February 2019 – Cristiano News

February 28, 2019

Barcelona stuns Madrid 3-0 at Bernabeu, reaches Copa final again

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez, center, celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

MADRID— Real Madrid couldn’t put Barcelona away when it had the chance, and ended up being dealt a hard blow by its biggest rival.

In the first of two consecutive games between the Spanish powerhouses at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Barcelona weathered a dominant first half by Madrid and then scored three times after the break for a 3-0 win Wednesday and a spot in the Copa del Rey final for a sixth straight season.

“I have to admit that we didn’t play very well in the first half,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde after his 100th match in charge. “We scored three goals but didn’t have that many chances. It happens sometimes.”

Luis Suarez scored twice as Barcelona advanced 4-1 on aggregate after being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinals at Camp Nou three weeks ago. The Catalan club also benefited from an own goal by Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

“They were a lot more efficient than we were,” Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari said. “We created many chances but couldn’t score. They scored with their first shot

February 28, 2019

Irina Shayk unfollowed Lady Gaga on social media before the Oscars

It’s not that the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper speculation makes ME feel out of touch, it’s that the speculation makes me think that many people don’t even understand what sexual chemistry looks like and feels like. If you watched A Star Is Born and thought B-Coop and Gaga had amazing chemistry and they belong together and they’re the Nu Brangelina, then bless your buttons. I watched ASIB and I was shocked by how awkward they were together and how the script did little to help them. That being said, I thought they had chemistry performing together at the Oscars. They were sexy together and the staging really helped. Again, though, they rehearsed and they were performing for a live audience. It was a work event for both of them. That hasn’t stopped many people to wonder aloud about how Irina Shayk feels about her boyfriend being so friendly with Gaga. We heard that Irina was unbothered, but is that the truth?

Lady Gaga’s chemistry with Bradley Cooper during their performance at the Oscars on Sunday, was one of the mai

February 28, 2019

Line-ups: Bologna v Juventus

Juventus move Joao Cancelo and Federico Bernardeschi into wide roles and drop Paulo Dybala for the trip to revitalised Bologna.

It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara at 14.00 GMT, follow the build-up and action from all today’s Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.

The Bianconeri were stunned by a 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and all eyes are already on how they can possibly turn this around in the second leg on March 12.

Meanwhile, they can maintain or even extend the 13-point lead at the top of t

February 28, 2019

Juve’s season begins in earnest against Atletico

Juventus v Frosinone in Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy. (Reuters pic)

MILAN: Unbeaten in the league with only six points dropped and 13 points clear at the top, Juventus have been utterly dominant in the Serie A this season and seem all but certain to win an eighth successive title.

But, for all their ruthless efficiency, the Turin side – who have the best attacking and defensive records in the league – have done no more than what is expected of them.

The addition of five-times World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, even at the age of 33, to a team that had already won the last seven Serie A titles, has effectively turned winning Serie A into an obligation.

Their real challenge is seen as winning the Champions League and, in that sense, their season starts in earnest on Wednesday

February 28, 2019

Atletico strike late to overpower Juventus

Atletico Madrid’s Filipe Luis (right) in action with Juventus’ Paulo Dybala. (Reuters pic)

MADRID: Atletico Madrid took a huge advantage in their heavyweight Champions League last-16 tie with Juventus, earning a 2-0 home win thanks to late goals from Uruguayan defenders Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin in a tense, incident-packed game on Wednesday.

Gimenez slid to the floor in a crowded penalty box to bundle the ball into the net from close range in the 78th minute, after former Juve forward Alvaro Morata had had a goal ruled out following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.

Atletico also had a penalty awarded then taken away by the technology earlier in the game but only grew in determination and captain Godin grabbed a vital second goal in the 83rd minute to take into the return leg in Turin.

The veteran defender appeared at the near post to knock a loose ball into the net after Atletico wreaked havoc again from a set-p

February 28, 2019

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of winning the Champions League this season is in disarray, and he got really petty about it

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of winning the Champions League in his debut Juventus season is in disarray.
Juventus was completely humbled at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of its Round of 16 clash on Wednesday, as it was beaten 2-0 on the night.
Ronaldo, who is normally devastating against Atletico, failed to score and the team has it all to do in the return leg in March.
Nobody took the defeat as badly as Ronaldo, who stormed through the mixed zone after the match bragging about how he’s been a champion before, while Atletico has won nothing.
Read all of Business Insider’s coverage for the 2018-2019 soccer season right here.

Juventus had one thing in mind when it spent $US130 million on Cristiano Ronaldo last summer – win the UEFA Champions League.

As a five-time winner of the competition, Ronaldo will have wanted the same thing but that dream is now in disarray as Juventus got humbled 2-0 in the first leg of its Round of 16 Champions League clash at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Ronaldo himself did not play poorly. According to Whoscored.com data, he was the best Juventus player on the pitch with a 7.4 grading thanks to a 95% pass completion rate, two key chances provided, and seven shots attempted on goal.

One of those shots could have resulted in a goal of the season screamer had it not been for a stunning, jaw-dropping save from the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Watch it right here:

Ronaldo got ALL of this free kick ???? what a save ????

Watch Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus on #BRLive: https://t.co/stBJiF4Zx2 pic.twitter.com/QGZYBLSpIH

— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) February 20, 2019

That was in the eighth minute, when the game was precariously poised 0-0. Had it gone in, the night may well have been one for the Italian team to celebrate.

February 28, 2019

Dybala lifts sagging Juventus to 1-0 win at Bologna

AP
Published 11:24 a.m. ET Feb. 24, 2019 | Updated 5:07 p.m. ET Feb. 24, 2019

ROME (AP) — Paulo Dybala came off the bench to lift a sagging Juventus to a 1-0 win at Bologna on Sunday and help the seven-time Serie A champion rebound from a deflating loss in the Champions League.

Less than 10 minutes after he came on in the second half, Dybala seized upon a deflected cross from Blaise Matuidi and pounded a shot into the far corner for his second goal in two Serie A matches.

Juventus had faced nine shots in the first half, matching its worst mark this season in all competitions, and Cristiano Ronaldo had another quiet performance just like in the 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

In stoppage time, Juventus goalkeeper Mattia Perin preserved the advantage by tipping a shot from Nicola Sansone off the post.

Still, Juventus became the first team in Serie A history to win 22 of its opening 25 matches — having drawn the other three in what could very well turn out to be an undefeated season.

“They put us in trouble. We knew it wasn’t an easy match,” Juventus winger Federi

February 28, 2019

Ronaldo held scoreless in Madrid as Atletico beats Juventus

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Juventus at Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)

MADRID — Atletico Madrid’s vaunted center-back pairing finally got the better of Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday, even providing the goals after holding their long-time rival scoreless for once.

In a match where Atletico had more trouble with video review than Ronaldo, the Spanish team kept the Portugal star in check but had to overcome two key VAR decisions to defeat Juventus 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League’s round of 16.

Central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Diego Godin scored late to give Atletico the win, after the hosts had a penalty kick taken away and a goal disallowed by VAR.

Ronaldo, jeered nearly every time he touched the ball, had a quiet performance in his first match in the Spanish capital since leaving Real Madrid last summer. He came close to scoring with a booming shot from a free kick less than 10 minutes into the match, but had few opportunities after that.

Heavily marked from the start, Ronaldo wasn’t able to add to his good record against the old rival, which he helped eliminate in four straight seasons in the Champions League while playing for Real Madrid.

Atletico had a first-half penalty reversed by VAR after it determined that Diego Costa was fouled out

February 28, 2019

El Clasico double-header: 5 key subplots as Real Madrid & Barcelona meet twice in 4 days

Bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are preparing to meet twice in the space of four days in a Clasico double-header that will potentially determine where the domestic silverware in Spain ends up this year.

First up is the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at Real’s Santiago Bernabeu home on Wednesday, before the pair lock horns again in La Liga at the same venue on Saturday.

The Copa del Rey tie remains in the balance at 1-1 following the first leg at the Nou Camp, where Malcolm canceled out an early opener from Real’s Lucas Vazquez.

In La Liga, Barca sit top with a seven-point cushion over Atletico Madrid and Real a further two points behind in third.

The double-header Clasico will, then, potentially have a huge say on the fates of both teams entering the business end of the season.

Ahead of the games, RT Sport looks at five key subplots that could determine how things pan out over the two meetings.

1. THE BALE ENIGMA

Despite being at the club for six years, scoring 101 goals in 220 games, and helping the club to four Champions League titles in that time, Gareth Bale remarkably remains something of a misfit at Real.

Far from courting hero status at the Bernabeu, Bale is instead seen by many as an injury-prone, peripheral figure who cannot always be relied on.

Recent comments from teammates have painted the picture of someone still not fully integrated into the team, a man who prefers taking to the golf course to socializing with teammates.

He is also yet to gain a decent enough command of Spanish to converse with his teammates, according to Brazilian full-back Marcelo.

And then there are the frustrations on the pitch. Bale has increasingly featured from the bench, coming on to score a penalty winner at the weekend against Levante, his seventh goal in 20 La Liga appearances this term.

He refused to celebrate, even shrugging off teammate Lucas Vazquez’s attempts to congratulate him.

Real boss Santiago Solari brushed off the incident, saying the Welshman “can celebrate how he likes,” while Bale is said to be in line to start at least one of the games in the Clasico double-header.

But how he responds when called upon will be key to whether he restores some belief from the Madrid faithful, or whether he takes a step fu

February 28, 2019

Sport24.co.za | Atletico stun Ronaldo and Juventus

Cape Town – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League mission with Juventus stalled on Wednesday as Atletico Madrid secured a deserved 2-0 victory in a thrilling last-16 first-leg clash at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Ronaldo returned to the Spanish capital, where he enjoyed unprecedented success in this tournament with Real, but it was their rivals celebrating at the final whistle as goals from Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin put Atletico within sight of the quarter-finals.

This was a victory that Diego Simeone’s side fully deserved. Antoine Griezmann had hit the crossbar while VAR twice intervened, correctly, in Juve’s favour, cancelling a first-half penalty for a foul on Diego Costa and then ruling out an Alvaro Morata header shortly before Gimenez struck.

Juve are certainly not dead and buried yet, particularly given Costa and Thomas Partey will both be suspended for the