Author: SubbuteoCLUB

Man Utd Take Revenge On Chelsea

In the big Division 1 game of week 5, Manchester United took on rivals Chelsea. It had been the London team that snatched the league title away from Manchester last season, after a last minute goal against them. United went into this home game seeking to get revenge, especially as Chelsea have not had the best of starts to this years campaign.

It was honours even in the first half. with both teams kicking chunks out of each other but not really troubling the goalkeepers. It was Chelsea who made the first mistake in the second half, as they gave away a needless free kick on the edge of the area. United made full use of it as they scored. Although Chelsea fought back, United pressed for more and found a striker on the edge of the six-yard box. Despite no-one thinking he could score, the forward hammered the ball into the far top corner to make it 2-0.

In injury time, Chelsea let their frustrations get the better of them and have away another free kick. United stepped up and hammered it home to leave the result at a resounding 3-0.

The weeks other big game was between Liverpool and Arsenal. Liverpool had a solid defence but up front they were all over the place, with long balls going too far or missed shots. It was quite a drab game, with Arsenal looking to get back on the counter attack. It was not far from the end when Liverpool’s defence ended up out of position and clipped an Arsenal player on their way back. Arsenal were awarded a penalty which they duly converted. Although Liverpool searched for an equaliser, they ran out of time, leaving Arsenal as 1-0 winners. Liverpool have now lost 3 of their opening 5 games, whilst Arsenal have won 4 from 5 and are pushing for the top spot.

In the relegation 6-point game, Norwich City finally found their scoring boots. West Ham looked a tired side after their midweek League Cup match and Norwich made full use of their rest period. They put two goals past the Hammers, as they finally get their points tally underway. West Ham are now in big trouble, as they only have the same points as Norwich City.

There was nothing to separate rivals Southampton and Newcastle as they played out a 1-1 draw. Surprisingly, Southampton had the better of the play and went 1-0 up. Southampton looked good to go 2-0 ahead but Newcastle found a way to equalise against the run of play. Neither side could score after that, but a point does little favour for either side.

League leaders Everton took on a struggling Nottingham Forest at the City ground. The home team were first to score and they thought they may be able to take all 3 points. Everton were aiming to set a new record of 5 wins in a row from the start of the season but this looked a long way off as they fought back. With minutes remaining Everton found a way through to break Forest hearts. Everton could not find a winning goal so it was one point to each side, as Everton drop to second place in the league.

The final match of the week was between this years surprise team Watford, against London rivals Spurs. In an even contest, both teams wanted the win. Tottenham took the lead and nearly had a second but it flew over the crossbar. The match went into injury time and Spurs were nearly home but Watford had a late attack into the Spurs area. It looked like Watford had a perfect shooting position and a rash Spurs defensive manoeuvre caught the attacker. Watford were awarded a penalty and scored with the last kick of the match. Watford remain in 4th place with Spurs now in trouble with only 4 points from 5 games.

Top Teams Clash In Division 1 – Week 5 Fixtures

Week 5 is offering some mouth-watering fixtures for the top Division 1 sides at SubbuteoCLUB.

In a repeat of the match from Year 5, Manchester United host Champions Chelsea. Last season the home team were minutes away from a first ever Division 1 title, until Chelsea scored to snatch the points. It was enough for Chelsea to take the title and leaving Manchester United wishing what could have been. Man Utd have started Year 6 in much better form than Chelsea, although they are still 4 points behind leaders Everton. Chelsea have drawn a lot of games this year and are already 6 points off the top, so they cannot afford a defeat or their title defence will look to be over. Man Utd did not play in the League Cup this week so their squad will be more rested, and will be seeking revenge from last year.

The second clash of week 5 involves Liverpool playing Arsenal. It is a tie of two of English footballs great teams and could shape the league for the rest of the season. Arsenal are chasing their first title and are doing well, whilst Liverpool have some catching up to do.

Top of the table Everton will be looking to set a new record of 5 wins in a row, as they take on struggling Nottingham Forest. No top team has ever won the first 5 games, but Everton have a good chance as Forest are yet to record a win this year.

There is a 6 point relegation match with Norwich City taking on West Ham. Norwich have taken some big defeats this year and need to begin taking points or they will be doomed to relegation. West Ham have struggled this year, after performing so well in Year 5. West Ham always do well in the League Cup, but will the additional Cup fixture work against the Hammers?

Southampton take on rivals Newcastle as they look to continue their winning run after their surprising victory against Liverpool last week. These two teams were both promoted last year and are looking to kick start their season, after finding the going tough so far.

Struggling Tottenham play in a London derby as they face Watford. Spurs should be much higher in the table but have found it hard to score. They also lost to Man City in the League Cup. Watford are the surprise team this year, standing in an excellent 4th place after promotion from Division 2. Can Watford clinch another win to push them even higher up the table?

Close Action In League Cup Quarter-Final 1st Legs

As the first round of League Cup quarter-final matches got underway, it was Liverpool hosting Division 3 Leicester City in the opening match. Newly promoted Leicester had been the surprise team from he previous round, after they knocked out Watford, so Liverpool were very wary of their opponents.

Leicester got off to a fantastic start and went 1-0 up early, after being given a direct free kick. They could have made it 2-0 after Liverpool gave away another free kick, but the Liverpool keeper parried the ball away. It was the Liverpool keeper who came to his sides rescue once more as Leicester kept the pressure on.

After a slow start, Liverpool finally found their boots and began to fight back. It was not long until they equalised, much to their relief. With Leicester starting to run out of steam, Liverpool applied further pressure and managed to find the net twice more. Liverpool take a 3-1 lead into the second leg, where they will be feeling confident of going through to the semi-finals.

The second match was between Division 2 Aston Villa and current Cup holders West Ham United. West Ham got off to good start with an early goal after a howler from the Villa keeper. This was despite Villa attacking directly from the off. The match turned into a bit of a scrappy affair, with neither side performing well in front of goal. West Ham dug in to secure the win, but Villa got lucky with a late corner, which they managed to squeeze in through a crowded box. The score is all level as the teams head towards the 2nd leg at West Ham.

The match between Arsenal and Chelsea was a classic from two English heavyweight teams. Chelsea set off on a flier and took their opportunity to open the scoring (which is shown in the featured photograph). Chelsea’s defence looked awesome as Arsenal struggled, but the Gunners eventually found a way through. Chelsea came back on the counter and scored a superb goal from a long way out, to take the score to 2-1. Arsenal are never a team to under estimate and they equalised for 2-2 to leave everything even ahead of the second leg.

The final match of the quarter-finals was between Spurs and Manchester City. It was a close game with City starting the better. They managed to hit the post and had the ball saved off the line as Spurs rode their luck. But luck was eventually to run out as City took the lead. Spurs were kept in the game by their goalkeeper as City continued the attack. It was only near the final whistle that Spurs pushed forward and they were rewarded with a late corner. It was a good save from the City keeper, who allowed his side to take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg.

Euro Cup Semi-Final Keeps Fans Guessing Until The Last Whistle

The second European Cup semi-final has taken place between Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid. When the teams were drawn for the semi-final, many fans were upset when these two powerhouses were drawn together, rather than a possible meeting in the Final.

Instead, it gave everyone an incredible semi-final match where there was everything to play for, but only one team could progress. Inter were slight favourites for the match, partly due to having home advantage.

As the match kicked off, Atletico went for an early first goal but were unable to find a break through. The tide soon turned and Inter became the dominant team. Despite some early saves from Atletico’s keeper, Inter soon found the back of the net.

Inter followed it it with another goal soon afterwards and then shocked the away side with a third. The goal was a fantastic chip above two defenders and then it hit the goal post and went in, after putting the keeper was going in the other direction.

Atletico looked out of the match, until an Inter defender gave away a free kick. Atletico were quick to take the shot and scored. Only a few minutes later and Inter were guilty of another foul, as they appeared to think the game was all over. Atletico duly converted the second free kick to make the score 3-2.

The team from Spain now had the momentum to go for an equaliser and Inter woke up and defended for their lives. It was a tense end to a great match, with the possibility of one more goal changing the outcome.

Thankfully for the Italians, Inter managed to hold on and were relieved when the final whistle was blown. Inter go into their first European Cup final, whilst the Spanish will be left wondering how they managed to give away a 3-0 lead in the first place.

Celtic’s European Run Comes To Dramatic End

The European Cup has reached the semi-finals and Celtic made their first appearance at this stage of the competition. They were drawn away at Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest in what would be a difficult single-leg tie, at an intimidating stadium.

Dinamo had already knocked out Celtic’s Scottish rivals Glasgow Rangers in the 1st Round, before causing a huge upset when they defeated Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

The match began with both sides looking nervous, neither wanting to give away an early goal. Dinamo took the initiative and pressed forward, leaving themselves exposed in defence. The Celtic goalkeeper made some incredible saves to keep them in the tie.

Celtic began to fight back on the counter and once again it was the goalkeepers who were keeping their sides in the game as the Dinamo keeper matched the performance of his rival. Despite some good chances, after fulltime the score remained 0-0.

In extra time, Celtic were first to find a way through, as they took a 1-0 lead after a lazy Dinamo defender gave away a free kick.

Dinamo pressed forward to find an equaliser, but Celtic put 11 men behind the ball and defended for their lives. With extra time expired, the referee was allowing a few seconds of injury time when Dinamo won a corner. This would be their final chance of the match.

The corner found a Dinamo forward and the nearest Celtic defender, in their haste, missed the vital interception. The Dinamo player took their shot and incredibly he got it on target and it went into the corner. Celtic’s hearts sunk as the whistle blew immediately, with the score 1-1. They were seconds away from an historic win, but now it would go to a penalty shoot-out.

Dinamo went first and scored, followed by Celtic. The score was 3-2 when Celtic stepped up to take their third penalty and missed. Dinamo scored again to make it 4-3 and Celtic now had to score to stay in the competition. Sadly, the player missed giving the result to an ecstatic Dinamo side, who had been close to going out themselves.

Dinamo Bucharest will appear in their first European Cup Final and will play the winners of either Inter Milan or Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, Celtic have a long journey back to Scotland to think about how close they came to a first European Cup Final.

Hull City Cause Huge Surprise In Week 3

Outside of Division 1, there were some stand out games from the lower Divisions. Hull City arguably produced the result of the week, as they beat Derby County 1-0. Hull were one of the favourites to be relegated, with Derby looking to return to Division 2. The result has moved Hull from 6th up to 2nd in the table, in what has become a very competitive Division. It does not guarantee Hull safety, but it puts them in a very good place to push on for a high finishing position.

With an even bigger move upwards, Leicester City jumped from 8th to 3rd by defeating Millwall 4-1. In our featured photo, Crystal Palace continued their run at the top of the table after beating Coventry 2-0. It took Palace a while to find a way to score, but a superb cross was met by a striker waiting on the far post to pop the ball into the net.

Wolves and Oxford produced another draw to leave them both mid-table with 3 points.

In Division 2, leaders Sheffield Wednesday stuttered as they lost away to QPR, dropping them to second in the table. Newly promoted Aston Villa took up the lead after they beat a struggling Leeds 2-1.

Manchester City finally found winning ways as they put three past Wimbledon, who did score a consolation goal near the end. The defeat leaves Wimbledon anchored to the bottom of the table.

Luton Town could only draw with Charlton as their bid to return to Division 1 faltered. Charlton are sixth in the table and playing well, but have bene unable to find a way to win league matches so far this season.

Everton Top Table After Win Against West Ham

Everton have taken top position at the top of Division 1, after a stunning 2-0 win against West Ham in Match Week 4. Everton already had a perfect set of results so far, and many believed that they would not be able to keep the run going, They put on a masterful display to complete four straight wins, which equals Liverpool’s record for a perfect start to a campaign, from year 4. Everton now sit on top of Division 1 for the first time in their SubbuteoCLUB six year history.

In the televised match, Manchester United hosted Arsenal, as Manchester looked to seek revenge after the Gunners knocked them out of the League Cup last week. United got off to a great start with an early goal, before scoring a second from a free-kick. After the break, Arsenal got their own bit of luck with a goal from a careless free-kick, given after a poor tackle from a United defender. United still thought the three points were in the bag, until an unbelievable shot from Arsenal at a tight angle hit the far corner of the net. The final score was 2-2, although it will be United who will feel like they dropped 2 crucial points in their chase for a first league title.

In other matches, Newcastle looked strong as they defeated a disjointed Spurs. The result moves Newcastle up to midway in the table, but leaves Spurs hovering above the relegation places.

Watford put up another strong performance, as they put 3 past a weak Norwich side. In what was billed a a close game, Norwich scored first, but then Watford overpowered their opponents to win 3-1. Watford are now up to 4th place in the table, which is their highest ever position in the league. Norwich have finally scored in a league match this season, but they remain bottom with a -10 goal difference.

Liverpool were stunned at Anfield, as visitors Southampton stole the points with a 2-1 victory. Both sides have been struggling to put together a decent run of results. The three points help new promoted Southampton climb the table to 8th.

In the other Division 1 match this week, current League Champions Chelsea played out a dull 0-0 with Nottingham Forest. It is now Chelsea’s third draw in four games, as they remain undefeated, but they cannot find a way to win matches this season. Forest will be pleased with a point, although it still leaves them in a relegation position.

Leicester City Stun Watford In League Cup

Division 3 Leicester City have sprung a huge Cup upset away at Watford in the second round, which could go down as the game of the round.

Leicester City started brightly against their Division 1 opponents, as they hit the post twice in the first half. But it was Watford who scored first as they withstood the pressure before finding a way to score themselves.

Leicester managed to equalise during the second half and it looked like the match was heading for extra time. But the Leicester striker had one small chance late in the game and managed to chip the ball over the defender and keeper from a tight angle in the six yard box, to place the ball into the corner of the goal.

The Watford team were left speechless by the incredible flick which resulted in a sensational goal. Nobody thought that Leicester would score from such a tight angle, but the striker had nothing to lose.

Watford had only seconds left to find a reply but ran out of time, meaning Leicester City were 2-1 winners.

With the revised competition this season, Leicester City have set a new record by becoming the first ever team from Division 3 to reach the League Cup Quarter-finals. There is only one other Division 3 side remaining, who are Coventry City. They will take on Aston Villa in their second round game.

Arsenal Beat Man Utd In League Cup

In what was billed as the big match of this seasons League Cup 2nd Round, Arsenal hosted Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium last night.

Both teams have struggled to progress in this competition over the years, so this was an important match for everyone. One side would progress to the 2-legged quarter-finals, whilst the losing team would have to accept another poor season in this Cup competition.

As expected, the game was a tight affair, with both teams not wanting to give too much away. As play progressed, it became clear that this would not be a high scoring match.

Both teams had good opportunities early on, with the goalkeepers both making crucial saves. Eventually, it was Arsenal that found a way through, with an excellent shot from outside of the area thumping into the corner of the goal.

Manchester United pressed forward to find an equaliser, but Arsenal stood strong. The Arsenal keeper continued to make some good saves to keep his team in the lead. Manchester’s forwards could not find a way to break the Arsenal defence and so it was Arsenal that came out victors with a 1-0 win.

In other ties:

Leeds Utd v Liverpool – Liverpool defeated Division 2 Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road, to continue Liverpool’s excellent run in the League Cup.

Tottenham v Luton Town – A nervous looking Tottenham team edged past Luton Town with a slender 1-0 win at home.

Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday – Chelsea were keen to put last years League Cup humiliation defeat against Wimbledon behind them, as they came out with all guns firing at home to Sheffield Wednesday. They went 3-0 up before letting the visitors grab consolation goal late in the second half.

Watford v Leicester City – Division 3 Leicester City sprung a huge surprise at Watford, which you can read about here.

West Ham Utd v Wimbledon – Cup holders West Ham faced a difficult tie as they welcomed London rivals Wimbledon. The Dons had already knocked out last seasons losing finalists in Newcastle, so they were not a team to be underestimated. The match became even more difficult when a sloppy West Ham defender gifted Wimbledon a penalty in the first half, which Wimbledon duly converted. West Ham fought back and pressured with a number of corners until they found an equaliser.

In extra time, West Ham set up some good chances and managed to score a goal to take the lead on the night. Wimbledon responded and had one final opportunity in injury time, which the West Ham keeper managed to keep out, despite being caught in a bundle by Wimbledon players. West Ham were relieved to hear the final whistle, as they take their place in the draw for the quarter-finals.

Manchester City v Charlton Athletic – Manchester City took on a feisty Charlton at the Etihad stadium, with both teams wanting a place in the quarter-finals. They had previous played out a draw in their first league game of the campaign, so were keen to get one over the other side. Charlton scored first, but it did not take Manchester long to get back into the game. It was a close game, even through extra time, but neither side could find a winner. Charlton had chances to take the match during penalties, but City fought back and scored their final penalty to win the match.

Aston Villa v Coventry City – This was always going to be a tough midlands battle, even though Aston Villa sat a Division higher. There was not much between the sides, although the shooting was equally bad. After a 0-0 draw, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Even at this point, the sides could not be split as it ended 3-3. In sudden death, Villa converted their first one, but Coventry missed, leaving Villa to celebrate on the night.

Celtic Triumph To Reach Semi-Finals

Scottish club Celtic enjoyed a glory night in the European Cup as they won their quarter-final match against Red Star Belgrade from Serbia.

Although the Scottish team had home advantage for the tie, they were not the clear favourites due to their previous poor European form, plus they only scraped into this round after winning their previous match on penalties.

Celtic started the stronger of the two sides and found the net midway through the first half. They then moved to a more defensive formation as Red Star pushed forward for an equaliser. Although Celtic gave everything, they could not hold Red Star back and the Serbian team scored early in the second half.

The match could have swung either way at this point, with both teams looking nervous. With only a few minutes remaining on the clock, Celtic broke though the Red Star defensive line. Red Star chased back, but their central defender made a last-minute lunge to prevent a shot, but clipped the Celtic strikers ankle.

The Celtic player went down and the referee pointed straight to the penalty spot. Celtic duly scored the goal. Red Star did not have enough time left to mount a challenge and full time was blown. Celtic have made it through to the European Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.

The draw for the semi-finals was made and Celtic were given the relatively easier tie, although they will be playing away at Dinamo Bucharest. The team from Romania previously knocked out Celtics arch-rivals Rangers in an earlier round of the competition.

The two stronger teams left competing- Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid – which many expected to meet in the Final, were drawn together in the other semi-final.

Both semi-final matches, which are played over a single leg, are scheduled for the end of Year 6 – Match Week 4.