A late Ro-Shaun Williams own goal saw Liverpool’s young side through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury.

Photo by Getty Images

The centre half nodded it into his own net in the 75th minute.

Shrewsbury thought they had taken the lead just before the hour mark when Shaun Whalley got the ball in the net – but VAR intervened to rule it out for offside.

With U23s manager Neil Critchley in charge in the absence of Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool starting line-up had an average age of 19 years and 102 days – their youngest-ever line-up to start a match in all competitions, with no recognised first-teamers on the bench either due to the scheduled Premier League winter break.

“I think whatever team Liverpool puts out we’ll give everything we’ve got and leave everything on that pitch,” said right-back Neco Williams afterwards.

“That’s what we’ve been doing this season, as you can tell from the league, and from when the young lads have stepped in and got results against the likes of Everton, Arsenal and obviously today.”

The Reds now head to Chelsea in the next round.

Source – Eurosport.com

Lionel Messi has criticised Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal for saying players were not working hard under former coach Ernesto Valverde.

Abidal and Messi played together at Barcelona between 2007 and 2013, with the French defender returning to the club after retirement to become sporting director in June 2018.

The 22-year-old had been backed to be ‘like a new signing’ by his coach, but his progress had been set back yet again.

Photo by Getty

Barcelona have confirmed that Ousmane Dembele has suffered a hamstring tear, further setting back the Frenchman’s rehabilitation.

The club announced on Wednesday that the World Cup winner has a complete rupture of the proximal tendon and are set to announce a return date in the coming hours.

An official statement released by the Blaugrana reads: “The tests performed this morning on @Dembouz have shown that the player has a complete rupture of the proximal tendon of the biceps femoris of the right thigh.

“In the next few hours, it will be determined what treatment will be followed for recovery.”

Dembele had already been recovering from a hamstring problem that had seen him miss a large portion of the 2019-20 campaign, having just returned to first-team training.

The 22-year-old was forced to leave Monday morning’s session, however, with the Camp Nou side announcing at the time that the player had only felt discomfort due to muscle fatigue.

“During this morning’s training session, Ousmane Dembele felt some discomfort in his right leg as a consequence of muscle fatigue,” Barca relayed. “He will continue with his rehabilitation.”

With a rupture now confirmed, the Liga champions will yet again be forced to wait on the former Borussia Dortmund man to repay the faith shown in him following his big-money move from Signal Iduna Park in 2017.

Indeed, head coach Quique Setien had backed Dembele to be like a new signing for the club after failing to sign a back-up for the injured Luis Suarez in the January window, with the former Real Betis boss praising the youngster’s “dedication” and “intensity” during recent training sessions.

With Dembele’s progress stalled yet again, the Blaugrana will feel stung all the harder by their inability to bring in cover, with interest in Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno and Real Sociedad’s Loren Moron having come to nothing.

But while swoops for primary targets ultimately failed, Barca did manage to get deals over the line for Palmeiras midfielder Matheus Fernandes and Braga’s burgeoning youngster Francisco Trincao, with both players set to link up with their new side in the summer.

For now, Setien will have to make do with the skeletal squad at his disposal as three major trophies remain up for grabs.

Barca’s are next in action in the Copa del Rey, where they face-off against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames for a spot in the semi-finals.

Source – Goal.com

Despite having played just four matches and started on one occasion, the Norwegian hotshot is already nearing double figures.

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Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Erling Haaland was amongst the goals once more on Tuesday as the Norwegian set a new German record with his latest strike.

Haaland joined BVB from RB Salzburg in January, with the club originally looking to ease him into first-team action.

But the forward had other ideas, and has quickly made himself a firm favourite at Signal Iduna Park thanks to his incredible exploits in front of goal.

Dortmund first fielded their new signing off the bench in the opening round of the Bundesliga following the mid-season winter break against Augsburg, and he responded with a hat-trick to turn round a 3-1 deficit and lead his side to victory.

The following weekend saw Haaland once again make his mark, this time with a double off the bench to down Koln, and he marked his first start with another hat-trick as Union Berlin were blown away 5-0 on February 1.

While Haaland returned to the bench on Tuesday, he was in no mood to let that incredible scoring run end in the DFB Pokal.

The Norwegian entered in the second half with Dortmund trailing 2-0 to Werder Bremen and needed just over 20 minutes to get his name on the scoresheet.

It was his eighth goal in just four appearances in Germany, and marked a new landmark in the process.

No player in Bundesliga history had previously managed as many strikes in their first four games with a club, and the record is even more impressive when considering the fact that Haaland has started just one of those matches, and indeed is yet to complete a full 90 minutes in Dortmund colours.

Then again, breaking records is nothing new for the 19-year-old phenomenon.

Last summer he smashed no less than nine goals past Honduras as his Norway team racked up a 12-0 win in the Under-20 World Cup, with both Haaland’s haul and the winning margin historic bests in the tournament.

And in the first half of the 2019-20 season he helped himself to 28 in just 20 Salzburg appearances, including eight goals in the Champions League group stage, a mark bettered only by Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski so far.

Source – Goal.com

Wales and Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has launched a new esports organisation called Ellevens Esports.

Gareth Bale has won four Champions League titles with Real Madrid

It is co-owned with 38 Entertainment Group, founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Kark and former footballer Larry Cohen.

It includes a team which will make its debut at the Fifa eClub World Cup in Milan this week.

Bale is also inviting gamers from around the world to participate in a talent hunt to gain a professional contract with their teams.

n a statement Bale said: “There are similarities between football and esports in that it takes real dedication and sacrifice to reach the top of your game.

“I am looking to recruit a team of world-class players for Ellevens across a variety of games.

“Unearthing new talent is an exciting part of the process and it’s been really exciting to be involved in selecting our line-up of players so far.”

Among the recruits so far are players from Brazil, as well as Newport in Bale’s home country of Wales.

Ellevens also plans to expand to other esports multiplayer platforms such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite and Rocket League.

Neymar is out of the Paris St-Germain squad for their league match at Nantes on Tuesday with a rib injury.

Neymar hosted a birthday party at a Parisian nightclub on Sunday

The Brazilian, who needed treatment during PSG’s victory against Montpellier on Saturday, celebrated his 28th birthday at a Parisian nightclub 24 hours later.

Manager Thomas Tuchel said his team selection would not be influenced by the timing of the party.

“Is it the best way to prepare for a match? No, clearly not,” he said.

“Is it the worst thing in the world? No,” the German added in his news conference on Monday.

“I always protect my players, and I really love my team. With this party, I accept that it is a bit difficult to protect the players, but the context is not simply black or white,” he said.

“It is a shame, because we are giving people the chance to speak badly of us. We need to adapt to the situation, but I am not going to leave a player on the bench or at home because they went out and celebrated.”

The club confirmed on Monday that tests had shown Neymar suffered the cartilage injury during the first half of Saturday’s Ligue 1 match.

Neymar was not the only PSG player Tuchel was questioned about – after a touchline spat with Kylian Mbappe in the 5-0 weekend win.

“There is nothing personal between him and me. These things happen,” Tuchel said about his 21-year-old striker who reacted angrily to being substituted midway through the second half.

“It was between a player who does not want to come off, and a coach who had his reasons for doing something, and who wanted to give a game to players who deserved it.”

Source – BBC News

Atletico Madrid’s style of play under Diego Simeone is not suited to the young playmaker, according to a former Real Madrid star.

Photo by Getty Images

Atletico Madrid starlet Joao Felix is a talented player but he’s playing for the “wrong club”, according to Rafael van der Vaart.

Felix became the most expensive Portuguese player in history when he completed a £113 million ($148m) switch from Benfica to Wanda Metropolitano back in July.

The 20-year-old emerged as one of the brightest prospects in European football at Estadio da Luz last season, scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions.

His performances attracted attention from some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain, but Atletico ended up winning the race for his signature.

Felix started the 2019-20 brightly enough, and picked up the coveted Golden Boy award in November for the best U21 player in Europe, beating the likes of Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz in the final voting.

The ex-Benfica star has been unable to kick on since then, however, with Atletico slipping down to sixth in the La Liga standings after 22 fixtures.

Simeone’s men were beaten 1-0 by local rivals Real in the Madrid derby at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, with Felix missing the clash through injury.

Van der Vaart has criticised Simeone for failing to adjust Atletico’s playing style to accommodate Felix, while suggesting the midfielder shouldn’t have chosen to continue his development at Wanda Metropolitano.

“Joao Felix is a fine player, but he’s at the wrong club,” the ex-Real star told Ziggo Sport.

“When they signed the Portuguese striker, I felt that [Diego] Simeone would try and embark on a different brand of playing, but that’s far from the case.

“I understand that winning is important but when you have a talented forward like him, you need to cater to the style of play somewhat to suit his needs.

“Atletico Madrid play in a very compact manner with a heavy focus on defending well and attacking on the counter.

“Felix, I feel, is at the wrong club and working under the wrong coach.”

It is not yet known when Felix will return to action after sustaining a muscle injury during a 0-0 draw against Leganes on January 26, with Atletico now in real danger of finishing outside of the top four in La Liga.

Next up for Simeone’s struggling team is a home fixture against Leganes on Saturday, which comes seven days before they take in a trip to the Mestalla to face Valencia.

Source – Goal.com

The former Red Devils goalkeeper believes a deadline day arrival at Old Trafford could go on to surprise a few people and silence any critics.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Manchester United’s decision to sign Odion Ighalo may have raised a few eyebrows, but Mark Bosnich claims the Nigerian striker could become another Eric Cantona for the Red Devils.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s search for more firepower at Old Trafford took him into deadline day as the January transfer window closed for another year.

It appeared at one stage as though the Red Devils would be left empty-handed, but a shock swoop for former Watford frontman Ighalo was pushed through with time still on the clock.

Questions have been asked of whether the 30-year-old can make the desired impact for United , with inspiration required from somewhere with Marcus Rashford sidelined through injury.

Plenty have suggested that Ighalo does not fit the mould, with a marquee addition expected, but Bosnich feels an experienced option could surprise a few people – as an iconic Frenchman once did.

The former Red Devils goalkeeper told Sky Sports : “This was an emergency signing.

“I can understand a lot of people taking about a scatter gun approach, well it had to be with Marcus Rashford being out.

“The top four is still possible for Manchester United, they had to go and get somebody.

“The boy that’s come in has got nothing to lose, nobody expects anything unbelievable from him but they definitely needed somebody in that position.

“You never know. A long, long time ago Manchester United signed a certain Frenchman (Cantona) who no one really expected much from and he ended up propelling them to one of their most successful seasons of all time.”

Ighalo recorded 39 goals across 99 appearances for Watford before heading to China.

He has now been brought back to England from Shanghai Shenhua after being prolific in Asia, and Bosnich believes his arrival keeps United in the hunt for a top-four finish.

Quizzed on whether Solskjaer’s side can secured Champions League qualification, the Australian added: “I think they can, there’s no doubt about that.

“Six points at this stage of the season for me is still nothing.

“The big question of them not scoring goals is the way that they’re playing.

“People would have a lot more confidence if they had been watching performances and saying okay this team is actually going somewhere.

“I do believe that they are. Whether or not they’ll be able creep into that top four at the end of the season is a different question entirely.

“There’s a still a chance, regardless of what anyone says they’re still in the mix.”

Source – Goal.com

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Inter Milan won at Udinese to maintain the pressure on Juventus at the top of Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku is the first player in the three points per win era to score 11 or more goals in his first 11 appearances away from home in Serie A

Inter remain second in the table, three points behind Juve who beat Fiorentina earlier on Sunday.

Christian Eriksen, Ashley Young and on-loan Chelsea winger Victor Moses made their league debuts for the Nerazzurri.

But it was Lukaku who ensured victory, scoring with a close-range shot before adding his second with a penalty.

The former Manchester United forward has now scored 16 league goals since moving to Italy last summer and has scored 20 for Inter in all competitions.

He was helped by some poor goalkeeping by the hosts’ Juan Musso for his first, then by on-loan United forward Alexis Sanchez for his second – with the Chilean winning the spot-kick from Musso.

Antonio Conte’s side had drawn their three previous league games 1-1 . They are next in action when they host their rivals, AC Milan, in the Milan derby on Sunday, 9 February (19:45 GMT).

Source – BBC News

AC Milan, missing forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a bout of flu, were held 1-1 at home by Verona as Daniel Maldini, the son of club legend Paolo Maldini, made his Rossoneri debut.

Daniel Maldini has big shoes to fill at AC Milan. Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Davide Faraoni volleyed in Mattia Zaccagni‘s cross at the far post to give Verona a 13th minute lead at San Siro before Hakan Calhanoglu levelled with a deflected free kick just before the half hour.

Matteo Pessina and Zaccagni both hit the woodwork for Verona after half-time before the visitors were reduced to 10 men with a straight red card for Sofyan Amrabat for a dangerous tackle.

Samu Castillejo then hit the post for Milan in stoppage time as they chased a winner following the 90th-minute introduction of Maldini, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder.

“The debut was a goal that I had set,” Daniel, who wore the No. 98 shirt, told Milan’s TV channel. “Now let’s hope we can continue it.”

Born in 2001, Daniel became the first player born in his millennium to play in the top division for Milan.

Paolo’s 647 games for Milan remains a Serie A record. The former left-back, who is now technical director at AC Milan, won the Scudetto seven times and the Champions League on five occasions.

Milan stayed eighth following the draw.

Source – ESPN