The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Juventus

  • Record-breaking Real Madrid beat Juventus, retain Champions League title

    Record-breaking Real Madrid beat Juventus, retain Champions League title

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as holders Real Madrid of Spain on Saturday emerged champions of Europe for a record 12th time after overwhelming 10-man Juventus of Italy.

    In a high-quality UEFA Champions League final match in Cardiff, the Portugal captain put Real Madrid ahead with a first-time finish from 16 yards before Mario Mandzukic equalised.

    He scored from just inside the area with a sensational overhead kick beyond Keylor Navas, a goal that should stand out as one of the best.

    But Real took control of the game after the interval, with Brazilian midfielder Casemiro’s deflected shot restoring the lead.

    Ronaldo then sealed victory for Zinedine Zidane’s side after poking home from close range following Luka Modric’s cross.

    Juventus played the last six minutes with 10 men, after substitute Juan Cuadrado got booked twice inside 18 minutes, before substitute Marco Asensio hit the fourth after Marcelo’s fine pass.

    Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has now won back-to-back Champions League titles since he took charge in January 2016.

    In addition to this, the former Real player won the season’s La Liga title.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Juventus, who are the Serie A champions, have now lost five Champions League finals since they last won the competition in 1996.

  • Arsenal set to sell Szczesny to Juventus for £14m

    Arsenal set to sell Szczesny to Juventus for £14m

    Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is close to agreeing a £14million move to Italian champions Juventus.

    The Poland international has excelled on loan from Arsenal at Roma where he kept 14 clean sheets last season prompting offers from Napoli, AC Milan and Inter.

    However, the 27-year-old is prepared to move to Turin now where he will be primed to take over from veteran Gianluigi Buffon.

    Szczesny has one year left at Arsenal yet, despite talk of a pre-contract agreement for January, he is prepared to make the move to Italy now.

    The goalkeeper’s agent told Polish media the goalkeeper will speak with Arsene Wenger before finalising agreement with Juventus.

    Arsenal also expects to lose David Ospina to Turkish side Fenerbahce for around £4m.

    ‘There is still no agreement with Juventus,’ David Manasseh said to Przeglad Sportowy. ‘Szczesny has yet to talk with Wenger, who has been confirmed as Arsenal coach for the next two years.’

    Wenger is expected to be supported by an improved transfer budget this summer and apart from a goalkeeper will also look to add a centre-back as Per Mertesacker looks to retire.

    The Gunners have also been linked with a move for Kylian Mbappe while Wenger retains an interest in Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.

  • Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid win first La Liga title since 2012

    Real Madrid won their first La Liga title since 2012 thanks to a final-day 2-0 victory at Malaga on Sunday and in spite of FC Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Eibar.

    Cristiano Ronaldo scored early in the game to settle the nerves, latching onto Isco’s through ball to step around Carlos Kameni and tap into an empty net.

    Karim Benzema then added their second goal after the break after Kameni had parried Sergio Ramos’ shot.

    Real, who had only needed a draw to win the title, now face Juventus in the Champions League final aiming to complete a double

    FC Barcelona, who had won the past two titles, came from 2-0 down to beat Eibar 4-2 at the Nou Camp.

    But they had also needed Real to slip up if they were going to retain the trophy.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Real Madrid finished with 93 points, while FC Barcelona ended with 90 points to stay second.

    The result means Zinedine Zidane, in his first full season as Real boss, has recorded another first.

    He is the first manager to lead Madrid to the Spanish league title since Jose Mourinho did five years ago.

    If Real beat Juventus in Cardiff, they will become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League.

    Zidane had won the tournament six months into the job last summer.

     

     

  • Juventus beat Monaco again to advance to Champions League final

    Juventus beat Monaco again to advance to Champions League final

    Juventus of Italy on Tuesday qualified for their second UEFA Champions League final match in three seasons with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory over Monaco.

    Already leading 2-0 from their away first leg, the Italian side extended their advantage when Mario Mandzukic stabbed in after his initial header was saved.

    Dani Alves doubled their lead on the night with an instinctive volley from goalkeeper Danijel Subasic’s punched clearance.

    Kylian Mbappe turned in Joao Moutinho’s low cross to pull one back in the second half, but the French Ligue 1 side could not pull off an unlikely comeback.

    Juventus, whose last win in this competition was in 1996 and lost 1-3 to FC Barcelona in the 2015 final, will face either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the final.

    The final match is slated for Cardiff on June 3.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Atletico host Real on Wednesday looking to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit.

  • Juve edge Monaco with Higuan’s double

    Juve edge Monaco with Higuan’s double

    Gonzalo Higuain’s double handed Juventus the advantage in their Champions League semi-final first leg with Monaco.

    Hoping to become the second Italian club to win the treble of domestic league, cup and European cup after Inter in 2009/10, the visitors were superb right from the off, and took a deserved lead 29 minutes in.

    The build-up play was sublime in the extreme, with Dani Alves impressively backheeling to set up Higuain to open the scoring. That was the Argentina international’s first Champions League knockout round goal since April 2013.

    Then, just before the hour mark the same pair combined to devastating effect to make it 2-0, with Higuain sliding the ball home after Alves had picked him out. Having never scored an away goal in the Champions League knockout stages before this first leg, Higuain now has two to his name.

    Monaco have scored 146 goals in all competitions this season, but even they couldn’t find a way through this impenetrable Juventus side, who have not conceded a goal in Europe’s premier competition in over 600 minutes. The tie is not over yet, but it will take an Herculean effort from the Principality club to secure a first Champions League final appearance since 2004.

    TALKING POINT

    Experience triumphs over youth. This Monaco side have won plenty of plaudits this season for their exhilarating football, but even goal machine Kylian Mbappe couldn’t find a way past the evergreen Gianluigi Buffon in the Juventus goal. The Old Lady’s back three had seen it all before, and marshalled the young hitman brilliantly. Even Cristiano Ronaldo might not be able to breach this most resolute rearguard.

    MAN OF THE MATCH

    Dani Alves. There were plenty of candidates for Juventus, but two wonderful assists from Alves earns him the award. The backheel for the first was sumptuous, while his cross from Higuain’s second was inch-perfect. Why on earth did Barcelona let him go?

    PLAYER RATINGS

    Monaco: Subasic 6, Dirar 6, Glik 6, Jemerson 5, Sidibe 4, Fabinho 5, Bakayoko 5, Silva 5, Lemar 5, Falcao 4, Mbappe 6… Subs: Moutinho 6, Germain 6, Toure N/A.

    Juventus: Buffon 8; Barzagli 7, Bonucci 8, Chiellini 7, Alex Sandro 7; Pjanic 8, Marchisio 7; Dani Alves 9, Dybala 8, Mandzukic 8; Higuain 8… Subs: Lemina N/A, Rincon 6, Cuadrado 6.

    KEY MOMENTS

    10’ – CHANCE! A sublime pass from Miralem Pjanic picks out Alves down the right, he volleys a cross in Gonzalo Higuain’s direction, but the Juve hitman cannot quite connect with the header.

    12’ – CHANCE! Chance of the game for the in-form Mbappe. Nabil Dirar picks up the clearance, finds Mbappe behind the last man, but he heads into Buffon’s hands totally unmarked!

    17’ – SAVE! He may be 40 in January, but he is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Superb stop from Gianluigi Buffon to keep out Mbappe’s goalbound effort. Great cross from Dirar again, Mbappe darted between defenders, flicked for goal, but Buffon was equal to it.

    26’ – CHANCE! From a corner, Giorgio Chielliniflicks the ball on, Higuain watches it onto his right foot, but gets the volley all wrong, slicing back across the face of goal and it is cleared.

    30’ – GOAL! Monaco 0-1 Juventus. Higuain with the finish, but the football was sublime from beginning to end. One of the best team goals you will see. Marchisio plays it into Dybala, who delightfully flicks the ball into path of Alves, who carries it into the box. The move looked set to break down as Alves couldn’t get the ball out of his feet, but the Brazilian superbly backheeled the ball into Higuain, who drilled into the bottom corner for his fourth Champions League goal of the season.

    47’ – CHANCE! Incredible start to the second half. Falcao really has to do better after being fed by Silva, but the Colombian’s effort is tame, and Buffon is down smartly to save. A yard either side of the veteran stopper and surely we would be level here.

    55’ – SAVE! Super stop from Subasic keeps this tie alive. Marchisio capitalised on a mistake from Sidibe before drilling an effort towards the bottom corner, but Subasic stuck out a leg to block. Fine reflex stop

    59’ – GOAL! Monaco 0-2 Juventus. After having never scored a goal away from home in a Champions League knockout tie, Higuain now has two. Game over? Same combination team up to make it two. Dybala stole the ball off the sleeping Bakayoko before feeding Alves. The Brazilian full-back had plenty to do, but floated a perfect cross over the Monaco defence right into the path of Higuain, who slid the ball home first time

    90′ – SAVE! Buffon shows great reactions to tip Germain’s header over the top. Great delivery from Moutinho again. Three minutes of added time here.

    KEY STATS

    Juventus, alongside Real Madrid, are the only unbeaten teams in this season’s Champions League (W8 D3).

    Juventus have kept six consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League for the first time.

    Monaco have conceded 18 goals in the Champions League this season; more than any other team among the remaining semi-finalists.

  • CL: Barca needs fresh miracle to reach semis

    CL: Barca needs fresh miracle to reach semis

    Juv 3-0 Barca
    Barcelona need another miracle after Juventus star Paulo Dybala destroys Catalans in Turin

    The Argentine forward struck twice inside the opening 22 minutes as the Old Lady tore the visitors to shreds with a super-charged start.

    Luis Enrique‘s men had plenty of possession with Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez going close, but their defensive deficiencies were cruelly exposed again in the second half when Giorgio Chiellini headed home a corner.

    It was a perfect recipe combining ruthless attack and stubborn rearguard from the Old Lady as they deservedly maintained their unbeaten record on home turf this season. It leaves the Catalan giants needing another Nou Camp miracle to keep their dream of a lifting sixth European Cup alive.

    Indeed, Barcelona appear to be doing it the hard way in this year’s competition after they were forced to overturn a 4-0 deficit at home to Paris Saint Germain to make the quarter finals for the 10th straight campaign.

    They face another mammoth task in the second leg on April 19 and will need the MSN to be firing on all cylinders to reach the semi finals against a Bianconeri rearguard who have conceded just two goals in the Champions League this term.

    TALKING POINT.

    Can lightning strike twice? The obituaries were already written ahead of the second leg at home to Paris Saint Germain and despite their defensive deficiencies, the Catalans have so much firepower that they are capable of destroying the very best defences on their day. There is still hope but there’s no doubt Juventus are heavy favourites to make the last four now. If Luis Enrique’s men do go on to lift the trophy this season, they will have done it via a real rollercoaster of emotions and in the most difficult way possible.

    MAN OF THE MATCH

    Paulo Dybala (Juventus). Two sublime finishes capped an eye-catching display from the Argentine. Faded slightly in the second period as Barca pressed, but made the all-important match-winning contributions to put his side in control of the tie.

    PLAYER RATINGS

    JUVENTUS: Buffon 8, Dani Alves 8, Alex Sandro 8, Chiellini 8, Bonucci 8, Cuadrado 7, Khedira 8, Pjanić 8, Dybala 9, Mandžukić 7, Higuaín 7. Subs: Lemina 6, Rincon n/a, Barzagli n/a.

    BARCELONA: Ter Stegen 6, S.Roberto 5, Umtiti 5, Piqué 5, Mathieu 5, Mascherano 5, Rakitic 6, Iniesta 7, Suárez 6, Messi 7, Neymar 6. Sub: Gomes 5.

  • Dani Alves: Barca too ungrateful for my liking

    Dani Alves: Barca too ungrateful for my liking

     

     

     

    Dani Alves has slammed his former side Barcelona for their ‘false and ungrateful’ attitude towards him, claiming it was the reason why he ultimately decided to depart for Juventus.

    The Brazilian was able to bring an eight-year spell at the Nou Camp to an end last summer after activating a peculiar termination clause in his contract.

    Months of speculation meant it came as little surprise to the press but, considering their troubles at right-back this season, Barcelona were evidently not prepared.

    Alves, 33, says the La Liga champions only have themselves to blame with regards to his exit, claiming the hierarchy has ‘no idea’ how to treat their players properly.

    The defender told ABC: ‘During my last three seasons I always heard that “Alves was leaving”, but the managers never said anything to me. They were very false and ungrateful. They did not respect me.

    ‘I was only offered to renew when the FIFA transfer ban came in. That was when I went and signed a deal with a termination clause. Those who run Barcelona today have no idea how to treat their players.’

    One person who would have been glad to see Alves pack his bags and leave the Spanish top flight was Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair had been involved in a bitter feud for several seasons with Alves regularly taunting the Real Madrid star via the

    media.

    But Alves claims his apparent disregard for Ronaldo was invented by the press and says that he actually has a tremendous amount of respect for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner.

    ‘If people only knew how much I respect Cristiano Ronaldo. I will repeat it to make myself clear: I respect Cristiano  Ronaldo.

    ‘When I spoke about him being too selfish, when you win you are going to be the star but when you lose they will go for you, so I said it in a very respectful way.

  • Evra eager to begin action for Marseille

    Evra eager to begin action for Marseille

     

     

     

    Patrice Evra says he cannot wait to ‘taste the madness’ at Marseille after joining the Ligue 1 club.

    The former Manchester United left back has returned to France after ending his two-and-a-half year stay in Italy with Juventus.

    Evra admitted a return to his country of birth wasn’t in his plans, but says he jumped at the chance to join a club with history and a loyal fanbase. 

     

    The defender has developed a reputation and something of a cult following for his madcap behaviour on social media, and the 35-year-old believes he has found kindrid spirits in the form of the club’s supporters.

     

    ‘There are always surprises in life and returning to France was not in my plans. But I took only 24 hours to think about it before saying OK,’ Evra said at his press conference on Thursday.

     

    ‘I love clubs with great history, and Marseille have won the Champions League. I’m here to restore the club’s image. Marseille, it makes you dream with this fanbase. It’s impressive, I saw it at the Euros. If we had played the final here, we would have been champions!

  • Alves completes Juventus move

    Alves completes Juventus move

    Brazilian defender, Dani Alves, has completed his move from Barcelona to Juventus after signing a two-year contract with the Serie A champions.

    Alves left Camp Nou on a free transfer after giving the Catalan outfit eight- year service following a €30 million move from Sevilla in 2008, Goal reports.

    In a statement released on Monday evening, the player wrote: “I am a privileged and honoured footballer, for whom life has allowed him to wear the shirt of the best club in the world in an incredible decade for the quality of its players and coaches.”

    And, after arriving in Turin for his medical, the Brazil international sealed the transfer by committing to a contract until June 30, 2018, with the option of another year.

  • Evra signs new Juventus deal

    Juventus defender Patrice Evra has signed a new one-year contract with the club, with the option for a further year.

    The experienced France international, who joined from Manchester United in 2014, will be contracted to the Serie A champions until at least the end of the 2016-17 campaign.

    “Patrice Evra has today renewed his Juventus contract for an additional year – with an option for a second – keeping him at the Turin club until at least June 30, 2017,” a statement released by the club confirmed.

    Evra has claimed back-to-back domestic doubles in Italy since bringing an eight-year spell at Old Trafford to an end in 2014.

    The 35-year-old, who confirmed last month that a two-year contract extension had been provisionally agreed, is determined to lift further silverware before calling time on his career in Turin.

    “Everyone said we were finished at the start of the season,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport in April. “We haven’t yet realised what we’ve accomplished.

    “I joined last season and I had a pact with the club: to be champions of Italy on two occasions. I’m very happy but there is still more to win.”