This game and the entire tie swung on a late first-half penalty … and how
1 min: Gordon dribbles down the left and spins Eric Garcia, who is fortunate not to get booked for a pull of the shirt. But it is a free kick in a dangerous position, just to the left of the Barca box. Tonali to take.
Newcastle United get the ball rolling. Whistles as they pass it about the back.
Continue reading...Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice scored pearlers as Arsenal eased into the quarters, where they’ll face comeback kings Sporting Club
Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal make two changes to their starting line-up in Leverkusen. Ben White comes in at right-back for the injured Jurriën Timber, while Leandro Trossard replaces the benched Gabriel Martinelli. Kasper Hjulmand names the same starting XI.
The comeback’s definitely on now! Geny Catamo sprays a lovely ball down the right wing for Luis Suárez, who delivers an inch-perfect low cross into the middle. Pedro Gonçalves, steaming down the inside-left channel, doesn’t need to break stride before blasting home from 12 yards. Lovely sweeping move!
Continue reading...A draw that had huge ramifications at both ends of the Premier League
Manchester City get the ball rolling. A fine Saturday-evening-pints atmosphere!
The teams are out! Pretty bubbles in the air. West Ham in claret and blue, Manchester City in second-choice black. Not sure that’s the best combo for colour-blind fans, but that particular consideration seems to have fallen by the wayside pretty much across the board this season. We’ll be off in a minute.
Continue reading...Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds called the game in the commentary box as their team called the shots on the pitch
Wrexham get the ball rolling. “There’s going to be a lot of goals,” says Rob Mac. The first rule of football commentary, Do Not Tempt Fate, recklessly kicked to touch from the get-go.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac take to the mic on Sky Sports Football. They’ve got regular presenter David Prutton alongside them during the build-up, which seems a bit of a cop out, but presumably he’ll be taking a back seat soon enough. Meanwhile, the teams are out! Wrexham in red, Swansea in white. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. “I wish Snoop Dogg all the best in his investment in Swansea City,” begins Peter Oh. “I hope he’ll simply appreciate the beauty and atmosphere of the game rather than get caught up in statistics and metrics. Nuthin’ but an xG Thang just wouldn’t be as good as the original.”
Continue reading...Federico Valverde scored one of the great Champions League hat-tricks to give Real a huge advantage going into next week’s second leg
The Atari-esque sprites of Manchester City get the ball rolling. The famous old pile might not be sold out, but it is noisy.
The teams are out! Real Madrid in their meringue whites, Manchester City in a green top with jet-set geometric squiggles all over it, and a chip embedded within the City crest that, if you were to wave a newfangled “smart electric telecommunications device” over it, unlocks a slew of bonus features for Pele’s Soccer on the Atari 2600 EA Sports FC 26. This is the sort of news that will either excite you or make you feel so very old and useless. Latest score: Excited 0-1 Old & Useless.
Mario Lemina’s early goal gave Cim Bom the first-leg advantage … and the hosts could have had more
Galatasaray get the ball rolling. Liverpool desperately hoping to improve on the events of last September.
The teams are out! And there’s some BREAKING NEWS: the atmosphere is hella hot at the Ali Sami Yen†. Cim Bom Bom! Galatasaray wear their classic red and yellow halves, Liverpool are in third-choice bottle green, a colour that may send shivers down the spine of the Candy generation. We’ll be off in a couple of Zadok-the-Priest-soundtracked minutes.
Continue reading...City came from behind to swat aside Newcastle and keep their quadruple hopes alive
1 min: The kick-off’s sent long, and Newcastle win a throw deep in City territory on the left. Hall launches long. The ball nearly drops first to Woltemade, then Elanga, but neither can get an effort on target and turn themselves into the Jackie Milburn de nos jours. The 45-second mark ticks over without the scoreboard being troubled.
Newcastle United get the ball rolling. City are kicking towards the Gallowgate in this first half.
Continue reading...Liverpool eased past Wolves to reach the quarter-finals
2 min: Liverpool appear to be employing a one-man press. Jones. That’s it. Wolves play through it, and Mane dallies over a shot from the edge of the D. He can’t get one away, but then Gravenberch clips Toti and it’s a free kick for Wolves in a dangerous position, just left of centre, 30 yards out.
Liverpool get the ball rolling. “It’s 1-0 Falkirk,” writes Simon McMahon. “Hic!”
Continue reading...Will Osula scored a majestic 90th-minute solo goal to secure the points – deservedly so - for ten-man Toon
2 min: Newcastle get onto the front foot immediately. Hall bombs down the left; Trippier probes down the right. Shaw looks to have tugged Trippier back, but the referee waves play on. Not too much in the way of fume from the players, but the fans aren’t happy that’s for sure.
Manchester United get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Gallowgate in this first half.
Continue reading...The Gunners won a local stramash by two corners to one
4 min: A fairly shapeless start, actually. “The best pints are Thursday night.” Hello Ian McCourt, formerly of this parish. “Or about 1.30pm on a Friday.”
2 min: A mid-octane start to the game. No real shape yet, though it’s obvious that Palmer is prowling the left wing today, opposite to his usual beat.
Continue reading...Antoine Semenyo’s goal in first-half stoppage time was enough for City to close the gap on Arsenal at the top
Here come the teams! Leeds wear white, just as The Don decreed all those years ago. Manchester City in second-choice black, as per their Puma contract. A rare old atmosphere at Elland Road, as there always is, the home fans Marching On Together. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Sky have also just flashed up an intriguing stat that we may as well nick bears repeating. As mentioned in the preamble, during half time of the corresponding fixture in Manchester last November, Daniel Farke switched things around, changing to a back three, and nearly pulled off a great comeback …
Real Madrid didn’t impress, but they still had too much quality for Benfica, while Atalanta, PSG and Galatasaray all advanced in dramatic style
85 min: Krstović one-twos with Zalewski down the middle … and he’s clear! But Kobel reads the danger and comes racing out of his box to blooter clear. The keeper takes a whack for his trouble, but Krstović was within his rights to compete for the ball with so much on the line. Great play all round.
82 min: Atalanta counter, and Samardžić dances his way in from the right, before lashing a low diagonal drive inches wide of the left-hand post. Kobel wasn’t getting to that.
Continue reading...Newcastle won an entertaining low-stakes second leg against Qarabag, while Bodø/Glimt slayed European royalty at the San Siro
A short-corner routine by Atleti is pinged back down the left flank. Matteo Ruggeri crosses, the ball dropping onto the foot of Alexander Sørloth, who slots with a confident sidefoot from close range past the rooted Simon Mignolet. That’s a hat-trick for Sørloth, and Atleti will play either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16.
… so having said that, Atletico establish a two-goal lead, and are surely in the hat for Friday’s last-16 draw. Marcos Llorente plays a long ball down the inside-right channel for Alexander Sørloth, who should release Ademola Lookman into the box down the left. His pass across is poor, behind Lookman, but Antoine Griezmann comes over, offering himself as a wall for Lookman to ping the ball off. A one-two down the left, then Lookman crosses low. Sørloth can’t miss from six yards and that is surely that!
Continue reading...City closed the gap on Arsenal at the top thanks to two first-half goals from Nico O’Reilly
Newcastle get the ball rolling! “No-one actually believes we’ll win this game, do they?” sighs Toon fan Chris Paraskevas. “I mean the last time we won at the Etihad, the goal-scorers were Moussa Sissoko (now ruining his reputation at Panathinaikos with Rafa Benitez) and Ryan Taylor.”
The teams are out. Manchester City, in sky blue, are given a guard of honour by members of their 1976 League Cup winning side. The 50th anniversary of that victory, over Newcastle, comes up next week. The Toon in third-choice blue. As for the weather, Bert Challenor, the talent scout from Comedians by Trevor Griffiths, says it best: “I’ll never understand why they don’t run boats to Manchester.” We’ll be off in a minute.
Continue reading...Bottom-of-the-table Wolves came from two down to end a nine-game losing streak against leaders Arsenal, and throw the title race wide open
2 min: It’s not a pleasant evening weather-wise. It’s raining in the West Midlands, and that rain could turn to sleet or snow later. Slapstick entertainment not yet off the menu.
Wolves get the ball rolling. “A quiet night is wanted, I think, from all parties, at least in the sense of avoiding the ghastly shenanigans on view in the notorious match last night,” begins Charles Antaki, who speaks for us all. “Raucous is good, animated is fine, full bloodedness welcome, but none of the other stuff, please. British football has been pretty free of it these last years, for which we should all be grateful.”
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