Angel CORREA and Lionel MESSI found the back of the net in La Liga on Saturday.
The Atletico Madrid man has been in great form this season, scoring 4 goals in 10 La Liga matches. CORREA gave Diego SIMEONE’s team the lead in the 61st minute with a great goal first touch (off an even better Antoine GRIEZMAN pass) and a run before scoring. Unfortunately for CORREA and his team mates, the match ended in a 1-1 draw as Villarreal eventually drew level.
As mentioned, he’s currently on 4 goals in 10 La Liga matches but the interesting part is that he scored 4 league goals in all of last season when he played 31 matches.
Angel’s not the only one in fine form as the ever present Lionel MESSI scored once more as he leads the Pichichi (La Liga top scorer) race. Going into the match, MESSI was on 11 league goals but made sure to make it 12 following a brilliant goal where he started it and finished the entire play.
Angel CORREA goal
Lionel MESSI goal
If you missed it, Gonzalo HIGUAIN reached goals number 100 and 101 in Serie A.
Gonzalo HIGUAIN reaches 100 goals in Serie A as Juventus pick up a 2-0 win against AC Milan.
Not in the best of forms coming into this clash, HIGUAIN’s class was on display as he netted two fantastic goals to sink Lucas BIGLIA’s AC Milan. Both he and his compatriot Paulo DYBALA showed great chemistry for both goals.
Paulo DYBALA picked up the ball on the first goal and passed it to HIGUAIN who slotted the ball perfectly into the net. The second goal was a real gem. DYBALA let a pass slide through his legs to get to HIGUAIN who’s first touch took him passed the defender and his shot hitting the side of the post and going in. A great strike for Gonzalo.
HIGUAIN’s first goal took him to 100 goals in Serie A (including his goals with Napoli). He is now part of an elite group of 6 Argentinians to score 100+ goals in Italy. Here’s the list (Side note, all of those players were at River Plate at one point):
Gabriel BATISTUTA: 184 goals
Hernan CRESPO: 153 goals
Omar SIVORI: 147 goals
David TREZEGUET: 123 goals
Abel BALBO: 117 goals
Gonzalo HIGUAIN: 101 goals
Pipita is also the first player to score more than 100 goals in both Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s La Liga.
Juventus coach Massimiliano ALLEGRI had this to say about HIGUAIN:
“Higuain is currently fit because he has worked a lot during the international break and he normally works with a lot of intensity during those sessions.
“When it’s like this, one feels better, runs more, smiles more. It’s the same for people like me who don’t practice sports anymore but if we feel fit, we are not overburdened, we feel lighter and we don’t fall asleep. We smile more, we feel better and brighter. And the same goes for footballers. If one feels well, things become a lot easier.
“Especially because Gonzalo is a great player – he is technically very gifted, he is extraordinary. But he must not stop, he still needs to improve his condition, he needs to raise the bar especially in Europe.”
Lisandro MAGALLAN is being linked to Ajax in the Netherlands.
The legendary Dutch club is apparently interested in signing Argentine centre-back Lisandro MAGALLAN. The 24 year old Boca Juniors player was reportedly being watched by Ajax scout Henk VELDMATE for a few weeks and impressed.
Per a report, the club would be willing to offer 5 million for the player, with the bid coming in the January transfer window. For those who remember, MAGALLAN who was part of the 2016 Argentina Olympic squad. The rumor was being repoted both in the Netherlands as well as in Argentina, with the report in Argentina coming from TNT Sports.
Franco DI SANTO was on the scoresheet for the German club.
The former Chelsea and Werder Bremen man found the back of the net for Schalke in their 3-1 win against SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the German Cup. The 28 year old scored a header in the 26th minute and was emotionally overcome by it as he dropped to the ground, hands over his eyes as his team mates all embraced him. The possible reason being that it was his first goal scored in 598 days. All the best to the Argentina international!
Franco Di Santo goal:
All the best to DI SANTO for the rest of the season!
Manchester City coach Pep GUARDIOLA couldn’t stop praising Nicolas OTAMENDI.
Most of the time, it’s the attacking players which get all the spotlight. But not in this case. GUARDIOLA singled out Nicolas OTAMENDI as he was full of praise for the defender. Last season wasn’t the easiest of campaign’s for OTAMENDI following a move from Valencia back in 2015 but the Argentinian is slowly changing people’s minds. Speaking to reporters prior to Manchester City’s 3-0 win against Burnley (where both OTAMENDI and his compatriot Sergio AGUERO scored), here’s what GUARDIOLA had to say:
Pep GUARDIOLA praises Nicolas OTAMENDI
“I had a lot of doubts whether Nico would play or not against Stoke City because he travelled from Argentina with 10 days with a lot of pressure to qualify for the World Cup in his mind.
“He played in difficult conditions in Ecuador, travelled and arrived the day before. He is one of the players with the strongest mentality that I met in my life.
“He’s a guy who just wants to learn, in terms of ball possession, because always he was strong in the air. He really wins duels, which is necessary here in England, everywhere, but especially here in England, and how he has the courage to play. Even when he makes mistakes it doesn’t matter.
“I said before that if he loses a game he says ‘Give me the ball again and let’s play,’ and I give a lot of value to this kind of thing.
“I’m really impressed with the level he has and I’m so happy with him. He’s not afraid at all, it doesn’t matter where he plays, he has a lot of experience.
“He’s such an important guy for us. The last month, well I think all season, he has played outstanding.”
Nicolas Otamendi celebrates his goal for Manchester City. Photo via FPL.
Nicolas OTAMENDI returned the praise, here’s what he had to say about his coach:
Nicolas OTAMENDI praises Pep GUARDIOLA
“After the match, we are obliged to eat together. Nutrition and rest are important because we play continuously.
“GUARDIOLA is quite picky with diet and not only that: He tells us that we all have to learn English. This is because team meetings are in this language, and in December I have an exam. GUARDIOLA does all these things so that we can perform in the best possible way. These things help the team function.
“He is omnipresent and not only for football. He always asks how things are going with out family and everything else.”
