippe Mateta whose poor touch meant that he was reaching for the shot, allowing Alisson to spare Trent’s blushes. Liverpool’s best chance of the match came next as a freekick from Andrew Robertson found Joel Matip who scooped over to the back post only for Diogo Jota to hit the post because of the tight angle of the shot. Annoying missed chance turned to annoying missed chance as a freekick from Alexander-Arnold was seemingly destined to find the back of the net only for it to strike the face of his captain (Jordan Henderson). Missed chances ensued for both teams as both Mateta and Salah ended up striking the woodwork. Liverpool would have been hoping to get more out of the game before the game, Crystal Palace would have been hoping for more after.
Upset of the Week
Southampton 1-2 Grimsby Town
Ah the magic of the FA Cup. Southampton sit at the foot of the Premier League but you would still expect them to beat Grimsby, a mid table side in England’s lowest professional league (League Two).
After a missed chance from new signing Mislav Orsic, Southampton were backpedalling and a cross from Grimsby fullback Josh Emmanuel struck the arm of Southampton centre half Lyanco and after a VAR check the penalty was awarded and Gavan Holohan gave Grimsby the lead. Later, in the second half, Grimsby were awarded another penalty as the flailing arm of Duje Caleta-Car hit the back of Danilo Orsi. Holohan stepped up again and scored once more giving the Mariners a two goal lead at St Mary’s. Caleta-Car thought he had gone from zero to hero after tapping the ball in from close range to give the Saints some hope. But the tough team from the North-East held out and David toppled Goliath.
By Jake MacLeod
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