Sports

Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Klopp claims first domestic Cup

Jurgen Klopp got his hands on a first domestic cup as Liverpool edged a penalty shoot-out that was won when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga missed from the spot.

An incident-packed League Cup final, with four goals ruled out for offside, was decided 11-10 on penalties after 120 minutes of goalless football.

Kepa, who three years ago refused to be substituted before a League Cup shoot-out loss to Manchester City, was brought on in place of Edouard Mendy as the 2022 edition edged towards a nail-biting end.

But the Spaniard was unable to save any of Liverpool’s penalties – including that of goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher – and then fired over as Chelsea’s 11th penalty taker.

Klopp has steered Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League success, but this was his first domestic cup win.

Bielsa gets his marching orders

Marcelo Bielsa’s reign as Leeds United manager came to an end after another humiliating defeat.

A 4-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur was the fourth successive defeat for Bielsa’s side, who have conceded 17 goals in the process.

Without key players Kalvin Phillips, who has played only 12 of Leeds’ 26 games, and Patrick Bamford, who has featured only six times, Leeds have been unable to sustain the intensity that took them to ninth place last season.

Bielsa won the hearts of Leeds fans when he orchestrated the club’s return to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence.

But the threat of relegation – Leeds are just two points above the drop zone – prompted chairman Andrea Radrizzani to part ways with the Argentine manager.

Leeds are lining up former RB Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch as Bielsa’s replacement.

VAR on City’s side

Manchester City dodged a bullet to earn a 1-0 win over Everton that extended to six points the Blues’ lead at the top of the Premier League.

Phil Foden capitalised on a defensive error to steer City in front with just eight minutes to play before City survived a late scare.

Rodri appeared to handle the ball in the box but Everton were denied a penalty despite a Video Assistant Referee check.

City have a six-point lead over second placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

Newcastle ruthless on Eriksen’s return

Fans from both clubs warmly applauded the return of Christian Eriksen to competitive football but there was no fairy tale comeback for the Dane.

Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing in the Euros just eight months ago, defied the initial medical diagnosis – and having his contract at Inter Milan terminated – by coming off the bench for Brentford against Newcastle United.

While Eriksen showed glimpses of quality, goals from Joelinton and Joe Willock secured a 2-0 win that lifted Newcastle above Brentford, who are now in a fight to stay up.

Glory return for three home games

Perth Glory are finally heading home after 10 games on the road but don’t expect to see much of Daniel Sturridge.

The former Liverpool, Chelsea and England striker has played less than 100 minutes in five of Glory’s 11 games this season. He limped out of action with a groin injury just 20 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in last week’s 1-0 loss to Macarthur.

Having arrived to so much fanfare, Sturridge has struggled for minutes and form as Glory have slipped to 10th place, seven points adrift of a finals place.

Perth ended a three-game stint in Tasmania with a 2-0 loss yesterday to Western United, who are top of the table.

Three games at HBF Park might be just the tonic for Richard Garcia’s side, starting with Sunday’s (March 6) clash with Adelaide United. Glory then have home games against Central Coast (March 13) and Brisbane Roar (March 19).

Leckie nicks it in stoppage time

Melbourne City are a point behind Western United thanks to Mathew Leckie’s stoppage-time winner against Sydney FC on Saturday.

City had edged ahead through Paulo Retre’s own goal before Milos Ninkovic equalised for Sydney eight minutes into the second half at Jubilee Oval.

But with Sydney poised to move above Melbourne Victory and into fifth place, Leckie snatched a stunning winner.

Napoli top on goal difference

Italy’s Serie A was starting to look like a league that no-one wanted to win.

After several missed opportunities for AC Milan and Inter Milan to strengthen their positions, Napoli finally rose to the top of the table on goal difference with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Lazio last night.

On Friday, AC Milan drew 1-1 at home to Udinese, while their city neighbours and title chasing rivals Inter were held to a goalless draw at Genoa.

This came after Napoli, who were third at the time, missed a chance to go top earlier last week by drawing with Cagliari.

Inter have now failed to win any of their past four Serie A matches, while Milan have drawn their past two games.

Napoli and Milan are both on 57 points with Inter two points further back.

Benzema bags 19th of the season

Real Madrid left it late to secure a victory that has kept them on track for a 35th La Liga title.

Karim Benzema came to Real’s rescue scoring his 19th league goal of the season with just seven minutes to play as mid-table Rayo Vallecano’s resistance was ended.

Real hold a six-point lead over second-place Sevilla, who beat Real Betis 2-1 last night.

Barcelona continued their improvement under manager Xavi with a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.

Barca, who will face Turkey’s Galatasaray in the Europa League Round of 16 after seeing off Napoli last week, are now unbeaten in their last 15 matches.

Mbappe level with Zlatan

Two goals from Kylian Mbappe moved him level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Paris St Germain’s second highest goal scorer of all time.

Of more importance to PSG, the goals helped secure a 3-1 win over struggling St Etienne, who had taken a first-half lead through Denis Bouanga.

PSG extended their lead at the top of the French league to 16 points as second-placed Nice were held to a goalless draw by Strasbourg.

Mbappe now has 156 goals for PSG, the same number achieved by Ibrahimovic, who is now at AC Milan, and 44 behind Edinson Cavani.

Cavani hit a perfect 200 goals for PSG in seven seasons from 2013 before his move to Manchester United.




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