By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
It has been
an action-packed last four days in the football world, as clubs desperately try
to tie up last-minute deals in the transfer market and cup competitions start
to take shape.
Bayern Munich
came out on top in a fantastic UEFA Super Cup final in Prague against
Chelsea. The German champions were
trailing 2-1 with just seven seconds of extra-time left when Javi Martinez
finished coolly, levelling the scores.
Earlier, the Blues had been reduced to 10 men after Ramires was sent off
for two yellow cards, a decision that Jose Mourinho clearly disagreed
with. Chelsea led twice in the match
through a splendid strike from Fernando Torres in the seventh minute and a
similar special effort by Eden Hazard in the first three minutes of
extra-time. Ultimately, it was the
Europa League holders who came up short in the final reckoning as Romelu Lukaku’s
weak spot-kick was comfortably saved by Manuel Neuer, ensuring Bayern won their
fourth trophy of the calendar year.
In the UEFA
Champions League, Celtic sealed a place in the group stages in dramatic fashion
against Shakhtar Karagendy. Trailing 2-0
from a dismal first leg performance in Kazakhstan, Neil Lennon’s side dominated
at Parkhead from the outset and had drawn the tie level early in the second
half, thanks to a Kris Commons stunner and a calm finish inside the penalty
area by Georgios Samaras. However, they
couldn’t find their way through again until the 90th minute when
James Forrest (pictured) scrambled home the decisive winner. The 3-0 win took the Bhoys through 3-2 on
aggregate. Aaron Ramsey netted both
goals in Arsenal’s simple 2-0 success at home to Fenerbahce. Ramsey’s contribution came on a night where
the Gunners lost Lukas Podolski to a hamstring injury for 10 weeks. The 5-0 aggregate victory was pretty
academic, especially as Fenerbahce were then chucked out of the Europa League
after a failed appeal against their match-fixing ban. Other sides who secured their passage through
included AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad and FC Basel.
The Europa
League play-off round saw many big casualties.
2011finalists Sporting Braga and Russian side Spartak Moscow were among
the names to crash out, while St Etienne, VfB Stuttgart and Udinese also failed
to turn around first leg deficits. There
were no issues for Swansea City and Tottenham as both made the group stages
comfortably. Swansea did lose 2-1 on the
night to Petrolul Ploietsi and had Leon Britton dismissed late on, but went
through 6-3 on aggregate. Jermain Defoe
bagged a brace in the 8-0 landslide aggregate victory for Tottenham over Dinamo
Tbilisi. Spurs won 3-0 at White Hart
Lane on Thursday evening.
In England,
the Capital One Cup moved into the second round and only one Premier League
side made an early exit. Crystal Palace
were beaten 2-1 away at League One club Bristol City. Several other sides had to work hard though
for their victories. Liverpool threw
away a two-goal lead at home to Notts County and needed another pivotal goal
from Daniel Sturridge and a tremendous solo effort by Jordan Henderson to see
off the brave challenge of their opponents.
The Reds eventually prevailed 4-2 after extra-time. Merseyside neighbours Everton also needed the
extra half an hour to see off Stevenage, with Marouane Fellaini coming off the
bench to grab the winning goal. Hull
City were also made to go the full distance before Robbie Brady’s goal overcame
League One high-flyers Leyton Orient, and penalties were required for Fulham to
end Burton Albion’s brave resistance following a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes at
the Pirelli Stadium.
In Scotland,
St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Ross County were all beaten by lower league
opposition. The former were holders of
the League One but came up short against Queen of the South, whilst Killie lost
1-0 at home to Hamilton and Stranraer got the better of Ross County. Hearts and Aberdeen needed penalty shootouts
to get the better of Raith Rovers and Alloa Athletic respectively.
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