The Argentine reached another historic landmark on Wednesday but a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid all but ended his side’s Liga title hopes.

Photo by Getty/Goal

After celebrating his 700th career goal with his Barcelona team-mates, Lionel Messi turned back towards the cameras to the left of the Atletico Madrid goal, clicked his fingers and treated those watching at home to a cheeky little wink.

It should have been the defining image of the night. But it wasn’t. Not even close.

Barcelona may be reliant upon Messi’s genius but that is not what they’re about anymore. Barca are about chaos.

This is a crumbling institution, racked by divisions at every level of the club, and gripped by a financial crisis.

The lack of unity was wonderfully illustrated by a shot taken of the two sides during a first-half cooling break in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Camp Nou.

Barca’s players were all spread out across Quique Setien’s technical area, as if respecting social-distancing rules, while their Atletico counterparts were huddled attentively around coach Diego Simeone.

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s gross financial mismanagement was nearly summed up by the absurd sight of Antoine Griezmann, a player signed for €120 million (£107m/$134m) last summer, being introduced with two seconds of normal time remaining in a game that Barca had to win.

“It’s difficult to put him on without destabilising the team,” Setien explained afterwards.

He had a point too. Griezmann isn’t right for this Barca team. Setien clearly wouldn’t have signed him. Then again, nor would his predecessor, Ernesto Valverde. The Frenchman’s transfer never made any tactical or financial sense.

But that is Josep Maria Bartomeu’s Barcelona for you. There is no longer any thought given to where superstar signings might fit in. There is no clear, coherent strategy, on or off the field.

For all the talk of identity at Camp Nou, Barcelona no longer have one.

What is the game plan now? Other than hope Messi conjures up a bit of magic up front, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen bails them out at the back.

Against Atletico, Riqui Puig at least once again showed what can happen when Barca put their faith in La Masia – an academy that previously produced not only Messi but also Xavi and Andres Iniesta yet came to be overlooked by a succession of coaches.

The 20-year-old  midfielder was once again one of the best players on the pitch for Barca, an effervescent presence who is as fearless as he is technically gifted.

But beyond that, there was once again little for Barca’s beleaguered fan base to take comfort in.

Some took to social media afterwards to lash out at VAR once again, after a couple of contentious calls, chief among them the decision to punish Ter Stegen for being inches off his line before saving Diego Costa’s first-half penalty.

In truth, though, they know that while it is title rivals Real Madrid who seem to be getting all the close calls lately, Barca only have themselves to blame for allowing the Blancos to displace them at the top of La Liga.

The Blaugrana have now drawn three of their past four games, against Sevilla, Celta and Atletico. Tough fixtures, admittedly, but games that a club that has spent as much money as Barca in recent years should be winning.

The supporters know that too.

Even the build-up to this game was overshadowed by a bitter backlash to the ridiculous decision to swap the flawed-but-promising 23-year-old midfielder Arthur for the declining 30-year-old Juventus playmaker Miralem Pjanic.

It’s just another bad deal for a club that now specialises in them. Indeed, that is what Barca are really about now: poor decision-making.

As was always likely, Setien will likely be made the scapegoat for the failings of others. He took over a team top of the league and Barca now trail Madrid having played a game more.

His game-management has been poor and it’s clear that he no longer has the full support of the players, if he ever did.

Of course, sacking Setien won’t solve all of Barca’s problems; they extend well beyond the dressing room and go all the way to the top of the club.

Bartomeu’s final term as president still has a year to run, though. The chaos at Camp Nou will only continue…

How Barca fans must wish Messi really could make it all better with a simple click of his fingers.

Source – Goal.com

The Argentine manager was stunned to see his former player given so few minutes in such an important game.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone said he is “without words” amid Antoine Griezmann’s struggles at Barcelona.

Griezmann was a 90th-minute substitute against former team Atletico, who earned a 2-2 draw away to stuttering Barca in La Liga on Tuesday.

A €120 million (£108m/$134m) signing from Atletico at the start of the season, Griezmann arrived amid much hype but the star forward has struggled at Camp Nou, where he has started on the bench against Sevilla and Athletic Club in recent weeks.

Griezmann has scored eight La Liga goals this season and 14 across all competitions for second-placed Barca, who could fall four points adrift of bitter rivals Real Madrid on Thursday.

However, Griezmann has not scored since Barca’s 1-1 draw against Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie prior to the coronavirus pandemic in February.

Asked about Griezmann, Simeone told Movistar: “I’m without words.”

Diego Costa’s 11th-minute own goal had put Barca ahead before Saul Niguez’s penalty restored parity for Atletico eight minutes later.

Lionel Messi converted a penalty of his own five minutes into the second half to celebrate his 700th career goal, but another Saul spot-kick – in the 62nd minute – secured a draw for Atletico.

It is the first time Atletico have scored two goals against Barca in La Liga under Simeone, whose side are third and two points clear of Sevilla with five matches remaining.

“We are respectful of Barcelona ​​with the quality they have,” Simeone said.

“The game was played as a result of what we usually do. We started well. Their goal came in an isolated play. Then to generate a difficult game against a team that keep the ball well.

“We tried until the end. The work was very good, a very competitive team. I’m happy.”

Setien admitted he felt bad for Griezmann after the match but revealed he wary of introducing the Frenchman as he can ‘destablise’ his team.

“I understand it’s tough for Griezmann to come on when so little time left. I will speak with him tomorrow, I won’t say sorry because [it’s about] decisions,” Setien said.

“But I understand he may feel bad and I feel bad for him because he’s a great person and professional.

“It’s difficult to put him on without destabilising the team.”

Source – Goal.com

Former Germany striker Mario Gomez retired from football after scoring in his last game for Stuttgart.

Mario Gomez announced his retirement after Stuttgart secured promotion back to the Bundesliga

Gomez, who turns 35 in July, joked that he was in negotiations with Real Madrid and Barcelona before saying he had fulfilled his final wish. That was to help Stuttgart secure an immediate return to the Bundesliga after one season in the second division.

Stuttgart gained promotion back to the German top flight after finishing as runners-up to already-promoted Arminia Bielefeld, despite a 3-1 loss at home to Darmstadt on the final day of the league campaign.

Gomez won the Bundesliga title during his first spell at Stuttgart in 2007 before winning another two league titles at Bayern Munich after moving to the German giants in 2009.

Gomez scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for Germany

The striker was also a key figure in Bayern’s treble-winning season in 2013 which included a Champions League triumph – a competition which Gomez scored 26 goals in 44 appearances.

Gomez missed Germany’s World Cup win in 2014 due to an injury-blighted season. He scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for the national team.

Gomez spent two seasons at Fiorentina in Serie A before spells at Besiktas and Wolfsburg respectively.

Source – Sky Sports

Inter Milan scored twice in the last seven minutes to secure a dramatic 2-1 win at Parma as they remain third in Serie A.

Inter’s Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni celebrates with team mates after scoring a late header

After an early opener from former Arsenal striker Gervinho, Inter looked likely to drop points but hit back with headers from Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni in the closing stages.

Parma were also reduced to 10 men after De Vrijs’ goal when Juraj Kucka was sent off for protesting.

Luis Muriel scored twice after coming off the bench in Atalanta‘s 3-2 win at Udinese.

The Bergamo team is pushing for third again this season, remaining four points behind Inter in fourth.

Kevin Lasagna netted a brace for Udinese but Duvan Zapata and Muriel produced the goods for a side that has now broken its club record of goals scored in a single season, reaching 80, with 10 games still to play. The previous record was 77 last season when it finished a club-best third place.

AC Milan paid tribute to victims of the coronavirus pandemic during a 2-0 win over Roma.

It was Milan’s first home match since the lockdown and the team put up a huge banner along one side of the empty San Siro stadium that read ‘Together Forever’, dedicated to victims.

In a game they dominated, Ante Rebic finally found the target for Milan in the 76th minute before Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored from a penalty in the 89th after Roma defender Chris Smalling was adjudged to have fouled Theo Hernandez.

Napoli maintained their strong form after the lockdown with a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Spal.

Source – Sky Sports

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team will meet the Blues at Wembley to decide who reaches the final.

Photo by Getty

Manchester United will face Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup while Arsenal will take on holders Manchester City.

The ties will be played at Wembley on the 18th and 19th of July.

Manchester United sealed their place in the last four on Saturday when they won 2-1 away at Norwich after extra time, as Harry Maguire struck with two minutes left to play against the hosts, who went down to 10 men late in the second half.

Chelsea went through with a narrow scoreline, too, as Ross Barkley was on target in the 63rd minute to secure a 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

United and Chelsea have faced each other three times already this season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team coming out on top each time. The Red Devils opened their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 win over Frank Lampard’s team before beating them 2-1 in the Carabao Cup in October. They then got the better of the Blues at Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 Premier League victory in February.

However, Chelsea’s last FA Cup success came at United’s expense, as the London outfit won the trophy for the eighth time in their history when they ran out 1-0 winners in 2018.

Arsenal progressed to the last four thanks to a late winner against Sheffield United on Sunday, with Dani Ceballos popping up with the decisive goal after Nicolas Pepe’s first-half penalty was cancelled out by a David McGoldrick goal.

Manchester City secured their place in the the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory against Newcastle at St James’ Park, with Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on target.

Pep Guardiola’s team are looking to defend their crown, having beaten Watford in the decider last year, but Arsenal are the FA Cup’s most successful team, having won it 13 times in their history.

Manchester United are the second most frequent champions with 12 wins to their name, with their most recent coming in 2016. City, meanwhile, have won it six times each.

The FA Cup final is scheduled to be played at Wembley on August 1.

Source – Goal.com

The midfielders underwent medicals on Sunday before putting pen-to-paper on their contracts.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Arthur and Miralem Pjanic have signed their contracts with Juventus and Barcelona, respectively, with both teams expected to make an official announcement regarding the midfielders on Monday.

The two clubs agreed a deal earlier this week that will see Arthur leave Camp Nou for Turin for around €70 million (£63m/$79m), while Pjanic will move in the opposite direction for a €60m (£55m/$67m) fee.

Both players underwent medicals at their respective new clubs on Sunday afternoon before putting pen-to-paper on their contracts.

Arthur has signed a five-year deal with Maurizio Sarri’s side, which will see him earn a basic salary of €5m per season, going up to €7m (£6m/$8m) with bonuses.

Though both players will remain at their current clubs for the remainder of the extended 2019-20 campaign, Barcelona wanted the deals completed by the end of June for budgetary reasons.

Given the financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Juve would struggle to pull off an expensive transfer so needed to agree a swap deal that would include one of their high earners heading in the opposite direction.

The Catalan giants have been targeting Pjanic for some time, but the deal was held up as Arthur was initially reluctant to make the move to Italy.

However, a breakthrough was reached on Saturday evening that allowed the clubs to press ahead with the double deal.

Arthur has made 72 appearances for Barcelona since joining from Gremio in the summer of 2018. The Catalan giants viewed the midfielder as a key part of their first-team squad, but Goal revealed last month they would be open to selling the 23-year-old should the right offer arrive.

Pjanic, meanwhile, has been a regular in the Juventus line-up, making 36 appearances in all competitions this season for the Turin giants, who are on the brink of a ninth successive Serie A title.

They currently sit four points clear of Lazio at the top of the table with 10 games remaining.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international has won three league titles and the Coppa Italia twice with the Bianconeri since joining from Serie A rivals Roma in 2016.

Source – Goal.com

The England international sent the Blues to the FA Cup semi-finals, and his form seems to say that signing another midfielder should not be a priority.

Photo by Getty Images

With Chelsea out of sorts during the opening 45 minutes at the King Power Stadium, Frank Lampard chanelled his inner Jose Mourinho.

A triple-change at the break was what the Blues boss felt was required to beat Leicester City and reach the FA Cup semi-finals, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley introduced.

When the latter’s late run into the box allowed him to volley Willian’s cross past Kasper Schmeichel for the only goal of the game 18 minutes later, Lampard could reflect on a job well done.

For Barkley, his best form since joining from Everton in January 2018 could barely have come at a better time.

Many felt the England international was living on borrowed time in west London during the first half of the season, with off-the-field controversies and a foot injury that kept him out of action for three months seriously hampering his progress – but either side of the lockdown, Barkley has been one of Chelsea’s shining lights.

“It was frustrating [timing] because I was in good form,’ Barkley said ahead of football’s restart. “I was getting a decent run in the side and things were going well.”

The 26-year-old was right, with his performances against Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton helping Lampard’s side to key victories in both the Premier League and FA Cup.

He has picked up where he left off after the break as he came off the bench to make an impact in the come-from-behind win at Aston Villa before impressing in Thursday’s victory over Manchester City.

Having been one of six players Lampard left out from those who started against Pep Guardiola’s side, he stepped up to send the Blues to Wembley in three weeks’ time.

Barkley’s form comes amid a backdrop of increased transfer speculation. Though the Blues have already forked out in excess of £75 million ($92.5m) on Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech for next season, they are far from done in adding to their squad.

Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz is very much in their crosshairs, along with Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell, and the potential signing of the Germany international would push Barkley further down the pecking order.

There is no doubt that 21-year-old Havertz would improve Lampard’s squad as he comes off a season that has seen him score 16 goals and provide nine assists in all competitions, with the final of the DFB-Pokal and the latter stages of the Europa League still to come.

But regardless of whether a deal can be done to bring Havertz to Stamford Bridge, it is clear Barkley has the potential to either provide strong back-up or, in the event money is spent elsewhere, become the Lampard-esque goalscoring midfielder the Blues boss requires.

Barkley’s attacking penetration was what Chelsea lacked during the first-half against the Foxes, with Blilly Gilmour struggling to impose himself as a No 8.

The teenage Scot was substituted alongside fellow youngsters Mason Mount and Reece James at the break, and almost immediate the tide turned in Chelsea’s direction. Though they were far from their best, Chelsea should have won more comfortably by the end.

Christian Pulisic twice went close to making it three successive games with a goal to his name, Tammy Abraham had a strike chalked off for offside while Barkley himself should have done better as the Blues countered late on.

With Chelsea outnumbering the Leicester defenders, Barkley first played a pass into Ruben Loftus-Cheek behind his fellow midfielder. Loftus-Cheek did well to recover and the send the ball back into Barkley’s path, and though Pedro was free to his right, the Merseyside instead opted to shoot from 20 yards, with Schmeichel able to turn the effort wide.

It is those struggles with decision-making in the final third that have always left some to question Barkley’s true ability, and there is no doubt that Havertz would be an upgrade from that perspective – but Barkley has proven either side of a three-month break in football that he has what it takes to make a difference for Chelsea.

With other areas of the pitch to upgrade during the off-season, Lampard might do well to put his trust in a player with whom he shares many attributes.

Source – Goal.com

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner hopes the club’s first Premier League title will ensure “another period of sustained success”.

Liverpool fans celebrate winning the Premier League for the first time

The Reds won their first league title in 30 years on Thursday, when Manchester City lost 2-1 at Chelsea.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, who have also won the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup, are 23 points clear with seven games remaining.

“We want to undersell and over-deliver,” said American Werner.

“All of us were so delighted because this has been a long march. I know that our supporters struggled for 30 years to reach this pinnacle.”

Liverpool had last won English football’s top flight in 1989-90 and had to wait three decades for their 19th championship, having won 11 between 1973 and 1990.

That wait was prolonged by the suspension of Premier League football because of the coronavirus pandemic, but their title win is the earliest on record in terms of games remaining.

“The competition is fierce and I know our rivals are working tirelessly to upend us,” Werner, chairman since 2010, told the club website.

He praised boss Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards and, when asked what was next for the club, said: “We hopefully would be ensuring another period of sustained success.

“One of the things that stuck with me this year was their hunger for winning. I don’t think that will be diminished. They’re such a good group of players.

“I have such fondness for them as individuals off the pitch. They’re humble, they’re kind, they enjoy each other’s company. You could see that in the videos when they were all celebrating.

“It’s a lot to ask them to stay at this extraordinary level but it is our goal to continue to play with this quality.”53205150

Source – BBC News

The French star’s price tag is of no concern to the manager who excluded the forward from the starting XI.

Photo by Getty Images

Barcelona coach Quique Setien said he had no interest in a player’s price tag when choosing his team after starting Antoine Griezmann on the bench against Celta Vigo.

Griezmann, a €120 million (£107m/$134m) signing from Atletico Madrid last year, was introduced late as Barca were held to a 2-2 draw in Vigo on Saturday.

Setien defended his decision to start Griezmann, who has scored 14 goals in 42 games this season, on the bench.

“I don’t take into consideration the player’s price tag,” Setien told a news conference.

“Last week we chose one specific team, and today we decided on another one. Last week you asked me why Ansu Fati wasn’t playing, why Riqui Puig wasn’t playing and today why Griezmann isn’t playing.

“These are decisions I make and they are technical decisions. They’re not made rashly, and they are done with the best of intentions for the team.”

France 1998 World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf believes Griezmann’s form slump could see the striker lose his national team spot to in-form Manchester United forward Anthony Martial.

Martial has scored 19 goals in 37 appearances and struck a hat-trick during the Red Devils recent 3-0 win against Sheffield United.

“Well [Martial] has a big chance to be in the squad and if he carries on like that I’m sure Didier Deschamps will think about him,” Leboeuf told ESPN FC.

“It’s true that with the problems that Griezmann is having right now at Barcelona, with Giroud getting older, there is a clear chance for Anthony Martial to be in the squad and to maybe be in the first XI.

“If he’s consistent, he’s going to be for sure with the national team. He already has been and he’s going to be again.”

Ex-Barcelona and Brazil star Rivaldo fears Griezmann’s place at the club may be under threat and feels it is up to captain Lionel Messi to help boost his confidence.

“Barca have won both their games since the restart, with Antoine Griezmann as a starter, but he continues to be far from the player he was at Atletico Madrid and some are wondering if he may become a ‘new Coutinho’ at Barcelona,” he told Betfair.

“It’s harsh to start making those comparisons, but it’s up to the player to prove it on the pitch.

“The lack of goals is demotivating and damages Griezmann’s confidence, so I believe it’s important for Lionel Messi to help him.

“Messi could, for example, let Griezmann take penalties when Barcelona are winning comfortably – just to get the Frenchman scoring – just like he did with Luis Suarez in the past.”

Messi set up two goals for Luis Suarez against Celta, but Iago Aspas’ 88th-minute equaliser saw Barca held.

Setien’s men are a point clear of Real Madrid, who visit Espanyol on Sunday.

Source – Goal.com