Blog (Page 97)

[ad_1] Real Madrid are to face Egyptian side Al Ahly in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on February 8, it has been confirmed. Being the Champions League winners, the Spanish side automatically qualified for the final four of the tournament, as did Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo. They knew last month that they’d have to beat one of Al Ahly, Seattle Sounders or Auckland City if they wanted to set up a potential clash with the Brazilian side in the final, and now know that the Egyptian side will stand in their way. Al Ahly beat Auckland City with ease at the start ofRead More →

[ad_1] As is all too often the case, the individual that lent their name to a significant ruling didn’t benefit from the law change. Jean-Marc Bosman’s disgust at being discarded by Standard Liege in the 1990s ultimately led to the freedom of movement among out-of-contract footballers; a Bosman transfer. However, the litigious Belgian never reaped the rewards of his legal victory, rapidly spiralling out of the limelight before hitting the nadir of an assault charge in 2013. Bosman may not have been a beneficiary, but clubs from across Europe continue to exploit the free agent market. Now that we have entered 2023, players in theRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp warned his squad they must change something immediately after they were thumped 3-0 by Wolves on Saturday. Wolves had scored just 12 goals all season before kick-off but a Joel Matip own goal, followed by strikes from Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves, fired the hosts to a thoroughly deserved victory. After the game, Klopp could hardly hide his frustrations. “Obviously it was a horrible start,” he told PLP. “Two goals which cannot happen like that. But it happened and we were 2-0 down because of our own fault. We should have defended better. We were passive in that period. IRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool have removed on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo from their Champions League squad for the remainder of the season. Arthur joined on a temporary deal from Juventus during the summer but has been restricted to just one 13-minute appearance, which came in the 4-1 defeat to Napoli to open the campaign. Currently out after undergoing thigh surgery in October, Arthur is expected to be back available in the near future but Klopp has made the decision to remove the Brazilian from his European squad entirely. In his place comes new signing Cody Gakpo, while Klopp has also included both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita afterRead More →

[ad_1] Casemiro has been a truly transformative figure at Old Trafford since his move to Manchester United from Real Madrid in the summer. The Brazilian defensive midfielder has dominated in central areas and become a key player under Erik ten Hag, who has reversed United’s sliding fortunes with a brilliant run of results after a poor start to the season. Casemiro is already a modern great thanks to his trophy-laden years with Real, but did you know the name printed on his shirt has a slight mistake? His full name is Carlos Henrique Casimiro. Notice the extra ‘I’ in the surname? Back at Sao Paulo,Read More →

[ad_1] Xavi has thrown down a challenge to his Barcelona squad and prepared a reward should they beat Sevilla on Sunday. Barça have improved since Xavi’s appointment as manager and lead La Liga’s title race by five points ahead of second place Real Madrid. The two giants both play on Sunday and Real can reduce the deficit to two points before Barça play if they beat Mallorca. Xavi has been renowned for setting his squad challenges throughout his tenure to motivate his players and they have often been related to potential time off and holidays, although on occasion the manager has taken his squad outRead More →

[ad_1] Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann believes PSG’s Kylian Mbappe will be fit to face them in their upcoming Champions League last 16 tie. The French forward picked up a thigh injury against Montpellier on Wednesday evening, with PSG later releasing a statement on the severity of the problem which read: “After examinations, Kylian Mbappe suffers from a lesion of the left thigh at the level of the femoral biceps. His duration of unavailability is estimated at three weeks.” Mbappe is now expected to miss PSG’s home tie against Bayern on February 14. However, Nagelsmann does not believe the injury is as bad asRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United midfielder Fred has opened up on life under Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman endured a nightmare start to life at Old Trafford following humiliating defeats to Brighton and Brentford, but the Red Devils have since recovered superbly and are now one of the Premier League’s toughest sides again. Fred has seen his role reduced after the summer signing of Christian Eriksen, but is now set to battle Marcel Sabitzer for a starting spot alongside compatriot Casemiro after the Dane was ruled out for a few months with an ankle injury. In an interview with The Times, Fred revealed Casemiro teased him aboutRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has leapt to the defence of star forward Mohamed Salah after he was criticised for his relatively slow season so far. The Egyptian enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 campaign, scooping several awards and accolades as the Reds won both the FA Cup and EFL Cup, while they came agonisingly close to claiming an unprecedented quadruple. But things haven’t been as rosy for Liverpool or Salah since he signed a new contract over the summer. They currently sit 10th in the Premier League table behind the likes of Fulham, Brighton and Brentford, while the forward has registered just seven league goals thusRead More →

[ad_1] Graham Potter has been at Chelsea for more than four months but is still struggling to figure out what his best team actually is. That is increasingly. The basic numbers reveal that in 15 Premier League games in charge of the Blues, Potter has made 64 changes to his starting XI – an average of just over four changes from each game to the next. The sheer number of players at his disposal, which has only grown in recent weeks, is an obvious reason for that. Chelsea brought in eight new faces in the summer at vast expense – a record spend for anyRead More →