Group A of League A of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League completed its September window on Sunday, with Trinidad and Tobago moving to the top of the group with their second win in two matches.
Martinique vs. Curacao
The day started off with Martinique edging Curacao 1-0 at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
An even first half gave way to a second half that started with a bang, as Martinique took a 1-0 lead in the 48’ when Brighton Labeau rose up above a pair of defenders and steered a header into net.
Martinique kept their foot on the gas in search of a second score and were awarded a penalty in the 62’ when Mickael Biron was fouled by Juninho Bacuna in the Curacao area. Biron stepped up to take the spot kick, but was denied on a soaring save from Curacao GK Trevor Doornbusch.
The game loosened up in the 67’ when both teams were reduced to 10 men, as captains Leandro Bacuna of Curacao and Martinique’s Daniel Herelle were sent off with straight red cards.
Minutes later Curacao were on the doorstep for an equalizer when a deflection fell to Kenji Gorre right in front of goal, but Gorre was unable to get a shot on target, with the ball caroming to Jearl Margaritha, who missed the follow-up completely.
Margaritha had one final crack in second half stoppage time, but the block was made from the Martinique defense to secure the three points.
Guatemala vs. Panama
In a duel of teams who left their mark on the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, Guatemala and Panama played to an exciting 1-1 draw at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Gold Cup finalists Panama could not have asked for a better start, as they earned a penalty just over five minutes into the match when Jose Fajardo was taken down from behind in the Guatemalan area. Eric Davis stepped up and calmly stroked home a left-footed attempt into net for a 1-0 Panama lead.
Panama remained on the front foot as played drifted into the second half, but soon enough the Guatemala attack, just like it did in their Gold Cup quarterfinal run, came to life and they got their reward in the 71’ to pull level 1-1.
A foul on the left edge of the box resulted in a free kick, and Oscar Santis duly obliged by steering home a right-footed effort over the Panama wall and into net.
El Salvador vs. Trinidad and Tobago
The day wrapped up with Trinidad and Tobago rallying for a 3-2 victory over El Salvador at the Estadio Jorge Gonzalez in San Salvador.
El Salvador were aggressive from the start and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 17’ when Dustin Corea played in a free kick that Eriq Zavaleta met with a perfectly placed header into net.
Trinidad and Tobago’s response was almost immediate, as Reon Moore played in a cross to Ryan Telfer from the left wing, and the first touch gave Telfer the time and space to fire into the net the 1-1 equalizer in the 22’.
Things were wide open to begin the second stanza and Trinidad and Tobago made the most of it, taking a 2-1 lead in the 51’ through Malcolm Shaw, who converted a penalty after being fouled in the box by Zavaleta.
Right back came El Salvador to pull even 2-2 in the 53’ courtesy of Brayan Gil, whose nodded header off a corner kick deflected right back to him, allowing him to guide a shot into net.
Back and forth the teams went with each looking for a winning score. That precious third goal would fall for the visiting Soca Warriors, as a falling away Justin Garcia managed to pop a header over El Salvador GK Tomas Romero in the 72’ to make it 3-2.
El Salvador pushed hard for a third to get a point, but Trinidad and Tobago GK Denzil Smith was excellent in net and made the saves to lock down the three points.
Zenden: Off-the-field uncertainty at Man Utd unhelpful for Ten Hag
Boudewijn Zenden believes ongoings off the pitch at Old Trafford have not made Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United any easier.
Ten Hag's first season at Old Trafford was promising, finishing in the top four and ending the club's trophy drought as the Red Devils lifted the EFL Cup.
However, Ten Hag's second season in Manchester has not reached the same standards, and though the club will face rivals Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final later this month, United currently sit eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off the Champions League places.
Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford has included a number of off-the-field incidents, with a fallout between himself and Jadon Sancho leading to the winger going out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, while Jim Ratcliffe also became co-owner of the club earlier this year.
Zenden feels that events off the pitch have not made Ten Hag's job easy, as well as the lofty expectations that managing a club the size of United comes with.
"I have a feeling a bit that at United, there's more going on than just the results, and that doesn't make it easy for Ten Hag," Zenden told Stats Perform. "As I said, you have the press, the pundits that all have their view on United.
"That also comes probably with the frustration of the fact that United are one of the biggest clubs in the world that also had their time in Europe where they were very strong.
"For that matter, they were a little bit off the pace, and that upsets people of course. You have to be able to guide the club, the team, the players, the crowd, everybody through that particular period and seize out the storm."
With United stumbling in the Premier League, Ten Hag has come into increasing conflict with reporters of late.
Ten Hag's countryman Arne Slot is reportedly in the frame for the Liverpool job with current incumbent Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season.
Zenden believes Slot's composure with the media will serve him well should he join Liverpool, an area where he feels Ten Hag has sometimes been lacking.
"I think what could be in Slot's favour is that I think he's relatively calm in his press conferences," Zenden continued. "I don't think he will get tempted quickly to start an argument with the press.
"I'm sure the press will be happy to try and lure him out to get a few controversial phrases out, but the way I look at it now, I think he's a little bit more composed.
"This is something that maybe Ten Hag didn't help himself with also a few times this year. There's been a lot of upset. The results have not been what probably everybody would have expected."
Chelsea 5-0 West Ham: Five-star Blues run riot again at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea claimed another big win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as they swatted aside West Ham 5-0 to further boost their European hopes.
In the hosts’ second London Derby of the week, Cole Palmer was joined on the scoresheet by Noni Madueke, Connor Gallagher, and Nicolas Jackson, who was at the double.
Palmer’s 15th-minute opener, Gallagher’s volley and Madueke’s header put Chelsea in complete control by the interval, with Jackson’s second half brace providing the icing on the cake.
The victory lifts Chelsea up to seventh, above Manchester United – who face Crystal Palace on Monday – while out-of-form West Ham remain in ninth, with their chances of European qualification all but over.
West Ham broke troubled Djordje Petrovic with a direct Jarrod Bowen corner early on. Caught unsighted, the Serbian had to palm away.
Yet Chelsea had the lead when Palmer was on hand to score his 21st goal of the season after Jackson’s cross had ricocheted off former Blues defender Kurt Zouma.
Bowen struck the crossbar with a fierce header, but Chelsea doubled their lead on the half-hour – Zouma’s block falling kindly for Gallagher, who thundered in on the volley.
It was 3-0 just six minutes later thanks to Madueke, who was on hand on to nod in from Thiago Silva’s flick on.
Gallagher and Bowen exchanged efforts off the crossbar before the interval, after which Chelsea grabbed their fourth when Madueke turned provider for Jackson to tap home.
Bowen struck the crossbar for a third time in the 79th minute, yet Chelsea were soon celebrating again as Jackson broke away and found the bottom-right corner. Although it was initially disallowed for offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR review, as the Blues capped off a dominant performance to move into their highest league position of the season.
Goals easy to come by at the Bridge as Chelsea share the load
Chelsea have now scored 16 goals in their last four home games, and there is clearly now some cohesion to the attacking unit, especially at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, their home record is now 10 wins, four draws, and four losses in 18 Premier League contests.
Palmer was typically brilliant. He has now scored or assisted against 14 different Premier League opponents this season for Chelsea.
He became just the seventh player to have scored or assisted against 14 different teams in a Premier League season for the Blues, most recently Eden Hazard in 2018-19 (15).
But Chelsea shared the load on Sunday, with Madueke and Jackson both ending the day having scored and assisted, so the pressure is not all on Palmer, at least.
Moyes’ west London woe
David Moyes has never won an away Premier League match against Chelsea, now failing with his 19th attempt (D7 L12).
The only instance of a manager taking charge of as many matches at a venue without winning is Moyes himself at Anfield (19 games).
Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino is the 11th different Blues boss Moyes has lost to at Stamford Bridge during his 22 years as a Premier League manager across spells with Everton, Man United, Sunderland and West Ham.
It does look like a sour ending for Moyes at West Ham. He is soon out of contract and both Ruben Amorim and Julen Lopetegui have been heavily linked.
PSV crowned Eredivise champions for the first time in six years
PSV secured the Eredivisie title for the 25th time in the club’s history with a 4-2 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday, ending a six-year wait for a title.
They needed just one point to make sure of top spot with two games to spare, with this victory moving them 12 points clear of Arne Slot’s Feyenoord in second.
Peter Bosz’s side have enjoyed a dominant campaign, scoring an impressive 107 goals, and conceding just 19 on their way to the title.
PSV had to come from behind after Metinho’s early goal for Rotterdam but fought back through Said Bakari and Johan Bakayoko’s own goal.
Despite being pegged back by an own goal by Olivier Boscagli, PSV rallied in the second half, with the defender atoning for his error before Jordan Teze made sure of the points.
PSV are the second-most successful club in Eredivisie history, behind only Ajax, who hold 36 titles.
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