Winners
Napoli
It has not been a happy season for the Gi Azzurri.
Their training sessions have more akin to Zimbardo prison experiments than actual tactical sessions.
But the long-suffering Napoli fans have given a reason to smile, with the side pulling off a major upset in defeating league leaders Juventus – throwing as spanner in the race for this season’s title.
Polish international Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring in the 63rd minute before Lorenzo Insigne sealed a famous win in the 86th minute – backing up an impressive performance against Lazio in the Coppa Italia the week before.
Shrewsbury and ‘Cum Dog’
#CumDog4Socceroos is still trending on twitter.
Despite being born in Scotland, Jason ‘Cum Dog’ Cummings is eligible to represent Australia through his mother and has flirted with a switch in allegiance should the opportunity present itself.
The 24-year-old made headlines at the weekend by scoring a brace for League One outfit Shrewsbury Town against Liverpool in their fourth round FA Cup draw.
Shrewsbury will be looking to their newfound hero when the two sides meet in their fourth-round replay at Anfield in February.
Hearts of Midlothian
Hearts kept the upset theme running this week with their win against Rangers to keep their season alive in the Scottish Premier League.
Currently sitting dead last, Hearts have 11 matches to save themselves from relegation to the second division – where they were banished to back in 2014 alongside Rangers.
An 83rd minute winner from new recruit Liam Boyce galvinsied the home supporters, who celebrated just their third win of the season.
Meanwhile, the loss is a significant one for Rangers who missed the opportunity to edge closer towards league leaders Celtic.
Losers
Canberra United
It appears we are down to five in the W-League, with Canberra United’s loss at the weekend placing them seven points outside the top four with three games remaining.
While a finals berth remains a mathematical chance, a -13 goal difference does not help their case one bit.
Heather Garriock’s side were outclassed by Natasha Dowie and co at Melbourne Victory – who give themselves a two-point gap inside the top four.
Torino
Torino players were holding back the tears as they endured a 7-0 defeat at home to Atalanta, with the club’s ultras staging a walkout and protest outside the stadium in the final 30 minutes.
The home side was reduced to nine men after Armando Izzo and Sasa Lukic were given their marching orders – inflicting further pain to the side which suffered its greatest defeat at home.
Torino slumped to 12th with the loss and while sixth place is still a possibility, a lot of improvements will need to be made to turn things around after the weekend’s performance.
West Ham United
West Ham’s season has gone from bad to worse with former manager Slaven Bilic inflicting further pain in eliminating the Hammers from the FA Cup.
At home to Championship leaders West Brom, a great emphasis had been placed on the FA Cup by West Ham supporters – who saw the competition as the club’s only opportunity for success this season.
But things did not go to plan for the home side, with Conor Townsend’s ninth minute goal proving the difference as West Brom recorded a confidence boosting win ahead of a potential return to the Premier League.
Featured Image: beIn Sports
