The Beautiful Game

 

By Harry Ivan 

An argument broke out last Wednesday night while we were about watch football on TV in the students' center. Rival teams Manchester United and Arsenal were set to play at the same time, with United competing for a spot in the FA Cup quarterfinals and Arsenal playing in the league. As is customary for them, the boisterous, loudmouthed Manchester United supporters were not going to permit the comparatively quiet Arsenal supporters to watch their game on the main screen. One of the United fans, a tall man with a receding hairline and shoes that had bent out of shape declared that since they were the majority, they were going to watch their team's game from the main screen and directed Arsenal fans to move the lower screen associated with inferiority. There was only one guy who spoke up for the defenseless Arsenal supporters. When the defendant realized he couldn't win the case, he abandoned it, and Arsenal supporters were unceremoniously ejected from the main screen amid cheers from Man U supporters. I was not happy!  Then there were the Liverpool supporters who had no say at all. They had no choice but to watch their team's game elsewhere. Here is how the action-packed night unfolded.

After giving the relegation-threatened Everton a comfortable 4-0 beating at the Emirates Stadium, English Premier League leaders Arsenal are now five points atop the standings table. The Gunners got their revenge on home ground for a humiliating loss they suffered at Everton's Goodison Park last month in Sean Dyche's inaugural game as manager. Arsenal's Bukayo Saka broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time with his 10th goal of the season before Gabriel Martinelli added a second in stoppage-time. Captain Martin Odegaard made it three in the second half and Martinelli sealed the victory as the Gunners put on a marvelous show for their ecstatic home fans. Arsenal now has three consecutive wins, reinforcing their case for the league championship, while Everton is still in serious danger of relegation in 18th place.

Liverpool defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League thanks to late goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohammed Salah, boosting their chances of finishing in the top four. When Darwin Nunez's goal for Liverpool was disallowed by VAR, Jurgen Klopp's team appeared to be in for a frustrating evening. There was gloom and doom at Anfield following Liverpool's 5-2 humiliation in the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League the previous week, but Van Dijk eventually broke the score in the 73rd minute when he headed in Diogo Jota's cross from close range and Mohammed Salah scored Liverpool's second. The Egyptian forward is currently one goal away from matching Liverpool's Robbie Fowler's total of 128 Premier League goals. The rematch between Liverpool and Real Madrid looms on the schedule but their immediate focus will be on Sunday when they travel to play an in-form Manchester United, with their unbeaten domestic run providing a much-needed boost in confidence at this crucial time of the season.

Carabao Cup winners Manchester United came down from one goal to secure a win against West Ham in the FA Cup quarter final qualifier. United looked demoralized after Said Benrahma put David Moyes' West Ham into a deserved lead at Old Trafford. But Nayef Aguerd's 77th-minute own goal sparked an impressive turnaround, with United's teen sensation Alejandro Garnacho curling in a 90th-minute strike past Alphonse Areola, before Fred steered in an injury-time third goal to put the hosts into the last eight and see off the battling Hammers. Their quarter-final will take place on the weekend of March 18 and 19th.