The weekday matches have brought football fans some shocking results. FC Barcelona going down 2 to 1 to Leganes, Sevilla dominating Real Madrid and Manchester United going down to Championship side Derby County in the Carabao Cup.
The week started for Argentinians on Tuesday with a matchup in France as Nantes hosted Nice in Ligue 1. Emiliano Sala was in the starting XI for Nantes would face Walter Benitez who started for Nice in goal. Both players had solid outings with Benitez coming up with two saves and Sala scoring the game tying goal in the 57th minute.
Sala’s fourth goal of the season would not be enough though as Jean-Victor Makengo scored the decisive goal in the 69th minute to give Nice the 2-1 victory and the three points.
In England, Carabao Cup action kicked off on Tuesday. League One side Wycombe Wanderers hosted Championship side Norwich City. The high scoring affair was heavily influenced by Argentinian winger Emiliano Buendia. The youngster who made the move to England this past summer had his best game for Norwich as he tallied three assists to help Norwich advanced in the cup with a 4-3 win.
In another Carabao Cup match, English giants Manchester United took on Championship side Derby County. Argentinian goalkeeper Sergio Romero had a very rough day as he was beaten on a beautiful free kick by Harry Wilson and sent off minutes later for touching the ball outside of the box with his hand. Manchester United went on to lose the match in penalty kicks, knocking them out of the cup.
Italy’s only match of the day was a clash between Inter and Fiorentina. Argentinians Germán Pezella and Mauro Icardi captained both sides. Pezella played all 90 minutes and had a solid performance with five duels won and seven clearances. Giovanni Simeone started and played 55 minutes for Fiorentina but failed to make an impact with only one shot.
Mauro Icardi broke his scoring drought when he scored one from the penalty spot at the end of the first half after a Hugo handball in the box. In the second half, Icardi came up huge as he got the assist on a goal in the 77th minute. The goal gave Inter the 2-1 win and their third consecutive win after a rough start to the season.
In La Liga, two matches featured Argentinian goalkeepers who had their share of struggles. Gerónimo Rulli started for Real Sociedad as they took on newly promoted side Rayo Vallecano. Fellow countryman, Oscar Trejo converted a penalty after a Rulli mistake led to the penalty opportunity.
The Trejo goal put Rayo 2-1 up at half, Real Sociedad were able to pull a goal back in the second half but ultimately the teams tied 2-2.
In the other evening match, newly promoted side Huesca took on league giants Atlético Madrid. Young Argentinian goalkeeper, Axel Werner is on loan at Huesca from Atlético. He made the start against the club with fellow countryman Damián Musto starting in central midfield. On the other side, Angel Correa started in the right wing.
It was a tough night for Werner whose Huesca side conceded three goals in the first half. Correa had a solid 90 minutes, providing the assist on the game’s second goal to Thomas. The game finished with a 3-0 win for Atlético Madrid.
Across the pond in Liga MX, Leonardo Ulloa had a day to remember for Pachuca scoring all three goals in the game as Pachuca beat Cafetalero de Tapachula 3-0.
On Wednesday, the action started for Argentinians in Serie A with Udinese hosting Lazio. Udinese’s No. 10 Rodrigo De Paul had a solid game playing 90 minutes, with four key passes, a 74% pass completion but couldn’t provide much of a spark with Udinese only having two shots on goal all game.
On the other side, Joaquín Correa was arguably the best player on the field. He played the full 90 minutes, finishing the game with 89% successful passes, two shots on goal and the game winner in the 66th minute. The goal gave Lazio a 2-1 lead that they held for the rest of the match to earn the three points.
In Spain, Rodrigo Funes Mori scored a goal in Villareal’s 3-0 win at San Mames against Athletic Club. The win gave a struggling Villareal a much needed three points to dig them out of the bottom part of the table.
As the game at San Mames was occurring, bottom of the table Leganes were playing league leaders Barcelona. The game started off with Barcelona dominating as Lionel Messi got the assist on a Coutinho goal to put Barcelona ahead.
However, in the second half, Argentinian Jonathan Silva got the assist on the game tying goal in the 52nd minute. Almost instantly, Leganes scored their second goal that ended up being the decisive goal and giving them their first win ever over Barcelona.
In Carabao Cup action, Tottenham Hotspur took on Watford. Paulo Gazzaniga started in place of the injured Hugo Lloris in goal with Erik Lamela starting in the attack for Spurs. Late game drama saw Spurs taking a 2-1 lead in the 86th minute with an Erik Lamela left footed shot finding the back of the net. Watford tied it up minutes later to take the game to penalty kicks. Gazzaniga stepped up in penalty kicks, stopping two shots to help Spurs advance in the cup.
In Serie A, Paulo Dybala opened up his scoring count for the season with the game’s opening goal in the 12th minute. Dybala finished the game with 90% passing success, six key passes and two completed dribbles on top of his goal.
After his move from PSG to Roma, Javier Pastore scored another back heel goal similar to the one he scored earlier in the season. Roma cruised to a 4-0 victory over Frosinone.
Another stunning result in La Liga closed the day in Europe. Sevilla dominated Real Madrid to earn a 3-0 win. Argentinians played a key role in the Galacticos dismantling. Ever Banega finished the game with 89% pass success in the midfield, providing one key pass and one interception while his teammate, Franco Vazquez made a big impact on the game with one assist, two shots and an 86% passing success.
In the United States, Argentinians were in action in MLS and USL. Maxi Moralez helped NYCFC take the three points against Chicago Fire. The midfielder had an assist, four key passes and 78% pass success rate on the day.
In USL, FC Cincinnati took on Richmond Kickers with a chance to clinch the USL regular season title. Journeyman forward, Emmanuel Ledesma has seemed to settle in with Cincinnati. The Argentine added two goals to his career year on the night helping FC Cincinnati to a 4-1 win and their first trophy as a club. Ledesma has 16 goals and 15 assists on the year.
On Thursday, Alaves took on Getafe in La Liga action. Jonathan Calleri came up with late game heroics scoring a stoppage time goal to tie the game and salvage a point for Alaves.
In Portugal’s Primeira Liga, a pair of Argentines took the field for giants Benfica as they took on Chaves. Franco Cervi started the game off with an assist in the 3rd minute to Rafa Silva to put Benfica 1-0 up early. Germán Conti, who came on after an injury to Jardel in the 16th minute, missed a tackle that led to a straight red card in the 87th minute. The extra man gave Chaves the opportunity to score a goal in stoppage time to tie the game 2-2.
Elmer Plasencia is a Peruvian living in Columbus, Ohio. Spending nearly the first decade of his life in Trujillo, Peru and Mar de Ajo, Argentina he fell in love with all things football. Moving to Ohio in 2000 he has become a fan of Major League Soccer, particularly Columbus Crew SC. Making a living working as a product specialist in Corporate America. Elmer spends his free time watching, playing and writing about the beautiful game. He pays special attention to River Plate, Barcelona and West Ham United.
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