8, January 2020
Football: Iheanacho denies Villa as Leicester earn League Cup semi-final draw 0
Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to keep Leicester in contention for a place in the League Cup final as the Nigerian striker’s late goal earned a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side fell behind to Frederic Guilbert’s first half goal in the semi-final first leg at the King Power Stadium.
But Iheanacho equalised after the break with his sixth goal in eight appearances this season.
Leicester will feel they should have won after dominating for long periods, but the team in second place in the Premier League will have to finish the job at Villa Park in the second leg on January 28.
Rodgers has a remarkable record of advancing from his last 30 domestic cup ties with Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester.
But the last team to beat Rodgers in a domestic knockout competition were Villa in the FA Cup semi-final in 2014-15 when he was Liverpool manager.
And Villa, whose last major trophy was the 1996 League Cup, will feel they are in pole position to reach the final after surviving a stern examination.
The second leg winner will play Manchester City or Manchester United in the final at Wembley, with City leading 3-1 after their first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Leicester last won the competition in 2000, beating Villa in the semi-finals that year, and they were well on top at the start.
A scuffed clearance from Douglas Luiz was collected by Ayoze Perez, who saw his deflected effort flash just wide.
Jamie Vardy was back after missing three games due to the birth of his daughter and a calf injury and took the fight to Villa.
He seized Marvelous Nakamba’s wayward header before testing Orjan Nyland, then saw his low drive blocked by Villa’s keeper moments later.
But, having soaked up Leicester’s early blitz on a rain-drenched evening in the east midlands, it was Villa who snatched the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute.
– Infused with confidence –
Anwar El Ghazi was playing in an unfamiliar role up front due to Wesley’s injury and Jonathan Kodjia’s illness.
The winger drifted back out to the left flank to deliver a cross that landed perfectly for Guilbert, who got in front of Ben Chilwell and stabbed his volley in from close-range.
The French defender’s first goal since August was Villa’s first shot on target in the match.
Infused with confidence after that bolt from the blue, Smith’s team were inches away from doubling their lead before half-time.
Jack Grealish’s inswinging free-kick found Ezri Konsa and the Villa defender headed against the bar from inside the six-yard box.
Leicester wrestled back the initiative after the interval and Nyland alertly smothered the danger when Vardy tried to latch onto a through ball.
Tyrone Mings won header after header as Villa tried to weather the storm and when James Maddison did get past the defender with a bold burst, Nyland was on hand to make another good save.
Maddison tried again with a run onto Ricardo Pereira’s pass, but the Norwegian saved at the near post.
Leicester’s pressure finally told in the 74th minute.
Luiz, put in trouble by Konsa’s sloppy free-kick, lost possession to Hamza Choudhury and Vardy found Iheanacho, who shot high past Nyland from 15 yards.
Vardy nearly won it in the closing minutes, but his shot rippled into the side-netting just as Leicester fans were anticipating a dramatic finale.
Source: AFP
9, January 2020
Football: Atletico stun Barca to set up all-Madrid Super Cup final 0
Atletico Madrid sprung a surprise in the Spanish Super Cup by staging a thrilling comeback to beat Barcelona 3-2 on Thursday and set up a final against Real Madrid.
Barca looked on course for a Sunday showdown against Real when they led Atletico 2-1 with nine minutes left but instead it will be a Madrid derby in Saudi Arabia to decide who lifts the trophy.
All five goals were scored during a wild second half in Jeddah that began with Koke putting Atletico in front, just 21 seconds after coming on as a substitute at the interval.
Goals from Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann turned the game on its head, only for Atletico to hit back with a late double, Alvaro Morata converting a penalty in the 81st minute before Angel Correa found a winner in the 86th.
In between, Barcelona also had two goals ruled out after VAR spotted tight offsides while Atleti were denied what looked a clear penalty at 2-2, after the ball clipped the hand of Gerard Pique.
A pulsating contest will have delighted the Spanish Football Federation, who have faced heavy criticism for taking the competition away from Spain to a different continent, and a country that has a long-condemned record on human rights.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said on Wednesday he preferred the old format but his strong team selection, that included Messi, Griezmann and Luis Suarez, suggested this was a tournament he was eager to win.
It remains to be seen how this defeat might affect the La Liga title race, with Real Madrid and Atletico now enjoying the opportunity not only to win a trophy but score a psychological boost too.
Barca dominated the first half and Griezmann had the best chance, only for his lifted finish from the angle to be saved by the excellent Jan Oblak.
Atletico survived and frustration spilled over at the break as Jordi Alba poked a finger in the face of Joao Felix, who then went head-to-head with Messi. Suarez also had to be pulled away by Stefan Savic.
A spikey end to the first period was trumped by an explosive start to the second as Koke, on for less than a minute, gave Atletico the lead. Felix started the move and Correa slipped a pass behind the scrambling Sergi Roberto for Koke to stab into the bottom corner.
Simeone chose not to celebrate and if he was worried about the amount of time left, he was right, as Barcelona scored twice in 11 minutes.
First, Messi equalised after muscling his way through both Koke and Savic on the edge of the area and then he fired in again after steering a high ball around Koke. This time, however, VAR showed his elbow had served as a cushion.
Disappointment was brief though as Alba crossed for Suarez and while his header was brilliant pawed away by Oblak, Griezmann nodded in the rebound.
Pique thought he had a third after Arturo Vidal half-volleyed Messi’s free-kick across the box but again VAR intervened.
Atletico were revived. Correa should have pulled them level but appeared keener to find Felix than shoot himself and when the rebound did fall to the Felix, Sergi Roberto made a last-ditch block.
But the floodgates had opened in the Barca defence. Vitolo was next to go clear and this time he was brought down by Neto. Morata converted the penalty.
Then, Morata skipped free down the right and his cross seemed to strike the dangling hand of Pique but after consulting VAR, the referee strangely decided against another penalty.
Yet moments later, Atletico were in again. Correa this time sprinted in behind and while Neto made a block, the ball had enough power to cross the line. Now, Simeone could celebrate.
Source: AFP