..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Pique: Barca must 'finish the job' against 'dangerous' Manchester United


Manchester United never know when they are beaten and must not be underestimated by Barcelona in the Champions League, says Gerard Pique.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side set up the quarter-final tie after producing a stirring comeback against Paris Saint-Germain last month in the last 16.

United lost the first leg at Old Trafford 2-0 before registering a stunning 3-1 win in the Parc des Princes in the return fixture, sealed by Marcus Rashford's stoppage-time penalty.

And Pique – who spent four years at the Red Devils before returning to his boyhood club in 2008 – has cautioned against complacency if they do leave England with a first-leg advantage."I've seen the replay of Manchester United v PSG," he told a media conference. "It's a good example.

"You can never leave Manchester United unmarked. You've got to finish off the job. They showed that in the second leg against PSG."They've got a lot of good young players. The penalty at the end is a big example of what can happen. We know how dangerous United are."

Pique made 23 appearances in all competitions for United, either side of a loan spell at Real Zaragoza, and says his time at the club was the making of him."It's a special game for me," he explained. "Here is where I grew from a boy to a man. I learned a lot here, not just on the pitch but off it.

"I was here from 17 to 21 and I picked up a lot of experiences required to become a professional. I had good and bad moments. I lived here on my own and you learn a lot that way. I returned a totally different person."

One of Pique's team-mates during his time at United was Solskjaer and the former Spain international says he was instrumental in helping him settle into life at the club.

"I remember him as a great team-mate when I arrived here," he said."I was young, and he was one of the older ones. For sure, he helped me adapt to the club, to the city.

"At the end of his career he had injury problems but training with him you could see that he had that quality to score goals. It was a great experience to play with him."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Drogba: Manchester United can emulate Di Matteo’s Chelsea


Manchester United's change of fortune under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reminds Didier Drogba of Chelsea's Champions League win in 2012 under Roberto di Matteo as the Red Devils prepare to take on Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the competition.

United endured a difficult 2018-19 campaign under Jose Mourinho, but the mood has significantly changed ever since the arrival of Solskjaer in December 2018.They are back in the race for a top-four spot in the Premier League and shocked Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, recording a 3-1 win at Parc des Princes after previously losing the first leg 2-0 at home.

Chelsea found themselves in a similar situation during the 2011-12 campaign, with Di Matteo replacing Andre Villas-Boas as the man in charge ahead of the decisive stages of the season and eventually leading them to Champions League glory.

Drogba was a key part of that Chelsea team, scoring a late equaliser in the final against Bayern Munich, before eventually netting the decisive penalty, and he thinks Solskjaer could potentially repeat Di Matteo's achievement.

"Did you know I was going to do that in 2012? I didn’t. Not even me, I didn’t know [I could]," Drogba told Goal at Geneva Motorshow, courtesy of Yokohama Tyres. "Maybe someone or a team will come up, a club like Manchester United.

"From what I saw [against PSG], I have to count on them. They have spirit and quality. They have this thing of having a manager who has won it and knows how to win; this is important. It is always something different when a manager has played at the club.

"He knows the spirit, and he knows everything about the club. The players respect that. That’s exactly what happened with Di Matteo and us, and that’s what is happening with Man Utd and Solskjaer.

"We don’t go too far [with the comparison], but I see a little bit of what we did in 2012 because they won in a place where nobody expected them to win and in a very, very good way. So, it is interesting."

United host Barcelona at Old Trafford on Wednesday, before locking horns with the Catalans at Camp Nou on April 16.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

UEFA Champions League Quater-finals 1st Leg Fixtures 2019.04.10

UEFA Champions League Quater-finals 1st Leg Fixtures 2019.04.10

Ajax Vs Juventus

Manchester United Vs Barcelona

​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Amaruma match ekakBarcelona godak hoda form ekaka inneSpecially Messi wa handle karana eka thamai lokuma task eka

Anyway team ekama 100% dunnoth hoda result ekak ganna puluwannothing is impossible

Good luck Manchester United!
​

 

[Sanjeewamilan]

sony ten 2 eke yai loku match eka eka hinda. me link eka quality madi habai. hd ekak hambune naththan mekan balanna
http://bdixsports.com/sony-ten-2-live/

thanks macho

 

[Frosty]

thanks macho

 

[Frosty]

JUVE.. JUVE.. JUVE...

 

[Heisenberg]

iye united hodai.first lege eke num attacking thibbema naa.2nd leg eke num hoda gemak dunna

 

[tclanki]

Amaruma match ekakBarcelona godak hoda form ekaka inneSpecially Messi wa handle karana eka thamai lokuma task eka

Anyway team ekama 100% dunnoth hoda result ekak ganna puluwannothing is impossible

Good luck Manchester United!
​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Manchester United 0 Barcelona 1: Shaw own goal gives Solskjaer's men another mountain to climb

Barcelona took a big step towards their first Champions League semi-final in four years as they claimed a slender 1-0 win away to Manchester United despite a thoroughly underwhelming performance.Ernesto Valverde's men were far from their best, with Lionel Messi uncharacteristically quiet, though United failed to make the most of their periods of superiority and must win at Camp Nou if they are to progress any further in the competition.

Barca's positive start saw them produce the only goal, the unfortunate Luke Shaw deflecting a Luis Suarez header into his own net, though United looked bright for the remainder of the first half.


Although that pattern of play resumed after the interval, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side struggled to craft meaningful chances and, as sloppy as Barca were, they successfully held on to a crucial away win.

Barca took the early initiative and led in the 12th minute – Messi picking out Suarez at the back post and his header glanced off Shaw and trickled in.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Ajax 1 Juventus 1: Allegri's side hold on against dominant Dutch

David Neres cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's header as Ajax and Juventus played out an absorbing 1-1 draw in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

Ronaldo – fit to feature after recovering from a thigh injury suffered on international duty with Portugal last month – put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half-time, striding into the penalty area before throwing himself at a cross to thunder a header beyond goalkeeper Andre Onana.

That lead lasted less than a minute of the second period, however, as Neres curled home his third Champions League goal of the campaign – a leveller that was the very least Erik ten Hag's side deserved for a display full of energy and attacking intent.


Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech will reflect on missed opportunities that could have given the Eredivisie side an advantage ahead of the return fixture in Italy, though Juve could have snatched an undeserved win in the closing stages when substitute Douglas Costa hit the post.
Both sides went close inside the opening six minutes, Federico Bernardeschi fizzing narrowly over for the visitors and Ziyech crashing into the side netting with a fierce left-foot drive.

Ziyech then forced Wojciech Szczesny into a smart save to keep out his curling effort from 15 yards, while an unmarked Van de Beek inexplicably whipped wide from the same distance after 25 minutes.

Bernardeschi again came close nine minutes before the interval, swivelling and firing wide from Ronaldo's knock down, before the Champions League's all-time top goalscorer plundered his 125th in the competition, converting Joao Cancelo's lofted ball into the area with a thumping finish.

The hosts stormed out at the start of the second period and were level within 30 seconds, Neres cutting inside Cancelo and bending a wonderful strike into Szczesny's left-hand corner.

Ajax utterly dominated after that – coming close through Jurgen Ekkelenkamp's low effort – but never scored the second that would have made their task next week a little easier.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Barca comeback would be 'a greater achievement' than PSG miracle – Solskjaer


Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes a Champions League comeback at Barcelona would be a greater achievement than the club's last-16 miracle against Paris Saint-Germain.

United will head to Camp Nou needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg quarter-final deficit following Wednesday's defeat to Barca at Old Trafford.

Luke Shaw's 12th-minute own goal left United with another uphill battle away from home, however, Solskjaer said the Red Devils can complete a great escape – like they did when the club came from 2-0 down to stun PSG 3-1 in Paris last month.

"Of course, the PSG performance gives us hope and belief that we can do it," Solskjaer said in his post-match news conference."But we know we are playing against probably the favourites and going there will be a challenge.

"It'll be a greater achievement, winning that one, because of the history of Barcelona, they're not used to losing at home. But we can do it."We know we can carry a goal threat, whether it's [Romelu] Lukaku, [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial, whoever playing up there, we have to provide a bit more ammunition for them."

Barca were underwhelming in victory, with United largely nullifying Lionel Messi and the visitors following their opening goal in Manchester.

The only thing missing, however, was a goal – Gerard Pique and Barca's defenders relatively comfortable against the likes of Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku's performance was criticised post-match, with the striker replaced by Anthony Martial in the 68th minute, though Solskjaer defended the Belgium international.

"I think he did well," said Solskjaer, whose United suffered a third successive home Champions League knockout defeat for the first time in their history. "He was tired towards the end, but you could see when he came off that we lacked that physical threat that he gave us, runs down the channel.

"He played his part in us putting them under pressure. No, we didn't create chances, didn't get on the end of big chances. I don't think tonight is about Rom or Rash. It's about us as a team, we started a bit sloppy, never got going until they scored."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Hazard hope for Chelsea but Real Madrid difficult to turn down - Gudjohnsen


Eden Hazard may be more inclined to stay at Chelsea and ignore any potential interest from Real Madrid if the Blues win the Europa League, according to Eidur Gudjohnsen.Belgium international Hazard's contract at Stamford Bridge expires in 2020 and he has been repeatedly linked to Madrid, rumours he has refused to be drawn on.

Former Chelsea forward Gudjohnsen left Chelsea for Barcelona in 2006 so knows all about the lure of Spain's big clubs, yet he believes winning this year's Europa League, and consequently qualifying for the Champions League, could be a factor in Hazard's decision.

Maurizio Sarri's side are in the quarter-finals of the competition and face Slavia Prague in the first leg on Thursday.

Gudjohnsen, who was speaking on the UEFA Europa League Trophy Tour driven by Kia, said: "It's difficult and dependent on your situation - dependent on what your desires and your dreams are."I don't know Eden Hazard personally, he's always spoken very fondly of Chelsea and how happy he is there.

"It just depends on what he sees happening in the future - maybe Champions League football will make a huge difference for him."That gives it even more importance for Chelsea to go on and win this cup, if they don't manage to qualify through the Premier League.

"Eden Hazard is obviously one of the best players in the Premier League, a player with probably the most quality."[I am] a bit uncertain over what his future holds, but I think at the end of the season we'll have a lot of these questions answered."

Hazard has scored 19 times in all competitions for the Blues in what is coach Sarri's first campaign at the helm.

Chelsea's fans have expressed their displeasure with Sarri's style of play in recent weeks, though they reached the Carabao Cup final, in which they were beaten on penalties by Manchester City, are still in the Europa League and are third in the Premier League.

Gudjohnsen insists Sarri's season can only be deemed a success or a failure once it has finished."Results haven't always been great, [there has been] a lot of criticism of the style of play," he added.

"You can only judge a manager at the end of the season. When you look back and say, 'Have we done enough as a team?' "I think the players have to also take their responsibility, they should all be in this together, but it's been a difficult season because of performances and results.

"They can be brilliant one week and unrecognisable the next, but it's been a difficulty finding balance. But, in saying that, if they go on and win [the Europa League], we'll look back and say it was a success."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Arsenal 2 Napoli 0: Gunners on track for Europa League semi-finals

Aaron Ramsey's strike and Kalidou Koulibaly's own goal earned Arsenal a 2-0 home win against Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.Ramsey finished off a stunning move to open the scoring and Lucas Torreira's drive deflected in off Koulibaly to double Arsenal's advantage before the break at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

Serie A side Napoli struggled to impose themselves on the contest, although Lorenzo Insigne and Piotr Zielinski had big opportunities, and Carlo Ancelotti's men have work to do in next week's return.


Koulibaly made a superb pair of blocks to repel Ramsey and Ainsley Maitland-Niles but he could do nothing about Arsenal's excellent opener in the 14th minute.

Ramsey's interception sparked a tremendous team move, the midfielder swapping passes with Mesut Ozil before Alexandre Lacazette and Maitland-Niles combined beautifully to set up the Wales international for a placed first-time finish.

Arsenal scored a second in the 25th minute, Torreira turning into space outside the Napoli box and seeing his drive take a decisive deflection off Koulibaly.The Gunners continued to pile forward but, after Lacazette miscued and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested Alex Meret, Insigne missed a great chance before the break.

Napoli improved after the interval with the offside flag ruling out an Insigne goal and Koulibaly forcing a fine save from Petr Cech with a powerful header.Arsenal pushed for a third, though, with Meret superbly keeping out Ramsey's drive and Nacho Monreal planting a free header over the crossbar from the resulting corner.

The impressive Meret made a double save to deny Sead Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles and Zielinski missed a huge opportunity to score a crucial away goal for Napoli.

And Ramsey and Aubameyang should have made the visitors pay, wasting late chances to leave Napoli with some hope.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Slavia Prague 0 Chelsea 1: Alonso steals first-leg lead

Marcos Alonso snatched a precious 1-0 away win for Chelsea in their Europa League quarter-final first leg at Slavia Prague on Thursday.

The Blues started with N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard on the bench and were outplayed for long periods until Alonso headed in an unlikely winner four minutes from time.Victory was scarcely deserved for Chelsea, with Kepa Arrizabalaga starring in the away goal and the notion of a kind draw for the visitors put to bed by an excellent Slavia display.

But Maurizio Sarri's decision to rest key men was ultimately justified as his side prepare to visit Liverpool on Sunday in complete control of this European tie ahead of next week's return leg.
An off-balance Simon Deli directed his second-minute header wide and Slavia continued to put Sarri's men under pressure.Willian almost stole the opener against the run of play, crashing a superb 20-yard strike off the crossbar, but the hosts were well on top once more by the interval.

Hazard was called from the bench after almost an hour of Chelsea toil and they immediately clicked into gear, with Ondrej Kolar blocking well from Antonio Rudiger before Willian drilled just wide.

The Blues left spaces at the back to exploit, though, and only a smart Kepa parry denied Ibrahim Traore a breakaway winner, while the goalkeeper later kept out an acrobatic Jan Boril effort.

And those saves gave Chelsea the foundation to chase a vital goal that arrived as Willian's deep cross picked out Alonso for a powerful downward header.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Villarreal 1 Valencia 3: Wass and Guedes strike late to snatch first-leg lead

Desperately late goals from Daniel Wass and Goncalo Guedes helped Valencia to a dramatic 3-1 win at local rivals Villarreal in their Europa League quarter-final first leg, as Los Che put one foot in the last four.

Javi Calleja's men recovered well after a woeful start and they went on to dominate most of the match, but they ran out of steam in the latter stages and Valencia finished them off ruthlessly with two goals right at the end.

Valencia put themselves ahead early on when Guedes reacted quickest to Dani Parejo's penalty being saved, but Villarreal soon took control and deservedly levelled with a spot-kick of their own – Santi Cazorla netting.


The visitors struggled to contend with the excellent Cazorla and Villarreal's dynamism in attack after half-time, but their imagination only went so far and they found themselves picked off, as Wass slammed a fine strike in before Guedes effectively ended the tie on the break in stoppage time.
Valencia made a positive start and were rewarded after just six minutes, as Santi Caseres tripped Guedes in the box and the Portugal international converted from close range after Parejo's penalty was saved by Andres Fernandez.

But Villarreal levelled just past the half-hour mark – Cazorla converting the match's second penalty in confident fashion after an off-balance Ezequiel Garay tripped Vicente Iborra.

Villarreal continued to pile the pressure on after the break and Samuel Chukwueze twice went close.His first effort in the 56th minute forced Neto into a smart save down to his left, before the Brazilian then rushed off his line and read Chukwueze's attempted lob after a ball over the defence.

But Villarreal visibly tired and Valencia capitalised in the 90th minute, as Wass met Jose Gaya's low cross just inside the area with a controlled half-volley into the top-left corner.

Los Che arguably put the tie to bed in the third minute of stoppage time – Guedes beating Fernandez when one-on-one after collecting an excellent cross from former Villarreal star Denis Cheryshev.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Benfica 4 Eintracht Frankfurt 2: Hat-trick hero Felix outshines Jovic


Joao Felix's show-stopping hat-trick led Benfica to a valuable 4-2 first-leg victory against a 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

The Portugal youth international is considered one of European football's brightest talents and he delivered on that reputation with a stunning display that overshadowed Luka Jovic's return to Estadio da Luz.

Serbia striker Jovic, who is in the second term of a two-season loan at Frankfurt from Benfica, got on the scoresheet against his parent club by cancelling out Felix's spot-kick opener, which came after Evan N'Dicka's dismissal for bundling over Gedson Fernandes in the box.


But the shimmering homegrown talent netted twice more either side of a Ruben Dias header to become the youngest player to hit a Europa League treble, although Goncalo Paciencia did later give the visitors a handy second away goal to take back to Frankfurt.
Felix first illustrated his sought-after ability in the 20th minute.The rumoured Manchester United target sent Fernandes scampering into the box with a cute reverse pass and then, following N'Dicka's panicked push from behind, coolly converted the resultant penalty.

Jovic - tipped to sign for Adi Hutter's men on a permanent basis at season's end - responded 20 minutes later, Ante Rebic breaking into the box and selflessly squaring for him, but parity lasted less than three minutes.Felix this time took it entirely upon himself to brilliantly fire into the bottom-left corner from 25 yards.

Frankfurt looked to have equalised again when Filip Kostic's tame shot squirmed through Odisseas Vlachodimos, only for the offside flag to go up against two players deemed to have occupied an active position.Instead, they shipped two more in four second-half minutes.

Dias nodded in Benfica's third after Felix helped on a corner, before the teenager completed his treble by side-footing through Kevin Trapp's legs from Alex Grimaldo's cut-back.

That burst appeared to have dashed the Bundesliga's side hopes of advancing, but Paciencia headed in fellow substitute Jonathan de Guzman's corner 18 minutes from the end to inspire hope of a second-leg fightback in seven days' time.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

'We need more heart and b****cks' - Lukaku calls for Man Utd to be arrogant at Camp Nou


Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku says the Reds need to play with "more heart and b******s" in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.

Lukaku believes United were not confident enough on the ball at Old Trafford as the La Liga champions picked up a 1-0 away win on Wednesday night with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side failing to produce a shot on target.The result gives the Red Devils a mountain to climb at Camp Nou when the two teams meet again on April 16 to decide who will claim a spot in the semi-finals.

But United will take inspiration from their last-16 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain when they overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first leg with a 3-1 victory at Parc des Princes.

Lukaku is looking for a big improvement on Wednesday's performance though, and when asked what is needed to get a result in Barcelona, the Belgium international said: “Taking our chances and not conceding a goal, and play with more heart and b****cks."We have to believe and have the desire and more quality. Be better on the ball and then you never know what can happen in football.

“I don’t think we played with the same arrogance and confidence on the ball [early on]. Second half we tried and the first 20 minutes of the second half we were there. It’s something we have to do for the whole 90 minutes over there and not concede a goal and score early.”Although it is a Luke Shaw own goal that separates the two teams at the halfway point in the tie, Barca were not at their fluent best in Manchester and Red Devils midfielder Paul Pogba insists a result is possible in Catalonia.

“We saw a team we can beat,” Pogba said. “If you don’t believe that then you just let them go through. We believe we can beat them."They are Barcelona but we are Manchester United and we play in the Champions League like they do and we can go through.

“Probably PSG will be in their minds, because they saw what we can do. They will be comfortable on their own pitch but let’s see.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tottenham confirm 'signficant' ankle ligament injury for Kane


Harry Kane suffered a "significant lateral ligament injury" to his left ankle during Tottenham's Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, the north London club has confirmed.

The striker was forced off in the second half on Tuesday following a challenge from Fabian Delph, but Son Heung-min later scored to give Spurs a 1-0 victory in the first leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.A club statement read: "Investigations are ongoing and he will continue to be assessed by our medical staff over the coming week."

Spurs also confirmed that Dele Alli fractured his left hand during the game before being substituted in the closing stages. "The England midfielder will now be assessed to determine his availability for this weekend's fixture against Huddersfield Town," the statement continued.

Tottenham face a fierce battle for the top four in the Premier League, sitting just a point ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal at present, as well as their Champions League campaign in the closing weeks of the season.

It would be a bitter blow for Mauricio Pochettino's side if they were to lose their top scorer for the run-in and the Argentine said he feared just that after the game on Tuesday, although the duration of Kane's absence is still to be confirmed. "We need to check tomorrow but it looks like it is the same ankle and similar injury," Pochettino told BT Sport.

"It is very sad and very disappointing. We are going to miss him - maybe for the rest of the season. It is a worry for us. We hope it is not a big issue. But there is not to much time to recover."He twisted his ankle so we will see how it reacts in a few hours.

"Fabian Delph was very disappointed but he didn't realise Harry's intention was not to tackle him. In the action, both were very strong."But both didn't have the intention to make damage to another. That was why Fabian was trying to talk to him. Both were fighting for the ball."

After Tottenham host Huddersfield on Saturday they face back-to-back encounters away to City in the Champions League and Premier League respectively.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Solskjaer insists Pogba unaffected by Real Madrid transfer talk


Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Paul Pogba has been unaffected by speculation he could join Real Madrid in the summer, buts admits there may be a concerted campaign being devised by the Spanish giants to unsettle the midfielder.

Pogba has been linked to Madrid after praising the Spanish side and their coach Zinedine Zidane while on international duty in April, and Zidane later said he would be delighted to have his French compatriot at the Bernabeu in the future.

But United boss Solskjaer insisted on Friday that he doesn’t see any difference in the Frenchman’s approach of late whatever the truth behind the paper talk.

“There might be a campaign, there might be press, you never know what there is.But in my talks with Paul he’s always been positive. I don’t see a difference in him when I chat to him. He’s focused on performing and he’s a proud player. He always gives his best,” Solskjaer told a press conference. The Norwegian added that, while fellow midfielders Scott McTominay and Fred got much of the praise for a positive performance in the narrow loss to Barcelona on Wednesday, Pogba remained a key contributor.

“I thought first half, we speak about Fred and Scott, but I thought Paul made us play, settled us down a bit in the first half especially. We just fell away towards the end. But the effort he put in was tremendous. “He has made a difference for us in a few games, so has Romelu [Lukaku], so has Marcus [Rashford]. There have been different players in different periods that have made the difference.

“It’s not just about one player. It’s not just about Paul. He had his highest-ever output physically on Wednesday night: he’d never run as much in a United shirt. That was brilliant. The effort and attitude is there.”

United have lost four of their last five matches and face West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday knowing that slip-ups need to be at a premium for the remainder of the season as they look to close the three-point gap to Tottenham in the pursuit of Champions League football.
And Solskjaer believes their recent dip in form will help to inform him and the club when it comes to shaping the first-team squad for the remainder of this season and beyond. “I’m under no illusions that this is going to be plain sailing, it’s going to be hard,” added Solskjaer. “It’s going to be survival of the fittest, or survival of the best.

That’s how ruthless we have to be. We need players here who are going to be able to take us forward. That means culture in the dressing room, what we do every single day here to make us challenge again.

“Liverpool and City are too far head at the moment for what we like. We played against a Barcelona team that sets the standard in European football. We're under no illusions, it’s going to be hard work and there will be some tough decisions made by me, Mike Phelan and the club.”