Out of Bounds: Major sports news out of London, D.C. and Madrid – Washington Square News

London

Two rival Premier League teams from London clashed on Saturday, Nov. 30. Arsenal defeated West Ham United in a 5-2 victory. Within the first ten minutes of the match, Gabriel Magalhães scored a thrilling header, driving the momentum in Arsenal’s favor. By the 36th minute, Arsenal scored three more goals, one from Kai Havertz and another from a Martin Ødegaard penalty — scoring within three minutes of each other. 

The game looked out of reach for the West Ham Hammers as the Arsenal Gunners quickly established a 4-0 lead. As a result, tensions heightened among fans with a brawl erupting in the West Ham section. Despite punches flying from rowdy supporters, the match continued and West Ham shockingly answered back with two goals in close succession.

This comeback was short-lived for the Hammers as Arsenal was given the second penalty of the game during the first-half stoppage time. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka stepped up and slotted the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

While the first half had fans at the edge of their seats, neither team scored in the second half of that match. With 15 goals in their last four games, Arsenal is tied for the No. 2 spot, seven points behind the number one team, Liverpool.

Washington D.C.

No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels earned his eighth Rookie of the Week honor — tying the NFL record — after leading the Washington Commanders to a 42-19 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Dec. 1. 

Daniels threw for three touchdowns and over 200 yards in the home matchup, positioning himself as a front-runner to win rookie of the year. 

The quarterback out of Louisiana State University has transformed the Commanders’ status as playoff contenders since arriving. 

Just last season, the team sat at the bottom of the NFC East — winning only four games. Now, with four games remaining in the regular season, the Commanders already have double the wins from the previous year and sit second in their division. 

Madrid

Founded in 1931, Real Madrid is the most storied basketball franchise in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, winning 11 championships. However, this season the team sits near the bottom of the league at 13th place and on Sunday, Dec. 1, Real Madrid narrowly lost to Joventut Badalona 80-76. Former Denver Nuggets point guard Facundo Campazzo led Madrid in scoring with 19 points. 

Despite a strong start, leading the game 45-40 going into half-time, Madrid lacked the same consistency in shooting and rebounding in the second.

Former NBA first round draft pick Usman Garuba returned after a two-month injury hiatus and didn’t disappoint, contributing to the early defensive efforts from Madrid. Both teams are strong defensive teams, making it a tense matchup with Madrid closing a gap late in the fourth quarter.

In the closing minutes of the game, Joventut Badalona still had the lead. Trailing by eight points with just three minutes left, Madrid rallied with a swift 10-point surge, coming within a single point of Joventut.

However, Madrid’s Mario Hezonja missed a three-pointer that could have mounted the comeback. A strategic time-out halted Madrid’s momentum, and Joventut sealed the win at the free-throw line.

Contact Constantine Moore at [email protected].