Taking Southampton North!

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English Premier League - Game 35 - Arsenal FC (Home)


We haven’t beaten Arsenal yet this season, having lost to them in the League Cup, and drawn with them in the league, with both matches being played at the Emirates. They benefited from lucky opening goals in both of those encounters, so hopefully things will be different today, and the guys keep their focus. It’s Moritz Gitschier’s 100th league appearance for the club, at the tender age of 20!

We opened them up within 30 seconds, and only a last ditch block from Zouma prevented Gitschier turning home Dimarco’s near post cross.

Asensio hit the post in the 7th minute from a sharp angle after feinting a pass and wrong-footing Cech.

Vietto must love playing against Arsenal. In the 10th minute he picked up Gitschier’s excellent pass and burned both centre backs, before slotting inside Cech’s near post. His 30th of the season - thank you again, Arsenal!

Just two minutes later Asensio doubled our lead with a close range volley from Jacobsen’s excellent ball across the 6 yard box.

In the 59th minute Dimarco cut the ball back to Jacobsen, who teed up Ward-Prowse for a long range strike! It smashed into the upright and fell to Vietto, who saw his half-volley denied by Cech’s quick reflex save. Should have buried it.

Doebel and Larsson replaced Jacobsen and Wanyama in the 71st minute.

Two minutes later Persson replaced Ward-Prowse. Asensio dropped into midfield, Doebel went to the right wing, Vietto to the left and Persson up top.

In the 88th minute Walcott’s brilliant curling ball presented Sanchez with a back post tap in. Game on maybe?

In the 91st minute they almost completed the comeback, as after some scrappy play Origi picked out Walcott brilliantly, but Dragowski was on top of him and made a crucial save.

Despite that heart-in-mouth moment late on, we were the better side today and deservedly picked up another 3 points. Annoyed to lose the clean sheet but it could have been worse. Now for the FA Cup Semi Final.


POM: Federico Dimarco (8.1, 0G, 0A)
 

FA Cup - Semi Final - Derby County (Neutral)


Derby are our FA Cup Final opponents. They’ve done well to (probably) avoid relegation from the Premier League this season, and are a dangerous side on their day. I’ve put out a rotated lineup though, as despite the potential to win a trophy here, we face Bayern in 3 days time and the Champions League is the priority, so the big guns are rested for that fixture.

We were the better side in the first half, with 60% possession, 12 shots to 4, and 3 half chances to 0, but we went into the break all square.

When is Sindelar’s coronation? The King of the FA Cup netted his 10th FA Cup goal of the campaign in the 48th minute when he powered a header from Nishimura’s cross into the roof of the net!

Subasic made a fingertip save to deny Lovell a second in the 61st minute with a low volley from a corner.

Sindelar had taken a couple of hits so was replaced by Persson in the 70th, whilst Tadic was on for Prins at the same time.

Miguel replaced Augustinsson in the 81st minute.

We dominated despite struggling to score, but Sindelar’s strike was enough to send us through to the second FA Cup Final of my tenure! We will face Chelsea, and recent history is against us - I lost my only previous FA Cup Final, and I lost my only Final against Chelsea too - in last year’s League Cup. We’re much stronger now though, and I’m sure we will give them a serious game. Particularly if Sindelar is leading the line!


POM: Masao Nishimura (8.7, 0G, 1A)
 

UEFA Champions League Semi Final - First Leg - FC Bayern München (Away)


The critical away leg of our epic Semi-Final clash with Bayern. It’s our strongest lineup that takes the field in Germany, as we look to keep things tight, and hopefully grab a potentially crucial away goal. We can’t take anything for granted though, as good as we’ve been. Bayern are a class above anybody we’ve faced so far. This will be a massive test.

In the 7th minute Dimarco’s cross was on it’s way to an unmarked Asensio at the far post, but Neuer flew in and got a fingertip to divert it and prevent an almost certain goal!

In the 41st minute a Bayern corner was headed on by Boateng, and Babic had the goal at his mercy at the back post - but for Chambers! The right back produced a crucial block to save the day!

In the 48th minute I was on my feet as we hit the lead! Asensio dribbled infield and passed across to Jacobsen, who stepped inside Carvajal and let fly from 30 yards, finding the top left corner! What a hit! Incredible from the Norwegian! His 10th of the season, and unquestionably the best!

Vietto almost had us two up in the 51st minute as Gitschier squared first time from Asensio’s pass, but Neuer was down and across to tip it wide.

Just a minute later Vietto cracked a volley from a similar position off an Asensio free kick, and Neuer made an identical save!

A minute later still he turned home an Asensio through ball but the flag was up. Pity.

Sadly, in the 60th minute Vietto was forced off after a rough Boateng challenge. Sindelar was his replacement.

From the free kick Bayern countered, and Dragowski made a solid stop after Brandt’s excellent run and shot.

In the 71st minute Lewandowski received the ball out wide and raced past Chambers, before cutting between him and Süle. From about 9 yards out, his shot thundered off the underside of the bar and bounced clear!

Two minutes later they drew level, as Dragowski denied Lewandowski but Müller fired home the rebound. **** it!

Doebel was on for Gitschier in the 74th minute, shifting right and moving Asensio to the middle.

Clasie replaced Wanyama in the 80th minute.

In the 88th minute disaster, as Bayern countered swiftly from a corner. Alaba put in a cross, and Dimarco headed it past his own keeper to put Bayern ahead!

And two minutes later, even worse! A throw was intercepted, Götze smashed it forwards for Brandt, raced onto the return pass and fired home!

Oh what a disastrous turnaround. Two late, late goals have very likely consigned us to Semi-Final elimination. After looking so good all game, we fell to pieces at the end and Bayern are now heavy favourites to progress to the Final. Jacobsen’s wonder strike offers us a tiny glimmer of hope, provided we show up for the second leg, as a 2-0 home win would do the trick, but concede even once and we’re in serious trouble. What a disappointing collapse. Laporte ended with a rating of 5.1 after a woeful last 5 minutes. Just heartbreaking.


POM: Julian Brandt (9.0, 0G, 1A)

Best Southampton Player: Terje Jacobsen (8.2, 1G, 0A)
 
You have the away goal, but play the second round at home so a goal by them makes you need two extra from the 2-0 to get past. Tough but not impossible. Good luck!
 
Death Ball said:
You have the away goal, but play the second round at home so a goal by them makes you need two extra from the 2-0 to get past. Tough but not impossible. Good luck!
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Yeah it's not going to be easy at all, an early goal one way or the other could be crucial. Hopefully we get lucky :)
 

Injury News...


Vietto will miss our next league game, but hopefully he’ll be back for the second leg.

Gitschier is third in Player of the Month and wins the Young Player of the Month - with young loanee keeper Burtic in third, whilst I win my 5th Manager of the Month Award of the season. Another pair of young keepers in Arnaud and Perrottet are doing well on loan, along with playmaker Moravcik.
 

English Premier League - Game 36 - Blackburn Rovers (Away)


A few changes as we take on Blackburn in the league. Laporte starts as a show of faith after his horrible match against Bayern - effectively an audition for the second leg, with Jurcik alongside him. Key players Asensio, Dimarco, Gitschier, Dragowski and Ward-Prowse all continue on, though Vietto is injured so Sindelar starts. With Persson also sidelined, Arraial is on the bench.

Within 30 seconds Doebel crossed low to Gitschier, but his shot was crucially blocked by Pulgar.

Ward-Prowse curled the corner to Sindelar, who rifled a low volley into the bottom corner!

And 20 seconds later the striker had his second, with another crisp volley, this time from a Doebel cross! Two goals in the same minute for Sindelar!

The Czech international almost sealed his hat trick from Asensio’s pass in the 18th minute, but Ojeda made a diving save.

It took a while longer, but he was celebrating the hat trick in the 65th minute, as Nishimura’s cross saw him denied at close range, but he put away the rebound with ease.

Larsson replaced Ward-Prowse in the 70th minute.

A minute later Sindelar cut inside from Doebel’s lofted pass, but Ojeda made another diving stop.

Sindelar and Doebel were substituted to standing ovations in the 75th minute. Arraial and Rodriguez were their replacements.

Blackburn is hardly reflective of Bayern, but Laporte passed his test, so should start against the Germans. A thorough and efficient performance, with Sindelar the star of the show, bagging a hat trick. With Vietto likely to be slightly short of fitness, Sindelar will probably start against Bayern with the Argentine on the bench.


POM: Lukas Sindelar (9.5, 3G, 0A)
 
lewie100 said:
I guess Rostov are leading the league! :P
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They are indeed it is quite the shock as they only avoided relegation last season on the number of wins tie breaker and then winning a playoff but, they have the same manger who won Rubin there two titles and he is doing a great job with a team that isn't great and has struggled to pay players. They have a slim one point lead over CSKA Moscow

Rostov could outdo Leicester under coach Kurban Berdyev - ESPN FC
 

UEFA Champions League Semi Final - Second Leg - FC Bayern München (Home)


Well Bayern have just sealed the Bundesliga title, and that couple with their dramatic first leg victory should see them enter this match on a massive high. We’ll have our work cut out, but we have the quality to make a real fight of it. Barcelona overcame a 2-0 first leg loss to win on penalties against Chelsea yesterday, so that’s some kind of encouragement, right? Doebel and Sindelar start ahead of Jacobsen and Vietto.

Things didn’t start well, as Müller rifled home the most exquisite shot after all of 40 seconds. Ridiculous strike, and we’re in serious trouble.

In the 11th minute we equalised through Doebel, who was picked out at the far post for an easy volley by Chambers.

In the 29th minute Süle crashed a header off the bar from a corner! So close!

In the 39th minute Sindelar appeared to be pulled down in the box by Passlack, but the referee waved play on. Contentious.

Babic produced an exceptional block on Asensio in the 48th minute to deny the Spaniard.

In the 62nd minute Jacobsen and Vietto replaced Wanyama and Sindelar. Jacobsen went to the left wing, Doebel to the right, and Asensio to midfield.

In the 70th minute Vietto made a brilliant run and chipped a ball to the far post, where Doebel powered a header off the underside of the bar and clear! So **** close!

In the 76th minute our fate was sealed as Bernat escaped unmarked to head home a long range free kick.

Two minutes later Passlack made a diving clearance on the line to deny Laporte from a corner.

Gitschier took a knock and was replaced by Clasie in the 81st, who swapped with Asensio.

In the 83rd minute we countered and Vietto cannoned a shot off the post after a one-two with Jacobsen.

Neuer made a ridiculous diving save to prevent Doebel netting a consolation from Dimarco’s 86th minute cross.

Two minutes later another top class save repelled Vietto’s close range effort, but he shouldn’t have been given a chance to reach it.

In the 90th minute Vietto did net a consolation from a corner. Too little, too late.

Disappointment as we crash out of the Champions League 5-3 on aggregate. Look at those match stats!! We had more than enough chances to win that match, but weren’t clinical, and Neuer was on fire, whereas Bayern scored on their only real opportunities. Such a disappointing way to go out. We will have a riot on our hands in the summer as Asensio is certain to demand a transfer. To be fair to him, he did his utmost to inspire a win today but was let down by the finishing of his team mates. Laporte was once again disappointing with a match rating of 6.3.


POM: Marco Asensio (8.7, 0G, 1A)
 

English Premier League - Game 37 - Manchester City (Home)


A bit of rotation for our Man City clash. Asensio starts in spite of his unhappiness, as hopefully this will help him get over it quicker. Morale is down across the squad so this could be quite a challenge.

In the 5th minute Dragowski wandered out of his area with the ball and launched a massive kick the length of the field, over Otamendi, where it was collected by Vietto, who rounded Hart and slotted home to open the scoring!

In the 23rd minute they scored a very soft equaliser, as Sterling squared to Agüero, whose shot squeaked underneath Dragowski and into the net. Should have done much better with that.

De Sciglio picked out Agüero in the 33rd minute with a long ball, but Dragowski knocked his effort wide.

In the 53rd minute a cleared corner was worked back around and Nishimura crossed to Vietto. De Sciglio got a foot in and it fell to Süle, who belted it, but straight at Hart, who knocked it aside. Should have scored.

Doebel replaced Ward-Prowse in the 66th minute, swapping with Asensio.

Clasie and Wanyama replaced Gitschier and Larsson in the 74th minute, with Asensio moving forwards to AMC.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it just wasn’t happening for us today. Disappointing to only draw at home, but it could have been worse in what is a dead rubber for us anyway. It does mean we can’t break the 100 point barrier this season.


POM: Federico Dimarco (8.1, 0G, 0A)


We’ve broken the Premier League points record, and could extend that further if we beat or draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last match.
 

English Premier League - Game 38 - Chelsea FC (Away)


A little bit of rotation again for our last league match of the season. It would be nice to win, as this is a sort of preview for the FA Cup Final next week, and I’d rather Chelsea’s morale take a battering than our own. They’re in great form though, with the likes Costa and Bale - missing this match, but will be back for the FA Cup - firing on all cylinders at the moment, so we’re undoubtedly in for a tough game. I’d actually make us slight underdogs today. Unhappy Asensio is not the same as Happy Asensio.

Chelsea carved us apart in the the opening minute, with Hazard and Costa passing back and forth, but Dragowski made a superb save to deny Costa, before getting across to repel Cavaleiro’s followup.

Vietto put us ahead in the 8th minute after some clever passing broke down as Chambers was tackled, but it fell kindly for the striker. 29 league goals and 33 in all competitions.

In the 23rd minute Jacobsen’s chipped through ball was cut out by Nkoulou, but Vietto picked his pocket and advanced on goal, before blasting narrowly wide.

Gitschier picked up a knock and was replaced by Doebel in the 53rd minute. Asensio moved to AMC.

Persson replaced Bietto in the 65th minute.

Clasie was on for Ward-Prowse in the 82nd.

In the 90th minute Asensio picked out Chambers, who found the run of Doebel, but Courtois made a solid save.

I’m very impressed that we managed to win that one, and even more so that it was without a great deal of difficulty. A good way to end the season, as we complete the double over Chelsea for the first time. Hopefully next week we can complete the real double by consigning them to runners up in both the Premier League and the FA Cup. Unhappy Asensio was the star of the show, underlining his class! Hopefully Gitschier isn’t seriously hurt.


POM: Marco Asensio (8.4, 0G, 0A)
 
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