Europe's big 5 leagues were all in action during the weekend as expected, and as in my normal routine, my article today is supposed to focus on "Table Toppers In Europe's Big 5 Leagues After The Weekend Games", however, due to no huge changes from last week edition, I have decided to swap that article for another instead.
We will be taking a recap of some huge games that went down over the weekend, and I will be taking them in the order of the time they were played.
1) ITALIAN SERIE A: Juventus 2:1 AS Roma.
Coming off an impressive 2:1 victory over Inter in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semifinal some few days back, Juventus saw off AS Roma in another impressive game, winning by 2 goals to nil.
Christiano Ronaldo who scored both goals for the old ladies against Inter showed he just can not stop scoring as he got the first goal of the game against the Giallorossi in the 13th minute when Alex Sandro's sumptuous defence splitting pass got to him through Alvaro Morata. What a way to kick start his new age you want his say.
Neither Juventus nor AS Roma was able to add to the scoreline before the end of the first half, although Christiano Ronaldo missed the opportunity of extending Juventus'lead after he struck the crossbar from a sitter in the 23rd minute.
Roma who looked the better team generally continued to put more effort in getting back on level, however, things could only get worse for them in the 69th minute when Roger Ibanez deflected Dejan Kulusevski's pass into his own net, putting the old ladies 2 nil up.
The old ladies continued to frustrate all efforts of the Giallorossi in getting back into the game for the remaining minutes of play, and in the end, claimed an all important win which moved them above the Roma to 3rd position.
2) ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester United 3:3 Everton.
Manchester United lost more ground in their pursuit of the EPL Trophy as they gave up vital leads on 2 occasions to give Everton a chance to have a share of the spoil.
The red devils who had blitzed pass Southampton last time out were already 2 goals up at the end of first half thanks to an Edison Cavani's header in the 24th minute and a shocker from Bruno Fernandes in the 45th minute, making us think these would also be another onslaught.
However 2 quick fire goals from Everton immediately after the break saw our thought from the first half disappear into thin air. The first goal came from a quick Abdoulaye Doucoure's reaction to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's intercepted squared ball in the 49th minute, and 3 minutes later, the former turned goal provider when he made a great pass for James Rodriguez who did great justice to it, bringing Everton back on level.
The red devils were back in front in the 70th minute when Scott McTominay headed home a beautiful Luke Shawn's cross, but today was not going to be their day as the dogs of war got a late equalizer 2 minutes from stoppage time when Dominc Calvert-Lewin struck home from a Micheal Keane's header with his first and only shot of the game.
Although the outcome of this game would be a disappointing one for the red devils, Carlos Ancelotti and his men will definitely be happy to get a point from the game considering that they had lost to Manchester United on 2 occasions this season prior to today's game.
3) ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool 1:4 Manchester City.
The reds woes at home continues as they suffer their 3rd consecutive defeat at home since their first loss to Burnley after 67 unbeaten games at home in the EPL. However what made this defeat not too much of a shocker was because it came against an impressive Manchester City side who are on a run of 20 unbeaten games and 13 games winning streak themselves.
The reds were obviously the better team through out the first half of the game, but were unlucky not to get a goal and where even more fortunate not to be a goal behind as Ikay Gundogan missed from the penalty spot for Manchester City after Raheem Sterling was tripped by Fabinho in the penalty area.
The citizens stepped up their game in the 2nd half, and they were 1 nil up just 4 minutes into the game when Ikay Gundogan reacted first to a saved Phil Foden's effort, but, Liverpool came back on level when Mohammed Salah converted from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute after he was fouled by Ruben Dias in the penalty area.
However the citizens were never to be denied their 14 consecutive win as they ran rout scoring 3 goals in 10 minutes. Ikay Gundogan got his 2nd of the night as well as city's 2nd when he got an assist from Phil Foden who benefited from a rare Alisson Becker blunder, and it was 3:1 3 minutes later when Raheem Sterling scored against his former club, heading home a Bernardo Silva pass. The game was all over in the 83rd minute when Phil Foden got himself on the scoresheet after some amazing run, increasing the scoreline to 4:1.
There was nothing Jurgen Kloop and his men could do other than try to ensure more goals were not conceded as they watched their once feared homeground become an easy ground for opponents.
Manchester City are now 5 points clear at the top of the table, and this could be 8 if the citizens win their outstanding game. What a way to go for Pep Guardiola's men who looked out of sort at the early stages of the season.
This is where I will be drawing the curtain in today's article. Feel free to drop your opinions and comments, they will be greatly appreciated. You can also share your thoughts on other games that caught your attention aside these 3.
Much love from your Football Analyst and Writer, IbkDaGreat.
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