Posted on

Chelsea news: Frank Lampard reveals reasons behind Christian Pulisic omission against Manchester United

The USMNT star was only a second-half substitute at Old Trafford but the Blues manager says his time will come

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says he plans to be patient with Christian Pulisic after the USMNT winger was only named as a substitute for their season opener at Manchester United.

With the Blues currently serving a transfer ban, Pulisic is the only new signing at Chelsea this summer after his £58 million ($73m) switch from Borussia Dortmund was agreed in January.

Lampard opted against handing Pulisic a start in his first competitive match in charge of the club on Sunday, choosing instead to field Pedro and Ross Barkley in the wide areas with England youngster Mason Mount in support of forward Tammy Abraham.

Editors’ Picks

Pulisic eventually did make it onto the field in the 58th minute when he replaced England international Barkley. Chelsea were already 1-0 down at that stage courtesy of a first half penalty from Marcus Rashford.

Pulisic had little time to make an impact on the game before United doubled their lead through Anthony Martial on 66 minutes.

Further breakaway goals from Rashford and debutant Daniel James completed a sobering afternoon for Chelsea at Old Trafford, with the final 4-0 scoreline the heaviest ever opening-day league defeat in the club’s 104-year history.

Speaking after the game Lampard revealed his reasons behind his team selection and his plans for Pulisic going forward.

“Christian Pulisic is 20 years old and he’s come across from Dortmund. He will be a fantastic player for the club. He has got great ability. You saw little moments with his acceleration on the ball,” Lampard told reporters.

“But I have also got other options in midfield and in those areas, and I don’t want to stick Christian straight into the fire without trying to help him along the way. It was one of those games where I felt it was better to start with Ross [Barkley] and Mason [Mount], who have been very strong in pre-season, and bring Christian on.

“If the game had carried on at 1-0, or we were back in the game as we should have been, he would have been a great injection. In the end it was difficult for him because the game went quickly away from us.”

Posted on

Neto injury: Barcelona goalkeeper fractures wrist in training

The Brazilian was brought in to provide goalkeeping cover, but the Blaugrana will start the season without their new signing

Barcelona goalkeeper Neto is facing a spell on the sidelines after fracturing a bone in his left wrist.

The 30-year-old arrived at Camp Nou from Valencia during the off-season in a deal worth an initial €26 million (£23m/$30m.

With Jasper Cillessen moving the opposite way, Neto was brought in to provide competition for Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Editors’ Picks

But Ernesto Valverde now faces being without his back-up keeper for the opening stages of the season as he picked up an injury in the final training session ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Napoli.

Barcelona announced on their official website that Neto has been diagnosed with a scaphoid bone fracture and the extent of the injury will be determined on Monday.

Reports in Spain suggest the Brazilian, who featured in Barcelona’s first four pre-season matches, is likely to miss five weeks of action.

While Neto’s time at Barcelona has started in rough fashion, the former Valencia keeper recently described his move to Camp Nou as a dream.

“It’s a dream for any footballer. When you talk about Barcelona, ever player at the highest level wishes to play for a team like this one,” Neto told SPORT.

“It’s very different. It means your hard work has paid off when your club can compete for every trophy available.

“For me, as someone who likes to always win, to compete at the highest level is the best.”

Barcelona begin their La Liga campaign with a trip to Athletic Bilbao on Friday and face Real Betis and Osasuna before the end of the month.

The reigning Spanish champions will also likely be without Lionel Messi for their season opener, with Valverde declaring he’s a major doubt due to a calf strain.

“He’s in the recovery process and I don’t know if he will be ready for the start of La Liga,” Valverde told a news conference after a 4-0 win over Napoli in Michigan on Saturday.

“It’s looking difficult.”

Barcelona have won their last four games of pre-season with their final victory over Napoli seeing Antoine Griezmann net his first goal for the club.

Posted on

Napoli v Barcelona Match Report, 10/08/2019, Club Friendlies

Napoli 0 Barcelona 4: Griezmann off the mark as Catalans turn on the style

Antoine Griezmann got his first Barcelona goal as they eased past Napoli in their final pre-season game.

A stylish second half from Barcelona saw them sweep aside Napoli in Michigan to claim a 4-0 friendly win on Saturday.

Antoine Griezmann got his first goal for the club since his €120million move from Atletico Madrid, in between strikes from Luis Suarez.

Ousmane Dembele added a fourth against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who lost the first friendly meeting in Miami 2-1 on Wednesday and were simply no match for the Catalans here once they fell behind.

Editors’ Picks

It was an encouraging display from Ernesto Valverde’s Barca, without the injured Lionel Messi, ahead of their LaLiga opener at Athletic Bilbao on Friday.

Griezmann dragged a clear chance wide and Dembele also fluffed his lines as Barca failed to capitalise on their first-half openings.

Suarez was denied by Alex Meret, but Fabian Ruiz went within inches of giving Napoli a lead at the break.

Griezmann spurned another chance three minutes after the break, firing straight at Meret, but Suarez was on hand this time to side-foot home the rebound.

Barca turned on the style for their second eight minutes later. A passing move starting from the back four ended with Carles Alena sliding a superb throughball to Jordi Alba – perhaps fortunate not to be flagged for offside – who squared for Griezmann to bury an easy finish.

It got worse for Napoli just two minutes later, as Dembele picked up Suarez’s pass from a loose ball and teed up the Uruguay star for a stunning curling strike that flew past Meret from the edge of the box.

Dembele marked a strong second-half showing by driving into the penalty area and drilling a right-foot strike into the bottom-left corner, ensuring Barca will head into the new season in positive fashion.

Posted on

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp backs ‘cheeky like hell’ Norwich to give Premier League trouble this season

The newly promoted club’s display at Anfield on Friday earned plaudits from the German boss, despite his side’s comfortable win

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp branded Norwich City “cheeky like hell” and expects them to cause teams problems in the Premier League.

Despite falling to a 4-1 defeat at Anfield on the opening day of the new season, Daniel Farke’s side gave a solid account of themselves in their first match since winning the Championship.

Teemu Pukki and Marco Stiepermann missed first-half chances and Liverpool punished them, with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Divock Origi adding to Grant Hanley’s seventh-minute own goal.

Editors’ Picks

Norwich refused to lay down and got the goal their performance deserved when Pukki slid a cool finish past substitute goalkeeper Adrian – a first-half replacement for the injured Alisson – in the 64th minute.

“A long part of the game, really good,” Klopp told a post-match news conference. “The first 60 minutes we were pretty impressive. If you are surprised that Norwich uses little moments for being dangerous, I’m not. That’s how they are.

“For 60 minutes we did what we had to do. We could’ve scored more, especially after half-time. Maybe then the opponent impressed a bit more as they were not really fussed about the result.

“They stayed cheeky, they stayed lively, they did what they wanted to do. They played, they changed offensively. I have the biggest respect for what Daniel’s doing there with the boys. A very interesting and exciting team they have there.

“They had their pretty risky formation and used that, but we were not really in danger, they were just good in a couple good moments.

“We played against an opponent who will cause a lot of teams problems with the way they play, that’s really good. They are cheeky like hell and do what they do no matter what happens.

“They caused us problems in some moments, but I’m not surprised about that, it’s completely normal.”

The result ran Klopp’s record in opening-day matches to three wins and draw, with Liverpool having netted 15 times in their four openers under the German.

The German also watched Liverpool score three times in the opening half-hour of a match for the first time since February of 2014.

Posted on

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith provides Douglas Luiz update ahead of Spurs

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has this evening provided a positive update on his squad, ahead of the club’s season opener this weekend.

Tottenham vs Aston Villa

The new Premier League campaign is set to get underway at Anfield tomorrow evening, when last season’s runners-up, Liverpool, host top-flight newcomers Norwich City.

This will be followed by a host of fixtures on Saturday afternoon, one of which will see another of the English top-flight’s latest returnees, Aston Villa, take on Tottenham.

Spurs enjoyed a busy close to the transfer window over the last 24 hours, having secured the signings of both Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon on deadline day.

The north Londoners’ latest pair of recruits came on the back of their previous additions of Tanguy Ndombele and Jack Clarke, with spirits no doubt high amongst the Tottenham camp ahead of their season opener.

Hosts Villa, meanwhile, have enjoyed an even more productive summer.

The Claret and Blue have introduced a hefty 12 new players to Dean Smith’s squad, in a bid to compete with English football’s finest this season.

‘A great pre-season’

And, ahead of the club’s first competitive outing following their summer shake-up, Smith has this evening provided an update on his squad.

Speaking in a press conference, the Villa boss confirmed that highly-regarded midfield addition Douglas Luiz could feature in north London, despite having only joined up with the rest of the Villans’ squad for the first time earlier today:

Posted on

West Ham close to signing Basel forward Ajeti- BBC

Ajeti impresses for Basel

Albian Ajeti joined FC Basel in the summer of 2017 for a fee believed to be around £1.25m.

Ajeti was a product of Basel’s youth system but he was sold to German outfit Augsburg in 2016.

However, Ajeti made just one senior appearance for the German club.

Now though, he is one of Basel’s top stars.

Ajeti has played 96 games across all competitions for the Swiss side, in those fixtures he has managed to score 43 and assist 21.

The 2018/19 campaign saw the 22-year-old score 21 and assist 11 in 43 games.

Ajeti has also made seven appearances for Switzerland’s first-team.

West Ham closing in on Ajeti

We could now be set to see the young forward move to the English top-flight.

West Ham have already completed the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt forward, Sebastien Haller.

However, after losing Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic over the summer, they look to be trying to add some more depth to their forward spot.

According to the BBC, West Ham are close to concluding a deal for Ajeti.

The BBC put the transfer fee at £8m with Sky Sports News also reporting an £8m fee for Ajeti.

Posted on

Spurs’ Philippe Coutinho links played down amid Dybala deal rumours

Philippe Coutinho

The reliable Alisdair Gold of Football.London has this evening provided an update on the links between Tottenham and Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho.

Barca exit incoming?

On the back of a disappointing campaign with the Blaugrana last time out, Brazilian attacker Coutinho has been hotly-tipped for a Camp Nou departure this summer.

Ligue 1 giants PSG were previously viewed as the former Liverpool man’s most-likely destination, with a high-profile swap deal involving Neymar having even been touted:

PL bound?

The last 48 hours, though, have seen rumours of a potential Premier League return for Coutinho ramp up.

Surprise reports stemming from France today even went as far as to state that a loan move to Unai Emery’s Arsenal was on the verge of completion:

Such claims appear to have jumped the gun, though.

Further updates over the course of the evening have seen Arsenal’s north London rivals Spurs named as clear front-runners in the Coutinho chase.

Sky Sports and a number of other high-profile outlets almost simultaneously suggested that Mauricio Pochettino’s men were closing on a season-long loan deal for the 27-year-old.

‘Don’t believe there’s much in Coutinho links’

As per the aforementioned report from Alisdair Gold, regarded as highly-reliable when it comes to Spurs news, however, links to Coutinho appear to be little more than a smokescreen on the part of the capital outfit’s board, as they ‘try to get other deals done’:

And such a viewpoint would certainly appear to be in line with the latest reports surrounding Tottenham’s work on the transfer market, spreading across Europe this evening.

According to Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, a 70 million Euro deal has been clinched between the Premier League club and Italian champions Juventus, over Paulo Dybala.

As such, it is now down to Spurs to find an agreement with the Argentine:

Posted on

Philippe Coutinho’s agent rules out PL return amid Arsenal links

Philippe Coutinho

The agent of Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho has this evening moved to reject the suggestion that his client could make a move back to the Premier League this summer.

Barca struggles

Brazilian attacker Coutinho made the move to Barcelona in January of last year, on the back of a stellar couple of seasons with Liverpool.

However, despite his hefty price-tag, the 27-year-old has since largely-struggled to live up to expectations in Catalunya.

Though his start to Blaugrana life over the second-half of the 2017/18 campaign proved at least somewhat encouraging, last season was a different story altogether.

Coutinho generally looked a shadow of his once-brilliant self, with a perpetual lack of confidence having seen the Brazilian continuously fade into the background, as Lionel Messi carried Barca’s creative burden on his back.

All told, Coutinho managed just 5 goals and 2 assists across 34 La Liga appearances.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – JANUARY 08: New Barcelona signing Philippe Coutinho is unveiled at Camp Nou on January 8, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The Brazilian player signed from Liverpool, has agreed a deal with the Catalan club until 2023 season. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The Camp Nou faithful, meanwhile, did not exactly help the situation, with many fans having turned on the former Inter Milan man as the season wore on.

PSG links

As such, speculation has already run rampant regarding Coutinho’s future with Barcelona, amid suggestions that the La Liga champions’ hierarchy could look to cut their losses on the South American this summer.

‘Difficult for him to go to a rival’

Another rumoured destination for Coutinho, meanwhile, has been the Premier League.

The likes of Manchester United and Arsenal have both been touted as potential landing spots of late.

The attacker’s agent, though, has this evening moved to shoot down such suggestions.

When questioned on the specific possibility of his client joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United during an interview with TalkSPORT (via Mundo Deportivo), Kia Joorabchian revealed that Coutinho’s Liverpool past would make a move to any rival Premier League club ‘extremely difficult’:

‘Manchester United is a great club. I have players there and I have all the respect, but in regards to Philippe, it would be extremely difficult, an almost impossible move.’

‘It would be very difficult for Philippe to play for any of Liverpool’s rivals, because he has a great affinity with Liverpool. His time there was fantastic. It would be difficult for him to go to a rival. Every time we talked about that we had the same conversation. It would be difficult for him to play for another club in the Premier League.’

Posted on

Guardiola claims Man City were interested but couldn’t afford Maguire

Man City win Community Shield

Manchester City and Liverpool went head-to-head on Sunday, for the first available piece of silverware in the English 2019/20 season.

As well as the league, FA Cup and League Cup, Man City won the Community Shield last season, and were looking to retain the trophy.

City’s day got off to an excellent start, as Raheem Sterling put them in front inside 12 minutes.

Joel Matip leveled things up for Liverpool in the second-half, with the score having been locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes.

City then beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties, with Gabriel Jesus scoring the winning penalty:

Harry Maguire

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 19: Harry Maguire of Leicester City looks on as he holds his leg during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City at Molineux on January 19, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Pep on Maguire

After the game, Pep Guardiola was asked about Harry Maguire.

Maguire was spotted in Manchester on Sunday ahead of a move to Manchester United, which the Evening Standard state will cost £80m, a world-record fee for a defender.

“Maguire is an excellent, top class player.

“We were interested, but we could not afford it. United can afford it. 

“He made an incredible World Cup. He’s strong in the air, good build-up, he’s so fast playing the ball forward. 

“He has all the qualities to work for United. Congratulations to United.” As quoted by the Evening Standard.

Posted on

Barcelona’s transfer bid for PSG’s Neymar to come in the ‘next few days’

Barcelona & PSG’s Neymar

Goal.com are reporting on Saturday night that Barcelona are finally gearing up to try to re-sign Neymar from PSG.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona two years ago in a 222 million euro transfer.

However, rumours linking Neymar with a return to the Camp Nou have been swirling all summer.

Neymar is back with PSG, however the Brazilian has yet to play for the club this season.

The forward was injured days before the start of the Copa America, which Brazil won on home soil.

What do we know about Barcelona’s bid for Neymar

According to Goal.com, Barcelona are now preparing to start talks with PSG.

At the same time, the Catalans should table an offer for Neymar in the next few days. Readers are told:

The Ligue 1 champions have been steadfast over their asking price for the Brazil international and have been sticking to their €222 million (£200m/$249m) valuation of the player they signed from Barca in 2017.

There may well be movement on that price, however, with the 27-year-old keen to make the return to Camp Nou.

It’s unclear how much PSG may accept to finally get Neymar off their books.

Neymar after PSG won the French Super Cup

PSG came from behind to beat Rennes in the French Super Cup on Saturday.

Adrien Hunou fired Rennes into the lead after 13 minutes.

However, Kylian Mbappe levelled in the 57th and Angel Di Maria won the match in the 73rd.

Neymar played no part in the match, however the Brazilian focused attention afterwards.