07-02-2019, 12:29 AM
MANCHESTER, England - Two goals from Seydou Doumbia either side of a Yaya Toure free kick gave CSKA Moscow a 2-1 victory over nine-man Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving the English champion bottom of Group E with two games remaining. Ian Thomas Jersey .Manuel Pellegrinis side trailed at halftime, and as it chased a much-needed victory in the second half of the match in an attempt to move closer to the knockout stages, it lost its discipline.Fernandinho, a halftime substitute, was sent off in the 70th minute for two bookable offences before Toure was dismissed 11 minutes later for pushing over Roman Eremenko in frustration at losing possession.Pellegrini could not explain the underwhelming performance by his side.Its very difficult to understand why we played so badly, Pellegrini said. From the beginning we were so nervous and we gave them the two goals. Really, we didnt play. The first half especially, we didnt see the team we normally see. We didnt shoot once at their goal, we just had Yayas free-kick, and we gave away two easy goals.Citys night began in the worst possible manner. Gael Clichy was penalized for blocking a cross with his hand, and Doumbia escaped the marking of Toure to head the resultant free kick from Bebras Natcho past Joe Hart to put CSKA ahead in the second minute.Toure made amends for his defensive lapse six minutes later, curling a sublime free kick into the top corner from 25 yards out to quickly haul City level.But CSKA continued to take the game to City, not allowing the host to build any momentum despite quickly levelling. Doumbia missed an opportunity to put the Russian side back into the lead in the 18th, shooting wide with only Hart left to beat.Eventually, it reclaimed the advantage in the 34th minute when a lazy clearance from Clichy found Natcho, who threaded the ball into Doumbia and the striker made no mistake with his next chance, beating Hart from just inside the penalty area.Fernandinho was a halftime substitute alongside Samir Nasri, but the Brazil midfielders evening lasted only 25 minutes. He received his first yellow for a foul on Alan Dzagoev in the 62nd, and eight minutes later had his second for obstructing Ahmed Musa.But seven minutes later, CSKA should have been down to 10 men when Pontus Wernbloom, booked in the first half for fouling Toure, should have been carded again when he pulled Sergio Agueros shirt.But referee Tasos Sidiropoulos mistakenly booked Sergei Ignashevich instead, much to the dismay of the City players. The players repeatedly remonstrated with Sidiropoulos but to no avail.Their anguish only increased when Toure was red carded for needlessly shoving Eremenko five minutes later.Despite being left with nine men, City still pushed forward in search of an equalizer and felt it should have had a penalty when Aguero burst into the penalty area in the last minute before tumbling over, but Sidiropoulos rushed over to book the Argentina striker for diving. Television replays showed it to be the correct decision.City is bottom of the Group E standings with only two points, and faces Roma and Bayern Munich in its two remaining fixtures, while CSKA is third with four points.Pellegrini refused to comment on the Fernandinho and Toure red cards, but said he needs to get a better performance from his side if it is to reach the knockout stages of the competition.Its a crisis of confidence, of course, I dont understand why but we must find a reason, talk with the players every day and try to win again, Pellegrini said. Antwione Williams Jersey . Boston is making its first appearance in the ALCS since 2008. For Detroit, its a third straight trip to the ALCS and its fourth in eight years. Jared Norris Jersey .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26. http://www.cheappanthersjerseyselite.com...ley-jersey . - The Detroit Lions have placed tight end Brandon Pettigrew on injured reserve, ending his season.(SportsNetwork.com) - It may not be a big divisional matchup, but Saturdays AFC playoff matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and hosting New England Patriots figures to be a good one. After all, it appears you cant go wrong with Joe Flacco and Tom Brady in the postseason. The Patriots and Ravens rank first and second in the NFL in victories since 2008, with New England amassing 88 in that span. Baltimore has 82, a number it increased with last weekends 30-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC Wild Card round clash. The Ravens went into that game 0-3 in Pittsburgh in the postseason, but sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times to highlight a solid defensive effort and got a pair of passing touchdowns from Flacco. Flacco threw for 259 yards and he teamed with head coach John Harbaugh for their seventh playoff victory together. Thats playoff football. Thats Joe Flacco, a jubilant Harbaugh beamed. Hes the best quarterback in football. Well take him any day of the week, twice on Sunday...or Saturday night, if that be the case. Baltimore is 10-4 in the playoffs under Harbaugh with a Super Bowl win and the Ravens have handed the Patriots two of their four all-time losses in 19 home playoff games. Baltimore beat New England in a 2009 wild card matchup and again in the 2012 AFC Championship game prior to winning Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens shut Brady and the Pats out in the second half of that game to rally for a 28-13 and avenge a loss to New England in the previous AFC title game. This is the fourth postseason battle between the clubs, with each taking place in Foxborough, though Brady doesnt factor home-field advantage that much into the matchup. It always goes to execution and how well you play because theres nothing that the crowd can do to help you make the plays that youre supposed to make, he said. I think there are things that -- the communication and the ability to communicate late in the play clock is a strong advantage for the offense. New England is making its sixth straight postseason appearance, but hasnt won the Super Bowl since 2004 or reached the championship matchup since 2007. A victory in this game, though, would make the Patriots only the fifth team to reach four straight conference championship games. The Pats won the AFC East with their third straight 12-4 season, securing the top seed in the conference. They have advanced to the Super Bowl in three of the previous four seasons they have claimed the top seed. New England head coach Bill Belichick comes in having won 19 postseason games, tied with Don Shula for second most all-time and one back of Tom Landrys NFL-leading 20. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Saturday could become a milestone day for Brady after he passed for over 4,000 yards with 33 touchdowns in the regular season. Bradys 43 postseason touchdown passes rank third in NFL history and he comes in just behind second-place Brett Favre (44) and the all-time leader Joe Montana, who had 45. Brady also is one of two quarterbacks with at least 6,000 passing yards in the playoffs and no other quarterback has recorded as many postseason wins as his 18. While the Ravens had success last weekend in getting to Roethlisberger, Brady and his ability to move the ball quick present a different challenge. Its different because Ben scrambles a little more and hes a little stronger shrugging off tackles and things like that, noted Harbaugh. Neither one of them really scramble to run; both of them scramble to throw. Tom does a great job of getting the ball out quick. Theyre both excellent before the snap. New England did get 13 rushing touchdowns this season, but none of its players ran for more than Jonas Grays 412. However, receivers Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell combined along with tight end Rob Gronkowski for 248 receptions and 23 touchdowns. Gronkowski, limited to seven games and none in the playoffs last season due to a knee injury, led the Pats with 12 touchdown catches and should provide an added offensive punch New England did not have when it lost to Denver in the AFC Championship Game. Hes a real key to our offense, Brady said of his tight end. Hes a very talented player and weve got to find ways to get him the ball. Hes got to be a big factor. Were all excited to be out there this week. The Pats are likely to have Edelman back in action to. He led the team with 92 receptions to go along with 972 yards and four TDs, but missed the final two regular season games due to a concussion. Anytime you dont get to go out and play with your teammates its very tough, especially at the end of the year where you are preparing for postseason, but all of that is in the past. Corn Elder Jersey. Im looking forward to today and preparing for the Ravens and getting ready for this game, Edelman said. Brady will be going up against a Ravens team that ranked 24th against the pass, but was dominant in allowing only 88.3 rushing yards per game. And though they give up yardage, the Ravens can also wreck havoc on a quarterback thanks to linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil set a single-season franchise record with 17 sacks and then picked up another two versus the Steelers. He was part of a pass rush that forced Roethlisberger into throwing a pair of interceptions. Then there is Suggs, who has had many battles with Brady and the Pats offense. He made six tackles and had a pick versus the Steelers and comes in with 12 career playoff sacks, tied with Reggie White for third all-time. Hes phenomenal. Hes (in his) 12th year; it looks like its his third year out there, said Brady of Suggs. Hes the leader of that defense, he makes great plays. I think theres the play thats called, and then what he actually does. So even though he has a certain responsibility, if he sniffs it out he takes a shot and goes for it. New England also may have some respect for Flacco, who has faced the Pats five times in Foxborough and has averaged 225.8 yards per game while throwing nine touchdown passes. His 92.8 passer rating is the beat by an opposing quarterback at Gillette Stadium since 2008 with a minimum of three games and he completed a trio of TD passes with no interceptions in the 2012 AFC Championship game. Flacco has thrown for 1,399 yards and 13 touchdowns with no picks over Baltimores current five-game playoff winning streak. Hes a good quarterback in all situations. Hes a good quarterback, period. I have a lot of respect for him, noted Belichick of Flacco. While Torrey Smith represents a deep, reliable threat for Flacco to look for -- with Smith leading the Ravens with 11 touchdown catches -- Steve Smith topped the team with 79 catches in his first season with the club and added another five receptions for 101 yards against the Steelers. Known for excellent hands, Steve Smith may see himself facing Pats cornerback Darrell Revis a lot in this game. Revis was credited with 14 passes defensed this season and picked off a pair of passes. Quarterbacks sometimes tend to avoid throwing to his side of the field, but Flacco said that limits an offense too much. I think as a play-caller, you have to just go out there, rely on your guys that you have that are out there, rely on the fact that they have ability. And as a quarterback, you have to go out there and just go through your reads. And if hes open, throw it to him; if hes not, dont, Flacco said. Linebacker Jamie Collins led New England with a career-high 115 tackles and was one of only three players this season with at least four sacks and a pair of interceptions. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its never easy, but the Ravens are one team that has been able to run with the Patriots in the playoffs, and obviously playing on the road does not bother the team. Baltimore is 10-5 all-time on the road in the postseason, but Harbaugh doesnt think that gives his club any added advantage. I dont think it really matters. Its a new game. Really, the past, the future -- Its just whoever plays best Saturday afternoon is going to be the team that wins the game. Its always that way. So, I dont think it makes any difference at all one way or the other, said Harbaugh. The Ravens combined a good defense with an offense that managed to put up points last weekend, but now they face a motivated Patriots team that has begun to see its window of success under Brady enter the latter stages. Were always trying to win the last game of the year. We set pretty high expectations and I think we all have high expectations but youve got to go out there and earn it, declared Brady. Its not easy and this is a first step for us. A lot of teams played last week, we didnt get a chance to do that. This is a week where we can really try to make an impact on this season. Weve worked pretty hard to get to this point. New England is going to have to work hard again this weekend and though Brady may take some shots, hell probably also have an opportunity to make some plays against a suspect secondary, with a healthy Gronkowski being the difference maker. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Patriots 27, Ravens 24 Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '