Month: August 2021

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LEWANDOWSKI ON TARGET AS BAYERN MUNICH DRAW BUNDESLIGA SEASON OPENER AT BORRUSIA MONCHEGLADBACH

Robert Lewandowski equalised as defending champions Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach in a hard-fought opening game of the new Bundesliga season on Friday. “It wasn’t perfect football from us,” Lewandowski told broadcaster Sat1. “We made a lot of mistakes, but the first game is over, now we can look ahead.” Gladbach deservedly took the lead when French striker Alassane Plea fired past Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with just ten minutes gone. Lewandowski levelled just before the break from a corner, but both sides wasted second-half chances to grab the winner.

Only superb saves from home goalkeeper Yann Sommer repeatedly denied Lewandowski and the Bayern attack.

At the other end, Gladbach substitute forward Marcus Thuram failed to connect with the goal at his mercy and later saw his appeals for a clear penalty waved away by the referee.

“There were fireworks from us in the first quarter of an hour,” Gladbach captain Lars Stindl told DAZN and hailed Sommer’s “world-class” performance.

Bayern’s new head coach Julian Nagelsmann is still waiting for his first victory after three defeats and a draw in pre-season friendlies.

The 34-year-old is under pressure to deliver a tenth straight Bundesliga title for Bayern in his first season.

“We have to live with the point, both sides had chances, it was a pretty crazy game for the fans to watch, not so easy for the coaches,” Nagelsmann told DAZN.

Borussia Park was a third full as Bundesliga clubs welcome back supporters on the opening weekend of the season.

Bayern were missing injured France defender Benjamin Pavard, whose place went to reserve left-back Josip Stanisic for only his second Bundesliga appearance.

Gladbach tore open the Bayern defence after just six minutes when Patrick Herrmann sprinted clear and squared to Lars Stindl, who could not get a shot away.

Bayern fell behind when Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies lost the ball on halfway.

The ball was moved to Stindl, who flicked his pass onto Plea, who was unmarked and fired past Neuer.

At the other end, only a stunning reflex save by Sommer denied Lewandowski from point-blank range.

However, the Bundesliga’s record goal-scorer for a single season struck just before half-time to make it 1-1 at the break.

When Joshua Kimmich fired in a corner, Lewandowski slipped his marker and fired past Sommer, picking up when he left off last season when he scored a Bundesliga record 41 goals in 2020/21.

Bayern had a golden period approaching the hour mark when only more superb Sommer saves denied Davies, then Lewandowski in quick succession.

Gladbach won 3-2 when the sides last met at Borussia Park in January and the hosts again put up a fight.

Neuer did superbly well with a diving save to deny Stindl after Gladbach midfielder Hannes Wolf broke down the wing and squared inside.

With just over ten minutes left, Thuram came within a whisker of restoring the hosts’ lead when he just failed to connect with the goal at his mercy.

Referee Marco Fritz then waved away Gladbach’s furious calls for a penalty when Thuram appeared to be brought down in the area by new Bayern signing Dayot Upamecano

New Gladbach head coach Adi Huetter received a yellow card on the sidelines for his impassioned protest while Kimmich fired wide in added time.

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MIKEL ARTETA ISSUES APOLOGY TO ARSENAL FANS AFTER OPENING DAY DEFEAT AT BRENTFORD

A despondent Mikel Arteta apologised to Arsenal’s baying fanbase after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Premier League new boys Brentford, saying it wasn’t ‘the result or performance’ he wanted.

The Gunners ended last season on a high with four wins on the bounce but endured a dismal return to top-flight action at a raucous Brentford Community Stadium, with Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard netting in either half to fire the hosts to victory.

The north London outfit appeared blunt in attack in the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette – who missed the clash through illness – and struggled to make inroads against Brentford’s high press across a frustrating 90 minutes.

Arsenal’s complete inability to deal with Mads Bech Sorensen’s long throw-in for Norgaard’s towering 73rd-minute header in many ways summed up the visitors’ miserable night.

Emile Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney were two shining lights for the visitors but the Bees held firm to seal a famous and deserved win, 74 years on from their last match in the top division.

Arsenal will have to quickly find their cutting edge, with Chelsea and champions Manchester City next up in the league.

‘First of all, thank you because of the support that they are giving to the team, the travelling fans that were here,’ Arteta told reporters at his post-match press conference.

‘And after that, I apologise for the result and we know that we have to improve.

‘We have two big games coming up right now and we need to a different performance to get a different result.’

The Spaniard added: ‘We are very disappointed to start the way we did in the season.

‘We didn’t get the result or performance that we wanted.’

Arsenal have already invested heavily this summer – spending over £70million on new arrivals Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares – and there will inevitably be calls for the club to further strengthen after the loss.

But Arteta was keen to stress that he would not be hitting the panic button in the transfer market and will instead be looking to get improvements out of the players he currently has at his disposal.

‘My focus is with the players we have, try to make them play as best as possible and get the best out of the team and find a way to win football matches,’ he went on.

‘We are very clear of what we wanted to do, where our strengths are and where we can improve and I don’t think today’s performance shows anything different to what we’ve already seen.’

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BRENTFORD TOP THE TABLE AFTER BEATING ARSENAL IN PREMIER LEAGUE OPENER

The Premier League season got off to a flying start on Friday as Brentford marked their first game in the top flight for 74 years and their first in front of fans at their new stadium with an emotional 2-0 victory over a ragged Arsenal.

Sergi Canos carved his name into the west London club’s Hall of Fame when he cut inside Calum Chambers and drilled a low shot inside the near post of Bernd Leno after 22 minutes to spark an explosion of joy from the fans who have waited so long to take their place in the new 17,500-capacity home.

It was the least Brentford deserved as, revelling in their chance to take on the big boys, they took the game to an Arsenal team who looked disjointed and toothless in the absence of “unwell” strike duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Some hesitant Arsenal defending after a long throw in the 73rd minute allowed Christian Norgaard to head home the second and Brentford, the team who suffered an agonising nine playoff failures before finally succeeding last season, were in dream land.

Their red and white bedecked fans filed off into the night singing “we are top of the league” and though they are unlikely to stay there for long, nobody can begrudge them their moment in the sun.

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LEICESTER SIGN DENMARK DEFENDER JANNIK VESTERGAARD FROM SOUTHAMPTON

Leicester have completed the signing of Jannik Vestergaard from Southampton.

The 29-year-old Denmark defender moves to the King Power Stadium for an undisclosed fee – reported to be £15million – and has agreed a deal until 2024.

Speaking to LCFC TV, he said: “I’m very happy and I’m really excited to get going. It’s a special club that has done very well over many years and I think the project is very, very exciting, even from the outside looking in. To be a part of it is a big thing for me.

“I know a couple of the players, and Kasper (Schmeichel) and Ryan (Bertrand) I know very well and get along with off the pitch, so that’s going to be very easy.

“Just from my first impression of the guys in the dressing room, they’re a good bunch, and I’m sure I’ll settle in very quickly.”

Vestergaard, who was in the final year of his contract at Southampton, had been on Leicester’s radar for 18 months but they moved again for him after Wesley Fofana suffered a leg fracture during a recent pre-season friendly with Villarreal.

The Foxes had faced heading into the new season light in central defence, with Jonny Evans still struggling with a long-term foot issue. The Northern Irishman is not expected to be fit until after next month’s international break.

Leicester managed to get Vestergaard registered before the midday deadline on Friday so that the Dane can play in their opening game of the Premier League season against Wolves on Saturday.

Vestergaard has been in England for three seasons after joining Southampton from German club Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2018.

He played in all six of Denmark’s games this summer as they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

He becomes the fourth new arrival at King Power Stadium this summer, following the signings of left-back Ryan Bertrand, striker Patson Daka and midfielder Boubakary Soumare.

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JURGEN KLOPP DEFENDS LIVERPOOL’S TRANSFER POLICY DESPITE RIVALS HUGE SPENDINGS

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has launched a staunch defence of the club’s transfer policy in the wake of their top-four rivals each spending upwards of £75million (€88 million) this summer.

Premier League champions Manchester City – who are interested in the £150m-rated Tottenham striker Harry Kane – lead the way with the British record fee of £100m on Jack Grealish.

But Chelsea have just splashed £97.5m on bringing Romelu Lukaku back to the club and Manchester United spent £75m on Borussia Dortmund’s young England winger Jadon Sancho.

By contrast Liverpool have spent just £36m in May on RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate to plug an obvious lack of depth at centre-back but are not expected to replace departed midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

Klopp is not surprised by their rivals’ spending but insists Liverpool have to operate differently.

“We cannot spend money we don’t have. We cannot, the others can but we can’t. That’s my information,” he said ahead of the season-opener at Norwich.

“Chelsea are not hiding their ambitions, Man United isn’t, City isn’t. We don’t want to hide our ambitions because we want to fight for everything and in this moment it will be a massive fight.

“When the pandemic started and no-one knew how long it would be it was a difficult time for everyone, for football clubs as well. That is probably the reason why you ask me now if I’m surprised (about the spending).

“These clubs don’t depend on these kind of things I think. We all know the situation of Chelsea, the situation of City, and we all know the situation of PSG (Paris St Germain), for example. What United is doing I don’t know exactly how they do it. We have, obviously, our way to do it.

“I’m never surprised about the financial power of Chelsea, City or United. I am long enough in the country to know they always find a solution to do these kind of things.

“You cannot compare to the other clubs, they obviously don’t have any limits but we have limits and we were quite successful given the limits in the last two years.

“That is what we should try again and not use it as an excuse that if we do not win a game we say it was because we didn’t sign him or him. That will not be the case.”

Part of the reason Liverpool have not spent more this summer is because they have used their limited finances to secure the long-term futures of key players.

Virgil Van Dijk on Friday agreed a new deal until 2025, following the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Alisson Becker in signing new contracts.

The club will also look to tie down Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson to longer-term deals as they focus on keeping together the nucleus of the side which won back-to-back Champions League and Premier League titles.

“For us it is our way. We keep the team together, that is an important part of business as well,” he added.

“I know it is not as exciting for the outside world as with signing players and it looks the summer is always the same in that if you don’t sign you don’t work but that’s not the case.

“We are constantly thinking about the present and the future, short term and long term what do we have to do? How do we want the team to look this year, how will it look next year?
“Maybe not the most exciting but if you are a real Liverpool fan you are really happy about the news the club delivered in the last few weeks, signing Alisson Becker, the same with Trent, Fabinho and Virgil – and others will follow.

“That’s absolutely great news but it’s just not spectacular out there. But if other teams wanted to sign these players they would pay a lot of money and we have them already.

“We have a really good squad together, it should be a better situation than last year so let’s try to build on what we achieved last year and see where we end up.”

Klopp said Van Dijk’s new contract was a perfect example.

“Imagine if we would have had to buy this boy now – thank God we only had to give him a new contract,” he said.

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RODRIGUEZ, FOUR OTHERS IN ISOLATION AT EVERTON AS DOUBTS CLOUDS THE COLOMBIAN’S FUTURE AT GOODISON PARK

JAMES RODRIGUEZ IS unavailable for Everton’s Premier League opener against Southampton on Saturday as uncertainty continues to surround the Colombia playmaker’s future.

While forwards Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are set to be involved in the contest at Goodison Park, Rodriguez is among five Everton players currently isolating.

Rafael Benitez, preparing for his first competitive match as Toffees boss after succeeding Carlo Ancelotti in June, was asked at his pre-match press conference on Friday if Rodriguez was part of his plans or if he would be allowed to leave.

And he said: “I have had my conversation with him at the beginning, and then he knows my idea – but now he is not available, so it is not an issue for tomorrow.

“We will discuss every single player with them, with their agents and then try to find the best solution for us, for the club, and also for the players.

“Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin are available, but we have some players that are in isolation, and then we have to manage that.”

Richarlison only returned to training with Everton on Wednesday after winning Olympic gold with Brazil in Tokyo, while England striker Calvert-Lewin had missed last weekend’s friendly against Manchester United due to a knock.

With coronavirus restrictions having eased, Goodison Park is set to be full tomorrow for the first time since March 2020.

When Benitez was asked if he could understand fans wanting to see Rodriguez, who joined the club in September last year, in the flesh if possible, he said: “I understand that the fans want to see the best players possible on the pitch to win the game.

The arrival at Everton of Benitez – only the second man to manage both Merseyside clubs and the first in over a century – was met with some negativity among the Toffees fanbase.

Benitez is confident that Everton supporters attending Saturday’s game who still feel unsure about his appointment will get behind the team.

“I think they have seen during these weeks what we can try to do, and the point is that after 17 months I think they will be desperate to see the team on the pitch, to cheer the players, to support the team,” he said.

“I think they are quite clever and they know the main thing for us is to be sure we are strong at home. They can be a major part of our success, and I’m sure they will be supporting the team in the way they did all the time.”

Everton have so far brought in Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend and Asmir Begovic as new signings this summer.

Regarding potential further recruitment before the transfer window closes, Benitez said: “I’m sure that if you asked, the majority of the managers want to improve, want to strengthen their squad.

“It still is early, we have to wait a little bit until the end of the transfer window. But I’m happy with the way the players are training, the way we are working, and hopefully we can replicate that on the pitch.”

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BRUNO LAGE KEEN TO BRING IN MORE NEW SIGNINGS AT WOLVES

Bruno Lage is confident of bringing in more new signings as he prepares to begin a new era at Wolves.

The Portuguese, who worked as assistant under Carlos Carvalhal at both Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea not so long ago, replaced compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo at Molineux over the summer when he left to take over at Tottenham.

Lage, who won the title in his homeland with Benfica in 2018/19, has brought in Jose Sa, Yerson Mosquera, Francisco Trincao, Louie Moulden, Bendeguz Bolla and Rayan Ait Nouri since his arrival in June, but has also seen the likes of Rui Patricio, Patrick Cutrone and Ruben Vinagre leave.

Supporters are crying out for more signings and it is clear the squad needs it, while Wolves also still have a very talented team at their disposal.

Ahead of his first competitive match in charge against Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, Lage said: “For sure I’m talking with the board and Jeff (Shi, executive chairman), they know the profiles for the players we want and the positions we want.

“The fans can trust in him. The last four years, (Wolves) did very well. We know what we need to do.”

Lage also insists his players are fully focused on the start of the new season and he is “not worried” about losing anyone else late in the transfer window.

Ruben Neves and Adama Traore in particular have been the subject of much reported interest from rival clubs.

“There are rules, so we will need to wait until the end of August to see who stays and goes,” said the 45-year-old.

“The most important thing is I can see at the moment that everyone is focused. So I’m not worried. The important thing is to have time to work with the players.”

Meanwhile, Lage has revealed Pedro Neto is aiming to return from injury within two months. The forward has been out since April with a fractured patella.

He added: “I see him every day in the gym. What he did last season was very good, it was a good surprise for me. I saw him play and what he did was very good.

“Maybe he needs more time, I don’t know exactly how long. He’s not ready for one month, or two I think.”

Striker Raul Jimenez will be available for the first time since suffering a fractured skull in November, with Lage insisting “there are no problems with him”.

However, Neto (knee), Jonny (knee) and Daniel Podence (groin) remain on the sidelines, while Wily Boly has a hamstring injury.

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LA LIGA CLUBS VOTE IN FAVOUR OF €2.2BN CVC DEAL

LaLiga’s clubs have voted in favour of a €2.2 billion deal that will see 10% of the league’s business sold to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, despite opposition from Real Madrid and Barcelona

The €2.7bn deal was announced last week and approved by the league’s executive committee but had to be ratified in a vote of the 42 first- and second-division clubs at a general assembly on Thursday.

A total of 38 clubs voted in favour, with Madrid, Barca, Athletic Bilbao and an unnamed LaLiga 2 club voting against.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, LaLiga president Javier Tebas blamed the opposition of the league’s two biggest clubs to the plans on the row over the proposed European Super League.

“It’s clear that the position of Real Madrid and Barcelona is related to the Super League,” he said. “This influx of money doesn’t favour the idea of a Super League that Florentino [Perez] wants. It’s a cultural problem, he thinks the big clubs are the ones that should control everything.

“I’d like [Real Madrid and Barcelona] to be part of the agreement, they aren’t, but we’re not going to cry about it.”

The investment is likely to total between €2.1bn and €2.2bn without Madrid or Barca voting in favour.

Tebas refused to speculate on whether Barca could have held onto Lionel Messi — who joined Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday after Barca were unable to agree a new deal with the player within the league’s salary cap — if they had accepted the deal.

“I don’t know FC Barcelona’s numbers, or exactly what they’re doing to reduce their wage bill,” he said. “It would have helped Barcelona to have a competitive squad. It could have been Messi, it could have been another player.

“Obviously it hurts that Messi leaves, but we’ve worked hard so that our audiovisual income doesn’t fall. There’s no clause in our international TV rights contracts for if Messi goes… [Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar] are important, they help, but they aren’t essential.”

The ‘Boost LaLiga’ agreement will see CVC Capital Partners hold a 10% stake in LaLiga and its future earnings from the sale of audiovisual rights.

The league says 90% of the money received in return will go to clubs, as well as women’s football, semi-professional football and non-professional football.

A last-minute change saw the clubs which voted against the plans excluded from the deal, which means Real Madrid and Barcelona will not receive their shares of the money and retain their broadcast income.

LaLiga’s two biggest clubs have been vocal critics of the plans.

On Tuesday, Real Madrid said that it would “initiate both civil and criminal legal action” against LaLiga president Javier Tebas and CVC director Javier de Jaume Guijarro over the deal.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said last week that the plans were akin to “mortgaging the club’s rights over the next half-century.”

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which is immersed in a long-running feud with LaLiga over various aspects of Spanish football administration, called the agreement “completely illegal” and “appalling” on Wednesday.

However, most LaLiga clubs support the plans, as evidenced by Thursday’s vote.

Villarreal president Fernando Roig told Onda Cero radio on Wednesday that he “didn’t understand Real Madrid and Barcelona’s reasons to oppose the agreement.”

The president of Real Betis, Angel Haro, described the deal as “very positive,” saying that “we’ve been working with LaLiga for a long time in the search for these solutions… it will make us stronger.”

On Thursday, Tebas insisted that LaLiga could still attract the world’s best players.

“Barcelona will keep signing big players,” he said. “Real Madrid have done a great job of managing their accounts after the pandemic, with few losses.”

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VIRGIL VAN DIJK SIGNS NEW LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH LIVERPOOL

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk hopes to celebrate the signing of his new contract by starting his first match since October at Norwich this weekend.

The 30-year-old Holland captain, who signed for the Reds in December 2017 for a then £75million record fee for a defender, has extended his stay until 2025.

Van Dijk has not featured in a competitive match for 10 months after a challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and ended his season.

However, having completed his rehabilitation he has played in three friendlies with Sunday’s 70-minute outing against Athletic Bilbao the biggest indication yet he is ready to return.

“Unfortunately last season for me personally has been a season to forget, to learn from and take with me,” he told liverpoolfc.com.

“I feel like I am ready for the weekend, so we’ll see what the manager decides.

“It is going to be a totally different atmosphere and mindset for me personally as well.

“It is something we fight for, for the points, and hopefully we can get a positive result out of it.”

Van Dijk has been a key player since his arrival and played a big role in Jurgen Klopp’s side winning the Champions League and Premier League in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020.

He is the fourth senior player to extend his contract in the last couple of weeks after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Alisson Becker all did the same.

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BRITISH OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST SUSPENDED FOR ALLEGED ANTI-DOPING BREACH

Great Britain sprinter CJ Ujah, part of the men’s 4x100m team who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for an alleged anti-doping breach.

Ujah (27) was part of the British quartet alongside Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake who were beaten on the finish line by Italy.

The AIU announced on Thursday that following the conclusion of the Games, the doping control laboratory in Tokyo also notified the International Testing Agency of an additional ‘adverse analytical finding’ from testing during the Olympics.

Ujah was found to have presence/use of a prohibited substances ostarine and S-23, which are selective androgen receptor modulators (SARM) and help with building muscle.

If the case against Ujah is proven, he could face losing his relay silver medal along with the rest of the British team.

As well as the British athlete, Bahrain’s 1500m runner Sadik Mikhou, Georgian shot-putter Benik Abramyan and Kenya sprinter Mark Otieno Odhiambo have also been provisionally suspended following adverse tests, the AIU confirmed.

A statement from the AIU read: “The AIU now awaits the conclusion of the ITA proceedings against the above athletes, which will determine whether any anti-doping rule violations have been committed and what consequences (if any) should be imposed in relation to the Olympic Games.

“Any consequences beyond the Olympic Games to be imposed upon the athletes under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules will be determined following the conclusion of the ITA proceedings.”