..::Football IV::..

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Juventus 3 Cagliari 1: Dybala puts Bianconeri on path to record start

Paulo Dybala scored after just 42 seconds as Juventus recorded their best start to a Serie A season with a 3-1 victory over Cagliari at the Allianz Stadium.

Argentina international Dybala scored Juve's quickest Serie A goal in six years to put the hosts en route to a win that gives them 31 points after 11 top-flight matches – their best tally at this stage of a campaign.Joao Pedro pulled Cagliari level in the 36th minute but an own goal from Filip Bradaric 125 seconds later gave the hosts an advantage they would not relinquish.

Cristiano Ronaldo was presented before the match with a commemorative shirt by Juve president Andrea Agnelli for scoring his 400th goal in Europe's top five leagues against Genoa last month, and the Portugal captain laid on a late third for substitute Juan Cuadrado.
Dybala got Juventus off to a brilliant start when he turned Fabio Pisacane and Luca Ceppitelli on the edge of the box and fired into the bottom-right corner despite losing his footing.

Cagliari were refused a penalty by referee Maurizio Mariani, who checked replays of Medhi Benatia heading the ball against his hand inside the box in the 18th minute, and only a brilliant Wojciech Szczesny save kept Leonardo Pavoletti out.

The Juve goalkeeper was unable to stop Joao Pedro firing inside the near post, but Cagliari were only level for two minutes. Bradaric inadvertently sent the ball into his own net when trying to intercept Douglas Costa's cutback.

Bradaric was fortunate not to concede a penalty for appearing to control the ball with his arm in the box, before Ronaldo thundered a shot from the left side of the area against the upright in stoppage time.

Massimiliano Allegri replaced Costa with Cuadrado for the second half and Juve found it tough to create more chances, but the Colombian finally added to their tally three minutes from time to stave off a potentially tense finale.

 

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'Defensively absolutely awful' – Mourinho blasts Man Utd players for 'disaster' first half

Jose Mourinho has publicly taken his players to task over what he called a 'disaster' of a first half in Manchester United's narrow 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

An opening goal from Callum Wilson was well deserved for the Cherries, who dominated the lacklustre Red Devils for a full 45 minutes, albeit with Anthony Martial netting an equaliser before the break.

The second half saw a different side to United, however, as the visitors went from one shot on target in the first half to seven in the second, concluded with Marcus Rashford's stoppage-time winner.

Mourinho, understandably, revealed to BT Sport after the match that he felt like the luckiest boss in the English top flight as his side went in tied at a goal apiece."Defensively awful. Absolutely awful," the Portuguese said. "And when I say defensively I don't just mean my defenders, I mean as a team.

"At half time I thought I was the luckiest manager in the Premier League because to be 1-1 in a half where it should be like 5-2 or 6-2, we were really lucky because we were really poor.

"We didn't press... the work we did during the week – I feel like people watching this game won't believe how hard we trained this week."The first half was a disaster. Then in the second half it was exactly the opposite.

We created a lot of chances, we pressed higher, we had much more aggression, intensity, intention. "We deserved to score before ninety-somethingth minute."Man Utd have been making something of a habit of starting slowly in matches, and Mourinho admitted he had to have some stern words with his players in order to achieve a result.

Still, he could not come up with an answer as to why it is taking the 20-time league champions so long to grow into games.

"[I had] Strong words [at half time] but I was calm," the 55-year-old went on. "I started by being positive, saying it was impossible to play worse so the second half was going to be better for sure and obviously it was.
"We performed much better as a team. I can't understand.

"My assistant came to me and said we had the best warm-up of the season.Everyone was very focused, great intensity. It was also a phenomenal week of [pre-match] work."I can't believe how badly we started."

United are next in action against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday before taking on local rivals Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

 

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'Real Madrid can still win everything this season' - Perez defiant despite upheaval


Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is confident the team can still achieve success on all fronts despite their troubled start to the season.Madrid sit ninth in La Liga heading into Saturday's clash against Real Valladolid, with interim boss Santiago Solari set to take charge of his first league fixture following Julen Lopetegui's sacking.

But despite the disastrous nature to Lopetegui's four-month tenure, and their continuing search for a permanent boss, Perez says nobody should doubt Madrid's qualities.

"We've got a great squad which has proved that it's capable of winning everything going," Perez told attendees at an event to commemorate Madrid's members."I want to state that all of our targets for this season remain intact.

"We are experiencing one of the most extraordinary stages in the history of Real Madrid. We have to value this and what we are achieving."This team has won absolutely everything. We've managed to achieve a historic feat that's practically impossible to repeat: lifting three Champions League crowns in a row and four in five seasons."

Madrid are seven points behind leaders Barcelona heading into the weekend's fixtures, having lost four and drawn one of their last five matches in the Spanish top flight.

 

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Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1: Lacazette checks Klopp's title bid

Alexandre Lacazette's fifth Premier League goal of the season grabbed a 1-1 draw for Arsenal in their pulsating Emirates Stadium encounter with Liverpool.

Liverpool spent significant periods on the back foot against their vibrant hosts, although Sadio Mane had a goal controversially ruled out for offside and Virgil van Dijk hit the post before captain James Milner clinically pounced on a Bernd Leno error after the hour.

Milner's landmark 50th Premier League goal would not prove decisive, however, as Lacazette latched onto substitute Alex Iwobi's pass, drew Alisson from his goal and finished sublimely.


Jurgen Klopp's side go back to the top of the table for now but will be two points behind Manchester City if the champions beat lowly Southampton on Sunday, while Chelsea can also go above them with three points against Crystal Palace.
Joe Gomez's last-ditch challenge deflected Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 14th-minute shot behind, while Mane was flagged offside at the other end when he tapped in after Roberto Firmino hit the post.

A combination of Leno and Shkodran Mustafi prevented Van Dijk from giving Liverpool a 23rd-minute lead when the centre-back stayed forward after a set-piece.

The frantic end-to-end feel continued, with Aubameyang dragging off target from Henrikh Mkhitaryan's backheel, before Mesut Ozil produced an impudent flick of his own from Granit Xhaka's chipped 39th-minute pass for Lacazette to fire wide.

Replicating Alisson's earlier dart from his goal to disrupt a Mkhitaryan aerial attempt, Leno charged haphazardly into Van Dijk in first-half stoppage time and was relieved to see the defender's header bounce to safety off the upright.

Mkhitaryan passed up a couple of shooting opportunities as Arsenal resumed on top but Milner broke the deadlock, smashing home when Leno's fumble from Mane's cross deflected into his path off Rob Holding.

Leno partly atoned for that error by pushing over Van Dijk's 74th-minute header, by which stage Arsenal's earlier poise and threat looked to have dissipated. Lacazette had other ideas eight minutes from time.

 

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Rayo Vallecano 2 Barcelona 3: Dembele and Suarez strike late to save Valverde's men

Barcelona scored twice in the last three minutes to edge past lowly Rayo Vallecano 3-2 and open up a four-point lead at the top of LaLiga.

A third straight league win moves Ernesto Valverde's side clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, but their advantage will be reduced back to one point if Alaves beat Eibar on Sunday.Luis Suarez put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute, but Vallecano looked like they would record just their second win of the season as Jose Pozo and Alvaro Garcia netted either side of the interval.

The Catalan giants produced a stirring last-gasp comeback, though, with Ousmane Dembele drawing them level in the 87th minute and then Suarez delivering the decisive blow three minutes later.
Any hopes Vallecano had of containing their illustrious opponents – 5-1 El Clasico victors last weekend – were obliterated after just 11 minutes.

Jordi Alba latched onto Ivan Rakitic's stunning cross-field pass and pulled the ball back for Suarez to slot in his eighth league goal of the campaign from six yards.The hosts should have drawn level just after the half-hour mark, Pozo firing wide from 10 yards after a blistering counter-attack had torn Barca's backline apart.

The former Almeria man made amends 10 minutes before the interval, however, whipping a wonderful strike in off Marc-Andre ter Stegen's left-hand post from 25 yards.

Barca came agonisingly close to restoring their advantage moments before the break when Suarez's curled effort crashed off the outside of the upright.That near-miss was brought into sharp focus after 57 minutes when substitute Garcia powered home from close range after Raul de Tomas' header had fallen kindly to him off the post.

Vallecano were unable to hold on for a famous win, however. Dembele pulled Barca level with a crisp half-volley from Gerard Pique's headed knockdown before Suarez stole in at the back post to prod past goalkeeper Alberto Garcia for a dramatic late winner.

 

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‘Ask the ref!' - Klopp bemused by controversial offside call in Liverpool-Arsenal draw


Jurgen Klopp did not understand why Sadio Mane’s first-half goal was ruled out for offside, but admitted he did not think that could be blamed for his side’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal.

Mane appeared to put the Reds ahead in the opening 45, tapping home a Roberto Firmino shot that had hit off the crossbar.The linesman ruled Mane offside, but replays showed Firmino onside when he was played in and Mane behind his Brazilian team-mate when the shot was taken.

James Milner would eventually put the Reds up 1-0 in the second half, before Alexandre Lacazette equalized eight minutes from time to snatch the host Gunners a point.

And after the match, Klopp claimed to be confused over why Mane was ruled offside, instructing media to ask the referee why the goal did not count.“There's only one person who can answer the question (of the offside goal) and that's the linesman,” Klopp told BT Sport. “Ask him. If he thought the first situation was offside, I think it would be the wrong decision.”

However, Klopp was quick to point out he did not blame the referee for the result, believing his side made far too many mistakes in the draw.“But it's not to change anything. We have more mistakes than the ref, but it would have been cool if this goal could count!"

In addition to Firmino, Virgil Van Dijk also hit the woodwork, but the Reds looked leaky at the back at times with Arsenal putting them under heavy pressure throughout the contest.Despite nearly leading at half-time, Klopp was frustrated with how his team performed and even went as far as to switch their formation in the second half.

"We were not compact enough, simple as that,” Klopp said. “We have to do it better, prepare the pressing better. We didn't have that in the first half, but when we played we were immediately dangerous.“We had situations in their box. Mo was a proper threat. We didn't finish, were not clinical enough. Set-pieces were the biggest chances. I was not happy with the first half.”

The draw sees Liverpool remain unbeaten in the Premier League and temporarily moves them top of the table by a point ahead of Manchester City, with the reigning title holders to square off against Southampton on Sunday.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Wolves 2 Tottenham 3: Foyth flails but Pochettino's men hold on

Tottenham survived a second-half Wolves fightback to leapfrog Arsenal into the top four with a hard-earned 3-2 away win on Saturday.Mauricio Pochettino's men were made to work for three points as Juan Foyth, on his maiden Premier League start, conceded two penalties from which Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez eroded a three-goal buffer.

But the visitors held on amid a nervy final 10 minutes to condemn the hosts to a third successive defeat.


Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura had earlier struck in three first-half minutes before Harry Kane netted what proved the winner just after the hour with his first goal in four league appearances.The match started on a sour note for Tottenham with an ankle injury cutting short Mousa Dembele's 250th club appearance.

Son Heung-min was introduced and helped lift the mood, providing the pass from which Lamela punished sleepy marking in the 27th minute.

Kieran Trippier delivered an even better assist less than three minutes later as his curling cross dropped perfectly for Lucas to head Spurs into a two-goal lead.And everything seemed to be going their way when Jimenez had a goal ruled out for an incorrect offside flag against Matt Doherty.

The tide would have turned after the restart if not for Hugo Lloris, whose trio of fine saves took on extra significance as Kane fired in at the second attempt following Lamela's lead-up work.

Foyth's rash challenge in the box allowed Neves to finally beat Tottenham's skipper seven minutes later and the Argentine defender was at fault again 11 minutes from time, gifting Jimenez the final consolation after bundling over Jonny Castro Otto.

 

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'I wanted to win' - Emery 'only 50 per cent happy' with Liverpool draw


Unai Emery would not allow himself to bask in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Liverpool because he thought Arsenal should have won.

The Gunners looked like having nothing to show for an enterprising display against Jurgen Klopp's side, who headed into the closing stages in front after James Milner broke the deadlock with an hour played.But Alexandre Lacazette registered his fifth Premier League goal of the season in style with eight minutes remaining.

"We wanted to win but also we had a big team in front of us," Emery told BT Sport."For us the performance is good. We pushed and worked in the match, doing our things tactically and with our supporters pushing with energy.

"For our supporters and us I think it is a great match but I am happy only 50 per cent because I wanted to win."It means Arsenal's unbeaten run across all competition now stands at 14 matches and clear improvement from the back-to-back defeats against title-chasing Manchester City and Chelsea was evident as Liverpool regularly found themselves on the back foot.

"The balance in the 90 minutes was good, our intensity was a very good intensity. Against them that is important," Emery added."We worked very well for the 90 minutes. We scored and that was the difference in the match in one moment. I think we deserved it a little more.

"Every match is a good test. For us it is very important we continued our process and our way. It is important to win but it is also important not to lose."

 

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Barclays Premier League 2018.11.04

Barclays Premier League 2018.11.04

Manchester City Vs Southampton

Chelsea Vs Crystal Palace

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LA Liga Fixtures 2018.11.04

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.11.04

Eibar Vs Alaves

Villareal Vs Levante

Real Sociedad Vs Sevilla

Huesca Vs Getafe

Real Betis Vs Celta Vigo
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Serie A Fixtures 2018.11.04

Serie A Fixtures 2018.11.04

Lazio Vs Spal

Chievo Vs Sassuolo

Parma Vs Frosinone

Sampdoria Vs Torino

Bologna Vs Atalanta

Udinese Vs AC Milan
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Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.11.04

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.11.04

Monchengladbach Vs Fortuna

Mainz Vs Werder Bremen

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[Alucard_SxE]

Mohamed Salah statue: Liverpool star gets the Cristiano Ronaldo treatment with new sculpture
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...do-treatment-with-new-sculpture-a3980261.html

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[RottenCOLT]

champions league match tike welawa wenas karala neda. 1.30am samahara ewa yanne. hena chater time eka

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'Arsenal now closer to Premier League's best' – Emery lauds Gunners after Liverpool draw


Unai Emery believes Arsenal have showed that they have closed the gap on the Premier League’s best sides with their 1-1 draw against Liverpool.

Alexandre Lacazette earned the Gunners a point at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, cancelling out James Milner's second-half opener to extend the north London outfit’s unbeaten streak to 14 games.

Arsenal’s only previous encounter with current top-four opposition in the league was a pair of clashes against champions Manchester City and rivals Chelsea in August, losing both.

Emery, who succeeded long-term Gunners manager Arsene Wenger in May, has not lost a game since the defeat against Maurizio Sarri’s Blues, and felt his side's performance against Liverpool highlighted the progress they have made in recent months.“The Premier League is the first competition for us. It gives us the big regularity for the season – 38 matches,” the 47-year-old told reporters in his post-match press conference.

“It's very important when you play against City, Chelsea and Liverpool and if you win it's better.“But the other games are important also because three points are the same against Liverpool or Crystal Palace or next week against Wolves. Today is one test, how we are against a team like Liverpool.

“Maybe after Manchester City and Chelsea, today we are more near those teams, but we need this quality in every match. Every game is important.”Emery was also keen to praise youngster Alex Iwobi for his contributions, highlighting the 22-year-old’s ability and encouraging his continued growth.

“[He] can impact hard in the match,” the coach added. “First he started on the right, then I thought he was better left. His impact in some moments in the match, like our goal, is important.

“His energy is important, so is his quality. He can improve. He can do better. He scored against Chelsea, I want him to be nearer the box, having chances to score more.

“He can. He is very young. He is improving. But also he has the ambition to do more.”Arsenal are now fifth in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Liverpool.

 

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Barcelona will not risk Messi against Inter, assures Valverde


Ernesto Valverde insisted he will not take any undue risks despite naming Lionel Messi in his Barcelona squad just two and a half weeks after he fractured his arm.

Messi has not played since he was forced off in the first half of a 4-2 win over Sevilla on October 20, but Valverde included him in the party that travelled to Milan to face Inter in the Champions League.Barca have won all four of their matches without the talismanic Argentine, with a 2-0 victory over Inter and the 5-1 demolition of Real Madrid the standout results.

"Leo is at the point where he could be available, but we have to wait. It depends on training," Valverde told a news conference."There are three or four options, but we will not take risks [with Messi].

"I think it's better if he's there. More than anything because he is one more [player] and so we have more to choose from. Of course, it is necessary for Messi to recover."The Catalan giants can clinch top spot in Group B by beating Inter at San Siro on Tuesday, but Valverde is expecting Luciano Spalletti's side to pose a tougher challenge than they did in their first meeting.

He said: "To already be in this situation in the fourth game of the group is great. But I do not want to take too many risks. We are going to prepare for the game. We would like to win, of course.

"We need to control the game to try to reach the goal. It's the same for Inter. But you also have to be forceful."We're expecting a similar opponent to the one we had at Camp Nou – definitely more aggressive because of the pressure [on them].

"Inter have good intensity, they want to dominate the game and press high. That's why they've had such a good run this season. We expect a better Inter."

 

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Mertens future hint involves free agency and China


Dries Mertens has hinted that he will leave Napoli as a free agent in 2020, with it possible that he could head to China.

The Belgium international is currently tied to terms which include a €28 million (£24m/$32m) buyout clause for sides in the Chinese Super League.He is not expecting to see that asking price triggered, with there a desire on his part to continue turning out in Serie A for now.

Mertens is, however, prepared to acknowledge, at 31 years of age, that he may have an adventure outside of Europe left in him, with fellow countrymen Axel Witsel and Yannick Carrasco having already taken in spells in Asia.

Quizzed on a possible switch to the CSL by the South China Morning Post, a man who is two efforts short of 100 goals for Napoli said: “You never know.“In one year I finish my contract in Naples so maybe then.

“Why did I reject a move before? I just preferred to stay in Europe for my development. I was still on the bench at the beginning in Naples, then I started to play and I wanted to enjoy my moments.“I worked so hard to get into the team and I didn’t want to leave – that would have been too easy.

“I spoke a lot with [Axel] Witsel and [Yannick] Carrasco and they are actually quite positive about the football there.“I spoke to Carrasco [recently] and he said he’s getting used to it and his team is getting more points.

“At the beginning he said he didn’t know how to find his place in the team, but now he’s feeling better. With Axel, even though he’s moved away, he said he still enjoyed his time.”

Mertens has been with Napoli since 2013, taking in 246 appearances to date.He has been a regular source of goals throughout a career which has also seen him earn 78 caps for his country and would see that skill set embraced by ambitious outfits in the Chinese top flight were he to become available.

 

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Griezmann to Bayern? - Atletico star open to future Bundesliga move


Antoine Griezmann has praised the standard of German football, suggesting that he would be open to the possibility of a move to the Bundesliga in the future.

The French attacker was a first-hand witness to this quality only a fortnight ago, with Borussia Dortmund handing Atletico Madrid a 4-0 drubbing in the Champions League.Ahead of Tuesday's return fixture, the 27-year-old recognised the Bundesliga's high standard, even going as far as to suggest that it could be a destination of his in the future.

Speaking to Kicker he said: "It could be (a league I could play in) but I feel very comfortable here with Atletico. We have a beautiful project here that I identify with 100 per cent. I want to help the club grow as it helps me grow, and we want to create history.

"It's a very offensive league with a lot of attacking. I think Borussia Dortmund reflects the league quite well."The forward has repeatedly been linked with a move to Bayern Munich in recent years.

Griezmann also suggested that the Bundesliga is underestimated in relation to some of its European competitors, putting it on par with the Premier League and just behind La Liga.

"I would put Spain in first place - in the round of 16 and quarter-finals of the Champions League there are many Spanish teams - followed by the Bundesliga or the Premier League.

"The Premier League is indeed more popular and is the world's most viewed and the Bundesliga is a bit in the shadow. There is less talk about it, but as far as talents and the teams are concerned, the difference is not much."The Bundesliga is very attractive, attacking football is played and there are many goals, as we had to experience in Dortmund the other day."

The Frenchman scored on Saturday, but it was not enough for Atletico Madrid who were held 1-1 by Leganes, their third draw in five league matches.

 

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Man Utd head to Juventus full of confidence – Smalling


Chris Smalling says Manchester United’s last-gasp win over Bournemouth has given the side confidence ahead of their Champions League trip to Juventus.

Marcus Rashford scored deep into stoppage-time to secure victory for Jose Mourinho’s side after Anthony Martial had cancelled out Callum Wilson’s early opener.The result means United have won both Premier League matches since their defeat home Juventus last month with the two sides reconvening in Turin on Wednesday.

With a game against rivals Manchester City coming up in the Premier league next weekend, a crucial few days lie ahead for Mourinho’s side.

When asked what two positive results could do for United’s season, Smalling said: “I think that it would galvanise us. We know we’re going into a very tough week now but we can come out with some good results and it can be seen as a good month.“It is an especially tough month now and potentially after the international break when we have a lot of home games it’s all about making sure we get results and move up that table despite the tough games.

“We can take the second half to Turin and I think we will be more on the front foot and you will see a better performance in the first half. We need to take the second-half performance that we had against them at home and we need to do that from the off and we’ll give them a good game and get chances.”

Mourinho’s success throughout his career has been built on a solid defence so it is unusual so see a side managed by the Portuguese concede so many goals. The Red Devils have already conceded 18 times in the Premier League this season, the worst record in the top half.

Smalling admits it’s something the side need to work on if they are to be successful this season.“In the last few years I think we have been known for shutting up shop and not conceding many goals so this season has been very unusual to what I have experienced,” Smalling added.“We need to work on that because normally we don’t concede many and we win the game. It starts at the back, and as a team collectively, and we will be working on it every day.

“Yes, we’re showing that attitude, never giving in. No matter how bad the first half was, the second half we all believed we could go and win. It’s a great feeling and it’s bringing us closer together. As games are getting tougher and tougher – I think they’re closer than ever – it is often coming down to fine margins. Who can give that added burst in the last five minutes? We’re going to win a lot of points that way, and a lot of other teams are going to gain or lose points that way.”

Despite United’s recent improvement Smalling acknowledges that poor results earlier in the campaign means the club face a real battle to try and finish in the top four. Mourinho's side are currently seventh in the table, four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and nine points behind leaders Manchester City.

“We as players have to stand tall and the spotlight will be on us because we are supposed to be in the top four. We are doing everything we can to get there,” he said.

“To be at a club like this, and last as long as I have, you need to have that courage and belief in your ability, because you’re not going to have good days every week and the bad days are often highlighted when you’re at a big club, but I believe in myself. As players you need to have thick skin and we need to have belief that you will have bad days but it’s about making sure you have more good days than bad.”

 

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UEFA Champions League Group Stage Fixtures 2018.11.06

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Fixtures 2018.11.06

Crvena Zvezda Vs Liverpool

Monaco Vs Club Brugge

Atletico Madrid Vs Dortmund

Porto Vs Lokomotiv Moscow

Inter Vs Barcelona

Napoli Vs PSG

Schalke Vs Galatasaray

Tottenham Vs PSV

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