ENGLAND: Foden seizes chance with tired City to clinch Spurs win
MANCHESTER, England — Watching Manchester City's Champions League slugfest against Tottenham, Phil Foden sensed his side's energy-sapping exit could present an opportunity.
As a youngster in football's costliest-assembled squad, the 18-year-old Foden has to be patient to get game time under Pep Guardiola.
"He said he will give me opportunities when the lads are a bit tired," Foden said. "So I'm just waiting for that."
When it came on Saturday against Tottenham — completing a trilogy of matches against the north London club since April 9 — Foden scored his first Premier League goal on only his second start.
It took Foden five minutes to head into the net, sealing a 1-0 victory that returned City to the top of the league, a point ahead of Liverpool with four games remaining.
"Phil is incredibly talented but we have to handle him in the right moment," Guardiola said. "We needed his capacity to press high. He's a guy who has the quality to arrive in the box. I trust a lot in him."
Bernardo Silva was the architect of the goal, sending in a cross that Sergio Agüero nodded across the face of goal and Foden directed a powerful diving header into the net.
"It just felt it's everything I have been working for since a kid," Foden said.
In a squad transformed by Abu Dhabi wealth over 11 years, Foden is a connection with Manchester as the only locally born player in the lineup on Saturday after not even making the squad in the European game against Tottenham three days earlier.
Despite seeing fellow 2017 Under-17s World Cup winner Jadon Sancho leave City to gain first-time experience at Borussia Dortmund, Foden is determined to stick it out.
"It's very difficult because obviously the team are all great lads and great players," Foden said on Malaysian broadcaster Stadium Astro on the field after Saturday's win. "I'm still 18 years old so there's no rush really. ... Everyone has their own plan. Some go, some stay and I see myself playing here in the future
"I love this club and I want to play for them in the future and forever."
The immediate priority for City is wrapping up a treble by defending the Premier League and beating Watford in the FA Cup final next month, having already collected the League Cup.
City's quest for a first European Cup was ended by Tottenham, which lost 4-3 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday but advanced on away goals with a 4-4 aggregate score.
Tottenham's priority before facing Ajax in the Champions League semifinals is fortifying its place in the Premier League's top four to ensure it has a place in Europe's elite competition next season without having to win it.
After a fifth successive away league loss, third-place Tottenham is only one point ahead of London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
"It is in our hands to be in the Champions League next season," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. "Now it's about trying to be strong and recovering the energy."
CLOSE TO SAFETY
Ayoze Perez's hat trick all but guaranteed Newcastle will remain in the Premier League next season after securing a 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Newcastle is 10 points clear of Cardiff in the relegation zone after a sixth win in the last seven home games in the league.
The tougher challenge for Newcastle could be keeping manager Rafa Benitez, who wants investment in the squad.
"Right now you see our position and we are not competing," Benitez said. "We have to compete."
DEULOFEU DOUBLE
Gerard Deulofeu scored twice to give Watford a 2-1 win at already relegated Huddersfield. Watford's sixth win on the road this season kept the seventh-place team on course for its highest Premier League finish.
SURVIVAL FIGHT
Brighton frustrated Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 0-0 draw to gain a key point in its scrap with Cardiff to avoid relegation.
Brighton is three points ahead of Cardiff, which occupies the final relegation place and hosts Liverpool on Sunday.
PARKER BOOST
After starting with five successive losses, Scott Parker has a second victory as caretaker manager of already relegated Fulham.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty eight minutes into the second half after being brought down by Jack Simpson to clinch a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth.
Fulham beat Everton 2-0 in its previous league game.
LEICESTER FIGHTBACK
Leicester twice came from behind to hold West Ham to a 2-2 draw.
Jamie Vardy's close-range finish in the 67th minute canceled out Michail Antonio's first-half header.
West Ham regained the lead in the 82nd when Lucas Perez tapped the ball in four minutes after coming on as a substitute but Harvey Barnes curled in his first Leicester goal in stoppage time.
Leicester is eighth in the standings, while West Ham is 11th.
GERMANY: Bayern extends lead in Bundesliga to 4 points
MUNICH — Bayern Munich extended its lead in the Bundesliga to four points with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Center back Niklas Sule scored in the 75th minute with Bayern's 22nd shot of the game, his effort taking a deflection off Bremen's Davy Klaassen.
Bremen lost Milos Veljkovic to a second yellow card near the hour mark at the Allianz Arena.
"I wish that we would have used the multiple chances we had to get 2-0 or 3-0, but the 1-0 is enough," said Bayern coach Niko Kovac. "The win is fully deserved."
Bayern leads with 70 points and has four games left. Second-place Borussia Dortmund, which plays at Freiburg on Sunday, has 66 points.
Coming into the game, Bremen had not lost in any competition in 2019, and had scored in every one of its Bundesliga matches this season.
Also Saturday, third-place Leipzig won 2-1 at fifth-place Borussia Moenchengladbach. Sixth-place Hoffenheim defeated Schalke 5-2.
In other matches, Augsburg thrashed relegation-threatened Stuttgart 6-0 and Bayer Leverkusen beat 17th-place Nuremberg 2-0.
Mainz beat Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-1 in a mid-table clash.
ITALY: Ronaldo plays key role as Juventus wins 8th straight title
ROME — Cristiano Ronaldo played a key role in the winning goal and Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-1 Saturday to clinch a record-extending eighth straight Serie A title.
It's the first time in Europe's five major leagues — Italy, England, Spain, Germany and France — that a club has won eight straight titles.
And it was a big relief for Juventus following its elimination by Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday, after failing to clinch last weekend with a surprise loss at Spal.
"It was upsetting and negative on Tuesday," Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci said. "Today we turned our anger toward the pitch and transformed it into positive energy to achieve this goal."
Juventus needed only a point but quickly fell behind when Nikola Milenkovic took advantage of confusion inside the Bianconeri area to score for Fiorentina six minutes in.
However, Alex Sandro headed in from a corner for the equalizer and Ronaldo's cross from a sharp angle was then redirected in by Fiorentina defender German Pezzella either side of halftime.
Ronaldo, who joined Juventus for this season from Real Madrid, became the first player to win the English Premier League (with Manchester United), the Spanish league (with Madrid) and Serie A.
"It was a very good first season and I adapted well. We won the 'scudetto' and the Italian Super Cup, which is certainly not easy to achieve," Ronaldo said. "You can't win all the time. We felt that we could do more ... but only one side can win the Champions League.
"Next year is a new page, the fans all want it and so do we," Ronaldo said of the Champions League, adding that he's "1,000 percent" certain he will stay with Juventus for next season.
After the final whistle, Juventus players celebrated by forming a circle and jumping up and down clapping their hands. Then they drank champagne and some players invited their children out to take part in the festivities.
Juventus moved 20 points ahead of second-place Napoli, which has six games left.
It was Juventus' 35th title overall. However, the jumbo screens inside Allianz Stadium flashed No. 37 to include the 2005 and 2006 titles that were stripped in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
The only other club in the top five European leagues that had won seven straight was Lyon in France from 2002-08.
The Juventus women's team also clinched the Italian title Saturday, with a 3-0 win at Hellas Verona in the final round of the season. It's the second consecutive title for the women's squad.
The men's team had to come from behind, as Milenkovic's goal was the earliest Juventus has conceded all season.
Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was lying on the ground in apparent pain following contact near the post when the ball bounced toward Milenkovic, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
Szczesny had his hand treated and had to stay attentive as Fiorentina kept on threatening with counterattacks.
Federico Chiesa, a reported transfer target for Juventus, hit the post from the edge of the area in the 34th.
Three minutes later, Sandro put Juventus in front. Since Sandro's Serie A debut in 2015, the left back has been directly involved in 23 goals (10 goals and 13 assists) — more than any other defender in the Italian league.
Still, there were more moments of concern for Juventus as Chiesa hit the crossbar two minutes before the break.
Order was restored in the second half as Ronaldo aimed his cross toward Federico Bernardeschi and Pezzella turned it into his own net as he attempted to intercept the pass.
Szczesny preserved the advantage with a difficult save on Bryan Dabo in the 90th.
"Congratulations to Juve," Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said. "They definitely didn't win the league today. They earned it over the entire season."
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACES
AC Milan's hold on a Champions League spot was in jeopardy following a 1-1 draw at Parma.
Samu Castillejo headed in for Milan midway through the second half before center back Bruno Alves curled in a spectacular free kick to equalize three minutes from time.
Milan remained in fourth place — the last Champions League spot — but was only one point ahead of Roma, which drew 1-1 at third-place Inter Milan.
Lazio may have fallen out of contention for the Champions League with a 2-1 loss at home to already relegated Chievo Verona.
Lazio was left with 10 men when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off with a straight red in the first half. After being fouled by Mariusz Stepinski, Milinkovic-Savic reacted by kicking the opponent.
Emanuel Vignato and Perparim Hetemaj scored early in the second half for Chievo before Felipe Caicedo pulled one back for Lazio.
Lazio dropped to eighth, four points behind Milan.
At the San Siro, Stephan El Shaarawy opened for Roma before Ivan Perisic's equalizer.
OTHER RESULTS
Torino leapfrogged Lazio into seventh with a 1-0 win at Genoa, courtesy of a second-half goal from Cristian Ansaldi.
Andrea Petagna scored a brace as Spal followed up its memorable victory over Juventus last week with a 4-2 win at relegation-threatened Empoli.
Bologna, which is just above the drop zone, beat Sampdoria 3-0 with an own-goal from Lorenzo Tonelli and goals from Erick Pulgar and Riccardo Orsolini.
Also, Joao Pedro's goal gave mid-table Cagliari a 1-0 victory over second-from-last Frosinone, and Udinese and Sassuolo played to a 1-1 draw.
Except for Napoli vs. Atalanta, which is scheduled for Monday, all of Serie A is being played on Saturday due to the Easter holiday.
SPAIN: Barcelona beats Real Sociedad, keeps big Spanish league lead
MADRID — Step by step, Barcelona is moving closer to the treble.
Days after beating Manchester United to reach the Champions League semifinals, Barcelona turned its focus to the Spanish league and defeated Real Sociedad 2-1.
Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba scored a goal in each half at Camp Nou Stadium as Barcelona kept a nine-point lead over Atletico Madrid, which had beaten Eibar earlier in the day. The Catalan club can secure its eighth league title in 11 seasons midweek if it wins at Alaves and Atletico loses to Valencia at home. That would leave Barcelona 12 points ahead of Atletico with only four games left and a better head-to-head record.
Lionel Messi and other regular starters had been rested in the 0-0 draw against last-place Huesca last weekend as coach Ernesto Valverde prioritized the Champions League quarterfinal second leg against United. Barcelona wants to seal the league title as soon as possible so it can fully focus on the European tournament it hasn't won since 2015. After beating United 4-0 on aggregate, it will face Liverpool in the semifinals in May.
"Playing after these Champions League matches are always difficult," Valverde said. "People may think we are the champions already, but we are not. We have to keep winning our matches until the league title is finally decided."
Barcelona will also play in the Copa del Rey final against Valencia on May 25.
The win at Camp Nou extended Barcelona's unbeaten streak to 20 matches in all competitions. It hasn't lost in the league since November.
Barcelona was far from its best on Sunday, but it still had enough to earn the win against its mid-table opponent.
Lenglet opened the scoring with a header off a corner just before halftime and Alba netted the winner with a low shot from inside the area in the 64th, just a few minutes after Juanmi equalized from close range for the visitors.
Sociedad, which has won only one of its last nine matches, stayed 10th in the standings. It hasn't been able to win points at Camp Nou in more than two decades.
Struggling Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho was jeered again by part of the local crowd when he replaced Ousmane Dembele in the second half.
ATLETICO WINS LATE
Atletico Madrid had moved within six points of the lead with a 1-0 win at Eibar, when Thomas Lemar scored in the 85th minute.
The win left Atletico seven points clear of third-place Real Madrid, which hosts Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Diego Simeone's team is looking to finish runner-up for the second straight season. Before winning the league in 2014, Atletico hadn't finished better than second since 1990-91.
It got the win over Eibar despite playing without suspended forwards Diego Costa and Antoine Griezmann. Costa is out for the season after being handed an eight-match suspension for insulting a referee in a loss at Barcelona two weeks ago.
Atletico struggled to take control of the match at Ipurua Stadium, unable to create many significant scoring chances until Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion broke free and sent a perfect cross for Lemar's close-range shot by the far post.
"It's always difficult to play here," Koke said. "We are glad we were able to win the match. We got the three points and we'll keep fighting until the end."
It was the fourth win in five matches for Atletico, with the only setback being a loss at Barcelona two weeks ago.
Eibar, which has won only one of its last seven matches, stayed 13th in the 20-team standings after 33 matches.
CELTA'S RELIEF
Celta Vigo took a step toward escaping relegation with a 2-1 home win over Girona.
Sofiane Boufal netted the 69th-minute winner for the hosts, which had opened the scoring with Iago Aspas in the 34th before Portu equalized for Girona in the 48th.
The win moved Celta to 14th place, three points from the relegation zone.
Girona, which has lost five straight in the league, dropped to 15th. Its next match is at Valladolid, the first team currently inside the relegation zone.
Also Saturday, second-to-last Rayo Vallecano was held 0-0 at home by last-place Huesca. Rayo had a goal disallowed for offside after a video review early in the second half.
FRANCE: Marseille wins 3-1 at Guingamp to keep pressure on Lyon
PARIS — Fourth-place Marseille kept alive its chances of finishing third in the French league with a 3-1 win at struggling Guingamp on Saturday.
Marseille was without Mario Balotelli in attack but went ahead in the fourth minute through midfielder Luiz Gustavo. Winger Lucas Ocampos doubled the lead shortly before the break. Yeni Ngbakoto pulled one back for 19th-place Guingamp in the 56th before forward Valere Germain's injury-time goal made it 3-1.
Second place earns automatic qualification for the Champions League, while third is for the qualifying rounds.
Marseille is five points behind third-place Lyon, which beat Angers 2-1 at home on Friday, and one point ahead of fifth-place Saint-Etienne, which plays on Sunday.
After this weekend, there are five rounds remaining, including Marseille at home to Lyon on May 12.
OTHER MATCHES
Forward Josh Maja scored his first goal for Bordeaux since joining in January from third-tier English side Sunderland , but it wasn't enough as ninth-place Nimes rallied to win 2-1.
Striker Andy Delort netted once in each half as sixth-place Montpellier won 3-1 at Strasbourg, reaching a career-high tally of 13 league goals in the first division in the process.
Caen leapfrogged over Guingamp and moved off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 win at eighth-place Nice.
TIME TO CELEBRATE?
On Sunday, defending champion Paris Saint-Germain is looking to clinch this season's title at its fourth attempt. A home win against Monaco guarantees the eighth title in its history. But celebrations can begin earlier Sunday if Lille, which is 17 points behind PSG, fails to win at Toulouse.
Runaway leader PSG's recent form has been surprisingly poor, with one point from the past three games .
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário