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Klopp loves visiting the Bridge, Mourinho’s 3rd straight loss | Premier League 5 Things
Vietnam enter knockout stage at 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup
Despite losing 0-2 to Italy in their last match of Group C at the ongoing Colombian Futsal World Cup early on the morning of September 18 (Vietnam time), Coach Bruno Garcia Formoso’s players still secured tickets to round 16 as one of the top four teams, ranking third overall.
Facing world No. 3 Italy – one of the title favourites, Vietnam aimed at one point or a loss with limited goal difference. Before the final match, the Vietnamese side had three points with a -4 goal difference, ranking fourth on the list of six top third-placed teams, ahead of Panama (-8) and Australia (-11). Therefore, if losing by less than four goals, Vietnam would secure a place in round 16.
The situation forced the 39th in the world to play defensively, even though it meant that captain Bao Quan and his teammates had to endure tremendous pressure from Italy. However, with great determination and a talented goalkeeper (Ngo Dinh Thuan), in addition to smart substitutions from Coach Bruno, Vietnam’s target was protected in the best way possible.
The two goals against Vietnam in the qualifier came as a result of set situations. In the 5th minute, Italy’s Lima used his advantage of fitness and strength to hold-up and powerfully finish the opener after his teammate’s side kick. In the 26th minute, the same thing happened when Italy was awarded a corner kick. This time Murilo scored when he was allowed to take the ball on an open goal square. This was a rare error made by Vietnam in the match.
Prior to the clash, Italy had already secured a place in the next round thanks to two wins over Paraguay and Guatemala.
In addition to a strong defense line, Vietnam, who are enjoying their first-ever World Cup, also made a mark with a range of attacks, most notably several long shots on goal. If the team was blessed with a little more luck, they might have even made a surprise.
In the first minutes, a powerful volley from Phung Trong Luan rocked Italy’s goal square after the ball hit the pole. At the 24th minute, Pham Duc Hoa made a decisive finish from outside the box but again the ball was deflected by the pole. In the last minutes of the game, Tran Van Vu startled goalkeeper Mammarella with an accurate long shot.
However, the team was still successful in their target of guaranteeing a limited loss 0-2 until the end of the game.
In the next round, Vietnam will encounter strong rivals Portugal or Russia.
In the remaining match of Group C, Paraguay beat Guatemala 7-3 to occupy second place.
Real Madrid net record 16th straight win
Real Madrid shrugged off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to record a club record 16th consecutive league win 2-0 at Espanyol to stay top of La Liga on Sunday (Sep 18).
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema celebrates with teammates after scoring during the Spanish league football match against Espanyol at the Cornella-El Prat stadium. (AFP/Pau Barrena)
James Rodriguez made the most of a rare start to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time before Karim Benzema sealed all three points 20 minutes from time.
Victory restores Real’s three-point lead over Barcelona and Las Palmas and equals Barca’s La Liga record of 16 straight wins under Pep Guardiola in 2010/11.
“I am happy not just with the goals of James and Karim but with their performance in general,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. “They have talent that can make the difference, but the most important thing is that they work as hard as they did together.”
Without the ill Ronaldo and injured Bale, Madrid took their time to get going and captain Sergio Ramos was lucky to escape an early sending-off when he handled Hernan Perez’s shot after picking up a booking inside two minutes.
Espanyol have now lost their last nine meetings with Real, but had a great chance to go in front when poor defending from Pepe gifted the ball to Leo Baptistao inside the area only for the Brazilian to fire straight at Kiko Casilla.
Rodriguez was making his first start in 133 days after shining in Madrid’s miraculous late come from behind win against Sporting Lisbon in midweek.
And the Colombian made his case for a more regular spot in Zinedine Zidane’s midfield when he nutmegged Pape Diop just before the break and planted a fine left-footed effort into the bottom corner.
“It has always been my dream to play here,” Rodriguez told BeIN Sports on his reasoning for not forcing through a move away from the Bernabeu during the recently closed transfer window. “I am just one more player, but if I can score and create goals then all the better.”
Once in front Zidane’s men controlled the game in the second period.
Former Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez made a stunning save to prevent Benzema’s volley on the turn extending the visitors lead and then also turned away a decent effort from outside the box by the Frenchman.
However, Benzema wasn’t to be denied a third time when he swept home Lucas Vazquez’s low cross at the near post.
Elsewhere, Valencia sank to the bottom of the table as the only side without a point this season as Los Che surrendered an early 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao.
“I have to think about how to turn this situation around,” said under-fire Valencia coach Pako Ayestaran.
Nani set up Alvaro Medran to put the visitors in front after just two minutes.
However, Benat Etxebarria teed up Aritz Aduriz for his first two goals of the season to turn the game around before half-time and confine Valencia to their worst start in 17 years.
“When a team has gone on a run of three defeats and receive a blow that they don’t expect, it affects them,” added Ayestaran. “We forgot how to play. The team are distraught.”
At the other end of the table, Villarreal moved up to sixth with their third win in a week as Nicola Sansone’s first-half double earned a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.
Celta Vigo moved off the bottom with their first point of the season in a 0-0 draw at Osasuna.
Spanish La Liga results:
Osasuna 0 Celta Vigo 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Valencia 1
Villarreal 2 Real Sociedad 1
Espanyol 0 Real Madrid 2
Source AFP
More woe for Mourinho as Watford stun United
Watford piled on the misery for Jose Mourinho as Manchester United crashed to a third successive defeat in an embarrassing 3-1 loss at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
Mourinho’s side were rocked by Etienne Capoue’s first half opener and, although Marcus Rashford equalised after the break, United capitulated in the closing stages.
Juan Camilo Zuniga restored Watford’s lead with seven minutes left before Troy Deeney’s penalty condemned Mourinho to a third consecutive defeat for the first time since he was in charge at Porto in 2002.
It was the first time United had lost three in a row since the unlamented Louis van Gaal presided over four successive defeats in December last year.
Adding to the indignity for United, it was their first loss in 30 years against Watford, who ended a run of 11 successive defeats against the Manchester giants.
United are already lagging six points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City and the feelgood factor following the three wins that marked the start of the Mourinho era has been completely erased.
After losing to City, Feyenoord in the Europa League and now Watford over the last week, the size of the task facing Mourinho as he rebuilds United has been laid bare.
They looked out of sync from the moment United goalkeeper David de Gea collided with Chris Smalling as they made a hash of dealing with Sebastian Prodl’s towering cross.
When de Gea dropped the ball straight to Odion Ighalo a goal seemed certain, but the Watford striker fired hurriedly wide of the unguarded net from the edge of the penalty area.
It was a shocking miss, but even that escape couldn’t shake United from their lethargy and de Gea had to throw himself to his left to claw away a goalbound header from Deeney moments later.
POLE-AXED
Paul Pogba has struggled to live up his world record fee since joining United and, amid another tepid display, the France midfielder gave a sudden glimpse of his ability when he quickly shifted the ball to set himself for a curling 25-yard strike that left Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes rooted to the spot as it cannoned off the crossbar.
But Watford’s relentlessly physical approach was wearing United down and Anthony Martial needed several minutes treatment after being pole-axed by a clash of heads with Daryl Janmaat.
Martial eventually got to his feet but the France international still appeared groggy when he was made a fatal mistake in the 34th minute.
Dwelling too long on the ball deep inside his own half, Martial was caught in possession by Miguel Britos and, with United’s defence completely exposed, Janmaat had time and space to pick out the unmarked Capoue, who drilled a clinical finish past de Gea.
As Watford celebrated, Mourinho questioned whether Martial had been fouled and the winger lay flat on the turf before being substituted.
That ignominious exit encapsulated a forgettable half for United, but they equalised with a rare incisive attack in the 62nd minute.
Rashford played a one-two with Ibrahimovic and broke into the penalty area, where he showed his predatory instincts by sweeping home from close-range after the Swede’s cross deflected into his path off Valon Behrami.
Ibrahimovic nearly won it for United in the 78th minute when he met Marouane Fellaini’s cross with a powerful header that Gomes brilliantly pushed away.
But United never looked convincing and they crumbled at the back in the 83rd minute as Zuniga scored with his first touch less than a minute after coming on.
Roberto Pereyra was unchecked when he raced onto Nordin Amrabat’s pass into the United penalty area and he cut the ball back to Colombia defender Zuniga, who lashed a fine strike past de Gea to leave Mourinho ashen-faced.
There was even worse to come for Mourinho in stoppage-time when Fellaini tripped Zuniga in the area and Deeney stepped up to lash home the spot-kick.
Source AFP
Messi double leads five-star Barca past Leganes
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as Barcelona got back to winning ways in La Liga with a 5-1 thrashing at newly-promoted Leganes on Saturday (Sep 17)
Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres struck twice as Atletico Madrid moved into third with their third win of the week in a 5-0 rout of Sporting Gijon.
Barca move level with Real Madrid at the top of the table, but Madrid play their game in hand away to Espanyol without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on Sunday.
Atletico travel to face Barcelona next on Wednesday.
“We started very well. If we had started sluggishly, thinking we just needed to turn up to win, then we would have struggled a lot more,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar started together for only the second time this season and, just as in a 7-0 thrashing of Celtic on Tuesday, showed no mercy as Leganes’s high defensive line was torn apart in the first-half.
“On one hand their high pressing made things uncomfortable, but on the other hand it meant we could take advantage of the space,” added Enrique.
After a bright start from Leganes, Suarez showed great strength to burst down the right and his low cross was easily turned home by Messi for the opener.
The roles were reversed for Barca’s second when Messi was gifted possession inside the Leganes half and waltzed past two defenders before teeing up Suarez for a tap-in.
Suarez bagged his second assist of the half just before the break when he was released clear on goal and selflessly squared for Neymar this time to roll into an empty net.
MESSI SPOT-ON
All of Barca’s front three were involved for the fourth 10 minutes after the break as Neymar latched onto Suarez’s ball over the top and was dragged down by Unai Bustinza.
Messi showed no signs of the penalty yips he suffered last season and at the Copa America in June as he fired into the top corner for his eighth goal in as many games this season.
However, the two best goals of the afternoon were still to come as Rafinha cut inside onto his weaker left foot to unleash a rocket into the top corner for Barca’s fifth.
And Leganes got the reward their display merited 10 minutes from time when Gabriel Appelt Pires curled a sensational free-kick past the helpless Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Atletico will travel to the Catalan capital in midweek full of confidence after a mauling of Sporting registered their first home win of the season.
Griezmann took just two minutes to open the scoring when he raced onto Kevin Gameiro’s through ball before composing himself to slot past Ivan Cuellar.
Gameiro lashed home his first Atletico goal from open play following a 30 million euro ($33.6 million) move from Sevilla just three minutes later.
Not to be outdone by his French international teammate, Griezmann then unleashed a stunning effort of his own from outside the box to make it 3-0 after just half an hour.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone, who shortened his contract from 2020 to 2018 in midweek, replaced Griezmann with Torres early in the second-half with one eye on his side’s upcoming trip the Camp Nou.
“For me he was the best player in Europe last season,” Simeone said of Griezmann after his second double in as many La Liga games. “That consistency will only serve to make him stronger.”
Torres made it 4-0 with a neat near-post finish from Angel Correa’s cross before rounding off the scoring from the penalty spot after Nicolas Gaitan had been felled inside the area.
Sevilla missed the chance to go top as they surrendered a lead against nine-man Eibar to draw 1-1 at Ipurua.
Luciano Vietto gave the visitors an early lead before Eibar goalkeeper Yoel Rodriguez was sent-off on the stroke of half-time. Pedro Leon levelled for the 10 men before Dani Garcia was also shown red late on as Eibar held on.
Las Palmas are third after Momo’s early penalty moved the Canary Islanders level with Madrid and Barca on nine points in a 1-0 win over Malaga.
Spanish La Liga results:
Leganes 1 Barcelona 5
Atletico Madrid 5 Sporting Gijon 0
Eibar 1 Sevilla 1
Las Palmas 1 Malaga 0
Source AFP
HCM City 1 take nat’l women’s football title
HCM City 1 defended their title at the National Women’s Football Championships after beating Hà Nội 1 2-0 in the final match at Thống Nhất Stadium in HCM City on Saturday.
Taking full advantage of playing on their hometurf, HCM City dominated the match from the moment the referee first blew the whistle.
In the 28th minute, Huỳnh Như kicked the ball from a corner and Chương Thị Kiều cooly put her header past Hà Nội’s goalkeeper to score the hosts’ first points of the game.
In the 40th minute, Như broke the offside trap successfully to easily knock goalie Dương out.
The visitors had several chances to narrow the gap but goalkeeper Đặng Thị Kiều Trinh of HCM City prevented this from happening.
Eight teams competed in this year’s tournament which was divided into two phases. The first phase was played in Hà Nam from May 9-30. The second phase was played in round-robin format in HCM City starting on August 22.The best four teams reached the quarterfinals and competed for the national championship title.
U19 Vietnam defeat the Philippines in 7-goal match to stay on top
Vietnam topped Group A after their third-round win over the Philippines in Hanoi on September 15 as part of the ongoing ASEAN Football Federation Vietcombank U19 Youth Championship.
Not as easily as expected, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s players had to give it their all to defeat the Philippines with the close score of 4-3.
After two matches with one win and one draw against Timor Leste and Singapore, the team is yet to convince home fans in both their gameplay and results. Meeting the Philippines, who had lost both of their last two matches, it was seen as an opportunity for Vietnam to assert their strength.
Facing weaker opponents, however, Vietnam, with additional players who are currently playing in the V-League, such as Phan Thanh Hau, Tien Linh, and Tong Anh Ty, continued to cause worries for their fans. Even in the first half, both defensive and attack lines of U19 Vietnam exposed a range of weaknesses.
An early goal in the 10th minute from a penalty kick taken by Ha Duc Chinh did not help the team play a more controlled game. Vietnamese players faced a range of difficulties in organising attacks.
In the 19th minute, Vietnam’s defensive line fumbled, allowing Mark Winhoffer to direct the ball inside the penalty area before launching his closing shot which was deflected off of a Vietnamese player’s leg and went straight into the net.
The worst was yet to come. The left wing of Vietnam continued to face pressure only five minutes later when Kintaro Miyagi received Jeremiah Borlongan’s pass and netted a second goal for the Philippines.
Two consecutive goals in five minutes shook the Vietnamese players awake and just two minutes later, after a pass from Trong Hoa, Tien Anh scored from close range, leveling the score 2-2 before the end of the first half.
In the second half, Vietnam strengthened attacks with passes directly down the middle, which proved to be effective; witnessing another goal in the 60th minute thanks to Tran Thanh’s shot from the penalty area.
One minute later, Ha Duc Chinh took advantage of mistakes by the opponents’ defensive line to increase the lead to 4-2.
Vietnam seemed to be in the clear until the last minutes when the team faced a range of difficulties in defending as the Philippines created several scoring opportunities.
Mark Winhoffer narrowly missed out on a second goal when his shot hit the crossbar after Vietnam’s defenders were nowhere to be seen.
A tragic day for Vietnam’s defensive line ended in the 90th minute as midfielder Ngoc Bao scored an own-goal to help the Philippine narrow the score to 3-4.
Luckily, Vietnam survived the remaining four minutes of injury time to maintain a 4-3 victory.
The narrow win helped Vietnam stay on top of Group A with seven points after three matches. They will play Malaysia next on September 19.
Mourinho rocked on Europa return as Feyenoord down United
Jose Mourinho’s reluctant return to the Europa League ended in embarrassment as Tonny Vilhena fired Feyenoord to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their Group A opener on Thursday (Sep 15).
For a man with a keen eye on his position in the football hierarchy, competing in the Europa League for the first time in 13 years was an unappetising prospect for Mourinho and his players seemed equally uninspired as a much-changed United line-up succumbed to Vilhena’s late strike at De Kuip.
It was United’s second consecutive defeat after Saturday’s painful loss to bitter rivals Manchester City in the Premier League and Mourinho will hope his decision to make eight changes against Feyenoord is rewarded with victory when they return to domestic action at Watford on Sunday.
“Some of the players were playing their first minutes of the season. Obviously some played better than others,” Mourinho said.
“I don’t want to personalise it. I cannot judge them only on one game. We were pushing and Feyenoord capitalised because it is exactly at that moment where we lose the game. We were double unlucky because it’s a clear offside.”
Twice a Champions League winner with Porto and Inter Milan, Mourinho is usually launching his latest bid for Europe’s top prize at this time of year.
With Wayne Rooney rested and only David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly retained from the side beaten by City, it was little surprise to see United deliver a disjointed performance.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team had swept to the top of the Dutch league with five successive victories and they started brightly as Steven Berghuis and Vilhena brought de Gea into action with long-range efforts.
Careless with their passing and lacking a cutting edge up front, United – also reluctantly in the Europa League group stages for the first time – were unconvincing for long periods.
Even so, they still carved out the best chance of the first half when Matteo Darmian’s cross picked out Anthony Martial, who should have done better than fire wide from the edge of the penalty area.
Not for the first time since his world-record move to United, France midfielder Pogba was a subdued figure and he shot tamely over early in the second half.
With teenage striker Marcus Rashford hauled off after failing to make the most of his first start of the season, Mourinho used all three of his substitutes in the 63rd minute as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Memphis Depay and Ashley Young came on.
But United were no more energised and they paid for their lethargic display in the 79th minute.
Exposed down the right flank by a Nicolai Jorgensen’s run that beat the offside trap, United’s defenders were noticeable by their absence when the unmarked Vilhena swept home from just inside the penalty area.
Source AF/ AFP
V.League set for spectacular finale
Hà Nội T&T, Hải Phòng, SHB Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ninh can all grab the V.League 1 title in the tournament’s final round this weekend.
With the four teams all within three points the title may be decided by tiebreaker. If two teams finish with equal points head-to-head results is the first tiebreaker, followed by goal difference.
Hà Nội T&T and Hải Phòng top the table, with both on 47 points after 25 games, the sides are level head-to-head so Hà Nội T&T lead on goal difference.
Hà Nội T&T will host FLC Thanh Hóa in fifth, while Hải Phòng are at home to Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) who rank seventh.
If Hải Phòng beat SLNA and Hà Nội T&T fail to beat Thanh Hóa, Hải Phòng will make history by winning the title for the first time in their history.
Hải Phòng’s spirits will be bolstered by the news that SLNA won’t have three key players available for the fixture.
“Phi Sơn and Sỹ Sâm can’t play due to getting three yellow cards each, while Quế Ngọc Hải hasn’t recovered from injury,” SLNA’s coach Ngô Quang Trường said.
SLNA can’t win the title but are determined to spoil Hải Phòng’s party.
“SLNA are not Hải Phòng’s rival but we will exert ourselves to win. We always ask our players to compete for the fans’ love, honour and our sponsors. The result will also affect the bonus of each player,” said Nguyễn Hồng Thanh, general director of SLNA Football Joint Stock Company.
SHB Đà Nẵng can take the title if both northern sides lose and they win away to bottom side Đồng Tháp.
Quảng Ninh need a minor miracle to take the title, with a six goal win at 10th placed Sanna Khánh Hòa needed, as well as Hà Nội T&T, Hải Phòng and SHB Đà Nẵng all losing.
“We will still chase the title even though we only have a one per cent chance,” said coach Phan Thanh Hùng.
Source VNS
