United and Forest players discuss a foul. /
Two of the teams that have improved the most this season will meet in the EFL Cup final
With the permission of Arsenal, the clear revelation of the season in the Premier League, if there are two teams in England that have stood out, they are Manchester United and Newcastle. The Red Devils, on the one hand, seem to have awakened from a long slumber with the arrival of Ten-Hag and for the first time in many years a dominant team is seen at Old Trafford. Newcastle, on the other hand, is getting some early returns on the investment of its new owners, and in just a year after the arrival of the Saudis they are already fighting face to face against the greats. The Magpies confirmed their qualification on Tuesday after beating Southampton 2-1. Longstaff’s early double gave peace of mind to Eddie Howe’s men, who already had the first leg lead (0-1) and despite Che Adamas’s goal, the locals did not suffer to get through to the final. United played on Wednesday. The three-goal advantage allowed the Mancunian team to face the match without excessive pressure. The party had little history. He was encouraged in the last half hour with the entry of Rashford, who participated in the two goals for his team, scored by Martial and Fred. The final is the award for the great work of Ten-Hag, who will have the option of winning a title in his first season in England.
Italian Cup:
On Tuesday, the first match of the Coppa Italia quarterfinals was played, which pitted Inter against Atalanta. The neroazzurros took a disputed match with a solitary goal from Matteo Darmian in the second half and progress to the semifinals. Two more games were played on Wednesday. The first pitted Fiorentina against Torino. The Viola team won 2-1 with a goal from Luka Jovic, the Serbian’s first goal after three months of drought and after a winter market in which there has been speculation about his departure. The big surprise came in the next clash, where Mourinho’s Roma lost to the humble Cremonese 1-2. The Lombard team, bottom of Serie A with eight points, achieved a true feat in the Olympic and will be among the four best in Italy. The last game is played on Thursday, which faces Juventus and Lazio.
DFB Cup:
In Germany the cup is one round later than in Italy. Half of the round of 16 was played between Tuesday and Wednesday and the remaining four games will be played next week. On the first day, Stuttgart beat second division Paderborn 2-1, while Union Berlin extended what is turning out to be a historic season with a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg. The day after the matchday opened with a 3-1 victory for Leipizg over Hoffenheim and was closed by Bayern, who made up for their bad league run with a win against Mainz (0-4), in João’s debut I cancel, who gave his first assist with the Bavarian team shirt.
Ligue 1:
In France, an inter-week league day was played, played on Wednesday in its entirety. Among the first five games, played at seven in the afternoon, Marseille’s 0-2 victory against Nantes stands out, with a spectacular goal from Ounahi, the Moroccan who impressed Luis Enrique so much, in his first meeting with the team marseillaise. At nine o’clock at night, PSG played, beating Montpellier 1-3 in an unfortunate match, since both Kylian Mbappé and Sergio Ramos were injured. Messi scored the second goal, and reached twenty-five goals with the Parisian shirt. Monaco and Stade Rennes won their matches and took advantage of the puncture of Lens, who lost at home against Nice (0-1), to get closer to the Champions League. The Monegasques beat Auxerre 3-2, while the Bretons thrashed Strasbourg (3-0) and are four and five points respectively from third place.