..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Bayern Munich 3 Bayer Leverkusen 1: Robben scores stunner

Arjen Robben scored a stunner as Bayern Munich came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory over Bundesliga strugglers Bayer Leverkusen, who were reduced to 10 men late on.

Wendell's fifth-minute penalty put Leverkusen ahead at the Allianz Arena, with referee Tobias Welz having ordered the spot-kick to be retaken after Kevin Volland had missed his initial effort.

Bayern quickly equalised through Corentin Tolisso, however, and the hosts took the lead when Robben sensationally volleyed home in the 19th minute.

James Rodriguez wrapped up the three points a minute from time to maintain Bayern's winning start, after any hopes of a Leverkusen comeback bad been ended by a red card for substitute Karim Bellarabi.
Controversy reigned early on when Leverkusen were awarded a penalty after Thiago Alcantara handled, but Manuel Neuer pulled off a superb double stop to deny Volland from the spot-kick and resulting rebound.Those saves would count for nothing, though, as the referee insisted that the penalty be retaken due to encroachment and Wendell made no mistake with his attempt.

Leverkusen's lead was short-lived, however, Tolisso restoring parity in the ninth minute as he bundled his way through and steered a clever finish high into the right corner.

Bayern soon had the lead, with Robben latching on to a poor clearance before unleashing a wicked volley that dipped in over Lukas Hradecky, although Bayern were dealt a blow when Tolisso was forced off with a knee injury.

Leverkusen were toyed with for much of the second half and Bellarabi, only just on as a substitute, let his frustration get the better of him when he lunged in on Rafinha with 10 minutes remaining and rightly saw red.

And Bayern made their numerical advantage count, James heading in from Thiago's cross to add further gloss to a comfortable victory, before having another effort ruled out for offside.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Inter 0 Parma 1: Late Dimarco screamer gives visitors first win back in Serie A

Inter's poor start to the Serie A season continued as Federico Dimarco's stunning late strike saw them suffer a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Parma, who claimed their first win back in the top flight.Luciano Spalletti's men appeared to kick-start their campaign with a 3-0 win at Bologna before the international break, but they were wasteful in front of goal and ultimately paid the price.

The absence of Mauro Icardi – who could only make the bench due to a recent thigh injury – seemed to be particularly felt in the first half, when Inter crafted several chances but failed to take any.


Parma became more defensively minded after half-time and Inter struggled to break them down, before getting caught out late on.Dimarco, who previously denied Ivan Perisic a certain goal, struck from long range 11 minutes from time and secured Parma a first win over Inter at San Siro since 1999.

Inter had little trouble establishing control in the first half and they should have gone ahead through Perisic in the 16th minute, but the Croatian blasted over after meeting Antonio Candreva's cross at the back post.Keita Balde Diao wasted an even better opportunity for a dominant Inter 15 minutes later, receiving Dalbert's cut-back and shooting straight at Luigi Sepe.

Icardi replaced Keita at the break, but still Perisic looked Inter's biggest threat – Dimarco denying him with a vital block in front of goal in the 56th minute.Inter piled men forward towards the end and Roberto Inglese almost put a Perisic cross into his own goal, but luckily it bobbled just wide.

Parma then took full advantage of that let-off in the 79th minute, as Dimarco lashed a glorious effort into the top-right corner from 35 yards and Inter were unable to claw things back, sending them into their Champions League opener with Tottenham with just one win in four league games.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tottenham 1 Liverpool 2: Wijnaldum and Firmino sound Reds' title intentions

Liverpool continued their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season with an authoritative 2-1 win over Tottenham.

Georginio Wijnaldum scored away from home in England's top flight for the first time and Roberto Firmino gave Jurgen Klopp's men breathing space in the 54th minute.Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs were again out of sorts following their 2-1 loss to Watford before the international break, with substitute Erik Lamela's stoppage-time goal giving the scoreline a very flattering look for the hosts.

The onus is now on Chelsea and Watford to keep pace with Liverpool when they host Cardiff and Manchester United respectively later on Saturday.
Liverpool thought they had the lead inside 45 seconds when Firmino touched James Milner's excellent cross beyond Michel Vorm, but Sadio Mane prodded at the Brazilian's effort from an offside position.

Vorm stood firm when a slack pass from Eric Dier allowed Mohamed Salah a run at goal but Tottenham's goalkeeper – playing once more in place of injured captain Hugo Lloris – was culpable when Liverpool took the lead six minutes before half-time.Following a botched punch from a corner, Vorm could only paw Wijnaldum's header away from behind his goal line.

More sloppy play from Tottenham after the break gave Vorm the opportunity to atone for his error with a sharp stop from Mane, before Lucas Moura found space at the other end to shoot against the outside of Alisson's right post.

A post was also involved in Liverpool's second as Jan Vertonghen slid in to block Mane's low cross, Vorm was unable to gather the rebound and Firmino converted from point-blank range.It should have been 3-0 after the hour as Mane delayed his pass to Naby Keita and Vorm pushed the resulting shot over.

Firmino limped off before Vorm's mixed outing concluded with a stop from Salah.
Such wasteful finishing set up late drama as Lamela pounced on slack set-piece defending before Mane escaped a penalty shout for an untidy challenge on Son Heung-min.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Atletico Madrid 1 Eibar 1: Garces rescues draw for Simeone's men


Borja Garces scored with almost the last kick of the game to secure a 1-1 draw for an underwhelming Atletico Madrid against Eibar at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.The visitors looked like they had snatched maximum points after 87 minutes when Sergi Enrich prodded home from close range.

Substitute Garces – making his LaLiga debut – spared Diego Simeone's blushes, though, lashing in from 15 yards, just moments after Diego Godin had thundered a header against the crossbar.


Their failure to adequately bounce back from defeat to Celta Vigo before the international break means that Simeone's side face the prospect of falling seven points behind early pacesetters Barcelona and Real Madrid by the end of the weekend.

After a sluggish start, in which Eibar's Jose Angel clipped the crossbar with a powerful half-volley, the hosts sparked into life - only to find Marko Dmitrovic in inspired form.First, Antoine Griezmann's low effort was kept out by the Serbian before he superbly pawed away Saul Niguez's downward header and blocked Godin's close-range drive in quick succession.

Dmitrovic was in action again just after the restart, tipping over Godin’s header and repelling Diego Costa's drive within the space of a minute.An unmarked Koke then inexplicably failed to connect with the ball just four yards out, while Eibar once again hit the woodwork, this time Anaitz Arbilla thundering a half-volley against the crossbar from 30 yards.

The visitors thought they had snatched a memorable win three minutes from time when Enrich took advantage of a deflection into his path to clip past Jan Oblak.
Atleti's hopes of a dramatic leveller looked to be over when Godin's header crashed back off the bar in stoppage time, but 19-year-old Garces had other ideas.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Sociedad 1 Barcelona 2: Suarez and Dembele maintain perfect start

Barcelona maintained their 100 per cent start to the season as they came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at Anoeta on Saturday.

Their perfect start to the LaLiga campaign looked in danger of coming to a crashing halt as Aritz Elustondo's fine finish early on gave the hosts the lead.Sociedad squandered three glorious opportunities on the break in quick succession just before the hour to put the game out of sight, profligacy that was duly punished by the ruthless visitors.

Luis Suarez was quickest to react to a loose ball from a goalmouth scramble to level in the 63rd minute before Ousmane Dembele's low effort took two deflections on its way into the net to secure maximum points for the Catalan side just three minutes later.

Sociedad had started brightly and were rewarded in the 12th minute when Elustondo lashed in a superb half-volley after Hector Moreno's back-post header was deflected into his path.

Barcelona struggled to get a foothold in the game after that early setback, but could have twice levelled through Gerard Pique shortly before the interval.Barca threw Philippe Coutinho on at the break in an attempt to inject some life into their listless attack, but it was the hosts who looked most likely to score the next goal.

In a remarkable passage of play, Sociedad missed three one-on-ones in the space of four minutes. Mikel Oyarzabal flashed over after springing the offside trap, before Marc-Andre ter Stegen thwarted Theo Hernandez and Juanmi.Those misses came back to haunt them almost immediately as Suarez thumped home from close range and then Dembele took advantage of poor defending from a corner to scuff home from 15 yards.

Juanmi should have snatched a late point for the hosts, but his free header sailed agonisingly wide as Barca ultimately held on for a fourth LaLiga win on the spin.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Newcastle United 1 Arsenal 2: Xhaka stunner helps Gunners to third straight win

Granit Xhaka scored a superb free-kick and Mesut Ozil was also on target as Arsenal won 2-1 at Newcastle United to claim a third successive Premier League victory.

After opening defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal have found their groove under Unai Emery against lesser opposition and they survived a poor first half to see off winless Newcastle.

Xhaka opened the scoring in stunning fashion, beating Martin Dubravka from 25 yards, and he played a part in the second as Ozil effectively sealed the points.


Newcastle's heads dropped thereafter and, despite Ciaran Clark's stoppage-time header, they have just the solitary point from a daunting start to the season, while Arsenal's bid for a return to the top four is gathering steam.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech and the Arsenal backline looked shaky with the ball at their feet and continually invited pressure in the early stages, and the shot-stopper was required to beat away a Jacob Murphy diving header at the far post.

Lucas Torreira was brought on for Matteo Guendouzi for the start of the second half while Newcastle were forced into a change at the back with injured captain Jamaal Lascelles replaced by Clark.Three minutes into the second half that reworked back four was breached as Federico Fernandez fouled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Xhaka unleashed a wonderful curling free-kick that left Dubravka helpless.

And Arsenal moved into complete command nine minutes later when Ozil's low finish beat the hand of Dubravka after Alexandre Lacazette's initial effort from Xhaka's left-wing pull back was blocked.Aubameyang then fired narrowly wide at the far post but his wastefulness ultimately went unpunished as Arsenal saw the game out following Clark's header from Fernandez's cross.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chelsea 4 Cardiff City 1: Hazard hat-trick sees off early scare

Chelsea nudged ahead of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table as Eden Hazard's hat-trick helped secure a come-from-behind 4-1 win over Cardiff City on Saturday.

The Belgium star needed just six first-half minutes to erase an early deficit and later returned to seal his treble from the spot as the hosts continued their perfect start to the new season.

Cardiff did fleetingly threaten an almighty upset thanks to Sol Bamba's shock 16th-minute opener before Maurizio Sarri's men took command on the way to a convincing fifth straight victory.


The in-form Hazard instigated a hasty turnaround that became a comfortable three points when Willian curled home seven minutes from the end, ensuring the Blues inched into top spot on goal difference.Neil Warnock's pre-match promise not to "shut-up shop" took shape when Bamba stunned an expectant Stamford Bridge crowd, prodding in defensive partner Sean Morrison's header.

Neil Etheridge twice denied Mateo Kovacic an immediate response but could do little about Hazard's unerring bottom-corner finish that restored parity.The comeback was complete a minute before the break as Olivier Giroud's gorgeous cushioned touch freed his team-mate to force a second in off Bamba at close range.

Cardiff remained in with a chance of extracting something from the match until substitute Willian arrived to end the resistance, first drawing a Bamba challenge that Hazard converted from the spot in the 80th minute, and then delightfully getting himself on the scoresheet by picking out the top right corner three minutes later.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Watford 1 Manchester United 2: Lukaku and Smalling end hosts' 100 per cent start

Manchester United produced arguably their most complete performance of the season as they beat Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road to end their hosts' 100 per cent start to the campaign.

A defeat for United would have seen them suffer three losses in their opening five Premier League games for the first time, but they picked up where they left off against Burnley prior to the international break, professionally dealing with an in-form Watford side.

Although the hosts initially looked bright, United finished the first half utterly dominant and 2-0 up thanks to Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling, whose goals were three minutes and 11 seconds apart.


Watford at least made things interesting with a 65th-minute Andre Gray strike, but United dug deep and fended off the home side's late advances to seal the points despite Nemanja Matic's red card deep into stoppage time.Confidence appeared to be flowing through Watford early on and they went close to the opener through Troy Deeney, but David de Gea was United's saviour, tipping the striker's effort over.

United did manage to settle, however, and ultimately capitalised on De Gea's heroics with two quickfire goals late in the half.Lukaku bundled in the first when latching on to Ashley Young's deflected cross 10 minutes from the break, before Marouane Fellaini headed a corner back into the danger zone and Smalling smashed home.

United were not quite so dominant after the restart and Watford found a foothold which ultimately allowed them to reduce the arrears – Gray finding the top-right corner from Abdoulaye Doucoure's cut-back.

Unfortunately for Watford, that goal was not the start of a famous turnaround, and United clung on to a second consecutive victory after Matic received a second caution, De Gea denying Christian Kabasele from the resulting free-kick.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ronaldo will score first Juventus goal against Sassuolo - Allegri


Cristiano Ronaldo will break his Juventus duck when the Serie A giants face Sassuolo, according to Massimiliano Allegri, who also believes the Portugal star deserves to win FIFA's The Best Award.Ronaldo is still searching for his first Juve goal, despite having had 23 attempts across the first three Serie A matches of the season.

The 33-year-old, who arrived from Real Madrid in the summer, has had more efforts on goal without finding the net than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, but Allegri is confident that Ronaldo - who he claims should edge out Mohamed Salah and Luka Modric for The Best award - will find his form against Sassuolo.

"Cristiano worked well and I think Sunday could be his day," Allegri told a press conference."I believe that Cristiano deserves to win the FIFA World Player award, even if Modric has had a phenomenal year as well."Ronaldo is not the only Juve forward struggling for form so far this term with Paulo Dybala having failed to score or assist in his two appearances.

Allegri, though, has no concerns over the Argentine's ability, insisting that the clash with Sassuolo represents the start of Juve's season in earnest."There can be no questioning Paulo Dybala's qualities. I liked his performance against Parma. Like all the other players, he needs to reach peak condition," Allegri said.

"This is where the seasons starts. The first objectives are to qualify from our Champions League group and lead the way in the league in order to be fighting on all fronts come March."In the first three games we conceded too much. We will have to find a different solidity. Sassuolo have enthusiasm and good players."

Allegri confirmed that no players who played two matches for their national teams over the past week, with the exception of Blaise Matuidi, will feature on Sunday, but Emre Can is in line for his Juve debut."Sunday will see Can make his first start for Juventus. I'll probably rest Miralem Pjanic, while I'll decide on Sami Khedira later," Allegri said."Wojciech Szczesny will play [against Sassuolo], but Mattia Perin is ready and will be playing soon."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Man Utd will be back for Maguire' - Leicester warned by Heskey to expect more interest


Manchester United will return for Harry Maguire at some stage, says Emile Heskey, with Leicester warned to expect further interest in a man they have tied to a new long-term contract.Those at Old Trafford spent much of the summer transfer window trying to acquire a proven centre-half.Maguire, having impressed for England at the 2018 World Cup, was among those identified as top targets for Jose Mourinho.

United were to be left frustrated as the deadline passed with no deals done, but they are likely to make a fresh bid to bolster their ranks when the next opportunity to add presents itself.

Former Leicester striker Heskey told Express Sport on the chances of that pursuit involving Maguire: “Having a contract never put anyone off. “I’m guessing they’ll just be looking at their transfer kitty and the names they want.

“They’ll go again, but having signed a new contract I can see Maguire is very happy, Leicester are happy and he’s at a good club.”Maguire has committed to fresh terms with the Foxes through to 2023.He has been able to remain focused throughout the speculation surrounding his future, with Heskey quick to hail those qualities.

“I’m guessing it would be fairly hard to continue playing when you’ve got the likes of Manchester United so adamant that they want you,” added the ex-England international.“But you could see how professional he was.“It never troubled his game. He went out there and performed - it was great to see. “Now he’s signed he can focus fully on putting in performances for Leicester and enjoying his football.”

Maguire has conceded that United made their interest known over the summer, but insists he was never close to making a move away from the King Power Stadium.
He said: "No, I don't think so. "There was a little bit of interest there and then but it was always on my mind when I spoke to the owners, who wanted to keep me at the club and extend my contract, that I wanted to play for this club.

"The last two years have been remarkable for myself. “I obviously got relegated at Hull and then joined such a great club in Leicester last season."I played every game in the Premier League and to make a World Cup squad and to reach a semi-final is something that I am really proud of."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Man Utd will be back for Maguire' - Leicester warned by Heskey to expect more interest

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Kohomath hoda CB kenek nathuwanam hari yanne nahaMaguire thamai hodama option eka

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[Wolverine GTR]

Firmino discharged from hospital following eye injury scare


Liverpool have confirmed that Roberto Firmino has been discharged from hospital following an assessment on an eye injury sustained in Saturday's 2-1 win at Tottenham .

Firmino scored the goal that ultimately proved the winner at Wembley, but had to receive treatment following a collision with Jan Vertonghen.The Brazil forward was eventually forced off, holding a pad to his eye, and was sent to hospital for further checks which confirmed an abrasion but no threat of lasting damage.

Firmino travelled back to Liverpool separately from his team-mates and it is not yet known if he will be available for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool were deserving winners but had to endure a nervy finish when Erik Lamela pulled one back for the hosts late on.Despite seeing his side fail to put the game to bed earlier, manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted the overall display ahead of the huge clash with PSG."I'm a very positive person. I see the game and I talk here and analyse it and then I don't think too much about it anymore, to be honest," he said."I'm not sure if we can do it on Tuesday and then next Saturday [against Southampton] again. We have to show that.

"It was a very good performance, maybe our best against Tottenham in all the years since I'm here, but I imagine only five per cent less and probably we would have lost."Tottenham are not really happy at the moment with the result and not with the performance, but because we were that good it was so difficult for Tottenham. I don't think that Tottenham played badly. That's why we deserved to win.

"But it's over now. Three points. Now we have to go again. We have to play against PSG. They won yesterday without Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe so they could rest players in the league, but that's Tuesday."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.09.16

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.09.16

Wolves Vs Burnley

Everton Vs West Ham

 

[Wolverine GTR]

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.09.16

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.09.16

Leganes Vs Villareal

Espanyol Vs Levante

Real Valldoid Vs Alaves

Sevilla Vs Getafe
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[Wolverine GTR]

Serie A Fixtures 2018.09.16

Serie A Fixtures 2018.09.16

Roma Vs Chievo

Genoa Vs Bologna

Juventus Vs Sassuolo

Udinese Vs Torino

Empoli Vs Lazio

Cagliari Vs AC Milan
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[Wolverine GTR]

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.09.16

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.09.16

Werder Bremen Vs Nurnberg

Freiburg Vs Stuttgart
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[Wolverine GTR]

Juventus 2 Sassuolo 1: Ronaldo breaks his duck as Costa sees red for spitting

Cristiano Ronaldo opened his Juventus account with two second-half goals in the Serie A champions' 2-1 victory over Sassuolo, but substitute Douglas Costa's red card for spitting cast a shadow over the match.

Unspectacular though it may have been, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's first goal delivered a palpable sense of relief around the Allianz Stadium, where the hosts had struggled to create chances against their in-form visitors.His second smacked of a man settling into life in Turin, the former Real Madrid star coolly drilling the ball home after 65 minutes.

A memorable hat-trick seemed certain when a looping cross found Ronaldo unmarked at the far post, but the Portuguese side-footed his volley narrowly wide before missing another gilt-edged opportunity eight minutes from time, and events turned sour when Costa headbutted Federico Di Francesco in the build-up to Khouma Babacar's consolation and then spat in his face.
It looked set to be a difficult afternoon for Ronaldo when he missed from just inside the box after six minutes and fluffed a header moments later, his frustration quietly matched by an increasingly underwhelmed home crowd.Andrea Consigli ensured the game remained goalless at the break with a reaction save when Marlon Santos turned Joao Cancelo's cross towards his own net, the goalkeeper doing well to palm the ball away.

The second half was five minutes old when Gianmarco Ferrari attempted to head the ball out for a corner, but instead hit his own post and Ronaldo was on hand to poke the ball over the line from a yard out.With 25 minutes left to play, Emre Can's pass found Ronaldo in space on the left and he strode confidently into the box before rattling the ball beyond Consigli into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Babacar was allowed a free header to pull one back in stoppage time, but it was Costa's behaviour and subsequent dismissal that really took the shine off Juve's celebrations.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Congratulations Ronaldo!

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[Wolverine GTR]

Everton 1 West Ham 3: Yarmolenko and Arnautovic star as Hammers get first points


Andriy Yarmolenko and Marko Arnautovic led the way as West Ham beat Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park, securing Manuel Pellegrini a much-needed first win in charge on his 65th birthday.A defeat for West Ham would have seen them lose their opening five league games of a season for the first time, but they showed plenty of craft in attack to punish Everton's sloppy defending.

Although Marco Silva's men initially looked the brighter, they were completely caught out for Yarmolenko's opener in the 11th minute, before the Ukrainian – starting his first Premier League game – added a stunning second just after the half-hour mark.


Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back just before the interval, but West Ham ultimately killed off Everton’s chances in the 61st minute through Arnautovic's well-worked goal, ending their woeful run of form.Pellegrini's decision to name a three-pronged attack showed West Ham's intent and two of them combined for the opener – Arnautovic racing in behind Everton's defence and squaring to Yarmolenko for an easy finish.

Yarmolenko then stunned Everton with a second 20 minutes later, running at Kurt Zouma before cutting on to his left foot to bend a sumptuous effort beyond Jordan Pickford from 18 yards out.But Everton were handed a lifeline just before the break, Sigurdsson powering a header past Lukasz Fabianski from Jonjoe Kenny's cross.

Everton were buoyed by that goal and piled the pressure on after the restart, only for West Ham to restore their two-goal cushion past the hour – Arnautovic prodding home following a neat interchange with Pedro Obiang.The hosts poured men forward desperately towards the end, with substitute Oumar Niasse turning Lucas Digne's cross against the woodwork, but West Ham held firm to claim a deserved win.

 

[Vandetta]

Congratulations Ronaldo!

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i thought he was only going to damage his reputation after moving to juve.
he should have retired man , but last match was good