Silver Emmanuel – Page 459 – Football Flame

Author: Silver Emmanuel

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SERIE A

Juventus beat Inter milan 1-0 to maintain their unbeaten record

Mario Mandzukic in the 66th minute  led Juventus to a 1-0 win over Inter Milan Friday in the first installment of the Derby d’Italia in Turin.The win kept The Juventus unbeaten record in Serie A intact, while Inter Milan failed to gain any ground on Napoli in second. In fact, Napoli could pull farther ahead of Inter as they host Frosinone Saturday. Regardless of how AC Milan does this weekend against Torino, Inter will remain in third-place heading into next weekend.Inter controlled  and had its best chances in the early stages of the first half, especially with Gagliardini’s efforts off a ball from Icardi inside the area.But, after that, Juventus turned up the heat as Mandzukic nearly put the Bianconeri on the board with a header that was pushed away by Samir Handanovic in the 3...
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LALIGA

Denis Suarez complains of lack of playing time in Barcelona

Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez has disclosed that he is not happy with his lack of playing time at the club, as speculation of a move away persists.The 24-year-old started for the first time this season on Wednesday, scoring twice as Barcelona beat Cultural Leonesa 4-1 in the Copa del Rey.Suarez has previously said he is determined to fight for his place at the club, but he has been linked with moves to Chelsea and Napoli  with some reports claiming a transfer could go through in January.“The coach said that the Leonesa game was a test for those who do not play regularly, so we will see on Saturday if I have passed,” Suarez said after the game.“I work to play, if I do not play we’ll see. I’m not happy, because I’m not playing and it’s what I want, to play.”
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PREMIER LEAGUE

EPL: Jurgen Klopp focused on Bournemouth clash, not the league table

Jurgen Klopp’s goal is to ensure Liverpool are ready to perform at their best against AFC Bournemouth, not the plan of going top of the Premier League. Liverpool will visit the Vitality Stadium on Saturday knowing that victory would lift them above Manchester City for a few hours at least, with Pep Guardiola’s team taking on Chelsea later in the day.Klopp’s primary concern, however, is the immediate task of overcoming seventh-placed Bournemouth, not the wider context of the league standings.Klopp stated during Friday’s pre-match press conference:“I don’t think Man City feel any pressure, they don’t look like that and that’s not the first target - the first target is to perform on the highest level because it’s needed against Bournemouth.“They play a fantastic season and it’s just an outsta...
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SERIE A

Mauro Icardi named Serie A player of the year

Mauro Icardi may not have won the France Football Ballon d’Or award but he did win the Italian Ballor d’Or given by the Gran Gala del Calcio.The Argentina man, who managed to score 29 goals in 34 Serie A matches was given the award on Monday. He became the first player not of Juventus to win the award since Zlatan Ibrahimovic won it in 2011 while playing for AC Milan.A back heel goal against his former club Sampdoria last season also won him goal of the year.
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LALIGA

Barcelona officially promote Carles Alena to first team squad

Carles Alena is now officially a member of the Barcelona first-team squad and will wear the No. 21 for the rest of the season.Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that he’s been officially registered with La Liga, after Rafinha was ruled out for six months, which means his days with Barcelona B are over.Alena started the season wearing the No. 26 but will now wear the 21 which used to belong to Andre Gomes.
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LALIGA

Barcelona announce squad for Leonesa second leg

Barcelona will welcome Cultural Leonesa for the second leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 32 matchup, with Barça carrying a 1-0 lead from the first game.Ernesto Valverde has called up the following 19 players for the game, with one of them cut from the final matchday squad:Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 13. Jasper CillessenDefenders: 2. Nélson Semedo, 15. Clément Lenglet, 24. Thomas Vermaelen, 27. Juan Miranda, 36. ChumiMidfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 6. Denis Suarez, 7. Philippe Coutinho, 21. Carles Alena, 22. Arturo Vidal, 28. Riqui Puig, 34. Alex Collado, 35. Oriol Busquets, 38. Guillem JaimeForwards: 11. Ousmane Dembele, 14. Malcom, 19. MunirSince this is a Cup game against a Third Division side, Valverde allows himself to rest his main players, so Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergi...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Riyad Mahrez believes Manchester City will return stronger from Watford scare

Riyad Mahrez has revealed that Manchester City will return stronger from their scare at Watford, but insists any of the top-four teams can still beat them to the Premier League title.Manchester City, who face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, extended their unbeaten run after Leroy Sane and Mahrez struck either side of half-time at Vicarage Road.But the champions were given a fright in the concluding stages when Abdoulaye Doucoure bundled over from close range with just five minutes remaining.Despite facing a nervous end as Watford went in search of what, for most of the match seemed an unlikely point, Pep Guardiola’s side held firm to claim their seventh consecutive league victory.The City squad will now be given Thursday off ahead of their match against Chelsea this coming ...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Maurizio Sarri claim Chelsea are ready with new contract for Eden Hazard

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has disclosed the club are ready with a new contract for Eden Hazard, but it remains up to the Belgian forward Hazard if he wants to commit his future with the Blues. Hazard, 27, has been a key player for Chelsea since arriving from French side Lille in 2012, and n recent years has emerged as one of the finest players in the Premier League. Hazard's current contract expires in 2020, which presents a problem for Chelsea if he does not agree to the new deal soon, the club will need to decide whether to sell their best player next summer while they can still command a substantial fee or risk losing him for nothing the following year.Hazard made his thoughts perfectly clear after helping Belgium to third place at the World Cup in Russia that he was torn between C...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Eddie Howe hailed his players as Bournemouth end losing run

Eddie Howe praised his Bournemouth side’s as they ended a four-game losing run with a 2-1 win over Huddersfield. Bournemouth had lost to Newcastle, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks but goals in the opening 22 minutes from Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser got them back on track.They did have to battle for the three points after that, though, as  Huddersfield came back strongly and made a game of it through Terence Kongolo’s header shortly before the break.Howe was relieved to end his side’s drought and was grateful to their fast start.Howe said:“It’s a big relief, it was a very, very tough game. “We anticipated it would be, we respect Huddersfield a lot, I think they play a really good brand of football, they press really well.“We kne...
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NEWS

Newcastle owner plans to sell club before January transfer window

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley plans to sell the Premier League club before the January transfer window and told Sky News on Monday that talks on a deal had made promising progressAshley, who is also majority shareholder at sportswear retailer Sports Direct, said in October he had not received any acceptable offers for Newcastle a year after he officially put the club up for sale.Asked on Monday if it was realistic for Newcastle to be sold before the transfer window opened on Jan. 1, Ashley said:“Realistic? It’s possible. Realistic is maybe too strong a word. Hopefully we can carry on our recent good form and get the deal done.” Newcastle had a difficult start to the season under Rafa Benitez but three wins in a row moved them up the table before a 3-0 home defeat by West Ham United at...
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NEWS

Luka Modric: the new winner of Ballon d'Or

Luka Modric saw off competition from a host of French World Cup stars as the Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder won the 2018 Ballon d'Or on Monday, ending the 10-year stranglehold on the award by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.Modric, 33, was announced as the winner of the prestigious prize in a glitzy ceremony held in Paris. Ronaldo was second, with France and Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann completing the podium.Paris Saint-Germain's teenage forward Kylian Mbappe came fourth, leaving Messi to settle for fifth position. Another Frenchman, Modric's Madrid teammate Raphael Varane, was seventh, just behind Liverpool's Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah.Modric said:"As a kid we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club and win important trophies."The Ballon d'Or was more ...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Bournemouth are unhappy about Dan Gosling injury

Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling has been sent for a scan on his knee injury. Gosling picked up the injury against Arsenal last weekend and missed Saturday’s defeat at Manchester City after pulling out of the warm-up.He will get the injury checked out by specialists and is a doubt for Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Huddersfield.Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe said in his pre-match press conference:“Dan Gosling is a concern for us.“We’ve sent him away for a scan on his knee so we’ll see how he is. He didn’t feel comfortable during the warm up at the weekend.“We have a couple of niggles. You’re always going to have a few niggles at this time of the season, so we’ll see how those guys are.“We know we’re coming in to a busy period of fixtures. We need everyone in the squad to be r...
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LALIGA

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa set to undergo foot surgery

Atletico Madrid have comfirmed Diego Costa will undergo surgery on a foot injury but have not put a timescale on his likely absence.The striker will return to Brazil to undertake his operation following an injury sustained last month, that has been troubling him in recent weeks.The 30-year-old has netted just four La Liga goals in the calendar year but recently ended a nine-month scoring drought in the league when he netted against Barcelona.Costa has previously undergone surgery on his left foot when he suffered an injury to his fifth metatarsal.Summer signing Nikola Kalinic or youngster Borja Garces are now likely to be afforded more game time for Los Rojiblancos.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Southampton sack manager Mark Hughes

Southampton sack manager Mark Hughes after just winning one of their 14 matches so far this season. The Premier League club  announced on their official Twitter account:"Southampton Football Club can today confirm it  has parted company with first team manager Mark Hughes. "Assistant first team manager Mark Bowen and assistant first team coach Eddie Niedzwiecki have also left the club. "We would like to express our thanks to Mark Andy his staff for all their efforts during their time at St Mary’s."The search to find a new manager is already under way. First team assistant coach Kelvin Davis will lead the team for Wednesday’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley."
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LALIGA

Real Madrid power on to earn 2-0 win over Valencia

Real Madrid displayed good performance on Saturda to earn a 2-0 win at home to Valencia which allowed them to climb to fifth in the La Liga standings and reduce their recent troubles.The European champions, who were humbled 3-0 by tiny Eibar last week, took a fortuitous lead when Valencia midfielder Daniel Wass nodded a Dani Carvajal cross into his own net in the eighth minute after former Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista had failed to clear the danger.The visitors, knocked out of the Champions League in mid-week, let Madrid off the hook on three occasions in the second half when Santi Mina and Paulista failed to hit the target with glorious chances from inside the area.Valencia’s Michy Batshuayi was then denied by his fellow Belgian and former Chelsea team mate Thibaut Courtois in the Re...
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NEWS

Europa League: Chelsea and Arsenal win to top their group with ease

Chelsea and Arsenal both enjoyed high-scoring Europa League wins on Thursday as Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers were left with work to do on the final matchday to qualify for the next stage.Unai Emery selected a youthful Arsenal to play in the Ukraine and they romped past Vorskla Poltava 3-0, guaranteeing top spot in Group E in a match switched to freezing Kiev after security concerns in the east of the country.Teenagers Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock scored either side of an Aaron Ramsey penalty as the Gunners went in 3-0 at half-time.Arsenal will now avoid any of the Champions League drop outs in the draw for the next round as they have a better head-to-head record with second-placed Sporting Lisbon.Maurizio Sarri had demanded a reaction from his Chelsea side after they lost at Totte...
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LALIGA

Ernesto Valverde credits Messi and Dembele pairing after Barcelona victory over PSV

Ernesto Valverde praised Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele after the two players were massive in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over PSV in the Champions League on wednesday.Valverde said:“I’m not entirely sure how Messi scored that goal.“But he and Dembele combined really well down the right. Between them you could count on them producing a shot on goal from almost any situation.“We had problems in the first 20 minutes.“There are certain moments in which you have to know how to suffer. They were encouraged and it was a difficult match, but we secured first in the group. We’re happy.”
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Isaac Success pens new five-year contract with Watford

Isaac Success has penned a new five-year contract with Watford. The Nigerian moved to Watford on a permanent deal from Granada in 2016, and spent the second half of the 2017-18 season on loan at Malaga.Success has featured 15 times in all competitions for Watford this season, starting six times and scoring three goals.Watford chairman Scott Duxbury told the club's website: "This is a just reward for Isaac's continued hard work and application this season. We look forward to seeing him develop further over the coming years."Success has represented Nigeria four times since making his international debut last year.
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Javi Gracia signs four-year Watford extension

Watford have awarded boss Javi Gracia a new four-and-a-half-year deal with the option of a further years added on, it has been confirmed.Gracia replaced Marco Silva at Vicarage Road in January and has won 11 of his 30 matches at the helm to date, with the Hornets ninth in the Premier League standings.Gracia told club media:“I am very happy to extend my contract.“I am very proud in this moment to be part of this club and to belong here for more seasons.”
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UCL

Manchester City progress to Champions League last-16 after a comeback 2-2 draw against Lyon

Manchester City have secured their place in the Champions League knockout stage after coming from behind twice to grab a 2-2 draw.After missing two great chances in first-half,  Lyon finally took the lead in the 55th minute through Maxwell Cornet goal. But their lead didn't last long at all. Aymeric Laporte equalize for City, who headed home past Anthony Lopes in the Lyon goal just seven minutes after going behind.  Cornet then got on the scoresheet again nine minutes from time, slotting home past Ederson in the penalty area. But Sergio Aguero scored to make it 2-2 draw.
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