With 2019 near an end, we’ve decided to do a recap of some of the biggest football events to take place this year. Here we will be looking back to the month of February.
If you would like to see our recap of January, you can find it by clicking on the title below:
February saw the first legs of the 18/19 Champions League round of 16, with all 4 English clubs qualifying through the group stage and participating. Manchester United went into their game with PSG on good form and high spirits after winning 10 of their 11 games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but after goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe and a red card for Paul Pogba, United found themselves 2-0 down and faced a tough trip to Paris in the second leg. Tottenham, on the other hand, had the perfect start to the round of 16 after their 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley to put them within touching difference of the quarter-finals. Manchester City also got off to a good start as they beat Schalke 3-2 in Gelsenkirchen and went into the return leg at the Etihad Stadium with 3 away goals under their belt. The meeting between Liverpool and Bayern Munich at Anfield finished as a 0-0 draw meaning that Liverpool would need to get a result at the Allianz Arena to qualify for the next round. Find all of the results for the first leg of knockout games below.
It was a mixed start for the English clubs in the Europa League round of 32 first legs. Chelsea got off to a good start with a 2-1 away victory over Malmo to take back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg. Arsenal, on the other hand, suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bate Borisov in Belarus and needed a victory at the Emirates in the second leg in order to qualify for the round of 16. Celtic’s hopes for European success took a huge blow after their 2-0 home defeat to Valencia. Find all of the results for the first leg knockout games here:
After their defeat in the first leg, Arsenal got back on track with a 3-0 victory over Bate Borisov at the Emirates giving them a 3-1 aggregate victory and a place in the round of 16. Chelsea also sealed their place in the next round after their 3-0 victory over Malmo at Stamford Bridge meaning that both English clubs still had a chance of winning the Europa League. Celtic faced a tough test away to Valencia and unfortunately for them it was tougher than anything they could handle as a 1-0 defeat handed them a 3-0 aggregate defeat and an exit from the Europa League. Find all of the results for the second leg knockout games here:
Manchester United continued their good Premier League form under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer into February as they won 3 of their 4 February Premier League games, with a 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Old Trafford being the only occasion where they dropped points in the league. In pursuit of their first Premier League title, Liverpool had a poor February as they only won 2 of their 4 Premier League games. Manchester City took full advantage of Liverpool dropping points as they won all 4 of their Premier League games during February, which included a 3-1 victory over Arsenal and a 6-0 demolition of Chelsea. At the end of February Liverpool were still top of the table, but as a result of their dropped points, they lead at the top was just 1 point with Manchester City right behind them. Bottom of the table Huddersfield town continued their poor form as they lost 3 of their 4 Premier League games, leaving them 13 points off safety at the end of February and it looking almost certain that they would be going down. With both sides involved in the race for the top 4, the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham was huge in terms of both clubs’ hopes for Champions League football the following season. This time it was Chelsea who was victorious as they beat Tottenham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. At the end of the month, it was Tottenham and Arsenal who occupied 3rd and 4th place, with Manchester United at 5th with 1 point less than Arsenal and Chelsea at 6th with 3 points less than Arsenal.
February saw the FA Cup advance the the 5th round and one step closer to Wembley. The biggest fixture of the round saw Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Both sides went into the game on completely different form as Manchester United had won 10 of their last 12 games, with Chelsea on the other hand losing 4 of their previous 9, including a 6-0 defeat to Manchester City. In the end it was United who came out on top as goals from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba gave them a 2-0 victory and progression to the quarter-finals. League 2 side Newport County went into their game against Manchester City having knocked out Middlesbrough and Leicester and believing that they could pull off another huge shock, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as they were beaten 4-1 by City at Rodney Parade and their FA Cup journey came to an end. Find all the results of the 5th round of the FA Cup below:
As with every season, February saw the League Cup come to an end, this time it was Chelsea and Manchester City who competed for the trophy at Wembley. There really wasn't too much to talk about as the game was 0-0 for 90 minutes. As the game entered extra-time and came closer to penalties, the biggest talking point of the game occurred. Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri was preparing to bring on Willy Caballero in preparation for the inevitable penalty shoot-out, Kepa on the other hand had no intention of coming off and refused to do so by staying on the pitch, against the wish of his manager and the game went to penalties. City went on to win the penalty shoot-out to win their third League Cup in 4 seasons.
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