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Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

West Ham climb to third with win over Liverpool

Goalkeeper Alisson’s nightmare afternoon ended Liverpool’s 25-game unbeaten run as resurgent West Ham United earned a 3-2 victory at the London Stadium.

Alisson conceded an own goal, allowed a Pablo Fornals shot to squirm under his body and failed to deal adequately with a West Ham corner that was headed home by Kurt Zouma.

Liverpool had responded brilliantly through Trent Alexander-Arnold and Divock Origi but they could not complete the job.

The result moved West Ham to third, a point above Liverpool and level on points with Manchester City, while Chelsea are three points clear at the top after being held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley.

Big name, big expectation, big impact?

Daniel Sturridge has been rightly hailed as a blockbuster signing for Perth Glory ahead of the new A-League season. But the 32-year-old is not the first to arrive with such hefty expectations.

Way back in 1997, Nigeria’s Samson Siasia, an African Cup of Nations winner and 1994 World Cup player (he scored against star-studded Argentina) promised goals for Glory but scored just three times in 22 games.

Brian Deane, who had scored the first goal in English Premier League history back in 1992, arrived in Perth in 2005, making just seven Glory appearances and scoring once before returning to Sheffield United.

Five years later, Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler moved to Glory, although the hype was muted by his previous season in the A-League with North Queensland Fury. Fowler scored scored nine goals for Glory, including three penalties.

And then there was France international William Gallas, who at his peak was among the world’s best defenders. When he joined Glory in 2013, he was past his best and featured 15 times, experiencing defeat on nine occasions.

Whether Sturridge, currently in quarantine in Perth, can have the impact Glory fans hope, will depend on how much he has left in the tank and how much he is genuinely prepared for the rigours of a competition that is often underestimated by high-profile imports.

In fairness to the former Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea player, being locked in a Perth hotel won’t provide him with the best preparation for Glory’s first game of the season against Adelaide United at HBF Park on November 20.

Norwich sack Farke after first win

When is the right time to sack an underperforming manager? At Norwich City, the answer is as soon as the team shows signs of improvement with their first win of the season.

The relief Daniel Farke felt after his side had climbed off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win over Brentford was immediately replaced with disappointment when he was shown the door.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith was dumped in terms that are more familiar to those who know football. A loss to Southampton on Friday was Villa’s fifth successive defeat and Smith was given his marching orders on Sunday.

Can anyone make sense of Manchester United?

After Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals salvaged a point against Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League last week, the Red Devils were played off the park in a 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Ronaldo has now scored nine goals in 12 appearances for United but there is a school of thought that even he is part of the problem in that he rarely puts pressure on opposition defenders.

But United’s problems run far deeper than a single player, as under-pressure manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows too well.

What Solskjaer doesn’t appear to know is where to turn to fix a problem that has left United in sixth place on the table.

Socceroos aiming for top spot against Saudis

Australia’s FIFA World Cup qualification charge will gather steam this week when the Socceroos return to home soil for the first time in more than two years to take on Saudi Arabia in Sydney.

An incredible 763 days after their last home fixture, due to travel restrictions and quarantine demands, the Socceroos can go top of their group with a win against leaders Saudi Arabia.

Australia will be without Tom Rogic, Aaron Mooy and Adam Taggart for the Saudi match, after which the Socceroos take on China in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, November 16.

Conte in charge for first Spurs lesson

New Spurs manager Antonio Conte hardly had time to get his feet under the desk before witnessing firsthand just how much work he has ahead of him.

With Nuno Espirito Santo sacked after a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United, Conte was jetted in to restore order at Tottenham, starting with a home game against Vitesse in the UEFA Conference League last week.

All was well in the world when Spurs were 3-0 up after just 28 minutes, but they conceded twice in the next 10 minutes before hanging on to win 3-2.

In Conte’s first Premier League game in charge on Sunday, Tottenham failed to have a shot on target in a 0-0 draw against Everton.

Milan’s derby draw keeps Napoli on top

AC Milan missed the chance to go top of Italy’s Serie A when they were held to a 1-1 draw by city rivals Internazionale.

Inter had taken the lead through Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty just 11 minutes in but Milan drew level when Stefan de Vrij steered the ball into his own net.

The draw allowed Napoli to stay top of the table despite their 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona, whose goal came from Giovanni Simeone. The Verona striker has now scored seven goals in his last four games.

Four clubs make early Champions League progress

Four clubs, from four different nations, have qualified for the first knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League, the round of 16, with two games still to play.

And don’t be surprised if any of England’s Liverpool, Germany’s Bayern Munich, Italy’s Juventus and Dutch side Ajax feature in the final in Saint Petersburg on May 28.

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski celebrated his 100th Champions League game by scoring a hat-trick – and missing a penalty – in a 5-2 win over Benfica that put the German side through.

Liverpool secured top spot in their group with goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane in a 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid, while Paulo Dybala’s two goals inspired Juventus to a 4-2 win over Zenit St Petersburg and Ajax came from behind to beat Dortmund 3-1.




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