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We are already in mid-February, and the sports world had a very busy weekend, both in Europe and in the United States. In El American Sports, we bring you the summary of the last days.
There were surprises and fairly even games in European soccer, both in Spain and in the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, the United States stopped this Sunday to see how the Cincinnati Bengals and the LA Rams disputed the NFL title in an exciting and close Superbowl.
LA Rams snatch the title from the Bengals in the final minutes of the game
Super Bowl LVI was played this Sunday, with the Rams trying for their first title since the franchise moved from St. Louis in 2015, with a chance for glory in front of their new fans in Los Angeles. The Bengals, meanwhile, were looking for their long-awaited first title in their history. Sporting fortune favored, after an intense game, the Rams.
The Los Angeles team started winning after a masterful tackle by Beckham Jr. who later withdrew from the game due to injury. This set in motion a back-and-forth game between the two teams, with the Bengals taking the lead after halftime on a wonderful tackle by Joe Burrow in the third quarter.
However, the Rams left it all for the final minutes. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, the Bengals were up by four points, but an accurate Stanford pass was blocked by Kupp, giving the Rams the final lead. The Bengals tried one last offensive drive, but it was stopped short by the LA defense.
Madrid and Barça draw, Bayern fall in a shock defeat
The La Liga leaders came up against an organized Villareal at the El Madrigal stadium, where both teams played to a goalless draw. Despite Ancelotti’s side dominating the game in both possession and scoring chances, Villareal’s defense and luck -three Madrid shots ended up on the crossbar-sealed the draw that reduces Madrid’s lead to four points.
Barcelona earned a hard-fought draw against Espanyol in an intense Catalan derby, with Xavi’s side trailing 2-1 going into extra time. The long-suffering Barça managed to rescue a golden point in the 90+7th minute with a goal from Luuk De Jong, taking the win out of Espanyol’s hands. Barça, who have had a good run of results of late, remain 15 points behind leaders, their nemesis Real Madrid.
Bayern München, the undisputed titans of German soccer over the last ten years, suffered a crushing defeat on Saturday against 11th-placed VFL Bochum, losing 4-2. Robert Lewandoski’s brace was dwarfed by Bochum’s effective offense, which converted 4 of their 6 shots on goal.
Bayern opened with a goal in the 9th minute, but Bochum quickly equalized five minutes later. Bochum went from fighting for a draw to dominating the match, scoring three goals in six minutes, a deficit that Bayern could not make up. Despite this defeat, Bayern still leads the Bundesliga, six points ahead of Dortmund.
The Stylebender dominates, and the heavyweight division has a new contender in the UFC
Izzy Adesanya didn’t have to sweat to defeat the consensus second-best middleweight in the world. It wasn’t his best performance, but he didn’t have to make much of an effort to defeat Robert Whittaker. The main question is if there’s anyone in the division ready to defeat the Stylebender. The first name who comes to mind is Jared Cannonier, who KO’ed Derek Brunson with vicious elbows in the second round after being dominated in the first.
Dana White, the UFC president, already said that the Killa Gorilla is next in line to face Adesanya. He certainly has the KO power to surprise Adesanya, but it remains to be seen if he’s fast enough or has the ground game to dominate him.
The surprise of the evening was the candidate for KO of the year of Tai Tuivasa against Derrick Lewis in the second round. Bam Bam Tuivasa showed he had the chin to overcome the greatest knockout artist in the history of the UFC, who hit the Australian with some strong jabs and two takedowns in the first round, but, boy, we didn’t expect what was about to come: After trading heavy punches, Tuivasa got himself in a position to land a big elbow that sent Lewis to sleep, something rarely seen. With five consecutive KOs, Tuivasa seems to be the newest contender in a heavyweight division with top-tier talent. Who’s next? Rozenstruik, Volkov, and Curtis Blaydes are already booked. Cyril Gane? Seems too much for Bam Bam, but would be perfect for Gane to regain his stock.
Curry’s Warriors beat LeBron’s Lakers in tight game
The Golden State Warriors, one of the teams with the best record in the league at the moment, took on LeBron James’ wounded Los Angeles Lakers in an electric game at the Chase Center. The Warriors managed to defeat the Lakers after a close game, with Curry’s team winning the game 117-115, with excellent performances from Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and LeBron James.
Despite their weak season, the Lakers put up a strong fight against the dominant Warriors throughout the game. LeBron, who missed a couple of crucial shots late in the game, had a stellar game, scoring 26 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists. The Warriors stars didn’t disappoint either, with Curry scoring 24 points and Klay Thompson 33.
The Warriors’ close win leaves them with a 42-15 record, second in the Western conference, while the Lakers are in ninth place with a 26-31 record.
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
Contacto: [email protected]
Edgar is political scientist and philosopher. He defends the Catholic intellectual tradition. Edgar writes about religion, ideology, culture, US politics, abortion, and the Supreme Court. Twitter: @edgarjbb_ // Edgar es politólogo y filósofo. Defiende la tradición intelectual católica. Edgar escribe sobre religión, ideología, cultura, política doméstica, aborto y la Corte Suprema. Twitter: @edgarjbb_