SPORTS WITH WIZFLAMES: Cristiano Red Card, Nigeria Moves Up in FIFA Rankings and More
CRISTIANO RONALDO RED CARD: What Juventus star said to referee after he was sent off against Valencia revealed
All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo as he represented Juventus in the Champions League for the very first time following his summer move from Real Madrid.
But the Portugal international's night was nothing short of a disaster after he was shown a straight red card in just the 29th minute of the match.
It wasn't clear what had happened at first as Ronaldo apparently clashed with Jeison Murillo off the ball and away from the eyes of the referee.
Replays showed there was a slight coming together between the two players, but Ronaldo didn't appear to lash out at his rival with his hand or head.
Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the referee after being shown a red card. He did however appear to pull the hair of Murillo, which was spotted by the linesman.
The official gestured to the referee to end Ronaldo's night early, and the Portugal international was forced to leave the pitch in tears.
Before heading off down the tunnel Ronaldo had a quick chat with the man in the middle and attempted to fight his corner to change his mind.
Speaking to the match official, the Portuguese could be seen saying: "I did not do anything," but his protests fell on deaf ears.
Eventually Ronaldo was forced to smile in disbelief before heading off the pitch.
He then made his way down the tunnel, but not before stopping to lean on it for a moment, and went for an early bath.
NIGERIA RISE IN SEPTEMBER FIFA RANKING
Following their impressive outing against Seychelles, Gernot Rohr's men have moved up one place in the rating released on Thursday
Nigeria are now ranked no. 48 in the world according to September Fifa ranking released on Thursday.
Gernot Rohr’s men will have their 3-0 victory over Seychelles to thanks as that powered them up with 1415 points.
In Africa, they are fifth behind Tunisia, Senegal, Congo DR and Morocco.
Nigeria’s next opponent in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification – Libya moved a place up to be rated the 99th best team in the world.
Kenya are the biggest mover with 22 points thanks to their 1-0 victory of Ghana who dropped six steps below. The Black Stars join Slovenia as the biggest fallers of the month.
The next world ranking will be released on 25 October 2018.
BELGIUM AND WORLD CUP WINNERS FRANCE MAKE FIFA RANKING HISTORY
After victories over Scotland and Iceland, Roberto Martinez's men have joined the world champions at the head of the list.
Belgium and World Cup winners France are the first teams to share top spot in the FIFA rankings in the classification's 25-year history.
Roberto Martinez's side, defeated by Les Bleus in the semi-finals at Russia 2018 before claiming third place, overcame Scotland 4-0 in a friendly and won their Nations League debut 3-0 against Iceland earlier this month to join the world champions at the summit.
France, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by Germany in Munich before beating Netherlands 2-1 in Nations League Group A1.
Both teams find themselves on 1729 ranking points, well ahead of third-placed Brazil. The World Cup quarter-finalists, who feel at the hands of the Belgians in Russia, have 1663 points to their credit, six more than last month.
The only other change in the top 10 saw
Denmark, who played an international against Slovakia last month with a team comprised of amateurs and futsal players , slip down one place to 10th, below Spain.
After their humiliating group-stage exit at the World Cup, Germany rose a further three positions and now sit 12th.
The biggest movers were Ukraine, who climbed six spots to 29th courtesy of Nations League triumphs over Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Kenya enjoyed the biggest jump in terms of points, moving up 22.
Ghana and Slovenia were the big losers this month, each slipped six spots, to 51 and 61 respectively.
AL NASSR'S AHMED MUSA OPENS SAUDI PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE ACCOUNT WITH HAT-TRICK
The Super Eagles forward heralded his presence in the Saudi top-flight in grand style on Wednesday. Ahmed Musa scored a hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Quadisiya 3-0 in their league meeting.
The Nigeria international has left a statement for opposition in the Saudi league with his goalscoring prowess.
Musa broke the deadlock after benefitting from Abderrazak Hamdallah's assist in the 21st minute before doubling the lead four minutes before the interval.
In the second half, the 25-year-old linked up with Nordin Amrabat for his third goal at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Khobar.
Following the triumph, the former Leicester City and CSKA Moscow attacker expressed his delight at getting the matchball.
The win leaves the Knights of Najd unmoved at the summit of top-flight table with nine points from three games.
Al Nassr host Al Taawon at the King Fahd Stadium for their next league fixture on September 24.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Champions League is back with a bang, and it has been a week full of mixed performances from some of the biggest names in the game.
Here are the best XI players from Matchday one of the UEFA Champions League.
WOJCIECH SZCZESN – JUVENTUS
Was kept busy after Juventus were forced to play for the majority of the game against Valencia with 10 men, but came away with a clean sheet after saving a late penalty.
DANI CARVAJAL – REAL MADRID
Always a threat, but does his defensive duties astutely too. Got plenty of tackles in and won 4/5 of aerial battles.
LEONARDO BONUCCI AND GIORGIO CHIELLINI- Juventus
Normally I would write these seperately, but Bonucci and Chiellini were simply sublime together. Between them they made 14 clearances, blocked eight shots, made three interceptions, and won 5/8 of their aerial duels. Proper defenders.
NICOLAS TAGLIAFICO – AJAX
Two goals from a left-back, you simply can’t argue with that!
TONI KROOS – REAL MADRID
Excellent as usual, completing 83 passes (95% pass accuracy) including five key passes as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory over Roma.
PAUL POGBA – MANCHESTER UNITED
This was the kind of performance that will leave Jose Mourinho fuming about all of his poor ones, because Pogba was everywhere, scoring two goals and setting up the other in what was probably the performance of the week by anyone.
LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
Lionel Messi was back to his brilliant best with a fine hat-trick as Barcelona beat PSV 4-0.
NABIL FEKIR – LYON
On this evidence, you can see why Liverpool were interested in the playmaker, who helped Lyon to one of the shock results of the round, beating Premier League champions Man City, scoring a goal and providing an assist in the process.
NIKOLA VLASIC – CSKA
The Everton loanee scored one and set up another in a display of what the Toffees might be missing.
MICHAEL KRMENCIK – PLZEN
Two goals for minnows Plzen to earn a valuable point against CSKA.
CHELSEA AND ARSENAL CRUISE IN EUROPA LEAGUE OPENERS
Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea maintained their flying start to the season with a 1-0 victory at PAOK Salonika in their opening Europa League Group L fixture on Thursday.
Brazil midfielder Willian's early strike proved sufficient to seal the points, although Chelsea could have won by a wider margin had they been sharper in front of goal.
The Premier League leaders have now won their opening six games under Sarri, who replaced Antonio Conte in July.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery returned to the competition with his Arsenal side beating Ukrainians Vorskla Poltava 4-2 as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted twice. Emery's 32nd Europa League win was a record for a manager.
German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory over Marseille.
Last season's runners-up made the perfect start with Lucas Ocampos scoring in the third minute but Eintracht hit back through Lucas Torro before Luka Jovic grabbed a late winner.
Eintracht, playing in their first European campaign since the 2013-14 season after winning the German Cup, were joined at the top of the early Group H standings by Lazio who beat Apollon Limassol 2-1 with goals by Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile.
Sevilla , Europa League winners in 2014, 2015 and 2016, also opened with a victory, thrashing
Standard Liege 5-1 in Group J with Ever Banega and Wissam Ben Yedder both scoring twice.
The so-called "energy drink derby" turned into a thriller with last season's semifinalists Red Bull Salzburg winning 3-2 at RB Leipzig in the first competitive meeting of the teams.
The hosts, whose full name is RasenBallsport Leipzig, battled back from 2-0 down to level the scores but Fredrik Gulbrandsen struck for the visitors in the final minute.
The energy drinks manufacturer last year argued it no longer has a controlling stake in the Austrian club and merely sponsors it, satisfying UEFA that the two clubs could face each other.
Also in Group B, Celtic beat Rosenborg 1-0 thanks to a late goal by substitute Leigh Griffiths.
Celtic's Glasgow rivals Rangers , managed by Champions League and UEFA Cup winner Steven Gerrard as a player at Liverpool, twice battled back to draw 2-2 at Villarreal in Group G.
Kyle Lafferty's late goal earned the Scottish club a point.
Dudelange , the first team from Luxembourg to reach the Europa League group phase, welcomed seven-time European champions AC Milan to the Stade Josy Barthel.
Despite the gulf in status, Dudelange produced a resolute display and Milan needed Gonzalo Higuain's deflected 59th minute effort to seal a 1-0 victory in Group F.
The other match in the group ended scoreless between Olympiakos and Real Betis .
In Group D, Croatians Dinamo Zagreb enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Fenerbahce but there was a surprise as Anderlecht went down 1-0 to Spartak Trnava in Slovakia.
In other matches, Rapid Vienna beat Spartak Moscow 2-0 in Group G.
In Group I, Genk defeated Malmo 2-0 and
Besiktas eased past newcomer Sarpsborg 3-1.
In Group A, Bayer Leverkusen rallied from two goals down to win 3-2 at Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria.
EPL MATCH DAY 6 FIXTURES
Saturday 22/09/2018
Fulham v Watford 12:30pm
Burnley v Bournemouth 3:00pm
Cardiff v Man City 3:00pm
Crystal Palace v Newcastle 3:00pm
Leicester v Huddersfield 3:00pm
Liverpool v Southampton 3:00pm
Man United v Wolves 3:00pm
Brighton v Tottenham 5:30pm
Sunday 22/09/2018
West Ham v Chelsea 1:30pm
Arsenal v Everton 4:00pm
The Big Question is: Did Ronaldo actually deserved to be shown a red card???
Have your say in the comment section.
The Beautiful Game ⚽
Post By: Wisdom Joseph
Facebook: Wiz flames
Instagram: Wizflames
All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo as he represented Juventus in the Champions League for the very first time following his summer move from Real Madrid.
But the Portugal international's night was nothing short of a disaster after he was shown a straight red card in just the 29th minute of the match.
It wasn't clear what had happened at first as Ronaldo apparently clashed with Jeison Murillo off the ball and away from the eyes of the referee.
Replays showed there was a slight coming together between the two players, but Ronaldo didn't appear to lash out at his rival with his hand or head.
Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to the referee after being shown a red card. He did however appear to pull the hair of Murillo, which was spotted by the linesman.
The official gestured to the referee to end Ronaldo's night early, and the Portugal international was forced to leave the pitch in tears.
Before heading off down the tunnel Ronaldo had a quick chat with the man in the middle and attempted to fight his corner to change his mind.
Speaking to the match official, the Portuguese could be seen saying: "I did not do anything," but his protests fell on deaf ears.
Eventually Ronaldo was forced to smile in disbelief before heading off the pitch.
He then made his way down the tunnel, but not before stopping to lean on it for a moment, and went for an early bath.
NIGERIA RISE IN SEPTEMBER FIFA RANKING
Following their impressive outing against Seychelles, Gernot Rohr's men have moved up one place in the rating released on Thursday
Nigeria are now ranked no. 48 in the world according to September Fifa ranking released on Thursday.
Gernot Rohr’s men will have their 3-0 victory over Seychelles to thanks as that powered them up with 1415 points.
In Africa, they are fifth behind Tunisia, Senegal, Congo DR and Morocco.
Nigeria’s next opponent in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification – Libya moved a place up to be rated the 99th best team in the world.
Kenya are the biggest mover with 22 points thanks to their 1-0 victory of Ghana who dropped six steps below. The Black Stars join Slovenia as the biggest fallers of the month.
The next world ranking will be released on 25 October 2018.
BELGIUM AND WORLD CUP WINNERS FRANCE MAKE FIFA RANKING HISTORY
After victories over Scotland and Iceland, Roberto Martinez's men have joined the world champions at the head of the list.
Belgium and World Cup winners France are the first teams to share top spot in the FIFA rankings in the classification's 25-year history.
Roberto Martinez's side, defeated by Les Bleus in the semi-finals at Russia 2018 before claiming third place, overcame Scotland 4-0 in a friendly and won their Nations League debut 3-0 against Iceland earlier this month to join the world champions at the summit.
France, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by Germany in Munich before beating Netherlands 2-1 in Nations League Group A1.
Both teams find themselves on 1729 ranking points, well ahead of third-placed Brazil. The World Cup quarter-finalists, who feel at the hands of the Belgians in Russia, have 1663 points to their credit, six more than last month.
The only other change in the top 10 saw
Denmark, who played an international against Slovakia last month with a team comprised of amateurs and futsal players , slip down one place to 10th, below Spain.
After their humiliating group-stage exit at the World Cup, Germany rose a further three positions and now sit 12th.
The biggest movers were Ukraine, who climbed six spots to 29th courtesy of Nations League triumphs over Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Meanwhile, Kenya enjoyed the biggest jump in terms of points, moving up 22.
Ghana and Slovenia were the big losers this month, each slipped six spots, to 51 and 61 respectively.
AL NASSR'S AHMED MUSA OPENS SAUDI PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE ACCOUNT WITH HAT-TRICK
The Super Eagles forward heralded his presence in the Saudi top-flight in grand style on Wednesday. Ahmed Musa scored a hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Quadisiya 3-0 in their league meeting.
The Nigeria international has left a statement for opposition in the Saudi league with his goalscoring prowess.
Musa broke the deadlock after benefitting from Abderrazak Hamdallah's assist in the 21st minute before doubling the lead four minutes before the interval.
In the second half, the 25-year-old linked up with Nordin Amrabat for his third goal at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Khobar.
Following the triumph, the former Leicester City and CSKA Moscow attacker expressed his delight at getting the matchball.
The win leaves the Knights of Najd unmoved at the summit of top-flight table with nine points from three games.
Al Nassr host Al Taawon at the King Fahd Stadium for their next league fixture on September 24.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK
The Champions League is back with a bang, and it has been a week full of mixed performances from some of the biggest names in the game.
Here are the best XI players from Matchday one of the UEFA Champions League.
WOJCIECH SZCZESN – JUVENTUS
Was kept busy after Juventus were forced to play for the majority of the game against Valencia with 10 men, but came away with a clean sheet after saving a late penalty.
DANI CARVAJAL – REAL MADRID
Always a threat, but does his defensive duties astutely too. Got plenty of tackles in and won 4/5 of aerial battles.
LEONARDO BONUCCI AND GIORGIO CHIELLINI- Juventus
Normally I would write these seperately, but Bonucci and Chiellini were simply sublime together. Between them they made 14 clearances, blocked eight shots, made three interceptions, and won 5/8 of their aerial duels. Proper defenders.
NICOLAS TAGLIAFICO – AJAX
Two goals from a left-back, you simply can’t argue with that!
TONI KROOS – REAL MADRID
Excellent as usual, completing 83 passes (95% pass accuracy) including five key passes as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory over Roma.
PAUL POGBA – MANCHESTER UNITED
This was the kind of performance that will leave Jose Mourinho fuming about all of his poor ones, because Pogba was everywhere, scoring two goals and setting up the other in what was probably the performance of the week by anyone.
LIONEL MESSI – BARCELONA
Lionel Messi was back to his brilliant best with a fine hat-trick as Barcelona beat PSV 4-0.
NABIL FEKIR – LYON
On this evidence, you can see why Liverpool were interested in the playmaker, who helped Lyon to one of the shock results of the round, beating Premier League champions Man City, scoring a goal and providing an assist in the process.
NIKOLA VLASIC – CSKA
The Everton loanee scored one and set up another in a display of what the Toffees might be missing.
MICHAEL KRMENCIK – PLZEN
Two goals for minnows Plzen to earn a valuable point against CSKA.
CHELSEA AND ARSENAL CRUISE IN EUROPA LEAGUE OPENERS
Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea maintained their flying start to the season with a 1-0 victory at PAOK Salonika in their opening Europa League Group L fixture on Thursday.
Brazil midfielder Willian's early strike proved sufficient to seal the points, although Chelsea could have won by a wider margin had they been sharper in front of goal.
The Premier League leaders have now won their opening six games under Sarri, who replaced Antonio Conte in July.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery returned to the competition with his Arsenal side beating Ukrainians Vorskla Poltava 4-2 as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted twice. Emery's 32nd Europa League win was a record for a manager.
German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory over Marseille.
Last season's runners-up made the perfect start with Lucas Ocampos scoring in the third minute but Eintracht hit back through Lucas Torro before Luka Jovic grabbed a late winner.
Eintracht, playing in their first European campaign since the 2013-14 season after winning the German Cup, were joined at the top of the early Group H standings by Lazio who beat Apollon Limassol 2-1 with goals by Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile.
Sevilla , Europa League winners in 2014, 2015 and 2016, also opened with a victory, thrashing
Standard Liege 5-1 in Group J with Ever Banega and Wissam Ben Yedder both scoring twice.
The so-called "energy drink derby" turned into a thriller with last season's semifinalists Red Bull Salzburg winning 3-2 at RB Leipzig in the first competitive meeting of the teams.
The hosts, whose full name is RasenBallsport Leipzig, battled back from 2-0 down to level the scores but Fredrik Gulbrandsen struck for the visitors in the final minute.
The energy drinks manufacturer last year argued it no longer has a controlling stake in the Austrian club and merely sponsors it, satisfying UEFA that the two clubs could face each other.
Also in Group B, Celtic beat Rosenborg 1-0 thanks to a late goal by substitute Leigh Griffiths.
Celtic's Glasgow rivals Rangers , managed by Champions League and UEFA Cup winner Steven Gerrard as a player at Liverpool, twice battled back to draw 2-2 at Villarreal in Group G.
Kyle Lafferty's late goal earned the Scottish club a point.
Dudelange , the first team from Luxembourg to reach the Europa League group phase, welcomed seven-time European champions AC Milan to the Stade Josy Barthel.
Despite the gulf in status, Dudelange produced a resolute display and Milan needed Gonzalo Higuain's deflected 59th minute effort to seal a 1-0 victory in Group F.
The other match in the group ended scoreless between Olympiakos and Real Betis .
In Group D, Croatians Dinamo Zagreb enjoyed a 4-1 victory over Fenerbahce but there was a surprise as Anderlecht went down 1-0 to Spartak Trnava in Slovakia.
In other matches, Rapid Vienna beat Spartak Moscow 2-0 in Group G.
In Group I, Genk defeated Malmo 2-0 and
Besiktas eased past newcomer Sarpsborg 3-1.
In Group A, Bayer Leverkusen rallied from two goals down to win 3-2 at Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria.
EPL MATCH DAY 6 FIXTURES
Saturday 22/09/2018
Fulham v Watford 12:30pm
Burnley v Bournemouth 3:00pm
Cardiff v Man City 3:00pm
Crystal Palace v Newcastle 3:00pm
Leicester v Huddersfield 3:00pm
Liverpool v Southampton 3:00pm
Man United v Wolves 3:00pm
Brighton v Tottenham 5:30pm
Sunday 22/09/2018
West Ham v Chelsea 1:30pm
Arsenal v Everton 4:00pm
The Big Question is: Did Ronaldo actually deserved to be shown a red card???
Have your say in the comment section.
The Beautiful Game ⚽
Post By: Wisdom Joseph
Facebook: Wiz flames
Instagram: Wizflames
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