Joao Felix Archives

Joao Felix says late Jota ‘will forever be part of football history’

Joao Felix said on Monday that Portugal team-mate and close friend Diogo Jota will “forever be a part of football history” following the Liverpool star’s death aged 28.

Jota was killed along with his brother Andre Silva when their Lamborghini went off the road in northern Spain on July 3.

Just 11 days prior to the accident, the Portuguese forward had married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.

The Premier League remembered Jota over the weekend in a series of moving tributes.

Adding his voice to the outpouring of grief across the football world, Felix looked visibly moved as he spoke about his good friend and international colleague.

Felix, who was among the mourners at the brothers’ funeral, said: “Diogo to me was one of my best friends in the national team, he was always part of our mini group in the national team, those of us who were always together.

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“I knew his family, especially his parents, an incredible family.”

Speaking in Hong Kong, where Joao Felix is with his new team, Al Nassr, for this week’s Saudi Super Cup, the 25-year-old added: “I think he will forever be a part of football history, he will remain in the hearts of those who were already close to him.

“After that day, every time we go on the field, we will remember him and play in part for him.”

The attacker Felix joined fellow Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr late last month, moving from Chelsea in a reported deal worth up to 43.7 million pounds ($58 million).

Felix, who has also played for Benfica, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and AC Milan, will reportedly earn $10 million per year.

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La Liga: Joao Felix on target as Barcelona thump Atletico Madrid

MADRID: Joao Felix opened the scoring for Barcelona and guided them to a 3-0 victory against his parent club Atletico Madrid at Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday during the ongoing La Liga 2023-24.

Barcelona became the first team to defeat Atletico Madrid at their home stadium this season, breaking their 25-game undefeated streak at Metropolitano Stadium.

Notably, Atletico’s last home defeat also came against the Catalans in January 2023.

With this victory, the defending champions displaced Girona at the second position in the La Liga standings only behind Real Madrid.

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Felix, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid, gave the visitors an early advantage with a 38th-minute goal after he found Robert Lewandowski’s cross and hit from the centre of the box.

Lewandowski himself also got his name on the scoring sheet and doubled the advantage in the early minutes of the second half with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box.

The Polish striker provided another assist as Fermin Lopez powered a header in the 65th minute to make it 3-0.

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Barcelona are unbeaten in the last 10 matches since their coach Xavi announced that he would leave at the end of the season.

“I’ll push the (players) more than ever,” Xavi told DAZN, refusing to throw in the towel on Barcelona’s title defence.

“And now that I’m leaving, even more so — we will try to improve and compete for La Liga and the Champions League, the two most important trophies.”

Meanwhile, in another La Liga clash Rayo Vallecano edged Real Betis 2-0, while Villarreal and Almeria Almeria registered 1-0 victories over Valencia and Las Palmas respectively.

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Joao Felix rescues Atletico Madrid from home defeat against Espanyol

MADRID: Joao Felix came off the bench to save a point for Atletico Madrid against 10-man Espanyol in a 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano on Sunday.

The home side had a chance to cut their deficit to six points on Real Madrid, which will take on Rayo Vallecano today, but eventually finished in third with 10 points behind table-topper Barcelona.

The game had begun with some jeers from the crowd following Atletico’s exit from the Champions League, and the mood did not ameliorate as the side struggled to take down the visitors.

Leandro Cabrera’s send-off in the first half appeared to be a perfect set-up for the hosts, yet they fell behind despite having an extra man after Sergio Darder volleyed past Jan Oblak in the 62nd minute.

Joao Felix arrived to score the equalizer with a little over 10 minutes remaining, but a draw still proved to be a disappointing outcome for Atletico’s coach Diego Simeone in the circumstances.

Meanwhile, in the second fixture on Sunday, Samuel Lino denied Real Sociedad a home win as Valencia finished in a 1-1 draw at Anoeta Stadium.

Mallorca, on the other hand, sealed a sensational 2-0 win over Villareal thanks to the superb strikes by Vedat Muriqi and Amath.

Whereas, at Estadio Benito Villamarín, visitors Sevilla held off Real Betis with a late equalizer by Nemanja Gudelj after the home side was down to nine-man.

The action-filled matches of LaLiga 2022-23 are being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and is simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

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