Monthly Archives: May 2017

Crotone dramatically survived in the Italian Serie A. The Sharks recorded a vital victory in the last round against Lazio at home. Nalini and Falcinelli scored two goals for the hosts until the 22nd minute of the match, but Ciro Immobile scored from the penalty spot to bring Lazio back in the game. However, Nalini found the net again 15 minutes after the break and secured the three points for his team.

Meanwhile, Empoli lost their visit to Palermo and appeared in the relegation zone. Nestorovski opened the score for Palermo in the 76th minute of the match. Then, Bruno Henrique doubled the score with 6 minutes to go. The only goal for the visitors was scored by Krunic in the 87th minute

That sensational final of the season sent Empoli in Serie B, while Crotone will spend at least one more season in the first division. The Sharks deservedly avoided relegation. They were in a great shape, recording 6 victories in their last 9 league matches. Moreover, they only lost once in these games (to Juventus away from home). It’s interesting that Crotone won 20 points from their last 9 games and they finished with a record of 34 points, which means they finished as one of the teams in the best form in the division.

The 3-1 victory against Lazio was the second occasion of the season for Crotone, in which the team scores more than 2 goals in a single game. The Sharks scored 34 goals in 38 games, which is less than a goal per game on average. However, who cares as they kept their place in Serie A?

Except for Empoli, Palermo and Pescara were the other two teams to be relegated, but that was obvious from a long time ago. SPAL and Hellas Verona already won promotions from the second division, but there is still to be determined which will be the third team, which will find a place in the division.

Manchester United won their last league match of the campaign – 2-0 against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho played a lot of youngsters and despite of the lack of experience The Red Devils won the three points.

The game was the senior debut for Josh Harrod, Demetri Mitchell and Angel Gomes. Moreover, there were also youngsters like the goalkeeper Joel Castro, who played his second match with Manchester United’s shirt, Scott McTominay, who also appeared for second time, and the 19-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe (5th official game for United).

The game started brilliantly for the 21-year-old midfielder Josh Harrop, who showed a great piece of skills and sent the ball into the back of the net in the 15th minute of the match! With that goal Harrop became Manchester United’s 100th different goal-scorer in The Premier League. If you haven’t seen that goal – you must watch the replay, because this player is one of United’s hottest prospects for the future.

Just 4 minutes later Paul Pogba scored the second goal of the game, giving Manchester United a solid lead. That was Pogba’s 5th Premier League goal of the campaign.

However, Jose Mourinho saw a lot of potential in his young players, who showed a wonderful performance and won the three points. With the victory, The Red Devils finished with 18 victories of 38 matches and only 5 defeats, recording 69 points, which meant they finished in 6th position in the final standings.

It was very interesting, when the Portuguese manager attended the press conference after the match. He sat on the chair in front of the few reporters and stayed there for a few seconds. Then, he immediately left the room demonstratively. Maybe he was in a hurry, because Manchester United will play their most important match of the season on Wednesday – The Europa League final against Ajax.

Tottenham played their last match at the legendary stadium White Hart Lane yesterday against Manchester United. The Spurs won it 2-1 and maintained their brilliant performance at home this season. The Mauricio Pochettino’s players recorded 17 victories and 2 draws of 19 games at White Hart Lane in The Premier League, but their performance away from home costed them the title.

The game was marked of several milestones. Harry Kane scored his first ever goal against Manchester United. That was the English forward’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions. His goal secured the three points for The Spurs. On the other hand, Wayne Rooney’s consolation goal for The Red Devils was his 7th at The White Hart Lane Stadium, which made him the most prolific visiting goal-scorer at this venue.

To continue with, the hosts were better on the pitch and deservedly won the game. Victor Wanyama opened the score after a great header in the 6th minute. Then, The Spurs kept on going, but they couldn’t find the net again before the break. Just 3 minutes after the half time, Harry Kane doubled the score for Tottenham Hotspur. However, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match for Manchester United in the 71st minute, fixing the final score.

Now The Spurs will move to The Wembley Stadium, where they will spend a minimum of one year, before returning to north London. The new capacity of their stadium will be 61,599. White Hart Lane have been Spurs’ home since 1899.

With the victory against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur will finish in 2nd position in The Premier League. The last time they did it was in season 1962 – 63! So, no matter Spurs couldn’t win the title – that’s a great performance for them. However, with the team Mauricio Pochettino has built, The Spurs will surely fight for the title next season. They will again play in The Champions League. The only sad news is that they will not play at White Hart Lane.