Skip to main content

Barca launch defence of new-look Women’s Champions League Paris (AFP) – Two decades on from its debut, the UEFA Women’s Champions League will feature a 16-team group stage for the first time this season as Barcelona begin their title defence in a new-look tournament. Crowned champions after thrashing Chelsea in a clash of first-time finalists last May, Barcelona are heavy favourites to advance from a section including 2007 winners Arsenal and two newcomers, Hoffenheim and Danish club Koge. The holders can count on Alexia Putellas, the reigning UEFA women’s player of the year who recently signed an extension with Barcelona until 2024, Dutch star Lieke Martens and the prolific Jenni Hermoso. Barcelona powered to a second successive Spanish title last season, winning 33 of 34 matches and scoring a whopping 167 goals. They have begun the new campaign in the same vein with five wins from five, scoring 35 times and conceding just once. Arsenal return to Europe’s elite competition for just the second time in eight seasons, boosted by the recruitment of four-time Olympian and two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath. Hoffenheim give Germany three representatives — alongside perennial contenders Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich — while Koge broke the Brondby-Fortuna Hjorring duopoly in their first season in the Danish top flight. French giants Lyon saw their five-year European reign ended by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals last season, but they have since brought in goalkeeper Christiane Endler and forward Signe Bruun from their domestic rivals as well as Danielle van de Donk. Yet the most important news for Lyon is the recovery of Ada Hegerberg, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner. The Norwegian could make her comeback Tuesday against Swedish club Hacken after 20 months out. The 26-year-old attacker has been sidelined since January 2020 after rupturing a cruciate ligament in her right knee and then suffering a left tibia stress fracture, which was initially undetected. Hegerberg, a five-time Champions League winner with Lyon, is the all-time record scorer in the competition with 53 goals. Lyon will also face Bayern, semi-finalists last term and one of four teams to qualify directly, and Benfica, who only started a women’s team in 2018. They are the first Portuguese club to reach the last 16. – Real Madrid make European bow – English champions Chelsea host two-time champions Wolfsburg in their opening group fixture. Emma Hayes’ side defeated the Germans 5-1 on aggregate in last season’s quarter-finals.  Juventus, Italian champions each of the past four years, have made it beyond the last 32 in Europe for the first time. They have an added incentive to do well with the final at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Swiss outfit Servette are also in uncharted territory after winning their maiden Super League title.  Real Madrid, in their second season in existence after taking over CD Tacon, caught the eye by dumping out Manchester City in qualifying. The reward for the Spaniards on their Champions League debut is a group with PSG, WFC Kharkiv of Ukraine and Breidablik — the first Icelandic team to make the group stage of a men’s or women’s UEFA club competition. Formerly played over home-and-away knockout ties from the last 32, clubs in the group stage will receive a minimum of 400,000 euros ($465,000) — five times more than before in the round of 16, according to UEFA. The winner stands to pocket up to 1.4 million euros, with UEFA projecting a total payout of 24 million euros to participating clubs or as ‘solidarity payments’ to non-competing clubs. In contrast, the clubs that qualified for the group stage of the men’s Champions League will earn a minimum of 15.64 million euros. If a club wins every group match and lifts the trophy in Saint Petersburg, it will net 85.1 million euros in prize money, not including TV income payments and those based on its UEFA ranking.


Paris (AFP) – Two decades on from its debut, the UEFA Women’s Champions League will feature a 16-team group stage for the first time this season as Barcelona begin their title defence in a new-look tournament.

Crowned champions after thrashing Chelsea in a clash of first-time finalists last May, Barcelona are heavy favourites to advance from a section including 2007 winners Arsenal and two newcomers, Hoffenheim and Danish club Koge.

The holders can count on Alexia Putellas, the reigning UEFA women’s player of the year who recently signed an extension with Barcelona until 2024, Dutch star Lieke Martens and the prolific Jenni Hermoso.

Barcelona powered to a second successive Spanish title last season, winning 33 of 34 matches and scoring a whopping 167 goals. They have begun the new campaign in the same vein with five wins from five, scoring 35 times and conceding just once.

Arsenal return to Europe’s elite competition for just the second time in eight seasons, boosted by the recruitment of four-time Olympian and two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath.

Hoffenheim give Germany three representatives — alongside perennial contenders Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich — while Koge broke the Brondby-Fortuna Hjorring duopoly in their first season in the Danish top flight.

French giants Lyon saw their five-year European reign ended by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals last season, but they have since brought in goalkeeper Christiane Endler and forward Signe Bruun from their domestic rivals as well as Danielle van de Donk.

Yet the most important news for Lyon is the recovery of Ada Hegerberg, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner. The Norwegian could make her comeback Tuesday against Swedish club Hacken after 20 months out.

The 26-year-old attacker has been sidelined since January 2020 after rupturing a cruciate ligament in her right knee and then suffering a left tibia stress fracture, which was initially undetected.

Hegerberg, a five-time Champions League winner with Lyon, is the all-time record scorer in the competition with 53 goals.

Lyon will also face Bayern, semi-finalists last term and one of four teams to qualify directly, and Benfica, who only started a women’s team in 2018. They are the first Portuguese club to reach the last 16.

– Real Madrid make European bow –

English champions Chelsea host two-time champions Wolfsburg in their opening group fixture. Emma Hayes’ side defeated the Germans 5-1 on aggregate in last season’s quarter-finals. 

Juventus, Italian champions each of the past four years, have made it beyond the last 32 in Europe for the first time. They have an added incentive to do well with the final at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Swiss outfit Servette are also in uncharted territory after winning their maiden Super League title. 

Real Madrid, in their second season in existence after taking over CD Tacon, caught the eye by dumping out Manchester City in qualifying.

The reward for the Spaniards on their Champions League debut is a group with PSG, WFC Kharkiv of Ukraine and Breidablik — the first Icelandic team to make the group stage of a men’s or women’s UEFA club competition.

Formerly played over home-and-away knockout ties from the last 32, clubs in the group stage will receive a minimum of 400,000 euros ($465,000) — five times more than before in the round of 16, according to UEFA.

The winner stands to pocket up to 1.4 million euros, with UEFA projecting a total payout of 24 million euros to participating clubs or as ‘solidarity payments’ to non-competing clubs.

In contrast, the clubs that qualified for the group stage of the men’s Champions League will earn a minimum of 15.64 million euros.

If a club wins every group match and lifts the trophy in Saint Petersburg, it will net 85.1 million euros in prize money, not including TV income payments and those based on its UEFA ranking.



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