February 2019 – Page 2 – Football Flame

Month: February 2019

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NEWS

Emiliano Sala funeral take place in his home town in Argentina

       Romina Sala sister of Emiliano SalaThe funeral of Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala took place in his home town in Argentina on Saturday three weeks after he was killed in a plane crash.A public vigil was held in a gymnasium in Progreso, the modest village in the province of Santa Fe which Sala left as a teenager to forge a career in Europe.The 28-year-old died last month just two days after completing a Cardiff club-record £15 million ($19.3 million, 17.1 million euros) move from French club Nantes.The single-engine private plane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson crashed in the English Channel near Alderney on January 21. Sala had returned to Nantes to say goodbye to his former teammates before flying back to Wales.The player's body was recovered from the ...
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SERIE A

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is eager for Madrid victory

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri says his team's Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid is open and he is eager to find an away goal.The Serie A leaders Juve will travel to Wanda Metropolitano next Wednesday for what shapes as a blockbuster tie.Allegri is desperate for Juve to find a breakthrough in the Spanish capital, but he is wary of Atletico, who have reached at least the Champions League quarter-finals in four of the past five seasons."The team is in good shape. It is a two-legged challenge against a very physical team," he said after Friday's 3-0 win over Frosinone."Atletico plays very aggressive football when playing at home. It is a team that has had great results in previous years in Europe."It is an open match, we have as much chance to go through as they do."The...
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LALIGA

Ernesto Valverde extends his contract as Barcelona manager

Ernesto Valverde has extended his contract as Barcelona coach for at least one more season.Valverde will exercise the option in his contract to continue, the defending Spanish champions said on Friday. They added Valverde also agreed to add the possibility of coaching for the 2020-21 season.The 55-year-old Valverde joined Barcelona from Athletic Bilbao in mid-2017 to replace Luis Enrique.This season, Valverde has helped Barcelona regroup following the departure of veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta.Barcelona leads the Spnaish league, has reached the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, and the knockout rounds of the Champions League.After a league match against Valladolid on Saturday, Barcelona visits Lyon on Tuesday to start its Champions League round-of-16 tie.
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UCL

Tottenham 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: Spurs grab commanding 1st leg lead

Tottenham thrashed Borussia Dortmund 3-0  in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League tie without Harry Kane and Dele Ali,  The match at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday began in a similar manner to Manchester United v. Paris Saint-Germain the night before, until a lapse of concentration led to Tottenham’s opener and game opened up from there.Heung-Min Son, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente all scored for Spurs, who take a decisive three-goal advantage into the second leg in Germany on March 6. Meanwhile, it was the third-straight match for Dortmund where they had conceded three goals, and is another huge blow to the club that leads the Bundesliga by five points, with the margin slipping.
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NEWS

Man Utd's Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial are major doubt for Chelsea FA cup clash

Manchester United could be without both Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial for the clash with Chelsea in the FA Cup next Monday.Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.Though, not only did Man United lose the game against Paris Saint-Germain, they lost two big players in the process. Both Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial limped out of the game due to injury.Alexis Sanchez replaced Lingard in the first half before Martial was substituted at half time for Juan Mata.With Manchester United set to face off against Chelsea next Monday, that is certainly worrying.Now, a report on Wednesday has claimed that both players are ‘major doubts’ for the FA Cup clash.
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UCL

Jan Vertonghen believes Tottenham can qualify for Champions League quarter-finals

Tottenham central defender Jan Vertonghen claimed his side can beat Borussia Dortmund over two legs and qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.Tottenham Hotspurs were knocked oeut of the league cup by Chelsea and the FA Cup by Crystal Palace last month but have found their form with four league victories on the bounce.Speaking ahead of tonight clash against Dortmund, Vertonghen said:"We can beat anyone. We have shown that last year. Over two games we were the better team against Real Madrid { Four point from two group games} who were the eventual winner of the trophy.That is why it was a shame we could not do better last year because we felt we should have done better. That is why everyone has feeling we can do it this year."
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SERIE A

Cristiano Ronaldo help Juventus ease past Sassuolo

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 18th league goal this season as Juventus bounced back from last week draw against Parma to seal 11-point lead in Serie A on Sunday with a 3-0 win at Sassuolo.Ronaldo scored after 70 minutes as Sami Khedira found the net first in Modena with fellow German Emre Can slotting in the third four minutes from time.The seven-time Serie A champions had been held by promoted Parma last week despite the Portugese forward's double, but leave second-placed Napoli trailing after Carlo Ancelotti's side were held to a goalless draw at Fiorentina on Saturday.Juventus had started slowly with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saving twice in the opening minutes as the champions were without injured defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.Juventus broke through after Sassuolo ...
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LALIGA

Real Madrid thrash Atletico Madrid to move second in Laliga

Real Madrid fought their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a derby win at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.Casemiro, Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale’s strikes inflicted Atletico’s first home defeat of the season across all competitions and moved the European champions up to second, within five points of leaders Barcelona, as their revival under Santiago Solari continued.Antoine Griezmann equalised for Atletico after Casemiro’s overhead kick sent Real ahead, but Ramos slammed home from the penalty spot before halftime to silence the home fans.Atletico’s Alvaro Morata netted a brilliant lob against his former side but it was ruled out for offside before Bale drilled in the visitors’ third to secure the points for Real Madrid.Thomas Partey...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Wilfried Zaha secure a point for Crystal Palace in 1-1 draw against West Ham

Wilfried Zaha earned a point for Crystal Palace against  West Ham after Mark Noble scored his first Premier League goal of the season and had worked so hard to get his side into the lead.James McArthur and Michy Batshuayi missed great chances for the Eagles to level the score after the West Ham captain gave the visitors the lead from the spot in the first half. However, Zaha, who returned to the side following an initial one-match ban, struck a timely equaliser deep into the second half.
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BUNDESLIGA

Borussia Dortmund lose three-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Hoffenheim

Borussia Dortmund hand over a three-goal lead in the second half to draw 3-3 against Hoffenheim on Saturday after completely dominating for more than an hour.The Bundesliga leaders have only themselves to blame after Jadon Sancho, in the absence of Dortmund captain Marco Reus, took control of Dortmund's game in the first half, firing in for the lead and slicing through Hoffenheim defence at will.The England international then set up Mario Gotze for Dortmund's second goal before combining with Goetze to set up Raphael Guerreiro for an easy tap-in in the 66th.Sancho almost got a second goal in the 75th but his low shot hit the post and bounced clear before the hosts stepped off the gas, allowing Ishak Belfodil to cut the deficit in the 75th.Pavel Kaderabek then rose over his marker to head i...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Match Preview: Manchester City vs Chelsea

Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League after thrashing Everton 2-0  in midweek but could find themselves down in second by the time they host Chelsea on Sunday. Chelsea are the only side to ever complete a league double over a Pep Guardiola side in the same campaign, achieving it during their title contest in 2016/17. They could repeat history with a win on Sunday after inflicting City with their first league defeat of the season back in December.                                                     &n...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Southampton striker Danny Ings sideline for three weeks

Southampton striker Danny Ings will be sideline for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury. Southampton manager Ralph Hassenhuttl confirmed the news in a press conference on Thursday.Southampton host Cardiff on Saturday afternoon, knowing a win would see them move five points clear of their opponents and with it the relegation zone.Ings will miss Saturday's game, but could also be ruled out of Premier League games against Arsenal and Fulham later in February.Ings is on loan from Liverpool and has scored seven goals for the Saints in 18 league appearances, including two in Southampton's 3-2 win over Arsenal in December.                                                &n...
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LALIGA

Barcelona held 1-1 draw against Real madrid in Copa del Rey semi-final first leg

Lucas Vasquez gave Real Madrid an early lead in the game when he was set up by striker Karim Benzema. But, after holding out for nearly an hour, Real Madrid's defence crumbled. The ball came across to Malcom and, with goalkeeper Keylor Navas out of position, he found a way to score.Substitute Gareth bale even spuned a late opportunity to give Madrid victory but Real Madrid maintained their performance ahead of the return leg at Bernabeu in three weeks time.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Pep Guardiola urge Everton to keep faith with Marco Silva

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has advised Everton to stick with under-fire Marco Silva if they believe in his ability as there are no guarantees that a new manager can come in and improve results immediately.Everton invested heavily on new players in the close season but results have hardly matched expectations, with Silva's side managing three wins in their last 12 Premier League games to heap pressure on the Portuguese.Guardiola told reporters ahead of Wednesday's trip to Goodison Park:"My advice, if they believe in the project, if they believe in him, they have to move forward with him. "Nobody assures you a new manager is going to do better."Guardiola did not enjoy success at City until his second campaign when he won the league title and the League Cup last season and s...
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UCL

Champions League: Manchester United reveal squad ahead of PSG clash

Manchester United will be hoping to win when they face PSG in the knockout stages of the Champions League.Paris Saint-Germain will travel to Manchester next week in the first leg of the last-16 tie.All 16 teams left in the competition have had to submit their squads for the knockout stages, with plenty of changes made.A maximum of 25 players can be named on a club's List A to UEFA with a minimum of eight places reserved for players which have been trained locally.Clubs are entitled to register an unlimited number of young players on List B which includes those born on or after January 1 1997 and who have been eligible to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday.Man United's Champions League squad for the knockout stages Goalkeepers: David De Gea...
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LALIGA

Vinicius Junior set to make Clasico debut: “I fear Nothing”

Real Madrid youngster Vincius Junior is ready to take on his first clasico in the Copa del Rey. “Nothing scares me,” he told UOL Sport, “I play for the best team in the world, Real Madrid. I fear nothing.”Vinicus has been a part of Madrid’s last eleven matches, starting nine of them. Despite this, he maintained he was unsure if he’d start.“I’m going to do everything I can to help,” the forward said, “on the right, on the left, in the middle, I’ll continue working to win with Madrid.”Madrid are in good form and have won 5 in a row with 16 goals total.“This is our best moment since the start of the season,” he continued.The 18-year-old did not take part in the first meeting between the sides this season. Julen Lopetegui, who coached Madrid then, was criticized for failing to use him consiste...
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LALIGA

Ousmane Dembele back in Barca Training

Barcelona returned to training on Monday after Saturday’s 2-2 La Liga draw with Valencia, as they prepare for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey clash against Real Madrid.Ousmane Dembele was back for the first time since spraining his ankle against Leganes and did “fieldwork,” amid reports he’s still suffering from tonsillitis.Meanwhile, Lionel Messi did not take part in the session, and it’s still unclear how serious the knock he took against Valencia is.As it stands it looks as though both men are big doubts for Wednesday’s game at the Camp Nou, but we’ll keep you posted with any updates as soon as they land.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Joe Gomez set to undergo surgery on lower leg fracture

Liverpool's Joe Gomez set to undergo  surgery on lower leg fracture, the Premier League leaders announced on Monday.Gomez suffered the injury in a 3-1 victory at Burnley early in December.Liverpool's inital assessment was that Gomez might be sidelined for six weeks, but have now refused to set a specific timescale for the England international's recovery, although he is expected to play again this season."Liverpool confirm Joe Gomez is to undergo surgery to assist his recovery from a lower leg fracture sustained at Burnley on December 5," the club said in a statement.Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp added: "It's a blow for the boy and for us,  because prior to the injury he was in such fantastic shape."But he is too valuable to take any risk with, both for our present and future, s...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Solskjaer happy with Man Utd attitude after 1-0 win over Leicester City

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer grabbed his 9th win in 10 Manchester United games as his side held on against Leicester City to maintain their unbeaten start under the interim boss.The Norwegian was delighted with the team commitment after the hard-fought victory.“Our attitude was spot on. There are couple of bruised noses and knees,” Solskjaer told the BBC.“It is supposed to be like this. There are three points on the line. Our lads sacrificed everything they had. They know they can do better than this but a clean sheet is always a foundation to build on.”Marcus Rashford early goal was enough for Man Utd, who were not at their best at King Power Stadium. His goal came after Pogba pounced on a misplaced pass and fed the striker with a through ball. Rashford remained composed and scored his 26th Premi...
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