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Madrid halt Barcelona progress in El Clasico
Real Madrid defeat Barcelona 3-1 in season's first El Classico
- Barcelona's front-3 combined within 3 minutes to fire the first goal.
- Neymar opened the scoring for Barca with a superd goal in the 3rd minute thanks to a brilliant cross by Louis Suarez who looked great in the first half but rusty in the 2nd& ultimately was substituted in the 69th minute.
- Ronaldo leveled with style in the 34th minute thanks to Gerrard Pique who appeared to slip and accidentally conceded a penalty.
- Madrid went 2-1 ahead in the 50th minute with a bullet-header from defender Pepe on Toni Kroos' well crafted corner kick.
- Barcelona left themselves dangerously open at the back in an attempt to equalize but it backfired into a team move for Real as Iniesta played in to Ronaldo who connected with James Rodriguez to find Benzema for a through-ball. Benzema thus, sealing the victory for Real Madrid in the 61st minute with the scoreline reading 3-1.
- Lionel Messi missed several chances mainly due to being bogged down by too many Madrid defenders.
- Luka Modric & Toni Kroos controlled the pace in the Midfield.
- Iker Casillas had a superb game and answered his critics who questioned his place in the Madrid side.
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Messi, Ronaldo brace up for Champions League Record
Star Players gear up for Champions League all-time Goal scorer Record
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| Image Courtesy: goal.com |
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| Image Courtesy: goal.com |
Its Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo once again, for what appears to be about the 3843732839244th time in the last decade, this time both of the greats gunning up for all-time scoring record in the Champions League.
The duo are inseparable rivals of the decade like any other sport has had in the past, Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier in Boxing, Bjorn Borg & John McEnroe in Tennis, these two thrive due to each other, its almost as if they are parasites feeding of each others brilliance, trying to one-up each other on every step of their careers.
Currently the Portuguese captain Ronaldo has 69 goals in his account while Messi sits on 68.
Its just a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' the all-time scoring record of 71 goals held by Spaniard Raul will be surpassed.
The degree of competitiveness can be measured from the last 5 years since Ronaldo came to Madrid, he has netted 54 goals in 53 Champions league appearances whereas Messi scored 51 times in 55 matches.
Prior to this move, Ronaldo had scored only 15 goals in 52 appearances for Man Utd & Messi scored 17 goals in his 35 games for Barca.
It is quite evident that these two legends need each other. Ronaldo & Messi are destined to chase each other in the hunt for more trophies, achievements, records & goals till they finally hang up their boots.
One thing is for sure, barring any injuries, the mark for most goals scored by a player in Champions League is set be exchanged multiple times between the two of them for seasons to come.
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Barcelona rattled by PSG in Champions League
PSG defeat Barcelona 3-2 in an epic contest
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| David Luiz celebrates after scoring. |
"This is the best win of my life", said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG President.
Luiz put his name on the score-sheet in the 10th minute, but the early advantage was equalized by Lionel Messi in the 12th minute. Verratti snuck in through the poor Barcelona defence in the 26th minute to put PSG ahead again.
But it was midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who showed some finishing skills to give PSG a 3-1 lead in the 54th minute but Brazilian star Forward Neymar Jr scored for Barcelona just 2 minutes later, making it 3-2.
After that, Barcelona tried and tried to equalize & same themselves from embarrassment but luck was not on their side.
Meanwhile, Messi scored his 68th Champions League goal & 402nd career goal, just 3 behind all-time leader Raul Gonzalez.
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Neymar scores on return while Suarez debuts for Barcelona
Suarez, Neymar makes returns for Barcelona
Neymar was cleared to play just hours before the game but he showed no signs of any injury & netted twice in the 12th & 44th minute after setting up the opening goal for Lionel Messi in the 3rd minute.
Barcelona youth forwards Munir El Haddadi scored in the 54th & 77th and Sandro Ramirez added another in the 89th.
Both Neymar & Suarez were given a warm welcome by the fans. Neymar was shined as he was fully exposed, however Suarez managed a few touches in his 15-minute stay coming on in the 75th minute as a substitute.
This was the last match Suarez will play for Barca till his ban on playing competitive matches is lifted on 25th October. Barcelona start their Spanish league campaign against Elche on Sunday.
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Suarez Ban Upheld
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Neymar to return with Suarez
Strikers expected to play alongside for the first time
Brazilian star striker Neymar has been cleared to play for the first time since suffering a broken vertebra in his back during the 2-1 victory against Colombia in the QuarterFinal of World Cup when Barcelona play Mexican side Club Leon on Monday.
Neymar could play for the first time with the club's new signing Luis Suarez as he is expected to make his Barcelona debut after being cleared to play in friendly matches last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, upholding the 4-month ban from competitive games.
Neymar missed out Brazil's further World Cup campaign which consisted of the disastrous 7-1 semi-final drubbing by Germany & the 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the 3rd place play-off on home soil after suffering the injury when he was kneed in the back by Juan Camilo Zuniga.
However, the 22-year-old revealed that had the impact of Zuniga's knee been centimetres higher, he could have been left paralyzed.
Argentine sensation Lionel Messi is also likely to get his first outing since the heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final to Germany on Monday as the Catalan Club finalize their pre-season build up to the start of La Liga when they host Elche on Sunday.
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Suarez Ban Upheld
Uruguayan Luis Suarez's 4-month ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during Uruguay's 1-0 win at the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, he was cleared to train with Barcelona.
CAS says FIFA's sanctions against Suarez are "generally proportionate to the offence committed."
Suarez will be eligible to play for Barca from October 26, as he remains banned for Uruguay's next 8 international matches.
However, the court's panel said that the ban on any soccer-related activity is "excessive." & thus, allowed him to train and be involved in promotional activities for the Catalan Club.
Neymar joins Barca teammates
The Brazillian star striker Neymar boosted Barcleona preparations by finally joining his teammates for training.
Neymar suffered a fractured vertebrae, courtesy of a knee by Colombian defender Camilo Zuniga, which ended his world cup dream run prematurely. But after just under 6 weeks of rehabilitation, it was time for him to join Barcelona teammates for a full training session.
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Daniel Agger begs for Liverpool Exit
Liverpool vice-captain could be set for a move to Barcelona after reportedly handing in a transfer request to the club.
Speculation has continued to grow that the Danish defender wants to leave after failing to secure regular first-team football under Brendan Rodgers and The Daily Mirror says a 'tearful' Agger pleaded with Rodgers to let him leave, with the Catalans favourite to add their second Liverpool player this summer.- See more at: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/transfer-window/transfer-roundup-tearful-agger-pleads-for-liverpool-exit-while-united-chase-colombian-star-30490188.html#sthash.bz5TK6u6.dpuf
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Neymar returns after Back Injury
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Neymar returns after Back Injury
Barcelona confirmed that star striker Neymar Jr has started his training after passing a medical test as he recovers from a fractured vertebra sustained a collision with Colombian defender Juan Camilo Zuniga during Brazil's 2-1 quarterfinal victory at the World Cup quarterfinals last month.
The 22-year-old Brazilian trained away from his teammates after being examined by team doctors on Tuesday.
The Catalan Club also welcomed back Argentina's star forward Lionel Messi, with a rather shocking hair-cut, after the hear-breaking loss in the World Cup Final.He was cleared to train on Tuesday after a standard medical exam as he begins his preseason preparations.
The club says Neymar's progress will decide when he rejoins the team for regular training.
Barcelona hosts Elche on August 24 in the opening match of the Spanish league season.
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Neymar Jr Confident of Full Fitness
Neymar Jr is in Japan for a series of promotional events. He was very optimistic about his physical shape: “I am recovering from the injury day by day. I’ll be coming back to Barcelona 100% fit" he said to the Japanese Media.
Neymar Jr will return to FC Barcelona on the 5 August, & he expects himself to be fit for the Joan Gamper Trophy match. The 22-year-old Brazilian can’t wait to get started: "I want to have a really good season and I'm looking forward to helping my teammates to get some good results".
Neymar Jr. suffered a fracture in his third lumbar vertebra after a brutal knee in the back by Zuniga in the quarter-final match against Colombia in the FIFA World Cup 2014. Since then, he’s on recovery, following a treatment schedule in accordance with the Club Medical Services and the CBF.
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Lionel Messi almost joined Arsenal
Madrid: Some leading sports websites are claiming that Lionel Messi was interested in a transfer to English Premier League club Arsenal before signing an extension with the Catalan giants in May 2014.
The 27-year-old was locked in contract extension talks with Barcelona & reportedly bonus payments was a cause for concern for both parties.
Leading Spanish website Vozpopuli claimed that Messi had asked Barca teammate & former Arsenal midfielder, Cesc Fabregas, who joined Chelsea in the summer, to talk to his agent Darren Dein about a move to the London based club.
Messi has a buy-out clause approximately around a whopping 197 m Pounds & the Argentine player earns a massive 16 m pounds a year in wages.
Suarez signs with Barcelona
Since joining Liverpool from Ajax for £22.7m in 2011, Suarez had made no secret of his desire to play in Spain at some point. Reds director of football Damien Comolli had warned then-manager Kenny Dalglish shortly after Liverpool signed him; Suarez had told players and staff. It was an open secret.
2013-14 had been a season in which he had repaired some of the damage he had done to his reputation over three controversial years in England. His deep feeling for Liverpool and its fans was intact, even if the same could not be said of his view of the British media.
Not only had he inspired Liverpool to heights of which few had thought them capable, he had been the clear choice for the player of the year awards given by both the Professional Footballers' Association and the Football Writers' Association.
But what was on his mind - and had been for some time - was the chance of a career-defining move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Senior figures at Liverpool were aware that an offer from either of the two Spanish giants would give them a problem.
Last summer, Barcelona bought Neymar from Brazilian side Santos for about £49m and Real signed Gareth Bale from Spurs for a world-record £85m. There had long been a feeling that, this summer, Suarez was high on both their lists. The La Liga pair were top of his.
via:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28220991
Related: FIFA rejects Suarez appeal
