Last night saw plenty of football across Europe, with several top clubs in action in cup competitions, as well as West Ham finally hosting Norwich City in the Premier League. Here’s your report of all of last night’s games:
West Ham 2-0 Norwich city
West Ham climbed back into the top four last night with a comprehensive win over Norwich City which saw Jarrod Bowen shine at the London Stadium.
The former Hull City forward was denied by VAR before right-back Vladimir Coufal picked Bowen out, who slotted his header home. A key goal on the stroke of half time which saw the relegation battling Canaries slump.
The Hammers tightened their grip on the game in the second half, with several chances going amiss. Norwich forward Adam Idah gave the Hammers defence a fright when his effort struck the post.
Bowen then killed the game in the 83rd minute when opposite full back Arthur Masuaku squared it for an easy tap in. The 25-year-old’s brace now takes him to five goals and seven assists for the season, the kind of numbers associated with an England call up.
Manager David Moyes believes a call from Gareth Southgate isn’t too far around the corner. He said: “I think he is knocking on the door because he’s beginning to score and is getting assists. But the competition to get in the England team – especially those wide areas – is incredible.”
The East London side will be hoping to stay in the top four as they host their FA Cup third round opponents Leeds United for the second time in a week.
Cup competition recap:
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 (0-3) Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea are making a fairly routine habit of winning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, tasting victory in all three of his encounters in North London.
The task was already steep for Spurs, with a two goal deficit to the overturn from the first leg, but it was made almost impossible in the 18th minute when Antonio Rudiger’s header found the underside of the crossbar.
Despite several goals and penalties disallowed by VAR, Spurs meandered through the game until the full time whistle.
Chelsea march to a Wembley cup final for the sixth successive season in a row and will face Liverpool or Arsenal for Carabao Cup glory.
Barcelona 2-3 Real Madrid (AET)
The second El Clasico game of the post-Messi-Ronaldo era saw fireworks in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup as Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos scraped through to the final.
The opening encounters of the game saw Madrid assert their dominance, with Vinicius Junior finishing his one-on-one emphatically. A freak Luuk de Jong deflection got Xavi’s side back into the game and then the balance of play levelled.
An even second half saw goals from Karim Benzema and youngster Ansu Fati cancel each other out, with extra time being needed to separate the sides.
But only after six minutes of extra time did the decisive blow occur; a brilliant dummy from Vinicius allowed Federico Valverde to slot home and send Madrid to the final, who will now face either Atletico Madrid or Atletico Bilbao.
The Catalan sides only hope of silverware now lie with the Copa Del Rey in which they also face Atletico Bilbao next week, or in the Europa League where they face Italian giant Napoli next month.
