Sports

Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Newcastle pressing for Champions League

Newcastle United’s quiet progress is getting a little bit noisier.

A 2-1 win away to Tottenham Hotspur is the most positive sign yet that Eddie Howe’s steady influence could lead the Magpies into the Champions League sooner than expected.

Victory over Spurs, who had won all five of their previous games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, lifted Newcastle to 21 points and fourth place, although they have played one game more than Chelsea (21 points) and Manchester United (20).

Goals from Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron gave Newcastle a comfortable half-time lead, and despite Harry Kane’s second-half header, Spurs were unable to complete a fightback.

Gerrard sacking gets instant response

Just days after Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard was sacked as Aston Villa boss, little known Aaron Danks was orchestrating an incredible victory.

Asked to lead Villa on an interim basis, Danks pulled the strings as Villa put four past hapless Brentford, just three days after Gerrard’s last act was to oversee a 3-0 defeat away to Fulham.

An early goal from Leon Bailey and two from Danny Ings gave Villa a three-goal lead in just 14 minutes and Ollie Watkins completed the 4-0 rout with his second goal of the season after the break.

Tighter at the top

There are no prizes for guessing which individuals were instrumental in helping Manchester City cut to two points Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League.

Erling Haaland added two more goals to his season tally, taking him to 17 in 11 games, and Kevin De Bruyne was also on target in a 3-1 win over Brighton.

Arsenal, who had gone into the weekend’s fixtures with a four-point lead over City, dominated possession in their match against Southampton but couldn’t force a win.

Granit Xhaka had fired them into an 11th-minute lead but Stuart Armstrong rescued a point for the Saints with a second-half goal.

Forest cash in on Liverpool misses

Nottingham Forest could finally be entering a phase of the season that Steve Cooper has been craving. Having spent big on new signings, the Forest manager has tinkered with his starting line-up and results have been hard to achieve.

But Saturday’s 1-0 win over Liverpool – just a second victory this season for Forest – has given Cooper hope that things are turning his way.

Taiwo Awonyiyi, a former Liverpool youth player who Forest paid Union Berlin AUD$30 million to bring to the City Ground, scored his third goal of the season to beat Liverpool, who are yet to win away from home this season.

Forest weren’t entirely convincing and Liverpool’s failure to make the most of their chances cost them. The Reds have now lost three of their 11 matches this season. Last season, when they finished second to Manchester City, they lost only twice through the entire campaign.

Forest fans will find out soon enough if the win over Liverpool is the start of something good. They take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium next weekend before home games against Brentford and Crystal Palace.

Casemiro steps into the spotlight

Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at Manchester United appears to be coming to an end just as that of his former Real Madrid teammate Casemiro clicks into gear.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro headed home a late equaliser as Manchester United earned a 1-1 draw away to Chelsea, who had gone in front through Jorginho’s 87th-minute penalty.

Ronaldo, who at 37 years old is past his best, has been used sparingly, featuring in eight of United’s 11 games and averaging only 30 minutes per game.

He was dropped from the team to face Chelsea after refusing to come on during last week’s win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Although manager Erik ten Hag has publicly claimed he wants to keep Ronaldo at Manchester United, the $900,000-a-
week Portuguese star could be moved on in the January transfer window.

Calvert-Lewin in England eyes

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back amongst the goals and in the eyes of England manager Gareth Southgate.

The Everton striker scored the first of three goals as Frank Lampard’s side beat Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Saturday.

With Southgate watching from the stands, Calvert-Lewin wasted no time putting down a World Cup marker with a tidy finish just 11 minutes in.

The 25-year-old was in the starting line-up for only the second time this season after battling to overcome a knee injury. He now has just three Premier League games to prove his fitness and sharpness if he is to force his way
into England’s World Cup squad.

Glory win without Fornaroli

It was a case of no Bruno Fornaroli no problem for Perth Glory who got their first win of the season on Sunday.

Fornaroli’s absence was due to injury, according to Glory, but not according to the Uruguayan, who claimed to be 100% fit in responding to Glory’s Instagram post.

The off-field controversy didn’t seem to affect the players, who claimed victory away to Central Coast Mariners.

Glory did things the hard way after falling behind to Samuel Silvera’s first-half goal but were level before the break through Giordano Colli. Aaron McEneff finished the job for Glory with a second-half goal to secure the much-
needed three points.

Red card controversy

You know something is not quite right when coaches from opposing teams agree that a referee (and the Video Assistant Referee) might have made the wrong call.

So it was for Adelaide United’s Hiroshi Ibusuki, who was given a straight red card for winning a tackle in his side’s 2-2 draw with Sydney FC.

Coaches rarely know more about the rules of the game than the officials but it seemed very harsh on Ibusuki, who won the ball and made only slight contact with Anthony Caceres.

Unfortunately for Ibusuki, VAR didn’t see a clear and obvious error in the decision of the on-field referee, which baffled both Adelaide boss Carl Veart and Sydney coach Steve Corica.

Football Australia are investigating the incident.

Napoli marching on

Victor Osimhen kept up Napoli’s winning streak with a late goal to sink Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Napoli, who are unbeaten in 15 matches including Champions League fixtures this season, are flying high at the top of Italy’s Serie A.

Osimhen scored his fourth goal of the season with 10 minutes to play against Roma to extend to seven matches Napoli’s Serie A winning run.

Napoli are three points clear of AC Milan, who won 4-1 at home to Monza.

Bundesliga comeback for Leipzig

What a day Mergim Berisha had on Saturday. The Augsburg striker scored a first-half penalty and then set up Ermedin Demirovic and Ruben Vargas to score as his side cruised to a 3-0 lead against RB Leipzig.

But the prospect of three points disintegrated in the final 18 minutes of the match as Leipzig came storming back. First, Leipzig defender Iago was sent off in the 65th minute before Andre Silva pulled a goal back for the visitors.

Berisha was then substituted as Augsburg looked to defend their lead only for goals from Christopher Nkunku and Hugo Novoa to seal a 3-3 draw.




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