Benfica
Arsenal star bolsters line-up, but Arteta takes big risk in defence
The Europa League takes centre stage this evening with the round of 32 second leg ties featuring some enthralling fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Europa League highlights as the games are played. One tie has already been completed, with Tottenham Hotspur beating Wolfsberger 4-0 on Wednesday to book their place in the last-16. Arsenal are in early action against Benfica on Thursday and will fancy their chances of going through after drawing 1-1 in the first leg. Kieran Tierney is in the starting XI for the Gunners, but the inclusion of David Luiz and Hector Bellerin in defence is a risky move by manager Mikel Arteta. 📋 Tonight’s team news is in! 🏴 @KieranTierney1 starts🇧 ...
Smith Rowe and Ceballos start, Predicted Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Benfica
Arsenal will play hosts to Benfica in the second leg of the Europa League last 32 on Thursday night. The game is scheduled to be played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece due to coronavirus restrictions. The north London side have a disappointing record at the ground with four defeats and just one win from five European games. However, their sole victory came during the previous campaign against Olympiacos and they will be aiming for another positive result. Mikel Arteta’s side have the precious away goal advantage after the 1-1 draw against Benfica in the first leg which was played at the Stadio Olimpico. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Bernd Leno is an automatic choice in goal for the Gunners. The German had a comfortable game in the reverse leg until the penalty scored ...
Arsenal set unwanted record in Europa League tie vs Benfica
Arsenal set an unwanted record during Thursday night’s Europa League draw with Benfica which ended 1-1 after being caught offside 10 times. A Bukayo Saka equaliser saw Arsenal fight back from a goal down to snatch a draw – and an all-important away goal – in their Europa League last-32 first-leg clash in Rome. Incredibly, the North Londoners were caught offside a staggering 10 times, which is more than any other Premier League side in all competitions this season. Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was responsible for four of those. The previous record had been held by Manchester United, who were flagged eight times during their goalless Premier League draw with Liverpool last month. Crystal Palace were caught offside seven times in their 7-0 home mauling at the hands of Liverpool in D...
Arsenal boss hails Manchester City as ‘best in Europe’
Mikel Arteta believes his Arsenal team will be facing the best side in Europe when they take on Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. City have won a club-record 17 successive games across all competitions and are 10 points ahead of local rivals Manchester United at the summit of the English top-flight heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures. Arteta knows City well after working under manager Pep Guardiola in Manchester for three years before returning to manage Arsenal, having previously played for the Gunners. “I think they are the best team in Europe at the moment,” Arteta said of City. “The way they are performing, the football they are playing and the consistency of the results, take all that it and it makes them the best team. “So we have a b...
Key Arsenal player unlikely to be risked, Tottenham star omitted
The Europa League is back with a bang on Thursday as the round of 32 gets underway. Eight clubs have dropped into the competition from the Champions League, joining the 24 who safely navigated through the group phase. Manchester United and Ajax are the biggest names to enter the Europa League at this stage, and both will fancy their chances of making progress. However, with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Leicester City, AC Milan and Napoli amongst a strong line-up, winning the Europa League will not be easy. All four Premier League clubs are on the road for their first leg matches, with Arsenal facing the toughest test against Benfica. The Gunners have been boosted by Kieran Tierney’s return to training, but the defender is unlikely to be included in the starting XI. Spurs will be without Joe...
Nigerian midfielder sees red as 10-woman SL Benfica fall at Chelsea
Christy Ucheibe got sent off in Wednesday’s Uefa Women’s Champions League first leg, Round of 32 encounter as 10-woman SL Benfica suffered a 5-0 loss at home to Chelsea. The Nigerian midfielder was first cautioned in the 31st minute for a foul on Fran Kirby before receiving a second yellow card for a bookable offence against Erin Cuthbert in the 74th minute. Having squeezed past POAK and Anderlecht to the Round of 32, the Portuguese champions hosted the English giants at the Benfica Stadium with the ambition of boosting their next round chances. The hosts made a false start in the encounter when Fran Kirby opened the scoring for the visitors after just two minutes. In the 29th minute, Guro Reiten set up Millie Bright to double the lead for Chelsea before Reiten bagged her brace of assists,...
Benfica Join Premier League Quintet in Hunting Rangers Star
Benfica have become the latest club to begin tracking Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara, as reported by TEAMtalk. Kamara joined Rangers in January 2019 after a short spell at Dundee. He has since become an influential figure in Steven Gerrard’s side, helping them to the top of the table and into the knockout rounds of the Europa League. Gerrard wants Kamara to stay The form of the Finland international has attracted a lot of attention, especially from the Premier League, with Everton, Newcastle United, Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Sheffield United all reportedly interested in the midfielder. And now Portuguese side Benfica are also believed to be interested in securing his signature, according to TEAMtalk. The Lisbon side were seemingly impressed by the Finnish midfielder when they came u...
Real Madrid join chase for Darwin Núñez
Real Madrid have become the latest club to express interest in Benfica striker Darwin Núñez, according to FourFourTwo. The 21-year-old started his career at Peñarol, before moving to Spanish second tier side Almeria. After impressing there, he made the switch to Benfica, where he has registered five goals and a further five assists in his first ten outings The striker has four caps for Uruguay, scoring twice. He has often been compared to fellow Uruguayan Edinson Cavani. Núñez celebrates a goal for Uruguay FourFourTwo reports that Los Blancos are looking at bringing in Núñez in January in case Serbian striker Luka Jovic departs. Jovic has had a tough time at the Bernabeu since signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, scoring just twice in all competitions in a Real Madrid shirt. It is now...
Rangers vs Benfica Preview: Key stats and head to head record
Rangers host Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday and they will be looking to claim the top spot in Group D with a win over the Portuguese outfit. Rangers are currently level on points with Benfica, but they are second in the standings because of goal difference. Both sides cancelled each other out in a thrilling 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this month and Rangers will fancy their chances of getting a win at home. Steven Gerrard’s side are in spectacular form right now and they will are full of confidence. Rangers are currently top of the SPL table with an 11 point advantage over Celtic (who have played two fewer games) and look to be the frontrunners to win their first league title since 2010/11. Benfica were expected to comfortably win Group D when the draws were made but ...
Tyronne Ebuehi helps Twente claim away win at ADO Den Haag
Super Eagles defender Tyronne Ebuehi featured for FC Twente in their 4-2 away win against his former club ADO Den Haag in the Dutch Eredivisie on Saturday. Ebuehi played for 90 minutes in the game which was his eight appearance since joining Twente on loan from Benfica. It is a continuation of his impressive performance from last month which saw him included in the Eredivisie Team of the Month. Queensy Menig opened scoring for Twente on 41 minutes before Danilo doubled their lead on 59 minutes. An own goal by Julio Pleguezuelo in the 76th minute made it 2-1 while Samy Bourard levelled the score on 86 minutes. But with two minutes left in the game Danilo scored his second goal to put Twente 3-2 ahead before Thijs van Leeuwen added the fourth goal in the 90th minute. Twente move up to third ...
Biggest Games to Watch Across Europe – November 2020
The 2020/21 season continues apace during November, with a host of top-class games scheduled to take place across the main competitions in Europe. The Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga all have some tasty fixtures involving teams who are aiming to win silverware this season. With the group stage of the Champions League and Europa League also continuing, the next few weeks will be incredibly hectic. Read on as we take a look at some of the biggest games to watch across Europe during November. Real Madrid v Inter Milan – Champions League – November 3 Madrid will be eager to get their Champions League campaign back on track against Inter after failing to impress in their first two fixtures in Group C. Zinedine Zidane’s team were beaten at home by Shakhtar Donetsk, before recover...
Wolves complete signing of Barcelona star
Wolves have completed the signing of right-back Nelson Semedo from Barcelona in a deal worth around £29m. Semedo has signed a contract that will keep him at Molineux until June 2023, with an option to extend it to June 2025. Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was in the market for another option at right-back following the sale of Republic of Ireland international Matt Doherty to Tottenham on a four-year-deal. Semedo is represented by Gestifute, the agency run by Jorge Mendes, who plays a key part in many Wolves’ deals. The 26-year-old former Benfica defender becomes Wolves’ fifth signing of the transfer window following the arrivals of Fabio Silva, Fernando Marcal, Vitor Ferreira and Ki-Jana Hoever. Hoever signed from Liverpool last week as forward Diogo Jota’s completed a move in the ...
