SPANISH FOOTBALL | UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUPS 2017-2018

UEFA has just announced the draw of the composition of the Groups that will begin this the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE season 2017-2018. Below is an image of the Groups from A to H with all the Clubs & their rivales. The first Champions League matches kick-off the 12th of September.

The four Spanish Football Clubs ( Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, At. Madrid & Sevilla FC) have been relatively "lucky" with the draw. Although all the Clubs are dangerous the Spanish Clubs all have accesible rivals beforehand & are favourites (barring surprises) in reaching the post-Group stage of the competition.

REAL MADRID CF: B. Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspurs & Apoel Nicossa (Group H)
FC BARCELONA: Juventus FC, Olympiakos & Sporting Lisboa (Group D)
ATLETICO DE MADRID: Chelsea FC, Roma AC & Qarabaq (Group C)
SEVILLA FC: Spartak Moscow, Liverpool FC & Maribor (Group E)

Good luck to all Clubs!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TUESDAY GROUP GAMES RESULTS

UEFA Champions League games scheduled tonight with two Spanish Football Club down for Group duties. Here are the final results & all the goalscorers.

FC Barcelona hosted German Club Bayern Leverkusen in their Group E game. The final result was a 2 - 1 local win after the German started strong & put Barça under difficulties, to later see how Bayern Leverkusen missed chances & fizzed out to have FC Barcelona grow & comeback. 

Barça started with Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Mathieu; Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic; Sandro, Suarez & Neymar, with young Sandro filling in for the injured Messi. 

The Germans began dangerously with Barça goalie Ter Stegen needing to make a save in the 1st min. The Germans kept counter-attacking & quiet frankly the Barça defence looked a mess. The opener came from a Leverkusen corner headed in the 22nd min when Papadopoukis scored. Barça was rattled & Bayern was creating more opportunities BUT also missing their chances. Leverkusen would pay dearly later for all their misses.

The second half saw Barça lift as Bayern continued to miss goal opportunities & fell to the extraordinary physical effort from the first 45 mins. The Germans renounced to attack & defended more allowing Barça to retake the initiative. 

It was´nt long that the opportunities began to arise for Barça & the equalizer came in the 80th min through substitute Sergi Roberto. But in the 82nd min Luis Suarez shot & scored the second to put Barça ahead. The comeback had been achieved.

Bayern Leverkusen will be disappointed that they were not able to "kill off" Barça when they had the Spaniards against the ropes. They simply missed too many goal chances. 

Lastly, bad news for Barça who lost Iniesta to a hamstring pull that will keep him off the pitch for a few weeks. Barcelona is having a bad run with injuries, Messi the most notable who was definitely missed tonight as Barça is not a fluid as with him on the field.

Valencia CF travelled to France to face Olympique Lyon in their Group H match. The end result was a worked 0 - 1 victory for the Spaniards. A very even & competitive Football match that saw Valencia get ahead in the 43rd min through Feghouli. The French then lifted looking for the equalizer & "bombarded" the Valencia goal, but the Spanish defence held firm to all the local teams attacks. The hero for Valencia was their goalkeeper Jaume, which says everything about the 2º half of this game.

Tomorrow more Champions League matches with Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid & Sevilla FC down for their respective Group games. 

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WEDNESDAY GAMES | SPANISH TEAMS RESULTS

UEFA Champions League continued tonight with two Spanish Football Clubs, FC Barcelona & Valencia CF down for their Group games. Here are the final results along with the goalscorers.

AC Roma hosted FC Barcelona for their Group E match with a final result a 1 - 1 draw. A game with clear strategies from both teams, Barça possession & touch Football while Roma waited with 10 men in their own half to find the counter-attack.

The early part was all Barça with 70% ball possession & creating opportunities. It was not long before Ratikic found Luis Suarez with a pass at the far left post who headed in the Barça opener in the 21st min.

It looked like FC Barcelona would steer ahead when Roma right-back Florenzi ran up his flank saw Barça goalie Stegen off his line & created 45-50 mt shot that found the net. Goal of the match & the Champions League in the 31st min which blew the "roof off the stadium" & punched the spirit out of Barça. The Spaniards never found their groove again.

Florenzi - photos - shots & beats Stegen off his line...goal of the match. Incredible!

In the 2º half Roma kept Barça in check with FC Barcelona gaining dangerous goal opportunities at the end of the game that were solved by the Italian defence & the goalkeeper. End result shared points that felt victory for Roma & Barça will leave disappointed.

Lastly, Barça midfielder Rafinha injuried 6 taken off after only a few minutes on in the 2º half.

Valencia CF hosted the Russian Club Zenit for their Group H encounter & lost 2 - 3 in an entertaining game of European Football. The damage for Valencia was done in the 1ºst half when Zenit Brazilian International Hulk crack two impressive left foot shots which were both goals: 9th & 44th min.

Valencia came out in the 2º half looking at things uphill but reacted magnificently attempting to turn things around. The objective started with the 54th min goal from Cancelo & Andres Gomes equalized in the 73rd min. 

However, Zenit reacted to "pour cold water" over the Valencia comeback attempt with Witsel scoring a grand & winning goal in the 76th min to push the match back their way & grab the victory. 

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TUESDAY RESULTS | SPANISH FOOTBALL CLUBS

Three Spanish Football Clubs had UEFA Champions League Group duty tonight: Real Madrid CF, At. Madrid & Sevilla FC. Here are all the final results along with all the goalscorers.

Real Madrid hosted Shakhtar Donetsk in their Group A match & won 4 - 0. An entertaining match that saw a good Shakhtar touching well the ball & keeping possession making Real Madrid work hard. Although Real Madrid - or Cristiano Ronaldo - did all the damage in the 2º half, the Ukrainians did well until a goalie mistake, some bad luck - a NO penalty - & a red card that left Shakhtar down to 10 men, allowing the Spaniards to take over. 

The win may be costly for Real Madrid as three players had to be substituted due to injuries & knocks. Gareth Bale felt a calf muscle pitch, Varane a cut in the shin & Ramos fell awkwardly on his shoulder & went off. 

Said this, the headline will say "Cristiano Ronaldo HAT-TRICK", remembering last weekend he scored 5 goals. Agree two were from penalty & the first a NO penalty from defender Serna, but he did convert & later score a header. Tomorrow everyone will remember the 3 goal from CR7. Lastly, great game from Marcelo & Benzema scoring tonight & missing 2 sitters, but did some excellent things.

Shakhtar although playing well & showing good ways did not really trouble Real Madrid goalkeeper Navas, & when they did, the Real defence solved or Navas did  a great save. By the way, another match with the Real Madrid goal intact, showing good defensive discipline.

Goalscorers tonight;

• Benzema 29th min
• Cristiano Ronaldo (penalty) 56th min
• Cristiano Ronaldo (penalty) 63rd min
• Cristiano Ronaldo 80 th min

Atletico de Madrid travelled to a complicated field the home of Istambul Galatasaray for their Group C match which they won 0 - 2. Very different At.Madrid from Liga last weekend with Siquiera, Saul, Vietto & Jackson in the starting line-up. 

However it was young French International Griezmann who took the spotlight with two goals tonight - 18th min & 25th min - to set the course for the Spaniards & secure the victory & the three points tonight. 

Galatasaray showed a less than expected image in front of their home crowd & was somewhat disappointing. 

Dream night for Sevilla FC with their Group D Champions League game against Borussia Monchengladbach after being absent 6 years.  The Spaniards won the Germans 3 - 0 & with two penalties converted (missed another). The goalscorers were:

• Banega (penalty) 46th min
• Gameiro (penalty) 65th min
• Konoplyanka 83th min.

Everyone happy at Sevilla FC with the victory & with the team lifting form after coming in from Spanish Liga with doubts.

Tomorrow more Champions League games with FC Barcelona & Valencia CF in action with their Group duties.

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP TEAMS MATCH-UPS 2015-2016

The Champions League Groups for season 2015-2016 have been drawn with the following results for the five Spanish Football Clubs competing:

Group A: Real Madrid with Paris St Germain, Shakhtar & Malmo,

Group C: Atletico de Madrid with Benfica, Galatasaray & Astana,

Group D: Sevilla FC with Juventus FC, Manchester City FC & Borussia Monchengladbach,

Group E: FC Barcelona with Bayern Leverkusen, Roma & Bate Borisov,

Group H: Valencia CF with Zenit, O.Lyon & Gent.

Beforehand, Sevilla FC seems to have fallen into the most difficult Group along with Real Madrid which faces PSG. However, as always mentioned, at this level all Clubs are dangerous & have the potential to shake the believed favourites.

Lastly, as expected FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was awarded the "UEFA Best Player of The Year 2014-2015" ahead of the other candidates Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) & Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid). This fully deserved award puts Lionel Messi on course towards his 5th FIFA Golden Ball Award which will be announced in January 2016.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL | LIST OF 23 PLAYERS FOR UPCOMING BELARUS - GEORGIA WORLD CUP GROUP GAMES

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente Del Bosque handed in at midday his list of 23 players that will make up the Spain Team squad to play their two upcoming FIFA World Cup Group matches.

Spain hosts on Friday the 11th of October Belarus & then plays at home Georgia Tuesday the 15th of October.

The novelty is the call up of young Sevilla FC & Spanish International U-21 left back Alberto Moreno. Plus Atletico de Madrid right back defender Juanfran & Chelsea FC forward Juan mata have been recalled to the squad.

Spanish Team Selector Del Bosque mentioned that Atletico de Madrid dual nationality player ( Brazilian-Spanish ) & forward Diego Costa has let known that he wishes to play for Spain. But Brazil has "interfered" with bureaucracy that has delayed the final OK from FIFA. Diego Costa has played with Barzil two "Friendly Internationals" but no official match which leaves the door open for the player & Spain. However, paperwork has not allowed Vicente Del Bosque to include the Atletico player in this list. Diego Costa will have to wait until next time & maintain his extraordinary top form until then.

Alberto Moreno

Here is the full list of all 23 players called up the make the Spanish Football National Team squad:

GOALKEEPERS

Iker Casillas

Víctor Valdés

José Manuel Reina

DEFENDERS:

Álvaro Arbeloa

Juanfran Torres

Gerard Piqué

Raúl Albiol

Sergio Ramos

Ignacio Monreal

Alberto Moreno

MDFIELDERS:

Sergio Busquets

Mario Suárez

Xavi Hernández

Andrés Iniesta

Koke Resurrección

Francisco Alarcón "Isco"

Pedro Rodríguez

Jesús Navas

Cesc Fábregas

FORWARDS:

Álvaro Negredo

Juan Manuel Mata

David Jiménez Silva

David Villa

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EUROPA LEAGUE GAMES RESULTS | VALENCIA - SEVILLA FC - REAL BETIS

Europa League Group games tonight with three Spanish Football Clubs at work. Here is a summary, the final results - scores & all the goalscorers.

Valencia CF travelled to Russia to play Kuban Krasnodar managing to win 0 - 2. The Football was not brilliant but no one is fussing at this stage as the three points are more valuable. The Spaniards showed plenty of midfield ball domination but little efficiency in the opposition goal area. Things happened when Valencia brought on young Alcacer & he scored straight after the opener in the 72nd min. The sealer & second goal came in the 81st min by Feghouli. In both goals, the home side goalie Belenor made important mistakes.

Valencia return home a little more relaxed after a tense month.

Sevilla FC travelled to Croatia & into a "hostile" HNK Rijeka stadium to win 0 - 2 away. Even game until Rijeka defender caused a penalty in the 62nd min & got a red card ( second yellow ). Sevilla midfielder Perotti scored in the 64th min & Sevilla took advantage of the situation with the home side down 10 men. Sevilla forward Bacca scored the teams second in extra-time.

Special mention to Sevilla players Rakitic & Jairo both playing well & guiding their team onto victory. Sevilla maintain strong in Europe.

Real Betis hosted SC Freiburg in a match that ended in a 1 - 1 draw. The main action occurred in the first 15 min with Benko putting the visitors ahead in the 10th min. Betis reacted quickly & equalized through Cedrick in the 14th min. From here onward the visitors held out as much as they could while Betis grew in intensity, but failed to convert their gained opportunities. Second draw for Betis in Europe.

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PREVIEW | FC BARCELONA - ATLETICO MADRID POSSIBLE STARTING 11 TEAM LINE-UPS FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Two Spanish Football Clubs have UEFA Champions League Group obligations away from home tonight. The first is FC Barcelona which travels to Glasgow to play Celtic which defeated Barça last time they meet at home 2- 1. The other is a very interesting match between two well known teams Oporto which host Atletico de Madrid.


As usual Spanish Sports paper "Sport" provides its readers with the speculated possible starting 11 line-ups for both teams. Below we have the possible Barça & Atletico starting line-ups.

The main feature is the absence of Lionel Messi who is injured & all eyes will be placed on Neymar to take on responsibilities. Its the perfect stage for the Brazilian to show the World why FC Barcelona put their future hopes on him.

Possible starting 11 for FC Barcelona against Celta Glasgow:

Valdes, Alves, Pique, Bartra, Adriano, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Pedro & Neymar 

Atletico de Madrid travel to Portugal on a high & are full of confidence to play the always difficult Porto. However, Atletico de Madrid will be without their star inform forward Diego Costa & he will be replaced by Raul Garcia. Atletico losses some fire power but gain stabilise. 

Possible starting 11 for Atletico Madrid against Porto:

Courtois, Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Luis Felipe, Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Raul Garcia, Arda Turan & David Villa.

All line-ups are susceptible to last minute chances.  

Good luck, & may the better team win!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM LIST FOR BELARUS - FRANCE | WORLD CUP 2014 QUALIFIERS

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Coach & Selector VICENTE DEL BOSQUE handed in this afternoon the list of 23 players that with play Belarus & France next 12th & 16th of Octubre respectively in their World Cup Group qualification schedule.The news is the return of Bayern Munich midfielder JAVI MARTINEZ to substitute the injuried FC Barcelona player Gerard Pique. 

There are two notable absences in Sevilla Fc forward Negredo & Chelsea Fc forward Juan Mata. 

Javi Martinez

Here is the full list of the 23 players chosen:


Goalkeepers

Casillas (Real Madrid)
Valdés (Barcelona)
Reina (Liverpool)

Defenders

Arbeloa (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Albiol (Real Madrid)
Jordi Alba (Barcelona)
Monreal (Málaga)
Juanfran (Atlético)

Midfielders

Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)
Busquets (Barcelona)
Xavi (Barcelona)
Iniesta (Barcelona)
Javi Martínez (Bayern)
Cesc (Barcelona)
Silva (Manchester City)
Beñat (Betis)
Cazorla (Arsenal)
Pedro (Barcelona)
Navas (Sevilla)

Forwards

Torres (Chelsea)
Villa (Barcelona)
Soldado (Valencia)

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2012 - 2013 GROUP DRAW RESULT

The Groups draw for CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2012-2013 has been celebrated in Monaco with all the candidate - teams placed in their corresponding Groups according to luck & perhaps fate. Four Spanish Football Clubs were present, REAL MADRID, FC BARCELONA, VALENCIA CF & MALAGA, this last an Historical event for the Club.

The draw resulted tough particularly for Real Madrid that got placed in Group D along with Manchester City, Ajax & Borussia Dortmund. FC Barcelona got placed in Group G along with Benfica, Spartak Moscow & Celtic Glasgow, not an easy match-up Group. For Valencia CF it got placed in Group F along with strong Bayern Munich, Lille & Bate Borisov. Lastly, Malaga FC got placed in Group C along with AC Milan, Zenit & Anderlecht.

Champions League Groups 2012-2013

Above is a summary image courtsey of Spanish Sports paper "Marca" of all the Groups & all the Clubs matched.

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