This weekends Saturday Night Football pits the champions of

carrie201918 · Movie_Lover Geregistreerd op: 13 Apr 2019 Berichten: 346

This weekends Saturday Night Football pits the champions of the past two seasons against one another at Stamford Bridge. In August, few would have anticipated that, come the business end of the season, Manchester City - buoyed by a summer spending spree in excess of £150m - would trail Leicester by 15 points. Fewer still that defending champions Chelsea would be embroiled in a battle to simply finish in the top half.Kevin De Bruynes emphatic impact on his return to the Premier League was far easier to predict. Chelsea paid £6.7m to Genk for De Bruyne in January 2012, but it wasnt until Jose Mourinhos return to the club ahead of the 2013/14 season that he was awarded his chance in west London. Kevin De Bruyne has been a key man for Man City this season Then, after only nine appearances in all competitions, and just 132 minutes of Premier League football, he was sold to Wolfsburg in January 2014.The Belgian playmaker excelled last season with the Bundesliga outfit, and hasnt looked back since. Most assists in Europes top five leagues since August 2014 Player Team Assists Kevin De Bruyne Wolfsburg/Man City 29 Lionel Messi Barcelona 28 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 27 Luis Suarez Barcelona 26 Dimitri Payet Marseille/West Ham 25 His creative capabilities have been clearly demonstrated throughout his inaugural season in Manchester.Despite a recent 12-game absence with a knee injury, only Mesut Ozil and Dimitri Payet have created more chances per 90 minutes than De Bruyne this season, while only Ozil, David Silva and Gerard Deulofeu have averaged more assists per 90 minutes than Man Citys number 17. His influence for Manuel Pellegrinis side is evident. Man City with and without De Bruyne - all comps 2015/16 With Without 35 Games 16 21 Wins 8 60 Win % 50 22.8 Lose % 31.25 2.2 Goals per game 1.6 Since De Bruynes 2014 departure, Chelsea have spent £96.5m on midfielders, and even the most devoted Chelsea supporter would surely agree that only Cesc Fabregas has been a success - although even he divides opinion amongst Chelseas fan base. Chelseas midfield signings since De Bruynes departure Mohamed Salah - Jan 2014, Basel, ￡11mCesc Fabregas - Jun 2014, Barcelona, ￡30mJuan Cuadrado - Feb 2015, Fiorentina, ￡23.3mNathan - May 2015, Atletico Paranaense, ￡4.5mPedro - Aug 2015, Barcelona, ￡21.4mKennedy - Aug 2015, Fluminense, ￡6.3m So exactly how much has Fabregas achieved at Stamford Bridge? His initial impact was spectacular. He created two goals on his debut for the club in a 3-1 Premier League win at Burnley, and finished the campaign with a league-high 18 assists - although 15 of those came within his first 21 appearances. Cesc Fabregas performances have improved under Guus Hiddink Since returning to the Premier League, only Ozil (23) has more assists than Fabregas 22, and no player has attempted, or completed, more passes in the English top flight this season. Premier League passes - 2015/16 Player Passes Successful passes Cesc Fabregas 2,340 1,964 Andrew Surman 1,988 1,698 Mesut Ozil 1,896 1,636 Glenn Whelan 1,807 1,572 Aaron Ramsey 1,759 1,513 Fabregas return of four goals and four assists from 31 Premier League appearances this season, however, has done little to stem the tide of discontent from certain sections of the Chelsea faithful. It could be argued that he is a victim of his own success, or that his connections to Arsenal make him an easier target than the likes of Eden Hazard and Oscar, who would surely be the first to admit they have failed to replicate the form of seasons past - they have a combined nine goals and assists in the league this season.After all, Fabregas is one of the divisions all-time top creative talents. Premier League - all-time assists Ryan Giggs - 162Frank Lampard - 102Dennis Bergkamp - 94Wayne Rooney - 94Cesc Fabregas - 92 The pessimism directed at Fabregas from the terraces earlier this season was as much down to his perceived contribution in Mourinhos demise as it was to his form, although under Guus Hiddink, he has flourished in comparison. Cesc Fabregas - 2015/16 Premier League Under Mourinho Under Hiddink 16 Apps 14 0 Goals 4 2 Assists 2 1.56 Chances created per game 1.79 68 Passes per game 84 Since arriving at Chelsea in June 2014, the diminutive Spaniard has either scored or assisted goals against every side currently above them in the Premier League table, barring one - Manchester City. Fabregas is yet to score or assist against Man City since joining Chelsea He does have a particularly strong record against City throughout his career, and scored in successive Premier League home wins for Arsenal in 06/07 and 07/08. Cesc Fabregas record v Man City Played Won Drawn Lost Home 8 6 2 0 Away 10 6 1 3 Overall 18 12 3 3 This Premier League campaign will be one both Chelsea and Manchester City will be pleased to consign to the history books. Both have new faces in the hot-seat for next season, and De Bruyne is undoubtedly one of the few players who can feel secure of his place in Pep Guardiolas re-shuffled pack at the Etihad next season.Fabregas struggles over the last 14 months mean his place in Antonio Contes Chelsea squad come August is less assured, and he will need to maintain his recent improvements to ensure he doesnt become another expensive acquisition of Roman Abramovich that doesnt fulfil their substantial price tag.Watch Chelsea v Man City live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday Night Football from 5pm. Also See: De Bruyne one of Europes best Hazards rapid decline Blank Jersey . A fully booked flight forced me to leave two hours later. After a nice meal in which I studied the stats of the Argo win, I prepared to leave the restaurant. As I was gathering my things to leave many large individuals began to walk up and wait for tables. Gabriel Jersey . Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour. http://www.authenticshopacmilan.com/c-44-fabio-borini-ac-milan-fc-jersey.aspx.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. Gianluca Lapadula Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Riccardo Montolivo Jersey . While the pair of Spain internationals return, midfielder Xavi Hernandez will not be included in the squad after failing to recover from a muscle strain to his left leg.TORONTO - From P.K. Subbans passionate fist pump and through a series of fluky bounces, the Montreal Canadiens showed in their regular-season opener the kind of poise that helped them reach the Eastern Conference final.Tomas Plekanec responded to a late goal by Morgan Rielly with one of his own 96 seconds later as the Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in a back-and-forth affair Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre.These things happen, and its how you respond to it, Subban said. It happened to us a few times last year and I thought we responded well. Were a resilient group in here. It doesnt surprise me that we came right back.It was a perfect shot by Subban that gave the Habs the lead 8:41 into the third period when a tired first line for the Leafs, consisting of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, left the 2013 Norris Trophy-winning defenceman alone at the top of the face-off circles.Then the NHL curtain-raising game between the two long-standing rivals got weird. Rielly threw the puck in front, and it managed to carom in past Montreal goaltender Carey Price to tie things up with 2 minutes 19 seconds left.Plekanec, who scored earlier on a breakaway and was arguably the best player on the ice for either team, responded by banking a pass attempt off Leafs rookie defenceman Stuart Percy and in with 43 seconds remaining.It was two bad bounces back-to-back, so karma, I guess, said Price, who finished with 24 saves on 27 shots. It was up-and-down, pretty emotional at the end. But absolutely happy to get that win.The win snapped a streak of four straight losses to the Leafs on opening night for the Habs.Its even better to win these games when you play the right way, and I thought we did a lot of things well, Subban said. Still some areas we have to clean up, but I thought executing some new things in our game plan, I thought we did that very, very well today.Montreal coach Michel Therrien praised his players for skating better after the Leafs took the play to them in the first. Toronto had the games first five shots, but Max Pacioretty scored on the Habs first shot 4:42 in, which stunned an already subdued crowd of 19,375.The first shot they got went in the net, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. It kind of took a little bit of wind out of our sails.Winger Brandon Kozun, the biggest surprise of the Leafs camp, took the shot that Nazem Kadri tipped past Price for the tying goal. Kozun not only got his first point on his fourth shift in his NHL debut but his energy was noticeable on the second line.I though there were times out there where we played really well, Kozun said. The first period I thought we had something going, parts of the third, but I think there was a bunch in the second period where the team in general couldnt sustain anything.Perccy, who was also making his NHL debut and earned a positive review from Carlyle despite being in the wrong place on Montreals game-winner, made the pass that set up Tyler Bozaks power-play goal late in the first period.ddddddddddddPlekanec tied it back up for the Habs 4:34 into the second after a picture-perfect outlet pass by Alexei Emelin found the veteran centre behind the Toronto defence. One of four alternate captains along with Andrei Markov, Subban and Pacioretty, Plekanec was downright dominant.Hes playing with two good offensive players in (Alex) Galchenyuk and (Brendan) Gallagher, and he scored two big goals for us, Therrien said. Pleky was really good.It was more than just Plekanec that got the Habs off to a strong start. The second line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and P.A. Parenteau flashed some early chemistry and contributed.We had everybody involved today, Subban said. Our forwards definitely should feel confident right now with the way theyre putting the puck in the net.The Habs have no time to let the win sink in, as they travel to Washington to play Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on Thursday night. After making it to the East final last spring, Subban and Price understand theres a long way to go this season before they can even think about the playoffs.I dont think in this room were going to set any goals further than the next game, Price said. That really simplifies things. You dont start overcomplicating things. If you just keep your mindset on preparing for that next game, it simplifies everything and really makes it easier.The Leafs have some more time to ponder things before hosting Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Some mistakes of youth hurt them when the Habs tilted the ice in the opener.In the first period we did a good job of making them dump pucks, keeping them slowed down in the neutral zone, which gives us more time moving the puck out of our zone, captain Dion Phaneuf said. When we stopped moving our feet, thats when we got into trouble.Montreal was there to capitalize.a€?They came really hard at us and we were not skating really well, Therrien said. A lot of credit goes to the Leafs for the way they performed in the first period. I thought in the second period, our transition was much better, we started to skate and we started to play our game.Notes a€” Bernier finished with 28 saves on 32 shots against. ... Winger Jiri Sekac made his NHL debut for the Canadiens. ... The crowd gave Walter Gretzky a nice ovation when he was shown on the video boards on his 76th birthday. ... 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