The Fußball Chatter

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION - 10TH The darlings of the football analytics, Brighton is that team that plays good football which is reflected in the numbers but is not seen in how many points they get. In a way, it shows how far Brighton has come since gaining promotion five years ago. Last season was their best showing in the top flight in general, finishing in 9th, with their 4-0 home win against Manchester United the biggest highlight of the season for the Seagulls . So far, there has been little turnover with Yves Bissouma their only departure though there has been speculating whether defender Marc Cucurella will leave, amid speculation of joining Manchester City or Chelsea. Regardless, Brighton at their best can give anyone a game even those at the top. The main concern for Brighton is their ability to score goals. Brighton ranked high in the top ten in terms of shot-creating actions and shots but had the fifth-worst attack last season. Potter's tactical flexibility is a major r...

Bundesliga  It's getting to crunch time with seven games remaining in the Bundesliga, as 19 goals were scored from the past weekend. The biggest tie was the title race clash between Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday. Bayern, who were playing without Robert Lewandowski, saw off Leipzig with a 1-0 win courtesy of Leon Goretzka. Probably the tie that decides the title. There was the Berlin Derby between Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin, which ended 1-1 which boosted Hertha's chances of staying up. André Silva scored the winner for Eintracht Frankfurt against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalonstadion as Die Alder won 2-1, hurting Dortmund's chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season. Mainz and Arminia Bielefeld played out a 1-1 draw which keeps Arminia in the relegation zone. FC Köln are now in the relegation/playoff spot, losing 1-0 to Wolfsburg, two points behind Mainz, who are away from the relegation places. Bayer Leverkusen starte...

  Premier League Nine games were played in the Premier League this past weekend, with 21 goals scored. The biggest clash in the English top-flight was the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates. Arsenal went out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette. Spurs went in front thanks to a wonderful rabona goal from Erik Lamela, who later got sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Another wonderful goal was scored by Dwight McNeil for Burnley in their 2-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park. The Burnley wide-player breezed past Allan before curling the ball past Jordan Pickford. Chris Wood also scored for Burnley with Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back for the Toffees . Kelechi Iheanacho scored his first Premier League hat-trick as Leicester City trashed Sheffield United 5-0. The Nigerian, who scored in Leicester's last two, was too much for the Blades , with Jamie Vardy acting as a perfect foil. His third was...

  Serie A 21 goals were in the Italian top flight this past weekend but only three games had three goals or more. One of those games was between league leaders Inter Milan and Genoa. The Nerazzurri had a comfortable 3-0 victory with Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sánchez. That's now five straight wins for Inter as they are still four points ahead of AC Milan. Speaking of their city rivals, they beat top-four hopefuls AS Roma 2-1 at the Olimpico on Sunday. Goals from Franck Kessié and Ante Rebić ensured the win for the Rossoneri, after losing back-to-back games. a 77th-minute equalizer from Antonín Barák meant the points were shared between Hellas Verona and Juventus. A blow in their chances of gaining ground on the Milan clubs, as they are six points behind Milan and ten points behind Inter, albeit with a game in hand. Atalanta moved into the top four following their 2-0 win over Sampdoria with goals from Ruslan Malinovskiy and Robin Gosens, who scored his seventh goal in...

  Serie A Action 33 goals were scored from this past weekend in Serie A, with only two teams unable to score. One of those teams was surprisingly Napoli. They fell short against attacking hotshots Sassuolo, losing the game 2-0. A penalty from Manuel Locatelli and a late goal from Maxime Lopez enabled the Neroverdi to pull off a big win against a Napoli side that have started the season well, scoring 14 goals from their six games played. Cristiano Ronaldo made his return to the Juventus squad after contracting coronavirus in early October, missing four games in the process. He made up for the lost time, coming off from the bench to score a brace in Juventus' 4-1 win against Spezia on Sunday. Alvaro Morata and Adrien Rabiot also got themselves on the scoresheet but the Old Lady will be glad that Ronaldo is back in the fold. Ivan Perisic scored in the 92nd minute to salvage a point for Inter Milan as they drew 2-2 against Parma with former Arsenal winger Gervinho scoring a brace for P...

  Premier League Recap The Premier League returned following the international break with eight games played from the weekend, with 27 goals scored and only two teams from matchday 5 kept a clean sheet. The biggest game from the Premier League was the Merseyside Derby between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday. The game ended 2-2 with Mohamed Salah scoring his 100th goal for the Reds  while Dominic Calvert-Lewin continued his goal-scoring form for the Toffees. The game was marred with controversy, particularly from Liverpool's standpoint. Firstly, the third 'goal' which was scored by Jordan Henderson was ruled out for offside as Sadio Mané was placed in an offside position. The other was Jordan Pickford's challenge on Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk. The Everton keeper lunged in on the Dutchman, resulting in an early substitution. As of now, van Dijk has been ruled out for a considerable point of time as he sustained an ACL injury, altering Liverpool...

 First Weekend of the Premier League The Premier League made its return for the 2020/2021 season. Given how the 2019/2020 season ended, this coming season is going to be an odd one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tight fixture set-up of the new season. Nevertheless, we are all excited that the new season is underway. The first game of the season was Fulham hosting Arsenal at Craven where the Gunners blasted their opponents away with a 3-0 victory. Alexandre Lacazette scored the first goal of the season, putting the ball in the back of the net from two yards out after some heavy pressure that Fulham found it difficult to defend. New Arsenal signing Gabriel opened his Premier League account with a goal. The Brazilian scored from a set-piece early in the second half, with an Arsenal victory looking more imminent. Willian also had a good debut, creating two assists. The other was a long ball which found Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who put his shot in the top corner as Mikel Ar...

Newcastle United. Potential Finish: 19th. Final Position: 13th Steve Bruce was appointed following the departure of Rafa Benítez. It was an unpopular choice as Steve Bruce have not managed a Premier League team in four years and Benítez was a popular figure on Tyneside. The former Sunderland manager was able to shut down his critics as the Magpies finished comfortably in mid-table without any fear of relegation. The football was not pleasing for everyone with Newcastle playing an ultra-defensive style of play and only scored 38 goals. Only Norwich, Watford and Crystal Palace scored less goals. Allan Saint-Maximin gave Newcastle fans some excitement with his trickery while Joelinton has been a massive flop following his £40 million pound move from Hoffenheim. There seems to be changes going on at Newcastle with a massive takeover from a Saudi consortium which means that Steve Bruce will be fighting to keep his job next season if the takeover goes through. Everton. Potential Fini...

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...

Premier League Action The Premier League is slowly reaching its conclusion with the race for Champions League football and the battle for relegation survival heating up. Norwich City were officially relegated from the Premier League after a 4-0 defeat to West Ham United. The Canaries have found the jump from the Championship difficult losing 24 of their 35 games played, conceding 67 goals. Watford beat Newcastle 2-1, boosting their survival chances. Liverpool dropped points at home for the first time this season after a 1-1 draw against Burnley with Jay Rodriguez scoring the equalizer. Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick as Manchester City hammered Brighton. Sheffield United threw a spanner at Chelsea's Champions Leagues hopes, defeating the Blues 3-0 at Bramall Lane. Wolves defeated Everton 3-0 to keep their slim chances of finishing 4th alive while Trézéguet scored a brace to give Aston Villa an important 2-0 win against Crystal Palace to, keeping their survival hopes alive. ...