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Manchester City’s Premier League title defence got off to a nightmare start as they were beaten 1-0 by Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Pep Guardiola was forced to play a number of fringe players in North London due to a large proportion of his first-team only recently returning from holidays after international duty, and other than a bright opening 15 minutes, the Citizens were very much second best on Sunday afternoon.

Heung-Min Son’s second-half goal, a left-footed strike from outside of the box that perhaps would have been saved by Ederson if not for a poor attempt at a block from Ruben Dias, was enough to separate the two sides and ensure that City endured another defeat without a goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Although there were a number of poor performances from those in sky blue, Benjamin Mendy’s display at left-back once again emphasised that he should not be starting for Manchester City anymore.

As per SofaScore, the former Monaco man would earn a poor 6.5 rating for his display against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, which was the joint-worst of any outfield City player on Sunday afternoon.

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During his time on the pitch, the French defender would be dribbled past on four occasions, which was the most of any defender on the pitch, and more than every other City defender combined.

For comparison, Joao Cancelo on the right-hand side would earn an impressive 7.7 rating despite the defeat, and wasn’t dribbled past once, which again emphasises just how poor Mendy is at defending.

Lucas Moura gave the 27-year-old a torrid time and ensured that he couldn’t get forward nearly as much as he normally does, whilst his crosses were also nowhere near their usual standard, as just one out of the eight he attempted during the game was accurate.

The Frenchman would also win just four out 14 duels during the game, resulting in a less than impressive 29% success rate, so it was no surprise to see him replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko with just over 10 minutes left.

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If City have title aspirations this season then they cannot risk playing Mendy in these sorts of fixtures, as he is clearly a defensive liability.

And, in other news… Man City dealt decisive transfer blow with “world-class” beast, Pep surely fuming

Worcestershire 186 for 6 (Solanki 53, Moeen 51) beat Glamorgan 83 (Batty 4-14) by 103 runs
ScorecardWorcestershire retained their Division One status in some style with a thumping 103-run victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff. After winning the toss, Worcestershire managed a decent but obtainable 186 for 6 in their 40 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali, but their bowlers were the real stars of the day. Glamorgan’s top three were extracted for ducks, as they were rolled over for 83 in 23.5 crushingly efficient overs.It was Dilhara Fernando and his wicked changes of pace who started the rot for Glamorgan. He grabbed Robert Croft and the pinch-hitter David Harrison with consecutive deliveries, before AJ Harris – recently released by Nottinghamshire but more than proving his worth here – followed up with a spell of 6-1-7-3. His first victim was the captain, David Hemp, also for a duck, and by the time he had removed Tom Maynard and the dangerous Mike Powell – the latter via a superb one-handed catch by Stephen Moore at short midwicket – Glamorgan were 35 for 5, and completely out of the reckoning.Gareth Batty ensured there would be no let-up. Flighting his offbreaks to perfection, he rattled through the middle- and lower-order for Man-of-the-Match figures of 4 for 14 in five overs. Jamie Dalrymple was well caught at leg slip by Moore, as was Ben Wright who muffed an attempted reverse-sweep, while Mark Wallace and Alex Wharf were trapped lbw and bowled respectively. Fernando then applied a fitting coup de grace with the fifth ball of his second spell, as Dean Cosker’s off stump was sent cartwheeling.It was an anticlimactic end to the season for Glamorgan, especially after their morale-boosting Championship victory over Leicestershire on Saturday. Jason Gillespie, in what seems sure to be his final appearance in county cricket, gave them a great start by removing Steve Davies and Moore in quick succession with the new ball, but Solanki’s 53 from 89 balls held the top of the order together, before Moeen upped the ante with a frenetic innings of 51 from 52 balls that was notable for his running between the wickets – he managed a total of one four and one six.Wharf bowled both Moeen and Daryl Mitchell, while Glamorgan’s spin twins, Cosker and Croft, picked up a wicket apiece and kept Worcestershire honest in the middle of the innings. But in the final analysis, the team from the top division proved too strong for the pretenders, as the status quo was maintained for this season at least.

أعرب أنطونيو روديجر عن سعادته بارتداء قميص ريال مدريد الإسباني، بعدما انضم للنادي الملكي قادمًا من تشيلسي في صفقة انتقال حر.

تم تقديم اللاعب المنضم إلى النادي الملكي في أول صفقاته الصيفية، بعد نهاية عقده مع تشيلسي، في وجود عائلته ورئيس النادي فلورنتينو بيريز.

وقال روديجر في المؤتمر الصحفي: “أشكر الجميع على هذا اليوم الخاص جدًا بالنسبة لي.. أريد أن أشكر والديّ لأن لولاهم لما كنت هنا. دعمهما كان مهمًا للغاية، وأشكر الرئيس على منحي فرصة اللعب لهذا النادي الرائع.. سأقدم كل شيء من أجل هذا النادي.. والفوز بكل البطولات الممكنة”.

طالع أيضًا.. ريال مدريد يخطط للتخلص من مدافعه ويعرضه على نادٍ آخر

وأضاف: “هنا أهم شيء هو الفوز، وهو ما أظهره ريال مدريد على مر السنين. حتى لو كانت هناك بعض الشكوك.. فقد تمكن ريال مدريد من تخطيها ولم تقف أمامهم أي عقبات”.

وعن مواجهة ريال مدريد في دوري الأبطال الموم الماضي: “كانت مباراة استثنائية وصعبة، بالنسبة لي كانت المباراة الأولى في سانتياجو بيرنابيو، كانت لدي مشاعر لا تصدق، بعد أن كانت النتيجة 3/0 تمكن ريال مدريد من العودة والتأهل على حساب تشيلسي.. هذا أمر لا يصدق”.

وواصل: “ريال مدريد يمتلك لاعبين جيدين جدًا، خاصة في موقعي.. لكنني واثق من نفسي وأنا هنا لتقديم المساعدة والتنافس على مركزي، وهو أمر مهم”.

وشدد: “بالنسبة لي، فإن الحصول على فرصة اللعب في عدة بطولات أمر رائع.. الدوري الألماني بدني للغاية، وإيطاليا تمتلك مستوى لعب تكتيكي، وفي الدوري الإنجليزي كل مباراة لها كثافة عالية، الآن في إسبانيا أسعى لمواجهة تحد جديد”.

وأشار: “رونالدو نازاريو هو مثلي الأعلى، أردنا جميعًا أن نكون مثله.. كذلك زين الدين زيدان، منذ هدفه في ليفركوزن بنهائي دوري الأبطال”.

وعن كواليس انضمامه للنادي الملكي: “اتصل بي وكيلي في سبتمبر وأخبرني أن ريال مدريد يريد ضمي، والمرة الثانية كانت عندما تحدث معي أنشيلوتي في أبريل.. كان هو الشيء الأكثر أهمية، اتخذت القرار بعد مكالمة أنشيلوتي للعب تحت قيادته في ريال مدريد”.

وأكمل: “في بعض الأحيان تتحدث إلى زملائك، لكن القرار كان شخصيًا.. لم أتحدث إلى كروس وكورتوا وهازارد.. أخبرني أنشيلوتي أنه يثق بي، وأنه يتوقع الكثير، ويمكنني مساعدتهم وهذا ما جعلني مستعدًا للقتال من أجل مركزي”.

وعن لاعب يشبهه في ريال مدريد، قال: “إذا اضطررت لاختيار لاعب في قلب الدفاع، سأبقى مع بيبي.. إنه معيار، مثل الحيوان على أرض الملعب الذي لا يترك أي شيء.. أنا أحب ذلك كثيرًا”.

وتابع: “لا أعرف كيف أصف ما حققه ريال مدريد في دوري الأبطال.. إنه أمر لا يصدق، حاولنا القضاء على ريال مدريد كثيرًا في الأبطال، وجربنا كل شيء، ولكن لم يكن ذلك ممكنًا.. في النهائي ضد ليفربول كنت قد وقعت بالفعل عقد انتقالي إلى الملكي وذهبت إلى فرنسا لتشجيع الفريق”.

وعن الرقم المفضل: “أحب رقم 2 لكنه رقم كرافخال، ويمكنني الاختيار بين 12 و22، ولم أفكر كثيرًا في هذا الأمر”.

وكشف: “كان هناك اهتمام من برشلونة بضمي، لكنني أخبرت أخي ووكيلي أن ريال مدريد أولًا، أو لا شيء”.

وعلق على قرار مبابي: “الكل يتخذ قراراته.. هذا شأنهم، لا يمكنني الحديث عن هذا الموقف”.

وعن الكلاسيكو: “هذه المباراة عرفتها منذ أن كنت طفلًا، إنها الأهم في إسبانيا، حتى لو كانت ودية، سيكون من الجيد جدًا أن أشارك في الكلاسيكو الودي قبل الموسم”.

Divock Origi has scored some of Liverpool’s most crucial goals in recent seasons, but former Red Paul Stewart believes he should move on this summer.

‘That’ Merseyside derby winner, a brace against Barcelona in the semis and a clincher against Spurs in the Champions League final are just a few of crucial strikes from the Belgian in recent years.

However, whilst he has already written his name into Liverpool folklore, he’s never been able to dislodge Firmino as the Reds’ first-choice striker, and has been forced to watch from the bench for the majority of his six seasons at Anfield.

Origi, who’s scored 35 goals for the Merseysiders, didn’t play a single minute in their final 13 Premier League games and oversaw only 536 minutes of action across all competitions, with his only goal coming against Lincoln in the Carabao Cup.

With less than 12 months now remaining on his Red contract, a summer exit is almost certain, and Stewart told Football FanCast that the time is right for the 26-year-old to depart:

“I’d want to go if I was him. He has scored some important goals, but he’s been sat on the bench for years, so he needs to see if he’s got the ability to go and play at the highest level.

“I think it’s long overdue that he finds a club to play week in week out and challenge himself and say, ‘I can play at this level.’ “

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Depois de duas vitórias épicas na abertura da fase de grupos da Libertadores, o jogo no Equador também reservou emoção ao botafoguense. Desperdiçando muitas chances e com direito a Camilo perdendo penalidade ainda no primeiro minuto, Sassá – também na marca do cal – garantiu o ponto fora de casa para a equipe alvinegra no 1 a 1 no Monumental, que mantém o Glorioso e o time do Barcelona-EQU empatados na liderança do grupo A, com sete pontos ganhos.

O começo de jogo foi um indício de que a noite seria bem longa. No primeiro minuto, Roger sofreu pênalti de Mena. Camilo que foi para a cobrança e desperdiçou o que poderia ser um grande começo de jogo para o Botafogo, com Banguera – e seu tradicional boné – defendendo com maestria.

Com um modelo de jogo definido, o Botafogo repetiu a escalação da vitória diante do Nacional, com maior composição no meio e Emerson atuando improvisado na direita. E a equipe conseguiu criar boas situações de gol, muitas deles envolvendo as finalizações de Camilo. Banguera garantia atrás, salvando também cabeçada certeira de Emerson Silva. Mas o time descuidou atrás.

Se o rival era o Barcelona – mesmo este sendo do Equador – o gol foi digno de “Messi”. Alemán tabelou com Álvarez, deixou para trás simplesmente Victor Luís, Carli e Gatito – lembrando muitos tentos antológicos do 10 argentino – e marcou o gol que selou a vantagem equatoriana na primeira etapa. Era um resultado que, até certo modo, parecia injusto. Mas que castigou a falta de eficiência ofensiva do Botafogo dentro do jogo, ainda mais no primeiro tempo.

Na segunda etapa, surpreendentemente, o time de Jair Ventura iniciou o jogo pressionando menos. Até por isso, as mexidas, com a entrada de Sassá – Roger esteve apagado dentro do jogo – e, posteriormente, Guilherme, mudaram a equipe e o destino do Botafogo a partir dos 20 minutos do segundo tempo.

A nova dupla de ataque deu um novo fôlego, com o centroavante alvinegro desperdiçando antes do empate uma chance inacreditável, aos 27. Mas, nos minutos finais, que os dois jogadores reservas fizeram a diferença para o time.

Guilherme provocou a expulsão de Mena aos 35, contribuindo para o abafa final do Botafogo em cima do rival. E, em uma besteira de Arreage, Sassá bateu pênalti e converteu, aos 43, garantindo o valioso ponto fora de casa.

Fica a sensação de que poderia muito mais – até mesmo três pontos – dentro do Equador. Mas também a de que poderia ter amargurado uma derrota. Que venham os dois jogos no Nilton Santos, onde a torcida alvinegra pode – e deve – buscar fazer a diferença. Com sete pontos, o Botafogo fica em boa situação.

FICHA TÉCNICA:
BARCELONA-EQU 1 X 1 BOTAFOGO
Data/hora: 20/04/17, às 21h45
Local: Estádio Monumental, em Guayaquil (EQU)
Arbitragem: Jesús Valenzuela (VEN)
Cartões amarelos: Jefferson Mena, Pineida (BAR); Emerson Silva, João Paulo e Bruno Silva (BOT)
Cartão vermelho: Jefferson Mena (BAR)

Gols: Alemán 31’/1°T (1-0) e Sassá 43’/2°T (1-1)

BARCELONA-EQU: Banguera; Velasco, Aimar, Jefferson Mena e Pineida; Gabriel Marques, Calderón, Esterilla, Caicedo (José Ayoví) e Alemán (Ariel) ; Alvez (Arreaga) – Técnico: Guillhermo Almada.

BOTAFOGO: Gatito Fernández, Emerson (Fernandes), Carli, Emerson Silva e Victor Luís; Rodrigo Lindoso (Guilherme), Bruno Silva, João Paulo e Camilo; Rodrigo Pimpão e Roger (Sassá) – Técnico: Jair Ventura.

RelacionadasBotafogoJair valoriza quatro pontos em meio a maratona e lamenta gols perdidosBotafogo21/04/2017BotafogoATUAÇÕES: Sassá salva o Botafogo e se destaca em empate no EquadorBotafogo21/04/2017BotafogoBotafogo ganha recurso de ex-atletas na Justiça e segue no Ato TrabalhistaBotafogo20/04/2017

West Ham United remain in talks regarding a move to bring Paul Onuachu to the London Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Belgian media outlet Voetbal Primeur (via Sport Witness), who claim that West Ham are still attempting to negotiate a deal for the Genk centre-forward, with the Jupiler Pro League side hoping to secure a club-record transfer fee for the sale of the 27-year-old.

The report added that a number of Premier League clubs are keeping a close eye on the situation of the Nigeria international ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window, although the Hammers are still thought to be leading the race.

Haller’s perfect heir

David Moyes is in desperate need of additions to his attacking arsenal at the London Stadium this summer, as the 58-year-old has only Michail Antonio as an option at centre-forward following the January sale of Sebastien Haller. Considering just how impressive Onuachu was for Genk last season, the 27-year-old would seem to be an excellent replacement for the Ivory Coast international in east London.

Indeed, over his 38 Jupiler Pro League appearances last term, the £18m-rated man scored a whopping 33 goals and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking three shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns saw him earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.45, ranking him as John van den Brom’s second-best performer in the Belgian top flight.

The man the Belgian media dubbed an “excellent” striker also impressed over his three appearances in the Beker van Belgie, scoring a further two goals and providing one assist, taking his total haul for 2020/21 to an astonishing 35 goals and five assists (40 goal contributions).

As such, it would very much appear as if the signing of Onuachu this summer would not only serve to replace Haller’s spot in the West Ham attack, he also seems to have the ability to push Antonio for his starting place in Moyes’ XI next season. If the Hammers can get a deal over the line for the 27-year-old, it would be a fantastic piece of business from the club.

In other news: Moyes dealt major blow in talks with £10m goal machine, West Ham fans will be gutted

Celtic will need to offer Hibernian around £4m to have a chance of signing Kevin Nisbet, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Nisbet link

Celtic were linked with a move for the striker back in May when Eddie Howe was the club’s main managerial target.

As we know, Ange Postecoglou is the new man in charge at Parkhead, and links to Nisbet have continued with the Greek-Australian in place.

The Daily Mail’s Stephen McGowan claimed that Celtic set their sights on Nisbet after announcing a deal for defender Osaze Urhoghide from Sheffield Wednesday last week.

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The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared a story on Tuesday, where pundit Noel Whelan urged the Hoops to sign the forward, labelling him as ‘destructive’.

Within their story, a source shared a £4m reveal. They claim that Celtic would need to make a £4m offer to persuade Hibs to part ways with the 24-year-old.

Nisbet, who has scored 84 goals in his career so far, featured for Scotland at Euro 2020 and still has three years remaining on his Easter Road deal.

The Verdict: Buy

Even though Celtic would have to cough up £4m to sign Nisbet, it could be a wise decision over signing someone like Charlie Wyke

Wyke was in talks with the Hoops last month over a potential free transfer. He demanded his wages to be doubled, a four-year deal and a multi-million signing-on fee.

Yes, he scored 30 goals last season compared to Nisbet’s 18, however, those were at League One level.

Nisbet is also four years Wyke’s junior, so in the long run, it could be worth paying Hibs £4m, especially with Odsonne Edouard still expected to leave Parkhead.

Nisbet, Albian Ajeti and Leigh Griffiths could potentially be Postecoglou’s attacking options next season, would the Hoops need another?

In other news: Celtic man wanted by Patrick Vieira, find out who it is here.  

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O goleiro Renan, ex-Avaí e Botafogo, têm motivo de sobra pra ficar feliz nesta semana. Atualmente no Ludogorets, da Bulgária, o arqueiro viu o nascimento do seu terceiro filho, a nova herdeira Isabela.

O atleta preferiu descobrir o sexo do bebê somente na hora do nascimento e brincou com a surpresa:

— Eu já não aguentava mais de ansiedade. Decidimos esperar o nascimento para descobrir o sexo e foi aquela surpresa toda na hora. É uma felicidade inexplicável.

Renan aproveitou e admitiu que a felicidade se transformará em motivação profissional:

— Poder estar ao lado da minha esposa e dos meus filhos em momentos como esse me deixa incrivelmente feliz. Sem dúvidas, a chegada da Isabela vai nos ajudar bastante em nossa adaptação e me motivar ainda mais para que eu possa trazer ainda mais alegrias para dentro de casa.

Em sua primeira experiência internacional na carreira, Renan ainda não estreiou oficialmente pelo clube e reconhece algumas dificuldades na adaptação, mas reforça a importância da presença da família:

— Lógico que não é fácil. É um país muito diferente do nosso, com cultura muito distinta, hábitos específicos, toda uma vivência à qual não estava acostumado. Mas graças a Deus e à ajuda de minha esposa e meus filhos tenho conseguido tirar de letra. Ter a minha família ao lado é o principal motivo para eu seguir em frente sempre. Eles sempre estiveram comigo, independente do lugar e da situação. Aqui na Bulgária, neste novo desafio, não poderia ser diferente!

RelacionadasFora de CampoConheça a Miss que poderá fazer Ozil mudar de clube!Fora de Campo23/03/2017Fora de CampoMessi participa de campanha contra o câncer infantilFora de Campo23/03/2017Fora de CampoJuliana Paradela está na torcida pelo VascoFora de Campo22/03/2017

The Queen’s Park Oval at Trinidad might be one of India’s favouriteaway grounds but that did not save them from a thrashing at the handsof the West Indians on Saturday

Erapalli Prasanna02-Jun-2002The Queen’s Park Oval at Trinidad might be one of India’s favouriteaway grounds but that did not save them from a thrashing at the handsof the West Indians on Saturday.The game began on a sombre note with the players observing a minute’ssilence in memory of the recently departed Subhash Gupte, whom Iconsider to be the greatest leg-spinner the game has seen, and HansieCronje.I feel sorry for the present generation of cricket lovers who neversaw the great Gupte in action. He was a genius in the true sense ofthe word and could work magic on any wicket and against any batsman. Iwould venture to say that if he were playing now, he would haveclaimed 500 Test wickets with ease, considering the high quality offielding support that he would be getting.I still cherish the memory of playing against the great man in aCentral Zone v South Zone encounter at Bangalore. In the course of aface-saving partnership for South which I forged in the company of thelate Kripal Singh, I picked up various nuances of the art of spinbowling from the maestro. Truly, it was a blessed moment for me.Naturally, at the start of the match, I then thought that the Indians,after electing to bat, would spare no effort in earning a win thatthey could subsequently dedicate to memory of the late genius. But therain seemed to have played spoilsport as far as they were concerned.They clearly seemed to lack a gameplan to tackle the contingency ofbatting first in a contest truncated to a 25-over-a-side affair.Batsman after batsman started going for quick runs, as the touristsplayed into the hands of the West Indies side who bundled them out for123 runs. The home side were favourites from thereon and the only hopethe Indians lay in the prospect of another shower washing out thematch before the West Indies reached the modest victory target.A shower did come early on in the West Indies innings but it was anunwelcome sight for the Indians. In the seventh over of the hometeam’s innings bowled by Tinu Yohanan it rained boundaries as WestIndies opener Chris Gayle, who had begun middling the ball well,opened his broad shoulders and plundered 25 runs. The savage attackeffectively sealed the fate of the match.Gayle and his partner Wavell Hinds went on to add 117 runs at wellover a run a ball and this meant that the West Indies easily achievedthe series-leveling win that they had been seeking at the start of thematch.The home team proved that they were ready to take the bull by thehorns in a must-win encounter and their aggressive approach paid richdividends indeed. Now, with the series hanging in the balance, it isup to the Indians to prove that they can bounce back and at least winthe one-day series before leaving the Caribbean.

Nahitan Nandez is not on Victor Orta’s shortlist for new Leeds United signings this summer, according to journalist Graham Smyth.

The Lowdown: Nandez continually linked with move

The Cagliari midfielder has been one of the players most strongly linked with a move to Elland Road in the coming months following a string of impressive performances in Italy.

Midfield is an area of the pitch where Marcelo Bielsa could look to strengthen, giving his squad more quality in the middle of the park.

Nandez has won 39 caps for Uruguay, highlighting his level of experience, but it is beginning to look as though he won’t be joining Leeds.

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The Latest: Smyth provides key update

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Smyth said: “Nandez wasn’t on the shortlist last time I checked.”

Given the journalist’s reliable nature when it comes to Leeds-related news, it looks as though Bielsa may need to consider looking at an alternative to Nandez.

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The Verdict: Looking increasingly unlikely

With fellow transfer target Rodrigo de Paul seemingly heading to Atletico Madrid, this is another blow for Leeds as they look to go up another level.

Despite the Whites excelling last season, there were times when Kalvin Phillips felt a little too important – they lost seven out of nine games without him at one point during the campaign. Nandez could be the perfect candidate to take some of the burden off the England international, with the Uruguayan described as “tireless” in a FIFA profile [via HITC].

Should the 25-year-old end up staying put at Cagliari or going elsewhere, it is important that Leeds bring in a midfield alternative, bolstering their options before the new season gets underway in August.

In other news, Leeds are interested in signing an international forward this summer – find out who it is here.