Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Some of the best games in football, in my opinion, are the games in which the score becomes cringe-worthy high, when the opposition give up all and any hope of rescuing their dignity, and when even the most hard-core supporter will shed a couple tears over the result.
Yes, the games in which one team goes away hoping to forget all about it, while another team leaves with their spirits high, but their goal difference higher. Here’s a look at my top 3 most memorable thrashings in the Premier League.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
The game that launched a million puns. Arsenal and Manchester United have always been rivals, especially during the times when Arsenal had been challenging up near the top of the table. Not to say they weren’t a force to be reckoned with. Arsenal had sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City, but with a lethal Robin van Persie up front, pace with Walcott on the wing, and international experience with Arshavin on the left, Arsenal weren’t going to roll over. In theory, that is.
For a game that produced 10 goals, the first came quite late. A lovely scooped ball from Anderson was played over the Arsenal defence, and Wellbeck looped the ball over Szczesny: 1-0. Arsenal looked likely to get back in it, as they were awarded a penalty soon after.
However, De Gea made a fine save down low, and Arsenal were punished soon after; albeit through a wonderstrike from lifelong Gunners fan Ashley Young. Rooney added his first of the day in the 41stminute (his 150th United goal), and just before half-time, Walcott put Arsenal on the score board. 3-1 at the break, but the visiting team weren’t out of it yet. That is, until Rooney smashed home his second free-kick of the day, and Park added a 5th.
Arsenal had the choice: damage limitation, or push for some more goals. They chose the latter, and despite scoring a second through van Persie, paid the price. Nani put home the 6th, Rooney completed his hat-trick 8 minutes before time, and Young completed the whipping in injury time.
After this game, you’d 8-2 be an Arsenal fan.
Chelsea 8-0 Wigan
After going 3 years without winning the Premier League, Chelsea were far overdue for some silverware. Heading into the final day of the season, Chelsea were on 83 points, only one point ahead of Manchester United. United were hosting 11th Stoke on the final day, while 16th place Wigan Athletic travelled to the Bridge. Both visiting teams had nothing to play for, and thus were totally taken advantage of.
Manchester United could be proud of themselves of an impressive 4-0 win against a tough team, but when it came time to produce, there could be no doubt Chelsea delivered. Having scored 7 past Aston Villa, Stoke City and Sunderland in the season, Chelsea were no strangers to big wins, but this was a whole ‘nother ball game.
Unlike the last example, Chelsea took no time to establish their dominance on the game. Drogba’s free-kick eventually fell to Florent Malouda , who, from an offside position, found Anelka, who drilled the ball into the net. The Bridge erupted, and they were one goal closer to the title.
Wigan did enjoy a good bit of possession, the game was all but over 13 minutes before half-time, as Lampard was brought down in the box, and Gary Caldwell saw red for the foul. Lampard slotted home (despite some sulking from Drogba), and Chelsea were on their way.
Only 2-0 at half time, but the second half was something different entirely. It took only 10 minutes for Chelsea to score again, with Solomon Kalou adding a third. Anelka put home his 3rd of the game two minutes later to put Chelsea up 4-0, and then Didier Drogba took over. He headed home Chelsea’s 100th goal of the season, before adding a second 5 minutes later through a penalty, given away by ex-Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot.
He was now two goals ahead of Rooney in the race for the Golden Boot, and made sure there was no doubt he was going to win the Boot, and the title with Chelsea.
Seven would’ve been enough, but Ashley Cole put the icing on the cake with an 8th, and Chelsea ended the season in style.
Middlesbrough 8 – 1 Manchester City
As the noisy neighbours from Manchester grow noisier every year, and look increasingly likely to be the 5th team to win a Premier League title, there is some fun in gloating over the times when they weren’t top of the table, cruising to easy victories.
One game that may still stick in the throat of City fans was the last game of the 2007-08 season. To be fair, it was a nothing game (Middlesborough had secured Premier League survival the week before), but that didn’t stop them sticking 8 past a pathetic looking City side.
The game started poorly for City with Dunne giving away a penalty and getting sent off in the 16th minute. City were down a goal and a man, and didn’t really look like coming back into it. Boro grabbed one more before the break, with Alfonso Alves slotting home to make it 2-0 before the break.
Isaksson made several vital saves, but couldn’t stop a stunning volley from Downing and another goal from Alves hitting the back of the net. Adam Johnson came off the Boro bench to net the 5th (He was signed by City 2 years later), and Rochemback scored a beauty of a free-kick to but Boro ahead by 6 heading into the last 10 minutes.
They could’ve sat back and enjoyed the easy win, but Boro had smelled blood, and weren’t going to stop now. Aliadiere netted a 7th five minutes before time, and although Elano pulled one back for City, Alves completed his hat-trick in the 90th minute to complete the humiliation.
So remember, Manchester United fans, while your neighbours may beat you to the Premiership title, there’s at least one game that can keep you happy.
Australia 31 – 0 American Samoa
No, it’s not a typo. The game may not have been played in the Premier League, but that doesn't stop going down in history. American Samoa, the 187th best team in the world, may not have expected a great result playing Australia, but what happened was purely unbelievable.
The game started off slowly, with the Samoa keeper forced to make a save early on. But after that, nothing was stopping the Australians. Boutsianis grabbed the first Aussie goal, with Thompson grabbing another two minutes later. Then one minute later, Zdrilic grabbed a 3rd for Australia. Another minute later, the score was upped to 4-0.
Things weren’t looking great for Samoa, and after 30 minutes Australia were up 10-0. If things stayed the way they were going, Australia were due a 30-0 win. But that couldn’t happen… could it? Heading into the break Australia had added 5 goals, with a 15 goal lead, and weren’t showing of signs of stopping.
When Zdrilic scored his 8th of the match in the 89th minute, Australia were cruising, and no wonder: they were up 31-0. Archie Thompson had scored a record breaking 13 goals (Almost 3 times the amount of goals Fernando Torres has scored in two seasons at Stamford Bridge).
Things could only get better for American Samoa and they did: they won their first game ever against Tonga in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Thanks for reading.
Written by Cormac O'Brien
Follow him on Twitter @obrienfootball
Please like O-Posts on Facebook
Follow the site on Twitter
Yes, the games in which one team goes away hoping to forget all about it, while another team leaves with their spirits high, but their goal difference higher. Here’s a look at my top 3 most memorable thrashings in the Premier League.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
The game that launched a million puns. Arsenal and Manchester United have always been rivals, especially during the times when Arsenal had been challenging up near the top of the table. Not to say they weren’t a force to be reckoned with. Arsenal had sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City, but with a lethal Robin van Persie up front, pace with Walcott on the wing, and international experience with Arshavin on the left, Arsenal weren’t going to roll over. In theory, that is.
For a game that produced 10 goals, the first came quite late. A lovely scooped ball from Anderson was played over the Arsenal defence, and Wellbeck looped the ball over Szczesny: 1-0. Arsenal looked likely to get back in it, as they were awarded a penalty soon after.
However, De Gea made a fine save down low, and Arsenal were punished soon after; albeit through a wonderstrike from lifelong Gunners fan Ashley Young. Rooney added his first of the day in the 41stminute (his 150th United goal), and just before half-time, Walcott put Arsenal on the score board. 3-1 at the break, but the visiting team weren’t out of it yet. That is, until Rooney smashed home his second free-kick of the day, and Park added a 5th.
Arsenal had the choice: damage limitation, or push for some more goals. They chose the latter, and despite scoring a second through van Persie, paid the price. Nani put home the 6th, Rooney completed his hat-trick 8 minutes before time, and Young completed the whipping in injury time.
After this game, you’d 8-2 be an Arsenal fan.
Chelsea 8-0 Wigan
After going 3 years without winning the Premier League, Chelsea were far overdue for some silverware. Heading into the final day of the season, Chelsea were on 83 points, only one point ahead of Manchester United. United were hosting 11th Stoke on the final day, while 16th place Wigan Athletic travelled to the Bridge. Both visiting teams had nothing to play for, and thus were totally taken advantage of.
Manchester United could be proud of themselves of an impressive 4-0 win against a tough team, but when it came time to produce, there could be no doubt Chelsea delivered. Having scored 7 past Aston Villa, Stoke City and Sunderland in the season, Chelsea were no strangers to big wins, but this was a whole ‘nother ball game.
Unlike the last example, Chelsea took no time to establish their dominance on the game. Drogba’s free-kick eventually fell to Florent Malouda , who, from an offside position, found Anelka, who drilled the ball into the net. The Bridge erupted, and they were one goal closer to the title.
Wigan did enjoy a good bit of possession, the game was all but over 13 minutes before half-time, as Lampard was brought down in the box, and Gary Caldwell saw red for the foul. Lampard slotted home (despite some sulking from Drogba), and Chelsea were on their way.
Only 2-0 at half time, but the second half was something different entirely. It took only 10 minutes for Chelsea to score again, with Solomon Kalou adding a third. Anelka put home his 3rd of the game two minutes later to put Chelsea up 4-0, and then Didier Drogba took over. He headed home Chelsea’s 100th goal of the season, before adding a second 5 minutes later through a penalty, given away by ex-Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot.
He was now two goals ahead of Rooney in the race for the Golden Boot, and made sure there was no doubt he was going to win the Boot, and the title with Chelsea.
Seven would’ve been enough, but Ashley Cole put the icing on the cake with an 8th, and Chelsea ended the season in style.
Middlesbrough 8 – 1 Manchester City
As the noisy neighbours from Manchester grow noisier every year, and look increasingly likely to be the 5th team to win a Premier League title, there is some fun in gloating over the times when they weren’t top of the table, cruising to easy victories.
One game that may still stick in the throat of City fans was the last game of the 2007-08 season. To be fair, it was a nothing game (Middlesborough had secured Premier League survival the week before), but that didn’t stop them sticking 8 past a pathetic looking City side.
The game started poorly for City with Dunne giving away a penalty and getting sent off in the 16th minute. City were down a goal and a man, and didn’t really look like coming back into it. Boro grabbed one more before the break, with Alfonso Alves slotting home to make it 2-0 before the break.
Isaksson made several vital saves, but couldn’t stop a stunning volley from Downing and another goal from Alves hitting the back of the net. Adam Johnson came off the Boro bench to net the 5th (He was signed by City 2 years later), and Rochemback scored a beauty of a free-kick to but Boro ahead by 6 heading into the last 10 minutes.
They could’ve sat back and enjoyed the easy win, but Boro had smelled blood, and weren’t going to stop now. Aliadiere netted a 7th five minutes before time, and although Elano pulled one back for City, Alves completed his hat-trick in the 90th minute to complete the humiliation.
So remember, Manchester United fans, while your neighbours may beat you to the Premiership title, there’s at least one game that can keep you happy.
SPECIAL MENTION (Not EPL-related)
Australia 31 – 0 American Samoa
No, it’s not a typo. The game may not have been played in the Premier League, but that doesn't stop going down in history. American Samoa, the 187th best team in the world, may not have expected a great result playing Australia, but what happened was purely unbelievable.
The game started off slowly, with the Samoa keeper forced to make a save early on. But after that, nothing was stopping the Australians. Boutsianis grabbed the first Aussie goal, with Thompson grabbing another two minutes later. Then one minute later, Zdrilic grabbed a 3rd for Australia. Another minute later, the score was upped to 4-0.
Things weren’t looking great for Samoa, and after 30 minutes Australia were up 10-0. If things stayed the way they were going, Australia were due a 30-0 win. But that couldn’t happen… could it? Heading into the break Australia had added 5 goals, with a 15 goal lead, and weren’t showing of signs of stopping.
When Zdrilic scored his 8th of the match in the 89th minute, Australia were cruising, and no wonder: they were up 31-0. Archie Thompson had scored a record breaking 13 goals (Almost 3 times the amount of goals Fernando Torres has scored in two seasons at Stamford Bridge).
Things could only get better for American Samoa and they did: they won their first game ever against Tonga in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Thanks for reading.
Written by Cormac O'Brien
Follow him on Twitter @obrienfootball
Please like O-Posts on Facebook
Follow the site on Twitter
0 comments:
Post a Comment