The youngster fell victim to a vicious red-card challenge from Joris Gnagnon, further marring an ugly affair in the Boston heat.

Photo by Getty Images

From sizzling South Bend to the Boston furnace, Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the USA threatened to boil over.

Beaten by Borussia Dortmund on Friday, the Reds found themselves embroiled in the most ill-tempered of ‘friendlies’ against old foes Sevilla here at Fenway Park. They lost 2-1.

This was a game that will live in the memory, but not for the right reasons. The Spaniards’ robust approach left a mark, quite literally.

Liverpool will hope Yasser Larouci, victim of a disgraceful second-half ‘challenge’ from Sevilla substitute Joris Gnagnon, is not seriously injured. The 18-year-old, who has made a positive impact for the Reds this summer, was taken off on a stretcher after Gnagnon’s ridiculous kick out.

Jurgen Klopp had already made his feelings perfectly clear to Julen Lopetegui, his opposite number, after a first-half littered with dubious tackles and flailing arms. The Liverpool boss says he is “rarely happy” after pre-season games; he will have been fuming by what he saw here.

The football, when it broke out, wasn’t great. This was officially Boston’s hottest day since 1991, and it showed in the quality of the game. Even a kick-off of 6pm local time didn’t help, with the temperature still above 100 degrees Fahrenheit as the game began. Not an ideal day for Liverpool to debut their new all-black third kit, then.

Sevilla’s questionable approach aside, there was, in truth, not a great deal to get worked up about. Liverpool fielded a different side in both halves – and were forced to bring Bobby Duncan on after Larouci’s evening was ended – and lacked cohesion and intensity for the most part. Perhaps, given the nature of the game, that was a good thing.

There was a first Reds outing for Andy Lonergan, with the veteran goalkeeper playing the first 45 minutes. Lonergan’s last game had been for League One strugglers Rochdale against Scunthorpe in March, but the 35-year-old showed no signs of rustiness here. One save in particular, from Luuk de Jong, caught the eye.

Liverpool had started reasonably, Ben Woodburn and Divock Origi going close in the early exchanges, but there was a lack of bite and intensity to their play throughout the opening period as Sevilla, with the irascible Ever Banega influential, tested them defensively. The Reds seemed particularly troubled by crosses into their box, either from set-pieces or from open play.

It would be one such delivery, from Jesus Navas, which led to the Spaniards’ opener. Navas’ low ball from the right clipped Nat Phillips and fell kindly for another ex-Manchester City man, Nolito, to beat Lonergan with a well-taken first-time finish.

Liverpool at least levelled before the break, Origi on hand to lash home from close range after Phillips’ header had been blocked. The Belgian’s poaching instincts, so evident last season, remain as strong as ever.

Sevilla, reduced to 10 men after Gnagnon’s moment of madness, snatched the win in the final minute, Alejandro Pozo finishing smartly after a counter-attack to condemn Liverpool to a second defeat in 48 hours.

From here, they head to New York, where temperatures are expected to be a little more favourable.

Klopp will hope Sporting Lisbon, opponents at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, are a little less fired-up for a friendly match than Sevilla were here.

The Spaniards won’t be getting a call next summer, that’s for sure.

Source – Goal.com

The Blancos coach was forthright in his position on the Wales international’s situation, but the player’s agent is not happy.

Photo by Getty

Zinedine Zidane has been branded “a disgrace” by Gareth Bale’s agent after the Real Madrid boss’ comments about the winger’s impending exit from the club.

Bale has been touted for a departure from the Santiago Bernabeu and Zidaneconfirmed that the winger is “very close to leaving” the club after leaving him out of the team for the International Champions Cup clash with Bayern Munich on Saturday.

“Bale did not play because he is very close to leaving,” Zidane said.

“We hope he leaves soon, it would be best for everyone. We are working on his transfer to a new team.”

Jonathan Barnett, who represents the Wales international, has reacted strongly to the Madrid coach’s frank assessment of the situation.

“Zidane is a disgrace to speak like that about someone who has done so much for Real,” Barnett told ESPN FC.

“If and when Gareth goes it will be because it is in the best interest of Gareth and nothing to do with Zidane pushing.”

Barnett doubled down on that final assertion when speaking to AS, saying: “If Gareth Bale leaves, it will be because he wants to, not because Zidane or Real Madrid push him out.

“Gareth is still one of the best players in the world, one of the top five players in terms of market value, and his future lies at a big club.”

Zidane’s apparent desire to move Bale out of the club, despite the Welshman’s contributions to Madrid’s unprecedented period of European success, has been widely reported.

He scored decisive goals in two Champions League finals as Madrid won four out of five tournaments between 2014 and 2018, as well as a stunning winner in the 2014 Copa del Rey final – the last time Madrid won that competition.

The 2018 Champions League final brought Zidane his most recent piece of silverware, as Bale’s second-half double downed Liverpool.

The forward’s bicycle kick from Marcelo’s cross instantly became one of the tournament’s iconic goals, with many likening it Zidane’s own volleyed effort against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 final.

The desire to move him on

Rodrygo Goes have all joined the club, and there may be more to follow with speculation still surrounding the likes of Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen.

Source – Goal.com

The snarling, wily forward found his scoring touch at a critical moment, as small margins decided the final in Cairo on Friday.

Photo by Giuseppe Cacace

When Baghdad Bounedjah’s speculative effort looped off the outstretched leg of Salif Sane and dipped into the Senegalese goal beyond Alfred Gomis, it felt immediately like the worst possible opening to a game that was always destined to be fractious.

There was precedent for what was to come in the first meeting between these sides some three weeks ago, which Algeria won with a second-half Youcef Belaili strike.

Then, the North Africans seemed on a mission to prove they could compete physically, but that strategy appeared to be in service of a mental warfare: by beating Senegal on the front where they seemed strongest, they gained the upper hand by which they then struck in the second half.

Here, the goal came first, and so Algeria’s physicality became a wilful perversion, in service of nothing other than simply shutting the game down. The fastest goal ever scored in an AFCON final is a nice little bit of history, but beyond that there is little for which this game will be remembered by the neutral.

In a match dominated by shenanigans, it did, however, feel fitting that it was Bounedjah’s goal that settled it.

Throughout the tournament, he snapped and snarled, revelling in his self-appointed role as villain of the piece. Yet, for all that he seemed on a mission to make his presence felt to every defender who had the misfortune of crossing his path, there was a sense in which he had been curiously absent since the first game of the AFCON.

Since insouciantly rolling the ball past Patrick Matasi from the spot in the opening group fixture against Kenya, Bounedjah’s reel had been a morass of missed opportunities. The highlight, a quarter-final penalty miss over which one suspects he might have had more than a few nightmares had Algeria failed to progress, laid bare just how tightly-wound his trademark disruptive style requires him to be.

The danger was that he might come to be defined by that alone, and increasingly in modern international football, it appears that forwards are less important for what they do in front of goal as what they represent to their sides.

Olivier Giroud famously failed to find the back of the net at the World Cup last summer, and at the last AFCON, Cameroon cycled through strikers with none ever seeming like they had the quality to lead the line until Vincent Aboubakar produced a late moment of brilliance to win it all.

There could be no denying Bounedjah’s importance to this Algeria team, setting the tone both in terms of pressing and gamesmanship. And yet, coming into the final, it seemed like he needed a goal just the same, even if only to reassure himself.

The unfortunate defender, Sane, had himself been missing since the opening game – literally – due to an injury, and even though he had been back fit since after the quarter-finals, he likely would not have featured had Kalidou Koulibaly not been ludicrously suspended for having a shot whacked at his elbow from close range in the semi-final.

On such fine margins do finals turn. Even though, by any measure, Algeria were the best team in Egypt, it still came down to a freakish deflection, and they still suffered greatly in this final. A lot of it their own doing, it must be said, and as in the first game they rode their luck in both boxes.

Mehdi Zeffane’s tackle on Ismaila Sarr in the first half should have, at the very least, warranted a VAR check, and even though Adlene Guedioura’s handball did, referee Sidi Alioum seemed to not be applying the new handball rules in reversing his earlier decision to award a penalty.

That is the danger, of course, with dropping as deep as Djamel Belmadi’s side did, and looking to spoil. It only takes a moment to potentially upset everything.

As it turned out, Senegal, aside from not getting the rub on the day, simply lacked the guile to consistently draw their opposition out and create chances. When they did manage it, they found Mbaye Niang in no mood to trouble the scoring charts.

It has been a weakness for Cisse, and perhaps best captures why Algeria are such worthy winners: the ability to wear many hats, to win in so many different ways, made them almost impossible to resist.

Source – Goal.com

The Madrid-based outfit maintain that they are owed further funds by a La Liga rival after seeing a deal done to take the French forward to Camp Nou.

Getty Images

Atletico Madrid have reported Barcelona to La Liga as they continue to pursue an €80 million (£72m/$90m) addition to the transfer which has taken Antoine Griezmann to Camp Nou.

A World Cup-winning forward has completed a move from the Spanish capital to Catalunya.

Barca have paid out the €120m (£108m/$135m) required to trigger the release clause that existed in his Atletico contract.

They believe they have done nothing wrong , but domestic rivals are arguing that an agreement was reached with Griezmann when his exit fee stood at €200m (£179m/$224m).

Atletico vowed when a move was announced that they would be opening legal proceedings .

Club president Enrique Cerezo claims to have evidence of wrongdoing and is determined to get what those at Wanda Metropolitano feel they are entitled to.

That fight has now been taken to La Liga officials and those in power at the Spanish FA (RFEF).

Atletico had been planning to take their case to FIFA, in the hope that world football’s governing body could rule in their favour.

They have, however, been informed that FIFA has no jurisdiction in a dispute between two teams from the same association.

That has led to the appeal which the Rojiblancos hope will see them given a fair hearing.

The dispute is unlikely to be resolved easily, though, as representatives from both Atleti and Barca sit on the six-person La Liga committee.

With there a clear conflict of interest, it may be that both officials are forced to stand down.

The case is set to be heard on Thursday, with no official comment being made as yet.

Whatever happens, Griezmann will be cleared to open a new chapter in his career at Camp Nou.

The France international had come close to making a switch to Barcelona in the summer of 2018, only to then commit his future to Atletico in an infamous video reveal.

The 28-year-old then went a step further by signing a new contract but has completed just 12 months of that agreement before moving on.

He is joining the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Spanish champions, while there is still a chance that Neymar could be drafted into a star-studded attacking unit – with Barca exploring the possibility of bringing the Brazilian back onto their books from Paris Saint-Germain.

Source – Goal.com

Pep Guardiola has admitted he is not sure whether Manchester City will sign a replacement for departed captain Vincent Kompany this summer.

Vincent Kompany won the League Cup, FA Cup and Premier League in his final season with City

The Belgian international established himself as a club legend by winning 10 major trophies in 11 seasons at the Etihad, but joined boyhood club Anderlecht as player-manager at the end of last season.

Sky Sports News understands City are interested in Leicester defender Harry Maguire, but Guardiola is unsure on the arrival of a new centre-back before the August 8 transfer deadline.

The Spanish boss does not expect any extra defensive arrivals during the current transfer window, which leaves the Red Devils free to chase Maguire.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Manchester United have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Leicester’s Harry Maguire, with Pep Guardiola playing down Manchester City‘s chances of signing another centre back.

City have been relatively quiet in the transfer window so far, with the signing of defensive midfielder Rodri from Atletico Madrid their only major acquisition.

However, there has been some suggestion that Guardiola will look to bring in defensive reinforcements following Vincent Kompany’s departure to Anderlecht at the end of last season.

City have been linked with Foxes talisman Maguire, but it seems Manchester United now lead the race for the England international.

The Red Devils saw a £70 million bid rejected by Leicester at the start of July, but they are expected to return with an improved offer in the region of £80 million ($100m) before the end of the summer window on August 8.

Guardiola has conceded central defence was an area he was considering strengthening, but he is happy with the options he already has at his disposal should a move fail to materialise.

Speaking ahead of the Asia Trophy clash with Wolves, the City boss said: “We are so happy with the squad we have. I don’t know if the players here will stay or if new players will come, but I am delighted with the players we have.

“There’s a chance [of a defender coming in] but I don’t know if it will be possible. We [already] have three incredible central defenders and Fernandinho can play in that position.”

Speculation regarding Leroy Sane’s future at the Etihad Stadium has also been a hot topic of discussion in recent weeks, with Bayern Munich mooted as his most likely next destination.

The German champions are on the lookout for wide players to fill the sizeable void left by Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, with Sane top of their wishlist.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and coach Niko Kovac have been vocal in their admiration of the 23-year-old, with the former even suggesting Bayern are “ready” to make a move should the player express a wish to leave the north-west of England.

However, Guardiola has hinted at his dissatisfaction with his former club’s public pursuit, and outlined his desire to keep Sane in the Premier League.

He told reporters in Shanghai: “For a long time they talk about their interest, but Leroy is our player and hopefully he can stay next season and next season and next season.”

Pushed on if he had spoken to anyone at Bayern, Guardiola replied: “No.”

Source – Goal.com

Odion Ighalo‘s early goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 win over Tunisia in their third-place playoff at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.

Odion Ighalo’s tap in handed Nigeria their eighth third-place AFCON finish. Backpage Pix

The 30-year-old forward, who is the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, was gifted an easy tap-in following a Tunisian defensive mix-up at the Al Salam Stadium.

Jamilu Collins‘ cross from the left was poorly parried by goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifia against the legs of defender Yassine Meriah, who tried to stop it from going over the line before Ighalo pounced to give Nigeria a third-minute lead.

It proved a costly blunder for Tunisia, who lost Sunday’s semifinal in extra time to Senegal in similar circumstances.

Ben Cherifia attempted to make up for his error with some good saves in the second half, first denying Samuel Chukwueze‘s left-footed shot just after the hour mark before saving two efforts from substitute Samuel Kalu in stoppage time.

Nigeria, who dominated the game, have won the bronze medal at eight different Cup of Nations’ tournaments.

Algeria play Senegal in the Cup of Nations final in Cairo on Friday.

Source – ESPN

For so long renowned for their shrewd signings, Andrea Agnelli and his fellow directors are now committed to buying one superstar per summer.

Photo by Getty/Goal

It was the summer of 2003, Real Madrid marketing director Jose Angel Sanchez was sat in a Sardinian restaurant opposite Peter Kenyon and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

The Manchester United chief executive was willing to sell David Beckham to the Blancos for an initial €37 million (£24.5m/$42m).

Sanchez was giddy with excitement but his expression never changed. He politely excused himself from the table and went to make a phone call to Florentino Perez.

According to John Carlin’s book, White Angels, when the Madrid president answered, Sanchez screamed down the line: “Peanuts! They’re asking peanuts!”

He was astounded by United’s valuation – not of Beckham the player, but of Beckham the brand.

The England captain was one of the most famous faces on the planet. Sanchez believed that Beckham would be worth at least €500m (£451m/$561m) to Madrid in commercial revenue.

Promising to sign Luis Figo from Barcelona in 2000 had effectively won Perez the presidency, while the addition of Zinedine Zidane the following summer enabled Real to conquer Europe.

What Perez and Sanchez truly desired, though, was to take over the commercial world; Beckham was the missing piece in the puzzle.

“You keep to certain basic principles and if you have a good brand – and Real Madrid is the best brand in sport – you’ll do well,” Sanchez once explained.

Madrid certainly did well, initially. They won two Liga titles and a European Cup in the first two years of Perez’s first term.

Furthermore, a year after Beckham’s arrival, Madrid had displaced Manchester United as the most profitable club on the planet; €37m really was peanuts in the circumstances.

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli had Real’s famed ‘Galactico’ era in mind when it came to signing Cristiano Ronaldo last summer.

The Old Lady’s renaissance since the turn of the decade had owed much to the shrewd work done by Beppe Marotta in the transfer market.

The likes of Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Sami Khedira, Fernando Llorente and Dani Alves had all been picked up on ‘frees’, while Arturo Vidal (€12.5m), Carlos Tevez (€9m), Patrice Evra (€1.5m) and Andrea Barzagli (€300,000) were signed on the cheap.

The €90m (£81m/$101m) signing of Gonzalo Higuain in 2016 was entirely out of keeping with their recruitment strategy but Juve felt that the Argentine was the proven prolific goalscorer they needed to conquer Europe after reasserting themselves as the dominant side in Italy.

Juve fell just short, though, losing the 2017 Champions League final to Ronaldo’s Real Madrid.

Consequently, despite Juve’s excitement at Ronaldo’s willingness to move to Turin in 2018, there was some hesitancy over paying approximately €340m (£307m/$382m) (€100m transfer fee and €240m in wages) for a 33-year-old striker.

Ronaldo just wasn’t a footballer, though; he was an even bigger brand than Beckham.

“It was the first time that the commercial side and the sporting side of Juventus came together in assessing the costs and benefits [of a signing],” Agnelli admitted to the Financial Times last year.

“The opportunity of Ronaldo was thoroughly assessed… and it made sense, both on and off the pitch.”

The ‘Ronaldo effect’ has been of enormous benefit to Juventus in terms of their commercial appeal, having significantly boosted their brand awareness on social media.

It is unlikely that any player other than Lionel Messi could have had the same effect on a club’s popularity but the success of the transfer has convinced Agnelli of the benefits of signing one Galactico every year.

Indeed, it is why Juve have decided to splash the cash again this summer. Age was once more a concern. This time around, though, it wasn’t about the target being too old but too young.

Barcelona baulked at Mino Raiola’s wage demands for the 19-year-old Matthijs de Ligt.

They had offered the defender the exact same salary that his former team-mate, Frenkie de Jong, had accepted to move to Camp Nou: €9m (£8m/$10m) a season.

De Ligt and Raiola, though, wanted more – €12m (£10.8m/$13.7m) per annum, to be precise – and Juve agreed to give it to them, which is primarily why the Netherlands international has arrived in Turin.

Ronaldo’s presence and powers of persuasion were also important, though. And that is another reason why Agnelli deemed the Portuguese worthy of such a colossal investment.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by the opportunity to play alongside the five-time Ballon d’Or winner?

His mere presence in Turin is a glowing recommendation of Juve as a club, the most powerful demonstration possible of the Old Lady’s desire to do whatever it takes to win – and win big.

Beating off competition from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain to sign De Ligt is merely further evidence of that ambition.

As the Gazzetta dello Sport pointed out earlier this week, Agnelli is constructing a “Stellar Juventus”, one built in the image of Perez’s Galacticos.

It is worth remembering, though, that while Madrid shone brightly for two seasons, they had effectively burned out by the time Beckham arrived.

He lifted just one major trophy during his four-year stay and that Liga title came right at the end, by which time Perez had already resigned, conceding that the project had been a failure.

The Real supremo had completely neglected the defensive side of the game, most memorably by underestimating the importance of midfield workhorse Claude Makelele.

“He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres,” he sniped in September 2003. “Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten.”

The decision to discard the Frenchman to Chelsea, though, is remembered as the catalyst for the collapse of the first Galactico era in Madrid.

Juve are, obviously, intent on avoiding such negligence, which is hardly surprising for a club whose success – on and off the field – has been built on solid foundations.

While they are still hoping to strengthen their attack with Mauro Icardi and Federico Chiesa before the close of the transfer window, the €70m (£63m/$79m) signing of De Ligt is evidence of the Old Lady’s decision to rejuvenate its once great backline.

As Agnelli explained last year, Ronaldo’s very best days may be behind him but his signing would help Juve sign the stars of the future.

“We have to be in a position to be able to clinch the next Cristiano,” he says. “But at the age of 25.”

Essentially, Juve are trying to achieve a perfect balance between young and old, attack and defence, sporting and commercial success.

It is the only way of ensuring that Agnelli’s Galacticos last longer than Perez’s.

Source – Goal.com

Asia’s top 40 nations will know their road to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup as the draw for the second round of the joint-qualifiers will be held at Malaysia on Wednesday. 

The draw which will pit 40 nations, including Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Guam, Mongolia and Sri Lanka who progress from the first round, will take place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 5 PM HKT.

40 nations — Japan, Korea Republic, IR Iran, Australia, Asian champions Qatar, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines — have been pooled into five pots based on their FIFA World Rankings ( issued on June 14, 2019) ahead of the draw.

While Vietnam are the highest-ranked ASEAN side in the draw in Pot 2, Thailand and Philippines are in Pot 3. Malaysia and Myanmar find themselves in Pot 4 while Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia are in Pot 5 among the lowest-ranked sides.

Pots for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers draw

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China

Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan

Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines

Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia

Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Sri Lanka

The draw which will pit 40 nations, including Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Guam, Mongolia and Sri Lanka who progress from the first round, will take place at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 5 PM HKT.

40 nations — Japan, Korea Republic, IR Iran, Australia, Asian champions Qatar, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines — have been pooled into five pots based on their FIFA World Rankings ( issued on June 14, 2019) ahead of the draw.

While Vietnam are the highest-ranked ASEAN side in the draw in Pot 2, Thailand and Philippines are in Pot 3. Malaysia and Myanmar find themselves in Pot 4 while Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia are in Pot 5 among the lowest-ranked sides.

Pots for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers draw

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China

Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan

Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines

Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia

Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Sri Lanka

hese teams will be drawn into eight groups of five teams each for the second round which is scheduled to begin on September 5, 2019 and conclude on June 9, 2020. The matches in the group will be held on home-and-away basis with each teams playing eight games in the group stages.

The eight group winners and four best runners-up will qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 to be held in China as well as the third and final round 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.

The next best 24 teams from the second stage of the joint-qualifiers will take part in a separate competition for the 12 remaining slots in 24-team 2023 Asian Cup.

Source – Fox Sport Asia