Recent Articles
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Saturday, October 25, 2014
- 0 Comments
With the 2012/13 campaign edging ever closer to its culmination, Juventus were eager to wrap up their second consecutive domestic title with Napoli breathing down their necks.
Standing in their way on that May afternoon in Turin were a Palermo side languishing in 18th position and determined to beat the dreaded drop to Serie B.
It looked to be a tall order for the Rosanero, tasked with overcoming a Bianconeri outfit in the midst of a seven-game winning streak during which they had only conceded twice.
Dominating possession from the off, Juventus fashioned the brighter opportunities in what was a low-key first 45 minutes.
In the early exchanges, Andrea Pirlo picked out Kwadwo Asamoah with one of his trademark cross-field passes. Having controlled the ball expertly, the Ghanaian beat his marker Nelson and shot across Stefano Sorrentino who palmed the ball away from danger.
Asamoah was causing more problems in the Palermo mixer on the quarter-hour mark when his left wing cross was only cleared as far as Arturo Vidal, who took one touch to set himself before slicing his half-volley wide.
It took the Bianconeri almost half an hour before they tested the Palermo shotstopper once again.
Stephan Lichtsteiner’s exquisite slide-rule pass picked out Mirko Vucinic who had made a great run down the channel. Under pressure from the covering defender, the Montenegrin struck his effort towards Sorrentino’s goal from an impossible angle and the goalkeeper had to sort his feet out before pushing the ball away with his legs.
Juventus began the second half in the same way as the first but were almost caught cold when ex-Bianconeri striker Fabrizio Miccoli weaved his way into the area and fired a shot towards Gigi Buffon’s goal which took a nick off Giorgio Chiellini before bouncing back off the post and away from danger.
The breakthrough finally came on 59 minutes when Vucinic was barged off the ball by Massimo Donati in the Rosanero penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the stop. Vidal stepped up to send Sorrentino the wrong way and in the process, give Juventus a slender, yet deserved advantage.
The goal sent the home crowd into delirium and it was almost two moments later.
With the ball only half-cleared to goalscorer Vidal, the Chilean swung in an inviting cross met by Chiellini who rose unchallenged but was unable to steer his header on target.
Palermo almost equalised with 20 minutes remaining when substitute Abel Hernandez latched on to Nelson’s square pass but the Uruguayan's venomous effort curled just wide of Buffon’s post.
On the 80-minute mark, Fabio Quagliarella – who had replaced Vucinic only 60 seconds earlier - unleashed an arching shot from the edge of the Rosanero area that had Sorrentino beaten all ends up but smacked against the crossbar.
With the upright still shaking, Paul Pogba then juggled his way past the Palermo backline before firing across goal. Sorrentino, however, had other ideas and saved once again before gathering Federico Peluso’s attempted follow-up.
A late sending off for the young Frenchman failed to mar the Scudetto celebrations as Andrea Romeo’s final whistle signalled a 31st Serie A title with three games to spare.
Relive the Bianconeri's 1-0 win over Palermo in our exclusive match highlights:
Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed a 20-man squad for Sunday afternoon's Serie A encounter with Palermo at Juventus Stadium. The full matchday selection is follows: 1 Buffon 2 Romulo 3 Chiellini 5 Ogbonna 6 Pogba 8 Marchisio 9 Morata 10 Tevez 11 Coman 12 Giovinco 14 Llorente 19 Bonucci 21 Pirlo 22 Asamoah 23 Vidal 26 Lichtsteiner 30 Storari 34 Rubinho 37 Pereyra 38 Mattiello
The 25-year-old says Juventus are keen to regain their stride in Serie A and remains upbeat on the team’s Champions League qualification chances following defeat in Greece
Kwadwo Asamoah says the Bianconeri are itching to get back to winning ways starting with Sunday’s visit of Palermo to Juventus Stadium.
Since the international break, Massimiliano Allegri’s men have been unable to recapture their early Serie A form, drawing with Sassuolo before succumbing to defeat against Olympiacos.
And with attentions now turning to the visit of Giuseppe Iachini’s Rosanero, Asamoah says that everyone at the club is raring to resume normal service by getting another Serie A victory under their belts.
Speaking exclusively to Jtv, Asamoah said: "We want to beat Palermo on Sunday in order to stay top of the table. We've lost a bit of our momentum following the international break and now we need to regain it right away."
Reflecting on the Champions League, the 25-year-old, who completed the full 90 minutes out in Greece, believes that regardless of Wednesday’s loss, Juventus have what it takes to qualify for the knockout phase.
He concluded: "We know we can get through the Champions League group stages but we need to change our approach and be more ruthless. We're up against top sides and you can’t pinpoint which are the most dangerous given the competition's unpredictability.”
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
- 0 Comments
The Argentine stopper performed well in the Gunners’ dramatic victory against Anderlecht, and made an important save near the end to deny Steven Defour.
The 22-year-old was satisfied with his own performance and said the late turnaround in Brussels was down to Arsenal’s battling spirit.
“It's unbelievable,” Martinez told Arsenal Player. “We controlled the game in the first half and conceded a goal from nowhere. They didn't deserve the goal but that's football. We kept going until the end and got our reward.
“I'm so happy [to make my Champions League] debut and I need to say thank you to the manager, Gerry Peyton and Tony Roberts, who gave me confidence for this game. I hope to win at home now and just go through.
“It was brilliant. It was nice and calm. I think I made two good saves, I was solid and I felt confident. That's what I needed. If you're not confident, you won't get anything.
“I've been working for years and my loan at Sheffield Wednesday [last season] gave me the confidence I needed.”
The Gunners were trailing Anderlecht by one goal heading into the final minute but late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Podolski saw them steal the victory.
Arsenal have only won four games this season but the German says Wednesday’s result will give them the belief they need to improve that statistic.
"It was a dramatic game for the fans and for us as well but at the end we have the three points," Podolski told Arsenal Player.
"If we lost today it would have been difficult. It was important that we won and went back to London with the three points.
"I hope [we can gain momentum]. We had 25 shots on target against Hull City and we drew. Today was not the best game but it’s important that at the end you get the points and we have the points.
"Sometimes you have to be a little bit lucky and today was the day. When the ball is on my left foot I score 99 per cent of the time. It was a good moment for me and the fans because they support me all of the time.
"We still have three games left and nothing is certain yet. We have an important game against Anderlecht at home and if we win that then I think we can go through."
Joe Allen left the field following his first taste of Champions League football downbeat but determined to use Real Madrid's dominant Anfield display as a marker for how far Liverpool must progress.
The Welshman worked himself tirelessly for 90 minutes alongside Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson - and latterly Emre Can - in attempt to hurry and harrass, press and out-pass the Madrid midfield engine room.
Although the Reds began with the best intentions and a degree of cutting edge, they were handed a timely reminder of the sheer quality Real possess within their ranks when the deadlock was broken in stunning fashion.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who had failed to net at Anfield on any of his previous visits, exchanged passes with James Rodriguez before steering beyond Simon Mignolet to open the scoring and deflate the home crowd.
Karim Benzema showed how lethal he can be, improvising with a looping header before pouncing to prod home from close range and send Liverpool into half-time with a 3-0 deficit looming over their heads.
Brendan Rodgers' side established a much firmer foothold after the interval, attacking the Anfield Road end with increased impetus and vigour; however, at the final whistle, Madrid's three-goal cushion stood.
"It was very difficult tonight," Allen admitted to Liverpoolfc.com following the final whistle. "We were playing the champions and they certainly proved why they are champions. There's plenty of aspects we need to work on.
"In all fairness, I think we started the game well and I think their first goal was all about Ronaldo. He's clinical. The goal came out of nowhere and that's what they do. They punish you in the counter-attack.
"Then when you try to get back into the game, they go and score again and it makes it almost impossible to try to get back into the game."
Despite Real's unassailable lead, Liverpool probed for a route back into the game, with Rodgers introducing Adam Lallana, Can and Lazar Markovic throughout the second period, in an attempt to find a way around Carlo Ancelotti's side.
There was to be no breakthrough, even after intricate work around the visitors' penalty area - but Allen believes that positives can be salvaged from the tie and he's convinced necessary improvements can be made.
"To have been three-down at half-time, I think the way we came out in the second half - we still threw everything at them," he said. "Everyone gave 100 per cent and I think, in that sense, we can be proud of ourselves.
"We'll still give everything to progress [from Group B]. We'll look forward now to the return fixture at the Bernabeu, getting ready for that and let's see what happens."
Borussia Monchengladbach underlined their status as the main Bundesliga challengers to Bayern Munich this season as they ended Hannover's perfect home record with a 3-0 win at the Niedersachsenstadion.
Max Kruse (two) and Granit Xhaka supplied the goals for Lucien Favre's men, who have yet to lose this season in 13 competitive matches.
As a result, the Foals cemented second spot, four points adrift of Bayern Munich
Hannover came into the game with a proud record of three wins out of three so far at home this season and they started with the confidence one might expect from such a run of form.
Yann Sommer was the busier of the two goalkeepers with Gladbach struggling to get into the opposition half as Hannover, led by the inspired Leonardo Bittencourt, looked for an opening goal.
They could not find it and Gladbach showed them how it should be done with a goal from their first chance of the game in the 15th minute.
Alvaro Dominguez sent in a cross from the left and Germany international Kruse wrong-footed Ron-Robert Zieler with his header going back across him into the left-hand corner.
Hannover tried to respond immediately with Christian Pander's shot only parried by Sommer and Joselu headed the rebound over.
The Reds continued to dictate affairs, but chances were few and far between with the home fans beginning to get frustrated for the first time this season.
Early in the second half, they were stunned to silence as Xhaka drilled in a direct free-kick which Zieler could not see until late, by which time it had already nestled in the back of his goal.
Gladbach grew in confidence in view of their two-goal cushion and they started to create chances to get a third with Dominguez hitting the underside of the crossbar from just a yard out.
Andre Hahn wasted another glorious opportunity for the visitors, but despite beating Zieler with his shot, the ball missed the left-hand post by a matter of inches.
Kruse put the seal on the win in the last minute when Zieler came off his line to challenge Thorgan Hazard, who teed up the Germany international to net with the last kick of the game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
