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Last Weekend: Argentina advance to the quarter-finals, Barça Femení survive a scare and more

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It has been quite a busy weekend in the world of football. The 2022 World Cup’s knockout stage has gotten underway so some huge fixtures are being played at a daily rate, while normal service has continued in the world of women’s football. We will be covering some of that and more in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🏆 World Cup: Argentina 2-1 Australia

Lionel Messi began what is most likely his final World Cup knockout run as Argentina faced Australia, who had surprised many by reaching this stage. This was just their second-ever appearance in the Men’s World Cup knockouts and they had lost their only previous game, so it would have taken an exceptionally historic performance from them to advance.

In fairness, the Socceroos started the game off quite well and were able to keep Argentina at an arm’s length, although Lionel Scaloni’s side looked a little disjointed again as their attack had to be shuffled around in the absence of Ángel Di María. It was clear that this game would take a moment of individual brilliance to open it up, and of course, only one man was going to provide it.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a pinpoint finish to the bottom corner after playing a role in the build-up and making a run into the box. In his 1000th senior appearance, he finally got his first-ever World Cup knockout goal. The 35-year-old’s overall performance was inspired too, as he attempted six shots and created four chances for his teammates.

Argentina did score again through Julián Álvarez in the second half, but that goal was created by a goalkeeper error when the ball was at his feet. It then looked like La Albiceleste would cruise home to a comfortable win, but a deflected Craig Goodwin shot that beat Emiliano Martínez for an own goal in the 77th minute set up a grandstand finish. Argentina managed to hold on, though, moving on to the quarter-finals where they will be facing Netherlands.

🇪🇸 Spain: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Elsewhere in the world, women’s football has remained in full swing, so let us catch up with some of the action in Europe’s top leagues, starting with Spain.

On Saturday, Real Sociedad had to make the trip to league leaders and defending champions Barcelona, who had a 100% record in all competitions this season and had beaten Sociedad home and away with an aggregate score of 17-2 last season. Their players certainly would not have been looking forward to this.

But they would have been slightly pleased to learn that Barcelona were resting a few of their key players, even though their task was still incredibly tough. For their part, Erreala looked quite impressive as they matched their opponents in the first half and created some good chances too. Their lack of clinical finishing was disappointing, but on the stroke of half-time, Jade Le Guilly found the bottom corner from the edge of the box to give Sociedad a lead that was certainly deserved.

This was the first time Barcelona were trailing this season in all competitions, so they made four substitutions at half-time. Marta Torrejón was among those who started and stayed on the pitch for the second half, and just after the hour-mark, she scored following a corner. It was all Barcelona thereafter as they searched for a winner to keep their perfect record going. Eventually, it came from another corner in the 89th minute, with substitute Lucy Bronze getting on the scoresheet.

So, Real Sociedad joined a long list of teams that have failed to take anything in terms of points from a visit to Barcelona this season, but they can take a lot of heart from their performance.

🇩🇪 Germany: Wolfsburg 5-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Over in the Bundesliga, the only two teams who were unbeaten before this weekend faced off on Saturday. Defending champions Wolfsburg, who were at the top of the table, hosted Eintracht Frankfurt, who dropped to third after Bayern Munich’s win over Hoffenheim.

Dutch attacking midfielder Jill Roord took just five minutes to put the hosts in front, and they largely controlled proceedings thereafter. A few minutes before the half-time break, Roord’s second goal of the match and striker Ewa Pajor’s eighth goal of the season put Wolfsburg in a commanding position. Roord completed her hat-trick in the second half, and a late own goal from Sara Doorsoun added further gloss to the scoreline.

This result extended Wolfsburg’s lead at the top of the table to five points, while Roord shot up the scoring charts to become the third player from her side in the league’s top five.

When the goals are coming at such a consistent rate from different sources, that usually bodes pretty well for a title charge.

🇮🇹 Italy: Inter 0-2 Juventus

The Derby d’Italia was the headline fixture in Italy this weekend, and the two contestants were occupying the podium positions going into the fixture. Their reactions to that would have been very different, though, as Inter were looking to qualify for Europe for the first time, while Juventus were at risk of losing the title for the first time in their history.

Le Bianconere were trailing Roma by six points heading into the weekend, so they couldn’t really afford any more slip-ups. They were matched by Inter in what was a very even game where both sides created presentable chances to score the opening goal, but it was the visitors who were eventually able to convert. A quickfire double from Barbara Bonansea and Arianna Caruso early on in the second half proved to be the difference between the two teams.

So, Inter suffered just their second defeat of the league season but are now winless in five matches, which is a disappointing run after a very good start to the season. Juventus, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, a streak they will be keen to preserve when they face Roma next week.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Leicester City 0-8 Chelsea

It was top versus bottom in the Women’s Super League in England this weekend, as pointless Leicester City hosted Chelsea.

It was all one-way traffic from the start as the defending champions went straight for the kill. Guro Reiten opened the scoring four minutes in, and then she went on an assist mission. She set up four of her teammates by half-time to give Chelsea a five-goal lead, with the last of the goals coming right on the 45th minute when Reiten played an exquisite outside-of-the-boot pass curving around the opposition back line into the path of Sam Kerr.

There was more to come in the second half as Jessie Flemming and Fran Kirby completed their braces, between which Bethany England came off the bench and got on the scoresheet as well. So, after putting nine and seven past Leicester in their last two meetings, Chelsea settled on eight this time.

This result restores the Blues’ three-point lead at the top of the table, and although they have played a game more than Manchester United and Arsenal, this big scoreline has given them the edge on goal difference. Leicester, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table, and relegation seems to be inevitable for them now. 

🇷🇴 Romania: Farul Constanța 8-0 Botoșani

The Romanian Liga I is among the handful of European top-flight leagues that is not stopping for the World Cup, and there is quite an interesting story brewing at the top of the table.

League-leaders Farul Constanța thrashed Botoșani by an eight-goal margin as well to go four points clear at the top. They have, however, played one more match than second-placed CFR Cluj, the side that has won the last five titles in Romania.

If you look at Farul Constanța’s title history, their records will say that they were the team that won the 2016/17 title – the last one before Cluj’s streak began. However, the team it was awarded to was called Viitorul Constanța, which is now defunct having merged with Farul in 2021.

The story is that in 2016, Farul were declared bankrupt and effectively had to be folded as a club. That was quite something for the fans of a then 96-year-old club to take, so they decided to form what effectively became a proxy team called ‘Suporter Spirit Club Farul Constanța’ that started life in the lowest tier.

The club earned a couple of back-to-back promotions and climbed up to the second tier in 2018, but a hostile takeover attempt and the resultant issues seemingly slowed down their progress. Things were resolved by the winter, but Farul failed to win promotion in the subsequent two seasons as well.

Then came another twist in 2021, as Romanian football legend Gheorghe Hagi, who had started his playing career with Farul, announced that Viitorul Constanța, the club he had formed in 2009 and was managing at the time, would merge with Farul under the latter’s banner. That meant Farul took Viitorul’s place in the top flight, finishing fifth at the end of the season.

This year, with Hagi at the helm, they have launched a serious title charge and are looking to lift the first-ever top-flight league trophy with Farul’s name engraved on it. There is a long way to go yet, but things are looking good at the moment.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Last Weekend: Argentina advance to the quarter-finals, Barça Femení survive a scare and more

It has been quite a busy weekend in the world of football. The 2022 World Cup’s knockout stage has gotten underway so some huge fixtures are being played at a daily rate, while normal service has continued in the world of women’s football. We will be covering some of that and more in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🏆 World Cup: Argentina 2-1 Australia

Lionel Messi began what is most likely his final World Cup knockout run as Argentina faced Australia, who had surprised many by reaching this stage. This was just their second-ever appearance in the Men’s World Cup knockouts and they had lost their only previous game, so it would have taken an exceptionally historic performance from them to advance.

In fairness, the Socceroos started the game off quite well and were able to keep Argentina at an arm’s length, although Lionel Scaloni’s side looked a little disjointed again as their attack had to be shuffled around in the absence of Ángel Di María. It was clear that this game would take a moment of individual brilliance to open it up, and of course, only one man was going to provide it.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a pinpoint finish to the bottom corner after playing a role in the build-up and making a run into the box. In his 1000th senior appearance, he finally got his first-ever World Cup knockout goal. The 35-year-old’s overall performance was inspired too, as he attempted six shots and created four chances for his teammates.

Argentina did score again through Julián Álvarez in the second half, but that goal was created by a goalkeeper error when the ball was at his feet. It then looked like La Albiceleste would cruise home to a comfortable win, but a deflected Craig Goodwin shot that beat Emiliano Martínez for an own goal in the 77th minute set up a grandstand finish. Argentina managed to hold on, though, moving on to the quarter-finals where they will be facing Netherlands.

🇪🇸 Spain: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Elsewhere in the world, women’s football has remained in full swing, so let us catch up with some of the action in Europe’s top leagues, starting with Spain.

On Saturday, Real Sociedad had to make the trip to league leaders and defending champions Barcelona, who had a 100% record in all competitions this season and had beaten Sociedad home and away with an aggregate score of 17-2 last season. Their players certainly would not have been looking forward to this.

But they would have been slightly pleased to learn that Barcelona were resting a few of their key players, even though their task was still incredibly tough. For their part, Erreala looked quite impressive as they matched their opponents in the first half and created some good chances too. Their lack of clinical finishing was disappointing, but on the stroke of half-time, Jade Le Guilly found the bottom corner from the edge of the box to give Sociedad a lead that was certainly deserved.

This was the first time Barcelona were trailing this season in all competitions, so they made four substitutions at half-time. Marta Torrejón was among those who started and stayed on the pitch for the second half, and just after the hour-mark, she scored following a corner. It was all Barcelona thereafter as they searched for a winner to keep their perfect record going. Eventually, it came from another corner in the 89th minute, with substitute Lucy Bronze getting on the scoresheet.

So, Real Sociedad joined a long list of teams that have failed to take anything in terms of points from a visit to Barcelona this season, but they can take a lot of heart from their performance.

🇩🇪 Germany: Wolfsburg 5-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Over in the Bundesliga, the only two teams who were unbeaten before this weekend faced off on Saturday. Defending champions Wolfsburg, who were at the top of the table, hosted Eintracht Frankfurt, who dropped to third after Bayern Munich’s win over Hoffenheim.

Dutch attacking midfielder Jill Roord took just five minutes to put the hosts in front, and they largely controlled proceedings thereafter. A few minutes before the half-time break, Roord’s second goal of the match and striker Ewa Pajor’s eighth goal of the season put Wolfsburg in a commanding position. Roord completed her hat-trick in the second half, and a late own goal from Sara Doorsoun added further gloss to the scoreline.

This result extended Wolfsburg’s lead at the top of the table to five points, while Roord shot up the scoring charts to become the third player from her side in the league’s top five.

When the goals are coming at such a consistent rate from different sources, that usually bodes pretty well for a title charge.

🇮🇹 Italy: Inter 0-2 Juventus

The Derby d’Italia was the headline fixture in Italy this weekend, and the two contestants were occupying the podium positions going into the fixture. Their reactions to that would have been very different, though, as Inter were looking to qualify for Europe for the first time, while Juventus were at risk of losing the title for the first time in their history.

Le Bianconere were trailing Roma by six points heading into the weekend, so they couldn’t really afford any more slip-ups. They were matched by Inter in what was a very even game where both sides created presentable chances to score the opening goal, but it was the visitors who were eventually able to convert. A quickfire double from Barbara Bonansea and Arianna Caruso early on in the second half proved to be the difference between the two teams.

So, Inter suffered just their second defeat of the league season but are now winless in five matches, which is a disappointing run after a very good start to the season. Juventus, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, a streak they will be keen to preserve when they face Roma next week.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Leicester City 0-8 Chelsea

It was top versus bottom in the Women’s Super League in England this weekend, as pointless Leicester City hosted Chelsea.

It was all one-way traffic from the start as the defending champions went straight for the kill. Guro Reiten opened the scoring four minutes in, and then she went on an assist mission. She set up four of her teammates by half-time to give Chelsea a five-goal lead, with the last of the goals coming right on the 45th minute when Reiten played an exquisite outside-of-the-boot pass curving around the opposition back line into the path of Sam Kerr.

There was more to come in the second half as Jessie Flemming and Fran Kirby completed their braces, between which Bethany England came off the bench and got on the scoresheet as well. So, after putting nine and seven past Leicester in their last two meetings, Chelsea settled on eight this time.

This result restores the Blues’ three-point lead at the top of the table, and although they have played a game more than Manchester United and Arsenal, this big scoreline has given them the edge on goal difference. Leicester, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table, and relegation seems to be inevitable for them now. 

🇷🇴 Romania: Farul Constanța 8-0 Botoșani

The Romanian Liga I is among the handful of European top-flight leagues that is not stopping for the World Cup, and there is quite an interesting story brewing at the top of the table.

League-leaders Farul Constanța thrashed Botoșani by an eight-goal margin as well to go four points clear at the top. They have, however, played one more match than second-placed CFR Cluj, the side that has won the last five titles in Romania.

If you look at Farul Constanța’s title history, their records will say that they were the team that won the 2016/17 title – the last one before Cluj’s streak began. However, the team it was awarded to was called Viitorul Constanța, which is now defunct having merged with Farul in 2021.

The story is that in 2016, Farul were declared bankrupt and effectively had to be folded as a club. That was quite something for the fans of a then 96-year-old club to take, so they decided to form what effectively became a proxy team called ‘Suporter Spirit Club Farul Constanța’ that started life in the lowest tier.

The club earned a couple of back-to-back promotions and climbed up to the second tier in 2018, but a hostile takeover attempt and the resultant issues seemingly slowed down their progress. Things were resolved by the winter, but Farul failed to win promotion in the subsequent two seasons as well.

Then came another twist in 2021, as Romanian football legend Gheorghe Hagi, who had started his playing career with Farul, announced that Viitorul Constanța, the club he had formed in 2009 and was managing at the time, would merge with Farul under the latter’s banner. That meant Farul took Viitorul’s place in the top flight, finishing fifth at the end of the season.

This year, with Hagi at the helm, they have launched a serious title charge and are looking to lift the first-ever top-flight league trophy with Farul’s name engraved on it. There is a long way to go yet, but things are looking good at the moment.

Cover Image from IMAGO