Meister der Farbe » happy whatever the final outcome. However, the pr

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Matteo Aicardi is tough to guard in normal situations in water polo. When Italy plays with the man advantage, he becomes even more dangerous.Same for Filip Filipovic and Serbia, Ioannis Fountoulis and Greece, and the list goes on and on.The importance of man-up situations, long one of the most critical areas in the Olympics first team sport, is on full display right now in Rio de Janeiro. Through two days of the mens tournament, there have been three ties and five one-goal games -- making every chance to attack with an extra player a very precious commodity.Extra man, in this kind of sport, the last few years, this is the most important moment in the match, Aicardi said after he scored four times in Italys 11-8 victory over France on Monday.Water polo has three types of fouls: ordinary, exclusion and penalty. The majority of whistles during a typical match are for ordinary infractions, which result in a simple free throw. But intentionally kicking or striking an opponent, disrespecting a referee or using foul language are among a group of actions that can prompt an exclusion, a player being sent off for a maximum of 20 seconds. The player also can return after a goal or change of possession.Its important, the 6-on-5, but its important for defense, because when you lose control on defense it leads to easy goals and easy goals in these close games, you pay at the end, Italy coach Alessandro Campagna said.Exclusions often lead to momentum swings, either through scoring on offense or coming up with a big stop on the defensive side. Exclusions also can help wear down opponents, since it requires field players and goaltenders to work extra hard to protect the cage while their teammate waits anxiously in the re-entry area in the corner near his countrys bench.I think extra-man attack and defense makes or breaks games, Australia driver Richie Campbell said. If you got solid defense in extra man and youre shutting them out, then it puts a lot of mental pressure on them as well as the physical pressure.Italy and France were tied at 1 before Christian Presciutti and Alessandro Velotto scored consecutive extra-man goals, making it 3-1 with 2:20 left in the first. After Thibaut Simons penalty shot trimmed Italys lead to 8-6 in the third, Aicardi helped the silver medalists from London regain control with a goal from in close right after Igor Kovacevics exclusion had ended.Aicardi played with a white mask after he suffered a broken nose during Saturdays 9-8 win over Spain.It worked, he said. I faced one punch maybe and one shot in my face, but everything is OK.Greece and Serbia combined for nine extra-man goals in a 9-9 tie in the first match of the second day. Australia came up empty on a couple of extra-man trips in the fourth period of its 9-9 tie against Hungary. Blai Guell Mallarachs man-up goal with 4:11 left proved to be the difference in Spains 10-9 victory over the winless United States.Weve got to start making stops, said Bret Bonanni, who had four goals for the U.S. We cant let the other team score 10 goals.Playing in front of an adoring crowd, surprising Brazil got five goals from Josip Vrlic and moved to 2-0 with a runaway 16-8 victory over Japan. It leads Group B with four points, followed by Greece with three.Next up for the host country is Serbia on Wednesday night.Croatia, which won gold in London and edged Montenegro 8-7 on Monday night, is tied with Italy for the top spot in Group B. Spain and Montenegro are tied for third with two points apiece.After five games in the preliminary round, the top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Giorgio Chiellini Juventus Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Daniele Rugani Juventus Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Mattia-De-Sciglio-Jersey/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Sami Khedira Juventus Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Blank Jersey . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Toto Wolff admits the pressure is on Mercedes to ensure another car failure does not decide the 2016 drivers title fight between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.Rosberg leads Hamilton by 33 points with four races to go, a gap that was boosted by the latter suffering an engine blowup while leading the latter stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Even though Hamilton can win the next four races and still not claim the title, Mercedes boss Wolff is determined to see a straight fight in the final rounds.Our priority over the coming weeks is to give both our boys the best possible chance of winning the remaining four races, Wolff said. The title is purely between them, which is fantastic news for the team as we can be happy whatever the final outcome. However, the pressure is on to ensure that their battle is decided man-to-man, and hopefully wheeel-to-wheel, on the race track.ddddddddddddMercedes wrapped up a third straight constructors crown in Japan, continuing its incredible dominance of the V6 turbo era which started in 2014. Wolff insists the team cannot afford to dwell on its success with a big rule change on the horizon in 2017.We may already have celebrated our championship success as a team -- but we have a responsibility to the drivers and will not let anything distract us from the job at hand. Likewise, we have an entirely new challenge to prepare for in 2017.While we savour these moments, its going to be a long, hard winter ahead. There is much work to be done in the coming weeks and months - but also plenty of excitement on the way Im sure. ' ' '