football
Lewandowski leads Barcelona; Benzema keeps Madrid perfect
With a defender moving in front of him and blocking his view inside the area, Robert Lewandowski stayed calm.
The veteran striker patiently waited for a gap, then quickly used his backheel to gently send the ball into the far corner for a beautiful goal.
Lewandowski continues to make scoring look easy after joining Barcelona from Bayern Munich. Barcelona's top signing this season found the net twice on Sunday to lead the Catalan club to a 4-0 rout of Valladolid in the Spanish league.
Real Madrid relied on Karim Benzema, its trustworthy striker for years, to maintain a perfect start with its third straight away victory. Benzema scored in the 88th minute and deep into stoppage time to give the defending champion a 3-1 win at Espanyol.
It was the third league goal for Benzema, while Lewandowski took his tally to four. The Poland striker had also scored a double in the 4-1 victory at Real Sociedad last weekend. He was also twice denied by the woodwork at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
“He is extraordinary," Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said of Lewandowski. "He is a natural leader who has been helping us greatly.”
Pedri González and Sergi Roberto also scored for Barcelona, which had opened with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano at home.
The 34-year-old Lewandowski, signed from Bayern for nearly $50 million, got on the board in the 24th by completing a nice pass by Raphinha, another one of Barcelona new signings who has been playing well.
Pedri added to the lead in the 43rd from near the penalty spot after an assist by Ousmane Dembélé, who also set up Lewandowski's superb backheel goal in the 64th. Roberto closed the scoring in stoppage time.
“We knew what kind of player we had signed,” newly signed Barcelona defender Jules Koundé said of Lewandowski. “He is a top striker and he shows it with his goals and with how he helps the team.”
Barcelona finally could count on Koundé, who had not been registered ahead of the first two rounds because the club wasn't able to abide with the league’s fair play regulations. The former Sevilla defender started in the right back position and impressed in his debut.
Valladolid, owned by former Brazil and Barcelona great Ronaldo, is back in the first division after a one-year absence. It was coming off a home loss against Villarreal and a draw at Sevilla.
Read:PSG drops points after 1-1 draw with Monaco; Marseille wins
MADRID STAYS PERFECT
Madrid was a few minutes away from losing its perfect record when Benzema came through with two late goals against Espanyol.
Madrid was far from its best but Benzema helped to salvage the win with a nice close-range touch to complete a well-placed cross by Rodrygo. Benzema than easily converted a free kick after Espanyol defender Leandro Cabrera had to play in goal because goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte was sent off and all substitutions had been made.
Vinícius Júnior had put Madrid ahead in the 12th and Joselu equalized for the hosts in the 43rd.
It was the third match in a row on the road for Madrid, which asked to start away from home because of renovation work at its Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The team will be back at the venue for its match against Real Betis on Saturday.
Madrid beat Almería and Celta Vigo in its first two games. Espanyol stayed winless after having drawn at Celta before losing to Rayo Vallecano at home.
VILLARREAL HELD
Villarreal ended its perfect record with a 0-0 draw at Getafe, which was yet to win a point this season.
Unai Emery's Villarreal had most of the scoring chances. A penalty kick in its favor deep into stoppage time was reversed after video review.
Getafe had conceded three goals in each of its first two matches.
Cádiz was the only other team without a point entering the weekend. It will have a chance to end its losing streak when it hosts unbeaten Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
FAN VIOLENCE
Police had to intervene after a confrontation between fans of second division clubs Racing Santander and Oviedo on Sunday.
Authorities said the fans threw rocks and other objects at each other.
There were no reports of injuries or arrests.
Oviedo won the match 1-0 in Santander.
Life in the fast lane: Kane double takes him to EPL landmark
Harry Kane used to be regarded as a slow starter to Premier League seasons.
Not this time.
The England captain scored for the third straight game with his double earning Tottenham a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday and taking Kane to third in the all-time Premier League scoring charts.
Kane also scored a stoppage-time equalizer against Chelsea in the second round and the winner against Wolverhampton last weekend.
Kane had never scored in the season-opening month of August until 2018, a run of 15 matches across different seasons. He also had a poor start to last season, after a summer move to Manchester City didn’t materialize, before finding form in the new year.
After a full preseason, he has hit the ground running in the 2022-23 campaign — and should have had another goal to his name against Forest, only for a second-half penalty to be saved by Dean Henderson.
Also Sunday, West Ham beat Aston Villa 1-0 to earn its first points of the season and Newcastle struck in the 90th minute to leave Wolverhampton with a 1-1 draw.
MOVING UP
Kane scored in either half to draw level with Andrew Cole on 187 Premier League goals — behind only Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208) — and ensure his side’s unbeaten start to the season continues. Tottenham is third with 10 points from four games, two points behind leader Arsenal.
Kane's perfect day was only spoilt when Henderson’s second penalty save in back-to-back home games saw the England striker’s run of 21 successful spot kicks come to an end.
Antonio Conte’s Spurs found the perfect way to quieten down the home ground as it took the lead after just five minutes. Kane’s touch set Dejan Kulusevski away and, after advancing up the pitch, the Swede returned the ball to the England captain, who found the bottom corner from 20 yards in clinical fashion.
Tottenham was awarded a penalty eight minutes after the break as Steve Cook deliberately handled Ivan Perisic’s cross. When the penalty was finally taken after a VAR check Henderson produced the heroics again — just as he did against West Ham — as he dived full length to his right to palm away Kane’s powerful kick. It was the first spot kick Kane had missed for Tottenham since February 2018.
Read:PSG drops points after 1-1 draw with Monaco; Marseille wins
The visitors did eventually double their lead with nine minutes remaining. Richarlison won the ball back and sent in a delicious cross that Kane headed into an empty net.
FIRST POINTS FOR WEST HAM
West Ham recorded its first points and first goal of the league season with a victory at Aston Villa.
Pablo Fornals scored the only goal of the game. His deflected second-half strike was enough to see the Hammers open their account for the top-flight campaign after losses to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.
The win will ease some of the pressure on West Ham coach David Moyes but increase the tension for counterpart Steven Gerrard, whose side were booed off at full time.
Villa thought it had taken the lead in the 14th minute but Ezri Konsa’s goal was disallowed as Lucas Digne’s corner kick had gone fractionally out of play.
Fornals opened the scoring at Villa Park with 16 minutes remaining. Kurt Zouma brought the ball forward and found captain Declan Rice, who picked out Fornals and the Spaniard’s 25-yard effort deflected off Konsa and looped over Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez .
UNBEATEN MAGPIES
Allan Saint-Maximin’s stunning 90th-minute equalizer saw Newcastle snatch a draw at Wolverhampton, salvaging its unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Under pressure from Jacob Murphy, Hwang Hee-chan sliced a clearance into the air and it dropped for Saint-Maximin to thump a brilliant volley into the corner from 20 yards.
The Magpies then almost turned the match around completely in stoppage time with Elliot Anderson hitting the crossbar.
Ruben Neves’ first-half screamer had given Wolves the lead.
Newcastle needed Saint-Maximin to produce as Eddie Howe was unable to call on new $70 million signing Alexander Isak, with the Sweden international yet to receive his work permit, while Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson were injured.
The point does little to raise hopes at Molineux with Wolves still looking for the first league win of the season.
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Liverpool blew away Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield on Saturday, equaling the record for the biggest-ever victory in the Premier League.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland netted a second-half hat trick as City rallied to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 at home.
Arsenal maintained its perfect start to the season by rallying for a 2-1 win over Fulham.
PSG drops points after 1-1 draw with Monaco; Marseille wins
Neymar won and scored a penalty as Paris Saint-Germain rallied to draw 1-1 at home to Monaco and stay in first place in the French league on Sunday.
Neymar latched onto Lionel Messi's pass down the left and cut inside central defender Guillermo Maripan, who appeared to catch him with an outstretched leg.
The referee waved away PSG's penalty claims but then awarded the kick following a video review. Neymar used his usual staggered run-up to confuse goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel before casually guiding the ball inside the left post. It was Neymar's sixth goal in the league and eighth goal in five games overall.
PSG has 10 points and leads on goal difference from bitter rival Marseille and northern side Lens.
Monaco rode its luck at times but closed down PSG well early on, denying space to its famed attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, then took the lead in the 20th.
After recent signing Mohamed Camara tackled Messi near the halfway line, Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin sent a pass into the path of German striker Kevin Volland, who held off central defender Presnel Kimpembe before striking a low shot into the bottom right corner.
PSG's strike force had netted 17 league goals in the three previous league games under new coach Christophe Galtier, but did not hit the target until Mbappe's tame shot in the 37th.
“They closed us down well,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “They stopped us bringing the ball out from the back.”
PSG then struck the post twice in first-half injury time, with Messi's curler from 20 meters clipping the left upright and bouncing to Mbappe, who rushed his shot and hit the base of the right post.
Marquinhos conceded a clumsy corner right at the start of the second half and, minutes later, Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder went close with a lob for 12th-place Monaco after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma rushed off his line.
Read:Liverpool equals EPL record in 9-0 win over Bournemouth
Nuebel made a fine stop to deny Neymar in the 59th but was well beaten on his penalty.
Meanwhile, coach Igor Tudor’s new-look Marseille is looking good as Alexis Sanchez scored twice and his team won 3-0 at southern rival Nice in an earlier game.
Nice recruited strongly, bringing in established Premier League players like goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, midfielder Aaron Ramsey and forward Nicolas Pepe, but is still seeking a win and is in 18th place.
Marseille has made a strong start under Tudor, who is known as a disciplinarian and whose appointment was questioned by fans — especially when he left veteran playmaker Dimitri Payet out of the first three games.
But Tudor is winning the fans over with a high-octane brand of pressing soccer. He also said he'd give the 35-year-old Payet games. This time, he started him playing just behind Sanchez — a much-heralded signing from Italian champion Inter Milan.
The Chile forward grabbed his first goal in the 10th minute and, after former Arsenal fullback Nuno Tavares made it three goals in four games this season, Tavares combined with Payet to help set up Sanchez's second goal in the 42nd.
OTHER MATCHES
Marseille was not the only side scoring freely away from home, with Montpellier netting five first-half goals in a 7-0 victory at Brest.
The 19-year-old striker Elye Wahi scored twice and veteran forward Valere Germain added two second-half goals for eighth-place Montpellier.
It was a stinging defeat for Brest coach Michel Der Zakarian, who played 10 years for the club as a defender and coached it from 2017-21.
Striker Moussa Dembélé's towering late header earned fourth-place Lyon a 1-1 draw at Reims.
Promoted Toulouse led early with a goal from midfielder Zakaria Aboukhlal but conceded three second-half goals in a 3-1 loss at midtable Nantes.
Nigeria striker Terem Moffi scored both goals as Lorient beat Clermont 2-1 at home.
Elsewhere, Troyes beat Angers 3-1 in a scrap between lowly sides.
1st Div Football: East End earn 2-0 win over Dilkusha SC
East End Club earned a 2-0 goals victory over Dilkusha Sporting Club in the Bashundhara Group Metropolis Senior (First) Division Football League at the Kamalapur Stadium here on Sunday.Luxman Chandra Borman scored both the goals for East End Club in the 12th and 20th minutes respectively. In another league match today, Bashabo Tarun Sangha beat Nawabpur Krira Chakra by 1-0 goals at the same venue.
Also read: BFF picks 27 players for FIFA friendlies against Cambodia, NepalMisbahuddin Arif scored the match-winner for Bashabo team in the added time (90+1) of the match.In the day's other league match, Koshaituli Samaj Kallayan Parishad beat Mohakhali Eleven by 2-1 goals at the same venue.
Also read: Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) gets a bus from UEFA as giftKhalilur Rahman and Ammar Ibne Amin scored for Koshaituli team, one in each half while Hridoy Saha netted the one goal for Mohakhali team in the 2nd half.
Liverpool equals EPL record in 9-0 win over Bournemouth
Liverpool equaled the biggest win in English Premier League history after a 9-0 hammering of promoted Bournemouth on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side started the campaign slowly, with surprise draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace compounded by Monday’s loss at rival Manchester United. But Liverpool's fearsome attack looked back to its best at Anfield as the team recorded its first league win and Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz both grabbed two goals.
It's only the fifth time a team scored nine goals in the Premier League, with Man United (twice) and Leicester the only previous teams to win 9-0. Liverpool also won 9-0 over Crystal Palace in 1989, before the top-flight changed its name.
“We scored some wonderful goals from all areas and didn’t stop,” Klopp said. “It was 5-0 at halftime. How often does it happen that a team take their foot off the gas? We just wanted to have a 100% satisfying experience we can use going from here.”
Read:Mbappe scores in 8 seconds, ties French league record
Firmino, starting in place of suspended summer signing Darwin Nunez, produced a stunning first-half display, which began with Diaz heading home his clipped cross within three minutes of the kickoff.
Firmino then provided the assist for Harvey Elliott’s first league goal — a fizzing strike from distance that would have been goal of the day were it not for the Trent Alexander-Arnold stunner that followed.
The Brazil forward set up that goal and celebrated one of his own soon after when turning in a deflected cross -- his first league goal at Anfield since December 2020.
Virgil van Dijk powered home Liverpool’s fifth on the stroke of halftime, while the onslaught continued just after the break in the form of Chris Mepham’s own-goal.
Firmino grabbed a second of the afternoon before leaving to a standing ovation.
The goals did not stop there, though, as Fabio Carvalho scored his first for the club and Diaz grabbed his second.
Tarafder M Ruhul Amin gets Mother Teresa Int'l Award
Managing Director of Saif Sporting Club and vice president of Chittagong Abahani Limited Tarafder M. Ruhul Amin received Mother Teresa International Award for his contributions in field of Bangladesh Sports, specially in football and chess.
Former Governor of West Bengal and former Chief Justice of Kolkata and Allahabad High Court Justice Shayamal Kumar Sen handed over award to Tarafder M Ruhul Amin at a function at the St James School Auditorium in Kolkata Friday afternoon.
Also read: Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) gets a bus from UEFA as gift
GOC in chief of the Indian Army's Eastern Command (Head Quarter) Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita, Counsellor (Consular) of Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata M Bashir Ahmed were present as special guests at the function, presided by chairman of the Mother Teresa International Award Committee Dr TH Ireland.
Tarafder Ruhul Amin, who came to the limelight after arranging the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup Football Tournament in Chattogram, helped some 100 football clubs, 64 districts and some 1000 footballers with financial support during Covid-19 Pandemic in addition to providing computers and other technical supports to different clubs and sports organizations.
BFF picks 27 players for FIFA friendlies against Cambodia, Nepal
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has initially picked 27 players for two FIFA international friendlies against Cambodia and Nepal.
Bangladesh will face hosts Cambodia on September 22 and will play against Nepal on September 27 on their home soil.
Javier Fernandes Cabrera, Spanish head coach of the Bangladesh national football team, announced a 27-member preliminary squad at a press conference in Dhaka Thursday.
Team manager Iqbal Hossain, BFF General Secretary Abu Nayem Shohag and BFF Technical Director Paul Thomas Smalley were also present.
Twelve players taken from BPL champions Bashundhara Kings, four from Saif SC, three each from Dhaka Abahani and Sheikh Russel, two from Sheikh Jamal and one each from Dhaka Mohammedan, Chittagong Abahani and Police FC made it to the squad.
Read: Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) gets a bus from UEFA as gift
Selected Players
Goalkeepers: Anisur Rahman Zico, Mahfuz Hasan Pritom, Ashraful Islam Rana and Mohammad Naim
Defenders: Yeasin Arafat, Bishwanath Ghosh, Tareq Kazi, Rimon Hossain, Tutul Hossain Badsha, Riyadul Hasan, Rahmat Mia, Rayhan Hasan and Isa Faisal
Midfielders: Sohel Rana, Atikur Rahman Fahad, Masuk Mia Zony, Biplu Ahmed, Mohammad Ibrahim, Rakib Hossain, Jamal Bhuiyan, Hemanta Vincent Biswas, Faisal Ahmed Fahim and Sohel Rana Jr.
Forwards: Sumon Reza, Motin Mia, Sajjad Hossain and Shahrier Emon.
8 Stadiums of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Qatar is going to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November. And the country will host all 64 matches in newly built 8 stadiums. The tournament will take place in Lusail Stadium, Al Bayt Stadium, Stadium 974, Khalifa International Stadium, Education City Stadium, Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, and Al Janoub Stadium. Let's get to know more about these stadiums. Let’s discuss the stadiums of the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup.
8 Stadiums of Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022
Lusail Stadium
This is Qatar's biggest stadium of all eight stadiums having 80,000 seats. The Lusail Stadium is also where the final match for the FIFA World Cup is to occur. The construction began in the year 2017 and was done in 2021, with an estimated cost of $767 million.
Because of its convenient position in Lusail, a new metropolis will be created called Lusail City. The stadium's strategic planning included building a tram system, luscious parks, and overall, the perfect environment for a friendly environment for the community to grow. And once the tournament is over, schools, cafes, clinics, shopping centres, etc., will be built around it, making it the biggest and most important stadium in Qatar.
Read FIFA to put more World Cup tickets up for online sale
Al Bayt Stadium
The Al Bayt Stadium is important due to its historical correlation with nomadic people in Qatar. The stadium's structure having a tent-like shape was inspired due to its traditional nomadic tents. The construction of the Al Bayt Stadium began in the year 2014 and was completed by the end of 2021, with the construction cost being $847 million.
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) gets a bus from UEFA as gift
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) received a bus from Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) as a gift under UEFA Assist Infrastructure Project 2021-22.The bus was officially inaugurated Wednesday afternoon at the BFF House in Motijheel. BFF vice presidents Ataur Rahman Manik, Mohiuddin Ahmed Mohi, FIIFA council member Mahfuza Akhter Kiron were, among others, present at the function.
Read: BFF sign 3-year MoU with AIUB for developing booters’ educational skillsThe BFF officials thanked two continental football bodies --UEFA and AFC --for proving the bus to BFF. The BFF got the bus through its Asian body AFC.
1st Div Football: Munna's hattrick guides Mugda Samaj Kallyan to beat Victoria SC 3-0
A brilliant hattrick by Munna Biswas guided Mugda Samaj Kallyan & Krira Sanshad to beat old horse Victoria Sporting Club by 3-0 goal in Bashundhara Group Metropolis Senior (First) Division Football League at Kamalapur Stadium here on Wednesday.
Munna Biswas made a hattrick scoring all three goals in the 5th, 35th and 74th minutes.
Read:2nd Div Football: Little Friends Club beat Gouripur SC 1-0
In the day's other match, Jatrabari KC beat Friends Social Welfare Organization by 1-0 goal scored by Belal Ahmed in the 30th minute at the same venue.
The day's other league match between Dilkusha SC and Basabo Tarun Sangha ended in 1-1 draw at the same venue.
Shahidul Khondokar put Dilkusha SC ahead in the 19th minute while Rango Malo leveled the match for Basabo TS in the 85th minute