SPORTSTIES

Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur in week 21 of the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday night, January 14, 2024. It was a disappointing result for Erik ten Hag's side who twice took the lead but were pegged back by a goal with an aggressive performance from the visitors. Rasmus Hojlund's opener was equalized by Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur equalized again for Spurs after Marcus Rashford put United back in front. Spurs, hit by a shortage of players this week, remain fifth in the table, level on 40 points with fourth-placed Arsenal but having played a game more. "It's great, mate," said Spurs manager Ange Postecoglo. "You always want to win games, but I'm very proud of the players. They had to deal with a lot this week and put in a performance like that. I think the way we handled the game was outstanding," Ange Postecoglo.

Supercopa de Espana final match Real Madrid FC vs FC Barcelona. Real Madrid won the Supercopa de Espana 2023/2024 after defeating Barcelona in the final at Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday (15/01/2024) early morning WIB. Madrid had this match quite comfortably. Moreover, the Blaugrana made several mistakes themselves plus played with 10 players because Ronald Araujo was shown a red card. Madrid's goals were scored by Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo. Vinicius successfully packed a hat trick while Barcelona's goal was presented by Robert Lewandowski. FIRST HALF. Real Madrid tried to control the tempo of the game at the start of the first half. On the other hand Barcelona tried to immediately press the rival's defense. In the fifth minute Barca got a chance. Sergi Roberto could threaten the Madrid goal after receiving a pass from Lewandowski in El Real's defense area. But the ball can still be secured by Lunin. In the seventh minute, Jude Bellingham stood not far from the center line. He then gave a through ball to Vinicius Jr who was being guarded by Jules Kounde. Unfortunately Kounde misread the direction of the pass and allowed Vinicius to run free alone into the penalty box and easily beat the Sotorres goalkeeper. 1-0! Madrid then had another chance in the ninth minute. Rodrygo was able to shoot hard from the penalty area. But Lunin denied the chance. Barcelona tried to get up. They immediately played more aggressively. But the Blaugrana conceded again in the 10th minute. Rodygo broke free from the offside trap on the right wing and entered the penalty box. He can shoot directly but prefers to provide a mature pass to the far post. There the ball was easily struck by Vinicius for a goal. 2-0! Barca of course tried to get a goal back immediately. Shortly after, in the 13th minute, Ferran Torres' volley from inside the box hit the crossbar. The rebound ball was grabbed by Lewandowski but the opportunity was still countered by Lunin. In the 27th minute Ferran Torres penetrated the Madrid defense from the right halfspace. He fired a hard low shot but Lunin blocked the ball with his right foot. In the 32nd minute, Barca's attack finally broke through the Madrid defense. Madrid attacked from the left and Balde crossed to the far post. The ball was headed by Mendy but received by Lewandowski right on the line of the penalty box. He fired hard and the ball traveling swiftly on the ground could not be stopped by Lunin. 2-1! In the 37th minute, Madrid won a penalty. Araujo was deemed to have fouled Vinicius in the box as he was about to meet Tchouameni's cross from the right. The Brazilian took his own penalty in the 38th minute to perfection. 3-1! Hat trick! In the end, there were no further goals scored. Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona. SECOND HALF. In the second half, Barcelona immediately played more aggressively. But they were also more cautious. On the other hand, Madrid played comfortably. They waited more for Barca to let their guard down and attacked on the counterattack. Until the 59th minute, no additional goals were created. Barca finally made a change of three players at once. One of the players who entered was Joao Felix. Unfortunately Barca conceded first. Rodrygo successfully broke into Inaki Pena's goal again in the 64th minute. They attacked quickly from the right and the ball was given to Vinicius at the far post. The Brazilian then sent a short pass into the center of the box. Kounde cut the ball out but it bounced to Rodrygo's feet. He slotted the ball into the left side of the net with ease. 4-1! Things then got worse for Barca. In the 71st minute, Araujo received a second yellow card and was eventually sent off. The sanction was given because he mistakenly kicked Vinicius' leg while trying to clear the ball. In the 79th minute, Barca finally had a chance. Cooperation with two other players allowed Felix to enter the penalty box and release a left footed shot which was quite hard. But the ball can still be blocked by Lunin. After that the tempo of the game decreased slightly. Several opportunities still arose but no additional goals were created. Real Madrid won 4-1 over Barcelona.