Football

Lampard’s Chilwell obsession explained in match-winning Premier League debut

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The left-back delivered an extraordinarily assured performance on his league debut for his new club following on from a £50m move from Leicester

Ben Chilwell was at the top of the Chelsea transfer shortlist all summer, with Frank Lampard having identified the left-back spot as a glaring weakness, and the England man is producing the goods from the off. 

Following on from an assist on his debut against Barnsley, and an accomplished 60-minute display in the EFL Cup penalty shootout defeat against Tottenham, the full-back was the best player on the pitch at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The 23-year-old struck his first goal for the club after Cheikhou Kouyate’s clearance in the 50th minute to cap off what was already a man-of-the-match performance on his Premier League debut for his new side.

He went on to provide for the second, a deep cross for Kurt Zouma to head home to make it 2-0 at home to the club’s London rivals. That was his second assist since joining and his first full 90 minutes on a day when Chelsea hit four in total. Jorginho went onto add two penalty goals to round off a comfortable 4-0 win.

Chilwell had consistent, impressive moments on the ball throughout, demonstrating his stamina on the left-hand side. Going forward he was deadly. And with Mason Mount and Reece James on the bench, Chilwell stepped up to take corners and free-kicks. Deliveries from the £50 million ($65m) defender led to a free header from Zouma and a good chance for Jorginho.

It was the first clean sheet of the season against Premier League opposition for what might turn out to be a defence Lampard can settle on. What a difference seven days make, following last week’s disastrous defensive showing against West Brom. 

Crystal Palace’s threats are well known – a counter-attacking team good at set-pieces – and they have already gone to Old Trafford and beaten Manchester United this season. Chilwell’s speed and stature were crucial against such opposition on Saturday afternoon.

Chilwell met the media for the first time since leaving Leicester for Stamford Bridge this week, revealing that he still prioritises his defensive work and is looking to fix what was a weak backline last season.

“I’ve come here to try and help Chelsea concede fewer goals. If I can chip in with helping to score or creating goals, that’s a positive,” he said. “But myself coming here, the aim has to be to help the team stop conceding goals,” he said in a Zoom conference on Thursday ahead of the match.

Blues boss Lampard has been chopping and changing his defence since taking over and with Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta at full-back – allied with central defensive duo of Thiago Silva and Zouma – Chelsea finally look solid. 

The Foxes were understandably reluctant to sell but eventually had to let go of their homegrown prospect, with Lampard getting his man. In the process, both of the club’s other left-backs, Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri, were unsettled and are now competing over a move to Inter.

Alonso was substituted following a half-time row at the Hawthorns with Lampard that has thrown his future in doubt. The Spain international works better as a wing-back so hasn’t been able to excel when in a back four under Lampard.

The left-backs are part of Chelsea’s overall strategy to offload players and they weren’t in the squad for Palace as Chilwell impressively stepped up to take his place.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Antonio Rudiger were also left out and Lampard found his most complete performance of the season after five flawed games to begin.

Callum Hudson-Odoi started the match despite an approach from Bayern Munich, with the German giants once again making their interest public. Lampard sent a message to his youngster by starting him – first-team football may help convince the 19-year-old that Chelsea is the place to be.

Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic returned from injury late on, with Hakim Ziyech also closing in on a comeback from a knee injury.

There has been a ruthless purge to fit in six new signings in recent weeks, but Chilwell, or ‘Chily’ as they call him in west London, proved that renewal is not only necessary but to be welcomed.

Fixing a defence that conceded 54 goals last season in the league is going to be a priority, the worst such record since Roman Abramovich bought the club. Even signing Anthony Barry as a coach from Wigan Athletic has been part of that particular repair job.

“At the minute, I am working on set-pieces, certainly overseen by Frank, and nothing would ever be done without his blessing and approval,” Barry said in the programme before kick-off.

Amid an inconsistent start, the win shows Lampard’s project has got a fresh outlook after criticism following their defeat in the Carabao Cup.

Football

Bukayo Saka: Arsenal wonderkid could be Nigeria’s biggest loss to England

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The Arsenal teenager is likely to make his competitive Three Lions debut in October, thus terminating any hope for a Super Eagles career

Another one that got away — except Bukayo Saka just isn’t any ordinary player.

Maybe it’s recency bias, perhaps not, but seeing the Arsenal youngster potentially feature for England in their Uefa Nations League game on October 11 against Belgium at Wembley or Denmark at the same venue three days later will rankle.

Many Nigerians had dreamed of arguably the most-talented Premier League youngster at the moment representing the three-time African champions. The loss of Chelsea pair, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, last year was felt initially, but the general feeling afterwards indicated that supporters of the West African nation had moved on in a trice.

Having drawn up fantasy formations including Saka in the Nigeria set-up — in a 4-3-3 alongside Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze on the right flank and Victor Osimhen at centre-forward or in a 4-2-3-1 with the Arsenal youngster in a front four together with the aforementioned forwards and possibly Alex Iwobi in the hole — the sensation’s inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s 30-player squad saddened many in the West African nation.

Further rubbing salt into the wound was the fact the news broke on Nigeria’s national day, October 1, when the nation celebrated the 60th year of her sovereignty. While the breaking story was probably inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, in a sporting sense, missing out on the 19-year-old felt like a kick in the teeth.

Of course, the Super Eagles will move on, just as they did when Abraham and Tomori chose the Three Lions. The continued rise of Osimhen as one of the brightest young frontmen in Europe means nobody rues the Chelsea striker’s decision now. In fact, there’s a feeling the Napoli frontman has a lot more about him and will be Nigeria’s number nine for years to come.

As for the centre-back, despite his promise and composure in possession, the 22-year-old hasn’t developed as many imagined after a bright start to 2019/20 as a Premier League defender.

As it is, the Blues youngster hasn’t added to his solitary England cap — picked up against Kosovo in November 2019 — while he’s arguably not significantly better than the current options at Gernot Rohr’s disposal.

For Abraham’s part, there was always going to be uncertainty over his long-term international career, especially with Harry Kane unlikely to be displaced as England’s primary frontman. Also, the form of Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the presence of Manchester United striker Markus Rashford suggests there isn’t a clear path to regular game time for the European nation.

Given the odd antipathy that grows after Anglo-Nigerians reject the African nation, the schadenfreude that’ll follow if Abraham and Tomori fail to cement their place for the Three Lions will be extreme. This is largely due to a feeling among fans of the Super Eagles that, despite the lure of playing for England, the 1966 World Cup winners have never seemed to integrate them satisfactorily into the side — except for possibly Dele Alli.

While John Fashanu, John Salako, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carlton Cole immediately spring up as players who spurned Nigeria — Fashanu has since revealed this wasn’t the case — but never really flourished, there’s a fear that the same may eventually befall Abraham, Tomori and Saka.

The aforementioned quartet played a combined 17 fixtures for the Three Lions, many of which were non-competitive fixtures, and their careers with the English national team never got off the ground.

Then there’s the pair of Jordon Ibe and Dominic Solanke, two players who pledged their allegiance to the European nation but have just one cap between them — a friendly against Brazil in 2017 for the former Chelsea and Liverpool attacker.

Ibe, who rejected Nigeria in 2015, was never given a chance by the Three Lions, leading to harsh criticism for the former prospect from fans of the Super Eagles.

While the jury remains out on Abraham and Tomori, there’s seemingly been a poor trend with Nigerians with dual citizenship who opt to play for the Three Lions, prompting fears concerning Saka.

What isn’t considered, however, is the talent level of the Arsenal academy graduate compared to his predecessors who either didn’t get a look in or have their paths to consistent game time shrouded in doubt and uncertainty.

With the 19-year-old, there seems to be a high ceiling that, ceteris paribus, indicates he could develop into a gem of a player in his prime.

Saka’s adeptness in different roles makes him an asset for any England boss now or in the future — although many observers feel his versatility could hurt his development as a player — something Nigeria may have benefitted from with his proficiency at left-back and out wide on both flanks.

Months ago, the Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick stated that the country would cease to place players with dual nationalities on pedestals, an assertion that was welcome by supporters owing to previous embarrassing snubs.

“Saka is an excellent prospect but we have other players in his position who are playing so well,” Pinnick said in an Instagram Live chat in July. “We have talents everywhere so we won’t beg people to play for Nigeria.

“It is about ardour and fervour. If it’s their desire and they merit it, they’ll be given a chance to represent Nigeria.”

It’s safe to say Saka merited a place in the side following his meteoric rise at Arsenal, but evidently never yearned for a Super Eagles career.

In that sense, Nigeria leaves with her pride intact. However, given the supreme talent he possesses, supporters will wear a rueful grin when they consider what might have been had the youngster chosen the West African giants.

Football

Dest explains why he chose Barcelona over Bayern as USMNT star relishes ‘exciting’ Messi meeting

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The Bundesliga champions crushed their Spanish opponents in the Champions League but Ronald Koeman’s side won the race to sign the right-back

Sergino Dest went with his heart in choosing Barcelona over Bayern Munich and has vowed to do whatever it takes to help Lionel Messi.

Barca beat Bayern to the signature of the United States right-back, who joined from Ajax in a deal that could eventually cost the Catalan club €26 million (£24m/$30m) .

Dest signed a five-year contract with a €400m (£362m/$468m) buyout clause, opting for Barca despite them being thumped 8-2 by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals last season .

“Bayern are a great club and there was interest from them, but I followed what my heart told me to and for that I signed for Barca. I think it was the right decision,” Dest told a news conference.

“They are a club with so much history and I’ve always wanted to play here.”

Dest is naturally relishing the prospect of playing alongside Messi, who opted to remain at the club for another season after a failed attempt to invoke a clause allowing him to leave for free.

“It’s amazing to play with the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, I looked up to him,” Dest added.

“I will run as much as I have to, I will run for everybody in the team. It will be so exciting to meet the best player in the world.”

Dest is the first American to play for Barca, joining youth-team player Konrad de la Fuente at Camp Nou. Born to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese-American father in Almere, he elected to represent United States over Netherlands.

But he still cited Koeman, who left his post as Netherlands boss to take over Barca following Quique Setien’s exit, as a factor in his decision.

“Koeman of course was an influence, because he’s Dutch and it will be easier to communicate with him,” Dest said.

As for his inspiration, Dest is looking to emulate Dani Alves, who was the right-back for Barca in each of their treble-winning sides under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

Dest, who could make his debut against Sevilla on Sunday, explained: “If I can play this Sunday, it would be great, because I want to start as soon as possible.

“My role model was Dani Alves, a really good player at right-back, same position. Watching his clips on YouTube, I learned a lot from him and I can still learn a lot from him because his team-mates are over here like Lionel Messi and I can ask for advice. I want to be a player similar like him.”

Football

Bielsa is ‘the person I most admire in football’ says Guardiola – but not his most influential coach

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Manchester City travel to Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday in a clash between two of the game’s greatest tacticians

Pep Guardiola says he admires Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa more than anybody else in football.

Leeds host Manchester City on Saturday evening in one of the most keenly-anticipated games of the Premier League season, with two of football’s most influential coaches going head-to-head.

Guardiola has often spoken of his admiration for Bielsa, saying the 65-year-old is “absolutely at the top of the list” as a coach after he guided Leeds to the Championship title.

Now the City boss, who has won eight league titles in three countries in his 12 seasons as a top-flight manager, says there is more to the job than trophies – and Bielsa encapsulates everything he values about the role.

“He is probably the person I admire the most in world football – as a manager and as a person,” Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference.

“I think he is the most authentic manager all the time. In terms of how he conducts his teams, he is unique.

“Nobody can imitate him, it’s impossible, especially his behaviour as a person off the pitch and related to the media.

“I was fortunate sometimes. I don’t see him quite as much – now, when I get the pleasure to spend time with him, it’s always inspirational for me.

“The value of the manager does not depend on how many titles he has won. My teams have won more titles than him but in terms of knowledge of the game, I am still below him.

“His teams are always a joy to watch; how honest they are, they always want to attack and produce good football for the spectators.”

However, on a personal level, he said Bielsa had not been more influential than the late Johan Cruyff, whom Guardiola played under for Barcelona.

“No, no because I’ve not been with him day-by-day, in terms of training, so Johan Cruyff was by far the most influential coach in my life.”

While Leeds snuck past Sheffield United with a solitary Patrick Bamford goal last time out, their previous league fixtures – a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool followed by a 4-3 win over Fulham – suggest entertainment is on the cards against City.

“They are a team who do what they have to do, they know what to do against their opponents,” Guardiola said.

“They fight and run – a lot of people in the box, a good build up and in the right moments a lot of players. It’s a good team, all of Marcelo’s teams are; I played three times against Bilbao and it was always so difficult.”

Football

Barcelona deny Dembele talks with Man Utd and expect World Cup winner to stay

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Ramon Planes, technical director of the Liga giants, has sought to bring an end to speculation suggesting that a French winger could head to England

Barcelona have not held any discussions with Manchester United regarding Ousmane Dembele and expect the World Cup winner to remain at Camp Nou, claims Ramon Planes.

The Red Devils are said to have turned their attention towards the France international as the summer transfer deadline approaches.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spent much of the window pursuing a deal for Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho.

No progress has been made there, though, forcing the Premier League heavyweights to consider alternative options.

Dembele, given his injury struggles and lack of impact at Barca, was considered to be an achievable target for United.

Reports have suggested that the 24-year-old would be open to making a move to Old Trafford, but Planes insists no such deal is on the cards.

Barca’s technical director told reporters when quizzed on the latest round of rumours: “First of all, no negotiations with Man United at the moment, completely deny that.

“He’s a player we count on, we know his potential. We hope this year the team sees the best of him.”

While seeking to bring an end to the speculation surrounding one possible outgoing, there is still plenty of talk of Barca bolstering their ranks before the next deadline passes.

Lyon star Memphis Depay has been heavily linked with a switch to Catalunya, and Planes admits every effort will be made to give Ronald Koeman the players he wants and needs.

He added, with the Blaugrana having opened their 2020-21 campaign with back-to-back victories in La Liga: “We have a good squad, who have competed very well.

“There are always teams to reinforce. We are working with the coach. Daily communication.

“On an attacking level there is great potential and, defensively, it is true that it is weaker.

“We will work until the last day to bring the best and, if someone comes, who can be good. We will not sign for the sake of signing someone. Soon there will be another market.”

Barca do have gaps to fill within their squad, with prolific frontman Luis Suarez having been allowed to leave for domestic rivals Atletico Madrid while Portuguese full-back Nelson Semedo has been sold to Wolves.

Football

‘I cannot have grudges’ – Lampard addresses uncertainty around Chelsea player sales and Alonso incident

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The Blues will be active in the transfer market but it is mostly going to be around slimming down their squad having signed six players this summer

Frank Lampard is readying himself for Chelsea‘s game against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon amid uncertainty in his squad around outgoing transfers ahead of deadline day.

The transfer window closes at 5pm on Monday with a host of Chelsea players likely to leave the club. Ross Barkley became the latest to depart this week, on a season-long loan to Aston Villa.

The latest player to see his future thrown into doubt was Marcos Alonso after he was subject to a dressing down by Lampard in front of the squad before being substituted at half-time away at West Bromwich Albion.

Lampard addressed the situation for the first time with Internazionale interested in taking him on loan in the coming days. The Blues boss approached the subject cautiously but was clear that he doesn’t want to hold grudges with his squad over incidents.

“I am not going to disclose what goes on in the dressing room, I think that would be wrong,” Lampard said of the incident which has since been widely reported. “We were disappointed to be 3-0 down at half-time, I had to make changes.

“All I ask from all the players, through the good and the bad, is that the players stick together. That is the only thing which will bring through a successful group. That’s as much as I have got to say on it. It doesn’t affect anything ongoing.

“I cannot have grudges but carry on. We work, we carry on and be honest with each other and carry on to work to get better and better and things happen over the course of a season they happen a lot.”

Lampard could see Antonio Rudiger leave with Paris Saint-Germain leading the race for a loan deal, Chelsea having signed Thiago Silva from the French club a free transfer.

Fikayo Tomori is likely to stay, and so is Callum Hudson-Odoi despite talk of a loan move to Bayern Munich, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek could make a temporary move. Lampard spoke about the three homegrown stars, with the latter gaining interest from West Ham.

“With every player in the squad, with the situation of a loan you have to consider what’s best for the player, what’s best for the club first and foremost,” he said. “Then see how it stacks up. So with all those three players, I would take those things into consideration.

“I haven’t got an answer for you on any of those three. I have a good relationship with them all, speak honestly with them, again that’s one that we’ll broach player by player in the next few days.

“Once the window shuts every player that will be here will be used within our squad, because it’s a long season and a lot of competitions coming up. We’ll know more on Monday.”

When pressed about Rudiger, who also has interest from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, Lampard said: “No, there are no more developments.”

Football

‘Everything has been said’ – Dortmund stand firm on Sancho as Manchester United saga drags on

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The England winger has been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top target for the summer but the Bundesliga side have repeatedly said he is not for sale

Borussia Dortmund have underlined their stance on Manchester United target Jadon Sancho, with sporting director Michael Zorc claiming there is nothing more to say on the matter.

Sancho has been United’s No 1 transfer target throughout the summer window, though Goal understands a formal bid has not been made at any point.

Dortmund imposed a deadline of August 10 for any deal to be completed, by which time United did not meet their €120 million (£108m/$142m) asking price.

On August 10, Zorc said the Bundesliga side would be keeping Sancho for at least another season.

“Jadon Sancho will play with us next season,” he said. “The decision is final. I think that answers all the questions.”

Now, nearly two months on, United are still believed to hold some hope of a late change in fortunes, but Zorc does not appear to entertain any notion of a surprise sale.

“Everything that can be said on this subject has already been said,” he told Ruhr Nachrichten. “Nothing will change that.”

Sancho missed Dortmund’s last game, a 3-2 DFL-Supercup defeat to Bayern Munich, through illness. Some fans took his absence as a sign that a move was on, but Zorc reiterated he was simply unavailable with a cold. Sancho and Roman Burki, who also missed out, both tested negative for Covid-19.

He said: “At the moment I don’t know [when they will return], especially with Roman. Jadon had a slight cold. We’ll see today.”

If Dortmund stick to their word and Sancho spends another season in black and yellow, it cannot be said to come as a surprise given their repeated public statements as such.

Team-mates Erling Haaland and Marco Reus have said how pleased they were to learn he would be staying, while CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said in August that there was ‘no room for interpretation’ about their deadline for a deal.

Director Sebastian Kehl admitted Sancho may well leave the club one day, but not this year, while manager Lucien Favre has also said plainly that he would be part of his squad for another season.

United, meanwhile, are now left scrambling for an alternative. Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele has emerged as an option in recent days, while Sevilla forward Lucas Ocampos has also been linked with a move.

Football

‘Messi is fired up and working his socks off’ – Sergi Roberto sees ‘desire’ in Barcelona talisman

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A Camp Nou colleague of the mercurial Argentine claims to have seen no dip from the South American on the back of his efforts to leave the club

Lionel Messi may have wanted out of Barcelona over the summer but he is now “fired up” and “working his socks off” for the good of the collective cause at Camp Nou, says Sergi Roberto.

A testing end to the 2019-20 campaign saw the six-time Ballon d’Or winner push for the exits in Catalunya.

Messi had grown disillusioned with life at the only club side he has represented in a remarkable career to date.

A path leading elsewhere was to be blocked off, though, and the decision was ultimately taken to stay put and honour the final year of his contract – with that revelation made in an exclusive interview with Goal.

There was never any danger of Messi downing tools at Barca, with competitive spirit very much part of his makeup.

The 33-year-old has helped the Blaugrana, who are now working under the guidance of Ronald Koeman, to make a positive start to the 2020-21 season, with back-to-back La Liga wins collected from meetings with Villarreal and Celta Vigo.

Roberto sees a talismanic figure giving his all in the pursuit of major honours, telling reporters after a 3-0 victory over Celta: “Leo is really fired up, he ran so much and worked his socks off for the team. It’s important that he’s playing with so much desire.”

Messi was disappointed to see Barca sanction a move to Atletico Madrid for Luis Suarez, but he has found another productive partner in 17-year-old Ansu Fati.

The highly-rated youngster was on target again in his latest outing, with Roberto adding: “Ansu is young, playing, scoring goals and I’m really happy for him, I hope he continues doing that.”

Positivity is starting to flow again at Camp Nou, with Koeman helping to banish the memories of a humbling 8-2 Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich which brought Barca’s 2019-20 campaign and the reign of Quique Setien to a close.

Roberto said of the current mood: “You can see how united we are. We showed it in the first game and again [versus Celta].

“We couldn’t go into games like we were.

“We worked really hard in pre-season, in every training session and you can see that in the games.”

Barca – who have been drawn alongside Juventus, Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros in the Champions League group stage – will be back in action on Sunday when playing host to Sevilla.

Football

UCL: 2019/2020 UEFA Best Awards – Full List Of Winners

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The UEFA Champions League, an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations on Thursday, October 1 presented awards to the 2019/2020 best performing players and coaches both in the male and female category.

The award event was conducted along with the draw for the 2020 season UEFA Champions League group stages in Geneva, Switzerland, Naija News understands.

See the below full list of the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League Best Awards:

Best Men’s player: Lewandowski  – Bayern Munich

Best Women’s player: Pernille Harder – Chelsea FC

Best Men’s Coach: Hansi Flick – Bayern Munich

Best Women’s coach: Jean-Luc Vasseur – Lyon

Best Women’s goalkeeper: Sarah Bouhaddi – Lyon

Best Men’s Best Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer – Bayern Munich

Best Men’s defender: Joshua Kimmich  -Bayern Munich

Best Men’s midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City

Best Men’s forward: Lewandowski – Bayern Munich

Football

Champions League group stage: Barcelona paired with Juventus, Man United face PSG & draw in full

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face off for the first time since the latter’s move to Turin from Real Madrid two years ago

Barcelona will face Juventus in the group stage of the Champions League after they were paired together in Group G in the draw, which took place in Geneva on Thursday.

The heavyweight fixture will see Cristiano Ronaldo come up against Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for the first time since his move to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.

The two men, who have shared 11 of the last 12 Ballon d’Or awards between them, enjoyed a historic rivalry in La Liga, and will resume hostilities in Europe’s elite competition next month.

Barca and Juve have been joined in Group G by Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros, the Hungarian outfit who beat Celtic en-route to qualifying for the main draw for the first time in their history.

Meanwhile, Manchester United‘s return to the Champions League has been marked with a draw against last year’s Champions League finalists PSG, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in Group H.

Reigning champions Bayern Munich will play Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A for a place in the knockout stages, having got their hands on the trophy for the sixth time by beating PSG 1-0 in Lisbon on August 23.

Group D will see 2018 winners Liverpool, who suffered a surprise early exit at the hands of Atletico last term, square off against Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.

13-time winners Real Madrid have been dealt a tough hand in Group B alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Manchester City were handed a more favourable draw against Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille in Group C, as they bid to win the competition for the first time in their history once again.

The last English side to qualify from the Premier League were Chelsea, who will play Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes, who will be making their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage, in Group E.

In Group F, Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge will do battle, with the 2020-21 edition of the Champions League set to kick off on October 20/21, with fixtures continuing through to early December to decide who will reach the last 16 stage.

Football

The Four Players Who Have Scored Over 100 Goals In Two Different Leagues In The 21st Century

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Former Paris Saint-Germain teammates Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani are amongst the four players to have scored over 100 goals in two different leagues this century.

A Reddit user compiled the data and only took into account players who scored over 100 goals in their domestic leagues, not counting those bagged in the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic, 38, has smashed pass the 100-goal mark in both Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1.

The Swedish striker, who is currently in his second spell at AC Milan, has also played for Juventus and Inter Milan in the Italian league.

Ibrahimovic has managed to accumulate 134 goals in Serie A, while the former Manchester United star scored 113 league goals with PSG.

Cavani, who is currently a free agent after leaving PSG in the summer, scored 138 league goals during his seven years with the French club.

The 33-year-old Uruguayan striker played for Italian sides Palermo and Napoli and notched up 112 league goals before leaving for PSG in 2013.

Joining Ibrahimovic and Cavani on the list are Inter Miami striker Gonzalo Higuain and Tigres striker Andre-Pierre Gignac.

Posted below are the 100-plus goals each player scored and which leagues they did them in as well.

  • Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Serie A (134) & Ligue 1 (113)
  • Edinson Cavani: Ligue 1 (138) & Serie A (112)
  • Gonzalo Higuain: Serie A (125) & La Liga (107)
  • Andre-Pierre Gignac: Liga MX (120) & Ligue 1 (103)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez are amongst the players to have scored 100 goals or more in at least one league, though neither player has hit that same milestone in another league yet.

Posted below are the players who have scored at least 100 goals in one league, but are still short of reaching that feat in another.

  • Luis Suarez: La Liga (146), Eredivisie (91) & Premier League (69)
  • Fernando Torres: La Liga (103) & Premier League (85)
  • Cristiano Ronaldo: La Liga (311), Premier League (84) & Serie A (55)
  • Andriy Shevchenko: Serie A (127) & Ukrainian Premier League (83)
  • Robbie Keane: Premier League (125) & MLS (83)
  • Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: Eredivisie (148) & Bundesliga (82)
  • Roy Makaay: La Liga (100), Bundesliga (78) & Eredivisie (78)
  • David Villa: La Liga (185) & MLS (77)
  • Sergio Aguero: Premier League (180) & La Liga (74)

Football

Jadon Sancho: Manchester United expected to make bid for Borussia Dortmund winger this week

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Manchester United are expected to make an official bid for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho this week.

United have not given up on trying to sign the 20-year-old England international, despite missing the August 10 deadline the Bundesliga club set for the deal to be completed.

The Dortmund hierarchy have stated on several occasions – before and after the deadline – that if it was not met Sancho would remain at the club, but rumblings have continued over United submitting a bid before the international transfer window closes on October 5.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dortmund captain Marco Reus told Sky in Germany that Sancho is staying for one more year. Asked if Sancho had made the right call to stay and had the potential to be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo, Reus said: “For us players, that was great news.

“We all were happy that he will be with us for one more year because he delivers assists and goals, so we get points.

“If he gets as big as (Lionel) Messi or Ronaldo, we will see. He needs time, experience and it will be important how he manages the times when things don’t go so well. But he has the confidence and the quality.”

Football

Guardiola: Dias will be an incredible player for Man City for six or seven years

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The Spanish boss heaped praise on his new signing after taking down Burnley in the Carabao Cup

Pep Guardiola says that he believes Ruben Dias can be a key figure for Manchester City for “six or seven years” after sealing a deal for the Portuguese defender.

Manchester City completed a £62 million ($79m) move for the defender on Tuesday, with Dias signing a six-year deal with Guardiola’s side.

Part of that cost was offset by a move for Nicolas Otamendi, who completed a move in the opposite direction to Benfica in a deal worth £14m ($17m).

Dias heads to Manchester having already won 19 caps for Portugal and emerging as a star as part of the Benfica set-up.

And Guardiola says that he believes that Dias can be a mainstay for City for years to come as the defender should jump right into matches with his new club.

“I have to thank Nicolas Otamendi, part of the incredible success we have had in recent years,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “The season we won the league with 100 points he was incredible.

“He played with a broken ankle, with 20 stitches, he had a great mentality so I wish him and his family all the best. He will be one of the things I will always remember about this club.

“We know Ruben Dias’s personality and I am sure he will be an incredible player for the next six or seven years.

“We’re very happy to have him. Our back four are now a young team. We start training tomorrow and get going as quick as possible.”

Manchester City cruised past Burnley on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, winning 3-0 behind a brace from Raheem Sterling and a goal from summer signing Ferran Torres.

Guardiola was full of praise for the Spanish star, and his side in general, as City now look ahead to a must-watch clash with free-flowing Leeds this weekend.

“[It was] important we didn’t concede and the team was good in general. We are still far away from our best because we’re not training much. We have a lot of players out, six because of Covid and four injuries,” Guardiola said.

“But step by step when we have all the squad we will get better. I hope we won’t be far away from the people up front but we are in the quarter-finals of this competition again so it’s good.

“When you lose a game the most important thing is the next one. Firstly, because if you lose in this competition, you’re out. Secondly because we have just two games before the international break and some players need to play, we didn’t have a pre-season so that’s important we have to give them minutes.

“Ferran Torres needs to improve some things, because we haven’t trained much or spoke much. He has the skills, he’s young, he’s aggressive he can play on both sides, he’s so clever it’s not cross to cross he is always watching what’s happening.”

Football

Zidane unsure how long ‘upset’ Hazard will be sidelined after latest Real Madrid setback

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The Belgian star is struggling physically and mentally after another blow

Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane is unsure how long Eden Hazard will be sidelined, but said the attacker was “upset” after another injury setback.

Hazard, 29, is enduring a torrid run in Madrid, and is yet to make an appearance this season, with doubts now over whether he’ll fit for El Clasico later this month.

The Belgium international was ready to return from an ankle problem, but suffered a muscle injury that saw him miss Wednesday’s 1-0 La Liga victory over Real Valladolid.

Zidane is unsure how long Hazard, signed from Chelsea last year, will be unavailable.

“I can’t tell you how long it’ll be. He picked up a bit of a knock in training before the game,” he told a news conference.

“It looked like a muscle spasm but in the end it turned out to be a bit more than that. It’s something muscular. It’s nothing to do with the injury he’s had and these things happen.

“He’s been out for a long time. I don’t think this one will be long but I can’t tell you exactly.”

Hazard has struggled to impress since arriving at Madrid, where he scored one goal and provided three assists in 16 La Liga appearances last season.

Zidane said the former Lille star was disappointed after his latest injury but stressed the importance of keeping it in perspective.

“He’s upset because he was all right. We talked about it at the press conference before the match, but he’s had a setback and these things can happen,” he said.

“He’s not happy, he knows that it’s not a big thing and we have to take it easy with him. It’s a question of little time, I’m sure.”

After earning seven points from their opening three La Liga games, Madrid visit Levante on Sunday.

Hazard’s team-mate Thibaut Courtois sympathised with the Belgian star post-match and is hopeful he can bounce back quickly. 

“Hazard is a little sad, he was training very well, it’s a little setback. It’s not the ankle,” Courtois said. “I hope he’s back soon. Hazard was looking forward to playing again.”

Football

‘You’d go to war for Messi’ – De Paul praises Argentina star’s leadership

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The Barcelona star is a source of great inspiration for his international team-mates

Rodrigo De Paul has admitted he’d go to war for Argentina captain Lionel Messi and revealed a lighter side to the Barcelona star. 

Messi was first named captain of his nation in 2011 and has also been handed the armband at Camp Nou. 

De Paul, who earned his first international cap in 2018 and plays at club level for Udinese, has emerged as a regular for Argentina over the past year and has clearly savoured playing alongside Messi.

While the six-time Ballon d’Or winner could overawe his team-mates, De Paul stressed Messi’s openness has made him an ideal leader. 

“You look up to him obviously, but when you start sharing things with him, he is so transparent that instead of telling him what you think of him, you feel more like asking him about his little kids or of reminding him of the time he took you out with his studs up in a Valencia-Barcelona game,” De Paul told FIFA.com.

“When he becomes your captain, you’d go to war for him if he asked you to.

“The key thing is that everyone knows what they’re expected to do, nobody is trying to hog the headlines. The only untouchable one is Leo. The rest of us contribute by doing whatever is asked of us.”

While Messi has become an important leader for Argentina, he’s still up for a few jokes with De Paul, who has been dubbed the team’s biggest joker. 

“That’s what they say, but sometimes I’ll just throw an idea out and some others will quickly run with it…Tucu Pereyra, Leo Paredes…Even Messi himself will join in – I’m not the only one,” he said. 

De Paul was also quick to defend Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who has often been criticised by fans and pundits for his bold team selection.

“He may lack experience as a head coach, but he has 30 years’ experience of the dressing room,” De Paul said.

“He understands how groups work, knows his trade, came up through the national youth teams, played at a World Cup.

“I don’t know how many people would have had the determination to implement the changes he made or to call up players not among the top teams in world football.” 

Football

Lionel Messi Beats Cristiano Ronaldo In Top 50 Athletes List

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Lionel Messi has been named No 1 in SportsPro’s 2020 list of the World’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes, with his rival Cristiano Ronaldo finishing in second spot.

The two lead the field globally, ahead of NBA star LeBron James and India cricket captain Virat Kohli, but it’s a shock to see the Barcelona player placed ahead of his rival at Juventus.

CR7 has often been listed as the world’s most marketable athlete and is the planet’s most followed person on Instagram (238 million compared to Messi’s 167 million).

But Messi is the reigning Ballon d’Or winner and SportsPro’s study allowed for factors such as “social following, content engagement, fanbase growth over time, media value, and the performance of branded versus organic content.”

There is an argument that because Ronaldo is seen to work with a greater number of sponsors and brands than Messi, the Argentine might be perceived as therefore more valuable to those he does choose to endorse.

SportsPro admitted it was “narrow” between the pair, who are undoubtedly the two most high-profile sportspeople on the planet. And there can be little argument with their putting the face of the NBA James in third, while Kohli – a sporting idol across India – is in fourth.

The top five is rounded out by the highest-placed female athlete: Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019.

Football players dominate the list with three more in the top 10 alone: Brazil superstar Neymar (sixth), Liverpool’s Mo Salah (ninth) and Ronaldo’s teammate at Juventus, Paulo Dybala (10th).

In a surprise, the highest combat sports athlete is not Conor McGregor but his UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, who takes seventh spot. Perhaps there is a feeling ‘The Notorious’ has damaged his standing with his outside the Octagon antics.

Anthony Joshua comes in at 31st, just ahead of his would-be heavyweight opponent Tyson Fury in 32nd (oddly, Mexican multi-weight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is absent altogether). However the highest British athlete overall is Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 ace who is in 21st place.

As usual, there’s a desire to show a variety of sports and to include some new names, which arguably skews the rankings (are there really 34 more marketable athletes on the planet than Roger Federer, who comes in at 35th?). But there’s plenty of interesting choices.

SportsPro’s full top 50 is below.

50. Russell Westbrook (Basketball)

49. Mikaela Shiffrin (Skiing)

48. Ashleigh Barty (Tennis)

47. Dorothea Wierer (Biathlon)

46. Katelyn Ohashi (Gymnastics)

45. Katrin Davidsdottir (Crossfit)

44. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Basketball)

43. Zion Williamson (Basketball)

42. Anthony Davis (Basketball)

41. Carissa Moore (Surfing)

40. Bethany Hamilton (Surfing)

39. Dele Alli (Soccer)

38. Kelia Termini (Surfing)

37. Charles Leclerc (Motorsport)

36. Luka Doncic (Basketball)

35. Roger Federer (Tennis)

34. Son Heung-min (Soccer)

33. Naomi Osaka (Tennis)

32. Tyson Fury (Boxing)

31. Anthony Joshua (Boxing)

30. Tom Brady (US Football)

29. Anna Gasser (Snowboarding)

28. Rafael Nadal (Tennis)

27. Sky Brown (Skateboarding)

26. Patrick Mahomes (US Football)

25. Megan Rapinoe (Soccer)

24. Jorge Masvidal (MMA)

23. Virgil van Dijk (Soccer)

22. Dina Asher-Smith (Athletics)

21. Lewis Hamilton (Motorsport)

20. Robert Lewandowski (Soccer)

19. Paul Pogba (Soccer)

18. Coco Gauff (Tennis)

17. Alex Morgan (Soccer)

16. Erling Haaland (Soccer)

15. Kylian Mbappe (Soccer)

14. Simone Biles (Gymnastics)

13. Steph Curry (Basketball)

12. Ryan Garcia (Boxing)

11. Eden Hazard (Soccer)

10. Paulo Dybala (Soccer)

9. Mohamed Salah (Soccer)

8. Rohit Sharma (Cricket)

7. Khabib Nurmagomedov (MMA)

6. Neymar Jr (Soccer)

5. Bianca Andreescu (Tennis)

4. Virat Kohli (Cricket)

3. LeBron James (Baskeball)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer)

1. Lionel Messi (Soccer)

Football

Juve work in progress, says Pirlo after Roma draw

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Pirlo was a surprising choice to succeed sacked coach Maurizio Sarri in August, as he had no previous coaching experience and had been appointed as the club’s Under-23 coach just a week earlier.

The Italian champions failed to impress in the capital and had a Cristiano Ronaldo double to thank as they came from behind twice, the second time while down to 10 men after Adrien Rabiot was shown a second yellow card.

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo was disappointed by his side’s performance in Sunday’s 2-2 Serie A draw at AS Roma but explained that his side was still a “work in progress”.

The Italian champions failed to impress in the capital and had a Cristiano Ronaldo double to thank as they came from behind twice, the second time while down to 10 men after Adrien Rabiot was shown a second yellow card.ADVERTISINGAds by Teads

“It was a step backwards, but as a team we are a work in progress,” Pirlo told Sky Italia. “We haven’t had the chance to try much out in pre-season because there were practically no friendly matches.”

Pirlo was a surprising choice to succeed sacked coach Maurizio Sarri in August, as he had no previous coaching experience and had been appointed as the club’s Under-23 coach just a week earlier.

He oversaw an impressive 3-0 win against Sampdoria on his debut last weekend, but pointed out that new signings like striker Alvaro Morata and midfielder Arthur Melo are yet to be fully integrated.

“In the end it was one point gained,” he said. “Morata arrived two days ago, Arthur hasn’t played for six months and needs to adapt to Italian football, even though he did well when he came on.”

Pirlo was questioned about Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan side, who appear to be the most likely challengers to Juventus in their quest for a 10th consecutive Serie A title.

“They are certainly stronger than they were last year and have strengthened,” he said. “I don’t know if they are therefore better than us. We will certainly be battling it out until the end.”

Football

Cristiano Ronaldo Stat Proves He’s Become A Better Goal Scorer Since Turning 30

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Cristiano Ronaldo is aging like a fine wine as his current goal stat shows that he has become a better goal scorer as time passes.

The Juventus superstar is continuing where he left off earlier this year as stats from Pro Football DB revealed that Ronaldo’s goal average has increased after turning 30 years old.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tallied a total of 463 goals in 718 matches before turning 30 with an average of 0.64. Since then, “CR7” has become more efficient on the pitch and scored 279 goals in 299 matches to improve his average to 0.93.

At 35, Ronaldo has reaped the record books last season for the Old Lady. One of his latest accolades came in the derby against Torino on July 4. Ronaldo netted a free-kick goal, and in the process, set a new Serie A record. The phenomenal goal saw Ronaldo becoming the first player in 60 years to hit 25 goals for Juventus in a single Serie A season.

He followed it up by completing 50 career Serie A goals with his brace against Lazio on July 20, making him the first player in history to score 50 goals in Italy, England, Spain and the Champions League.

In the final match of Week 2 of the current Serie A season, Ronaldo once again proved that age is just a number with his sensational giant leap to score an equalizer against AS Roma Sunday. The 35-year-old came to the rescue after Adrien Rabiot was sent off, reducing Juve’s squad to just 10 men.

Ronaldo’s first goal came from the penalty spot after Lorenzo Pellegrini blocked his attempted shot with an extended arm. The second, however, saved the reigning Serie A champion from suffering its first loss of the season as Ronaldo soared for the ball and hung in the air to guide Danilo’s cross past Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.

The goal was indeed a thing of beauty as the Juventus talisman managed to hit the back of the net after hitting the ball using his head.

Despite scoring a highlight-worthy goal, Ronaldo admitted that the team endured a difficult match. He also lauded newly-appointed Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo for building camaraderie in the team.

“It was an important point, it was a difficult game, we went twice behind, we were ten. We are at the beginning of the championship, with a new coach, with new ideas, we have to work but I see a great future for this team,” Ronaldo told Sky Sports after the match.

“With Pirlo, the team works harder and is happier,” he added. “The Italian league has so many strong teams, there is Inter, there is Milan, it is more difficult this year.”

Football

The incredible story of Ronaldo’s training regime that left a PL coach in shock

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Former Newcastle Jets manager Scott Miller has recalled how he was left in awe by Cristiano Ronaldo’s insane regime on a visit to Real Madrid’s training ground once.

Miller, who is a coach in the NPL in Melbourne, used to be involved in a coaching capacity at Premier League side Fulham and was asked to join new signing Mahamadou Diarra in Spain to do some training while the Malian player was at the west London club.

He retold the story to Adam Peacock on the Fox Football Podcast about how an early-morning arrival one day meant he managed to run into the former Real Madrid icon and see his dedication to his fitness first hand.

“I remember I went to Real Madrid years ago with a player called Mahamadou Diarra,” he said. “He was a Galactico and an amazing player and we signed him at Fulham.

“He had to go to Spain for a few weeks so I joined him, on one of those ‘I’ll help you’ trips. All expenses paid, we trained three or four times a day and ate beautiful food at night. If you’re sitting at a dining table with a Galactico of Real Madrid, you feel like a rockstar, so it wasn’t a bad couple of weeks.

“We trained at Real Madrid’s training ground every day because he’s a God there. And the first day, we get picked up and driven there in this car and the driveway to the training ground is quite long.

“I see this stick figure miles away, this tiny little figure training. Bang! Hitting these balls. I said ‘who’s that?’ and he says ‘it’s Cristiano’ and I said ‘who?’ and he said ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’.

“I looked at my watch and it was like 7.15 in the morning. I said ‘what’s he doing?’, because in Europe training usually starts at 10.30am, players in for 8.30/9am, training at 10.30am. It’s basically a part-time job – the best job in the world starting at 10.30am.

“So he’s there at 7.15am and I’m thinking ‘what is this? What’s going on?’ And he goes ‘every morning he’ll be there. Every morning’. It’s either in the gym or on the pitch every morning and this was back in 2012 I think.

“He’s obviously conditioned to do that. We would then go and do our gym workout and he would come in and join the rest of the team for breakfast, and he’s already done a session. And that was Ronaldo.

“And we’re talking about COVID and the impacts of training or lack of ability to do it and then I’m looking at one of the best players, if not the best player in the world out there training by himself at 7.15am when he’s got everything in the world that he needs.

“So that to me is inspiration enough and I tell that story to kids and they don’t want to go home. They want to train everyday. Because that’s what it takes.”

Football

Juventus superstar tipped to still be playing at 40

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Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most accomplished footballers in the world and the Portuguese attacker is set to keep playing until he is 40, according to his national team manager, Fernando Santos.

The Portuguese attacker has shattered goal records at the different clubs that he has played for and at the age of 35, he is still going very strong at Juventus. He scored 450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid before moving to Turin and he has already scored 68 goals in 91 matches for the Bianconeri.

He has also netted 101 times for the Portugal national team. After netting twice in Juve’s 2-2 draw against AS Roma the last time, it is clear to see that he will be around for a long time.

Fernando Santos has been the manager of the Portugal national team since 2014 and he has managed the talented frontman since that time.

They won the Euro2016 together as well as the Euro Nations League last year.

Quoted by TuttoJuve, he said: ‘I don’t know if it will happen, because he might feel like he’s no longer at the top physically or technically, but Cristiano Ronaldo can play until he’s 40. He won’t lower his level, he’s going to stop if he finds out. If he understands he can’t be Ronaldo it won’t be Ronalndinho. Of course I’m not talking about the Brazilian.”

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