IntroductionYes, it's back for the second day in succession! Welcome to the end of February in the first season of the Alphabetti Premier League. Lots of very interesting things happened in this past month, so let's crack on!
How it ended last time...If you read the last blog from yesterday, you would know the following:
- Team S were leaders with 53 points; with Team D (48 points) and Team C (46 points) in 2nd and 3rd.
- Team D had the best attached (53 goals), whilst Team S had the best defence (20)
- Team E are still bottom with 11 points; 9 points from safety
- Team PQ and Team TU join Team E in the relegation zone
- Top goalscorer: 19 - Diego Costa (Team D)
- Most assists: 10 - Jack Wilshere (Team WXYZ), Kevin De Bruyne (Team D)
- Most POTM: 8 - Philippe Coutinho (Team C)
- Best Rating: 7.89 - Philippe Coutinho (Team C)
End of February 2016This week, I will start with the League Cup. Otherwise, the league table would spoil it for you regarding which team won. If you remember, it was league leaders (Team S) vs the only English team remaining in the Champions League (Team HI).
The game finished 2-2, with Sterling, Schweinsteiger, Iheanacho and Hepburn-Murphy scoring for their respective sides. The game then went to penalties, with Team HI coming out on top 4 - 2. Jo Hart was one of the goalscorers in the shootout!
Team S failed to win that trophy, but how did they do in the league?
They did pretty well actually. Team S won 4 games out of 4, so they remain on top. This resulted in their manager winning Manager of the Month, which he probably deserves...
Team D only picked up 6 points from a possible 12, so Team S extend their lead to a massive 11 points. Team C remain in 3rd, picking up 2 wins and 1 draw.
Towards the bottom of the league, 4 managers lost their jobs. They were Team O, Team E (inevitable, lets' be honest), Team PQ... and surprisingly, Team HI. Therefore, the Capital One Cup was won by a team without a permanent manager!
In fact, Manuel Pelligrini joined Team O less than 24 hours after being sacked by Team PQ.
Team E hired Brendan Rodgers, whilst Team PQ hired Roberto Martinez.
Team E picked up 3 points, so remain bottom with 14 points. They are now 12 points away from safety, and 10 points away from 19th position! Team N started the month outside the bottom 4, but picked up just 1 point from a possible 12 to fall to 19th position with 24 points. Team TU sit just ahead of them on 25 points. Team PQ, under new management, managed to sneak outside the bottom 3, but only just (26 points).
Before moving on to player stats, there was one game I wanted to pick out. When you are 1-0 up and playing against 9 men with less than 35 minutes to go. You should not lose.
Yes, it happened. They are the worst team based on form, so perhaps it's not so surprising that Team N would be the team to lose against 9 men.
Okay, now on to player stats!
Diego Costa (Team D) added just one goal to his season tally (20 goals), but remains 4 ahead of Ayoze Perez of Team A (16 goals), whilst Cuadrado of Team C sits on 15 goals.
Jack Wilshere (Team WXYZ) added one assist (11 assists), but Leighton Baines (Team B) added at least 3 to equal him in top position. Both Alexis Sanchez (Team S) and Kevin De Bruyne (Team D) have 10 assists.
Juan Mata (Team M) now has the best rating with 7.87, with Sanchez (7.81), Coutinho (7.73) and John Stones (7.72) not far behind. Leighton Baines won one Player of the Match award to equal Coutinho on 8 awards. Sergio Aguero (Team A) and Mesut Ozil (Team O) both have 6.
Before moving on to Europe, we'll see what happened in the FA Cup.
The fifth round was dominated by Alphabetti League teams, with only 6 teams from lower leagues. Of those 6, 5 were eliminated in this round.
The one remaining Championship Team, Wolves, face either Team D or Team M in the quarter finals.
Team HI won the League Cup, but lost at home to Juventus in the Champions League. You have to feel that this tie is over, but we shall see!
Six Alphabetti teams represented England in the first knockout round of the Europa League. However, Team WXYZ (vs Villarreal), Team J (vs Dortmund) and Team D (vs Borussia M'gladbach) all failed to progress. That leaves just three teams; Team M, Team R and Team B. The draw for the next round has already been completed...
Team M vs Fiorentina. Tough tie, but they have a good chance of progressing.
Team R vs Team B. Damn. Well, at least one Alphabetti team will be in the third knockout round!
Questions?Can Team HI pull off a shock and defeat Juventus in Italy?
Will Wolves make it into the semi finals, or will it be all Alphabetti teams?
Can Team S continue their winning streak in the league to cement their position at the top?
Will Team N turn things around after the last horrible month?
Is there anything Team E can do to survive?
TUNE IN TOMORROW (OR SOON AFTER)You can probably expect another episode tomorrow. No promise, unless you answer the above questions. You know who you are!
Cheers,
drabik