This week’s football review: Real Madrid, Premier League Top 4 and Twitter Abuse
Good
They have not had the best of starts to La Liga, they are not even top of the table but Real Madrid have had a fantastic week. Bouncing back after their 4-2 defeat at Real Sociedad, Madrid thrashed FC Basle 5-1 in the Champions League group stage before trouncing a hapless Deportivo La Coruña 8-2 away in Galicia on Saturday. They followed that up with another 5-1 thrashing – this time against Elche in La Liga with Ronaldo scoring four more goals – his 9th of the season and his 25t hat trick for the club overall.
Bad
If most people feel that Manchester City and Chelsea will almost certainly be in the top four come the end of the season, the battle for the final two spots will be a tough one with any of 5 teams hoping to make it (and thus qualify for next season’s Champions League). However, Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham and Manchester United all lost against so-called inferior opposition at the weekend to make qualification even tougher – though Arsenal fans will be happy as they managed to pick up three points away at Aston Villa to move back into contention.
Ugly
Mario Balotelli suffered a lot of abuse – much of it racist – on Sunday night via twitter after posting a comment about rival club Manchester United’s defeat at Leicester. UK police are investigating the incident and anti-racism organsation Kick It Out have offered support to the Italian star but it is sad that we are still reporting that this kind of event even takes place.
Vocabulary
the best of starts: An expression that suggests the team have done not done so well so far
Bouncing back: Returning to form in a strong manner
thrashed: Defeated heavily
trouncing: Thrashing a team
hapless: Without any idea about what they are doing
Galicia: The north-east region of Spain
come the end of the season: At the end of the season
inferior: The opposite of superior
to pick up three points: To win
via twitter: On Twitter