Football Galaxy

Messi, Ronaldo & Mbappe lead list of UEFA Team of the Year 2018 nominees

UEFA has announced the 50 nominees for its official 2018 Team of the Year, and three Africans made the list.

The full list of Team of the Year 2018 nominees:

Forwards:

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Edin Dzeko (Roma), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar (PSG), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Luis Suarez(Barcelona)

Midfielders:

Casemiro (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Isco (Real Madrid), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), James Milner (Liverpool), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Saul Niguez (Atletico), Dmitri Payet (Marseille), Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Paul Pogba (Man United), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)

Defenders:

Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Gimenez (Atletico), Diego Godin (Atletico), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Kostas Manolas (Roma), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), John Stones (Man City), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Goalkeepers:

Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Jan Oblak (Atletico), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)

UEFA has announced the 50 nominees for its official 2018 Team of the Year, and three Africans made the list.

Huesca 0-1 Real Madrid: Bale fires Solari's side return to La Liga top 4

Match Report

Gareth Bale scored his first goal in 11 league matches to seal all three points for Los Blancos. The Welshman latched onto a cross from Alvaro Odriozola and volleyed superbly into the back of the net.

Bale had a chance to double his tally later on while the hosts were also denied by a save from Thibaut Courtois in the first half.

Substitute Gonzalo Melero headed wide from point-blank range in the opening seconds of the first half, and team-mate David Ferreiro had a dipping drive from the edge of the box tipped over the crossbar by Courtois.

Espanyol 0-4 Barca: Messi hits 2 stunning free kicks as Suarez & Dembele score

Days after being voted the fifth best player in the world, Lionel Messi scored two world-class free-kicks in a derby thumping of Espanyol
Match Report

Lionel Messi produced an incredible individual performance as LaLiga leaders Barcelona demolished Espanyol 4-0 in Saturday's Catalan derby.

Messi placed fifth in this week's Ballon d'Or voting, the first time he has been outside the top three since 2006, but offered a timely reminder of his enduring brilliance at RCDE Stadium.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was inspirational for Barca, opening the scoring with an unstoppable free-kick, then setting up Ousmane Dembele for a superb curling finish.

Chelsea 2-0 Man City: Hazard assists Kante & Luiz to end City's unbeaten run

Match Report

Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season as N'Golo Kante and David Luiz secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The reigning champions were on top from the outset, but Pep Guardiola's decision to play Raheem Sterling through the middle in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero failed to pay dividends and they were unable to regain top spot from Liverpool, who beat Bournemouth 4-0 earlier on Saturday to edge a point clear.

Atletico 3-0 Alaves: Griezmann & Co send Simeone's side to 2nd

Atletico Madrid went joint-top of LaLiga alongside Barcelona thanks to a 3-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitano.

2018/2019 La Liga

3 - 0
Kalinić (25')
Griezmann (82')
R. Hernández (87')

Match Report

Nikola Kalinic and Antoine Griezmann ensured Diego Costa's absence was not sorely felt as Atletico Madrid claimed a 3-0 victory over high-flying Deportivo Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Croatia international Kalinic broke his Atletico duck in Wednesday's 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Sant Andreu and his 25th-minute strike was added to late on by Griezmann and Rodrigo to send the hosts joint-top of LaLiga with Barcelona.

With Costa anticipated to be out for two months following foot surgery, goals from Kalinic and Griezmann will be a huge boost for Diego Simeone, though a first-half injury for Lucas Hernandez will provide cause for concern.

Atletico had to weather a difficult second half against their persistent visitors, but Griezmann and Rodrigo struck in the 82nd and 87th minute respectively to seal the win by a flattering scoreline.

On This Day: Gerrard kickstarted Miracle of Istanbul, Barca played 1st-ever game

On this day in 2004, Gerrard kickstarted Miracle of Istanbul

Liverpool knew they had to win their return fixture against the Greeks side Olympiakos to make it through to the knockout stage with Monaco. A draw would be no good whatsoever! This was to be one of the biggest games at Anfield for years.

Mellor did the spadework by setting Gerrard 8 yards or so outside the area. Pulling back his right foot, the midfielder released a bullet, which flew past Nikopolidis and into the net to send the crowd into raptures.

Perhaps Liverpool were fortunate to win, but for Gerrard it was nothing less than he deserved. He was quite magnificent, better than Rivaldo!

On this day in 1994, Man City star Raheem Sterling born

In July 2015, following a lengthy dispute over a new contract, he was signed by Manchester City in a transfer potentially worth £49 million, the highest transfer fee ever paid for an English player. He then went on to help Manchester City win the Premier League in 2018.

Sterling plays as a winger, attacking midfielder or striker, though he is more comfortable as a natural winger. Sterling has been praised for his adaptability and ability to play wide, at the tip of a midfield diamond and centrally, offering flexibility. His use of pace with composure and his maturity. Despite his small stature, he also possesses considerable upper-body strength, which aids him in withstanding challenges, and retaining possession.

On this day in 1899, Barca played their first game

Barcelona Foot-Ball Club was officially formed by legendary Hans Gamper. Born near Zurich in Switzerland, Gamper was a sportsman who was involved in athletics, golf, cycling, etc. He arrived in the Catalan capital in 1898.

Gamper would later review this 'fixture' against the so-called 'English Colony' as he wrote an article for him native sports magazine Schweizer Sportblatt. A digital copy and translation currently belong to the FC Barcelona Archive.

In this piece, Gamper claims Barcelona only had nine men and opted for an odd 2-3-3 formation. Even though the Englishmen emerged victorious with a 1-0 scoreline, they would later decide to join forces with Gamper and 'merge' into the newly formed FC Barcelona.

On this day in 1985, Juventus became the first team to win all of their possible major trophies

Juventus won the Intercontinental Cup on penalties over Argentinos Juniors.

Argentinos forward Ereros opened the scoring in the 55th minute. The sides then traded a pair of disallowed goals before Platini brought Juventus level with a 63rd-minute penalty kick.

Argentinos took the lead in the 75th minute when José Antonio Castro scored from a tight angle into the far side of the net. Not to be outdone, Juventus forward Michael Laudrup scored from a equally narrow degree seven minutes later.

Locked at 2-2, the match went into a penalty shootout. After a miss from Laudrup and two from Argentinos, Platini converted the final kick to give Juventus the trophy. It marked a complete silverware collection for the team from Turin, who had already won all of the domestic and European competitions available to them.

On this day in 1941, The only man to score hat-trick in World Cup final born

Geoff Hurst is an English striker, he remains the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at the old Wembley Stadium in 1966.

On this day in 1966, Tottenham & Newcastle legend Les Ferdinand born

Les Ferdinand playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Beşiktaş, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Watford during which period he earned 17 caps for England. Ferdinand is the eighth highest scorer in the Premier League with 149 goals.

On this day in 1996, Man Utd youngster McTominay born

McTominay was associated with the Manchester United academy from the age of five after attending the club's development centre. Having played as a centre forward in the earlier years of his youth career, McTominay converted to a central midfield role. He signed his first professional contract in July 2013.

He made his first Premier League appearance on 7 May 2017, coming on as a substitute against Arsenal.

Espanyol vs Barcelona: A derby unlike those that have gone before

It's been a long time since Espanyol and Barcelona have met when both teams are so evenly matched.

The periquitos are seventh, despite three consecutive defeats in LaLiga Santander, and the Blaugrana are top.

Only seven points separate both, and to find a more equal derby, we have to go back to 2010/11.

At that time, Barcelona led the table and Espanyol were fourth.

Interestingly that match was also played in the month of December and ended 5-0 to Barcelona.

Since then, Espanyol haven't faced the derby in as good shape as they are now.

Indeed, Rubi's side have been a revelation this season.

Except for the matches against Girona and Getafe, Espanyol have been superb and have made RCDE Stadium a fortress.

A depleted Barcelona

The climate of optimism on the part of the periquitos is reinforced by the defensive insecurities of a Barcelona that look little like the team of the last campaign.

Ter Stegen has let in at least one goal per game, in a league that's anyone's for the taking at the moment.

Valverde's squad comes into this game in the midst of injuries.

It's rare at the moment for no players to get injured.

The latest was Malcom, who hurt himself against Cultural Leonesa, who joins a list that includes Samuel Umtiti and many others.

Luis Suarez returns, but not Arthur Melo, who still has muscular discomfort.

Valverde was forced to summon Juan Miranda and Inaki Pena, from Barcelona B, to complete his squad.

Sergio Garcia is now available

Meanwhile, Espanyol face the game without injuries or suspensions.

Although Rubi won't announce his squad until Saturday morning, he has the whole group at his disposal.

Sergio Garcia has recovered in time from a grade one injury in the proximal third of his right leg.

Naldo is also one hundred percent.

Suarez returns to Barcelona squad for Espanyol clash

Luis Suarez has returned to Barcelona squad for Espanyol clash as Denis Suarez included again.

Suarez missed the games against PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal and Cultural Leonesa because of a knee complaint.

Ernesto Valverde still isn't able to call upon Arthur Melo either because of muscle problems.

In spite of improving in the last training session, the ex-Gremio star remains on the sidelines.

For this reason, the Txingurri also called up Juan Miranda from Barcelona B, as well as Inaki Pena.

Juventus moved 11 points clear at the top of Serie A after beating Inter 1-0 in Friday's Derby d'Italia thanks to a Mario Mandzukic header.

Inter had the better of the chances in the first half, and came within a whisker of taking the lead through Roberto Gagliardini, but his effort came out off the post.

Those missed chances proved costly, however, with Mandzukic heading his eighth goal of the season to secure victory for table toppers Juventus.

A 14th win from 15 league games moved Juventus 11 points clear in pursuit of an eighth successive Scudetto, while Inter stay third, 14 points off the pace.

10-GOAL FEAST at Camp Nou! Barcelona cruise to 8-2 win over Huesca as Messi strikes brace

Barcelona vs Huesca LINE-UPS: Valverde names unchanged XI as Dembele & Coutinho start.

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Coutinho, Messi, Suarez, Dembelé

Subs: Vidal, Jasper Cillessen, Lenglet, Semedo, Arthur, Munir, Malcom

Huesca XI: Damián Musto, Etxeita, Luisinho, Jorge Pulido, Jorge Miramón, Moi Gómez, Álex Gallar, Samuele Longo, Axel Werner, Gonzalo Melero, J. Hernández

Subs: Santamaría, Lluis Sastre, David Ferreiro, Serdar Gurler, Ínsua, Ezequiel Ávila, R.Semedo

HT: Burnley 0-2 Man Utd. Lukaku nets stunning double to give Mourinho's side lead

Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal: Lacazette delivers goal & assist to grab difficult win for Gunners

Match Report

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette's burgeoning strike partnership came to the rescue as Arsenal eventually shook off Cardiff City to claim a 3-2 win in the Welsh capital.

Shkodran Mustafi headed the visitors into an 11th-minute lead before Neil Warnock's side averted a seventh consecutive goalless half in the top flight this season when Victor Camarasa pounced in stoppage time.

Unai Emery brought Mesut Ozil and Lacazette into his XI and both were involved in Aubameyang's brilliant 62nd-minute goal, only for Danny Ward to find a swift response.

Lacazette was harshly adjudged to have fouled Harry Arter for the free-kick that led to Ward's leveller but the French striker had the last laugh on his first start of the campaign, darting around Sol Bamba and blasting beyond Neil Etheridge at the Cardiff goalkeeper's near post.

Barcelona vs Huesca: It's time for Luis Suarez to deliver

Huesca may be embarking on their first ever LaLiga Santander season, but Barcelona aren't taking the newcomers lightly and won't be holding much back as they host them at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening.

Keen to follow Real Madrid's lead and to enter the international break with three wins from three, there will be very few changes to the starting XI.

In attack, this means that Luis Suarez is likely to start up front alongside Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele and it's time for him to deliver.

While the Argentine and the Frenchman have had good starts to the season, the Uruguayan has been wasteful in front of goal and pressure is mounting for him to start scoring again.

Barcelona have sometimes suffered against smaller teams who sit back and defend, some Ernesto Valverde admitted in his pre-match press conference, so a Suarez goal or two would be most welcome.

The match kicks off at 18:30 CEST on Sunday evening.

Benzema has best ever start at Real Madrid

Nobody at the Bernabeu remembers Cristiano Ronaldo anymore and the main reason for that is Karim Benzema who is the sharp-shooter and leading goalscorer.

Benzema has made an incredible start and the Real Madrid crowd have responded by singing his name. He got the second against Leganes after the break from a Gareth Bale cross, following the use of VAR with the referee originally believing that the Frenchman had fouled a defender.

Madrid scored again with a good team buildup and then Benzema struck his second after linking up with Luka Modric to take his hayl to four goals in three games and five in total.

It is the best ever start for Benzema at the Bernabeu and he has been able to extinguish the problems in front of goal that he had last season which led to discontent in the stands. During the last campaign he had to wait until the 25th week of the season to score four, against Alaves at the end of February and ended the season with just five.

Benzema has a smile on his face again and he is enjoying having been given a free rein by Julen Lopetegui. The situation is positive with Bale also having three from three and Madrid have a total of ten goals in three games.

Real Madrid 4-1 Leganes: Benzema, Bale & Ramos keep Lopetegui's perfect La Liga start

Match Report

Real Madrid made it three wins from three in LaLiga this season with a 4-1 victory over Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Karim Benzema scored twice in between goals from Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos to secure the three points, despite a scare when Guido Carrillo made it 1-1 when he fired a penalty past debutant goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

The victory puts Julen Lopetegui's side top of the table, two points above Celta Vigo, who beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 at Balaidos.

Bale stretched his scoring run to seven consecutive league games 17 minutes in, volleying in Dani Carvajal's header from 12 yards out, although goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar should arguably have done better to keep it out.

Leganes went into the game having failed to win any of their 10 Madrid derbies in LaLiga, but they snatched an equaliser 24 minutes in when Carrillo swept home from the penalty spot after Casemiro tripped Javier Eraso.

The goal seemed to disrupt Madrid's rhythm, although they continued to have nearly 80 per cent of the possession, with Cuellar denying Benzema's volley in one of the few chances before half-time.

But Benzema put them back ahead three minutes after the break with a well-aimed header, the goal eventually given after a VAR review overturned a foul awarded against the striker.

There was no doubt about Benzema's second, though, as he collected Marcelo's pass, played a one-two with Luka Modric and rifled a shot into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.

Captain Ramos added a fourth from the penalty spot 66 minutes in to move the European champions onto nine points and send them into the international break in a positive mood.

Parma 1-2 Juventus: Ronaldo fails to open Serie A account again as Mandzukic stands out

Nimes 2-4 PSG: Di Maria nets golazo from CORNER as Mbappe sees RED

Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth: Blues keep in step with Liverpool as Pedro & Hazard on target

Bologna 0-3 Inter: Nainggolan’s debut goal earns 1st win for Nerazzurri in this season

Stuttgart 0-3 Bayern: Lewandowski, Goretzka & Muller shine in easy win

Celta 2-0 Atletico: Simeone’s men stunned by Aspas as Savic sees red

Man City 2-1 Newcastle: Kyle Walker's ROCKET fires dominant Citizens back to winning ways

Match Report

Kyle Walker's scored his first Manchester City goal in sensational fashion to hand the Premier League champions a hard-fought 2-1 win over Newcastle United.

Raheem Sterling's clinically taken opener in the eighth minute suggested a romp in line with City's 6-1 thumping of Huddersfield Town in their previous home game.

But Pep Guardiola's side switched off defensively and DeAndre Yedlin was rewarded for a lung-bursting run when Salomon Rondon picked him out to level with half an hour played.

It fell to England right-back Walker, who failed to find the net as City racked up points and goals records last season, to step forward with long-range stunner and ensure the 10th anniversary of Sheikh Mansour's takeover was celebrated with a victory.

Leicester 1-2 Liverpool: Reds seal 4th consecutive win but Alisson suffers nightmare

Match reports

Alisson's abysmal second-half blunder failed to prevent Liverpool from maintaining their perfect start to the Premier League season in a 2-1 win at Leicester City on Saturday.

First-half goals from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino proved enough for the visitors to notch a fourth successive victory, although it would have been easier had Alisson not gifted a first Leicester goal to Rachid Ghezzal.

The Brazil international, unbeaten in his previous three outings, was punished in the 63rd minute for a sloppy attempt at playing out from the back that threatened to derail what was otherwise a comfortable trip to the King Power Stadium.

The error set up a potentially nervy final half-hour, but the Reds ably saw out the contest to seal maximum points from their opening four Premier League outings for the first time in their history.

Liverpool netted three on their last visit to Leicester and they almost matched that tally in an efficient first 45 minutes.

The in-form Mane made up for Mohamed Salah's uncharacteristic early miss by stabbing home a close-range opener in the 10th minute, before Firmino was afforded far too much space to head home James Milner's corner on the stroke of half-time.

Alisson made a smart stop from Demarai Gray between the goals but the goalkeeper was at fault for offering the Foxes a way back into the contest.

The former Roma man compounded Virgil van Dijk's errant back-pass with a casual attempt at turning away from substitute Kelechi Iheanacho, who robbed him of the ball and squared for Ghezzal to open his Premier League account.

But with Jamie Vardy serving the final match of his three-game suspension, the Foxes lacked the cutting edge to further trouble Jurgen Klopp's men, who momentarily stretched their lead at the summit to three points.

Leicester City vs Liverpool LINE-UPS: Henderson replaces Keita in XI

The line-ups of Leicester City vs Liverpool have been announced.

Leicester City XI: Schmeichel, Chilwell, Morgan, Maguire, Mendy, Ndidi, Pereira, Albrighton, Gray, Maddison, Ghezzal.

Subs: Ward, Evans, Iheanacho, Amartey, Okazaki, Iborra, Fuchs

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Salah, Mane, Firmino

Subs: Mignolet, Keita, Sturridge, Moreno, Lallana, Shaqiri, Matip.

Emery demands more from Ozil

The Arsenal boss is seeking improvement from his entire squad ahead of Sunday's trip to Cardiff City, including their German star

Unai Emery wants more from Mesut Ozil as the Arsenal head coach warned the German he needs to play wherever necessary.

Emery has been forced to play down reports of a bust-up with Ozil after the Arsenal playmaker missed last week's 3-1 Premier League win over London rivals West Ham.

Ozil's absence was due to illness, according to Emery – who is seeking improvement from the 29-year-old and his entire Arsenal squad ahead of Sunday's trip to Cardiff City.

"I like the possibility to have the player play different positions on the pitch and then it depends each match for us and for the opposition," Emery said. "For that, Mesut played with me on the right wing and also as No.10, and we are going to continue to do that.

"Mesut in his career, he played as a 10 and on the right — when he was playing at Real Madrid, I remember a lot of matches on the right.

"His quality is for playing between the lines. But I spoke with him for his best position on the pitch and I know he can play right and as a 10. And he wants that I can use him for two positions.

"Every player in the squad plays in the position we need. Our demands are very high, very great, but I want to ask every player every day to give us more — not just Mesut, the team, the squad. We need to push, we need to have ambition, we need to have desire to improve every day.

"This is my message for the team, for the squad and for every player

Pogba wants to force through a Juventus move in January (Tuttosport)

Paul Pogba wants to force through a Juventus move in January due to his poor relationship with Jose Mourinho and Manchester United, claims Tuttosport.

According to the Turin-based newspaper, Pogba is so determined to reunite with his old Bianconeri teammates and join the Cristiano Ronaldo-backed project that he is prepared to bail mid-season.

It would be an extraordinary twist in the tale, especially as Juve and Manchester United are going to face off in the Champions League group stage.

Due to the new rules laid down by UEFA this season, that wouldn’t make Pogba cup-tied if he were to switch teams for the second half of the campaign.

The 25-year-old France international is now a World Cup winner, but he was a teenage free agent when joining Juventus from Manchester United in August 2012.

He returned to Manchester for a then-world record fee of €105m plus bonuses in 2016, but his relationship with Mourinho deteriorated to the point of breaking down completely.

The Bianconeri have set their sights firmly on winning the Champions League this term, ending a 22-year drought in Turin.

Milan 2-1 Roma: Super sub Cutrone gets Gattuso's side first win of the season at 95th min

OFFICIAL: PSG sign Bayern left back Bernat after giving up on Atletico's Filipe

2018-19 UEL draw IN FULL: Arsenal meet Sporting CP as Chelsea get easy group

Result in full:

Group A: Leverkusen, Ludogorets, Zürich, AEK Larnaca;

Group B: Salzburg, Celtic, RB Leipzig, Rosenborg;

Group C: Zenit St Petersburg, FC Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Slavia Prague.

Group D: Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Zagreb, Spartak Trnava;

Group E: Arsenal, Sporting CP, Qarabağ, FC Vorskla;

Group F: Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis, Dudelange;

Group G: Villarreal, Rapid Vienna, Spartak Moskva, Rangers;

Group H: Lazio, Marseille, Frankfurt, Apollon;

Group I: Besiktas, Genk, Malmo, Sarpsborg;

Group J: Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege, Akhisarspor;

Group K: Dynamo Kiev, Astana, Rennes, Jablonec;

Group L: Chelsea, PAOK, BATE, Vidi FC