Sevilla's Triumph Extends Benfica's Curse

A week ago we saw the Europa League final take place between Sevilla and Benfica with the La Liga side looking for a third title in eight seasons while Benfica looked to avoid an eight successive loss in a European final.

Both sides have been strong through the competition so it was no surprise that after both 90 minutes and the 30 minute period of extra time, they remained level at 0-0 meaning a penalty shootout would be needed to decide the eventual champions.

Lima stepped up first for Benfica to put them in front with Bacca responding for Sevilla who led 2-1 with M'bia converting after Cardozo's miss, Rodrigo made it to misses in a row for Benfica with Coke extending Sevilla's lead to 3-1.

Luisao closed the gap to 3-2 and as Gameiro stepped up for Sevilla's fourth attempt he knew a successful penalty would seal the win and he duly obliged to seal a 4-2 win and give Sevilla their third title in seven years while Benfica's curse of seven successive losses in European finals extended to an eighth.

Gunners End Trophy Drought

After what has been an exciting season in the FA Cup, the final took place on Saturday with Arsenal facing Hull who were making their first appearance in the Wembley showpiece while Arsenal were looking for a first trophy in nine years.

Hull made a spectacular start as they went 2-0 up inside eight minutes, Chester put them in front after only four minutes with the second strike coming in the eighth minute through Davies whose effort had the Hull fans in dreamland.

Arsenal responded with Cazorla reducing the deficit in the 17th minute but Hull held the lead past the hour mark and looked to be on their way to a historic win until the 71st minute when Koscielny levelled for Arsenal from close range.

Neither side were able to find a winning goal in the remaining 19 minutes and the final went to extra time and with only eleven minutes left before a potential penalty shootout, Hull's dream of a first final win shattered when Ramsey complete the stunning comeback for Arsenal with the winning goal in the 109th minute to secure a 3-2 win and their first trophy win since 2005.

Premier League 2013/2014 Magnetised

A very unpredictable and exciting Premier League season is magnetised in full below...

Man City Become Champions

An exciting, emotional and truly unpredictable Premier League season came to an end at the weekend and after a delay I can finally round up the action from the final day's games.

The first place to start has to be the battle for the title which went down to the final day between Manchester City and Liverpool with the latter knowing they had to win while City had to lose in order for the title to go to Anfield for the first time in 24 years.

City played host to West Ham while Liverpool hosted Newcastle with the first surprise coming at Anfield with Skrtel deflecting Gouffran's cross into his own net to give Newcastle the lead and the delight fans over at the Etihad in the 20th minute. The City faithful were even more buoyant when Nasri struck in the 39th minute to put them potentially five points clear at the top and secure a second title in three years.

Liverpool's slim title hopes all but ended four minutes into the second half when Kompany headed City into a two-goal lead to surely guarantee the title but nothing can be sure this season as Liverpool well know from the 3-3 draw at Palace. Liverpool swung the tie at Anfield with two goals in as many minutes with carbon copy strikes from Agger and Sturridge via two Gerrard free-kicks which were followed by a double booking for Shola Ameobi for dissent resulting in his dismissal.

Newcastle ended the game with nine men with Dummett somewhat harshly sent off for a challenge on Suarez as the Magpies season ended with a whimper. Due to City winning 2-0 against West Ham and becoming Premier League champions, Liverpool were upset to miss out on the title but still very proud of finishing second after being seventh last season.

Chelsea travelled to face already relegated Cardiff knowing a win coupled with a Liverpool slip up would gift them second place but they didn't have the best start with Cardiff leading through a Bellamy goal that deflected off Azpilicueta but the Blues came back with two goals in three minutes to end the season on a high as Schurrle and Torres struck in the 72nd and 75th minutes to secure third place for Chelsea.

At the bottom, Norwich needed a miraculous 17 goal swing to survive when they hosted Arsenal while the only side they could catch, West Brom hosted Stoke. The first swing came at the Hawthorns with McAuley beating his own keeper to give Stoke the lead in the 22nd minute, a lead that lasted through half-time while Norwich did well to hold Arsenal to 0-0 at the interval.

Norwich's hopes swung dramatically in the space of three minutes as Arsenal went in front in the 53rd minute through Ramsey before West Brom equalised against Stoke via Sessegnon in the 56th minute to put the Baggies four clear of Norwich and in a very safe position. Arsenal went 2-0 up just after the hour when Jenkinson struck all but end Norwich's stay in the top flight. West Brom suffered a minor blow when Adam secured a 2-1 win for Stoke in the 87th minute but Norwich's failure to win meant the Baggies had survived for another year in the top flight.

Joining Cardiff and newly relegated Norwich in next season's Championship are Fulham who knew their fate as they hosted Crystal Palace, a side who were written off early on but on the final day could finish no lower than 11th and had a brilliant start with the in-form Gayle putting them in front after 28 minutes.

Fulham drew level with a goal from Woodrow on the hour by Gayle struck again with seven minutes to go to surely give Palace a winning end to their campaign but in injury time, Fulham levelled at 2-2 with a goal from David who looks like a future star for the Cottagers who end the season on a level par.

Ahead of their first FA Cup final next week, Hull hosted an Everton side who had confirmed fifth place and like their hosts would play in next season's Europa League. The visitors went in front in the 39th minute with a first goal for McCarthy and doubled the lead just seconds into the second half as Lukaku signed off his loan-spell with the Blues with a goal that confirmed a 2-0 win.

The last major issue to be settled was the final Europa League place for the team finishing sixth with Tottenham looking to edge out Manchester United as they hosted Aston Villa while United travelled to eighth place Southampton. The advantage swung to Spurs in the 14th minute when Paulinho put them in front and it got better for them when Lambert put Southampton in front in the 28th minute.

Tottenham all but secured sixth place by half-time with an own goal from Baker in the 35th minute and a penalty from Adebayor three minutes later putting them in firm control. United gave themselves hope in the 54th minute with a superb free-kick from Mata but both games remained the same until the end meaning Manchester United will face a first season without European competition in over 20 years.

Last but by no means least is the game between Sunderland and Swansea with both safe in the league after poor campaigns. Swansea raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from Dyer and Emnes in the seventh and 14th minutes. Borini signed off his loan spell at the Stadium of Light with a goal in the 50th minute before Bony made the points safe for the Swans in the 54th minute and is surely a candidate for signing of the season after a stunning goal tally.


The final table of the 2013-2014 Premier League season is shown below...

Two Down While Title Race Continues

A packed game week saw two sides see their stay in the league come to an end while there were twists in the title race both good and bad.

West Ham began the weekend with a 2-0 win over Tottenham to dent their rivals hopes of a top five finish with Kane's own goal putting them in front after 27 minutes after Kaboul had been sent off in the build-up. Downing sealed the win for the hosts just before the interval to secure their safety.

Aston Villa ensured they would remain in the league with a 3-1 win over Hull with Westwood giving them a perfect start with the opening goal in the first minute with a Bowery own goal on the half-hour bringing Hull level. A double from Weimann secured the points and survival from relegation with strikes in the 41st and 45th minute.

Sunderland edged towards safety with a famous win 1-0 away to Manchester United ending Giggs' perfect start as interim manager at United with Larsson securing the three points with a 30th minute winner to move them away from danger.

Sunderland's win saw the survival hopes of Fulham and Cardiff end as both suffered heavy losses as Newcastle and Stoke. Newcastle secured a top ten finish with a 3-0 win over a doomed Cardiff side with Ameobi putting the hosts ahead after 18 minutes with Remy and Taylor adding late goals to seal the win.

Fulham also go down after losing 4-1 away to Stoke with Odemwingie putting the Potters in front after 39 minutes with Arnautovic adding a second in the 54th minute. Assaidi made it 3-0 and surely doomed the Cottagers in the 73rd minute with Richardson pulling one back in the 80th minute. Walters secured the three points for the hosts and confirmed Fulham's relegation with the fourth goal eight minutes from the end. 

Southampton confirmed eighth place with a last-gasp 1-0 win away to Swansea with Lambert scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute while Swansea sit 12th but could fall as low as 16th depending on other results.

The evening kick-off saw Everton's hopes of a top four finish hanging by a thread as they lost 3-2 to Manchester City who moved to the top of the league and sit firmly in the title race. Everton led in the 11th minute with a stellar strike from Barkley but were pegged back by Aguero's 22nd minute leveller, the game swung as Dzeko struck twice either side of half-time in the 43rd and 48th minutes to put City 3-1 up. Everton gave themselves a chance when Lukaku reduced the deficit in the 65th minute but City held on for the win.

Super Sunday began with a superb 0-0 draw for Norwich away to Chelsea that gave the Canaries hopes of surviving while surely ending Chelsea's title challenge while in the second game, Arsenal confirmed fourth place with a 1-0 win over West Brom with the crucial goal coming in the 14th minute from Giroud.




Monday Night Football saw a stunning six goal thriller between Crystal Palace and Liverpool with the visitors knowing anything but a win could dent their title challenge. Liverpool went in front in the 18th minute through a superb headed effort from Allen and were in full control by the hour with two goals in five minutes, an own goal from Delaney from Sturridge's shot and a superb move that ended with a Suarez finish for 3-0. 

Liverpool looked set to go clear at the top but with eleven minutes remaining, Palace struck through Delaney for 3-1 with Gayle making it 3-2 a couple of minutes later. Liverpool's nerves were raised and with just cause as Gayle stunned the visitors with his second goal in the 88th minute. In the space of 11 minutes, Liverpool had gone from having the title chase in their hands to being second and hoping for a favour from Aston Villa in midweek.

Tuesday night saw the rearranged game between Manchester United and Hull with both sides making mass changes from the weekend. United led after only three minutes through debut forward James Wilson who got a second on the hour to put his side in control, Fryatt pulled one back for Hull two minutes later but Van Persie sealed a 3-1 win in the 86th minute to keep up hopes of a Europa League place.

Wednesday night saw two games beginning with Sunderland finally securing their survival with a 2-0 win over West Brom and in the process all but dooming Norwich who need a miracle to survive. Colback out the hosts in front in the 13th minute with Borini extending his fine scoring run on the half-hour to make it 2-0 and complete a stunning run that has seen Sunderland go from seven points adrift with six games to go to safe with a game left.

The other game saw Manchester City host Aston Villa knowing after Liverpool's collapse at Palace, a win would put them in pole position for the title. 

A tight first half saw the sides go into the break level at 0-0 and Villa looked to counter a City side that were growing in desperation to score but it was City who pounced with Dzeko striking twice in the space of eight minutes to put City 2-0 up.

The win was confirmed by Jovetic in the 89th minute before a superb dash from Toure in the final minute saw him seal 4-0 win that puts City two points clear at the top going into the final weekend of the season.

Juve Miss Out On Home Final

Semi-final second leg time in the Europa League and Juventus went into their tie with Benfica knowing the prospect of a 'home' final in Turin was at stake while Valencia needed a huge comeback akin to their
win against Basel in the last eight.

Juve's hopes of a 'home' final were ended in a 0-0 draw that saw Benfica advance 2-1 on aggregate after a bad tempered 90 minutes. The dismissal of Benfica's Perez in the 67th minute for a second booking gave Juventus hope of overturning the first leg deficit with the extra man but 12 minutes later, Vucinic received a straight red card to leave both sides with ten with the tie still in the balance.

Benfica ended the match with nine when Markovic was dismissed in the final minutes but Juventus failed to take advantage and bowed by a single goal overall.

Benfica will meet Sevilla who left it late to secure their place in the final with an away goals win after a 3-3 aggregate with La Liga rivals Valencia. The Catalans went into the game 2-0 down but soon levelled the tie with goals from Feghouli (14) and an own goal from Pimparel in the 26th minute.

Mathieu put Valencia in front overall in the 70th minute to complete a remarkable comeback but their hopes of the final were cruelly ended in the final minute of injury tie when M'bia struck for Sevilla to secure an away goals victory and set up what should be an exciting final in Turin.

Away Wins Set Up Madrid Final

Going into the second legs of the Champions League semi-finals, nothing was clear cut but that changed quickly with hopes of an all-Madrid final coming true.

Holders Bayern Munich were stunned by a fine performance by Real Madrid who secured their place in the final after a resounding 4-0 win with a double from Ramos in the 16th and 20th minute putting them in control with Ronaldo making it three on the night and 4-0 overall in the 34th minute.

Bayern just seemed unable to respond and their hold on the trophy finally ended as Ronaldo hit his second in the 89th minute to complete a 5-0 aggregate win.

Atletico Madrid made the trip to Chelsea knowing a win would set up a final against their city rivals Real but would have to come from behind when former Atletico hero Torres put Chelsea in front in the 36th minute.

Adrian levelled the score just before half-time and gave Atletico the advantage of an away goal at 1-1 but Chelsea's hopes suffered a huge blow when Eto'o conceded a penalty and Costa converted to leave Chelsea needing to score twice more to advance.

Adrian sealed the win for Atletico in the 72nd minute to set up what will be an historic final between two teams from the same city in Atletico and Real Madrid.