Is Manchester United Really Bad Or Simply Unlucky?

This is the question one can ask himself after watching Manchester United lose yet again this season. The Red Devils lost on their home field to Sunderland (0-1) on Saturday, May 3. 

This was the 11th loss for Manchester United, making it the worst season in the history of the club. The club will not qualify for any European Cup: A first in 20 years! 

So is Manchester United simply terrible this season or very unlucky? If you watched their games this season you could ask yourself the same question. It seems that the team does everything it can to win, especially at home, but just can't score. The team averages a possession of 60 percent, shots on goal at least 10 times in a game, and has a 1.44 goal for average, which means the team scores at least one goal every game. 

Against Sunderland, Manchester United players tried and tried, over and over, but never found the net.  The full-backs played many balls in front of the goal, but no one was there to finish. The Red Devils only had one clear opportunity to score when Van Persie deflected a cross coming from the right side and missed the net for a few inches. This is surely not enough to win a game. 

The main issue with the Red Devils this season is their defense. Sunderland could have won the game 3-0 if they hadn't hit the post two times in the second half. Manchester concedes an average of one goal per game, and lost seven games on a one goal margin this season. As a comparison, the team only lost five games last season. However, they still allowed 43 goals (for 40 this season), which shows that the defense was already terrible last year. 

The injuries of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney could explain the bad showing this season. Van Persie had 30 goals last season for 17 this year. Without them, Manchester struggled to score goals. 

On top of that, Manchester had some really unlucky days, sometimes hitting the post two or three days in a game, or getting strange refereeing decisions. Many games should have gone their way, but slipped away from their grasp. That's also the beauty of football! 

United is having the worst season in the history of the club. A season that led to their brand-new manager, David Moyes, getting fired. Manchester will have to start over again next season with yet another manager. 

It seems that the departure of the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson has dried out United's thirst for victory...         

Nine Men Benfica Holds Off Juventus; Valencia Almost Pulled It Off!

It was a thrilling Thursday night for European football! After the two great Champions League games, the Europa League semifinals were full of goals in one game and tension in the other. 

Benfica Holds Off The Old Lady

Let's start with the tension from the Juventus stadium as the Old Lady needed to win to clinch a spot in the final. However, Benfica had other plans and fought until the end to hold a well-deserved 0-0 draw. 

Down to 10 men at the 60th minute, the Portuguese side showed strength and discipline to stop the ever-flowing wave of Juventus attacks. Benfica even had to play the last 10 minutes with only nine players after an overhead kick by Pogba ended up in Garay's face and Benfica did not even any subs left.

Juventus had trouble creating opportunities to score despite a world-class Paul Pogba. The French man was all over the pitch and was with no doubt the best Italian player last night. But Pogba's tricks and efforts were not enough, especially since Juventus' strikers were not in good form. Tevez tried a lot, but never found the target. As for Llorente (substituted by Osvaldo at the 75th), he wandered around the box for most of the game, never being able to pull free from Luisao's marking. 

Juventus should have regrets after this game as they had all the cards in hand. They won't have the opportunity to play the final in their own stadium on May 14. Benfica will play their second consecutive final.

M'Bia Saves Sevilla From Disgrace

Arriving in Valencia with a two-goal lead, Sevilla had made a big step toward the final. They probably believed they were already in Turin when the referee blew the kick-off. Maybe they had also forgotten that Valencia had recovered from a three-goal deficit against Basel in the quarterfinals! 

Valencia had no options, they had to score. And they did. They had a 2-0 lead at halftime, already making it 2-2 on aggregate. 

The third goal from Matthieu at the 69th minute were the Graal to the final and Valence held it until the 94th minute!

The minute chose by Stephane M'Bia to put on the savior suit and head the winning goal into the net! M'Bia, goal scorer in the first leg, will probably have a statue of himself in Sevilla tomorrow. 

The final will then showcase two footballs that are fairly similar. One team from Portugal, another one from Spain. Two Spanish teams in the Champions League final. In other words, proof that the Iberian football is a la mode! 

Who will win the UEFA Europa League title?  

Spurs Win And Save AVB's Head

© BBC

Tottenham Hot Spurs earned a 2-0 win over Tromso on the road for Game Day 5 of the UEFA Europa League, tonight, Thursday, November 28. This win should give Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas some time as he was under pressure of being sacked after losing two games in a row with a major blow-out against Manchester City (0-6).

AVB's players did the job tonight in Norway against a fairly poor team but on a snowy field and under a freezing temperature.

However, Tottenham had trouble to score and wasted many opportunities. Just another clue that the team is not in form and struggles to find the net. Indeed, Tottenham took the lead after an own goal by Norvegian defender Causevic at the 63rd minute. Only ten minutes later, the very good and promising Spurs striker Moussa Dembele found the net and lifted some pressure of his boss' shoulder.

Many Spurs fans asked for AVB's head, but might have to wait a little bit longer to see their wish come true. Many fans believe that the coach won't make it all the way to Christmas and I do share their opinion.

It seems that the Spurs had lost their touch since the departure of Gareth Bale, showing that they might have been over dependent on the Welsh's talent. Despite a great group of young players (Dembele, Lamela) combined with experienced players (Vertonghen, Soldado, Friedel), AVB has trouble finding a way to make his team more consistent.

Surely, AVB's last chance will be the Spurs' next game. And it won't be an easy game as Tottenham will visit the Red Devils of Manchester United, which have been impressing this week in Champions League (5-0, over Leverkusen).

Can the Spurs pull out a great game and save, once again, their manager's head? I fairly doubt it...