If you look at the result of the Excelsior - Ajax match, you see 1-4 and you think it was an easy victory. I have seen the summary with accompanying analyzes and it was not that easy. In fact, at halftime Excelsior should have scored at least 4 goals. So it was actually another bad match, but this time Ajax had luck on its side. They have also had a lot of bad luck, so it may be a good time. But Twente could also have beaten Feyenoord if it had managed to take advantage of a great opportunity 5 minutes before the end. The best papers for Feyenoord, and an advantage that AZ was unable to win this competition round.

Still disappointing for Real Madrid that they couldn't have the home game yesterday. Barcelona has secretly run out quite a few points and is now 5 points ahead. The competition is still long, and the mutual match in Nou Camp still has to be played. Real Madrid had a lot of opportunities to win the game, but all chances were wasted. It looks very good for Barcelona, who are giving away almost nothing at the back. It is almost a record how many times Barcelona have been able to keep 0 in their games this season. It's just a pity that they score so few goals up front. But this could be Xavi's way of playing and strategy.

I had thought for a few weeks that Bayern Munich would simply increase their competitive advantage. But instead, the competition has only gotten closer. A disappointing result from Bayern Munich. Can't imagine they are underestimating other teams at the moment. Maybe they're just not as good as we think right now. Many players played in the German national team at the World Cup and there they were also eliminated in the group stage. I think Bayern will still be champions, but the question is how they will play in the coming weeks. They will have to distance themselves a bit more from the other teams.

It looks like there was no play at all in the English league today. The reason is of course that the matches in the FA Cup also had to take place this week. A nice tournament, but the return really should be abolished. Why not just extend and then penalties? Because now teams have to play against each other again in the event of a draw and if there is no winner, an extension must still be played and subsequent penalty kicks. Then it is more convenient to do that right at the first match. Man City, of course, are the favorites in this tournament, but United would also like to win this award, having won it last time under Van Gaal's management.

In the long run, I think he was 1.5 points ahead of Giri. But then he started playing too many draws, and Giri played constantly and won a few games. I think Giri is also the only undefeated player in this tournament and can therefore climb up the rankings again. A nice game from Carlsen today, in a very difficult position. He still won that one and that's how he came close to winning. But if you lose 2 games in a row at the beginning of the tournament, you can actually forget about the tournament profit. Van Foreest had a bad tournament but made up for it in one fell swoop by winning against the leader with black today, which the rest of the field had failed to do.

If Djokovic had participated in this tournament, Tsitsipas would have been the best player. But Djokovic was unstoppable this tournament. Tsitsipas will win this tournament one more time, but he needed a lot of experience and Djokovic is probably much stronger than him mentally. And let's not forget the age difference, of course. Djokovic can play tennis for a few more years and then it will be the end of the story, just like Federer did. I'm sorry we didn't get to see Alcaraz. A final between Alcaraz and Djokovic would have been a nice sensation. Nadal seems to have too many injuries in recent years and will probably announce his retirement soon.

The top game Real Madrid - Real Sociedad is 0-0, but Real madrid has not scored easily in the first half lately. My idea is that it is still without goals at halftime and then they go over it. Barcelona has been winning lately, Real Madrid actually needs to win to stay on track. And again no goal conceded for Barcelona. Also nice for Ter Stegen, who had to collect considerably more goals in recent seasons. Atletico did not win easily, but they did book a very important victory at Osasuna. It seemed to be an open title fight, but Barcelona is now a few points ahead of Real Madrid. If they didn't win tonight, the gap is already 5 points, you can't just close that.

Napoli ahead against AS Roma. I think the question is no longer who will become champion, but who will become 2nd and 3rd. Because the differences with Napoli will be really big if they also win this match. A great success that they could use again in Naples. Too bad Maradona can't experience that anymore. They receive worldwide praise for the game shown. Although that victory over Liverpool in the CL might get less status as that club is playing sadly bad at the moment. I did not expect the two home defeats of Juventus and AC Milan, although Juventus is of course rumbling on all sides now that the fraud has come to light.

According to statistics, a casino or sports betting office should always win. But those are just statistics. And not everyone gambles with the same amounts. This is often not included in the calculations. If you keep gambling long enough, a casino will always keep winning because players rely too much on luck. That will always be the case with gambling, in the long run the luck will turn against you and then you will lose a lot of money and perhaps even go bankrupt. I think the ROI is something like 45% while at 50-50 it should be 50%.

PSV is currently leading 1-0 in a home match against Go Ahead Eagles. A lot has been written and said about Schreuder from Ajax in recent months, but the pressure on van Nistelrooij must also be unprecedentedly high. PSV is in a deep hole, perhaps the longest of the club's last 20 years. Perhaps he will be fired soon. Not qualified for the CL, competition is disappointing and the 1-0 does not offer much perspective for a good score. They are unlucky that Gakpo and Madueke have been bought away, but as a club you have to be able to absorb that and deal with it well.

The 1st round of the Tata chess tournament is currently being played. Abdusattorov is still undivided at the top, but with black it seems that he cannot get further than a draw against Wesley So, which is not a bad performance either. Carlsen is currently one point behind, but still seems to have an advantage and can certainly play for a win. With that mindset, Carlsen would then be only half a point behind and everything is still open tomorrow. Giri has half a point less but seems to lose quite clearly today against compatriot van Foreest. In the event of a tie, there will be a tie break, in which Carlsen is the favorite for me.

Nice performance by Sabalenka who was the 2nd Belarusian player to win this tournament. The beginning was for Rybakina, who won the first set. Both players made a lot of unnecessary mistakes, but you can't compare women's tennis to men's tennis, which is much more explosive. Tonight/tomorrow we get Djokovic's match against Tsitsipas, but that could also be a very short match if you look at Djokovic's form that way. Then Tsitsipas is a bit vulnerable I think. But maybe Djokovic's injury will cause problems.

Girona - Barcelona is 0-0 and we are almost at the end of the first half. There are still a few seconds to play. No panic at Barcelona yet, but it would have been nicer if they were at least ahead at half time. Barcelona also won the previous match with minimal numbers (1-0) and the defense seems difficult to pass. So far that also applies to this match, but supporters prefer to see other football. Preferably the football of about 10 years ago in which they regularly put results like 6-2 or 41 on the scoreboard. Then those meager 1-0 results are not great either, but in the end only the result counts. Frenkie de Jong had to sit on the bench from Xavi for the entire match in the previous match.

Can we now write off Ajax for the title? Probably. They are a mountain of points behind Feyenoord, but not only Feyenoord is the problem. Twente, AZ, and PSV all also have a chance of winning the championship. It is close to each other, and Ajax is only falling further and further in the ranking. I don't see them getting any closer either. Schreuder was fired yesterday, maybe that will work liberating for once and that players can play the way they want. These players wouldn't need a coach at all to win in matches against Volendam, would they? And Ajax was even 0-1 behind until the 80th minute. However, a draw also felt like a defeat for the Ansterdam team. Maybe they should bring back Peter Bosz.

The vacancy for Ajax is open. Coach Schreuder was recently fired (yesterday) and Ajax is urgently looking for a new trainer. Lampard might want to, but I think he's too inexperienced and more importantly, I don't think he's capable enough to do the job. You have to look hard to find a good and experienced trainer, which is not that easy. Soon the transfer market will close anyway, then the deadline has passed. I expect a few new transfers here and there. It is a pity that Ziyech's career has not turned out much after his transfer from Ajax to Chelsea.

The field of participants has not grown closer together. Carlsen wins today with white to achieve absolutely nothing against So and most games ended in a draw. Giri couldn't break any pot against the leader with white either. It was the ultimate chance for Giri to become undivided at the top. Tournament win for Abdusattarov is getting closer this way. This seems to be one of the greatest talents of recent years. You can't compare him to Carlsen, but outside this tournament he also won the Rapid World Championship 2 years ago. The world's top was there at the time. I think we will expect a lot from him. 3 more rounds, a lot can still go wrong for him. Maybe the experience will break him down after all.

Today the game for the FA cup. I think both teams will be very motivated to win this match. If you lose, you are immediately eliminated from this tournament. I suspect that both teams will also play with the strongest possible line-up. Arsenal have not won any titles in terms of the championship for a few years. In the last 10 years, however, Arsenal has won the FA cup 4 times, which is also worth mentioning. Not many other teams have done that. But Man City are a tough opponent, and it's only the 4th round, not even the final. Nice draw for both clubs.

It was to be expected that Djokovic would win his match. It is striking that he almost handed over the first set despite his break lead. After that, it was also done with the resistance of his opponent. Djokovic has shown nice tennis, but he has not really been tested yet. Tsitsipas seems to be the first big test, but if he passes it, he can add another grand slam victory to his palmeres. He is also the top favorite in this match. I think Tsitsipas is a good player, but he is not in the category of Djokovic's level when both are at their best.

A nice win for Carlsen today, but he had to work hard for it. He still has some work to do, but it looks like he is now 1 point behind the leader. There are still 3 rounds to play, Carlsen is a player who could win all 3 games. I don't see Nodirbek and Giri doing that any time soon. Nodirbek was very lucky against Keymer yesterday. Keymer was able to secure the point in a rook endgame with a simple turn, but did not play well and it eventually ended in a draw. A stroke of luck for the Uzbek, but they also often say that you have to force luck in such matches.

Seems pretty pointless to use such white cards in a match. As if a player cares about that. A subsequent violation will still follow. A football player has not been warned by a white card, sometimes not even by a yellow card. We should only stick to yellow and red cards, that has always been the case in football and it does not seem logical to me to suddenly implement that in 2023. Outside of us, all kinds of scientists must have thought about this for a long time? Nice to get the scoop for some viewing figures, but of course you can't take a white card seriously in football matches.