#1

ade his share of big offensive pla

in Feedback/Vorschläge 06.05.2019 03:00
von lebaobei123 • 225 Beiträge

MANCHESTER, England -- Feeling they had a point to prove, Barcelonas players delivered in style leaving Manchester City bitter and bruised. Advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals should be a formality after Lionel Messi scored a penalty and Dani Alves added a late second to secure a commanding 2-0 advantage over City in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas felt confident enough to deliver a message to his teams critics: "They will have to shut up for a few days." It seems incongruous that Fabregas would have to be so defensive of Barcelona, given his team tops the Spanish standings, has reached the Copa del Rey final and is on the verge of reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year. "Theres nothing else you can ask for," Fabregas said. So much for the Catalan giants being a fading force. This win, against a team that seeks to emulate Barcelona on and off the pitch, exposed the gulf between them. And City, which has spent heavily to reach the knockout phase for the first time, couldnt keep up with the elegant visitors. "Maybe we had to prove a point in a way and I think we did it," Fabregas said. "And I think we did it in a style." Waves of attacks by the Spanish champions had been repelled until the start of the second half when Martin Demichelis couldnt keep up with the speedy Messi, dragging down his fellow Argentine and conceding the penalty. Even after Messi made it 11 goals in 11 games since returning from injury, City managed to test Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes more than had it with a full complement of players. But City couldnt equalize against the run of play and Dani Alves successfully completed a one-two with substitute Neymar in the 90th minute to score the teams 113th goal of the season. It was an unsettling introduction to the knockout phase of the competition for City, with Barcelonas poise and panache enabling the four-time European champions to remain in near-complete control against Englands emerging force. Rather than acknowledging the strength of the opposition, City manager Manuel Pellegrini questioned the integrity of Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson. "From the beginning I could see the ref was not impartial to both teams," Pellegrini said. And Pellegrini felt that the referee was not up to managing a game of this magnitude despite being selected by FIFA for the World Cup. A Swede lit up the nights other game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice, between goals from Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye, as Paris Saint-Germain won 4-0 at Bayer Leverkusen. The second legs of both games are on March 12, and wiping out a 2-0 deficit would seem to be beyond City at this stage. Especially if it struggles to break up Barcelonas flowing passing moves like at the Etihad. Somehow, though, the hosts emerged unscathed from their hesitant start and even produced the first meaningful shot of the match after 25 minutes when Alvaro Negredo curled the ball at Valdes. For all Barcelonas dominance, Hart had one meaningful save to make in the first half, pushing away Xavi Hernandezs long-range strike. "I thought we maybe gave a little too much respect to them in the beginning," City captain Vincent Kompany said. "They were there for the taking." But City couldnt and, after a quiet first half by his standards, Messis key contribution came after the break, scoring his 66th Champions League goal in the 54th minute, putting him just five from levelling Raul Gonzalezs record. Aside from Xavi firing over and Dani Alves skewing an effort wide, City looked more likely to find the net at times in the second half despite chasing shadows so often. Then a lightening move down the right flank was completed by Dani Alves putting the ball through Harts legs from a tight angle, giving Barca a comfortable lead as it chases a first European title since 2011. "They are incredibly efficient," Kompany said. "When you play against them you do realize the individual quality of this team is phenomenal and it makes it so difficult to close them down." Kareem Martin Giants Jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Riley Dixon Giants Jersey . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black...tml?cat=950.com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Ray-Ray Armstrong Jersey . The time off didnt slow them down. Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 14 points and the Cavaliers pushed their winning streak to five games Tuesday night with a 114-85 victory over the skidding Philadelphia 76ers. Lorenzo Carter Giants Jersey . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.CLEVELAND - With just over a minute remaining in a three-point contest, Kyrie Irving, Clevelands lethal late-game weapon, barrelled into the lane as Kyle Lowry stood in his way, positioned above the restricted area. Mired in an offensive slump, Lowry - the NBAs leader in taking charges this season - did what he has learned to do best, standing his ground and drawing a crucial offensive foul on the Cavaliers all-star point guard. Fast forward 30 seconds to the Cavs next possession, with the home team still trailing by three, Spencer Hawes - one of the leagues best passing big men - threw an interception, intended for Tyler Zeller and picked off by DeMar DeRozan. The Raptors two best players, their two leading scorers, made the two most important plays of Tuesdays 99-93 win over Cleveland. That much is not unusual. Of note though is both of those plays came on the defensive end. "Those defensive plays are deflation plays for the opposition," said Lowry, who struggled with his shot, hitting just three of 15 attempts from the field and misfiring on all nine of his jumpers from three-point range. "Its definitely fun to step up for the team in those situations." Lowry didnt think twice when faced with a split-second decision, one hes made time and time again in high-pressure situations during his breakout campaign. "Those are winning plays," he said, asked about the art of drawing a charge, crediting the tutelage of former teammate Shane Battier, whom he called "one of the best charge takers" in the league. DeRozans steal was just as vital, if not more so, to the teams sixth win in the last seven games and second over Cleveland in a span of five days. "He was like a free safety out there," Lowry said, shortly before DeRozan - in conversation with the media - made yet another reference to Seahawks cornerback and fellow Compton-native Richard Sherman. "I kind of anticipated it, I read the play a little bit," said DeRozan, who also made his share of big offensive plays, scoring 16 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, adding six assists without turning the ball over. "They ran it earlier in the game. I knew they weree going to look for it and I just went for it.dddddddddddd" Toronto, and DeRozan in particular, has come up short when faced with one final possession, one final shot in the past. Both guards heeded their coachs direction this time around. It didnt come down to a last-second heave. The Raptors won with timely defence. After enjoying a much-improved first quarter following a series of slow starts, the Raptors struggled on both ends of the floor during the meat of the game. Nothing was falling for Lowry - a 39 per cent three-point shooter on the season - and the team was accumulating sloppy turnovers at an uncharacteristically alarming rate for the second straight contest. Almost foreshadowing the nights eventual result, Casey was asked how to prevent his team from allowing its offence to dictate defensive effort prior to the game. "I havent discovered it yet in my 30 years of coaching," he responded. "Its the same in college, [in the] pros and its been that way for a long time. A lot of guys have to see the ball go through the basket to get themselves going on the other end, which you dont want, you preach against but I think its human nature." For at least one night, his team and his point guard bucked that trend. "That was one example of a guy not letting his offence dictate his defence," Casey said of Lowry, who also added nine assists, made all seven of his free-throw attempts and could have drawn a couple more charges if not for a pair of close calls that didnt go his way. "Thats how you have to play," Lowry added. "Youre not going to have great games all the time. Youre not going to shoot 10-for-12 every night or 20-for-30. Youre always going to have some sort of off game but you cant let that stop you from helping your team win a game." Terrence Ross bailed him out offensively, scoring what DeRozan called a "quiet 19 points", knocking down five of his eight shots from long distance. With the win, the Raptors climb seven games above the .500 mark for the first time in six years. It ensures theyll have a winning record for a third consecutive month, accomplishing that feat for the first time since 2007. 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