Liverpool players, alongside manager Jurgen Klopp, celebrate Adam Lallana's 95th-minute
winner versus Norwich at Anfield.
5-4, 3-2, 1-0. We can make a countdown out of some of last weekend's scores. The scores are respectively: Liverpool vs Norwich (you knew that one), Granada vs Getafe, Juventus vs Roma. Beautiful, right?
But you know what's more beautiful? A countdown out of last weekend's stats. Check this out:
10. Ten for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain who was born on Dec. 10 1985. The Argentine striker tallied 21 goals in 20 Serie A appearances this season after netting against Sampdoria on Sunday. Napoli defeated Sampdoria away from home 4-2.
Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain.
9. Nine for: Arsenal haven't defeated Chelsea in nine Premier League games, losing to the Gunners 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Last time Arsenal scored against Chelsea in the league was in 2013 when the Blues were under manager Rafael Benitez.
8. Eight for: Atletico Madrid conceded only eight goals in La Liga (in 21 games) as they racked another clean sheet against Sevilla in a 0-0 draw on Sunday. Diego Simeone's side conceded the least goals in all of Europe top-flight leagues.
However, Atleti is second to Barcelona, who have a game in hand, and conceded two times more goals than them, 16. Imagine if Atletico's defense was as good as their offense-- scary.
7. Seven for: Real Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adan performed seven saves against Spanish giants and former team Real Madrid to hold Los Blancos to a 1-1 draw on Sunday at Estadio Benito Villamarino. Adan played for Madrid from 2010 to 2013, making seven appearances.
Real Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adan stops the ball from making his way to Pepe.
Three years in Madrid's training ground, that's all the time he needed to learn how to read the players' shots.
6. Six for: Serie A leaders Napoli haven't lost a league game since Dec. 6. When you have Higuain scoring more goals than games played what do you expect.
5. Five for: Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal managed to go five games unbeaten to appease all criticism about him. Unfortunately, his side lost to Southampton 1-0 on Saturday to bring back the "Van Gaal must go" drama. United sits in fifth place, five points under the top four.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal after his side's loss to Southampton. Getty Images
4. Four for Forza Juve! The Italian champions overcame one of their worst start of the club's history, in which they won only one out of their first six Serie A matches.
Massimilano Allegri's side haven't lost nor tied a Serie A game in almost three months now. Juventus is only two points shy of first placed Napoli. Now that's what I call a come back. Go on, Juve!
3. Three for: Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana tallied his third goal of the season on Saturday as he netted a 95th-minute game winning goal against Norwich. What a way to bag your third goal of the season. Three is the magic number.
2. Two for: French side Paris Saint Germain scored two of the most exquisite goals we saw last weekend. Gregory van der Wiel only tapped the ball in an empty net, but this got to be one of the best team goal we've witnessed in years:
You can't even score a goal like that when you play your little brother in FIFA.
And Di Maria's volley from outside the box:
1. One for: Leicester are back to first place as they topped Stoke City 3-0 on Saturday. Jamie Vardy scored, the Foxes won-- I guess Forrest Gump is still running, right Claudio Ranieri?
The weekend is here, football fans, you know what this mean: your girlfriend will have to wait for a couple of long 90 minutes before you can reply her texts. For another electrifying round of the European football leagues await.
Really wished we could preview each games of Europe's top five leagues but if we do we'll be here until the next World Cup. So let's just pick one game in each leagues, deal? First stop, Germany:
Bundesliga Wir verpassten sie, Bundesliga! We missed you, Bundesliga! The German league comes back to action after a long winter break with a bang: the Borussen derby, Borussia M'gladbach vs Borussia Dortmund.
One thing Read The Game guarantee you from this game is scoring (sorry, Borussia keepers) this clash is known for high scoring, indeed the last two times these two teams met eight goals were split between them, with Dortmund winning the last encounter 4-0.
BVB sit in second place in the league, having lost only one of their last five games. One of the biggest reason for that is their number 17, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The speedy attacker is the league's top scorer and the reigning African Player of the Year. He's yellow hot! Call him The Sun.
Meanwhile, M'gladbach manager Andre Schubert's side is in fourth place, they're the only team who defeated Bayern Munich this season but only won two of their last five matches. And bad news for M'gladbach fans, BMG will be without their captain Granit Xhara due to suspension.
Who will win? Borussia or Borussia?
Borussia M'gladbach vs Borussia Dortmund at 12:30 p.m. (USA ET Timezone) Saturday @ Borussia Park.
Get your passport, we're flying to England.
English Premier League
England's top flight football has been... I have no word to describe it, oh there's a word: beautiful. Amid this beautiful season, Arsenal is having one of their best season since the last time they won the league in 2004, sitting on top of the table.
Yet they tied their last two matches to Liverpool and seventh place Stoke City.
Elsewhere in London, Chelsea is having their worst season in ages. they're in fourteenth place, tying their last two games to West Bromich Albion and Everton.
After not losing nor winning their last two games, we can agree that both teams are tired of draws and will be happy whether they win or lose. If you didn't laugh at that one, this one will do the job: keeper Petr Cech played for Chelsea for a period of 11 years before joining Arsenal last summer, some people still haven't adjust to the fact that Cech doesn't keep for Chelsea anymore.
When I say some people, I mean Adidas. According to foxsoccer, Adidas sent new gloves to Cech at Chelsea's training ground-- don't blame them, 11 years is a long time. No, Chelsea didn't keep the gloves, they sent it to Arsenal's training ground.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa shows his teeth to Gabriel Paulista.
Last time the two London clubs met, the game turned into a brawl as Arsenal's Santi Cazorla and Gabriel Paulista (after an incident with Diego Costa) got ejected. You thought this game had a lot of emotions, wait for Sunday: Chelsea is trying to turn their season around, Arsenal is trying to stay up top.
It's going to be a hard-fought game, who's going to fight harder? Don't say Costa. Arsenal vs Chelsea at 11:00 a.m. Sunday @ Emirates Stadium
Grab your passport again, we're going all around Europe this weekend. Next stop: Italy.
Serie A
You know why they call it Serie A? Because Serie A players are on their A games every week. For the past two seasons, Juventus won the league and Roma finished second. So we can say that they've been the best two teams in Italy.
Well, the best two teams in Italy for the past two years are facing each other this weekend, that's a A+ game right there. But currently, Juventus is in second place and Roma in fifth. So they gotta get back to their A form. And how do they do that? With three points.
Talking about three points, Juventus bagged all their three points in their last 10 league games. And they jut defeated Lazio in the Coppa Italia's quarter-finals. On the other hand, Roma has been bagging one point, they tied seven out of their last eight games in all competitions.
So what are you going to predict a draw or a win for Juve?
Don't hurt your brain, please. Keep in mind that last time the two teams met earlier in the season, Roma defeated Juventus 2-1.
Juventus vs Roma at 2:45 p.m. Sunday @ Juventus Stadium
Tu parles francais? I hope so because we're going to France.
Ligue 1
Don't tell me Ligue 1 is the only French you know. Oh, you know Saint-Germain too, good. Well, title contenders Paris Saint-Germain-- I like your French by the way-- will host third place Angers on Saturday. Wait, isn't Angers English? Anyways, PSG has been winning lately but barely. They beat Toulouse 1-0 last weekend, Toulouse is in 19th place.
And before Toulouse, they almost tied to Lyon in Couple de la Ligue, Lucas Moura led them to a 2-1 win with a 73rd minute goal. Lyon is in 9th place.
If PSG struggled to beat Lyon and Toulouse in their last two games, can they top a stronger Angers team? Even worse, can Angers give them their first league loss of the season? Ou la la, c'est chaud. Paris Saint-Germain vs Angers at 11:00 a.m. Saturday @ Parc Des Princes
Tired from all this traveling? Let's go to Spain and drink some refreshing Horchata.
La Liga
Real Madrid scored five goals in their last two matches under new manager Zinedine Zidane. They're playing Real Betis on Sunday-- it's going to be a real game. I know what your football senses are telling you:"There's no way Madrid is going to score five goals for three straight games."
Well, the numbers show it, Zidane made 155 appearances for Los Blancos in the span of five years and scored 95 club goals in his whole career. And what number did Zidane wear for Madrid again? Exactly. There's five everywhere. Read The Game predict that Real Madrid will score five goals in Zidane's first five games as a manager.
You keep listening to your football senses I see: "No way, Gareth Bale is injured. Betis just tied with Villareal 0-0, and Villreal only have three points less than Madrid."
But are you man enough to predict against five stars coach Zidane?
Real Betis vs Real Madrid at 2:30 p.m. Sunday @ Benito Villamarin
Enjoyed the trip? Let the game before the games begin. Predict:
1. Borussia M'gladbach vs Borussia Dortmund
2. Arsenal vs Chelsea
3. Juventus vs Roma
4. Paris Saint-Germain vs Angers
5. Real Betis vs Real Madrid
Another marvelous weekend in European football-- wonder goals, controversies, sublime assists, John Terry scoring a backheel?! We saw it all, but the question is: can you keep it all in your brain this week?
You should, Read The Game got ten numbers that will inscribe last weekend in your football brain to keep your spirit up throughout the week. Let's start from the most worn number:
10. 10 for: Daniele De Rossi has been playing for Roma for over a decade (15 years to be exact), he doesn't even need to look at or face a Roma jersey to provide an assist.
Watch De Rossi's no-look/ backheel assist to Radja Nainggolan against Verona:
It looks better than Nainggolan's haircut, doesn't it?
9.Nine for:French champions Paris Saint-Germain conceded only nine goals in their 21 Ligue 1 games this season. They're undefeated and are on top of the league with a 21 point advantage. 21, 21, don't you love numbers?
PSG's star Zlatan Ibrahimovic embracing Edinson Cavini.
8. Eight for: Chelsea skipper John Terry scored in the 98th minute to bring his side leveled with Everton when referee Mike Jones signaled for seven minutes of added time. And Terry's goal was offside.
Watch it yourself, with all the controversies you can't deny that Terry hits a sweet backheel here:
Offside? The game should've ended? Terry doesn't care.
"I'm not sure, I don't really care it's my first one this season," the defender told reporters after the game.
7. Seven for: Isco's seventh assist of the season is one of the best assist we witnessed this weekend.
Watch the 23-year-old's magic as he sets up Karim Benzema's second goal against Sporting Gijon:
Isco wouldn't talk to Benzema for seven months if he didn't finish his pass.
6. Six for: Premier League breakthrough player and top-scorer, Jamie Vardy haven't scored a goal in six league games. Vardy broke Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games earlier this season.
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
Top-scorer when you haven't scored in six games, impressive.
5. Five for: Real Madrid scored five goals in their first two games under new manager Zinedine Zidane. You know why? Because Zidane wore number five.
Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.
Fast Five Madrid.
4. Four for: Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has scored in each of the Red Devils last four games to break out of a dreadful season.
Rooney celebrates after netting United's lone goal in a 1-0 win over rivals Liverpool.
Top Three Goals
3. Everton's Kevin Mirallas controls the ball away from the defender... turns... and launches the ball in the near post.
2. Benzema's stunning scissor-kick against Sporting Gijon.
Don't cut yourself next time, Benzema.
2. I'll give you two number twos. Sevilla striker Kevin Gameiro lobs the ball over the Malaga keeper.
Let's end with the most worn keeper number.
1. Alvaro Negredo scores from midfield to bring Valencia leveled with Rayo Vallecano 1-1.
That's why you must always pressure as an attacker.
That was the Recap-Countdown on Read The Game, so long football fans.
The oldest rivalry in club football will partake in the unimaginable and beyond entertaining 2015-16 English Premier League season as Liverpool F.C. host Manchester United at 9:05 a.m. on Sunday.
Both English giants are in the midst of their worst Premier League season in years, setting up a more desired three points for both team than ever. Liverpool sit in ninth place, having tied their last two matches to championship side Exeter 2-2 and title contenders Arsenal 3-3.
On the other hand, the Red Devils are in sixth place in the league, drawing to Newcastle United 3-3 after beating championship club Sheffield United with a late Wayne Rooney's penalty. The English striker netted in United's last three games after going 15 games without scoring.
Wayne Rooney takes the spot kick for Manchester United against Newcastle on Tuesday.
Pre-match press-conference
Manchester United's manager Louis van Gaal claimed that his side is going through a rebuilding time, he "cannot imagine" them struggling for long as Liverpool has been in recent years.
"But I cannot imagine it [a long-run of struggle] will be the same [as Liverpool] for Manchester United," the former Bayern Munich boss said. "It's [United] too big, too well organized and we have an infrastructure and we are improving that every year."
Yet he praises the Reds' manager. "He [Jurgen Klopp] is a very capable manager in the Premier League because he has always showed this kind of football and I think the fans will love it," Van Gaal said.
Jurgen Klopp at the Manchester United game pre-match press conference.
Klopp returned praises to his colleague-rival. "[Van Gaal] is one of the best managers in the world," the German told reporters at the pre-match press conference. "He won a lot of titles, not only in Germany."
The most memorable words of the beloved Liverpool manager before Sunday's clash is that he could've been sitting in the away dugout on Sunday.
"There was a time [when United was interested in me] but I could not leave Dortmund [on April 2013]," Klopp recounted.
The two bosses faced each other four times in the Bundesliga as Klopp coached Borussia Dortmund when Van Gaal managed Bayern Munich, sharing two wins each. But this time around they will compete against each other in a total different league, the EPL, and with two teams fighting to crawl back to winning ways.
Injuries (doubtful)
Liverpool: CB Martin Skrtel, CAM Philippe Coutinho, FWD Divock Origi, RB Jon Flanagan, FWD Danny Ings, DF Joseph Gomez, MF Jordan Rossiter, (DF Dejan Lovren, FWD Daniel Sturridge, FWD Jordan Ibe).
Manchester United: CDM Michael Carrick, RB Antonio Valencia, RB Marcus Rojo, MF Nick Powell, DF Luke Shaw, (DF Phil Jones, CM Bastian Schweinsteiger)
Predicted Starting XI
Liverpool: (4-2-3-1) GK Simon Mignolet, RB Nathaniel Clyne, CB Kolo Toure, CB Mamadou Sakho, LB Alberto Moreno, CDM Jordan Henderson, CDM James Milner, MF Emre Can MF Joe Allen, MF Adam Lallana, CF Roberto Firmino. Manchester United: (4-2-3-1) GK David de Gea, RB Ashley Young, CB Chris Smalling, CB Daley Blind, LB Matteo Darmian, CDM Marouane Fellaini, CDM Morgan Schneiderlin, MF Jesse Lingard, MF Juan Mata, MF Anthony Martial, CF Wayne Rooney.
It's winter: it's cold, it's snowing, the heat is on. This doesn't stop the football clubs across Europe from keeping their windows open.
The transfer window has been open since Jan. 2nd, 82 players has sneaked in another club's house-- it was reported that Mohamed Elneny got stuck in Arsenal's window, Arsene Wenger had to use some of Olivier Giroud's gel to get him out.
82 transferred players but we haven't seen a move that lifted us off the couch yet. Right, football fans? Okay, there's some decent ones worth talking about, and that's what we're going to do today in the Best Done Deals.
What we're also going to do is hope for upcoming transfers that will get us off the couch in Hope Deals. 'Cause sometimes we hear that this club is interested in that player but it might be a speculation or the club doesn't have half the money asked for the player. All we can do is hope.
And there's certain potential deals we've been reading on the news that we do not want to happen at all: Please No Deals.
Best Done Deals
Let's start with the guy who got stuck in the window: Elneny-- Wenger still got Giroud's gel in his fingers. Arsenal's midfield is plagued with injuries right now.
Wenger: "Hey guys, we haven't won the league in a while, this year is our chance, we're not going to let injury stop us, let's get this big guy in here." (We all know about the gelly ending of that story). Goal described Elneny as "the combination of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla" (both are injured). How smart is Wenger, he buys a player that can replace not one but two of his injured players. Elneny can shoot from long range, he's a very good passer, he can run for days.
Elneny also has Champions League experience and played in 39 international games with Egypt at only 23. Arsenal do have a lot of midfielders but over 30-year-old Matthieu Flamini, Thomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta are set to leave the club this summer. Wenger deserves a cookie here.
Another manager who deserve a cookie is Bournemouth's manager Eddie Howe. Bournemouth is only three points above relegation zone, but watch out for them next season they might do a Leicester. Why? They just got three terrific players.
1. They got 22-year-old Benik Afobe for 10 million pounds. Afobe is a kid with a lot of potential. He was originally signed by Arsenal in 2010, Arsenal sent him on loan to several teams, where he struggled with injuries. But last season, Afobe joined Wolverhampton and managed to stay healthy there. He scored 22 goals for them in about a year.
Watch a few of these goals:
2. Juan Iturbe. Iturbe is another 22-year-old striker with potential. The guy is so quick, that he didn't even give you time to hear what I wanted to say about him. Iturbe hasn't proved himself yet though. Roma sent you on loan to Bornemouth, shine, youngstar. Shine.
3. Lewis Grabban. Bournemouth bought him from Norwich for seven million pounds. Grabban is another forward, but unlike Iturbe and Afobe he has a ton of experience. He played for Bournemouth before back in 2012-14 under Howe, he scored 35 goals. Impressive. The club is sure happy to have him again.
The last two Best Done Deals are Kevin Prince Boateng and Jonjo Shelvey. How can we forget KPB's time at Milan? If you did forget, he's back at Milan to do everything he did again.
Welcome back to Milan, Michael:
Newcastle United is fighting to get out of the relegation zone, I can't think of a better player than a 12 million pounds midfielder: Shelvey.
Hope Deals
Fifa is going to cement Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid's window after this winter because they tried to sign under-aged players. You know what this means, the two Madrid teams gotta bring as many players as possible this winter.
Get 'em Coach Zidane:
We've been hearing that Madrid wants struggling Eden Hazard. Faster, Zidane, faster.
Espnfc noted that Carlos Bacca to Chelsea is only 15 percent likely to happen. 15 percent?! I still got hope. Bacca is a very good goal scorer, I want to see him in England.
With all the Madrid transfer-saga Gareth Bale has been linked to Manchester United. Bale will entertain the mess out of the United games.
Please No Deals
Madrid wants De Gea. Keep that window closed, Louis van Gaal. Get the windows in the basement too. And the ones in the backyard.
Zidane wants Paul Pogba too. Oh my gosh. Okay, I know he's french like you Zidane but his hairstyle just doesn't go with a Madrid jersey. Look how nice Pogba's hair is now:
Now try to picture his hair with a Madrid jersey on:
It doesn't match.
Let's hear your Best Done Deals, Hope Deals and Please No Deals.
Jordan Morris points to the crowd after scoring against Canada U-23 team on Oct 1, 2015.
Getty Images
Jordan Morris is the newest American soccer player prodigy but after so many young American talents had failed to live up to their names, can he break this run of calamity for USA?
21-year-old striker Jordan Morris has proved to be yet another American soccer player prodigy following impressive displays prior his professional career.
The Seattle native capped off an impressive collegiate career at Stanford University, leading them to the NCAA Championship title, netting two in the final, as he won the best player award: the Hermann Trophy.
More impressively, Morris was called upon the U.S. Men National Soccer Team as a sophomore in college, scoring one goal-- against rivals Mexico-- in seven appearances. The forward is currently in training camp with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen after being offered a professional contract from his youth team Seattle Sounders.
The Germans has been impressed by the youngster, thus a potential signing might be on the way. "He could be a creative transfer," club CEO Thomas Eichin said, according to espnfc.
With such pre pro-career accomplishments and praises from an European team, the young American have a promising career lying in front of him. But a plethora of American internationals were at his place once and found themselves far from that promising career.
With the likes of Freddy Adu who was named "the next Pele" as he started his professional career extravagantly at 14 with D.C. United, but now plays in the U.S. second tier with Tampa Bay Rowdies. Jozy Altidore who shined in the MLS as a teen but failed to succeed in Europe, expect in Netherlands, before moving back to the MLS.
The list goes on with Chance Myers, Stuart Holden (who were both hit with injuries), Tim Ream, Maurice Adu and Juan Agudelo.
Nonetheless, other American prospects did live up to their potential as Landon Donovan, who won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player in 2002 before having a tremendous career with the national team and in the MLS. Same with keeper Tim Howard, turning pro before graduating high school to later become a reliant man between the post for Everton.
It's no doubt that the former Stanford player has shown early sparks but, as noted, with a run of U.S. young stars' bright future drifting away this past decade, it is fair to ask: Will Morris hang on to the American dream?
Where the 21-year-old will start his professional career will be crucial for his future, whether he chooses to play in the MLS or go overseas.
Capital One Cup, Copa del Rey, Serie A games, Zinedine Zidane replacing Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid's head coach, we've had a pretty busy week so far. As always, football games, football news always leave us wondering. I mean, I know you spend time in the shower thinking how did Neymar do that move?
Or spent time trying to digest the fact that Zizou is now Madrid's coach on your bed last night. It can't just be me.
Read The Game gathered 10 things that happened in the football world this week that will keep your mind entertained on your way to work today.
1. Liverpool's injuries
Okay, Liverpool injuries problem won't entertain you but it will make you go "Wow."
Liverpool currently have 11 injuries (seven hamstrings) 12 if you count Kolo Toure cramping up after the game against Stoke on Monday. "Kolo was a cramp, that's not a problem," coach Jurgen Klopp told the team's website. "But after three days it's not possible to play the next game."
This next game is against Exeter City on Friday in the FA Cup, just two days after their last match. With the most injuries in the Premier League they have the tightest schedule, their next game after Friday is on Wednesday against Arsenal.
Klopp has to deal with 12 unavailable players Friday, that's over a quarter of his 37 men roster.
2. Caceres the hero
Scoring goals is a great skill in football, not stopping your opponent from scoring when he's shooting right at you is even a better skill. Watch Martin Caceres dodge to allow his teammate Leonardo Bonucci's header get in the net:
Bonucci didn't even point at Caceres or hug him, he ran away from him. That's an assist for Caceres in my book. 3. Enrique said he can't remember his incident with Zidane in 2003
13 years ago Luis Enrique got into an argument with Zidane during El Clasico, in which the Frenchman grabbed the former Barcelona player's face. Watch it for yourself:
Now those two men will stand by each other during the next Clasico. Enrique says he doesn't remember the clash.
"I haven't seen the images and I don't remember any exchange with Zidane," the Spaniard said. "But for sure we were defending our teams."
Which means that the two managers will shake hands at the next Clasico.
4. Is Pique right or wrong here? 19-year-old Marco Asensio was the assist man for Espanyol lone's goal against Barcelona on Wednesday in a game that ended 4-1.
Gerard Pique was defending the teenager on top of the box on the play, he chose to contain instead of going for the tackle. Then Asensio passed the ball to Felipe Caicedo, who beat Javier Mascherano before hitting the ball past keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Mind you, Pique is moving as fast as he can backyard-sideways here, if he goes for the ball he's easy to beat.
But it's not impossible for Pique to tackle the guy here (specially with the length of his legs). And he didn't have to go for the ball, he could've fouled the kid. Pique is not really the last defender, Mascherano is there with him and he wasn't on a yellow card.
Pique, right or wrong? Either way Barca won, Pique scored the third goal.
5. Joe Allen: Pass or shot?
In football, sometimes our passes are so bad that they look like shots. Or our shots are so terrible that they look like passes. Or I don't know, our throw-ins look like goal-kicks. Nah, that's a different level.
Allen, the "Welsh Pirlo", the "Welsh Xavi" as they call him, assisted Jordon Ibe's goal on Monday for Liverpool. This will probably be the most controversial assist the midfielder will ever provide in his career.
Some said it was a brilliant no-look-pass. Others said he miss-hit his shot. But if Allen is shooting why is he looking away from the goal. No-look-shot? Or if he's passing, why would he pull his leg so far back? Or why would he even pass the ball when he's in a great position to shoot?
I don't know, let's watch it again:
6. Milan vs Bologna, 11 yellow cards!
Milan had six yellow cards, Bologna had five. The players were too busy fouling each other that they didn't have time to score, Emnuele Giacherini scored the only goal of the game for Bologna.
You can make a whole starting XI with yellow carded players. 4-3-3.
Defenders: Philipe Mexes, Ignazio Abate, Mattia De Sciglio, Adam Masina.
Forwards: Anthony Mounier, Mattia Destro, Luiz Adriano.
Goalkeeper: No keepers got a yellow but Milan midfielder Juraj Kucka is 6' 1, he can stand between the posts.
7. Don't always think you didn't score, my friend
Simone Pepe hit a free kick for Chievo Verona against Roma in the 85th minute as the score was 3-2 in favor of Roma. Keeper Wojciech Szczesny saved Pepe's free-kick after the ball rattled off the post.
The 32 year-old winger put his hand over his mouth and had a serious depressing look on his face, thinking that he was this close to give his side a late-equalizer. Pepe turned around, his eyes opened wide in disbelief: the referee signaled GOAL.
The Italian ran and jumped like a madman, his teammates celebrated with him. We watched the replay: the whole ball crossed the line before Szczesny saved the shot. Thank you, goal-line technology.
Here it is, play it from 4:53:
Keepers, don't always think you saved the shot.
8. Lazy Yaya?
Yaya Toure has won the African Player of the Year from 2011 to 2014, yet the Ivorian has always been criticized for being "lazy" on the pitch. For the midfielder often appear as if he's slowly jogging on the field.
Manchester City's manager Manuel Pellegrini claimed that all the criticisms about Toure being under-active are wrong on Tuesday. "A lot of people criticize his body language and the way he runs," the Chilean coach said. "But, if you had all the statistics of Yaya after every game, he is the one player that runs more." The 32-year-old four time African Player of the Year is 6' 2 weighing 198 pounds. You might want to really examine him on Saturday as City plays Norwich or get a hold of some running stats before calling him lazy.
9. Top two goals of the week: Number 2
Not really top two goals of the week, the week isn't done yet. More like top two goals of the business days of this week. Well, Friday isn't done yet. Anyways...
Leonardo Pavoletti pushes the ball up to get away from the defender before flicking it over the keeper and heading it in the net.
He probably plays a lot of football tennis.
10. Top goal
Lorenzo Insigne loops the ball over the keeper from outside the box.
We got a lot of wondering to do this weekend, football lovers.
I don't know about you but the midweek league cup games always catch me off guard. That's not going to happen this week! This week I'm not going to read a headline like "Middlesbrough knocked United out of the Capital One Cup, beating them 3-1 in PKs" and go: "What?! Nobody told me United was playing today! Why didn't you text me, Van Gaal?!"
I got my football calendar this week, league cup ganes are not going to catch me offside. This week is loaded with cup games: Capital One Cup, FA Cup, Copa del Rey. 42 cup games in total. Yeah, it's a lot of cups but don't throw away your cup, re-use it please.
I'm guessing not many teams are going for three points this week. Okay, no more jokes, let me start filling your cup:
Capital One Cup
Most big teams already finished drinking their cups. Arsenal got knocked out by Sheffield Wednesday (on a Wednesday) 3-0, Chelsea (they're still a big team) lost to Stoke City in penalties, so did Leicester to Hull City. And United lost to Middlesbrough in PKs too-- the game I missed.
So we've had an unexpected Capital One Cup so far, thankfully we got cups not glasses, you know glasses break easy. This Cup is only going to get more unexpected as you drink it.
We're up to the first leg of the semi-finals. Semi-final? Don't look at the cup half empty though, look at it half full.
Stoke City vs Liverpool at Britannia Stadium @ 3 pm (USA Eastern Timezone) on Tuesday
Liverpool just came from an "angry" 2-0 loss to West Ham, but before that they were on a two game 1-0 win streak with Benteke scoring both goals. Their main problem is scoring, they scored four goals in their last seven games. And only won 2.
And for Stoke, they lost their last game to West Bromich Albion 2-1. They sit in tenth place in the league but managed to beat Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and draw with Leicester and Tottenham.
Everton vs Manchester City at Goodison Park @ 3 pm on Wednesday
City scored two late goals to defeat Watford 2-1 last Saturday but they haven't been playing their best football lately.
On the other hand, Everton put up a strong performance their last game, tying to Tottenham 1-1. Their star player Romelu Lukaku is having a terrific season, leading the premier league in goals with 15.
We emptied that cup, next one: Copa del Rey
The most anticipated game in Wednesday's league cup games in Spain is Barcelona vs Espanyol. Barca failed to score last Saturday against a rocky Espanyol defense in a 0-0 finale. I bet you each member of Luis Enrique's attacking trio wants a hat-trick.
Villareal vs Athletic Bilbao isn't a bad game either. Villareal sits in fourth place in La Liga while Bilbao is just two spots underneath them in sixth place.
Athletic Bilbao vs Villareal at San Mames @ 6 am on Wednesday Barcelona vs Espanyol at Camp Nou @ 2:30 pm on Wednesday
Let's switch back to our cup of tea, we're going back in England:
FA Cup
United is playing Sheffield, Arsenal is hosting Sunderland, Norwich is going against Manchester City... There's a lot of good games. But the best one is nonetheless:
Tottenham vs Leicester City at White Hart Lane @ 11 am on Sunday
Unexpected title-contenders Leicester are on a three game winless streak. Can they get things back together with a win over Tottenham?
CAUTION: Tottenham's cup is hot! The Hotspurs haven't lost a game since Oct. 22. They're on a 14 game unbeaten run.
I showed you the cups, can you guess what's inside of them? Predict scores:
1. Stoke City vs Liverpool 2. Everton vs Manchester City
3. Athletic Bilbao vs Villareal 4. Barcelona vs Espanyol
5. Tottenham vs Leicester
The best predictcupper will get a prize.
Rooney celebrates after scoring the winning-goal against
Swansea last Saturday in a 2-1 encounter.
A good soccer countdown is better than the New Years countdown, isn't it? No? I'll show you:
10. 10 for: Manchester City was losing to Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road for most of the game, then they hit the gas in the last 10 minutes and went home with a 2-1 win.
Yaya Toure scored the winner for the citizens in the 82nd minute before Sergio Aguero's 84th minute leveler. Ben Watson netted Watford's goal in the 55th minute.
9. 9 for: Leicester tied with Bornemouth 0-0 on Saturday to go three games without a win. Last time Leicester spent three games without a win was nine months ago.
8. 8 for Barcelona's number 8 Andres Iniesta's skill against Espanyol.
1 point for beating the first player... 3 points for beating and putting a second player down... 3 more points for beating the first player again and putting him down this time. And 1 last point for his switch to Dani Alves. Do the math: 1+3+3+1=8. However the game finished 0-0.
7. 7 for: Wayne Rooney hadn't hit the target since Oct. 7teen before Manchester United's game against Swansea this past Saturday. But guess what? The striker scored the game-winner for United in the 7ty7th minute.
6. 6 for: 6 feet 1 Thomas Partey netted the goal that put Atletico Madrid on top of La Liga as they defeated Levante 1-0.
5. 5 for: A physical Espanyol side held Barcelona goalless, they used 5 yellow cards to do so. Top four goals: 4. A marked Yaya Toure blasts a left foot volley in the top corner of the net to bring City leveled with Watford.
3. Aaron Lennon chests Romelu Lukaku's header before firing the ball in the corner of the net. Make sure you got your football glasses on since the lead-up of the goal: Leighton Baines' back-heels the ball to Tom Cleverley, who sends a cross-field ball to Lukaku.
2. Rooney flicks Anthony Martial's cross in the far post. Louis Van Gaal thought his striker's goal was going to be number one. "He scores also a fantastic goal," the United boss said. "With his left foot behind his right foot and then-- you cannot imagine what a goal is that."
This next goal is even harder to imagine, Van Gaal: 1. Youngster Carles Gil hits a scissor kick past Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone after teenager Adama Traore swiftly played the ball around Wes Brown to bend a cross in. Keep it up, young Spaniards.
Barcelona players celebrate the five trophies won last year before a 4-0 victory against Real Betis on Jan. 31.
Barcelona starts 2016 with a goalless draw against a physical Espanyol defense Saturday at Power8 Stadium. With one game down in this year's calendar-- many left-- can the Blaugrana repeat last year's wonder? Or even do better. Do a 2009.
Barcelona capped off 2015 with five trophies to their name: La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, the UEFA Supercup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Impressive to say the least but they failed to reach perfection, losing to Atletico Bilbao in the Spanish Supercup.
"I would give it [2015] nine out of 10," Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique said. Enrique isn't satisfied with a 9 out of 10. "Everything can be improved upon," the Spaniard added.
Four times Ballon D'or winner Lionel Messi thinks it's rather hard to find room to improve after such a glorious year. "It would be difficult to improve on what we did in 2015," the Argentine said. "But we are going to try. We have a very motivated squad, which wants to do important things."
Going scoreless against Espanyol-- even though Espanyol had a rocky defense-- is a setback in trying to overcome a five-trophies year. Although Enrique's side started 2015 with a more disappointing result: a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad.
With that said, repeating last year's success, or even outpassing it, is not out of sight for Barcelona. Let's take a look at their obstacles:
La Liga
The champions sit in first place with one point advantage over Atletico Madrid. Atletico could jump ahead of them with a win against Levante later today, but Barcelona do have a game in hand. And rivals Real Madrid could also move ahead of Barca in the standings if they beat Valencia tomorrow.
Hence the Spanish champions doesn't just have Real Madrid battling them for first place like last season, but they also have 2013-14 champions Atletico Madrid right behind them. Can they outclass both of the Madrid teams at the end of the season?
Copa del Rey
The Catalans are facing Espanyol in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. The same physical Espanyol they failed to hit the target against today.
Champions League
Last season Barcelona defeated Manchester City 3-1 on aggregate in the round of 16. City finished second in the group stage and were third in the Premier League at that time. But this year Enrique's side will go against a stronger Arsenal team who sit at the summit of the EPL, the Gunners finished second in the Champions League group stage.
Last year's setback, injuries
Going against a promising Arsenal team and Atletico Madrid pushing for La Liga title as well as Real Madrid give Barca a tougher route to another breathtaking year.
However at this time last year the champions looked less promising than now, they were in second place to Real Madrid in the league.
To add to that, throughout 2015 their attacking trio were frequently hit with injuries: Neymar missed the Supercopa and the UEFA Supercup because of parotis (mumps).
Messi missed a few games last season because of a foot contusion, so did Luiz Suarez due to a hamstring injury. Suarez missed a key league match-up against Atletico Madrid. And left back Jordi Alba was ruled out of several games because of injuries. Despite all that, Barca went on to lifting five different trophies.
They did it before
Good news for Enrique's side: they start 2016 injury-free and they will soon be able to add Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan to their lineup. Even then, their goal of beating a five-trophies year is a arduous task. Tough yes, but not undoable.
Barcelona won six trophies under Pep Guardiola in 2009.
The six trophies won by Barcelona in 2009. Sources: espnfc, goal.
