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MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City powered forward with ease into the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, overcoming Premier L

in Neues 27.08.2019 02:40
von jokergreen0220 | 2.155 Beiträge

MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City powered forward with ease into the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, overcoming Premier League title rival Chelsea 2-0 to maintain its quadruple chase. Stitched Football Jerseys Throwback . Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri provided the goals to avenge a 1-0 league loss this month, with a formidable City in complete control and preventing Chelsea from hitting the target once. "We can beat everyone," Jovetic said. "We learnt something (from losing to Chelsea), you could see that on the pitch." Although Chelsea leads the league, City is only three points behind in third with a game in hand after its midweek game was postponed due to bad weather. City also remains in Champions League contention, facing Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, and meets Sunderland in the League Cup final next month. Sunderland also advanced in the FA Cup, with Craig Gardner clinching a 1-0 victory over Southampton. Wigan maintained its cup defence by winning 2-1 at Cardiff, with Ben Watson, whose goal clinched the cup before the team was relegated from the topflight last May, netting the winner in south Wales. In Sundays headline fixture in the fifth round, Arsenal hosts Liverpool in another meeting of Premier League title rivals. With City hosting Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, beating Chelsea showed the enviable depth of resources available at Manuel Pellegrinis disposal. Jovetic, who is only Citys fourth-choice striker despite being signed last year at a cost of 24 million pounds ($40 million), first came close when he struck the crossbar from the rebound after goalkeeper Petr Cech fumbled Yaya Toures strike. Jovetic hit the woodwork again in the 16th minute but this time the ball went over the line as City ripped through a Chelsea defence missing captain John Terry. David Silva played in Edin Dzeko, who sent the ball out for Jovetic to strike off the post into the bottom left. It was just Jovetics sixth goal of an injury-hit start to his City career. City was far more assertive and cohesive than the side that was beaten here by Chelsea less than two weeks ago, with Dzeko also testing Cech with a curling shot. "We wanted revenge today," City captain Vincent Kompany said. "Twelve days ago we had a really bad game, we gave them a lot of chances." How different this game was. After failing to get a sight of goal in the first half, Chelsea striker Samuel Etoo was replaced at halftime, with Mohamed Salah coming on. The January signing didnt help to transform Chelseas fortunes, and forward Fernando Torres was brought off the bench on the hour to replace Ramires, taking a central position as Salah shifted to the right. But it was a City substitution that made a bigger impact as Nasri, in his first appearance in a month, completed an incisive move to score six minutes after coming on. After receiving the ball from Nasri, Silva squared it back to the Frenchman, who continued his run to dart into space between defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill, and slot the ball in from close range. It was Citys 117th goal of a season that should end with a trophy unlike last year under Roberto Mancini. "I had a lot of questions after Chelsea, if were going to change our way of playing," Pellegrini said, referring to the 1-0 loss. "But I repeat: We will not change the way we play. Today was important to show why we continue to play in the same way." Chelsea can only win on two fronts -- the Premier League and Champions League -- and Jose Mourinhos side has the edge over City domestically having won both league encounters. "We were never close to scoring or being dominant, or bringing a scare to the game," Mourinho said. "Today there was a different freshness between the teams ... and one team had a week without professional football," he added. Discount Football Jerseys Throwback . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Wholesale Football Jerseys Throwback . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie.TORONTO - When Greivis Vasquez was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, selected with the 28th overall pick in 2010, he joined an emerging Western Conference power. At the time of the selection, the Grizzlies were coming off a promising campaign, the first for frontcourt duo Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph together in Memphis. Helmed by now former coach Lionel Hollins, the 2010-11 Grizzlies were one of the most improved teams in the league, building a defensive foundation that sticks with them to this day while finishing 10 games over .500, defeating the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and taking the Thunder to seven games in the Conference Semifinals. Vasquez, a 24-year-old, Venezuelan-born rookie from the University of Maryland, was along for the ride. He played in 70 regular season games, backing up Mike Conley and helping the Grizzlies snap a four-year playoff draught - appearing in 13 postseason contests - before being traded to New Orleans ahead of the following, lockout shortened campaign. Memphis has not missed the postseason since. "Ive got respect for them because they gave me an opportunity to be in this league," said the fourth-year point guard, poised to make his second postseason appearance with the Raptors next month. "Thats a tough team to beat," he continued following his new teams impressive 99-86 win over the one that drafted him. "We beat a playoff team and that was a good win for us at home." Aside from new coach Dave Joerger - a former assistant under Hollins - and last years trade of Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies havent changed much. Theyre still a defensive juggernaut - ranked third in opponent points per game, just ahead of the Raptors - and they still feature the daunting interior pair of Gasol and Randolph. They still embody physical, hard-nosed, playoff-calibre basketball and the Raptors - looking ahead to their own postseason birth - took it right to them. It was another valuable test for Dwane Caseys team, not unlike the one they failed in Brooklyn earlier this week, but this time they passed with flying colours. "I dont mean this in a bad way with Memphis because I love the style of defence they play," Casey said, "but the only way you can challenge a bully is if you hit them first." "I dont think we did that in the first quarter," Casey said in reference to Torontos timid start. "We did in the second quarter and they responded. Youve got to have a physical mentality against a team like that and I thought our guys did that after the first quarter." Vasquez had a lot to do with that turnaround. He may not be the fastest, the quickest or the strongest but there are few who play the game harder. His energy was infectious, as it tends to be, when he entered the game late in the first quarter and it carried over into the second, where the Raptors ended the half on a 19-6 run. About 30 minutes later he changed the game again, this time for good. With the score knotted up at 80, midway through the fourth, Vasquez knocked down a 27-foot pull-up three. As the Grizzlies came up the floor, he picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for layup. It was the biggest sequence oof the night, ironically initiating a second 19-6 run to close out the victory. Custom Football Jerseys Throwback. "Obviously physicality is going to be the big factor [in the playoffs]," said Vasquez, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and six assists Friday. "We play physical, we punch teams and we let them know that its not going to be easy for any team to come to our house and beat us like that and thats what we did tonight." Usually relegated to 17-22 minutes per night, mostly playing in the understudy role to starter Kyle Lowry, Vasquez logged 28. With the Grizzlies playing small in the backcourt, Casey was able to pair Vasquez and Lowry for over eight minutes in both the second and fourth quarters. With the two point guards sharing the court for 19 minutes, the Raptors scored 23 points more than they allowed. Playing alongside the other, both Vasquez and Lowry were at their best on this night. Lowry - who totalled 22 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists - was able to play off the ball and spot up for jumpers, while Vasquez could get in the lane and facilitate with more space. For Vasquez - as he realizes - the obvious benefit to spending more time on the floor with Lowry is spending more time on the floor, period. "I think we should do it more often if you ask me but Im not the head coach," Vasquez said. "[Coach is] doing a great job leading us to win games. Obviously Coach Casey is an outstanding coach and today he gave me a chance to come off the bench and play with a rhythm and I got the job done." Vasquez, a starter in New Orleans last season, has seen sporadic playing time since arriving in the trade from Sacramento. Generally, when he has played more he has played well but the opportunity for playing time at the position is scarce. It is what it is, as Casey would say. Lowry is playing at an extremely high level and pairing them together is something that can only work in long stretches if the matchup permits it. "When I play regular minutes it allows me to have a presence in the game," he said. "A lot of times its really, really hard coming off the bench and just being effective or having a presence in the game real quick." For the most part, the Raptors have had success playing Lowry and Vasquez together this season, keeping in mind its only been done in favourable situations. In 346 minutes with the two point guards on the floor, the Raptors have outscored their opponents by 102 total points, per NBA.com/stats. With Casey looking to manufacture some rest for Lowry over the final five weeks of the season, playing him off the ball more often could be the solution. "Its easier for me," said Lowry, asked about playing alongside Vasquez, "because weve got a guy who is going to look for me and who can make the play. He gives me a chance to rest and hang out and shoot open threes. When hes playing like that, were a pretty good team." Vasquez and Jonas Valanciunas - who scored a season-high 23 points - both came up big for Torontos offence with Memphis elite perimeter defence locked into DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross. The Raptors two wing players shot a combined 6-for-16 Friday. ' ' '

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