WEEKEND DIGEST: Breaking down top 6’s opening matches
Welcome to my first edition of #WEEKENDDIGEST Well another weekend of sporting
action is here! What else could us football fanatics ask for? After the
curtains were officially rolled up last weekend, we doomed to not enjoy every
part of the next 9 months of nothing but total dynamic football showdown!
Manchester United vs Swansea.
Manchester United hit the ground running when they played
hosts to Swansea at home in this season’s opener. To the neutrals, the 1-2 drubbing was exactly
what they were anticipating but as for the incumbent manager, he would have
taken a 4-4 draw before the match. Greeted by cheers from the mammoth Old
Trafford faithful, Van Gaal, looked like the right man to propel his troops to
greater heights by starting on the front foot, as he enjoyed his moments of
fame while making a long onfield trip from the dugouts, prior to taking his
seat in front of the home crowd.
Soon after the Ref’s whistle went, the Wales side was
already panting aas they helplessly watched United passing the ball around them
at ease with Jones seemingly thriving under the new 3-5-2 formation. Rooney,
United’s new captain looked lively from the onset playing upfront: his favorite
position, in RVP’s absence. It took Swans 10 minutes to finally register their
first shot on target through Ex spurs midfielder, Sigurdsson.
Former Arsenal custodian, Fabianski was on the opposite end
and his heroics managed to put the home side at bay with numerous world class
saves, denying Rooney and Janujaz who came on for the injured Lingaard after
the youngster limped off after 25 minutes. Fabianski was called to action again
after Jones and Herrera exchanged cute passes to break down Swansea’s shaky
defence.Herrera, United’s summer acquisition did everything to impress as well
as frustrate his opponents with his clever skills and passes, and this led to
Nathan Dyer picking up this season’s first booking after he clipped the
Spaniard. It wasn’t long before Swansea broke the deadlock through K.I. who had
a superb outing with the club last season, after scoring from outside the box, past
the hapless De Gea off Shelvey’s pass.
However, United’s resilience was evident after conceding the
goal, and was it not for neat defensive displays from Taylor, they would have
restored parity before the break. Whatever Van Gaal breathed into United’s
souls during the break worked. United were in full control of the possession
and 7 minutes into the second period, Rooney acrobatic goal drew the game level
when he capitalized ion Jones shoulder flick to hit past Fabianski. United’s
captain wasn’t stopping at anything after he hit the woodwork from a well taken
free kick after the hour mark.
Tottenham fans should have rued the sale of Sigurdsson,
after the England international became Swansea’s instant hero when he put Van
Gaal’s men to the sword with his 72nd minute goal. The goal came
after a couple of classy moves from the visitors and with Routledge failing to
put them ahead, Sigurdsson was present to embarrass De Gea with a first time
side foot kick which bounced into the net to all but grab the crucial points.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace.
Fresh from winning the Community Shield, The Gunners were
desperate to kick start their season by bagging all available points, something
they had failed to do in the past 4 seasons. From Ramsey, Cazorla to the Boss,
they all seemed to be on the same bandwagon, highlighting the importance of a
positive start. The Fa cup winners were the favorites to win the tie after
ousting Manchester City 3-0, in their last competitive outing. The red and
white army was playing hosts to their fellow Londoners in a tie they looked to
make it a remarkable 100 wins since they played the first match at Emirates stadium.
Crystal Palace were playing under the guidance of Keith,
their caretaker manager after the club lost Pulis, their inspirational coach
through a mutual consent days before the match.
The Eagles, showed no signs of missing the coach who dragged them from
the relegation pit, to helping them make history by making their first
successive BPL appearance, after he dusting and
polishing them.
Palace looked organized and their brave approach from the
first minute of the game didn’t go unnoticed as they easily passed the ball
around the Gunners. Chambers, Debuchy and Sanchez made their Premier League bow
in Red and white as wenger opted to stick with the starting lineup which played
against City. A midfield trio of Ramsey, Cazorla and Sanchez, found it hard to
break Palace’s solid midfield with the Chilean on the end of a couple of miss
paces. The visitors kept on pressing their London hosts and it wasn’t long before
their efforts were gifted. Arsenal guilty from conceding through set pieces,
were at it again. Brede Hangeland, Palace’s new recruit from Fulham rose high
to head home a 35th minute opener after Sanchez lost his marker and
the Eagles faithful ruptured in jubilation.
With their supporters fully behind them, the hosts never
lost the fight and instead the goal somehow gave them a wakeup call. Sanchez
crafted a beautiful free kick which France international, Laurent Koscielny
flicked in past Speroni, into the left bottom corner to level matters before
the break. The French man who’s we’ll known for his crucial goals which earned
Arsenal the ‘position 4 trophy’, miraculously, scored in the first game of the
season! After the break, the match was a bit less exciting with Palace in
particular fielding ten men in their half making it hard for the hosts to get
that extra yard in the final third. A flurry of tackles was experienced as the
game turned from technical to a physical affair. Boos and jeers were heard from
the home fans , unimpressed by Palace’s time wasting tactics hence drawing a
tense atmosphere from the players. The fourth official had added 5 minutes
after the regular time elapsed, and the hard working Gunners had won a corner.
Sanchez stepped up to deliver the kick as the home fans
gradually lowering their voices in desperation, as the time worn out. Debuchy
shot straight at Speroni following the corner kick but he parried it away for
Ramsey to smash into an empty net to send the home crowd in ecstasy!
The same
same guy who scored the F.a cup final winner at Wembley, again rose to the
occasion to rescue his team mates with a hard earned win.
In other results: Tottenham needed a last minute winner to
hand Maurico Pochettino with a dream start, away at Upton Park. West Brom drew
2-2 with Sunderland to both grab a valuable point. The returning QPR, suffered
a painful 0-1 loss to last season’s F.a cup finalist Hull city. Leicester
showed their might against a youthful Everton as they drew 2-2 in what arguably
is the match of the weekend full of entertainment. Stoke city lost 0-1 to Aston
Villa through Weimann, in a weekend which only saw Arsenal and Liverpool winning their respective home
matches, after the reds saw Southampton 2-1 following goals from Sterling and
Sturridge as they began their journey without Suarez. Manchester city
outmuscled Alan Pardew’s men to win 0-2 at St. James Park.
AWARDS
Match of the week- Leicester 2-2 Everton.
Goal of the week: McGeady (Everton) vs Leicester.
Catch me again next week as I analyze this weekend’s
tantalizing matches. Below are my picks and my
PREDICTIONS:
Arsenal v
Everton.(2-1)
Manchester City v
Liverpool.(2-2)
Sunderland v
Manchester United.(1-2)
Spurs v Qpr.(1-1)
Enjoy!
Twitter:@bryoshavin
I absolutely love this, you should seriously consider writing a sports magazine or starting a sports radio show
ReplyDeletehaha thanks dear, God willing i'll be there soon!
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