Football Updates

Arsenal must loose their pockets to keep Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez inisists former Gunner

Former Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman, who won three titles with Arsenal, has implored that club must forego there usual financial frugality to keep the dup at Emirates.

Following recent speculations around new contract talks of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Seaman has made it clear that if Arsenal have to won their first Premier League title since 2004, they must keep Ozil and Sanchez at any cost.

"To win the title Arsenal have got to keep their best players," he said, in quotes reported by the Mirror. "We used to do that. When big clubs came calling for Thierry Henry or Patrick Vieira, we always managed to send them packing.

"But then the club went through a phase of selling them, although maybe that was partly because finances forced our hand.

"Now they are in a situation where they have a great chance of winning the Premier League for the first time in 13 years and they don't need to sell.

"The Emirates Stadium is paid for, the bank manager is happy, so if it means paying Sanchez and Ozil what they are worth - or perhaps even a little bit more - just do it.

"If Arsenal lost Sanchez now, they would have to spend a colossal amount of money, maybe £50-60million, to bring in a replacement of his quality.

"Why not just go the extra mile to keep him and Ozil at Arsenal? They are special players, and it's special players who make the difference between winning the major trophies and coming close.

"People talk about breaking the wage structure and upsetting the applecart, but in the dressing room nobody will complain if the club accommodates a couple of higher earners who are in that 'special' bracket and they deliver the title.

"Arsene must make sure that if either of them leaves - and all the supporters hope it doesn't come down to this - it must not be for financial reasons.

"I'm all for good housekeeping, but sometimes in football you've got to push the boat out a bit further. You have to stay ambitious."

Arsenal are currently 2nd in the Premier League, 3 points behind leaders Chelsea and are through to the next round of Champions League as group toppers.

No agreement for transfer of players with Real Madrid, BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke

BVB CEO has put down all the rumours regarding the possible agreement discussions for thetransfer of his players to Real Madrid.

Spanish daily, Marca, claimed on Thursday that Real Madrid had reached an agreement with the German outfits that they will be informed beforehand if Aubameyang, Julian Weigl or Ousama Dembele will be sold to any other clubs.

It was also rumoured that Dortmund would themselves are interested in James Rodriguez and Casemiro to take them to Signal Iduna Park if it's agreeable to Florentino Perez.

However Watzke admitted that he dined with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez and spend time with him during Wednesday's 2-2 draw in Champions League, but did not discuss anything about possible transfer of any player.

"It's right that I had lunch with Fiorentino Perez and we sat next to each other the stadium," he told Bild. "But we did not spend one second taking about players of Borussia Dortmund. There's no agreement."

Well, it was interesting to hear Aubameyang after the match when he reiterated his desire to join his dream club, Real Madrid.

Cavani: I'd like to play with Griezmann one day

PSG striker has expressed his desire to play alongside the Frenchman after offering him a native Uruguayan drink.

Griezmann has been a hot property in the transfer market following his excellent run of form last season with both club and country.

Although he has signed a new five year deal in June, speculations has always been around.

Recently Cavani sparked rumours of a possible union, when he posted on Twitter an invite to join him in enjoying some mate, a traditional Uruguayan drink.

Cavani thought blamed media to get carried away with the situation, but he did not deny his desire to play alongside Griezmann.

"It's the press that said I wanted to invite Antoine Griezmann to Paris," he said.

"I sent him a message to take a Uruguay mate. I'd like to play with him one day, he is a great striker and a beautiful person too."

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Real Madrid let two goal lead slip away, as they finish second in the group

It was a frustrating night for Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu as Dortmund sealed the first place in the dying moments of the Match.

Karim Benzema scored a goal in either halves to give Real Madrid a two goal lead. He also reached 50 goal mark in the club continental competition and could have scored a hat-trick but his header was cleared off the line by Marco Reus.

Real Madrid spurned a few chances to put the game beyond reach of the German outfits. Cristiano Ronaldo was denied by the post but everyone in the stadium felt he should have done better.

Dortmund punished Real Madrid for there missed chances as they hit back, courtesy of the goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus. 

Reus scored in the 88th minute to to complete a brilliant comeback and seal the top spot in the group.

Zidane echoed his frustration after the Match but remained positive as his side's unbeaten run reached to 34 match.

"When you see how the second half went you get a bit angry," Zidane told reporters after the match.

"We had the game in our hands but this is football. You need to carry on right to the end. 

"We had chances to score a third, but that's in the past now. We couldn't do any more. I'll analyse the game and we will see when things have calmed down a bit what we can take away.

"I have mixed emotions. Things happen. We missed a few chances to seal the game but we drew and came second in the group. 

"We gave our all to come first, but didn't do it. I'm very proud of the players, their hard work, the things they did.

"Now we need to rest. The second half saw us lose a bit of intensity but we had chances to score a third."

Zidane congratulated Dortmund on finishing first and felt they deserved it across the six matches.

He said: "They are a strong side who make life difficult and at the end of the day we needed to be a bit more on it, but it is in the past now. 

"The group is probably fair with us second and them first.

"There were a lot of chances to score the third goal. Instead, we got Dortmund back into the game. Dortmund deserved first place and they demonstrated how strong they are.

"We gave our all to come first. We didn't achieve it. We wanted to do it but couldn't. 

"We won't go over it again. We came second and we'll now see who we get in the draw."

Real Madrid could face table toppers like Juventus or Arsenal in the last 16, which will take place in February next year.

The draws will be out on 12 December as some mouth watering fixtures are surely on the cards.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Goals Galore at Signal Iduna Park, Real Madrid wins in Lisbon and other Champions league match results

Group F

Borussia Dortmund won the match 8-4 with the help of a hat trick from local hero Marco Reus.

Borussia Dortmund were playing against Legia Warsaw in match day 5 of Champions league group stages.

A total of 12 goals were scored on the night and the previous record of most goals in a single match got broken.

Previous record of most goals scored in a single match in UCL was when AS Monaco demolished Deportivo La Coruna 8-3 in 2003.

7 goals were scored in the first 32 minutes of the game.

Legia Warsaw took the lead in 10th minute after a fine finish from Aleksander Prijovic. Dortmund were taken by surprise.

Shinji Kagawa replied for Dortmund after equalizing in the 17th minute from a close range.

Kagawa was the man again as Dortmund took lead with 2nd goal in as many minutes.

Nuri Sahin then scored the third in an unlikely manner, Marco Reus sent the ball in from a free kick which Legia goalkeeper punches to clear but it took rebound off Nuri Sahin's body and back into net. 3-1 with just 20 minutes on the clock.

Now it was Legia's turn, Aleksander Prijovic made it 3-2 in 24th minute. He completed the low finish in the bottom-left corner after some not so convincing defending.

Ousama Dembele scored in the 29 minute after receiving a pass from Marco Reus. Legia's goalkeeper put his arm out but he couldn't keep out the shot.

In the 32nd minute, Marco Reus got his first of the match and Dortmund's 5th after piercing Legia's defense easily. The cut back from Kagawa from the left was finished by Reus. Kagawa got his 1st assist to couple with his two goals.

Dortmund came to scoring again but were denied and halfway mark score was 5-2.

7 minutes into the second half, Dembele was the problem again for Legia as he bagged his third assist after providing a curling delivery from the left which Marco Reus glanced into the goal. He got his 2nd of the night and score 6-2.

Legia pulled one back in the 57th minute, when Kucharczyk was found from the outside of the boot from Radovic. The goalscorer waited for Weidenfeller to rush onto him before completing a brilliant low finish to make it 6-3.

In the 81st minute Dortmund made it 7-3, when Passlack finished home the rebound after Schurrle forced a save from Cierzniak following a great run.

Two minutes later, Legia struck their 4th of the match on a counter attack. Nikolic's low finish was in the back of the net touching the post. Score 7-4

In the stoppage time, Marco Reus completed his hat trick on return, after galloping down the right and finishing a low strike from an acute angle through Cierzniak's legs.

The match ended Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warsaw.

Real beat 10- men Sporting CP to make it through to the last 16

It was homecoming for Cristiano Ronaldo as it was the club where he started his footballing career.

Cristiano scored against his former club on Match day 1.

Real Madrid started slowly with Sporting in ascendency for the first 10 minutes.
The hosts made a confident start willing to cause a major upset.

But Real got their footing in after few minutes claiming majority of possession.

And it was Real Madrid who drew first blood in the 29th minute, when Varane made a poacher's finish after Ronaldo mishit from a Luka Modric free kick from the right. It was a scrappy goal for the champions.

Sporting had to do all kinds of work after going behind. They had a few chances but couldn't finish it.
Halftime score was Sporting 0-1 Real Madrid.

In 2nd half, Sporting bean their pursuit of equalizer. Real Madrid, though were firm in defense, Sporting had some half chances but they were not enough.

Real Madrid suffered a blow when Gareth Bale had to be subbed off following an ankle injury. With this injury coming few days before El Clasico it will be a huge blow for league leaders, if he misses it.

The tempo slowed down a bit as the match reached 1 hour mark. 

In the 64th minute, Joao Pereira and Kovacic got involved in a scuffle at the right corner flag right under the nose of linesman, it seemed the Sporting right back shoved at the midfielder and he went down, but a bit theatrically as the replay suggested but the referee showed a straight red to the Sporting man and they were down to 10 with already a goal behind.

Real Madrid took full advantage of an extra man as they dominated possession.

But Sporting didn't give up their pursuit though and they were awarded a penalty for their perseverance, when Fabio Coentrao handed the ba just inside the box. It was really poor from the Madrid left back who came on as a substitute for Marcelo.

Captain Adrien Silva finished from the spot sending Keylor Navas the wrong way. And suddenly it was game on in Lisbon.
Sporting 1-1 Real Madrid in the 80th minute.

Sporting got confident of turning it around as they put pressure back on Real Madrid.

Sporting had to win this game to stay in hunt for the last 16, while Real Madrid just needed a draw to see them trough.

But in 87th minute, Karim Benzema headed home Sergio Ramos' cross to put the game to bed and ruining the dreams of Sporting CP to complete a turnaround.

5 minute of stoppage time was given but Madrid comfortably passed it through.
Benzema scored the winner as Real Madrid continued their title defence as they reach the knockout stages.

While Sporting now had to fight for a Europa League place.

Other matches : -

Group E

Tottenham Hotspur crash out of the Champions league after losing 2-1 to AS Monaco away.

CSKA Moscow equalized from the penalty spot in 76th minute after Bayer Leverkusen took the lead in the first half through Kevin Volland.

Group G

Leicester City beat Club Brugge 2-1 to advance to knockout stages as table toppers. Their dream run in their maiden champions league continues.

FC Porto and FC Kobenhaven shared the spoils as a 0-0 draw keeps both the teams in hunt for a knockout stage place behind Leicester.

Group H

In a big encounter in the Group Sevilla faced Juventus at home. The home side started strongly and took the lead in 9th minute through Nicolas Pareja but two yellow cards for Franco Vazquez in 10 minutes changed the game as goals from Claudio Marchisio, Leonardo Bonucci and Mario Mandzukic led Juventus to a 3-1 victory and through to the knockout stages.

In other group H match, Lyon beat Dinamo Zagreb by one goal to nil, away. Alexandre Lacazatte scored the only goal of the match but Lyon had to settle only for a place in Europa league as Juventus and Sevilla are through to the knockout stages.

That's all for the Champions league match day 5 results.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Borussia Dortmund wins Der Klassiker

Borussia Dortmund beats Bayern Munich in the German Clasico

A goal inside the first fifteen minutes of the game, helped Dortmund overcome the Bayern challenge.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with the slightest of touches from a Mario Götze cross saw the ball past Manuel Neuer and into the back of the net.
While Bayern enjoyed most of the possession, they just couldn't find a way.

First half ended 1-0.

Bayern came charging in the 2nd half with a clear intent to get the equalizer but saw their number of attempts go haywire. In the 70th minute, Franck Ribery had a goal disallowed due to offside, when he flicked the ball with the inside of his boot at the near post.

Minutes later Xabi Alonso's left footed effort from 25 yards out hit the crossbar.
Meanwhile Aubameyang was gifted an opportunity to double the lead, when Xabi Alonso mishit his pass into the path of Aubameyang and Neuer came to the rescue of Bayern in a one on one situation.

There was also a fight in the Signal Iduna Park between the players.. Ribery and Adrian Ramos were involved majorily and were booked by the referee.
In the stoppage time, Lewandowski had a chance to equalize from his header but it went just wide.

And it ended Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayern Munich.

With this loss Bayern are shifted to 2nd place in the Bundesliga table and Dortmund move to 3rd. RB Leipzig top the table with 27 points.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

The big matches in Europe this weekend

This weekend get ready for some exciting matches as some big matches are coming up after the international break.
For your convenience, sportskafun brings you some interesting facts and build up for the matches.

1. Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid (Madrid Derby)

• La Liga

• Sunday, 20 November, 1:15AM (IST)

• Vicente Calderón, Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo(R)  in action with Atletico Madrid's Juanfran

Since Diego Simeone has taken charge of Atletico Madrid, this derby has become more exciting. With an excellent home record against Real Madrid in recent time this match will be a treat for the fans of both the clubs around the world. 

Atletico have not lost at home to Real Madrid in Liga BBVA since September 2013. A lot has changed since then, Atletico Madrid has won La Liga in 2014 while Real Madrid last won the league in 2011/12. The two sides have met several times in different competitions including twice in UEFA Champions League finals in 2013/14 and 2015/16, with Los Blancos winning on both occasions, on penalties.

After their loss to Real Madrid in 2013/14 UCL final in Lisbon, Atletico Madrid only lost twice to Real Madrid in 12 meetings. Their latest defeat coming in 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final, in Milan. At home, Atletico Madrid's record is something to deal with. They humiliated Real Madrid 4-0 in February 2015. Their last meeting at Vicente Calderon ended in 1-1 draw and their last La Liga meeting was won by Atletico at Santiago Bernabeu. Since then, Real Madrid have gone onto a winning streak which is still on.This season Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane were off to a great start, currently on top of the table with 27 points in 11 matches and with 21 points Atletico Madrid are on 4th losing two of their last 5 matches in La Liga.

2. Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich (Der Klassiker)

• Bundesliga

• Saturday, 19 November, 11:00PM (IST)

• Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund

Robert Lewandowski(L) in action against his former club Borussia Dortmund

Also known as German Clasico, this is the most exciting game in Bundesliga. This classic derby once became the pinnacle of European Football, when the two sides met in 2012/13 UEFA Champions League final in Wembley. Bayern Munich won the treble that season. 
Borussia Dortmund won two back to back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12. Since then Bayern Munich took charge and won 4 Bundesliga titles on the trot. Their last meeting in Bundesliga ended in a 0-0 draw. Borussia Dortmund has always been the closest competitors of Bayern Munich, and with young players like Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Ousama Dembele, and also the return of Mario Gotze this classic derby will be huge one. Bayern Munich, under Carlo Ancelotti, are still unbeaten and currently lead the Bundesliga table with 24 points in 10 matches while Borussia Dortmund are at 5th position with 18 points. Bayern Munich were last defeated by Dortmund in Bundesliga in April 2014.

3. AC Milan vs Inter Milan (Derby di Milano)

• Serie A

• Monday, 21 November, 1:15AM (IST)

• San Siro

Milan Derby got abandoned when Inter fans threw flares on the ground

This classic Milan derby has a very rich history. With the two clubs meeting 164 times till date, Inter has upper hand with 61 wins to that of Milan's 51. Both the clubs have won 18 Serie A titles. With such a close rivalry, the Milan derby has always been a treat to watch. Legends like Paolo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko, Javier Zanetti, Roberto Baggio have all been a part of this derby. 

AC Milan last won Serie A in 2010-11 while Inter last won the Scudetto in 2009-10.Milan won their last meeting in Serie A 3-0 in February. 

Currently AC milan are on 3rd position with 25 points in 12 matches while Inter are way below them on 9th position with 17 points.

Irrespective of the positions in the table this classic Milan derby will be exciting.

4. Manchester United vs Arsenal

• Premier League

• Saturday, 19 November, 6:00PM (IST)

• Old Trafford

Termed as one of Premier League's greatest rivalry, this battle between the two big clubs from England is going to be one of the matches of the season. Arsenal last won the Premier league title in 2004, as ' The Invincibles', while Manchester United won it in 2012/13 when Sir Alex Ferguson had managed the Red Devils for the last time. Since the departure of SAF, Manchester United have struggled failing to finish outside top 4 for the first time in Premier League since its inception in 1992.Manchester United have tried rebuilding their team with some big money moves, appointing different managers but they have still not found their rhythm, Arsenal on the other hand have improved season by season finishing above Manchester United in all previous 3 seasons. 

Manchester United's largest win against Arsenal

This match is also going to be exciting because of the two managers Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger who always are in for a battle of words against each other. Arsenal are currently 4th in the table with 24 points while Manchester United are on 6th with 18 points. 

So gear up Football fans for one of the most exciting weekend. 

Also read : War of words between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

RB Leipzig- Surprise package of this season's Bundesliga

Winning 24 of the possible 30 points this season so far and currently 2nd in the Bundesliga table, behind Bayern Munich only on goal difference, this club is doing wonders this season.

This club has made the best start to the season since MSV Duisburg in 1997/98. They have taken Bundesliga by storm and after beating Borussia Dortmund on matchday 2, the club has gone strength to strength to stand shoulder to shoulder with mighty Bayern Munich at the top of the German league.

RB Leipzig beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0

They are still unbeaten along with Bayern Munich and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, forming the unbeaten trio.

They have the top form table winning their last 5 matches on the trot and with no European or Cup football to distract them they can focus solely on the Bundesliga.

Some Facts about RB Leipzig : 

Swedish International Emil Forsberg

• They are officially Bundesliga's youngest club, founded in 2009. They became top flight's 55th club when they started this season in August.
• Coach Ralph Hasenhütl took over this club in summer 2016 after keeping his previous club Ingolstadt in Bundesliga.
• They have a youthful squad with only one exception in the form of Marvin Compper who is 30 years old.
• Promoted as 3. Liga runners up in 2013/14, Leipzig continued their impressive ascent up the divisions last season, beating Karlsruher SC 2-0 on the final day and achieved their ambition of reaching the top flight within 8 years.  

Marvin Compper(R) is the only exception in the squad.

With a squad full of young prodigies this club has made its mark in style. 

Their next is an away match against Bayer Leverkusen, and with a win at Bayarena they can go top of the table, temporarily.

Source : Bundesliga

©sportskafun.blogspot.com