September 2019 – Page 2 – Football Flame

15Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal held to 2-2 draw at Watford as Bournemouth down Everton

Quique Sanchez Flores enjoyed a happy return to Watford as Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead at Vicarage Road to draw 2-2 on Sunday.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looked to have the Gunners well on course for a comfortable three points when he struck twice in 11 minutes before the break.However, Sanchez Flores, who was appointed as Hornets’ boss for the second time last week after one point from their opening four games of the season saw Javi Gracia sacked, roused the hosts for an impressive second-half fightback.Arsenal played a huge part in their own downfall too as they gifted possesion away inside their own box for Tom Cleverley to pull a goal back before David Luiz upended Roberto Pereyra, who slotted home the resulting penalty.A point sees Arsenal only move level with Manchester United, Tottenham, ...

15Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

SERIE A

Serie A Roundup: Inter Milan go top with win over Udinese

Napoli and Inter Milan walked away winners in Saturday’s Serie A action.Inter Milan beat Udinese 1-0, Udinese played with 10 players from the 35th minute on, following Rodrigo De Pual’s slap to the back of Antonio Candreva’s head.In the 44th minute, Stefano Sensi – one of the smallest players on the field – headed the ball into the back of the net. Late in the game, Alexis Sanchez nearly scored in his Inter debut.In the end, Udinese were no match for Antonio Conte and Co., who find themselves in prime form heading into their Champions League return midweek.Up next for Inter in league play: Derby della Madonnina. Udinese, on the hand, host Brescia.Elsewhere in Serie A, Fiorentina 0-0 Juventus, Napoli 2-0 Sampdoria.Dries Mertens is the gift that keeps on giving for Napoli.To be exact, the Be...

14Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Barcelona 5-2 Valencia: Ansu Fati steals the show as LaLiga champions hit five in Camp Nou thriller

Frenkie de Jong scored his first Barcelona goal, 16-year-old Ansu Fati netted again and substitute Luis Suarez struck twice as the Catalans thrashed Valencia 5-2 at Camp Nou on Saturday night.Barca boss Ernesto Valverde picked Arthur in midfield alongside Sergio Busquets and De Jong, with youngster Fati in attack alongside La Masia graduate Carles Perez and Antoine Griezmann.The Blaugrana had failed to beat Valencia in three meetings last season: two draws in La Liga and a defeat in the final of the Copa del Rey in May.But the Mestalla-based side had sacked their coach Marcelino against the wishes of their players on Wednesday and Albert Celades, a former Barca player, was thrown in at the deep end for this one.Ansu Fati, on his first start for Barcelona’s first team, opened the scoring af...

14Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

PREMIER LEAGUE

Man City suffer shock defeat as Liverpool maintain 100% unbeaten record

Liverpool maintained their 100% start to the Premier League season after coming from behind to beat Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield, before Manchester City slipped to a shock first defeat of the campaign by newly-promoted Norwich City on Saturday.Elsewhere on a frantic day of Premier League action Manchester United earned a first victory since the opening weekend by beating Leicester City 3-1, with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur registering emphatic wins.Having seen Liverpool come from behind to beat Newcastle — the Reds’ 14th consecutive league victory — thanks to goals from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah in the day’s early kick off, champions City travelled to Norwich five points off the top.Unbeaten in their last 25 games against newly-promoted sides, City were expected to close the gap back to...

12Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Messi admits he ‘would have loved’ Neymar to return to Barcelona

Lionel Messi says he wanted Neymar to return to Barcelona this year as the Brazilian would have helped the club take a leap forward, adding that his former team mate was looking forward to rejoining the La Liga champions.Barca spent the bulk of the close season negotiating with Paris St Germain to bring Neymar back to the Camp Nou two years after he left for a world record €222m but the Catalans failed to strike a deal with the Ligue 1 champions."The truth is I would have loved him to come back to us," Barca captain Messi told Spanish newspaper Sport."I understand some people were against it and that's normal considering everything that happened and how he left us, but thinking about it on a sporting level, for me Neymar is one of the best players in the world."Obviously he would have incr...

12Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

PREMIER LEAGUE

Match Preview: Liverpool vs Newcastle United

Liverpool will be aiming to pick up where they left off before the international break against Newcastle United at Anfield this weekend, and the Premier League title contenders are huge favourites to extend their perfect start to the new season.The Merseysiders have come out swinging in 2019/20, winning each of their first four Premier League matches of the new campaign, racking up an aggregate score of 12-3 in the process.Jurgen Klopp’s European champions have been setting new club records too, and Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Burnley in their last outing was a history-making 13th Premier League victory on the spin.Liverpool’s incredible winning streak isn’t the only positive statistic the Reds bring into Saturday’s early kick-off however.Klopp’s charges are unbeaten in their last 40 Premier Le...

8Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Barcelona handed huge boost as key star poised to make return from injury for Valencia clash

Barcelona have been handed a big boost ahead of their clash against Valencia next weekend, as it’s been stated that Luis Suarez is poised to make his return from injury in time for the match.The Blaugrana take on Valencia at the Nou Camp next Saturday, as they look to gain their second win of the season following their 2-2 draw with Osasuna last weekend.Ernesto Valverde’s side have gained just four points from their opening three La Liga fixtures, with their draw at Osasuna being accompanied by a 5-2 win against Real Betis and a 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao.And amid this patchy form, the Spanish giants now have to endure the tricky test of Valencia at home in six days time.However, despite the difficult of this fixture, Barca fans can still look ahead to the match with optimism, as it seems...

7Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

NEWS

Euro 2020 Round-up : Belgium Ease Past San Marino

Belgium moved closer to reaching Euro 2020 with a routine 4-0 win in San Marino to move eight points clear of third place in Group I.Belgium kept up their perfect start to the group but had to wait until the 43rd minute to make the breakthrough, when Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi scored from the spot.After half-time, Dries Mertens doubled their advantage, before ex-Spurs and West Brom winger Nacer Chadli added a third and an injury-time fourth from Batshuayi rounded off the scoring.Russia stayed three points behind them in Group I with a 2-1 win in Scotland, while Kazakhstan's faint home of qualifying remained alive as they held Cyprus to a 1-1 draw.Germany missed the chance to displace Northern Ireland at the top of Group C as Netherlands scored four times in 32 second-half minutes to s...

6Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

PREMIER LEAGUE

Chris Smalling eyes long-term stay in italy

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling says he will be happy to remain in Italy if his season-long loan deal at AS Roma is successful.England international Smalling fell out of favour at Old Trafford following the arrival of Harry Maguire as the world's most expensive defender from Leicester City.The 29-year-old centre back has been brought in at Roma to help fill the void left by Kostas Manolas at the heart of the defence, and he suggested he could look to make the move permanent."This is an opportunity that came to me that I was very interested in, and I was very eager to come," Smalling told a news conference on Friday."It happened very quickly and now I focus on the next game, getting up to speed with training in terms of the manager's methods and then hopefully have a very good sea...

5Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

NEWS

Bale: “I kept my head down and worked hard”

Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale talked to the press in Wales for the first time this summer and explained his feelings after being on his way out of the club for most of the transfer window.“What happened this summer did not affect me much, I had some great holidays. I kept my head down and worked hard and while it’s true that many things were said, I just kept working. Things that happened will remain private, if you want answers maybe you need to ask Real Madrid about it,” said Bale.The Welshman ended up staying in Madrid and it looks like he will be a relevant player for coach Zinedine Zidane, given that he’s started in all three games played by the team this season.“It obviously wasn’t my best summer but it wasn’t the worst either. I remember I didn’t play for one full season with Har...

5Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

UCL

Barcelona confirm Champions League squad for 2019-20

Barcelona have confirmed their squad for their 2019-20 Champions League campaign that will see them take on Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Slavia Prague in the group stages.The Spanish champions have obviously included the entire first-team squad as well as Barcelona B players Hiroki Abe, Ronaldo Araujo and Ferran Sarsanedas in their A Iist.Abe will wear the No. 37 shirt, Araujo the No. 33 and Sarsanedas will take the No. 34 if they do actually feature in the tournament for Ernesto Valverde’s side.The trio have been included as they are not eligible for the B list. Abe and Araujo have not been at the club long enough, while Sarsanedas is over the age of 21.The B list contains players who have been at the club for at last three seasons and are under 21. It can be submitted to UEFA the day bef...

2Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

TRANSFERS

Matteo Darmian leaves Manchester United to join Parma

Italy full-back Matteo Darmian has joined Parma after four seasons with Manchester United, the Serie A club announced on Monday. The 29-year-old joined United from Torino in 2015, but fell out of favour after his first season and made only 14 Premier League appearances across the last two campaigns.Parma said Darmian had signed a four-year deal, but did not reveal the transfer fee. Darmian played 92 matches for United in total, scoring one goal, and has made 36 international appearances.Parma, who finished 14th in Serie A last season, won 3-1 at Udinese on Sunday to bounce back from their opening-weekend loss to reigning champions Juventus.

2Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

TRANSFERS

Sevilla sign Hernandez from West Ham

Mexican striker Javier Hernandez has joined Sevilla from West Ham on a three-year deal, the Spanish club announced on Monday."Sevilla FC and West Ham United have reached an agreement for the transfer of Javier Hernandez, known as 'Chicharito'," Sevilla wrote in a statement."The striker has signed a three-year contract."Hernandez's prospects of playing at West Ham had worsened after they bought Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt in July.The 31-year-old also had less than a year left on his contract."The club would like to thank Chicharito for his contribution and wish him all the best in his future career," a West Ham statement read.Hernandez, who previously played for Manchester United and Leverkusen, is Mexico's all-time leading scorer with 51 goals in 108 appearances.The 31-year-o...

1Sep

By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal fight back to earn 2-2 draw against Spurs

Arsenal came back from two goals down against Tottenham to draw 2-2 in a pulsating north London derby on Sunday.Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane had given Spurs a comfortable lead before Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang pegged their rivals back.Arsenal thought they had won it late on after Sokratis Papastathopoulos turned in Sead Kolasinac’s cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside.