Kiltschko vs Fury preview

Kiltschko vs Fury preview

Background

 

On 24th October, in Dusseldorf, Germany, two of Boxing's most different personalities will meet in a fight that has been anticipated by press, fans and colleagues alike. It will be the cool, calm Wladimir Kiltschko against the over-the-top, annoyingly powerful Tyson Fury for the WBA, WBO & IBF heavyweight championship (all owned by Kiltschko). This fight will be a record-breaking heavyweight bout for Kiltschko and could be the one defines his title reign as he comes up against an opponent who is cocky, confident and wants to become the 'new blood' of the heavyweight division. The fight will also be Kiltschko's 19th defence in his second reign as World champion and the fact that he hasn't lost in eleven years gives a Fury some serious odds to overcome.

 

Speaking at the press conference on 21st July, Fury made a passionate attack on Kiltschko's character: "You go on - you're a sports psychologist, you speak thirty-seven different languages, so what? You're still a robotic person. You're still not exciting and fun to watch. I am the new blood in the division, you are an old man." He then went on to compare the heavyweight champion to his underpants: "You have about as much charisma as my underpants - zero. I am interested in breaking your face in."

 

I have to say that Fury is a brave man for saying this to a man with the power as threating as Kiltschko but it is obvious that Fury is doing this for media attention and to increase suspense and tension between the two going into the late fight hype. Kiltschko's job isn't to be all singing and dancing for the sport, and also he is one of the more serious boxers in the division, what he may lack in some areas of character he certainly makes up for in the ring.

 

Early in the press conference, Fury said: "I'm interested in all them belts you've got on there. I want to rid you out of the heavyweight division." He continued: "Your jab-and-grab style- surely all of Europe wants to see you get beaten and the world will see you get beaten." Fury can certainly talk the talk but I find it very interesting how he didn't answer any questions about how he is going to beat Kiltschko, weather he is going to outbox him or out-power him.

 

Going into this fight, I think that Kiltschko has the upper hand as he has a style that demonstrates his position as the top boxer in the heavyweight division. Fury will need to be 100% focused if he wants to be the man who ends Kiltschko's 11 year undefeated streak.

Tale of the tape

Kiltschko

Height: Six foot six

Weight: 110kg (242 Pounds)

Record: 67 fights, 64 wins, 0 draws and 3 losses

Fury

Height: Six foot nine

Weight: 119kg (262 Pounds)

Record: 24 fights, 24 wins

Prediction

My prediction is that Kiltschko will win by Knockout in the 5th Round. Many may predict a later round for a Kiltschko KO victory but I think that Kiltschko will pull out a world-class performance against an unbeaten opponent who I think will provide some difficulty to Kiltschko but will ultimately be defeated by a much better, as well as a much better disciplined, opponent who will be remembered as one of the heavyweights greats when he decides to hang up his boots.

 

Kiltschko (right) and Fury (left) will face off in Dusseldorf for Kiltschko's WBA, WBO & IBF Heavyweight championships.

 

2015/16 Summer Transfer Window Breakdown

2015/16 Summer Transfer Window Breakdown

As the Premier League hit a record Summer spending of £870 million on new players, it is easy to forget who has moved to where and which sagas that have been dominating the back pages for weeks have come to an end or have left both clubs with sore heads. In this post, I will running through the different transfers that have taken place, and decide who has been left with much too ponder over the International break and who is very confident with the bussiness done at their club.

Most Expensive Signing

Kevin De Bruyne - Wolfsburg to Manchester City (£55 million)

Not so long ago, De Bruyne was rotting on the Chelsea bench as one of the first players who's quality would be wasted by Jose Mourinho. Although he spent two loan spells at Genk and Werder Bremen, enjoying moderate personal success, he became frustrated with Jose for not letting him play in the first XI for games in which he technical and mental could shine through (e.g. Champions league game against Steau Bucharest. Belgium coach, Marc Wilmots, urged him to leave Stamford Bridge in search of first-team football and De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg in January 2014 for an estimated £16.7 million. 

De Bruyne hit the ground running at Wolfsburg and scored 13 games into his career at the Wolves. In the 2014-15 Bundesliga season, he scored ten goals and got twenty-one assists in 34 games, making him the hottest prospect in the Bundesliga. Manchester City showed interest and Wolfsburg hit back with a whopping £51.5 million release clause for the 24-year-old. City paid a little over this (possibly due to the rumours of Bayern Munich pondering a £60 million bid) and De Bruyne returned to the Premier League on a six-year deal, with everyone finally seeing his midfield presence and constant threat towards the other Premier League defences.  

Surprise Signing

Xherdan Shaqiri - Inter Milan to Stoke City (£12 million)

On 11th August, Stoke pulled off what I think is the surprise signing of the Summer Transfer Window by signing ex-Bayern Munich winger Shaqiri from Inter Milan for £12 million. Mark Hughes has had a decent transfer window, but the signing of an experienced and extremely underrated ex- Champions League winner is what catches my eye and makes me think that Stoke could seriously compete for a place just below the Europa League spots. 

Son Heung Min - Bayer Leverkusen to Tottenham (£22 million)

On 28th August, Tottenham signed Son, a player who is reasonably unheard of to those who don't watch the Bundesliga regularly. The 23-year-old scored 29 goals in 87 appearances for Leverkusen, having moved from Hamburg in 2013. When interviewed on how he will play, Son said "Bold and daring- that is how I like to play."

A replacement for flop Roberto Soldado, who departed for Villarreal earlier in the window for £7 million, Son has fierce pace and is a surprise signing for me as I thought it would have been a another year or two before a Premier League team tried to track the South Korean's signature. It is a good buy for the London outfit and will be welcomed by Harry Kane in regards to easing the goalscoring pressure.

Julian Draxler - Schalke to Wolfsburg (Undisclosed fee)

Draxler was tracked by a wide range of European clubs as he made his progression into the Schalke first-team. An adaptable player, who can buy in the No 10 slot and on the wings, it was thought that Schalke would have a tough job on their hands when trying to secure he spent the majority of his early years at Schalke. I didn't see Draxler moving this summer as he is only 21 but the German International has opted to move to Champions League spot rivals Wolfsburg. He acknowledges that he could have gone to Juventus but says "The Bundesliga is an environment I already know." Draxler highlights his disappoint at Kevin De Bruyne no longer being at the Wolves "I'm only sorry to arrive here not to find De Bruyne. It would have been great to play with him."

Although Draxler is still very young, he has matured into a unique professional with respect for others in the game, an example of this being his continuous joy at Arsene Wenger's careful tracking of his ability. I think Wolfsburg have filled De Bruyne's spot as best as they could of with the time and money they had at their disposal and they will benefit massively from this surprise signing.


Deadline Day Signings (with some Deadline Day facts)

(This list highlights the major signings of Deadline Day)

Alex Song - Barcelona to West Ham (Loan)

Ramiro Funes Mori - River Plate to Everton (£9.5 million)

Victor Moses - Chelsea to West Ham (Loan)

Papy Dijilobodji - Nates to Chelsea (£4 million)

Nikica Jelavic - Hull to West Ham (£3 million)

Glenn Murray - Crystal Palace to AFC Bournemouth (£4 million)

Virgil Van Dijk - Celtic to Southampton (£11.5 million)

Joloen Lescott - West Brom to Aston Villa (£2 million)

Anthony Martial - AS Monaco to Manchester United (£36 million - could rise to £58.8 million depending on the player's performance over his five-year contract)

Victor Ibrarbo - AS Roma to Watford (Loan)

Nathan Dyer - Swansea to Leicester (Loan)

Aaron Lennon - Tottenham to Everton (£5 million)

Matt Jarvis - West Ham to Norwich (Loan)

Dimitar Berbatov - Free Agents to POAK

• Premier League clubs spent approximately £90 million on deadline day (£5 million more than last summer).
• Anthony Martial became the World's most expensive teenager when he signed for Manchester United on deadline day for £36 million, with the fee potentially rising to £58.8 million). He is United's third most expensive signing behind Angel Di Maria (£59.7 million from Real Madrid) and Juan Mata (£37.1 million from Chelsea).
• West Brom turned down a third and fourth bid from Tottenham on deadline day for Sadio Berahino, who later tweeted he would never play for chairman Jeremy Peace again.

Sagas of the Window

Raheem Sterling wanting to leave Liverpool

OUTCOME: Joined Manchester City for £49 million

In many ways, this transfer saga defines modern Football. A player wanted to leave, the media became the platform to deny 'money-grabbing' rumours, the club (Liverpool) set a huge price tag and a cash-flowing giant (Manchester City) came into 'save' the player (Sterling) from being frozen out of the first XI. In my opinion, this transfer was handed very badly. Sterling shouldn't have gone to the press and Liverpool should have put him up for sale as it was clear that he didn't want to sign the contract for £100,000 a week and remain at the club.

Anyway, Sterling moved to Manchester City for £49 million (£44 million + £5 million add-ons), with QPR getting £10 million from the transfer. He has exploded into life at the Etihad, adding much needed pace to City's left wing. I think Sterling will become one of City's most important players as they look to be title favourites coming out of the transfer window.

David De Gea to Real Madrid 

OUTCOME: Spanish deadline closed before United filed the paperwork

David De Gea was the perfect fit for Real Madrid. He is Spanish, his girlfriend is Spanish and used to be extremely popular in Spain and he used to play for Los Blancos arch cross-city rivals. The rumours had been circulating for just over a year, with Madrid losing faith in Iker Casillas (who was transferred to Porto faster than Mourinho dodging a BBC report for a post-match interview) and it seems like nothing would stand in the way of this transfer.

Until we got to deadline day.

A £29 million fee had been accepted by Manchester United (with Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas going to Old Trafford) and it looked like all parties would be satisfied with the move. However, the Spanish summer transfer deadline closed two minutes before United filed the paperwork to Real and the Premier League. Real then released a statement saying "We did everything we could to make the transfer of David De Gea possible" and blamed United for the extremely slow progress in filing the correct paperwork. It seems that either United are to blame or the two clubs became locked in a PR showdown that unfortunately dominated their attention away from the transfer of (potentially)the Premier League's best Goalkeeper.

So, what happens now? Will De Gea rot until January? His fellow countryman, and team-mate, Juan Mata has said that De Gea remains 'calm and professional after a mad couple of days'. From this, I can gather that De Gea seems willing to play for United in order to get first-team action under Madrid come in for him again in January. Only time will tell.


John Stones wanting to leave Everton

OUTCOME: Chelsea end interest after four bids rejected

As David Moyes departed Everton for Manchester United not so long ago, not many would have guessed that his final gift to the Merseyside club would be a teenager from Barnsley who cost £3 million. Like any youngster at Everton, Stones was given a lot of time to show his skills for the first-team, parented up with Everton captain Phil Jagielka as the core of Everton's team. Fast-forward to today and Stones is Everton's most vital defender, and after this transfer window, seems to be their most important player. Chelsea came up with four bids for the ex-Barnsley defender (£20 million, £26 million, £30 million and £40 million) but Everton stood firm. Roberto Martinez said on the matter "Clubs can't just click there fingers anymore and expect others to bow to them". I agree with this analysis by Roberto and would argue that it shows the power of clubs when they label a player not for sale.

The Everton fans reaction to Stones' transfer request was mixed as some booed him at the Capital One Cup game away to Barnsley and others expressing their understanding on social media and Everton forum pages. It all became joyful when a fourth bid was rejected before the away League game against Tottenham, which lead to Evertonians at the game to sign the Beatles song Money can't buy you love (with one of the lines being Money can't buy you Stones!').
 

Sadio Berahino wanting to join Tottenham

OUTCOME: Jeremy Peace blocked transfer request and rejected four bids (last one worth £24 million)

It all started when he didn't celebrate against Gateshead in West Brom's 7-2 win over the North East team at the Hawthrons. Four goals, match ball in the bag and not even a smile from the prolific England Under 21's striker. Social media and gossip columns lit up, linking the West Brom striker to Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. Tottenham were the only one's to make offers for Berahino, with four bids being rejected (two being rejected on deadline day). Jeremy Peace, WBA Chairman, once again showed how tough of a negotiator he is and labelled Sadio not for sale and also fended off big offers for a player that had been at the WBA academy since the age of 12. Berahino became very anger with Peace's stubborn approach and tweeted that he will never play for the Baggies again under Peace's chairmanship. This has sparked outrage from the club and they have decided to fine Berahino and have crunch talks with him on Friday.

For me, this saga was the one was handed so badly because the player and club weren't in direct communication about what both parties wanted and this is subsequently lead to Berahino being frozen out of the starting XI for the majority of the transfer window. I doubt much progress will be made at these crunch talks in order to mend the relationship between the player and the club. This war of words is definitely not calming down anytime soon.

Loser of the Transfer Window

Arsenal

Earlier this transfer window, Arsenal brought in Cech for £10 million from London rivals Chelsea, it looked as if Wenger would finally break his summer transfer trend of buying just one big player and could seriously mount a title challenge. Links with the biggest strikers in Europe started hitting the back pages in the first few weeks of August, such as Real Madrid's Karim Benezma and PSG's Edison Cavani, but it never seemed that Wenger (or Arsenal officials) would officially approach any of these clubs to negotiate a potential club-record signing.

It is extremely obvious to all football fans that Arsenal needed to sign a striker in order to convert all of Arsenal's midfield supply into 15 to 20 plus goals a season. Wenger can't claim that Arsenal don't have money to spend because of the on-going cost of the Emirates stadium (as he said in a BBC interview that the board has cleared the stadium debt).

So why haven't they signed a striker? For me, its the fact that Arsenal won't take risks when it comes to high-calibre players. Wenger worries too much about the potential negatives of signing a £30 million upward striker (injuries, goal droughts and discipline issues) and therefore clouds his job as the manager to bring in the best talent possible to a club with a rich history of world-class strikers. Who knows maybe Wenger will prove everyone wrong but it doesn't seem likely after the immediate aftermath of the summer transfer window.

 

Manchester City broke their club-record to buy Kevin De Bruyne for £55 million from Wolfsburg.

 

2015/2016 Football Predictions

 

2015/16 Football Predictions

 

 

Premier League Winners: Chelsea.

 

 

Premier League Top Six (from 1st - 6th position): Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham.

 

 

FA Cup Winners: Arsenal.

 

 

Capital One Cup Winners: Chelsea.

 

 

Premier League Bottom Three: (from 18th - 20th position): Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Brom.

 

 

La Liga Winners: Barcelona.

 

 

Ligue 1 Winners: PSG.

 

 

Serie A Winners: Juventus.

 

 

Bundesliga Winners: Bayern Munich.

 

 

DFP Cup Winners: Wolfsburg.

 

 

Copa Del Rey Winners: Barcelona.

 

 

Primeria Liga Winners: Porto.

 

 

Scottish Premier League Winners: Celtic.

 

 

Belgian Pro League: K.A.A Gent.

 

 

Eredivisie: Ajax.

 

 

Greek Super League Winners: Olympiacos.

 

 

Europa League Winners: Napoli.

 

 

Champions League Winners: Barcelona.

 

 

 

 



Premier league review 2014/15: March- May

Premier league review 2014/15: March- May

After months and months of quality football, fans now wait the longest three months of the year for the Premier league to return. As the last games of the season were played, the race for the Champions league spots was wrapped up before the media could speculate on a last day race to the 'Promised land in Football' and the relegation battle claimed two teams before the final day, leaving Hull and Newcastle left to battle for their Premier league status. Some teams' performance levels dropped off in the final run-in to the end of the season but this was expected as this season's title race was an anti-climax, compared to recent seasons.

'Best Manager in the League' saves Newcastle from the drop
Newcastle saved their Premier League status on the final day of the season as they beat West Ham at the Sports Direct Arena, thanks to Sissoko and Gutierrez scoring in the 54th and 85th minutes, respectively. Fans continued their protest against billionaire-owner Mike Ashley, with supporters occupying the stadium well-after the final whistle as part of a planned protest by various supporters groups. A club like Newcastle shouldn't be in this position as staff at the club feel passionate and anger about the serve lack of invest from Ashley into the squad.

Hull were officially relegated to the Championship after drawing 0-0 with Manchester United at the KC Stadium. Although Hull created a fine amount of chances, their lack of cutting edge finishing provided to be their ultimate downfall (which is ironic as they put the ball in United's net twice but were ruled offside twice by the far linesman). Already relegated sides Burnley and QPR had contrasting final day fortunes, as Burnley beat Sherwood's Villa at Upton Park and QPR were thrashed 5-1 at the King Power Stadium by Leicester City (who were the standout team of the final run-in of the season, winning seven of their last nine games).

United make the Champions league
Van Gaal achieved his target of qualifying for the Champions league in his first season in charge of Manchester United. Although United in fourth and will have to play in the Champions league play-offs (against Anderlecht, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce, Monaco, Lazio, Panathinaikos, Rapid Vienna, Sparta Prague, Sporting Lisbon or Young Boys), United recovered from a mini-slump towards the end of the season, which saw them lose away at Chelsea, Everton which was followed by a surprising 1-0 loss at home to West Brom. Wins against Crystal Palace and a 0-0 draw against Arsenal meant that United qualified for the Champions league after only one season out of the Champions league.

Hazard and Kane snatch up Player of the Year awards
Eden Hazard won the PFA Player of the Year award after being the star of Chelsea's title-winning side that took the league by storm for large parts of the season. The Belgian forward beat Alexis Sanchez, Phillipe Coutinho, Harry Kane, David De Gea and team-mate Diego Costa to win the award and it was his 13 goals and 8 assists in 33 league appearances for the Blues that made him the league's best player. When asked about Real Madrid inquiring about Hazard's price tag, Jose replied "Put a figure on him? £100 million plus one of their three best players (James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo. Or £100 million per leg, because he is so young". Looks like the transfer mind games have started early.

Harry Kane won the PFA Young Player of the Year award after becoming Tottenham's clinical striker from November of last year and notching up 30 goals in all competitions for the Londoners. The England striker beat Thibaut Courtois, Philippe Coutinho, David De Gea, Eden Hazard and Raheem Sterling to win the award and to become one of the best strikers in the Premier league after only his first season of regular first-team football. Fans are divided as to weather or not he will be a one season wonder or if he will become England's next leading scorer after Rooney.

Final goalscorers table
Sergio Aguero- 26 goals

Harry Kane- 21 goals

Diego Costa- 20 goals

Charlie Austin -18 goals

Alexis Sanchez- 16 goals

Champions league places
Chelsea (Finishing first)

Manchester City (Finishing second)

Arsenal (Finishing third)

Manchester United (Finishing fourth and have to play two legged play-off to qualify for group stages)

Europa league places
Tottenham (Finishing fifth)

Liverpool (Finishing sixth and after inheriting the Europa league spot giving to Capital One Cup winners Chelsea)

Southampton (after Arsenal's 4-0 FA Cup final win over Aston Villa and enter in the third qualifying round)

West Ham (after topping the Premier League's Fair Play table and enter in the first qualifying round)

Team of the season
David De Gea

Ryan Bertrand

John Terry

Gary Cahill

Branislav Ivanovic

Nemanja Matic

Philippe Coutinho

Eden Hazard

Alexis Sanchez

Diego Costa

Harry Kane

Chelsea have now won the league in 1955, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2015. 

Mayweather vs Pacquiao preview

Mayweather vs Pacquiao preview

Finally...

After all the speculation, the fight that all Boxing fans have been waiting for has officially been confirmed to take place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas on 2nd May. Floyd Mayweather, the undefeated poster boy of Boxing, will take on Emmanuel Pacquiao, possibly the hardest-working Boxer of the 20th century. Five years ago, it seemed that this fight wouldn't happen (had already been planned to take place) as it was called off due a disagreement for drug testing. However, the fight has been organised for 2nd May and no-one will be left wondering who would have won the fight between modern Boxing's two biggest fighters, Money and Pacman.

Tale of the tape

Mayweather

Name: Floyd Mayweather Jr

Home town: Las Vegas, USA

DOB: 24 February 1977 (37 Years old)

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5 foot 8 inches

Professional record: 47 fights, 47 wins (26 by Knockout)

Current titles: WBC & WBA welterweight, WBC light-middleweight

Pacquiao

Name: Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao

Home town: General Santos City, Philippines

DOB: 17 December 1978 (36 Years old)

Stance: Southpaw

Height: 5 foot 6 inches

Professional record: 64 fights, 57 wins (38 by Knockout), 5 losses and 2 draws

Current titles: WBO welterweight 

Biggest fight in Boxing history?

The fight looks to be the most watched fight in Boxing history and has been snapped up by some of the world's biggest broadcasting organisations (such as Showtime, HBO and Sky Sports).

It seems that this fight is one that will be watched by every sports fan, and as always, companies have picked up on this, by charging some of the highest prices in Boxing history (the highest price is Showtime and HBO both charging $99.95, £65, to watch the fight on PPV).

If you talk to any sports fan who is a fan of practically every mainstream sport, Mayweather vs Pacquiao will feature in his/hers scheduled viewing in the next few months (and who can blame them!).

This hype will have continued across all forms of media and have been firmly fuelled by the press conference. Everything seemed to go smoothly (expect for Justin Bieber appearing in Mayweather's corner).

In terms of Boxing history, many are saying that the winner of this fight will be recognised as the greatest boxer of all-time. I don't think that you can put that label on this fight (even with its record predicted revenue and global interest) as Mayweather has retired multiple times and whilst Pacquiao is one of my favourite all-time fighters, he isn't regarded as one of the best because of his record (which is better than most boxers, I must admit!).

With all this into consideration, whoever wins this fight should, in my opinion, be considered for the best pound-for-pound Boxer of the modern era.                                                                                               


Prediction

There will be a huge variety of outcomes to this fight which will be dependent on the course of the fight and who gains and loses momentum on a round-to-round basis. We can expect Mayweather to the cocky fighter who will showboat at any given time but will also back up this up with spells of powerful combos to Pacquiao's head and chest. Pacquiao will provide the speed punching to the fight and will look to outpace Mayweather in terms of punching speed.

I could spend hours going bed what I think could happen by ultimately I think that Mayeeather will win on points. The factor I'm most concerned about is weather or not it will be a good fight and lives up to the hype that has dominated sports news ever since they met for the first time. Whatever happens, it will surely be a fight that no Boxing fan will forget for a long time.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are estimated to walk away from this blockbuster fight with £200 million between them. This fight has been named 'Money vs Pacman'.

Premier league review 2014/15: Mid-January- March

Premier league review 2014/15: Mid-January- March

 

Since the last season update, things have changed dramatically in the Premier league. The race for top four has become extremely tight and the battle to stay in the Premier league looks to be truly scrappy until the last few games.

 

Race for Champions league

The race for Champions league has become extremely tight, with Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Southampton fighting for the three remaining Champions league spots. Manchester United have found some much needed form, beating Tottenham 3-0 at Old Trafford and Liverpool away 2-1 away from home. The away victory against Liverpool has sparked a lot of media controversy, such as Steven Gerard's sending off for a stamp on Ander Herrera and Martin Skrtel's stamp on De Gea.

 

Arsenal's form has changed dramatically and has down to Oliver Giroud's fine goal scoring form. Arsenal needed to move the pressure off summer signing Alexis Sanchez and have done when it mattered. Ronald Koeman and co seem to have an outside chance of Champions league and have proven so by scraping results when they haven't been playing good (1-0 away win over QPR springs to mind!). 

Sherwood saves Villa's rut

Tim Sherwood has officially stopped Aston Villa's rut. Although Villa are not officially out of the relegation scrap, Sherwood as come in to the club with passion and firm belief that they will not be playing in the Championship next season. He has helped Villa players such as Benteke, Weimann and Delph retain respect from the fans and I think that they will not go down, all thanks to Sherwood.  

Chelsea have the title wrapped up (unofficially)

It seems, in my mind at least, that the title race is unofficially over. Chelsea sit top, six points clear of Manchester City, and with a game in hand. City had a mini-crisis (which involved losing away to Burnley on 14th March) and practically every player at the club (bar Aguero, Hart, Zabaleta and Silva) are allegedly 'paying for their future'. City buckled at the key time and the title has unfortunately gone. Even with Chelsea missing their star striker Diego Costa to a continuous hamstring injury, they will breeze through the last nine league games to claim their first Premier league trophy since 2010.

Kane lights up the goal scoring chart
Everyone is talking about Kane. A few months ago, no-one had heard of Kane (except die-hard Tottenham fans) but now almost every in the footballing world knows about him. Kane has scored 19 Premier league goals (all of them coming after 1st November) and is one to win the Golden boot. For Tottenham, its another Gareth Bale situation, in the fact that another young player has taken the Premier league by storm. Kane's hard-work as Spur's front man was rewarded with his first England goal against Lithuania on Friday and happened just 79 seconds after coming on as a substitute. It seems that England may have finally found a modern-day hard-working clinical finisher.

Kane has scored 29 goals in club competitions this season, more than any other player in England's top four divisions.



Champions league 2014/15 last 16 match reviews

Champions league 2014/15 last 16 match reviews

Paris St-Germain vs Chelsea

First leg:

Chelsea will feel very lucky to come away with a point against a determined PSG side. The French champion's attack caused Chelsea to be on the back-foot and defend for most of the first half (something which they are often used to in big games). Cavani was a menace for the Chelsea back four, creating space on the left wing which was left by Ivanovic trying to expose the PSG back-line. Two ironic things happened when Chelsea scored. One, it was strange that in Europe's third best team that three defenders combined for a well-worked goal. Two, their forwards weren't sharp enough in preparation for the return of Champions league football. Blase Matuidi and Edison Cavani were by far the best players of the game and combined on 54 minutes for the equaliser. Cavani has been vital for PSG during this season's Champions league and showed his much-improved work ethic. Both teams will feel that the real contest will be at Stamford Bridge after a quite unexciting game that only had a few moments of pure quality.

FACT: Branislav Ivanovic scored his first European goal since his winner in the Europa league final against Benfica last season. 

Second leg:

Chelsea underperformed against French champions PSG, as the game finished 2-2. Chelsea were subsequently knocked out of the tournament on the away goals rule and were a shadow of their decent performance at the Parc des Princes. Ex-Chelsea player David Luiz received heavy media criticism for going against his pre-match statement that he wouldn't celebrate if he scored against the team he won the Champions league with. The Brazilian scored in the 86th minute after Gary Cahill's 81th minute goal. Hazard scored a 96th minute penalty after Thiago Silva's handball, but the experienced defender redeemed himself by scoring in the 114th minute to win the tie for PSG and to bury the demons of last season's quarter-final exit to Chelsea. However, the biggest story from this game was one of an ugly nature. Ibrahimovic was sent off after 30 minutes for a tackle on Oscar but every outfield player for Chelsea ran towards the referee, causing outrage from PSG players and fans on social media. Like Ibrahimovic said, it was like a bunch of babies surrounding the Swedish forward. I'm sure he'll be okay with 180,000 Euros for getting through to the Champions league quarter-finals.

FACT: Ibrahimovic has received four red cards in the Champions league, the joint-highest with Edgar Davids.


Manchester City vs Barcelona

First leg:

Luis Suarez claimed a 2-1 win for the Catalan club in his first return to England since a £75 million move from Liverpool in the summer. His first goal ,scored after 13 minutes, could be considered lucky, having bounced off Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, after Messi crossed into the penalty area. City don't really create any flowing football that they had in their previous game (5-0 battering of Newcastle at the Etihad) and were then 2-0 down after half an hour thanks to another Suarez goal. He was often the villain of the Premier league during his time at Liverpool but there is no doubt that he deserves a huge price tag of £75 million to reflect his abilities. City grew into the game in the second half and Aguero give them some hope after scoring on 69 minutes. They seemed to threaten Barcelona after the goal but fell short when Clichy was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Dani Alves for a second bookable offence. The moment that made headlines was when Joe Hart saved Lionel Messi's 93rd minute penalty after a tired Zabaleta fouled his international team-mate. Messi panicked and headed wide with the follow up, meaning that City have hope going into the second leg.

FACT: Sergio Aguero has scored 11 goals in his last 10 Champions league games.

Second leg:

Manchester City crashed out of the Champions league to Barcelona (3-1 on aggregate) and a 1-0 win in the second leg at the Camp Nou. The score line didn't match the slick overpowering football that Barcelona's star Lionel Messi showed. In recent seasons, Messi has dipped off in globally accepted form (even though he is still world-class) but he displayed his attacking quality against City and showed football fans around the world that he's back to his best, after rumours of a bizarre world-record transfer away from the Catalan club. Joe Hart received high pride for his continuous last-ditch saves to keep City in the game (even Messi said he was brilliant). City didn't show much desire and were simply outclassed in the Camp Nou.

FACT: Joe Hart made the most saves by an English keeper in Champions league history.
  Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid

First leg:

Bayer Leverkusen beat last season's finalists Atletico Madrid in a surprising 1-0 victory for the mid-table German side. The home side played well against a well-structured Madrid side and finished the game with 66% possession but committed 25 fouls. It was a smash and grab game in many aspects, with is common in first leg matches, as both sides looked for a slender advantage to take into the second leg. Nine players were booked and one player booked again to be dismissed on 75 minutes (Tiago for Atletico). Ultimately, Hakan Calhanoglu scored on 57 minutes after the Turkish international found the roof of the net from a great free-kick from team-mate Bellarabi. Atletico are not out yet but Bayer have every reason to get their hopes up before the second leg at the Vicente Calderon on 17th March.

FACT: 36 fouls were committed in the game, 25 by Bayer and 11 by Atletico.

Second leg:

Atletico Madrid advanced into the Champions league quarter-finals after taking winning the tie 3-2 on penalties. Mario Suarez scored on 27 minutes to make the tie a draw and both teams dug in to extra-time but couldn't separated. The unfortunate player to miss the vital penalty was Bayer striker Stefan Kiessling and was listed down with Calhanoglu and Toprak as the Bayer Leverkusen players to miss penalties. The German outfit looked to creep past last season's runners-up by doing their best with the possession they had at the Vicente Calderon but Atletico played much better than they did in Germany three weeks previously and just about deserved to go through into the next round.

FACT: Atletico had lost their last three European penalty shoot-outs.


Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund

First leg:
Juventus won a tight game against Dortmund after missing a few good chances to kill the tie. Carlos Tevez scored on 13th minutes, his first goal from a free-kick for Juventus. Five minutes later, Chellini slipped and Marco Reus punished the Italian by striking past Buffon to level the score. Álvaro Morata's cool 42nd minute strike boosted the Italian side, who could have walked away from the game with an even stronger advantage over the domestically-struggling Dortmund (if Carlos Tevez had scored a handful of second-half chances). This tie looks like has plenty more to offer and I'm sure it will deliver in the second meeting at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park.

FACT: Juventus has only lost one European game at the redeveloped Juventus stadium.

Second leg:

Dortmund lost 3-0 to Juventus at the Signal Iduna Park and were knocked out 5-1 on aggregate. Before the game, 25,000 Dortmund fans in 'The Yellow Wall' unveiled a brilliant display that referred to their win over Juventus in the 1997 European Cup final. However, the German outfit didn't live up to the performance in the 1997 European final as they were dominated by Carlos Tevez, who scored a brace. Static defending didn't help Dortmund in their bid to overturn a 2-1 defeat at the Juventus stadium and to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions league. Tevez and co fairly advanced into the quarter-finals.

FACT: Carlos Tevez has now scored six Champions league goals this season. The last Juventus player to achieve this was David Trezeguet, in the 2005-06 season.


Schalke vs Real Madrid

First leg:

Ronaldo ended his three match goal drought as Real Madrid won 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen in the first of two games which Schalke fans won't be happy to watch for many reasons. Los Blancos did win comfortably in Germany against Di Matteo's side but didn't completely dominate the game. Schalke had eight shots and three shots on target, even with the loss of ex-Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to a thigh injury. Left-back Marcelo then scored on 79 minutes to wrap up the game in the champions favour. Its not all gloom for Schalke, who were missing a few key players from the starting XI, as they were solid defensively for long periods of the game. However, they will most likely not advance past Real Madrid into the quarter finals. No team would to be honest.

FACT: Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 58 goals in 58 Champions league games.

Second leg:

Due winning the second leg 4-3, Schalke couldn't advance past the cup holders into the quarter finals as they lost 5-4 on aggregate. Real's star trio (Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale) were heavily criticised going into the game in the Spanish capital for poor goal scoring form (Gareth Bale had scored just one in his last eight La Liga games). Real were slow off the mark and conceded after 20 minutes but were level five minutes later thanks to Ballon D'or winner Ronaldo. Ex-Real striker Huntelaar then scored on 40 minutes but Ronaldo struck back just before half-time. Benzema scored to make it 3-2 to Los Blancos but Sane virtually drifted unmarked on the edge of the penalty area and curled home a fabulous finesse shot to make it three all on the night. On 84 minutes, Huntelaar got his second to really make Real sweat. However, no more goals came in the dying minutes and Real narrowly progressed through. Despite this, their fans weren't happy and booed their star-studded team at the final whistle.

FACT: Real Madrid advanced into their fifth consecutive Champions league quarter-final.


Shakhtar Donetsk vs Bayern Munich

First leg:

Shakhtar held out Bayern Munich in a game that was very different from what people had predicted before kick-off. The game was littered with fouls and this aided Shakhtar over the course of the game (as they only had 36% possession and one shot on target all game). Seven players were booked in total, with Xabi Alonso receiving two yellow cards and was sent off with 65 minutes gone. Thomas Muller threatened the Ukrainian side's goal multiple times, through decent link-up play with Arjen Robben, but Shakhtar did enough to hold out for a comfortable 0-0 draw on their behalf.

FACT: Xabi Alonso was sent off in his 100th Champions league game.

Second leg:

Bayern battered Shakhtar at the Allianz Arena in a 7-0 demolition of the Ukrainian side. Muller (brace), Boateng, Ribery, Badstuber, Lewandowski and Gotze all scored to see off any real threat to their Champions league progression. The German champions haven't lost at home in all competitions since losing 4-1 to real Madrid in last season's semi-final second leg and used this stat to their full advantage, having 79% possession and 13 shots on target. Bayern will hope for more threating opposition in the quarter-finals.

FACT: The fastest ever Champions league red card was awarded to Shakhtar's Olexandr Kucher after 2 minutes and 39 seconds.


Arsenal vs Monaco

First leg:
Arsenal face going out of the Champions league at the last 16 stage for another season as they lost 3-1 to Monaco at the Emirates stadium. There had been an in-depth look at the French club where Arsene Wenger used to manage and whilst the verdict had been that the club had been hit by FFP (Financial Fair Play), the club was turning towards youth and not towards expensive buys that would be sold off to save their wage budget. No-one for saw Monaco being 2-0 up after 53 minutes and even when Chamberlain scored on 91 minutes, the atmosphere around the ground was one of shame and defensive agony. Monaco then added a third on 93 minutes to leave Arsenal's hopes of getting to the quarter-finals in tatters. Even with a favourable draw, Arsenal can't grab the last 16 by neck and ease on past into the quarters-finals, which they haven't reached since 2010. The second leg is pointless as I don't see Arsenal scoring three goals and being tight at the back at the same time.

FACT: Oliver Giroud missed all of his six attempts from inside the penalty box. Berbatov scored with his only touch in the penalty box.

Second leg:

Arsenal couldn't overcome Monaco's first leg victory to advance to the quarter finals of the Champions league for the first time in five years. Although they won 2-0, thanks to a 36th minute goal from Oliver Giroud and a 79th minute rebound from Aaron Ramsey, they were again knocked out on away goals. Mesut Ozil came under criticism for swapping shirts at half-time, farther adding to his reputation as the scapegoat of the Gunners. Monaco were very defensive and didn't have a shot on target, a fact that angered Arsene Wenger in the post-match commentary. It seemed that Arsenal are stuck in a repetition of failure in the Champions league under Wenger and this is one of the reasons why I think Wenger should resign as manager and give someone else a chance to refresh Arsenal's squad and tactics.

FACT: Monaco hadn't conceded in four home Champions league games this season until Giroud scored the opener.


Basel vs FC Porto

First leg:

Referee Mark Clattenburg over saw a game that was largely one sided and a highly intense game between Basel and Porto. Nine players were booked and a Porto equaliser was ruled out before Danilo scored a late penalty to earn Porto an important away goal. Although Basel were not up to the pace of the game that had been set by Porto early on, demonstrated by having 37% possession and having one shot compared to Porto's fifteen, but did lead the game until the 79th minute. It just shows how teams are now focused on using possession, even when they don't have much of it. A 1-1 draw probably wasn't a fair result for both sides, as Basel had done well to lead with one chance and very little possession, were as Porto dominated long spells of the game and didn't accept defeat. Like PSG vs Chelsea, the second leg will provide a more cutting edge look at how these teams trutly shape up.

FACT: The last time Basel reached the quarter-finals of Europe's elite competition was in the 1973-74 season. They lost 6-5 on aggregate to Celtic.

Second leg:

The second leg of this tie looked to be a tight game in which both teams would have a wide catalogue of chances to progress through to the quarter-finals. This wasn't the case on the night as Porto swept Basel aside in a 4-0 victory and aided to their surprising but yet good Champions league run. Arsenal transfer target Jackson Martinez was ruled out with a groin injury that he suffered in Porto's last league game but Porto dominated without him and deservedly beat their Swiss opponents. The pick of the goals was Real Madrid loanee Casermio's 30 yard free-kick on 56 minutes. Although the remaining teams in the competition will be looking to draw Porto, they could still face a tough two legged affair against the Portuguese champions, who have gained momentum under Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui.

FACT: Porto reached the Champions league quarter-finals for the first time since 2009.

 

 

Teams progressing into the quarter-finals:

 

• PSG
• Barcelona
• Atletico Madrid
• Juventus
• Real Madrid
• Bayern Munich
• Monaco
• Porto

Quarter-finals matchups:

• PSG vs Barcelona
• Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
• Porto vs Bayern Munich
• Juventus vs Monaco

Barcelona defeated Manchester City 3-1 on aggregate, ending English involvement in the Champions league (following Chelsea's and Arsenal's exits on away goals to PSG and Monaco respectively).