Manchester United begins life brightly under Michael Carrick
By Tanko Bauka
Manchester City’s calamitous run in the English Barclays Premier League continues and this time not with a draw as the last three in a row but with a painful 2-0 loss to their fiercest rival and next-door neighbours you will not believe it but Manchester United which inflicted their visitors the painful defeat a very damning result.
The results now indicate that Manchester City secured only three points out of the possible 12 points.
Manchester City came into the match after three draws in the league against Sunderland and Brighton and at Etihad Stadium many believed Manchester City would pick up all three points against Manchester United because the Old Trafford landlord are not consistent and as a result has to part ways with the head coach Ruben Amorim who has been delivering woeful performances week in week out since appointment.
A caretaker manager in Darren Fletcher, a former faithful of the club, oversaw two lacklustre performances, which took Benjamin Sesko’s last-minute effort to rescue a point against relegation-threatened Burnley, and were also sent packing in the FA cup by Brighton 2-1.
Brighton’s winner was by Danny Welbeck, who came back to haunt his former club.
Manchester United quickly appointed one of their own Michael Carrick and the appointment seems to be perfect because Manchester United put up a scintillating and a near perfect performance against one of the league top performer and throughout the duration of the pulsating encounter Manchester City were not given the space to display their tip tap football as Manchester United quickly closed in and took charge of the encounter.
With the three points, Manchester United can now dream of a top-four finish and a Champions League football as they occupy the fifth position, one point behind Liverpool in fourth position.
Arsenal, on the other hand, seems to have started to show signs of their trademark poor performance towards the end of the season, in the process losing points at a critical time.
The Gunners would have gone 9 points clear on the league log if they had defeated Nottingham Forest and picked up all three points, but they failed to grab the opportunity, and with the results, they are now 7 points clear.
Arsenal in the last three seasons have ended up runners up to either Manchester City or Liverpool FC which won the league following poor results when it mattered most, losing to teams they should easily pick up three points against but the Mikel Arteta boys started the season strongly after bringing new players spending over two hundred million pounds and after eleven straight unbeaten run.
The belief among fans is that Arsenal would go all the way to lift the league trophy, but they are dropping more points despite creating numerous chances, and are always unable to convert them to positive results.
The defending Champion Liverpool FC were held to a one draw by relegation threatened Burnley as Szobolai failed to convert a penalty before Floren Witz opened the scoring for the home team, but Burnley, fighting for survival, levelled up to the disappointment of the players as well as the fans.
Tottenham Hotspurs were beaten 2-1 by West Ham United who are fighting for survival and heaping more pressure on the head coach Thomas Frank whose coaching credentials are under severe scrutiny and Sunderland continue their impressive runs with a comfortable 2-1 against Crystal Palace at stadium of Light, Leeds United also snatched all the three points against Fulham.
Liam Rosenior had the perfect start as Chelsea head coach with a 2-0 win over a very difficult opponent, Brentford City, with Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer on the score sheet.
Wolves picked up a valuable one-point against Newcastle United as they continue their resurgence for survival, but it’s a disappointment for Eddie Howe and his boys.
Aston Villa, seeking to cut the gap at the top, will be most disappointed while turning out at the Stadium of Light to a rosy welcome by the fans who believe their home record will stretch to twelve, as they were on Eleven undefeated.
Still, David Moyes and the Everton boys have a different plan and have set their eyes on the three points, which they deserve.
When the opportunity was presented to him by Aston Villa Argentinian goalkeeper Martinez, Everton striker grabbed it with both hands and scored the lone goal.
Aston Villa mounted pressure upon pressure, but Everton were able to repel every threat.
In the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid’s new head coach, Alvaro Arbeloa, won his first game after Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey in his first game as Real Madrid’s head coach after the sacking of Xabi Alonso last week.
Real Madrid produced a pulsating performance, beating Levante 2-0 with Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asensio scoring for the home team.
Athletic Bilbao’s poor season continue with a 3-2 loss to Mallorca, while Real Betis defeated the yellow submarine Villarreal, and Osasuna beat Real Oviedo 3-2.
The shocking results of this weekend encounter came from Anoeta City Stadium, where Real Sociedad always make life very difficult and unbearable for their visitors, and this time their victim is the defending Champion and the league leader FC Barcelona.
Real Sociedad was reduced to ten men and lost their star player, Japan Akubo to injury, Atletico Madrid picked up the three maximum points beating Deportivo Alaves 1-0 while Celta Vigo defeated Rayo Vallacano 3-0 with Valencia inflicting a 1-0 defeat against Gatafe
In the Italian Serie A, the leaders continue to extend their lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 win, but inconsistent Juventus lost 1-0 away to Cagliari, while the defending Champion Napoli defeated Sassuolo 1-0. Pisa SC and Atalanta had earlier on Friday settled for a one-all draw.
AC Milan, Fiorentina and AS Roma all pick up three points against Lacce, Bologna and Torino, respectively; however, the encounter between Parma and Genoa ended goalless.
In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, yet to lose a match in the league, demolished RB Leipzig 5-1, while Borussia Dortmund defeated FC St Pauli 3-2, Wolfsburg beat Heidenheim 1-0, and Hoffenheim piped Bayer Leverkusen 1-0, but Hamburger and Bayern Monchenglabach played out a goalless draw.
Werder Bremen settled for a three-all draw.
Stuttgart and Union Berlin ended one goal apiece, while FC Augsburg played out a two-all draw against SC Freiburg.
Results across Europe.
English Barclay Premier League
Manchester United 2- Manchester City 0
Sunderland 2- Crystal Palace 1
Tottenham 1- West Ham United 2
Liverpool 1- Burnley 1
Leeds United 1- Fulham 0
Chelsea 2- Brentford 0
Nothingham 0 – Arsenal 0
Wolves 0- Newcastle United 0
Aston Villa – Everton
Spanish La Liga l
Espanyol 0- Girona 2
Real Madrid 2- Lavente 0
Mallorca 3- Athletic Bilbao 2
Osasuna 3- Real Oviedo 2
Real Betis 2- Villarreal 0
Gatafe 0- Valencia 1
Atletico Madrid – Deportivo
Celta Vigo – Rayo Vallacano
Real Sociedad – Barcelona
Italian Seria A
Pisa SC 1 – Atalanta 1
Udinese 0- Inter Milan 1
Napoli 1- Sassoulo 0
Cagliari 1- Juventus 0
Bologna 1- Fiorentina 2
Parma 0- Genoa 0
Torino – AS Roma
AC Milan – Lacce
German Bundesliga
Werder Bremen 3- Frankfurt 3
Koln 2- Mainz 05 0
Hamburger 1- Monchenglabach 0
Hoffenheim 1- Leverkusen 0
Wolfsburg 1- Heidenheim 2
Dortmund 3- FC St Pauli 2
RB Leipzig 1- Bayern Munich 5
Stuttgart – Union Berlin
FC Augsburg – SC Freiburg
Stuttgart 1- Union Berlin 1
FC Augsburg 2- SC Freiburg 2
