European Super Football

The end of an era in French football  Olivier Giroud has announced his intention to step down from international duty with France after Euro 2024. The AC Milan striker is that nation's all-time top scorer, with 57 goals in 131 appearances and won the World Cup in 2018. The former Arsenal and Chelsea forward has been named in Didier Deschamps' provisional squad for the Euros, which start next month in Germany. A key player for this golden generation of French football? Despite playing 465 minutes at the 2018 World Cup, Giroud did not score or have a shot on target. However, many of those around him have spoken about the massive impact he had. He scored four at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This included a late winner against England in the quarter-finals. France went on to reach the final, where they were beaten on penalties by Argentina. Giroud is out of contract at AC Milan next month and has agreed to join American Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC after this summer&

Atalanta 3 - 0 Bayer Leverkusen Ademola Lookman delivered a stunning hat-trick as Atalanta ended their 61-year trophy drought, crushing Bayer Leverkusen’s hopes of an unbeaten season in the Europa League final at a lively Aviva Stadium. Both teams brought a massive wave of support and vibrant colours to Dublin for what was Atalanta’s first European final and only Leverkusen’s third. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side had remained undefeated for 51 games this season and were just two matches away from perfection. The former Charlton Athletic winger Lookman had other plans. He netted the first goal with a top-corner strike from Davide Zappacosta’s cutback. His second goal was a thing of beauty, nutmegging Granit Xhaka before curling a fantastic shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Lookman's third was equally brilliant, a step-over to beat Edmond Tapsoba before smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Leverkusen who have been known for their dramatic comebacks this season

 We are now going to explore Luton Town's 2023/2024 season.  The 2023–24 season was the 138th season in the history of Luton Town and their first-ever season in the Premier League.  It was also the club's first return to the top flight of English football since the 1991–92 season. Despite a decent effort throughout the season, Luton were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the season following a 4–2 home loss to Fulham. Ultimately, the damage had been done in the weeks leading up to the last match of their league campaign.  A look at some of the key moments from their season In August, they lost to a seemingly disjointed Chelsea side 3-0. Despite losing comfortably, their fans remained defiant. At the end of that match, European Super Football spoke to Frank who was in the away end at Stamford Bridge. He said: "We have seen improvement in the two weeks since the Brighton match. We are also really proud of the players. In the end, it came down to a fe

There was big news from Stamford Bridge on May 21st It was announced that Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has parted ways with the club by mutual agreement after just one season at Stamford Bridge. Picture from  Football Pictures | Flickr The 52-year-old Argentine, who took over on 1 July, had signed a two-year contract with an option for an additional 12 months. Despite a challenging first half of the season, Pochettino managed to turn things around with five consecutive wins to close the season, securing a sixth-place finish in the Premier League. Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Under his leadership, Chelsea were also runners-up in the Carabao Cup and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The club is now on the lookout for a new manager, with recent interest shown in Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Sporting’s Ruben Amorim, and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany. Chelsea is aiming for a younger head coach and has ruled out the possibility of

 Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has been announced as Liverpool's new boss. In April, Liverpool struck a deal with the Dutch club after deciding the 45-year-old Slot was the right person to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. Klopp, who had been at the helm since October 2015, departed following Liverpool's season-ending victory over Wolves on Sunday. After the match, the 56-year-old German urged Liverpool supporters to back their new manager, leading a chant of "Arne Slot, na na na na na". Slot will officially begin his three-year tenure at Liverpool on 1 June, pending a work permit. During his time at Feyenoord, Slot guided the team to the Eredivisie title in the 2022-23 seaso n, and this year they won the Dutch Cup and finished as league runners-up. Liverpool were particularly impressed by Slot's attacking style, his personality, and his ability to develop players, which made him their top candidate. Slot, who took charge at Feyenoord in 2021, expressed his inter

 We are going to explore Burnley's 2023/2024 season. This was the 142nd season in the history of Burnley Football Club and their first season back in the Premier League since the 2021–22 campaign, following promotion from the EFL Championship in the previous season.  They also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. After losing 2–1 at home to West Ham United on 25 November 2023, Burnley became the second team in English league history (after Newport County in 1970–71) to lose their first seven home matches of the season. The streak was then ended the following game when they beat Sheffield United 5–0. On 11 May 2024, they were officially relegated from the Premier League following a 2–1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur. They finished the season in 19th position.  Their form in the cup competitions wasn't much better. They only made it to the 4th round of the EFL Cup and couldn't make it past their first hurdle in the FA Cup.  A look at some of the key moments from their seaso

 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 - 2 Manchester United Rasmus Hojlund and Diogo Dalot helped Manchester United  conclude  their league campaign with a 2-0 victory over Brighton. Despite the win, Erik ten Hag's side finished the campaign in eighth place – their lowest top-flight position since 1989-90. Brighton, on the other hand, couldn't provide the perfect send-off for departing boss Roberto De Zerbi, despite having better chances and dominating possession. Adam Webster and Joao Pedro came closest to putting the Seagulls ahead in the first half, but neither had the clinical edge to beat Andre Onana. Brighton  were  left ruing missed opportunities when Dalot slotted past Jason Steele in the 73rd  minute,  before substitute Hojlund secured the three points two minutes before the end of normal time. The Seagulls ended the season in 11th place, missing out on the top half by a single point. Manchester United entered the final day knowing they needed a better result than Newcast

 Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton Manchester City 3 - 1 West Ham United Manchester City are the 2023/2024 Premier League champions Arsenal narrowly missed out on their first Premier League title since 2004, despite securing a victory over Everton, as Manchester City ultimately clinched the title. For Arsenal to have been crowned champions, they needed to defeat Everton and hope that City failed to win against West Ham. 🎶 @LouisDunford ’s ‘The Angel’ rings around the Emirates Stadium before kick-off. 🎶 North London Forever 🎶 🎥 @jamesbenge pic.twitter.com/HFOGqwPOCg — afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 19, 2024 Arsenal faced an early setback when Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free-kick gave Everton the lead. However, Takehiro Tomiyasu equalised just three minutes later. While Arsenal eventually fulfilled their part with Kai Havertz's late winner, City's victory over West Ham dashed their title hopes. How the action unfolded in North London and East Manchester Phil Foden’s early brace for City a

 Crawley Town 2 - 0 Crewe Alexandra Crawley Town secured promotion to League One after a nine-year absence by defeating Crewe Alexandra 2-0 at Wembley. Despite being predicted by many to face relegation at the start of the season, Crawley defied expectations.  Their victory in the League Two play-off final  on Sunday means they will compete in the third tier for only the second time in their history, the first since 2015. Goals from Danilo Orsi and Liam  Kelly,  scored late in each half, were enough to secure the win in the sweltering London heat during  Crawley's  first-ever visit to Wembley in their 128-year history. "Relegation? Not a chance - Crawley Town are a REVELATION" 🎇 The Reds are a League One club again ❤ pic.twitter.com/9Q2v1B1Osv — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 19, 2024 The first half was largely uneventful until a brilliant move in the closing stages allowed Crawley to open the scoring. Orsi capitalized on some excellent combination play

Manchester United 0 - 6 Chelsea Chelsea clinched their sensational fifth consecutive Women's Super League title in style, with a resounding victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in Emma Hayes' final match as manager. The Blues, who started the level on points with Manchester City but ahead on goal difference, knew they might need a substantial win to secure the title on the final day. With so much at stake, Chelsea's players rose to the occasion, displaying a ruthless efficiency that United couldn't match. British record signing Mayra Ramirez delivered an outstanding performance, scoring twice and setting up the other two goals, as Hayes' team went into half-time with a 4-0 lead. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Sjoeke Nusken, Melanie Leupolz, and Fran Kirby each added a goal to Ramirez's brilliant brace, sealing a commanding victory for Chelsea. It was the perfect send-off for Hayes , who was visibly emotional on this remarkable afternoon in Manchester, m

 Liverpool 0 - 2 Arsenal (May 1989) Let's explore another moment of last-day drama in English football's top-flight. Arsenal, who hadn't claimed a league title for nearly twenty years, faced Liverpool on the final day of the 1988-89 season. After squandering an 11-point lead, George Graham's Gunners found themselves three points behind Liverpool. They were up against arguably the toughest challenge any football team could face, having not won at Anfield in 15 years. Liverpoo l were not only the reigning champions but also the dominant force in English football at the time, having won the First Division five times in the previous seven seasons.  Arsenal had other plans. Needing to win by a two-goal margin, the North London side managed a 2-0 victory, with the crucial second goal coming deep into stoppage time from midfielder Michael Thomas. A closer look at the match You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. The footage is from the EFL YouTube acc

Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham (May 1999) Let's explore a a previous day of drama on the last day of a Premier League season. In May 1999, Manchester United secured their fifth championship in seven years with victory at Old Trafford on what was a tense final day of the season. Goals from David Beckham and Andy Cole ultimately proved enough to give Ferguson's team the three points they needed to claim the crown. Second-placed Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Highbury. Throughout the 90 minutes the result was never totally secure and Tottenham, who had taken a shock lead through Les Ferdinand, were never out of the match. This was to the annoyance of the Tottenham fans who were quite happy for United to win and see North London rivals Arsenal miss out on the title.  For United, this was the first part of what was an historic few days. They would go on to clinch the FA Cup and Champions League, becoming the first English team to win The Treble.  OTD 99 - United go behind t