Who will win the Champions League final?

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2022

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Europe’s most prestigious competition is coming to its fag end, with Real Madrid and Liverpool left to battle it out in the final.

Both sides have played some amazing football up to this point and were a part of the thrilling semi-final matches.

Real Madrid, with the help of Rodrygo’s late goal, sank Manchester City’s chances (6-5 on aggregate).

Liverpool cruised past Villareal (5-2) in the semi-finals.

Liverpool’s journey to final

Liverpool created ripples by winning all six of their group matches.

In the last 16, they met Inter Milan. A 2-0 win at San Siro in the first leg saw them through despite a 1-0 defeat at Anfield.

In the quarter-finals, Liverpool thrashed Benfica 3-1 in Lisbon in the first leg, followed by a 3-3 home draw.

Against Villarreal in the semi-finals, Liverpool smashed three goals in 12 minutes in the second leg, to break a 2:2 stalemate and emerged winners.

Real Madrid’s journey to final

Real Madrid’s Champions League journey started awkwardly as they lost 2-1 at home to Moldovan champions FC Sheriff in their second group match.

That seemed to spur Ancelotti’s side on, however, as they won all their remaining group games to finish top of Group D.

Their next opponents were PSG.

Real Madrid lost the first leg in Paris 1-0 and then conceded just before half-time in the return fixture at the Bernabeu.

Just as it looked as though they were down and out, a sensational second-half hat-trick from captain Karim Benzema secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Next, they met Chelsea.

Madrid looked to have settled matters, having won 3-1 in the first leg in west London.

However, Chelsea went 3-0 up with 15 minutes left to play in the second leg.

When everything looked lost, a Rodrygo volley sent the game to extra time and Benzema scoring the winner shortly after the restart.

In the semi-final, City won 4-3 at the Etihad and then went 1-0 up late on in the second leg.

However, two late goals from Rodrygo levelled the tie at 5-5 on aggregate.

Once again, Benzema came to the rescue for Real Madrid, scoring from the spot in extra time.

Head to Head record

Real Madrid and Liverpool have previously met on eight occasions in European competition.

The Los Blancos had four wins compared to three wins for the Reds, while the most recent encounter ended in a draw.

In the recent matches, Real Madrid have a clear edge.

These sides met in the 2018 Champions League final.

This game saw Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah taken off injured in the first half after a challenge from Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Liverpool went on to lose the game 3-1.

They faced each other in last season’s quarter-finals, with Madrid winning the first leg 3-1 at home, followed by a goalless draw at Anfield.

Team News

It is certain that Divock Origi has played his last game for the club after sustaining a muscular problem in training.

Influential midfielder Thiago was a doubt after sustaining an Achilles injury, but now there is a chance he will feature, albeit not for the full match.

Fabinho’s hamstring injury is expected to let up in time after he returned to team training on Wednesday.

Joe Gomez should also be a part of the squad after bouncing back quickly from an ankle knock.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were on the bench last weekend after their FA Cup final knocks and will expect to return to the first XI here.

Madrid, meanwhile, have Eden Hazard on the treatment table. The Belgian has been out since March with a leg injury.

Gareth Bale has also missed matches in recent weeks due to a back problem.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Who will win

Real Madrid has a shaky back line.

The Reds attackers in particular should feel confident about bagging a couple of strikes against them.

However thanks to Real Madrid’s never say die attitude, this is an almost impossible game to predict.

Our prediction is a 2-0 win for Liverpool.

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.