Daily Weekend. Xavi and Klopp depart, sixth division club rewrites football history

The past week brought many events from the world of football, both on the stadium fields and beyond. Only the English Premier League took a break, but in Foggy Albion, League Cup and FA Cup matches took place, offering us a lot of interesting moments.

Let's have a look at what the past week presented to us.

The giants bid farewell to their coaches

The past week brought much loud news about the departures of coaches, spanning different leagues. After nine years, Jürgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, having restored the team's former glory to Merseyside. Before him, the Reds struggled mainly for a spot in the Europa League, but with the German coach, the club won almost all trophies. The coach's main achievement, of course, was Liverpool's first championship in 30 (!) years, breaking the Reds' curse and humiliating detractors.

Also, Xavi announced his resignation as the head coach of Barcelona at the end of the season. The legend of "Blaugranas," as a player, couldn't become the new Pep Guardiola for the team, winning only La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup in nearly three years. This season, under Xavi's guidance, Barcelona made it to the Champions League knockout stage for the first time. In the two previous seasons, the team was eliminated and relegated to the Europa League, a fate not experienced since 2000.

Anthony ends almost a year-long goal drought

On January 28, 2024, a historic moment occurred in the 1/16 finals of the FA Cup against Newport (4:2). Manchester United's forward, Anthony, scored for the first time in over nine months. Furthermore, in the match against the team from the fourth English division, the striker for whom the Red Devils paid Ajax 95 million euros in the summer of 2022 also provided the first assist of the current season.

Maidstone makes history

Since we've mentioned the FA Cup, it's essential to highlight Maidstone United, a team from the sixth tier of English football. At first glance, it might seem like an ordinary lower-league team, but what makes them noteworthy is that they became the first representative from this football level in England to reach the 1/8 finals of the national cup. The historical moment occurred in an away match against the current vice-leader of the Championship, Ipswich Town. The contender for promotion to the Premier League was defeated by the underdog on paper, with a score of 2:1.

Stupidity of the week: Arkadiusz Milik's suspension

In the 22nd round of Serie A, the second-placed Juventus hosted second-to-last Empoli in Turin. It seemed like a typical encounter between the leader and the underdog, but what could go wrong? On the 16th minute, Juventus's forward, Arkadiusz Milik, "added insult to injury" for his team. The Pole made a rough challenge against his opponent, Alberto Cherri, in a position battle. Initially, the referee showed Milik a yellow card, but after VAR intervention, he sent the forward off the field. Despite being a man down, Juventus managed to take the lead, but 20 minutes before the end of the match, Empoli leveled the score and secured a draw from Turin.

Debutant in the Asian Cup continues their fairy tale

The national team of Tajikistan, making their first appearance in the current Asian Cup, has already made quite an impact on the Qatari fields. Previously, the Central Asian team advanced from the group stage alongside the tournament hosts, China, and Lebanon. Now, they've caused a sensation in the knockout stage. Facing the UAE in the Round of 16, Tajikistan was considered an underdog, albeit not an explicit one. However, the debutant managed to open the scoring as early as the 30th minute, although they couldn't secure a victory in regular time due to a conceded goal in the 90+5th minute. Tajikistan eventually triumphed in the penalty shootout, showing more accuracy than their opponents. In the quarterfinals, they will face the winner of the Iraq vs. Jordan match.

Bayer halts a five-match winning streak

Last week, we witnessed the end of winning strike of Bayer Leverkusen. The current leader in the Bundesliga failed to secure a victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the 19th round of the German championship (0:0). Habi Alonso's team didn't win for the first time since December 10, when they drew with Stuttgart (1:1) away. Taking advantage of their competitor's stumble, Bayern Munich defeated Augsburg 3:2, narrowing the gap to just two points behind the current league leader. Nevertheless, Bayer still maintains their unbeaten streak, which now counts 28 matches in the current season.

Match of the week: Barcelona and Villarreal staged a goal fest

The most vibrant and outstanding match of the past week was undoubtedly the 22nd-round fixture in the Spanish La Liga between Barcelona and Villarreal. The "Yellow Submarine" opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, although a goal resulting from a foul in one of the attacking phases was overturned after VAR intervention. The legitimate first goal in the match came in the closing moments of the first half, courtesy of Villarreal.

In the second half, Marcelino's team solidified their advantage, but Barcelona managed to claw back into the game, first leveling the score and then, thanks to an own goal by Bailly, taking the lead. The climax of the match occurred towards its end when, in the 84th minute, Villarreal equalized again, and in the ninth minute of stoppage time, they scored the winning goal. Three minutes later, the players of the "Yellow Submarine" finalized the score, resulting in an incredible 5-3 victory for Villarreal.