Newcastle and Arsenal crashed to shock FA Cup exits, Juve fought back superbly against Roma and more! Damien Kayat reviews the action.
FA Cup shocks
Let’s be honest: the FA Cup has certainly lost some of its lustre over the past few years. To illustrate my point- Arsenal have won this competition four times over the past eight editions.
Nobody would call the last eight years a success at Arsenal. To make matters worse, Covid has decimated squads and put this trophy even further down the priority chain. But Arsenal’s shock defeat to mid-table Championship Forest will still sting.
But it was the performance that really concerned me. Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard looked like poorly cloned versions of the players that we have seen in recent weeks. Eddie Nketiah proved once and for all that he is incapable of leading the line in an Arsenal shirt.
For all the goodwill engendered by Arteta over the past two months, their season has the potential to go drastically off the rails in the next week. They have the first leg of their League Cup semi-final against Liverpool prior to a mammoth North-London derby with Spurs.
Luckily for Arteta, Eddie Howe managed to save him the ignominy of the weekend’s worst defeat. Their new Saudi owners were left powerless in the fact of stark reality as they were humiliated by third-tier Cambridge United.
Kieran Trippier must be wondering what possessed him to leave LaLiga champions Atletico. The entire Newcastle experiment has the potential to turn into one of the biggest farces in recent footballing memory.
🗡 𝗦𝗶𝗿 @22Mitov has a ring to it 🗡
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 8, 2022
A heroic defensive performance a long with a Joe Ironside goal sends @CambridgeUtdFC through to the #EmiratesFACup fourth round after overcoming Newcastle United! 🙌#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/u2gKYAVG55
Epic Italian Clash
Inter and Milan solidified their standing as Scudetto favourites with solid victories over the weekend. But the real drama in Italian football took place at the Stadio Olimpico, with arch-pragmatist Jose Mourinho left incandescent after Roma’s controversial 4-3 defeat to Juventus.
It was a rousing comeback from an under-siege Juventus side. Allegri’s men have been widely castigated in recent weeks, with players visibly feuding amongst each other during their draw with Napoli last week.
What made their comeback more surprising was the fact that Juventus have been slightly gun-shy in front of goal this season. Heading into this match, Allegri’s men had only scored 28 goals in 20 Serie matches this season.
But they seemed galvanized by adversity on Sunday, with the likes of Dybala and De Sciglio coming to the forefront. But it all could have been for naught had Roma converted a late spot-kick.
Pellegrini- who had scored an absolute worldy earlier- failed to beat Szczesny from the spot. But Mourinho was left justifiably enraged with the entire penalty process. Tammy Abraham actually had the ball in the back of the net, pouncing on the loose ball after the handball incident.
Surely the referee should have allowed for the advantage and award the goal. Why demerit the side by forcing them to take a spot-kick in the first place?
File this one from Lorenzo Pellegrini under: 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿𝙄𝙀𝙎 📂 pic.twitter.com/HIn1I8wlip
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 9, 2022
Bundesliga race still on?
Bayern Munich looked peerless leading into German football’s winter break. Robert Lewandowski can’t stop scoring and Julian Nagelsmann’s squad seems to have found the ideal balance between youth and experience.
But covid has wreaked havoc with their squad and I’m actually not surprised that they were shocked by Monchengladbach. This is one of the best examples of Covid directly altering the parameters of a title race.
Dortmund went and made the result doubly damaging with a remarkable comeback victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund struck twice in the final three minutes to reinject some energy into their flagging title bid.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the sensational Erling Haaland never found his way onto the scoresheet. Jude Bellingham once again shone, heading the equalizer in the 87th minute.
Mo Dahoud curled in the winner in the 89th minute, prompting scenes of total delirium. Bayern will be hoping that they can avoid any further contamination with this spirited Dortmund side in hot pursuit.
The incredible Dortmund comeback: pic.twitter.com/BPNcGfc2rj
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) January 8, 2022
The Spanish underdog story
You have to admire Julen Lopetegui’s tenacious Sevilla side. Sure, they have benefited hugely from the seismic dip in form of both Barcelona and Atletico. But they are the only team in touching distance of Los Blancos. Lopetegui- a former Real Madrid manager- has fashioned a real spirit of togetherness in this Sevilla side.
Their 1-0 victory against Getafe epitomized their pugnacious qualities. With Real Madrid off to Saudi Arabia next week to compete in the Spanish Super League, Sevilla have a chance to go just two points behind Real with victory over Valencia next week.
And Valencia will be smarting after being dominated by Real Madrid. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior each netted a brace in a convincing return to form for the LaLiga pacesetters. Looking at the midfield trio of Kroos, Modric and Casemiro, you have to start taking Real seriously as Champions League contenders.
6 - @SevillaFC_ENG have won 13 from their 20 @LaLigaEN games this season (D5 L2), six of them by 1-0, the most of any team in Europe's top five leagues in 2021/22 (Real Sociedad, five). Punch. pic.twitter.com/P7w6QSLZ3z
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 9, 2022
Player of the week- Vinicius Junior
To be fair, this spot could have easily gone to fellow Real Madrid star Karim Benzema. But Vinicius Junior just edges it after another scintillating display of high-octane running power.
He also endeared himself to the Madristas with one outrageous incidence of club loyalty that happened outside the field of play. Chasing down a lost cause, Vinicius Junior did his utmost to avoid making contact with the Real Madrid badge.
Vinicius has already scored 14 goals and made seven assists this season, rewarding the Real Madrid hierarchy for their patience in his development. Can you imagine what’s going to happen to this club if they do manage to acquire Kylian Mbappe? It’s a scary proposition.
What a beautiful goal this is from Vinicius man, this angle shows it so much better, absolute ART! pic.twitter.com/ZqysPcVvIp
— A. (@KaixerT8) January 9, 2022
