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SEAN DYCHE SIGNS NEW FOUR-YEAR DEAL AT BURNLEY

Manager Sean Dyche has signed a new four-year deal with Burnley.

The 50-year-old is the longest-serving boss in the Premier League, having been at Turf Moor for nearly nine years, and he has now committed his future to the Clarets until the summer of 2025.

Dyche said: “It is nice to be able to get this deal completed and now look towards the future of this football club and its constant evolution.

“I have a strong affinity with the area and our supporters after so many years here and I look forward to putting in the hard work needed to keep the club moving in the right direction.”

Dyche’s success with Burnley, who are playing in the top flight for a sixth consecutive season, has seen him linked with moves to a number of other clubs.

New owners ALK Capital made securing Dyche’s services for the long term one of their main stated priorities and that has now been achieved, with assistant Ian Woan also signing for the same period.

Dyche’s major gripe has been a lack of support from above in transfer windows, but this summer saw the Clarets fork out for Maxwel Cornet from Lyon along with Nathan Collins from Stoke and Connor Roberts from Swansea.

Dyche added: “It was an important summer for us to add talent and depth to the team, but the work doesn’t stop there. As a club we’re about developing and improving players and the environment we foster here is so important to that.

“I am looking forward to continuing to develop that environment, work with a great group of players and coaches and to build on the positive relationship with our new ownership headed up by (chairman) Alan (Pace).”

Pace welcomed the news, saying: “As I’ve said many times before, we are huge fans of what Sean has achieved at this club.

“We were delighted to be able to offer Sean backing in the transfer market this summer and continue the evolution of this team, as part of our wider growth strategy for the club.

“It was important for everyone to get this deal over the line and look towards the club’s future, starting with this current Premier League season.

“I look forward to working closely with Sean and his team over the coming seasons as we seek to raise the bar and build on the solid foundations that have been laid over the past nine years.”

Burnley, who are still looking for their first victory in the Premier League this season, take on Arsenal on Saturday.

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FIFA CLAIMS THEY HAVE FANS SUPPORT OVER BIENNIAL WORLD CUP

A majority of fans support the idea of a biennial World Cup, according to a survey commissioned by Fifa.

The world governing body has developed hugely controversial plans to shorten the gap between its showpiece event from four years to two, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger championing the changes.

The Football Supporters Europe group is opposed to the idea and wrote to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, who replied to say he had “grave concerns” about the plans and has since told The Times that European countries could boycott the World Cup if the change is made.

However, FIFA says that globally there is support for the plan, and said the enthusiasm was greatest among younger fans in “developing markets” outside Europe.

“A survey has provided feedback as part of the feasibility study regarding the frequency of the men’s FIFA World Cup,” FIFA said in a statement.

“The findings of this online survey, conducted in July 2021, will be used as part of a wider consultation process involving fans, which will take place over several phases.

“Fifteen thousand respondents were identified as expressing an interest in football and the FIFA World Cup, from a broader market research survey involving 23,000 people in 23 countries, across six confederations, commissioned via IRIS and YouGov, independent industry experts.

“Based on initial results, the following conclusions can be drawn:

“The majority of fans would like to see a more frequent men’s FIFA World Cup;
of this majority, the preferred frequency is biennial; there are considerable differences between the so-called traditional markets and the developing football markets; and younger generations in all regions are more open and interested in change than older generations.”

Fifa said the results of an expanded survey involving over 100,000 people in more than 100 countries is under way and would be published in due course.

South American confederation CONMEBOL has joined Uefa in speaking out against the plans, while world players’ union FIFPRO has warned the proposals will not have any legitimacy without the support of its members.

European Leagues – an umbrella group which includes the Premier League and all of the continent’s major domestic competitions – has expressed firm and unanimous opposition to the plans. That appears to be a major obstacle for FIFA to overcome, as its clubs employ the majority of the players who play in World Cups.

The European Club Association – which includes all of the continent’s big clubs except for the Super League rebel trio – has also warned Fifa against any “unilateral” decision.

The idea for a biennial World Cup was first floated by the Saudi Arabian football association, and a feasibility study was given the go-ahead after a vote at Fifa Congress in May.

Wenger, Fifa’s head of global football development, says it provides more meaningful matches for players who do not operate in Europe’s big leagues, and also cuts down on international travel during the season, with international breaks cut to one or at most two.

He also believes it gives national teams more chances to qualify, although the likelihood is that the same teams would simply play in World Cups more often, if they entered.

Additional World Cups would, in theory, mean extra revenue for Fifa to share among the member associations who elect the Fifa leadership, and it has been seen by some as a means for Infantino to solidify his power base.

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MESSI STARTS, MBAPPE INJURED AS CLUB BRUGGE FORCE PSG TO DRAW

Star-studded Paris Saint-Germain were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by Club Brugge on Wednesday night in Group A in Flanders.

Lionel Messi made his first start for PSG, lining up alongside former Barcelona teammate Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in the XI for the first time since joining from the Catalan giants in the summer.

Despite a long list of high-profile arrivals in Paris, it was Ander Herrera that opened the scoring in the 15th minute for the visiting side, reaching behind him to lash home a left-footed shot after Mbappe picked him out in the middle of the penalty area.

“We didn’t play a fantastic game, but to be fair we did enough to win, we deserved to win,” said Herrera.

“Maybe they had opportunities at the beginning of the second half but I think we controlled the match, we had a lot of chances.”

Brugge hit back before the half-hour when Hans Vanaken powered a first time shot past Keylor Navas from Eduard Sobol’s inch-perfect cross into the centre of the box to put the match back on level terms.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side found themselves under pressure from the Belgian champions after the leveller, but they managed to get into the dressing room for half-time in a 1-1 draw.

Mbappe, who went to ground in the first half and came off briefly, then limped off the pitch early in the second after an awkward tangle with a pair of Brugge defenders and was replaced by Mauro Icardi.

Both sides pushed for a go-ahead goal as the second half wore on, and Messi had a great chance saved by Simon Mignolet around 70 minutes before the Argentine was shown yellow for a challenge on Brugge’s Mats Rits.

“I didn’t have a lot of work, I just pulled a couple of saves. We played as a compact side, it was the right approach,” the Belgian said.

No winner came for either club and the teams settled for a point apiece to trail Manchester City, who thrashed RB Leipzig on Wednesday, in the group.

After the match, Pochettino urged patience with PSG’s new attacking trio: “It requires time for them to shine together.

“It requires work. I had made it clear that we’re not a team yet, we have to work for this.”

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UCL: HALLER NETS FOUR AS AJAX HAMMERS SPORTING CP IN LISBON

Sebastien Haller scored four goals as Ajax Amsterdam picked apart Portuguese hosts Sporting CP for a one-sided 5-1 victory at the start of their Champions League Group C campaign on Wednesday.

The tall striker netted twice in the opening 10 minutes to set Ajax on their way, and completed his hat-trick early in the second half before adding another goal just after the hour mark at Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade Stadium.

Steven Berghuis claimed his first goal for his new club to add to the tally while Paulinho got the home team’s consolation.

The combination of winger Antony and Haller proved lethal as Ajax got off to a dream start in the second minute, with the Brazilian’s shot deflected on to the post and Haller dipping his head to get to the rebound.

Antony’s run down the right set up Haller’s second after nine minutes before Paulinho pulled one back in the 33rd minute with an angled shot that Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer let slip under his body.

Berghuis ensured a 3-1 halftime lead with a polished side-foot finish but Paulinho had the ball in the Ajax net straight after the break only to be ruled offside after a VAR check.

Haller, whom Ajax forgot to register for European club competition last season in an embarrassing administrative botch-up, then added two more in the 51st and 63rd minutes.

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LIVERPOOL INSPIRED BY ISTANBUL IN COME BACK WIN AGAINST AC MILAN AT ANFIELD

Liverpool built a Champions League reputation on their 2005 second-half recovery against AC Milan and they were required to come from behind again to get their European campaign off to a winning start.

The achievement was considerably easier than the seemingly gargantuan task of recovering from 3-0 down against the then mighty Serie A giants but they made much harder work of their 3-2 victory at Anfield than they should have done.

Such was their early dominance Jurgen Klopp’s side should have been out of sight well before Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz scored within two minutes of each other just before the break to surprisingly turn the match on its head.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ninth-minute shot had deflected in off Fikayo Tomori before Mohamed Salah missed the chance to establish an early platform with his first failure from the penalty spot in 18 attempts.

Despite trailing at half-time, Klopp would not have had to produce the rallying speech Rafael Benitez did in Istanbul as there had been very little wrong up to the point where they lost all defensive shape moments before the interval.

And even though Milan finished a distant second to city rivals Inter last season, they are not blessed with the star power of a Kaka, Paolo Maldini or Hernan Crespo and without the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they lack real quality.

Liverpool turned up the heat with Salah’s 72nd goal in his 100th appearance at Anfield, shortly after the restart provided the necessary momentum and Jordan Henderson secured the win with a low half-volley.

Milan may have won seven European Cups but this was their first outing in this competition since 2014 and their inexperience showed as they constantly gave away possession having found themselves under pressure from the moment they won the toss and invited their hosts to attack the Kop.

Divock Origi, a surprise starter for the rested Sadio Mane, missed a good early chance, Diogo Jota had a shot blocked and Joel Matip’s header – destined for the top corner – was caught by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

However, the strain told as Alexander-Arnold exchanged passes with Salah and charged into the area where his angled shot bounced up off Tomori and into the net.

It did nothing to help Milan’s nerves; the waves of attacks just kept coming and when Andy Robertson’s cross hit the arm of Ismael Bennacer, Salah had the chance to double their advantage but Maignan saved his penalty and Jota’s follow-up.

The miss appeared to stall the hosts’ momentum – their best chance after that saw Salah’s snap-shot tipped over – and that gave Milan some encouragement but, after the previous 42 minutes they had endure, even they could not have foreseen their finish to the half.

A neat passing move on the edge of the penalty area exploited the channel between centre-back Matip and Alexander-Arnold and Rebic rolled a shot past Alisson.

Their second came from a similar position, with Alexander-Arnold caught upfield, and although Robertson blocked Theo Hernandez’s shot on the line, Diaz followed in to score.

It was uncharacteristically loose from Liverpool but the absence of the calming influence of the rested Virgil Van Dijk offered some explanation.

So another comeback against the Serie A giants was required but, judging by the evidence of the first half, it was entirely achievable.

Salah’s 27th Champions League goal in 46 matches, three minutes after the break after exchanging passes with Origi and poking home the dropping through-ball was the ideal start.

But they had to wait until the 69th minute to get back in front when Henderson drilled in a low half-volley from the edge of the penalty area after a half-cleared corner.

At the final whistle there were no celebrations from the players and it was left to Klopp to produce his now-trademark triple-fist pump in front of the Kop to signify the return of European football to a full house at Anfield.

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MANCITY RESIST NKUNKU HAT-TRICK TO BEAT LEIPZIG IN NINE-GOAL THRILLER

Manchester City launched their latest Champions League challenge with a remarkable 6-3 victory over 10-man Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium.

Five different City players got on the scoresheet for last season’s runners-up, who also benefited from an own goal in a thrilling end-to-end encounter to open Group A.

Christopher Nkunku scored a brilliant hat-trick in a losing cause for the visitors, who had former City left-back Angelino sent off in the second half.

Nathan Ake opened the scoring for City with Nordi Mukiele turning into his own net and Riyad Mahrez adding a penalty in the first half.

Jack Grealish marked his first Champions League appearance with City’s first goal of the second half before Joao Cancelo and Gabriel Jesus also netted.

Leipzig, the 2020 semi-finalists, had threatened to be a tough test for Pep Guardiola’s side. In an attacking sense that proved the case but, defensively, City regularly cut the German team open.

City were without centre-backs John Stones and Aymeric Laporte but Ake went some way to justifying his selection by claiming the opening goal after 16 minutes.

The Dutchman went forward for a corner and met a Grealish cross with a firm header. Former Liverpool goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi managed to flick it onto the bar but the effort was too powerful and bounced over the line.

City immediately threatened more as Mahrez cut inside from the right and saw£ a trademark curling effort deflected wide. Grealish then had an effort blocked by Nkunku.

The hosts were gifted their second on 28 minutes. Kevin De Bruyne, making his first start of the season, found space on the right and whipped in a low, bouncing cross.

Mukiele looked to have it covered, but he misread Gulacsi’s positioning and completely wrong-footed the keeper as he attempted to head back to him, resulting in an embarrassing own goal.

Leipzig, to their credit, continued to play positively and enjoyed a good spell.

Their reward came with a reply on 42 minutes as Emil Forsberg picked out Mukiele with a deep cross. Redeeming himself a little following his earlier error, Mukiele headed back across goal for Nkunku to turn past Ederson.

City responded instantly, although there was an element of controversy over their penalty after VAR adjudged Lukas Klostermann to have handled a Ferran Torres header at point-blank range.

Mahrez took full advantage as he fired into the roof of the net.

Leipzig again reduced the arrears six minutes into the second half. De Bruyne collided with the referee as the German side attacked but play continued and Nkunku headed his second from a Dani Olmo cross.

City responded again and Grealish made his mark as he raced onto a long ball from deep to cut inside from the left to curl a fine shot beyond Gulacsi.

The hosts thought they had another soon after when Torres glided around Gulacsi but his goal was ruled out for offside by VAR.

Leipzig were still not beaten, however, and Nkunku’s fine night continued as he got behind the defence and fired a low shot across Ederson to make it 4-3.

In keeping with the frenetic nature of the open contest, City added another one soon after.

This time Cancelo was the man on target as he lashed a shot into the roof of the net from 25 yards.

Cancelo was in the thick of the action again moments later, this time being felled by a wild challenge from Angelino. The Spaniard was shown his second yellow card and given his marching orders.

That killed any hopes Leipzig may have had of finding a way back into a remarkable game and Jesus wrapped up the scoring five minutes from time when he pounced on a loose ball in the area.

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AHEAD LIVERPOOL-AC MILAN CLASH: HENDERSON HAILS SIMON KJAER’S LEADERSHIP, SAYS DANISH GOT EVERYONE’S RESPECT

Jordan Henderson has told Denmark skipper Simon Kjaer he has “the respect and admiration of everyone in football” for the part he played in saving team-mate Christian Eriksen’s life.

The Liverpool captain will go head to head with the 32-year-old AC Milan defender in the Champions League on Wednesday evening a little more than three months since Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during his country’s 1-0 defeat by Finland in their opening group game at the Euro 2020 finals.

In a series of tweets referring to his programme notes for the Milan game, England midfielder Henderson said: “I’d like to welcome @acmilan’s @simonkjaer1989 to Anfield this evening. He set new standards of leadership during Euro 2020 when Christian Eriksen fell ill.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what that experience was like for the Denmark players and I’m hugely relieved that Christian continues to make a recovery, but as a captain I couldn’t help but be impressed by the way Simon conducted himself and led his team.

“I have seen that @UEFA have given Simon and the Denmark medical team the President’s Award, and that is both fitting and deserved.

“But I hope Simon also knows that he has the respect and admiration of everyone in football for what he did that night.”

Eriksen, 29, collapsed during the first half of the game at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on June 12.

Kjaer was one of the first players to reach his team-mate and perform first aid as medics rushed to Eriksen’s assistance, working to resuscitate him on the pitch before taking him to hospital, where he was fitted with a heart-starting device.

The Inter Milan playmaker has since undergone extensive tests and continues to be monitored. He was able to travel to Italy last month to visit his club’s training ground.

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ENGLISH FA REJECTS LEEDS APPEAL AGAINST PASCAL STRUIJK RED CARD

Leeds’ appeal against the red card shown to Pascal Struijk in Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool has been unsuccessful, the club have announced.

Struijk was shown a straight red, following a VAR review, for a challenge on Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott in the second half of the Premier League match at Elland Road.

With the subsequent appeal having being dismissed, Struijk will now be suspended for Leeds’ next three matches.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men travel to Newcastle on Friday, then Fulham in the Carabao Cup four days later before hosting West Ham the following Saturday.

Struijk’s challenge left Elliott with a fracture dislocation of his left ankle. The 18-year-old Liverpool midfielder underwent successful surgery on Tuesday.

Following the news that Struijk’s suspension would stand, Elliott apologised to the Leeds man and said he thought “it’s wrong”.

Replying to a post about the news on Sky Sports’ Instagram account, Elliott said: “Sorry about this Pascal. I think it’s wrong. But it’ll soon blow over brother and you’ll be back in no time smashing it again. Keep positive.”

Regarding Elliott’s recovery, Liverpool club doctor Jim Moxon told the club’s website on Tuesday: “We won’t put pressure on him by setting a specific timeframe beyond being able to say with confidence we expect him to feature again later in the season following our rehab programme.”

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ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC MISSING AS AC MILAN RETURN TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AT ANFIELD

AC Milan rejoin Europe’s elite without the star power of injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic but coach Stefano Pioli believes they will prove they are worthy of their place.

The seven-time European Cup winners return to the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14 with a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool.

Ibrahimovic, who only made his comeback from four months out with a knee injury on Sunday against Lazio, has been left at home due to an Achilles problem.

And while the 39-year-old Swede may be their talisman Pioli insists they have gained enough important recent experience to be able to compete with more established sides after three Europa League campaigns in four years.

“Zlatan wanted to join the match (against Lazio) and of course after the match he had some inflammation,” said Pioli.

“We hoped he could play but he still had pain so we don’t want to risk tomorrow as it’s a very important match and we have so many matches.

“We are very sorry for Zlatan because he always wants to play but he will be back soon.

“We are very well prepared. We had the Europa League and all those experiences allowed us to improve, to make mistakes and to grow.

“We are playing at a higher level but this is what we hoped for. This is a great opportunity for us, by raising the bar we can actually perform well.

“Though we have not played in the Champions League we know what to do.

“The group is very difficult and competitive with great experience in Europe but we want to write our history from tomorrow. We are very convinced about ourselves.”

Milan’s 32-year-old captain Simon Kjaer, who only has seven Champions League appearances to his name despite his vast experience, believes they have to make a statement against Jurgen Klopp’s side.

“It is going to be a difficult match but in my opinion we need to go there and play like AC Milan,” he said.

“We are there to demonstrate we are not on holiday. We are there to do something.

“This match is very special because we are back in the Champions League and we will play with great pleasure but we need to demonstrate we are back in the Champions League.

“We are in a very good position in our pathway and we have grown up so much, but we have to show that. We need to have the mindset that we can play against any team.”

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UCL: LEWANDOWSKI BRACE HELP BAYERN THRASH SORRY BARCELONA

Two goals from Robert Lewandowski and one from Thomas Muller propelled Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win at Barcelona in their opening Champions League game on Tuesday in another brutal demonstration of the gulf in class between the two sides.

Muller gave Bayern the lead in the 34th minute with a strike from outside the area which deflected off Barca defender Eric Garcia to confound goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Lewandowski struck the German champions’ second in the 54th, tapping into the net from close range on the rebound after Jamal Musiala had hit the post as Bayern made a rampant start following the interval, hemming their hosts into their own half.

The Polish striker twisted the knife further into Barcelona by scoring again in the 85th, collecting the ball in the area after another shot had come back off the post and tormenting the defence before calmly beating Ter Stegen in the Group E clash.

The scoreline was not quite as damning for Barca as the 8-2 drubbing Bayern gave them in the quarterfinals two seasons ago but the performance was just as hopeless as they were routinely dispossessed and struggled to cope with the visitors’ intensity.

Barca made a promising start in their first Champions League game in front of supporters at the Camp Nou since December 2019, although while the crowd was limited to 40,000 due to coronavirus restrictions there were fewer fans in attendance owing to a lack of appetite for the post-Lionel Messi era.

But Bayern soon showed their superiority and it took a strong hand from Ter Stegen to prevent Leroy Sane giving the Germans the lead, while Gerard Pique had to slide across the ground to block a goal-bound strike from Musiala.

Barcelona’s only real attempt on goal in the first half came from a free kick, defender Ronald Araujo meeting Memphis Depay’s cross and heading just over the bar.

Bayern finally took the lead their play merited through Muller, who scored twice in the 8-2 hammering of Barca in Lisbon and has now netted seven times against the Catalans in Europe’s top competition.

Loud boos could be heard at halftime but things got more desperate for the hosts after the break and by the end of the game Barca fans were sarcastically applauding the team whenever they managed to recover the ball, resigned to their fate.

“We came to win this game and we knew that we had to show respect to Barcelona,” Lewandowski said. “When you play at the Camp Nou against them they are always dangerous. But we had this game under control and we showed we were here for the three points.”

Lewandowski extended his scoring streak in all club competitions to 18 matches. For Muller, it was his 49th goal in Champions League competition with seven of those against Barcelona. No other player has scored more goals in the competition against Barcelona than him.

“It’s a lot of fun playing here, the boys enjoyed it,” Muller said. “When you win 3-0 here, it’s a really important signal. We’re really pleased. We gave very little away at the back and going forward, we could have scored one or two more.”

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said the gulf in talent on the field was apparent and pointed out that his side was playing without injured stars like Sergio Aguero, Ousmane Dembele, and Ansu Fati.

“I can’t complain about the team’s attitude, but there’s a quality difference. One team that have played together for a long time [against] us, with a lot of young players who in two, three years will be better. It’s really difficult to accept, but we hope to improve things and to get people back from injuries.

There are players aged 19, 20. If you compare that with what Bayern have, it’s a huge difference. The difference will get smaller in time.”

With Camp Nou at 40% capacity, the fans took out their frustration on Sergi Roberto, who had a less than memorable performance playing out of position at right full-back and substituted off in the 60th minute.

“Bayern are really solid and we are what we are. It is what it is. At the end, we had a lot of kids on. We’re Barca and I don’t want to make excuses, though. We will see at the end of the season,” Barca captain Pique said after the match.

“It hurts me a lot personally because I know him as a person, he’s a great human being and loves this club more than anything. I would like to remind people he’s not a full-back, either, and he’s making a huge sacrifice by playing there. It hurts a lot,” Pique said of his teammate.

Koeman also came to the defense of Roberto, saying: “I never like fans whistling a player. All the players have tried to give everything.

“The only thing is Sergi was playing in a position, if all players available, he would not play that position. To play further forward on the wing, have to be good one on one, quick … he’s another type of player.”