The Superclásico and Derby Day

It has been an eventful week in the world of football, filled with action, incident and drama. Here is some of the most noteworthy news of the last seven days. 

Copa Libertadores 2018: South America's biggest football match moved to Madrid 

The second leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores final between Boca Juniors and River Plate will be played on December 9th at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. 

The Superclasico, the match between Argentina’s two biggest clubs (Boca Juniors and River Plate) is one of the most intense matches in world football. However, the two clubs had never met each other in the final before and this was the last chance for them to face each other at their home stadiums: Boca’s La Bombonera and River Plate’s El Monumental since the Copa Libertadores will adopt a single-legged final next season. 

But all that changed after numerous attacks involving the two teams took place. Most noteworthy being that the Boca Juniors coach was attacked on its way to River Plate’s stadium for the second leg of the final. The windows were smashed and one player was left needing eye surgery. Tear gas aimed at dispersing the fans also entered the Boca team coach. 

Boca Juniors player injured during attack

As a result, the match was postponed and after further postponements and complaints, CONMEBOL, South America’s soccer confederation decided to fine River Plate and order them to play two future matches behind closed doors. It also decided to move the final to Madrid in order to avoid further incidents. According to Reuters News Agency, the head of CONMEBOL said Madrid was chosen so that the final can be played in an elite stadium that can offer the level of security necessary for the match. 

 

Derby Day lives up to the hype 

An enthralling north London derby ended in a 4-2 victory for Arsenal, who now move above Tottenham into fourth in the Premier League table. Meanwhile, the Merseyside derby ended up with Liverpool grabbing a dramatic last-minute victory over rivals Everton.  

The Arsenal performance shown during the North London derby is what fans have been dying to see under newly appointed manager Emery. Besides getting a match-winning result, they played an aggressive, physical and fierce style of attacking football. Despite Arsenal going 2-1 down, Emery showed his tactical excellence after making two immediate substitutes in half-time which ended up changing the result in his favour. 

Besides the manager, Aubameyang also deserves praise for his brilliant performance, having scored 2 goals in a big game. In him, Arsenal now have a world-class striker who is capable of deciding these types of games on his own. 

Aubameyang celebrates his goal

Over in Merseyside, Liverpool snatched a dramatic late win thanks to a bizarre last-minute goal from forgotten man Divock Origi. Both sides had good goal-scoring opportunities but both failed to take their chances. The game had looked to be ending in a draw until England's goalkeeper Pickford shockingly failed to deal with a mis-hit effort from the edge of the penalty area, leaving Origi to tap in from close range in the 96th minute.  

Liverpool's result kept them within two points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.