Author: moshood

Manchester City are set to sign Portugal defender Ruben Dias from Benfica for £65m his week.

City’s Argentina centre-back Nicolas Otamendi, 32, will go the other way for about £13.7m in a separate transfer.

Manager Pep Guardiola has wanted a right-sided central defender since Vincent Kompany retired last summer.

Dias, 23, was captain for Benfica’s win over Moreirense on Saturday and hugged team-mates and sporting director Rui Costa at the final whistle.

After the match, Dias – who had scored his 12th goal for the club in 133 appearances – told Benfica TV: “It was a very important game for me and being able to mark it with a goal was very special.

“I believe that everyone already has an idea why I hugged Rui Costa.”

While Dias’ transfer is yet to be completed, only a few minor details remain to be agreed.

The failure to secure a replacement for former skipper Kompany was seen as a major reason for City not putting up more of a challenge to Liverpool in last season’s Premier League title race.

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, 29, was initially City’s top target this summer, but the Italian club wanted £80m for the Senegal defender, which City were not prepared to pay.

A Jamie Vardy hat trick and goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans helped Leicester City beat Manchester City 5-2 on Sunday.

Ederson could do little in the City goal as Vardy and Tielemans fired three penalties past him. Vardy and Maddison added two from open play while goals from Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake did little for City’s hopes.

City had not conceded five goals in a home game since February 2003 against Arsenal and it was the first time their boss Pep Guardiola had seen a side he is managing concede five in what was his 686th game in the dugout.

The hosts came out of the blocks the much better team at the Etihad Stadium out of the blocks the much better team, opening the scoring through former Leicester City player Mahrez on four minutes.

A perfectly weighted corner from Kevin De Bruyne was headed out of the box by Leicester but only as far as Mahrez who, unmarked, waited for the ball to bounce before curling it beautifully into the top right corner with his left foot.

City went on to enjoy over 80% of the possession in the opening 25 minutes but failed to capitalise on that time with a goal.

Rodri appeared to have scored after 35 minutes when he got his head to a De Bruyne free kick but replays showed he was offside and the goal was disallowed.

It was a frantic minute as Leicester immediately went on the attack. Harvey Barnes ran the ball down the pitch and put a good ball into Vardy who went down in the box under pressure from Kyle Walker. Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and the 2019-20 Golden Boot winner converted.

Vardy added to his tally nine minutes into the second half when Timothy Castagne put a low cross into the box and he got in front of his man to chip the ball over Ederson.

Eric Garcia conceded a second City penalty on 57 minutes when he brought Vardy down in the box. The 33-year-old stepped up once again and while Ederson went the right way, there was no way he could stop Vardy’s fast and low shot going into the bottom right corner.

Maddison added Leicester’s fourth on 77 minutes after receiving the ball in space on the left. He cut inside and curled the ball past Ederson with his right foot.

Ake managed to pull one back for City on 84 minutes after he headed the ball into the net from a set piece but it wasn’t to be enough as Tielemans converted a penalty moments later.

“We have set up to infuriate them and it has worked a treat. We knew if we stuck to our plan we would get some chances,” Vardy said after the game.

“It’s always cat and mouse. It’s a gamble both ways. I know where I am going to put it and he knows where he is diving. [I’m] over the moon to get the goals.

“It’s only a start. The way we finished last season was not good enough so we have to keep it going now.”

Despite looking uncomfortable in his movement in the latter stages of the match, Vardy confirmed that it was a minor bone issue that was niggling at him and not something more serious.

The defeat snapped City’s 11-match unbeaten home run in the league dating back to last season, while it was also their first defeat in an opening top-flight home game since a 2-1 loss to Southampton in 1989.

Jarrod Bowen scored twice as West Ham United picked up their first win of the Premier League season with a 4-0 success against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Hammers, who had lost their four previous matches against Wolves without scoring, went 1-0 up on 17 minutes. A quick free-kick from Pablo Fornals picked out Bowen, who expertly curled a low shot beyond Rui Patricio.

Fornals blasted over from close range in an opening 45 minutes dominated by the home side.

West Ham doubled their tally in the 57th minute when Bowen tapped in a loose ball after Fornals’ long-range effort hit the post.

The Hammers added a third when Tomas Soucek’s header from Aaron Cresswell’s corner was deflected in for an own goal by Raul Jimenez.

Sebastien Haller headed in a fourth in stoppage time, meaning West Ham and Wolves now both have one victory from their opening three matches.

Manchester United earned a dramatic 3-2 victory over Brighton with a Bruno Fernandes penalty awarded after the full-time whistle on Saturday.

Neal Maupay scored Brighton’s first goal of the game with a penalty in the first half which he delicately chipped into the goal while Marcus Rashford hit the target for United and Lewis Dunk scored an own goal.

Solly March thought he had earned the side a point with a last minute goal but Bruno Fernandes polished off a penalty on 100 minutes after a Maupay handball to secure United’s first win of the season.

Brighton shot out of the blocks at the Amex with Leandro Trossard hitting the post after just eight minutes with a left-footed shot.

The post was to prove to be Brighton’s downfall with three shots in the first-half — two from Trossard — rebounding off either side of David de Gea’s goal.

Despite Brighton’s better start, it was United who found the back of the net first with Mason Greenwood on 33 minutes. However, replays show Rashford was offside in the build up and the goal was disallowed.

Brighton finally caught their break seven minutes later when Fernandes gave away a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Tariq Lamptey.

Maupay stepped up to take the spot kick and drifted a slow chip into the middle of the goal while De Gea dived to the left.

Brighton’s lead only lasted three minutes though after a Fernandes free kick from outside the box was put in by Dunk for his fifth own goal in the Premier League as he battled with Harry Maguire.

It was a busy day for referee Chris Kavanagh. Two minutes into the second half he awarded a penalty to Brighton after Aaron Connolly went down under a challenge from Paul Pogba. The decision was then overturned after VAR replays showed that the Ireland international stepped across Pogba.

Rashford thought he had put United ahead on 52 minutes but he was offside when Greenwood crossed the ball to him and the goal was disallowed.

Rashford made up for it three minutes later though with a beautiful display of individual skill. A pass from Fernandes on the left sent him running into the box. He dummied and danced around the Brighton defence before hitting a left-footed shot into the net.

Brighton battered United defence in the final stages and March thought he’d got an equaliser with his close-range header at the far post found its way into the back of the net.

It wasn’t to be Brighton’s day, however, and an outstretched arm from Maupay saw the home side give away a penalty after the final whistle was blown.

Brighton thought they had survived the last minute drama when March cleared Maguire’s header off the line and the final whistle went.

However, VAR replays showed that Maguire’s shot had hit Maupay’s raised hand before being cleared off the line. Kavanagh returned to the pitch from the sideline TV and awarded a penalty to United.

Fernandes stepped up to take it and in the final act of the game hammered the ball into the right-hand corner on the 100th minute.

“We got away with one,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told BT Sport after the game. “Maybe one point we deserved, we didn’t deserve more. But the character deserved more.

“They are a difficult team to play against. We don’t have the legs and sharpness but we will get there. We have plenty of work ahead.”

Brighton manager Graham Potter said he was “proud” of the performance his players displayed.

“All the little things have gone against us but we were really good for 90 minutes and we have to take that forwards,” he added.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has claimed that the decision to sell Luis Suarez had already been made before he took over in the Camp Nou dugout following Lionel Messi’s swipe at the club’s handling of the Uruguayan’s exit.

Suarez spent six trophy-laden years at the club, cementing a reputation as one of the Blaugrana’s greatest strikers in history in the process, while also striking up a close relationship with Messi both on and off the pitch.

Messi took a fresh dig at the Barca board on Friday in an emotional farewell post to his good friend, but Koeman, who believes he has been painted as the “villain” in the saga, has stated that the decision to move on the 33-year-old had been taken before his arrival.

It seems that I have been the villain of this film,” the Dutchman told a press conference on Saturday. “But before I arrived here, some decisions had already been made and I supported those decisions – it wasn’t up to me.

“I only showed respect to Luis Suarez as a person and a player. I told him that if he stayed it would be difficult for him to play but that he would be part of the squad.”

Koeman went on to say that Messi appears to be unaffected by Suarez’s departure on the training pitch, with the Argentine remaining professional throughout what has been an emotional few months.

“It’s normal that Messi is sad when a friend of his leaves the club. But Leo has been an example for everyone in training and in games. Not a training session goes by in which he has not shown great commitment. I have no doubts about him.”

And while it has been a summer of discontent for the Barca faithful, one thing fans can look forward to is the development of young attacker Ansu Fati, who Koeman confirmed is part of his plans for the new season.

“Ansu Fati is a great talent,” he said. “Few players at his age are at his level. He is young and has things to learn, but if he already made his first-team debut then it means something.

“He’s a player for the future of the club, although, even at his age, his level is impressive enough to play in the first team.”

Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 after extra time on Thursday to lift the UEFA Super Cup and complete a quadruple under coach Hansi Flick, in the first European game played with some fans in the stands since the sport returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Substitute Javi Martinez headed in the winner in the 104th minute after Europa League winners Sevilla had taken a 13th-minute lead through Lucas Ocampos’s penalty and Bayern levelled through Leon Goretzka in the 34th.

Bayern were the better side throughout and missed a bagful of chances through Robert Lewandowski, Benjamin Pavard and Thomas Mueller in the first half.

The Bavarians, unbeaten now in 32 consecutive matches, also won the domestic league and Cup double as well as the Champions League after Flick took over last November. Their last defeat dates back to December, 2019.

“It was an intense game but we deserved to win,” Flick told reporters. “We are not yet fully in our rhythm despite our big win (8-0) over Schalke 04 on the weekend.

“But the mentality of the team, especially after going 1-0 down, was sensational. They battled back against very strong opponents and deserved the win.”

But it was Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer who kept them in the game when he twice denied Youssef En-Nesyri with superb saves before Martinez benefited from being given too much space to head in on the rebound.

The Spaniards gradually ran out of steam, however, and it was only a matter of time until Bayern scored again.

Martinez, who is reportedly close to agreeing to a return to Athletic Bilbao this season, had come on five minutes earlier and benefited from being given too much space to head in on the rebound.

The Spaniard also scored in extra time in Bayern’s only previous Super Cup win in 2013.

Some 15,000 fans were seated in Budapest’s Puskas Arena with the game seen as a test event for the gradual return of fans to European games.

“We all know it is not easy to take right decision,” Flick said of allowing fans. “But it felt good to have an atmosphere in the stadium. It felt a bit more like football. I hope all the fans return home healthy.”

The match was held amid a growing second wave of COVID-19, with Hungarian cases at record highs, which had prompted warnings of the possible consequences of mass gatherings such as this game.