Showing posts with label UEFA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UEFA. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 June 2019

Portugal won UEFA Nations League 2019

Portugal have won the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament beating the Netherlands 1-0 in final. Goncalo Guedes scored the winner early in the second half to give Portugal their first trophy since the 2016 European Championship.

The hosts' victory in UEFA's newest competition denied the Netherlands its first trophy since the 1988 European Championship. The revamped Dutch team was seeking some redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship.
Cristiano Ronaldo, coming off a hat-trick in the semifinals, wasn't much of a factor against Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk in the matchup of likely contenders for the player of the year award, but Guedes couldn't be stopped when he hit a powerful right-footed shot from outside the area in the 60th minute at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. Guedes started the build-up to the goal with a pass to Bernardo Silva, receiving the ball back at the top of the area and firing a firm low shot past Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who touched the ball but couldn't parry it away.

Portugal had lost the 2004 European Championship final at home to Greece, but this time the team got to celebrate in front of their fans after a scrappy match. The Netherlands kept pressing but Portugal was able to hold on to clinch the first title in the competition created by UEFA to give national teams more meaningful games and reduce the number of friendlies.

Friday, 31 May 2019

Chelsea won UEFA Europa League Final 2019

Chelsea scored four goals in a devastating second half display to beat Arsenal 4-1 and lift the Europa League Trophy. The win in the all-English Final, played at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan gave Italian Manager Maurizio Sarri a major trophy in his first season in charge and Chelsea a first European title since the 2013 Europa League.

After a tepid first half, former Arsenal striker Giroud put Chelsea ahead in the 49th minute with an angled header. The Blues doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Pedro diverted a cross from Hazard beyond Petr Cech.
With Arsenal on the ropes, defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles collided with Giroud to concede a penalty that Hazard stroked home after 65 minutes. Alex Iwobi clawed a goal back for Arsenal but Chelsea restored their three-goal cushion in the 72nd minute when Hazard swapped passes with Giroud to score his second.

After the match, the Belgian star confirmed that he was likely to leave the club this summer, amid widespread speculation about a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. By contrast, Arsenal has lost five of their six major European finals, with their only victory coming in the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup against Parma.

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

UEFA Super Cup

The 2015 UEFA Super Cup was the 40th 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 9th 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.