English Clubs

Liverpool lost 1-0 to Southampton in the EFL Cup Wednesday, which in and of itself is not all that surprising. Southampton are not bad and were playing at home, plus Liverpool have a huge EPL tie against Manchester United coming up.

You could be forgiven for forgetting that, at the age of 24, Juan Mata had already achieved the remarkable feat of winning World Cup, European Championship and Champions League titles. The diminutive Spaniard, now 28, manages to avoid the public eye, and the attentions of defenders, with a cerebral approach that wins plaudits without approaching the levels of adulation that his surrounding cast receives.

Last week, social media erupted amid news that Premier League side Arsenal had attempted to spend a huge amount of money on Serie A’s latest striking sensation, Andrea Belotti. Figures in the tens of millions were bandied about, converted from euros to pounds and back again until it seemed as though Arsenal’s penny-pinching ways had prevented their transfer business yet again. 

Wayne Rooney moved level with Bobby Charlton at 249 goals for Manchester United in the Red Devils 4-0 victory over Reading in the FA Cup third round. Rooney had been stuck on 248 since late November, but his smartly taken goal on Saturday put the 31-year-old on the brink of history.

Rooney’s goal opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Some fantastic play from Anthony Martial brought the ball to Juan Mata, and his clipped pass was deftly volleyed home by the man of the hour.