FOOTBALL

UCL: Man City vs Real Madrid. Who will win?

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2022

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Would-be La Liga champions Real Madrid will visit the reigning kings of English football Manchester City for their Champions League semifinal first leg tie on Tuesday night.

The Citizens eliminated Real’s neighbours Atletico Madrid on their way to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid avenged their last season’s semifinal loss to Chelsea by knocking out the defending champions.

Manchester City gave Diego Simeone’s Atletico a taste of their own medicine as they sat deep in the second leg, allowing minimal scoring opportunities to Colchoneros.

A slender 1-0 lead City carried to the second leg was enough to ensure the semifinal tickets.

The match ended in a dreadful brawl between the two sides, but City remained standing in the Champions League.

Man City has been resilient

Following the Atletico match, Manchester City’s treble ambitions came to an end after crashing out of the FA Cup semifinals.

But, they have kept up the momentum in the league with two back to back wins against Brighton and Watford.

Despite Liverpool’s incredible form, City have held on to the Premier League top spot, with only five matches left to play.

Manchester City did not lose a European tie at home since Lyon came out on top of them in a group stage match back in 2018.

Man City have found the opposition net 13 times in their five home matches in the ongoing tournament. They are yet to concede a home goal in the knockout stages.

With Joao Cancelo suspended and Kyle Walker and John Stones racing against time to get fit ahead of the match, the hosts might find it challenging to retain the defensive resiliency they had exhibited in recent times.

Pep’s excellent record against Real Madrid

But, Man City boss Pep Guardiola will be in no short of confidence because of his excellent record against Real Madrid and their current manager.

If Man City progresses, Pep Guardiola will be the first manager in history to eliminate Real Madrid three times from the Champions League.

In his previous 19 meetings with the Madrid outfit, he won 11 times, drew four and only lost four times.

Guardiola boasts an even better head-to-head record against Carlo Ancelotti, having won against the Italian on four out of six occasions.

Real Madrid’s road to the semifinals was barely smooth.

They had to overcome a 1-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round-of-16 and then threw away a two-goal lead themselves in the quarterfinals.

Madrid won the first leg 3-1 against Chelsea, but the Blues bounced back in the second half and took the match to extra time. Thanks to an extra-time Karim Benzema goal, Madrid survived the scare.

Madrid have all but secured the La Liga trophy with a 3-1 win over Osasuna.

Ancelotti’s men will set their sights on the Champions League with the domestic title fight almost sorted out.

Real’s poor record against English clubs

Real have a six-match winning run to draw inspiration from, but their recent form against English teams will be a cause for concern.

Real Madrid have only one win in their last six encounters with Premier League clubs.

They also failed to win against Manchester City in their previous three meetings and have fresh memories of getting eliminated from the Champions League Round of 16 by City in the 2019/20 season.

Ancelotti will get to call back Eder Militao to the starting XI after the defender sat out the second Chelsea game because of suspension.

David Alaba joined Real’s piling list of injuries alongside Eden Hazard, Mariano Diaz, and Luka Jovic.

Modric did not play any minutes in the Osasuna game.

So, his fully rested legs should be ready for the Manchester trip.

Ferland Mendy could miss the game, and if he does, Marcelo will fill in at left-back.

Our Prediction

Both teams will have some big name absentees in defence, making it likely to become a high-scoring game.

Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr can threaten any defensive setup in the world while City have enough ammunition in form of Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, and Gabriel Jesus.

Home advantage and defensive superiority make City the favourites for this match.

We predict a 2-1 win for Manchester City.

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.