The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SPANISH LA LIGA

  • Chukwueze scores as Barca survive Villarreal scare

    Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze was on target for hosts Villarreal as FC Barcelona survived a scare in an eight-goal thriller in a Spanish La Liga clash on Tuesday.

    FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came off the bench to help the La Liga leaders battle back from 4-2 down in stoppage time to snatch a remarkable 4-4 draw at struggling Villarreal.

    The Catalans thus avoided a first league loss since November.

    A last-gasp Luis Suarez strike after captain and top scorer Messi gave them hope with a deadly free kick in the 90th minute at Estadio de la Cerámica.

    The draw resulted in Barca’s lead over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who had earlier won 2-0 at home to lowly Girona, being trimmed to eight points.

    Read Also: Arsenal, Leicester table N17b for Chukwueze

    All these have however come ahead of Saturday’s top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp.

    Even without Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic in their starting line-up, the visitors still strolled into the lead through a Philippe Coutinho goal in the 12th minute.

    Brazilian forward Malcom soon doubled the lead with a header.

    But Villarreal, who began the game hovering one point above the relegation zone, were to soon haul themselves back into contention.

    It began with a strike from dazling 19-year-old Chukwueze midway through the first half.

    Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi took advantage of slack positioning from Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalise soon after the interval.

    Vicente Iborra completed the home side’s remarkable revival just after the hour mark.

    Messi was called from the bench to rescue the champions, but instead Villarreal increased their lead with a strike from substitute Carlos Bacca.

    Alvaro Gonzalez was then dismissed for Villarreal for a second booking with four minutes remaining.

    It thus paved the way for Messi and Suarez to strike for Barca and produce a remarkable finish to an enthralling contest.

    NAN

  • English Premier League has made me stronger – Guardiola

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the competitive nature and sheer unpredictability of the English Premier League has presented him with the biggest challenge of his career.

    Prior to his move to Manchester, Guardiola collected three Spanish La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies with FC Barcelona.

    He then led Bayern Munich to three consecutive Bundesliga crowns in competitions dominated by very few teams.

    However, the Spaniard said it felt like he needed to learn a whole new set of skills after arriving in England in 2016.

    He was forced to cope with heavy fixture congestion and a title challenge from five other contenders.

    “I am a better manager than I was in Germany, and I am a better manager now than I was at FC Barcelona by far, just for the fact of being there,” he said at the Peers Annual Lecture at Liverpool University.

    “Now, I feel being here I am a better manager too, because I learned to handle this incredible league in many circumstances.

    Read Also: Guardiola: repeat of record-breaking season ‘impossible’

    “It is the toughest one, for the amount of games, for the weather and the referees saying: `play (on), play (on), play (on)’ and the competitors, there are many.

    “It is the only country that five or six (teams) can win the Premier League.”

    Guardiola led Manchester City to the English Premier League title in record-breaking fashion last season, finishing on 100 points and 106 goals in 38 matches.

    Manchester City also lifted the League Cup and Community Shield this year to take Guardiola’s tally to 24 major trophies.

    And the Spaniard has admitted that transferring his skills to the international stage could one day come to fruition.

    “Sooner or later, it will happen because every three days I would like to be involved, but a little bit more calm, play more golf,” he added.

    “If I have a chance and some international team wants to come `knock, knock’. We will see.”

     

    NAN

  • Agbo’s Granada relegated after defeat to Real Sociedad

    Agbo’s Granada relegated after defeat to Real Sociedad

     

    Former Nigeria Under 20 ace Uche Agbo has lost the pleasure of competing in the first division of Spanish La liga following the relegation of Granada on Saturday. Agbo who has been on loan to the Spanish side from Watford was in action for full 90 minutes for the side as they went down 2-1 away to Real Sociedad

    Goals from Carlos Vela and Juanmi either side of Adrian Ramos’ header secured the win for the home side at Anoeta and sealed the visitors’ fate with three matches left to play this season.

    They sit 19th in the table, two points above already-relegated Osasuna and 10 points adrift of 17th-place Leganes, who have a game in hand.

    The defeat was Granada’s 23rd of the season and their fourth in the four matches since former Arsenal captain Tony Adams was appointed as head coach on April 10.

    The 50-year-old vowed to drill the players  upon his appointment but conceded this week that relegation to LaLiga2 was almost inevitable.

    Adams’ side have conceded nine times and scored only once in his four games in charge and fans staged a mass walkout when Sandro Ramirez struck his second goal in second-half stoppage time in the 2-0 home defeat to Malaga on Tuesday.

    However, Adams insisted this week the long-term future of the club was positive as they look to strengthen their playing squad and appoint a sporting director before next term.

    “We are talking April still and the window closes in August, and 40 per cent of the squad is done for next season,” he said.

    “This club’s got a bright future, it might not look it at the moment, but it’s got a bright future.”

    It will be recalled that Odion Ighalo who currently plies his trade with Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai, also was equally on loan to the side   from Udinese and later from Watford. His loan deal from Udinese ran from 2009 to part 2014.

    He was however later recalled to parent club Watford in 2014 where he played for another three years making 83 appearances and scoring 33 goals before catching the Chinese Super League bug. Watford are likely to decide on whether to recall Agbo following Granada relegation.

  • Spanish La Liga kicks off

    Spanish La Liga kicks off

    Barcelona starts the defence of its La Liga title on Sunday at Athletic Bilbao, the team who thrashed the European champions 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup.

    The BBC reports that Luis Enrique’s squad appears weaker than last season’s Treble-winning selection, with Pedro and Xavi leaving.

    Summer signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal cannot play until January because of a transfer ban.

    Real Madrid begins its season under new boss Rafael Benitez with a match away to newly promoted Sporting Gijon.

    Real officials sacked Carlo Ancelotti after finishing two points behind Barca and exiting in the Champions League semi-final last season.

    Benitez’s major outfield signings have been right-back Danilo from Porto and midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan.

     

  • SPANISH LA LIGA: Ike Uche hits 100 goals mark

    SPANISH LA LIGA: Ike Uche hits 100 goals mark

    • Achieves feat in 23,829 minutes of match time

    Ikechukwu Uche scored his 100th goal since he arrived in Spain 14 years ago on Sunday afternoon, as Villarreal played out a 1 – 1 draw with his former club, Getafe, in La Liga.

    Before the start of this season, the Nigeria international had netted 94 goals cumulatively for Racing Ferrol, Recreativo de Huelva, Getafe, Real Zaragoza, Granada and Villarreal.

    He was on 99 goals before today’s game against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, Madrid, and he increased that tally by one after converting a spot – kick in the 52nd minute.

    It took Ikechukwu Uche 23,829 minutes of match time before reaching 100 goals, and he averaged 0.28 goals per game in 352 matches.

    His brother Kalu Uche, now with Levante, has found the back of the net 49 times for his Spanish clubs.

     

    Ikechukwu Uche’s Goals:

     

    Racing Ferrol – 28 appearances,

    2 goals

    Recreativo de Huelva – 133 appearances, 50 goals

    Getafe – 55 appearances,

    11 goals

    Real Zaragoza – 18 appearances,

    1 goal

    Granada – 34 appearances,

    3 goals

    Villarreal – 84 appearances,

    33 goals

    352 appearances,

    100 goals