Skip to main content

Colombian aces Zapata, Muriel powering Atalanta before Liverpool showdown Milan (AFP) – Colombian international forwards Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel are two weapons Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini can count on against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday in Bergamo. For Gasperini the match at home against the six-time Champions League winners is proof his side have earned their place among the best in Europe. “We wanted to face teams of great prestige, extraordinary clubs for their history,” said Gasperini.  “This is already an achievement. The game we’re going to play is really energising us.” Atalanta’s first Champions League campaign last season started badly, losing their first three group matches, before picking up speed to make the ‘final eight’ in Portugal.  This time, they have four points from two games and are second in Group D behind 2019 winners Liverpool, largely thanks to Zapata and Muriel’s goals. A Zapata double pulled Atalanta back to hold Ajax 2-2 last week in Bergamo, his third goal after scoring along with Muriel in a 4-0 win over Danish club Midtjylland. On the domestic front, 29-year-old Zapata has scored two goals, and Muriel, also 29, is on four after a brace in Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Crotone. For the pair, both born in April 1991, it is a rivalry going back to their time on the Colombian U20 team. Zapata’s arrival at Atalanta in 2018, initially on loan from Sampdoria, has coincided with the most successful period in the club’s history. “What I’m experiencing at Atalanta is special,” said Zapata.  “I’ve never had such a period in my career.” After a slow start with just one goal in 13 league games, Zapata had his breakthrough season in 2018-2019, second top scorer in the league with 23 — two more than Cristiano Ronaldo. Atalanta finished third to qualify for a first campaign of elite European football, with Zapata helping persuade Muriel to sign the following season from Sevilla. “Duvan already told me a bit about Atalanta, all beautiful things,” said Muriel.  “He’s a true friend. I’ve known him for many years, we were also teammates at the U-20 World Cup. In attack, we’ve linked up many times.” – Super sub – In his debut season, Muriel earned a reputation as a super-sub, scoring 18 Serie A goals despite only starting 10 matches. Zapata, also scored 18 but in 28 games last season, having being sidelined for months with an injury picked up on international duty with Colombia. Atalanta again finished third with 98 goals scored. Both Colombians’ careers have been intertwined since starting playing in the city of Cali with Zapata at America de Cali and Muriel, Deportivo Cali. After a stint in Argentina, Zapata arrived in Italy, playing backup to Gonzalo Higuain at Napoli before going on to Udinese and Sampdoria, two clubs Muriel also played for on his arrival in Europe. Zapata missed out on the 2018 World Cup, with Muriel playing in Russia as Colombia failed to make the quarter-finals after a last-16 penalty shootout defeat to England. But both have impressed recently for Colombia, each scoring, Muriel getting a double in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Venezuela in October. In the build-up to the Liverpool game, Gasperini rotated the forwards with Muriel starting and Zapata coming on after the break against Crotone. The Bergamo side are one of the most attacking teams in Italy, with 23 goals in all competitions from nine different players, five from captain Papu Gomez. Enough to cause headaches for Liverpool’s defenders. “The only big regret is that the public won’t be there,” said Gasperini.  “I could only imagine what Tuesday’s match could be against Liverpool in front of the crowd in Bergamo. Such an important Champions League match. “There would have been so much excitement and expectation. It’s really cruel for us that this won’t be able to happen.”


Milan (AFP) – Colombian international forwards Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel are two weapons Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini can count on against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday in Bergamo.

For Gasperini the match at home against the six-time Champions League winners is proof his side have earned their place among the best in Europe.

“We wanted to face teams of great prestige, extraordinary clubs for their history,” said Gasperini. 

“This is already an achievement. The game we’re going to play is really energising us.”

Atalanta’s first Champions League campaign last season started badly, losing their first three group matches, before picking up speed to make the ‘final eight’ in Portugal. 

This time, they have four points from two games and are second in Group D behind 2019 winners Liverpool, largely thanks to Zapata and Muriel’s goals.

A Zapata double pulled Atalanta back to hold Ajax 2-2 last week in Bergamo, his third goal after scoring along with Muriel in a 4-0 win over Danish club Midtjylland.

On the domestic front, 29-year-old Zapata has scored two goals, and Muriel, also 29, is on four after a brace in Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Crotone.

For the pair, both born in April 1991, it is a rivalry going back to their time on the Colombian U20 team.

Zapata’s arrival at Atalanta in 2018, initially on loan from Sampdoria, has coincided with the most successful period in the club’s history.

“What I’m experiencing at Atalanta is special,” said Zapata. 

“I’ve never had such a period in my career.”

After a slow start with just one goal in 13 league games, Zapata had his breakthrough season in 2018-2019, second top scorer in the league with 23 — two more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Atalanta finished third to qualify for a first campaign of elite European football, with Zapata helping persuade Muriel to sign the following season from Sevilla.

“Duvan already told me a bit about Atalanta, all beautiful things,” said Muriel. 

“He’s a true friend. I’ve known him for many years, we were also teammates at the U-20 World Cup. In attack, we’ve linked up many times.”

– Super sub –

In his debut season, Muriel earned a reputation as a super-sub, scoring 18 Serie A goals despite only starting 10 matches.

Zapata, also scored 18 but in 28 games last season, having being sidelined for months with an injury picked up on international duty with Colombia.

Atalanta again finished third with 98 goals scored.

Both Colombians’ careers have been intertwined since starting playing in the city of Cali with Zapata at America de Cali and Muriel, Deportivo Cali.

After a stint in Argentina, Zapata arrived in Italy, playing backup to Gonzalo Higuain at Napoli before going on to Udinese and Sampdoria, two clubs Muriel also played for on his arrival in Europe.

Zapata missed out on the 2018 World Cup, with Muriel playing in Russia as Colombia failed to make the quarter-finals after a last-16 penalty shootout defeat to England.

But both have impressed recently for Colombia, each scoring, Muriel getting a double in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Venezuela in October.

In the build-up to the Liverpool game, Gasperini rotated the forwards with Muriel starting and Zapata coming on after the break against Crotone.

The Bergamo side are one of the most attacking teams in Italy, with 23 goals in all competitions from nine different players, five from captain Papu Gomez.

Enough to cause headaches for Liverpool’s defenders.

“The only big regret is that the public won’t be there,” said Gasperini. 

“I could only imagine what Tuesday’s match could be against Liverpool in front of the crowd in Bergamo. Such an important Champions League match.

“There would have been so much excitement and expectation. It’s really cruel for us that this won’t be able to happen.”



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3oHHfC9
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xavi under no illusions ahead of fairytale on Barcelona return Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left Camp Nou to play for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for Barcelona, with eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among his 25 trophies. “It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Spain slept.  “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015. Barcelona said in a statement they had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first-team coach for the rest of the season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman. “It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8, November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said. Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola. His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009. “One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute legend”. Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. – ‘The dream’ – Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as Koeman’s successor had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal. Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement. Spanish sports daily Marca headlined the club hero’s return and estimated the cost to Barca of sacking recent managers Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Koeman at 32 million euros. Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. “My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.” Barcelona sat ninth in La Liga on Saturday morning, with concerns growing they might not qualify for next season’s Champions League. The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros. They could not afford to renew Lionel Messi’s contract in the summer, and the Argentine left for Paris Saint-Germain. Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player. Xavi’s flight is due to touch down as Barca take on Celta Vigo in La Liga in Juan Barjuan’s last game as caretaker coach before he hands over to the man the fans are pinning their hopes on to turn the club around.

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bayern down Mainz to go six points clear in the Bundesliga Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum. 

Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum.  from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3lVLPNa
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri...
Post a Comment
Read more