Tag: UEFA Champions league

Benzema: Those who criticise Messi do not know about football

Karim Benzema has spoken out about Lionel Messi’s time in Paris, claiming that the former Barcelona captain is still adapting to a new league.

The Real Madrid striker came head to head with Messi in a number of El Clasicos in which both Madrid and Barcelona showed their superiority. After a while spent playing second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema finally took up the mantle and Madrid and had some impressive Pichichi battles with the Argentine.

However, Benzema has always maintained and expressed respect for his El Clasico rival and continues to respect him, even as he now plies his trade in Benzema’s home country of France.

The Los Blancos striker was asked about Messi’s form with Paris Saint-Germain in an interview with Telefoot and he defended his former rival by saying that his critics “do not understand anything about football”.

“How is Messi not going to succeed?” Benzema said to Telefoot when asked about Messi’s underwhelming form. “It’s just a time of adaptation, because he hasn’t scored many goals.

“But look what he does on the pitch. In any case, you can’t criticise a player like that, someone who criticises Messi doesn’t understand anything about football.”

Messi has made 17 appearances across all competitions for PSG to date, scoring six goals and providing five assists. Five of his goals were in the UEFA Champions League, which shows that his potency in front of attack is still there. However his lone goal in the league has called his ability to adapt to a different league to question.

Injuries and COVID-19 have also affected the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner but with Messi being Messi, nothing can be categorically said about his performances until the season is over.

Benzema assures fans ahead of PSG-Madrid Champions League clash

Madrid will battle PSG in the Champions League round of 16 and Benzema will be facing Messi again as well as his strike partner in the French national team, Kylian Mbappe.

Both strikers have struck up a friendship which Benzema alluded to in his interview with Telefoot, where he also claimed that Madrid is prepared for Mbappe’s, Messi’s and Neymar’s PSG.

“Facing Mbappe? It’s going to be special,” he said. “We’re good friends. Let’s see what happens

“He wants to win and so do I.

“We’d like to have been drawn against someone else, but we’re prepared,” he assured fans.

Benzema also spoke about coming fourth in the Ballon d’Or awards, in which Messi picked up his seventh prize.

“Like I’ve said since I was a child: being fourth, third, second or 30th are all the same,” Benzema said about his Ballon d’Or ranking. “What matters is winning.

“Later, they told me that I hadn’t won enough trophies, but I couldn’t do any more.

“The Ballon d’Or for me is for someone who scores, assists, is there for the difficult moments.

“It’s a lot of things, not just winning trophies, but I’m not the one who gives out the trophy.”

Pochettino: Current form will count for little against Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have been drawn to face each other in the marquee game of the 2022/22 UEFA Champions League round of 16.

The Champions League draws on Monday was marred by controversy as a “software issue” pitted some teams who were supposed to be in the same pots against each other.

After the initial confusion which caused some clubs to write petitions and express their displeasure to the media, the draws happened again and the final matchups are just as impressive.

Fans were denied the possibility of seeing Cristiano Ronaldo go head to head with Lionel Messi for what could be the last time in both their careers due to the draw being re-done.

However, the match between PSG and their correct opponents Real Madrid, will prove to be as exciting.

PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino has expressed confidence in his team’s chances despite their new opponents being a much more difficult hurdle to scale than Manchester United.

We face a very tough tie, says Pochettino

After the draws on Monday, PSG’s official media sat down with their manager to get his thoughts on their latest challenge as they march towards their first ever Champions League title.

The Argentine manager admitted that the game will be very difficult. “It will be a difficult tie because they’re a team with a super coach and super players,” the 49-year-old boss said to PSG’s official club media.

“We’ll be facing Real Madrid, who are a team used to winning the Champions League, a team with history and plenty of experience. It’s clear that we face a very tough tie.

PSG have been shaky in the league this season but have managed to remain clear at the top of the table.

They have struggled to break down opponents despite having Messi added to their already talented forward line of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria.

However, their form in the Champions League has been a lot better, especially Messi who ended the group stages with five goals from six games.

Pochettino admitted to the team’s shaky form but also believes that it will not matter in the grand scheme of things.

“It [knockout rounds] starts in February, so current form will count for little,” Pochettino told PSG media.

“The important thing will be to be in our best possible condition come February and to evaluate every player individually.

“There’s always an element of luck when it comes to a team’s form. For example, injuries can affect the team. This will be a knockout tie played on predetermined dates when several factors can influence the outcome.

“Of course, we have to be confident. We have a great team and great footballers with lots of talent. I have no doubt that we’ll approach the tie in the best possible way and still with lots of confidence in our players.

“We have enough quality to win this tie and get through to the next round. That’s Paris Saint-Germain’s objective.”

Allegri unhappy with Juventus game despite finishing top of UCL group

Juventus’ manager Massimiliano Allegri chose to dwell on his side’s finishing despite beating Chelsea to the top spot of their 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group.

Allegri’s side finished top of group H thanks to Chelsea playing a 3-3 draw away to Zenit St Petersburg on the last matchday of the group stages, as they beat the visiting Malmö by a lone Moise Kean goal.

Allegri was grateful to finish at the top of his group which looked unlikely at some point but was more concerned about the chances which Juventus missed in the game.

““It was a great evening for the result, but we wasted too many scoring opportunities,” the 54-year-old Italian manager said in his post match comments to Sky Sports Italy.

“We cannot think we’ll get far if we continue to waste all these chances. We must be more clinical, more determined when we are in front of goal. This is absolutely something we need to improve.”

Juventus fielded a much changed side for their final group game with qualification guaranteed and a very busy schedule in the coming weeks. Allegri spoke on the idea behind his rotation of the squad for what turned out to be a very fortunate game.

“I wanted to see how everyone was doing and they all gave a good response,” Allegri continued. “Arthur, Rodrigo Bentancur, Daniele Rugani, Mattia Perin and Koni De Winter all played with character.”

He still went on to mention his side’s poor finishing in the game despite this praise for his squad.

“It was a difficult match and we were able to break the deadlock early, but then failed to kill off the game with 2-0 so many times. We have to improve this, because we cannot keep games in the balance like this,” the Juventus boss said.

Juventus travel to Venezia at the weekend to continue their Serie A top four race following a poor run of form in front of the attack which has seen them only score 20 goals in 14 games so far this season in the competition.

“I told the lads that a much more difficult match awaits us this weekend against Venezia, because none of them have faced Venezia before,” he added.

“I’ve been there, it’s a beautiful city, but also a very difficult stadium to play in and we need a completely different performance to what we saw today.

“Their pitch is very narrow and they are aggressive. We must be organised and focused, above all improving our effectiveness in front of goal.”

Juventus must reach quarter finals, says Bonucci

Legendary defender Leonardo Bonucci said after the match that the minimum target for Juventus is reaching the last eight of the Champions League after topping their group in fortunate circumstances.

“It would be hypocritical for us to say that Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Liverpool don’t have something more than Juve right now,” said Bonucci in his post-match press conference.

“We can only call upon our best physical and mental shape in the Round of 16 to go forward. The minimum target for Juventus is reaching the last eight of the Champions League.

“Whatever the draw holds for us, and it could be Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, we need to reach those fixtures in the best possible shape. We need to at least reach the quarter-finals.”

Elsewhere, 19-year-old Koni De Winter who made his UEFA Champions League debut against Malmö for Juventus’ is the youngest player to ever start a Champions League game for the Bianconeri.

It is not his debut in the competition, however, as he had already come off the bench for 10 minutes in their 4-0 loss to Chelsea earlier during the group stages.

Allegri will be happy with the Belgian U-23 player’s performance and will definitely have him in his plans for future games in the competition.

Lionel Messi loses 11-year record to PSG teammate

Lionel Messi has lost one of his numerous records to fellow Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe following the 22-year-old’s 30th and 31st goals in the UEFA Champions League.

PSG hit top gear in their final Champions League group game against Club Brugge with goals from Messi and Mbappe making Parc de Princes erupt in rapturous applause for the first time in a while.

Mbappe, 22, opened the scoring in under two minutes to score his 30th Champions League goal and break the record set by his strike partner, Messi, 11 years ago. He added a second to officially kick off a new era and the race to another record: 50 goals under 25 years old.

He also set up Messi’s first goal with some great solo work to get away from an onrushing Club Brugge defender, before squaring to Messi who found the net from almost 25 years out.

Messi achieved the milestone in 2010 when he was 23 years and 131 days old, while Mbappe – only two weeks away from his birthday – achieved it at 22 years and 352 days to give Pochettino’s side a boost for their coming games.

Mauricio Pochettino will appreciate his team’s performance after a week in which they were held to successive Ligue 1 draws by OGC Nice and RC Lens respectively.

Messi extends goalscoring record

Kylian Mbappe tore holes through the walls of the Club Brugge defence in the first seven minutes, and Messi knew he had to get in on the action.

The Argentine forward who had come into the game with only one goal in nine Ligue 1 appearances but a much better Champions League record, where he had four goals in five games, kept knocking but was denied a few times by great blocks and good saves from Simon Mignolet of Club Brugge.

He finally got his goal after going on a typical run following some good work by Mbappe, before curling in with his deadly left foot.

He scored again from the penalty spot after getting tried in the box, eight minutes after Club Brugge midfielder Mats Rits got a consolation goal back

Both Messi’s goals have now moved him ahead of Pele in the men’s career goals list, as they took his tally to 758 in total for club and country. He is now only 43 goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the outright top scorer in men’s football with 801 goals.

Club Brugge was also the 38th team he’s scored against in the competition, level with Cristiano Ronaldo for the most teams scored against. His brace was also his 35th in the competition, which took him to 125 goals in 154 Champions League matches.

Mauricio Pochettino addresses Messi and PSG internal issues; says he is calm

Mauricio Pochettino has spoken about Paris Saint-Germain’s current situation in the press conference before their final UEFA Champions League game against Club Brugge later on Tuesday.

PSG is 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 despite their recent poor showing but the poor run of Pochettino’s squad (two wins, two draws and a loss) have kept the negative press surrounding Pochettino’s time in Paris alive.

After their most recent match which ended as a draw away to RC Lens, rumours about seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi being unhappy with Pochettino began to surface.

The reports also claim that Messi’s sentiments have caused some fraction in the PSG dressing room, as he’s not convinced about his compatriot’s ability to guide PSG to a successful season.

Pochettino has struggled to find the right balance for his squad of superstars, made even more difficult following the summer acquisitions of Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum.

L’Equipe claims that Messi and his associates fear Pochettino does not have full control of the dressing room and has lost the respect of a number of senior players.

The L’Equipe report states that Messi believes Pochettino’s game plan to be “too restrictive” and that the manager is not knowledgeable enough about the particular strengths of his players to use them to their fullest.

Pochettino is unfazed by the team’s situation, however.

“I’m feeling good, I’m calm,” he said in his pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of the match with Club Brugge.

“I am working in an organisation which is aware of the work we are putting in. I’m feeling the club’s support.

“I’m calm because I know the process we’ve set out on.”

Rumours are part of our life at PSG, Pochettino insists

The 49-year-old manager who has not been able to catch a break in the news since joining PSG also alluded to the fact that rumours will always happen as long as he’s at a club of PSG’s calibre.

The Argentine said: “You have what’s happening on the pitch but also internally, in the adaptation, communication, and the fact that links are being created.

“We know that in a club like PSG, on which the light shines very brightly, rumours are part of our life.

“In the middle of these storms, we will never stray away from our ideas. Because we know that after the storm, the sun will come out.

“And then we’ll be able to make those who love the club benefit from our work.”

Messi needs to be sincere, says Robert Lewandowski

Elsewhere, Robert Lewandowski has come out to express his real feelings after losing to PSG forward Messi at the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in November.

Messi, in his acceptance speech, gave plaudits to the Bayern Munich striker and urged France Football to give Lewandowski the 2020 Ballon d’Or. “I would like to mention Robert Lewandowski, it’s been a real honour to compete with you,” Messi said.

“Everyone knows and we agree that you were the winner last year. I think France Football should award you your 2020 Ballon d’Or – you deserve it and you should have it at home.”

The Polish striker, however, expressed sadness at the loss of both awards and also expressed a hope that Messi was genuinely praising him and not just being performative.

“I felt sadness,” Lewandowski told Polish outlet Kanale Sportowym. “I can’t deny it.

“I can’t say I was happy, on the contrary. I have a feeling of sadness. To be so close, to compete with Messi, of course I respect how he plays and what he has achieved. The mere fact that I was able to compete with him shows me the level that I was able to reach.”

“I’m not that enthusiastic about getting the 2020 award,” Lewandowski added, when asked about his thoughts on Messi’s comments to France football to give him the 2020 award.

“I would like it [Messi’s 2020 Ballon d’Or statement] to be a sincere and courteous statement from a great player and not just empty words.”

Chelsea is the 2021 Club of the Year as winners in the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards are revealed

Chelsea have been recognised for their achievements as a club as France Football awarded them the 2021 Club of the Year at the Ballon d’Or gala on Monday.

France Football unveiled two awards at the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards gala: “Striker of the Year” and “Club of the Year”.

Both award categories are the third and fourth introductions by France Football in the past three years, following the Kopa Trophy for best young player under the age of 21 and the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper.

Robert Lewandowski, who missed out on his Ballon d’Or due to COVID-19 restrictions forcing France Football to cancel last year’s gala, won the Striker of the Year award, while Chelsea won the Club of the Year award.

The Blues were the standout team in this year’s Ballon d’Or nominations for both the male and female categories following an excellent year in which the men’s team won the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup, and the women’s team won the English Women’s Super League.

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante were on the 30-man shortlist for the men’s award, while Pernille Harder, Sam Kerr, Jessie Flemming and Fran Kirby were on the 10-woman shortlist for the women’s award.

Edouard Mendy was also nominated for the Yashin award following his brilliant season with The Blues but lost out on the Yashin Trophy to Gianluigi Donnarumma.

How Chelsea won the Club of the Year award

Chelsea became a dominant force under manager Emma Hayes and that dominance was on full display in 2021 as expected.

It was a smooth run to the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League where they faced the unmovable wall of Barcelona Femeni, captained by 2021 Ballon d’Or Feminin winner, Alexia Putellas.

This was after they had wrapped up the WSL in England for the second time in a row to claim their fourth title, the most in the competition’s 11-year history. A win in the UWCL final would’ve also meant that Chelsea would be the first club to have their men’s and women’s teams be European champions.

Meanwhile, the men’s team braved many odds as they picked up the pieces of a season in which they could’ve ended outside the places for European competition. 

Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard and helped transform the team into a club that nobody wants to play against, eventually beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League and later Villarreal in the Super Cup.

This was after battling their way back into the top four to earn a chance to qualify for the 2021/22 Champions League in case things didn’t go their way in the final.

Chelsea men’s team currently top the 2021/22 Premier League table while Chelsea women’s team are in second place and looking to defend their title from their perennial rivals, the Arsenal women’s team.

As it stands, Chelsea remains in pole position to win the 2022 Club of the Year award, which will definitely please fans.

Sergio Ramos: “I can play for four or five more years”

Sergio Ramos has made his Paris Saint-Germain debut after four months on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury that almost looked like it would end his career at just 35 years old.

Speaking in an interview with Amazon Prime Sport before his debut, Ramos claimed he can “continue to play for four or five years” as he believes his physicality is back to what it once was.

Sergio Ramos moved to PSG on a free transfer in July 2021 after a stellar 16-year career at Real Madrid, where he was the captain for seven of those years.

He joined the Parisiens injured, however, and struggled with the injury for four whole months. He was given the medical green light last week and made his debut on the squad list in PSG’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the 2021/22 Champions League matchday 5.

He finally got to start in a dream centre-back pairing with PSG captain Marquinhos as PSG battled from a goal down to snatch the victory away to Saint-Etienne at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. He played like he never left; riling up opposition players and putting his body on the line to make tackles.

PSG fans and fans of the Real Madrid legend will be happy to see Ramos, whose career was in doubt due to the injury relapses he kept suffering, back on the field.

Now, according to the four-time UEFA Champions League winner in his interview with Amazon Prime Sport, it’s only a matter of his mental strength that will keep him playing for four or five more years.

Sergio Ramos wants to pay back PSG’s trust in him

PSG took a huge gamble by signing an injured Sergio Ramos. However, when one of the best defenders in the world in the last 10 seasons becomes available on a free, it’ll be either foolish or very brave of clubs who want to compete for the biggest titles to look the other way.

Ramos recognises the risk PSG took in signing him and wants to pay the trust back. “I think I can continue playing for four or five years,” Ramos said in his interview. 

“The most important thing is that my head holds. I hope I don’t have any more physical problems.”

Ramos also admitted to battling negative thoughts during his lengthy injury layoff. “At the end are difficult moments, moments of loneliness,” the World Cup winner said.

“Whole hours in the gym with the physiotherapist, with the physical trainer. You constantly have negative thoughts that sometimes make you doubt.

“I believed in myself and in work,” he continued. “I focus on giving the club back the trust it has placed in me. I hope to reach my best level.

Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos admit to weirdness in PSG dressing room

Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos were rivals in the biggest club football match in the world for more than 10 years. Their rivalry was heated and both almost came to blows a few times especially during Messi’s time as Barcelona captain.

Fans were surprised that both men would play for the same club, and both men have also admitted that there’s a sort of weirdness sharing a dressing room with each other after being the faces of the El Clasico rivalry for such a long time.

Now that Ramos is fit, fans will need a period of adjustment to the sight of the two former captains of Barcelona and Real Madrid playing for the same club in a competitive match and fighting for the same objectives.

Manchester United into the last 16 of Champions League as Jadon Sancho scores his first goal

Interim manager Michael Carrick has begun his Manchester United tenure the same way Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did – in blistering fashion.

Manchester United have now booked their place in the UEFA Champions League last 16 by beating Villarreal in Spain by two goals to none, despite not looking like they would. 

Jadon Sancho finally opened his Manchester United account with a fine strike that clipped the underside of Gerónimo Rulli’s crossbar before going in. This was after Mr Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, had opened the scoring by capitalising on a defensive error to chip Rulli in the Villarreal goal.

The game was the perfect response to the disgraceful loss over the weekend at Vicarage Road to a struggling Watford team in the Premier League, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

A game to remember for rookie manager Michael Carrick

While the job may be a caretaker role for the 40-year-old Englishman, this is Michael Carrick’s first foray into management. The former West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder retired in 2018 after a title-filled 12 years with Manchester United.

He has since been part of the coaching staff at the club, and now, he’s a manager with Champions League experience under his belt. His role, however, is a thankless one as he admitted after the game.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Carrick said: “It’s not an important result for me personally; it’s an important result for the club, it’s an important result for the players.

“It’s been an emotional few days. The first person I spoke to when all of this happened was Ole, to see what he thought about it because I felt like it was the right thing to do. I have a responsibility to be here, to manage the team, and I take great pride in that.

“But it wasn’t about me, it was about getting through. When you gt to this stage of the Champions League, it could swing so easy both ways. So it was vital that we came in and got the right result.”

A game to remember for Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho arrived at Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in a big-money move over the summer after over two years of being one of the Red Devils’ primary transfer targets.

The Manchester City academy product has shown flashes of his brilliance in a few games but has struggled to make any kind of impact at Old Trafford as he used to week in, week out with Dortmund.

He, however, produced one of his best performances in the United jersey at El Madrigal and got a goal to boot, which will boost his confidence a lot more.

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“I was so pleased for Jadon,” Carrick told Manchester United media. “I thought he worked his socks off tonight, I thought he gave everything tonight.

“At times, it wasn’t always with the ball and I know how much he enjoys the ball at his feet and trying to make things happen. He showed a different side tonight and, to get his goal at the end, pretty much capped it off perfectly for him and for us.”

Jadon Sancho has been a fan favourite even when he was not performing as expected, but he’s sure to feel the love a lot more as fans showered his game against Villarreal with praises.

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There’s surely more where that came from and Manchester United fans can look forward to improved performances from the 21-year-old.