SPORTS WITH WIZFLAMES
BARCELONA AND REAL MADRID STUNNED ON DRAMATIC NIGHT IN LA LIGA
Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered their first defeats of the season on a dramatic evening in La Liga. A subdued Barca looked to have handed their rivals an opportunity after crashing to a 2-1 loss at Leganes, who moved off the foot of the table by clinching their first victory of the campaign.
Real, though, conceded three times in the first 39 minutes at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as they were humbled 3-0 at Sevilla, meaning Barca remain top of the standings on goal difference.
The Catalan giants were looking to get back to winning ways after a tense 2-2 draw at home to Girona at the weekend and they went ahead in the 12th minute through Philippe Coutinho’s exquisite volley from outside the area.
Leganes had taken just one point from their opening five matches but grew steadily into the game and could count themselves unlucky not to be level as Marc-Andre ter Stegen produced a couple of timely interventions.
But Nabil El Zhar headed home from Jonathan Silva’s left-wing cross in the 52nd minute and almost immediately afterwards, Gerard Pique inadvertently passed to Real Madrid loanee Oscar Rodriguez, who gratefully fired high into the net.
Real included Luka Modric in their line-up two days after the Croatian was named The Best FIFA Men’s Player at a glitzy awards ceremony in London, but he had little impact in a first half that left the visitors stunned.
Andre Silva opened the scoring after being teed up by Jesus Navas and the pair combined for Sevilla’s second, Silva netting the rebound after Navas’ initial shot had been saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Wissam Ben Yedder bagged his sixth goal from three matches, volleying home after latching on to Franco Vazquez’s header back into the area, to leave Real with a mountain to climb.
Modric thought he had pulled one back after the interval, only for his effort to be disallowed for offside following consultation with the video assistant referee.
Elsewhere, Valencia are still searching for their first win of the season after Iago Aspas struck eight minutes from time to rescue a 1-1 draw for Celta Vigo.
Michy Batshuayi grabbed his first goal for Valencia in the 25th minute but Los Che settled for their fourth stalemate in five games following Aspas’ late leveller.
Finally, Villarreal scored three times in the last 25 minutes in a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
Pablo Fornals struck after the hour mark while Ramiro Funes Mori doubled the Yellow Submarine’s lead with 10 minute remaining. Substitute Karl Toko Ekambi added gloss to the scoreline in the 89th minute.
Meanwhile in Turin, Juventus kept up their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Bologna. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to find the net but the Argentine Paulo Dybala broke his scoring drought before Blaise Matuidi added a second.
EDEN HAZARD HITS WONDER GOAL AS BELGIAN MAESTRO INSPIRES CHELSEA COMEBACK AGAINST LIVERPOOL AT ANFIELD
The brilliance of Chelsea's Eden Hazard ended Liverpool's 100 percent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri's side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round.
Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out of the League Cup thanks to a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.
Daniel Sturridge had put Liverpool in front before Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free kick whipped in by Hazard.
The Belgian forward, a 56th-minute substitute, won the game with a devastating finish after a powerful run in from the flank, leaving two Liverpool defenders behind before firing into the far corner.
The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.
Watch Eden Hazard's wonder goal below
JOSE MOURINHO CONFIRMS DECISION TO STRIP PAUL POGBA OF HIS CAPTAINCY DUTIES AT MAN UTD BUT DENIES RIFT
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Paul Pogba will no longer be Manchester United‘s ‘second captain’ but claimed there has been “no fall out” between him and the midfielder.
United were eliminated from the EFL Cup on Tuesday night by Frank Lampard’s second-tier Derby County at Old Trafford, with Pogba watching on from the stands.
The hours leading up to kick-off were dominated by news that Pogba would no longer captain Mourinho’s side , following his recent criticism of United’s playing style.
Pogba had stood in for club captain Antonio Valencia on several occasions already this season, but Mourinho confirmed after United’s defeat that would no longer be the case.
When asked whether he and the midfielder had fallen out, Mourinho told Sky Sports: “No. The only truth is that I made a decision of Paul not to be the second captain anymore.
“But no fall-out. No problems at all. The same person that decides Paul is not the second captain anymore is the same person that decides that Paul was the second captain – myself.
Mourinho, who did not hold a post-match press conference as EFL Cup rules do not require him to do so, suggested he would not expand on the reasons behind his decision if asked.
“I am the manager, I can make these decisions,” he added. “No fall-out at all. No problems. Just one decision that I don’t have to explain.”
BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS 2018: Luka Modric Named Men's Player Of The Year As Ronaldo And Messi Fail To Show Up
Luka Modric was named Best Fifa Footballer of the Year in a London ceremony noted as much for the the players in absentia as the awards.
The Croatian beat Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first player other than Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win since Kaka in 2007.
Though Modric was keen to avoid any debate over former teammate Ronaldo, he did say both his and Messi's absence from the ceremony was noted. "I don't want to enter into the debate of whether it is deserved or not, I just want to thank all the people that voted for me for their support.
"Everyone has their own reasons. Obviously I would have liked them to be here but they aren't."
Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos also made mention of the two superstars skipping the event. “He (Modric) is a good player, colleague and friend, but it would have been good for Cris and Leo to be here,” he said.
“I am as happy as if I had won it. (Modric) deserves it, he is an excellent player and has marked an important era in the history of Real Madrid.”
The award was decided by national team coaches and captains, select members of the media and online voting. Modric acknowledged both his club and national team achievements, which included winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup, as the deciding factors in claiming the award.
"It is for the season we had with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League again, and then getting to the final with Croatia, it all counts," he said. "The emotion is huge because it is the work of everyone. So many people have come together and so many have supported me."
Messi's omission from the top three garnered particular attention ahead of this, the third edition of The Best awards, which were created after Fifa's six-year partnership with the Ballon d'Or ended in 2015.
Barcelona's talisman was, however, included in Fifa's team of the year, the Fifpro World XI, as were David de Gea, Dani Alves, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Salah was handed a consolation prize for his record-breaking season with Liverpool, taking home the Fifa Puskas award for his goal in the Merseyside derby.
Brazil and Orlando Pride player Marta was named Best Women's Player for a record-breaking sixth time.
Other winners included Thibaut Courtois for Best Goalkeeper and France national team coach Didier Deschamps and Lyon manager Reynald Pedros for Best Men's and Women's Coach respectively.
UEFA TO BEGIN USE OF VAR IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEXT SEASON
UEFA has confirmed the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in the Champions League from next season and plans to use them at Euro 2020, European soccer’s ruling body said on Thursday.
UEFA’s executive committee agreed that the VAR system would be used in the final qualifying round, the group stage and the knockout stages of next season’s Champions League.
“We are confident that introducing VARs in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation of VAR in the Champions League,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said.
Ceferin had announced UEFA’s intentions of using the system next season at an event in Monaco last month.
UEFA said in a statement that it planned to subsequently use VARs at the Euro 2020 tournament and in the Europa League, from the group stage onwards, in the 2020-21 season.
EPL MATCH DAY 7 FIXTURES
Saturday, 29 September
West Ham v Man Utd 12:30pm
Arsenal v Watford 3:00pm
Everton v Fulham 3:00pm
Huddersfield Town v Tottenham 3:00pm
Man City v Brighton 3:00pm
Newcastle v Leicester 3:00pm
Wolves v Southampton 3:00pm
Chelsea v Liverpool 5:30pm
Sunday, 30 September
16:00 Cardiff v Burnley 4:00pm
Monday, 1 October
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 8:00pm
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday 2 October
Hoffenheim v Manchester City 5:55pm
Juventus v Young Boys 5:55pm
Bayern München v Ajax 8:00pm
AEK Athens v Benfica 8:00pm
Lyon v Shakhtar 8:00pm
CSKA Moskva v Real Madrid 8:00pm
Roma v Viktoria Plzeň 8:00pm
Manchester United v Valencia 8:00pm
Wednesday 3 October
PSG v Red Star Belgrade 5:00pm
Lokomotiv Moskva v Schalke 5:00pm
Atlético v Club Brugge 8:00pm
Dortmund v Monaco 8:00pm
Tottenham v Barcelona 8:00pm
PSV
Eindhoven v Inter 8:00pm
Napoli v Liverpool 8:00pm
Porto v Galatasaray 8:00pm
The Beautiful Game ⚽
Post By: Wisdom Joseph
Facebook: Wiz Flames
Instagram: Wizflames
Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered their first defeats of the season on a dramatic evening in La Liga. A subdued Barca looked to have handed their rivals an opportunity after crashing to a 2-1 loss at Leganes, who moved off the foot of the table by clinching their first victory of the campaign.
Real, though, conceded three times in the first 39 minutes at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as they were humbled 3-0 at Sevilla, meaning Barca remain top of the standings on goal difference.
The Catalan giants were looking to get back to winning ways after a tense 2-2 draw at home to Girona at the weekend and they went ahead in the 12th minute through Philippe Coutinho’s exquisite volley from outside the area.
Leganes had taken just one point from their opening five matches but grew steadily into the game and could count themselves unlucky not to be level as Marc-Andre ter Stegen produced a couple of timely interventions.
But Nabil El Zhar headed home from Jonathan Silva’s left-wing cross in the 52nd minute and almost immediately afterwards, Gerard Pique inadvertently passed to Real Madrid loanee Oscar Rodriguez, who gratefully fired high into the net.
Real included Luka Modric in their line-up two days after the Croatian was named The Best FIFA Men’s Player at a glitzy awards ceremony in London, but he had little impact in a first half that left the visitors stunned.
Andre Silva opened the scoring after being teed up by Jesus Navas and the pair combined for Sevilla’s second, Silva netting the rebound after Navas’ initial shot had been saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Wissam Ben Yedder bagged his sixth goal from three matches, volleying home after latching on to Franco Vazquez’s header back into the area, to leave Real with a mountain to climb.
Modric thought he had pulled one back after the interval, only for his effort to be disallowed for offside following consultation with the video assistant referee.
Elsewhere, Valencia are still searching for their first win of the season after Iago Aspas struck eight minutes from time to rescue a 1-1 draw for Celta Vigo.
Michy Batshuayi grabbed his first goal for Valencia in the 25th minute but Los Che settled for their fourth stalemate in five games following Aspas’ late leveller.
Finally, Villarreal scored three times in the last 25 minutes in a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
Pablo Fornals struck after the hour mark while Ramiro Funes Mori doubled the Yellow Submarine’s lead with 10 minute remaining. Substitute Karl Toko Ekambi added gloss to the scoreline in the 89th minute.
Meanwhile in Turin, Juventus kept up their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Bologna. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to find the net but the Argentine Paulo Dybala broke his scoring drought before Blaise Matuidi added a second.
EDEN HAZARD HITS WONDER GOAL AS BELGIAN MAESTRO INSPIRES CHELSEA COMEBACK AGAINST LIVERPOOL AT ANFIELD
The brilliance of Chelsea's Eden Hazard ended Liverpool's 100 percent start to the season as Maurizio Sarri's side enjoyed a 2-1 win at Anfield in the League Cup third round.
Liverpool have started with six wins in the Premier League and a victory in the Champions League but they were knocked out of the League Cup thanks to a superb solo goal from Hazard in the 85th minute.
Daniel Sturridge had put Liverpool in front before Emerson levelled for Chelsea in the 79th, after Simon Mignolet parried out a Ross Barkley header from a free kick whipped in by Hazard.
The Belgian forward, a 56th-minute substitute, won the game with a devastating finish after a powerful run in from the flank, leaving two Liverpool defenders behind before firing into the far corner.
The two teams face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.
Watch Eden Hazard's wonder goal below
JOSE MOURINHO CONFIRMS DECISION TO STRIP PAUL POGBA OF HIS CAPTAINCY DUTIES AT MAN UTD BUT DENIES RIFT
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Paul Pogba will no longer be Manchester United‘s ‘second captain’ but claimed there has been “no fall out” between him and the midfielder.
United were eliminated from the EFL Cup on Tuesday night by Frank Lampard’s second-tier Derby County at Old Trafford, with Pogba watching on from the stands.
The hours leading up to kick-off were dominated by news that Pogba would no longer captain Mourinho’s side , following his recent criticism of United’s playing style.
Pogba had stood in for club captain Antonio Valencia on several occasions already this season, but Mourinho confirmed after United’s defeat that would no longer be the case.
When asked whether he and the midfielder had fallen out, Mourinho told Sky Sports: “No. The only truth is that I made a decision of Paul not to be the second captain anymore.
“But no fall-out. No problems at all. The same person that decides Paul is not the second captain anymore is the same person that decides that Paul was the second captain – myself.
Mourinho, who did not hold a post-match press conference as EFL Cup rules do not require him to do so, suggested he would not expand on the reasons behind his decision if asked.
“I am the manager, I can make these decisions,” he added. “No fall-out at all. No problems. Just one decision that I don’t have to explain.”
BEST FIFA FOOTBALL AWARDS 2018: Luka Modric Named Men's Player Of The Year As Ronaldo And Messi Fail To Show Up
The Croatian beat Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first player other than Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win since Kaka in 2007.
Though Modric was keen to avoid any debate over former teammate Ronaldo, he did say both his and Messi's absence from the ceremony was noted. "I don't want to enter into the debate of whether it is deserved or not, I just want to thank all the people that voted for me for their support.
"Everyone has their own reasons. Obviously I would have liked them to be here but they aren't."
Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos also made mention of the two superstars skipping the event. “He (Modric) is a good player, colleague and friend, but it would have been good for Cris and Leo to be here,” he said.
“I am as happy as if I had won it. (Modric) deserves it, he is an excellent player and has marked an important era in the history of Real Madrid.”
The award was decided by national team coaches and captains, select members of the media and online voting. Modric acknowledged both his club and national team achievements, which included winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup, as the deciding factors in claiming the award.
"It is for the season we had with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League again, and then getting to the final with Croatia, it all counts," he said. "The emotion is huge because it is the work of everyone. So many people have come together and so many have supported me."
Messi's omission from the top three garnered particular attention ahead of this, the third edition of The Best awards, which were created after Fifa's six-year partnership with the Ballon d'Or ended in 2015.
Barcelona's talisman was, however, included in Fifa's team of the year, the Fifpro World XI, as were David de Gea, Dani Alves, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Salah was handed a consolation prize for his record-breaking season with Liverpool, taking home the Fifa Puskas award for his goal in the Merseyside derby.
Brazil and Orlando Pride player Marta was named Best Women's Player for a record-breaking sixth time.
Other winners included Thibaut Courtois for Best Goalkeeper and France national team coach Didier Deschamps and Lyon manager Reynald Pedros for Best Men's and Women's Coach respectively.
UEFA TO BEGIN USE OF VAR IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEXT SEASON
UEFA has confirmed the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in the Champions League from next season and plans to use them at Euro 2020, European soccer’s ruling body said on Thursday.
UEFA’s executive committee agreed that the VAR system would be used in the final qualifying round, the group stage and the knockout stages of next season’s Champions League.
“We are confident that introducing VARs in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation of VAR in the Champions League,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said.
Ceferin had announced UEFA’s intentions of using the system next season at an event in Monaco last month.
UEFA said in a statement that it planned to subsequently use VARs at the Euro 2020 tournament and in the Europa League, from the group stage onwards, in the 2020-21 season.
EPL MATCH DAY 7 FIXTURES
Saturday, 29 September
West Ham v Man Utd 12:30pm
Arsenal v Watford 3:00pm
Everton v Fulham 3:00pm
Huddersfield Town v Tottenham 3:00pm
Man City v Brighton 3:00pm
Newcastle v Leicester 3:00pm
Wolves v Southampton 3:00pm
Chelsea v Liverpool 5:30pm
Sunday, 30 September
16:00 Cardiff v Burnley 4:00pm
Monday, 1 October
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 8:00pm
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday 2 October
Hoffenheim v Manchester City 5:55pm
Juventus v Young Boys 5:55pm
Bayern München v Ajax 8:00pm
AEK Athens v Benfica 8:00pm
Lyon v Shakhtar 8:00pm
CSKA Moskva v Real Madrid 8:00pm
Roma v Viktoria Plzeň 8:00pm
Manchester United v Valencia 8:00pm
Wednesday 3 October
PSG v Red Star Belgrade 5:00pm
Lokomotiv Moskva v Schalke 5:00pm
Atlético v Club Brugge 8:00pm
Dortmund v Monaco 8:00pm
Tottenham v Barcelona 8:00pm
PSV
Napoli v Liverpool 8:00pm
Porto v Galatasaray 8:00pm
The Beautiful Game ⚽
Post By: Wisdom Joseph
Facebook: Wiz Flames
Instagram: Wizflames
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