Atletico Madrid Loss To Sporting Gijon May Facilitate Barcelona Win Of Laliga Title

Atletico Madrid lost to Sporting Gijon in match 30 of the Spanish Laliga, giving Barcelona the opportunity to comfortably win the league if they scale through against Villareal tomorrow.

Barcelona are trailed by Atletico Madrid with eight points and a win for Barcelona in tomorrow's encounter will increase their lead on Atletico by eleven points before Barcelona go into her next match with Real Madrid.

Interestingly, Atletico and Barcelona are also expected to clash in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions league in a few weeks time.

IMSU Alumni Trash Students 2-1 In Novelty Match To End Home Coming In Grand Style

IMSU ALUMNI TEAM BEFORE THE MATCH

IMSU STUDENTS TEAM BEFORE THE TEAM (PHOTOS CHIKODI)

The IMSU Alumni established their superiority this afternoon, when they trashed students of their former institution 2-1, to win the Novelty football match played at the main pitch of the Institution's Sports pitch.

The match which was one of the events mapped out for the first homecoming of the Alumnites witnessed a good number of Stars based in far-flung remote part of the country.

Cross section of other stars at the venue

In attendance for the football match are Maazi Marcel Duru, Chris Anyanwu,Paschal Ihekuna, Francis Ndims, Walter Duru,Pope Ngoladi, Odaghara Okadigbo, others are Kenneth Udeze, Karl Max, Prince Obi, Prince Akano to mention a few.

The match commenced with a kick-off done by the national president of the Alumni Enyioha Chris Anyanwu.

IMSU Alumni did not waste much time in launching attack on the students and their attack paid off when they took the lead within thirty minutes of play by 2-0.

At half time the technical crew of the students team made technical imputes, which was aimed at frustrating the Alumnites, and the students tried getting back on their seniors upon resumption.

The attack managed to get them one goal, but the Alumnites gained more possession of the ball and attempted to increase the lead before the blast of the final whistle came a few minutes after the second goal.

IMSU football team are out to make impact in the forthcoming NUGA Games to be hosted in Makurdi, and the Novelty match is probably one of the warm-up matches arranged to prepare the team ahead of the national event. 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEW;

The match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona is arguably going to be the star match for the quarter final fixtures, considering their recent performances.

Both teams last met at this stage in 2014 and it went in favour of Atletico after they played a goalless draw in Camp Nou and got a 1-1 draw in Atletico. The away goal rule favoured Atletico who eventually got to the final and lost to Real Madrid.

Presently, Barcelona are in top form and the presence of Messi, Neymar and Suarez is a big headache to any manager who has a date with Barcelona.

Barcelona are defending champions and are willing to break the jinx by becoming the first club to win the title back-to-back since its name was changed to Champions League in 1992, they currently have a 38 unbeaten record and will surely wish to extend their win irrespective of who they meet at any level.

Atletico Madrid is yet to win the title but have played in the final on two occasions, in 1974 when they were defeated by Bayern Munich and in 2014 when Real Madrid defeated them. They are a good side when it comes to defence and they will be faced with the challenge of curtailing the damages of Messi, Neymar and Suarez if they must make head way in this edition.

However, Barcelona will have a 60% chance of progressing while Atletico will have 40 % chance of progressing to the semifinal stage.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW: BENFICA VS BAYERN MUNICH

Both teams have tasted the European champions glory, with Bayern having more silverware in respect to that. The last time Benfica played in the semifinal of the Champions League was in 1990, they progressed to the final and lost to Milan by 1-0.

On the other hand, Bayern have been very consistent with the semifinal, with the most recent being the last edition where they lost to eventual winners Barcelona.

Benfica is yet to taste the venom of a vibrant attacking side and the match against Bayern will actually determine that.

However, Bayern have a higher chance of moving to the semifinal ahead of Benfica, with Lewandowski, Robben and Muller. They can do some damages. Pep's joker Thiago Alcantara is also a man to reckon with.

Champions League Preview: Wolfsburg Vs Real Madrid

ANALYSIS
Expectations will be high for Wolfsburg after breaking the jinx and getting to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions league. It will be an honour to be in the semifinal for the first time too, but.... Madrid is hard knot to crack.

Madrid will be seeking to get to the final of this tournament and Cristiano Ronaldo who has broken series of records with Madrid in the Champions league will be glad to be part of this history.

Zinedine Zidane will face his first test with a German side in the knockout stage and this is really going to be tough.

Wolfsburg are bent on proving a point in this Champions League, but how this will come to be with at the expense of a Madrid side that are seeking to win their eleventh Champions League still remains a mystery.
PREDICTION 
Going by present form and pedigree, Madrid have a 65% chance of progressing to the semifinal stage while Wolfsburg have 35% chances.

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How Far Can Manchester City Go In The UEFA Champions League?

Manchester City have been drawn with French side Paris Saint-German, in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League and this is really a tight encounter for both sides.

City are the burden bearers of England, being the only English team left in the tournament after United, Chelsea, and Arsenal were shown the way out, no thanks to Wolfsburg, PSG and Barcelona who did the damage.

Manchester City are playing in the quarter-final for the first time and Pellegrini may hope to extend this feat for the club by securing a semi-final place as well.

Unfortunately, PSG who have suffered at this stage of the tournament in the hands of Barcelona on two occasions must have heaved a sigh of relief when the draw was done, hoping to also get a semi-final ticket at the expense of City.

City have 35% chances of edging out PSG at this stage, considering the fact that PSG is the only club in Europe to have won their home league with eight matches left.

However, City who are on the fourth position in their domestic league are still struggling to maintain the top four position, and this could cause some distractions for them in Europe.

PSG played a key role in knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League, and will not hesitate to do same to any English side who stand on their way as they aim to reach the final. 

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Ooops!!! PSG? Will My Boys Make It To The Semi-final Stage????

Liverpool Edge Out Manchester United In Europa Encounter

Manchester United are out of the Europa League tournament after they were forced to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford stadium by Liverpool.

Manchester United's one and only goal in the two-leg encounter came through a penalty, when Martial was brought down in the 31st minutes, he took the penalty himself and put United in the lead.

However, Klopp's men did not give room for the lead to enter half-time before Coutinho went on solo run and scored the equalizer for Liverpool at 45 minutes of play, making the first half to end in a 1-1 draw.

All efforts made by Van Gaal's men in the second half to increase the scores proved abortive, as Klopp's men kept them away from seeing the back of net despite being at home.

Liverpool have been drawn with Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final of the Europa tournament, giving Jurgen Klopp an opportunity to face his former club Dortmund in Europe. This will be his first meeting with his former club since he left.

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Fixtures

The Die Is Cast!!!

WOLFSBURG VS REAL MADRID

BENFICA VS BAYERN MUNICH

ATLETICO MADRID VS BARCELONA

MANCHESTER CITY VS PSG

Determined Dortmund May Trash Tottenham In Second Leg

Borussia Dortmund will be aiming to complete their winning by having a smooth run when they play Tottenham today in England.

Dortmund beat Tottenham 3-0 in the first leg of their encounter at the Europa tournament and are capable of doing same when they meet today.

The German side who are supposed to be in the Champions league found themselves in Europa A after having a poor performance in their home league last season.

Though by virtue of their seated on second position on the Bundesliga table, they have qualified for Champions league, that would not hinder them from aiming to win the Europa title.

Manchester United Set To Beat Liverpool At Old Trafford

Manchester United are set to turn things around when they clash with Liverpool in the second leg of the Europa round of 16 match taking place today.

Liverpool beat United by 2-0 at Anfield and have two goals advantage ahead of the match against United. United will be aiming to get a 2-0 win and probably take the game into extra time with hope of  qualifying.

Interestingly, Liverpool lost the final of the Capital One Cup to Manchester City, and will be looking up to scaling through to the quarterfinal of Europa, to keep their hope of winning silverware alive.

Van Gaal who is still under pressure to reach the top four, could also fall back on winning the Europa Cup as a means of qualifying automatically for the UEFA Champions League. 

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Man!! It was not the weather that made me feel cold, it's Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Those guys are bad...

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Messi, Neymar Suarez Score To Confirm Arsenal's Elimination From Champions League

Barcelona thrashed their visitors 3-1 at Camp Nou, with Messi, Neymar and Suarez all scoring, to officially send Arsenal out of the UEFA Champions League, in a match that was already seen by bookmakers as work-over.

Barcelona won the first leg 2-0 at Emirate, and pundits had already predicted that the second leg in Camp Nou was just for formality.

Messi, Neymar and Suarez were obviously to big for Gunners to curtail and the trio ensured that they had their names on the score sheet in the encounter.

Barcelona qualify 5-1 on aggregate, and making history for the first time by defeating Arsenal at home and away.

The match was at a point considered to be one of Barcelona's training session, as they made very close and completed passes that made their visitors come begging to get the ball. 

Bayern Scale Through To Quarter-Final Despite Juventus Early Lead

Bayern Munich are through to the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions league after defeating Juventus 4-2 in a match that was played for 120 minutes.

Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado put Juventus in the lead by two goals  in the first half, putting the host under serious pressure to turn the game around before home crowd.

Robert Lewandowski's header gave Bayern hope in the second half and brought life back to the stadium, Juve relaxed, and felt the game would probably end 1-2 until in their favour, Muller's 91 minutes header took the game into extra time.

Thiago Alcantara and Kingley Coman were introduced in the second half and both players made the difference by scoring the two goals of the extra time making Bayern to win 4-2 after extra time, and 6-4 on aggregate.

This is the first time Juventus will concede four goals in a single match since 2013 when it happened against Fiorentina.

 

Arsenal Set To Get Mysterious Pound Of Flesh From Barcelona At Camp Nou

Camp Nou will be on fire tonight, when Arsenal will seek to overturn a 2-0 deficit against defending champions Barcelona in the second leg of the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg at Emirate, making bookmakers to right off Arsenal but Arsene Wenger men will aim to prove a point to the Catalans.

Arsenal's quest to scale through is seen by many as a mirage, but Arsenal will become the third club in history to overturn a 2-0 after Barcelona and Manchester United.

Bayern Set To Send Juve Out Of Champions League Tie

Bayern Munich will be looking up to to secure a quarter-final ticket at the expense of Juventus, when both sides clash tonight in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League.

Bayern were compelled to a 2-2 draw at Turin in the first leg, and today's match will determine if they will make headway in the tournament.

Guardiola's side need to win and regain the confidence they need to enable Bayern make way to the semifinal stage of the tournament which has always been Bayern's least performance in the past seven years.

It will also be an honour to Pep Guardiola to win the Champions League with Bayern before leaving for Manchester City in July.

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Pep Guardiola To Know Fate Today After Juventus Encounter

Pep Guardiola will lead his German side against Juventus in a second leg encounter that requires nothing short of success.

Bayern were forced to a 2-2 draw in Turin, and Pep had been criticized by management of Bayern of not taking his job serious after securing a new contract at Etihad. He was also threatened to be sacked if eventually he fails to make something meaningful out of this Champions League.

Guardiola will need to ensure that Bayern qualify, to keep their hope alive otherwise may lose his job.

Bayern who took the lead by 2-0 in the first half of the first leg were compelled to draw by the Italian side, making situation more difficult for the Spaniard.

An outright win will see Bayern through, a goalless or 1-1 draw will also favour them, while a 2-2 draw will take the match into extra time. 

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Pellegrini Drags Manchester City To First Champions League Quarter-final Stage

Manchester City are through to the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time, and history will also have it that Pellegrini was the man who made it.

The Chilean knowing full well that his contract with City will expire at end of season has done all he can to take Manchester City to this historical stage, with hope of going further if they excel in the quarter-final stage.

Pellegrini became the first coach to qualify City to the knock-out stage of the Champions League, and has been able to improve on that by going beyond that.

It will also be recalled that while in charge of City, the club for the first time finished top in their Champions league group stage with 12 points,where they played Sevilla, Juventus and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Atletico Madrid Gets A Narrow Escape After Penalty Shootout

Atletico Madrid are through to the quarter of the UEFA Champions League after narrowly beating PSV 8-7 on penalties.

The two legged encounter which was played for a total of 210 minutes yielded no goal, and it was resolved through penalty shoot-out.

The dramatic penalty shoot-out went in favour of Atletico, thanks to Luciano Narsingh of PSV whose penalty hit the cross bar, making Atletico to seal up winning through Juanfran's winning penalty.

The match between Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven is the first UEFA Champions League match to finish goalless after two leg encounter.

 

Manchester City Scale Through To Quarter Final For First Time

Manchester City are through to the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League after playing a goaless draw with Dynamo Kiev at Etihad Stadium.

They qualify on 3-1 aggregate after winning the first leg by 3-1. This is the first time Manchester City will qualify for the quarterfinal stage of the UEFA Champions League.

They will have to prepare to meet any of Real Madrid, PSG, Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid, pending the results of other matches to be played today between Juventus and Bayern as well as Barcelona and Arsenal.

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Humble Leicester Maintain Top Spot Position in Premier League

Leicester City are the team of the moment as they maintain the top spot of the English premier league after defeating Newcastle United by 1-0.

It is indeed historical for the club at this point, finding themselves in a position they have never been since inception.

Leicester manager Ranieri have never made any utterance that suggest that they are being boastful, neither have any of the players done such.

They remain five points ahead of  Tottenham with nine matches to end of season. 

Our Fans Are Dreaming of Lifting The Premier League Title - Ranieri

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has disclosed that fans are already dreaming of lifting the premier league title after defeating Newcastle United 1-0 at Kings Power.

With eight matches left for Leicester, they just need to continue winning, while they hope that Tottenham who trail them with five points will drop points and make winning the title easier and remarkable.

This is the first time Leicester City will be on top of the table at this stage, and its already giving them joy at the expense of traditional teams that are known to be on that position.

Lifting the premier league title will qualify Leicester automatically for the Champions League and give them the opportunity to be seeded in top seed when the UEFA groupings begin.

Benitez Failed To Do The Needed Magic To Move Newcastle From Relegation

NewCastle manager Rafael Benitez was unable to turn things around for the club at his debut after his services was gotten to get the team out of relegation zone.

Ranieri's men beat Newcastle 1-0 to maintain their lead of Tottenham on the table with five points, spoiling Benitez debut match and first attempt to push Newcastle out of relegation.

Newcastle are currently on the 29 position with 24 points, though they still have an outstanding.

Management are curious about ensuring that Newcastle does not go on relegation, hence former manager was fired to accommodate Benitez whom is expected to keep to terms of contract by ensuring that they remain in the premier league.

With nine matches left for Newcastle, Benitez is expected to turn things around.

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