Tag Archives: davinson sanchez

Arsenal v Tottenham: Why the referee was wrong to award a penalty and why Lacazette should have been cautioned

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Michael Oliver had to stand up and make a decision in an inevitable heated north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. With the game locked at 1-1 and time running down, Arsenal had an appeal for a penalty, and got it.

Alexandre Lacazette was put through on goal and it looked fairly obvious that he was going to score, the crowd if there was one were about to go wild, instead that was confined to living rooms up and down the country. Lacazette was about to score the winner, his 10th of the season, except he made an error. Instead of lashing the ball past Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, he instead swung at the ball and missed it. Chance over, not quite. After the miss kick Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez clambered into Lacazette and of course the Arsenal striker went to ground. A penalty was awarded.

Sanchez was booked, Tottenham protested, Jose Mourinho on the touchline had to watch the replay on an Ipad, all were in agreement, no penalty. Of course anyone associated with Tottenham will go down the no penalty route, but plenty of seasoned pundits felt the same. Andy Gray, Richard Keys and Ruud Gullit could not believe that a penalty had been given.

Let’s rewind a bit and try to figure out why referee Michael Oliver gave the penalty. On first glance at full speed and from where he was it did look like a penalty. However fair is fair and VAR flagged it up for Oliver to have a few looks on the monitor but Oliver wasn’t changing his mind. One could believe that Oliver came to his decision because he saw a foul, even after the incident. The problem with that is that if one says there was contact between Sanchez and Lacazette then it was minimal and the contact would have affected Lacazette’s right leg- so why was the Arsenal forward clutching his left leg when he went down?

If anything Lacazette played on the contact to earn a penalty to spare his blushes for the miss kick. A kick that has been forgotten about now. Imagine he had made that miss kick and Sanchez was 5 yards behind, it would be on a blooper reel for years. Instead he was able to sweep that incident under the carpet and score from the penalty spot.

Lacazette ended the game as the hero but he should have been booked for feigning injury on his leg. Everyone of course has different opinions of the incident, but it is sad to see such incidents that can split opinions either way in such big games.

Oliver believes he was right, maybe he won’t in a years’ time. But the very big games should be decided on quality not petty moments like this.

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Premier League Game of the Week: Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham

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The north London derby at least for spectacle didn’t disappoint and it was Arsenal, so overshadowed in the past 3 years by Tottenham who took the spoils in a 2-1 victory.

The Gunners are trying to finish the season strong after another disappointing campaign in which they have flirted with the bottom half of the table, and even after this victory the club are still 10th.

There was entertainment so to speak even before a ball was kicked given that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had dropped star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the bench. The reason? Protocol and Aubameyang had turned up late for the pre match set-up.

As for the game Arsenal needed to start on a positive note and they did. Though there were no early goals the Gunners came out the block firing and were camped in Tottenham’s half with wave and wave of attacks. It seemed that it would be inevitable that Tottenham would concede. There was also a tinge of disappointment that Tottenham, who have had the better season so far than Arsenal, were letting the Gunners boss the game.

But such is this season it took the first shot on target for Tottenham to score and go 1-0 up. It was an important goal of course, but what a goal too. Erik Lamela would be hero an villain of this game but this was his heroic moment. Lamela shot at goal and the ball went through the Arsenal defend as if guided by the’ force’. What actually happened and it was more noticeable on the replay was that Lamela’s shot was the rabona one. The infamous shot that was actually invented 76 years ago in Argentina. It was a stunner that even Arsenal fans had to praise. As for Lamela, well he’s done that before in an Europa League tie six years ago for Tottenham.

Unfortunately for Tottenham though they were not able to calm the game down and try to sucker punch Arsenal again. A Jose Mourinho led team 1-0 up away from home in a big game, usually means 3 points for the club he is in charge of. However Tottenham were unlucky as Arsenal equalised soon after. The goal was kind of scored by new signing Martin Odegaard who was obviously delighted with it. But his shot took a huge deflection that left Tottenham goal keeper Hugo Lloris with no chance to stop it.

Arsenal had been the more attacking team, more was expected of Tottenham but it was questionable if this game should have still been 0-0.

The biggest talking point that has split pundits, media and the fans was the penalty that Arsenal were awarded late on. Alexandre Lacazette miskicked the ball and Davinson Sanchez came into him at the same time. The penalty looked harsh for some and for others was a stone cold one. That could be debated. It was enough however to win the game for Arsenal who had finished it with 3 shots on target. For all their attacking prowess in the match the Gunners had ended up with the same shots on target as Tottenham.

To add insult to injury for Tottenham Lamela was sent off as the visitors were losing their grip on the game.

The result is a blow for Tottenham’s top 4 chances as they slipped 6 points behind that objective but they do have a game in hand to play over 4th placed Chelsea, so that chase isn’t over just yet.

For Arsenal the goal is to lift the team up so they have a strong finish to the season and the Gunners have now gone a month in all competitions undefeated and could be heading in the right direction.

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Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 3 Picks

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After EFL Cup action midweek the Premier League returns on Saturday lunchtime with Brighton & Hove Albion hosting Manchester United at the AMEX Stadium.

Crystal Palace host Everton in a game between two sides on a 100% win record to start the 2020-21 campaign, whilst Chelsea will be looking to get back to winning ways away to West Bromwich Albion.

Sunday sees Leicester City travel to Manchester City whilst the best has been saved to last when defending champions Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield on Monday night.

Here are our picks for your fantasy team this weekend:

Goalkeeper: Rui Patricio (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Clean sheets haven’t been easy to come by in the opening two weekends of the season but Rui Patricio kept one away to Sheffield United in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ opening game before facing a rampant Manchester City on Monday night. With a trip to the London Stadium on Sunday there’s a good opportunity for Nuno’s side to keep a second clean sheet against West Ham United’s poor attack.

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Best Defender of the Week – Yerry Mina (Colombia)

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mina

It is a massive week for Colombian football. The nation knows that if they can get past England in the last 16 of the World Cup and book a place in the quarter-finals, then they can equal their all-time best showing at the biggest tournament in world football. That was achieved in the last World Cup in Brazil in 2014. They were ultimately eliminated by the hosts 2-1 in the final eight, but this time around face a showdown with either Sweden or Switzerland if they can get past Gareth Southgate’s men. If they are to achieve that, then of course the defence will have to be at their best to frustrate the Three Lions’ forward line. That makes it neatly time to name this week’s best defender, and it is none other than the South Americans’ Yerry Mina.

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Colombia to win World Cup?

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After having an impressive and memorable campaign in the previous World Cup despite being knocked out in the Quarter-finals by Brazil, Colombia will be looking to have a good run in the competition once again as the whole nation will behind them as well as many football fans.

This year’s friendly matches have been more than positive for the side, where they achieved an incredible comeback over France as well as two stalemates against the likes of Australia and Egypt. The goalless draws against the latter opponents may be seen as a downfall, on the other hand, it certainly shows that Colombia can remain dominant and defensively solid when needed to be.

We now look more into the information we need to know about Colombia on and off the pitch…

Fixtures

Tuesday, 19th June – Colombia vs Japan (Mordovia Arena, Mordovia) kick-off 13:00pm

Sunday, 24th June – Poland vs Colombia (Kazan Arena, Kazan) kick-off 19:00pm

Thursday, 28th June – Senegal vs Colombia (Samara Arena, Samara) kick-off 15:00pm

Colombia

Star player

Considered as one of the best attacking midfielders within Europe, it’s no surprise at all that James Rodriguez is seen as Colombia’s main man as he is levels ahead of his team-mates. The Bayern Munich midfielder, who is currently on loan from Real Madrid, offers a lot when he is in the starting line-up, from producing clear-cut chances for the attackers to racking up many goals and assists himself. The 26-year-old is regarded as an aesthetically pleasing player to watch on and off the ball.

The one to keep an eye out for…

Davinson Sanchez is surely the well-known rising talent within the Colombia squad that everyone needs to keep a look out for, someone who has had the perfect debut season at Tottenham Hotspur and is now been thought of as one of the best centre-backs within the Premier League. With his demanding and dominant displays from the backline week in and out, the youngster could become a popular figure for his country if he can go on to replicating his club performances for Colombia.

Given the attacking prowess that Colombia have in Carlos Bacca, Falcao, James Rodriguez and Luis Muriel, it’s more than important that the side’s defence and midfield can also remain compact and consistent through the competition. This is one of the reasons to why it is ideal to keep an eye out for Davinson Sanchez, as he has a huge job on his hands that will need to be dealt with effectively.

Davinson

What to expect from manager Jose Pekerman?

Since taking over as the national coach of Colombia, Jose Pekerman has done a very good job in taking the country to two consecutive World Cups, proving that his man-management and vital decision making of picking individuals that fit into his system is quite efficient. Also, the Argentine has won the South American Coach of the Year award on three occasions over the last six years.

Los Cafeteros are expected to play within a 4-2-3-1 setup, where the team would benefit from the movement and pace of Juan Cuadrado and Carlos Bacca on the flanks whilst James will look to drop deep from the number ten role as well as provide some service to the lone forward in Radamel Falcao. Overall, Peckerman is seen as a saviour for Colombian football as the supporters from the South American country are finally seeing some golden stars being produced after quite a long time.

How far can Colombia go in the competition?

It’s never easy to say how far a team can go in the World Cup as it does come down to little moments as well as a bit of luck, on the other hand, Colombia are more than capable of reaching the Quarter-finals like they did four years ago in Brazil. The side’s results in recent years against top-tier oppositions are not convincing at all, but they will still be seen as the dark horses of the tournament.

In the end, Colombia have pure potential and will either collapse absurdly or deliver in perfect time.

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Davinson Sanchez – Spurs’ Perfect Answer to Transfer Criticism

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Ajax-Sanchez

As Premier League clubs continue to rally the troops and reinforce their squads before the transfer window slams shut in just over a week’s time, one club to have been hugely criticised during the current period of business has been Tottenham Hotspur.

Last season’s runners-up could be forgiven for being happy with their squad of course – they finished second by a very comfortable margin to the tune of eight points ahead of bronze medallists Man City. However, every club around the top of the table have brought plenty more bodies in – while Spurs haven’t set the world on fire at all in their dealings so far. Continue reading →