FOOTBALL

Champions League: Preview Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

Published

2 years ago

October 25, 2022

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Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination.

To keep alive their slightest hope of a miraculous survival, the Blaugrana must defeat Bayern Munich at home on Wednesday night at home.

Xavi’s side was shaping out to be one of the teams to watch this season after having a stunning summer transfer window.

Despite their financial limitations, Barcelona managed to spend big and bring in top class players like Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski, and Franck Kessie.

They also managed to keep hold of Ousmane Dembele, who seemed destined to leave the club. Barca fans were looking forward to a resurgent season.

Recent form

The Catalonians have had a commendable La Liga campaign so far. Before the El Clasico loss to Real Madrid, Barcelona were on a seven match winning streak. They now sit second at the table, trailing league leaders Real Madrid by three points.

It has been a whole different story in Europe, however. Barcelona have managed only one win from their four Champions League group matches so far.

After opening their Champions League mission with a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at home, Barca bounced back with a win against Croatian outfit Viktoria Plzen.

But they fell to Inter Milan in a 1-0 defeat at San Siro. A 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture all but ensured that Barcelona will be relegated to the Europa League for the second successive season.

Barcelona will already know their Champions League fate before facing Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.

If Inter manage to pick up three points against Plzen at home, Barca’s Europa League exile will be confirmed. In that case, the Bayern match will lose its significance as a do-or-die match for the La Liga giants.

The narrative has been exactly the opposite for Bayern Munich this season.

Julian Nagelsmann’s men have struggled at home as they find themselves leading the chasing pack behind league toppers Union Berlin. But the Bavarians have been characteristically ruthless in Europe.

Having won all four of their group matches so far, Bayern will come to Camp Nou only for the sake of formality and bragging rights. Maybe a win away at Barcelona will inspire the team to do better in the German league.

Head to head record

Barcelona had been one of Bayern’s most favourite European opponents.

In the previous 16 meetings between the two sides, the Bundesliga giants have had the last laugh no less than eleven times.

They have lost to Barca only three times and shared the spoils with them twice.

Team News

Barcelona will be without Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo at defence. So Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia will renew their centre-back partnership.

Memphis Depay will not be involved as he recuperates from a hamstring injury.

Bayern Munich are likely to make wholesale changes to the team that beat Hoffenheim 2-0 away from home.

Sadio Mane and Marcel Sabitzer might return to the starting XI.

Leroy Sane will not be flying to Barcelona as he is sidelined with an injury.

Manuel Neuer, Bouna Sarr, Lucas Hernandez and Kingsley Coman will also stay home to deal with their respective injury problems.

Barcelona might bring Bayern’s winning run in Europe to an end.

Since Bayern has already won the group, Nagelsmann could rest some of his key players and experiment.

So, Barcelona will be favourites to win. However, it could be too little too late for the Catalonians. We say 2-0 for Barcelona.

FOOTBALL

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

FOOTBALL

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

FOOTBALL

PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

9 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.