Bayern against Barca in the quarter-finals of Champions League

The match against Barca in the quarterfinals on the evening of August 14 will be the heaviest test from the beginning of the season with Bayern – the team that won the Champions League 2019-2020.

Not only are they the only team to win this season, but Bayern is also the team with the most goals (31 goals). In particular, Robert Lewandowski scored 13 times in the Champions League 2019-2020, equal to the Barca team combined.

Lewandowski contributes to a Bayern goal every 65 minutes

During the season in top form, Lewandowski scored 53 goals in 44 games in all competitions. One of the most asked questions before the game is Lewandowski and Lionel Messi, who is better now? Barca coach, Quique Setien and his student Arturo Vidal insisted that the Polish striker was not enough for Messi, and the Bayern strategist, Hansi Flick, said they could not compare these two.

The most plausible answer is probably Thomas Muller. The German striker said that the answer will be in the quarterfinals between Barca and Bayern tonight. Like Lewandowski, Bayern also needs an acknowledgment in their flourishing season. The Bundesliga championship and the German National Cup, with Bayern, is taken for granted.

Barca have almost full force in the match against Bayern

Bayern’s forces were more disturbed. In defense, Benjamin Pavard certainly sidelined due to injury, while the ability to play of Jerome Boateng and Alphonso Davies was left open.

In attack, Kingsley Coman is racing against time to recover. Meanwhile, Ivan Perisic is ready to take the role of his French teammate. The remaining three spots on attack belong to Lewandowski, Muller, and Serge Gnabry, who are in very high form.

Bayern arrived in Lisbon with 23 unbeaten inventory, in which the last 18 games won. The teachers and students Hansi Flick now are like a hurricane that can sweep all obstacles on the championship journey. But Barca, though not in his best form, is not a dream man.

For the 13th consecutive time in the quarterfinals, Messi and his teammates have more than enough caution not to repeat the same mistakes as in the matches against Roma and Liverpool in the last two seasons.

After the 2012-2013 season championship, Bayern was eliminated for five consecutive seasons by Spanish teams, from Real, Barca to Atletico. Victory over Barca will help Bayern go a long way in the ambition to win Europe’s most prestigious playground.

Man City wants to buy four more players

Pep Guardiola wants to buy more defenders and find someone to replace David Silva and Sergio Aguero.

According to Sky Sports on August 6, Guardiola’s priority was to buy one more center-back and one left-back. Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly is considered the number one target. The Senegal midfielder impresses with his passing skills and is a type of player with an attacking mindset, consistent with Guardiola’s philosophy.

Koulibaly is Man City’s next transfer target

On the left-wing, Guardiola has Benjamin Mendy and Oleksandr Zinchenko. He also welcomed Angelino back after half a year on loan to RB Leipzig. However, the Spanish military leader seems uncertain about this position.

In addition to reinforcing the defense, Guardiola also considered finding replacements for David Silva and Aguero. Silva left Man City after 10 years of dedication to the club and leaves a void in midfield, while Aguero will leave next summer.

According to Sky Sports, Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is the number one candidate to replace Aguero. However, the Premier League runner-up will have to compete with Barca – the team is also very hungry for Martinez’s service. Man City also kept an eye on Joao Felix, the player that Atletico Madrid spent $149 million to bring back from Benfica last summer but did not meet expectations.

On August 5, Man City completed the Nathan Ake deal from Bournemouth for $53 million. Before that, midfielder Ferran Torres was the first player to land at Etihad this summer, with a transfer fee of 27 million USD paid to Valencia.

Man City finished buying striker replaces Leroy Sane

Man City recruited 20-year-old winger Ferran Torres from Valencia for $27 million.

As Ferran Torres has a contract year left, the midfielder’s transfer fee in 2000 is said to be modest compared to the potential of the player who won both U17 and U19 European champions and Spain. Valencia can receive an additional $14 million in surcharge, depending on Torres’ performance.

To have a 5-year contract with Torres, Man City defeated many competitors such as Man Utd, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, and Atletico. Earlier, at the end of July 2020, Pep Guardiola revealed, that the new game had soon agreed on personal terms with the Etihad owner.

Napoli asked to change the venue of the Napoli-Barca match

Being worried about the development of Covid-19 in Catalonia, President Aurelio De Laurentiis called for UEFA to change the venue of the Napoli-Barca match in the second round of the Champions League.

Catalonia, home to Barca’s headquarters, is recording a spike in Covid-19 cases. More than 7,000 people have died, out of a total of over 93,000, according to AS. Health authorities and local authorities have asked people to stay home for 15 days.

Camp Nou Stadium is where the second leg between host Barca and Napoli will take place on August 8th. Due to the pandemic, European football had to stop playing from March to May. Some only returned from June, including La Liga and Serie A, but took place on closed grounds.

The Champions League has stalled since March 11th when it has just played half of the matches on 1/8 round. The remaining 1/8 round pairs, including Bayern – Chelsea, Real – Man City, Juventus – Lyon, and Barca – Napoli, will be held on the home team as usual.

From the quarterfinals, the tournament was held in the capital Lisbon, Portugal. UEFA chose this location because of its neutral nature. There are no more representatives of Portugal in the Champions League. It is also the country that recorded the lowest number of coronavirus infections in Europe.

Four quarter-finals took place in four days, from August 12 to August 15. Two semi-finals on August 18 and August 19. The final on August 23.

The Champions League is like a gift to Portugal

According to economist Daniel Sa, being selected to host the final stage of the Champions League this season will have a positive impact on Portugal.

Da Luz Stadium will host seven Champions League matches within 12 days

This season, from the quarterfinals, the Champions League will take place on Da Luz (capital Lisbon).

Portugal was selected by UEFA because of the neutral nature of this member football background. There are no more representatives of them in the Champions League. The Iberian Peninsula country also has the lowest number of nCoV infections in Europe.

The last time Da Luz Stadium hosted the Champions League final was in 2014 when Real was crowned with a 4-1 victory over Atletico Madrid. That year, the host country benefited economically by about US $ 50 million.

Decision to cancel the Golden Ball 2020 award

France Football magazine announced on July 20 the decision to cancel the Golden Ball award in 2020, because of Covid-19.

The reasons

The French magazine cited seven reasons not to hold this award.

First, this year cannot be considered a normal year. When there is controversy, the decision to not organize the Golden Ball would be better.

Second, the Golden Ball not only honors individual excellence but also a symbol of solidarity, responsibility, and model.

Third, there are tournaments canceled, there is still an ongoing tournament. It is not possible to compare players in these tournaments.

Fourth, the organizers do not want the winner to star next to it, with the caption: ‘The award is given in the special context of Covid-19’. They ‘would rather have sprains, than the scars left behind.’

Fifth, there are tournaments still taking place between Covid-19 in special circumstances, such as no audience, replacing five people per game, the quarterfinals onwards in the Champions League takes place only once.

Sixth, about 220 members participating in the Ballot Ballot vote could be affected by voting, because they prioritize the more important things in the middle of a pandemic.

The final reason is that the Golden Ball is too prestigious to be risked for juggling. In the current chaotic context, stopping the award for a very urgent year. Then football will regain motivation, passion, and emotion.

France Football will not be held this year, but France Football will vote for the Dream Team, consisting of 11 of the best players in history by position.

In the top five leagues in Europe, only Ligue 1 was canceled because of Covid-19. The remaining four tournaments took place in a state of no audience.

Team matches have also been postponed or canceled, with Euro 2020 moving to 2021. Some of the players expected to win the Golden Ball 2020 are Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi, or Virgil van Dijk.

On May 13, FIFA also announced that it may not hold the Best Award this year

The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious football prize in the world, awarded to outstanding individuals each year. Messi is the richest in achievements, with six awards. Behind him is Cristiano Ronaldo, with one less league.

Man Utd defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 in the 36th Premier League round

Solskjaer teachers and students approached the top four after defeating Crystal Palace 2-0 in the 36th Premier League round, on the evening of July 16.

After the fifth match in a row using the same formation and 2-2 draw by Southampton in the previous round, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to adjust. On Selhurst Park, he let Timothy Fosu-Mensah play as a left-back, amid both Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams injuries. Scott McTominay plays midfielder in place of Nemanja Matic.

Man Utd continues to chase Chelsea and Leicester

These changes led Man Utd to struggle, while Crystal Palace – soon completed the goal of relegation – attacked openly. Wilfried Zaha warned a hard working day for Aaron Wan-Bissaka when cheating over the right-back of Man Utd and testing David De Gea with a curse from outside the penalty area.

Palace constantly gaps in the space between Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof. In a counterattack, taking advantage of Lindelof’s lack of definitive save, Jordan Ayew definitely shot with his left foot, forcing De Gea to punch the ball to rescue. Zaha then passed the ball past Lindelof and fell inside the box but the referee refused to give the home side a penalty.

Rashford opened the scoring for Man Utd in injury time for the first half

In the deadlock, Man Utd opened the scoring thanks to a combination of Bruno Fernandes, Martial, and Marcus Rashford. Rashford did not control the pass of the teammate well, but the calm treatment then helped him eliminate two defenders and the Palace keeper, before gently cushioning the ball into the empty goal. This is Rashford’s 17th goal in the English Premier League this season, equaling his combined goals in the previous two seasons.

Solskjaer immediately adjusted after this loss. He put Matic and Jesse Lingard in place of McTominay and Greenwood. The change helped Man Utd regain midfield. At that time, the ability to combine Fernandes, Martial, and Rashford were promoted again. Rashford accelerated to the edge of the box and dropped the second line for Fernandes to hit the post.

Man Utd reached 62 points after this victory, equal to Leicester City but ranked behind due to poor goal difference. “Red Devils” will host West Ham in the next round, while Palace as a guest of Wolves.