FOOTBALL

Champions League Preview: Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Published

3 years ago

May 4, 2021

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Chelsea and Real Madrid will meet at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to settle their Champions League semifinal tie.

Thomas Tuchel, who stood at the Paris Saint-Germain dugout in the last Champions League final, would be looking forward to making a second consecutive appearance in the showpiece event, wearing the colours of Chelsea this time.

Zinedine Zidane, on the other hand, will look to finish the season in a high note after enduring a topsy-turvy campaign.

The first leg between the two sides ended 1-1 at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Tuchel would be disappointed that his team couldn’t take more than an away goal advantage back home, despite coming across a handful of chances to bury the tie.

Christian Pulisic scored a brilliant solo goal which was much reminiscent of the iconic goal Fernando Torres had scored for the Blues against Barcelona at the same stage of the competition a decade back.

But, the visitors couldn’t hold on to the lead for long.

A brilliant Karim Benzema goal restored parity in the 29^th minute and the scoreline remained the same for the most of the game.

Chelsea had some very good chances to take the lead, but their wasteful finishing kept Los Blancos in the tie.

What must Real Madrid do now

Given Real Madrid’s history in the competition, you can’t write them out of this clash.

The 14-time champions have won nine of their last eleven Champions League knock-out matches.

A victory of any margin at Stamford Bridge would be sufficient to book them a place in the final.

However, that would be easier said than done.

Ever since Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard, the Blues have become one of the strongest defensive sides in England.

They have managed 11 clean sheets in their last 15 matches.

Since a goalless draw would be enough to send Chelsea through, breaking them down would be quite difficult.

To win this tie, Real Madrid must assert dominance in the midfield.

Toni Kroos and Luca Modric have proven themselves as the best midfield partnership in the game many times, but they were second fiddle to Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, and Jorginho in the last game.

In this leg, they have to return to their best form.

Mateo Kovacic will miss out again for Chelsea, meaning Jorginho will deputise for the Croatian once again.

Antonio Rudiger has recovered from his knock and will be available to bolster Chelsea’s rearguard.

Injuries have been a recurrent problem for Zidane this season.

Lucas Vasquez and Dani Carvajal are too early in their rehabilitation process to make it to the game.

The Eden Hazard factor

Eden Hazard will return to London for the first time since his big-money move to Madrid.

Real fans will hope that he can put his old team to the sword.

The Belgian is yet to strike a consistent run of form for Madrid.

He managed to play 70 minutes on Sunday against Osasuna and showed sparks of his past self.

Even though he couldn’t score or assist, his performance was mostly positive. Hence, Zidane might deploy him at Stamford Bridge.

Kroos and Modric got some much needed rest in the weekend. With a fresh set of legs, the duo can cause way more problems to the Chelsea than they did last week.

We are expecting a goalless draw on Wednesday because of Chelsea’s strong defensive record and Madrid’s inconsistent attack.

Other than Karim Benzema, no Madrid players have shown a strong appetite for scoring goals this season.

While the Frenchman has 27 goals to his name, no other Real Madrid players managed to reach double digits in goals.

Chelsea have had their own troubles in front of goal.

To compensate for an underperforming attack, we are expecting Tuchel to sit back and prevent Madrid from scoring.

Chelsea have been exceptionally good at the back under Tuchel, and this could play out to their advantage in this game.

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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.