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TEN MAN ALGERIA CLOSES INT’L BREAK WITH HUGE DRAW AGAINST MEXICO

Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria ended an impressive international break with a 2-2 draw against Mexico in The Hague on Tuesday, despite being a man down for much of the second half.

The contest was a rare meeting between Africa Cup of Nations holders and Concacaf Gold Cup holders, but ultimately neither continental representative was able to clinch bragging rights for their confederation.

Diego Lainez struck in the 86th minute for Mexico as they salvaged a draw, having initially taken the lead late in the first half through Jesus Corona.

Algeria responded to his 43rd-minute effort two minutes later, when Ismael Bennacer finished with a fine effort from the edge of the box.

Despite going a man down 10 minutes in the second half when Adlene Guedioura was shown a second booking for a high challenge on Raul Jimenez, Algeria took the lead in the 67th minute as Mahrez finished calmly after Ramy Bensebaini had reacted quickest to lax possession from Mexico, intercepting the play and feeding the Manchester City forward.

By this point, they could have been further ahead, with Baghdad Bounedjah missing a decent chance before his withdrawal, and Yacine Brahimi striking the woodwork.

After equalising through Lainez, meeting a delightful Jimenez pass in style, Mexico could have even gone on to clinch a winner, as both Hector Herrera and Jorge Sanchez struck the crossbar during a frenetic finale.

The draw, coupled with last week’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria, extends Algeria’s undefeated streak to 20 matches the longest such run of any of Africa’s teams.

“It was similar to how we thought it’d be,” Mexico coach Tata Martinez said after the match, “intense, a lot back and forth at times; in different moments Algeria had [control] of the game, in other moments we had.

“It was a good game to make conclusions,” he added. “I thought off the basis of the game it was a fair result.

“I’m satisfied with this tour to Europe. I’m satisfied with what we’ve shown against the Netherlands and Algeria.”

Next month, Algeria will take on Zimbabwe in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header, as they look to return to the continent’s grandest stage to defend the prize they won in 2019.

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NEYMAR HITS HATRICK, SURPASSES RONALDO RECORD IN WIN OVER PERU.

A hat-trick from Neymar helped Brazil to a 4-2 victory over Peru in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in Lima on Tuesday and moved the Paris St Germain forward second behind Pele on his country’s all-time goal-scoring list.

Peru’s Andre Carrillo got his third goal in two games to put the home side ahead after six minutes with a crisp volley from outside the box but Neymar equalised from the spot in 28 minutes after he had been fouled.

Peru went ahead again after 59 minutes when Renato Tapia’s 25-metre shot hit Rodrigo Caio before rolling into the net, only for Richarlison to equalise five minutes later.

Neymar put Brazil ahead with another penalty with seven minutes left and, after Peru’s Carlos Zambrano was sent off, scored his 64th international goal when he stabbed home in injury time to make it 4-2.

Only Pele, with 77 goals, has scored more for Brazil than Neymar.

In Merida, Paraguay took the points with a 1-0 win over Venezuela, Gaston Gimenez scoring for the visitors with five minutes left.

Brazil and Argentina top the group after winning both of their opening matches, while Paraguay, who drew with Peru in their opener, are third on four points.

Peru’s point keeps them above Venezuela and Bolivia, who have lost their first two matches.

The next round of games take place next month.

The top four from the 10-team group qualify directly for Qatar with the fifth-placed side going into an inter-confederation playoff.

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HUGE BOOST FOR LIVERPOOL AHEAD MERSEYSIDE DERBY AS MANE, THIAGO RETURN TO TRAINING.

Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara have given Liverpool a huge boost ahead of their return to Premier League action against Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.

Mane and Thiago were all smiles in training at Melwood on Tuesday, having completed their respective periods of self-isolation after both recently tested positive for coronavirus.

And both players were looking happy and raring to go after returning negative results for Covid-19 at the club’s training complex on Monday.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will now run the rule over both players to determine whether they have retained enough fitness to start against Everton at Goodison on Saturday.

The pair’s return to training will have given the manager a huge lift as he formulates a plan to topple Carlo Ancelotti’s early Premier League leaders, who have a 100% record so far this season.

Both Mane and Thiago missed Liverpool’s last game before the international break, when they were thrashed 7-2 by Aston Villa in one of the most remarkable results in Premier League history.

Thiago has in fact played only 45 minutes since joining the Reds, having impressed after being brought on at half-time during their 2-0 win at Chelsea last month.

Senegal forward Mane and Spain midfielder Thiago also missed games for their respective countries during the international break as they continued to self-isolate.

Klopp tends to turn to players who have rested during international breaks.

And with some of his stars playing across the globe and not due back until Thursday, the manager will be inclined to include both Thiago and Mane against Everton if they are fit enough.

Klopp seems likely to be without Naby Keita, after the midfielder tested positive for the virus while on international duty with his country Guinea.

The midfielder tested positive with four other members of the Guinea team while preparing for friendly games against Cape Verde and Gambia in Portugal, and went into immediate isolation.

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MANCHESTER UNITED BLOCKED ROMERO’S MOVE TO EVERTON- REPORTS

Manchester United goalkeeper, Sergio Romero was denied a move to Everton on international transfer deadline day, according to reports.

Romero was left annoyed by the decision not to allow him to join the Toffees from those at Old Trafford.

Everton made a deadline day move to sign Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero from Manchester United. The Merseyside side had offered to cover Romero’s £100,000-a-week wages in their entirety, with the addition of a £2 million loan fee. However, Manchester United rejected this, instead demanding £8 million for a full sale.

It is also claimed that there are suspicions that Manchester United didn’t want to strengthen a rival, given Everton’s positive start to the season.

Romero now finds himself as Manchester United’s third-choice goalkeeper and understandably wants to be allowed to leave the club to find more regular football.

He has been an excellent servant to the club, since joining in 2015. Romero was signed on a free by Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, who had previously worked with him at AZ Alkmaar.

However, since Dean Henderson‘s return from his loan at Sheffield United, Romero looks to have no way into the team. It’s understandable that the goalkeeper would seek a departure.

Everton had been looking for some competition for England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Pickford has made a series of mistakes over the last year or so and the club needs a reliable back-up, that could also force Pickford to step up on his performances. Following the rejection from Manchester United, Everton signed AS Roma goalkeeper Robin Olsen on loan instead. So, whilst the domestic window remains open, the Toffees are no longer looking for a new goalkeeper.

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WE ARE STILL FAR BEHIND; LA LIGA PRESIDENT SAYS PREMIER LEAGUE STILL THE COMPETITION TO BEAT.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has conceded that the Premier League is still the No. 1 competition despite the growth of the Spanish league under his seven-year stewardship.

Tebas highlighted some of La Liga’s successes but also cited areas where English football has more economic power.

“We have expanded even to Mongolia and Greenland, it is a symbolic fact not so much an economic one as the revenues from there are minimal, but in short, since June, La Liga can be seen everywhere in the world,” Tebas said in an interview.

“Our next aim is that we want to beat the Premier [League]. We have La Liga offices all over the world, hundreds of people working with us. It is important to be present in the most populated and rich countries to promote, to try to expand, to find local sponsors that will help us grow economically.”

The economic gap between La Liga and the Premier League has narrowed since Tebas took the helm of the Spanish football league in 2013.

“In seven years we have multiplied La Liga’s worth,” Tebas said. “[Our] revenues from domestic TV rights have grown from €236 million, when I arrived in 2013, to almost €800m. The international ones have increased from €550m to almost €1.2 billion.

“We have a 40 [officially 46] million population, we don’t have the public that Great Britain has which is almost 70m. This counts when it comes to domestic TV rights. And then, for example, we still have to work on foreign markets, such as Asia, where we are growing but there is still a lot to do compared to the Premier [League].”

Tebas has faced resistance from Spain’s Football Federation and FIFA in his attempts to stage La Liga games in the United States.

La Liga signed a 15-year marketing agreement with Relevent Sports in order to promote the sport in North America and expand its brand.

Meanwhile, Tebas is hopeful that Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will continue playing in Spain beyond June 2021, when his contract expires.

Messi, 33, had wanted to leave Barca in August after growing increasingly unhappy at how the club was being managed but was forced to make a U-turn when the Catalan giants demanded his €700m release clause.

“Messi? I hope he will always stay in La Liga,” Tebas added. “I don’t know if from a personal standpoint he is better off leaving, certainly on the professional side he could earn even more, but considering how well he feels in Barcelona.”

La Liga lost Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago when the Portugal forward left Real Madrid to sign for Juventus in a €100m transfer while in the summer of 2017, Neymar left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain in a world record €222m transfer.

“Cristiano Ronaldo left two years ago but we didn’t notice from an economic point of view,” Tebas said. “And we have always been preparing for the release of our best talents, for the generational change.

“It has already happened with Neymar and with Cristiano. We have signed contracts already for the next four years and no one has complained if Ney or Ronaldo left, they didn’t ask for their money back.

“On the contrary, we have grown in the sale of rights. Because there are other factors that matter, besides the names of the players. We have such stability that we continue calmly on our path”.

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ANCELOTTI CONFIDENT AHEAD MERSEYSIDE DERBY.

September Barclays Manager of the Month Carlo Ancelotti says his Everton team head into next weekend’s Merseyside derby with the confidence to beat reigning champions Liverpool.

The Toffees will host their biggest rivals at Goodison Park on Saturday sitting top of the table, the position that Liverpool finished last season as the best team in the country.

But the tables have turned at the start of 2020/21 and Ancelotti wants his Premier League leaders to extend their 100 per cent start and move closer to their goal of European qualification.

“Our target is to reach Europe next season and to stay at the top for as long as possible,” said the Italian after winning the fifth Barclays Manager of the Month award of his career.

We are going to play against one of the best teams in the world.

“It doesn’t matter what happened last week [against Aston Villa]. They are still a fantastic team with a fantastic manager.

“It will be difficult, but we have confidence.”

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UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE: ENGLAND BEAT BELGIUM AS PORTUGAL, ITALY MAINTAIN TOP SPOTS.

Portugal and Italy kept hold of first place in their UEFA Nations League groups on Sunday with goalless draws against France and Poland respectively on a night of little drama, while England saw off Belgium to take the initiative in their pool.

There was little to talk about at the Stade de France as a star-studded line-up of players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann failed to muster much of a spectacle in the League A, Group 3 match.

One-thousand fans gathered in the cavernous stadium just outside Paris to watch France host the reigning European champions, but were treated to just four shots on target as two rugged defenses cancelled out each team’s attacks.

“We didn’t score a goal, but we weren’t here to score goals,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. “France are a great team. They have great players. It’s not always possible to create opportunities.”

Pepe headed home what he thought was a 74th-minute opener when he got on the end of Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick but was flagged offside.

Ronaldo, chasing his 102nd international goal, was denied by a flying save from Hugo Lloris in added time.

Mbappe fluffed France’s best when Rui Patricio anticipated his gentle chip when one-on-one with the Portuguese stopper.

Both sides are now on seven points, four ahead of Croatia, whose 2-1 home win over Sweden earlier on Sunday was the group’s more entertaining match, with a calamitous late lapse from Pontus Jansson allowing the 2018 World Cup finalists to snatch the points in a soaking Zagreb.

Defender Jansson dawdled under a high ball into the penalty area with six minutes remaining and allowed Ivan Perisic to nip in behind. The Inter Milan winger then squared the ball for Andrej Kramaric to tap in from close range.

Sweden are stuck on no points after losing all three of their matches.

Elsewhere, Italy stretched their unbeaten streak to 18 matches and held onto top spot in League A, Group 1 with a stalemate in Gdansk.

New Juventus signing Federico Chiesa missed the chance to win the match for the dominant Azzurri from close range in the 11th minute.

Roberto Mancini’s side are one point ahead of the Netherlands, who also drew 0-0 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of their meeting in Bergamo on Wednesday.

England manager Gareth Southgate said his side showed what they were made of after coming from behind to beat Belgium 2-1 and move top of League A, Group 2 earlier on Sunday.

The Three Lions are on seven points, one ahead of the world’s top-ranked side after Marcus Rashford’s spot-kick and Mason Mount’s deflected winner 25 minutes from time cancelled out Romelu Lukaku’s early penalty.

“We are not going to face a more difficult game defensively,” said Southgate. “That is the beauty of the Nations League, you get games against this level of opponent.

“It’s a great experience for them and to go and win it, (it) should give them a sense of what might be possible in the next few years.”

Denmark are three points behind England in third after their simple 3-0 win over bottom side Iceland.

In League B, Erling Braut Haaland showed what the rescheduled Euro 2020 will be missing after he slammed home a hat-trick to help Norway to a 4-0 thrashing of Romania.

Haaland struck in the 13th, 64th and 74th minutes as Norway moved level on six points with group leaders Austria, 1-0 winners at Northern Ireland.

Norway were knocked out of the Euros playoffs by Serbia on Thursday.

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SUAREZ ‘COULD HAVE STAYED’ – RONALD KOEMAN.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman had been clear in his intention not to include Luis Suarez in his plans for the Catalans, but the Dutch manager now says the Uruguayan star could have stayed to prove him wrong.

Contrary to previous reports, Koeman said he did not have any problem with Suarez. He insisted that the 33-year-old would have been treated the same as the rest at Camp Nou if the latter had opted to stay instead of moving to Atletico Madrid.

“In the case of Suarez, it had become very difficult for him to start playing and I made that known to him. He found it difficult, but I never had any trouble with him at all,” Koeman said.

“He trained normally, trained well. He finally made the choice to leave and I said: ‘If you don’t leave, for whatever reason, then you are just one of the group, then you can prove that I was wrong’. He could have stayed, yes,” he continued.

Koeman said his choice not to include Suarez in his blueprint for Barca’s future was in part due to the star striker’s age, with the club slowly setting the table for the youngsters to take over.

“I’m good with Luis, but the club felt that we had to rejuvenate,” the 57-year-old coach said. “You can see that now in the team. Ansu Fati plays, he is 17 years old. We have Pedri, 17 years old, who gets his chances. Ronald Araujo is there at the age of 21. Trincao falls in a lot and is 20 years old, and we have taken Sergino Dest, who is 19. Those are all players for the future.”

Koeman’s statement was a counter to Suarez’s recent claim that Barcelona wanted him away from Lionel Messi.

Suarez signed a two-year deal with Atletico Madrid in September in a transfer that was denounced by the Argentine captain. In his farewell post for his friend on Instagram, Messi took a dig at his club, accusing Barcelona of “kicking” Suarez out.

“I think they wanted to remove me from Messi’s side,” Suarez said in an interview, claiming that there are “a lot of contradictions” in the accounts being stated by Barcelona.

“Maybe it annoyed them that I had a good relationship with Leo,” he added. “Perhaps they didn’t want him to be with me so much. I can’t find any reason to think that would damage the team, though.”

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RASHFORD COMMITTED TO FIGHTING POVERTY AFTER MBE.

Marcus Rashford says it is an honour to receive an MBE in recognition of his services to help children across the United Kingdom at risk of going hungry during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m incredibly honoured and humbled,” he tells Man Utd’s official website after learning of his MBE, full title Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

“As a young black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22. This is a very special moment for myself and my family, but particularly my mum who is the real deserving recipient of the honour.”

Rashford helped to raise £20million and provide 2.8m children with meals while schools were closed due to COVID-19.

Not done there, the Manchester United Academy graduate stepped up his efforts to tackle childhood poverty by campaigning for an expansion in free school meals and holiday provision in a move to help a further 2.6m children and 290,000 pregnant women.

Now, Rashford says his work has still only just begun.

“The fight to protect our most vulnerable children is far from over,” he says.

“I would be doing my community, and the families I have met and spoken with, an injustice if I didn’t use this opportunity to respectfully urge the Prime Minister, who recommended me for this honour, to support our children during the October half-term with an extension of the voucher scheme, as the furlough scheme comes to an end and we face increased unemployment.”

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WESTHAM MAKING PROGRESS ON SAID BENRAHMA SIGNING.

West Ham United held productive talks with Brentford over the signing of Said Benrahma at the weekend, reports say.

It has been reported that West Ham could meet Brentford’s asking price by offering £20 million plus lucrative add-ons, with the Championship club valuing the winger at £25 million.

The report has added that the Hammers are ‘increasingly likely’ to secure the services of the 25-year-old before the summer transfer window in England closes this Friday.

Benrahma is a very exciting footballer who scores goals and creates chances for his teammates.

Described as “a tricky player” by his Brentford teammate Henrik Dalsgaard in WestLondonSport in June 2020, the winger scored 17 goals and provided nine assists in the Championship last season and scored 10 goals and provided 14 assists in the league in 2018-19.

The Algeria international who can also operate as a forward would make the Hammers a better and more potent team in attack, especially with Felipe Anderson having left West Ham for FC Porto on loan.

With Benrahma in the team, West Ham fans can expect to watch some brilliant football.