Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on December 27, 2021December 30, 2021 | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Moura magic as Zaha sees red

Lucas Moura led the charge and Harry Kane appeared to have rediscovered his goalscoring mojo as Tottenham Hotspur made light work of 10-man Crystal Palace.

Palace manager Patrick Vieira was one of several absentees after testing positive to COVID but the Premier League turned down a request to postpone the match.

It worked in Spurs’ favour and Kane has now scored in each of his past two Premier League games. It wouldn’t seem such a remarkable feat if not for the fact that he has only scored three goals all season.

After providing an assist for Kane’s opener, Moura then did a great impression of a hungry number nine with an impressive header before Wilfried Zaha blew any chance of a Palace response.

Who knows what Zaha was thinking when, having been booked earlier in the game, he shoved Davinson Sanchez to the ground and was sent off.

Son Heung-Min wrapped up the victory, which lifted Spurs to fifth on the table.

Leicester give Pep a scare… briefly

Manchester City made it nine successive English Premier League victories with a Boxing Day win that showed them at their scintillating best and also briefly showed a rarely seen side of Pep Guardiola’s side.

A 6-3 victory over depleted Leicester City looked comfortable enough but Guardiola did not have an entirely anxiety-free 90 minutes.

City looked like champions-in-waiting in the opening 25 minutes as they raced to a 4-0 lead, even though Leicester’s Youri Tielemans was a key contributor in conceding two penalties.

But after the break, James Maddison inspired a Leicester fightback, scoring the first of three goals for the visitors at Etihad Stadium.

At 4-3, City were rattled, but in the spirit of their free-flowing attacking football, they scored twice more to seal victory.

The win extended City’s lead to six points ahead of Liverpool, whose match against Leeds was postponed due to COVID.

Arteta celebrates anniversary in style

Arsenal underlined their progress under Mikel Arteta with a ruthless thrashing of last-placed Norwich City.

Arteta was celebrating two years in charge of the Gunners as his side fired home five unanswered goals at Carrow Road – and all this without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The former Gunners skipper was stripped of the captaincy and has not featured since returning late from a trip to France.

Since his omission on December 11, Arsenal have won all four Premier League fixtures.

Aubameyang is likely to seek a move elsewhere in the January transfer window.

Lukaku continues goal glut against Villa

Romelu Lukaku loves nothing better than a game against Aston Villa. And why wouldn’t he?

The Chelsea striker has scored nine goals in just 10 games against Villa, including an excellent header in the Blues’ 3-1 Boxing Day victory.

Lukaku came off the bench to head the Blues in front after Villa had initially taken the lead through a Reece James own goal. Jorginho had equalised from the penalty spot.

Despite registering their first win in three matches, which kept them in third place, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel moaned about the heavy schedule of fixtures. Chelsea, like many clubs, have been hit hard by injuries and COVID cases.

Rumour mill cranks up for transfer window

The January transfer window is almost upon us and Anthony Martial could be among the first big names to make a move after indicating he wants to leave Manchester United.

Martial, who was the most expensive teenage footballer when he signed for United from Monaco for around AUD$66 million in 2015, has played only two Premier League games this season.

The transfer rumour mill is also in full swing with Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Isco tipped to leave the Spanish giants, who have their sights on Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe.

COVID will influence the transfer decisions of some managers with Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp indicating they won’t sign unvaccinated players.

Big names make up last four

Arsenal will take on Liverpool in the semi-finals of England’s Carabao Cup after cruising past League One Sunderland in a straight-forward quarterfinal last week.

A hat-trick from Eddie Nketiah and a goal from debutant Charlie Patino were among the highlights in a 5-1 Arsenal victory.

Liverpool eventually negotiated their way past Leicester City via a penalty shoot-out after drawing 3-3.

Chelsea left it late to see off Brentford with Pontus Jansson steering the ball into his own goal and Jorginho converting from the penalty spot. Chelsea will take on Spurs in the other semi-final.

Spurs out of Europe but progress in League Cup

Tottenham Hotspur were booted out of the Europa Conference League without kicking a ball on the same week their on-field efforts were rewarded with a place in England’s Carabao Cup semi-finals.

UEFA, Europe’s governing body, decided early last week that Spurs’ postponement of their match against French side Rennes should be considered a forfeit.

Spurs had called off the game only the night before due to COVID-19 cases but Rennes, whose players were already in London weren’t happy with the decision. Under UEFA rules, a match can only be postponed if a team has fewer than 13 players unavailable.

However, that bitter disappointment on the European front was softened by progress in the Carabao Cup as Spurs saw off West Ham 2-1.

Victory go top in A-League

Melbourne Victory made the most of a rare Macarthur FC lapse to seize top spot on the Isuzu Ute A-League table.

Macarthur lost for the first time this season when struggling Sydney FC hit their straps and dished out a 3-0 thrashing.

Victory, coached by former Perth Glory boss Tony Popovich, took full advantage with a 3-1 win over Western United that was far from comfortable.

With the match delicately poised at 2-1, United pressed for an equaliser and were caught on a counterattack that substitute Nick D’Agostino made count by firing home.

Victory went above Macarthur on goal difference with Western United a point further back.

Glory back in Perth for Christmas

Perth Glory’s matches against Sydney FC (January 2) and Macarthur FC (January 5) have been postponed as the club continues to wrestle with a COVID-affected schedule.

The Glory squad, who were faced with the prospect of Christmas in Brisbane due to Pacifique Niyongabire’s positive test, were allowed to return to Perth and self-isolate at home to complete their quarantine period.

Just what impact the saga will have on Glory won’t be clear until they finally return to action on the pitch.

Glory are ninth on the 12-team table, although they have played only four games, while most other clubs have played five or six.