UCL & UEL The quarter-final draw

 Most exciting tie ?

6 Pasukan dr kelab Inggeris ke suku akhir

UEL : ARSENAL CHELSEA ke suku akhir | Sevilla Inter tumbang

Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United: Gunners hit form at the perfect time to inflict Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first Premier League defeat as Red Devils manager

• Romelu Lukaku had the first clear-cut chance of the match when he hit the bar from close range 
• Arsenal made them pay when Granit Xhaka's long-range effort bamboozled goalkeeper David de Gea
• Manchester United midfielder Fred was the next to rattle the woodwork with his strike from distance
• Fred was then judged to have brought down Alexandre Lacazette inside the area and a penalty was given
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then stepped up and calmly slotted home Arsenal's second down the middle 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the finishing touches on Arsenal's 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur, we're coming for you,' sang the locals. Maybe, maybe not - but they're coming for somebody. First it was Chelsea, beaten 2-0 here in January and subsequently relegated to sixth place, now Manchester United, defeated by domestic opponents for the first time in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure and edged out of the Champions League top four.

Arsenal face Rennes on Thursday in a competition that has come to be known as their Champions League safety blanket.  If it stays like this, however, it is Solskjaer who will need to land the big one to be in it next season.

Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up serenaded the fans as they walked into the night and the rain — and Arsenal have. They lead United by two points and trail Tottenham by one. 

Granit Xhaka attempted a speculative strike from range early on and it wrong-footed United keeper David De Gea

A supporter ran across the pitch and confronted Chris Smalling after the second goal - police later made an arrest

For a manager in his first Premier League season, undertaking a considerable rebuilding exercise on limited resources, Unai Emery is doing a very good job. It was a strange kind of victory — the first goal an unfamiliar sight, the second all too common.

Nobody expects a howler from David de Gea these days, a contentious penalty decision, sadly, seems to happen every game. Arsenal benefitted from both.

That is not to say the win was without merit. Sead Kolasinac was the man of the match, a constant threat from left wing-back, closely followed by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who was both quick-witted and brave in repelling United's forwards.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles is a prospect, while Granit Xhaka is at last looking a central midfielder capable of holding the fort as well as blasting his way out of it.

Paul Pogba has been running games of late but not this one. It wasn't that he didn't play well, more that Arsenal kept him in check. There remains the potential for upset, as happened in Rennes last Thursday, but gradually Emery is getting his team where he wants it. 

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watches his players from the touchline after his side fell behind

Ainley Maitland-Niles and Leno celebrate after securing a much-deserved victory against United on Sunday

Southampton 2 - 1 Spurs

The win against Tottenham means that Southampton are now 16th in the Premier League table with 30 points from as many matches.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are two points above the relegation zone, and there is still a chance that they will avoid the dreaded drop to the Championship at the end of the season.

3 Gol hanya dari Super Sterling musnahkan Watford

• It was a highly controversial start to the second half as Raheem Sterling's goal wa ruled out then allowed
• The Man City forward had been in an offside position but ball was cleared into his knee and spun into the net 
• Sterling's second was a lovely move inside the box which ended in Riyad Mahrez squaring the ball to him
• The England international took a David Silva pass inside the box, before clipping the ball home for his hat-trick
• Substitute Gerard Deulofeu gave the Hornets some hope with just over 25 minutes left to go of the match
• However City held on comfortably and now lead Liverpool by four points in the Premier League title race 

They won comfortably enough in the end. And beautifully enough, too. Manchester City almost always win beautifully. Raheem Sterling’s second goal in the 3-1 victory over Watford was a tap-in after a typical piece of majestic play from David Silva. His third was a virtuoso’s dance through a packed defence a delicate finish that deceived Ben Foster.  

But over all the beauty lay a shadow. With City mired in controversy over allegations about attempts to circumvent Financial Fair Play rules and other practices that have encouraged an alphabet soup of authorities to open investigations into them, that was inevitable before this game kicked off.

In the circumstances, the last thing City needed was another inquest, this time over something that happened on the pitch, but that is what they got. When they are locked in a title race with Liverpool that is so close that every point and every goal is important, it was also inevitable that their first goal should invite fierce scrutiny.

The referee then went into conversation with his assistant and they ruled the ball for Sterling took a touch off Daryl Janmaat

Gunning for Ole Gunnar! Emery plotting to derail Solskjaer’s revolution as Arsenal undergo final preparations for United clash

• The Gunners, who sit fifth, are one point behind the Red Devils in fourth place
• Unai Emery looked as though he was rallying the troops in Saturday's session
• The Arsenal boss was seen having a conversation with Alexandre Lacazette

The Arsenal boss was seen having a conversation with striker Alexandre Lacazette during the session.

Mohamed Elneny looked as though he was more relaxed as he jumped on goalkeeper Bernd Leno's back. 

Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham were sucked into the top-four race after losing to Southampton on Saturday. 

Nacho Monreal wants the Gunners to take the first step towards their target of finishing in the Premier League top four by beating Manchester United.

'We lost against them in a different competition, they beat us in the FA Cup playing at home but now we are fighting for the Premier League,' the Spain international told the club's official website. 

'Our target since the beginning of the season is to finish in the top four and play Champions League football next year.

'We have the opportunity to get our target and the first step is Sunday. We play against them and we need to forget what happened in the FA Cup and we need to refocus in the next game and try to get the three points because if we do it we will be on a higher step to get to our target.

'There are still nine games to go and it's going to be really tough until the end of the season - and we cannot forget that there is another club in Chelsea.

'At the moment there are three clubs fighting for one place, but obviously if we get the three points on the weekend it will be perfect for us.' 

UEL : Arsenal tumbang di Perancis | Inter buntu | Napoli Chelsea & Villareal menang selesa

Villarreal earned an impressive 3-1 victory away at Zenit St Petersburg in their Europa League last-16 first-round tie.

Former Leicester midfielder Vicente Iborra gave the Spanish side a first-half lead but Sardar Azmoun immediately equalised.

Second-half goals from Gerard Moreno and Manu Morlanes put the La Liga team in control heading back to the Estadio de la Ceramica for the second leg on Thursday March 14. 

Vicente Iborra grabbed Villarreal's first in victory against Zenit St Petersburg in Russia

UCL : Semangat Man Utd luar biasa | PSG gagal lagi rebut peluang

PARIS - Pengurus sementara Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer memuji mentaliti yang dipamerkan oleh anak-anak buahnya selepas mencipta kemenangan luar biasa 3-1 pada pusingan kalah mati sekali gus menyingkirkan Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) di Stadium Parc des Princes awal pagi semalam.

Terdahulu, skuad The Red Devils tewas 0-2 pada perlawanan pertama bulan lalu, namun berjaya mara dengan kelebihan jaringan di tempat lawan selepas penyerang muda, Marcus Rashford menjaringkan gol penalti pada masa kecederaan.

Keputusan tersebut nyata menggembirakan Solskjaer yang menganggap pencapaian anak-anak buahnya membuktikan semangat tidak mengenal erti kalah itu masih tebal dalam pasukan United.

“Saya pernah melalui perlawanan drama­tik seperti ini ketika bergelar pemain terutamanya ketika kami menjuarai Liga Juara-Juara pada musim 1999. Secara peribadi, inilah keistimewaan sukan bola sepak kerana apa sahaja boleh berlaku.

“Saya harap keputusan ini dapat menguatkan lagi harap­an saya untuk menjadi peng­urus kekal pasukan Manchester United, namun buat masa ini saya hanya fokus dengan baki kontrak yang tinggal tiga bulan lagi.

“Apa yang pasti, saya sangat berpuas hati dengan apa yang dipamerkan oleh barisan pemain khususnya Rashford dan (Romelu) Lukaku yang bijak menyudahkan setiap peluang terhidang,” katanya.

Rashford is special and Man Utd forward can be as good as Mbappe – Neville

Pada perlawanan tersebut, Lukaku menjaringkan dua gol sebelum pengadil membuat keputusan kontroversi menerusi Video Bantuan Pengadil (VAR) untuk menghadiahkan sepakan penalti buat United pada masa kecederaan dan ia berjaya disudahkan oleh Rashford. – Agensi

UCL : AJAX, TOTTENHAM, MAN UTD, PORTO mara ke suku akhir

2018/19 quarter-finals (so far): AJAX, TOTTENHAM, MAN UTD, PORTO

Manchester United into quarter-finals on away goals

1999

2019

Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Porto into last 8 after dramatic extra time win against Roma

Moussa Marega has been directly involved in 8 goals in 7 #UCL games for Porto this season (6 goals, 2 assists)

Moussa Marega has now scored in 6 consecutive UCL games

Liga Malaysia : Penglipur lara mitos Singa Utara

Komentar

Sopi Samaile

SEBELUM bermulanya sepak mula Liga Malaysia (Liga M) pada awal Februari lepas, kemunculan pasukan Perlis untuk bersaing pada Liga Premier 2019 agak mengagumkan peminat-peminat bola sepak tempatan.

Pasukan yang sepatutnya beraksi pada Liga FAM Malaysia (liga tahap ketiga Liga M) tiba-tiba melompat bersaing pada Liga Premier (tahap kedua Liga M) telah menimbulkan pelbagai persoalan.

Mula kedengaran khabar dan cerita bertebaran mempertikaikan kelayakan skuad Singa Utara untuk beraksi pada Liga Premier sedangkan pasukan itu menghuni tangga tercorot Kumpulan B Liga FAM musim lalu dan tidak layak dinaikkan tahap.

Apa yang peliknya, atas dasar apa Perlis mendapat keistimewaan untuk melompat tahap liga ketika itu sama ada benar-benar berdasarkan merit atau hanya menggunakan air liur semata-mata.

Pada hal, masih ada pasukan lain yang lebih layak berbanding Perlis untuk dinaikkan pangkat bersaing pada Liga Premier musim ini.

Di sebalik persoalan demi persoalan yang berlegar, Liga Bola Sepak Malaysia (MFL) menyatakan pendirian mereka memilih Perlis atas dasar keyakinan pasukan Singa Utara mampu memberi nilai tambah komersial pada saingan Liga M.

Pada masa itu, MFL yakin dengan kekuatan yang dimiliki Perlis dalam meningkatkan nilai komersial Liga-M berdasarkan perancangan jangka panjang Persatuan Bola Sepak Perlis (PFA).

Adakah pada masa itu MFL sudah menerima dokumen sokongan secara hitam putih termasuk kewangan kukuh jutaan ringgit dalam akaun PFA hingga terlalu yakin untuk memberi keistimewaan bersyarat bagi mempromosikan Perlis ke Liga Premier.

Sebagai makluman, antara salah satu syarat dikenakan MFL kepada PFA ketika itu adalah memberikan tempoh 60 hari untuk menyelesaikan isu tunggakan gaji dan PFA pula sedia berjanji bulan dan bintang untuk melunaskannya.

Dalam kehairanan yang belum berjawab, PFA tampil mencanangkan bahawa di bawah pentadbiran serta pengurusan baharu, pasukan Perlis bakal berubah wajah dan mampu menjadi pencabar Liga Premier musim ini.

Bukan setakat itu sahaja, PFA dengan nada megah turut menetapkan bahawa misi pasukan itu juga adalah memburu slot ke Liga Super musim depan.

Sudah ibarat cacing hendak menjadi naga, lagak PFA menyebabkan bukan hanya penyokong-penyokong Perlis berasa teruja, bahkan peminat tempatan turut mahu melihat sejauh mana perginya pasukan yang sudah lama menghilang di pentas perdana bola sepak negara itu.

Pastinya semangat rakyat Perlis berkobar-kobar dengan misi serta janji-janji PFA apatah lagi mereka giat memburu bintang-bintang bola sepak negara, tidak terkecuali bersaing merebut khidmat Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid.

Maka tidak hairan, berita pasukan Perlis pada awal tahun ini terpampang lebih di dada akhbar berbanding pasukan-pasukan Liga M yang sememangnya sudah sedia ternama, begitulah hebat aura skuad Singa Utara masa itu.

Malangnya, panas yang disangka ke petang, rupa-rupanya hujan di tengah hari. Sebenarnya tiada bintang dan bulan, hanya penglipur lara yang bersyair, berpantun serta berseloka mengenai mitos Singa Utara. Perlis disingkirkan daripada Liga Premier.

Seharusnya, MFL sejak awal-awal lagi tidak memberi muka kepada pasukan yang hanya tahu berjanji kerana kewibawaan badan itu juga akan menjadi taruhan dan siulan.

Siapa yang harus dipersalahkan, PFA yang menabur janji atau MFL yang memberi keistimewaan kepada Perlis untuk berjanji?.

Pada penulis, siapa yang harus dipersalahkan tidak penting kerana akhirnya yang rugi bukan MFL atau PFA tetapi bakat-bakat muda dan para peminat bola sepak negeri Perlis.

GW28 : Minggu banyak team menang besar | Ozil is back | Spurs kena ngan The Blues

Cardiff City 0-3 EVERTON | ARSENAL 5-1 Bournemouth | Crystal Palace 1-3 MAN UTD
LIVERPOOL 5-0 Watford | MAN CITY 1-0 West ham | CHELSEA 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

“That game was exceptional; I don’t think I was ever part of a game that somebody had a hat-trick of assists." -Klopp