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United Slip up in race for Top four

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his players “will put it right” after they missed a chance to climb into the Premier League’s top four by conceding an injury-time equaliser against Southampton.

United led 2-1 for 73 minutes before substitute Michael Obafemi scored in the 96th minute, bundling in a set-piece at the back post after it had been flicked on by Jan Bednarek.

Stuart Armstrong had given Southampton a 12th-minute lead, but Anthony Martial set up Marcus Rashford to equalise before firing a superb second goal for United.

Solskjaer’s side were on course to leapfrog top-four rivals Chelsea and Leicester – who both suffered defeats over the weekend – and move up to third but they remain fifth with three games left in the chase for Champions League qualification.

“The mentality has been brilliant. We have had a few setbacks this season. This is another challenge for us,” said Solskjaer.

“I am very confident in [the players’] mentality. I’m disappointed of course, but you have to take the disappointments as well as the positives. We have learned a hard lesson. We will put it right. I trust the boys in that respect.”

Armstrong had opened the scoring for Southampton, following Paul Pogba’s mistake, and after fighting back to draw, the visitors now sit five points outside of the top 10 and level on points with Everton.

Despite United’s setback, they will still qualify for the Champions League if they win their last three games, as they travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester on the final day of the season.

Solskjaer was unhappy with what he called a “nasty” first-half challenge by Oriol Romeu on Mason Greenwood, for which the Southampton midfielder went unpunished after a video assistant referee review.

“I know my ankle wouldn’t take that challenge,” Solskjaer said. “It was a nasty one but we have said enough about VAR.”

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football Sports News

Real Madrid two points off top

Leaders Real Madrid moved to within one win of the La Liga title after surviving a scare against Granada.

France defender Ferland Mendy opened the scoring with a ferocious finish from a tight angle before countryman Karim Benzema doubled the lead.

But Real were forced to endure a nervous second half after Darwin Machis fired through Thibaut Courtois’ legs.

Zinedine Zidane’s side are four points clear of nearest rivals Barcelona with two games remaining.

Given Real’s superior head-to-head record over Barca, Real require two points from their final two games, at home to fifth-placed Villarreal on Thursday and at relegation-threatened Leganes on Sunday, to win the league.

“We have to be happy and rest up for Thursday,” said Real boss Zidane after his side’s ninth successive win since La Liga resumed in June.

“We will be back training on Tuesday and we will be back on the pitch on Thursday. The final minutes were tough. Granada made us defend a lot in the second half.”

Gareth Bale was once again an unused substitute as Real scored twice in six first-half minutes before the hosts hit back.

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F1 Sports News

Ferrari a long way from the top

Ferrari have qualified in the lower reaches of the top 10 at the opening two races and the car is around a second a lap slower than the Mercedes.

Brawn said: “They aren’t going to turn it around overnight.”

The 65-year-old was Ferrari’s technical director when they dominated F1 in the early 2000s with Michael Schumacher.

Brawn, writing in his column for F1 after Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix in Austria, added: “There’s a long road ahead of them. They need to find out if there is a fundamental problem with the car – and they need to find out fast – because clearly they are some way off the pace.

“The management have to cope with it and make sure the staff maintain the faith and stay focused on what needs to be done.

“One of the biggest problems for Ferrari is that, of all the teams on the grid, they come under the closest scrutiny from the media, particularly in Italy.

“I know from my own experience that the media pressure in Italy can be incredibly intense, and you have to make sure it doesn’t get to your people.”

Ferrari cancelled their post-race news conference on Sunday after their drivers collided on the first lap, taking both out of the race.

Charles Leclerc, rewarded with a new five-year contract over the winter after a stellar debut season for the team in 2019, took the blame for an over-optimistic overtaking attempt on Sebastian Vettel at Turn Three, saying: “I am disappointed in myself. I’m sorry but being sorry is not enough.

“I’ve let the team down after them working a whole week to bring the updates early. Too eager to gain those places in the first lap. I will learn from it.”

Ferrari brought forward some upgrades for the Styrian Grand Prix weekend, after their poor performance in the opening race of the season in the Austrian GP at the same Red Bull Ring track.

But team boss Mattia Binotto admitted that the new parts – a new front wing and floor – “didn’t show their worth on track”.

He added: “It has been an entire disappointing weekend and [the crash] is the worst conclusion of a bad weekend for us.”

Further updates are scheduled to be introduced at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The change in Ferrari’s competitiveness comes after a series of rule clarifications on engine technicalities over the winter, and a private settlement between Ferrari and governing body the FIA.

Ferrari’s rivals had demanded to know the contents of the settlement but the Italian team say it would reveal their intellectual property.

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football Slides

McGoldrick sent Racist texts

Sheffield United said it will support striker David McGoldrick after he was racially abused on social media.

The club shared an image from McGoldrick’s Instagram account showing the abuse, with the Blades player writing “2020 and this is life”.

“This cannot continue”, wrote the club. “Something needs to change”.

McGoldrick scored his first Premier League goals as United beat Chelsea 3-0 at Bramall Lane on Sunday to move into the Premier League’s top six.

Republic of Ireland striker McGoldrick’s abuse follows the arrest of a 12-year-old boy in connection with racist messages sent to Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha on social media.

Players in England’s top flight have been kneeling in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before every match since the season restarted in June.

Sheffield United added: “As a club we will support David McGoldrick and will do all we can to find the perpetrator of this disgusting message.

“We will work with the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice.”

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football Slides

Man City Ban overturned

Manchester City have successfully overturned their two-year ban from European club competitions.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) announced the club were cleared of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions”.

Uefa issued the ban in February after ruling City had committed “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations between 2012 and 2016.

City’s fine has been cut from 30m euros (£26.9m) to 10m euros.

In delivering the ruling on Monday, Cas said City did “fail to cooperate with Uefa authorities” but overturned the decision by Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) to ban them.

City said the decision was “validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present”.

“The club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered,” City added.

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football Sports News

LIVERPOOL EXTEND DEJAN LOVREN’S CONTRACT DESPITE TRANSFER RUMOURS

Liverpool are set to activate an extension clause in Dejan Lovren’s contract.

The centre-back is the subject of interest from clubs like Zenit St Petersburg – but the Reds have an additional year option that which is supposedly in line to be taken up at the end of the transfer window.

Russian Premier League champions Zenit and others believe that Lovren only has one year left in his contract.

However, with Liverpool poised to activate the Croatian’s additional year option, it will mean he is effectively tied to the Reds until summer 2022 which may have an impact on his price tag.

Lovren, who arrived at Anfield from Southampton in 2014, was the subject of interest from both Roma and AC Milan last summer but a finalised deal never materialised.

Should the 31-year-old depart this term, he will do so with the best wishes of all at the club after a committed six years of service.

Lovren has so far made 185 appearances for Liverpool, scoring eight times and providing four assists from the heart of defence.

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football Sports News

ZAHA CALLS FOR ACTION AND EDUCATION ON RACISM

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has said people of all ages need to know that “you cannot hide behind social media” after the West Midlands Police arrested a 12-year-old boy for sending him racist messages online.

Zaha, 27, shared screenshots of the messages before the team’s 2-0 loss against Aston Villa on Sunday.

“People need to understand that whatever your age, that your behaviour and your words come with consequences and you cannot hide behind social media,” Zaha said in a statement on social media.

“It is important social media platforms do as they did yesterday and seek out these individuals and remove them. This is not the first time I have received messages like this, nor am I the only player to receive messages like this — it happens every day.”

The winger thanked the police for their swift action and the public for their support but said more needed to be done to combat racism.

“It is not enough to be disgusted by these messages I received and move on,” he added.

“It isn’t enough to just say #notoracism. We need action, we need education, things need to change.”

The messages received by Zaha were roundly condemned by Crystal Palace and the Premier League.

“It is very saddening on the day of a game that a player wakes up to this cowardly and despicable abuse,” Palace manager Roy Hodgson said in an interview

“I think it is right that Wilf made people aware of it; I don’t think it is something he should keep quiet about.

“I think it is very good that our club, Aston Villa and the Premier League are doing everything they can to find out who this despicable individual is and one can only hope that they will get identified and they will get called to account and they will pay for these actions.

“There is literally no excuse; there is no excuse at all.”

A Premier League statement read: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the Premier League stands alongside Wilfried Zaha in opposing this, and discrimination in any form. There is #NoRoomForRacism, anywhere.

“We will continue to support players, managers, coaches and their family members who receive serious discriminatory online abuse.

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football Sports News Transfer News

LIVERPOOL GETS THIAGO BOOST AS BAYERN BEGINS SEARCH FOR THE SPANISH REPLACEMENT

Bayern Munich have reportedly identified two potential replacements for Liverpool transfer target Thiago Alcantara. The Reds are keen on signing Thiago this summer and the player has reportedly already agreed personal terms to link up with Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

Thiago was poised to sign a new contract with Bayern before deciding on a U-turn following interest from Premier League champions Liverpool. Le 10 Sport claim Bayern are preparing for the potential departure of several midfielders, with Javi Martinez and Corentin Tolisso also tipped to leave the club. Bayern announced the signing of Tanguy Kouassi, but the former Paris Saint-Germain is still only a raw talent at 18 years old.

As a result, the German giants are now eager to raid two Premier League clubs for midfielders. Chelsea’s Tiemoue Bakayoko and Tottenham’s Tanguy Ndombele are attracting Bayern’s attention.

Bakayoko has struggled at Chelsea since a big-money move from Monaco in 2017 and has spent most of his time as a Blue out on loan. The Frenchman was hoping to join PSG or AC Milan and Chelsea are ready to listen to offers. Chelsea want around £31million for Bakayoko, but any deal for Ndombele is likely to be far more complicated.

Ndombele is Tottenham’s record signing and only joined Spurs last summer from Lyon in a £53.8m deal.

Though his debut season at Tottenham has not been perfect, the 23-year-old is still adapting to the Premier League and Jose Mourinho’s style of management. Bayern will be tempted to try and agree a loan deal with Tottenham, similar to the ones they struck with Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho and Real Madrid for James Rodriguez.

However, Tottenham will be wary by the fact Bayern decided against buying either midfielder when their loan deals expired. Bayern’s pursuit of midfielders, however, will be a boost for Liverpool and Thiago. Liverpool are not expected to do any major transfer business this summer and are hopeful of negotiating a knockdown price for the Brazilian star.

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JOSEP BARTOMEU CONFIRMS XAVI WILL BE NEXT BARCA MANAGER

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed that Xavi will become manager of the club “sooner or later”.

Xavi enjoyed a glittering playing career at Camp Nou, making a club-record 767 appearances during his 24-year stay from La Masia to his 2015 exit.

The former Spain international has turned his hand to management since retiring last year, taking charge of Qatari side Al Sadd, where he finished his playing career.

Barcelona approached their former captain after sacking Ernesto Valverde in January, but instead appointed Quique Setien, whose own future has already come under scrutiny with Xavi again linked to the post.

“Xavi will be Barca’s coach, sooner or later. But right now we are not looking for a coach, we are with Quique,” Bartomeu told press men.

“Quique Setien will coach the team in the Champions League and these last two Liga games that are left. We have had a very atypical season, we will play in August and he will be the coach. If we overcome Napoli, we will be in Lisbon.

“Our will is to fulfil contracts and Setien has one. We went to Setien’s house to speak about the future, the plans for next season. He will probably be there and I am very interested to hear what he thinks.

“He has a lot of time for Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati. We have seen Pedri and Francisco Trincao in form, there is hope.”

Barcelona have a history of appointing former players as managers, with Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Johan Cruyff among the most notable.

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football Sports News

PSG BEAT SECOND DIVISION SIDE 9-0 AS LIGUE 1 MAKE HISTORY OF WELCOMING POST COVID-19 SPECTATORS

Paris Saint-Germain routed second division Le Havre 9-0 in a friendly on Sunday but the game was more remarkable for drawing the biggest crowd for a match in one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ football nations since early March.

The French government relaxed the health protocols before the weekend to allow for a total attendance of 5,000, including players, journalists and staff, at games and while the match at Le Havre was not the first to be played, the others involved only lower-division clubs.

For the game at Le Havre, the tickets, priced between 30 euros ($34) and 60 euros, sold out in six minutes.

“It is a victory for French football, sport in general,” said outgoing Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu who was at the match.

“I am delighted that football in France can resume in a popular way, with more people in the stadiums. It is the only country in western Europe to be able to do this.”

Unlike Germany, England, Italy and Spain, France abandoned its league season in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, but when the other four countries resumed their leagues, they did so behind closed doors.

Although social distancing rules were in place, fans took a few liberties once they were in the 25,000-capacity Stade Ocean on Sunday.

“It’s a bit like a return to normal life, even if there are some drastic conditions,” said Johan Vattier, president of Les Barbarians Havre, the club’s biggest supporters group.

“We don’t give a damn about PSG, this match is first and foremost a way to get back together with our mates!”

“It’s not easy for a group like ours to enforce the rules because we’re used to cramming together, but we’re going to try to respect them as much as possible,” he added.

“We want to start next season with fans in the ground.”

Alan, 20, a student in Le Havre, who is a PSG fan, said it had been a dream to finally see his team in the flesh and he had not thought about the health risk.

“When I saw that it was Paris, I didn’t even think about it,” he said. “Closed-door games on TV are boring.”

On the field, Neymar and Mauro Icardi each scored twice and Kylian Mbappe once before PSG made 10 changes leading 5-0 at half time.

Pablo Sarabia, with two, Idrissa Gueye and Arnaud Kalimuendo scored in the first 15 minutes of the second half to complete the rout as PSG started to warm up for a busy few weeks in late July and early August.

“We are back! A friendly that feels like a final with a knot in my stomach,” Neymar wrote on Instagram before kick-off.

PSG are due to play Saint-Etienne in the French Cup final on July 24 and Lyon in the French League Cup Ffinal on July 31 before resuming their Champions League campaign away to Atalanta on August 12.

Both French finals will be at the 80,000-seat Stade de France in Paris.

Maracineanu said the attendance limit would be reviewed on July 18 and would consider adjusting the limit so it was proportional with the size of the stadium.