This week in November had a lot of action. The International Friendlies to the World Cup playoffs. From Der Klassiker in Germany to the Merseyside derby in England. During this week of greatness two headliners of football would face off on the pitch in their country's final chances at the World Cup.
At the start of the week the International break left us with some delicious tie ups. To start with the friendlies in Europe Germany and England competed. In my opinion, lots of action but also lots of missed chances for both squads. Germany by far had the upper hand but couldn't capitalize on more of the chances. Until a corner kick set piece came along. After the first cross was deflected a second was sent in where the big man and captain Per Mertesacker rose above the rest to send a header passed English Goalkeeper Joe Hart. That one goal would be the only score in the game as Germany defeated England 1-0.
Another fixture in the week of friendlies was Japan taking on Belgium. On paper you would think Belgium would take control and win the match. Japan came through with a 3-2 victory. The other interesting match up placed Austria against the United States. The U.S. has been on a roll as of late as Jurgen Klinsmann's guy are believing in the German coach's system. Austria is another qualifier with young talent like Marko Arnautovic and David Alaba that come Cup time can turn some heads in Brasil. This games final would be 1-0 in favor of Austria after Marc Janko scored off of a David Alaba gem of a pass. Both teams showed some brilliance though the U.S. lacked a finisher.
Although Tuesday hosted many friendlies, there were also two games in particular that held some meaning. The first game placed Ukraine against France in their second leg with The Ukraine leading 2-0 on aggregate. Les Bleu's would take advantage of the home field and score 3 goals. Two goals from Mamadou Sakho and one from Karim Benzema. This victory keeps France's World Cup hopes alive.
The "Main Stage" battle was the second leg between Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal versus Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden. Portugal came into the battle with a one goal aggregate. In the forty ninth minute Ronaldo struck again for a 2-0 aggregate. The sixty seventh minute had a different tune when Zlatan decided to add a goal of his own. But Ibrahimovic wasn't done. Around the seventy first minute Ibra struck again which made it look like the Swedes were going to the World Cup. But the Portuguese goalscorer would have something to say about that. Ronaldo would score two goals before the end of the game which meant Sweden were out and Portugal were in.
This past weekend there were two games that intrigued me. Starting with the Merseyside derby Liverpool and Everton. Everton hosted the event and early in the game the hosts were silenced by a goal from Phillippe Coutinho. Three minutes after that Belgian Kevin Mirallas had an answer to tie the score at 1-1. In the 18th minute Luis Suarez would add a goal for the reds to make it 2-1. Going into halftime the Reds were in the driver's seat and looked to be taking the derby win. In the 71st minute Romelu Lukaku made the score all square at 2-2. But the Chelsea striker on loan at Everton still had a taste for goal as he'd score another in the 81st minute which looked to lock the game at 3-2 for the royal blues. In the 88th minute Daniel Sturridge would take the stage and score the equalizer. The final score at Goodison Park 3-3.
The final game took place at the Signal Iduna Park and placed first place Bayern Munich against Borrussia Dortmund. This game now known as the Der Klassiker or the German Classico held more water than usual. As if the two teams didn't have enough heat between each other. A former Dortmund fan favorite was now playing for the enemy. Though Mario Gotze didn't start, the crowd were waiting for him.
The first half was really just the two teams feeling each other out. A few chances for both teams but no answers. After halftime Manuel Neuer goalkeeper for Bayern was welcomed by the Dortmund fans with garbage being thrown onto the field. The time had come early in the second half for Mario Gotze to take the field where he was a hero a year before. The crowd in Dortmund was already loud cheering for their team but the volume when Gotze came on was deafening. Every touch Gotze had made the fans scream louder. Then came the 65th minute where a deflection came back to Gotze and he kicked the ball into the back of the net. The crowd had loads of emotion while the Bayern players surrounded the goalscorer. Gotze showed his old team respect by not celebrating the goal but it did make the game 1-0 Bayern and Dortmund wouldn't catch up. Arjen Robben would add to the Bayern lead with a cheeky flick over Weidenfeller. Followed by another Bayern goal scored by Thomas Muller. This loss put Dortmund 7 points behind Bayern and also let Bayer Leverkusen pull ahead of them. Great football week and Champions League coming this week.
-Justin
