Arsenal vs Chelsea: A Crossword Puzzle Face-off

This week’s football puzzle sees London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea go head-to-head in our popular crossword face-off. So if you think you know your Lampards and your Limpars, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

 

Clues Across

7 _ Shipperley, Chelsea Young Player of the Year in 1993 (4)

8 Which Chelsea defender was infamously bitten by Luis Suarez in 2013? (8)

9 Arsenal’s record goalscorer until Thierry Henry (6)

10 Which Gunner was nicknamed ‘Safe Hands’? (6)

11 A homegrown Red who so nearly became a Blue - twice (7)

13 Mark, Stoke striker who moved to Chelsea in the 1990s (5)

16 Super League country - Drogba and Anelka both left Chelsea to play here (5)

17 Demba Ba’s national team (7)

19 _ Makelele, definitive defensive midfielder with the Blues, formerly (6)

21 Nickname of the manager who prised RVP away from Arsenal (6)

23 Talented Belgian - the main reason behind 1 Down’s cross-London move (8)

24 John Jensen or Nicklas Bendtner, for example (4)

 

Clues Down

1 Arsenal’s big bit of business from the Bridge (4,4)

2 Mr Luzhny, former Ukraine defender with Arsenal (4)

3 French forward whose sole goal at Old Trafford in May 2002 won Arsenal the title (7)

4 _ 9, Wenger gave van Persie this deeper forward role (5)

5 Late Highbury favourite known as ‘Rocky’ who also had a spell at Chelsea (8)

6 Defender Paul Elliott played for this Italian club in the 1980s (4)

12 Chelsea manager for a brief period during the mid-1970s (3,5)

14 Zola, Vialli, Cudicini, etc (8)

15 Arsenal legend Pat Rice’s city of birth (7)

18 An Argentine midfield flop at Old Trafford and then Stamford Bridge (5)

20 After missing out on 11 across, Mourinho signed Essien from this French club (4)

22 Nickname of the club whose title hopes were shattered by a dramatic late Michael Thomas goal in 1989 (4)

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: How good is your knowledge of the beautiful game?

We’ve dedicated this week’s crossword to a bit of football general knowledge.

So if you think you know your Adam Lallana from your Hugo Viana, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

1 Coventry and Scotland midfielder who moved to Anfield in 2000 at the age of 35 (10)

8 Mr Rehhagel, he famously led Greece to glory in Euro 2004 (4)

9 _ Isla, his late goal against Uruguay put Chile through to the Copa America semis (8)

10 Cristiano Ronaldo top scored in the 2012/13 Champions League with how many goals? (6)

11 Polish-born German with a record 16 goals in four World Cups from 2002 to 2014 (5)

12 United States international, Brek (4)

13 _ Court, home to AFC Bournemouth’s Goldsands Stadium (4)

14 Phillip, former player and current manager of PSV Eindhoven (4)

15 _ County, Scottish Premiership club (4)

17 _ Dybala, a big-money Juventus signing from Palermo in June (5)

18 Colombia’s first-choice goalkeeper in their current Copa America campaign (6)

20 Prolific Dutch striker for Barcelona between 1998 and 2004 (8)

21 South African defender formerly of Bolton and Charlton (4)

22 Veteran Italian manager in charge of the Republic of Ireland until 2013 (10)

 

Clues Down

2 He scored 18 goals for QPR last season (7,6)

3 Celtic’s Swedish legend, Henrik (7)

4 In 2013, this Malaga midfielder became Ancelotti’s first signing for Real Madrid (4)

5 Nickname of Bolton Wanderers (8)

6 _ Park, Sunderland’s old home (5)

7 Former England manager who led FC Twente to the Dutch league title in 2010 (5,8)

12 Martin Skrtel’s national team (8)

14 Laurent, French defender who had spells at Chelsea, Newcastle and Man City (7)

16 _ back, Bayern Munich’s Rafinha plays here (5)

19 _ Toni, much-travelled Verona player - joint top scorer in Serie A last season (4)

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: Euro 2016 – The Road to France

To celebrate this weekend’s latest round of Euro 2016 qualifiers, we’ve dedicated this week’s crossword to the Euros. So if you think you know your Slovenias and your Slovakias, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

7 Midfielder (ruled out of the Wales game through injury) who struck twice in Belgium’s recent 4-3 win in France (8)

8 Albania captain, Lorik (4)

9 Mr Forssell, well-known Finland striker (6)

10 Baltic nation thumped 6-0 in Amsterdam back in November (6)

11 Park where Gibraltar scored their first competitive goal in a 6-1 loss to Scotland in March (7)

13 _ Bento, he led Portugal to the Euro 2012 semi-finals (5)

15 Champions who suffered their first qualifying defeat in 8 years against Slovakia in October (5)

17 Venue for Friday’s crunch clash between Wales and Belgium (7)

20 Raul, Spain defender (6)

21 Nationality of Jerome Boateng (6)

23 The Adrian who netted 6 goals during Switzerland’s Euro 1992 qualifying campaign (4)

24 For whom Turkey’s Arda Turan plays his club football (8)

 

Clues Down

1 Montenegro’s Mirko Vucinic played most of his senior career in this European league (5,1)

2 Which defender scored in Spain’s 4-0 defeat of Italy in the Euro 2012 Final? (4)

3 Richard Moller _ , he guided Denmark to glory in Euro 1992 (7)

4 One of the host cities for Euro 2016 - home to Stade Pierre-Mauroy (5)

5 The Tartan Army’s team (8)

6 Surname of the Republic of Ireland’s manager (6)

12 _ Senderos, Switzerland defender (8)

14 France centre-back and Euro 2016 hopeful - a big-money capture by Man City last summer (7)

16 Co-hosts of Euro 2012 who shocked Germany 2-0 in October (6)

18 Euro 2016 host nation (6)

19 Mr Simonsen, former Faroe Islands and Luxembourg coach (5)

22 _ Ziegler, Swiss player who was sent-off in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales in 2011 (4)

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: Barca vs Juve — The Champions League Final Showdown

To celebrate this weekend’s Champions League Final between Barcelona and Juventus, we’ve dedicated this week’s crossword to these two giants of European football.

So if you think you know your Pedros and your Pirlos, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

7 See 1 down

8 UK stadium where Barcelona recorded European victories in both February 2014 and February 2015 (6)

9 _ back, Patrice Evra’s position for Juve (4)

10 Dutch defender at Barcelona between 1997 and 2004 (8)

11 Cup _ Cup, Barcelona won this trophy in 1979, 1982, 1989 and 1997 (7)

12 European capital where Barcelona completed a famous 2-1 comeback v Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League Final (5)

15 He goes into Saturday’s Champions League Final with a record 77 Champions League goals to his name (5)

17 Zlatan Ibrahimovic swapped the San Siro for which stadium in 2009? (4,3)

20 Marco, Juventus and Italy midfielder in the 1970s and 1980s (8)

22 Mr Enrique, Barcelona’s manager (4)

23 Barcelona knocked them out of May’s Champions League semi-final (6)

24 Barely a month after losing 5-0 to Real Madrid in January 1995, Barca lost by the same scoreline to which Spanish club? (6)

 

Clues Down

1 & 7 across Mercurial French playmaker who moved from Juve to Real for a world record transfer fee in 2001 (8,6)

2 _ Caceres, Juventus and Uruguay defender once of Barcelona (6)

3 Italian centre-back who spent a decade with the Bianconeri after moving from Napoli in 1994 (7)

4 French midfielder who moved from Arsenal to Barcelona with team-mate Overmars in 2000 (5)

5 Long-time Gunners midfielder who moved to Turin in 2005 (6)

6 He scored a late winner for Real Madrid v Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final (4)

13 Nationals such as Yaya Toure (8)

14 Former Chelsea boss who managed Juventus between 2007 and 2009 (7)

16 _ FC, Del Piero made a long-distance move here after a glittering career at Juventus (6)

18 Juventus sold Attilio Lombardo to which London club in 1997? (6)

19 His PSG team were knocked out of the Champions League by Barca in April (5)

21 Which Dutch team lost to Juve on penalties in the 1996 Champions League Final? (4)

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: Europa League Euphoria

To celebrate Wednesday’s five-goal thriller between Dnipro and Sevilla, we’ve dedicated this week’s football crossword to the Europa League.

So if you think you know your Elfsborgs and your Esbjergs, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

6 Uruguayan striker who netted all 4 goals in Napoli’s 4-2 defeat of Dnipro in 2012 (7,6)

8 Two-goal hero for Sevilla on Wednesday night in the Europa League Final (5)

9 _ Stam, he’s made a handful of Europa League appearances for Standard Liege during the past 2 seasons (6)

10 Mr Distin, he played in 3 Europa League games for Everton this season (7)

12 Yann, France midfielder who played for Inter on loan in the Europa League earlier this season (5)

15 Went on the counter-attack, penniless? (5)

16 One way to describe an unwanted footballer (7)

18 Which Serie A side’s Europa League hopes ended in Kiev in this season’s semis? (6)

20 Turkey midfielder who scored a couple of key Europa League penalties for Dortmund in 2010 (5)

22 Which JP (now at PSG) was sent off in 2 of Palermo’s Europa League games in 2010? (6,7)

 

Clues Down

1 Against Lech Poznan in 2010, this Togo striker became the first Man City player to score a European hat-trick (8)

2 Europa League side Astra Giurgiu come from this country (7)

3 What both Sevilla and Benfica failed to do until the penalty shoot-out in the 2014 Europa League Final (5)

4 Serb defender whose last-minute header against Benfica won Chelsea the 2013 Europa League (8)

5 Mr Emery, he recently guided Sevilla to back-to-back Europa League titles (4)

7 _ Nijmegen, team that made it to the last 32 of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup (3)

11 _ Plzen, they reached the last 16 of the Europa League in both 2013 and 2014 (8)

13 _ Lopez, he scored a couple of Europa League goals at home for Lyon in 2012 (8)

14 Europa newcomers, FC Krasnodar play their domestic football in this league (7)

17 Albert, Spanish winger who scored for Espanyol in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final v Sevilla and went on to play for Liverpool (5)

19 Dutch team knocked out by Dnipro in March (4)

21 Team names are plucked out of it during each cup draw (3)

 

Answers to this week’s crossword puzzle will pop in a random article within the next few days or so. So be on the look out for ’em!

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: Serie A Sensations

To celebrate a super season of Italian football, we’ve dedicated this week’s football crossword to Serie A. So if you think you know your Maldinis and your Mancinis, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

7 World-Cup winning Brazilian keeper who had two stints with Parma (8)

8 Mr Lamela, he moved from Roma to Spurs in 2013 (4)

9 Pierluigi Casiraghi’s nickname, for short (4)

10 Speedy Brazilian wing-back who arrived at AC Milan in 1999 (8)

11 Ex-Juventus defender Igor Tudor played international football for them (7)

12 _ Hamsik, Napoli’s Slovakian captain (5)

14 Roberto Donadoni’s already-relegated Serie A side (5)

16 Non-playing position - Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Montella, for example (7)

19 Which Turkish club bought Inter flop Ricardo Quaresma in 2010? (8)

20 Legendary Anfield striker signed by Juventus in the mid-1980s (4)

21 Veteran Cameroon striker who signed for Sampdoria from Everton in January (4)

22 Christian, French international midfielder who played for Sampdoria in the 1990s (8)

 

Clues Down

1 Inter’s long-serving Argentine captain whose number 4 shirt retired along with him in 2014 (6,7)

2 South _ , they were one-time Lazio defender Mark Fish’s national team (6)

3 Italian club where Roberto Baggio ended his playing career (7)

4 Source of bright light and smoke from the stands (5)

5 Jonathan, French defender previously with Cagliari, Roma, Juventus and Brescia (6)

6 Ghana midfielder at Milan nicknamed “The Bison” (7,6)

13 Iconic Serie A ground officially known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (3,4)

15 Brazilian right-back at Roma who played for Inter between 2006 and 2012 (6)

17 Miralem Pjanic and Kevin Strootman’s club (2,4)

18 After spells at Roma and Milan, Bojan Krkic now plays for which Premier League club? (5)

 

Answers to this week’s crossword puzzle will pop in a random article within the next few days or so. So be on the look out for ’em!

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crossword: La Liga Unleashed

To celebrate the climax to another fantastic season of Spanish football, we’ve dedicated this week’s football crossword to La Liga. So if you think you know your Vallecanos and your Villareals, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

6 Basque team relegated in 2003 having finished 7th the season before (6)

7 The _ Submarine, Villareal’s colourful nickname! (6)

9 _ Calderon, Atletico Madrid’s home (7)

10 Surname of Real Sociedad’s Scottish manager (5)

11 The _ , nickname of the English club who signed Alberto Moreno from Sevilla last summer (4)

12 The Ivorian who left Barcelona for Manchester City in 2010 (5)

16 _ Vigo, La Liga’s Sky Blues (5)

17 Mr Toshack, he managed Real Sociedad three times and Real Madrid twice (4)

21 _ del Horno, former La Liga defender (5)

22 Dutchman who guided Barcelona to successive league titles in 1998 and 1999 (3,4)

23 Which Raul is Espanyol’s all-time top scorer? (6)

24 Gonzalo Higuain left Real Madrid to play in this league in 2013 (5,1)

 

Clues Down

1 Espanyol’s Ecuadorian striker, Felipe (7)

2 Brazilian-born Spain international who spent 11 seasons at Villareal until 2013 (5)

3 It was La Liga legend Michael Laudrup’s national team (7)

4 See 19 down

5 Nationality of ex-Valencia defender, Philippe Senderos (5)

6 & 13 down Spanish forward on loan at Valencia from Man City (6,7)

8 Relegation strugglers who play at the Riazor (9)

13 See 6 down

14 Brazilian who fired in 30 league goals in his debut season for Barcelona in 1993-1994 (7)

15 French striker once of Real Madrid dubbed ‘Le Sulk’ (6)

18 Leeds and Ireland left-back who joined Levante in 2004 (5)

19 & 4 down Mr Hasselbaink, a prolific striker for Atletico during his sole season there in 1999–2000 (5,5)

20 Italians who did a swap deal with Barcelona in 2009 involving Ibrahimovic and Eto’o (5)

 

Answers to this week’s crossword puzzle will pop in a random article within the next few days or so. So be on the look out for ’em!

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crosswords: Champions League Challenge

To celebrate a thrilling round of semi-final first legs in the Champions League, we’ve dedicated this week’s football crossword to European football’s elite club competition. So if you think you know your PSGs and your PSVs, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

6 Man United’s sole scorer in their 3-1 Final defeat to Barcelona at Wembley in 2011 (6)

7 He scored for Juventus against his old club Real in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final (6)

9 French defender at Barcelona (7)

10 Which Italian team won the 2010 Champions League Final? (5)

11 Cameroonian who scored in both the 2006 and 2009 Final helping Barcelona beat Arsenal and Man United respectively (4)

12 Real Madrid midfielder who made his Champions League debut back in 2008 for Bayern (5)

16 Levski _ , Group A whipping boys in the 2006–07 Champions League (5)

17 Champions League organizers (4)

21 _ time, when the 1992 Barcelona v Sampdoria final was decided by a Ronald Koeman strike (5)

22 Argentine forward at PSG, formerly with Napoli (7)

23 Dutch midfielder twice sent off during Juventus’s 2001/2002 Champions League campaign (6)

24 He captained Dortmund to a 3–1 win over Juventus in the 1997 Champions League Final (6)

 

 

Clues Down

1 Skill required when receiving a pass (7)

2 Champions League regulars currently managed by AVB (5)

3 BATE _ , they lost 5 of 6 group games in this season’s Champions League (7)

4 Brazil defender at Bayern (5)

5 His opener in Rome in December helped put Man City into the knockout stages (5)

6 Welshman who scored twice in Arsenal’s 4-1 mauling of Galatasaray in December (6)

8 Former boss who suffered an unhappy return to the Nou Camp on Wednesday (9)

13 Messi overtook him as Champions League all-time top goalscorer on Wednesday night (7)

14 Bernabeu forward who netted his 42nd Champions League goal in March against Schalke (7)

15 _ Hernandez, his late goal knocked Atletico out of April’s all-Madrid quarter-final (6)

18 David O’Leary led them to the Champions League semis in 2001 (5)

19 _ McManaman, he scored in Real’s 3-0 defeat of Valencia in the 2000 Final (5)

20 Mr Grant, he took Chelsea to the Champions League Final in 2008 (5)

 

Answers to this week’s crossword puzzle will pop in a random article within the next few days or so. So be on the look out for ’em!

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crosswords: Bundesliga Fussball Fest

To celebrate the German title being decided, we’ve dedicated this week’s football crossword to all things Bundesliga. So if you think you know your Frankfurts and your Freiburgs, come with us on another puzzle adventure!

Clues Across

7 Schalke 04’s Italian manager (2,6)

8 _ McInally, Scotsman who joined Bayern Munich in 1989 (4)

9 Johnny Heitinga’s Berlin-based club (6)

10 Dutchman named 2010 Footballer of the Year in Germany after his first season in the Bundesliga (6)

11 Bayern’s famous Champions League, Bundesliga and Cup success of 2013 (6)

13 Signal _ Park, Borussia Dortmund’s ground (5)

15 Uli, he made over 500 appearances in goal in the Bundesliga (5)

17 Willy Sagnol’s club prior to joining the Bundesliga in 2000 (6)

20 Robert Lewandowski’s national team (6)

21 Which Serie A side knocked Wolfsburg out of this season’s Europa League? (6)

23 _ Biram Diouf, Senegalese striker previously at Hannover (4)

24 Cup won by Hamburg in 1983 after a 1-0 defeat of Juventus (8)

 

Clues Down

1 Type of free-kick - straight and to the point? (6)

2 _ German, Andreas Thom was the first one to sign for a Bundesliga team when he joined Leverkusen in 1989 (4)

3 Hamburg club relegated from the Bundesliga in 2011 (2,5)

4 _ Djorkaeff, France international who joined Kaiserslautern in 1999 (5)

5 He returned to manage Hamburg in April (8)

6 1860’s rather more successful neighbours! (6)

12 The _ Stadium, it was Lukas Podolski’s new home after leaving Cologne in 2012 (8)

14 Inswingers or outswingers (7)

16 Name connecting Doll, Helmer and Strunz (6)

18 Schalke signed Matija Nastasic from Man City this way in January (2,4)

19 René, Hamburg goalkeeper (5)

22 Mr Reina, Bayern Munich stopper (4)

 

Answers to this crossword will be published in a random article tomorrow.

 

Created by Aleric Linden

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Football Crosswords: Premier League Posers

Clues Across

6 Mr Koné, Everton striker (6)

7 Homeland of Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez (5)

8 Mauricio, a summer loan signing for QPR from Juventus (4)

9 Highly-rated West Brom and England Under-21 striker (8)

10 Transfer window during which Chelsea bought Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado (7)

11 Ciaran, Aston Villa defender and Republic of Ireland international (5)

13 Harry Kane’s already chalked up 30 goals for them this season (5)

15 Manchester City defender - the Serbian Roberto Carlos (7)

18 Manchester United defender, Tyler (8)

19 They play at the KC Stadium (4)

20 _ Hill, QPR veteran who netted his first Premier League goal in April’s 3-3 draw with Villa (5)

21 Former Premier League ground now known as the Macron Stadium (6)

 

Clues Down

1 Mile Jedinak’s club (7,6)

2 Everton’s £28 million record transfer signing (6)

3 See 14 down

4 Mr Vorm, stand-in for Hugo Lloris of late (6)

5 Argentine who burst onto the scene with 5 goals in Leicester’s opening 5 games (8,5)

7 Midfielder who moved from Southampton to Swansea in January (4)

12 Stoke City’s nickname (7)

14 & 3 down Cheapest of Liverpool’s three signings from Southampton last summer (6,7)

16 Which name links Premier League players Barnes, Williams and Young? (6)

17 Villa striker currently on loan at Derby (4)

 

Answers Across

  1. Arouna 7. Chile 8. Isla 9. Berahino
  2. January 11. Clark 13. Spurs 15. Kolarov
  3. Blackett 19. Hull 20. Clint 21. Reebok

 

Answers Down

  1. Crystal Palace 2. Lukaku 4. Michel
  2. Leonardo Ulloa 7. Cork 12. Potters
  3. Rickie Lambert 16. Ashley 17. Bent.

 

Created by Aleric Linden

Check out more of his work at Puzzle-House on his website

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