Welcome to the latest Hugh Watches Sports post. This week we will reflect on a match from the UEFA Champions League, the return of the rugby Prem, a big tennis tournament, a huge London derby, NFL’s first ever game in France, plus this weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix. Let’s get into it.
COMO VS MANCHESTER UNITED (FOOTBALL)
Match week three of the UEFA Champions League league stage took place this week. On Wednesday, Manchester United travelled to Italy to face Como in the hopes of ending their winless run of matches. The Reds have not won since beating Sabah in their opening Champions League fixture on the 10th October, with three draws and three defeats in that time. That run included a 2-0 loss against Atletico Madrid in this competition last Tuesday which puts them mid-table with three points coming into this encounter. Similarly, Como have also taken three points from their first two Champions League matches. On their debut in the competition, they thumped RB Leipzig 4-1, before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat away to Feyenoord in their second game. In contrast to their visitors, Como’s domestic form has been positive and included a 3-1 win against Fiorentina last time out, so they come into this encounter in a much better mood than United. As the match kicked off in overcast and rainy conditions, United had a chance to score within ninety seconds when Diogo Dalot cut inside from the right and curled a shot just wide of the far post. A frantic start to the game continued as moments later Como went on the attack with Lucas Da Cunha receiving the ball on the right wing and playing it to Nico Paz on the edge of the penalty area who turned, took a touch and then unleashed a wonderful effort which flew into the top corner to put Como ahead. It was a superb strike from the Argentinian who made the most of the space he was given by United’s defence to curl the ball beyond goalkeeper Senne Lammens and give the home side the ideal start. Incredibly, having also conceded early against Atletico Madrid, United became the first English team ever to concede within the opening two minutes of two consecutive major European matches. Despite that early setback, the visitors response was initially quite positive as they pushed forward to search for an equaliser. The closest they went to scoring was in the seventeenth minute when Harry Maguire headed Bryan Mbeumo’s cross towards goal but it went wide of the posts. As the first half wore on momentum shifted back to the home side with Anastasios Douvikas forcing Lammens into making a smart save at his near post. Then, a few minutes later, Douvikas brilliantly controlled Yan Couto’s aerial pass but then followed it up with a poor shot which flew over the crossbar. As the half time whistle blew in Italy, Paz’s early strike meant that Como held a one-goal lead. Moving into the second half, a quick exchange of passes between Da Cunha, Martin Baturina and Paz cut through United’s defence and set up Douvikas to bury an excellent finish past Lammens and double the home side’s advantage. It was a lovely passing move from the hosts to capitalise on their opponent’s defensive disorganisation and put themselves in firm control of the contest. Unlike after the first goal, this time there was no sign of a response from the visitors as Como dominated the start of the second half. After Da Cunha had gone close to scoring with an excellent effort, Paz stole the ball off the feet of Carlos Baleba and carried it towards goal before Cooley slotting it past Lammens for Como’s third goal. In a familiar story for United, it was another horrible defensive display, meanwhile Como were in stunning form and reaping the benefits of pressing their opponent’s high up the pitch. In an attempt to try and turn the game around, Michael Carrick made an array of substitutions. One of which saw Amad Diallo come on and his shot from twenty yards out tested Como goalkeeper Jean Butez who palmed it over the crossbar. That was a rare foray forward for United in a second half where they were being outplayed by their hosts. In the seventy-sixth minute, Como substitute Kaiki Bruno’s cross from the left was headed into the back of Lammens’ net by Jacobo Ramon to score the Italian side’s fourth goal of the evening. It came from yet another superb passing move from Cesc Fabregas’ team which ended with centre-back Ramon finding himself in space inside United’s penalty area and providing a powerful header which flew into the bottom corner. With a comfortable 4-0 lead, Como were in cruise control of the encounter although maybe they took things a bit too easily when Diallo’s floated cross was controlled by Joshua Zirkzee who then beat Butez from close range to score a consolation goal for United. That was in stoppage time at the end of the match as Zirkzee netted his first goal of the season, albeit no United player was in the mood to celebrate. Ultimately, the evening belonged to Como as they defeated United 4-1 to secure back-to-back win’s in the first two Champions League game’s in the club’s history. Next up for both of these teams is a return to domestic competition with Como hosting Sassuolo on Sunday, whilst United return home to play Bournemouth.
LEICESTER TIGERS VS NORTHAMPTON SAINTS (RUGBY UNION)
After a week off whilst the club’s competed in European competition, the Gallagher Prem with it’s famous ‘Derby Weekend’. The stand-out derby came in the East Midlands as Leicester Tigers hosted Northampton Saints on Saturday afternoon. These two teams both made the playoff’s last season with Northampton going on to be crowned champions. So far this campaign, they’re level on points with two wins and one loss on both team’s record. Therefore we were set for a tightly-contested encounter between two of the best teams in the Prem. On Saturday in Leicester, the weather only added to the intense feel of the derby as the match was played in the strong wind and heavy rain of ‘Storm Boelo’. As the game got going, Northampton took an early lead with a try inside the opening seven minutes. It came at the end of a sustained attack which concluded with James Pater collecting a loose ball after Fin Smith’s chip over the last line of Leicester’s defence and then diving over the try line. Moments later, Smith’s boot benefitted his side again as he scored the conversion to put Northampton 7-0 up. The next phase of the game saw Leicester establish themselves in the encounter although they struggled to find a way through Northampton’s stubborn defensive unit. On eighteen minutes, Leicester earned a penalty which Freddie Steward kicked between the posts from fifty metre’s, which was a very impressive effort considering the wet and windy conditions. As the first half continued, both teams struggled to keep hold of the ball and build any momentum which was mostly due to the quality of the two defence’s on display. The match had a real derby feel to it and that only increased when the half time whistle blew and some pushing and shoving erupted. It was a mini exchange of words which temporarily developed into a melee and carried on all the way to the changing rooms with England teammates Henry Pollock and Ollie Chessum looking particularly unhappy with each other. With Northampton 7-3 ahead at the break, the feisty end to the opening forty minutes added some extra spice going into the second half. After the interval and with tempers slightly calmed, Leicester came out in fine form as they forced their way beyond the try line with a maul from a line-out. The man in possession of the ball to score was Jamie Blamire as his five points saw the home side move in front on the scoreboard for the first time in the afternoon. Eight minutes later, Leicester extended their lead when a quick exchange of passes opened some space for Cameron Henderson to charge down the left wing and score their second try. Next, the Tigers magnificent start to the half continued as Finn Carnduff forced the ball over the try line. It was a quite incredible opening sixteen minutes of the second half for the hosts as they went from 7-3 down to 18-7 up with a dominant attacking display. It’s fair to say that, just like the weather, Leicester blew their opponents away. On sixty-six minutes, Billy Searle’s penalty added a further three points to Leciester’s total. Then, in a moment which quite fittingly seemed to sum up the half, Northampton believed they’d gone a player up when Leicester’s Adam Radwan was shown a yellow card. However, after a review by the TMO, Radwan’s yellow card was cancelled because of a high tackle earlier in the phase of play. To make matters worse for the visitors, that high tackle resulted in a yellow card for Tom Lockett, meaning that after having thought they were going to be a player up, Northampton would now have to play with fourteen whilst Leicester remained with their full compliment of players intact. It compounded what had already been a miserable second half for the defending league champions although it understandably provoked delight and humour amongst the home crowd. With a man advantage, Leicester went on to score their fourth try of the match and clinch a bonus point in the seventy-first minute. After a resilient effort from Northampton’s defence, the home side finally found their way through when Steward dived underneath the posts to score. On a tricky day for kicking, Searle’s first successful conversion of the day added some extra gloss to the scoreline as the Tigers closed in on a memorable victory. After a quite literal game of two halves, Leicester defeated their East Midland rivals Northampton 28-7 to move up to second in the league table. With one of the best single-half performances you’re likely to see all season, the home side scored twenty-five unanswered points to emerge vigorous in front of their jubilant fans. Looking ahead, Leicester travel to Bristol Bears next weekend, meanwhile Northampton will look to get back to winning ways at home against league leaders Gloucester.
WTA NINGBO (TENNIS)
This week the BNB Ningbo Open marked a pivotal tournament in the race to qualify for the upcoming WTA Finals. The showpiece event features the top eight players on the WTA Tour from this year and so far seven of the participants are confirmed. Heading into the tournament in Ningbo, Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk remained in contention to clinch the eighth place, which was currently held by Karolina Muchova who was not playing at this event. As well as the race to the WTA Finals, the draw in Ningbo was headlined by world number one and defending champion Elena Rybakina. Whilst Rybakina and the other three top four seed’s received a bye in the opening round, there was another former champion in action. That was Daria Kasatkina although this year she suffered an immediate exit in Ningbo, losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets. Elsewhere in round one, the stand-out match-up saw Leylah Fernandez beat seventh seed Elise Mertens 2-6 6-3 7-5. Ahead of the second round, Iga Swiatek announced she was withdrawing from the event due to injury and ending her season, which ruled her out of contention to qualify for the WTA Finals. It also opened up the bottom half of the draw as she was the highest seed in that section prior to her withdrawal. As the second round commenced, top seed Rybakina kicked off her title defence with a win as her opponent Polina Kudermetova retired whilst down 5-0 in the first set. Meanwhile, the line-up for the WTA Finals was completed when Marta Kostyuk retired with an injury after losing the opening set against Ekaterina Alexandrova. That meant Kostyuk can no longer catch Muchova’s points total for the season and therefore will miss out on playing at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. Elsewhere in the second round of Ningbo, qualifier Katarzyna Kawa recorded a big win as she defeated fifth seed Belinda Bencic 7-5 6-2. As we reached the quarter final stage of the tournament, Rybakina faced Kawa in a three-set battle which was won 6-1 3-6 6-1 by the world number one. Meanwhile, sixth seed Diana Schnaider took out fourth seed Iva Jovic 6-3 4-6 6-1. Elsewhere in the last eight, Fernandez came back from a set down to defeat Alexandrova 4-6 6-2 6-1 in just over two hours. In the other quarter final match-up, Marie Bouzkova saw off Sara Bejlek in straight sets to progress into the last four. On Saturday in China it was time for the semi finals with defending champion Rybakina facing Schnaider, whilst Fernandez took on Bouzkova. After winning the first set 6-3, Rybakina took a very close second 7-5 to book her place in a sixth final of the season. Interestingly, the second semi final had the exact same scoreline as Fernandez beat Bouzkova 6-3 7-5 to reach her second final of the year and the tenth WTA final of her career. In the final in Ningbo, we would either see a successful title defence or a brand new champion at this tournament as Rybakina came up against Fernandez. As the match began, Rybakina gained an early break of serve and then never looked back on route to claiming the opening set 6-2. The second set was almost a replica of the first as Rybakina broke Fernandez’s serve twice whilst being perfect behind her own to clinch the title with a 6-2 6-2 triumph. That marked the fifteenth WTA title of the world number one’s career and the first time she has successfully defended a title. It was also her fourth title of the season and further underlines Rybakina’s status as the best player in the world right now. Looking ahead, there are still four tournaments remaining on the WTA Tour before the WTA Finals kick off in November. However, the line-up is now already confirmed for the season-ending championships where Rybakina will be joined by Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR WOMEN VS ARSENAL WOMEN (FOOTBALL)
When you’re out of form there’s nothing like winning a derby fixture to revive your season and that was the aim for both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal women on Saturday. After losing their last two matches, conceding twelve goals in the process, Tottenham were desperate to stop their defensive woes and make a return to winning ways. Similarly, Arsenal were also in need of a victory as they came into this game on their longest winless run in WSL history. Since beating Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 on the opening weekend of the season, Arsenal have been held to three draws and suffered two defeats in the league, leaving them down in ninth in the league table. In fact, with Tottenham starting the day in fourth, this was the first time that Spurs came into a North London Derby in the WSL above Arsenal in the standings. As the match kicked off on a rainy afternoon, Spurs had the better of the early exchanges. Their positive start was rewarded in the thirteenth minute when Victoria Pelova’s corner from the left was headed into the net by Cathinka Tandberg. It was an excellent header from the Tottenham striker who jumped higher than the three Arsenal defenders around her and guided the ball past goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez. However Tottenham’s lead didn’t last long as Arsenal equalised four minutes later courtesy of a wonderful strike from Georgia Stanway. It came after some good work on the left wing from Taylor Hinds who found an excellent pass into Alessia Russo before she laid the ball back to the edge of the penalty area where Stanway provided a superb finish into the top corner of Tottenham’s goal. That marked Stanway’s first WSL goal since returning to the league during the summer. With the score now level, Arsenal grew in confidence although the best chance of the remainder of the first half went the way of Spurs. When Arsenal conceded possession inside their own half, Drew Spence capitalised and played the ball to Pelova who carried it towards goal before unleashing a strike from twenty-five yards which flew over the crossbar. After a competitive opening forty-five minutes, the North London derby was level at one-goal each at half time. Moving into the second half, Arsenal began on the front foot with Russo’s close-range effort forcing Tottenham goalkeeper Lize Kop into making a sensational reflex save. From the resulting corner, Lisa Baum’s attempt bounced off the post before Tandberg’s attempted clearance hit the out-stretched arm of teammate Ella Morris which resulted in an Arsenal penalty. It was a harsh decision given the proximity between the two Spurs’ players when the ball was kicked but referee Phoebe Cross deemed it a clear handball offence and therefore pointed to the penalty spot. In a potentially crucial moment in the encounter, Russo stepped up to face Kop and she sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and buried the ball into the bottom corner to give Arsenal the lead. Remarkably, this was the ninth time Russo has scored against Tottenham which is more than she has scored against any other opponent in the WSL. In response to going behind, Tottenham turned to the bench and brought on Kirsty Hanson and Shekiera Martinez. Their introduction improved Spurs’ attack but Arsenal defended well to limit the home side to few chances. The best of which came when Hanson’s cross from the left was directed towards goal by Martinez but spectacularly saved by Rodriguez, although the offside flag was raised so any goal wouldn’t have counted. Overall, a controlled performance in the closing stages of the game saw Arsenal defeat their North London rivals 2-1 and clinch a crucial win. It was a much-needed victory for the away side and their head coach Renee Slegers to end an underwhelming run of results. This three points see’s Arsenal move up to sixth in the WSL table, one point behind Tottenham who remain fourth.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)
Following three week’s in London, the NFL’s International series continued with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the New Orleans Saints in Paris. This was the first time an NFL game had been held in France as the league continues to expand its international series into new countries. So far this season the Steelers have a 4-2 record with former four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers showing his class at quarterback. Last week Pittsburgh secured a 26-19 triumph in overtime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to ensure they headed to Paris on a winning streak. As for the Saints, they’re 2-4 for the season although arrive in France coming off a 34-27 win over the New York Giants last Sunday. After both teams had taken in the surroundings at the legendary Stade De France, play commenced in the first ever NFL game on French soil with Rodgers’ Steelers offense posting an early field goal to kickstart the scoring. A twenty-eight yard attempt was sent through the uprights by kicker Chris Boswell to put the Steelers 3-0 up, before their defense held off the Saints offense’s opening drives. At the conclusion of the first quarter, the Steelers were ahead, however the Saints equalised early in the second with a field goal from Daniel Carlson. Then, midway through the second quarter, the game’s first touchdown arrived when Rodgers found Darnell Washington in the end zone to score. With Boswell then adding the extra point, the Steelers moved seven points ahead in Paris. That was still the case as we reached the two minute warning, albeit the ball was in the hands of Saints quarterback Tyler Shough inside the red zone. On 4th down and goal, Shough’s pass out wide to the left was caught Devaughn Vele for a touchdown. That, coupled with a successfully converted extra point by Carlson saw the Saints draw level at 10-10. It also gave the ball back to the Steelers with just over ninety seconds left on the clock in the first half. The experience of Rodgers saw him lead his offense down the field and into field goal range to give kicker Boswell an opportunity to out them back ahead. With a forty-seven yard attempt, Boswell did just that, meaning the Steelers were three points ahead at half time. Moving into the third quarter, the Saints began with the ball and took it all the way down to within fifteen yards of the end zone, before Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson excellently intercepted Shough’s pass to take over possession for his team. Then, whilst the Steelers offense weren’t able to find a touchdown they did set up a thirty-nine yard field goal attempt for Boswell. That attempt was duly scored by the Steelers dependable kicker to extend their lead to six points. As we entered the fourth quarter, the Saints knew they could take the lead with a touchdown but first they would have to progress through a resolute Steelers defense. That is something which they weren’t able to do, forcing them to bring out Carlson for a fifty-two yard field goal attempt which drifted wide of the uprights. On their next possession, Shough was sacked inside Saints territory by Patrick Queen on third down, resulting in them punting the ball away. With four minutes left in the game, what came next was a masterclass in clock management by the Steelers as they cruised towards victory. They even benefitted from an officiating call when a field goal attempt from Boswell was ruled out due to an offside from the Saints, handing the Steelers five yards and an opportunity to effectively ice the game. Overall, the first NFl game in Paris didn’t turn out to be a classic but the Steelers won’t care as they move to 5-2 for the season with a 16-10 win over the Saints. Elsewhere on a busy Sunday of NFL action, there were plenty of noteworthy scoreline’s. Firstly, the Miami Dolphins finally picked up their first win of the season as they out-scored divisional rivals the New York Jets. Then, the San Francisco 49ers unbeaten start was ended by a shock 29-20 defeat against the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans and New York Giants played out an epic battle which was won 27-21 by the Giants in overtime. Elsewhere the Minnesota Vikings remained the only team in the league with a perfect record as they saw off the Indianapolis Colts thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback.
UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX (FORMULA 1)
As we enter the final week’s of a highly-intriguing Formula 1 season, the US Grand Prix offered Kimi Antonelli his first chance to clinch the world championship. The Italian has a healthy lead at the top of the driver’s standings and a victory in Austin, coupled with underwhelming results for his championship rivals, could see him become world champion for the first time even with five race’s still to come. On Saturday, Antonelli made the ideal start to his potential title-crowning weekend by clinching pole position with the fastest lap in qualifying. Alongside him on the front row for Sunday’s race was the winner of the last two Grands Prix Max Verstappen. Behind them was Isack Hadjar in third, Charles Leclerc in fourth, Lewis Hamilton in fifth and George Russell starting sixth. When the race got underway on Sunday, Antonelli got away cleanly and held onto the lead, meanwhile the fast-starting Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Hamilton snuck past Hadjar to pile pressure on Verstappen in second. Briefly, Leclerc moved up into second although Verstappen re-took the position later on the opening lap, whilst Antonelli built a two-second gap out in front. Further back, Russell was handed a five-second penalty for going off the track and gaining an advantage, which seemed harsh considering it was on the opening lap and he didn’t actually gain a position. As the race began to settle down, Antonelli was at the front, ahead of Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Hadjar, Russell and the two McLaren’s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. On lap fourteen, Verstappen made an early pit stop and committed himself to a two-stop strategy. He was followed into the pits by the two Ferrari’s across the next few laps, which saw Antonelli e tend his advantage at the front. The next of the leading car’s to stop was Norris as he went onto the hard tyre on lap seventeen, hoping to make it to the end of the race on that set of tyres. On lap twenty-three, Russell came in to serve his penalty and make his tyre change before coming back out onto the track down in tenth. A lap later, his teammate Antonelli came in to make his one and only stop as he dropped from first to fourth on the leaderboard behind Verstappen, Hadjar and Leclerc, albeit Hadjar then pitted on the next lap to put the championship leader back up to third. As we reached the mid-point of the race, we saw our first retirement of the afternoon as Ollie Bearman came into the pits to retire his Haas car. On lap thirty-one, it was time for those on a two-stop strategy to consider making another pit stop with Verstappen opting to come in. That temporarily put Leclerc into the lead although he quickly had his mirrors full of Antonelli’s Mercedes as the Italian overtook the Ferrari on the long back straight to re-claim first position. A few laps later, the Ferrari’s both made their second pit stops which dropped Hamilton to sixth and Leclerc to fourth, however they had notably fresher tyre’s than those around them on the track. They quickly put that advantage to good use when Hamilton overtook Hadjar on the inside of turn one on lap forty-two to claim fifth place. Out in front, Antonelli was having a comfortable afternoon, meanwhile the one-stop strategy of Norris had him in second, although he was under pressure from Verstappen. On lap forty-seven, a superb move up the inside of turn one saw Verstappen re-take second place from the reigning world champion. Later on that same lap, a charging Leclerc snuck past Norris to end the McLaren’s hopes of a potential podium. Two laps later, Leclerc’s great pace on his final stint continued as he overtook Verstappen for second. With nine laps to go, the Ferrari could now chase down Antonelli for the win but it would be a steep task given that the Italian had built up a sixteen second lead at that point. Elsewhere on track, Leclerc’s teammate Hamilton showed the power of fresh tyre’s to get past Norris and gain another position. On lap fifty-one, Valtteri Bottas was forced to pull over and retire his Cadillac due to an engine issue. That saw a virtual safety car declared which lasted for two laps. When racing resumed, Antonelli cruised through the final three laps and was comfortably first to the chequered flag as he clinched his ninth Grand Prix victory of the season. That saw him extend his championship lead, although the fourth place finish of Hamilton and the eighth place finish of Russell mean they remain in championship contention. Well mathematically they do but it seems inevitable now that Antonelli will be the world champion in Mexico next weekend. In terms of this race, Antonelli was joined on the podium by Leclerc and Verstappen who were both officially eliminated from championship contention by the Mercedes driver’s triumph. The remaining point-scoring positions went the way of Hamilton, Norris, Hadjar, Piastri, Russell, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly. As mentioned, Formula 1 now heads to Mexico for the second race in a triple-header which concludes in Brazil the following week.
