Arsenal familiarize themselves with disappointment in 2-1 loss to ATM

It must be really tough to be an Arsenal fan. The English club went into the match with an aim to score one goal and prevent Atletico Madrid from scoring. That’s all they needed, one goal unlike teams like AS Roma who needed about 5 goals to turn the tie. Wenger used the same team that played against Atletico Madrid last week which meant that Mkhitaryan could only afford a place on the bench. Diego Simeone shacked things up a bit as he trusted his most versatile player, Thomas Partey, in right back as opposed to his usual midfield role. The Ghanaian defensive midfielder has been one of the standout players in both ties against Arsenal. He was trusted to cover at right back in the last stages of the first leg clash and that performance was enough to convince Simeone to trust him in that position once more. Arsenal failed to score a goal in the first half thanks to his interceptions and blocks which prevented the gunners from whipping in dangerous crosses from the right. It was in the 45th minute that Partey’s teammate, Diego Costa scored the goal to give the advantage to Atletico Madrid. The second half was even better by the English side as they tried to instigate attacks but the Ghanaian player blocked most of those attempts by intercepting crucial passes by Ozil, Ramsey, Monreal, and Xhaka on the right. Even when Mkhitaryan was called upon the pitch to replace Wilshere, Arsenal never produced enough to worry his defense. The few opportunities created by Ozil went begging as there was no one in the right spot to parry it home. Godin took most of the shine as well for clearing these useless attempts.

This match was meant to be a memorable night for Wenger in his last away match in European competition as Arsenal boss. He was seen squatting near the touchline from the 85th minute but his team could not produce a result. Much credit to Partey and his manager Simeone who coached his team from the stands. He prepared the team for this fight and they succeeded in knocking out Arsenal out of the UEFA Europa tournament. Simeone is on to the final. Maybe if he is announced as the next Arsenal boss, he should bring the African player to Arsenal and solve the defensive problems they have been having since Patrick Vieira left in July 2005. These disappointing results from a team with a weak mentality is what the new coach will have to deal with. What a tough ask!

Arsenal fail to capitalize on disadvantaged Atletico as they draw 1-1 at home

The Emirates Stadium looked packed for the first time in a while ahead of the clash between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League. The night marked Arsene Wenger’s last home match in Europe and he was looking to end it on a climax. The fans were pumped up and ready to give their all as the ready whistled kick off. The referee wanted to let the players know that he was the one in command he did not waste time before flashing a yellow card to Vrsaljiko for a late challenge on Jack Wilshere. The player was standing in for Juanfran at right-back since the Spaniard is injured. Vrsaljiko was silly to make a challenge on Lacazette and the referee showed him a second yellow in the 10th minute and Atletico Madrid were down to 10 men with more than 80 minutes to go. Hector Bellerin was involved in a clash with Koke shortly after and Diego Simeone reacted outrageously which saw the referee sending him off to the stands. The Gooners could not have a better advantage to put it a great performance against the wounded Madrid side. Wenger’s men, however, failed to produce a goal before the referee called for halftime. Atletico Madrid reshaped pretty well and showed discipline.

The Spanish club never really looked like they were a man down as they also created chances to match what Arsenal were doing. Both teams wasted a couple of opportunities before Jack Wilshere’s cross was headed past Jan Oblak by Lacazette. 1-0 and Arsenal looked like they were going to score more. Atletico Madrid went back into their shell and defended with their lives while waiting for counterattacks. As you might have guessed, it only took one counter-attack and Griezmann was through on goal with only Koscielny as a threat. The French defender failed to clear the ball and Griezmann got past the on-rushing Ospina. Mustafi had the chance to block Griezmann’s shot from going in but he slipped and saw the want-away striker score Atletico Madrid’s equalizer in the 82nd minute. That was it as Arsenal failed to capitalize on their advantage. The return leg would be a steeper mountain to climb with Diego Costa expected to be fit and will start from the beginning of the match. Will Arsenal have enough to win in Spain after struggling in their away form this season?

Real Madrid through to the semis

Real Madrid went into the match with a 3-0 advantage inspired by Ronaldo’s brace in the first leg. That was then, Mandzukic came into the match and scored in the 2nd minute just as Salah did last night. Juventus were out for blood in the Bernabeu and were pushing for more. Real Madrid had their fair chances as well even though a couple of them were ruled offside and the rest were saved by Buffon. The Old Ladies seemed to have the perfect recipe for success as they score the second through Mandzukic again. Real Madrid clearly missed a force in Ramos at the back as the defence looked disorganized and failed to deal with their opponents’ play. Zidane made big calls at half time as he replaced Gareth Bale with Vazquez and removed Casemiro for Asensio. Still, Juventus had the upper hand. Navas was forced to make a save from Higuain’s effort from 20 yards after the player took a shot on the half-turn. The match was intense and saw more than 7 yellow cards being flashed by Michael Oliver who was officiating on the night. Douglas Costa then crossed the ball from the right and Navas looked to have saved the ball before it slipped through his hands and it bounced off Matuidi’s knee and into the net. 3-0 it was and Real Madrid were nervous. Zidane made his final call from the bench and replaced Modric with Kovacic in a match that looked to be heading for extra-time. Little did we know that a big decision would be made by Michael Oliver as he pointed to the spot when Vazquez looked to be pushed by Benatia in the box. The game paused for a while as Juventus players took 3 minutes of the time, protesting at the decision which resulted in a red card being flashed at Buffon. So much for the final bow for the player who is rumored to be retiring at the end of this season. Eventually, the big man had to step over it and finish Juventus off. Ronaldo’s penalty hit the back of the net in the top right corner and Szczęsny  (the backup goalkeeper) guessed right but he could not stop the effort. 3-1 it ended and Real Madrid are through to the semifinals. This goal makes it 10 for Ronaldo against Juventus which means that he is the highest goalscorer against a single team in the history of the UEFA Champions League. Lionel Messi is just behind with 9 goals against Arsenal. Do you think Real Madrid deserved to go through?

Madrid derby ends in a draw

Not much was expected in this Madrid derby as both teams have almost conceded the La Liga title to Barcelona who lead the table with 79 points and Real Madrid with 64 points after the derby match. There was little fight in the teams to make the derby interesting as both teams have their eyes set on their second leg clashes in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Nonetheless, Zidane called on Ronaldo to start the match in a much rested squad that saw players like Mateo Kovacic, Bale and Vazquez make the first 11. Both teams looked off and the match did not really feel like the derby as the levels of intensity was a little bit lower than expected. The first half reflected the poor energy levels of both teams and it is no surprise that it was goalless. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored for Real Madrid on the 53rd minute. The Portuguese forward scored a volley from a Gareth Bale cross that found him at the far post. This goal means that Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in his last 15 matches. What a turnaround in form for a player who was starting to be regarded as finished. His celebrations were shortened as Antoine Griezmann scored for Atletico just 4 minutes later. Ronaldo was taken off by Zidane who did not want to his star man to get injured in a match that was not as important as it should be. Both teams found opportunities to win it as Varane’s effort and Ramos’ freekick was clawed out by Oblak while Costa also saw his shots saved by Navas. This result means that Barcelona have edged closer to winning the La Liga title with a 11 point advantage with just 7 games remaining. It’s all in your hands Barca.