The striker has earned plenty of plaudits – and criticism – for his intervention in British politics
Juan Mata has said his Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford should never stick to football, as some critics have told the striker amid his battle to help children.
In June, Rashford successfully lobbied the government to extend its policy of providing free meals for underprivileged children into the summer months through the school holidays.
Mata has saluted the work that Rashford, who was recently awarded the MBE, has done and encouraged the striker to ignore his critics.
“It’s important for every player to realise the platform that we have, the message that we can get across and the amount of people that we can help,” Mata told the Pitch to Post Preview podcast.
“I’m very proud of what Marcus has been doing. On the pitch, of course, we know how good he is and he is still performing very well but off the pitch also, the work he’s been doing over the last months has been great.
“He has improved the quality of life for so many kids in this country, which I’m sure everyone is proud of. His family should be proud of him, me, as a team-mate, and the club are very proud of him.
“And I think it’s important also to get the message that of course we are football players and our main focus is our professional life, which is training and playing football and being ready to perform but that doesn’t take away from having time to do these kind of things, which doesn’t take any focus away from our professional life.
“I’ve seen some people saying, Marcus should stick to playing football and things like that, which I don’t really agree with because he can do both, as he’s showing. And I’m very proud of what he’s done and he’s getting the reward he deserves.”
Mata also praised his old team-mate Frank Lampard ahead of Man Utd’s meeting with Chelsea on Saturday.
“You could feel from the first day that I arrived to Chelsea’s dressing room that he was a very intelligent man,” Mata said.
“He knew a lot about football and he understood the game really well as a player. You could imagine that he would be a very good manager, like he’s showing now.”
Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid are looking particularly strong, on or off the field, going into Saturday’s game at Camp Nou – Goal explains why
On Saturday afternoon, Barcelona host Real Madrid in La Liga. It’s the Clasico, the biggest game in club football.
Or is it? In the run-up to this weekend’s clash in Catalunya, there has been a greater global interest in whether Cristiano Ronaldo will be cleared to face Lionel Messi in next Wednesday’s Champions League clash between Juventus and Barca in Turin.
And that, of course, is what the Clasico is meant to be all about: the very best players in the world going head to head.
But can that really be said of the latest instalment at Camp Nou? How many of Saturday’s participants could currently be classed among the elite players on the planet?
Of course, Messi will be present – despite his best attempts to leave Catalunya during the summer – and he is the most recent recipient of the Ballon d’Or. It is revealing, though, that not a single other top 10 finisher in last year’s vote will line out for either side.
Sure, there will be iconic characters and potential superstars on both teams but it seems fair to wonder whether the most glamorous annual fixture in football is losing its lustre.
The Catalans could not even afford to sign Memphis Depay – let alone their No.1 target Lautaro Martinez – on transfer deadline day and while bitter rivals Real Madrid are in far better shape, financially speaking, they did not spend a single cent during the summer transfer window.
Indeed, the normally free-spending Florentino Perez has embraced frugality due to current economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and the costly redevelopment of the Santiago Bernabeu. As a result, he has concentrated solely on reducing the club’s wage bill by offloading big names on even bigger wages.
Of course, this unprecedented level of cost-cutting can be partially attributed to Madrid’s desire to make a move for Kylian Mbappe next summer. However, the fact that so many other clubs are practising prudence in the transfer market has prompted questions about the financial strength of the game in Spain.
After all, La Liga is not just dumping unwanted benchwarmers on the Premier League, first-team regulars are emigrating to England too. Leeds United alone signed two Spain internationals during the summer, Rodrigo and Diego Llorente.
Like Madrid, los Che didn’t sign a single player during the summer. Unlike Madrid, though, they sold several starters, including Ferran Torres, Francis Coquelin and, perhaps most gallingly of all for the fans, Dani Parejo.
There are deep-rooted, long-standing issues at Valencia, related to the ownership of Peter Lim. That Rodrigo left Mestalla, then, was hardly a surprise; it was where he went that raised eyebrows.
Rodrigo had been previously linked with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid but he instead ended up joining a newly promoted Premier League team – providing further evidence of a worrying trend from La Liga’s perspective.
When Spain won the World Cup in 2010, just three members of its 23-strong panel were plying in their trade in England’s top flight. However, La Roja’s latest squad featured nine Premier League players. That number would have been even higher, too, had both Llorente and Thiago Alcantara not been forced to withdraw.
The pull of the Premier League is a problem for La Liga – one that Goal can confirm they’re acutely aware of. They know that they are simply not operating on the same financial plain.
The coronavirus outbreak affected every league in the world but it did not have anything like the same impact on English football’s elite clubs. Indeed, the Premier League’s combined outlay during the summer transfer window only fell 10 per cent this year, from €1.65 billion to €1.49bn, according to the CIES Football Observatory.
By contrast, Spanish clubs spent just €348 million – a whopping decrease on last year’s expenditure of €1.40bn. No other ‘Big Five’ league suffered anything close to such a dramatic drop.
There is an obvious temptation, then, to conclude that La Liga is heading for the kind of fall that Serie A suffered in the noughties. However, there are some key differences.
Italian football had myriad pre-existing problems, ranging from complacency to corruption. The ‘Calciopoli’ refereeing scandal in 2006 tarnished the image of the game, while the global recession of 2008 brutally exposed the perilous finances of many clubs, and the companies and entrepreneurs funding them.
Serie A stadia – the vast majority of which were not owned by the clubs – had also been allowed to decay, while the country’s long-standing hooligan problem had never been adequately addressed. The net result was cash-strapped teams playing in crumbling, near-empty arenas populated almost exclusively by extremist ultras groups.
This did not make for an attractive spectacle for television viewers, meaning Serie A fell miles behind the Premier League in terms of generating revenue from the sale of broadcasting rights. Only now is Serie A starting to restore its reputation as one of the game’s great leagues.
La Liga would be facing a similar spell in the doldrums were it not for the fact that its potential collapse was identified during the tail end of a golden era for the national team.
The outspoken Javier Tebas has plenty of enemies within football, particularly in England, but he has undoubtedly overseen several significant structural changes within Spanish football since being appointed as La Liga president in 2013.
Over the last seven years, La Liga has helped Spain’s clubs reduce their debt to the country’s tax authorities by 92% (from €650m to €53m). This is primarily due to the fact that there have been financial restrictions in place – in some form or other – since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
Unlike UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, La Liga’s ‘Control Económico’ is strictly enforced. Whereas European clubs are retrospectively punished for having failed to follow FFP regulations, Liga clubs must prove they are implementing what is essentially a salary cap – calculated on a club’s income – before they are cleared to participate.
For example, despite securing promotion in 2015, Elche were relegated to the Segunda Division due to their outstanding debts to the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), while Real Valladolid were prevented from fielding three new signings last season until they reduced their wage bill.
In order to counter the threat posed by the pandemic, La Liga also introduced a new rule banning clubs from spending more than 25 per cent of their annual income, which helps to further explain why Spanish sides spent so little during the most recent transfer window.
Of course, such prudence will not prevent a talent drain. Top players will nearly always follow the money, given finance is so tightly entwined with trophies. Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have all become title winners and major players in the transfer market over the past 20 years because of the billionaires behind them.
Barcelona and Real Madrid remain – and are always likely to remain – major draws. Their global appeal is historical and cultural.
For many players, Barca and Madrid remain the ultimate destinations, the pinnacle of the profession, while it is telling that the pair have significantly more social media followers than any other clubs in the world. Popularity counts for a lot in an era in which commercial growth and exploiting new, overseas markets are of the utmost importance to a club’s success.
However, even the Clasico duo are hindered by Spain’s tax laws when it comes to wages.
At this stage, so many players and coaches have fallen foul of Spain’s tax system that it has becoming a running joke within football. And there is no denying that it is a factor for players – and, more importantly, agents – when it comes to negotiating moves to La Liga.
As Tebas has previously stated, “Talking about football, tax-wise, we are the worst treated country in the European Union. In England and Italy, there is a better treatment of the income of athletes and that causes a flight of talent to these countries.”
Spain once had the same tax benefits for foreign workers as Italy. The ‘Ley Beckham’ (Beckham Law) played a role in the ‘Galactico’ era, enabling Real to break the transfer fee world record twice in 2009, on Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of a €300m spending spree that also saw Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso arrive at Santiago Bernabeu.
However, that extravagant outlay was not well received in a country in the grips of recession and undoubtedly influenced the Spanish government’s decision to exclude footballers from the tax loophole for foreign workers a year later.
Consequently, La Liga is not as attractive a championship as the Premier League or Serie A for someone looking at a transfer from a purely financial perspective.
In the United Kingdom, for example, income only has to be declared from when a person arrives in the country, while foreigners do not have to declare on what they earn overseas. In Italy, a footballer pays just €100,000 on income earned abroad – and that flat rate also applies to his family.
Tax may be a boring topic for football fans but it’s hugely important. To illustrate the point, think of a player signing a five-year contract worth €25m per annum and earning a further €50m in image rights, €40m of which is coming from abroad.
In Italy, that player would pay €130.4m in tax, and even less in the UK – just €120.7m, to be precise. However, in Spain, the taxman would be entitled to €215m of his earnings.
For now, though, there is little La Liga can do about the situation, which is why its primary concern at the moment is ensuring clubs are well run and financially stable. The sale of TV rights has been key in this regard – and arguably represents Tebas’ greatest success to date.
Before 2015, clubs were free to negotiate their own deals. This meant Barcelona and Madrid – La Liga’s two biggest clubs by a considerable distance – earning far more money than their opponents, resulting in a grossly unbalanced championship.
Things have changed, though. The imbalance has not been completely removed, but it has been acknowledged and is now being addressed.
Thanks to the promotional work done by La Liga, the clubs’ TV revenue has tripled, jumping from approximately €600m a year to €1.865bn a year. Crucially, though, Barca and Real’s share has dropped significantly.
While the Blaugrana (€166.5m in 2018-19) and the Blancos (€155.3m) are still receiving similar amounts of money to before, every other side’s income has increased dramatically – even tripling in some cases.
Whereas once the team finishing in 16th place would previously pocket just €13m, now they’re taking in €40m. Consequently, TV money has now become most Liga teams’ primary source of revenue, accounting for, on average, more than 60 per cent of their income.
Of course, there is an inherent danger there of clubs relying too heavily on broadcasting deals. If people stop watching La Liga because they believe the quality has been diluted by a consistent talent drain, the clubs will suffer the economic consequences. After all, fewer international viewers would mean smaller TV deals in the future.
There is no denying that La Liga’s popularity boomed largely because of the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry at the country’s two biggest clubs. The Clasico became must-see TV for nearly a decade, as two living legends took the game to new heights.
The pair also played pivotal roles in Barcelona and Real Madrid’s European success, with the two clubs accounting for all eight of La Liga’s Champions League triumphs over the past 15 years.
However, it is also worth remembering that Sevilla (six) and Atletico Madrid also claimed a staggering nine Europa Leagues during that same period, resulting in four all-Spanish UEFA Super Cup showdowns, which is why La Liga has topped UEFA’s league rankings for the past eight seasons.
It is that strength in depth that Tebas believes will sustain La Liga through a difficult spell. He has even argued that the potential loss of Messi wouldn’t have an adverse financial effect “because we have already sold the TV rights for the next four seasons.”
Tebas’ argument could soon be put to the test, given the Barcelona captain could well depart when his contract expires at the end of the season, which would be another blow for a league that has lost not only Ronaldo but also Neymar and a host of national team players in recent years.
However, the hope is that new idols will have emerged by the end of the season. Certainly, the early signs are promising. Only this week in Barcelona, two 17-year-olds scored in the same game for the first time in Champions League history, and it is likely that this weekend’s Clasico will be illuminated by potential superstars on both sides.
These are two teams quite clearly in transition. But they will recover. Their colossal support will see to that; in a way, they are too big to fail.
However, the issue is not that Barca and Real are weak right now; it’s that the majority of La Liga’s clubs are getting stronger. Liga leaders Real Sociedad, second-placed Villarreal and sixth-placed Granada all won their Europa League openers this weekend, underlining that the well of talent in Spain runs deep – which is just as well, of course.
Tough times lie ahead. The Premier League’s power shows no sign of waning, while Spain’s tax rules and stringent financial controls will continue to put its clubs at an advantage in the transfer market.
Furthermore, there is no knowing when the pandemic will end – and how much damage it will do to football’s economy.
However, with increasing shares of the TV money, and tighter financial controls helping to curb reckless spending, La Liga’s other clubs are now far better placed than they were in 2013 to compete not only in Spain – but also in Europe.
As one source told Goal , La Liga wouldn’t have been able to cope with coronavirus even five years ago. Now, though, it should not only survive – but continue to thrive in the future.
The Bundesliga champions will be without Serge Gnabry and Corentin Tolisso against Eintracht Frankfurt, but the summer signing is ready to return
Leroy Sane could make his return from injury when Bayern Munich face Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend, Hansi Flick has confirmed.
Germany winger Sane has made just three appearances for Bayern since arriving from Manchester City in July in a deal potentially worth €60 million (£55m/$70m).
The 24-year-old has been sidelined since being forced off in the second half of the 4-1 defeat to Hoffenheim on September 27 having suffered a right knee injury.
While Sane returned to team training on Thursday and is available for selection, Serge Gnabry will sit out Saturday’s game at the Allianz Arena following his positive coronavirus test.
“Everyone is fit. Leroy Sane is in the squad. We are on the right track,” said Flick on Friday. “We’re not planning to start him; we have to go step by step. We have to wait for the game, but he is an option. We are happy about it.
“Gnabry will be out at the weekend. We have to wait and see [when he can return]. We are focused on Frankfurt with the players who are available to us.”
Flick will be forced into a change in midfield with Corentin Tolisso suspended due to his red card in last weekend’s 4-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld.
In four Bundesliga appearances this season, Tolisso has already had as many shots on target (three) as he managed in 13 league outings last term. The France international is also averaging four more duels (up to 13 from nine) and duels won (up to eight from four) per 90 minutes than he did in 2019-20.
“You can feel that he’s enjoying his football,” said Flick. “Last season, he had problems with injuries and then didn’t play too much.
“We sat down at the end of last season and talked. How he’s playing now is how he played for Lyon. A weight has fallen off his shoulders; he’s enjoying football.
“I’m glad he scored the goal; it gives him confidence. He has quality and good results shooting from long distance, but also in the box. He’s also very strong.”
Frankfurt are unbeaten in their past eight Bundesliga games, avoiding defeat in their opening four matches in a season for the first time since 2012-13. However, Adi Hutter’s side have lost each of their past 12 competitive away matches against Bayern, conceding 40 goals and scoring just seven.
The Catalan coach says that sides without continental commitments are in a far better position to prepare themselves for domestic games
Pep Guardiola believes Premier League teams with no European commitments have a “huge advantage” this season as Manchester City prepare to face in-form West Ham.
City sit 11th in the table heading into the weekend, with seven points from four games but, having played one fewer match than most, it can be regarded as a false position.
Wins in the last week over Arsenal and Porto have given the impression that City have settled following a rocky start to the campaign.
However, in West Ham they face a team who have hit a startling run of form, following up a 4-0 home win against Wolves by beating Leicester City 3-0 and drawing 3-3 at Tottenham thanks to a sensational late comeback.
Results that would have felt outlandish in any other season are becoming commonplace, with behind-closed-doors football in the time of the pandemic dancing to an unfamiliar beat.
“It’s why this league was always so difficult and everyone can lose everywhere,” said Guardiola, assessing the strains on the teams with European commitments.
“It’s for this reason, some guys have seven or eight days to prepare, a huge advantage for the other team. We can adjust, accept, handle the situation if you are a player or manager.
“All the teams playing in Europe have the same problem. The schedule is crazy for everyone. For three, four games in a row maybe I decide to use the same squad and other ones I make changes.”
As to whether the fixture congestion, among other factors, could lead to the most open title race in recent times, Guardiola was keen to stress it was too soon to make such a call.
“I don’t know. It’s too early to know,” he said. “It looks like it because there are results not expected, but the situation we are in around the world – not just in this training centre, in our normal lives – is taking an influence in the game. We’ve played four, five games, it’s not much.”
He pointed to his team and Liverpool dominating recent seasons, but suggested that has been out of keeping with the normal scheme of things, saying: “I think before I came here, the Premier League is the most open league in the world, many teams can win it.”
Speaking in a pre-match news conference on Friday, less than 24 hours before his side were due to take to the field at West Ham, Guardiola admitted he was yet to decide on his starting XI.
Kevin De Bruyne, Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte could be in the frame to return from injury but Guardiola has had a long list of recent casualties and would only go as far as to say that “some of them will be involved, some of them won’t”.
The London Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for City in recent seasons, with five successive wins having come by an aggregate of 22-1, West Ham shipping at least four goals in every game.
Such numbers illustrate the progress City have made, given they only scored 22 goals in their last 20 visits to West Ham’s previous ground, Upton Park.
But Guardiola knows his team’s heady run of high-scoring trips to east London could be halted this weekend. For the first time since West Ham beat City 1-0 in March 2009, the London side head into the game higher up the table than their Mancunian opponents.
“The past is the past. We’ve had good results but it’s the past,” Guardiola said. “They played really well against Tottenham – not just the last minute or the second half; they played with a lot of personality. They are in good form, in a good moment for them.”
A quirk of West Ham’s recent run of form is that their results so far correspond to the last time, back in 1928, that they scored three or more goals in four consecutive league games.
West Ham are up to three in a row now – with a 4-0 home win, 3-0 away win and 3-3 away draw – and that is exactly how their 1928 run progressed, with the fourth match in the sequence being a 4-1 home victory.
The Blancos manager heads into the Barcelona clash as a man under pressure, but the boss does not fear he could lose his job imminently
Zinedine Zidane insists he is not feeling the pressure of the sack as the Real Madrid coach welcomes back Sergio Ramos for Saturday’s Clasico.
Back-to-back home defeats to Cadiz and Shakhtar Donetsk have left Zidane’s position under scrutiny and a loss to Barcelona at Camp Nou would only amplify concerns that the team are stagnating.
The 3-2 loss to Shakhtar was particularly chastening, as Madrid fell 3-0 down in the first half to a team missing 10 key first-team players due to an outbreak of coronavirus, marking the first time they let in three goals in the first 45 minutes of a Champions League match in 15 years.
Ramos missed that match through injury but is expected at least to be in the squad this weekend, although Zidane warned he wanted his captain to be at “100 per cent”.
Zidane has only lost twice in nine games against Barca as Madrid boss and his side have not conceded a goal in the previous two, with a goalless draw and a 2-0 win in last season’s meetings helping Madrid go on to win the Liga title.
However, with only three wins in all competitions since July 16, doubts have been growing over Zidane’s long-term suitability in his second stint in the job, and some reports in Spain suggest Mauricio Pochettino has already been contacted over the prospect of taking charge.
Zidane, though, insists he feels the support of everyone at the club, saying: “Yes, [I feel it from] all of them. Ultimately, I’ve won many things with these players; they have made me win a lot of things. I will be with these players to the death. They are the ones who fight and run.
“I can see the support, yes, but for now, what’s important for us is to change the mindset. Games are coming for us to change things. Football is beautiful for that. When things get worse, you have to bring out your character and quality.”
When asked if his future is at stake, he replied: “That’s what is said. Nothing at all has changed. It was the same last year, the same in my first period. It doesn’t change.
“What I have to do is my job, give 100 per cent as always and, to the rest, nothing. We look at the games. We started badly in the sense that, when they scored, it was tough for us to lift our heads.
“That’s football. There are high and low moments and you have to accept them. You have to forget what happened the other day.
“I don’t like being a victim or anything. It’s a game and each one has its story, and that’s the good thing about football. You can go through bad moments and the good thing is you can take that and come back to change the situation.
“I’ve always been critical of myself. It’s the engine to improve. After a defeat, as coach, most of the criticism is for me, and that’s normal. I don’t live in the past; I’m interested in what lies ahead.”
Rummenigge claimed not to know anything about these plans, which are said to be backed by Liverpool and Manchester United, and he suggesed that UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is also in the dark.
“I don’t know anything yet. I have talked to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin just today,” Rummenigge told Sky Sports.
“We both don’t know about it so I cannot give you an enlightening opinion on whether it is a serious approach or just fake news.
“I told Aleksander Ceferin that we are very happy with the Champions League. A reform is being discussed at the moment and the ideas brought in by UEFA are interesting for everyone; for the clubs, for the fans, and for the TV broadcasters. That all sounds very positive.”
“I cannot imagine FIFA and UEFA are working against each other,” he said. “The two presidents have an unstressed and harmonious relationship. No, I don’t think that is possible.”
Bayern are the current holders of the Champions League thanks to their 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in August, and they began their title defence in imperious form on Wednesday.
“Our game was good tonight,” manager Hansi Flick told reporters afterwards. “It was a tough task but we passed it. We were efficient today and I am very satisfied. It is very important to win that first game.
“We were physically present. That was important, to be there, to win those one-on-one situations. We had a game plan and we applied it, scoring four beautiful goals.
“We can be satisfied with it and that is what matters. We really, really wanted to win the first game today.”
Nevertheless, Ozil was keen to point out he would still be supporting his team-mates from home.
He posted on Twitter: “When I can’t support on the pitch tonight, I will support in front of the TV in London. What are your predictions for the match? I go for a 4-1 away victory.” Ozil tagged Sead Kolasinac, Mohamed Elneny and Alexandre Lacazette in the tweet, saying they and Nicolas Pepe would score Arsenal’s goals in Vienna.
“Everybody is free to express his feelings,” Arteta said. “What I can say from my side is it’s just a football decision, that my conscience is very calm because I’ve been really fair with him.
“My level of communication with him has been really high and we know what to expect with each other.
“He has had the opportunities like everybody else. I am sad that I had to leave three players out of this list, which is never pleasant, but I just have to say that I tried to look everybody in the eye and be comfortable with it.
“With Mesut, I have this feeling because I have been very straightforward since I arrived at this club.”
The midfielder says he is delighted to be playing for the Liga side while reflecting on last season with the Gunners
On-loan midfielder Lucas Torreira says he is open to a permanent move to Atletico Madrid after dealing with some “personal problems” during his time with Arsenal.
Torreira moved to Arsenal in 2018, signing from Sampdoria in a deal worth £26 million (€30m/$34m).
However, the signing of Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid paved the way for Torreira to head the other way, with the Uruguayan set to spend at least one season with the Spanish side.
Atleti has long been a landing spot for some of Uruguay‘s best, with Diego Godin, Diego Forlan, Jose Gimenez and Luis Suarez all representing the club. Torreira is the latest in that list, and he says playing for the club is a dream come true.
“I know that I am a year on loan,” Torreira told Ovacion Digital. “I’ve been there for four or five days and it seems like it’s a lot, because I’ve been treated very well.
“It is a new opportunity in my life, in which I have fought a lot, because Atlético has always been one of my dreams, one of my goals as a team, and being able to achieve it at the age of 24 is something very important.
“It all depends on how I go during the season, which I hope is very good, and maybe in the future I can stay in the club.”
The midfielder made his Atleti debut against Celta Vigo, starting in what ended up as a 2-0 win for his new side.
Torreira went on to admit that he was not pleased with his last season at Arsenal, which saw him make 39 appearances in all competitions. He attributed part of those struggles to personal problems, but he is hoping his move to Atletico Madrid can help him refocus and rediscover his best.
“This last season at Arsenal, on a personal level, has not been good for me at all,” he added. “I have suffered a lot of things, I have had a lot of personal problems and more than anything my family also suffered.
“With this adventure [at Atletico] everyone is very happy. The most important thing is to be able to enjoy on the pitch, to be able to help teammates and make the fans happy, because in the end, football is just that.”
Wednesday’s Group B clash seemed to be set up for a straightforward Madrid win, with Shakhtar clear underdogs even before losing half their squad to COVID-19 in a situation coach Luis Castro described as “a nightmare”.
But Zinedine Zidane’s LaLiga champions were outthought and outfought for 45 minutes at their temporary Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano home as strikes from Mateus Tete and Manor Solomon sandwiched a Raphael Varane own goal to secure a three-goal half-time lead.
Madrid also lost at home to Cadiz last Saturday and visit bitter rivals Barcelona in the Clasico this weekend yet at least showed some fight after the break.
Efforts from Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior set up a grandstand finish, but Federico Valverde’s apparent equaliser in stoppage time was disallowed for offside as Shakhtar survived for a sensational victory.
The Ukrainian outfit should have led even before they did as Marlos ran clear and had time to pick his spot but sent an awkward effort into Thibaut Courtois’ legs.
It was not a miss the makeshift visiting side were made to pay for, though, as they repeatedly dismantled a dismal Madrid defence, Tete sliding in an assured finish for the first before having a hand in the next two.
Courtois spilled Tete’s shot at the feet of Dentinho, prompting Varane into a desperate lunge that succeeded only in turning the ball past his own goalkeeper, and the winger’s cute backheel then teed up Solomon to make it three.
Madrid were much improved following the restart but still scarcely threatened until Modric’s sublime strike, finding the top-right corner from 25 yards.
That flicker of hope should have been swiftly extinguished by Tete, yet the star of the first half somehow blasted wide after running onto Viktor Korniienko’s cutback.
By contrast, Vinicius was clinical at the other end, emerging from the bench to score with his first touch as he stole possession from Marlos and swept into the net.
Tete squandered another opportunity, shooting straight at Courtois, and was then just offside before squaring for Marlos to net what Shakhtar thought was a clincher.
Valverde’s deflected 92nd-minute attempt squirmed past Anatolii Trubin to seemingly deny Castro’s men, but Vinicius – stood in front of the keeper – was offside and Madrid were beaten.
What does it mean? Crisis looming ahead of Clasico
Well, that did not take long. Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions just three months ago and are already facing a potentially make-or-break fixture on Saturday when they make the trip to Camp Nou.
If Zidane’s men play again as they did in the opening 45 minutes here, when they gave up four shots, all on target and all from inside the box, they are unlikely to find Lionel Messi in forgiving mood.
Tete takes centre stage
Starting wide on the right, Tete’s ability to drift inside and combine with team-mates caused Madrid all sorts of problems. His only key pass was the gorgeous assist for the third, but he was involved in almost every away move.
Second-half wastefulness threatened to undo his hard work, yet Tete also defended from the front, making two tackles and an interception, as well as contesting 20 duels
BOOOOM! We are thrashing Real 3-0 in Madrid after the first 45 minutes!
What a Champions League game! What are your impressions?
Misery for Madrid’s Marcelo
A series of right-back injuries have seen Ferland Mendy moved across from the left-hand side of the defence, meaning Marcelo must start. But this was a punishing experience for the veteran.
Marcelo was dragged out of position for goals one and three, the victim of much of Tete’s best work, although he did make three tackles and timed a late offside trap to deny his opponent on the counter.
What’s next?
Madrid simply must respond against Barca in a bid to get their season back on track. Shakhtar, third in their domestic league, go to second-placed Vorksla earlier on Saturday.
The former Arsenal boss believes the France international forward is being held back by being played out of position at Camp Nou
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that Antoine Griezmann is unable to express himself with Barcelona because he is overshadowed by Lionel Messi.
Griezmann joined Barca from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019, having established himself as one of the world’s best forwards while winning the World Cup with France.
After firing at least 20 goals in each of the last six seasons, Griezmann scored just 15 times in 48 games in his first season for Barca, a disappointing haul given the €120m (£107m/$134m) fee required to bring him to the club.
The forward has yet to score in four appearances for Barca this season, all in La Liga, but Wenger says that he believes Griezmann still has his star quality.
However, having largely been played out of position since joining Barca, Griezmann is unable to shine, Wenger says, as he is forced to defer to Messi.
“Not playing at his position is complicated in the long term,” Wenger told beIN Sports. “At the start, the guy accepts it but, if he does not meet his needs in the long term and he feels that the position does not allow him to express his qualities, he will become discouraged.
“Today, he is a player who must play in the centre because he has a great work rate, a precision in his passes. He can be dangerous with the last pass and by scoring goals, but there is congestion because he is in the range of play of Messi.”
Griezmann remained on the bench in Tuesday’s victory over Ferencvaros, with manager Ronald Koeman turning to Messi, Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho and Francisco Trincao in attack.
Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele and Junior Firpo, meanwhile, were brought off the bench as Koeman used all five of his substitutes without turning to the former Atletico Madrid man.
The Cameroon superstar has urged his former employers to sign the Borussia Dortmund sensation
Barcelona should target Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko as the long-term successor to Lionel Messi, according to Samuel Eto’o.
The 15-year-old has been included in BVB’s Champions League squad this season, even though he isn’t eligible to feature in Europe’s premier club competition until he turns 16 on November 20.
Despite not yet making his senior debut for Dortmund, Moukoko is the player Barca should be targeting as they look for a long-term successor to 33-year-old Messi according to the Argentine’s former teammate Eto’o, who was twice a Champions League winner during five years at Camp Nou.
“[There’s] a young player who plays for Dortmund called Youssoufa Moukoko,” Eto’o told Goal when asked who he’d love to see as Barcelona’s next big signing. “[He’s] 15 years of age, and he’s the next top player, for me, after Messi.
“As Messi gets older, we could prepare the future of Barcelona very well.”
Eto’o believes that Moukoko could form a dream post-Messi front three alongside France duo Antoine Griezmann and current Paris Saint-Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe, who is another player he’d love to see move to the Camp Nou.
“With Antoine and Youssoufa [up front together], that team would go forward very well,” Eto’o concluded. “[I’d like to see] Kylian Mbappe at Barcelona also.”
Messi appeared close to an exit from Barcelona at one point this summer, having handed in a transfer request following a tumultuous 2019-20 season, which saw the Catalan heavyweights humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals and dethroned by Real Madrid in La Liga.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner ultimately opted to remain at the Camp Nou this term, despite reservations about the direction the club are heading in under Ronald Koeman.
Barca, who begin their Champions League campaign against Ferencvaros on Wednesday, are currently ninth in La Liga after four matches, having fallen to a 1-0 defeat at Getafe on Saturday.
German-Cameroonian forward Moukoko, who was ranked 44th in Goal’s NxGn 2020 list celebrating the 50 best wonderkids in football, is the youngest player to play and score in the Uefa Youth League.
He has already represented Germany at U-20 level, and has scored an eye-watering 134 goals in 86 appearances for Dortmund between U-17 and U-19 levels.
The Brazil international winger, who is now on the books at Tottenham, considers his fellow countryman to be a “top player”
Paris Saint-Germain are “very lucky to have Neymar”, claims Lucas Moura, with a “top player” expected to lead another Champions League charge from the Ligue 1 title holders this season.
Neymar will be called upon to provide attacking inspiration once again in that contest, with fellow countryman Lucas backing a man he has played alongside at club and international level to push PSG into contention for more major honours.
A man who spent five years at Parc des Princes before linking up with Tottenham in January 2018 told Le Parisien of Neymar’s talent: “He’s progressing every season. He’s an impressive player. He started his career almost at the top but he continues to achieve great things. He’s a top player.
“Paris is very lucky to have Neymar. Of course, he will help them again this season, he wants to win the Champions League with PSG. There is nothing more to say.”
While Neymar remains on the books at PSG, the French giants have parted company with two other experienced South Americans.
Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani left the club as free agents over the summer, with both now in English football at Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.
The Spurs forward added: “I’m happy for Thiago. He’s closer to me here in London. I’m happy for him, he’s one of the best defenders in the world, I’ve always said that. He plays for a great team.
“I’m happy for him and for Cavani too. It will undoubtedly be more difficult for him to play in the Premier League. There are a lot of great players.”
As PSG prepare to begin their latest continental campaign against United, Lucas and Spurs have progressed through the Europa League qualifiers to reach the group stage, where they will face LASK on Thursday.
The 31-year-old has sparingly featured for the Red Devils in the current campaign but his boss has revealed he remains a key part of his side
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær has reiterated Odion Ighalo’s importance for the Premier League club.
The 31-year-old has been struggling for game time in the 2020-21 campaign despite his eye-catching performances in his debut season with the Red Devils.
The forward scored five goals in 19 appearances across all competitions last season to become the toast of the club fans.
His fine displays earned him a loan extension at the Old Trafford until January 2021 after teaming up with the side from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.
Ighalo has, however, featured in three games in all competitions in the current campaign involving 207 minutes.
The forward is behind Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood in the pecking order and the Red Devils also recently bolstered their attack with the signing of Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint- Germain.
Despite the limited game time, the Norwegian tactician has assured the former Nigeria international of his future with the side.
“I think, as a team and club, we always want to get players in,” Solskjær said in a press conference.
“I think Edinson coming in will try and do that to the Premier League, and we’ll give him time to adapt to this team and to get his sharpness and fitness back.
“We’ve had some very good performances from Odion and he is still a very important part of this squad.”
Ighalo will hope to play a part for Manchester United when they take on PSG in Tuesday’s Champions League game.
The forward had previously featured for Watford, Udinese, Lyn and Changchun Yatai before he teamed up with Shanghai Shenhua.
Ighalo had 35 caps and 16 goals for Nigeria before his retirement from international duty after helping the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
In Laszlo Kubala, Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor, the Hungarian side brought through three of the Catalans’ greatest-ever players
When Barcelona play Ferencvaros at Camp Nou on Tuesday, you could be forgiven for thinking the visitors are just another group-stage minnow ready for a Champions League thrashing.
As perennial first seeds, Barca are drawn against their fair share of fallen giants, former greats of the game whose glory days are behind them.
But ‘FTC’ are a proud club, and a historic one. Thirty-one times champions of Hungary since their foundation in 1899, the Green Eagles have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, and have qualified for the group stage for the first time since 1995. Plenty at Barcelona will be glad to see them back.
The Catalans hold a historic link with FTC as the Budapest club was the finishing school of a man who, long before Lionel Messi or Johan Cruyff, might have been Barcelona’s greatest ever player: Laszlo Kubala.
Strong, quick-thinking and technically gifted, Kubala was a footballing prodigy, playing for FTC at just 15 and for Hungary at 17. He moved between Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia as a youngster and played for both but, as post-war Hungary came under the control of a Stalinist dictatorship, he made the dangerous decision to leave.
Kubala was 21, disguised as a Russian soldier in a military truck when he fled the country in January 1949. Expecting to be stopped or shot on sight, he and some companions finished the journey on foot, tramping across the mountains into Austria through knee-high snow. From there he went to Italy and briefly played for Pro Patria in Lombardy but, banned from football by FIFA due to his defection, they were forced to release him.
He moved on to Rome and set up a club called Hungaria, a team of political refugees who, in 1950, went on a fundraising tour of Spain. They played Real Madrid, Espanyol and the Spanish national team. Kubala’s performances, and stunning goals, made him an instant celebrity.
Madrid chairman Santiago Bernabeu was desperate to sign him but it was Barca who got their man, though the circumstances of how they managed it are murky. However it happened, Kubala was a Barcelona player, and would soon become synonymous with the club.
The Catalans weren’t paupers when Kubala arrived, far from it. But they weren’t the superclub they are today.
They had won the inaugural La Liga in 1928-29, but went 16 years before winning it again under the progressive coach Josep Samitier, who was still in charge when Kubala arrived. Still unable to play due to his FIFA ban, he was restricted to friendly appearances only, but fans came from miles around to see him.
A blonde, barrel-chested refugee from beyond the Iron Curtain, Kubala was adored in Barcelona and he fell in love with the city – particularly its nightlife. A typical morning saw Kubala blinking into the Catalan sunshine with a coffee laced with aspirin, rousing himself from the night’s exploits with a shower and a nap before rocking up to training with an endearing smile and playing football like nobody had seen before.
He pioneered new ways of scoring free-kicks and penalties and his combination of physical power and electrifying skill made him near-impossible to knock off the ball. An intoxicating blur of drag-backs, stepovers, changes of pace and dead-eyed passing and finishing, he looked like a player sent from the future.
“You couldn’t knock him over with a cannonball,” Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano said. Indeed, it was Kubala’s superhuman performances that helped convince Real Madrid they needed a star of their own, controversially beating Barca to Di Stefano’s signature in 1953.
The league title was out of reach by the time Kubala was cleared to play midway through 1950-51 but he inspired a Copa del Generalisimo win with six goals in seven games, and it was merely a glimpse of what was to come.
In his first full season, he was the star in Barcelona’s historic ‘Year of the Five Cups’; at one point scoring seven goals in a game against Sporting Gijon – a La Liga record which stands to this day. Fans flooded the stands at Les Corts, Barca’s old stadium, and it became clear a new, larger one was needed. Camp Nou was born.
“Kubala was the foundation stone upon which the growth of support for football in Catalonia was built,” manager Samitier said in Fear and Loathing in La Liga. “With him and later Di Stefano [at Madrid], football became opera.”
After the five cups, disaster struck. Kubala was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He was sent to a remote village in the mountains to recover but with their star man missing, Barca floundered and tumbled down the table, unsure whether he would ever play again.
Desperate to fill the void left by his absence, they scouted Di Stefano but Kubala made a miraculous recovery. He had lost weight and hadn’t played in months, but his return inspired Barcelona. They won eight games in a row, rising from fifth in the table to win back-to-back titles for only the second time in their history.
Di Stefano’s arrival at Madrid the following summer put the brakes on Barca’s charge. The capital club flexed their muscles amid accusations of Francoist favouritism, winning the title four out of the next five years.
Meanwhile back at home, Ferencvaros and Hungary had been busy. FTC won the Hungarian title in 1949 with two more talented young forwards playing key roles.
Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor might have gone on to even greater things at Ferencvaros, but Hungarian football at the time was undergoing a revolution. Clubs were nationalised and Gustav Sebes, coach of the national team, used it to his advantage.
A small club, Kispesti AC, became the club of the military, renamed Budapesti Honved. Sebes’ best players were conscripted into the army team, Kocsis and Czibor among them.
Playing together at club and international level, Honved essentially became Hungary’s Aranycsapat, or Golden Team – renowned worldwide as the Mighty Magyars. They won Olympic Gold, famously thrashed England at Wembley and reached the 1954 World Cup final, where they were overwhelming favourites to win their first title.
They collapsed. Hungary threw away a 2-0 lead in the final as West Germany pulled off the ‘Miracle of Bern’. Czibor scored in the final and Kocsis top-scored with 11 in the tournament, but it wasn’t enough.
Hungary had come within touching distance of the summit but would never reach such heights again. The concentration of talent at Honved hastened the decline of the country’s once-great domestic game, and with it the national team.
Hungarian football was a sinking ship which stars like Kocsis and Czibor were well advised to disembark, and Kubala was compelling proof of the glittering lifestyle that awaited them elsewhere.
Honved were playing away at Athletic Club in the European Cup when the Hungarian Uprising began in 1956. Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush the revolution and Honved opted not to return, in some cases hiring people-smugglers to help players’ families over the border.
Czibor went to Rome and Kocsis to Zurich but in 1958, Kubala convinced the pair to join him in Barcelona, while star player Ferenc Puskas linked up with Di Stefano in Madrid.
By then, Kubala himself was out of favour. His antics off the pitch endeared him to most but not to new manager Helenio Herrera, who thought he had too much power at the club and didn’t appreciate his hedonistic lifestyle.
Kubala was out but Czibor and Kocsis were in. Czibor was a whippet-quick goalscoring winger, Kocsis a devastating finisher and one of the most renowned headers of a ball ever to play the game, and they combined to devastating effect.
Herrera’s squad won the league at a canter in 1958-59, beating Madrid 4-0 at home and knocking them out of the Copa del Generalisimo, which Barca won. Madrid dominated the early years of the European Cup at the time but Barca were top dogs domestically.
Puskas explained: “While we were winning the European Cup in 1959 and 1960, Barcelona were winning the league twice on the run. They had a great team and seemed to be able to ‘do’ us any time they wanted. The Hungarian lads took the p*ss mercilessly… even phoning me up to rub it in.”
Kubala eventually outlasted coach Herrera and returned to the side to play with Czibor and Kocsis. In 1961, they reached the European Cup final for the first time and went to it with a sense of destiny, having become the first team ever to knock Madrid out of the competition.
The final was in Bern, the Wankdorf Stadium – scene of Czibor and Kocsis’ World Cup nightmare seven years previous. The pair of them changed in the corridor, refusing to go back into the same dressing room, and lined up against a Benfica side led by another Hungarian, Bela Guttmann.
Kocsis opened the scoring with an early header. Czibor scored one of the great European Cup final goals, a stunning left-footed half-volley from range. Again, it wasn’t enough. Barcelona hit the woodwork four times and Benfica won 3-2.
It was a familiar defeat for Czibor and Kocsis and a familiar feeling of decay which followed. Barca, like Hungary, had missed their chance, and didn’t reach another European Cup final for 25 years. Kubala was crushed and left soon after.
In 357 games, he had scored 281 goals, won four league titles and redefined what was possible on a football pitch. Such was his popularity, at a testimonial match held in his honour, friendly rivals Di Stefano and Puskas donned the Blaugrana as Camp Nou saluted its first true icon.
Barcelona’s inability to cap their domestic success with a European crown meant their teams of the 1950s aren’t now as revered as they might have been but in Catalonia, Kubala has never been forgotten.
His statue stands outside Camp Nou as a reminder of an icon of days past; an icon who not only changed the course of football matches, but perhaps of Spanish football as a whole.
Liverpool may live to regret not signing a new back-up goalkeeper this summer, believes Tony Cascarino, who claims Adrian is the WORST number two in the entire Premier League.
The Spaniard, deputising for the injured Alisson against Everton, was called into question once again for failing to stop Michael Keane’s first-half header during the eventful 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
And talkSPORT host Cascarino admits he’s ‘worried’ for the Reds with the Spaniard in between the sticks.
Adrian has already started two games for the champions this season, and they have both ended in defeat; on penalties against Arsenal in the EFL Cup and the humiliating 7-2 mauling at Aston Villa a fortnight ago.
And Cascarino believes the decision not to bring in a new back-up for Alisson – widely regarded as one of the world’s best – may come back to haunt Jurgen Klopp and his team.
“I think he’s the poorest second keeper in the Premier League,” said the Weekend Sports Breakfast host.
“I spoke openly at the start of the season about how I felt Liverpool needed a new goalkeeper, and that they need to go and get one if they haven’t got a young keeper to come through.
“Adrian started the rot at Villa Park.
“He tried to overplay in a terrible situation that cost them a goal, and it fell apart after that in front of him.
“He isn’t the scapegoat, there were lots of bad performances in that game, but he worries me.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga made headlines for the wrong reasons once again during Chelsea’s 3-3 draw at home to Southampton on Saturday.
A Timo Werner brace and Kai Havertz goal looked to have ensured that the Spanish goalkeeper’s error did not cost the Blues any points, then Jannik Vestergaard popped up with an injury time equaliser.
Kepa returned to the Blues XI, making his first club appearance in almost a month as new signing Edouard Mendy missed out with a thigh issue.
Chelsea opened the scoring through a fine individual effort for Werner just past the quarter-hour, completely outfoxing Jan Bednarek on the turn before slotting past Alex McCarthy.
The German doubled his tally just before the half-hour, again stealing a march on the hapless Bednarek.
Werner raced in behind the struggling Saints defender, chested on and then clipped over the advancing McCarthy – before heading into the empty net.
The 2-0 lead had Chelsea in buoyant mood, with the hosts appearing fluid on the ball and more comfortable in their developing system.
Chelsea were forced out of cruise control just before the break when Southampton pounced after robbing Kai Havertz deep in Blues territory.
Lethal finisher Ings latched onto the through ball, rounded Kepa and slotted home to put the Saints back in the clash, trailing 2-1.
Chelsea held their lead until the break, but will have been hugely frustrated to have conceded having dominated the bulk of an engaging first half.
Che Adams blasted Southampton level at 2-2 ahead of the hour, firing high into the net after sloppy play at the back from Chelsea.
Kurt Zouma’s miscued backpass initially put Kepa in trouble, with the Spain goalkeeper then missing the ball and then later crashing against the near post.
Adams latched onto the loose ball and blasted home to level.
But Chelsea rallied immediately to regain the lead, Werner teeing up Havertz for a neat dinked finish to make it 3-2.
Werner added an assist to his goal brace to drag the Blues back into the ascendancy, with Havertz capping a fluent move.
Jannik Vestergaard bludgeoned home the added-time equaliser from a free-kick that Chelsea failed to clear.
Southampton were back level at 3-3, with Chelsea hanging on in the closing stages.
The final whistle came shortly afterwards though, leaving the teams sharing the spoils.
The veteran midfielder returned to Spain this summer on a free transfer to Real Sociedad after a trophy-laden decade in the Premier League
Former Manchester City star David Silva has confessed that it is taking some time for him to get used to the Spanish game again after moving to Real Sociedad in the summer.
The 34-year-old left Pep Guardiola’s side at the expiration of his contract in the summer, and despite reports that he was poised to move to Lazio instead switched to Sociedad in mid-August.
The midfielder, though, has not hit the ground running in his homeland as the more physical side of the game he learned in England, where he played more than 400 times for City, is proving to be a habit that is getting him in trouble.
“I have played four games with Real Sociedad and I have been booked twice,” he told The Times . “I think I may have a problem with the referees and I need to get back used to it!”
He said, however, that he had similar issues when he arrived at the club from Valencia in 2010.
“I came from the World Cup and barely made the pre-season,” he added. “When I arrived I saw football pass so fast. Everything was flying over me and there was no pause. I felt overwhelmed in some moments.
“I prefer to isolate myself with my people and don’t listen to the noise, but there are some comments that end up coming to your ears and I could hear: ‘This Spanish guy is not going to make it here.’
“After ten years I am very proud to have turned the tables in that regard. When I take stock of my time, I think that my bag is very full. Full of good memories, love, friends and trophies. I can’t be happier about that.”
Silva admits that he is surprised by the way that he grew to love Manchester.
“To be honest, I couldn’t have ever dreamt that Manchester left that mark on me, and surely I would not have told you that on the first day I put a foot in England,” he said. “My feeling was thinking, ‘Where am I going?’ It was summer and it was cloudy and very cold – well, a normal day in Manchester, you know.
“Back then City was not the giant it is now. It was kind of a familiar and close club and it made me feel really comfortable. It is a bit how I am. I loved it and it made everything easier.
“There’s still something from that day, some employers that keep the same essence, but we grew up as a club. The fans and the people involved know where the club has come from.”
Silva’s next mission with Sociedad is a Liga match with Real Betis on Sunday, with his side having taken eight points from five games to lie third.
The Everton goalkeeper crashed into the Dutch defender, leaving him crumpled on the turf, but the offside flag came to the rescue for the Toffees
Liverpool suffered an early injury blow in their Merseyside derby with Everton after seeing Virgil van Dijk forced off after just 11 minutes following a wild lunge from Jordan Pickford.
The Reds were already in front when the controversial incident occurred, with Sadio Mane breaking the deadlock with less than three minutes on the clock.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were looking for a second when their Dutch defender picked up an untimely knock.
Van Dijk sought to get onto the end of a ball that looped beyond the far post. Pickford raced out to meet the Liverpool centre-half and clattered into him, leaving him crumpled on the turf.
An offside flag came to his rescue, with a VAR review deeming that the right call had been made. That got Pickford off the hook as he could have been facing at least a penalty, and potentially a red card.
Liverpool’s frustration at missing out on a spot kick was compounded when, after receiving treatment on the field, a talismanic part of their plans was forced off and straight down the tunnel.
It now remains to be seen how serious the problem picked up by Van Dijk is and how long he will be out of action for.
His absence was felt almost immediately by Liverpool, with Everton dragging themselves back into a lively contest in the 19th minute. With no Van Dijk around to organise at the back, Michael Keane headed home an equaliser.
Fabinho was unable to contain the threat posed by an England international, and he powered past Adrian to restore parity.
Liverpool knew they were going to face a response from their hosts after hitting the front so early in a keenly-contested fixture.
Mane’s goal, which saw him drill home Andy Robertson’s low cross from the left, made history for the men from Anfield. No player has ever been as quick out of the blocks on derby day for the Reds in the Premier League era.
Keeping opponents out has, however, been an issue for the defending champions in 2020-21 and another opportunity to collect a clean sheet has passed them by.
The Belgium international pulled out of their Nations League squad and Pep Guardiola has confirmed he will miss the clash on Saturday
Kevin De Bruyne is set to miss the “next games” for Manchester City, but Sergio Aguero is in contention to face Arsenal on Saturday.
De Bruyne withdrew from the Belgium squad in midweek and City boss Pep Guardiola said he was not able to put a timescale on the midfielder’s return.
With a busy fixture schedule that sees City playing four Premier League and three Champions League matches in the next three weeks, any injury will be a significant setback.
“Unfortunately De Bruyne is out, but the rest of the players came back well,” Guardiola told a news conference. “I don’t think it is [serious], but the next games I think he will be out. We will see.”
The City boss also refused to confirm whether Aguero would be in his squad for the visit of Arsenal and will be careful with the Argentine striker, who has missed nearly four months after injuring his knee in a 5-0 victory over Burnley in June.
Following an operation in Barcelona, Aguero had hoped to be a part of the squad for the end-of-season Champions League tournament in Portugal but his recovery has taken longer than expected.
The 32-year-old returned to training with the first team during the international break and has a chance of being part of Guardiola’s squad.
“He’s trained well and we are happy, we need a striker,” Guardiola added. “We played without them but he’s trained three or four days and we are happy to see him back on the pitch after a long time.”
City have been without a recognised striker after Gabriel Jesus picked up an injury in the first game of the season against Wolves and the Brazilian is still yet to return to training.
“He had an injury in some muscles that mean we cannot take a risk,” Guardiola said. “It is in the front part of his leg and if it’s injured we’d lose him for a long time. I don’t know on the time.”
Guardiola started the season with a slew of injuries but he is starting to get more players fit and available. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is available after recovering from Covid-19 while Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva featured in Portugal’s three matches during the international break.
The Catalan was happy that his players were able to get minutes on the pitch after a difficult and shortened pre-season for many of his squad.
“I never complain about international games, I know how important for the players for their countries, it’s a privilieged and they have to do it,” he said. “UEFA and FIFA have their own tournaments. We want the players to come back fit but they can get injured here training with us.
“Bernardo, Joao and other players could not have a normal pre-season so it was good for them to get the rhythm.”
Raheem Sterling could also be available to face the Gunners despite pulling out of the England squad with a hamstring injury.
The Blaugrana coach has said that the France international must make the most of the role he has been given
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman has told Antoine Griezmann that he will continue to be played on the right side of the pitch and it is up to the World Cup winner to prove that he justifies his selection.
Koeman, though, has doubled down on his choice and has told the former Atletico Madrid star that he must find his best level.
“Everyone has the right to say whatever he wants,” Koeman said. “I spoke to Antoine yesterday because I wanted to, not because of what he said.
“I told him I want the best for the team and I know he can play on the right side and other positions. It’s up to each player to find his own best performance.
“He is already doing all he can do: he works hard, has an excellent discipline and now he must be luckier with his final touch. Against Sevilla there were a couple of times in which he could have done better.
“Regarding his positioning, I remember when I was Netherlands coach, we played against France and he was playing on the right side. It’s the coach who makes the orders.”
Koeman added that he has not taken the situation personally.
“I don’t have any problems with Antoine, I only look for the best for the team and the club,” he said. “My job is to bring out the best performance of each player but I can only pick 11.
“I won’t ask a player to play a role far from what he is used to, and I’m not doing it with Griezmann because he can play on the right. I understand that maybe there are positions he prefers, but we can’t play with two players in the role of the 10.”
Meanwhile, the Dutchman says that goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is unlikely to be fit to play in El Clasico, which is slated for October 24.
“He has been working on the pitch since Monday and he is going well but I don’t think he will be ready for the Clasico,” he said. “I think it’s going to be too early for him. We shouldn’t rush him back because we’re happy with Neto.
“I hope Marc can be with us soon, but it probably won’t be next week.”
Before then, Barcelona travel to Getafe on Saturday before hosting Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Tuesday.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
