Sporting Week in Review
Posted by Rob Shepherd on Friday, March 17, 2017
In the football world, it’s been a great week! Liverpool won ugly at home 2-1 to Burnley and Tottenham hit Millwall for six in the FA Cup. Chelsea yet again beat Manchester United and old boss Jose Mourinho, strengthening their hand for a domestic double.
Leicester continue to make us scratch our heads and reconfirm what messed up times we live in! City’s defensive woes continue. Lincoln were brought back down to earth by being beaten by York City in the FA Trophy, just a few days after being in the quarter finals of the FA Cup proper.
Manchester United scraped past Russian team FC Rostov 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Europa League but at some cost! They lost the world’s most expensive player, Paul Pogba due to a hamstring injury.
Rugby – Phew what a week! What a 6 Nations! With George North, back to his best, Wales win against Ireland 22-9 destroying their hopes of the Championship.
England extended their winning streak to 18 games equalling the All Blacks record whilst annihilating Scotland 61-21 to collect the Calcutta Cup.
England clinched the Championship with a game to spare with now the Triple Crown, a world record winning streak and the first back to back Grand Slams in 27 years, all within England’s grasp in Dublin this week.
France after a poor first half finally overpowered Italy to win 40-18 in Rome.
Making Rugby News Headlines in the Past Week
Meanwhile in France, two of arguably the best teams in the Top 14 league, the past two winners, Racing 92 and Stade Francais have announced that they are to merge for next season. Creating a super club in Paris.
The RFU are attempting to arrange the game the world wishes to see, England v The All Blacks this November. The Issue being it is outside of the International window and the contract the RFU has with the premiership clubs. The clubs want 50% of the match revenue to release their international players to play in the showdown at Twickenham – watch this space.
In Other News
Everton: Star player Romelu Lukaku seems to be edging towards the exit at Everton. He has stated he is frustrated at the lack of big-name signings and wants to win trophies. Everton have been trophy-less since winning the FA Cup in 1995 and may struggle to keep a hold on one of the most in-demand strikers in England.
Leicester City: Samir Nasri has branded Jamie Vardy “a cheat” after Nasri was sent off for a 2nd yellow card in the Champions League game on Tuesday. “For me he’s a cheat because if he was a foreign player you, the English press, would be saying he’s a cheat. For me he is a cheat”. He also added “They were winning 2-0, play the game like a man. You are not better than us but you are winning 2-0 and will qualify, just play the game.”
“I’m not a cheat and I never have been. That’s all I’ve got to say on the matter.” was Vardy’s reply when he heard Nasri’s allegations. A Leicester City spokesman said: “The club refutes entirely any allegation that questions the professional integrity of Jamie or any of its players.”
Europa League: Despite UEFA declaring the pitch at FC Rostov as being fine for the first leg between FC Rostov v Manchester United last week, Russian authorities have closed the ground saying the pitch doesn’t meet standards. This must be somewhat embarrassing for UEFA, especially as Jose Mourinho was extremely vocal in his criticism of the pitch and called on UEFA to postpone the first leg on safety concerns.
England: Gareth Southgate will be naming Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford in his England squad on Thursday. The BBC website says that the injuries to Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney will lead to a recall for the young striker. Rashford scored on his England debut in 2016 and has six caps to his name.
Wales: Liverpool teenager, Ben Woodburn has received a call up to Wales’ squad against the Republic of Ireland on 24 March. Woodburn became Liverpool’s youngest ever scorer when he scored against Leeds United in the EFL Cup. There were rumours of a “tug of war” between Wales and England for the 17-year-old but this news puts that story to bed.
Fifa: The Times revealed the full scale of the payments made to Michel Platini while he was UEFA president. A pension enhancement worth more than $1 million was declared as well as the $2 million payment he received from a ‘verbal agreement’ with Sepp Blatter. The $2 million payment led to Blatter and Platini being banned by Fifa’s ethics committee.
Adam Johnson: Ex-England footballer Adam Johnson has failed in his bid to challenge his conviction for sexual activity with a schoolgirl. Three judges refused the ex-Sunderland player’s appeal. Johnson is currently serving a six-year jail sentence.
Boxing: Anthony Joshua is looking in fine condition as he continues his preparations for the April 30th fight at Wembley with Wladimir Klitschko. An Instagram shot of the IBF Champ shows a ripped physique. Joshua captioned the photo: “Working out on the heavy bag.”
And finally:
Cheltenham: Douvan’s shock defeat at Cheltenham In the Champions Chase meant many of us were out of pocket. One unlucky punter though gets my sympathy, earlier in the festival they had won £400,000 when Buveur D’Air claimed the feature race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival. The unlucky tipster decided to double down and placed £500,000 on Douvan, oh well! Easy come, easy go.
Manchester United: Fans were left in a state of confusion when United reject, Mephis Depay scored an amazing goal from the half-way line. Mephis felt he had nothing to lose, against Toulouse and hit a wonder goal. Watch this beauty here.