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SERGE GNABRY HITS HATRICK AS BAYERN SCORES EIGHT IN IMPRESSIVE BUNDESLIGA OPENER.

Serge Gnabry hit a hat-trick as holders Bayern Munich romped to a record 8-0 rout of Schalke on Friday in the opening game of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season.

Leroy Sane said all-conquering Bayern Munich crave even more silverware after the Germany winger scored on his debut in Friday’s historic 8-0 thrashing of Schalke in the opening game of the new Bundesliga season.

“We’re still hungry, even though we won the treble last season,” said Sane after creating two goals for Serge Gnabry, who claimed a hat-trick in the goalfest at the Allianz Arena. “Winning our first game at home 8-0 is obviously super. “It felt really, really good finally to be able to play with the lads,” said Sane, who spent most of last season sidelined at former club Manchester City after tearing knee ligaments at the very start of last season.

“It’s been a very good day with lots of goals.”

Just 26 days after winning the Champions League final, Bayern picked up where they left off last season with their 22nd-straight win.

“It is amazing how the team has built on the performance of the past season,” said Bayern board member and former club captain Oliver Kahn.

The jaw-dropping result is the highest win in an opening game of a new Bundesliga season – five weeks to the day after Bayern’s 8-2 thrashing of Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Leon Goretzka, Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowksi also netted, while England junior international Jamal Musiala, 17, became the youngest Bayern goal-scorer in the Bundesliga when he came on late.

Bayern had to brush off setbacks in the days leading up to kick-off.

On Thursday, the Mayor of Munich scuppered plans to allow 7,500 fans into the Allianz Arena, due to rising new cases of the coronavirus in the Bavarian capital, hours after Bayern confirmed the sale of Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool.

Before kick-off, David Alaba, who is stalling over signing a contract extension with a year left to go, dropped out with a leg injury.

However, Bayern picked up where they left off 26 days after winning the Champions League final in Lisbon.

Cash-strapped Schalke continued their miserable finish to last season as David Wagner’s side have now gone 17 games without a win.

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JAMES RODRIGUEZ SHINES, AS CALVERT-LEWIN SCORES HATRICK TO EASE OFF WESTBROM IN SEVEN GOAL THRILLER.

James Rodriguez scored his first Premier League goal and Dominic Calvert-Lewin bagged a hat trick as Everton thrashed 10-man West Bromwich Albion 5-2 at Goodison Park on Saturday.

West Brom started brightly and opened the scoring through Grady Diangana, his first league goal, but when Calvert-Lewin equalised after an intervention from the Video Assistant Referee, Everton took control.

Just before half time Rodriguez put Everton ahead from the edge of the box with a finish full of quality, and shortly afterwards was pushed in the face by defender Kieran Gibbs, who received a deserved red card.

Combustible West Brom manager Slaven Bilic was also red-carded by referee Mike Dean as he remonstrated with the official at the break.

The Baggies bagged a superb equaliser from Matheus Pereira’s 30-yard free-kick shortly after the restart, but the Toffees’ greater quality against 10 men then saw them surge ahead.

Michael Keane put them in front from close range before Calvert-Lewin took his tally for the season to four in two games as he netted two more to complete his first hat-trick for the Merseyside club.

Everton appeared sloppy at times compared with their 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in their season opener. But their improvement from last season continues to be dramatic, while for West Brom eight goals conceded in two games shows the measure of their task in the Premier League.

Everton created 32 goal attempts in their opening two matches, with four of them converted by Calvert-Lewin.

“You look at the quality we have got on the ball, it was important we utilised the extra man,” the striker told BT Sport after the win.

“We created space and chances, and I was happy to be in the box to tap them in.”

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LIVERPOOL COMPLETE £45M SIGNING OF WOLVES FORWARD.

Liverpool have reportedly completed the signing of Portuguese attacker Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £45 million deal.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Premier League champions,
Liverpool have completed the signing of Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The player is set to pen a five-year contract with the Reds.

The 23-year-old Jota came through the youth ranks at Portuguese outfit Gondomar, before joining Pacos Ferreira. In 2016, he signed for La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, but was immediately loaned out to FC Porto, where he impressed. The following summer, he joined Wolves, who were in the Championship at the time, initially on loan, before making the transfer permanent in 2018.

Since joining the Black County outfit, the Portuguese forward has accumulated 131 appearances, scoring 44 goals and setting up 19 more. A versatile attacker, Jota has been used mostly on the left flank, but has also often operated as part of a two-pronged attack alongside Raul Jimenez.

Liverpool had been heavily linked with a move for Jota’s teammate Adama Traore all summer. Understandably so, considering that the reigning English champions are lacking quality backup for their first-choice frontline of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

However, instead of Traore, the club seem to have moved in on Jota, with the report claiming that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been a long-term admirer of the Portuguese. And while it is yet to be announced officially, the Echo is claiming that the transfer is a done deal.

As per the report, Liverpool will be shelling out £41 million for the signing of the forward, with another £4 million in add-ons. Jota is expected to put pen to a five-year contract with the Premier League champions. He is set to become the Reds’ fourth most expensive player behind Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Naby Keita.

It is further claimed that Liverpool will have to pay around just 10 per cent of the guaranteed transfer fee across the next twelve months.

Jota will become Liverpool’s third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alcantara, who joined the club only on Friday. After a rather subdued start to the transfer window, Liverpool have made a huge statement with two brilliant signings on a single day.

Jota’s signing is not the only deal that Liverpool have struck with Wolves on Friday. The Reds have also agreed to the sale of defensive prospect Ki-Jana Hoever in a deal worth an inital £9 million with a further £4.5m in add-ons.

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CHELSEA SENDS ZAPPACOSTA ON ANOTHER SEASON LONG-LOAN DEAL

Chelsea officially confirmed on Saturday morning that out-of-favour full-back Davide Zappacosta has joined Genoa on loan for the season.

Zappacosta arrived in the summer of 2017 for an initial fee of £23m, as per the Guardian. The Italy international’s 52 appearances for the Blues all came in his first two seasons with the club.

The right-back fell down the pecking order during the 18/19 campaign, with the west London outfit subsequently loaning Zappacosta out to Roma for the 19/20 season.

A serious knee injury dented Zappacosta’s plans of reigniting his career though, leaving the ace to start just six of his nine appearances last term.

The 28-year-old now has the task of helping Genoa battle against relegation, the Serie A outfit finished 17th last term, just one place above the drop.

Frank Lampard’s made a pretty wise decision in loaning Zappacosta out, it was unlikely that the Italian would work his way back as an important player for the Blues.

Chelsea also have Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta to call on as their right-back options, so there’s really no room for Zappacosta as it stands.

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Manchester United asked for Greenwood to be rested during the break

Manchester United asked for Mason Greenwood to be rested and not called up by England for Nations League duty, says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Greenwood, 18, made his senior debut against Iceland on 5 September having made 50 appearances in all competitions for United last season.

He and Manchester City’s Phil Foden were later sent home from the England squad for breaking coronavirus rules.

“I tried my best to give him a rest over the summer,” said Solskjaer.

“The club, we asked specifically and pointed out that he should have had a rest.

“He needs it mentally and physically after that season he had. First thing that happens is, one, he’s called up, and two, he’s right there in the press.

“We’ve done whatever we can to protect him and I will keep on helping him.”

Forward Greenwood apologised for the “embarrassment he had caused” in Iceland, and later had to release a statement about his “poor judgement” when he inhaled nitrous oxide, after “historical pictures” of him doing so were published in a newspaper.

Solskjaer confirmed that Greenwood will be involved in United’s Premier League season-opener against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

“With the testing and Covid protocols, he trained by himself for a little while. We had some tests done and as soon as possible he was with us. He’s a big part of this group,” Solskjaer added.

“This is where he feels at home. He’s not comfortable, we challenge him, we’ve got people looking after him.”

He added: “We have to understand he’s an 18-year-old kid who needs managing.”

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Naomi Osaka pulls out of French Open

US Open champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the French Open, which is scheduled to start on 27 September.

On Saturday, the Japanese player won her second US Open, and third Grand Slam title, with a 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory over Victoria Azarenka in New York.

She said in a statement: “I won’t be able to play at the French Open.

“My hamstring is still sore so I won’t have enough time to prepare for the clay. These two tournaments came too close to each other for me.”

The 22-year-old had her left hamstring wrapped in tape when she beat Azarenka in the final at Flushing Meadows.

The world number three, who won the Australian Open in 2019, has never gone beyond the third round at Roland Garros.

Earlier this month, world number one Ashleigh Barty announced she would not defend her French Open title, pulling out of the tournament because of coronavirus restrictions.

In the men’s draw, 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer is the most high-profile absentee as he recovers from knee surgery.

On Thursday, French Open organisers cut the number of fans allowed to attend each day of the tournament to 5,000 because of surging coronavirus figures in the country.

The Paris tournament was moved from its original start date of 24 May because of the pandemic.

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Tottenham scrape through qualifying round

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says that “in this moment” he “believes” in record signing Tanguy Ndombele after he bundled in a late winner against nine-man Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League.

Spurs survived a scare to reach the third qualifying round but were forced to come from behind in Bulgaria.

Georgi Minchev headed Plovdiv ahead on 72 minutes before the home side had two players sent off with 10 minutes left.

Harry Kane levelled from the penalty spot and substitute Ndombele sent Spurs through with the winner in the 85th minute.

The 22-year-old, signed for £54m from Lyon in August 2019, has only started 17 games in all competitions for Tottenham after a 2019/20 season hampered by injuries and criticism from his manager.

“Tanguy is in a process of evolution,” said Mourinho, who in March called for the France midfielder to “give more” in games.

“Last season he wasn’t. Last season he was stuck in a situation where I couldn’t see evolution,” Mourinho added. “In this moment he’s training very, very well. He’s recovering from his injury, he’s recovering physically and he gave us what we needed in this last 30 minutes.

“In this moment, I believe in Tanguy. I never doubted his quality. Never. I doubted in some moments his motivation and commitment and professional attitude.

“We made this decision together to not start the game because he also feels that he needs a bit more but in this moment I think that Tanguy can do well for us.”

Spurs face another long trip next Thursday to face Macedonian side Shkendija in the third qualifying round in a busy week for Mourinho’s team.

They have a Premier League game against Southampton on Sunday, an EFL Cup match against Leyton Orient on Tuesday and then the journey to North Macedonia two days later.

If they win both those cup games, they face a similar schedule the following week too.

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Higuian set to move to Inter Miami

Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain has left Italian champions Juventus after his contract was mutually terminated and is expected to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami club in the United States.

The 32-year-old joined Juve from Serie A rivals Napoli for a Italian record fee of £75m in July 2016.

At the time it was also the world’s third most expensive transfer.

On Thursday, Inter Miami manager Diego Alonso said Higuain was “finalising negotiations” with the MLS club.

Last week Higuain was greeted at Miami Airport by Jorge Mas, who is one of four co-owners alongside former England captain Beckham.

Former Real Madrid forward Higuain scored 66 goals in 149 games – as well as having loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea – but never quite lived up to expectations.

Last month, new Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo announced Higuain would soon be leaving the Turin club.

“He was a great champion, a great player but the cycle is over,” ex-Italy midfielder Pirlo said.

“We looked each other in the eyes, we talked and we made this decision. I admire him a lot, but we have decided that the paths will separate.”

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THIAGO SIGNS FOUR YEAR CONTRACT WITH LIVERPOOL.

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Reports emerged on Thursday morning that Liverpool had agreed a £25million deal to sign the Spain international. And a deal is now said to be completed for the Bayern Munich star.

Romano claims Thiago promised to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in June that he would join the Reds.

Thiago played a crucial role in helping Bayern win the Champions League only last month.

But that appears to have been his final competitive game for the Bundesliga giants.

Liverpool are set to pay £20m in four instalments of £5m over the four years of the contract.

The extra £5m will be made up by performance-related add-ons.

Klopp was asked about a deal for Thiago on Thursday but refused to give anything away.

Nothing, actually. Absolutely nothing,” he told Sky Sports.

“How it always is, we are not part of speculation. We try to never be. That’s it.

When something is announced, you are the person I will call!”

“It’s completely normal that we have to make another step because other teams will make other steps as well.

“It has nothing to do with being champions, we constantly try to develop and find solutions to the new challenges before we have the problems with them. That’s how football works.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has admitted he is a fan of Thiago but said there had been no sign of the 29-year-old at the club’s Melwood training ground amid reports the player was undergoing a medical.

“When you are at a club like Liverpool, you get linked with players all the time,” Robertson told Sky Sports.

For us, we focus on our squad. Nobody is in Melwood in terms of Thiago or any other player now for a new signing. Until something is signed on the dotted line then we don’t listen to rumours.

“Our aim is to excite fans, we excited them last season. They believed we might have won the league by Christmas time, but we [the players] didn’t.

“If we’re not exciting the fans, we’re not doing something right.

“If the club are exciting the fans with a potential link or potential rumour that we are going to sign this player then I suppose we are doing something right.

I have watched him. He is a fantastic player. A player full of talent. He would add to the quality of squad and probably any team in the world.

“If we get him, great. If we don’t then it is what it is. But we’ll wait and see until it’s confirmed then maybe I can sit down again and talk about his qualities a bit more.”

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PREMIER LEAGUE AGREE NEW CHINA BROADCAST DEAL.

The Premier League has agreed a new broadcast deal in China to cover the rest of the 2020-21 season.

A contract has been signed with Tencent Sports after its previous £564m deal with PPTV was terminated with immediate effect earlier this month.

Viewers in China will have access to matches from this weekend.

The previous agreement with PPTV, signed in 2019 and due to run until 2022, ended after a £160m payment due in March was not received.

Financial details of the new deal have not been disclosed.

China has been the English top flight’s most lucrative overseas television rights territory.

It is understood the reasons for the termination were financial rather than political.

More than half of this season’s remaining 372 matches will be made available free-to-air in China, with the rest accessible via subscription.

Clubs will also be able to share short in-play clips to engage with supporters, the first such deal the Premier League has done anywhere in the world.

“We and our clubs have an extremely passionate fanbase in China and are looking forward to working with the team at Tencent to engage with fans in new ways over the coming season,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.