Skip to main content

Bilbao gatecrash Super Cup, vulnerable Bayern – what to watch in Europe this weekend Paris (AFP) – Barcelona target a first trophy under Ronald Koeman in the Spanish Super Cup, while a wobbling Bayern Munich attempt to brush off a shock setback and there are key games at the top in Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands.  AFP Sport selects some of the standout football action in Europe this weekend: Spanish Super Cup final  Barcelona v Real Madrid, Sunday 2000 GMT Lionel Messi is expected to return for Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Bilbao, who defeated Real Madrid to set up a second meeting between the clubs in as many weeks following Barcelona’s 3-2 victory in La Liga on January 6. As Atletico Madrid threaten to streak clear in the league, Barca face a daunting task in reviving their title hopes but are improving under Koeman, unbeaten in nine games and with a trophy in their grasp. This is the second year of the competition’s new format, which has four teams playing each other in a semi-final and final.  Last season’s version, won by Real, controversially took place in Saudi Arabia, but the pandemic means this year’s semis were in Cordoba and Malaga, with the final to be played in Seville.  In-form Freiburg await creaking Bayern Bayern Munich v Freiburg, Sunday 1430 GMT Following a dream first season at the helm, Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick is finally going through a testing patch in Bavaria after back-to-back failures. Bayern threw away a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Borussia Moenchengladbach last week, the latest in a line of worrying defensive displays, and then crashed out of the German Cup to second-tier Holstein Kiel on penalties. Their second-round exit represented Bayern’s earliest in the competition for 20 years, and squashed aspirations of repeating last season’s remarkable treble.  While they remain two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, Bayern could again be exposed by a Freiburg side on a five-match winning run and brimming with confidence. Sharpshooters collide in Derby d’Italia Inter v Juventus, Sunday 1945 GMT After inflicting a first defeat on AC Milan this season, fourth-placed Juventus face a key stretch in their pursuit of a 10th consecutive Serie A title with games against Roma and Napoli on the horizon following their trip to Inter. Juve, who like both Inter and Milan needed extra time to reach the Italian Cup quarter-finals this week, finished just a point above Antonio Conte’s side last term and are unbeaten in seven against the Nerazzurri.  Inter have dropped points in successive weeks following an eight-match winning run, but will hope Romelu Lukaku can add to his 12 goals in a clash against Cristiano Ronaldo, the league’s leading scorer (15). Clash of Portuguese giants Porto v Benfica, Friday 2100 GMT Portugal’s two most successful clubs know the importance of their showdown at the Estadio do Dragao, as Porto host Benfica with both sides trailing unbeaten league leaders Sporting Lisbon by four points. With a combined 66 titles between them, Porto and Benfica have long dominated the top-flight but Sporting are threatening to halt their 18-year hegemony this season under ex-Benfica player Ruben Amorim. After a rocky start defending champions Porto have won seven in a row, while Benfica have an identical record 13 games in and are unbeaten in six. Both however could find themselves seven points behind Sporting at kick-off, with Rio Ave visiting the capital earlier on Friday. De Klassieker evokes distant memories Ajax v Feyenoord, Sunday 1545 GMT Sworn enemies Ajax and Feyenoord go head to head in Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie this weekend, a clash which stirs memories of a rivalry that peaked in the mid-1970s — at home and on the continent. The Netherlands was represented by one of the two teams in each of the five European Cup finals between 1969 and 1973 in a golden age for Dutch football. Feyenoord, under the tutelage of Austrian boss Ernst Happel, won the country’s first European title in 1970 before Ajax, spurred on by the success of their foes, reeled off three straight victories adhering to the “Total Football” philosophy preached by coach Rinus Michels and exemplified by Johan Cruyff.


Paris (AFP) – Barcelona target a first trophy under Ronald Koeman in the Spanish Super Cup, while a wobbling Bayern Munich attempt to brush off a shock setback and there are key games at the top in Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands. 

AFP Sport selects some of the standout football action in Europe this weekend:

Spanish Super Cup final 

Barcelona v Real Madrid, Sunday 2000 GMT

Lionel Messi is expected to return for Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Bilbao, who defeated Real Madrid to set up a second meeting between the clubs in as many weeks following Barcelona’s 3-2 victory in La Liga on January 6.

As Atletico Madrid threaten to streak clear in the league, Barca face a daunting task in reviving their title hopes but are improving under Koeman, unbeaten in nine games and with a trophy in their grasp.

This is the second year of the competition’s new format, which has four teams playing each other in a semi-final and final. 

Last season’s version, won by Real, controversially took place in Saudi Arabia, but the pandemic means this year’s semis were in Cordoba and Malaga, with the final to be played in Seville. 

In-form Freiburg await creaking Bayern

Bayern Munich v Freiburg, Sunday 1430 GMT

Following a dream first season at the helm, Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick is finally going through a testing patch in Bavaria after back-to-back failures.

Bayern threw away a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Borussia Moenchengladbach last week, the latest in a line of worrying defensive displays, and then crashed out of the German Cup to second-tier Holstein Kiel on penalties.

Their second-round exit represented Bayern’s earliest in the competition for 20 years, and squashed aspirations of repeating last season’s remarkable treble. 

While they remain two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, Bayern could again be exposed by a Freiburg side on a five-match winning run and brimming with confidence.

Sharpshooters collide in Derby d’Italia

Inter v Juventus, Sunday 1945 GMT

After inflicting a first defeat on AC Milan this season, fourth-placed Juventus face a key stretch in their pursuit of a 10th consecutive Serie A title with games against Roma and Napoli on the horizon following their trip to Inter.

Juve, who like both Inter and Milan needed extra time to reach the Italian Cup quarter-finals this week, finished just a point above Antonio Conte’s side last term and are unbeaten in seven against the Nerazzurri. 

Inter have dropped points in successive weeks following an eight-match winning run, but will hope Romelu Lukaku can add to his 12 goals in a clash against Cristiano Ronaldo, the league’s leading scorer (15).

Clash of Portuguese giants

Porto v Benfica, Friday 2100 GMT

Portugal’s two most successful clubs know the importance of their showdown at the Estadio do Dragao, as Porto host Benfica with both sides trailing unbeaten league leaders Sporting Lisbon by four points.

With a combined 66 titles between them, Porto and Benfica have long dominated the top-flight but Sporting are threatening to halt their 18-year hegemony this season under ex-Benfica player Ruben Amorim.

After a rocky start defending champions Porto have won seven in a row, while Benfica have an identical record 13 games in and are unbeaten in six. Both however could find themselves seven points behind Sporting at kick-off, with Rio Ave visiting the capital earlier on Friday.

De Klassieker evokes distant memories

Ajax v Feyenoord, Sunday 1545 GMT

Sworn enemies Ajax and Feyenoord go head to head in Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie this weekend, a clash which stirs memories of a rivalry that peaked in the mid-1970s — at home and on the continent.

The Netherlands was represented by one of the two teams in each of the five European Cup finals between 1969 and 1973 in a golden age for Dutch football.

Feyenoord, under the tutelage of Austrian boss Ernst Happel, won the country’s first European title in 1970 before Ajax, spurred on by the success of their foes, reeled off three straight victories adhering to the “Total Football” philosophy preached by coach Rinus Michels and exemplified by Johan Cruyff.



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3qiZCxd
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