Steve Bruce was left fuming at the “horror” challenge which left Matt Ritchie needing stitches in three wounds as Newcastle bowed out of the Carabao Cup on penalties against Leicester.
Ritchie was caught by Foxes midfielder Hamza Choudhury shortly before half-time at St James’ Park with referee Tim Robinson brandishing a yellow card, but no more, and the Scotland international was unable to resume after the break.
Speaking after seeing his side go down 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw, the Magpies’ head coach said: “I have to say the mess Matt Ritchie is in, the referee is five yards away and if there had been VAR tonight or whatever…
Steve Bruce was unhappy with a challenge which left Matt Ritchie injured (Owen Humphreys/PA)
“It’s a horror challenge and I don’t want people sent off and red cards, but when I see the state of Matty’s leg… We fear ankle damage, he’s got three cuts which all need stitches.
“He’s a mess and the referee is five yards away from him, which is difficult to take when I see him like that.
“As I say, I don’t want anybody ever sent off, but when it’s a horror challenge like that… It wasn’t good. No wonder he didn’t come out for the second half.”
However, Foxes assistant manager Chris Davies was quick to defend Choudhury as he stood in for Brendan Rodgers at the post-match press conference.
James Maddison equalised after his free-kick was deflected in (Owen Humphreys/PA)
He said: “It was a strong tackle. He’s a competitor – if the ball is there to be won, he’ll go for it. There was certainly no malice whatsoever from Hamza.
“As I say, anyone who sees Hamza play knows he’s competitive and if the ball is there to be won, he’ll try to win it, so that’s how I saw it.”
That incident came after James Maddison had handed the visitors a 34th-minute lead with a free-kick which took an outrageous deflection, although the game went to penalties courtesy of Yoshinori Muto’s equaliser eight minutes after the break.
The visitors scored four of their five penalties, including Maddison’s audacious Panenka effort and although Harvey Barnes saw his attempt saved, Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden were denied by Kasper Schmeichel.
They will face Sky Bet Championship Luton in the third round, and Davies said: “They’re all going to be tough games. We’ve seen Luton play – obviously, they’ve been on a good run, promotion and a couple of results just recently, so we expect that to be a tough game.”
TURIN – Penyerang Juventus, Mario Mandzukic, erat dikaitkan dengan kabar kepindahan ke Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) pada bursa transfer musim panas 2019. Kembalinya Gonzalo Higuain sebagai penyerang utama Juventus di bawah asuhan Maurzio Sarri jadi awal mula kabar kepergian Mandzukic berhembus.
Seperti yang dilaporkan Goal, Kamis (29/8/2019), Mandzukic menolak tawaran untuk pindah ke PSG di bursa transfer musim panas 2019. Pemain berpaspor Kroasia itu lebih memilih untuk bertahan di Juventus setidaknya sampai Januari 2020 saat bursa transfer musim dingin dibuka.
Penolakan Mandzukic tentu merupakan kabar buruk untuk PSG yang sedang dipusingkan dengan cederanya para pemain inti mereka di lini depan. Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe dan Neymar Jr harus absen membela PSG karena cedera.
Cavani menderita cedera pinggul sedangkan Mbappe merobek otot fibre-nya dalam kemenangan 4-0 PSG atas Toulouse di pekan ketiga Liga Prancis 2019-2020. Sementara itu, Neymar masih bermasalah dengan kebugarannya. Akan tetapi, masalah utama Neymar bukanlah kebugaran melainkan niatnya untuk pulang ke Barcelona pada bursa transfer musim panas 2019.
Dengan tidak adanya tiga penyerang inti di lini depan PSG maka tim asuhan Thomas Tuchel itu tentu amat berharap mendapatkan jasa Mandzukic. Akan tetapi, penolakan Mandzukic membuat PSG harus memaksimalkan pemain yang ada di skuad saat ini.
Sementara itu, Mandzukic pun harus berjuang dengan keputusannya bertahan di Allianz Stadium. Sebab, pemain berusia 33 tahun itu diperkirakan lebih sering menghuni bangku cadangan karena Sarri lebih menyukai Higuain. Akan tetapi, bukan tidak mungkin Mandzukic akan pergi ke PSG pada bursa transfer musim dingin 2020.
SHAH ALAM: Ketiadaan pemain senior, Aidil Zaquan Abdul Radzak tidak memberi masalah kepada Shahrul Mohd Saad yang bersedia mengetuai barisan pertahanan skuad Harimau Malaya untuk mengekang jentera serangan Jordan pada aksi persahabatan antarabangsa di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil, Jumaat ini.
Kapten pasukan Perak itu yang lebih mesra dengan panggilan ‘Badak’ dalam kalangan rakan sepasukan, menegaskan beliau bersedia memberikan aksi terbaik walaupun ketiadaan pemain Johor Darul Ta’zim itu yang tidak disenaraikan pengendali skuad Harimau Malaya, Tan Cheng Hoe dalam senarai 27 pemain pada sesi latihan pusat kali ini.
“Aidil merupakan seorang pemain yang baik, dan saya harap pengalaman bersama Aidil sebelum ini dapat membantu saya dan rakan-rakan lain pada perlawanan menentang Jordan dan perlawanan pusingan kelayakan nanti,” katanya ketika ditemui pemberita sebelum bermulanya sesi latihan pusat skuad Harimau Malaya di Padang Latihan Sime Darby, Bukit Jelutong, di sini, pada Rabu.
Berbeza pula dengan misi pemain tengah kebangsaan, Muhammad Hadin Azman yang bersedia merebut tempat dalam kesebelasan utama selepas dibelenggu kecederaan yang menyaksikan beliau digugurkan dari skuad negara.
“Saya agak terkejut juga mendapat panggilan daripada penolong jurulatih (M. Balachandran) tempoh hari bahawa saya terpilih pada kali ini.
“Mungkin disebabkan prestasi semasa saya bersama Felda United menyebabkan saya dipanggil bersama skuad kebangsaan pada kali ini,” jelas kapten Felda United itu.
Pada masa yang sama, Muhammad Hadin bertekad untuk memperbaiki prestasinya dalam usaha membantu skuad Harimau Malaya meraih keputusan positif pada pusingan kedua kelayakan Piala Dunia 2022/Piala Asia 2023.
Untuk rekod, kali terakhir pemain berusia 25 tahun itu beraksi bersama skuad kebangsaan adalah pada Kejohanan Empat Negara Piala Airmarine 2019 pada Mac lepas yang menyaksikan Malaysia menduduki tempat ketiga selepas menewaskan Afghanistan 2-1 pada penentuan ketiga/keempat di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil.
Aksi pemanas badan menentang Jordan merupakan persediaan skuad Harimau Malaya sebelum berhadapan dengan Indonesia pada aksi pembukaan Kumpulan G pusingan kelayakan Piala Dunia 2022/Piala Asia 2023 di Stadium Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, 5 Sept ini.
MILAN – Manajemen Inter Milan mengadakan pertemuan dengan Mauro Icardi sekaligus sang agen, Wanda Nara, pada Selasa 27 Agustus 2019. Dalam pertemuan itu manajemen Inter kekeuh untuk melepas Icardi ke klub lain sebelum bursa transfer musim panas 2019 ditutup pada Senin 2 September.
Hanya saja, kubu Icardi masih tetap pada pendirian mereka, yakni bertahan di Stadion Giuseppe Meazza. Hal itulah yang menjadi masalah, mengingat Icardi tak lagi masuk proyek pelatih anyar Inter, Antonio Conte.
Terbukti Inter masih mampu menang 4-0 atas Lecce pada Selasa 27 Agustus 2019 dini hari WIB meski tidak diperkuat Icardi. Karena itu, satu-satunya jalan bagi Icardi untuk mereparasi kariernya adalah meninggalkan Inter.
Sebab jika bertahan bersama Inter, penyerang 26 tahun itu tidak akan mendapat jaminan tampil sama sekali. Sebenarnya ada dua klub yang meminati jasa Icardi yakni Napoli dan Juventus. Namun, jika pun meninggalkan Inter, kubu Icardi memastikan takkan hengkang ke Napoli.
Karena mendapat penolakan dari Icardi itulah, manajemen Partenopei –julukan Napoli– beralih ke pemain lain dan dalam waktu dekat akan mendatangkan penyerang asal Spanyol, Fernando Llorente. Bagaimana dengan Juventus? Peluang Juventus mendapatkan Icardi cukup besar.
Negosiasi antara manajemen Juventus dan Icardi dilaporkan sudah berlangsung dalam waktu yang cukup lama. Dipercaya dalam waktu dekat, kesepakatan dapat tercapai. Jika Icardi bergabung bersama Juventus, Mario Mandzukic dipercaya akan meninggalkan Stadion Allianz untuk melanjutkan karier bersama Bayern Munich.
Alexis Sanchez will have a chance to resurrect his career in Italy after Manchester United agreed a deal to loan him to Inter Milan for the rest of the season.
The PA news agency understands United have agreed a 10-month loan deal which does not include an option to buy, with the Premier League club retaining control of the 30-year-old who still has almost three years left on his contract.
Sanchez joined United from Arsenal in January 2018 in a deal which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go in the opposite direction, but his spell at Old Trafford has been a major disappointment.
Alexis Sanchez has not hit the heights at Old Trafford (PA)
The Chile international, who managed almost a goal every other game during his three and a half years with the Gunners, has managed just five strikes in 45 appearances for United.
Those performances were in stark contrast to his status as United’s highest-paid player, an issue which grew into a major headache for the club as they sought to negotiate contract extensions with a number of other members of their first-team squad.
That left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to see Sanchez move on this summer, despite a lack of experienced cover in the squad.
Romelu Lukaku has already joined Inter (PA)
With Romelu Lukaku having also joined Inter Milan on a permanent deal and no replacement brought in, United have only Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and teenagers Mason Greenwood and Tahith Chong in their senior squad.
Sanchez will hope to have more luck in Serie A, where he starred for Udinese earlier in his career before earning a move to Barcelona.
Further departures from United could yet follow before the European transfer window closes, with Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo among the fringe players to have been linked with a move away from Old Trafford.
Though United opened the season with a hugely encouraging 4-0 win over Chelsea, they were then held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves before Saturday’s disappointing home reverse to Crystal Palace, who had not previously won at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.
