New 2017/18 Football Season Begins: Ronaldo Gets Blocked, Barca Stuck With Transfers, ManU Thrives
I've always been very engaged with football (soccer) - I used to play everyday as a kid, and quickly got familiar with all successful players and teams so that I could identify every player only from his style by the time I was a teenager.
My last post about football received a lot of positive feedback so I've decided to make it a regular feature on my blog and
represent sports more on Steemit.
The new season has just started and the first few games in the new leagues have concluded - we've just seen a preview of the new gameplay for this season, so let's look at the results of some of the most popular teams!
Manchester United - 4:0 win against West Ham United
After a long period of draws, Manchester United finally managed to secure a win in their first Premier League game of the season.
Man of the match was Romelu Lukaku, who managed to score 2 goals in his Old Trafford debut.
Lukaku had been transferred from FC Everton to ManU in Juli for a sum of roughly € 100 Million .
Martial and Pogba added to the scoreline by securing two more goals towards the end of the game.
Manchester dominated the game - they used to dominate most games in the recent past, but didn't manage to score goals back then.
Now they're taking advantage of their new striker and making the most out of this change.
But still, coach Mourinho isn't satisfied.
25% of transfers are still undecided and Mourinho is still looking for another player for the left wing position.
We'll have to wait and see who will fill that empty void.
This confident home win has put Manchester United at the top position of the early Champion's League table.
FC Barcelona in transfer chaos
After the first shocking loss against Real Madrid (1:3), they also lost the rematch and everybody asks themselves - what's the matter with FC Barcelona?
Is their successful time over? Did Neymar leave such a significant hole in the team?
There is not much time left until the transfer period closes on August 31st.
Barcelona has been trying to have Ousmane Dembélé join their team, but couldn't agree upon the terms with German Borussia Dortmund yet.
Dembélé has since initiated a strike, refusing to join the training or even pick up the phone. He desperately wants to leave Dortmund and join Barcelona to fulfill his dream, but still has a 4-year contract in Germany.
Additionally, Barca is trying to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool - but they don't want to give him up and already denied a €125 million offer.
Will Barcelona manage to acquire these new players in the end? The team would need it after losing valuable matchmakers like Neymar.
Real Madrid thrives - but Ronaldo gets blocked
Real Madrid has been very successful in the last couple of matches, after winning the supercup. They have shown their strength and their harmonic team, demonstrating how a two-time champions league winner should play!
But there is one more topic that sparks discussion when talking about Real Madrid - it's Cristiano Ronaldo.
The superstar striker is now facing a block for the next 5 upcoming games and won't be able to join his teammates on the field.
The block comes after his yellow-red card, and then pushing the referee in anger.
But to be fair, both cards weren't really justified:
He took of his shirt after scoring a goal which is why he was credited with the yellow card, and afterwards received red-yellow due to a dive.
In a moment of rage, Ronaldo pushed the referee - and now he has ended up with a block of 5 games.
Personally, I think these measures were way too drastic. You can see on video that Ronaldo did actually get fouled, and receiving yellow-red for barely doing anything wrong isn't justified in my opinion.
Man Utd looking ominous in their first game. There is a balance to their side which I haven't seen from United since the Fergie years.
I didn't know Mourinho was looking for another left winger. Surely Martial and Rashford are more than enough cover?
Let's see how they can do against Swansea.
Exactly, why would he want another left winger. I feel that Martial and Rashford are the best thing that happened to Man United in the last few years. Lukaku will surely also be one of them. I think that if they keep this group tight, in 1-2 years they can hope to reach the UCL final.
Great Season So far!
Looking forward to how this will develop! Especially the rest of the transfers.
The first yellow against Ronaldo is completely justified taking off your shirt is an automatic yellow, the second one yes, there was no dive there was a contact perhaps not enough for a penalty, so he is paying for nothing. Barcelona, is now where it was when Xavi left, only then they were able to buy Neymar, now they have no substitute to continue with their game, Iniesta is, I think not even 50% of what he was and he was the creative player, I think they should pick up some good young players from Latin America, Africa and Asia, and of course home grown ones and try to build a new team, just use this season as a testing time. The great team they had is now old, when you are over 30 you just tend to have less physical stamina, so you are not as good, there are exceptions, but normally this is true. I think this will not be a good season for them, Real Madrid, Atletico and Sevilla look good to me. In England I think it should be more even, most of the top teams are in good shape.
I completely agree. Ronaldo's ban is a little bit too much. Barcelona's in a hard time because it's always hard to change. They are in a place now where they are losing players not necessarily because they are selling them, but because they are retiring or getting too old to still get the same results as they did. Transition fazes are always hard, and this is exactly why Real Madrid are doing so great the last couple of years. That transfer ban that they had a few years ago helped them, actually. Instead of selling and buying like they usually did, the time allowed to the players they already had to play together proved to be what they needed. They still seem favorites to win the Spanish League this year, to me. And in UCL, I'm not sure yet who can stop them, possibly PSG.
football amazing sport
football craze <3
Exactly! Let's bring more football content to steemit!
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real madrid will be the champion this year with ZIDAN they can make it
right, zidane has a lot of potential.. let's see how real will perform this season!
Hi, as a sign of my support for the tag #sports and #football, I vote for you and begin to follow you.
I think the yellow for the Ronaldo dive is harsh but you cannot push the referee. It sends an awful message down to grass roots football and kids football where refs get loads of abuse anyway!
Mourinho would have liked Bale for the left mid slot but it won't happen.
Nice summary across countries!
Hala Madrid! My all time favorite team! They seem to be even more stronger this year!
In premier league, Liverpool are my favorites! Hopefully a better season this year!