Football Weekend Recap

FA Cup Action



The semifinals of the FA Cup took place during the weekend at an empty Wembley Stadium. The first semifinal was between the holders Manchester City and Arsenal. Following their win against Liverpool in midweek, the Gunners pulled off a shock 2-0 win with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scoring the two goals. Despite City having 71% possession and 16 shots, Pep Guardiola's side were nullified by Arsenal and did not look to have created a key chance during the game. Credit has to go to Mikel Arteta as he has taken the North London side to another FA Cup final, hoping to add to the 13 FA Cup titles the club has won. They will meet their London rivals Chelsea in the final on August 1st as Frank Lampard was fourth time lucky against Manchester United this season, winning the game 3-1. Olivier Giroud, Mason Mount and an own goal from Harry Maguire  gave the Blues the win while United paid the price for fielding a rotated side for the semifinal with David de Gea having a poor game for the Red Devils. Both Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard will be looking for the first major honour in their managerial careers, having won the FA Cup as players as well.

Leicester in trouble



In the Premier League, Tottenham hosted Leicester City on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. An own goal from James Justin and a brace from Harry Kane gave Spurs a 3-0 win against the Foxes. The win took Spurs up to 6th, which is the highest they can possibly finish this season, getting Europa League football for next season. For Leicester, this is a damaging defeat in their quest for Champions League football next season. They currently sit in 4th with 62 points but they played a game more than Chelsea and Manchester United. With both sides playing in midweek, Brendan Rodgers' side will be looking that both Chelsea and United drop points to have a standing chance of qualifying on the final day with their final league fixture against Manchester United. However, with only two wins since the resumption and key players out due to injury or suspension, that fixture against United looks like a winner-take-all fixture.

Final Weekend of La Liga



The La Liga season reached its conclusion on Sunday with the title and race for the Champions League all but wrapped up. However, the race for relegation survival was still on the cards. Lionel Messi scored twice in Barcelona's 5-0 win against Alavés, finishing his season with 25 league goals. This earns him the Pichichi award for La Liga's top goalscorer, his 7th in his career. As well as his goals, he made 21 assists in La Liga this season. The most since Xavi in 2008/09 where the Spaniard created 20 assists. Real Madrid finished their league winning campaign with a 2-2 draw against Leganes, ending the league season with 87 points. For Leganes,  it wasn't enough as they were relegated from La Liga, joining Espanyol and Mallorca in the Segunda Division. Santi Cazorla played his last game for Villarreal as the Yellow Submarines beat Eibar 4-0. Atlético Madrid finished third after a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad, Sevilla beat Valencia 1-0, Granada will play European football next season beating Athletic Bilbao 4-0, Levante beat Getafe 1-0, Mallorca played to a 2-2 draw against Osasuna, Espanyol played scoreless against Celta Vigo and Real Betis lost 2-0 to Valladolid.

Serie A Action



Inter Milan's title hopes look completely gone after a 2-2 draw against Roma at the Olimipico. Romelu Lukaku scored from the penalty spot for the Nerazzurri to salvage a point but are five points behind leaders Juventus having played a game more. Atalanta played to a 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona while AC Milan scored five past Bologna. Sampdoria beat Parma 3-2 with Fabio Quagliarella getting on the score-sheet. Sassuolo and Cagliari played to a 1-1 draw with Cagliari having a man sent off. Matteo Politano scored a 95th minute winner for Napoli beating Udinese 2-1. keeping their good form. Fiorentina beat Torino 2-0, Genoa beat Lecce 2-1 while Jaromir Zmrhal scored twice in Brescia's 2-1 win against SPAL.

Player of the Weekend: David Luiz



David Luiz is a player that is very polarizing. Despite having a horror show against Manchester City, Arteta defended the Brazilian and it paid dividends following Arsenal's 2-0 win against City in the FA Cup semifinal. Luiz marshalled the back not only nullifying City but keep a clean sheet as well. He made 48 touches, winning 4 aerial duels, 11 clearances and 4 clearances. A great defensive performance.

(Stats were sourced from whoscored)