FOOTBALL

Man City defeat high flying Chelsea

Published

3 years ago

September 25, 2021

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Manchester City have reminded everyone that they are the reigning champions of the Premier League after condemning Chelsea to their first defeat of the season.

Thomas Tuchel’s men entered the fray with an unbeaten record in this season’s Premier League. Manchester City’s dismal draw against Southampton last weekend and Chelsea’s three consecutive win against Pep Guardiola’s team also gave the home side an extra dose of confidence.

Werner starts

Tuchel went for a 3-5-2, fielding Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner for the first time.

They adopted a conservative approach and were happy to surrender possession in the early stages of the match.

This was the first time these two teams locked horns since the Champions League final in Porto.

While Guardiola was desperate to rectify his wrongs, Tuchel was looking to hurt the Citizens following the same philosophy.

The Blues regularly tried to provoke the visitors into playing a high line so that they could exploit the space left behind.

Timo Werner’s inclusion in the team was a clear giveaway of Tuchel’s intentions even before the match had begun.

The idea was to exploit the German’s incredible pace to stretch the City backline.

But, it did not play out the way Tuchel had hoped since Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias dealt with Werner’s threat with sheer diligence.

One of the most questionable calls Guardiola had made in Porto was using Ilkay Gundogan as the midfield anchor.

Gundogan played a more advanced role for the majority of the season. So, he could not make much of a difference playing a deeper role.

Rodri makes a difference

At Stamford Bridge, Guardiola deployed Rodri in front of his defensive line, a decision that ultimately tipped the balance of the tie towards the Citizens.

Rodri isolated the Chelsea attacking duo as he disconnected the supply line.

For the majority of the game, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku could not impact the game to the extent they would have wanted to.

Manchester City started the match as the dominant force, but they did not get a clear sight of the goal in the first half.

Phil Foden got the best opportunity of the first half, but he could not keep his shot within target, much to the relief of Chelsea custodian Edouardo Mendy.

Manchester City went into the interval with a ball possession of 70%, but they had nothing to show for it.

However, they finally broke through Chelsea’s seemingly impenetrable defence shortly after the restart.

Joao Cancelo’s shot found its way to Gabriel Jesus’s feet.

The Brazilian, playing a right wing role, did brilliantly to hold on to the ball under severe ppressure and muster a shot.

The ball took a deflection from Jorginho, which took it away from Mendy’s path. The away stand erupted in joy as the ball crept into the lower far corner of the net.

FULL-TIME | BIG win! ✅

🔵 0-1 💙 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/I09QQK0wpM
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 25, 2021

Chelsea showed more urgency after conceding the goal and chose to take a more proactive approach.

Havertz replaces Kante

Kai Havertz came off the bench, replacing N’Golo Kante, and almost got Chelsea back into the game.

The German set up Lukaku for goal, but the linesman lifted his flag as soon as the Belgian put the ball into the back of the net.

City came close to scoring a few more with Jesus seeing Thiago Silva stopping his goal bound effort inches before the goal line and Jack Grealish forcing Mendy into a stunning save.

Manchester City will face PSG and Liverpool next, while Chelsea will take on Juventus and Southampton.

FOOTBALL

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

Published

8 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

8 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

8 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.