Okay...maybe not madness per se, but there we some great moments.
Yes, perhaps a drawback to UEFA's match schedule could possibly be that after two days of unbelievable Champions League play, we must then watch one mashed up day of the Europa League. But there is never a tournament too boring for the Calcio Queen! Now, I couldn't watch every single match but, the ones I did catch were pretty good, especially the Liverpool-Young Boys match up, as exciting as I predicted. But perhaps the most exciting match of all was Calcio Queen v Computer, one that I indeed came out the loser. I unsuccessfully attempted to get a stream of the Napoli game that wasn't blurry and in some strange language. After a frustrating 30 min I gave up and put my full attention on watching Liverpool, which turned out to not be such a bad idea. Napoli ended up beating AIK 4-0.
Yes, a win for Napoli, I could not be happier! A hat trick by Eduardo Vargas was only made that much sweeter with an additional goal by Blerim Dzemaili in the 91st minute. But, what seemed like what would be a perfect start to their Europa League campaign was marred by a red card for Marek Hamsik in the 75th minute, suspending him from the next match. That really is a huge loss, he is one of my favorite players and an important part of the Napoli side. Also in Italy, Inter Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Rubin Kazan. Yuto Nagatomo was the savior there, scoring the equalizer in the 92nd minute earning the point for Milan. That, however, wasn't the only close call in Italy today. Udinese drew 1-1 with Anzhi with a goal from the incredible Antonio Di Natale in the 92nd minute.
Now on to the English clubs. I could not be happier with Liverpool's performance today!! Like many teams, their star players were left on the sidelines to give some new comers their first starts. It was a high intensity match and I was very entertained throughout. The final score ended up being 5-3 Liverpool. Young Boys started off a bit shaky, scoring an own goal in the 4th minute to give Liverpool an early lead. After that, it was an up and down battle for the win right until the end. Young Boys equalized with a goal from Raphael Nuzzolo in the 38th, only to be countered two minutes later in the 40th with a goal for Liverpool from Andre Wisdom. Though the 2-1 Liverpool lead at halftime would have been perfectly fine, it didn't end there.The scorer of the own goal, Juhani Ojala redeemed himself in the 53th with a goal for Young Boys, which was made only that much better with another goal 10 minutes later from Gonzalo Zarate. Liverpool were now down 3-2, something big needed to happen, and boy did it! Sebastian Coates scored from range in the 67th, which from a glance, looked like it was nudged in by Borini, but it was proved a bit later that he missed the ball completely and the goal was given to Coates. It didn't matter though, Liverpool got the goal and it was tied at 3. Then, proof that subs really do make a difference, after coming on in the 67th for Oussama Assaidi, Jonjo Shelvey scored 2 more goals for Liverpool in the 76th and 88th securing the win for Liverpool in Switzerland. If there was any team that needed a win this week, it was them. Good job Liverpool! I have been waiting so long to say that!
Not such great things can be said about the Tottenham-Lazio game, which ended in London with 0-0 draw. Clint Dempsey got the start for his new side, which I loved, its great seeing Americans in huge competitions like this, however, the Spurs other American, Brad Freidel was on the bench and Hugo Lloris was given the start in goal. This has caused quite a bit of controversy lately. If Freidel is doing consistently well in goal, then there really isn't any reason to change him. However, Lloris is amazing, he captains France and is one of the greats for them in goal. He is quite younger than Freidel, and AVB says that Lloris was bought for the future to be put in the goal at Tottenham. My opinion is that Tottenham is struggling and Lloris is too good to be sitting on the bench, and honestly, I think the people at Spurs know that. No matter what their statement is, I don't think that Lloris is going to be anybody's backup, certainly not until Brad Freidel decides to retire. But this match was pretty bad, and once again, it sucks to be Tottenham. There were two disallowed goals, one was from Clint Dempsey and was ruled off sides by the ref. It didn't look off to me, nor to anyone else, but what the ref says goes. The second came off a header, with a whistle for a foul against the offense right before the ball went into the back of the net. I was expecting more from Lazio, but a point on the road is definitely better than a loss.
This weekend....
Is really going to be a good one back in the prem! I'll be watching Chelsea v Stoke on Saturday, but Sunday is definitely the big day. Liverpool v Manchester United and right after Arsenal v Manchester City. Those matches will be so incredible, I can't wait!! It was a busy week in the soccer world, I hope you enjoyed it. As always, may your days be as beautiful as the game we love so much! Ciao!!
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