Pilgrim's Progress

43 goals in 13 league games. Crazy. Doesn't seem like Saka's absence has even been noticed there... Good to see him return though.

Solid performance in the Champions League too, Bayern struggling with only 1 win in 4 games. You're nailing it.

Clean Sweep in The Champions League Group

Plymouth Argyle completed a clean sweep in their Champions League group, despite complaints from Bayern Munich about their ‘weakened’ side in the last group match.

Up first were Bayern at Home Park, and they were beaten 3-1 by Argyle, despite Harry Kane giving the Germans the lead with a 28th minute penalty.  Bayern dominated possession, as expected, but the Pilgrims hit them on the break three times and secured the win. 

Man of the Match was the newly-recovered Bukayo Saka, who made one goal and scored one himself.

Bukayo Saka enjoys his outing vs Bayern

The result left the group table looking ominous for the German champions

...and they lodged a note with UEFA warning Argyle about playing a weakened side in their last group match against Atalanta.

Argyle duly ignored Bayern’s protestations, fielded a “weakened” side and still beat Atalanta 3-2, academy graduate Mikel Gomez scoring the winner near the end.  In fact, Bayern’s complaint was unfounded because they fell foul of the ‘head to head’ rule with Atalanta, and promptly went out of the competition, despite beating Club Brugge and ending on the same points total as the Italians.

In the Premier League, Argyle passed Manchester City in the table with a double win over Manchester’s sides, including a thrilling 4-0 demolition of United and a 4-1 win at the Etihad, the latter of which owed everything to counter-attacking football and the dead eye of Rayan Cherki. 

Cherki scored his first hat-trick for the Pilgrims:

...and academy graduate Lorenzo Battaglia completed a scoreline that looked far easier than the match actually was.

So, half-way through December and Argyle have hit the top spot in the table.

@JustinCase0110
Thanks. It's looking good at the moment, but as we know, there are always left-field results that can unhinge things...

Plymouth Top of Table and Carabao Cup Progress

The final clutch of matches in December saw Argyle establish a lead at the top of the table, despite defeat to Brighton.  Down on the south coast, the Seagulls tried a more robust approach, similar to that displayed by Chelsea in their draw against Argyle previously, and it seemed to work.  Although Facundo Farias put Plymouth ahead, Brighton equalised soon after the break and then, in a 4-minute spell, went 3-1 up, after which the match was effectively ended, despite Argyle managing to pull one back.

Otherwise, Argyle narrowly beat Leeds and then more comfortably beat Everton, both at Home Park.

The December sequence of results saw Argyle overtake Manchester City at the top of the table and establish a 3-point lead, after Guardiola’s side endured two defeats and a draw in the month, including an incredible 5-2 thumping at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

In the chase for the golden boot, Facundo Farias’ 4 goals in the league maintained his 5-goal advantage over Erling Haaland.

The Argentine is comfortably the Pilgrims’ main goal threat, scoring far more than the rest of the squad and also topping the assists chart for the club.

Argyle also advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with a 3-2 home win over a surprisingly competitive Stoke City in the quarters.

Argyle will play Manchester City in the two-legged semi-final, whilst Spurs will face Bournemouth.

Lindberg Promoted as Two Leave

The end of December saw the announcement of the promotion of Johannes Lindberg to the first-team squad. 

The exciting young Swede (16) is a Centre-back who has impressed in academy matches, and is expected to be given game time this season, as the number of matches ramps up.

Meanwhile, Mattia Zanotti (RB) left to join RC Celta for £8 million and Lorenzo Monteiro (ST) left for Boca Juniors for £3 million.

We have no indication of any potential incoming transfers for Argyle at this point.

Hat-Trick Duo

Two Plymouth players scored hat-tricks in January, as Plymouth maintained their lead in the Premier league, progressed in the FA Cup and got through to the Carabao Cup final.

Facundo Farias hit three in the premier league match against Blackburn Rovers, netting with a penalty, a goal from free play and an exquisite free kick, to make it a unique trio.  The free kick was a beauty, coming from the left-hand side of goal and beating Blackburn’s goalkeeper with ease.

Farias was matched in the following game – the demolition of Middlesbrough in the FA Cup 3rd round – by Lucien Devaux, who also included a penalty in his haul.  Devaux has featured mainly from the bench this season, and grabbed his chance with both hands – or perhaps it should be feet!

Meanwhile, The Pilgrims won the double-header Carabao Cup semi 6-4 on aggregate against Manchester City.  An easy 4-0 win at Home Park saw 4 different names on the scoresheet, whilst a 4-2 defeat at the Etihad saw Premier League Golden Boot rivals Erling Haaland and Facundo Farias trade goals. 

Plymouth will play Tottenham Hotspur in the final, after Spurs comfortably beat Bournemouth.

The other two matches this month saw the Pilgrims scrape a draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, by the same score as the earlier match between the sides, and in the same manner, and a routine win against Burnley in the FA Cup 4th round.  This time, it was a late brace from substitute Daniel Ashton that rescued a Stamford Bridge point that Argyle simply didn’t deserve.  Manchester City failed to capitalise on Argyle’s slip at Chelsea, as they also drew 3-3 at Aston Villa.

All of which leaves Argyle three points ahead of Manchester City:

…whilst Farias continues to lead the Golden Boot chase, his lead over Haaland now stretched to seven:

Plymouth Secure Narrow Advantage in Turin

Argyle secured a narrow lead in the Champions League round of 16 first leg in Turin, as they came away with a 1-2 scoreline, which could have been 0-2 but for a late lapse.  In a tight match, Bukayo Saka fired the Pilgrims into the lead on 61 minutes and Fabio Miretti doubled the score 5 minutes later.  The remainder continued as the stalemate the first half had been, until Nico Williams popped up with a goal, after the Argyle defence momentarily went to sleep.

Saka Scores; Miretti Celebrates and Match Stats

An advantage is an advantage, though, and Plymouth will fancy their chances on home soil.

Meanwhile, the Pilgrims gained 7 points from 9 in their three Premier League matches, easy wins against Watford and Nottingham Forest keeping them ahead of Manchester City, only for Newcastle to almost get a win at Home Park.  Argyle were looking well beaten and 2-0 down at half time, until Facundo Farias stepped up with a 14-minute brace in the closing stages to maintain the Pilgrims’ unbeaten run.

Farias’ late interventions earned him yet another Man of the Match award.

Surprise Departures from Plymouth

Argyle have announced the surprise departures of three players, as manager Bobby Stones appears to be trimming his squad.  All three will leave the club at the end of the season.

Centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite has been sold to Marseille for £11.7 million,  goalkeeper Ignacio Valencia will join Leicester City in a £13.4 million move and central midfielder Alen Novak is to join Bournemouth for £15.5 million.

“We have a number of talented youngsters coming through and we need to provide space in the squad for each of them.  It’s therefore only fair that we allow players to leave so that they can get the playing time that they want, at this stage in their careers,” said Stones. 

“Each of these clubs is getting a very good player and we wish the players well in their future careers.  Fans will probably still see them on the pitch in the last few months of the season, but of course the priority will be for the players coming through to get game time, too.”

Branthwaite: Looking forward to moving to France

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing in France," said Branthwaite.  "It's a totally new departure for me and the weather is great in the south of the country!

"I'd like to thank the gaffer for the help he's given me.  I know I didn't break into the first team on a regular basis, but I've learned so much whilst here.  I'll be looking out for the Argyle results, for sure." 

Branthwaite and Novak in particular have mostly been on the fringes of the team, often coming on as substitutes, but Valencia was clearly the number two goalkeeper and featured regularly.  However, the development of goalkeepers Laporte, Lopes and Meza is such that the Pilgrims clearly consider him to be the one to move on, at this stage.  Ironically, the injury to Quentin Kuhn has meant that Novak has started quite a few games recently, but the young German is due back soon and Novak was apparently becoming agitated at the prospect of returning to bench duties.

When asked about further departures, Stones refused to ruile them in or out.  "Obviously, we never know what might transpire, so you'll just have to wait and see."

Trophy Won

Argyle won the Carabao Cup with a convincing 5-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.  Goals from Farias, Battaglia, Cherki and Miretti went unanswered by Spurs, who simply couldn’t handle the Pilgrims on the day.

“We deserved the great day out” said Manager Bobby Stones.  “The players were magnificent and our fans deserved the celebrations at the end.”

Otherwise, Argyle completed a close 3-2 win at Molineaux, against a Wolves side who fought hard from start to finish.

A string of indifferent results from Manchester City see them fall behind Liverpool, who are now second, 6 points behind Argyle, which means the Devon side have extended their lead, compared to the end of January.

Facundo Faris continues to lead the Golden Boot chase, six goals ahead of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, who has overtaken Erling Haaland.

Farias also leads the Argyle scoring chart by a considerable distance, on 32 for the season as a whole.  Next comes Rayan Cherki, 18 goals behind.

"We are not a one-man team," said Bobby Stones, reacting to the accusation at his latest Press conference.  "Yes, Facundo scores a lot, but otherwise, many of our players have healthy scoring records."

I know that YOUR Plymouth Argyle isn't the same as the real life Plymouth Argyle. But still it's kind of fun to see Spurs entering a final, hoping to FINALLY break their curse, only to leave with a 5-0 defeat. Ouch. Oh, and sorry to any Spurs fans out there. I'm supporting Man United and need to take any win I can get these days.

Farías 32 goals in 21 games, he's like a cheat code mate, haha. 

Argyle Ease into the Quarter-Final

The Pilgrims completed their Champions League Round of 16 5-3 aggregate victory over Juventus with a 3-2 win at Home Park.  Battaglia opened the scoring, only for Milik to equalise soon after half-time.  Goals from Miretti and Cherki made things a bit more relaxing and, despite a further Juventus goal near the end, progress was effectively tied up with 20 minutes to go.

On other cup matters, a thrilling, full-bloodied FA Cup 5th round 6-3 win against Leeds was as chaotic as the scoreline suggests.  Leeds are very combative and high-energy; a throwback to the Bielsa years, and this was far from a comfortable match.

In the league, Argyle’s championship push continued with a routine win over Fulham and a comeback draw against the Gunners.  Argyle were 2-0 down at half-time but a formation change for the second half saw Plymouth more competitive and they secured the draw courtesy of Facundo Farias and Ozziel Herrera.