Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Champions League special

Group A

Results












Matchday 1 analysis
 In a group where there are two clear favorites, the underdogs had a chance to battle themselves for the top spot after the first game, and with that get an advantage over their rival. Alas, Basel and Ludogorets drew in Switzerland, with the Bulgarians letting the lead go with ten minutes to go. A very dull match that makes you think Uefa might not be completely wrong to try and change the rules of access, but showed that PSG and Arsenal, that also drew 1-1 but in a great game where Cavani scored in the beginning and Sanchéz got the draw with few minutes left to play, shouldn’t have any troubles going through to the knockouts.



Matchday 2 preview


 Arsene Wenger knows that his team’s biggest opponent are themselves in this group stage. They will face Basel in the Emirates and they will do that without Giroud that got sent off in Paris, but with an in-form Alexis that shouldn’t be a problem. But Arsenal needs to be wary of Swiss champions Basel that have a history of upsetting English teams in Europe.
 Similar situation for Emery’s PSG, they play in Bulgaria in a game that should be a textbook win, but Ludogorets is a tricky team with an attack composed by two pacey Brazilians, one of them playing for the Bulgaria national team, Marcelinho – scored in his debut against Portugal – and Cafu. With quick counters, Ludogorets might fancy their chances against a PSG that seems to still be coping with the absence of Ibrahimovic.

Group B

Results











Matchday 1 analysis

 You probably couldn’t write it in a movie and make it believable, but when Talisca stepped up and took that last minute free-kick, against the team is contracted too, and that he left in a bit of a controversial way, he couldn’t miss, could he? A great goal that turned the Estádio da Luz off in a cold manner.
 Napoli was surprised by the counter-attacking stance that Din.Kiev had from the start, but thanks to new signing Milik they were able to turn things around, get a deserved win and top the group alone. The Ukrainians were disappointing, but they are an experienced bunch and they know they have better chances against the other two teams.  


Matchday 2 preview


 The game at the San Paolo, that will put Napoli and Benfica face-to-face, should’ve been a game between the two leaders that would try and gain an important advantage to achieve qualification in an quieter way. Talisca didn’t allow that to happen, and now the Portuguese champions now they have to get a good result in Italy to keep in a good position to fight.
 Besiktas host Din.Kiev, and the Ukranians will be in their favorite position, where they can counter and upset a team that has trouble in breaking down organized defenses, but has in the trio of Quaresma, Talisca and Cenk Tosun has been on form and might be the kew for the Turkish success. 


Group C

Results


 







Matchday 1 analysis
No big stories in Group C as Barça and Manchester City hosted Celtic and Borussia Monchengladbach and gave football fans two great displays and a lot of goals, results being 7-0 and 4-0 respectively. Of course history could be different if Dembelé hadn’t miss the penalty at the Camp Nou with the game still at 1-0, or if the weather had held on Tuesday at Manchester, but that belongs to the if history now. 


Matchday 2 preview


Things can, and should, get more exciting for the second round of matches, as the big teams have to travel and there are specific questions to the matches that makes us think an upset might in the cards for group C. Manchester City travels to Celtic Park, one of the toughest grounds to play at around Europe, and a crowd especially keen on seeing their team beating English opponents. As for Barça, they travel to Germany without Lionel Messi, and that might instigate Monchengladbach to try and force their former goalkeeper Ter-Stegen to extra work.


Group D

Results









Matchday 1 analysis
 After a disappointing start of season, Atl.Madrid is finally showing their true grit, and that was shown in the win they got in Eindhoven. It wasn’t pretty, but the quality of Saul Ñiguez was decisive, helped by the missed penalty by Guardado just before half-time. Bayern was much more emphatic, welcoming Rostov to the big tank of European football with a 5-0 dismantling of the Russian vice-champions.


Matchday 2 preview


Big match in Madrid, a match that will be decisive in which positions Atlético and Bayern will finish in this group, assuming they do their bidding against the minnows of the quartet. Much like that, the game that opposes Rostov and PSV will be massively important for both teams, not only to show they still want to fight with the big dogs, but also, and in a more realistic perspective, to conquer 3rd place and have a second chance in Europe. 


Group E

Results








Matchday 1 analysis
A very open group was made even more unpredictable due to the surprising results that happened on the first matches. Both Tottenham and Leverkusen were favorites, playing in home and being known for their quality in the attack but were both stunned. Leverkusen was cruising against CSKA Moscow, but the Russians did two quick counters in two minutes to level the game back and get point. It was worst for the Spurs that fell victim to Bernardo Silva and Monaco’s good start of season, and now have to approach the rest of the competition as bottom of the group.


Matchday 2 preview


Tottenham’s start hasn’t been perfect, and the defeat against Monaco might cost a lot down ahead. Pochettino now goes to Moscow and he will have to face an experienced team that got a good result in Germany and will want to capitalize on that draw. Jardim’s team host Leverkusen and they know they got three points where nobody counted them to get, and can look ahead and play their style of game for the rest of the group stage. 

Group F

Results

 








Matchday 1 analysis
 It was set to be one of the biggest upsets of the opening matchday, with Sporting winning the match and even enjoy some dominance at the Santiago Bernabéu. However they conceded a dangerous free kick, Cristiano Ronaldo transformed it a masterpiece that set all the other white shirts alight. Morata’s header sealed the deal and Portuguese hearts were shattered.
 Same result, but far more emphatic, for Borussia Dortmund, that travelled to Poland and let the floodgates of Légia wide open with a 0-6 and some great moments of football.



Matchday 2 preview


 Dortmund and Real Madrid usually face off in the Champions League, but it’s normally a match that is full of intensity played in a knockout. For this one, both teams come from wins, but the way they got them gives Dortmund a bit more of momentum, and with the second meeting happening on the last matchday, both giants know that a win is practically the seal on qualification.
 Sporting knows that such a chance to grab points against the top two teams won’t come easily, but they need to shrug the result off and focus on the important game against Legia, a match they should win or even 3rd spot will be threatened

Group G

Results

 







Matchday 1 analysis
 It couldn’t have been a better night for Ranieri and debutants Leicester City in the Champions League. They started the game making the most of a mistake from the Brugge keeper and things only got better from that point on. Mahrez connected two set pieces (free kick and penalty) for two more goals to give Leicester the top of the group as Porto was stunned by the hard-working Kobenhaven team that resisted even when reduced to ten man, to get a deserved point.


Matchday 2 preview


 Porto is certainly eager to make up for the very disappointing result they had in the first matchday, and they travel to Leicester to face Rainieri’s team that got reinforced by a dragon slayer of sorts in the form of Slimani. The Premier League winners know that a win will catapult them to a strong position for qualification, while they brush away the Portuguese menace. Kobenhaven also starts their home games after a good result and facing Brugge, surely the Danish team will feel they can capitalize and try to sneak through to the knockouts.  

Group H

Results

 








Matchday 1 analysis
 Juventus and Sevilla met in Turin and the best of both teams came out, with both defenses being superior to the attacks and ending up annulling the threats to get a bore draw. Both teams wanted to make sure they wouldn’t concede and risk a defeat in the opening match. Lyon did what was expected and dispatched Din.Zagreb with an easy 3-0.

 
Matchday 2 preview


 Juve travels to Zagreb knowing that this is one of the matches they must win or qualification could be troubled, such is the quality of the other two opponents. Sevilla and Lyon will battle in Spain, with the Lacazette threat hanging over their defense, but if Sampaoli can find a way to keep the striker quiet, Sevilla should have their job made easier. 

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

La Liga Santander - The early stages


LA LIGA SANTANDER



The first big shock of the season came from the most unexpected of places. Barça hosted Alaves, in what should have been a text book win, and they were stunned by a very hard-working team that did their job and were rewarded with a moment to remember. Apart from that the league has started pretty lackluster with the main teams getting to the top places fairly quickly.



                            
 


FC BARCELONA








It was a game after the international break, a game that preceded Champions League, but losing to Alaves at the Camp Nou, after rotating the squad that much, it must have been a dent on Luis Enrique’s ego. Three points lost and seeing rival Real Madrid alone at the top was the result, but with MSN on the pitch, things just turn easier for Enrique. 





                                                  

        


REAL MADRID





Starting the season without Cristiano Ronaldo available, people wondered if Real Madrid would be able to step up and begin the matches without many slips. Zidane and his boys held their place and they are still unbeaten, top of the league, and playing good football, looking not so dependent on Ronaldo. They scrapped the win in the Champions League, but they showed fighting spirit to comeback and the Merengues seem a force to be reckoned

 

                     


ATLÉTICO MADRID







All they needed was an international break to regroup and focus. The start was shocking, but Simeone picked his team up and they brought him back a 0-4 at Celta Vigo and a 5-0 over Sporting Gijón. Now that the season is really starting, with Champions League games also being a factor in team management, Atleti responded with three successive wins and all clean sheets. Impressive





                                 The League


Latest results


It has been a very lackluster start for La Liga, with the big teams smashing their opponenets more often than being upset, even though Atleti started with two draws and Barca was stunned by Alaves. There are, however, two big surprises, one positive and one negative. We start with Valencia that has just been shocking. They have been going on a downward spiral, even though Jorge Mendes is (in)directly involved in the club. The good surprise is Las Palmas. Four games and they were only defeated by Sevilla, having started the season with a 2-4 win at the Mestalla. It’s unlikely they’ll carry on with this form, but they have a good chance to prove themselves on Saturday 24th, when they host Real Madrid. 


Table after 4 matches - Las Palmas would finish the league now as they swap roles with Valencia



Top Goalscorers


Messi, Suárez, Griezmann...we're only missing Ronaldo and Neymar


Next Fixtures


Games to follow :

Round 4 : Barcelona (2nd) vs Atl. Madrid (4th) ; Sevilla (5th) vs Bétis (12th)
Round 5 : Las Palmas (3rd) vs Real Madrid (1st) ; Atl. Madrid (4th) vs Deportivo La Coruña (11th)



Liga Nos - The early stages



LIGA NOS


In Portugal things started as you would expect, with the three big teams doing their business with some tough hurdles to overcome and some slips that tend to happen. This is a league where there’s a lot of football discussion, mainly with refereeing nonsense but even those background noises have been kept to a minimum as things haven’t heated up yet.



                             
     


SL BENFICA






A lot of injuries have been marking Benfica’s start of season, but the 3-time champions have dealt well, securing 3 tough away wins whilst missing last season’s striking duo of Jonas and Mitroglu. The Greek was already back for the match against Braga, and the former Fulham man made is impact felt with a brace, a brace that helped Benfica regain the lead.



                                          
                 


SPORTING CP







They were having the perfect start of the season. Four wins out of four in the league, and even the first defeat came in Europe, but in a positive manner – if a defeat can be positive – as they manhandled Real Madrid and deserved far more than what they got.
 The real question is what happened at Vila do Conde, where they conceded 3 goals in 15 minutes that made them give away the top spot. Jesus rotated a lot of the squad, though, and surely some of those players will have trouble coming back to the starting XI after that horrible display.

                                
  


  FC PORTO







It hasn’t been brilliant, but Nuno Espírito Santo has been able to get the results that keep his team in the fight, even though they already lost 5 points this season. It has been a very young squad, eager to prove themselves worthy to wear the Porto shirt, with names like André Silva, Otávio or Óliver being the most positive so far. The draw at Tondela was lackluster but nothing is lost yet, and as all the big teams have slipped up anything is up to grabs.





                                 The League



Latest Results



Benfica made the most of Sporting’s thrashing at the Estádio dos Arcos and took back the lead from Jorge Jesus much earlier than last season and they know they won’t win all games after the feat, like they did to win the 3rd title in a row. Rui Vitória will face an interesting test against Chaves, the other unbeaten team in the league, whilst always looking at Porto. If both teams do their bidding, the clash in 10th matchday can be very important, but Porto needs to win the games against the likes of Tondela, dead last that took half of their points tally against the 2004 european champions. 



The order will change throughout the season, but we predict the top 4 will be those there now. An easy prediction




Top Goalscorers


Marega started his loan spell from Porto with a bang


Next Fixtures


Games to follow :

Round 6 - FC Porto (3rd) vs Boavista (12th) ; Chaves (6th) vs Benfica (1st)
Round 7 - Vit.Guimarães (10th) vs Sporting (2nd) ; Nacional (15th) vs FC Porto (3rd)



Ligue 1 - The early stages



LIGUE 1


 With more games than the other leagues, Ligue 1 is one of the most open, mostly due to the fact that PSG, the force that has dominated last years started slowly and teams like Monaco or Nice took their chance. It seems certain, though, this won’t be a boring league, not like last year.


                  
     


PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN



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You only know how much you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Zlatan left Paris, and with him it looks like there is a void in the PSG team. Not of quality, because even though Ibra is great, there’s still aplenty, but more of leadership. An home draw and a loss to Monaco is not a good enough start and with teams eager to over throne them, Emery needs to step up a notch.

                                                      
     


AS MONACO






When Leonardo Jardim was signed, Monaco was still a team that seemed ready to splash the cash in players they thought would improve the team. Things have clearly change since then, with the Portuguese manager creating a young team, with raw talent that he molds into players capable of winning titles. The start was fabulous, with the headlines going to Bernardo Silva, an exciting attacking midfielder that could be one of the next big transfers in Europe.

                             
      


OGC NICE






 Following the good season they had, Nice started 2016/17 trying to make a name for themselves. To that purpose they went to the transfer market and they brought some reinforcements with two big names in Dante and Balotelli. The Italian made instant impact in the win against Marseille, while the Brazilian comes to bring experience and leadership to a side that is involved in the Europa League and is still unbeaten in the league.





                                 The League


Latest Results


There’s a strange feel to this league as there’s one main goal to 19 of the teams in it – Do no let PSG win it and maybe the best of the rest have it could make for a very interesting league to follow. Unay Emery’s team is struggling to find consistency, but the win against Caen was very convincing. Jardim’s Monaco is still on top, capitalizing on the great win over the Paris rivals, while Nice is unbeaten and trying to recreate the glory of the 50’s where they won the 4 titles in their history

After such a dull year, is nice to see someone other than PSG on top of the league


Top Goalscorers


Lacazette started well, but his team is failing him. Cavani scored 4 against Caen and hopes to carry that form



Next Fixtures

Games to follow :

Round 6 - Nice (2nd) vs Monaco (1st) ; Metz (4th) vs Bordeuax (5th)
Round 7 - Toulouse (6th) vs PSG (3rd) ; Marseille (15th) vs Nantes (18th)





Premier League - The early stages


PREMIER LEAGUE



The first duel between Mourinho and Guardiola, in Manchester, gave the boost to the Citizens, as they now hold the lead of best league in Europe. Teams are still warming up, but in England the games come thick and fast, and there are no easy games, an upset is always lurking

                       
 


 MANCHESTER CITY







Guardiola came, he saw, and he seems ready to conquer. In the first big test he faced, Pep’s team went to Old Trafford, to face their big rivals United, and he was without his main striker Aguero. That only made his victory tastier, really, as City is now top of the league, counting by victories the games they play, and with Guardiola already getting the best out of players like De Bruyne, Nolito or Sterling.



                                                    
        


 CHELSEA







Conte is putting Chelsea back on the top, the place they let go in incredible fashion last season. Without any European competition to play, the Blues can focus on the league, and things were going well until the trip to Wales, where Chelsea was lucky to get out with a point. In the last match Liverpool went to Stanford Bridge to win a game that let Conte very upset, a result they need to avoid if they want to keep up with Man. City
  

                   
  


 MANCHESTER UNITED







How things change in a week. After being defeated, quite clearly, by Man.City at Old Trafford, Mourinho is yet to turn things around, having now 3 consecutive losses and in need to pick up the morale of the team but, especially, the fanbase that are eager for success but still aren’t sure that Pogba and Ibra will be the players to bring glory back to them.


                   
   


TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR







Pochettino surely will have learn some good lessons after last season, and one of those seems to be that, in the beginning of the season, points have priority over quality of play. You want to keep those two together, but if the wins came in any shape or form, you’ll take it and Spurs have relied on a strong defense to get them. Kane only scored once and is now injured, it will be interesting to see where the goals will come from for Pocchetino’s side.


                             
   

ARSENAL









After a very shaky start, with only 1 point out of 6 possible, Wenger faced a better stint where his team had to prove themselves and, guided by an in-form Alexis Sanchéz, the Gunners went back to winning ways and getting themselves ready to try and go for the big title again. For that to happen, though, they have to look more solid at the back, especially when they face the teams around them, where Arsenal usually loses out.


                        
    


LEICESTER CITY







Being champion is fantastic, especially for a team like Leicester, but that will bring attention over them, with all the teams giving that little extra in trying to beat you. To counter that you have to bring new elements to their game, and it feels like Rainieri might have struck gold with Slimani. A great debut against Burnley where he already seemed a part of the furniture, liking up very well with Vardy and, especially, with fellow Algerian Mahrez. And if Barça has MSN, Leicester hopes that MVS is as effective.




                                                           
 
 


LIVERPOOL







Liverpool had one of the hardest set initial fixtures around the league, but that’s exactly what Klopp’s team relishes on. Big games, big moments, because when the lights are not on them, as they go to Turf Moor to face Burnley for example, they bottle it and lose points that are the difference between Europa League or Champions,  Liverpool won three games so far, 2 in London (Arsenal and Chelsea) and against the champions Leicester, whilst also drawing at White Hart Lane. Yes, Liverpool also only played one home game yet.
Did I mention Liverpool had an unbelievably tough start?



                                 The League

Latest Results


The win against Man.United meant much more than the lead. The display that Guardiola’s team had at the Old Trafford showed that the Spaniard’s influence is already being felt and as the season progresses the tendency is to only get better. So, one question starts to emerge, will anyone be able to keep up? It’s hard to predict, Chelsea and United seemed the most up for it, but they faced their own slumps and things are looking good at the Etthiad.

Word for West Ham and their shocking defending. With Payet less effusive the inconsistency in the back is more under notice and the team needs to bounce back or they will be involved in a fight that’s not theirs. 



Guardiola is top at a new league again and the question is the same. Can anyone stop him?

Top Goalscorers


Diego Costa is on top form with Conte, but is the right winger Antonio that is the big surprise in the list


Next Fixtures


Games to follow :

Round 6 - Man.United (7th) vs Leicester (11th) ; Arsenal (4th) vs Chelsea (5th)
Round 7 - Tottenham (3rd) vs Man. City (1st) ; Hull (12th) vs Chelsea (5th)