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El Clasico Preview: Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2022

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Real Madrid and Barcelona will contest for the La Liga top spot when the arch-rivals meet in the first El Clásico of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The sides will go into the tie with the same amount of points.

But Barcelona are ahead of their Sunday afternoon hosts in goal difference. So, a draw will keep the visitors on top, while the home side must win to leapfrog their opponents in the standings.

Real Madrid cruised to the La Liga title last season with a whopping 13-point lead over the runner-ups. But the Catalonians have started the season strong this time around to indicate this season’s title race will not be a one-sided affair.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side kicked off their season with seven wins and a draw. 22 points out the possible 24 is an incredible haul, but it’s still not enough to put Los Blancos on top.

The defending La Liga and Champions League champions have won only one of their last three matches in all competitions.

After losing points to a travelling Osasuna side, Madrid bounced back with a 1-0 away win against Getafe. But they had to share the spoils with Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

Real Madrid have won five of their last six matches against Barcelona.

However, the last time the two teams met, Barcelona picked up a 4-0 win at Santiago Bernabéu. Madrid will hope to avenge their last season’s home defeat to Barca and go three points clear at the top.

Despite dropping points to Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek, Real Madrid have confirmed their Champions League knockout stage spot.

On the contrary, Barcelona are on the verge of another group-stage elimination from the competition.

Barcelona scored three times against Inter Milan in a must-win Champions League game on Wednesday night. But their atrocious defensive display allowed the visitors to score three as well.

The 3-3 draw have kept alive Barcelona’s knockout stage progression hopes arithmetically, but the odds are incredibly stacked against them.

Barca must win their last two games and hope Inter fail to win both of theirs. Inter winning against Bayern Munich or Viktoria Plzeň will relegate Xavi’s side to the Europa League for the second successive season.

Barcelona will look to wash away their Champions League disappointments with an El Clásico victory over Real Madrid. Barcelona have been in great form domestically regardless of their struggles in Europe.

After the opening match draw against Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona have been on a seven-match winning streak.

Thibaut Courtois will not make it back in time to stand in front of the Real Madrid goal against Barcelona. So Andriy Lunin will return on goal as the Real Madrid number one recovers from a back injury.

Antonio Rudiger left the pitch with bandages on his head in the Shakhtar Donetsk game, but he will be fit to feature on Sunday evening.

Dani Ceballos will be out with a long-term thigh injury.

Barcelona will hope to put on a much better defensive performance as they will get back Jules Koundé from injury. However, there is no good news for Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Héctor Bellerín, and Memphis Depay.

Barcelona were involved in a high intensity match against Inter Milan on midweek and they had a day less to rest before travelling to Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Madrid can take advantage a fatigued Barcelona side and nick a crucial win. We predict a 1-0 win for Real Madrid

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.

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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.”

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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.