FOOTBALL

Copa del Rey: Athletic Bilbao dump Barca

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2022

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Ferran Torres scored his first Barcelona goal on Thursday but was on the losing side at Athletic Club clinched a 3-2 win after extra time to reach the last eight of the Copa del Rey.

It’s been a tough start to life for Ferran at Barça after joining from Manchester City for 55 million euros. His debut saw the team knocked out of the Supercopa to Real Madrid.

The former Valencia forwarded commented that “we knew what we were up against. I think we played well, but we made individual errors. We’re on the right path. We have to congratulate Athletic.”

Barça played poorly but showed great fighting spirit to come back from behind twice.

Sadly, they conceded a penalty in extra-time and lost both Ansu Fati and Pedri to injuries in what might go down as the most costly defeat of the season for Xavi’s men.

FIRST HALF

Just 90 seconds into the game, Nico Williams beat Jordi Alba for pace on the right side and crossed it along the ground to find Iker Muniain down the left.

The Bilbao captain saw Marc-André ter Stegen out of position and chipped the German to score an amazing goal and put the home team ahead.

🎯 𝗜𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗶𝗻! ©️

🔥 @willliamsssnico drives into the area and plays it across goal, the ball lands at the feet of @IkerMuniain10, who curls it into the top corner!

1-0 I #AthleticBarça #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/00r4evuxyA
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 20, 2022

Athletic started the game with an insane level of intensity and Barça simply couldn’t match it.

But after 15 minutes the Blaugrana finally started passing the ball in the Athletic half and looked a little more in control.

And in their first real chance of the game, Barça scored a beautiful goal: after an excellent passing sequence down the left wing the ball found Ferran Torres, who cut inside on his right foot and curled a beauty into the top corner to score his first Barça goal in style.

The final 25 minutes of the half followed a simple script: Barça had the ball but wasted possession time and time again with more sloppy passing.

Athletic created really good chances on the counter.

Young Nico Williams was an absolute thorn in Alba’s side and every Bilbao opportunity came from that flank.

52' @willliamsssnico with a low shot, but Ter Stegen stops it.

1-1 I #AthleticBarça #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/1QriNqa6Uw
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 20, 2022

SECOND HALF

For large parts of the second half there was little to no action as Barça took control of possession but struggled to break down a very well-organized Athletic defense.

Xavi brought Nico González, Ansu Fati and Frenkie De Jong off the bench early on and all three had a very positive effect on the game, making Barça’s attack more dynamic and less predictable.

As extra-time looked more and more likely, Athletic found the winner.

Iker Muniain sent a free-kick into the box, Ter Stegen saved the initial header by Álex Berenguer but the ball fell to Iñigo Martínez who was first to the rebound and found a way to send it home.

🔝 @InigoMartinez!!

⚽️ The defender is in the right place at the right time to finish after a goalmouth scramble!!

🎯 It doesn't matter how they go in, as long as they do!!!

2-1 I #AthleticBarça #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/oBH47ndiMY
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 20, 2022

Just as their hopes seemed to fade, the Blaugrana made it 2-2 when Jordi Alba sent a cross into the box, Dani Alves won the second ball with a spectacular bicycle kick assist and Pedri found the back of the net in the 93rd minute.

EXTRA-TIME

The first half of the extra period could not have gone any worse for Barça, who lost both Ansu Fati and Pedri to muscle injuries.

Next, they conceded a third goal when Jordi Alba was called for a handball in the box and the penalty was given after a VAR check.

Muniain stepped up to the spot, scored his second of the game and made it 3-2 Athletic.

Barça had 15 minutes to try and take it to penalties and Bilbao put every player behind the ball to protect their lead.

However, Bilbao managed to frustrate Barça who couldn’t come back for a third time and saw the final whistle come to confirm their exit from the Cup.

😍 The embodiment of happiness 👇

📸 @Marcelino 😃#AthleticBarça #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/kmDGH7D5kY
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 20, 2022

Squads

Athletic: Agirrezabala; De Marcos (Lekue 105’), Vivian, Martínez, Yuri (Balenziaga 91’); N. Williams (Zarraga 110’), D. García, Vesga (Nolaskoain 117’), Muniain; Sancet (I. Williams 52’), R. García (Berenguer 79’)

Goals: Muniain (2’, pen 105+1’), Martínez (86’)

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Araujo, Piqué, Alba; Pedri (Braithwaite 105+3’), Busquets, Gavi (De Jong 61’); Ferran, Jutglà (Fati 61’ (Dest 96’)), Abde (Nico 46’)

Goals: Ferran (20’), Pedri (90+3’)

FOOTBALL

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

Published

2 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

2 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

2 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.