Catalan MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez dominated the Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona, after a crash for his Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo took Andrea Dovizioso and the two factory Yamahas out of the race. Lorenzo, who had charged from 10th on the grid to join the lead battle, fell at the sharp Turn 10 left-hander while trying to pass Maverick Vinales, taking down his compatriot, as well as Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi in the process.

Marquez overtook pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo off the line, but yielded to a fast-starting Dovizioso at Turn 1, and was soon also briefly overtaken by Vinales. Having regained second place, the championship leader pressured Dovizioso, and snuck past the Ducati man on the second lap at Turn 10. At that same corner, Lorenzo committed down the inside of Vinales for third place but hit the deck on corner entry. His bike clattered into Dovizioso rear, and the resulting crash removed both Vinales and Rossi – who had gone wide to avoid the pile-up - from the race.

The crash left Marquez on his own up front, and promoted Ducati's Danilo Petrucci to second place, the Italian unable to keep pace with the Honda man but managing to fend off both Suzuki's Alex Rins and Quartararo, who had been as low as ninth after the opening lap. On the 10th lap, Rins launched his bike down the inside of Petrucci at Turn 1, briefly getting ahead but running wide on exit, allowing Petrucci to sweep around the outside of Turn 2.

Rins recovered to fourth, passing the fading Pramac Ducati of Jack Miller on the final lap, with Miller keeping the other Suzuki of Joan Mir at bay at the line. Pol Espargaro was the lead KTM in seventh, while his works teammate Johann Zarco rounded out the top 10, the pair split by LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami and Avintia Ducati's Tito Rabat. Aprilia's Andrea Iannone, Tech 3 KTM's Miguel Oliveira and Suzuki wildcard Sylvain Guintoli completed the list of 13 finishers.

Valencia won Copa Del Rey 2019

By the end here in Seville they could take it no more, but the suffering was worth it and they made it. Somewhere in the madness a whistle blew and Valencia became Copa Del Rey winners. For the first time in 1456 days, Barcelona are not the cup winners.

There will be consequences at the Camp Nou, changes. Lionel Messi’s second-half goal was not enough to cancel out strikes from Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno and a league title is not enough for a club like this. For Valencia, the cup is certainly enough. There was wild celebration; this was the culmination of a centenary year that for so long had been one to endure, but it ended in elation. What an occasion this turned out to be: on a knife edge, nerves shredded all around this stadium.

As the final minutes slipped by and players fell, exhaustion gripping everyone; the tension was unbearable with Barcelona throwing everything at Valencia. So much so that their goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen, who had gone up for the last corner, was among those running back when Gonçalo Guedes ran through all alone.

It was the second time it had happened, players, staff and coaches leaving the bench convinced that this was the moment. It was not – Guedes shot wide of the open goal – but eventually it was over. Halfway through this season Valencia were only four points off the relegation zone and their manager, Marcelino García Toral, was under pressure. But the players backed him, the club’s director general too, and patience paid off. They clinched a Champions League place on the final day and now they are the cup winners too.

Catalan MotoGP 2018: Lorenzo hammers down his opponents

Jorge Lorenzo managed to convert his pole position into a win at the 2018 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix. The Spaniard took his second consecutive of the season after a brilliant victory in Mugello and beat Honda’s Marc Marquez with a lead of 4.79s.

Finishing a brilliant third was Valentino Rossi taking his consecutive podium of the season after starting seventh on the grid. The Catalan GP went down with a massive number of crashes and subsequent retirements that wiped out a good chunk of the competition. The Catalan GP marks Lorenzo's 150th podium finish, which puts in an exclusive of riders comprising Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini and Dani Pedrosa.

Barring the opening lap that was led by Marquez, Lorenzo dominated every lap of the Catalan GP, cruising his way to victory. Lorenzo had dropped behind Andrea Iannone to third in the opening lap, but managed to pass the Suzuki on Turn 10. The Ducati rider then charged towards Marquez and used the slipstream and outright acceleration to overtake the Honda and into the lead. Lorenzo was expected to break away from the rest of the field soon, but Marquez was on his tail throughout the remaining 23 lap race.

With the Catalan GP, Marquez has once again consolidated his lead in the championship, while Rossi now stands second with 88 points, to 27 points adrift from the Honda rider. Vinales now sits third with a gap of 9 points over his teammate, and is ahead of Johann Zarco who sits in fourth. Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Iannone are tied up on points with 66 each. While the win must be for Ducati this season, the 1-2 finish would've surely pleased Honda as well, in anticipation of what the team can expect next season from Marquez and Lorenzo.

Barcelona won Copa Del Rey 2018

Barcelona’s old guard turned on the style with Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta all on the scoresheet, as Sevilla were swept away 5-0 in 2018 Copa del Rey Final.

Barcelona 30th Copa Del Rey win -- and their fourth consecutive victory in the decider -- was among the most dominant final performances you will see anywhere. It also means a domestic double is almost certain, given Ernesto Valverde's side are 12 points clear in La Liga with just five games left to play.

Sevilla had barely strung two passes together when in the 12th minute Barca keeper Jasper Cillessen took out all 10 outfield opponents with a pinpoint, 80-yard pass over the top. Opposite number David Soria thought of coming for it, then didn't -- a big mistake as Philippe Coutinho controlled the ball just 15 yards out and simply squared it for Suarez to hook in.

There was still time before the break for one of the best team goals of the season. A Barcelona lightning move started with Samuel Umtiti at the back, went through Iniesta again, before Messi perfectly cushioned return pass sent Suarez clear to fire in his second. All that was left really was a goal for Iniesta in what seems likely to be his last final as a Barca player. And early in the second half it came, as Messi set him up to round Soria and knock home calmly from a tight angle.

England won FIFA U-17 World Cup

England came from two goals down to defeat European champions Spain 5-2 and wins their first FIFA U-17 World Cup title in front of 66,684 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata.

In what was a pulsating final contest at India 2017, Spain raced out to a two-goal lead through a brace from Sergio Gomez. The Barcelona youngster opened the scoring just ten minutes in, nodding home in front of England goalkeeper Curtis Anderson after Juan Miranda’s cross from the left struck Cesar Gelabert and bounced goal wards. Gomez’s second goal just after the half-hour mark was a fine strike from close range, with Gelabert and Captain Abel Ruiz involved in the build-up.

Undeterred, England fought back to score five unanswered goals. They halved the deficit just before half-time through Brewster’s tournament-leading eighth goal. The Liverpool striker headed home Steven Sessegnon’s fine cross from the right. Sessegnon’s willingness to get forward and support the England attack drew them level just before the hour mark, as his low cross found an unmarked Morgan Gibbs White to make it 2-2. The Young Lions then took the lead through Philip Foden’s second goal of the tournament on 69 minutes, as he converted Callum Hudson-Odoi’s run and cross.

Any hopes of a Spain comeback ended on 84 minutes, as Marc Guehi finished off a Hudson-Odoi free-kick for England’s fourth before Foden raced in on the counter-attack for his second of the match in the late stages. England’s win follows the U-20’s success at Korea Republic 2017 earlier this year. Brazil finished as the third place team and also won Fair Play Award. Gabriel Brazao won the Adidas Golden Glove award. Rhian Brewster won the Adidas Golden Boot and Philip Foden won the Adidas Golden Ball. 

Barcelona won Copa Del Rey 2016

Down a man with top goal scorer Luis Suarez on the sidelines with an apparent hamstring injury, Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a 2-0 extra time victory in an eventful Copa Del Rey final that featured three red cards, two Messi assists and one bizarre game stoppage for the cramping match referee.

When the final whistle blew, Messi stood out as the best player in the park. Argentine defender Javier Mascherano took down Sevilla striker Kevin Gamerio in the 34^th minute to receive the fastest red card in the history of the Spanish Cup Final. However, Messi and Iniesta offered special magical performances. Messi played a perfectly timed pass for Neymar in stoppage time of regulation, and Banega put in a fateful, last ditch tackle to stop the Brazilian from getting in a goal unmarked.

Barcelona and Sevilla were both down to 10 men with 30 minutes of added time to come. Considering Gerard Pique clean clearances in the back, Sergio Busquets tireless tackling in the middle and Messi and Iniesta magical inspiration in the attack, Barcelona being back level up put the Catalans in complete control from that point forward.

With the win, Messi and Barcelona earned the club 28^th Copa Del Rey crown to go with its 24^th La Liga title. The double salvaged a season that had started strong, peaked with a 39 match unbeaten run and nearly collapsed over a three week period that featured four defeats in five games.

UEFA Super Cup

The 2015 UEFA Super Cup was the 40^th UEFA Super Cup, an annual Football match organized by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European Club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The match featured two Spanish teams Barcelona and Sevilla, the winners of 2014-15 UEFA Champions League and 2014-15 UEFA Europa League.

It was played at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia. This was the first time in the tournament history that a Super Cup match is a rematch of a previous edition. The two teams in question met before in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, both qualifying under same instances, when Sevilla won 3-0.

Barcelona won the game 5-4 after extra time to claim their fifth Super Cup Title, tying Milan’s record. Their ninth Super Cup appearance was also a record, two ahead of Milan. Dani Alves fourth Super Cup win and fifth appearance matched Paolo Maldini records, while Luis Enrique became the fourth man to lift the UEFA Super Cup as coach. The nine goals scored were also the most in any Super Cup fixture, and the attendance of 51,940 was a record for a one-off, neutral venue UEFA Super Cup.

Messi scored first two goals for Barcelona and won man of the match award. The 2016 UEFA Super Cup final will held on 9^th August 2016 at Lerkendal Stadion in Norway. This will be the first UEFA Super Cup hosted in Norway. The stadium has the capacity for 21,166 spectators, making it the second largest football stadium in Norway.

Most Valuable Soccer Teams

Football is the most played game in the world. Number of Football fans are maximum in the world and the expense over teams is also huge. Every four year FIFA is most watched and sponsored tournament. After FIFA, private clubs spent Billions in making their team and win trophies. Here is a list of most valuable soccer teams of the world.

Real Madrid: - This Spanish Club is the most valuable soccer team this year too. Its complete money value is $3.26 Billion. It has all star players starring Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas etc.

Barcelona: - It is ranked second after Real Madrid and is also Spanish Club. Its complete money value is $3.16 Billion. It has star players such as Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr etc.

Manchester United: - It is ranked at $3.1 Billion and most expensive of England, a ten percent rise this year and has players like Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie etc.

Bayern Munich: - This German Club is fourth most expensive club at $2.35 Billion, with 27 percent increase this year. It has players such as Thomas Muller, Xabi Alonso etc.

Manchester City: - This English Club is ranked fifth with a valuation of $1.38 Billion. It has players like David Silva, Frank Lampard etc.

Chelsea: - Sixth most expensive English club in the world with a valuation of $1.37 Billion. It has players such as Oscar, Didler Drogba etc.

Arsenal: - Valued at $1.31 Billion, this English Club is ranked seventh. It has players like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil etc.

Liverpool: - It is ranked eighth with a valuation of $982 Million and has players such as Mario Balotelli, Steven Gerrard etc.

Juventus: - Italian Club is ranked ninth as the most expensive club and is valued at $837 Million. It has champions players like Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez etc.

AC Milan: - Valued at $775 Million, this English club is ranked tenth in the list. It has famous Japanese player Keisuke Honda, Jeremy Menez etc.

This is the list of most valuable soccer teams of the world. All these teams are club level teams and do not any major FIFA Tournament.

Nico Rosberg wins Spanish Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg won the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2015 in some style, defeating Mercedes Team mate Lewis Hamilton by 17.5 seconds in Barcelona to reinvigorate his World Championship campaign. After an excellent gateway from Pole, Rosberg never looked back and led from start to finish.

Ferrari finished 45 seconds back from Rosberg which bought them a major disappointment, particularly as they had come to Spain with a raft of changes that they hoped would enable them to take the fight to Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen could not displace fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas, who drove a sterling race to fourth. Williams team mate Felipe Massa meanwhile climbed from ninth on the grid to sixth behind the red car.

Daniel Ricciardo hauled his Red Bull to a lapped seventh and Romain Grosjean survived a brush with Lotus team mate Pastor Maldonado and then an overshoot during a pit stop, to take eighth. Carlos Sainz had an eventful afternoon in his Toro Rosso, slipping down the order in the opening half of the race before recovering to ninth by the chequered flag. Sainz had attempted to pass the Russian around the outside, but when Kvyat locked up the duo clashed forcing the Toro Rosso off the road.

Max Verstappen could not resist his team mate late charge so finished 11^th ahead of Sauber Felipe Nasr. The Marussias took the final two places, Will Stevens finishing ahead of Roberto Merhi. The result reduces Hamilton Championship lead over Rosberg to 20 points heading to Monaco, with 111 to 91. Vettel has 80, Raikkonen 52, Bottas 42, and Massa 39. In the constructor stake Mercedes pull further ahead with 202 to Ferrari 132 and Williams 81.