Argentina National Team coach Jorge SAMPAOLI is reportedly following Santiago ASCACIBAR.
With Lucas BIGLIA being injured and out for overa month, Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI is apparently following the progression of Stuttgart midfielder Santaigo ASCACIBAR. Per journalist Esteban EDUL, SAMPAOLI is monitoring the status of the German based player.
It was a weekend full of goals with Mauro ICARDI, Giovani LO CELSO, Eduardo SALVIO, Lucas OCAMPOS and Ignacio PIATTI all scoring.
Mauro ICARDI just can’t stop scoring. After netting goal number 25 of the season against Cagliari, he scored once more this time in a 2-1 win against Chievo. ICARDI scored a tap in and after initially being ruled off for offside, VAR showed that D’AMBROSIO (the player who passed it to ICARDI) was not offside.
As we reported, Argentina coach Jorge SAMPAOLI was set to speak with ICARDI on Friday.
Another player fighting for his chance in Argentina’s World Cup squad, Eduardo SALVIO scored two minutes into stoppage time in Benfica’s 2-1 win against Estoril Praia. SALVIO’s Benfica are now one point ahead of FC Porto but SALVIO’s men have played one more match than their counter parts.
Giovani LO CELSO scored for PSG in their 1-0 win against Girondins de Bordeaux. LO CELSO’s goal came from the edge of the area and meant that the newly crowned Ligue 1 champions have a 20 point gap ahead of second place Monaco.
Former River Plate star Lucas OCAMPOS registered a goal and an assist in Marseille’s 5-1 win versus Lille. The win for Marseille means they are only one point behind second place Monaco and are tied on 69 points with Lyon.
Moving over to MLS in North America, Ignacio PIATTI scored three times for the Montreal Impact but it wasn’t enough as they fell to a 5-3 loss against LAFC. PIATTI scored twice in the first 16 minutes to establish a 2-0 lead and completed his first half hattrick in the 43rd minute as Montreal went into half time with a 3-1 score. However, a red card in the 31st minute meant that LAFC were able to get back in and steal the victory.
Mauro ICARDI goal for Inter
Inter 1-0 Chievo (Mauro Icardi) All the excitement of the goal killed by VAR but crucial in keeping us in the Champions League hunt. I’ll take it. pic.twitter.com/AeAgSyS4T9
Lionel MESSI made history once more on Saturday as FC Barcelona won the Copa del Rey while Leandro PAREDES scored a direct goal from a corner kick.
It was an eventful Saturday for Lionel MESSI as he scored and assisted twice in FC Barcelona’s 5-0 win against Sevilla. MESSI scored goal number two of the match and assisted goals three and four while giving COUTINHO the penalty kick for goal number five.
After great link-up play between Jordi ALBA and Andres INIESTA, ALBA back heeled the ball in the area to MESSI who fired the ball into the net. MESSI then got his first assist of the match after delivering a perfect eye of the needle pass to Luis SUAREZ. MESSI’s second assist came to Andres INIESTA. Lionel could have had the chance to add a second goal to his name after the club were awarded a penalty kick but he gave it to COUTINHO to take instead.
Per Opta, MESSI is the second player in Copa del Rey history to score in five different finals. Telmo ZARRA accomplished that between 1942 and 1950 scoring eight goals.
5 – Lionel Messi is the second player in Copa del Rey history to score in five different finals (six goals). The first player to achieve this feat was Telmo Zarra between 1942 and 1950 (eight goals). Emperor. pic.twitter.com/Y3RV6YzuyD
Also an incredible piece of statistic, MESSI has now scored 40+ goals in all competitions for the 9th consecutive season.
For Sevilla, it meant another heartbreak for Ever BANEGA, Gabriel MERCADO, Joaquin CORREA, Franco VAZQUEZ and Nicolas PAREJA (who didn’t play in the final due to injury).
Moving over to Russia, Leandro PAREDES had a goal and an assist in Zenit St. Petersburg’s 3-3 draw versus Arsenal Tula. With the score 1-0 in favor of Arsenal Tula, Zenit were awarded a corner kick which was taken by PAREDES. However, to everyone’s surprise, PAREDES aimed at goal and scored directly from the corner kick!
With the latest news of Lucas BIGLIA’s injury breaking over the weekend, Leandro PAREDES could possibly have a spot in Argentina’s World Cup squad.
Lionel MESSI versus Sevilla:
Leandro PAREDES goal for Zenit St. Petersburg:
🇷🇺⚽ Leandro Paredes (23) has equalised for Zenit from a direct corner. 😮
Lucas BIGLIA is expected to miss five to six weeks following an injury he picked up on Saturday.
AC Milan gave an update on the latest developments pertaining to Lucas BIGLIA’s condition after he was withdrawn in their match against Benevento on Saturday. It appears he has suffered a slight lumbar fracture in his back and should be sidelined for around five to six weeks.
Argentine journalist Hernan CASTILLO has earlier tweeted that with the World Cup just eight weeks away, Jorge SAMPAOLI and Dr. MARTINEZ will need to seriously assess his condition on whether he makes the cut for Russia.
ATENCIÓN: Lucas Biglia tiene una fractura leve en la zona lumbar que no deja entre 5 y 6 semanas en recuperación. El mundial es en 8 van a ver su evolución. Otra baja tremenda. Kranevitter gana lugar otra vez. Sampaoli y el Dr Martínez están en Europa y siguen la evolución.
If BIGLIA isn’t fit enough to the World Cup, the door for Matias KRANEVITTER is now wide open. Both SAMPAOLI and Dr. MARTINEZ are now in Europe and will only make a decision at the end of their trip.
Alarming news for Jorge SAMPAOLI as Lucas BIGLIA was substituted off injured for AC Milan.
Lucas BIGLIA reportedly felt some discomfort in his lower back and left the pitch with 20 minutes to play on Saturday. It went from bad to worse for AC Milan. With the team losing 1-0 at home to Benevento, BIGLIA was taken out.
