La Liga
Ziyech and Emerson strike as Chelsea knock out Atletico Madrid
Chelsea have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League following a comfortable 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge. It was a quiet beginning to the game, with neither side posing much threat on goal. The first talking point of the match came in the 26th minute. Cesar Azpilicueta miscalculated his back pass, almost allowing Yannick Carrasco through on goal. The Chelsea defender subsequently put his arm across the Belgian, who went down under the challenge. Controversially, no penalty or red card was awarded. Not long after, Thomas Tuchel’s men took the lead with a goal created and finished by three summer arrivals. Kai Haverts fed the ball into Timo Werner out on the left, who rolled across to Hakim Ziyech, who slotted underneath Jan Oblak with his weaker right foot...
Barcelona president’s ‘war-chest’ funded by MediaPro CEO
According to Spanish outlet Expansion, MediaPro CEO and co-founder Jaume Roures has helped newly-elected Barcelona President Joan Laporta complete the €125 million guarantee he needs to cover for the club’s presidency. 📰 | Jaume Roures, co-founder of MediaPro joins Eduard Romeu to complete the 125 million guarantee that Laporta had to cover for the presidency of Barça. [@expansioncom] pic.twitter.com/NbNPKzlokK — La Senyera (@LaSenyera) March 17, 2021 The obligatory deposit payment was made today, with the media mogul providing €30 million out of it. It allowed the Barcelona chief to be officially sworn into the position following his success at the polls earlier this month. Laporta and his executive board must first present a bank guarantee worth 15% of the club’s budget within 10...
Barcelona very interested in signing €25m Portuguese defender, but face Man City competition
Barcelona will compete with Manchester City in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon left-back Nuno Mendes this summer, AS reports. The Catalan giants are likely to part ways with Junior Firpo at the end of the season and they have lined up Mendes as the suitable replacement. At just 18, the Portuguese has made 34 appearances for the Lisbon giants and 25 of those have come during the ongoing campaign. He has a release clause worth €25 million in his contract and it is claimed that the Blaugrana could face competition from the Cityzens for his services. Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young full-back and he is reportedly prepared to loan him back to Sporting for next season. Sportslens: The Blaugrana currently have Jordi Alba as the undisputed left-back with Firpo acting as his deput...
Lionel Messi shines on landmark occasion as Barcelona cruise to victory over Huesca
Barcelona comfortably saw off bottom of the table Huesca to crank up the pressure on Atletico Madrid in a tense title race. It was a perfect start for Lionel Messi, who was making his record-equalling 767th Barcelona appearance. The Argentine marked the occasion with a beautiful opener, touching the ball past the defender before curling a strike in off the crossbar. Both sides threatened to find the next goal. Pablo Maffeo saw his low strike saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen following a mazy solo run, while Jordi Alba struck the crossbar from Messi’s through ball. But it wasn’t long before the hosts doubled their lead in equally brilliant fashion. This time it was Antoine Griezmann, who hammered a 25-yard shot into the top corner. It was the Frenchman’s first goal in ten games in all competit...
Barcelona trio ruled out of La Liga clash with Huesca
Barcelona’s pursuit of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid continues on Monday as they welcome basement boys Huesca to Camp Nou. Ahead of the kick-off, Barca trail Diego Simeone’s side by six points but with a game in hand. Meanwhile, the newly-promoted visitors sit four points adrift of safety and are massive underdogs in this fixture. After a premature Champions League exit, the hosts can ill-afford to lose more ground on Atletico if they are to avoid another disappointing season. Barcelona Preview The Catalans have gone undefeated in 16 La Liga fixtures on the bounce (W13, D3) since suffering a 2-1 away defeat at Cadiz on Matchday 12 – the longest current unbeaten run in Europe’s top-five divisions. Ronald Koeman’s men have won ten of their previous 11 league matches (D1) by an aggregate sc...
Atletico Madrid midfielder wants Bayern Munich switch
Spanish midfielder Saul Niguez is seeking a way out of Atletico Madrid this summer, reports Spanish outlet Diario AS. Saul came through the academy at Atletico Madrid, earning his professional debut in March 2012. His breakthrough into the starting XI came in the 2014/15 season following an impressive loan spell at Rayo Vallecano. Under Diego Simeone, the midfielder has won two Europa Leagues, one Copa del Rey, and finished as a runner up in the 2015/16 Champions League, losing to rivals Real Madrid in the final on penalties. He has also earned 19 caps for the Spain national team, scoring three times. Saul has been an important player for Atletico Madrid over the years However, it appears as if his time at the Wanda Metropolitano is set to come to an end this summer, with Diario AS re...
Barcelona confident of signing £36m Premier League star, deal 95% done
Barcelona are confident of landing the signature of Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool when his contract expires in June, Football Insider reports. The Netherlands international has been with the Reds for the past four-and-a-half years, registering 225 appearances in all competitions. His current deal with the Reds expires in less than four months, but he remains a regular and has started 26 of the club’s 28 Premier League games this term. It was recently reported that Wijnaldum had been offered a contract by the Blaugrana, and it is now claimed that a deal is ‘95% done’. Jurgen Klopp’s side have been unsuccessful in renewing his contract, and he is looking forward to securing a ‘dream transfer’ to the Catalan giants. Sportslens view Wijnaldum has been a pivotal player for the Reds in the ...
Real Madrid trio ruled out of must-win game against Elche
Real Madrid play host to newly-promoted Elche at the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium in a must-win La Liga showdown on Saturday. Though unbeaten in each of their five top-flight meetings with Elche this millennium (W4, D1), Real could only manage a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in December. The hosts have never lost a home La Liga game against the Alicante minnows, winning 18 of their 21 such meetings while drawing the other three. Real Madrid Preview Zinedine Zidane’s men head into this encounter as overwhelming favourites to claim all three points, having won both of their previous top-flight H2Hs as hosts by an aggregate score of 8-1. If Los Blancos do win here, it may well be a convincing success, as each of their previous seven home league victories yielded a winning margin of over ...
PSG “immensely optimistic” of Lionel Messi signing
Paris Saint-Germain are growing increasingly confident of signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to Brazilian journalist Marcelo Bechler. The Argentine was at the heart of the biggest transfer saga of last summer following his shock transfer request away from the Camp Nou. However, after a long-running feud with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Messi stayed at the Catalan giants. Messi remained at Barcelona after last summer’s saga The election of Joan Laporta as Barcelona’s new president gave hope to the idea that the 33-year-old would stay beyond his current contract, which expires in the summer. The Spaniard promised to make keeping Messi one of his main priorities. However, it seems as if Laporta’s election may not be sufficient to keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winne...
Barcelona’s Three Goals: Messi contract, title race and selling Dembele, Coutinho and co
Barcelona’s exit in the second round of the Champions League was expected after a whopping first-leg defeat at Camp Nou to Paris Saint-Germain. Dreams of another Remontada belied the fact that they would be playing away from home, and that they didn’t have the players this time around to mount such a fantastic comeback (while PSG were arguably a better team this time around). And yet while there was hope, there was also a moratorium on criticising the players. As long as those players could do the impossible, they were either tacitly supported or openly praised. After last night though, the restraints were off and Barcelona fans vented their frustrations at players and the club’s transfer policy. Many fans wanted to see Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele sold, with a ...
Messi misses penalty as PSG eliminate Barcelona from Champions League…again
Paris Saint-Germain reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League after seeing out an entertaining 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona, winning 5-2 on aggregate. It was a positive start from Ronald Koeman’s men. Ousmane Dembele had two good chances to open the scoring but converted neither, while Keylor Navas turned Sergino Dest’s effort onto the crossbar. On the half hour mark, PSG got the chance to take the lead on the night when VAR awarded a penalty for Clement Lenglet’s trip on Mauro Icardi. Kylian Mbappe stepped up and bagged his fourth of the tie. Dembele wasted another chance to get on the scoresheet after being played through by Antoine Griezmann, placing his strike straight at Navas. But it wasn’t long before Lionel Messi had his say. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner picked up the ...
Dynamo Kiev vs Villarreal – Europa League Preview, Team News & Predicted Line-ups
Villarreal travel to the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium to take on Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. The two sides experienced contrasting fortunes warming up for this showdown. While Dynamo have enjoyed an almost perfect competitive year (W5, D2), Villarreal have suffered back-to-back defeats ahead of kick-off. The hosts have extensive experience facing Spanish clubs in major European competitions, while the visitors only met Ukrainian opposition twice before. You can watch this game and other Europa League matches live online. Dynamo Kyiv Preview Kiev will be looking to end a 16-match run of winless European encounters with Spanish sides (D7, L9), last coming out on top of such contest in 1998-99. Their winless streak against La Liga teams includes a 2-0 aggr...
