Coming to the match, in the first half, Barcelona had a dreadful start to the game as the home side scored in the second minute. That goal came through a mistake from left-back Junior Firpo as he took too long to move the ball and was dispossessed by Roberto Soldado. The Spanish striker then passed it to Antonio Puertas, who played a lovely chipped pass for Ramon Azeez to finish at the far post....
The odds are stacked against Los Blancos with their coach, Santiago Solari, desperate for a positive reaction from his players. Yet they are nine points behind Barcelona, who sit comfortably at the top of La Liga with 57 points after 25 matches. Real Madrid are also out of the Copa Del Rey, knocked out after a 4-1 aggregate defeat against Blaugrana this week. It is also somewhat evident that Barcelona might not have to push hard for a win at the Santiago Bernabeu, just like they did in the Copa Del Rey second leg a few days back....
Madridistas were still getting over Zidane’s exit when Cristiano Ronaldo, their all time top scorer, decided to follow suit and switch to Juventus. Given his strained relationship with Perez and his ongoing tax issues in Spain, it was no surprise that the move went through, as there was little to stay at Madrid for in the end. Because of this, Lopetegui not only has to try and replicate Zidane’s successful tenure as a manager, but has to do this without the team’s talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo....
It was Lajong who had the upper hand in both the halves with some dominating football but failed to find the back of the net. Lajong made two changes in their starting line-up as Alen Deory replaced captain Samuel Lalmuanpuia and Kenstar Kharsong was handed his I-League debut in place of experienced defender Juho Oh. It was the home side who were dominating straight from the kick-off as they enjoyed most of the ball possession....
Shillong Lajong coach Bobby Nongbet made it clear that the team is looking for nothing less than a win against their opponents tomorrow. “We are heading into the match with the hope of winning another three points. We can understand that the task will not be easy but we have all worked very hard for this,” said Nongbet in the pre-match press conference. “We obviously have a game plan worked out but we will have to see what happens tomorrow,” said the Lajong coach....
Rondo paid the price for “unsportsmanlike physical contact” on Thunder guard Dennis Schroder in Friday’s 130-127 win in Oklahoma City. The Lakers veteran was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected in the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Rondo appeared to kick Schroder, with the NBA penalising the former for “verbal abuse of a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection”....
Lakers head coach Walton has come under increasing pressure in recent days with Los Angeles failing to perform as many had hoped with the offseason arrival of LeBron James. Team president Magic Johnson reportedly visited Walton last week to address the Lakers’ form, but the three-time NBA MVP insisted before Sunday’s game: “[Walton] is going to finish the season - unless something drastic happens, which it won’t.” There was no improvement against the Raptors, though, as a dismal first quarter in which Toronto scored 42 points contributed to a 121-107 away win at Staples Center....
When Barcelona stumbled at Leganés, second-place Real Madrid had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. A loss for Los Blancos followed, and the two El Clásico rivals would have a similar outcome in Matchweek Seven. The action began on Friday, as Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol battled to a 2-2 stalemate. Rayo are currently 18th in the table, two points from rising above the relegation zone. Saturday began with a poor showing from Real Sociedad, falling 1-0 at home to Valencia....
Tosun looked to be in an offside position as he initially attempted to head home Yannick Bolasie’s cross in the 69th minute, before burying the loose ball amid a subsequent goalmouth scramble. Stoke, who had Charlie Adam sent off on the half hour, quickly equalised through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, yet parity only lasted seven minutes as Tosun returned to net the winner and heap more pressure on a home side stuck in the Premier League relegation zone with only seven games to play....
From Liverpool’s stunning comeback and penalty shoot-out triumph over AC Milan in 2005 to Chelsea’s win via the same means against Bayern Munich in 2012, English clubs were represented in seven out of eight Champions League finals. Lampard was on the scoresheet before Chelsea lost on spot kicks in an all-Premier League affair against Manchester United in Moscow in 2008, but no English side has featured in the European showpiece since the Blues’ triumph in Munich....
Lana stuns Rusev and aligns with Lashley The Lana-Lashley-Rusev saga kicked off on the RAW season premiere and it seems like we are bound to get more of it in the coming days. The angle saw a returning Bobby Lashley and Lana getting together at the end of RAW’s season premiere, while a helpless Rusev watched them from the ring. Soon after, Lana talked about her new-found love and stated that Rusev never had time for her, and spent all of his time playing videogames....
The players could be : Denis Suarez : The 24-year-old is a player who never seemed to have reached his full potential at Barcelona because his involvement in first team matches has been littered with bright sparks but no consistency. Not being given a run of games has certainly played a part in this due to his connections with the key players constantly being broken and reformed with training not being the same as a competitive match....
There have been growing complaints, especially in the Catalunya region, that have accused that the league is becoming more and more biased in favour of Real Madrid. Tebas’ diplomatic response could indeed be attributed to these allegations. According to Marca, the president was attending a Microsoft event where he said, “I want the Classico to be a big party for all of La Liga to benefit from. Today I won’t say who I want to win, you already know who....
Lahiri, still 77th in World Golf Rankings, needs to move up in a big way to get into the WGC event and the first Major of the year. Lahiri, who has already had two Top-10s this season but both in late 2017, showed some signs of the same form when he was T-13 after three rounds at the Riviera, but a series of three-putts on the final days pushed him to T-26....
The result means Lajong are still stranded at the bottom of the table with 11 points from 18 matches, whereas Gokulam have accumulated 14 points having played one game less. Gokulam drew the first blood through a stellar finish from Marcus Joseph in the 43rd minute before Samuel Lalmuanpia restored parity for the hosts in the 65th minute. Lajong started the game with two changes – goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa had to be rested due to an injury sustained from the last game against Chennai City FC and was replaced by Neinthovilie Chalieu while Kynsailang Kharsong was replaced by Rakesh Pradhan....
Samuel Kynshi (36th, 45th minutes) scored a brace before Naorem Mahesh Singh (83rd) scored a late winner to derail Churchill’s title hopes at the JLN Stadium here. As a result of Lajong’s win, Chennai City FC remain on top of the points table with 30 points from 4 games. The talented Mahesh scored his fourth league goal late in the second half to ensure Churchill remain on 29 points, a point adrift of Chennai and in second place after 16 games....
In the last few years, Real Madrid’s domestic record in LaLiga has not been the brightest. But they have always managed to turn the season around with the most coveted footballing crown of them all - the UEFA Champions League. This year however, Los Blancos were knocked out in the quarterfinal stage in a shocking turn of events, by a young and exciting Ajax team. With the LaLiga and the Copa del Rey already out of their grasp, Real Madrid are at the verge of one of their worst seasons....
Ernesto Valverde penned down a strong starting eleven as he replaced only Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets with Ousmane Dembele and Arturo Vidal respectively. Interestingly, Rakitic took the Busquets role by playing just above the defence line instead of playing on his preferred right mid position where Vidal was playing. The team looked strong and balanced on the paper and was put out to test by Valverde. The match started with high paced continuous attacks from both sides....
In case you didn’t know… Since his return to Manchester United in 2016 for a hefty sum, Paul Pogba has proven himself to be an asset for the club, but reports suggest that the French midfielder is currently not enjoying his time at Old Trafford. Pogba endured a chaotic period under former boss Jose Mourinho in the first half of the season. The 26-year-old began to show glimpses of his usual self initially under the tutelage of Ole Gunner Solskjaer but endured another slump in the recent matches....
The House of Black’s leader, Malakai Black, sprayed his dreaded black mist on Miro during their All-Atlantic Championship match in June. The Redeemer has been locked in a simmering feud with the faction ever since, and has even teased joining, just as Julia Hart did after she was corrupted by the mist. Last week’s AEW Dynamite featured a spooky segment with Miro and Julia Hart. The 20-year old advised the former TNT Champion to embrace the gift of the mist like she did....
