Month: July 2020

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WE ARE NOT AFTER THE RECORD – KLOPP

Liverpool are on course to beat Manchester City’s mark of 100 points in a Premier League campaign but the champions are not focused on breaking records, manager Juergen Klopp has said.

Liverpool, who won 2-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday thanks to goals by Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones, need 12 points from their final five games to beat City’s tally from the 2017-18 season.

“We didn’t come here and have the numbers we have because we thought about breaking records. We were always focused 100% on the game and that will not change,” said Klopp, whose side made it 17 wins out of 17 games at Anfield this season.

“If we want to have record points pretty much we have to win all the games, it’s not complicated. The boys know it and it’s not necessary to mention it to this group.”

Liverpool next visit 15th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.

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Valtteri Bottas wins dramatic Austrian GP, six do not take knee before race

Formula One drivers all wore a black T-shirt with ‘End Racism’ written on it before the start of the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, but six of the 20 drivers did not take the knee.

Valtteri Bottas took the win for Mercedes at the Austrian Grand Prix as teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered a dramatic late-racing demotion from second to fourth. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took second place and Mclaren’s Lando Norris third.

The race was interrupted three times by a safety car and nine of 20 drivers abandoned, including both Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon — who tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside with 10 laps left, touched wheels and flew off track.

Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for causing the collision, having earlier been hit with a three-place grid penalty after an incident in Saturday’s qualifying was reviewed by stewards.

Although Bottas started from pole position and Hamilton from fifth, it looked like a straight fight between the two Mercedes drivers as has been the case so often in recent years.

The Mercedes duo of Bottas and Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable performance advantage throughout the 71-lap encounter. But with 10 laps to go, the race exploded into life, with Hamilton handed his penalty.

Formula One drivers all wore a black T-shirt with ‘End Racism’ written on it before the start of the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, but six of the 20 drivers did not take the knee.

Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi and Carlos Sainz Jr. were those who did not.

World champion Lewis Hamilton, the only black driver in F1, wore a T-shirt with Black Lives Matter on the front and End Racism on the back.

Hamilton, who knelt alongside Sebastian Vettel, at one point bowed his head pensively while Kvyat pointed to the anti-racism message on his T-shirt.

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Gianluigi Buffon starts his 648th game & breaks the record of most appearances in Serie A history, Ronaldo scores from penalty

The Turin derby game against Torino moved the 42-year-old Buffon one ahead of AC Milan great Paolo Maldini, who set the record in 2009. Buffon matched this record on Dec. 18 against Sampdoria.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon set an outright Serie A record on Saturday with his 648th appearance in Italy’s top flight.

The Turin derby game against Torino moved the 42-year-old Buffon one ahead of AC Milan great Paolo Maldini, who set the record in 2009. Buffon matched this record on Dec. 18 against Sampdoria.

It was Buffon’s 915th club match as a professional, extending his record for an Italian player.

The vast majority of those matches have come for Juventus. Buffon joined the Bianconeri in 2001 after starting his career with Parma and swiftly established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

He was expected to retire at the end of the 2017-18 season but instead made a surprise move to Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the French league to add to his multiple titles. He caused even more of a stir when he rejoined Juventus the following year.

Buffon recently extended his contract for another season.

He could add to his impressive medal collection with a 10th Serie A title with Juventus. Two other titles were stripped from the club due to the Calciopoli scandal. Also as punishment, Juventus was relegated to Serie B but Buffon stayed and helped it win the second division and bounce straight back up.

Buffon made 176 appearances for Italy — a European record — and was voted Serie A’s goalkeeper of the year 12 times.

He also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 and the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999.

One of the few trophies missing from Buffon’s glittering collection is the Champions League. He lost three finals in that competition with Juventus.

Ronaldo scores from free kick as Juventus beats Torino 4-1

Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored with a free kick in the Italian league to help Juventus beat Torino 4-1 on Saturday in a match which also saw Gianluigi Buffon set the Serie A appearance record.

Ronaldo scored Juve’s third goal to take his tally to 25 league goals this season, four behind Lazio forward Ciro Immobile who leads the Serie A scoring charts.

It was the 46th club goal Ronaldo had scored in his career direct from a free kick but his first in nearly two seasons with Juventus and on his 43rd attempt.

I needed to score from a free kick to get some confidence back,” the 35-year-old Ronaldo said.

Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri revealed that Ronaldo told him “finally” as he walked off the field at the end of the match.

Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado had scored in the first half before Andrea Belotti’s penalty kick reduced the deficit. Torino defender Koffi Djidji netted an own-goal late on.

Juventus continued its march towards a record-extending 10th straight title as it moved seven points clear of second-place Lazio, which lost 3-0 at home to AC Milan.

The Turin derby was Buffon’s 648th appearance in Italy’s top flight, moving the 42-year-old ’keeper one ahead of AC Milan great Paolo Maldini, who set the record in 2009. Buffon matched this record on Dec. 18 against Sampdoria.

Buffon only had a couple of saves to make before being faced with a penalty in first-half stoppage time after Matthijs de Ligt was somewhat harshly judged to have handled the ball.

Buffon got a hand to Belotti’s penalty.

Juventus had taken the lead in the third minute when Cuadrado threaded the ball through for Dybala, who beat two defenders before curling in his fifth goal in as many Serie A matches.

Juve doubled its advantage in the 29th when Ronaldo ran from well inside his own half to the penalty area and rolled the ball across for Cuadrado to fire into the bottom left corner.

And Ronaldo got on the scoresheet himself in the 61st, floating the free kick over the wall and into the top left corner.

He became the first Juventus player since 1961 to score 25 league goals in a season.

Matters went from bad to worse for Torino when Djidji turned Douglas Costa’s cross into his own net.

The only sour note for Juventus was that Dybala was booked as well as De Ligt and both will be suspended for Tuesday’s match against Milan.

“They are two players who are doing really well in this period but I think we have solutions,” Sarri said.

“They are important absences but two strong players will play in their place.”

IBRA’S BACK

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a penalty on his first start since lockdown to boost Milan’s chances of qualifying for the Europa League.

Milan moved above Napoli into sixth spot with its third win in four league games since Italian soccer resumed.

Ibrahimović had injured his calf in training before the season, which had been halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, resumed. He was a substitute in the midweek draw at Spal.

Milan took the lead at Lazio after Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s effort took a deflection to loop over Thomas Strakosha and into the top left corner.

Ibrahimović thought he had scored in the 31st but his volley was ruled out for offside.

The 38-year-old Swede did score three minutes later with a penalty after Ștefan Radu charged down a shot with his arm.

Ibrahimović was replaced at halftime by Ante Rebić who scored his ninth goal in his past 11 league matches to effectively seal the match and damage Lazio’s title chances.

HIGH SCORERS

Sassuolo was twice pegged back before beating relegation-threatened Lecce 4-2.

Lecce remained a point from safety. The visitors equalized twice against Sassuolo, which had scored three goals in each of its previous three matches.

Jeremie Boga restored Sassuolo’s advantage 12 minutes from time and Mert Müldür all but sealed the match five minutes later.

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Robert Lewandowski brace fires Bayern Munich to DFB-Pokal glory

Robert Lewandowski struck twice as Bayern Munich completed a successive domestic double with a 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup final.

A David Alaba free-kick and Serge Gnabry strike put Bayern on course for victory in Berlin before Lewandowski took his tally for the season to 50 with a third just before the hour.

Sven Bender gave Leverkusen some hope but Lewandowski’s second in the 89th minute put the result beyond doubt, although Kai Havertz added a penalty in stoppage time.

t was an 11th successive victory for Bayern since German football resumed following the stoppage for the coronavirus outbreak.

They will now hope to go on and make it a treble by winning the Champions League in August. They lead Chelsea 3-0 after the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Juventus took another step towards a ninth consecutive Serie A title as they overpowered Torino 4-1 in the Turin derby.

Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado put Juve 2-0 up inside the opening half-hour and Cristiano Ronaldo made victory safe with a free-kick after Andrea Belotti pulled one back from the penalty spot.

A late Koffi Djidji own goal added gloss to the scoreline on the night veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a record 648th Serie A appearance.

Lecce’s relegation fears increased as they were beaten 4-2 at mid-table Sassuolo.

Late goals from Jeremie Boga and Mert Mulder won it for Sassuolo after Lecce had twice come from behind with strikes from Fabio Lucioni and Marco Mancosu cancelling out efforts from Francesco Caputo and Domenico Berardi.

In Spain, Valladolid claimed their first win in six LaLiga games as a late goal from Joaquin earned a 1-0 victory over Alaves. Joaquin struck following a set-piece two minutes from time, lifting his side 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Zouhair Feddal equalised 11 minutes from time as Real Betis grabbed a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo. Nolito had opened the scoring for the hosts midway through the first half.

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Chelsea waiting on N’Golo Kante injury after Watford win

N’Golo Kante has picked up a hamstring problem and could miss Chelsea‘s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace.

The France midfielder trudged out of Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Watford, and could now sit out Tuesday’s trip to Selhurst Park.

Olivier Giroud, Willian and Ross Barkley all found the net as the Blues eased past the Hornets, to jump back into the league’s top four and shake off Wednesday’s frustrating 3-2 loss at West Ham.

Kante’s injury proved perhaps the sole blow in Chelsea’s comfortable Saturday night victory at Stamford Bridge, leaving Lampard sweating on the 29-year-old’s fitness.

“N’Golo Kante he has a small hamstring injury, we hope it is small, that’s what I’ve been told so far,” said Lampard.

“But I’m guessing it will be a problem for Palace on Tuesday.”

Italy midfielder Jorginho has yet to feature for Chelsea since the league’s restart, but Lampard insisted the former Napoli man remains in his thoughts.

Jorginho could step in should Kante miss the trip to Palace, though Billy Gilmour would be another option with the Scot having stepped off the bench against Watford.

When asked for the latest on Jorginho, Lampard said only “Jorginho is in my plans”, before offering his assessment of Kante’s injury.

Chelsea temporarily – for a little less than five hours – dropped out of the league’s top four for the first time since October on Saturday.

Manchester United’s 5-2 thrashing of Bournemouth saw the Blues slip to fifth.

Lampard’s men hit back in style to leapfrog back above United however, with the race for Champions League qualification continuing to offer regular drama.

The Chelsea boss admitted the run to the end of the season will only be increasingly littered with pressure, admitting his players must steel themselves for the fight.

“I think every game is going to be pressure now,” said Lampard.

“West Ham was pressure because we knew we could go third. It’s a different kind of pressure but it’s still the same in how you focus on the game and job at hand.

“You cannot get too caught up in what everyone does at the moment. We did that tonight, there was no nonsense, the mentality was right.

“We started brightly and we carried on and got the small details of the game right at both ends of the pitch, which I was happy with.”

Watford remain just above the relegation zone, leaving manager Nigel Pearson well aware of the Vicarage Road men’s precarious position.

“Of course, we are concerned with the situation we are in, we’re not naive,” said Pearson.

“But the most important thing is to recognise what we are and make sure our performances reflect that type of collective spirit. If we do that, we will find ways of winning games.

“It’s a situation we’ve got now to stay in control of our destiny, and to do that we’ve got to work as hard as tonight, if not harder.”

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Xavi agrees lucrative deal to take over as Barcelona boss

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has reportedly already agreed to become the Catalan outfit’s new head coach at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 40-year-old was linked with the post earlier this year when Ernesto Valverde was sacked, but Quique Setien ultimately arrived at Camp Nou.

Setien’s long-term future at the club is the subject of much speculation, though, with Barca currently playing catch-up to Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.

According to Mundo Deportivo, ‘a firm agreement’ is in place for Xavi to replace Setien this summer, with the legendary midfielder set to receive a £5.4m-a-year deal at Camp Nou.

The Spaniard left Camp Nou for Al Sadd in 2015 and has since become the Qatari side’s head coach.

However, it is understood that Xavi is heading back to Spain for the 2020-21 campaign, and the decision has allegedly been given the seal of approval by Lionel Messi.

Barca are currently second in La Liga, four points off leaders Real Madrid, who will have the chance to open up a seven-point advantage at the summit when they travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday afternoon.

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Bukayo Saka celebrates new deal with first league goal as Arsenal see off Wolves

Bukayo Saka celebrated his new Arsenal deal by inspiring a crucial 2-0 win at Wolves.

The 18-year-old, who penned a new long-term contract at the Emirates this week, struck his first Premier League goal to give the Gunners’ European hopes a huge boost.

Alexandre Lacazette scored a late second as impressive Arsenal closed the gap on sixth-placed Wolves to three points.

Boss Mikel Arteta continued to justify his hard-line stance on any player yet to buy into his beliefs, with Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi again missing.

Adama Traore chipped Wolves’ best chance over as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side’s Champions League hopes took a hit.

They are three points behind Manchester United after losing their 100 per cent record since returning from lockdown.

They remain in the hunt for a shock top four spot and, while a return to Europe’s top table remains fanciful for Arsenal, they bagged a deserved fourth straight win in all competitions despite a slow start.

Emiliano Martinez, who had a 15-game loan spell at Molineux five years ago, was immediately called into action to block Traore’s poked effort in the first few seconds.

The forward, partnering Raul Jimenez instead of Diogo Jota, also fired wildly over but there was no real sign of an early breakthrough.

Saka initially struggled on the right as the Gunners took time to find a rhythm but Rui Patricio grabbed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s prodded half-volley in the 26th minute as they flickered into life.

Wolves lacked the tempo needed to stretch the visitors, with Leander Dendoncker glancing well wide and Jonny dragging across goal.

Arsenal, without Nicolas Pepe after his wife went into labour, grew in confidence and Eddie Nketiah went close when he pounced on a kind ricochet and Patricio turned his low drive onto the base of the post.

It was a warning Wolves failed to heed and the Gunners struck the opener two minutes before the break.

A sweeping move saw Aubameyang find Kieran Tierney on the left and his cross deflected off Matt Doherty for Saka to swivel and beat Patricio from 12 yards.

It was the first goal Wolves had conceded in 448 minutes and they started the second half with added urgency, Nuno introducing Jota 10 minutes in.

Jota had a shot blocked and Raul Jimenez saw a dubious penalty claim rejected before the pair combined for Traore to waste a glorious chance.

The forward’s end product had drastically improved this season but in the 64th minute he fluffed his lines when, having been put clear by Jota, he chipped over with just Martinez to beat.

Arsenal maintained their concentration, although posed a limited threat for much of the second half and Nketiah headed a rare chance over with 13 minutes left.

But, as Wolves began to chase the game, space opened up and Lacazette pounced with five minutes left, collecting Joe Willock’s cross to ghost past Conor Coady and find the corner.

Willock almost added a third a minute later but Ruben Neves hacked his scuffed effort off the line.

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Jamie Vardy reaches 100 PL goals,Mason Greenwood matches Wayne Rooney’s 2004 record

Mason Greenwood became the first teenager to score 15 goals in a single season for Manchester United since Wayne Rooney (17) in 2004/05.

Mason Greenwood, 18, put away two emphatic finishes in Manchester United’s demolition of Bournemouth on Saturday, becoming the first teenager to score 15 goals in a single season for United since Wayne Rooney (17) in 2004/05.

Greenwood’s goals, one scored with the right foot and the other with the left, were scored in the 29th and 54th minutes. Marcus Rashford scored from a penalty in the first half, while Anthony Martial added to the lead at the half-time mark. Bruno Fernandes scored from a free kick in the second half to put United 5-2 up.

Greenwood is the only teenager in Europe’s top five leagues to have contributed to 15 goals this season.

This was the first time United scored five goals in a home match since December 2011.

United now have three players with 15+ goals in all competitions (Greenwood, Martial, Rashford) for the first time since the 2012/13 season.

With their win, they extended their unbeaten run to 16 matches. They provisionally enter the top four in the Premier League points table, though Chelsea have a game in hand.

In the earlier match on Saturday, Brighton moved to the brink of safety in the Premier League and left last-place Norwich closer to relegation after winning 1-0 at Carrow Road.

In the third match, Jamie Vardy passed 100 career goals in the Premier League by scoring twice as Leicester beat Crystal Palace 3-0 on Saturday to ignite its ambitions to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

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Arsenal ready to triple Thomas Partey wages

Arsenal are reportedly willing to offer Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey a substantial wage increase as they attempt to secure the 27-year-old’s signature ahead of next season.

The Gunners have long been credited with an interest in the Ghana international, although a recent report suggested that Arsenal were not willing to meet the player’s £45m release clause.

Nevertheless, speculation has continued to grow regarding Partey’s future, and according to Spanish outlet AS, Arsenal would be open to tripling the midfielder’s wages at the Emirates.

The report claims that the Gunners are desperate to add Partey to their ranks despite the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, although Arsenal could face stiff competition from Napoli for the 27-year-old’s signature.

Partey’s current deal at the Wanda Metropolitano will run until 2023, and the player has reportedly hit an impasse with Atletico over an extension.

The midfielder has appeared 41 times for Diego Simeone’s men across all competitions this season and has chalked up three goals and one assist for the La Liga outfit.

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Manchester United ‘agree personal terms with Jadon Sancho

Manchester United have reportedly agreed personal terms with Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

The England international has been the subject of a protracted transfer saga following his performances in the Bundesliga this season, with Sancho registering 17 goals and 17 assists in the German top flight for Dortmund during the 2019-20 campaign.

Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, Ian McGarry has claimed that United are set to offer Sancho a lucrative contract as the Red Devils attempt to pry the 20-year-old away from the Westfalenstadion.

“It is our understanding that Sancho has agreed in principle in the last two weeks a five-year contract with Manchester United which will pay him initially £140,000 per week but increasing to around £200,000 per week over the course of that deal,” McGarry said.

“The player’s agent has recently been busy doing other deals, notably with Bukayo Saka’s new deal with Arsenal but is still hopeful that United will be able to agree a fee with Borussia Dortmund.

“Manchester United have been rather robust in a briefing this week that they will not pay any more than £50m for Jadon Sancho which of course is at least less than half of Borussia Dortmund’s original valuation of the England international.”

Dortmund have seemingly won the race for another English protege as a recent report claimed that Lucien Favre’s side are close to securing the signature of Birmingham City youngster Jude Bellingham.