In this week’s football review we congratulate Barcelona for regaining La Liga title, feel a little sorry for Hull City in England and worry about a match-fixing scandal in Italy. To help with understanding you can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.This week’s football review – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Barcelona, Hull City and Match-fixing
Good
Barcelona wrapped up the Spanish League title – their 23rd – after defeating Atletico Madrid away 1-0 thanks to a Leo Messi second-half goal. Messi scored a remarkable 41 times in the league this season (54 in all competitions, along with over 25 assists) while his strike partners Luis Suarez notched 16 and Neymar scored 22. The Catalan side now switch their attention to a Spanish Cup final date versus Athletic Bilbao and of course the Champions League final against Juventus.
Bad
It has been a bad week for Hull City. With many of their relegation rivals finding form (Leicester, Aston Villa and Sunderland have all reached safety this week), the northern side find themselves in the bottom three after their latest defeat away at Tottenham. Their midfield player Jake Livermore also tested positive for cocaine and has been suspended by the club and the English FA. The Tigers face Manchester United in their final game of the season this weekend knowing that only a win can save them. It’s been a bad week for the club but it could get even worse.
Ugly
Italian police arrested over 50 suspects last week in connection with alleged match-fixing reports. These allegations centre around games from the third and fourth divisions with police investigating whether ‘sporting fraud’ has taken place. This could be a very ugly story indeed.
Vocabulary
wrapped up: Finished off; Easily won (the title)
strike partners: His team mates who also play up front; the other strikers
notched: Scored
finding form: Started to play well (good form = playing well)
tested positive for cocaine: It is alleged that he took an illegal drug
The Tigers: The nickname of Hull City
match-fixing: When a team is paid to produce a result in a match (i.e. not try and lose the game)
Further Links
- How Barcelona won the title (from BBC)
- The Independent newspaper on Hull City
- BBC report on match-fixing here
