..::Football IV::..

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Espanyol 1 Atletico Madrid 0: Late Garcia goal snatches dramatic win

Espanyol brought Atletico Madrid's 20-game unbeaten run in LaLiga to a juddering halt on Friday as Sergio Garcia's late strike sent Diego Simeone's side to a 1-0 defeat.

Second-placed Atletico had not tasted league disappointment since April when they were beaten by Villarreal, but they offered little on a frustrating night for the visitors at RCDE Stadium.

Atleti only created one chance of note throughout the 90 minutes when Kevin Gameiro fired straight at Pau Lopez, while star striker Antoine Griezmann was well below par.




And their poor form going forward was punished in the 88th minute when a brisk Espanyol counter-attack presented a chance for Garcia, the striker making no mistake with a low finish at the back post.The win lifts Espanyol five points clear of the bottom three, and will delight the Catalan side's neighbours Barcelona just as much.

Barca's six-point lead at the summit remains intact and could be widened further should they beat Real Madrid in the Clasico, while Valencia could move past Atletico should they beat Villarreal.


Espanyol did a good job of frustrating their in-form visitors in the early exchanges and had the clearest opening of the half after 19 minutes as Baptistao was played clean through.

Moreno won the ball back on the halfway line and released Garcia to drive at the Atleti defence.His pass found Baptistao in acres of space but, when one-on-one, he got his attempted lob horribly wrong and the ball sailed wide of Jan Oblak's goal.

It was a rare threat on the Atletico goal and slowly the visitors began to up the tempo. However, testing Pau Lopez proved difficult.Indeed, Atleti's only dangerous moment came five minutes before the break as Fernando Torres' block fell for Griezmann in the area.

The striker tried to go round Pau Lopez but instead of shooting fell theatrically to the floor and was lucky to avoid a booking from referee Mario Lopez.It took until the 53rd minute for the first opening of the second half to arrive and again it was Espanyol who threatened, Moreno and Garcia involved as the latter screwed a low shot from the edge of the area wide.

The ball finally nestled in the net moments later as Diego Godin powered a header beyond Pau Lopez, but the Uruguayan's effort was ruled out for a foul.A lacklustre Atletico were eventually able to call Pau Lopez into action when Griezmann played in Gameiro, however the substitute's effort was easily saved to sum up a disappointing night.



And Garcia made it even worse for the title contenders with his first goal of the season, curling a low shot past Oblak to give Quique Sanchez Flores victory over his former club.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal 3 Liverpool 3: Points shared in classic Christmas cracker

Arsenal and Liverpool played out the best game of the Premier League season so far, the Gunners coming from two goals down to lead only for Roberto Firmino to claim a dramatic 3-3 draw.

Philippe Coutinho had Liverpool deservedly in front at half-time, the Brazil international beating Petr Cech with a deft header after Mohamed Salah's cross looped up off Laurent Koscielny.But while Jurgen Klopp's side dominated the first period, they were later left to rue missed chances.




An epic second half initially saw a rampant Liverpool double their advantage shortly after the restart, Salah's shot deflecting in after Firmino led a superb counter-attack.Their two-goal lead was short-lived, though, as a resurgent Arsenal were in front with three goals inside five remarkable minutes.

Alexis Sanchez headed through the legs of Simon Mignolet from Hector Bellerin's pinpoint right-wing cross, and then the goalkeeper was beaten too easily by Granit Xhaka's viciously swerving drive.

The comeback was seemingly complete thanks to Mesut Ozil's sensational finish, the playmaker chipping Mignolet after a sublime one-two with Alexandre Lacazette, but Firmino beat Cech with 19 minutes left to level the match.
A draw was certainly the fairest outcome in a thrilling contest, with Firmino's intervention ensuring Arsene Wenger is yet to beat Klopp's Liverpool in five attempts.

After throwing away another lead, Liverpool stay fourth - a point and a place above Arsenal - but the dreadful defending from both sides indicated they will struggle for Champions League qualification without improvement at the back.

Despite Jordan Henderson limping off early and Arsenal's pressing high up the pitch, the visitors had the better of the opening exchanges and Coutinho bent a curling effort narrowly wide.Firmino should have done better with a pair of back-post headers from deep left-wing crosses but Liverpool opened the scoring after 26 minutes.

Milner sent Salah one on one with Koscielny in the right channel and, while the France defender did well to hold up the in-form forward, Coutinho flicked in his first ever Premier League headed goal after the cross took a kind deflection.

Firmino's drive narrowly cleared the crossbar just after the half-hour mark and Cech then had to deny Salah after Koscielny's slip let the Egypt international in, with Sadio Mane acrobatically turning the rebound over.

Arsenal left the field to boos from the Emirates crowd after a mistake-ridden first half saw the hosts fail to muster a single shot on target, with Liverpool eyeing a repeat of August's 4-0 rout.

Wenger replaced the injured Nacho Monreal with Shkodran Mustafi at the interval, but Liverpool's dominance continued, Salah adding a second after the Reds countered at speed.

Liverpool won the ball deep in Arsenal territory and, with the Gunners short at the back, Firmino fed the Premier League's top goalscorer Salah for his 15th top-flight strike of the season, his strike taking a slight deflection.Arsenal responded immediately in an incredible spell, Sanchez starting the comeback by nodding in Bellerin's centre to ensure his side have now scored in 24 consecutive home league matches.

Xhaka let fly from 25 yards, with late movement from the strike beating Mignolet, although the goalkeeper really ought to have done better, before a delightful goal put Arsenal in front.

Ozil fed Lacazette, who neatly played a backheel into his team-mate's path, and the Germany international's cute chip left Mignolet sprawling.Goals continued to flow, though, with Liverpool levelling through Firmino when Cech was unable to keep out the forward's effort despite getting a strong hand to the shot.

Sanchez almost beat Mignolet at his near post before the late introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off the bench created the enticing possibility of the former Gunners midfielder punishing his former employers.



Liverpool fans thought Salah had won it in the penultimate minute but his shot ruffled the side-netting, with both teams left to settle for a point after a breathless festive treat.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barcelona are not Clasico favourites - Valverde


Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde does not believe his side's huge advantage in the Primera Division table will count for anything when they face Real Madrid in El Clasico.

The Catalan club have a six-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid and have opened up a gap of 11 points over Real Madrid in the La Liga table, with Los Blancos mired in fourth place after mixed fortunes in the first half of the season.

It has been a drastic reversal of fortune following the Spanish Supercopa to begin the season, when Madrid emerged victorious over Barcelona. Since, Valverde's men are unbeaten.

However, as they prepared to travel to the Santiago Bernabeu, the coach cautioned that Barcelona's success compared to their rivals means nothing for such an important match.

"I don't think we are favourites," Valverde told reporters. "The league table is perhaps of least importance in these games, they are very special games."It's about the tension between the teams. They have home advantage, which is very important. So, I wouldn't say we're favourites, no."

Barcelona are chasing three consecutive league wins at the Bernabeau for the first time in their history, and a victory would take the gap between the rivals to 14 points, though Madrid still have a game in hand. With that said, Valverde doubted El Clasico will be the deciding factor in Madrid's title hopes."It won't be decisive, certainly not," Valverde said. "We don't really talk about consequences of games until the game is over.

"There is no point talking about what would happen if we win, draw or lose until the game has been played."No matter what happens tomorrow there is a long road ahead."

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, who held his press conference at the same time, was also dismissive when asked if a Barca win would end his team's title defence.

"No, whatever happens tomorrow we will keep working and keep thinking," said the Frenchman."There's still a long way to go and tomorrow is just three points. We know we have to play well, but it won't change anything, whatever happens.”

Along with the normal cacophony of noise, hype and loathing that comes with world football's most anticipated club match, the latest Madrid-Barcelona clash comes in the wake of Catalan elections that have done little to ease political tensions between the region and Spain's capital.

Pro-independence parties won a narrow majority in Thursday's poll — another of the potential distractions Valverde is keen to steer the gaze of his players away from."Sometimes there are so many lights around this game that you are blinded and you can't see into the distance," he added.

"What we have is 11 people against 11 people and we need to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and our own."

 

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Ronaldo fit for Clasico, Zidane confirms


Cristiano Ronaldo has been declared fit to play in Real Madrid's clash with Barcelona on Saturday after overcoming a calf problem.Ronaldo sustained the injury during the Club World Cup final victory over Gremio and had trained alone as a "precaution", with the club insisting the 2017 Ballon d'Or winner would be fit for Barca's visit.

He was then pictured training alongside the rest of his team-mates as normal on Friday and coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed in his pre-match news conference that Ronaldo is fine and will feature.Zidane said: "He is fine, he's 100 per cent. He has trained today and that's what interests me. I'm not going to get sidetracked into other things.

"The only important thing is the game and that’s all Cristiano has to think about on Saturday. What Cristiano has done and doing at this club, he deserves all the respect he gets."

Gareth Bale is another Madrid star who has suffered with injuries of late, but the Wales international featured in the Club World Cup and, although Zidane would not be drawn on whether he can start against Barca, the Frenchman is willing to accept his players' conclusions as to their own fitness. "I always believe in my players, believe in communicating with my players," Zidane added. "I trust my players.

"It happened last year [Bale getting injured in El Clasico], but it can happen with any player, getting injured. "The important thing for me is when I ask the players if they're 100 per cent, I believe them, but things can happen.

"You'll see tomorrow if he plays. As always, I can't tell you. That's for me to think about."The good thing is everyone is fit."That's a good thing but also bad, because I must leave players out."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Figo: I always hope Real Madrid win


Luis Figo has never forgotten his Madrid years. Although the former Ballon d'Or winner wore Barcelona's jersey during his illustrious playing career, his heart leans towards Los Blancos on the eve of the most-watched match in the world.

Despite the former Portugal international making more league appearances for the Catalan club than he did for their great rivals, he says he is a fan of Madrid and always pulls for them to win.

"I'm a Real Madrid fan and I hope they win all the time," he told Goal. "Not only this game, but all competitions in Spain."The 45-year-old was part of the famed Galactico teams of the early 2000s at Madrid, playing alongside current Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

Figo didn't seem to foresee his midfield partner as a manager, but does believe his former team-mate has done well since taking over one of the biggest jobs in the world.

"It's always difficult to predict what will happen but many people did not expect to see him coach, but it's a personal decision and since he made this choice he had a fantastic way."I think he has everything he needs to stay for many years at the head of Real Madrid, and I hope he'll stay there for a long time"Madrid and Barcelona face off Saturday with the Catalans 11 points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga.

 

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Buffon: Even at 80 I would play for Juventus or Italy


Gianluigi Buffon says he will never really retire from playing and will be available for Juventus or Italy even when he is 80.

The legendary goalkeeper is expected to hang up his gloves at the end of the season after 22 years at the highest level with Parma and Juve.Buffon has previously stated he is "99.9 per cent" certain he will retire but continues to leave the door open.

Gianluigi Donnarumma may be Buffon's heir-apparent for Italy but who replaces him for the long term at Juve remains unclear, and the 39-year-old says he will always be ready to turn out for the Bianconeri – no matter what age he is."I just don't know how to answer these [retirement] questions," he told Der Spiegel. "Will I stop? Will I not stop?

"I feel like a soldier in the service of my club and my country. The big picture was always more important to me than my own. That's how I see my work."I am very likely to stop, but I am still available for Juventus and the national team."Even at 80, if suddenly no goalkeeper would be there, they should call me – I would train briefly and then jump in."

One regret Buffon has is not finishing his career with a sixth trip to a World Cup, Italy having been beaten by Sweden in the qualifying play-offs last month.

It will be the first edition of the tournament the Azzurri have missed since 1958 and Buffon is ashamed to have been part of a squad that failed."I will regret Italy missing the World Cup for the rest of my life," he added."We took away that joy for children, that rapid heartbeat you get from watching your country play in an event like that."

 

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Mourinho: Ibrahimovic ready to start as a number 10


Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic is ready to start as a number 10, according to manager Jose Mourinho.

Ibrahimovic, 36, has been eased back into action since returning from a serious knee injury, making four Premier League appearances off the bench.Ahead of his side's trip to Leicester City Saturday, Mourinho said the Swede was ready to take a place in the XI – likely behind striker Romelu Lukaku.

"He's an option," the Portuguese tactician said. "He played one hour, a bit more [against Bristol City], it could be that he is ready to start the match, 90 minutes is probably too much, it depends on the match."I think he's ready to start."

Questions have remained over how Mourinho planned to use Ibrahimovic after the close-season signing of Lukaku, who has 15 goals in all competitions this campaign.Mourinho said there was no reason Ibrahimovic would be unable to step into a number 10 role for United.

"He played last match in that period in the second half where we replaced Lukaku for Daley Blind and Lukaku played number nine and Zlatan played 10," he said.

"I know it was in a period when his energy was going down but obviously there are spaces where a number 10 plays."And even when Ibra was as a clear number nine, the space is where he feels comfortable to play, so why not?"United are second in the table – 11 points behind league leaders Manchester City – ahead of their clash against Leicester.

 

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Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.12.23

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.12.23

Everton Vs Chelsea

Brighton Vs Watford

Manchester City Vs Bournemouth

Southampton Vs Huddersfield

Stoke City Vs WBA

Swansea Vs Crystal Palace

West Ham Vs Newcastle

Burnley Vs Tottenham

Leicester City Vs Manchester United

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[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester City early season play karapu widiyata wada dan godak hodata play karanawa.Team performance improve wela thiyenneSo hoda fight ekak denna wenawa beat karanna.

Good luck Manchester United!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.12.23

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.12.23

Real Madrid Vs Barcelona

Valancia Vs Villareal

Deportivo Vs Celta Vigo​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2017.12.23

Serie A Fixtures 2017.12.23

Lazio Vs Crotone

Genoa Vs Benevento

Napoli Vs Sampdoria

Sassuolo Vs Inter

Spal Vs Torino

Udinese Vs Verona

AC Milan Vs Atalanta

Juventus Vs Roma​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Leicester City 1 Vs 1 Manchester United

​

 

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Hoda fight ekak yanawa1st half godak active

Good luck for the 2nd Half Manchester United!
​

 

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Full Time

Leicester City 2 Vs 2 Manchester United

Leicester City Goal(s)

J.Vardy 27'
H Maguire 90+4'

&

Manchester United Goal(s)

J.Mata 40',60'

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[Wolverine GTR]

Lesiyenma dinaganna thibba match ekak nikamma draw karagatthathanikarama aparade

Mata pattaSpecially free kick ekanam Superb! & Lukaku geth team commitment 1ka godak hodai goals score kale nathi unath

Ath aparade miss chances godai.Rash / Lingard hoda goal scoring chances kihipayakma miss karagatthameeta wada goals score karala win karanna thibba match ekak nathi une

& Title Race ekanam iwarai wageGap eka 13 points

anyway next Burnley.Good luck Manchester United!
​

 

[Ithika mithika]

Lesiyenma dinaganna thibba match ekak nikamma draw karagatthathanikarama aparade

Mata pattaSpecially free kick ekanam Superb! & Lukaku geth team commitment 1ka godak hodai goals score kale nathi unath

Ath aparade miss chances godai.Rash / Lingard hoda goal scoring chances kihipayakma miss karagatthameeta wada goals score karala win karanna thibba match ekak nathi une

& Title Race ekanam iwarai wageGap eka 13 points

anyway next Burnley.Good luck Manchester United!
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester City 2 Manchester United 2: Maguire snatches dramatic draw

Harry Maguire produced a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to earn 10-man Leicester City a 2-2 draw against Manchester United, denting their opponents' already slim hopes of reeling in Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

United looked set to clinch all three points after two goals from Juan Mata had turned the match on its head following Jamie Vardy's 50th goal in the top flight.
However, Maguire got on the end of a perfectly flighted Marc Albrighton cross from the left to direct a finish beyond David De Gea, leaving United 13 points adrift of City at the midway point.

Vardy combined with Riyad Mahrez to fire Leicester in front after 27 minutes, before Mata pulled United level five minutes from the break.After showing great composure to net his first, Mata was equally cool when he floated a wonderful free-kick beyond Kasper Schmeichel on the hour.

Leicester's chances of restoring parity were dealt a blow when Daniel Amartey – on as a 57th-minute substitute – was sent off for a second bookable offence just 16 minutes later, but Maguire popped up with a leveller, capitalising on the injured Chris Smalling's lack of mobility, that sent the home fans into raptures.

United drew two early saves from Schmeichel as they made a bright start at the King Power Stadium. Jesse Lingard's strike needed tipping over after taking a deflection off Leicester defender Harry Maguire, before Paul Pogba unleashed a low drive that was pounced upon by the Dane.

However, it was Leicester who broke the deadlock when Riyad Mahrez – holding the ball up well on the edge of the box after racing on to a long Wilfred Ndidi pass – waited for the run of Vardy before threading through a pass that was gratefully dispatched by the England striker.

An ambitious effort from halfway by Pogba was both wayward and tracked all the way by a retreating Schmeichel, but Mata soon had United level with a well-worked equaliser.

Anthony Martial was afforded too much space on the left and his deflected cross was met in the box by Lingard, who teed up Mata to place an effort into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

Christian Fuchs should have restored Leicester's lead early in the second half when, after Mahrez's dizzying feet had hypnotised Ashley Young down the right, he had a shot blocked by Victor Lindelof when he perhaps had more time to place his shot.

Fuchs, being a defender, could be forgiven for not having the sharpest of attacking instincts, but there could be no excuse for Martial moments later, when he blazed over after being played in by a wonderful Romelu Lukaku throughball.

When the next goal did arrive it was a beauty. Mata curled a delightful free-kick over the wall and just out of the reach of a diving Schmeichel, who reacted too late to make the stop.

Lingard placed a shot against the base of the left-hand upright following another superb Lukaku pass after 72 minutes, but Amartey's foolish double booking looked like ending Leicester hopes.

However, after both sides had penalty shouts turned down, Maguire met Albrighton's cross to guide the ball beyond De Gea, with United's defence carrying an injured Smalling for the crucial closing stages.

 

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AC Milan 0 Atalanta 2: Cristante, Ilicic leave Gattuso searching for answers

Gennaro Gattuso is set to be haunted by the ghost of Christmas present in the week ahead after Atalanta defeated AC Milan 2-0 on Saturday, consigning them to a second consecutive Serie A loss under the new head coach.

Milan were surprisingly thumped 3-0 by struggling Verona last time out and they were unable to positively respond at the first attempt, former Rossoneri player Bryan Cristante and Josip Ilicic scoring for the visitors to spread fresh ripples of discontent among the long-suffering San Siro crowd.

The result leaves Milan 11th in the table and with their Champions League qualification hopes likely to be over already, an off-season of expensive recruitment has evidently failed to produce the desired transformation.




They must now prepare for Wednesday's Coppa Italia derby against city rivals Inter, who have also suffered two successive losses to see their title challenge falter in recent weeks.

Milan then return to Serie A duty away to Fiorentina next weekend, as Gattuso, who replaced Vincenzo Montella at the helm late last month, searches for a formula that will solve the team's seemingly perennial inconsistency.Atalanta by contrast are seventh and seeking to mount a repeat of the impressive campaign that saw them finish fourth last season.


Milan had the ball in the back of the net in the 14th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out after referee Michael Fabbri consulted a video replay.

Franck Kessie swung a good cross into the area against his former side, but Patrick Cutrone handled the ball before Giacomo Bonaventura hooked it into the roof of the net.

Atalanta finally broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, when Cutrone earned a yellow card for a foul on Alejandro Gomez, who swung in the subsequent free-kick.Mattia Caldara's downward header was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the goalkeeper could not keep hold of the ball and Cristante stabbed it home.

Milan, perhaps with a fierce Gattuso team talk ringing in their ears, started the second half in determined fashion, going close three times in quick succession through Nikola Kalinic, while Ricardo Rodriguez and Fabio Borini also had chances.

Borini threatened again in the 66th minute, his half-volley snap shot flashing just wide of the post with Etrit Berisha beaten.Instead it was Atalanta who struck with 19 minutes to go, Leonardo Spinazzola racing away down the left flank before crossing to the centre of the penalty area, where substitute Ilicic smashed a confident finish past Donnarumma.



Milan proved unable to muster a convincing response as full-time approach, leaving Gattuso and his backroom staff with some serious thinking to do over the festive season.