..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Ronaldo deserves Ballon d'Or – Matuidi


Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi believes team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the Ballon d'Or.Ronaldo, 33, is a contender to win the individual honour for a record sixth time after leading Real Madrid to a third straight Champions League crown earlier this year.

The superstar forward made the move to Juventus in July and team-mate Matuidi backed Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or on Monday."Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win it," he told Sky Sport Italia."He always wants to win and that makes the difference."

With Ronaldo leading the way, Juve have made a strong start to the season, sitting eight points clear atop the Serie A and moving into the Champions League knockout round.

The team's most recent win was a 1-0 triumph over Valencia, a match which snapped Ronaldo's three-match goalscoring streak following finishes against SPAL, AC Milan and Manchester United.Matuidi is pleased with how Massimiliano Allegri's men have performed in Europe, aside from their shock loss to Manchester United earlier this month.

"In Champions League we are doing well," he said."We had some good matches and we only stopped against Manchester United because we didn't score as many goals as we should."

Juventus' next outing sees them make the trip to Fiorentina on Saturday for a league match beforea match with Inter Milan and the Champions League group stage finale against Young Boys.

 

[Heisenberg]

'Man Utd fear factor has gone' - Mourinho's side not the Red Devils of old, says Targett


Manchester United’s “fear factor has definitely gone”, says Southampton defender Matt Targett, with Jose Mourinho’s side considered to be less of a threat than the Red Devils of old.During the Premier League era, 13 titles have headed to Old Trafford.Sir Alex Ferguson landed all of those crowns and there has been a humbling process of rebuilding since his departure in 2013.

Mourinho is the latest to take on that challenge, but he is struggling to replicate successes of the past and currently has his side sat seventh in the English top-flight table.

He will be hoping to become upwardly mobile when visiting Southampton on Saturday, but Targett says the Saints are confident of piling more pressure on the Portuguese coach.

“The fear factor has definitely gone,” he said ahead of a clash with United at St Mary’s Stadium.“You can see how United have played recently. They have still got unbelievable talent but defensively I think they have problems.

“It is a big game. They are struggling. It is not like the old Manchester United. We can get at them and hopefully we can start turning things around.“Any home game, you have to be positive. We haven’t done that enough this season.“It will be a good chance to start on Saturday. It would do us the world of good and get the fans back on our side.”

Targett is right to suggest that United have struggled at the back this season, with 21 goals conceded in just 13 games.That is the worst record of those in the top half and 16 more than title hopefuls Manchester City and Liverpool have shipped.

Mourinho’s side have kept just five clean sheets across all competitions, with only two of those secured in the Premier League.

tottehnham coachwa gannawa kiyanne aththada ban mourinhowa yawala.mourinho ge ego eka wadi.parana ewa kiyawa kiyawa innawa karana bambuwak na

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.12.01

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.12.01

Crystal Palace Vs Burnley

Huddersfield Vs Brighton

Leicester City Vs Watford

Manchester City Vs Bournemouth

Newcastle Vs West Ham

Southampton Vs Manchester United

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[Wolverine GTR]

Another must win match

Good Luck Manchester United!
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[Wolverine GTR]

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.12.01

LA Liga Fixtures 2018.12.01

Celta Vigo Vs Huesca

Real Valladoid Vs Leganes

Getafe Vs Espanyol

Real Madrid Vs Valencia
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[Wolverine GTR]

Serie A Fixtures 2018.12.01

Serie A Fixtures 2018.12.01

Spal Vs Empoli

Fiorentina Vs Juventus

Sampdoria Vs Bologna
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[Wolverine GTR]

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.12.01

Bundesliga Fixtures 2018.12.01

Dortmund Vs Freiburg

Hannover Vs Hertha Berlin

Stuttgart Vs Augsburg

Werder Bremen Vs Bayern

Hoffenheim Vs Schalke
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[Wolverine GTR]

Half Time

Southampton 2 Vs 2 Manchester United

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[Wolverine GTR]

Hoda fight back ekakkohomahari win ekakata yanna one 2nd half

Good luck for the 2nd half Manchester United!
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[ThisaraMalintha]

Hoda fight back ekakkohomahari win ekakata yanna one 2nd half

Good luck for the 2nd half Manchester United!
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2nd half eka chora karaganne Nattan hondai. Glory Glory man utd

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Full Time

Southampton 2 Vs 2 Manchester United

Southampton Goal(s)

S.Armstrong 13'
C.Soares 20'

&

Manchester United Goal(s)

R.Lukaku 33'
A.Herrera 39'


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[Wolverine GTR]

Another draw.another 2 points lostaparade....must win matches meh draw karaganne

& next Arsenal.Good luck for the next match Manchester United!
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[Wolverine GTR]

Southampton 2 Manchester United 2: Herrera completes comeback but pressure remains on Mourinho

Manchester United battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Southampton on Saturday in a match that will do little to ease the pressure on either Jose Mourinho or Mark Hughes.The visitors were forced to line up with Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic in defence due to injuries and found themselves two goals down after only 20 minutes at St Mary's Stadium.

Romelu Lukaku got a goal back, his first in the Premier League since September, and Ander Herrera secured a point, but a top-four finish is beginning to look a tall order for Mourinho's men.

Hughes, who has been facing calls for the sack himself, has now failed to steer Saints to a win in eight consecutive games in all competitions.United failed to capitalise on a missed kick from Alex McCarthy three minutes in, and they were punished when Stuart Armstrong blasted across David de Gea's goal and into the net with Saints' first effort on target.

St Mary's was bouncing seven minutes later when Cedric Soares bent an unstoppable free-kick into the top-left corner from 25 yards out, after Marcus Rashford had lost possession and brought down Mario Lemina.Rashford's poor opening half-hour was summed up by a wayward strike over the bar, but the England forward made amends when he shouldered Maya Yoshida off the ball and played in Lukaku to smash home 12 minutes before the interval.

And it was Rashford's brilliance that set up Herrera to make it 2-2 before the break, the 21-year-old bursting through the Saints defence and cutting the ball back for his team-mate to backheel into the net.

United, who lost former Saint Luke Shaw to a knock midway through the second half, dominated much of the play but struggled to threaten McCarthy's goal, and David de Gea had to make a strong save to stop Nathan Redmond's stinging strike from snatching victory.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Madrid 2 Valencia 0: Wass own goal sets up narrow win

Real Madrid battled to a 2-0 home win against Valencia in LaLiga thanks to an early own goal scored by Daniel Wass and a late Lucas Vazquez strike.Isco was back in the squad after being left out entirely for the Champions League win at Roma in midweek, but Santiago Solari again opted not to name the Spain playmaker in the XI.Marcos Llorente thrived in midfield in Isco's absence but Madrid needed an eighth-minute intervention from Wass to take the lead on Saturday.

Dani Carvajal crossed from close to the byline on the right wing and Wass sent an attempted clearing header flying past goalkeeper Neto, while Thibaut Courtois was in fine form at the other end.Vazquez – who also scored in the 2-0 win over Roma – slotted in the decisive second for Madrid with seven minutes to go, the goal surviving a lengthy VAR review, to claim all three points.

Madrid started well and took the lead in just the eighth minute, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.Carvajal won back possession deep in the Valencia half and delivered a chipped cross to the front post that Wass could only guide into the roof of his own net.

Neto made a brilliant save to deny Gareth Bale and a long-range Dani Parejo shot was easily dealt with by Courtois.Valencia should have equalised in the 53rd minute, Santi Mina racing onto an excellent Parejo ball over the top of the Madrid defence but hitting his shot too high to trouble the Belgium goalkeeper.

Another Parejo ball caused chaos in the Madrid box but, arriving at the back post, defender Gabriel was stretching and sent his volleyed effort flying over the crossbar.Madrid almost extended their lead in the 72nd minute when substitute Marco Asensio was teed up by Llorente, Cristiano Piccini making a sensational block to stop the shot.

After Courtois brilliantly denied Michy Batshuayi, Isco was introduced for the last 10 minutes, with Karim Benzema then teeing up Vazquez for the clinching goal to ensure Madrid moved up to fifth in the LaLiga table.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Fiorentina 0 Juventus 3: Ronaldo on target to stretch Serie A lead

Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgio Chiellini were unlikely goalscorers with Cristiano Ronaldo also on target as Juventus won 3-0 at Fiorentina to move 11 points clear at the top of Serie A.Juve were far from their brilliant best in Florence on Saturday but Bentancur's first-half strike set up a fifth straight league win for the defending champions that stretches their lead over Napoli.

Federico Chiesa was guilty of wasting Fiorentina's best opportunities, but Chiellini made no mistake when he was presented with a chance, the defender's header looping in despite Alban Lafont's best efforts.

After Ronaldo converted a late penalty, Juventus collected three points from a trip to Florence that saw vice-president Pavel Nedved condemn graffiti referring to the Heysel disaster outside the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Marco Benassi and Nikola Milenkovic had early efforts for the hosts before Chiellini was fortunate to see his clearance fly off Edimilson Fernandes and straight at Wojciech Szczesny.

Juve saw penalty appeals for a supposed handball rejected by VAR, but they took the lead in the 30th minute with a superbly crafted move and fine finish.
Bentancur swapped passes with Paulo Dybala and, with Ronaldo's run creating space for the midfielder, he slotted home past Lafont from the edge of the penalty area.

Benassi was just off target again after the restart, with Chiesa firing an effort at Szczesny as Fiorentina continued to threaten.Chiesa failed to make the most of another sight of goal with a shot easily saved by Szczesny in the 62nd minute, Ronaldo then seeing a floated free-kick beaten away by Lafont.

Although the Fiorentina goalkeeper got a hand to Chiellini's acrobatic strike, the bouncing ball evaded Ronaldo in the six-yard box to spin in for the defender's first league goal since October 2016.And when Fernandes conceded a late penalty for blocking a Mario Mandzukic cross with his arm, Ronaldo stepped up to beat Lafont and smash in his 10th of the season.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Leicester City 2 Watford 0: Vardy & Maddison star as Foxes cruise


Jamie Vardy and James Maddison's first-half strikes gave Leicester City a comfortable 2-0 Premier League victory over Watford at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester raced into a two-goal lead inside 23 minutes on Saturday, Vardy converting a penalty he won himself from Ben Foster before Maddison scored a stunning goal to cap a classic counter-attack.Watford struggled as an attacking force – failing to register a single shot on target – and Demarai Gray hit the post for Leicester in the closest either side came to a goal after the break, the day getting worse for the visitors when Etienne Capoue was sent off in the last minute.

Leicester move above their opponents as a result of a victory that meant they have now won all five of their Premier League home matches against Watford, conceding just once in the process.

The opener came after Ben Chilwell's throughball released Vardy, who was brought down as he tried to round Foster, referee Graham Scott pointing to the spot despite the goalkeeper's protests.Vardy sent Foster the wrong way, and then helped Marc Albrighton to set up his side's second 11 minutes later.

A trademark Leicester counter-attack ended when Albrighton's cross was superbly controlled by Maddison in mid-air, the attacking midfielder then flicking the ball over defender Adrian Mariappa and firing in a tremendous volley from just inside the area.Isaac Success, in as one of two changes, failed to mark his new Watford contract with a goal, firing over when it looked easier to score, while Roberto Pereyra shot just wide after the break.

Demarai Gray crashed an effort against the post for Leicester, while two squandered chances from Andre Gray were the only late openings of note at the other end before Capoue saw red for a two-footed challenge on substitute Kelechi Iheanacho, who Watford felt was the one who should have been penalised.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester City 3 Bournemouth 1: Sterling picks off Cherries again

Raheem Sterling again proved the scourge of Bournemouth as he helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

The Premier League leaders hit the front through Bernardo Silva's 16th-minute opener but an XI featuring five changes from Tuesday's 2-2 Champions League draw at Lyon did not have things their own way.Callum Wilson found a deserved equaliser but Bournemouth were sunk by a familiar foe.

Sterling's 57th-minute goal was his eighth in six top-flight appearances against Eddie Howe's side and Ilkay Gundogan's simple finish 10 minutes from time meant an uneven outing ended with City extending their lead at the summit to five points.

Bournemouth were bright initially, with Wilson unable to turn home Ryan Fraser's low cross from a clever short corner, but City soon established control.Gabriel Jesus, starting in front of Sergio Aguero, stretched to prod wide from Oleksandr Zinchenko's delivery and the Ukraine international's ball over the top of the Cherries defence brought out Asmir Begovic to thwart Leroy Sane. Silva was on hand to crash home the loose ball.City goalkeeper Ederson pushed to safety when Wilson failed to get a decisive touch on Josh King's inswinging cross, but he could not keep out the England striker's powerful 44th-minute header.

Zinchenko was forced off with badly damaged nose, having inadvertently clashed with his captain Fernandinho, while Sterling sought to get City going through a mazy dribble that ended with his deflected shot coming back off the upright.The England winger's ninth goal of the season owed more to opportunism than ingenuity, however, as Begovic clumsily spilt Danilo's shot for him to find the roof of the net.

Fernandinho slid a left-footed shot narrowly wide, meaning Ederson's scrambled near-post save from Wilson came with nerves jangling.
But Sane engineered space down the left to tee up compatriot Gundogan, allowing Pep Guardiola to breath easily.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Werder Bremen 1 Bayern Munich 2: Gnabry at the double to boost champions

Serge Gnabry scored twice against his former club as Bayern Munich returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory at 10-man Werder Bremen on Saturday.

The faltering champions had failed to register a league victory in November but duly welcomed the opportunity to face Bremen, a side they have dominated in the recent past.Gnabry broke the deadlock with a volleyed finish and while Yuya Osako's header drew the hosts level, the former struck again in fortunate circumstances to give Bayern a 16th straight Bundesliga victory over their opponents.

Bremen pressed late on for a second equaliser before the dismissal of Niklas Moisander in stoppage time, the defender picking up a second yellow card for a blatant body-check on Robert Lewandowski.

The result, coming after they secured a place in the Champions League knockout stages on Tuesday, completed a good week for under-pressure boss Niko Kovac, who received backing from his bosses prior to the trip to the Weser-Stadion.The visitors had already gone close through Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich before Gnabry broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, converting at the second attempt after Jiri Pavlenka had blocked his initial volley.

Thomas Muller missed a glorious chance to double the lead soon after, failing to get enough on a header from a David Alaba cross, and Bremen made them pay with an equaliser 12 minutes before the break.Manuel Neuer decided to come off his line to deal with Max Kruse's inswinging cross from Werder's left but failed to reach the ball before Osako, who nodded in his third league goal of the season.

Bayern suffered a further setback before half-time when Franck Ribery had to be substituted, meaning the fit-again Kingsley Coman - who has made a rapid recovery from an ankle injury suffered in his side's league opener against Hoffenheim back in August - was pressed into action.However, Gnabry put his team back ahead five minutes into the second period, inadvertently providing the final touch off his left leg after a sliding Moisander had deflected Muller's low cross onto the winger.

Kruse came close to making it 2-2 - dragging a left-footed shot narrowly wide - but Bayern held on to move up to third in the table, though they remain nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, who won 2-0 at home to Freiburg.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Borussia Dortmund 2 Freiburg 0: Reus & Alcacer extend Bundesliga lead

Borussia Dortmund extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to seven points - for 24 hours at least - with a 2-0 defeat of Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park.

Lucien Favre's men had scored 35 goals in their previous 12 league games but struggled to make inroads against a resolute Freiburg defence until goals in the closing stages of each half.

Marco Reus converted a penalty after Jadon Sancho had been fouled, before in-form Paco Alcacer struck as a substitute again to seal the victory. Second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach visit RB Leipzig on Sunday.

Dortmund bossed the opening half hour without making the breakthrough - Mario Gotze failing to steer home Sancho's 24th-minute cross from the right while both Reus and Gotze could not smuggle the ball over the line when Jacob Bruun Larsen escaped down the left four minutes later.Sancho was proving a constant menace to the Freiburg defence and some more fancy footwork drew a foul from Dominique Heintz. Captain Reus took responsibility and made no mistake, slotting down the middle five minutes before the break.

Having offered little as an attacking force, Freiburg almost drew level three minutes before the break with Jerome Gondorf's stunning 30-yard free-kick beating Roman Burki but not the bar, the ball bouncing down before being cleared.

Gondorf was less impressive at the other end at the start of the second period, dallying on the ball and allowing Reus to pinch it off his toe only to see his shot blocked by goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.Dortmund continued to dominate possession but clear-cut chances were few and far between.

Lukasz Piszczek fired a 77th-minute effort against the bar but Dortmund had a let off nine minutes from time when Yoric Ravet had a strong penalty claim turned down after going down under a challenge from Achraf Hakimi.

The win was not safe until the first minute of stoppage time, when Sancho and Piszczek combined to set up super-sub Alcacer to slot in his 10th league goal in eight appearances.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.12.02

Barclays Premier League Fixtures 2018.12.02

Chelsea Vs Fulham

Arsenal Vs Tottenham

Liverpool Vs Everton

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