Sunday's main events in European football
Sunday's main events in European football. Manchester City casually overcame the first cup barrier, and the fly in the ointment for Josep Guardiola was the injury of Akanji, who was replaced already in the 18th minute, Azernews reports.
In terms of football, the "citizens" did not have any problems. The statistics of the first half are indicative, during which, Ruben Dias gave more assists (90) than all the Huddersfield players. Visually, the advantage of the champion is best illustrated by the beautiful shuffle with the final blow in the fall performed by Alvarez.
The beginning was laid by a well-aimed shot from an acute angle by Foden, who confirmed the reputation of the cup scorer. Only this midfielder has scored in each of the last six FA Cup draws. However, all these events pale in comparison with the long-awaited return to the De Bruyne field. Etihad greeted the Belgian, who had not played since September 11, with an ovation, and he took an active part in the defeat of the guests, giving an assist to Doc.
The story of Denis Cheryshev's forgotten yellow card, which cost Real Madrid relegation from the Spanish Cup, has taught many. Barcelona, for example, clearly knew that on Sunday it was impossible to count on Yamal, who ran into disqualification back in the youth cup tournament.
However, the blue-garnet team coped like that, and the game itself with the fourth-division club looked somewhat like the match of Real Madrid with an opponent of the same level that took place the day before. As a result, the favorite wolves were fed, and the outsider sheep were almost intact.
Two goals against the Spanish champions is a real celebration for Barbastro fans, which they will tell their grandchildren about. As for Barca, Fermin Lopez's success deserves special mention. By opening the account, he became the first Catalan player to score in all tournaments of the current season.
Milan, which opened Sunday's tour program, did not miss the opportunity to break away by six points from Fiorentina, which had stumbled the day before, and the result in the first half was ensured by Loftus-Cheek's efforts.
To begin with, the Englishman from the center of the penalty area closed the transfer of Rafael Leau in touch, and then an attempt to execute a shot through himself was crowned by the fact that VAR saw a hit in the defender's exposed hand, and Giroud doubled the advantage of the guests from the penalty spot.
After that, it was possible to calmly play the score and give new chances to the graduates of the youth team, which eventually brought Traore's first professional goal. The 19-year-old Ivorian, coolly curling the ball into the far corner, came on as a substitute in the main team for only the second time.
If Milan coped with its local crisis, then Napoli would continue to storm, and in Turin, the champions collapsed at the junction of two halves. Yes, everything could have gone differently, had Raspadori realized a great chance, but he did not score, whereas Sanabria famously solved the episode after giving a free kick.
On top of that, the premiere of defender Mazzocchi as part of the Southerners turned out to be a nightmare. After entering the field after the break, he played only five minutes before his removal. And immediately Vlasic doubled the advantage of Torino with a long-range shot, which in the three-point era went through the first 19 rounds better only in the 2016/17 season (29 points against the current 27).
A few days ago, Juventus trampled on the same opponent in the Italian Cup (6:1), but in the championship — and even on their field — the outsider, as they say, balked. Moreover, Salernitana took the lead when Maggiore hit the far corner.
Only in the end, this football player made his way from hero to antihero, receiving a second yellow card at the beginning of the second half. Well, in most cases, the Bianconeri put the squeeze on the opponent. Ayling Junior was the first to break through the wall, he adjusted well to the ball, which Vlahovich did not hit.
The Serb scored his goal in the first added minute, aiming a header. The gap from Inter is still two points.
PSG, having started the year by winning the French Super Cup, continued with a crushing victory. In some ways, it turned out to be every day, but still special. At least because Mbappe has rewritten another club record.
Having opened the account, he became the best cup scorer of the Paris club, and a hat-trick helped him bring the number of goals in the second-highest national tournament to thirty.
And all this against the background of reports that Kilian has finally settled all the details of the upcoming move to Real Madrid. According to some reports, the current offer from Madrid turned out to be a little more modest than the previous one, but in any case, Mbappe should become the highest-paid footballer of the Royal Club.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz