Blog – The Match – Page 4

Spurs’ dramatic comeback at Ajax fitting amid season of Champions League close calls

Steve Nicol and Shaka Hislop examine where things went wrong for Ajax, pointing out the instances in which their inexperience cost them against Tottenham.

Lucas Moura scored a dramatic 96th-minute winner and hat trick against Ajax, our ESPN FC crew break down his performance that sent Spurs to the Champions League final.

AMSTERDAM — So Tottenham continue to be football’s nearly men, all the way to the Champions League final in Madrid, after completing the competition’s most dramatic fightback in 24 hours.

Liverpool one night, Tottenham the next. The Premier League is the gift that keeps giving in the Champions League, and debate will now rage as to which club mounted the more incredible comeback to reach next month’s final in Madrid.

A 4-0 home win against Barcelona to win 4-3 on aggregate takes some beating,…

Liverpool’s comeback vs. Barca will be remembered as Anfield’s most magical European night ever

Steve Nicol says he feels guilty for doubting Liverpool could pull off a comeback against Barcelona and reach the Champions League final.

The FC crew dissect the midfield and attacking issues that cost Barcelona a 3-0 lead against Liverpool and a place in the Champions League final.

LIVERPOOL, England — Jurgen Klopp even hinted that he didn’t believe Liverpool could pull off a Champions League miracle against Barcelona, admitting on Monday that “beautiful failure” was perhaps the best his team could hope for against the Spanish champions.

Come on, Jurgen, you need to have more faith. Your players have shown they are capable of anything, but nothing can match this: a 4-0 rout of Barcelona when every odd was stacked against them.

Trailing 3-0 from the semifinal first leg…

Liverpool’s comeback tops any magic historic Anfield has ever seen

Steve Nicol says he feels guilty for doubting Liverpool could pull off a comeback against Barcelona and reach the Champions League final.

The FC crew dissect the midfield and attacking issues that cost Barcelona a 3-0 lead against Liverpool and a place in the Champions League final.
LIVERPOOL, England — Jurgen Klopp hinted that he didn’t believe Liverpool could pull off a Champions League miracle against Barcelona, admitting Monday that “beautiful failure” was perhaps the best his team could hope for against the Spanish champions.
Come on, Jurgen, you need to have more faith. Your players have shown they are capable of anything, but nothing can match this: a 4-0 rout of Barcelona when every odd was stacked against them.
Trailing 3-0 from the semifinal first leg in the Camp…

Kompany delivering Man City the title would be a fitting farewell for the captain

Manchester City are back in the driver’s seat ahead of the final day of the season after Vincent Kompany’s long-range shot put the defending champions back on top of the table.

The FC crew discuss Vincent Kompany’s moment of magic for Manchester City and how an unlikely strike from the defender could decide the title race.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany says ‘belief and desire’ are what led to his game winner against Leicester.

MANCHESTER, England — Vincent Kompany obviously wasn’t going to score from there. His teammates knew it, his manager knew it and, crucially, Leicester City’s players seemed to know it as well.

There were 20 minutes remaining in a match of cloying tension at the Etihad Stadium on Monday when Aymeric Laporte squared the ball to Kompany midway inside the Leicester half. This is where Manchester City were. Their centre-backs camped on the halfway line, their forward players clustering ineffectively…

Man United missed out on top 4 finish again but the worst is yet to come for directionless, crisis-ridden team

Manchester United could only manage a meager 1-1 draw against league-worst Huddersfield and will now play the 2019-20 season without Champions League football.

Craig Burley examines the top four race in the Premier League and rips into Manchester United, who are bound for the Europa League next season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cut a somber figure after Man United’s draw against Huddersfield as he addressed the reasons behind his club not securing a top 4 spot.

HUDDERSFIELD, England — The most worrying thing for Manchester United right now, as their last hope of qualifying for the Champions League slipped away at Huddersfield with Sunday’s 1-1 draw, is that there is no guarantee things will get better any time soon.

Players will come and go over the summer as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s gets his first real chance to shape his squad, but we have been here before. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have all been given money to spend — more than…

The worst is yet to come for Man United

Manchester United could only manage a meager 1-1 draw against league-worst Huddersfield and will now play the 2019-20 season without Champions League football.

Craig Burley examines the top four race in the Premier League and rips into Manchester United, who are bound for the Europa League next season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cut a somber figure after Man United’s draw against Huddersfield as he addressed the reasons behind his club not securing a top 4 spot.

Tottenham’s self-destruction a familiar failing as Pochettino’s men sweat on Champions League

Tottenham had two men sent off at Bournemouth as they suffered a 1-0 defeat that keeps their top four spot in the balance.

English Premier League: Nathan Ake (90′) Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham

English Premier League: Juan Foyth (47′) Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham

English Premier League: Son Heung-min (45′) Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham
The strangest thing about nine-man Tottenham’s self-destruction in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth was that it occurred in entirely unthreatening surroundings.
This was a lunchtime kick-off on a pleasant day at the Premier League’s smallest ground, and Tottenham were up against a Bournemouth side with little to play for.
The home side were in poor form, spent the prematch period handing out end-of-season awards and named a debutant goalkeeper so unknown he didn’t even have a Wikipedia…

Liverpool dig deep, show fighting spirit once again to keep Premier League title hopes alive

Divock Origi scored a late winner for Liverpool at Newcastle, setting the stage for an intense finale in the Premier League title race.

Divock Origi and Trent Alexander-Arnold recap Liverpool’s pulsating 3-2 at Newcastle to keep their title dream alive.

It was Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers coach, who claimed that his team didn’t lose, but merely ran out of time. Lombardi would have enjoyed watching Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool — the team that is doing its best to prove that it can always beat the clock.

After 37 Premier League games, the clock is ticking on Liverpool’s title bid. Saturday’s 3-2 victory at Newcastle, secured with yet another late winner by Divock Origi, means they have just 90 minutes left to wrestle the Premier…

Messi delivered magic for Barcelona but Liverpool had no plan for Alba; Ajax present beats Ajax past

Barcelona take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Liverpool after a dominant performance at home.

Donny van der Beek scored the lone goal as Ajax topped Spurs 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

The ESPN FC panel don’t have a bad word to say about Liverpool’s performance but are in awe of the way Lionel Messi almost single-handedly beat them back.

Steve Nicol, Craig Burley and Alejandro Moreno talk Coutinho’s struggles at Barcelona as the former Liverpool man was subjected to jeers by his own fans on Wednesday.

Gab Marcotti was more impressed with Ajax’s maturity and ability to manage a 1-0 result away from home than with their attacking prowess.

The FC’s crew agree that an off-the-pace midfield was a bigger worry for Tottenham than missing key players in their loss to Ajax.

The Exploding Heads introduce UEFA’s newest product, Vlarsses, clear and obvious greatness at the low cost of your enjoyment.
The week’s two Champions League semifinal first legs were very different matches, but both offered plenty of tactical intrigue. Here’s a key tactical talking point from each.
Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool: Left-backs make inroads
On one hand, this home win was all about Lionel Messi. But in a tactical sense, Liverpool managed to deny him space effectively: He found himself in the right position for a fortunate rebound in front of an open goal, and then curled in yet another majestic free kick.
On…

Liverpool made Lionel Messi angry and paid the price

Join the Exploding Heads as they reflect back at April’s highlights, including Chris Hughton’s April Fools’ fallout, Tottenham’s new stadium tilting London and more.
The best way to deal with Lionel Messi is to treat him like football’s version of The Incredible Hulk: Don’t make him angry and you might just be spared an ordeal of pain and humiliation.
Liverpool midfielder James Milner did not get the memo, judging by his crude first-half barge on the home side’s No. 10 during Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League semifinal first-leg win at the Nou Camp, and it is fair to say that the Premier League side went on to reap a whirlwind of two-goal Messi’s annoyance.
“In…

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