Your Weekly Football Round-Up
Summarising the latest happenings within the football world - here is your weekly football round-up.
FA Cup Results
In the FA Cup last week, there were victories for many of the Premier League teams including Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Manchester City.
The one game that made the headlines though was Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City.
Vertonghen’s goal against Norwich was his 14th ever goal for Spurs.
Spurs took the lead early on in the 13th minute through centre back Jan Vertonghen after putting his powerful header into the back of the net.
The visitors caused Spurs plenty of problems all throughout the game, with goalkeeper Michel Vorm having to make multiple saves to deny the Canaries from an equaliser.
Having looked like Norwich were going to have to leave London empty handed, Josip Drmic pulled a goal back for his side after a tap in from close range after Vorm spilled a previous shot from Kenny McClean. The match eventually went to a shootout after nothing could separate the two sides during the 30 minutes of extra time, and it was Norwich who came away triumphant after beating Tottenham 3-2 on penalties.
Canaries keeper Tim Krul successfully saved two of the Spurs penalties putting them through to the FA Cup quarter finals for the first time in 28 years.
FA Cup Quarter Finals Draw
This is the draw for the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup with these fixtures originally scheduled to be played during the weekend on Saturday, March 21st.
Sheffield United vs Arsenal
Newcastle United vs Manchester City
Norwich City vs Manchester United
Leicester City vs Chelsea
However, with the outbreak of COVID-19 resulting in the suspension of English Football until the intended date of return on April 3rd, it remains to be seen as to when/if these fixtures will be played - amid growing concerns that the domestic football season will not reach a conclusion.
Premier League
Manchester United completed the Premier League double for the first time in a decade over their derby rivals Manchester City with a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.
The blues’ Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson pretty much gifted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team both of their goals, with the first just sneaking underneath his body after an Anthony Martial strike from the United free kick just on the half hour mark.
City grew into the game and definitely enjoyed the majority of possession which resulted in Sergio Aguero finding the back of the net in what he thought was the equaliser for his side; however VAR later ruled this out for offside.
In the dying moments of the game, Ederson threw his clearance straight into the path of 23 year old United midfielder Scott McTominay, who showed great composure to put the ball into the net in the 96th minute after a superbly hit long range finish.
This was a spirited team victory for the Red Devils and with Manchester City suffering defeat, this now means that Liverpool only need 6 more points ( the equivalent of 2 wins) in order to seal the title.
The impressive performance from United meant that their unbeaten run was stretched to 10 games.
The Race for Champions League Football
The race for the top four Champions League places is hotting up once again as both Leicester and Chelsea won their matches this weekend, keeping them firmly in pole position to finish the season strongly.
Manchester United are also closing in after their derby win, now just three points outside of the top four, as are Wolves who are hunting down the pack, currently sitting in sixth place, just two points off United.
Sheffield United are also in the race for European Football this season.
Championship Relegation Battle
There were some exciting fixtures in the Championship last weekend, including many important games for the teams that are currently fighting against the relegation battle.
The most stand out result from these matches was Stoke City, who took another step towards safety after a truly emphatic 5-1 win over Hull City at the Bet365 Stadium.
The Potters had almost sealed the victory by the break as they went 3-0 up inside 18 minutes with goals from Nick Powell, a Tyrese Campbell penalty and ex tiger himself, midfielder Sam Clucas.
Just five minutes into the second half, Clucas found the net yet again with a header over the keeper to make it four for The Potters, before the Tigers pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute when Da Silva Lopes found the bottom left corner.
However, Powell got his second late on to wrap up the game comfortably and ensure that all three points were going to the Potters.
This is Stoke’s biggest home win since that memorable 6-1 victory against Liverpool back in the Premier League in May 2015.
Elsewhere, Barnsley and Huddersfield suffered defeats, Middlesbrough gained a slight 1-0 victory over Charlton Athletic and Wigan and Luton couldn’t be separated with the game finishing 0-0.
With only 9 more matches left to play before the end of the season, it still remains so tight at the bottom of the table with only 8 points being the difference between 24th and 17th place.
What was your highlight of the Footballing week?
Have your say in the comments below.
Article by: Chloe Chadwick
Edited by: Samuel Slaney
Thumbnail by: Samuel Slaney
Images from: Getty Images & The Sentinel/Steve Bould