Showing posts with label Juan Mata. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juan Mata. Show all posts

Monday, 28 March 2016

Premier League Interest - Zlatan


Zlatan Ibrahimovic says Premier League clubs are interested in signing him from French champions Paris St-Germain.

The 34-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has been linked with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

"There has been interest and we will see where it leads," he said. "But it would have to be like a marriage, both sides have to want it as much."

Ibrahimovic has won league titles in four European countries.

After helping Ajax win two Dutch titles at the start of the century, he won two Serie A championships with Juventus - both later revoked because of the Calciopoli scandal - and three more with Inter Milan.

He then moved to Spain and claimed the La Liga title with Barcelona before returning to Italy to win the 2010-11 Serie A with AC Milan - his eighth successive league title.

After a season without silverware at Milan in 2011-12, Ibrahimovic moved to PSG, and the French side have won the past four Ligue 1 titles.

After scoring four goals in a 9-0 thrashing of Troyes earlier this month to seal this year's title, Ibrahimovic said: "For the moment, I will not be at PSG next season. I still have a month and a half left here.

"If they replace the Eiffel Tower with a statue of me, then I will stay."

Ibrahimovic has scored 62 international goals in 111 appearances, including a sensational 30-yard overhead bicycle kick in a 4-2 friendly win over England in 2012.


Monday, 22 February 2016

Neville and Valencia Win Again


Valencia secured their third successive win in a week under Gary Neville with a 2-1 victory at Granada.

Daniel Parejo gave Valencia the lead in the 55th minute and the substitute Santi Mina doubled it in the last minute before Edgar Méndez pulled a goal back for Granada in stoppage time.

Valencia’s victory followed their first league win under Neville at the 10th attempt last weekend they beat Espanyol 2-1 home and the 6-0 thrashing of Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday.

Granada were first to threaten in this game when the midfielder Fran Rico sent a shot just wide, while Valencia’s first attempt on goal came in the 19th minute although Paco Alcacer’s shot was blocked.

Adalberto Peñaranda fired wide for Granada in the 28th minute before Alcacer forced the vising goalkeeper Andrés into a fine save with a low shot towards the corner.

André Gomes was twice denied by Andrés either side of the Granada defender Ricardo Costa’s header at the other end, which was turned away by Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Alves kept out the Granada striker Rubén Rochina’s low shot five minutes into the second half before Valencia went ahead when Parejo drilled the ball into the bottom corner following Alcacer’s assist.

Valencia made sure of the points in the 90th minute through Mina’s neat low finish but were given a late scare three minutes later when Granada substitute Méndez headed in Rochina’s cross.


Thursday, 18 February 2016

Van Gaal Blames Loss on Murphy

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Louis van Gaal blamed his side's 2-1 defeat at the hands at Danish side Midtjylland on "the law of Murphy".

With United's season already in the doldrums, their best hope of returning to the Champions League next season is now in peril.

United had started positively and went ahead in the 37th minute with a scrappy goal from Memphis Depay but the advantage was cancelled out a minute before halftime when Pione Sisto pounced on a mistake from Michael Carrick and scored with a low shot.

Van Gaal's men were then undone in the 77th minute by a goal from Paul Onuachu. The substitute pinched the ball after a half-hearted challenge from Juan Mata on the edge of the area and swivelled before firing home a low bouncing drive to earn the Danes victory.

David de Gea was injured in the warm-up for United with a knee injury but his replacement Sergio Romero made several fine saves and helped to at least keep the Red Devils in the tie.

"When you start the game and your goalkeeper is number 14 (players out injured) then you are not starting like usual I think," van Gaal said on BT Sport 2.

"A lot of things are happening in the heads of the players and the first 10 or 15 minutes we were not so good. But after that we came in the match, we scored, we could have scored more.

"The second half we didn't win any duel, any second ball. You cannot afford a second goal, but we could have scored also, Jesse Lingard had two remarkable chances, so it is the law of Murphy I think."

When quizzed about De Gea's injury, he added: "We have to wait and see, we have to investigate tomorrow with a scan, we cannot answer now."

Former United midfielder Michael Carrick was more scathing of the team and admitted they were not at the races.

The experienced midfielder said: "It's just not good enough, it's not acceptable, the performance and the result, it's nowhere near good enough. It's got to be a lot better.

"I think we caused a lot of our own problems. We haven't played well enough. We didn't kick on after we scored."

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Spain Win Despite Cesc Miss


Ukraine were consigned to the Euro 2016 play-offs after they lost 1-0 at home to Spain despite the reigning champions fielding a second-string side in their final Group C qualifying match.

Ukraine needed to better Slovakia’s result in Luxembourg to earn an automatic berth at the tournament in France next year but their fellow Eastern Europeans secured a 4-2 win to make sure of second place.

With Spain already assured of top spot, Vicente del Bosque fielded an experimental team at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, scene of Spain’s 4-0 triumph against Italy in the final of Euro 2012.

The full-back Mario Gaspar scored with a header on his debut to put Spain ahead in the 22nd minute and Cesc Fàbregas, captaining the side on his 100th international appearance, won a penalty moments later but had his effort saved by the Ukraine goalkeeper, Andriy Pyatov.

Spain’s eighth qualifying win in a row put them on 27 points from 10 matches and, for the first time, they have gone eight competitive matches without conceding. Slovakia have 22 points and Ukraine 19, eight ahead of fourth-placed Belarus.

Ukraine had a number of chances in the early stages and David de Gea, deputising for Iker Casillas in goal, made two brilliant saves to deny Artem Kravets and Ruslan Rotan after 15 minutes.

Spain made the breakthrough when Nolito sent Thiago Alcântara clear and his perfect cross to the far post was headed in by Gaspar with Pyatov stranded.

Nolito played Fàbregas in just after the restart and he was felled by Oleksandr Kucher but Pyatov flung out an arm to send the midfielder’s spot kick over the bar.

Fàbregas, the 10th player to reach 100 caps for Spain and the second-youngest after Sergio Ramos, has missed all four of his penalties for Spain, excluding shootouts.

Ukraine went close to an equaliser when Andriy Yarmolenko struck a shot against the frame of the goal in the 51st minute before Paco Alcácer was denied by another fine Pyatov save.

“It is a pity we did not take our chances,” the Ukraine coach, Mykhailo Fomenko, said. “We had plenty of opportunities but their goalkeeper was brilliant tonight.”


Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Del Bosque Confirms Final Squad

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Diego Costa and Fernando Torres have been included in Spain's final squad for World Cup 2014, but Manchester City pair Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas were left out.

Costa was an injury doubt with a hamstring tear after lasting less than 10 minutes for Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final last Saturday and still faces a race against time to be fit for Spain's first game against Holland on June 13.

Torres has endured a tough season for Chelsea, but scored from the spot in the 2-0 friendly win over Bolivia on Friday night.

The Spanish Football Federation announced on Saturday that both strikers had made the cut and were in Vicente Del Bosque's final 23-man party for Brazil.

It meant no place for Negredo, who enjoyed a flying start to his City career last term, but tailed off badly towards the end of the season.

Navas was also left disappointed, along with Fernando Llorente (Juventus), Ander Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Moreno (Sevilla) and Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid).

Torres' club-mate Cesar Azpilicueta, Santi Cazorla of Arsenal, Juan Mata and David De Gea of Manchester United and City's David Silva were all included.

Chile and Australia are the other two teams in the defending champions' group.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), David De Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Xavi (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City)

Forwards: Pedro (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea).


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