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Champions League Quarter Finals 1st leg Recap (2025/26)

          Full Results (Quarter Finals 1st leg) Real Madrid 1—2 Bayern  Sporting CP 0—1 Arsenal  Barcelona 0—2 Atletico Madrid PSG 2—0 Liverpool Game of the Matchday Real Madrid 1 –2 Bayern Since the final whistle at the Bernabeu, fans have hailed this tie as a "refreshing" exception from the recent norm. In an era where modern football, particularly in England, is often criticized for being too robotic and over-coached, this match felt like a throwback to the "classic" era, defined by a relentless, end-to-end rhythm. While Bayern appeared to be in the driver's seat, the numbers suggests a much tighter contest. The Bavarians were certainly guilty of wastefulness, with Luis Diaz and Dayot Upamecano spurning massive opportunities, but Real Madrid ensured Manuel Neuer remained the busiest man on the pitch. Bayern finally broke the deadlock and silenced the Madridistas in the 41st minute via Diaz, before Harry Kane doubled the lead just seconds...
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Premier League Matchday 17 Recap (2025/26)

      

Full Results (Matchday 17)

  • Newcastle 2–2 Chelsea

  • Bournemouth 1–1 Burnley

  • Brighton 0–0 Sunderland 

  • Manchester City 3–0 West Ham

  • Wolves 0–2 Brentford

  • Tottenham 1–2 Liverpool

  • Everton 0–1 Arsenal

  • Leeds 4–1 Crystal Palace

  • Aston Villa 2–1 Manchester United

  • Fulham 1–0 Nottingham Forest

Game of the Matchday 

Tottenham 1–2 Liverpool

Two of the traditional 'Big 6' met this matchday, where Liverpool squeezed past Tottenham with a 2-1 win in a chaotic game. It was high-energy from the first whistle. Though it got tricky for Spurs as Xavi Simons was shown a red card before halftime. Coming on for the injured Conor Bradley after the break, Alexander Isak broke the deadlock with a great finish before he himself unfortunately had to go off with a nasty injury. Hugo Ekitike doubled the lead soon after, making it five goals in just three games for him. Richarlison managed to pull one back late to make things tense, but Liverpool's defense held on. It got pretty wild at the end, too as the Lilywhites finished with only nine men after Cristian Romero also got his marching orders. Fireworks are guaranteed whenever these two sides meet, and it was again the case this time!

Biggest Surprise

Newcastle 2–2 Chelsea

Newcastle looked totally in control in the first half, swarming all over Chelsea to race into a 2-0 lead. Nick Woltemade was a man on a mission, trying to make amends with the Toon Army for his own goal against Sunderland of all teams, by scoring a brace in 20 minutes. But somehow, they let the Blues back into the game and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. For a team that looked so dominant to drop points like that at home is a massive surprise and a huge missed opportunity to climb the table. St. James' Park is a tough place to visit for any team, and yes, Chelsea is a footballing giant, but they are far from consistent. Since beating Barcelona, they had only 2 wins from 6 games, against Everton and Cardiff, so for Chelsea to go down by 2 goals after 20 minutes and still be able to comeback to share the points is surprising.

Best Team Performance

Leeds 4–1 Crystal Palace

Leeds United fans were in high spirits at Elland Road as their team giftrd them a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace before Christmas. They look like a totally different side! They will look at the game against Manchester City, specifically after halftime as the time their results started changing after Daniel Farke changed the team structure to 3-5-2 from the previous 4-3-3. And the main beneficiary of this system has been Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the man of the hour. He continued his red-hot form, bagging two goals before halftime to put Leeds firmly in the driver's seat. Ethan Ampadu controlled the midfield and even managed to get his first Premier League goal. The Eagles did put away a late penalty through Justin Devenny, but Anton Stach cleared any panic in the stands with a class free-kick. Leeds played with a relentless intensity that Palace just couldn't live with, their lack of depth has started to hurt them. As for Leeds, easily one of their best performances of the season.

Player of the Matchday

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

There were plenty of great performances, but the weekend really belonged to Erling Haaland. By scoring 2 goals and assisting another in City’s 3-0 win over his beloved West Ham, he proved once again why he's the most terrifying force in the league. He got the first one just five minutes in and added another later on to wrap things up. In the process, he actually passed Cristiano Ronaldo's total Premier League goal tally in way fewer games! Haaland's performance ensured City stayed right in the title hunt for Pep Guardiola's 1,000th game as a manager. With Omar Marmoush unavailable due to his participation in AFCON, it is important for City that their talisman remains fit and doesn't get any injury scares.

Honorable mentions - Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds) & Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford)

Moment of the Matchday

Anton Stach's free-kick against Crystal Palace


Watch Stach's free-kick here

With Justin Devenny scoring a penalty and hitting the post in under two minutes of one another, there were a few nervous Leeds fans in the Elland Road stands. However, Anton Stach cleared any doubts with a classy free-kick. With the clock hitting the 101st minute, Stach stood over the dead-ball. Instead of just playing it safe, he unleashed a perfect strike that curled right into the bottom left side of the goal. It was a brilliant bit of skill and the perfect way to finish off a great day and send the home fans happy for the holidays. What a way to wrap up a match.

Looking Ahead – Matchday 18 Fixtures (IST Kick-offs)

Saturday, 27 December (IST)

    • Manchester United vs Newcastle - 1:30 am

    • Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City - 6:00 pm

    • Arsenal vs Brighton - 8:30 pm

    • Brentford vs Bournemouth  - 8:30 pm

    • Burnley vs Everton - 8:30 pm

    • Liverpool vs Wolves - 8:30 pm

    • West Ham vs Fulham - 8:30 pm

    • Chelsea vs Aston Villa - 11:00 pm

    Sunday, 28 December (IST)

        • Sunderland vs Leeds - 7:30 pm

        • Crystal Palace vs Tottenham  - 10:00 am

        by ShotBlogged


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