Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has talked up his side’s chances ahead of their huge clash against Real Madrid this weekend, as he believes the 4-1 win against Bayern Munich is a confidence booster. With El Clasico on the horizons, Flick stated he was delighted to aid the Catalan giants bring a halt to an almost decade-long winless run against the Bavarians, and their biggest test of the season awaits them as they travel to the capital in their next LaLiga game. “It’s unbelievable this win. Bayern are a wonderful team, with fantastic players who know how to play very well,…
Author: Somto Isaac
Liverpool and Aston Villa are now the only teams with a perfect record while defending champions Real Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona were in red hot form as matchday three of the UEFA Champions League brought goals, excitements and thrilling moments. In a repeat of last season’s final, Vinicius Junior strengthened claims for a maiden Ballon d’Or with an outstanding performance with a brilliant hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund. Los Blancos staged another miracle European comeback on Tuesday night, going down by two in the first half against the German outfit following goals from Jamie Gittens and Donyell Malen. Antonio Rudiger…
Mikel Arteta has called on his Arsenal team to use the pain of their first loss in half a year to face Shaktar Donetsk in their Champions League clash on Tuesday. The North London outfit were shocked following a 2-0 loss against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday, after William Saliba was sent off in the opening half. The result was a first loss since April, falling four points behind Liverpool — however, Arteta insists there is no cause for alarm. “You have a defeat, that’s part of the game, it happens in very specific conditions as well,”…
Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin is adamant his team will need more than a firm mentality to aid them in their visit to European Champions Real Madrid on Tuesday. Dortmund lost in their last outing against Los Blancos, which was the Champions League final as goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr. aided Real to their 15th title. “Mentality only is not enough to survive against Real Madrid, especially in this stadium, against the champions of this competition,” Sahin said in his pre-match presser. “We need everything tomorrow. We need a lot of quality, a lot of self-confidence, mentality of…
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted he wants star forward Kylian Mbappe to contribute more goals over helping the team while they press. The European and LaLiga champions have not been at their best this season and are on the hunt for a more effective way to get the Frenchman firing since his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain. Los Blancos were defeated in their travel to Lille in their last Champions League contest and they host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in a rematch of last season’s final which they won to claim a 15th crown. “I prefer that [Mbappe] scores…
Barcelona midfielder Gavi could not hide his joy at being back on the pitch after a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury which kept him out for 11 months. The Spaniard underwent surgery after suffering the bad injury in the European Champions’ Euro 2024 qualifying triumph against Georgia last year, as he missed the rest of the season. The 20-year-old made his comeback on Sunday, receiving a standing ovation as he came on as a substitute in Barcelona’s 5-1 win against Sevilla in LaLiga. “I’m very happy to be back with the team. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for many…
Declan Rice has stated Arsenal must do without their record of red cards in order to keep their title challenge strong for this season. The Gunners saw their unbeaten run come to an end as they first league defeat of the campaign at Bournemouth after goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert — following a first half red card to William Saliba. “We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games and we got away with it at home to Brighton and away at Manchester City. Bournemouth kept probing and made it 2-0,” the midfielder said. “I’m proud…
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City’s late win at Wolverhampton Wanderers was a “good flavour”, while also adding the goal was correctly judged to stand. Despite their dominance in possessions, the Premier League champions were seemingly setup to end the game with a 1-1 draw at Molineux, however, John Stones stepped up to head a 95th minute winning header. Referee Chris Kavanagh initially disallowed the goal after City midfielder Bernardo Silva was in close proximity to Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa, but the Video Assistant Referee [VAR] judged he was not blocking the line of vision and Kavanagh changed his decision. “We…
The Libyan Football Federation [LFF] have pointed fingers to Nigeria, blaming them for the postponement of Tuesday’s scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie. The Super Eagles players declined to execute the game scheduled to take place in Benghazi, citing mistreatment on arrival in the country. Players and officials of Nigeria were kept in a locked airport for over 16 hours and almost 250km away from their pre-planned destination after their charter flight was redirected while approaching Benghazi and instead landed in Bayda. It was also stated that the Nigeria team had no access to food or water or internet…
Brazil star Neymar has insisted his international teammate Vinicius Jr deserves this year’s Ballon d’Or award. Vinicius is shortlisted among the candidates for the award, which the winner will be announced next month. The 32-year-old Al Hilal attacker said of the Real Madrid ace; “He had a great season, he played many games and I will be supporting him because he will surely win the Golden Ball. “We have a magnificent relationship, I love ‘Vini’, is a great friend. “There is no one better to win the Ballon d’Or. I hope he will return to Brazil soon with the trophy,…