In our weekly feature, here on Italian Football Daily, we take a look at the performances of Italian players currently based in the top two divisions in England.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Claudio Ranieri (Manager – Leicester City)
Despite a 2-1 defeat to title rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, Leicester City remained top of the Premier League.
Leicester were competitive for the first 60 minutes, and took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Jamie Vardy was tripped by Nacho Monreal just inside the penalty area. Vardy made no mistake with the resulting penalty. Leicester continued to impress defensively, with Kasper Schmeichel in tremendous form in the Leicester goal, but were rocked by Danny Simpson’s sending-off in the 54th minute for two yellow-cards.
The sending-off changed the game considerably, and Arsenal threw on more attacking players in the hope of salvaging a point from the game. Unfortunately for Leicester, the equaliser came from Theo Walcott with twenty minutes remaining. Things were to get worse for Leicester, as Danny Welbeck then headed past Schmeichel in the 94th minute, to give The Gunners the three points.
After the game, Ranieri spoke to the media, indicating that:-
“It was a fantastic match, very fast. I don’t know if in a normal match that our two yellows cards was a sending off. They were normal fouls, but not yellow cards. I think the referee was too severe to us for the sending off. 11 v 11, I’m sure we win the match. The match was full of fouls so why send off a player? Come on.
“We know Arsenal are a fantastic team, they move the ball quickly and have skill, but we had to concentrate. We tried to counter-attack and we controlled the match very well.
“We are still top of the table, got two points more – we must carry on and smile. We lost to our opponents – we must say well done.”
Despite the defeat, Leicester continue to head the Premier League by two points, and now have several weeks without a game due to FA Cup fixtures this coming weekend. As a result, Ranieri has rewarded his players for their excellent performances this season with a week off to recharge their batteries in sunnier climes.
Matteo Darmian (Manchester United)
After several good performances, Matteo Darmian was once again named in the Manchester United team for their trip to Sunderland on Saturday lunchtime.
Darmian was hoping to continue his good form, but his participation in the match was cut short early in the first-half as he was forced to leave the pitch with a dislocated shoulder after landing badly after challenging for a high ball. The prognosis does not look good for the former Torino man, who was starting to cement his place in the starting line-up after a period out with injury before Christmas. Current reports indicate that Darmian will be out of action for around 2-3 weeks.
Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United)
Angelo Ogbonna played the full 90 minutes as West Ham United came from 2-0 down to savage a 2-2 draw away at Norwich City on Saturday.
After scoring the winner in the last minute of extra time in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay on Tuesday evening, Ogbonna and his team-mates were hoping to continue their push for a Europa League place. After a lethargic first sixty-five minutes, West Ham found themselves 2-0 down. This spurred West Ham into life and they came back to draw 2-2 thanks to goals from Dmitri Payet and Mark Noble within couple of minutes of each other.
Ogbonna put in another good performance, and could do little to prevent the two Norwich goals, as he looks to make a last-ditch attempt to persuade Antonio Conte that he should be a member of the Azzurri squad that travels to the European Championships in France.
Graziano Pelle (Southampton)
Graziano Pelle was once again in the starting line-up for Southampton, as they continued their push for a Europa League place with a 1-0 victory away at Francesco Guidolin’s Swansea City.
Pelle only played 74 minutes as he continued his return to full match fitness following his recent lengthy break, and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet as he bundled the ball into the net from a corner. However, his effort was ruled out by the referee following a foul by Jose Fonte on Swansea goalkeeper, Lukas Fabianski.
The win saw Southampton cement their place in sixth in the table, moving them to within one point of fifth placed Manchester United.
Francesco Guidolin (Manager) & Alberto Paloschi (Swansea City)
Francesco Guidolin’s Swansea City hosted Southampton at The Liberty Stadium on Saturday afternoon, looking to extend their unbeaten three game run and move away from the Premier League relegation places.
Once again, former Chievo striker, Alberto Paloschi, made the starting line-up for the Swans, looking for his first goal since his move to Wales at the end of the transfer window. Paloschi was unlucky not to be awarded a late penalty as Maya Yoshida collided with him, but the Swans’ penalty appeals were ignored by the referee.
Guidolin was disappointed with the result, stating after the game:
“Southampton are a strong team in a good period. They played well, with enthusiasm and calm. It’s difficult to score a goal against them at the moment. We had a few situations but we deserved only one point today.“
Fabio Borini & Vito Mannone (Sunderland)
Sunderland earned a valuable three points in their fight to avoid relegation, by defeating Manchester 2-1 at The Stadium of Light on Saturday lunchtime. The win takes Sunderland to one point from safety in the relegation battle.
Sunderland took the lead after only 3 minutes, as a free-kick from Wahbi Khazri on the left-flank made its way past all the players in a crowded penalty area and into the far corner of David De Gea’s net. United came back well, and equalised through a fine finish Anthony Martial in the 39th minute; the France international scored with a smart chipped finish from a tight angle after Vito Mannone saved well from Juan Mata.
The match looked to be heading for a draw, however Sunderland nicked a winner in the 82nd minute as Lamine Kone header, from a Khazri corner, hit Martial on the line before rebounding into the net off De Gea. Fabio Borini had a crucial role in the lead-up to the Sunderland goal, as he forced the initial corner from which Sunderland scored their winning goal.
ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP
Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday)
Sheffield Wednesday moved up to fifth place in the Championship table after a 4-0 victory over Brentford at the weekend.
Fernando Forestieri once again had a crucial impact in this match, scoring Wednesday’s first goal with a header from six yards out. Forestieri continued to pull the strings, and was the main creative influence for The Owls throughout the match as they continued their push for a promotion play-off place.
Diego Fabbrini (Birmingham City)
Diego Fabbrini came on as an 82nd minute substitute for Birmingham City during their 0-0 draw at Rotherham United on Saturday. Fabbrini had little opportunity to impress in the time he was on the pitch.
Mirco Antenucci, Giuseppe Bellusci and Marco Silvestri
Leeds United held high-flying Middlesbrough to a 0-0 draw at Elland Road, in a game marred by protests against the ownership of Massimo Cellino by the Leeds’ fans.
Throughout the game, fans outside the stadium used a projector to imprint messages imploring Cellino to leave the club, onto the side of the stands at Elland Road.
Leeds acquitted themselves well against second-placed ‘Boro, with Marco Silvestri, Giuseppe Bellusci and Mirco Antenucci all starting the game. Silvestri and Bellusci had crucial roles in ensuring Leeds escaped the game with a point. Silvestri made several good saves, including a one-on-one from ‘Boro record signing, Jordan Rhodes. Antenucci had limited opportunities to impress, but led the line well.
The draw leaves Leeds in mid-table, and pretty much ends any faint hopes they had of getting into the promotion play-off places.
Gabriele Angella (Queens Park Rangers)
Gabriele Angella missed Queens Park Rangers’ 3-1 defeat at home to Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.
Federico Macheda (Cardiff City)
Federico Macheda came on as a 68th minute substitute during Cardiff City’s 0-0 draw away at lowly Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Macheda failed to make much of an impact during his time on the pitch, as Cardiff’s push for a promotion play-off place faltered after a second successive goalless draw.
Michael Agazzi (Middlesbrough)
Michael Agazzi once again failed to make the match-day squad for Middlesrough’s 0-0 draw at Leeds United.
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