Football Heaven

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Liverpool vs Spurs — Carabao Cup Semi Final

In an enthralling semi final second leg, Liverpool defeated Spurs 4–0 (4–1 on aggregate) to book their place in the cup final vs Newcastle…

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Slot’s Machine stumbles on Tyneside

Newcastle FC 3–3 Liverpool FC. An 83rd minute goal from Mohammad Salah looked to be the all decisive goal until Fabian Schär, an unlikely…

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Arsenal gun down Villains at Villa Park

Image courtesy of: Shutterstock.com - 2067915509

Arsenal remain perfect with two wins from two as their quest for the Premier League title ensues once again. Late second half goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey sent the traveling Arsenal fans into ecstasy as they overcame an Aston Villa team that did the double over Arsenal last season.

Substitute Trossard's one time finish from 12 yards out broke the deadlock at Villa Park as an exchange of passes from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka found the later produce a cutback through a sea of legs to the feet of the Belgian international in the 67th min.

A wave of Arsenal dominance continued as Aston Villa couldn't clear their lines. Saka in the thick of the action once again played a cushioned back pass for the onrushing Partey who found his curling effort from 18 yards beat Emiliano Martinez at the near post and into the back of the net. 77 minutes gone by and Arsenal were two to the good.

The first half was very much a game for purists, intense and technical with chances at both ends.

Saka had the first chance of the evening as his left footed effort from the right was parried round the post by a fully stretched Martinez in the 16th min. A sleepy Gabriel allowed Morgan Rogers to pickpocket him and set up Ollie Watkins with a glorious chance to take the lead, however Watkins failed to hit the target with a tap in opportunity 10 yards out.

The second half began just as intensely as the first half ended with David Raya producing an outrageous save to keep Villa at bay. A deflected effort from Amadou Onana sent the Arsenal keeper back peddling towards his own net which sent him crashing to ground as the ball ricocheted off the bar. Watkins reacted quickest as his diving header seemed goal bound if it wasn't for the cat like reflexes of Raya, pouncing up and pushing the ball to safety in the 54th minute.

Aston Villa travel to Leicester City on August 31 as Unai Emery's men look to bounce back while Arsenal host a flying Brighton & Hove Albion the same day.

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Liverpool triumph over testy Ipswich

Liverpool FC the victors against newly promoted Ipswich by 2 goals to zero at Portman Road for the first game of the 2024/2025 English Premier League season.

Liverpool began to show their dominance in the second half after some words of encouragement from new manager Arne Slot. The breakthrough came in the 60th min when a lovely through ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold found Mohammed Salah in acres of space down the right hand side. Salah as calm as ever picked out Diogo Jota ghosting into the box who then produced a one time finish into the net. The ever prolific Portuguese goal scorer made his mark in stunning fashion sending the away fans into dreamland.

First goal of the season and the Reds campaign was truly underway. Ipswich were persistent in their style of play but were outmatched by the sheer quality of their opposition. The final blow came just 5 minutes later when Salah played a neat little give and go with Dominik Szoboszlai on the top of the box , freeing up the Egyptian to double the score. Two strikes as quick as lighting, Liverpool all but sealed the first 3 points of the season. Salah now breaking the record for most consecutive seasons scoring in the opening match (9). When his age was brought up for discussion, Salah silenced the doubters with a goal.

“When you see the way he looks after his body, there are many more years inside of him to play.” answered Slot in his post match press conference.

Ipswich held their ground for much of the first half however their flaws were being exploited in the second half. Life in the Premier League will come at them fast as they travel to Manchester to face last seasons champions in Manchester City Saturday August 24th while Liverpool are at home facing Brentford on Sunday August 25th.

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Japan tops group at Israel’s expense

Image courtesy of: epic22 via VectorStock.com/26729212

Japan edges past Israel 1–0 in the final group D match at the Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes this evening. The Japanese found a late winner in the final minute of regulation after a nice passage of play on the right allowed Kein Sato to cutback a precise ball which found Mao Hosoya arriving inside the box to register his first goal of the tournament. Hosoya delivered a wonderful one-timed right footed finish into the side netting as the Israeli goalkeeper remained rooted to his spot.

Throughout the match both sides had a fair number of chances to take the lead. 12 shots each with 5 on target for Israel and 4 for the Japanese displayed some excellent shot stopping from the two goalkeepers. Japans Leo Kokubo was the busier of the two as he made a total of 5 saves in the match. Israel started stronger, needing a victory to have any chance in advancing to the next round. Chances fell early to Israel’s Liel Abada and Oscar Gloukh as they both saw their attempts parried away by Kokubo. 15 minutes into the match saw a third opportunity from Elad Madmon, a left footed shot from the center of the box seemed to be goal bound, if it wasn’t for the solid Japanese defense standing in its way.

In the second half, Japan looked to be in control as time was on their side. A draw would still see them top the group but a perfect record in the group stage would send a statement to the rest of the teams. The final 10 minutes of regulation saw two golden opportunities for Israel to take the lead if it wasn’t for the heroics of Kokubo once again. The Japanese goalkeeper has yet been beaten at these Olympic games as he boasts a clean sheet throughout the group stage. For Israel, their Olympic dream ends tonight while Japan progress into the Quarter-Finals where they will face Spain on August 2nd.