Tuesday, December 18, 2018

The Week that was (in Football (Soccer)): Review of the top Leagues in Europe-part 36 (Week of December 11-December 17, 2018)-part 1

Note:
The purpose of this section is to summarize the week in question, it is not meant to give a full statistical analysis of the matches.
We live in a viral age and all that information can be accessed.
I welcome all contributions from anyone, even for the Leagues that I did not cover.

I.  England

Diary:
Tuesday, December 11, 2018:

-American goalkeeper Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew) is set to join Manchester City in the summer. (Source L’Équipe online)
Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Raheem Sterling (Manchetser City) has been named the Player of the month for November.  (Source Sky Sports Online)

-Fernando Llorente (Tottenham) expressed the desire to join Athletic Bilbao in the January transfer window. (Source Football Espana Online)

-Former Arsenal Captain Tony Adams is to become the new President of the Rugby Football League. (Source Sky Sports online)

-Joel Matip (Liverpool) has suffered a broken collarbone in the UCL match vs. Napoli and will be out injured for a number of weeks. (Source Sport Bild online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-Aston Villa have suspended youth coach Kevin MacDonald after former Irish International Gareth Farrelly came forward and made claims of a culture of bullying with MacDonald at the club . (Source The Guardian online)
Friday, December 14, 2018:

-Newcastle Manager Rafa Benitez was named the Premier League Manager of the month for November. Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)’s goal vs. Chelseas was named as the goal of the month. (Source Sky Sports online)

-Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte stated that he is not being selected for Fracne by Manager Didider Descahmps for ‘personal reasons’.  (Source Yardbarker online)

-Egypt’s Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) was named the BBC African Player of the year. (Source BBC Football online)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-

Sunday, December 16, 2018:

-Eric Dier (Tottenham) will be out until the end of the year as he had surgery to remove his appendix.   (Source BBC Football Online)

-Southampton’s win ended Arsenal’s 22 match unbeaten run.   (Source Reuters UK Online)

-Gary Neville and Roy Keane blasted Jesse Lingard’s decision to launch his own clothing label in the week ahead of an important match vs. Liverpool. They believed this was a sign of a weak dressing room. (Source Daily Mail online)



Monday, December 17, 2018:

-Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas posted a tweet aimed subtlety at Jose Mourinho, suggesting perhaps his time is up at Manchester United. (Source AS.com online)

Photo From: L'Equipe, December 13, 2018
(Paul Pogba, December 12, 2018, UCL, Valencia 2-Manchester United 1)


Transfers
Date
Player
Position
From
To
Type
Online Source
December 16, 2018 
Ovie Ejaria 
-
Rangers
Liverpool
Return from Loan
BBC Football 
December 17, 2018 
Ben Woodburn (Wales) 
-
Sheffield United
Liverpool
Return from Loan to treat an injury
Sky Sports


Contract Extensions
Date
Player
Position
Club
Expiration Year
Online Source
December 12, 2018
Mark Noble
-
West Ham
2021
Sky Sports
December 15, 2018
Chris Smalling
Defender
Manchester United
2022
BBC Football
December 17, 2018
Anthony Martial (France)
Striker
Manchester United
2020
L’Equipe
December 17, 2018
Ryan Bennett
Defender
Wolves
2021
L’Equipe



English Premier League Matchday (December 15-December 17, 2018):

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Manchester City 3-Everton 1 (Gabriel Jesus 22, 50, Raheem Sterlong 69 / D. Calvert-Lewin 65)
Crystal Palace 1-Leicester 0 (Luka Milivojevic 39)
Huddersfield 0-Newcastle 1 (Salomon Rondon 55)
Tottenham 1-Burnley 0 (Christian Eriksen 90)
Watford 3-Cardiff 2 (Gerard Deulofeu 16, Jose Holebas 52, Quina 68 / Junior Hoilett 80, Bobby Reid 82)
Wolves 2-Bournemouth 0 (Raul Jimenez 12, Ivan Cavaleiro 90)
Fulham 0-West Ham 2 (Robert Snodgrass 17, Michail Antonio 29)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Brighton 1-Chelsea 2 (Solly March 66 / Pedro 17, Eden Hazzrd 33)
Southampton 3-Arsenal 2 (Danny Ings 20, 44, Charlie Austin 85 / Henrikh Mkhitaryan 28, 53)
Liverpool 3-Manchester United 1  (Sadio Mane 24, Xherdan Shaqiri 73, 80 / Jesse Lingard 33)

Top Goalscorer:
Pierre-Erick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 10 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Liverpool
17
14
3
0
37
7
30
45
2
Manchester City
17
14
2
1
48
10
38
44
3
Tottenham
17
13
0
4
31
16
15
39
4
Chelsea
17
11
4
2
35
14
21
37
5
Arsenal
17
10
4
3
37
23
14
34
6
Manchester United
17
7
5
5
  29
29
0
26

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point
II.  Italy
Diary:
Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-Cagliari’s Luca Ceppitelli and Darijo Srna have both been fined and suspended for two matches following their sending-off vs. Roma over the weekend. (Source Football Italia online)

-Fiorentina Manager Stefano Pioli stated that the new investigation into Davide Astori’s death will caue further suffering especially to Astori’s family. (Source Corriere dello Sport online)

-After being linked to AC Milan for some weeks, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is to remain at LA Galaxy. Cesc Fabregas is now a transfer target for AC Milan. (Source RTBF.be online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Guiseppe Marotta has officially joined Inter as CEO. (Source Football Italia online)

-Umar Sadiq has been sent back from Ramgers Glasgow (where he was on loan) to Roma as he failed to make an impact. (Source Football Italia online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-Roma have rejected a bid from Arsenal for Cengiz Under. (Source Football Italia online)

-Juventus’ appeal for the revocation of the 2005/06 title to Inter (as part of Calciopoli) has been rejected by the Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome. Former Inter Owner Massimo Moratti stated that Juventus fans have to accept this final verdict. (Source Football Italia online)

Friday, December 14, 2018:

-UEFA has given AC Milan untilJuen 2021 to comply with Financial Fair Play rules or risk a one-year ban from European Competitions. (Source Reuters UK online)

-Cristiano Ronaldo is to plead guilty to four counts of tax fraud in a Spanish Court and receive a two-year suspended prison sentence. (Source Football Espana online)

-Juventus’ Joao Cancelo is to have surgery and will be out for the rest of the year. (Source Corriere dello Sport online)
Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-Cristiano Ronaldo scored Juventus’ 5000th league goal in the Serie A in their won over Torino. (Source Football Italia online)


Sunday, December 16, 2018:

- Felipe Mose Pulici, Lazio’s goalkeeper from their 1974 title winning side, passed away aged 72. (Source Calciomercato online)
    
- Mario Balotelli criticized Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration vs. Torino, where he appeared to shove Torino goalkeeper to get the ball after his penalty kick. Balotelli wrote on Instagram, “If I had doen this, bye…”. (Source Calciomercato online)

Monday, December 17, 2018:

-Atletico Madrid Manager Diego Simeone has once again re-iterated that he will join Inter one day. (Source Football Italia online)


Italian Serie A Matchday (December 15-December 16, 2018):

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Inter 1-Udinese 0 (Mauro Icardi 76 pen)
Torino 0- Juventus 1 (Cristiano Ronaldo 70 pen)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
SPAL 0-Chievo 0 (-)
Fiorentina 3-Empoli 1 (Kevin Mirallas 40, Giovanni Simeone 59, Bryan Dabo 78 / Rade Krunic 24)
Frosinone 0-Sassuolo 2 (Lorenzo Ariaudo (own goal) 44, Domenico Beradi 58)
Sampdoria 2-Parma 0 (Gianluca Caprari 66, Fabio Quagliarella 69)
Cagliari 0-Napoli 1  (Arek Milik 90)
Roma 3-Genoa 2 (Federico Fazio 31, Justin Kluivert 45, Bryan Cristante 59 / Krzysztof Piatek 17, Oscar Hiljemark 33)

Monday, December 17, 2018:
Atalanta 1-Lazio 0 (Duvan Zapata 1)

Top Goalscorer:
Krzysztof Piatek (Genoa) 12 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) 11 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Juventus
16
15
1
0
33
8
25
46
2
Napoli
16
12
2
2
33
14
19
38
3
Inter
16
10
2
4
28
13
15
32
4
AC Milan
15
7
5
3
24
  18
6
26
5
Lazio
16
7
4
5
22
19
3
25
6
Atalanta
16
7
3
6
30
  20
10
25


P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point

III.  Spain

Diary:

Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-Real Madrid Manager responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s subtle jab at Real that Juventus are more of a family. Solari stated that Real has  a fabtastic and humble squadand that ‘humility is a virue that top players need’. (Source Football Italia online)

-Barcelona have fined Ousmane Dembele 100,000 Euros for his repeated tardiness. (Source AS.com online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Barcelona’s Gerard Pique has reportedly purchased FC Andorra through his Kosmos Holding company. (Source AS.com online)

-Real Madrid suffered their worst home defeat in Europe in their (0-3) inconsequential loss to CSKA Moscow. During the match as he was being substituted, Marcelo offered the captain’s armband to Isco, but he refused and instead asked to give it to Dani Carvajal. Isco was roundly booed dueing the match. (Source BBC Football/AS.com online)

-Dani Carvajal labeled Isco as ‘brave’ and stated that he would not be impacted by the whistles. (Source Football Espana online)

-Alvaro Morata (Chelsea) has been linked with Barcelona. (Source Football Espana online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-It was revealed that Barcelona backed out of the proposed League match at Miami, after learning of possible UEFA sanctions that would have barred them from European Competition and bans on players on Internatioanl duty. (Source AS.com online)

-The Brazilian Ronaldo, now at the board of Real Valladolid, stated that he wanted to sign on loan Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid in January, but that it would be ‘difficult’. (Source AS.com online)

Friday, December 14, 2018:

-Sevilla fans have protested the proposed sale of the club to American Robert Kraft. (Source Football Espana online)

-Real Madrid will not release Brazilian Vinicius Jr for the South American U-20 qualifiers in January-February. (Source AS.com online)

-Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen has been linked with Barcelona. (Source Walfoot.be online)
 Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-Luka Modric has criticized Atletico Madrid Manager Diego Simeone fro constantly undermining Real Madrid. (Source AS.com online)

-Luka Modric presented the Madrid crowd with the Ballon d’Or award of their match vs. Vallecano. (Source AS.com online)

-Luka Modric criticizwed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for missing out on the Ballon d’Or awards. He stated that this behavior was disrespectful to players, fans and the game and the voters who elected them 10 years in a row. (Source AS.com online)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:

-Thibaut Courtois stated that Atletico Madrid Manager Diego Simeone criticizes Real Madrid to boost his own popularity.   (Source AS.com Online)

Monday, December 17, 2018:

-Geoffrey Kondogbia (Valencia) will be out injured for two months. (Source L’Équipe online)

-Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona) will be out injured for a month. (Source L’Équipe online)


Transfers
Date
Player
Position
From
To
Type
Online Source
December 13, 2018 
Samu Saiz (Spain)
Midfielder
Leeds United
Getafe
Loan
L’Equipe


Contract Extensions
Date
Player
Position
Club
Expiration Year
Online Source
December 14, 2018
Oscar de Marcos
Defender
Bilbao
2021
L’Equipe


Spanish La Liga Matchday (December 14-December 17, 2018):

Friday, December 14, 2018:
Celta 0-Leganes 0 (-)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Getafe 1-Sociedad 0 (Jorge Molina 3)
Valladolid 2-Atletico Madrid 3 (Fernando Calero 57, Saul Niguez (own goal) 63 / Nikola Kalinic 26, Antoine Griezmann 45 pen, 80)
Real Madrid 1-Vallecano 0  (Karim Benzema 13)
Eibar 1-Valencia 1 (Charles 56 pen / Rodrigo Moreno 29)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Sevilla 2-Girona 0 (Ever Banega 55 pen, Pablo Sarabia 64)
Espanyol 1-Betis 3 (Sergio Garcia 24 / Giovani Lo Celso 43, Cristian Tello 85, Oscar Duarte (own goal) 90)
Huesca 2-Villareal 2 (J.Camilo Hernandez 44 pen, Samuele Longo 90 / Carlos Bacca 63 pen, Gerard Moreno 81)
Levante 0-Barcelona 5 (Luis Suarez 35, Lionel Messi 43, 47,60, Gerard Pique 88)

Monday, December 17, 2018:
Alaves 0-Bilbao 0 (-)

Top Goalscorer:
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 14 goals
Cristhian Stuani (Girona) 11 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Barcelona
16
10
4
2
46
19
27
34
2
Sevilla
16
9
4
3
29
16
13
31
3
Atletico Madrid
16
  8
7
1
24
12
12
31
4
Real Madrid
16
9
4
3
24
19
5
29
5
Betis
16
7
4
5
19
18
1
25
6
Alaves
16
7
4
5
18
17
1
25

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point


IV.  Germany
Diary:


Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge advised Kingsley Coman to ‘not get carried away’ talking about early retirement and return to competition with his morale intact. (Source AFP online)

-Schalke striker Guido Burgstaller will be out injured for the rest of the year. (Source Bulinews online)

-Stuttgart’s Benjamin Pavard has reportedly indicated that he would like to join Bayern Munich in the January transfer window, however, Bayern coach Niko Kovac stated that would be unlikely. (Source Bulinews / Sportskeda online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Marko Grujic (Hertha Berlin) will be out injured for the rest of the year. (Source Bulinews online)

-Schalke have played Franco Di Santo, Johanees Geis, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Breel Embolo and Omar Mascarell on a transfer list for the January transfer window. (Source Bulinews online)

-Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller was sent off in the UCL after avery dangerous high kick fouk on Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico. Muller has a apologized since. (Source Walfoot.be online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-

Friday, December 14, 2018:

-Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) will be out injured for the rest of the year. (Source L’Equipe online)

-Marco Reus (Dortmund) was named the player of the month of November. (Source Bulinews online)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-Kingsley Coman has downplayed his recent comments regarding retirement. He stated that he was misinterpreted. (Source Bulinews online)

-Father of Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner pssed away in the stadium after their match vs. Hertha Berlin.   (Source BBC Football Online)


Sunday, December 16, 2018:
-


Monday, December 17, 2018:
-Sandro Wagner (Bayern Munich) has reportedly turned down a move to Schalke. (Source Bulinews online)


Transfers
Date
Player
Position
From
To
Type
Online Source
December 13, 2018 
Seong-Hoon Cheon (South Korea) 
-
Incheon United
Augsburg 
Purchase
 Sport Bild
December 14, 2018 
Uffe Bech (Denmark)
-
Brondby
Hannover
Back from loan
Kicker.de


Contract Extensions
Date
Player
Position
Club
Expiration Year
Online Source
December 16, 2018
Makoto Hasebe (Japan)
-
Frankfurt
2020
Kicker.de
December 16, 2018
Maro Russ
Defender
Frankfurt
2020
L’Equipe



German Bundesliga Matchday (December 14-December 16, 2018):

Friday, December 14, 2018:
Nuremberg 0-Wolfsburg 2 (Daniel Ginczek 58, Josip Brekalo 90)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Augsburg 1-Schalke 1 (Michael Gregoritsch 13 / Daniel Caligiuri 51)
Dusseldorf 2-Freiburg 0 (Kaan Ayhan 54, 78)
Hannover 0-Bayern Munich 4 (Joshua Kimmich 1, David Alaba 29, Serge Gnabry 53, Robert Lewandowski 62)
Hoffenheim 0- Moenchengladbach 0 (-)
Stuttgart 2-Hertha Berlin 1 (Mario Gomez 63, 76 / M.Mittelstadt 37)
Dortmund 2-Werder Bremen 1 (Paco Alcacer 19, Marco Reus 27 / Max Kruse 35)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
RB Leipzig 4-Mainz 1 (Yussuf Poulsen 14, 19, Timo Werner 74, 88 / Karim Onisiwo 38)
Frankfurt 2-Leverkusen 1 (Danny Da Costa 28, Filip Kostic 57 / Karim Bellarabi 65)

Top Goalscorer:
Paco Alcacer (Dortmund) 11 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Dortmund
15
12
3
0
41
15
26
39
2
M’Gladbach
15
9
3
3
33
16
17
30
3
Bayern Munich
15
9
3
3
32
18
14
30
4
RB Leipzig
15
8
4
3
28
14
14
28
5
Frankfurt
15
8
2
5
32
18
14
26
6
Hoffenheim
15
6
5
4
30
21
9
23

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point
V.  France
Diary:
Tuesday, December 11, 2018:

-The Statue of Raymond Kopa will be unveiled in Reims on Saturday near Stade Auguste-Delaune. (Source L’Equipe online)

-Brazilian player Ganso (on Loan from Sevilla) has been given a few more days of reflection to decide whether he wants to stay at Amiens. He has been troubled by his lack of playing time. (Source L’Équipe online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Due to political protests in France, upcoming weekend matches Nice-St Etienne and Nantes-Montpellier are to be postponed. (Source Sport Bild online)

-Interim Rennes Manager Julien Stephan has signed on as full time Manager until 2020. (Source L’Équipe online)
Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-Due to political protests in France, upcoming weekend matches Guingamp-Rennes and OM-Bordeaux are be postponed. (Source L’Equipe / A Bola online)

-Brazilian player Ganso (on Loan from Sevilla) has decided to leave Amiens due to his lack of playing time. (Source L’Équipe online)

-Alain Giresse was named as the new Manager of Tunisia. (Source L’Equipe online)
Friday, December 14, 2018:

-

Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-Video clip appared showing Mario Balotelli criticizing his Nice teammates to manager Patrick Vieira. (Source Football Italia online)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:

-Nice Manager Patrick Vieira expressed that he is tempted to slam Mario Balotelli against the wall but he can’t as he is no longer a player. He stated that he wasnts to be constructive in his comments with Balotelli.  (Source Football Italia online)
Monday, December 17, 2018:

-It was revealed that PSG nearly sold Jese to Nantes in the summer before the move was blocked by PSG technical Director Antero Henrique.  (Source L’Equipe online)

-Jesé is set to leave PSG and join Valladolid in the summer. (Source Football Espana online)

-Adrien Rabiot has indicated that he will not extend his contract with PSG to leave on a free at the end of the season. As a result the club have indicated that he will not play for PSG until the end of the season. (Source RTBF.be online)

-Wahbi Khazri (St Etienne) has been named as the player of the month of November. (Source L’Équipe online)



Transfers
Date
Player
Position
From
To
Type
Online Source
December 17, 2018 
Alexandre Mendy 
Striker
Bordeaux
Guingamp
Six-month loan
L’Equipe

Profesional Contract
Date
Player
Position
Club
Online Source
December 14, 2018 
Eduardo Camavinga 
-
Rennes
L’Equipe


French Ligue 1 Matchday (December 15-December 16, 2018):

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Dijon –PSG  (Postponed)
Nantes -Montpellier  (Postponed)
Amiens-Angers  (Postponed)
Caen-Toulouse  (Postponed)
Reims 2-Strasbourg 1 (Mossa Doumbia 6, Mathieu Cafaro 66 / Adrien Thomasson 47)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Nimes 2-Lille 3 (Rachid Alioui 68, Clement Depres 90 / Rafael Leao 4, Jonathan Bamba 41, Nicolas Pepe 66)
Guingamp –Rennes  (Postponed)
Nice 1-St Etienne 1 (Wylan Cyprien 81 pen / Lois Diony 53)
Lyon 3-Monaco 0 (Houssem Aouar 6, Nabil Fekir 34, Ferland Mendy 59)
OM-Bordeaux (Postponed)

Top Goalscorer:
Kylian Mbappe (PSG) 12 goals
Emiliano Sala (Nantes) 12 goals
Nicolas Pepe (Lille) 12 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
PSG
16
14
2
0
49
10
39
44
2
Lille
18
9
5
4
27
17
10
34
3
Lyon
17
9
4
4
29
20
9
31
4
Montpellier
16
8
5
3
24
12
12
29
5
St Etienne
17
7
6
4
25
22
3
27
6
Marseille
16
8
2
6
29
25
4
26


P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point
VI.  Holland
Diary:


Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-
Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-Dutch Manager Phillip Cocu, sacked earlier in the season by Fenerbahce, has reached an agreement with the club and his contarct has been dissolved. (Source vi.nl online)

-Feyenoord’s Crysencio Summerville is to join Dordrecht in the new year. (Source vi.nl online)
Friday, December 14, 2018:

-PSV Manager Mark van Bommel has indicated that he would like Arjen Robben to return to the club. (Source Calciomercato online)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
-

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
-

Monday, December 17, 2018:
-Matthis de Ligt (Ajax) has been named as the ‘Golden Boy’ of the year by Tuttosport. (Source RTBF.be  online)


Transfers
Date
Player
Position
From
To
Type
Online Source
December 17, 2018 
Laros Duarte 
PSV Eindhoven 
Sparta
Loan
vi.nl

Contract Extensions
Date
Player
Position
Club
Expiration Year
Online Source
December 12, 2018
Wouter Burger
-
Feyenoord
2023
vi.nl


Dutch Eredivisie Matchday (December 14-December 16, 2018):

Friday, December 14, 2018:
Willem II 0-Den Haag 3 (Erik Falkenburg 9, Lex Immers 61, 77)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
PEC 0-NAC 0 (- )
AZ 2-Excelsior 1  (Guus Til 40, Bjorn Johnsen 90 / Denis Mahmudov 30)
Heracles 0-PSV Eindhoven 4 (Steven Bergwijn 12, Daniel Schwaab 33, Denzel Dumfries 79, Gaston Pereiro 90)
Vitesse 2-VVV 1 (Martin Odegaard 32, Oussamam Darfalou 80 / Peniel Mlapa 76)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Heerenveen 2-Utrecht 3 (Michel Vlap 69, P. van Amersfoort 75 / Emil Bergstrom 14, Gyrano Kerk 26, Oussama Tannane 45)
Ajax 8-De Graafschap 0 (Dusan Tadic 18, Noussair Mazraoui 25, Hakim Ziyech 32, 62, 69, Daley Blind 65 74, 90)
Groningen 1-Emmen 2 (Mimoun Mahi 87 / Nicklas Pedersen 88, 90)
Feyenoord 0-Fortuna Sittard 2 (Lars Hutten 51, Ahmed El Messaoudi 90)

Top Goalscorer:
Luuk De Jong (PSV Eindhoven) 14 goals
Fran Sol (Willem II) 13 goals

Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
PSV Eindhoven
16
15
0
1
57
7
50
45
2
Ajax
16
14
1
1
58
8
50
43
3
Feyenoord
16
11
2
3
33
18
15
35
4
Utrecht
16
8
4
4
29
20
9
28
5
AZ
16
7
4
5
29
23
6
25
6
Vitesse
16
7
4
5
25
19
6
25

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point


VII.  Scotland
Diary:

Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths will step away from the game temporarily to resolve certain personal issues. (Source The Scotsman online)
Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-
Friday, December 14, 2018:

-

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
- Damien Duff has accepted an offer to be Celtic Glasgow reserve coach.  (Source IFFTV online)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:

-

Monday, December 17, 2018:
-

Scottish Premier League Matchday (December 11, 2018):
Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
Aberdeen 3-Livingston 2 (Niall McGinn 9, Sam Cosgrove 57, Lewis Ferguson 90 / Scott Pittman 12, Jack McMillan 33)

Scottish Premier League Matchday (December 14-December 15, 2018):
Friday, December 14, 2018:
Livingston 5-Hearts 0 (Craig Halkett 72 pen, Dolly Menga 76, Ryan Hardie 77, 79, Shaune Byrne 86)
Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Kilmarnock 3-Dundee 1 (Kirk Broadfoot 54, Genseric Kusunga (own goal) 66, Greg Stewart 79 / Kenny Miller 90)
St Mirren 1-Aberdeen 2 (C.Mac Pherson 35 / Stevie May 30 pen, Sam Cosgrove 61)
St Johnstone 1-Motherwell 2 (Jason Kerr 83 / Tom Aldred 2, Danny Johnson 17)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Hibernian 2-Celtic 0 (Vykintas Slivka 1, Florian Kamberi 59)
Rangers 1-Hamilton 0 (Daniel Candeias 3)
 Top Goalscorer:
Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 9 goals

Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Rangers
17
10
4
3
39
14
25
34
2
Kilmarnock
18
10
4
4
28
18
10
34
3
Celtic
16
10
3
3
36
10
26
33
4
Aberdeen
17
9
3
5
22
18
4
30
5
Hearts
18
9
3
6
23
24
-1
30
6
Livingston
18
7
4
6
24
16
8
28
P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point


VIII.  Portugal

Diary:


Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-Tiago Fernandes has been appointed as the new Manager of Chaves. (Source Maisfutebol online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:
-Bas Dost (Sporting CP) has been named player of the month for October and November. (Source A Bola online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-

Friday, December 14, 2018:

-

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
-Portuguese defender Pepe has left Besiktas with mutual consent.   (Source Kicker.de Online)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:

-

Monday, December 17, 2018:
-


Contract Extensions
Date
Player
Position
Club
Expiration Year
Online Source
December 12, 2018
Falaye Sacko (Mali)
-
Guimaraes
2022
Maisfutebol

Portugal Primeira Liga League Matchday (December 14-December 16, 2018):
Friday, December 14, 2018:
Portimonense 3-Serubal 1 (Jadson 10, Jackson Martinez 42, 58 / Mikel Agu 60)
Braga 4-Feirense 0 (Dyego Sousa 27, 44, 68 pen, Wilson Eduardo 83 pen)
Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Boavista 2-Tondela 0 (Matheus Indio 16, Rafael Lopes 34)
Chaves 1-Moreirense 2 (Nitinho 77 / Mamadou Loum 60, Joao Aurelio 75)
Aves 1-Guimaraes 1 (Mama Balde 34 / Alexandre Guedes 15)
Santa Clara 1-Porto 2 (Ze Manuel 38 / Soares 45, Moussa Marega 56)

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Rio Ave 2-Belenensses 2 (Goncalo Silva (own goal) 28, Gelson Dala 64 / Lica 60, Fredy (own goal) 69)
Maritimo 0-Benfica 1 (Jonas 45 pen)
Sporting CP 5-Nacional 2 (Bas Dost 35 pen, 87 pen, Bruno Fernandes 70, 90, Jeremy Mathieu 75 / Joao Camacho 6, A. Palocevic 26)

Top Goalscorer:
Dyego Sousa (Braga) 10 goals


Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Porto
13
11
0
2
28
8
20
33
2
Sporting CP
13
10
1
2
30
14
16
31
3
Braga
13
9
3
1
26
10
16
30
4
Benfica
13
9
2
2
25
11
14
29
5
Guimaraes
13
6
4
3
20
15
5
22
6
Rio Ave
13
5
4
4
22
21
1
19

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point

IX.  Belgium
Diary:
Tuesday, December 11, 2018:
-

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-
Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-

Friday, December 14, 2018:
-

Saturday, December 15, 2018:

-

Sunday, December 16, 2018:
- Anderlecht have dismissed Manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck. (Source RTBF.be online)

Monday, December 17, 2018:

- Karim Belhocine and Jonas De Roeck are to be the interim Managers of Anderlecht. (Source RTBF.be online)



First Division A League Matchday (December 14-December 16, 2018):

Friday, December 14, 2018:
Charleroi 2-Gent 0 (Victor Osimhen 86, Massimo Bruno 90

Saturday, December 15, 2018:
Kortrijk 0-Club Brugge 0 (-)
Eupen 1-Mouscron 0 (Morteza Pouraliganji 59)
Lokeren 2-St Truiden 0 (Marko Miric 33, Mehdi Terki 84)
Antwerp 0-Waasland-Beveren 2 (Louis Verstraete 23, Apostolos Vellios 90)
Sunday, December 16, 2018:
Cercle Brugge 2-Anderlecht 1 (Kylian Hazard 9, Gianni Bruno 58 pen / Pieter Gerkens 22)
Genk 2-Ostend 0 (Ruslan Malinovskyi 33, Mbwana Samatta 74)
Standard Liege 4-Zulte-Waregem 1 (M.Garcia Gonzalez 11, 36, Renaud Emond 57, 69 pen / Mikael Soisalo 89)
Top Goalscorer:
Ivan Santini (Anderlecht) 11 goals
Ally Samatta (Genk) 11 goals
Nany Dimata (Anderlecht) 10 goals
Table
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Genk
19
12
6
1
44
18
26
42
2
Club Brugge
19
10
5
4
42
21
21
35
3
Antwerp
19
10
5
4
27
18
9
35
4
Anderlecht
19
9
4
6
33
24
9
31
5
St Truiden
19
8
7
4
31
23
8
31
6
Charleroi
19
9
3
7
31
25
6
30

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point



Diary (extra):

Tuesday, December 11, 2018:

-Yaya Toure has mutually ended his contract with Olympiakos. (Source Kicker.de online)

Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

-Kim Yong-jun has been named as the new Manager of North Korea. (Source L’Equipe online)

  -Japan Manager hajime Moriyasu named his squad for the upcoming Asian Nations Cup in Jjanuary 2019 . (Source Jfa.jp online)
Squad:
GK
HIGASHIGUCHI Masaaki (Gamba Osaka)
GONDA Shuichi (Sagan Tosu)
SCHMIDT Daniel (Vegalta Sendai)
DF
NAGATOMO Yuto (Galatasaray S.K./Turkey)
MAKINO Tomoaki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
YOSHIDA Maya (Southampton FC/England)
SASAKI Sho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
SAKAI Hiroki (Olympique de Marseille/France)
MUROYA Sei (F.C. Tokyo)
MIURA Genta (Gamba Osaka)
TOMIYASU Takehiro (Sint-Truidense V.V./Belgium)
MF
AOYAMA Toshihiro (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
HARAGUCHI Genki (Hannover 96/Germany)
SHIBASAKI Gaku (Getafe C.F./Spain)
ENDO Wataru (Sint-Truidense V.V./Belgium)
ITO Junya (Kashiwa Reysol)
NAKAJIMA Shoya (Portimonense S.C./Portugal)
MINAMINO Takumi (FC Red Bull Salzburg/Austria)
MORITA Hidemasa (Kawasaki Frontale)
DOAN Ritsu (FC Groningen/Netherlands)
FW
OSAKO Yuya (Werder Bremen/Germany)
ASANO Takuma (Hannover 96/Germany)
KITAGAWA Koya (Shimizu S-Pulse)

-Former Iran International Iraj Danaeifard passed awaya aged 67. (Source Wikipedia online)

-Seydou Mbomba Njoya has been elected as the new President of the Cameroon Federation. (Source L’Equine online)

-Morocco opted out of possibly hosting the African Cup of Nations, following Cameroon’s removal as host. (Source Walfoot.be online)

-Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) was named Canada’s player of the year. (Source Reuters UK online)

-Former 1950s Independiente and Argentina International José Carlos Cecconato passed away aged 88. (Source Wikipedia online)

Thursday, December 13, 2018:

-Former Argentina Manager Jorge Sampaoli has been appointed as Manager of Brazil’s Santos. (Source vi.nl online)

-Ivory Coast will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision made the African Confederation to remove them as hosts of the 2021 African Nations Cup. (Source L’Équipe online)


Friday, December 14, 2018:

-The ten candidates for the BBC African Player of the year were announced. The nominees are:  (Source Bulinews online)
1. Alex Iwobi (Nigeria & Arsenal)
2. André Onana (Cameroun & Ajax)
3. Anis Badri (Tunisie & Esperance)
4. Denis Onyango (Ouganda & Mamelodi Sundowns)
5. Mehdi Benatia (Maroc & Juventus)
6. Mohamed Salah (Egypte & Liverpool)
7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
8. Riyad Mahrez (Algérie & Manchester City)
9. Sadio Mané (Senegal & Liverpool)
 
10. Walid Soliman (Egypte & Ahly)

Saturday, December 15, 2018:

- Guillermo Barros Schelotto has resigned as Boca Juniors Manager. (Source BBC Football Online)

-Hernan Crespo was named as the new Banfield Manager.   (Source Football Italia Online)


Sunday, December 16, 2018:
-

Monday, December 17, 2018:

-The Draws for the last 16 of the UCL were made, the matchups are:
Schalke v Manchester City
Atletico Madrid v Juventus
Manchester United v Paris St-Germain
Tottenham v Borussia Dortmund
Lyon v Barcelona
Roma v Porto
Ajax v Real Madrid
Liverpool v Bayern Munich
. (Source BBC Football online)

-Karsten Johannessen, former Manager of Norwegian club IK Start in 50s and 60s passed away aged 93. (Source Wikipedia online)

-The Draws for the last 32 of the Europa League were made, the matchups are:
Viktoria Plzen - Dimano Zagreb
FC Bruges - Salzbourg
Rapid Vienne - Inter
Slavia Prague - Genk
Krasnodar - Leverkusen
Zürich - Naples
Malmö - Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk - Eintrach Francfort
Celtic - Valence
Rennes - Betis Séville
Olympiakos - Dynamo Kiev
Lazio Rome - FC Séville
Fenerbahçe - Zenit Saint Pétersbourg
Sporting Portugal - Villarreal
Bate - Arsenal
Galatasaray - Benfica
. (Source RTBF.be online)

-Former 70s and 80s Republic of Ireland player Michael Robinson disclosed that he is suffering from an incurable cancer. (Source Independent.ie online)

-Tomas Rosicky was named as the Technical Director of Sparta Prague. (Source L’ Equipe online)

-Nicolas Burdisso was named as Technical Director of Boca Juniors. (Source L’Équipe online)

-Aleksandar Mitrovic was named as Serbia’s player of the year. (Source L’Équipe online)

-Andrey Antatolyevich Shcharbakow, a former Belarussian goalkeeper was killed in a traffic collosion aged just 27. (Source Wikipedia online)

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