After stalling in the first half, Chelsea managed to turn up the heat and win 3-0 over Malmö FF (5-1 on aggregate) to move on in the UEFA Europa League.
Five yellow cards were handed out before the first goal was scored, four of them being given to Malmö players.
Both Chelsea and Manchester United had a point to prove this evening. Chelsea's been struggling for goals and results lately, and manager Maurizio Sarri has been under pressure from fans and the board. Chelsea has slid from fourth to sixth position in the Premier League, and the Blues needed a result today to steady the ship before the Carabao Cup final on Feb. 24.
On the other hand, Manchester United had been on a great run of form until finally hitting a PSG roadblock in the Champions league.
The FA Cup Fifth Round took center stage in England this past weekend. Nine clubs of the final 16 were from leagues below the Premier League, with the tie of the weekend focused on Newport, Wales.
However, there was very little magic to be found in the results, just quality winning out. Manchester United and Chelsea squared off in the final tie of the round on Monday night. Two first half goals by United saw Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side defeat Chelsea on the road.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was his calm and collected self in his most recent press conference, especially since he revealed that Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial will be injured for some important games.
Martial has a groin injury while Lingard has a hamstring issue.
During the last few months of his topsy turvy tenure and Manchester United, Jose Mourinho was subject to a number of rumors surrounding his sacking — Zidane replacing him, players threatening to leave unless he was ousted, the whole Paul Pogba ruckus, etc.
Teen boys can be juvenile, crude, lewd, rude — and hilarious.
Case in point: an FA Trophy match (basically a lesser version of the FA Cup) on Tuesday between National League side AFC Fylde and Northern Premier League club Ramsbottom United (no, that’s not the joke).
During the match, the public address announcer was conned into reading a lascivious statement over the PA.
The footballing world is mourning the passing of England’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who died at the age of 81 on Monday night. Banks spent the majority of his professional career with Leicester City and Stoke City, but it’s his 73 international appearances and heroics at both the ’66 and ’70 World Cups that cemented his global legacy.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will be playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo next season. After plenty of rumors surrounding Ramsey’s potential switch to the Italian giant seemed like outlandish speculation, news came out Monday that the Welshman signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus.
Thank you, @aaronramsey
This story should be about another tactical masterclass from Rafa Benitez or the staggeringly good form of 21-year-old midfielder Sean Longstaff or the brief but spirited cameo from record signing Miguel Almirón, but instead it’s about a ridiculous bit of goalkeeping from the usually excellent Martin Dúbravka.
Newcastle traveled to the Molineux on Monday night sitting above the drop zone on goal difference. With Wolves flying high in seventh, this match represented a daunting fixture for Benitez’s men.