The Football We Know Is Back!

If you're still smarting from a hangover due to the euphoria of the just concluded World Cup, last night's explosive encounter between Manchester City and Liverpool is more than enough to jolt you back to life. And if you're still not awake after that explosive 90 minutes of reckless attacking football, something is definitely wrong with ya. So imma say, "Hey, wake up, football as we know it is back."

Now, I thoroughly enjoyed the Qatar 2022 World Cup. It was filled with memorable moments. However, I didn't totally connect with it emotionally simply because my country wasn't participating. So, in a way, the tournament was a necessary stop gap to fill my cravings for top level football. The two days sandwiched between the World Cup final and the return of the Carabao Cup looked like two years to me. I was desperate for club football that moves my emotional needle once again. Manchester United satisfied my cravings on Wednesday. However, I wasn't totally prepared for what City and Liverpool were about to serve.

Carabao Cup has been the goto tournament for developing youngsters and affording fringe players some competitive minutes to keep them happy. So you can imagine my surprise when big hitters like De Bruyne, Salah, and Haaland were involved from the very first minute. Surprise gave way to amazement as I watched Liverpool discard the basic rules of defending, affording Haaland freedom of the stadium in less than 30 seconds into the game. That set the tone for this showpiece as both teams played with reckless abandon, attacking at will and leaving their goalkeepers exposed on multiple occasions.

Manchester City eventually won this game 3-2 but the one-sided statistics doesn't do justice to this very open encounter. But for the shockingly wasteful nature of Nunez, we probably would've seen another nerve wrecking penalty shootout. As for Nunez, I'm already considering my options based on what I saw last night. I got him into my FPL team as a cover for the injured Jesus since Harry Kane is out of reach and Ivan Toney is already flirting with some serious suspension. His wasteful nature caused me some concern, but the fact that he had three quality chances against a top City side means he may bring some handsome returns against lesser teams if he somehow relocates his missing scoring boot.

Carabao Cup Quarter Finals Fixtures

This year is definitely not a good one for lower league teams in the tournament. After the just concluded fourth round, Charlton are the only non Premier League team to make the quarterfinals. Their reward for getting this far is a visit to Old Trafford, a fixture that will remind Charlton faithfuls of the good old days when they used to compete at the top flight. The other seven EPL teams will definitely fight for this one as it represents a title opportunity for those teams that are chronically starved of trophy winning success. However, it's very hard to look past Manchester City for this one.

Manchester United vs Charlton
Southampton vs Manchester City
Newcastle vs Leicester City
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves

Image Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/FtbhKpTXiXdo5yTEA



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Club football couldn’t have returned with a better fixture. I love watching Liverpool play against City cos they always give us a nerve racking game. Liverpool are the only team that play City and are not scared to play their actual game. Both teams playing free flowing attacking football always gets me excited.

As for Nunez, Liverpool fans are in for a treat.

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It was an high intensity game typical of matchups between those two.

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Happy club football is back and finally, Pep was defeated his rival this season it was an interesting match and I am to see Haaland back in action.

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