Europa qualifiers
News
- Jean-Marc Bosman took on football and won 20 years ago - Sportsmail tracks down the man who changed the game forever Good interview, a look at Bosman and how it gave rise to the 'super clubs' in that footballers could go where they wanted to, and as such, migrated to the clubs that paid more, and as such, the concentration of talent at these clubs.
- Arnold Peralta got shot to death back at home in Honduras RIP
- Manchester United assistant Giggs could leave amid Swansea interest Hmm
- Manchester United stars cancel Christmas party after crushing Champions League exit
As you should. Shameful - Diego Costa hints at Atletico Madrid return... with Antoine Griezmann, Felipe Anderson and Alex Teixeira on Chelsea radar I won't be sad to see Diego Costa go, tbh. But Atleti signings don't really seem to get on at Chelsea (Courtois was a loan from Chelsea to Atleti before being recalled, not a signing)
- Jamie Vardy retains Premier League Player of the Month award after breaking record
UGH, Vardy
Europa
Sion 0- 0 Liverpool
The unheated pitch, because Switzerland is cold
Some Sion fans brought the banner, "You'll never drink alone." We'll be having that, thank you
Liverpool needed a point to get to the top of their group. They already qualified, but once you're top of the group, you avoid the tough teams. No fan/supporter in England wants Klopp at Liverpool against Dortmund, because we know what Sky and BT (Sky's uglier, less literate cousin) will do with the #narrative
This match was well, a bore draw. But to be fair to both sides, half of the pitch was iced over. You couldn't slide or be aggressive, lest your skin be sliced open on the ice. I get it. Hendo is back!
Coutinho had a hamstring injury so he missed a few matches. You got the feeling that Liverpool used the match as a training exercise instead of a full on match. The most exciting thing about the match were the lyrics in reddit's commentary thread, and over at the Guardian, people tweeting messages to the Guardian's staff, kvetching about Champions League cast offs coming into the Europa League. I agree! Once you're out of CL at that stage, GTFO.
Shout out to Klopp for using academy talent with purpose. Brad Smith is an Aussie who came to England and the LFC academy at 14. He was looking to leave this season until Klopp came and then resigned, and now he's getting valuable playing time in Europa and Cup matches. Nicked a MOTM for his efforts
Emre Can has a faltering form. But ehh, he's young. Still skilled, but hopefully now that he's in the midfield going forward, he has stability and can work on his game
Tottenham Hotspur 4- 1 Monanco
Shall we do a 'five things we learnt' post for this game? Okay, Érik Lamela comes alive on European nights. To nick a comment from the Guardian sports writer, "Lamela thrives in the tactical bent of Europe, instead of the pin ball pace of the Premier League." It's true. In the European matches, he has more pace on the ball, and can deliberate more to stunning effect. Hattrick, y'all! Three goals!
Tottenham's academy is rich with talent. 18 year old Joshua Onamah got his Europa start last night over Harry Winks, and killed it. Word has it that when Pochettino was a year in the Spurs job, Southampton called and asked him if he wanted their academy talents on loan. He said no, citing the fact that Spurs had their own academy talent that was comparable. Poch is right again
Monaco was poor. Their owner has decided to invest in youth, and sold off the crown jewels, so to speak, so it's a side that's going to take some time to gel
Tottenham Hotspur has depth. There were seven changes to the squad, from the back to the forward leading the line. Praise
Hugo Lloris loves Europa. Even though he came to Tottenham for Champions League action, he's gone on record saying that he loves all European competition, and wanted Spurs to take it seriously. Pochettino seems to have learnt from his first European sojourn last year, and seems to be juggling it well so far. The draw for the last 32 will take place on Monday, December 14
Fenerbache 1- 1 Celtic
Liverpool's loan player Lazar Markovic scored a goal, because Celtic's goalie was away with the fairies at the time (he had a howler).
Celtic pulled it back, sparing their blushes, but still at the bottom of their table
Napoli 5- 1 Legia Warsaw
A Chelsea loanee- Nathaniel Chalobah- got a goal in.
Chalobah is on his SIXTH loan out from Chelsea. Son, I... hope you get a permanent place somewhere, because as long as Mourinho is manager, you won't get a sniff at Stamford Bridge. Or you might be like Loftus Cheek, getting one sniff, and then forever denied. Word has it that Loftus Cheek is being watched by other teams (he's been linked to some German ones) if his contact at Chelsea falls through
Fiorentina 1- 0 Belenesis
Fiorentina is through. Babacar scored the only goal
Europa team of the week. *squees* Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur got players on it. I take pride in Europa because well, yeah.
OP: done! I'm sure I haven't scratched half of the games that went on last night. But time is short and Europa teams are many. So cheers, jeers, corrections and commentary pushback, you know the drill