The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Levante

  • Laliga: Real Madrid beat Levante 2-0 to secure first win under Arbeloa

    Laliga: Real Madrid beat Levante 2-0 to secure first win under Arbeloa

    Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa believes fan protests at the Bernabeu came from “people who don’t like” the club as his side beat Levante to move to within one point of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

    Madrid supporters waved white handkerchiefs before kick-off on Saturday and then aimed boos and whistles at players – in particular Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde – as well as president Florentino Perez.

    “I know the source of these chants and campaigns. They come from people who don’t like Real Madrid,” said Arbeloa.

    “It’s a pleasure to have a president who is the most important figure in the history of this club, alongside Santiago Bernabeu. 

    “He has achieved everything, and I know the source of these chants.”

    The former Liverpool and Real Madrid defender – who replaced Xabi Alonso as manager on Monday – was also targeted during the game.

    Second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asencio helped the 15-time European Cup winners seal a 2-0 victory at the end of a tumultuous week.

    “I’ve always respected the Bernabeu, I’ve been booed a lot too. It wasn’t a good week for us, and the fans have the right to express their anger,” added Arbeloa.

    “I don’t think booing at Vini will continue. I respect the Bernabeu crowd. Their demands motivate the players to give their best.”

    After a humiliating defeat in the Copa del Rey to second division side Albacete on Wednesday, Arbeloa restored Mbappe and Bellingham to the starting XI for his first La Liga match in charge.

    The unrest among supporters became clear in the opening 10 minutes when Bellingham was the subject of jeers from the stands despite driving his side towards goal.

    After managing only one shot on target in the first half, Arbeloa shuffled his pack at the break and called upon Arda Guler and Franco Mastantuono for the second half.

    In the 58th minute, Mbappe broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after drawing a foul from Adrian de la Fuente. 

    The France forward – who is La Liga’s top scorer this season with 19 goals – was one of a few players, along with 21-year-old forward Gonzalo Garcia, not to be jeered by the Real fans.

    Defender Asencio added a second for the hosts seven minutes later when he climbed highest to head home Guler’s corner.

    Real are next in action on Tuesday when they host Monaco in the Champions League.

  • Villarreal 1-1 Levante: Chukwueze dazzles in La Liga debut

    Super Eagles invitee, Samuel Chukwueze made his La Liga debut for Villarreal as Levante held the Yellow Submarines to a 1-1 draw. His compartiot at Levante Moses Simon was not dressed for the match.

    The 19 year-old, who played for Nigeria at under-17 level, was called-up to the Super Eagles by Gernot Rohr for the games against South Africa and Uganda later in the month.

    Chukwueze joined Villarreal youth setup in 2017, from local side Diamond Academy. After being initially assigned to the club’s Juvenil A squad, he made his senior debut with the reserves on 15 April 2018, coming on as a second-half substitute for Sergio Lozano in a 1–1 Segunda División B away draw against CE Sabadell FC.

    Chukwueze scored his first senior goal on 20 May 2018, netting his team’s second in a 3–1 away defeat of Bilbao Athletic.

    He contributed with two goals in 11 appearances during his first season.

    Chukwueze made his first-team debut on 20 September 2018 in a 2–2 UEFA Europa League home draw against Scottish giants Rangers, coming in for Nicola Sansone in the 79th minute and has played five times for the Valencia based club’s first team.

  • Copa del Rey: Simon impresses on first start with Levante

    Super Eagles’ winger, Moses Simon started his first game of the season for Levante in their 1-1 draw away to CD Lugo in the Copa Del Rey, AOIFootball.com reports.

    Moses has been used as a substitute mostly in the league but started on the left-hand side of Levante’s attack.

    It was the hosts who however struck first courtesy of a Cristian Herrera strike in the 11th minute.

    Levante did equalize eight minutes into the second half with Borja Mayoral finishing off a Samu Garcia assist; the visitors held on to the advantage going into the second leg in December.

    “Happy to play my first Copa del Rey match,” Simon posted afterward.

    He was on for 84 minutes and had a game rating of 6.7, completed 53% of his passes, won 8 of his 13 duels contested, made an interception and also completed 50% of his tackles during the match.

  • Levante Confirms Moses Simeon 5-year Deal

    Super Eagles forward, Moses Simon has joined Levante from KAA Gent on a five-year deal.

    The Spanish club side on Monday confirmed the transfer deal in a message shared on twitter

    “Welcome to #LevanteUD, @Simon27Moses,” Levanted tweeted.

    ¡Welcome to #LevanteUD, @Simon27Moses! ??? pic.twitter.com/oDQcz0CXvx

    — Levante UD ? (@LevanteUD) August 6, 2018

    Simon, who was previously linked with a move to Liverpool, was signed for £4.5 million.

    The 23-year-old attacker has made 20 appearances for the Super Eagles since his debut against Uganda on March 25, 2015.

    He scored his first goal for Nigeria in an international friendly against Niger on September 8, 2015.

    Simon was named in Nigeria’s preliminary 30-man squad for the 2018 World Cup but he did not make the final 23 due to injury.

  • Kalu Uche joins Levante

    Kalu Uche joins Levante

    Forgotten Super Eagles forward, Uche Kalu, has joined a Spanish side, Levante, on a short term deal till the end of the season, sl10.ng reports.

    Uche, who had a stint in Turkey with Kasimpasa is presently in Qatar trying to reach a solution concerning the termination of his contract with Al-Rayyan, before travelling to Spain to complete his move to the La liga side.

    Levante needs a proven goal scorer and in the opinion of club officials, Uche who has featured for Almeria and Espanyol could solve the team goal scoring problems.

    Report says the former Bordeaux striker will be given an extended deal at the end of the season based on the number of goals he scores for the team in his initial six month spell at the struggling La liga outfit, who once had Obafemi Martins on its payroll.

     

  • Jesus swaps Real deal for Levante

    levante have completed the signing of Real Madrid goalkeeper Jesus Fernandez on a two-year deal.

    The transfer, which was announced on Monday, comes just a day after Keylor Navas left Levante to join the European champions on a six-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

    Navas’ arrival would have left Jesus further down the pecking order at Madrid, with Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas also on the books of the La Liga giants.

    Subsequently Jesus has opted to leave the Bernabeu and head for Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, where the 26-year-old has signed a contract that keeps him at the club until 2016 with the option to extend his stay by a further two years.

    A statement on Real’s official website read: “Real Madrid and Levante have reached an agreement for the transfer of Jesus Fernandez.

    “The club wishes to thank Jesus for his professionalism and dedication over all these years and we wish him the best of luck in his new journey.”

    Jesus moved to Real in 2010 but has featured largely for the club’s B team and made just two La Liga appearances for the club during his four-year stay.

  • Levante: Martins’ll play today

    Levante: Martins’ll play today

    Juan Ignacio Martinez has confirmed that Obafemi Martins is still in contention to play for Levante today in the derby against Valencia, despite the transfer saga involving the Nigerian striker.

    Martins has held preliminary talks with MLS outfit Seattle Sounders over a proposed N606m (Three million Euros) transfer that he has looked to push through with some public sentiments.

    However, the club have indicated that they will only negotiate at his buyout clause level and Martinez has confirmed that he is still in contention to feature in the Valencian derby at the weekend.

    “Oba has trained normally; we have spoken and for now he is a Levante player and if he still is then I would like all my options available to me at Mestalla,” the Levante manager said, at a joint Press conference held with Valencia counterpart Ernesto Valverde.

    Levante have suffered from poor form in the League, and a win in the Valencia derby may be the key to turning their season around.

  • MLS SWITCH LATEST: Levante: We ‘ll not let Martins go

    MLS SWITCH LATEST: Levante: We ‘ll not let Martins go

    Hopes of Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins making a move to the MLS in the United States may be dashed by his Spanish team Levante .

    The La Liga outfit stated through their official twitter account that they are not willing to negotiate the exit of any of their players and it will take the activation of the release clause in contracts to see any player leave the club.

    “Will not negotiate now the exit of any player and if there is an offer then it must be at the termination clause,”the Spanish outfit tweeted on Wednesday.

    Already Martins is relishing the prospects of plying his trade in ‘God’s own country’ as he told Spanish radio station Cadena SER Valencia that a move to join MLS side Seattle Sounders is good for him.

    “It’s a good deal for me, it is a good deal for everyone and it would be nice for my family to go to America,” Martins said.

    Since moving from Rubin Kazan, Martins has made a total of 20 La Liga appearances this season, and scored 7 goals in the process.

     

  • Levante: Martins is strong, fast

    Super Eagles outcast, Obafemi Martins will be a good buy for Levante in the Spanish La Liga according to the club’s sporting director, Manolo Salvador.
    In an interview with the club’s official radio station on Friday, Salvador said: “He’s strong, has speed, with many movements and a good player that suits our type of game.
    “We are fortunate to have signed him. It is a pity that he cannot compete in the Europa League, but the La Liga is the most important thing,” he said.
    Speaking further, Salvador confessed that the Nigeria international suffered a lot while negotiating his switch from Rubin Kazan.
    “”From the first contact I had with Martins in Munich (Germany) two months ago, he has never given me signals that he would act on the contrary.
    “Martins was prepared from day one to come but it was not in his hands. He never talked about money. He believed better things would come when he might have joined Levante and that I value a lot,” Salvador added.
    Meanwhile, Martins arrived in Levante last night and is expected to undergo routine medical examination in the coming days, a statement on the club’s official website disclosed.
    The striker, 27, it would be recalled, joined Levante on Thursday  on a two-year contract in a free transfer after Rubin Kazan agreed to terminate his contract before its expiration date.