Sanchez guides Barcelona to victory in Leverkusen
Soccer Betting Lines
02/14/2012 - Leverkusen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexis Sanchez picked a wonderful time to bag the first couple Champions League goals of his career as he scored twice for Barcelona in a comfortable 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
Sanchez went through the entire group stage without getting on the score sheet, but his two goals at the BayArena on Tuesday may have sealed a spot for Barcelona in the quarterfinals of Europe's most prestigious club tournament.
Barcelona also picked up a late goal from talisman Lionel Messi to put the win beyond any doubt, while Bayer Leverkusen was given a glimmer of hope to progress to the next round with Michal Kadlec's second-half header.
The Catalans dictated much of the play in the opening period but only claimed one goal for their efforts. It came through Sanchez four minutes before the halftime whistle.
The Chilean winger latched on to a through ball from Messi in the 41st minute and calmly slipped a shot past an on-rushing Bernd Leno that trickled into the back of the net.
Bayer Leverkusen came out in the second half rejuvenated and responded by grabbing an equalizer seven minutes after the restart.
Vedran Corluka, on loan from Tottenham, helped the home side take advantage of Barcelona's height deficiency in the back line, chipping a cross to the back post where it was met by Kadlec. The Czech Republic stalwart nodded his effort back across goal, past Victor Valdes and into the far side of the net to level the score.
The two sides were not even for long. Barcelona responded in champion fashion three minutes later with Sanchez notching his second goal of the game.
Cesc Fabregas threaded the needle with a brilliant pass to split the Leverkusen defense and find Sanchez. The 23-year-old made no mistake when he was through on goal as he skipped past Leno and finished into the empty net.
Gonzalo Castro nearly equalized for Leverkusen in the 64th minute when he broke free on the left side of the box and snapped a shot toward goal, but his effort struck the base of the far post and was cleared by the Barcelona defense.
Barcelona struck the woodwork as well as Messi nearly gave the visitors a third goal. The Argentine star beat two defenders to penetrate the right side of the penalty area and quickly chipped a sly shot over Leno, but it hit the side of the post and bounced back into the arms of the German 'keeper.
Messi eventually wrapped up the affair for Barcelona with his seventh Champions League goal of the season.
The Argentine started the move by sending a through ball to Dani Alves on the right flank. The Brazilian could have gone it alone but instead played a square ball through traffic back to Messi, who finished the scoring chance by redirecting the low cross into the net with an outstretched leg.
The reigning European champions now look well on their way to advancing to the quarterfinals as they take a 3-1 lead back to Spain.
Barcelona's three away goals mean that Leverkusen must claim a three-goal win at Camp Nou, a seemingly insurmountable task.
The two sides will play the return leg in Barcelona on March 7th.
Lyon 1, APOEL 0
Lyon, France - Lyon resumed its Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win over APOEL at the Stade de Gerland on Tuesday.
Alexandre Lacazette scored the lone goal of the match early in the second half, guiding the French club to a one-goal advantage at the midway point of the two-legged affair
APOEL goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis was called into action often throughout the opening 45 minutes as the French side peppered the Greek stopper with a flurry of shots. Lyon failed to break through by halftime though, as the two sides went into the break scoreless.
Lyon finally put one past Chiotis and grabbed the lead in the 58th minute. Lacazette collected the ball on the left side of the box and danced inside past a couple of defenders. The French youngster unleashed a shot that took a deflection on its way past Chiotis and into the roof of the net.
Despite picking up the victory, Remi Garde's men will feel slightly disappointed that they did not further capitalize on their vast amount of scoring chances as its one-goal lead sets up a dangerous second leg in a tough environment.
Lyon will travel to Nicosia, Cyprus for the replay at GSP Stadium on March 7th.
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse Silver Knights goalkeeper Bryan O'Quinn was named the Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 15. With regular starter Eric Reed Sidelined, O'Quinn made 17 saves in a 21-4
<< Budweiser Shootout: Return of pack drafting at Daytona?
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date:
Saturday, February 18. Race: Budweiser Shootout. Site: Daytona International
Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 8:10 p.m. (et). Laps: 75.
Miles: 187.5. 2011 Winn
<< Budweiser Shootout: Return of drafting at Daytona?
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date:
Saturday, February 18. Race: Budweiser Shootout. Site: Daytona International
Speedway. Track: 2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 8:10 p.m. (et). Laps: 75.
Miles: 187.5. 2011 Winn
<< Troicki wins Rotterdam opener
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh seed Viktor Troicki posted
a first-round victory Tuesday at the $1.6 million ABN AMRO World Tennis
Tournament.
The Serbian Troicki topped wild card and Dutch crowd favorite Thiemo de Bakker
<< Lisicki, Hantuchova fall in Doha
Doha, Qatar (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rising German Sabine Lisicki and last week's
Pattaya City champion Daniela Hantuchova were a pair of first-round upset
victims Tuesday at the $2.168 million Qatar Open.
Angelique Kerber stayed red hot by comi
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls signed guard Mike James to a 10-day contract on Tuesday. Per team policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed. James has appeared in three games for the Bulls this season, aver
B's reward Boychuk with 3-year extension >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins on Tuesday signed defenseman
Johnny Boychuk to a three-year contract extension through the 2014-15 season.
The 28-year-old Boychuk is in the midst of his second full season with the
Bruin
Hurricanes' Ruutu to miss time with upper-body injury >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carolina Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu is
expected to miss three weeks with an upper-body injury.
Ruutu suffered the injury, revealed by an MRI, in the first period of Monday
night's game in Montreal.
Chiefs pick up DB McCarthy >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed
free agent defensive back Kyle McCarthy, the team announced Tuesday.
The 25-year-old McCarthy went undrafted out of Notre Dame, but was signed as a
free agent by
Orioles sign Jones to one-year deal >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles and center fielder
Adam Jones agreed to terms on a one-year contract Tuesday, avoiding
arbitration.
Jones, 26, is coming off his best season as a pro, setting career-
FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.