Cavani winner sends PSG into League Cup quarters
PARIS, Dec 17, (AFP): Edinson Cavani came of the bench to score a late winner as holders Paris SaintGermain beat Saint Etienne 1-0 in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Earlier in the evening Bordeaux beat Monaco 3-0 while Lyon won their last ever game at the Stade Gerland, 2-1 over second-tier Tours.
Paris coach Laurent Blanc rotated his side and Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu was acclaimed by the crowd as he made only his second start of the season after being displaced by newly arrived German stopper Kevin Trapp.
PSG’s record goal-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost added to his collection of spectacular strikes when hitting the woodwork with a scissor-kick in the opening period.
The Swede looked disgruntled when he made way for Angel di Maria after an hour, but it was a decisive switch.
Di Maria teamed up with fellow sub Cavani to grab the winner after a fine pass and finish in the 86th minute of a tight game as Paris went all out for a goal to avoid extra-time and penalties.
Simone Zaza struck twice while Paulo Dybala and Paul Pogba added late goals as holders Juventus cruised into the Italian Cup quarter finals with a 4-0 rout of Torino on Wednesday.
After a poor start to the season, last year’s double winners Juve have enjoyed a Serie A revival to move within six points of leaders Inter Milan with one game remaining before the festive break.
And Massimiliano Allegri’s men provided some early Christmas cheer with a comprehensive victory over their bitter city rivals to maintain their chances of a second successive double.
Zaza, making a rare appearance amid reports of a January move to the English Premier League, put the hosts ahead with a cracking first-time strike on the half hour after great work on the left wing by
Luis Figo (right) speaks to the media as Fahad Al Ansari (left), and Mohammad
Jragh listen during a press conference in Kuwait.
within schedule in spite of the limited time in their hands.
Therefore, preparations to host this grand event were finalized in record time, especially in terms of bringing a large number of football superstars on short notice and finding alternatives for those who might excuse themselves in less than 48 hours. Alvaro Morata.
The 24-year-old doubled Juve’s lead six minutes after the restart when he guided a low shot beyond Salvador Ichazo and into the far corner.
Dybala has scored in Juve’s past two league wins and made if three matches in a row with a well-taken strike in the 73rd minute after replacing Zaza eight minutes into the second half.
Pogba wrapped up the win with a superb free-kick eight minutes from time to set up a quarter-final clash with the winner of the Lazio-Udinese tie on Thursday.
Title hopefuls Roma fell 4-2 on penalties to Spezia.
Gary Neville claimed his first victory as a head coach at the third attempt as Valencia eased into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 2-0 win over Barakaldo on Wednesday.
Already leading 3-1 from the first leg against the Basque side from the third tier of Spanish football, Santi Mina ensured there was to be no unwanted shocks for Neville when he headed home just his second goal for the club after eight minutes.
Concerning the match, Kuwait’s AllStars Team is looking for a historic win against the international superstars in front of a fascinating crowd of about 60,000 spectators. This will be the second time in Kuwaiti history to host a huge number of spectators; the first was during the final match of the Asian Clubs
Neville handed Alvaro Negredo his first start since early October after the former Manchester City striker fell out of favour under previous coach Nuno Espirito Santo and then suffered appendicitis.
However, the Spanish international’s eye for goal looks to have returned as he slotted home his first strike since August just after the half hour mark.
Elsewhere, last season’s beaten finalists Athletic Bilbao cruised through with a 6-0 thrashing of lower league Linense to seal an 8-0 aggregate win.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit his 27th goal of the season on Wednesday to help Borussia Dortmund seal a 2-0 win at Augsburg to reach the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
Aubameyang, the Bundesliga’s topscorer with 18 goals in 16 games, slotted home a Lukasz Piszczek pass on 61 minutes to give Dortmund the lead at Augsburg.
It continues the Gabon captain’s amazing
Torino’s Afriyie Acquah (left), vies for the ball with Juventus’ Giorgio Chiellini during an Italian Cup soccer match, in Turin,
Italy, on Dec 16. (AP)
Championship between Kuwait’s AlQadisiya and Al-Itihad of Syria in 2010.
Kuwait’s All-Stars Team will enter with the list of 19 players chosen by the public — almost 30,000 football fans. The expected starting line-up for the team includes goalkeeper Khaled Al-Rashidi with the defense of Hussein Hakim, scoring run as Aubameyang is currently on course to beat Gerd Mueller’s record of 40 Bundesliga goals in the 1971/72 season.
At the same stage, more than four decades ago, Mueller had 17 goals, one less than Aubameyang, who has also scored twice in the cup and hit seven in the Europa League.
Dortmund grabbed their second when Henrik Mkhitaryan’s shot went in off the boot of Augsburg defender Ragnar Klavan on 66 minutes in the third-round clash.
Bundesliga high-fliers Hertha Berlin had no problems seeing off second-division Nuremberg with a 2-0 away success.
Bundesliga bottom side Stuttgart needed extra-time to book their place in the last eight with a 3-2 win over second division Eintracht Braunschweig.
Bochum join Heidenheim as the only other second division side in the last eight draw after their 2-0 win at 1860 Munich.
In Tuesday’s cup ties, a thunderbolt of a volley from Spain international Xabi Alonso booked Bayern Munich’s place in the quarter-finals after a 1-0 win over Darmstadt. Musaed Nada, Fahad Al-Hajiri and Abdallah Al-Bureiki; while in the middle will be Fahad Al-Ansari, Muhammad Juraagh, Fahad Al-Enezi and AbdulAziz Al-Mish’an; in addition to Badar AlMutawa and AbdulHadi Khamees at the attacking position.
On the other hand, the expected starting