The PL title race

 The title race is on in England, and I enjoyed two matches this weekend, looking at the two main title contenders.

I happened to be in a small beer-tasting bar in Mexico City where they put on the Manchester City-Newcastle match. While Newcastle has not lived up to expectations this season, Manchester City has refocused its efforts to keep the pressure on Arsenal on top of the league and kept pressure on Newcastle, taking a deserved lead in the first half by way of Nico O'Reilly, but Lewis Hall equalised for Newcastle, not entirely deserved, but Nico O'Reilly scored a second to give Manchester City a tighter victory than should have been the case, and keeping the pressure on Arsenal.

Today Arsenal was up against the hapless local rivals of Tottenham, a team that hardly appears to belong in the PL. Arsenal were far superior to Tottenham, winning 4-1 on two goals by Eberechi Eze and two by the Swede Viktor Gyökeres. 

This means that Arsenal keeps the lead on the PL table relatively comfortably, five points clear of Manchester City, but with one more match. But the pressure is big on both sides and it will be an interesting race to the end of the season.

RIP Sepp

 Sepp Piontek was a thoroughly likeable person. Behind the tough guy and the serious angry look there was always a hint of burlesque humour behind his small eyes. He was the perfect boss: demanding and disciplined, but also a kind and friendly spirit. In that sense he was the perfect match for a Danish national team in the 1980s, full of arrogant young superstars who needed both a disciplined manager, as well as one open to their youth indiscretions.

In that regard Piontek turned a second-rate footballing nation into a footballing superpower in the 1980s, taking Denmark to the 1984 Euro semifinals and their first World Cup, in 1986 (incidentally here in Mexico), where the Danish Dynamite awed the world with a fantastic offensive style that Denmark has never managed to replicate. 

Because despite the fact that Denmark won the 1992 Euros (under Piontek's assistant; Richard Møller Nielsen) and made it to the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals, I think that every Dane who witnessed the Danish Dynamite of the 1980s would agree that Piontek's team is the best football team that Denmark has ever had; they never won anything, but they made us dream, and that in the end is what football is all about!

RIP Sepp Piontek. 

My cat is a Gunner

My cat Whisky has been known to enjoy a football match here and then, but yesterday he came out of the cat-closet to show me that he is a Gunner.

I sat down to watch Leeds versus Arsenal and Whisky was soon comfortably seated in front of the TV, something he has done before:

But it did not take long before the fat and lazy bastard became clearly upset at an initial (but eventually feeble) Leeds pressure:

But the Arsenal started to move forward, and Whisky moved forward to support his team:

I had never seen him this committed as I asked him to move aside so that I could watch the match. But as the stubborn cat that he is, he refused to move away as Leeds got a corner kick and Whisky was meowing for the Arsenal defense to stand strong.

Arsenal was soon able to put more pressure on Leeds, and it was the Spaniard Martin Zubimendi, who following a corner kick, brought Arsenal ahead, and Whisky just looked at me with his "I-told-you-so" arrogant cat-look:

Of course, like any fan, he wanted to look at the replay again and again:

The little Gunner-cat was so happy he really wanted to rub in "we are winning, we are winning".

As the reality of Arsenal's dominance became clear, Whisky became satisfied, and he cuddled with me on the couch as Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and in the end Gabriel Jesus with a splendid strike, gave Arsenal a 0-4 victory that have put the Gunners 6-point clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, and possibly their first Premier League title since 2004.

But just as Whisky, Arsenal must learn not to become too arrogant. With 14 matches left Arsenal must keep their heads cold to take the title.

If they manage to take the title, Whisky will surely be celebrating, while I will be trying to make him shut up.
 

The right team won

I supported Senegal unapologetically in the CAF final between Senegal and Morocco. No matter what I would have supported a country I have visited a few times and where I have always enjoyed. But their 0-1 victory after extra time was so much sweeter as it happened against a home side that seemed to have all the favours in a final they felt entitled to.

It was towards the end when Senegal had a goal annulled for a very small free kick. In my view it can be defended, those decisions are always bound to have subjectivity, but what happened after this made it more suspicious, as Morocco was awarded a penalty for an equally subjective reason, a fault of those that can or can’t be awarded. I think that it would likely not have been awarded had it not been for a home team in a final…

Things exploded with the Senegalese players leaving the match, but in the end the penalty was finally taken and missed…

Brahim Diaz thought he could pull a Panenka, but it was the worst Panenka in history, arrogant surely, careless perhaps, and Edouard Mendy just caught it easily.

One felt better for Mendy as Moroccans had throughout the match in the most unsportsmanlike way tried to grab a towel he used to dry his gloves, and they could just watch as he saved, the match went into extra time, and Senegal won on a spectacular goal by Everton’s Idrissa Gueye.

Just sometimes there is justice in football, and Senegal winning the CAF was full blown justice.

Too good for Real Madrid

I have always admired Xabi Alonso as a player and manager, and that even though he played and managed a team that I am not fond about: Real Madrid.

But today proved that Xabi Alonso is probably too good for Real Madrid as the club announced that he is leaving "in mutual consent" after 8 months managing the side and following a 2-3 defeat to arch-rivals FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super-Cup final. Rumours swirl about Xabi Alonso being forced out by the players who never really adopted his ideas for the team. It is the example of a manager being too big for a club, as everything seems to indicate from his time in Bayer Leverkusen that Xavi Alonso is a decent and guy whose football ideas can give important results and that he is respected by his players. 

I hope to see Mr. Alonso succeed in a different club.

Another former player, Alvaro Arbeloa, will take over Real Madrid for now. The team is also trailing FC Barcelona in the league, and from what we saw with Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa will be struggling with a team of players who see themselves as the center of the world.