THE SUPER SUB

 

Image Credit- Nepal News. 

It was the 46th edition of UEFA Super Cup. UEFA Super Cup is an annual tournament played between the winners of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.  This year's match was played between English Club Chelsea (UCL Winners) and Spanish Club Villareal (UEL Winners) at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

Chelsea scored the opening goal in the 27th minute of the game wherein Kai Havertz's low cross from the left was swept into the net by Hakim Ziyech.  However just before the half-time Ziyech was substituted because of a shoulder injury. 

Villarreal made a comeback in the second half and scored an equalizer in the 73rd minute of the game. At the end of 90 minutes the score read 1-1. Even after extra time the score remained 1-1. But just in the final seconds of the game Chelsea made a substitution. They replaced their goalkeeper Mendy with Kepa and this turned out as a masterstroke.

In the penalty shootout, Kepa made 2 crucial saves and Chelsea won the finals 6-5 on penalties. The Super Sub did his job. 

It is pertinent to note that this is Thomas Tuchel's second European trophy with Chelsea in a span of  just 7 months. 

A TRIBUTE TO THE SPECIAL ONE

Image Credit- The Sun   

 

27th April 2014

Liverpool, needing a draw to de facto win their first title in 25 years , were playing a second-string Chelsea team. Liverpool's legendary captain made a mistake, but given that they were attacking the fabled Kop end, it was almost a certainty that a draw was the very least that they would get from the game. Well, that's now things happen with Special One. His tactical genius was there for everyone with even limited understanding to see. Chelsea defused a strong Liverpool attack, and scored in final moments to win the game 2-0, effectively ending the title hopes of Liverpool.

In a remarkable career that has spanned over a 1000 games, there are bound to be many special moments from the Special One: the victory against much-favored Manchester United in 2004, the "sweetest defeat of his career" in Nou Camp in 2010, amongst many, many others. But for me personally, this is the best Mourinho moment, and it is because of the reason that unlike other victories, there was no immediate consequence of the result. The passion manifested in his mannerism after the game showed that notwithstanding the occasion, he wanted to win. He couldn't care less what others thought about his football, because he knew that in the ultimate reckoning, its the results that matter.

Recently, his career has lost a bit of shin, but for his contributions to the game, which might not always have been beautiful, he will always be the "The Special One".

 

Written by Shubham Priyadarshi. 

THE RETURN OF THE KING

 

 

Image Credit- The Indian Express.

 In the summer of 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United to join Spanish Giants Real Madrid on a record transfer fee. After playing for 9 seasons in the Los Blancos jersey, Ronaldo moved to Turin. In Juventus F.C., Ronaldo won a couple of league titles but in the Champions League the team's performance was dismal. Furthermore in the 2020-21 season, Juventus lost the domestic title to their rivals Inter Milan. It was now quite certain that Ronaldo will leave Juventus. But, which club will he join was the question.

 PSG signed Messi in August 2021 and there were also rumors that they can sign Ronaldo. However in the last week of August, Manchester City became one of the favorites to sign Ronaldo. There were talks between Ronaldo's agent and the officials of Manchester City. But, eventually Manchester United succeeded in signing Ronaldo. Ronaldo was back to Old Trafford after 12 long years.

Everyone were excited for his second debut. And it became a debut to remember. Ronaldo scored a brace in his second debut against Newcastle at Old Trafford and the Red Devils won the game 4-1. The crowd was shouting Cristiano's name and Sir Alex looked at him like a proud father.

With this win, United are currently at the top of the table. Will this be United's year?  Will they lift the Premier League trophy after 9 years? The answer lies in the womb of time.