Real Madrid 3-0 Apoel Nicosia: Ronaldo back with a brace
Real Madrid starts their title defence in a brilliant way with a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and A goal from Sergio Ramos sealed the victory for Los Blancos in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Real Madrid go up through a Ronaldo goal after he brilliantly slots in a pass from Garth Bale in the 12th minute of the encounter.
Real Madrid midfielder Matteo Kovacic was substituded in the 25 minute and he was superseded by German midfielder Toni Kroos in the 25th minute.
The European Champions dominated the possession all through the first half but was not too hazardous in front of goal.
The Cypriot Champions conceded a penalty in the 51st minute and Ronaldo made no mistake in slotting it in from the spot and put Authentic Madrid on a 2-0 lead in Bernabeu.
Apoel Nicosia made their first substitution of the night, Ronald Sallai was superseded by Carlos Augustin Faris, in the 60th minute.
Real Madrid, despite the two-goal lead they kept pressing hard for a third goal of the night and heading from Gareth Bale was met Sergio Ramos who brilliantly slot it into the net with an acrobatic exhibit in the 61st minute of the encounter.
Ramos put Los Blancos in the driving seat, he has now scored 70 goals for Authentic Madrid in all competition and 11 Champions League goals.
Zinedine Zidane superseded Isco with Dani Ceballos in the 72nd minute, Authentic perpetuate to dominate the possession in the opponent’s a moiety. The match ended in 3-0 win for Authentic Madrid as the Los Blancos was able to tame Apoel Nicosia through out the game. Apoel opted for a vicissitude in the 73rd minute as Lorenzo Ebecilio made way for Ghyas Zahid.
Bale was superseded in the 82nd minute by Borja Mayoral which marks the final substitute for the home team and withal the visiting team as Igor made way for Mickael Pote in the 83rd minute.
Real Madrid will peregrinate to Germany for their next Champions League match to face Borussia Dortmund.
The former German Champions lost to Tottenham at the Wembley with a 3-1 score line, the result has placed the English Team on the second place base on goal difference.
Kylian Mbappe scored on his debut for Paris St-Germain in win at Metz
Even if it was not always the a fluent performance and the full-time score was flattering, the potential that the Parisian side boast is frightening
The 18-year-old - who will cost PSG 180m euros (£165.7m) when he makes his loan move from Monaco permanent next summer - impressed throughout alongside the world's most expensive player Neymar.
Kylian Mbappe scored on his debut for Paris St-Germain as the Ligue 1 leaders maintained their perfect start to the season with a 5-1 win at Metz.
But bottom-of-the-table Metz were holding their own at 1-1 until former Tottenham defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto was questionably sent off for fouling Mbappe.
That was the turning point as Mbappe then drilled home from 20 yards to put Unai Emery's side back ahead.
Neymar, Edinson Cavani's second of the game and a tap-in for substitute Lucas added some gloss to the eventual scoreline.
The defeat leaves Metz without a point this season, while champions Monaco have the chance to draw level with PSG at the top when they travel to Nice on Saturday.
A nice problem to have
When record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic left PSG for Manchester United last year after a record breaking scoring of 156 goals in 180 games, fans of the club may have wondered where the goals were going to emanate from.
That is not a quandary a year on. With Neymar - a £200m signing from Barcelona - joining Mbappe and Julian Draxler behind Cavani, and Lucas, Angel di Maria, Dani Alves, Hatem Ben Arfa, Marco Verratti and Javier Pastore not even in the staring XI, Emery is not short of options.
Mbappe ended last season in electric form for Monaco and scored his first goal for France during the international break, becoming the country's youngest goalscorer in 54 years.
Edinson Cavani's place may be under threat but the Uruguayan has already scored seven times this season
His PSG vocation commenced in homogeneous fashion. He could have opened the scoring when Cavani rounded Metz goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, with the ball running into his path, but eschewed any conflict by sanctioning the Uruguayan to score.
He then distributed a wondrous cross from the left with the outside of his right foot which Cavani should have buried, afore former Newcastle striker Emmanuel Riviere headed in after some poor bulwarking.
Assou-Ekotto can count himself astronomically ill-starred to optically discern red for a sliding tackle on Mbappe which cleanly won the ball, and his departure did for Metz. Mbappe hammered in a low shot from the edge of the area when his own ball forward was not dealt with, and the Metz defence then backed away from Neymar who curled in his fourth goal in four games from 25 yards.
Scruffy goals from Cavani and Lucas were integrated as the Metz defence tired. Celtic are the next team to face Mbappe, Neymar and co when they peregrinate to Glasgow on Tuesday night.
JOHN OBI MIKEL MOTIVATED TO BEAT CAMEROON IN UYO
It is obvious that the chance of qualifying for the Fifa World Cup means the Super Eagles captain views Friday’s showdown against the Indomitable Lions as a crucial match
John Obi Mikel is targeting a win against Cameroon, which he hopes would help Nigeria qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia.
The Super Eagles, who remain unbeaten in the qualifying series sit atop Group B after two matches, four points ahead of Hugo Broos’ men.
Nevertheless, the Tianjin TEDA star feels his side are motivated for the game against the reigning African champions, and that team will remain ‘undeterred and focused’ till they seal a World Cup berth.
He was quoted saying:
“There is always a motivation going to the World Cup. World Cup is the best tournament in the world and everyone wants to be there,” he told media.
“I think for most of the players here, it’s going to be their World Cup and we are ready to make sure that Nigeria qualify.
“I know the players know what is at stake in the game on Friday and also the return leg. We started this race in Zambia and the players know the task ahead.”
He added: “ We want to go to the World Cup; it’s as simple as that. And there are no easy ways of doing that; we have to win the games.
“We have to make sure that we are undeterred, focused and play well. A win is a win if we can get a win on Friday, it doesn’t matter how we play.”
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Pochettino hails 'one of world's best' Kane after second straight Golden Boot in EPL
Harry Kane's triumph in the Golden Boot race led to effusive praise from Mauricio Pochettino, who also spared a thought for Hugo Lloris.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino hailed Harry Kane after he won the Golden Boot for a second straight Premier League season, but sympathised with Hugo Lloris after the goalkeeper missed out on the Golden Glove.
Kane's hat-trick ensured Spurs thrashed relegated Hull City 7-1 in their last league game of the season, finishing the campaign with 86 points.
The England striker netted 29 league goals from 30 appearances, earning sizably voluminous accolade from manager Pochettino, who labelled him one of the world's best strikers.
However, Pochettino did rue Sam Clucas' second-half goal for Hull, which gave the Golden Glove award for the most clean sheets in a season to Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois.
"I'm very happy for Harry but very disappointed for Hugo," said Pochettino, who also saw Dele Alli, Victor Wanyama, Ben Davies and Toby Alderweireld score.
"The moment we conceded a goal we felt disappointed because he needed another clean sheet to share the Golden Glove with Courtois. It was not possible but I think he would have deserved it.
"But it is fantastic for Harry. The team-mates and our fans are so, so happy about that.
"I think he deserves it and congratulations to him. He is one of the best strikers in the world. It is hard to say who is the best but he is already one of the best.
"For Harry, 30 games and 29 goals is unbelievable. The top scorer again. It is a big achievement and it helped the team to play well and achieve second place.
"After he scored the third goal he had a little physical problem so it was a moment to be responsible and safe. I preferred to keep him healthy and instead it is a challenge for him to get 30 goals next season. He can do that."
Pochettino is targeting trophies next season after Spurs' impressive second-place finish in 2016-17.
He continued: "This was a different season. We showed that we improved and learned from last season, which is so important for us. We finished how we wanted to and I think it is fantastic.
"Second in the table 86 points should be enough to win the Premier League in another season.
"Now for us it is move on, rest, try to improve the squad and try to challenge next season. It will be tough again.
"It is a good platform for us to next season to improve and try to win. In the next few seasons it is so important for us and the fans to win some trophies. We want to fight to win the Premier League next season.
"I congratulate all the players for a fantastic season. We all feel very proud."
Nine stats that prove Harry Kane has been the best striker in the Premier League this season
Harry Kane took the lead in the race for the Premier League golden boot with a tremendous four-goal haul in Tottenham's 6-1 rout of Leicester on Thursday night – but what makes him so effective?
The Spurs man is in pole position to retain the coveted award for a second year, with a two-goal cushion ahead of the final round of Premier League matches.
But even if one of Kane's rivals does yet come back and overtake his seasonal goal tally, there are plenty more measurements that show how Spurs' No 10 has been the king of the No 9s in 2016-17.
Minutes per goal
Kane has achieved the third-best minutes-per-goal rate (94.3) of any player in the league this season, behind only Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea and Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City.
However, those two strikers' playing time combined doesn't even make up a third of the time that Kane has spent on the pitch this season; the Spurs man has been putting them away consistently, week in and week out, from the beginning of the season.
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur holds the match ball as he celebrates scoring four goals with Mauricio Pochettino manager of Tottenham Hotspur after the Premier League match between Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur at The King Power Stadium on May 18, 2017 in Leicester, England
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino knows he can rely on Kane to produce consistently.
Kane has played 2,452 minutes for Tottenham in 2016-17. The next best-ranked player by to have played for more than 2,000 minutes is Sergio Aguero of Manchester City, who is some way adrift with a rate of 129.6 minutes per goal.
Shots on target
If this Spurs centre-forward is having a shot, he's got a better chance than anyone else of getting it on target.
A whopping 65 per cent of all Kane's shots end up on target; that's a higher rate than any of the other 25 top scorers in the league this season.
He doesn't often miss the target, Kane - but it's not for a lack of shooting.
Shots total
Kane's shots-on-target rate is all the more impressive when you consider that, of those 25 top goal-scorers, only Aguero, Christian Benteke and Gylfi Sigurdsson have fired off more shots than the Spurs forward's 85.
Shots from outside the box
When it comes to shooting from outside the box, Harry Kane has the edge on his rivals.
He shoots on average 1.4 times per game from beyond the limits of the penalty area, more than Alexis Sanchez (1.3), Aguero (1.3), Roberto Firmino (0.9) and Romelu Lukaku (0.8).
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 14: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur shoots during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at White Hart Lane on May 14, 2017 in London, England. Tottenham Hotspur are playing their last ever home match at White Hart Lane after their 112 year stay at the stadium. Spurs will play at Wembley Stadium next season with a move to a newly built stadium for the 2018-19 campaign
Harry Kane doesn't mind taking aim from outside the box
This puts a sheen on Kane's goal tally, as well as his shots-on-target rate; he's not playing it safe, going for tap-ins!
Assists
Kane isn't just a finisher, a selfish goal hog; only two of the league's 25 top scorers have contributed more assists than his seven – Sanchez (10) and Sigurdsson (13).
Evidently the Premier League's other strikers just don't have the same spare capacity for generosity as Kane.
Goal involvement
Nobody has been involved in more goals this season than Harry Kane, and only Arsenal's Sanchez can match his tally of 33.
Kane's involvement in goals as a proportion of Spurs' total is 45 per cent – lower than the likes of Sanchez (45 per cent), Lukaku (49 per cent), Sigurdsson (51 per cent) and Jermain Defoe (61 per cent), but those players have carried lesser teams with lesser goals totals.
Tottenham have scored the same number of goals (79) as champions Chelsea, and Kane's involvement rate of 45 per cent is higher than any Chelsea player's. The Blues' biggest contributor is Costa, with 33 per cent.
Chelsea's Diego Costa (left) and Eden Hazard come off the bench during the Emirates FA Cup, Semi Final match at Wembley Stadium, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday April 22, 2017. See PA story SOCCER Chelsea. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA Wire
Neither Diego Costa nor Eden Hazard have contributed to as many goals for champions Chelsea this season as Harry Kane has for Spurs
Times dispossessed
Kane has only been dispossessed an average of 1.6 times per game this season.
That less than goal-scoring rivals Aguero (2.2), Lukaku (2.4), Josh King (2.5), Sanchez (3.3) and Costa (3.4).
Offsides
Nobody likes a forward that ruins a flowing move by straying offside. Spurs players have comparatively little to fear in that regard when it comes to Harry Kane.
His tally of 17 offsides is less than a whole host of his Premier League peers, including Aguero (23), Costa (26), Sanchez (27), Lukaku (35), Benteke (35) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (37).
Kane knows where the line is better than most strikers
Clearly Kane doesn't need to gamble as hard on the shoulder of the last man in order to be effective. Intelligent play.
Disciplinary record
Three yellow cards and no reds – that's Harry Kane's disciplinary record for 2016-17.
It means he hasn't missed a single game through suspension, unlike rivals Firmino (5), Sanchez (6), Costa (9) and Benteke (10).
In a league where you pick up a one-match ban for five yellow cards, keeping your tally of cautions low is key. You can't score if you're not on the pitch.
