شن خاليدو كوليبالي، نجم فريق الهلال السعودي، هجومًا ضاريًا ضد حكم مباراة فلومينينسي في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، بعد توديع المنافسات عقب الخسارة أمام الفريق البرازيلي.
وتلاقى الفريقان في إطار منافسات ربع نهائي كأس العالم للأندية، حيث خسر الهلال بهدفين لهدف.
وشهدت المباراة جدلًا تحكيميًا بعدما طالب الهلال بضربة جزاء، مرتين، في المباراة دون جدوى، حيث رفض الحكم الانصياع إلى اللاعبين، وسط غضب شديد من جانب الهلال.
وقال كوليبالي، في تصريحات إعلامية عقب المباراة: “لقد لعبنا بشكل جيد من الناحية الدفاعية حيث حاول فلومينينسي السيطرة، لقد بذلوا قصارى جهدهم في الشوط الأول حيث كان الأمر صعبًا للغاية بالنسبة لنا”.
وأضاف: “لقد سجلوا هدف التقدم ولكننا كنا نؤمن أننا نستطيع العودة، وقد فعلنا بذلك مع بداية الشوط الثاني وسجلنا هدف التعادل، أرى أننا فعلنا كل شيء من أجل تحقيق الفوز في تلك المباراة”.
وواصل: “سجلوا هدفًا من ركلة ركنية، كان الأمر مؤسفًا ولكن أظن أننا قدمنا مباراة جيدة، لقد حاولنا ورغبنا في الفوز”.
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واسترسل: “في نهاية المباراة كانت هناك مواقف شاهدها جميع من في العالم، لا أعلم لماذا لم يذهب الحكم إلى تقنية الفيديو مرتين من أجلي، أحيانًا يمكنك تقبل بعض الأمور، ولكن عندما تخسر بهذه الطريقة، يكون الأمر مؤسفًا”.
وأكد: “لقد قدمنا كل ما لدينا للفوز، لقد كانت فرصة عمرنا، لم يقم الحكم بوظيفته بالنسبة لي، لقد كان كذلك وقحًا في تعامله معنا خلال الشوط الأول، لقد تحدث إلينا بشكل غير محترم، لا أفهم السبب”.
واستدرك: “لا أستطيع فهم العدوانية في طريقة تعامله معنا ونبرة حديثه، كان ذلك فقط تجاهنا، في نهاية الأمر أنا فخور بفريقي وزملائي في الفريق، لقد أظهرنا مستوى جيد جدًا في هذه البطولة، ونحن جميعًا حزينون للخروج اليوم”.
وقال في تصريحات أخرى نشرتها شبكة “futbolarena” بعد المباراة: “ما حدث اليوم سيُخلد في تاريخ كرة القدم كحدث فاضح ومخزِ، كيف يمكن احتساب ضربة جزاء بطريقة أخرى؟!”.
وشدد: “عار، عار، لقد سرق الحكم فوزنا، كانت لدينا ركلتي جزاء لم يتم احتسابهما، هذا ليس كل شيء، عندما أردنا التحدث مع الحكم، أشهر لنا بطاقة صفراء، في حين عامل لاعبي فلومينينسي بشكل مختلف!”.
West Bromwich Albion are in danger of falling out of the playoff positions in the Championship now after their first defeat in seven in the difficult division popped up away at Norwich City.
Goal difference is the Baggies’ best friend currently in sixth spot, with the likes of Middlesbrough and Bristol City breathing down the necks of Tony Mowbray’s men to try and leap into the second tier’s nervy lottery at the expense of the West Midlands outfit.
Mowbray will just pray that his key West Brom personnel can step up to the mark when needed between now and the close of the regular season, with Baggies managers of the past such as Slaven Bilic relying on the magic of Brazilian superstar Matheus Pereira to seal promotion.
Pereira's promotion heroics at West Brom
The second-tier high-flyers hit instant gold when snapping up Pereira on an initial loan deal back in 2019 as the South American ace made the Championship his very own playground.
Indeed, the one-time senior Brazil international would light up the notoriously strenuous league with top-drawer display after top-drawer display, leading to a mammoth 28 goal contributions coming his way across 43 total contests in that debut year.
Promotion was won automatically off the back of the now 28-year-old’s sublime heroics, with Pereira then going to solidfy himself as a Premier League-calibre performer with 11 goals and six assists picked up from 33 top-flight clashes.
Mowbray doesn’t quite possess such flashy options at his disposal at the moment – away from the likes of assist king Tom Fellows perhaps – but there is one face in the West Brom camp who could be the side’s best purchase since the golden days of Pereira, even as he remains injured.
Former West Brom attacker Matheus Pereira.
West Brom's best signing since Pereira
Mowbray re-entered the building back in January with a sizable injury issue troubling him, considering he would have been told to help his new outfit win promotion even with a star player sidelined.
The star player is, of course, Josh Maja, who has found himself out of the West Brom first-team set-up for an agonising 14 games now after suffering a nasty lower leg injury that has since required surgery.
This has been a bitter pill for Mowbray and Co to swallow with the ex-Sunderland striker a man possessed in front of goal before this horrible setback, with Maja up to a stunning 12 goals and two assists from 26 Championship contests before January’s heartbreaking development.
Further lauded as a “special” talent by former West Brom boss Carlos Corberan before his departure to Valencia, it did feel as if Maja’s goals alone could have been the kick the Baggies needed to consolidate a playoff spot, knowing that he can cause second tier defences all sorts of bother in the blink of an eye.
Top five West Brom players this season – G/A
Player
Games
Goals scored
Assists
1. Josh Maja
26
12
2
2. Tom Fellows
38
2
11
= 3. Alex Mowatt
36
6
2
= 3. Karlan Grant
36
6
2
5. Mikey Johnston
34
2
5
Stats by Sofascore
Despite missing large portions of the campaign, the injury-prone 26-year-old still finds himself proudly top of the goalscoring charts, with the decision to bring in Maja on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 more than paying off even if he finds himself stuck in the Hawthorns treatment room.
It could be argued, therefore, that he’s been the best bit of business conducted by West Brom since Pereira’s explosive arrival onto the scene, with a hope Maja can be back fit if his side reach the playoffs, having been ruled out now for the rest of the 46-game season.
If he can inspire that same promotion-winning feeling, memories of Pereira’s heroics would certainly come flooding back.
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Over the last few years, Manchester United have spent a small fortune in the transfer window, as they look to return to Premier League glory after a decade-long wait for a title.
Former boss Erik ten Hag splashed over £600m on new additions during his three summers in charge at Old Trafford, but many of his signings have failed to deliver.
The Red Devils currently sit in 14th place with just 11 games remaining, all but ending their hopes of securing a place in any form of European football for next season – unless they win the Europa League.
Manchester United manager RubenAmorimreacts on the touchline
Ruben Amorim has struggled to work his magic with the current crop of players in the North West, desperately needing the summer to make his stamp on the first-team squad.
Questions have started to be asked about one of Ten Hag’s additions, especially after his displays under Amorim over the last couple of weeks.
Andre Onana’s stats for Man Utd in 2024/25
Andre Onana joined United back in the summer of 2023 for a fee in the region of £47m, looking to provide a replacement for fan-favourite David de Gea after Ten Hag decided he wanted a change between the sticks.
The Cameroonian has impressed in spells since his move, keeping 16 clean sheets over the last two years in the Premier League, achieving a 72% save percentage in the current campaign.
However, his time at the club has been littered with mistakes, none more so than the recent clash with Ipswich Town in midweek, when he was potentially at fault for both of the opponent’s goals.
The first saw the 28-year-old come rushing out with Patrick Dorgu, knocking the ball past him for an open net, whilst failing to deal with a cross that found its way right into the bottom corner.
Despite the recent form of Onana, one other first-team member has been a huge disappointment for the Red Devils, with Amorim needing to offload him when having the chance this summer.
The player who’s been a worse signing than Onana for United
Given the lack of impact from the majority of Ten Hag’s signings, a whole host of players could depart Old Trafford in the coming months, handing Amorim funds to make his own signings.
One of those who needs to be sold after his recent run in the side is striker Rasmus Hojlund, who has been way below the expectations placed upon him after his move in 2023.
The Dane cost a mammoth £72m, joining from Italian side Atalanta as he looked to provide the goods in the final third for United – something which they’ve struggled with in recent years.
However, he’s been unable to find his best form in Manchester, scoring just 23 times in his 77 appearances to date, enduring a horrid run of form in recent months.
The 22-year-old has only managed seven goals in 2024/25, with only two of which coming in the league, failing to find the net in any of his 17 games across all competitions.
As a result, he’s previously been dubbed “hopeless” by journalist Samuel Luckhurst, with the manager utilising different options at the top end of the pitch – including Kobbie Mainoo, who was deployed as a false nine against Crystal Palace.
His figures from the Premier League to date have been nothing short of disastrous, averaging just 1.1 shots per 90, highlighting the lack of attacking threat he’s produced this campaign.
He’s also been dispossessed 1.5 times per 90, unable to make the ball stick at the top end of the pitch, not fitting into Amorim’s philosophy, which demands the centre-forward to often play with his back to goal – as seen with Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting.
Games played
22
Goals scored
2
Shots taken
1.1
Successful passes
11
Dribble success
28%
Times dispossessed
1.5
Aerials won
21%
Given his lack of form over the last couple of months, United will struggle to recoup all of their big-money investment, expecting to lose a huge chunk if Hojlund were to depart in the off-season.
However, it’s evident that improvements are desperately needed to overturn the current lack of goals, with the Dane needing to be sold to provide Amorim with the funds to make his stamp on the forward line.
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Despite dim prospects for an Afghanistan women’s team being formed so long as the Taliban remain in power, Afghanistan’s status as an ICC Full Member is unlikely to be affected.The matter is set for wider discussion at the next ICC board meetings in Dubai in March, when the ICC’s working group on Afghanistan will provide an update on progress in the country. ESPNcricinfo understands that the group, headed by the ICC’s deputy chair Imran Khwaja, will push for not penalising Afghanistan’s status and shed greater light on the difficulties the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) faces in pushing to develop the women’s game.Khwaja has met with ACB officials and government representatives in Doha twice in recent months, to get a clearer handle on the broader situation for cricket since the Taliban took over, as well as how women can be helped to play cricket. Those meetings are believed to have been “productive”, according to one official who attended.Related
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At the second meeting, in February, the ACB assured the ICC’s working group that the board remains supportive of women’s cricket, but the political reality meant that an overt push for it could still prove dangerous for those involved.”Afghanistan is a delicate situation,” Ross McCollum, an ICC board member (Ireland) and member of the working group, told ESPNcricinfo. “The guys from ACB do want to see things happen with women’s cricket. But it’s not down to them, it’s down to the people in charge.”Forcing women to play cricket could lead to serious repercussions. We have to tread carefully, it will be a slow process.In December the Taliban banned secondary and higher education for females through the country, the latest manifestation of their repressive policies against women. The ICC working group was told, however, that there are differences in opinion within the Taliban about the role of women in society and that there exist exemptions which allow women to work in the medical sectors. That has not yet come through for any sports.Even before the Taliban takeover, little progress had been made on women’s cricket in the country. In October 2020, the ACB had held a national team trial camp and announced their intention to award 25 central contracts for women. Cultural sensitivities, officials pointed out at the time, were such that quicker, deeper progress was proving difficult and Afghanistan had been a Full Member for three years then.The working group has been told that the Taliban are not interfering otherwise in the running of the ACB. The government has apparently provided some funding to a board that had been hit hard after the Taliban took over, as international sanctions made it difficult to send money into the country.Changes to status for Full Members, in any case, are rare and none other than Zimbabwe have ever been suspended or had membership downgraded. But the fact that Afghanistan continues to be the only Full Member without a women’s team, or even a set-up in place – otherwise part of the ICC’s membership criteria – has been persistently highlighted in recent months.Australia cancelled an ODI series against Afghanistan in response to the education ban imposed on females•IDI via Getty Images
They were the only member to not have a presence at the pathbreaking U19 T20 Women’s World Cup in January and then at the T20 Women’s World Cup right after. That point was not lost on the ICC CEO, Geoff Allardice, who said ahead of the U19 tournament that it was concerning no progress had been made on the matter.FICA, the global players’ body, has also called the ban on women’s sport a “significant blow” and pointed out that Afghanistan is “in breach” of its Full Member requirements. But it did not call for a ban on Afghanistan, instead calling on the ICC to “embed its human rights responsibilities as a business in its governance and regulatory frameworks.”A number of Afghan women cricketers have also been very clear in calling for the ICC to play a more proactive role. According to ABC Radio’s , 22 of the 25 cricketers who were part of that original pool have left the country and resettled in Australia. Speaking on the show in January, several of the players asked why the ICC had not been in touch to offer support since they fled.”If we have the support of the ACB, the ICC, the people of Afghanistan and other countries that play cricket, then it is possible for us to keep playing,” one of the players, Firooza Afghan said on the show.”In Australia we have a lot of support – lots of equipment and facilities. But my question is, women have been playing cricket in Afghanistan since 2010 … why did the ICC not send anyone to check on us?”The players wrote to the ICC a couple of months ago, asking for ways in which the global body could help the women form a team. The ICC pointed out that constitutionally any such help would have to go through the member – the ACB – but intend to keep the dialogue open with the cricketers.And considerable thought has been given to the matter within ICC management as it stands, including the idea of funding a women’s team outside of Afghanistan, and one that runs outside of ACB approval. That only represents initial exploratory thinking on the subject and actioning it would require buy-in from the ICC board.On that platform, support and understanding for the ACB remains. At a recent Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting, members reiterated their support. Pakistan, in fact, have agreed to play a three-match T20I series with Afghanistan, to fill the hole left by Australia’s cancellation of an ODI series.Cricket Australia is the only board to have publicly acted in response to the Taliban’s policies. They first postponed a one-off Test they were to host Afghanistan in – the first the two countries would have played – and more recently cancelled the ODI series, in response to the education ban imposed on females.Most other ICC Full Members have remained silent on the matter so far, though the majority still see the rise of Afghanistan’s men’s team as a fairytale that should be allowed to continue and grow, rather than be curtailed.”It needs to be discussed seriously (at board level),” McCollum said. “Each Full Member will have their own interpretation. I don’t think it’s a straightforward decision because it’s complex and there are ramifications.”
Amanda-Jade Wellington and Megan Schutt put in key performances with the ball
AAP05-Nov-2022
Madeline Penna played the matchwinning innings•Getty Images
Madeline Penna’s composed knock was the difference as Adelaide Strikers inched past Melbourne Stars in a low-scoring WBBL clash in Perth.Chasing 113 at Lilac Hill, Strikers were 3 for 18 when Deandra Dottin, Katie Mack and Laura Wolvaardt all fell.Penna (56 not out from 50 balls) and Bridget Patterson (31 off 33) put on 44 to stop the rot before Penna kicked on to see Strikers home with five balls to spare.She latched onto one pull shot for a timely six and drove well, bucking the trend on a day dominated by bowlers to embed Strikers in the top four. Incredibly, it was the third time Penna had scored 56, her highest WBBL total.Earlier Annabel Sutherland played a lone hand with the bat for Stars, her 41-ball 47 coming while Megan Schutt and Amanda-Jade Wellington had tormented her team-mates.Sutherland also took 2 for 19 from her four overs, but her solo efforts weren’t enough for Stars
NZ captain opens up about the way forward with more players choosing to go the franchise T20 way
ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2022
Kane Williamson on Martin Guptill: ‘He has been one of our best white-ball players ever’•Getty Images
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has admitted that the team will miss Martin Guptill, who has chosen not to take up a central contract and has subsequently been released by NZC. The 36-year old opener has joined a growing group of New Zealand players looking to explore career opportunities outside the country.The proliferation of franchise cricket is such that there is a T20 league for virtually every month of the year now, presenting an attractive package for many cricketers. Trent Boult, James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme have all opted to pursue that line of work leaving New Zealand with a bit of a juggling act.Related
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“Obviously, he has made a decision to explore a few other options,” Williamson said, “But as a player and as an experienced member of the group, he has added so much value over the years and been one of our best white-ball players ever.”With over 10,000 white-ball runs, Guptill has been a crucial part of New Zealand’s success but they appear to have moved on from him. He didn’t play any of their games at the T20 World Cup and was dropped from the squad altogether for the ongoing India series.Williamson was appreciative of Guptill taking those calls in stride. “Without getting a playing opportunity, he was outstanding and offering to all the players in the group. So, he’s been fantastic in so many areas of the environment. Absolutely, he will be missed, but like I say he’s not retired. So there’s a lot to keep working through over the next period to get a real feel for how the picture looks.”It is learnt that Guptill may be in line for a BBL deal with the new season starting in December. Boult already has one with the Melbourne Stars, following which he will be in the UAE playing for MI Emirates. De Grandhomme is retired, the announcement coming soon after his name unexpectedly popped up at the BBL draft earlier this year. Neesham is the only one of the four currently in the team preparing to face India on Friday.While NZC have stressed that they’d like to give preference to players who are under contract when picking their squads, Williamson understood that the situation has changed and that they have to figure out a way forward that benefits both the team and the individual.”It’s just trying to strike that balance, like we’ve seen with a few other players who have also sort of looked at some of those other opportunities. It’s a bit of a moving landscape. So it’s trying to weigh that up and look at how it can all work moving forward.
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“Guptill hasn’t retired. He is looking at playing some other tournaments while still being available, but like I say, it’s balancing that moving forward. He’s still very motivated to keep playing and getting better. And I think that’s important for all players, even though he has played such a long, amazing career. As a mate and a team-mate over a long period of time, we had a few good chats. And it’s managing that time. As a player, you always go through different periods and you get to different stages, and you’re trying to basically manage that as best you can.”Williamson himself is facing similar questions, playing and captaining New Zealand in all three formats, but last week he reiterated his desire to keep doing so.
Ipswich Town have made an out-of-window move to sign a young attacker from Premier League rivals Arsenal, it has been reported.
Ipswich Town’s January signings
The Tractor Boys were relatively busy in the January transfer window, bringing in four new players for the second half of the season. The first to arrive was centre-back Ben Godfrey from Atalanta on loan until the end of the campaign. He was then joined by winger Jaden Philogene on a permanent transfer from Aston Villa.
Ipswich Town’s next five Premier League fixtures
Date
Aston Villa vs Ipswich Town
15 February
Ipswich Town vs Tottenham Hotspur
22 February
Man Utd vs Ipswich Town
26 February
Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town
8 March
Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest
15 March
Then, Ipswich secured the services of attacking midfielder Julio Enciso on loan from Brighton. To round things off for Kieran McKenna’s side, Ipswich signed goalkeeper Alex Palmer from Championship side West Brom on deadline day.
Talking after signing Palmer for £2m last week, McKenna said: “With Christian (Walton) out the department was short with just Aro (Muric) and Cieran Slicker, who is very talented but who hasn’t played as many senior games, so we felt it was important to add.
“Alex coming in gives us another experienced goalkeeper, strengthens the unit and gives us the option to make decisions that we think are going to be best for the team.
“He’s (Palmer) certainly a good communicator – that’s one of his strengths. Christian has specialisms different to Aro, who has got different specialisms to Alex and Cieran Slicker. We just expect each of them to bring the very best of themselves to the team.”
Even though the transfer window is now shut until the summer, Ipswich have still managed to add to their academy ranks for the future, as per a fresh update.
Ipswich Town sign young attacker from Arsenal
As reported by the Daily Cannon, Ipswich Town have moved to sign youngster Jayden Adetiba from Arsenal. It has been claimed that Adetiba had been on trial with Ipswich, Bournemouth and Brentford, and the player’s father has now stated on X that Adetiba has moved to Ipswich.
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Presumably penning scholarship terms at the age of 15, Adetiba has been described as a skilful attacker while at Arsenal, where he appeared for the Gunners’ U18 side in pre-season, scoring against Paderborn last summer.
Now, it looks as if he will continue his development in East Anglia, looking to hopefully turn out for the first team at Portman Road in the future.
Sunderland fans must have been praying that the managerial appointment of Regis Le Bris last year would be the spark their beloved side needed to push back into the Championship promotion spots.
The decision to bring in a left-field option looks to be working a treat so far, with the ex-Lorient manager dreaming that a push up into the automatic promotion spaces can still be achieved as a playoff finish looks to be nailed on.
Sunderland manager RegisLeBris on the touchline
The Frenchman will also hope he can continue to utilise the transfer window to his high-flying team’s advantage, having made headlines recently for bringing in Enzo Le Fee.
Why Sunderland signed Enzo Le Fee
In an alternate reality, Le Fee could be currently lining up for Arsenal with the Gunners once linked with a move for the 24-year-old before his surprising Black Cats loan move was clinched.
In need of breathing life back into this playing days after a choppy time at parent club AS Roma, Le Fee will hope he can demonstrate his class on Wearside to steer his new team to promotion, having previously picked up eight goals and 15 assists under Le Bris’ wing at Lorient.
He certainly showed off his class in spurts during Sunderland’s recent away win at Derby County with two key passes tallied up, whilst his debut against Burnley the match prior saw him complete three successful dribbles as a stylish operator from the middle of the park.
Whilst having a player of Le Fee’s stature in the team is a big bonus – with the Frenchman’s value coming in at a weighty £15m according to Transfemarkt – Le Bris did already have a top performer in central areas of the pitch before the grand unveiling of the new number 28.
The Sunderland star who's worth as much as Le Fee
The player in question here is Sunderland captain Dan Neil who arguably slips slightly under the radar as one of the Championship club’s top assets, with Jobe Bellingham’s name often dominating conversation when it comes to potential big sales in the midfield.
Now, however, Neil could soon leave his boyhood employers for pastures new at Everton, with reports suggesting that David Moyes and Co could be prepared to offer the Black Cats in excess of £15m to land the 23-year-old.
Indeed, former Mackems boss, David Moyes, has been a keen admirer of the midfielder since working at Sunderland himself, with Neil just a wide-eyed starlet in the academy when the Scotsman was at the helm.
Since then, he has turned himself into a consistent starter in the senior fold by notching up a hefty 178 first-team appearances and counting, with the strike above against Swansea City showing off his ability to hammer a fierce effort home away from being known as a brave battler.
January 2025
£15m
May 2024
£3.7m
March 2023
£2.1m
June 2022
£674k
Year on year, Neil has seen his value drastically increase, with the 23-year-old worth just £674k when first making substantial waves in the Sunderland first team picture back in 2022.
He has since been able to establish himself as a “fantastic” talent in the eyes of many, including journalist James Copley, as a move up to the Premier League now potentially beckons.
The Black Cats will be clinging onto a crumb of comfort that Neil will want to stay put with his boyhood club to make promotion a reality though, with Neil remaining meaning Sunderland’s midfield options are stacked with some unbelievable quality for the level.
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Chelsea have been tipped to potentially sign an esteemed member of Aston Villa’s starting eleven, with talkSPORT pundit Darren Bent explaining why a Stamford Bridge move could be on the cards for him.
Enzo Maresca "happy" with Chelsea despite 0-0 draw at Everton
Manager Enzo Maresca praised his Chelsea players after their 0-0 draw away to Everton on Sunday, despite the club’s imperious winning run coming to an end at Goodison Park against a resolute home side.
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Chelsea had reigned victorious in eight of their previous eight matches on the spin across all competitions, but the Blues were forced to settle for a point on Merseyside as they dropped points in the Premier League title race.
Maresca’s men finished the game with 75 per cent possession, attempting 642 passes to Everton’s 209, with Sean Dyche’s side shutting up shop right from the off and making life extremely difficult for them going forward.
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures
Date
Fulham (home)
December 26
Ipswich Town (away)
December 30
Crystal Palace (away)
January 4
Bournemouth (home)
January 14
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)
January 20
Taking this into account, Chelsea’s head coach claimed he was even more pleased with their performance against Everton than he was during their 2-1 win at home to Brentford the weekend prior.
“I’m absolutely happy,” said Maresca on Chelsea’s stalemate at Everton.
“Just said to the players that I am more happy today than the Brentford game. The reason why is because I was quite worried about today’s game; a tricky game, a tricky stadium, a tricky team.
“They are defensively top. They are one of the five best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets. You struggle to create chances against them and it was not an easy game. You have to deal and you have to learn to play different games; long balls, second balls, set-pieces. Football is not just what we do on the ball, it is also how you defend and deal with that.
“Like I said, more happy today than the Brentford game. For sure, prepared the game like always to try and win the game but sometimes there is also another team there that tries to do the same, so we are happy today.”
Current goalkeeping number one Robert Sanchez had very little to do in the Chelsea net, with Maresca’s backlog of shot-stoppers in Filip Jorgensen, Marcus Bettinelli and Lucas Bergstrom all forced to watch on from the sidelines in wait of their own opportunities.
Darren Bent shares why Chelsea could sign Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez
The club have a lot of options at their disposal in this regard, with £150,000-per-week outcast Kepa Arrizabalaga also on loan at Bournemouth right now.
Surely, Chelsea’s last gaping need isn’t another body in that area, but talkSPORT’s Bent has suggested that Chelsea could try to sign Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez.
The £150,000-per-week Argentine, who helped his country to a 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar, recently put pen to paper on a new deal – but Bent believes that a new landing spot in Chelsea is entirely possible for Martinez.
“I wonder if Aston Villa don’t get back in the Champions League,” Bent told talkSPORT (via The Metro).
“I know he signed a new contract, but could he go? The fact is he could play for almost any team he wanted to. Chelsea could get him.”
The 32-year-old is a pivotal player for Unai Emery and a leader in the Villa dressing room, so the club are extremely unlikely to let him go on the cheap, especially in light of his contract extension.
“He’s played a huge part in getting Villa back into Europe,” said former Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
“I really do like him, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s great with the ball, he’s got everything, honestly. I love how commanding he is in his box – he’s aggressive when he needs to be aggressive.”
Um dos líderes do elenco do Ceará é o zagueiro Messias. Firme nas divididas, o atleta ganha a cada jogo que passa a confiança do torcedor e seus companheiros.
– VEJA A TABELA DA SUL-AMERICANA
O fruto do bom momento resultou no gol marcado na última terça-feira, quando a equipe venceu o General Caballero por 2 a 0.
Após o gol marcado, Messias fez questão de exaltar a união do elenco Alvinegro.
‘A maior virtude da nossa equipe é a união e o trabalho. Nossa equipe é muito consciente do que quer, não só nos jogos, mas nos treinamentos, sabemos o que buscamos e trabalhamos exaustivamente para alcançar os objetivos. O esforço coletivo vem sendo mostrado em campo, junto com a técnica e tática, e todas as outras coisas’, afirmou.
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