Erik Lamela scored for Sevilla in their 2-0 win vs. Fenerbahce.
Lamela gave Sevilla a 2-0 lead going into the second leg of their Europa League match. It was a through ball into the penalty area which found Rakitic and he played a pass to the Argentine who’s effort went through two Fenerbahce players and the goalekeeper.
Marcos Acuña started the match for Sevilla while Lamela and Lucas Ocampos were brought on as substitutes. Gonzalo Montiel remained on the bench.
Giovanni Simeone has been called up to the Argentina national team.
Simeone has been added to the team for the March friendly matches against Panama and Curaçao. The 27 year old has not been included in an Argentina team since October 2020, a 1-0 win vs. Ecuador where he was on the bench.
The last time he played for Argentina was in 2018 in a 2-0 win vs. Mexico. Here is the Argentina team for the matches on March 23 vs. Panama and March 28 vs. Curaçao.
Franco Armani (River Plate)
Geronimo Rulli (Ajax)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Juan Foyth (Villarreal)
Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla)
Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)
Nehuen Perez (Udinese)
German Pezzella (Real Betis)
Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica)
Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)
Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon)
Marcos Acuna (Sevilla)
Lautaro Blanco (Elche)
Leandro Paredes (Juventus)
Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis)
Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)
Maximo Perrone (Manchester City)
Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen)
Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)
Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton)
Thiago Almada (Atlanta United)
Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal)
Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Angel Di Maria (Juventus)
Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa)
Valentin Carboni (Inter)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paulo Dybala (AS Roma)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
Alejandro Papu Gomez (Sevilla)
Giovanni Simeone (Napoli)
The Champions League Round of 16 continued this week and two Argentine players have been eliminated.
Nicolás Otamendi and Enzo Fernández both qualified for the quarter finals with their respective teams. Enzo’s current club Chelsea and his former club Benfica will both play in the quarter finals.
Lionel Messi and Cristian Romero were not so lucky. PSG lost their opening leg 1-0 in Paris and the second match 2-0 win Germany.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions have been eliminated and so are Cristian Romero’s Tottenham Hotspur. But for Romero, it was an elimination and a red card.
He would get two yellow cards and was sent off in Tottenham’s 0-0 draw and elimination vs. AC Milan.
The Champions League Round of 16 continues on Tuesday with the second legs to be played.
Enzo Fernández and Chelsea will look to turn around a first leg 1-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund at Stamford Bridge. After going winless in six matches, Chelsea got their first win on Saturday and will look to make it two out of two against Dortmund.
Nicolas Otamendi and Benfica have a better result going into the second leg. Winning 2-0 away from home against Club Brugge, Otamend will want to keep another clean sheet in the second leg. Here are the two matches for Tuesday:
Chelsea (Enzo Fernández) vs. Borussia Dortmund
Benfica (Nicolás Otamendi) vs. Club Brugge
Enzo Fernández spoke about the World Cup, Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez and the support of the fans.
Fernández was not a starter for the Argentina national team at the World Cup but became an integral part of the team. A goal in the second match against Mexico, Enzo was named as the World Cup’s Best Young Player.
Now with Chelsea, the Argentine gave an interview to TyC Sports where he spoke about it all. Here is what he had to say about the World Cup:
“I found out a week before that I was going to the World Cup. I started to cry.
“At times I’ll be calm at home, I’ll put Youtube and watch match highlights. It was all crazy, I get very emotional.”
In regards to the Lionel Messi and his goal against Mexico:
“Whenever I talk about Messi, I always get goosebumps. I thank him for the way that he is as a person, with me and with everyone. There are no words left to say for what he does for all Argentines.
“Before the corner, Leo told me to go over and play. When I received it, a defender was in front of me. I faced him and hit for the goal. As I was celebrating, Messi came to hug me as if to say “you saw what I told you, you son of a bitch.” It was very exciting.
“Everyone congratulated me, we were very happy. We had beaten Mexico and it was something else, it was all positive.”
When speaking about Julián Álvarez:
“We have a connection with Juli because we played together since River and we know each other a lot. And he knows that when I’m in front, he has to make a move. He knows that and we always talk about it.
“When we entered the camp for the first time, I gave him a hug and told him “look where we are. It’s what we always wanted, no?””
About his chat with Kylian Mbappe during the World Cup final:
“We spoke a little on the pitch. I don’t like to say what was said on the pitch. He said some things but that stays on the pitch. Cuti (Cristian Romero) is crazy. He celebrated the goal in front of him!
“He is a great player, an example for everyone. World class level and he still has a lot to give.”
On what he would tell the Argentina fans:
“I want to thank you for the supported, the love and for loving football so much. Your support was very much felt. You deserve it. I love you very much and I miss you.”
He also revealed the following:
“I took a nap the day of the final.”
About his relationship with Nicolás Otamendi:
“He told me “get ready, you’re going to be there.” He always supported me.”
