Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

well, Arteta gets his 2 points back in the very next match. 2-2 well into stoppage time, ball hits the bar and rebounds into the goal off the back of the keepers head. Then the keeper immediately charges up field in the hunt for an equaliser and gets caught out for an Arsenal goal into an empty net. Poor day for the WC winner and for once Arteta won't be moaning about his luck. Sounds as though Arsenal got away with one today

oh for crying out loud

2-0 down

Pope sent off which means he misses the cup final too

Dubravka cup tied

what a *modded* up

Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City

Arsenal 54
Manchester City 52
Manchester United 49

Is this a three horse race?

Spurs into 4th

Newcastle continue to slide

Durhamfootman wrote:Spurs into 4th

Newcastle continue to slide

Game in hand still. Win the cup and get fourth and it will be Newcastle's best season in 60 years.

I can't see anything other than a Rashford brace on Sunday and perhaps a Sancho goal to finish it off. The team needs to find its scoring boots quickly. 3 goals in the last 7 league games, I think. Even down to 10 men early on and consequently conceding 2/3rds of possession, they still managed to get 14 shots away.... but no goals. They are creating plenty of chances and have done throughout this goal drought, they just can't find someone to stick the chances away. I'm sure that will end and they'll go on a run again, I just can't see it happening this weekend. Man Utd are very much on a run atm

I give up trying to understand the PL or FA rules. Yellow card suspensions are served in the competition you gained them in, but red card suspensions are blanket domestic bans, even when not for violent conduct.... not exactly sure why a separation in the rules is needed.

Its like when Fabinho escaped any ban because the VAR made an error. Apparently you can use video evidence to see for something not seen, but if its seen and you later admit its wrong, its ok.... so technically a player diving twice can be banned for three games for simulation using video evidence, but a player booked who is trying to snap an 18 year old wonderkids leg in half and end his career..... nah, its ok.

Oh no wait, I get it now.... Fabinho plays for Liverpool, so its different rules.

Makes sense, them rules...

Eddie Howe made me laugh saying the ball hit Pope's arm therefore it should have been a yellow. Pope literally grabbed the ball and stopped a possible goal.

It was a catastrophic error of judgement. There can't be any complaints from anyone, but it is a shame it applies to a different competition. Still.... he knew the rules

Ah, that's a shame, but thoroughly expected. I had no way of watching the game, so I stayed well away from it and had a look at the score once I was sure the race had been run.

If I'd been asked to make a prediction, I'd have said 2-0 to Man Utd, with Rashford scoring early and Sancho finishing it off late. Wasn't quite like that, Casemiro early and an OG deflection from a Rashford shot straight after, but sadly, since the new year, Newcastle have gone from a team that scores without conceding to a team that concedes without scoring, so any chances of a cup win have looked remote to me for about 3 weeks.

They appear to have had plenty of possession which is normal for this season, had plenty of shooting attempts which is normal for this season, but failed to convert any of it which has been the story since the turn of the year.

It sounds as though they did okay, but with no cutting edge.

Still..... getting to a final will have given every long suffering Newcastle fan like me a filip. Just a shame that no-one in the squad looks like they have any goals in them atm. At least we know what the priority has to be for the summer.

The job now is to put the disappointment aside and correct the scoring/conceding imbalance before a European spot slips away too. Newcastle does feel like a team on the slide, but we will probably need European qualification to attract the kind of proven quality striker that it has become blinding obvious we're missing.

hey ho.... the small matter of a trip to Man City next up...... onwards and upwards

Arsenal recover from 2-0 down to win with what must have been the last kick of the game. Keep playing until the fancied home side scores the winner and then blow the whistle? Wouldn't be the first time this season

Newcastle undone at Man City. Played well enough by all accounts but then they always do... just can't score atm

oh blimey..... Newcastle could have used a shambolic Man Utd performance like that last Sunday

Durhamfootman wrote:oh blimey..... Newcastle could have used a shambolic Man Utd performance like that last Sunday

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United!

Maybe that will put an end to the Man United hype. One gets the sense in the press that Ten Hag is doing some legendary job, but United probably have the most expensive squad ever assembled and have spent BIG money last summer to back Ten Hag.... 3rd place and out of the title race so short in the season ... is that par for the course? For me, in a year Liverpool imploded early, finishing 3rd would not really be good for what resources they ploughed in, along with what he had to work with when he got there.

And some of the signings he made clearly on his recommendations look pretty ropey. Ajax fans were posting on social media that they thought it was a joke when United offered 100 million for Antony, and at the moment its hard to actually see why anyone would pay even a third of that for him. For a player costing that much, he runs like he is in treacle, plays at a snails pace, only really has one move from a standing start where he tries to skill his way past the full back, and doesnt seem to have much end product. And that CB they bought who is 5ft 8in sometimes looks decent, but also once in a while just gets physically annihilated out of a game. More than 160 million quid right there that feels wasted.

Also, for someone billed as a hard man "take no sh*t" style coach.... have you ever seen a team give up like United did last week? Bruno asking to be taken off. Heads down, no graft... one of the worlds fiercest derby matches, and the team looked like they didnt want to be there.

Doesnt speak much for his no prisoner man management