Daily Futbal

Can a global pandemic stop Liverpool from winning the league after 29 YEARS?

• Barcelona break Atletico's stubborn defense to score two late goals and go 11 points clear at the top. 
• Diego Costa was sent off after only 28 minutes after a clash with the referee.
• Lionel Messi scored his 32nd goal of the season whereas Luis Suarez scored his 19th goal of the season. (La Liga only)

La Liga is resuming again and it's Leganes and Alaves who start the new season. 

It's a big game for:

Cristiano Ronaldo. After a bad start at the start of the season, Cristiano was questioned whether the Portuguese is far off from his best. But the striker from Funchal is back again with his top form at the correct moment.



Player to watch:

Paulo Dybala. The Argentine has been the heart of Juventus this season, scoring 19 goals and providing 7 assists.





Form guide:

Real Madrid. WWWLW
Juventus. WWWLW


Match odds:

Real Madrid. 7/4
Juventus. 2/1
Draw. 9/4

It's a big game for: 

Paul Pogba. Perhaps an obvious choice, because of his astronomical transfer fee. But the Frenchman has not been able to live up to that price tag, in most of his games. If he could play a pivotal role in this Europa League final, he might be able to keep the pundits silent for a while. 




Best stat:

3. Jose Mourinho is aiming to join Rafa Benitez and Udo Lattek in winning major European trophies with three different clubs.


Player to watch:

Kasper Dolberg. The teenage forward is a big find for coach Bosz's disposal. With 23 goals in all competitions and six in Europa League. United's backline will have to be wary of the 19-year old.


Form guide:

Manchester United: WDLDL
Ajax: WLWWL


Match odds:

Manchester United win: 1
Ajax win: 10/3
Draw: 12/5                                                                             via: bet365.com

It's a big game for:

Both the teams. Yes, this is true as this game is considered as the deciding match of the La Liga. With Barcelona 3 points and 1 game behind Madrid, this match can provide some relief and the top position in the league table, only if Barca win.



Best stat:

1-1. The last Clasico resulted in a 1-1 draw. With Neymar giving his all he could but Sergio Ramos took the Camp Nou like a storm and helped Real to draw the Clasico.


Player to watch:

Cristiano Ronaldo. The first player in UEFA history to score 100 goals. Ronaldo has been in top form lately and has scored 5 of the 6 goals Real scored against Bayern.



Form guide:

Real Madrid. WWWDW
Barcelona. DWLLW


Match odds:

Real Madrid win. 11/10
Barcelona win. 21/10
Draw. 3

Another Cristiano Ronaldo show destroys Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a wonderful hat-trick to ensure that Real Madrid would travel to the Champions League semi-finals 7th time in a row.

Robert Lewandowski had opened the scoring in the second leg with a penalty early in the second half, and though Ronaldo scored Real's first it was immediately followed by an own goal by Sergio Ramos.





Arturo Vidal's second yellow card late in the second half made another 30 minutes difficult for Bayern.

The score was 2-2 on aggregate and the game went into extra-time. In which Ronaldo completed his hat-trick and Marco Asensio put the cherry on the half-a-dozen cake. 

Ancelotti's Bayern was knocked out by another Ronaldo supershow on 6-3 aggregate. 


Quick facts:

• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals against Bayern than anyone else in the Champions League (9). 
• He is the third player to score a hat-trick against Bayern in UCL. 

Player to watch:

Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player to score 100 goals in Europe as Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Allianz Arena.

A double from Ronaldo overshadowed Arturo Vidal's opener as Madrid beat 10-men Bayern in the first leg of the UCL at the Allianz Arena.

Real had a good start with Kroos curling in from the wing and Benzema heading it to the goal, but Neuer tipped it well and claimed the rebound well.

Bayern took the lead in the 25th minute through Arturo Vidal who leapt high and got a powerful header, Keylor Navas got his hands to it but the header was too powerful for him. Goal. Bayern Munich. 1-0(Vidal).

Just before the break Vidal lashed a penalty over the bar and missed the opportunity to double Munich's lead.

The scores were level in the 47th minute. Carvajal gave a low cross to Cristiano who finished sweetly past Neuer through a half-volley. Goal. Real Madrid. 1-1(Cristiano Ronaldo).



Javi Martinez was sent off in the 61st minute after he stuck out a leg to stop Ronaldo's run with the ball.

Neuer stuck out his powerful right arm to deny Ronaldo's thunderous shot from the 12-yard area.

But the big German could not stop Ronaldo to score his 100th European goal. Asensio curled a wonderful left-footed cross to Ronaldo who tapped in and Neuer could not keep it out. Goal. Real Madrid. 1-2(Cristiano Ronaldo).

Sergio Ramos got the ball in the back of the net but was flagged offside.

Fast facts:

• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 6 times in the previous five game against Bayern.
• There were 173 seconds between Javi Martinez's first and second yellow cards.

Real Madrid beat Alaves to stretch their lead at the top.

Real Madrid go five points clear at the top by beating Alaves 3-0 with goals from Benzema, Isco and Nacho. 

Madrid had to wait for 30 minutes to break the deadlock, but before that, they had only 1 shot on target and 4 off target. And a burst of speed by Carvajal before crossing in to Benzema who finished from 6-yard out and completed his set of scoring against every La Liga team. 1-0. Goal. Real Madrid(Benzema).

Real Madrid made an amazing passing move which included Ronaldo, Danilo and Bale. The latter then finished wide of the post. 

Ronaldo was picked up by Benzema but the Portuguese was flagged offside after he finished the ball off.

Alaves could've equalised in the 60th minute but Deyverson failed to get a touch on the ball. 

Madrid scored again by Isco who was picked up by Cristiano Ronaldo in the box and Isco finished it sweetly over the keeper at his near post. 2-0. Goal. Real Madrid(Isco).

Just 4 minutes later Real Madrid scored again. Gareth Bale took a free-kick from about 25 yards out which was saved by the keeper and struck the crossbar, but Nacho was alert as he headed it in the back of the net to complete the victory. 3-0. Goal. Real Madrid(Nacho).

It's a big game for:

Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican goalkeeper was heavily criticised after he conceded a poor goal against Real Betis on Monday, but his save in the dying minutes helped Real to win again Betis. It would be interesting to see how he performs against Athletic Bilbao.




Best stat:

24. Real have won 24 matches out of the 31 played between these two clubs. Losing 5 and drawing 2. They have won the last 3 games played against Athletic Bilbao.


Player to watch:

Aritz Aduriz. The Spanish player is currently the highest goal scorer for Bilbao this season, scoring 15 in all competitions out of which 7 are from La Liga. He could cause problems for the Real Madrid defense. 



Form guide:  

Real Madrid. WWWDW
Athletic Bilbao. WWLWL


Odds:

Real Madrid win. 4/6
Athletic Bilbao win. 4
Draw. 3

A look ahead to the La Liga clash at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

It's a big game for:  

Luis Enrique. He may not be an on field player but the manager of the Catalans is under fire due to his previous results with the club, losing to PSG 4-0 and edging out Leganes 2-1.





Best stat:

26. The Barcelona forward will get a chance to add his impressive tally of 26 goals against Atletico Madrid and could move ahead of Real Madrid for the first time since months.


Player to watch:

Arda Turan. The Turkish international has missed the last two weeks due to a hamstring injury but will return to the Barcelona squad and could be useful in the midfield.



Form guide:

Atletico Madrid. WWWDW
FC Barcelona. WLWDW


Odds:

Atletico win. 2/1
Barcelona win. 23/17
Draw. 5/2

Real Madrid shocked by Valencia as the European Champions lose 2-1.

Early goals from Simone Zaza and Fabian Orellana helped Valencia to shock Real Madrid at the Mestalla.

Valencia scored in the 4th minute when Diego Alves played a ball to Simone Zaza who took a half-turned and shot a volley past Keylor Navas on his far post and gave Valencia the lead. 1-0. Goal. Valencia.

Valencia scored again after 5 minutes when Nani played a through ball to Fabio Orellana who finished it past Keylor Navas, but Navas could've saved that. 2-0. Goal. Valencia.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a shot skidded past the post but it eventually found James Rodriguez whose shot was blocked by Munir on the goal line.

Keylor Navas saved a free kick in the 31st minute which was going into the top corner of the net.


Cristiano Ronaldo got one back for Real just before the half-time when Marcelo cross in and Ronaldo jumped the highest and scored with his head. 2-1. Goal. Real Madrid.

Varane, who was not having a great match, nearly gave Valencia another goal when he fumbled the ball in his feet and Zaza picked it up, before Navas came out of his line and saved Real.

Karim Benzema was denied by Diego Alves when the Frenchman picked up a Toni Kroos free kick in the 68th minute, but it was ruled as a foul.


P.S. No match facts this time. Stay tuned till next week for more Real Madrid updates. Check out the match preview on 25th February; Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona. 

Gareth Bale scores on his return as Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-0. 

Gareth Bale returned from his ankle injury and joined the score sheet with Alvaro Morata as Madrid beat Espanyol 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real had a wonderful opportunity in the 30th minute when Lucas Vazquez picked up a dreadful pass from Piatti, Vazquez then passed it to Ronaldo on the right wing who crossed it in to Morata, but Morata failed to connect to it.

Seconds later Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball in the back of the net, but he was ruled offside by the linesman.

But two minutes later Real took the lead with Morata who headed the ball in the back of the net after Isco's cross found him at the back post. Goal. 1-0. Real Madrid.



Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to double Real's lead in the 69th minute but the cross from Morata was just too high for the Portuguese.

Gareth Bale doubled Real's lead in the 83rd minute when Real were on a counter attack and Gareth Bale, with his speed got a pass from Isco and finished it sweetly past Diego Lopez. Goal. 2-0. Real Madrid.


Match Facts:

                              RMA                                                            ESP

                              68%                      Possession                   32%

                              12(3)                    Shots(on goal)             3(1) 

                              12                          Fouls                            13 

                              3                            Yellow Cards                4

                              0                            Red Cards                     0

                              4                            Offsides                        1

                              13                         Corners                          2

                              1                            Saves                            1

Real Madrid come from a goal behind to win the 1st leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against SSC Napoli.

The defending champions came from a goal deficit and won 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.

Real got off to a good start with Ronaldo and Benzema combining the latter passed to Benzema whose powerful shot at near post was saved by Pepe Reina, single-handedly. 

Insigne put Napoli ahead in the 8th minute when he caught Keylor Navas off-guard and fired a shot from nearly 35-yard out and gave Napoli the lead. 0-1. Goal - Napoli.

Real found the back of the net after 10 minutes when a wonderful out-footed cross by Dani Carvajal found Karim Benzema who headed the ball past Pepe Reina. 1-1. Goal - Real Madrid.


Real took the lead in the second half through Kroos. The German international got a cross from Cristiano Ronaldo and fired it without taking a touch, Reina was standing helpless at his near post. 2-1. Goal - Real Madrid.

It was game over for Napoli when Casemiro scored a sensational volley from 25-yards out in the 54th minute. 3-1. Goal - Real Madrid.

Napoli had a chance in the dying minutes when a looping header from Insigne met Callejon who scored but was ruled off side.


Match Facts:

                     RMA                                                               NAP

                              50%                       Possession                      50%  

                              20(6)                     Shots(on goal)                8(2)

                               9                            Fouls                               12

                               2                            Yellow Cards                    2

                               0                            Red Cards                         0

                               7                            Offsides                            1

                               5                           Corners                              1

                               1                            Saves                                3


                

It's a big game for:

Marek Hamsik. The Slovakian has performed brilliantly in the past games. In their 7-1 victory over Bologna two Saturday's ago, he scored a hat trick and has been in sensational form. He is capable of producing magic at the Bernabeu. 




Best stat:

30. The encounter comes 30 years after the last times these two teams met in the European Championship. Real Madrid won that 3-1 on aggregate.


Player to watch:

Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2016 Ballon d'Or winner is always the main attraction. The 32-year old has scored 17 goals this season, grabbing one in the 3-1 victory over Osasuna. But has scored only 2 goals in the Champions League, he would be looking to improve that record against Napoli.





Form guide:

Real Madrid: WWDWL
Napoli: WWDWW


Odds:

Real Madrid win: 13/25
Napoli win: 51/10
Draw:7/2                                                                            via: 888 Sport

Paris Saint-Germain thrashes Barcelona as Di Maria hits a double.

The Parc des Princes witnessed a goal scoring spree from the home side as the French Champions humiliated the Catalans 4-0 with goals from Julian Draxler, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria scoring two.

The result equalled Barca's worst in Europe. Barcelona was outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain with likes of Andres Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Angel Di Maria opened the account for the home side by curling a free kick from 30-yards out and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen could only watch the ball go in the back of the net.




Neymar's powerful shot was kept away from the goal by keeper Kevin Trapp. 

Messi gave up possession to Rabiot in midfield. Veratti then passed it to Draxler who finished it past Ter Stegen and doubled PSG's lead.

The 3rd goal of the match was scored in the 54th minute by Angel Di Maria again. Getting the ball at shooting distance and curling it from his left foot past Marc-Andre.

Thomas Meunier played a wonderful through ball to Edinson Cavani, who slotted it past helpless keeper Marc-Ander Ter Stegen.


Match Facts-

                                PSG                                                               FCB

                                 43%                    Possession                       57%

                                 16(10)                Shots(on goal)                 7(1)

                                 14                        Fouls                                12

                                 1                          Yellow Cards                     3

                                 0                          Red Cards                          0

                                 0                         Offsides                              0

                                 2                         Corners                              4

                                 1                         Saves                                 6