Real Madrid vs Celta de Vigo - Match Report

17:55

Celta Vigo upsets the Bernabeu by beating Real 2-1 in the 1st leg of Copa Del Rey.

Iago Aspas and Johnny Castro broke the Madrid fans' hearts and helped Celta de Vigo to beat Real Madrid.

Celta could have taken the lead early in the game when Aspas had a chance to cross in to Daniel Wass who was unmarked in the box but he decided to chip it over Kiko Casilla, who was starting in place of Navas, and also over the crossbar.

Vazquez drove a low shot in the 19th minute but Sergio Alvarez had no problem in getting down to his near post.

Kroos had a chance in the 30th minute when he shot first time from a pass by Modric but his low effort was saved easily by Alvarez.

A shot by Vazquez was blocked after he dribbled two defenders and chose to shoot but a block was made.

Ronaldo had an opportunity to give Real the lead but he didn't quite get the pass from Ramos and his off-balanced shot was blocked in the six.

Casemiro's shot in the 40th minute spun a little too much as it was whiskers away from the post. Good attempt.

Morata's blasted a left-footed strike over the bar in the 58th minute after he received a pass from Kroos.

Celta broke the deadlock with Aspas in the 64th minute. Theo Bongonda had a through ball in his feet and crossed it in but Marcelo who should have cleared it for a corner heel-flicked it straight in the path of Aspas who finished it easily and gave Celta the lead.

But Real had the answer 5 minutes later when a good passing move between Modric-Kroos-Vazquez; took place and Modric crossed it in but the clearance header was straight in the path of Marcelo who shot a powerful left-footed volley that was deflected and went straight in the net.

A minute later Lucas Vazquez failed to control the ball and gave away possession to Celta who scored again but this time with Johnny Castro who curled it around Casilla and gave Celta again, a shocking lead.

And a glorious opportunity for Karim Benzema in the 83rd minute when Morata's header was saved by Alvarez and it fell straight to Benzema who couldn't even hit the target from 8 yards. Seriously, Zidane needs to think about his replacement.


Match Facts:

                              RMA                                                                  CEL

                              65%                    Possession                           35%

                              18(8)                   Shots(on goal)                    6(4)

                              14                        Fouls                                    12

                              1                          Yellow Cards                        2

                              0                          Red Cards                             0

                              2                          Offsides                                2

                              6                          Corners                                 1

                              2                          Saves                                    7








Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo - Match Preview

17:47

It's a big game for:

Iago Aspas. The 29-year-old Spaniard is currently on the 3rd position on the list of the highest goalscorers this season with 11 goals and 3 assists. He can be vulnerable to the Real defence.


Best stat:

14. Real Madrid has won 14 matches out of the 19 matches between these two teams and will look to win the 15th also.


Remember when:

Santiago Bernabeu witnessed a dominating performance by the home team beating Celta de Vigo 4-0. Ronaldo scored 3 goals and Sami Khedira scored 1.


Player to watch:

Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican is under fire after Real Madrid's 2-1 loss to Sevilla which also broke their unbeaten streak and he would like to prove his critics wrong by not conceding any goal in this tie.


Previous meetings:

Real Madrid 2 (Morata, Kroos) - Celta Vigo 1 (Orellano). August 2016.
Real Madrid 7 (C.Ronaldo 4, Pepe, Bale, Jese) - Celta Vigo 1 (Aspas). March 2016.
Real Madrid 3 (C.Ronaldo, Danilo, Marcelo) - Celta Vigo 1 (Nolito). October 2015.


Form guide:

Real Madrid: LDWWW.
Celta Vigo: WWWWW.


Match odds:

Real Madrid win: 2/9
Celta Vigo win: 14/1
Draw: 13/2

My prediction for this match is that Real will win it by 2 or 3 goal margin and let's hope it happens. Stay tuned for more.

Real Madrid's 19-men squad for Celta Vigo.

Manchester United vs Liverpool - Match Report

18:59

Zlatan Ibrahimovic helps United salvage a draw with his late header.

The high action derby witnessed a not so high scoring game as both teams' defence held each other. Jurgen Klopp after the match said that United frustrated their defence with "long ball" tactics.

United had the first opportunity of the game when Martial floated a cross in and Zlatan failed to connect his head with the ball.

The world's most expensive player, Pogba failed a glorious opportunity when Mkhitaryan fed him a through ball which he should've finished without any problem was shot wide.

Pogba gifted Liverpool a penalty by sticking his hand out in an attempt to clear the ball and James Milner made no mistake in smashing it into the net, inches away from De Gea.

Simon Mignolet saved a free-kick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic sharply in the 33rd minute and kept the Liverpool lead alive.

Martial missed a great chance for the equaliser when he failed to connect with a cross from Mkhitaryan in the 54th minute.

De Gea denied Liverpool's Adam Lallana in a 1v1 save and kept the home fans on the edge of their seat. 

Fellaini was close giving United the equaliser when he failed to connect with Rooney's cross properly. But seconds later United silenced the away fans when Ibrahimovic headed low from a cross from Valencia.


Match Facts:

                              MUN                                                                  LIV

                              55%                     Possession                          45%

                              9(3)                     Shots(on goal)                    13(4)

                              17                         Fouls                                   13

                              1                           Yellow Cards                       3

                              0                           Red Cards                            0

                              4                           Offsides                               2

                              5                           Corners                                7

                              3                           Saves                                   2






Real Madrid vs Sevilla - Match Report

18:55

Jovetic's late goal helps Sevilla to break Real unbeaten streak.

Goals from Jovetic and an own goal by Sergio Ramos cancels out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener.

Samir Nasri lashed a powerful volley from 20 yards but his effort sailed over the bar. On the other side of the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo's left footed shot in the box was saved by Sergio Rico on his left.

Ronaldo failed to connect with a cross from Karim Benzema in the 39th minute and the ball was seen drifting away from the post.

Sevilla showed great zeal in the second half and Franco Vazquez forced Keylor Navas into a smart save with his side foot.

Modric appealed for a penalty when Vazquez's clumsy tackle forced him to ground. Navas was again tested down low to his right by a Wissam Ben Yedder drive.

Dani Carvajal was brought down by Sergio Rico in the 67th minute when the Spaniard misjudged his run and a penalty was given. Cristiano Ronaldo sent Rico the wrong way and gave Real the lead and equalled La Liga record of penalties.

Sevilla found the equaliser when a free-kick was headed into his own net by Sergio Ramos in the 84th minute.

In the 90+2 minute substitute, Jovetic found the net by a right-footed curler which should have been kept out by Navas if he was positioned correctly.

Real's unbeaten streak came to an end and the formation that Zidane followed in this match (3-5-2) was I think not a wise decision he should had stuck to 4-3-3 only.


Match Facts:

                   SEV                                                                                   RMA

                            57%                              Possession                                    43%

                            9(4)                              Shots(on goal)                              10(3)

                            13                                Fouls                                             10

                            3                                  Yellow Cards                                  1

                            0                                  Red Cards                                      0

                            6                                  Offsides                                         1

                            6                                  Corners                                         1

                            2                                  Saves                                            1


Real Madrid vs Sevilla - Match Preview

20:19

It's a big game for:

Marco Asensio: The 20-year old Spaniard will be on a high note after scoring a wonderful solo goal against Sevilla in their Copa Del Rey 2nd leg. He is also included in the 19-men squad which will be facing Sevilla in Seville.


Best stat:

40. Real Madrid broke Barcelona's record of most matches unbeaten of 39 games with a late equaliser in the 90+3 minute. Now they are behind Milan and Juventus who have 42 and 43 matches unbeaten respectively.


Remember when:

Recently at Ramon Sanchez Stadium we witnessed a 6-goal thriller in which Real scheduled another great comeback when Karim Benzema's deflected strike in 90+3 minute helped Real to beat Barcelona's unbeaten streak of 39 games.


Player to watch: 

Sergio Ramos. The ex-Sevilla player was heavily criticised by Sevilla fans when he celebrated after scoring the cheeky Panenka penalty. Though he had apologised to some of them he said that some of the fans didn't deserve the apologies. It will be interesting to see that how the Sevilla fans welcome him.


Previous meetings:

Real Madrid 3 (Asensio, Ramos, Benzema) - Sevilla 3 (Danilo (OG), Jovetic, Iborra). January 2017.
Real Madrid 3 (Rodriguez 2, Varane) - Sevilla 0. January 2017.
Real Madrid 3(Asensio, Ramos, Carvajal) - Sevilla 2 (Vazquez, Konoplyanka). August 2016.


Form guide:

Real Madrid- DWWWW.
Sevilla- DWLWW.


Match odds:

Real Madrid win: 11/10
Sevilla win: 12/5
Draw: 29/10

Real Madrid are the favourites to win but they will face competition against Sevilla. The 11-time European Champions should be very safe because they have a streak on the line.


Real Madrid's 19-men squad against Sevilla.



Manchester United vs Liverpool - Match Preview

19:36

It's a big game for:

Simon Mignolet. The Belgian will start for Liverpool and he will have the chance to prove his mettle against his teammate Loris Karius and will look to book his place in the first team.


Best stat:

9. Manchester United are on a winning streak of 9 matches and are unbeaten in their last 18 games.


Remember when:

A packed Old Trafford witnessed the demolition of Liverpool with Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored two penalties and Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer scored one goal each. Liverpool who were a man behind had no answer for the domination of Manchester United.


Player to watch:

Wayne Rooney. Rooney will again try and beat the record of Sir Bobby Charlton's 249 goals, he was inches away from beating it against Hull. Also, it will be his 450th Premier League, 382 appearances with United and 67 for Everton.


Previous meetings:

Liverpool 0 - Manchester United 0. October 2016
Liverpool 1(Coutinho) - Manchester United 1 (Martial). March 2016
Liverpool 2 (Sturridge, Firmino) - Manchester United 0. March 2016


Form guide:

Manchester United- WWWWW.
Liverpool- WWWWD.


Match odds:

Manchester United win- 6/5
Liverpool win- 31/10
Draw- 12/5

Liverpool lost their 1st leg at St. Mary's to Southampton 1-0. Clearly, United will have the mental advantage here. But let's see who wins.


La Liga Fixtures - Week 18

18:38

Saturday, 14 January
Leganes
0
Half-time
Ath. Bilbao
0
Barcelona
8:45 PM
Las Palmas
Atlético Madrid
11:00 PM
Real Betis
Sunday, 15 January
Deportivo
1:15 AM
Villarreal
Valencia
4:30 PM
Espanyol
Celta Vigo
8:45 PM
Alavés
Granada
11:00 PM
Osasuna
Sporting
11:00 PM
Eibar
Monday, 16 January
Sevilla
1:15 AM
Real Madrid
Tuesday, 17 January
Málaga
1:15 AM
Real Sociedad
All times are in India Standard Time

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