Tribal Football

Weekend Highlights: Acrobatics, ambulances and a coach losing his job for a headbutt

David Pávek
Dany Mota scored a wonderful goal for Monza
Dany Mota scored a wonderful goal for MonzaProfimedia / Livesport
Another weekend full of beautiful and bizarre moments is behind us. For our Weekend Highlights, we have a spectacular acrobatic finish for the second week in a row, this time from Italy. We also look at an unusual intervention by paramedics in Brazil, a provocative celebration by Arsenal's goalkeeper and one very angry coach.

Goal of the weekend

Fans who travelled to Genoa for the football at the weekend or watched the match with Monza on TV were not disappointed. The game was an entertaining affair, which was eventually won 3-2 by the visitors. The best goal of the game, and for us the best goal of the whole weekend, was scored by Portuguese striker Dany Mota. He was all alone on the edge of the box when the ball came to him; he could have controlled it, or he could've attempted an acrobatic first-time volley. We're glad he chose option B.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Fail of the weekend

Polish champions Rakow travelled to Puszcza, a relegation-threatened club. On paper, it should have been a clear-cut affair, but Puszcza battled to a 1-1 draw thanks to a penalty in stoppage time. The match, which saw one red card for either side, featured a victim of misfortune on the home side, without whom the underdogs might have claimed all three points. Moldovan full-back Artur Craciun scored an unlucky own goal, with the ball bouncing off two defenders on its way into the net, leaving goalkeeper Oliwier Zych with no chance to react.

Social media highlight

A curious situation occurred in the match between Jequie and Bahia in Brazil. An ambulance arrived for a player who was being treated and drove onto the pitch during play, turning around at the halfway line - unable to decide where to park - while the match was still going on in the background...

Statistic of the weekend

Manchester United claimed a win over Everton thanks to two penalties, and in a way, they made history. It was the first game in the club's history in which the Red Devils scored two penalties with two players in the first half, and it was the first time that both penalties were caused by a foul on the same player; James Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey both fouled Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho.

Story of the weekend

The sacking of a coach because of poor results happens almost every week in the world of football. But few people will show a coach the door for failing to hold his nerve. That's what happened in Italy, where Lecce parted ways with Roberto D'Aversa. The 48-year-old coach could not handle the 1-0 loss to Hellas Verona and after the game, he headbutted the opposition striker Thomas Henry.

"What I did is inexcusable, I know that. But I didn't go on the pitch because of it. I went there to prevent the sending off of our players because there was a lot of provocation," D'Aversa told Sky Sports. In any case, he is right in saying that his action was inexcusable and the club therefore immediately terminated his association with the club.

Photo of the weekend

David Raya may have won the battle for Arsenal's number-one spot, but as he is still on loan from Brentford, he was unable to feature in his return match. So for only the sixth time in the league season, Aaron Ramsdale was in goal. It didn't go quite as he would have hoped, though, and it was because of his mistake that the opposition equalised and Brentford fans launched a derogatory chant against him.

Kai Havertz, however, made the difference as Arsenal won in the end and Ramsdale duly enjoyed his revenge. We chose his provocative celebration right under the Brentford fans' section as our photo of the weekend.

Ramsdale celebrating in front of the Brentford fans
Ramsdale celebrating in front of the Brentford fansAFP