La Liga
ALEX IWOBI’S FORM, GIVES BARCA HEADACHE OVER SUAREZ’S PERMANENT SWITCH TO ARSENAL
There are strong indications that the hope of Spanish Giants, FC Barcelona to push for a permanent move for their Loanee midfielder, Denis Suarez to Arsenal next summer may hit the brick wall following good performance of Super Eagles forward, Alex Iwobi in the present squad.
The Nigerian forward moved from the feeder team in the final years of Arsene Wenger days at the North London side and his stint so far has impressed the new coach Unai Emery.
However in a bid to strengthen the squad, the manager agreed with Barcelona for a loan spell for Suarez who has played below par with the Catalan side and wanted to offload many of its fringe players alongside Andre Gomez who moved to Everton FC from the beginning of the season.
Reports from Spain indicate that Barcelona are willing to push for permanent sale to make funds available to fortify the squad with players to understudy ageing Luis Suarez and a decent backup for Jordi Alba.
According to Marca, the Catalans already know where they will get a good part of the money fund they require for these deals: from the sales of Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez to the Premiership clubs.
Denis extended his stay at Barcelona until 2021 to spend the remainder of the current, 2018/2019 season on loan at Arsenal. The Gunners will pay the player’s salary. The contract also includes a buyout clause for the London-based club.
A loan fee is reported to be in the region of £2.1million. The Gunners would have to pay around £20m if they want to sign Denis on a permanent deal. The Spaniard found it hard to get into the starting XI at Arsenal, but Barcelona still expects the Gunners to use the clause and make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.
However, while Gomez has settled down with the Everton and could translate to a permanent deal this summer, the same cannot be said of the fresh Loanee has only played an hour and six minutes of football since he joined the London side and according to James Benge, a senior football reporter with Football. London on his Twitter handle said ” Iwobi trained with the first team today (Tuesday) after suffering right ankle injury against Southhampton and that will probably change on Wednesday (today) because Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan aren’t making it easy for the Loanee to earn a permanent switch from Barcelona
Failure to displace either of the duo will mean the player will return to Spain which is not a good report for the side who are aiming to offload dead weight players from its payroll.
Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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