Blog – Page 426 – Football Flame

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SERIE A

Alexis Sanchez scores and gets sent off in full debut as Inter Milan extend perfect start

Alexis Sanchez scored and was sent off in an eventful first Inter Milan start as his new club maintained their perfect start to the season with a 3-1 win at Sampdoria to stay top of Serie A ahead of champions Juventus, who eased past SPAL 2-0.Manchester United's Sanchez moved to Italy on a season-long loan deal after failing to live up to expectations at Old Trafford.The Chile international made a big impact in Genoa, deflecting in Stefano Sensi's long-range opener after 20 minutes and tapping in another Sensi cross two minutes later.However, the 30-year-old was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for diving just after the break, leaving his side to play the entire second half a man down and wobbling after Jakub Jankto pulled one back in the 55th minute.But Roberto Gagliardini sl...
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LALIGA

Real Madrid regain top spot after draw against Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid regained top spot in La Liga after a goalless derby with Atletico that saw them move above surprise package Granada and maintain their small lead over a crowded chasing pack.Unbeaten Real are a point ahead of promoted Granada and Atletico Madrid after Diego Simeone’s side failed to break down their well-drilled local rivals, whose disciplined performance at the Wanda Metropolitano was deserving of at least the point they gained.“These matches with Atletico are very physical, this is one of the hardest grounds we have to visit during the season,” Real captain Sergio Ramos told broadcatser Movistar on Saturday.“It was difficult to create chances in attack because they leave such little space. The point does little for us though as we wanted the three even more.” Real are a f...
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BUNDESLIGA

Bayern bosses congratulate Fritz Keller on becoming new DFB President

Fritz Keller, President of SC Freiburg, has been elected to be the new president of the DFB. Kelle succeeds Reinhard Grindel, who stepped down from the post in April after a scandal-ridden term marred by the sporting failure in Russia, controversy over race, and corruption. Keller was officially elected for a three-year term by result of a unanimous, unopposed decision by a group of voting delegates at the DFB headquarter in Frankfurt.Bayern Munich club president Uli Hoeness and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge congratulated the 62-year-old on his accomplishment. Both Hoeness and Rummenigge are fond of Keller and feel he’s the right man to lead the DFB to a better place in the future.Hoeness stated in a release at FCBayern.com,“I congratulate Fritz Keller for the unanimous result. I am ...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Granit Xhaka: Arsenal manager Unai Emery names midfielder as new captain

Unai Emery has called on Granit Xhaka to stand up and win over his dissenters in the Arsenal fan base after officially naming the midfielder as his club captain.Xhaka’s appointment on a permanent basis comes just a week after the 27-year-old was jeered by his own supporters after being substituted in the second half of the 3-2 win over Aston Villa.Xhaka is a hugely popular figure in the dressing room and received the support of his team-mates in a secret ballot which helped Emery to decide upon his five captains for the campaign. The Arsenal head coach likes to spread the responsibility across the squad and has appointed top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his vice-captain.The leadership group is completed by Hector Bellerin, the full-back who made his long-term return from injury...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson close to return from Injury

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker feels he is "nearly there" as he continues his recovery from the calf injury he sustained on the opening day of the season.Alisson has been out of action since coming off in the 39th minute of the 4-1 win over Norwich at Anfield on August 9.The 26-year-old Brazil international, who was named men's goalkeeper of the year at the Best FIFA Football awards on Monday, has moved from sessions in the gym to training outside.He told Liverpool's website: "I'm on a good way, I think we are nearly there."I can go outside to the pitch to do some goalkeeper work and I feel very well. I feel confident and I think now it's just about getting all my power, all my confidence to come back and do what I love to do."It's massive because if I look back, two weeks ago I could...
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LALIGA

Messi limps off as Barcelona secure win over Villarreal

Barcelona secured a much-needed 2-1 home victory over Villarreal in La Liga on Tuesday, racing into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes before hanging on after Santi Cazorla halved the deficit on the stroke of halftime.The victory takes Barcelona up to fourth with 10 points after six games, one point behind surprise leaders Granada, Athletic Bilbao, who visit Leganes on Wednesday, and Real Madrid ahead of their game at home to Osasuna the same night.Barca's win was marred by the sight of Lionel Messi, making his first start this season, receiving lengthy treatment before being replaced at halftime by Ousmane Dembele in what coach Ernesto Valverde insisted was a precautionary measure."He noticed a little bit of an issue with his abductor and we preferred for him not to stay on the pitch, but ...
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SERIE A

Juventus beat Brescia to go top of Serie A

Mario Balotelli made his first start for Brescia but the promoted northeners still fell to a 2-1 defeat which sent champions Juventus top of Serie A on Tuesday.Former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker Balotelli has returned to Italy to play for his hometown club, but his debut had been delayed as he sat out a four-game suspension for previous club Marseille.Juventus were without Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, rested with a slight thigh problem, but the champions recovered from going behind after less than four minutes to an Alfredo Donnarumma goal – his fourth in five games.Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got two hands to Donnarumma's powerful strike, but could only push the ball into the net.Brescia defender Jhon Chancellor let the champions off the hook five minutes be...
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SERIE A

Napoli thrash Lecce to move up to third, Roma grab late win at Bologna

A Fernando Llorente double helped Napoli move into third place in Serie A with a 4-1 win at Lecce on Sunday, while Edin Dzeko scored a last-gasp winner as Roma beat Bologna 2-1.Spaniard Llorente struck the opening goal on his first start for Carlo Ancelotti’s side before Lorenzo Insigne doubled their lead with a penalty before the break.Fabian Ruiz’s curling strike made it three before Marco Mancosu pulled one back for Lecce from the penalty spot, but Llorente made sure of the points with a tap-in.In Bologna, Roma defender Aleksandar Kolarov went from hero to zero in the space of five second-half minutes as he scored a superb free-kick before conceding a penalty to gift Nicola Sansone the equaliser.Roma’s Gianluca Mancini was shown a second yellow card with five minutes remaining but Dzeko...
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Liverpool beat Chelsea to maintain 100% winning record in the Premier League

A stirring effort from Chelsea was not enough to stop Liverpool from maintaining their pristine record at the top of the Premier League.Jurgen Klopp’s side restored their five point lead over Manchester City thanks to goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino but they were made to sweat by the hosts, who were a team transformed when N’Golo Kante turned up the heat in the second half.Chelsea threw everything at the division’s pacesetters during those dying stages and they almost stole a point from 2-0 down, only for Mason Mount to spurn a glorious opportunity as the minutes ticked away. In the end, Liverpool held on and were able to celebrate a rare and precious win at the home of one their big six rivals. Klopp’s side are made of stern stuff, whereas Chelsea remain a work ...
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LALIGA

Barcelona : Ansu Fati granted Spanish citizenship

Barcelona's prodigious teenage attacker Ansu Fati is set to represent Spain at international level after being granted Spanish citizenship.Local media reports said the 16-year-old, who became Barcelona's youngest ever Champions League debutant after starting Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Borussia Dortmund, was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau, the country of his birth, as well as Portugal.Yet he has chosen to play for his adopted country Spain, where he moved aged six.Having completed the required 10 years of residency in order to obtain Spanish citizenship, the 16-year-old’s application was processed by the country's Interior Ministry ahead of next Wednesday's Under-17 World Cup squad deadline.Spain’s senior coach Robert Moreno said last weekend that the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) were ...
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NEWS

Europa League: Man Utd, Arsenal and Rangers win, Wolves lose

Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka scored his first goal for the club as they beat 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0, while Manchester United’s 17-year-old Mason Greenwood secured a 1-0 win over FC Astana as the Europa League group stage began on Thursday.Joe Willock put Arsenal ahead in the first half with a deflected shot that flew in off the underside of the crossbar, but Frankfurt battled gamely until midfielder Dominik Kohr was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the second half.Londoner Saka, 18, added a second with a superb curling shot in the 85th minute and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang slotted home a third to secure all three points for the Premier League side in the Group F clash in Germany.It was Frankfurt’s first loss in Europe in 16 games stretching back to 2006, and the win put A...
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UCL

Sarri frustrated as Juve concede late equalizer

Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri admitted his disappointment after his side surrendered a two-goal lead to be held 2-2 by Atletico Madrid in Champions League Group D.Atletico Madrid substitute Hector Herrera grabbed a late equaliser at the Wanda Metropolitano to send Sarri and his players back to Italy with only a share of the points when they had been on course to claim all three.Midfielder Herrera marked his debut as he headed in from a corner to earn his side a deserved point.Juventus had taken the lead two minutes after half-time when Juan Cuadrado fired home and they extended their advantage with 25 minutes to go courtesy of a Blaise Matuidi header.The Atletico fightback gained momentum five minutes later when Stefan Savic headed home from close range and Herrera’s late intervention ensu...
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UCL

Di Maria scores twice as PSG beat Real Madrid

Angel Di Maria scored two sensational goals against his former club as Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Madrid 3-0 at Le Parc des Princes.It did not take Di Maria long to open the scoring. Bursting into the box, the Argentina international thumped a shot beyond Thibaut Courtois at his near post.His second was even better. The winger took one touch to set himself up, before curling a fine shot past Courtois from 22 yards out. And Thomas Meunier added insult to injury by netting PSG’s third in injury time.Real Madrid did have the ball in the back of PSG’s net twice, only for the referee to disallow their two goals. First Gareth Bale was adjudged to have handled the ball prior to beating Keylor Navas with an audacious lob, before Karim Benzema’s powerful finish was ruled out for offside....
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NEWS

Cristiano Ronaldo says the best goal he ever scored still wasn't as good as sex with his girlfriend

In April 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo scored what he called the best goal of his career.Whilst still in the colors of former club Real Madrid, the Portuguese superstar produced an incredible overhead kick in the Champions League quarter-final to help send current club Juventus out of the competition.It was a goal so good, it received a standing ovation from the opposition fans.But, according to the man himself, the goal still doesn't compare to sex with his model girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez."I tried to score this goal for many, many years," Ronaldo told Piers Morgan in an interview on ITV on Tuesday night. "I had scored 700-odd goals but I hadn't done this. I thought, 'Finally I had scored a bicycle, the beautiful jumping.'"The way I had done against [Gianluigi] Buffon, against Juventus, in ...
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NEWS

UEFA Europa League group stage to kick off

The UEFA Europa League group stage will kick off on Thursday with a bevy of 24 matches.Three Turkish clubs -- Besiktas, Trabzonspor, and Istanbul Basaksehir -- will play their first matches away.In Bratislava, Besiktas will play Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava in Group K, while Istanbul Basaksehir will take on Italian club Roma at Stadio Olimpico in Group J. Both matches will start at 22:00 CET (1900GMT).In their match at Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Trabzonspor will face Spanish team Getafe at 19:55 CET (1655GMT).The first two teams from 12 groups will reach the last 32 round of the Europa League.The final will be held in Gdansk, Poland on May 27.First-week fixtures of the Europa League as follows:Matches kicking off at 1655 GMTGroup AApoel Nicosia (Greek Cypriot side) vs F91 Dudelange (LUX)FK Qa...
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UCL

Leipzig beats Benfica 2-1 to open Champions League campaign

Timo Werner scored twice in the second half as Leipzig stunned Portuguese champion Benfica 2-1 in Group G of the Champions League on Tuesday.Werner opened the scoring with a low shot from inside the area in the 69th and doubled the lead from close range in the 78th after a video review reversed an offside call that had initially disallowed the goal.Substitute Haris Seferovic pulled Benfica closer in the 84th but the hosts were not able to get the equalizer at the Stadium of Light.Benfica had lost only one of its last eight European home matches.In the other group game, Napoli thrashed Liverpool 2-0, Lyon was held by Zenit St. Petersburg to a 1-1 draw at home.Salzburg 6-2 Genk, Borrussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona.
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UCL

Neymar and Mbappe set to miss Champions League clash against Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain will be without both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for Wednesday night's  Champions League clash with Real Madrid in the French capital.Neymar - strongly linked with Barcelona during the summer - made a scoring return for PSG at the weekend as he came up with a late winner in the Ligue 1 clash against Strasbourg.The Brazil international has carried a three-game European ban over from last season, however, due to comments made about the refereeing in the French club's last-16 loss to Manchester United.Mbappe, meanwhile, has missed PSG's last two league matches with a hamstring problem, and the 20-year-old will not be available to face Zinedine Zidane's side on home soil.PSG are currently top of Ligue 1 with 12 points from their five matches, but they suffered a 2-1 loss ...
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BUNDESLIGA

Freiburg ease past Hoffenheim as Schalke make it two wins in a row

Freiburg ease past hosts Hoffenheim 3-0 on Sunday to climb to third place with their best-ever league start.First-half goals from Christian Guenter and Janik Haberer and a third on the hour by Nils Petersen gave Christian Streich’s team a deserved victory and maintained their fine start to the season.Freiburg are in third place on nine points, one ahead of champions Bayern Munich, who drew 1-1 at RB Leipzig on Saturday.Schalke 04 fired five goals past hosts Paderborn after falling a goal behind to earn their second straight win.Cauly put the hosts ahead but the Royal Blues roared back with goals from Salif Sane and Suat Serdar.Amine Harit then scored either side of an Ahmed Kutucu goal to make it 5-1 as Schalke climbed to seven points.Leipzig lead the standings on 10, with Borussia Dortmun...
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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, ...
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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...
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