Sporty Weekend Reviews (Oct. 14-16)

A glance at last Saturday's fixtures left me feeling a little disappointed. Most of the available football matches looked bang average and uninteresting. Of course I knew Spurs vs Everton would be cagey and boring (Antonio Conte is always a killjoy) while the Turin Derby is not really my cup of tea.

Denver Nuggets @ Warriors
The much anticipated last preseason game before the season opener for both teams was highly entertaining. Klay Thompson played his first preseason game and looked very ready. He drained a couple three pointers and was sharp across the court. Luka Doncic showed why he's the reigning MVP by being consistent and dominant. Whatever the likes of Curry and Wiggins did was expected. However, what Kuminga did wasn't really expected. The young fella was a menace all through. He looked sharp and ready. In Poole, Kuminga and Wiseman, the Warriors have three prodigiously talented ballers who can hold the forte when the experienced core of Steph', Klay and Draymond steps aside. Poole already looks like a very good guard.

Leeds vs Arsenal
It's ten games into the season yet, it still looks stupid to pronounce Arsenal as genuine title contenders. It's just a pity their midweek game against City was postponed, it would've been very decisive. Arsenal was business-like at Elland Road - they got the important goal and defended astutely. This is no longer the Arsenal that gets easily battered, bullied and tossed around by the physical teams. But considering Arsenal's recent capitulations in January/February, it's too early to pronounce them as worthy title challengers. However, I reminded someone yesterday that this was the way Leicester started. We all assumed they would fall by January/February. The rest is now history. That's not to say Arsenal will win the league. But, why not?

El Clasico
No regular season football match gathers more attention all across the world as much as the El Clasico. And the latest installment didn't disappoint at all. The current Barca squad looks good on paper, but the experienced heads at Madrid once again dictated proceedings. Modric at 37 schooled Barca midfield. Truly, class is permanent. As for Benzema, he's definitely winning the Balon d'Or this evening. Raphinha and Dembele played well, but one can only point at Lewandowski, Busquets, Alba and Ter Stegen as the only vastly experienced and consistent dudes in that Barca squad. Madrid had at least 6 battle tested and highly experienced dudes on ground. That was the difference!

Liverpool vs Man City
The only disappointing thing about this match was that it ended with a solitary goal. Such a high quality football match deserved more goals. Fantasy Premier League wise, I suffered a lot with three Man City assets delivering 6 points. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Pep's choice to play De Bruyne from the right of attack seemingly played into Liverpool's hands, with no one really putting pressure on Liverpool's left side. Cancelo is an unbelievable talent but he's a right back with little opportunity to make runs into the box like he does whenever he plays from left back. Understandably, Pep needed a more defensive minded dude like Ake to neutralize Salah. Klopp responded by shifting Salah to a more central position. The physical and tactical battle on display was a joy to watch. I wished the match never ended. I wished the last weekend never ended!

Image Source 1: https://images.app.goo.gl/jpTwhxPnrZaz8TFj6

Image Source 2: https://images.app.goo.gl/yfrv5V3UrHzY7T828

Image Source 3: https://images.app.goo.gl/thoBMvkfJ68DRod57

Image Source 4: https://images.app.goo.gl/c3zVvhfri8tgYXeh8