Football: Messi makes PSG statement as 'crazy' Sheriff shock Madrid

PARIS, France -- Lionel Messi opened his Paris Saint-Germain account as the French side beat Manchester City while new boys Sheriff Tiraspol shocked Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Messi's top-corner finish added to Idrissa Gueye's first half goal as PSG moved top of Group A with the 2-0 win over last year's runners up.

Pep Guardiola's side hit the bar twice in the first half with Portugal playmaker Bernardo Silva failing to score two metres out with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma helplessly on the ground.

"The important thing was to win, against an immense opponent, one of the contenders for the trophy," Messi told broadcaster Canal+.

"I had only played here (Parc des Princes) once, but little by little I'm adapting and integrating to the team," he added.

In Group D, Sheriff, playing in just their second ever game in the group stage of the competition, upset record 13-time winners Real Madrid 2-1 in the Spanish capital.

Uzbekistan winger Jasur Jakhshibaev put the Moldovans in the lead before the half hour mark as Karim Benzema equalised after 65 minutes to score for a 17th different season in the competition, a feat only also achieved by 34-year-old Messi.

But the hero for Sheriff, who are based in the region of Transnistria on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, was Luxembourg attacking midfielder Sebastien Thill.

The 27-year-old Thill fired home a sublime half volley with 62 seconds of regular time remaining at the Santiago Bernabeu two week after Sheriff had beaten Shakhtar Donetsk earlier in the month in their opening group game.

"After this match we all went crazy. There are a lot foreigners in the club, we come from all types of countries. It's our strength," Thill told Canal+.

"We played both matches to 100%. We're all happy now," he added.

Madrid's Casemiro rued his side's lack of efficiency in front of Sheriff's Greek goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiadis.

"It's football, we had 20 shots or more and we scored one, they had two shots scored both," he told Movistar+.

"We have to pay more attention, especially defensively.

"We started well, we had total control of the game, we had opportunities to get ahead, but they scored a great goal at the end," he added.

Earlier in the group, Serie A champions Inter Milan remain winless in Europe this season following the 0-0 draw at Shakhtar.

Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk was a spectator in Kiev days after beating Anthony Joshua on points to become just the third boxer to win both the cruiserweight and heavyweight world titles.

- Salah, Firmino doubles -

In Group B, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool hammered Porto 5-1 and Luis Suarez claimed a 97th-minute winner as Atletico Madrid edged AC Milan 2-1 in Italy.

Jurgen Klopp's side wore black armbands after former Liverpool striker Roger Hunt died earlier in the day aged 83.

Milan played an hour with 10-man after Franck Kessie's red card and the seven-time European champions were unable to claim a first win in the competition since 2013.

Earlier, Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller took his tally to 10 goals in as many games this season as Ajax beat Besiktas 2-0 to stay top of Group C in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Netherlands winger Donyell Malen also scored for his new club as Borussia Dortmund overcame Sporting Lisbon 1-0 and trail the Dutch champions on goal difference.

American Jesse Marsch lost his fifth game in nine matches in charge of RB Leipzig in the 2-1 home defeat to Club Brugge. Leipzig face a tough ask to reach the last 16 in a group alongside PSG and City.

On Wednesday, champions Chelsea head to Juventus, Manchester United host Villarreal and Benfica welcome Barcelona in the pick of the ties.

Agence France-Presse

Salah can prove loyalty to Liverpool in Real Madrid showdown

Mohamed Salah can silence the critics who question his loyalty to Liverpool by avenging the most painful moment of his career when the Egypt star faces Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Salah sparked howls of indignation among Liverpool fans recently when he refused to rule out the possibility of playing for a Spanish club in the future.

The fact that Salah was speaking to Madrid-based newspaper Marca at the time only increased speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a move to Real Madrid.

“I hope to be able to play for many more years. Why not? No one knows what’s going to happen in the future, so maybe one day, yes. It’s not up to me,” Salah said when asked if he was keen to try Spanish football.

Salah’s flirtatious response was similar to the one he gave to another Spanish outlet in December when questioned about a potential La Liga move.

“I think Madrid and Barcelona are two top clubs,” he told AS.

Whether either Real or Barcelona could afford to buy Salah amid the current financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic remains to be seen.

But for a club whose supporters pride themselves on their passionate and unflinching loyalty to the Liverpool cause, Salah’s refusal to rule out a switch to Spain was a careless own goal.

It tapped into the long-standing suspicion among a section of Liverpool’s fanbase that Salah, whose contract runs until 2023, is motivated by personal glory rather than team success.

The cynics support their claims by highlighting Salah’s occasional spats with Liverpool forward Sadio Mane when he shoots rather than passing to a better placed teammate.

They also point to Salah’s sulky response to being substituted during the defeat against Chelsea in March, and his reported frustration at being ignored for the Liverpool captaincy in the absence of the injured Jordan Henderson.

Real revenge mission

Of course, Salah could rightly mention that Liverpool might well have failed to win either the Champions League in 2019 or the Premier League last season without his goals and sublime skills.

Even this season, with Liverpool in the midst of a failed title defense marred by seemingly endless injuries, Salah’s haul of 26 goals — including one in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Arsenal — shows what a threat he carries.

With 120 goals in 193 appearances in all competitions since joining from Roma in 2017, Salah is rightly ranked among Liverpool’s all-time greats.

But the 28-year-old’s place in the hearts of Kopites might not be so secure.

Michael Owen and Steve McManaman — both local heroes at Liverpool at the time — were never so fondly regarded after swapping Anfield for Real’s Bernabeu.

Inspiring Liverpool to a revenge victory against Real in a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final won by the Spanish club would go some way to appeasing the doubters.

That bitter 3-1 loss in Kiev remains a personal nadir for Salah, who was in tears on the pitch after being forced to come off with a first half injury following a clash with Sergio Ramos.

Salah had suffered a dislocated shoulder that would hamper him at the World Cup later that year, with some claiming Ramos had deliberately exacerbated the injury with the way he dragged the Egyptian to the turf.

“Let’s just say that I have special motivation to win the tie and go through to the semi-finals,” Salah told Marca about the Real reunion.

Ironically, Real captain Ramos is expected to miss both legs of the quarter-final with a calf injury.

Ramos’s absence is a major boost for Liverpool as they seek to salvage a miserable season by winning a seventh European Cup.

If Salah can play a leading role in making that dream come true, his commitment might not be questioned quite so often.

Agence France-Presse 

Ronaldo says move to Juventus was 'destiny'

TURIN, Italy — For Cristiano Ronaldo, it was "destiny" to join Juventus as he tries to become only the second player to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in the offseason in a Serie A record 112 million euro (then $131.5 million) deal.

"There are things in life that seem to be dictated by destiny and in this case it was like that," Ronaldo said in an interview with the DAZN streaming service. "I never expected to play in this team, but some things happen naturally. For me it was an easy decision, what was done in Madrid is incredible, I won everything, my family lives there, but it's part of the past. I want to try to write the story in this club."

Ronaldo failed to score on his competitive debut for Juventus, but the team still won 3-2 at Chievo Verona on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

Still, there were positive signs with Ronaldo getting a couple of chances and linking up well with his new teammates.

"I'm very happy. The team is strong and Juve, as everyone knows, is one of the best clubs in the world," Ronaldo said. "I like how they train, their mentality. They have special methods. They are very, very professional and for this reason I feel good."

Juventus has won seven straight Serie A titles and four straight league and cup doubles, but last won the Champions League in 1996. Ronaldo has won Europe's top club tournament five times, including four of the last five, and has also scored a competition record 120 goals.

The Portugal forward first won the trophy with Manchester United in 2008. Clarence Seedorf is the only player to have won it with three different clubs.

"I want to win the Champions League with Juventus," Ronaldo said. "We'll focus on that, with my teammates, but without obsessing over it. We'll go step-by-step and then we'll see if it's this year, next year or the year after that."

Another Champions League win would also see him join Francisco "Paco" Gento as players to have won Europe's elite club competition a record six times. Gento did it between 1956 and 1966.

Ronaldo scored one of the best goals in Champions League history last season against Juventus in Turin — a spectacular overhead goal which earned him a standing ovation from the Italian team's fans.

And the 33-year-old admitted that played a part in his decision to move to Turin.

"The small details make the big difference at the end of the day so I would say what I saw in the stadium helped, to be honest," Ronaldo said. "(It) was, in my opinion, the best goal in my career so far. And, of course, when the people start to applaud me in the stadium I was like, 'Wow.'

"(It) surprised me a lot because this has never happened in my life, so was unbelievable moment."

source: philstar.com

Players from Premier League, Spanish league scoring the most

SOCHI, Russia — Players from the Premier League and the Spanish league scored nearly half of the goals at the World Cup in the group stage.

Of the 122 goals in the 48 matches so far, 31 came from players in England’s top league and 29 from players in Spain. Four other goals came from players on teams in those country’s second division.

The Premier League has two of the top scorers: Tottenham striker Harry Kane with five goals for England and Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku with four for Belgium.

The Spanish league has Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo with four goals for Portugal, Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa with three for Spain and Villarreal midfielder Denis Cheryshev with another three for Russia.

Kane and Lukaku were left out of their teams’ final group match on Thursday as both had already reached the next round. The top five leading scorers will continue playing in the knockout stage.

Players from the French league scored nine goals, one more than players from the German Bundesliga. The Italian league was next with its players scoring seven goals.

The top four clubs releasing players to the World Cup were from the Premier League (Manchester City and Chelsea) and the Spanish league (Real Madrid and Barcelona).

Real Madrid led the club list with nine goals from its players, followed by Barcelona and Tottenham, with eight goals each.

Among the teams with the most players at the World Cup, Bayern Munich was the only one without any goals from its players in Russia. Bayern was the top scoring team four years ago in Brazil, with its players finding the net 18 times.

Major League Soccer has seen two of its players score — Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC for Mexico and Kendall Waston of the Vancouver Whitecaps for Costa Rica.
A total of 86 players scored in the group stage, which ended with a goal average of 2.5 per match. Four years ago in Brazil, 136 goals were scored in the group stage, with an average of 2.8 per game.

There were nine own-goals in the tournament in Russia, a World Cup record.

The only scoreless game came when Denmark played France in Moscow on Tuesday.

source: philstar.com

Barcelona, Madrid win as Liga title race nears climax

 BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona and Real Madrid maintained their neck-and-neck title race in the Spanish league on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), when both teams won to stay level on points at the top.

Luis Suarez scored twice and Lionel Messi set up another goal to give Barcelona a 3-0 victory at crosstown rival Espanyol, while Real Madrid needed a late strike by Marcelo after Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a penalty to secure a 2-1 win over Valencia at home.

"We had to bring out our fighting spirit and show who we are," Marcelo said. "We want to win every match we have left. Our goal is to go game by game."

The victories left Barcelona ahead of Madrid on the head-to-head record thanks to its win in the Spanish capital two rounds ago. Madrid, however, has four matches left compared to Barcelona's three and can ensure it lifts its first Liga title since 2012 if it wins all of them.

 "We will have to win all our games to keep the pressure on," Suarez said.


While Barcelona can rest ahead of the next round, Madrid must now prepare for its Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Atletico primed its attack for the upcoming European derby by rolling to a 5-0 victory at Las Palmas.

ESPANYOL 0, BARCELONA 3

Espanyol defended well until the 50th minute when Suarez pounced on an ill-advised back pass by Jose Jurado that left him space to size up Diego Lopez before stabbing a shot past the goalkeeper.

Messi, who had scored a brace of goals in the last three league matches, set up Ivan Rakitic in the 76th before Suarez got another gift from Espanyol's Aaron Martin. The defender flubbed a clearance, leaving Suarez to round Lopez and complete his double.

Jurado's night to forget started with him missing an excellent opportunity to give Espanyol the lead just three minutes in when he was alone but sent his shot trickling wide.

"Our intensity, desire and ambition gave us the three points," Suarez said after ending his five-match scoring drought on the way to taking his league tally to 26 goals on the season.

REAL MADRID 2, VALENCIA 1

Ronaldo put Madrid ahead in the 27th when Valencia's markers lost track of the Portugal forward, leaving him alone to nod in Dani Carvajal's cross.

Ronaldo then had an excellent chance to add to his 20 league goals this season in the 57th after a questionable penalty when Luka Modric fell after contact with Dani Parejo.

But Valencia's penalty-stopping expert Diego Alves smothered his strike, taking his tally to six saved spot kicks in the season and 26 saves in 53 penalties since playing in the Spanish league. Three of those saves have come against Ronaldo.

Parejo made Marcelo's late goal necessary for Madrid when the Valencia midfielder leveled in the 82nd by bending a free kick up and over the wall.

Facing a damaging setback to Madrid's title hopes, Marcelo cut back to open a firing angle through a packed area before scoring the dramatic winner with just six minutes remaining.

"I would like to have ensured the win before, but we know that we can score in any moment and through any player," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "Today it was one of our defenders."

LAS PALMAS 0, ATLETICO MADRID 5

Kevin Gameiro struck twice and Saul Niguez added another goal for Atletico before 20 minutes were up. Substitutes Thomas Partey and Fernando Torres rounded off the demolition for Diego Simeone's side.

The win left Atletico in third place — three points ahead of Sevilla, which plays at Malaga on Monday.

The only downside was a left-leg injury to defender Jose Gimenez, leaving him in doubt for Tuesday's match when Atletico will try to avenge losses in the Champions League final to Madrid in 2014 and 2016.

REAL SOCIEDAD 2, GRANADA 1

Granada became the second team to be relegated — after last-placed Osasuna — following a fifth straight defeat, including three under new coach Tony Adams.

LEVANTE PROMOTED

Levante earned promotion to the top flight after a 1-0 win over Oviedo.

Levante, which was relegated last season, ensured its return with six rounds left in the second division.

source: philstar.com

Cristiano Ronaldo slams referee after Real Madrid’s tough El Clasico defeat

MADRID – Two-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo slammed referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco after Real Madrid were beaten for the first time in 32 games 4-3 by Barcelona on Sunday.

Mallenco awarded three penalties on the night with Ronaldo scoring the first one for Madrid to put them 3-2 up 10 minutes after half-time.

However, Sergio Ramos was then sent-off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity for a foul on Neymar inside the area before Xabi Alonso was adjudged to have tripped Andres Iniesta seven minutes from time.

Lionel Messi converted both spot-kicks to complete a hat-trick after cancelling out Karim Benzema’s double at the end of the first-half to become the all-time leading scorer in games between the two sides.

“There were a lot of mistakes for just one game. A match between Real and Barca ought to have a high level of referee,” said Ronaldo.

“You can’t make correct decisions when you are nervous. It makes me think that it is not just on the field that you win games, a little help from outside helps too.

“My penalty might have been just outside the area, but there are many things that went on. It is difficult when many people didn’t want us to win today.”

Ronaldo’s coach Carlo Ancelotti was more level-headed about Mallenco’s decisions, but did agree that Ramos’ red card swung the game in Barca’s favour.

“I haven’t seen it again and it is difficult for me to comment on the decisions of the referee because there were many.

“However, it was the key moment. We were winning 3-2 and controlling the game well, but it is much more difficult to control the game with a player less.”

Defeat leaves Madrid still joint top of the table on 70 points alongside Atletico Madrid, but in second place due to their inferior head-to-head against their local rivals with Barca a point further back in third.

And Ancelotti is seeking a immediate response from his side with a difficult looking away game against in-form Sevilla to come on Wednesday.

“Obviously we are not happy because we have lost a big opportunity, but we will continue fighting until the end.

“There are nine games left and it will be an intense race. The league is open for all three teams and any game could be decisive.

“We need a good reaction on Wednesday because that could be the key game of the season.”

source: interaksyon.com