Sunday, 21 October 2018

LIGUE 1 MBAPPE CONTINUES SCORING FORM AS PSG MAINTAIN PERFECT START

Paris St-Germain handed out a 5-0 thrashing to Amiens as they extended their perfect Ligue 1 start with their 10th consecutive win of the season.
PSG are eight points clear at the top of the table, and did not even name Neymar in their squad.
Teenager Kylian Mbappe made it 11 goals in nine matches this season with the fourth of the night.
No team in French history has scored more goals after 10 matches than PSG's 37.
Saint-Etienne also hit 37 in the opening 10 matches of the 1969-70 season, when they went on to win the league by 11 points.
Even without Neymar, Thiago Silva and Thomas Meunier - who were rested with Wednesday's Champions League clash with Napoli in mind - PSG were far too strong.
Only one team has had a longer winning streak from the start of a season in one of Europe's top five leagues - Tottenham Hotspur in the English top flight in 1960-61 (11 matches from the start of the season).
PSG briefly went 11 points clear but second-placed Lille beat Dijon 2-1 later in the day to slightly reduce that gap.

SERIE A - RONALDO REACHES LANDMARK 400 GOALS IN GENOA STALEMATE

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 400 goals in Europe's top five leagues as Juventus dropped points for the first time this season.
Ronaldo's fifth Serie A goal for Juve was added to his 84 Premier League strikes for Manchester United and 311 in La Liga for Real Madrid.
He tapped in after Joao Cancelo's shot was blocked - having earlier hit the post with a header.
But Daniel Bessa equalised with a header from Christian Kouame's cross.
Juventus defenders switched off for the goal, expecting the ball to drop for a corner - but Kouame kept it in and found an unmarked Bessa.
The hosts dominated most of the game, but of their 21 shots, only three were on target - all from Ronaldo, who had 11 efforts in total, in the first half.
Krzysztof Piatek's run of scoring in every game for Genoa since his summer move from Cracovia came to an end. The 23-year-old Poland striker had scored 13 goals in his first eight games.
Ronaldo's landmark puts him 10 goals above the second top scorer in Europe's main leagues, Lionel Messi - who scored his 390th La Liga goal for Barcelona in their 4-2 win against Sevilla. 

Champions Juve had won their opening eight Serie A games and two Champions League fixtures. They are four points above second-placed Napoli - who beat Udinese 3-0 later on Saturday.
On Tuesday, they visit Manchester United in the Champions League (20:00 BST).

BUNDESLIGA- LEWANDOWSKI BRACE BRINGS BAYERN BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich ended their four-game winless run with victory at Wolfsburg - although they had Arjen Robben sent off.
Lewandowski put Bayern ahead and then doubled their lead early in the second half after taking advantage of some terrible defending.
Robben was dismissed for two bookings, and Wout Weghorst then pulled one back.
But Lewandowski set up James Rodriguez to seal the victory.


On Friday, Bayern accused the media of "disrespect" and of breaking the German constitution with recent criticism in an extraordinary news conference. 

LA LIGA - MESSI INJURY OVERSHADOWS BARCA WIN , DOUBTFUL FOR EL CLASSICO

Lionel Messi will miss El Clasico after being ruled out for three weeks with a fractured arm as Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-2 to go top of La Liga.
The Argentine was left writhing in agony after landing heavily on his right arm after colliding with Franco Vazquez.
He was still in obvious discomfort as he left the field in the 26th minute.
Just moments earlier the Barcelona captain had scored a sublime goal to put Barcelona 2-0 up. 
Messi had also set up Philippe Coutinho for the opener on two minutes.
Barcelona confirmed after the game that the 31-year-old suffered a "fracture of the radial bone in his right arm" and is set to miss the Champions League tie against Inter Milan in midweek and the clash with Real Madrid next Sunday.
Despite the injury to Messi, Barcelona extended their lead in the second half through a Luis Suarez penalty. 
Pablo Sarabia's deflected long-range effort brought Sevilla back into the game before Barcelona had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for a wonderful double stop to deny first Sarabia and then Wissam Ben Yedder.
Ivan Rakitic's fine volley made it 4-1 and although substitute Luis Muriel curled home an impressive effort of his own, Barcelona held on to secure their first win in five La Liga matches.
The result also puts them one point clear of Alaves at the top of the table before next week's huge game at the Nou Camp against rivals Real.


FRENCH LIGUE 1 - PSG RUN RIOT IN AMIENS THRASHING

Paris St-Germain handed out a 5-0 thrashing to Amiens as they extended their perfect Ligue 1 start with their 10th consecutive win of the season.
PSG are eight points clear at the top of the table, and did not even name Neymar in their squad.
Teenager Kylian Mbappe made it 11 goals in nine matches this season with the fourth of the night.
No team in French history has scored more goals after 10 matches than PSG's 37.
Saint-Etienne also hit 37 in the opening 10 matches of the 1969-70 season, when they went on to win the league by 11 points.
Even without Neymar, Thiago Silva and Thomas Meunier - who were rested with Wednesday's Champions League clash with Napoli in mind - PSG were far too strong.
Only one team has had a longer winning streak from the start of a season in one of Europe's top five leagues - Tottenham Hotspur in the English top flight in 1960-61 (11 matches from the start of the season).
PSG briefly went 11 points clear but second-placed Lille beat Dijon 2-1 later in the day to slightly reduce that gap.

LA LIGA REVIEW - REAL SLUMP TO 4TH DEFEAT IN 5 GAMES

Real Madrid suffered their fourth loss in five games and set an unwanted record with a defeat by Levante at the Bernabeu.
The result put further pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui, whose side remain fifth in La Liga, three points behind leaders Alaves and a point behind Barcelona, who have yet to play.
"Right now that is the last thing that I'm thinking about," said Lopetegui when asked if he was worried about losing his job.
"I feel more encouraged than ever to continue because the team gave their heart and soul on the pitch. Sooner or later we will come out of this.
"The dressing room was sad but the players are keen to lift themselves up and look to the next game. The players gave everything and we will get out of this situation."

Lopetegui's side were stung twice inside 13 minutes when first Jose Luis Morales and then Roger Marti, from the spot, scored.
Real produced several great chances, with the woodwork and great saves from Oier Olazabal coming to the rescue for the visitors.
The final line of defence was finally breached in the 72nd minute when Marcelo fired a rocket past the Levante stopper - that ended a run of 482 minutes of scoring, although it came 17 minutes too late to prevent them from breaking the mark set back in 1985.
Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno backed lopetegui  in the lead-up to the match, but with an important game in the Champions League coming up and El Clasico next weekend, there could be renewed pressure for the Los Blancos chiefs to act.
Mid-table Levante seemed the perfect opponent to face, but with a front-line led by the precocious Jose Luis Morales, the visitors had no intention of playing for a draw. 

They attacked from the first whistle and took the lead with only six minutes on the clock. Morales kept his eyes on Sergio Postigo's long ball, as Raphael Varane failed to, took the ball around keeper Thibaut Courtois and slotted in.
It was soon 2-0. Frenchman Varane was at fault again, when he handled inside the area. The referee initially gave a free-kick before VAR ruled the defender had handled in the area. Marti fired in the penalty to leave the home support stunned and Lopetegui crestfallen.
VAR also ruled out goals scored by Real's Marco Asensio and Mariano.
And when Levante's attack was not causing problems for Real, their keeper Oier was frustrating them at the other end.
Oier, who conceded nine goals playing for Granada at the Bernabeu in 2015, pushed a Casemiro header on to the bar, blocked Lucas Vasquez's point-blank shot with his foot and pushed away Gareth Bale's free-kick.

Sunday, 7 October 2018

BREAKING ! JOHN TERRY RETIRES FROM FOOTBALL

Former England and Chelsea captain John Terry has retired from football.
Terry, 37, has been without a club since leaving Championship side Aston Villa in the summer.
The defender made the announcement on his Instagram account, saying: "After 23 incredible years as a footballer, I have decided now is the right time for me to retire from playing."
Terry, who won 78 England caps, left Chelsea in 2017 after 19 seasons at the London club.
He won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, a Champions League title and the Europa League in his time at Stamford Bridge.
More to follow.