..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Tottenham granted extension on Wembley decision

Tottenham have been granted another month to make a call on whether Wembley will be their designated home venue next season.

The club have reached an agreement with Wembley National Stadium Limited to move the deadline on making a decision from March 31 to April 30.

Spurs are in the process of building a 61,000-seater stadium next to the existing White Hart Lane site and a statement released on Friday confirmed they intended to play home games at the national arena in the 2017-18 season, before taking up their new residence the following campaign."This is to give ourselves greater flexibility before making the final decision on the decommissioning of White Hart Lane," the statement read.

"Our intention remains to spend next season at Wembley Stadium before returning to our new stadium in Tottenham for the 2018-19 season."

Speaking on Thursday, chairman Daniel Levy said: "We continue to focus on ensuring that the future of the club is protected at all times.
"Therefore, while everyone is eager to know if this is our last season at the Lane, we shall only make the decision to decommission our historic White Hart Lane when we have greater certainty on the delivery of the new stadium."

Mauricio Pochettino's side – who face Arsenal at White Hart Lane on April 30 – played home European games at Wembley this season, winning only once in four matches.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.01

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2017.04.01​

Liverpool Vs Everton

​

Burnley Vs Tottenham

​

Chelsea Vs Crystal Palace

​

Hull City Vs West Ham

​

Leicester City Vs Stoke City

​

Manchester United Vs WBA

​

Watford Vs Sunderland

​

Southampton Vs Bournemouth

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck Manchester United!​

Main playersla godak nathi 1ka thamai paduwaBackline 1ke main defendersla dennama out,No Mata & No ZlatanLoku fight 1kak denna wenawa win karaganna ada match 1ka.​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.01

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.04.01

Villareal Vs Eibar

Osasuna Vs Athletic Bilbao

Real Sociedad Vs Leganes

Malaga Vs Atletico Madrid​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Serie A Fixtures 2017.04.01

Serie A Fixtures 2017.04.01

Sassuolo Vs Lazio

Roma Vs Empoli​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.01

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.04.01

Bayern Vs Augsburg

Hamburg Vs Cologne

Leipzig Vs Darmstadt

Friedburg Vs Werder Bremen

Schalke Vs Dortmund

Frankfurt Vs Monchengladbach​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United Vs WBA

Manchester United Starting Line-up

David De Gea
Marcos Rojo
Eric Bailly
Ashley Young
Antonio Valencia
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Marouane Fellaini
Michael Carrick
Marcus Rashford
Anthony Martial
Jesse Lingard


&

WBA Starting Line-up

Ben Foster
Jonny Evans
Gareth McAuley
Allan Nyom
Craig Dawson
Chris Brunt
Darren Fletcher
Jake Livermore
James McClean
Nacer Chadli
Hal Robson-Kanu
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck Manchester United!
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Manchester United 0 Vs 0 WBA

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Good Luck for the 2nd Half Manchester United!
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United 0 West Brom 0: Mourinho suffers yet more Old Trafford frustration

Manchester United's top-four hopes took a hit as they were held to another 0-0 draw in the Premier League at Old Trafford, this time by West Brom.

Jose Mourinho's side dominated proceedings but were once again lifeless in attack as they had to settle for a draw for the eighth time in 15 home matches in the top flight this season.

Captain Wayne Rooney was fit enough to return to the bench but United, who were again missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic through suspension, offered little invention in the final third against a West Brom side who sat back and frustrated the hosts in impressive fashion.

Anthony Martial missed the only good chance of the first half and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was denied twice after the break, but Tony Pulis' side - 3-1 winners over Arsenal last time out - rarely looked overly stretched despite having less than 25 per cent of the ball.

The hosts kept up the pressure late on but failed to produce a moment of inspiration to break the deadlock in their first of nine matches in what promises to be a gruelling April, and goalkeeper David de Gea almost handed the visitors a goal in the dying minutes to compound their frustrations.The draw also means that they could be six points adrift of the Champions League places if Manchester City beat Arsenal on Sunday.

United had 77 per cent of the possession in the opening 15 minutes but failed to carve out any sort of half-chance against a West Brom side eager to pack as many players as possible into their defensive third.

Jesse Lingard and Martial were causing some problems with runs infield and the duo combined to create what should have been the opener, with Martial heading wide from six yards out after being picked out at the far post by the England winger's cross from the right.

United were looking bereft of ideas in attack as West Brom continued to repel their advances with ease, although it took a timely challenge from Craig Dawson to deny Martial a clear run at goal following a quick exchange with Mkhitaryan just after the break.

The home fans were growing restless and it almost got worse in the 50th minute, when former United man Darren Fletcher shot against Eric Bailly in the box following a rare foray forward from the visitors.

United responded with their best move of the match, Lingard and Rashford combining to send Mkhitaryan into the area, but Chris Brunt made a crucial sliding challenge to deny him a shot before Marouane Fellaini put the rebound wide.West Brom had barely put a foot wrong in defence throughout but, when Mkhitaryan capitalised on a rare error from Gareth McAuley, Ben Foster raced out to block the Armenia international's effort.

Foster thwarted his old club again with a fine one-handed save from a Rashford thunderbolt from 25 yards, as Mourinho introduced record goalscorer Rooney in the hope of finding a late winner.

Fletcher nearly snatched all three points on his old stomping ground as De Gea fumbled his shot from the edge of the area against the crossbar, but it was another ex-United man in Foster who ensured a share of the spoils late on when he clawed Rashford's dipping free-kick away from the top corner in acrobatic fashion.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Thawath draw 1kakTop 4 hopes thiyaganna amarui mehema giyoth nam

Good luck for the next match Manchester United!​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Liverpool 3 Everton 1: Klopp's men continue derby dominance

Liverpool continued their Merseyside derby dominance over Everton with a 3-1 victory at Anfield on Saturday, a result that could have big implications in the race for Champions League football. Sadio Mane, who scored a last-minute winner at Goodison Park in the reverse fixture, struck early on with his 13th Premier League goal of the season.

Defender Matthew Pennington, playing in his first Everton match of the season, responded for the visitors just before the half-hour mark but Philippe Coutinho promptly restored the hosts' lead with a wonderful finish.

Liverpool lost Mane to injury after the break, although that did not damage Jurgen Klopp's men, Divock Origi striking within four minutes of coming on to replace him to seal a crucial victory and star man Coutinho providing the assist.

The win sees Liverpool move above Manchester City and into third place after their fourth straight top-flight home victory. They remain unbeaten against city rivals Everton since 2010 and have not suffered defeat in an Anfield derby since 1999.

Klopp has become the first Liverpool manager to win three straight league derbies, with the Reds moving nine points clear of Everton - who suffered just their second league loss of the calendar year - in seventh spot.

It took only eight minutes for the first goal to arrive when Mane exchanged passes with Roberto Firmino, surged past Ashley Williams and sent a left-footed shot through the legs of defender Pennington and into the far corner.

Pennington was playing as Everton were forced to re-shuffle their pack, deploying a three-man backline in the absence of injured defenders Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori.

And Liverpool almost punished their weakened rivals with a second goal - Coutinho denied after collecting Emre Can's pass, cutting inside from the left and firing a strike at goal which Joel Robles tipped into the air, Phil Jagielka racing back to head clear near the goal-line.

Everton got back on level terms after 28 minutes with their first shot on target. Leighton Baines' corner from the left was flicked on by Jagielka and not cleared by Dejan Lovren – who was under pressure from Williams - allowing Pennington to apply the finish from inside the six-yard box.

But Liverpool hit back within just 177 seconds, Coutinho collecting Lucas Leiva's pass before outpacing Idrissa Gueye and taking advantage of half a yard given to him by Pennington to curl a sumptuous finish into the top corner, his sixth league goal of the season.Despite protests from the hosts, Ross Barkley was only booked for a heavy challenge on Lovren's ankle as Everton went into the break behind.

Liverpool suffered a major blow early in the second half, losing the injured Mane after an awkward tangle with Baines, but his replacement Origi promptly struck on the hour mark.

After Simon Mignolet had kept out efforts from Williams and Barkley, Coutinho played a precise pass that allowed Origi to shoot first-time and blast past a motionless Joel from 20 yards, the Belgium international's first league goal since December.

Koeman brought on Enner Valencia and Gareth Barry, but Mason Holgate was the next player to threaten, having a deflected effort saved by Mignolet and heading off target from Baines' cross a few moments later.

At the other end, Joel was at full stretch to keep out a strike from substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool comfortably held on for victory on a frustrating day for Everton, whose in-form striker Romelu Lukaku did not manage a shot on goal.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Schalke 1 Borussia Dortmund 1: Kehrer strike becalms masked marksman Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his remarkable goalscoring record in the Bundesliga but Borussia Dortmund were left to rue missed chances as Schalke snatched a 1-1 draw in the 150th Revierderby.

Aubameyang netted for the 24th time in as many top-flight outings this term early in the second half but a far more unlikely goal hero would have the final word.

Thilo Kehrer epitomised Schalke's battling spirit as they were outclassed for long periods and the 20-year-old defender snaffled the chance to bring up a maiden professional goal in the 77th minute – crashing a low shot beyond Roman Burki at the near post to spark boisterous celebrations inside the Veltins Arena.

Ousmane Dembele was a thorn in Schalke's side throughout and hit the post with the score at 1-0, while Thomas Tuchel's bright and inventive attack were arguably guilty of over-embellishing when they should have sealed the points.

Kehrer was less wasteful and Dortmund were left hanging on for a point in stoppage time, when Marc Bartra avoided punishment for handling in the area.
Tuchel's men, who stay fourth behind Hoffenheim, made a high-tempo start when Dembele embarked upon a mazy run into the box from the Schalke right but was eventually crowded out.

Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann was out sharply when Aubameyang released Dembele with a cute pass into the area – Shinji Kagawa electing not to shoot on the rebound and the chance was gone.

Coke, making his long-awaited Schalke debut at right-back following a knee ligament injury, might have hoped for a less lively opponent than Dembele, who left him on the seat of his shorts and curled narrowly wide with half an hour played.

Aubameyang stole in behind Schalke captain Benedikt Howedes but Fahrmann stood firm to keep out his shot from the angle and Markus Weinzierl's team remained on terms at the end of a first half in which they were second best.

Guido Burgstaller shot tamely on the turn when Schalke ventured forward in the 53rd minute but Dortmund sprung immediately up the other end to open the scoring, with their fluent front three all involved.

Kagawa stayed onside to collect Dembele's well-weighted throughball and selflessly squared to leave Aubameyang with a tap-in.

The Gabon star donned a mask in celebration – more Mexican lucha libre wrestling than his usual Spiderman number– and was booked for his troubles.
Howedes almost brought Schalke level with a powerful header from Daniel Caligiuri's corner that Burki pushed off the goalline.

The Germany international was howling at his defensive colleagues shortly afterwards when Dortmund should have doubled their lead – Aubameyang making an ill-advised attempt to replicate Kagawa's earlier generosity and his pass for Dembele was cleared.

Dortmund's brilliant teenage winger almost had the goal his endeavours deserved in the 74th minute when he side-footed against the inside of the post from the left channel, before having the audacity to send in a 'rabona' cross on the rebound.
But Schalke retained their threat on the break and from set-piece situations and Weinzierl saw his side's grit rewarded 13 minutes from time.

Leon Goretzka's backheel was wonderfully judged, straight into the path of Kehrer who finished with the poise of a veteran striker to spark jubilant scenes.

There was anger at the end for Weinzierl, when he was sent to the stands for protesting too vociferously for handball against Bartra, but the Schalke boss could reflect on a job well done.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Burnley 0 Tottenham 2: Dier and Son ignite fresh life into title race

Eric Dier and Son Heung-min goals secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Tottenham at Burnley on Saturday that narrows the gap to Premier League leaders Chelsea to seven points.With Chelsea suffering a shock home defeat to Crystal Palace, Spurs needed a win to take advantage of a rare lapse from Antonio Conte's men.

But they had to be patient and were made to wait to make the breakthrough, Dier finishing well after Jeff Hendrick's poor clearance from a left-wing corner following 66 battling minutes at Turf Moor.

Dele Alli then squared for Son to tap in at the far post to ensure Spurs would take full advantage of Chelsea's slip, the South Korean scoring his 15th goal of the season.

Victory came at a cost for Spurs, however, with Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks both forced off in the first half, the latter's injury looking particularly serious as he was given oxygen on the sidelines after colliding with Stephen Ward.

Burnley had been unbeaten at home since November in the league but they are now winless in seven and other results saw Sean Dyche's men slip to 15th, five points clear of the bottom three.

The hosts had the first effort as Ashley Barnes got up highest at the back post to head a Matt Lowton cross goalwards, but the save was comfortable for Spurs captain Hugo Lloris.

Toby Alderweireld thumped a long-range free-kick straight at Tom Heaton after 17 minutes as Spurs struggled to find rhythm, before Alli spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring.

Heaton could only palm Christian Eriksen's low drive back into the danger area and, under pressure from Ward and Michael Keane, Alli blazed over the angle from 10 yards.

An already depleted Spurs were forced into two substitutions shortly before half-time with Wanyama and Winks going off injured, Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko coming on.

But the visitors, who switched from a back three to a flat four at the interval with Dier moving into midfield, almost nudged ahead three minutes after the restart.
Heaton stretched to keep out Vincent Janssen's effort and Sissoko was unable to turn the rebound towards goal.

The goalkeeper was immediately called into action again, blocking a firm Ben Davies strike, and Sissoko lashed wide after 63 minutes after a scramble in the box as Spurs pressed.Mauricio Pochettino's men then converted their second-half dominance into the opening goal.

Burnley were unable to deal with a corner and when Hendrick sliced his clearance straight to Dier, he made no mistake with a placed finish to score his first Premier League goal in 475 days.

New England international Keane could only direct a shot wide after 73 minutes as Burnley sought a response but Spurs soon extended their lead.

Son added the second with a close-range finish at the back post after Alli slipped a low ball across the box to place the result beyond doubt and reawaken a formerly non-existent title race.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 2: Zaha and Benteke stun leaders

Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha starred for Crystal Palace as they claimed a stunning 2-1 win at Premier League leaders Chelsea to give the chasing pack in the title race a glimmer of hope.

Things were not looking good for Sam Allardyce's men when Cesc Fabregas handed Chelsea the lead after just five minutes, but they showed character and turned things around within six minutes of the opener.

Zaha first restored parity with a low finish from a narrow angle, before Benteke scored what eventually proved to be the winner with a delicate close-range strike.
The hosts created a number of chances to at least salvage a draw, but Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey showed his class with a string of fine saves.

Chelsea remain atop the table despite Saturday's defeat, but Tottenham's 2-0 win at Burnley has seen them narrow the gap to seven points with nine games to go.
Palace, meanwhile, remain four points clear of 18th-placed Hull City - 2-1 victors over West Ham - with a game in hand following their fourth consecutive victory.

Chelsea made a superb start to the game and quickly broke the deadlock. Eden Hazard danced past Joel Ward down the left before sending in a low cross for Fabregas and the Spain international coolly tapped home from close range via the upright.

Palace immediately hit back, though, with Zaha levelling four minutes later after some good work from Benteke, firing a low shot past the helpless Thibaut Courtois and into the far corner.

The visitors continued to cause Chelsea all kinds of problems on the counter-attack and Benteke handed them a surprise lead in the 11th minute following some unconvincing defending from David Luiz, the Belgian dinking a shot over Courtois after being set up by Zaha.

Antonio Conte's men then felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Andros Townsend used his arm to keep Pedro's shot out, but referee Craig Pawson waved play on.

A superb attack involving Hazard, Fabregas and Diego Costa nearly saw the latter make it 2-2, but Hennessey pulled off a sublime save to deny the striker and keep his side ahead.

Chelsea pushed hard for an equaliser early in the second half and Costa came close on two occasions, only to see his first attempt blocked by substitute Scott Dann - who was carried off with an apparent knee injury minutes later - with Hennessey frustrating the prolific striker shortly after.

A rare break from Palace saw Zaha have a chance to put the match to bed as he bore down on Courtois but the Chelsea goalkeeper did well to get a leg to the ball and deflect it wide for a corner.Conte brought on Willian and Michy Batshuayi in an attempt to force an equaliser, with Fabregas denied a late goal by Hennessey.

Chelsea were provided with 11 minutes stoppage time in which to find a leveller, but it was not meant to be for the Blues as they were beaten for the fourth time in the league this season.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Bayern Munich 6 Augsburg 0: Lewandowski hits hat-trick in big Bavarian derby win

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich moved one step closer to becoming German champions for a record fifth consecutive year by thrashing Augsburg 6-0 at Allianz Arena.

It was a case of normal service resumed as the Bundesliga title-holders cruised past their Bavarian neighbours on Saturday, showing no signs of their excellent form having been disturbed by the international break.

Lewandowski opened the scoring with his 22nd league goal of the season, before Thomas Muller made it 2-0 inside a first half that saw Bayern steamroll the visitors and render any game plan Augsburg might have had irrelevant.

Manuel Baum called for a "brave" Augsburg performance before the game but no amount of courage could have compensated for the gulf in quality between this glory-bound Bayern side and their relegation-threatened opponents.

Lewandowski scored two more after the break either side of a Thiago Alcantara strike, and Muller netted late on to ensure Bayern enjoyed an ideal start to a testing period in which they will play nine games in 30 days, including the two legs of their Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid.

Franck Ribery was at his irresistible best from the outset, jinking and weaving his way through the Augsburg defence and swinging in a cross that Kingsley Coman could not quite get his head to after three minutes as Bayern dominated in customary fashion.

The opening goal arrived when Thiago made an incisive burst, dropping a shoulder to glide past Jan Moravek before picking out Lewandowski, who took a touch, let it bounce and hooked the ball into the top corner of the net to make it 1-0 after 17 minutes.

Thiago fired a volley wide from the edge of the box six minutes later, by which time Bayern were starting to taunt their lowly visitors and Muller hit the post with a low drive from 20 yards after 27 minutes.

Bayern doubled their lead after 36 minutes when Ribery's raking pass found Lewandowski and the Pole's cross was poked into the net by the knee of Muller, who claimed only his third goal of the season.

The game was put out of Augsburg's reach in the 55th minute, when Ribery's threaded pass found the feet of Lewandowski who shrugged off the attentions of Kevin Danso and buried a low shot into the corner of the net from inside the box.

The pick of the goals came after 62 minutes when Thiago surged forward and played a one-two with Muller that was intercepted by Lewandowski, who back-heeled the ball back to the Spaniard for the easiest of close range finishes.

Carlo Ancelotti's men were playing with verve and swagger, and Thiago hit the crossbar with an audacious 25-yard shot, while Arjen Robben's introduction only added more flair and audacity to the Bayern attack.

Thiago and Coman were both brought off early by Ancelotti, who could hardly be blamed for prioritising the glut of forthcoming fixtures over the final 20 minutes of a very comfortable victory.


After Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a close-range finish, Muller executed a fine piece of control to gather a long ball and bury the sixth at the far post, but he was hacked by Christoph Janker in the process and forced off, the hosts ending the game with 10 men on the pitch, having used all their substitutes.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester City 2 Stoke City 0: Ndidi, Vardy smash Shakespeare into the record books

Leicester City continued their turnaround under Craig Shakespeare as a pair of fine goals secured a 2-0 Premier League victory over Stoke City that further boosted the champions' survival bid.

The Foxes are now six points clear of the relegation zone, having taken 12 points from a possible 12 with the new manager - Shakespeare becoming just the fifth coach - and first Englishman - to win his first four Premier League games in charge.

Shakespeare has inspired improved performances from the title-winning stars that were struggling earlier in the season, but it was January signing Wilfred Ndidi who fired Leicester in front.

Ndidi's superb strike, the 20-year-old's first in the Premier League, came after 25 minutes and Jamie Vardy added a second shortly after the interval with a brilliant volley.

Leicester cruised through the remainder of the second half and, with a Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid on the horizon, can head into a busy spell in good spirits.

The hosts' first chance fell the way of Yohan Benalouane following Erik Pieters' misjudged clearance from a free-kick, but the defender lashed a close-range effort across the face of goal.

A second opportunity also arrived from a Leicester set-piece, with Robert Huth's header half-blocked by Pieters - again floundering in his own area - and both Shinji Okazaki and Vardy failed to turn the loose ball on target.

But the champions continued to build momentum and Demarai Gray powered a 20-yard shot wide of the left-hand post, before a second blast from distance provided the opener.

Ndidi picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, taking a pass inside from Danny Simpson, and drove forwards to thrash a stunning strike into the top-right corner.

Stoke responded strongly, but Marko Arnautovic pulled a low shot just wide after turning well in the box and Saido Berahino shot straight at Kasper Schmeichel as he ran clear.

Okazaki had offered a reminder of Leicester's threat with an acrobatic volley over the top, though, and Lee Grant was then forced into a smart stop from Riyad Mahrez's powerful drive.

And after just two minutes of the second half, Vardy doubled the home side's lead with another magnificent effort struck high past Grant from Simpson's cross.Leicester kept pushing and Christian Fuchs' deflected effort tested the goalkeeper, who then saved well as Okazaki shot hard and low on the counter.

Grant somehow blocked again from Mahrez's first-time shot inside the area after good work from Vardy, before springing up to stop the same player on the rebound.

Peter Crouch squandered a great chance to bring Stoke back into the game as he volleyed Arnautovic's centre wide, with Mahrez and Ndidi both having chances to add a third goal for Leicester as the visitors' hopes diminished.

Crouch had another glorious opening in the dying minutes, but again failed to test Schmeichel to sum up a miserable day for Mark Hughes' men.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Malaga 0 Atletico Madrid 2: Simeone's side climb to third

Atletico Madrid climbed to third in LaLiga with a workmanlike 2-0 win over lowly Malaga at La Rosaleda on Saturday.

Diego Simeone's side made it four top-flight wins in a row as long-serving midfielder Koke netted in the first half and Filipe Luis added late gloss with a cool finish as Atletico moved a point clear of Sevilla.

Malaga, who face a crunch clash with Sporting Gijon on Wednesday, have not tasted victory since Michel took charge last month, with their winless run overall now stretching to six games.And yet the hosts had shown promise in the opening exchanges, at least in their build-up play, which was neat and tidy without being threatening.

Still they fell behind in the 26th minute, Koke racing through to stab past Carlos Kameni after excellent work from Fernando Torres on the edge of the box.

There was an air of caution about Atletico after that and they put up a defensive wall that Malaga could not break down in the second half, with the hosts failing to make their superior possession count before Filipe Luis put the game beyond them.
Michel's men sit six points above Gijon, who occupy the final relegation spot and visit Sevilla on Sunday.Koke's low strike from 20 yards forced Kameni into the first save after five minutes.

The home side – who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 0-0 draw against Leganes last time out – showed some nice touches, but were found sorely lacking when it came to end product and Sandro's speculative 30-yard effort was never going to trouble Jan Oblak.

And it was Atletico who forged ahead, Torres turning smartly on the edge of the box and – after his way through was blocked by two defenders – Koke pounced to prod home the loose ball.

Despite the setback Malaga remained positive and Keko worked Oblak with a confident back-heel attempt just before the break.

From the start of the second half Atletico adopted a familiar approach of sitting deep and inviting their opponents on, seeking to exploit any opportunities to counter-attack.With Malaga having only scored more than one goal in a game once this year, it did not make for thrilling viewing.

The reverse fixture in October ended 4-2 to Atletico, but there was no hint of a repeat this time, with the visitors seemingly content to protect their one-goal advantage.

But, after Antoine Griezmann had steered wide from inside the box, Filipe Luis provided a neat chipped finish as Atletico's patience finally paid off 16 minutes from time.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Monaco 1 Paris Saint-Germain 4: Di Maria, Draxler and Cavani shine to deliver Coupe de la Ligue glory

Goals from Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria and a double from Edinson Cavani helped Paris Saint-Germain lift the Coupe de la Ligue for a record fourth year in succession as they thumped Monaco 4-1 in Saturday's final at the Parc OL.

Draxler had opened the scoring early on from what seemed like an offside position, but Thomas Lemar righted any sense of injustice on Monaco's part to level in the 27th minute.

The holders were not to be denied, though, and Di Maria restored his side's lead late in the first half, before Cavani's brace took his season's tally to 40 in as many matches and put the game to bed as PSG became the first side to lift the trophy four years running.

Monaco will have fancied their chances heading into the game following the results of their previous two encounters this campaign, recording a 3-1 win at home, before drawing 1-1 at the Parc des Princes - both in Ligue 1.

PSG, however, had their own reasons for optimism courtesy of their outstanding record in the Coupe de la Ligue, their last defeat in the competition coming against Saint-Etienne in November 2012.

And it was Unai Emery's men who were in charge for large parts, eventually cruising to a deserved win to deal their Ligue 1 title rivals' confidence a blow ahead of the decisive stages of the 2016-17 campaign, with Monaco defending a three-point lead in the French top flight with eight games to go.

PSG made a fine start to the game and needed just four minutes to open the scoring in somewhat controversial fashion. Marco Verratti reached Di Maria with a clever throughball and the former Real Madrid star did well to set up the unmarked Draxler, who had no trouble placing the ball into the empty net from what seemed like an offside position.Monaco slowly grew into the game after a difficult start and they levelled via Lemar, the winger placing a shot into the top-right corner from the edge of the area after some good work from Bernardo Silva and Djibril Sidibe down the right.

Cavani came close to restoring his side's lead 10 minutes before half-time when he directed a Thiago Silva header goalwards with an acrobatic backheel, but goalkeeper Danijel Subasic pulled off a fine save to deny the Uruguay international.But the Parisians were not to be denied for long as Di Maria beat Subasic following a rapid counter-attack, poking a shot into the bottom corner after being played in by Draxler.

And there was more to come from PSG in the second half as Cavani doubled his side's lead in the 54th minute in spectacular fashion, blasting a volley past the helpless Subasic after Verratti's delightful cross with the outside of his right boot.

Cavani should have added a fourth soon afterwards following a quick attack down the left, but the striker inexplicably aimed wide from less than six yards out to keep Monaco's fading chances alive.

The striker made amends for his shocking miss in the 90th minute, though, firing into the top corner from Di Maria's cross from the left as PSG celebrated their second silverware of the season having lifted the Trophee des Champions in August.