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Showing posts from March, 2018

UEFA announces new rules

On 27th March, UEFA changed some old rules. According to those rules, a player can represent two different clubs in the same European competition. This rule will be applied by UEFA from next season. As per the old rules, January signings can't appear for a different club if they have already featured in the same UEFA competition. The rules given are without a doubt, fair as star players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Diego Costa and Philippe Coutinho cannot represent their current clubs in European circuit as they starred for their former clubs in the competition. Another rule which was that a fourth substitute will be allowed to play in a knockout tie and 12 substitutes can be used in the finals. UEFA also announced that two group matches will be played on Tuesday and two will be on Wednesday. The kick-off time for those matches will be 17:55 GMT.   

FIFA Friendlies : Results

On the last day of the international break, National Teams played their last games before World Cup. These games acted as booster for the teams who won. While teams like Argentina, France and Portugal have lost a match each and are looking forward to improve before the World Cup in June. Portugal lost their match against Netherlands 3-0. Portugal had more possession of the ball than Netherlands but were unable to produce some goals.  Argentina were missing their star players like Messi, Aguero and Angel Di Maria in their lineup and it proved to be very costing when Spain thrashed them 6-1. Isco, who plays for Real Madrid scored a hat-trick for Spain and made short work of the inexperienced Argentina squad picked by Sampaoli. Meanwhile in Berlin, Brazil defeated Germany 1-0 and put an end to their 22-match unbeaten run. Gabriel Jesus, the forward from Manchester United headed one in the 37th minute. At Wembley, England played an entertaining 1-1 draw against Italy. Th...

Federer makes shock exit; Loses top spot and misses French Open : Miami Open

Federer, 36, made a shock exit in Miami, losing to World No. 175 Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round. After losing the first set, Thanasi made a incredible comeback and won the second set with ease. In the third set, the match went into a tiebreaker and the Australian came out on top, winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). The Swiss appeared to be struggling with his movement and couldn't play at his best throughout the match. Federer had a great start to this year by winning the Australian Open and proved that age is just a number. Though things haven't gone his way as he lost two consecutive matches to end his 17- match unbeaten run. The 36 -year-old will be replaced by Rafael Nadal of Spain in the World Rankings.  He also said that he deserved to be removed from the top spot as he played so badly against his Australian opponent. He said,"It felt like every time I had chances, something bad happened- wrong decision making by me, good decisions from him." ...

Messi-less Argentina best Italy 2-0

On Friday, Argentina defeated Italy 2-0 in a friendly match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Sampaoli's side was missing its star players like Messi and Aguero in their lineup. Messi suffered a groin strain in a practice session. Ever Banega and Manuel Lanzini made sure that Messi's absence doesn't stop Argentina by putting the ball into the net. Italy paid a tribute to late Davide Astori who died due to a cardiac arrest. Italy, who failed to qualify for World Cup after 60 years were unable to stop Argentina from scoring goals. The first half saw many attempts from the Argentine attack but yet both teams were unable to affect the scoreboard. Ever Banega scored the first goal in the 75th minute. Buffon, 40, was left with no answer to Lanzini's strike in 85th which ensured Argentina's win. Argentina will now face Spain in Madrid and Italy will play against England at Wembley on Tuesday.

Sack Zidane if you want me : Neymar

PSG forward Neymar has reportedly told that his coming to Real Madrid can be a possibility but only on one condition, that is Real Madrid have to fire Zinedine Zidane. According to Neymar, Zidane is not capable of handling his players' ego. He prefers Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp over Zidane. He added that he is not a fan of Zizou. Neymar is having a tough time at PSG since the Parisians lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League. He has become keen to make a transfer back to La Liga after his injury. Former Brazilian player, Walter Casagrande called Neymar, a spoilt brat and a monster. He even mentioned that the former Barcelona star could be a disaster at the World Cup in Russia this year. 

Portugal edge past Egypt; Ronaldo saves the game

Portugal won their friendly match 2-1 against Egypt in Zurich. The match saw a comeback from Portugal as they were 1-0 down. Mohammed Salah scored the goal for Egypt to gain the lead in the 56th minute. Salah, who plays for Liverpool, shocked the Euro 16 champions.  Cristiano Ronaldo, 33, had influenced the game from the beginning by creating chances. But still Portugal were unable to score. The Real Madrid striker finally managed to find the net in the added time of four minutes. Quaresma got a cross in the 92th minute and Ronaldo headed the ball into the ground. Portugal were awarded a freekick which was taken by Quaresma who sent the ball into the box and managed to find the head of Ronaldo before sealing their win. The Egyptian defense was left stranded. Portugal will now go to Lancy to face Netherlands while Egypt will play against Greece on Monday.

Portugal vs. Egypt

The International Break has begun and all eyes are on the FIFA Friendlies. The National teams are preparing for the mega event in June this year. The European Champions, Portugal are looking to repeat their Euro performance. It is certain that Ronaldo will be looking to add the World Cup to his trophies. Meanwhile, Egypt are banking on the their jewel, Mo Salah to win the match in Zurich. Salah has been in exceptional form, scoring goals match by match for Liverpool. He has scored more goals than anyone this season. The match will start at 7:45 (GMT). Predictions:- Portugal Winning - 45%                      Draw - 31%                      Egypt Winning - 34% 

Messi more complete than Ronaldo : Gianluigi Buffon claim

The debate of who is the best footballer has gone world-wide but when Buffon was asked to compare between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Italian said that he tilts a little bit towards Messi because he feels that the Argentine is more complete than Ronaldo. Gigi Buffon said "They are two completely different players". He also addressed Cristiano being older and more experienced than Messi, is a killer in the penalty area. The 40 year old Juventus goalkeeper referred to Messi as a playmaker rather than a goal scorer. Buffon will now face the Barcelona forward in a friendly match against Argentina on Friday in Manchester. 

Serie A : What happened till now

Serie A 2017-18 has lived up to people's expectations as competition between Juventus and Napoli is getting heated match by match. When we think about Serie A, we think about Juventus. And as we expected, Juventus are at the top of the league. On the other hand Napoli- Where the Great '' Maradona'' once played have so far played the most entertaining football in Italy. Napoli is two points behind Juventus on 2nd spot. Napoli will travel to Turin to play against the old lady in April and will try to grab the title after 27 years. While Lazio and the once great AC Milan are struggling for the Europa League spot. Nerazzurri have managed to gain 4th spot and can qualify for the Champions League. There have been some players who have played amazing so far. Here is the list of the top scorers in Italy :- 1. Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 24 goals 2. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) - 22 goals 3. Dries Mertens (Napoli) - 17 goals 4. Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - 17 goals 5. Fa...

Why is Competition in Premier League not exciting this season

The Premier League 2017-18 is halfway through, but unlike past seasons of the League, this year's result has become fairly obvious as Manchester City sit on top of the table comfortably with Manchester United almost 20 points behind them on the second spot. There are two reasons for low performances by all teams other than Manchester City. One is that the top teams focused on winning the Champions League which forced the managers to give less rest to their best players. Second is that teams bought new players and sold old ones which caused instability in the performance. On European basis, teams of Premier League did well as all the teams of Premier league entered the round of 16 in UEFA Champions League. This season, we also saw some great players like Coutinho, Michy Batshuayi and Diego Costa leave the English turf.  But this year saw some amazing players being at the form of their life such as Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Aguero, Kante and others. Managers like Arsene Wenger hav...

Neymar's future at PSG

The World was astonished when Neymar made his way to Paris Saint-Germain for a record breaking transfer of $263m (222m euros) from Barcelona. It has been five months since Neymar went to PSG but his future is still not looking stable with the Ligue 1 leaders. Having lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League in a round of 16 match, it is in doubt that Neymar will look forward to stay at the Parc Des Princes. Neymar recently revealed that he feels as if it has been 5 years since he made the move. He has also been in talks with Real Madrid and Barcelona to make a return to La Liga. The Brazilian wonder kid got injured in French Cup match against Olympique Marseille which became another reason for him to leave Les Parisiens. It seems that he has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Neymar will be out for till June and is expected to play in the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.

FIFA Friendlies : All you need to know

On Friday, FIFA Friendlies will be held and countries from different confederations will play matches against each other. Some Managers are pretty serious about these matches as they get a chance to organize their team effectively before the mega event in Russia. The 2014 World Cup winners will face 2010 winners, Spain. Germany are among the favorites to win the World Cup, their squad is pretty young and we all saw what can they do in Confederations Cup. Portugal's coach, Fernando Santos has called his star player, Cristiano Ronaldo to be in the squad for their match against Egypt. Many people are excited to see Mo Salah go face to face with the Real Madrid forward. The '' La Albiceleste'', Argentina will face a heart-broken Italy. France will compete against Columbia who rely on their forward, James Rodriguez who plays for Bayern. These friendlies can be a confidence booster for teams playing the World Cup this year. Here is the Schedule for the friendlie...

Real Madrid sails past Girona 6-3; Ronaldo scores 4

Real Madrid enjoyed a 6-3 win over Girona on Sunday at the Bernabeu. In a high scoring match, Los Blancos had no problems getting rid of the club from Catalonia. Ronaldo, who is in an exceptional form from the beginning of 2018, scored four goals from inside the box. He is now 3 goals short of Messi in the top scorer's list. Cristiano Ronaldo doing his trademark celebration after scoring his second goal against Girona.  Girona fought audaciously in the first half, equalizing the scoreboard 1-1. But in the second half, Real proved to be the better side. Stuani scored a brace by heading the ball into the goal for Girona twice. Benzema, who was jeered for his poor performances till February, found his form and played a vicious role in the game for Real Madrid. The team was led by Marcelo. They are on the third place on the league table and are 15 points short of Barcelona. Real plays Las Palmas at the end of the month. The players will now go to international duty ...

FC Barcelona thrash Athletic Bilbao with a 2-0 win

On sunday, FC Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao in a home game at Camp Nou. Barcelona started without Luis Suarez, who was suspended, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. The La Liga leaders went up 1-0 in the eigth minute with Paco Alcacer putting the ball into the netting. Lionel Messi scored a goal in the 30th minute. Phil Coutinho hit the woodwork twice in the first half and was later substituted in the second half for Andre Gomes. Bilbao tried their best to maintain pressure as Barca struggled to come back in the second half. Bilbao were unable to find the net throughout the game. The Catalan Giants now enjoy a comfortable lead in La Liga.

All England Badminton Championships 2018 Results

On the fifth and final day of this prestigious tournament played between 14 March and 18 March, finals of all 5 events were played. All England is included in the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournaments. The overall prize money, this year was 1 Million USD. The unseeded pair from Japan of Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino defeated Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China in a thrilling third setter, (15-21, 22-20, 21-16). The Japanese pair created history by becoming the first from Japan to ever win an All England Mixed Doubles title. Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino celebrate after winning the All England Badminton Championship in Birmingham. Next was a Women's Singles Final between the defending Champion, Tai Tzu Ying and Akane Yamaguchi. The World No.1 finished the match in two sets, (22-20, 21-13). Tai Tzu Ying lifted the title for a second straight year. The match lasted for about 45 minutes. After that, the third match which was Men's Singles was playe...

UEFA Champions League 2017-18 Quaterfinal Prediction

On Friday, the Champions League Draw was decided while Jurgen Klopp's side is set to battle the Premier League Leaders, Manchester City. Klopp reportedly told the press that the draw was good for Manchester United fans as Man. Utd. travel to the Etihad stadium for the Manchester derby. 12 times winners Real Madrid, face the " old lady" Juventus. It will be interesting to watch how Juventus tackle this challenge. While the German Giants, Bayern Munich are pretty confident of defeating Sevilla, the side which has reached Quarterfinals after 60 years. But the draw was mainly lucky for Barcelona who face A.S. Roma which defeated Shakhtar Donetsk in an entertaining round of 16 match. Predictions For Quaterfinal winners:- Barcelona 3-1 A.S. Roma (Agg.) Sevilla 2-4 Bayern Munich (Agg.) Juventus 2-3 Real Madrid (Agg.) Liverpool 3-4 Manchester City (Agg.) The Matches will be played on 3rd and 4th of April. You can watch the matches live on Ten2 and Ten1 in India. ...