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Tag: UEFA

  • Manchester City vs Real: UEFA Champions League is our competition – Modric boasts

    Manchester City vs Real: UEFA Champions League is our competition – Modric boasts

    Croatian Midfielder, Luka Modric, has boasted that the UEFA Champions is Real Madrid’s competition.

    The Los Blancos Midfielder, made this known during a pre-match press conference of the second semi-final battle between Manchester City and Real Madrid coming up later tonight at the Etihad.

    Manchester City forced Real Madrid to a draw at the Bernabeau last week Tuesday with Vini Junior and Kelvin De Bruyne scoring for their teams.

    “The sensations are very good. We have to enjoy this game to the fullest. What we are achieving is something big, and we have to enjoy this moment,” the Croatia international told the press.

    “It is just that we have played these games many times. And I see in my mates, tranquillity. Playing the final would be impressive.

    “It is a huge game… and we feel comfortable. We like the Champions League, because it is our tournament. The feeling is of comfort and that is why we have won so many times. Because self-confidence is enormous. What we believe in is our quality. We will give 100%.”

  • UCL: World Cup final referee, Marciniak to officiate Manchester City vs Real Madrid

    UCL: World Cup final referee, Marciniak to officiate Manchester City vs Real Madrid

    Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, who was in charge of the World Cup final game between  France and Argentina at Qatar 2022 will be at the center of the semi-final  UEFA Champions League clash between Manchester City and Real Madrid.

    The match will take place on Wednesday night by 8pm at the Etihad.

    The Champions League last-four tie will be the sixth time that Marciniak presides over one of our games in the tournament.

    The last one was in the second leg of last season’s quarter-final clash against Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabéu (2-3).

    Meanwhile, both Madrid and City played a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first-leg tie in Spain last week.

    Both teams also clash in last season’s UEFA Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid carrying the day.
    This season final will be played in Instabul Turkey on June 10
  • Barcelona crowned La Liga champions after thrashing Espanyol 4-2

    Barcelona crowned La Liga champions after thrashing Espanyol 4-2

    Barcelona FC have won  Spanish  LaLiga title first time in four years after defeating  Espanyol  FC 4-2 away from home.

    The 4-2 win against Espanyol ensured Barcelona won its 27th Spanish championship.

    Polish striker , Robert Lewandowski grabbed a brace  whilst  Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde scored a goal apiece to complete the routing.

    However, Javi Paudo pulled one back for the home team in the 73rd minute before Joselu added another in the 92nd  minute of the encounter to make the scoreline respectable.

    The win takes Barcelona to 85 points from 34 fixtures.

    Xavi Hernandez’s men are 14 points clear of rivals Real Madrid with four rounds of matches left.

    Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid and Sociedad will battle for the remaining UEFA Champions League spot as they occupy 2nd ,third and fourth respectively.

  • UCL: Inter Milan shock neighbour AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro

    UCL: Inter Milan shock neighbour AC Milan 2-0 at San Siro

    Italian giant Inter Milan have put one leg in the final of this year’s UEFA Champions League final after beating neighbour AC Milan 2-0 away from home in the first leg of the UCL Semi-final encounter.

    Edin Dzeko scored a beautiful volley as early as 8th minute in the clash witnessed by 80,000 fans at the San Siro international stadium.

    The goal silenced the Milan fans – the designated home side for this tie in the stadium the two sides share – as they significantly outnumbered the Inter supporters.

    The home fans kept more silent when three minutes later, Henrikh Mkhitaryan lashed on to a pass from Federico Dimarco  and sent a shot that beat French goal Keeper, Mike Maignan for the second goal.

    Hakan Calhanoglu hit the woodwork as Inter threatened to get a third, but there was hope for AC Milan when referee Jesus Gil Manzano reversed a decision to award the visitors a penalty, deeming Lautaro Martinez to have dived after consulting the pitchside monitor.

    AC Milan came knocking for goals in the second half of the encounter, but the visitors did enough to soak the pressure and protect their two goal advantage in the fiesty encounter.

    However, forward, came close to scoring when Sandro Tonali struck the post with a shot from the edge of the box.

    Although both teams share same stadium (San Siro) where the game was played it’s assumed by UEFA that AC Milan played first at home, While the reverse fixture will be played at the same venue Inter Milan have been adjudged the home team.

  • Facing Real Madrid with revenge in mind will be huge mistake – Guardiola

    Facing Real Madrid with revenge in mind will be huge mistake – Guardiola

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his players must on Tuesday avoid falling into the trap of trying to avenge last year’s UEFA Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid.

    Both teams will meet on Tuesday at the same stage of the tournament, with Manchester City away in the first leg in Madrid.

    Guardiola was visibly upset with a comment by his midfielder Rodri earlier in their press conference at Santiago Bernabeu earlier on Monday.

    He had said that he was looking forward to “a chance for revenge” against Real Madrid.

    “It will be a huge mistake to think we are here for revenge, we are not! We must face it as another opportunity (to reach the final),” Guardiola told a news conference later on Monday.

    “We are here to get a good result because everything will be decided in Manchester, not here.

    “What happened last season happened, period. This is another opportunity, nothing more.

    “We come with the mentality of trying again, knowing that to achieve it, we have to be better.

    “The best lesson we can take from last season is that we are not coming here for revenge, but for a good result. And to have the final open for Manchester.”

    Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke earlier on Monday about the importance of going into the second leg with a mental edge.

    Asked about the comments, Guardiola was once again uneasy, disagreeing with his opposite number.

    “Last year we got here with a huge mental edge after winning well (in) the first leg. But look what happened,” Guardiola said.

    “Ferland Mendy saved a ball off the goalline and what happened still happened. Those are the details that take you to a final or not.

    “There is a cross that maybe we should have made another pass, maybe we should have taken better care of the possession. I don’t know.

    “We have to put in a great performance in both matches, otherwise it will be very difficult.”

    After beating Real Madrid 4-3 in a thriller in the first-leg last year in Manchester, Manchester City saw the Spanish giants fight back from the brink of elimination.

    They beat them 3-1 after extra time to get to the final.

    “When I arrived at Manchester City I thought I would win the Champions League in the first year, then in the next one… and the one after that.

    “And the last one, the same thing. That’s my mentality. And here we are, we are here to try again,” Guardiola said.

    “What I wouldn’t like is a team that wins the Champions League once and then falls behind in the league or spends 10 years falling.

    “No, we have to be stable. We are looking for something like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Liverpool, to always be there. That is a healthy club.

    “I’m an FC Barcelona fan and it took Barça a long time to reach a final. Everything is a process and the importance is stability.”

  • Messi didn’t win four but three Champions League trophies – UEFA

    Messi didn’t win four but three Champions League trophies – UEFA

    Europe football governing body UEFA has released a statement denying the news making the rounds that Messi won four Champions League trophy.

    UEFA declared that Lionel Messi only won the Champions League three times as at today.

    Barcelona won the Champions League titles in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015.

    Lionel Messi was part of the Barca team from 2004 which means that he has four Champions League medals.

    However, the UEFA does not see the 2022 World Cup winner as a four-time holder of Europe’s club’s elite trophy.

    Lionel Messi played a pivotal role in Barcelona’s Champions League victories in 2009, 2011, and 2015,

    UEFA declared that the Argentina international has won only three titles as he was not part of Barcelona’s squad in the 2006 final.

    This statement by the UEFA has drawn the attention of many football fans.

    The official website of the UEFA Champions League stated, “Messi has won the Champions League three times – in 2009, 2011, and 2015 (all with Barcelona).

    “He was also a regular for the Spanish club when they won the trophy in 2006 but was not part of their squad for the final.”

  • Ajax in danger of missing out on UEFA Champions League football

    Ajax in danger of missing out on UEFA Champions League football

    Ajax Amsterdam are in danger of finishing outside the top two in the Dutch football league for the first time in 13 seasons.

    This will mean missing out on the UEFA Champions League next season.

    The signs are ominous as they struggle to build a new team in the wake of record sales last year.

    The club have finished champions seven times and runners-up another five over the last 12 seasons, since ending third behind AZ Alkmaar and Twente Enschede in 2009.

    However, after a 3-0 drubbing from PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, Ajax have dropped to third with four league matches left to play.

    It could get worse as their next league clash on May 6 is home to AZ, who lie two points behind them in fourth place.

    Ajax, who meet PSV again this Sunday in the Dutch Cup final, have paid the price for their own success.

    This has been over the past three title-winning seasons, alongside their run to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2019.

    They sold the bulk of their talent and lost coach Erik ten Hag to Manchester United.

    Now it is their arch rivals Feyenoord who are on course to win the league, needing five points from their final four matches.

    They have 73 points with PSV Eindhoven second on 65.

    Ajax are on 62, facing having to play in the Europa League next season after 13 successive season of competing in the UEFA Champions League.

    Ajax, who are four-time European champions, made eye-watering 216.2 million euros in transfers in the close season.

    This included almost 155 million euros alone from Manchester United for Brazilian Antony and defender Lisandro Martinez.

    But, in spite of the positive bank balance, the club are in transition struggling to replace the departed talent.

    Team captain Dusan Tadic said on Sunday he had noticed a decline in the level at training daily and in matches weekly.

    “We won one top match all season,” in a reference to this month’s Dutch Cup semi-final success at Feyenoord. “We need more quality in the squad.”

    They were beaten 6-1 at home by Napoli and 3-0 by Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.

    In January they fired coach Alfred Schreuder after only half a season in charge following a string of seven matches without a win.

    John Heitinga stepped in as caretaker coach for the rest of the season. “It’s been a difficult season, we all realise that,” he said on Sunday.

    “We have to be realistic, a lot of quality has gone and a completely new team had to take shape. That takes time.

    “We have to take this year as it is, but look very critically at next season. It’s a gap year, but we can’t have too many gap years at Ajax.”

  • UCL: Check out all the qualified team, fixtures for Semi-final

    UCL: Check out all the qualified team, fixtures for Semi-final

    The 2022/2023UEFA champions League qualified teams have surfaced after yesterday’s round of matches ,

    All the teams that will play in the Champions League semi-finals have been confirmed.

    Manchester City booked their spot following a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich. The Premier League champions won 3-0 at the Etihad.

    Inter Milan also progressed with a 5-3 aggregate after drawing 3-3 with Benfica at the San Siro.

    This means that Manchester City will face Real Madrid for the second consecutive year in the last four, while AC Milan will face neighbour Inter-Milan in the other semi-final.

    This means that one Italian side will make it to the final of the UEFA Champions league for the first time in many years.

  • BREAKING: Injured Man U centre back out for rest of season

    BREAKING: Injured Man U centre back out for rest of season

    Injured Manchester United centre back, Lisandro Martinez has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after fracturing a metatarsal bone in his foot.

    However, the Argentinian defender is expected to make a full recovery in time to be ready for the start of next season, according to a club statement.

    Recall Martinez sustained the injury in the 86th minute of Thursday night’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the quarter-final of the UEFA Europa League.

    His defensive partner, Raphael Varane was also substituted with an injury at half-time in the same game but is expected to be out for a few weeks.

    “While Lisandro’s first season at United has sadly come to a premature end, it will remain a memorable one for the centre-back having made 45 club appearances whilst establishing himself as a firm fan favourite and helping the team to win the Carabao Cup.

    “In December, Martinez became only the fifth United player to win the World Cup, as Argentina beat France in the Qatar 2022 final.

    “Everyone at Manchester United sends Lisandro and Rapha our best wishes for a speedy recovery,” the statement reads.

  • Ceferin re-elected UEFA president unopposed

    Ceferin re-elected UEFA president unopposed

    Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected president of European football governing body UEFA unopposed during its Ordinary Congress in Lisbon on Wednesday.

    The Slovenian has been re-elected for a four-year term until 2027.

    Ceferin was elected UEFA’s seventh president in 2016 to replace Michel Platini.

    The Frenchman had been banned from football administration in 2015 for ethics violations and forced to quit UEFA in 2016 after losing his appeal against his ban.

    The 55-year-old Ceferin faced his biggest challenge in April 2021 when some of Europe’s top clubs attempted to form a European Super League.

    The competition was a direct threat to UEFA’s continental club competition, the Champions League, and Ceferin called on fans, football federations and governments to oppose the “disgraceful, self-serving proposal”.

    In his address ahead of his re-election, Ceferin said: “European football is already global. And while we are reaping the benefits, we are also paying the price.

    “There have been temptations, and even attempts, to create new models, but they conflict with the European model that we know so well and cherish so dearly.

    “Our model is based on sporting merit. Where we come from, merit doesn’t have a price. Merit can’t be claimed. It can’t be acquired.

    “It can only be earned. Season by season. On and off the pitch. There’s no room for cartels on this continent.”

    Ceferin also highlighted the need to clamp down on the abuse of players.

    “Football is an inclusive sport, open to everyone,” he said. “Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we’re going to have to rethink our approach.

    “We need to target offenders more effectively when a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions. We’re here to protect the players.”

    Ceferin, a lawyer, was first re-elected unopposed for a four-year term in 2019.