Month: September 2019

The striker pulled off another of his masked celebrations as the Gunners cruised into the quarter-finals of the Europa League

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had his mask ready this time! 

The Arsenal forward pulled off another of his trademark masked celebrations in Thursday’s win over Rennes as he helped the Gunners into the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to a 3-0 victory on the night.  

Having lost the first leg 3-1 in France, the Premier League club needed a massive turnaround at home to move on the competition, and Aubameyang got things off to a strong start with his first goal of the night just five minutes in.  

A second from Ainsley Maitland-Niles 10 minutes later pulled Arsenal level for the tie, giving the home side a dream start.  

But it would be the second for Aubameyang that sealed progression and brought about another superhero celebration from the 29-year-old.  

Having been foiled in his plans to rock a mask against Manchester United in a 2-0 win at the weekend, the forward made no mistake this time.  

“I had a special celebration planned but I couldn’t find my mask,” he explained following Sunday’s contest.  

“I asked a member of the staff to put it in the back of the net but when I scored the penalty I couldn’t find it. 

“But no worries. Maybe next time.” 

Next time came on Thursday.  

After tapping home from close range 72 minutes in, the Gabonese star ran to the advertising boards and, after a brief look, found the Black Panter mask he’d hidden for the occasion. 

“I needed the mask to represent me,” Aubameyang said to BT Sport after his sixth brace of the season in all competitions.

“Black Panther…in Africa and Gabon we are called the Black Panthers so it represents me – that’s it.”

Aubameyang has a history of turning himself into a superhero for celebrations.  

He famously put on a Batman mask after scoring for Borussia Dortmund against Schalke in 2015, Marco Reus taking on the role of Robin to join him. 

A goal against Bayern Munich in a Supercup clash in 2014 also brought out a mask for the forward, who transformed into Spiderman on that occasion, while he found himself in hot water for wearing a Nike promotional mask after scoring for Dortmund in 2017. 

A Spiderman mask was also used by Aubameyang while playing for Saint-Etienne way back in 2012.  

​The forward could have to wait a bit to put on another mask for Arsenal, with the Gunners not back in action until April 1 when they take on Newcastle. 

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The 23-year-old has been in fine domestic form for the Red Devils this season but will miss out on international duty through injury

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has been ruled out of France’s upcoming European Championship qualifiers after a recurrence of a knee injury.

The striker tweaked his long-standing injury in the Red Devils’ FA Cup quarter-final exit to Wolves on Saturday and has now been forced to withdraw from international duty with the World Cup holders.

Didier Deschamps has called up Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar as cover for Les Bleus as they begin the road to the 2020 European Championships.

Martial was previously a member of the squad that reached the final of the 2016 Euros held on home soil and featured in their extra-time loss to Portugal after coming off the bench.

He was on the standby list for the World Cup in Russia last year but ultimately missed out on a place in the travelling party after seeing his opportunities limited at club level.

Since then, the 23-year-old has responded by producing arguably his finest season for United yet, delivering consistency under both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford to earn his recall.

However, he has been dogged by problems with his right knee over the past year and will now be forced to wait to see whether he will be fit to return for the Red Devils once the international break is over.

He has previously won 18 caps for his country and netted once, in a 3-1 friendly victory over Italy in 2016.

Man Utd team-mate Paul Pogba remains in the squad and is expected to feature in at least one of the two fixtures during this international period.

France face a trip to Moldova on March 22 followed by a return home to face Iceland at the Stade de France three days later.

Man Utd, meanwhile remain firmly in the hunt for a top four finish in the Premier League and are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League following their remarkable second-leg comeback against Paris Saint-Germain.

They face arguable tournament favourites Barcelona, first hosting the La Liga outfit on April 10 before traveling to Spain for the reverse tie six days later.

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Lionel Messi starred with a hat-trick as the Catalan giants moved 10 points clear at the top of the Primera Division

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Ernesto Valverde stressed Barcelona have not won anything yet but accepted a 4-1 win at Real Betis was an important step in their La Liga title defence.

With Atletico Madrid beaten 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, Barca triumphing at the Benito Villamarin the following day moved Valverde’s men 10 points clear at the top.

Lionel Messi scored a fantastic hat-trick on the day he claimed the record for Barca wins with his 477th victory for the Calatan club.

But their victory was marred by an ankle sprain sustained by Luis Suarez, who scored Barca’s third goal, the striker needing to be substituted in the closing stages.

Valverde has regularly rejected suggestions Barca are targeting a treble but with his side in such a strong position in La Liga and already into the Copa del Rey final, suggestions they could add the Champions League to the domestic double they won last term is inevitable.

And Valverde conceded Barca are now closing in on a second La Liga title in two years since he was appointed as the successor to Luis Enrique.

“After the result of Atletico Madrid, the three points against Betis were very important,” Valverde said. “There are still 10 games and we have to be careful and keep going, but we have taken a very important step and we will see if it is enough to be champions.

“The good thing is that we finished this stretch of intense matches of recent weeks, now comes the break and after there are 10 games left, each time we pass one and win it, it will be an even more important step.

“Everyone can think what they want, but at the moment we try to win every game, first the league, then the cup and we’ll see about the Champions League. But at the moment we do not have any titles, and in the league there are 30 points left to fight for, we have to keep pushing.”

Betis won 4-3 at Camp Nou in the reverse fixture and Quique Setien’s side restricted Barca to only 43.9 per cent possession on Sunday, their lowest figure since Opta began collecting such data in 2004-05.

Valverde switched from Barca’s usual 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2, bringing in Arturo Vidal, and he was happy with the way the tactical change helped Barca win the game despite having less of the ball.

“We knew that they would play an intense match and with high pressure, they already did it at Camp Nou,” he added. “We did not want them to take control, in the first game they passed us, when they scored four goals.

“When you change something, it’s to improve, to be able to win and we’ve won, it seems that it may be due to that, but in reality it’s due to the efforts of the players.”

The Bundesliga champions failed to grab an away goal in the first leg against Liverpool, making their job that much tougher in the second leg

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has blamed manager Niko Kovac’s defensive set-up for their Champions League exit at the hands of Liverpool. 

The Bundesliga champions secured a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Anfield, but their lack of an away goal left them vulnerable heading into Wednesday’s second leg. 

Liverpool would exploit that vulnerability to great effect, scoring a vital away goal in the first half through Sadio Mane. 

Though Bayern equalised to make it 1-1, they were still forced to attack knowing that such a result would see Liverpool through on away goals. 

And the visitors would eventually secure their spot in the last eight through second-half strikes from Virgil van Dijk and Mane, winning 3-1 on the night. 

Lewandowski was fuming after the match, and pointed to his side’s lack of attacking intent in the first leg as a principal reason they are now out of Europe. 

“In the first game we didn’t make a good risk to play forward and try to score the goal,” the striker told beIN SPORTS.

The Polish star also didn’t feel that his side showed enough interest in attacking during the second leg at home. 

“Today also I think we didn’t try to play offensive and try to score the goal because we didn’t have a lot of chances also and that was our problem today,” the striker continued. 

“We were playing at home but that wasn’t our game today and that’s why Liverpool beat us.

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“I’m not happy, I’m angry because we know we should do better but we didn’t.”

With their European dreams dashed, Bayern must now turn their attention toward securing a domestic double. 

The Bavarians are in first place in the Bundesliga on goal difference over Borussia Dortmund, while they will face FC Heidenheim in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal next month. 

“We have to push again forward,” Lewandowski said. “We have the Bundesliga and also a lot of games in the cup and we’re still in the game.

“We’re still on the way to win the Bundesliga and that’s why you have to push forward.”

The World Cup winner is facing up to a month on the sidelines and his manager concedes it was a risk to play him against Lyon in the Champions League

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has conceded he knew it was a risk to play Ousmane Dembele before the France forward suffered a torn hamstring against Lyon.

Dembele was introduced 70 minutes into Barca’s 5-1 Champions League win over Lyon on Wednesday, with the score 2-1 when he entered proceedings.

Lyon needed just one goal at that point to advance to the quarter-finals, but Barca stepped things up after the 21-year-old’s arrival and scored another three.

Dembele got the fifth with a rasping finish late on, though a day later Barca revealed the Frenchman – who was a doubt before the match – aggravated an injury and tore his hamstring.

He is expected to miss up to a month and Valverde accepts it is largely his fault.

“He’s injured, it was a decisive game and, although he had a niggle, we thought it was important to play him,” Valverde told reporters ahead of Sunday’s clash with Real Betis. “It was a tight game, we wanted him on.

“He played and had a little problem. We hope he’s back in three weeks. We took a risk and now we’ve lost him for three or four weeks.

“The player was feeling great, he didn’t think he had a problem and thought he could play perfectly.

“We knew he had a slight problem because of how he finished [training] the day before, but it didn’t seem to be something to stop him playing.

“I felt it was a good idea to put him on. Had the scoreline been different I may have made a different decision. You never know what’s going to happen

“The doctors do their job, the player does his and the coach makes the decisions. I knew there was an element of risk, as I’d spoken to the doctors.

“That’s their job and I made my decision because it could have been a decisive game. We had to take a certain amount of risk.”

Consequently, Dembele could not be called up to the France squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Moldova and Iceland.

His team-mate Clement Lenglet was overlooked despite impressing of late, while Samuel Umtiti – only just back from a lengthy injury lay-off – is involved in Didier Deschamps’ selection.

Valverde refused to criticise the absence of Lenglet, however.

“Lenglet is playing very well, Samu is getting better, both are having great seasons,” Valverde said.

“Lenglet is settling in more and more at the club, but there’s other players, all the defenders.

“I like to have the central defence well covered and it is. As for France, it’s up to their manager to pick their team, not me.”

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The Barcelona star expected to see more from his La Liga rivals and was shocked to watch the Portuguese star take over the match

Lionel Messi had another night to remember for Barcelona on Wednesday, scoring twice and adding two assists as Barcelona rolled past Lyon 5-1 in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 showdown to book their place in the quarter-finals.  

The win saw Barcelona make it 30 Champions League games at Camp Nou unbeaten, the best home run of ay team, but it was Tuesday’s results that proved shocking the Spanish side’s star man, Lionel Messi.  

Barcelona will be joined in the last eight by Premier League sides Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, along with Dutch outfit Ajax and Portuguese club Porto.

But it was the inclusion of Serie A side Juventus that saw the Argentina captain shocked.  

Juve slipped past Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s second leg, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two headers and a penalty to see the Italian club overturn a 2-0 first-leg loss and leaving the Barca star to marvel at the exploits of his former Real Madrid rival.  
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“Cristiano and Juventus were awesome,” he told Movistar + following Wednesday’s win over Lyon. “It was a big surprise because I thought Atletico would be stronger.  

“But Juventus overcame them and Cristiano had a magical night with three goals.” 

Messi and Barcelona must now wait until Friday’s draw to see who they will face in the quarter-finals, but the 31-year-old doesn’t see a preferred opponent in the last eight.  

“All rivals are difficult, we can’t choose,” he said. “We have to wait for the draw and see who will be our rival.  

“City, Juventus, Ajax, all are really good. Liverpool have offensive success and they showed at Munich. All of them will be complicated.” 

Messi’s star showing saw his club through against Lyon, but the forward remained somewhat unhappy to have seen the Spanish giants lapse in the match after seemingly taking control.  

A penalty from the Argentine coupled with Philippe Coutinho ‘s first goal for the club since January had the Spanish outfit in control of Wednesday’s contest. But a 58th minute strike from Lucas Tousart left Barcelona with a few moments of concern before Messi struck again 20 minutes later to put the tie to bed.  

“We suffered during a little time, it was unnecessary, because we complicated ourselves the match in a set play game when they haven’t done nothing until this moment,” he said. “Then we scored 3-1 and we were calm again and we found more space to counter attack.  

“We look for a victory since the beginning of the match and after the first goal we were more relaxed with the ball and we showed our best version.” 

Late goals from Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele added some gloss to the scoreline for Barcelona, who will return to the pitch on Sunday with a Liga match against Real Betis.

The former Manchester United defender considers the current man at the helm to be the first since Sir Alex Ferguson to deliver excitement and belief

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is considered to have succeeded at Manchester United where David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho failed, with Gary Pallister seeing excitement at Old Trafford for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson departed.

The Red Devils saw an iconic manager head into retirement on the back of a Premier League title triumph in 2013.

A humbling fall from grace has been endured since then, with FA Cup success under Van Gaal, and League Cup and Europa League triumphs with Mourinho at the helm, representing the height of United’s post-Ferguson success.

They did finish as runners-up behind arch-rivals Manchester City last season, but another slide down the table has been taken in this year.

Solskjaer, following his appointment on an interim basis in December, has set about trying to right those wrongs.

He has delivered a reversal in fortune, forcing United back into top-four contention and the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and a Treble-winning hero from the club’s history is considered to have finally returned the attacking intent and belief of the past to Old Trafford.

Former Red Devils defender Pallister, who won four league titles during his time in Manchester, told Premier League Productions of Solskjaer and his claims to a permanent appointment: “He’s put himself in prime position, there’s no doubt about it.

“Everybody’s now talking about two defeats back to back and ‘has the bubble burst?’ and what have you.

“Let’s just remember what he’s done. He’s come in and been a breath of fresh air.

“For the first time since probably Sir Alex Ferguson left the fans are feeling excitement about going to watch Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“I think there’s been too much negativity with the way managers have tried to get Manchester United to play, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and even Jose [Mourinho].

“I think Ole’s come in there and as people have said he’s taken the shackles off and let people go out and express themselves.

“That’s the way he was managed under Sir Alex and that’s the way he wants to manage these players now.

“You’ve got some of the best players in the world, give them their freedom to go and express themselves and show that they’re the best players in the world.

“He’s doing that so far.”

United have come unstuck against Arsenal and Wolves in their last two outings, slipping out of the top four and FA Cup as a result.

They are, however, still well placed to secure Champions League qualification, while an eagerly-anticipated meeting with La Liga giants Barcelona is approaching in the last eight of European competition.

More must be done to stamp racism out of football and society, say the Tottenham and Liverpool coaches in the wake of the events in Montenegro

Both Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp expressed their disbelief at the racist abuse England players say they suffered in Montenegro.

Spurs star Danny Rose was allegedly targeted in the Three Lions’ 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying  win, with Raheem Sterling and Callum Hudson-Odoi both addressing the issue post-match.

Ahead of facing Klopp’s Liverpool on Sunday, Pochettino condemned the incident and, while offering his support to Rose, suggested the problem is far more widespread than football.

“[Rose] is OK,” Pochettino told a news conference. “We wanted always from the beginning to show support, not only support to him but to Sterling and other people who feel [the abuse].

“We need to talk about how it’s not only players, who we see easier, but people who feel the abuse every day in every single place in the world that we can’t see and it happens every day.

“That’s why I want to show support – of course to Danny and Sterling, but also for a lot of people who we don’t know. It happens and they don’t deserve to be abused. We need to fight against that, to try to stop that happening.

“In 2019, this situation still happening is something I can’t believe and it’s in our hands to do something to stop that.

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“We need to apply our power to stop it happening. Nobody deserves to be abused and feel like Danny or Sterling or other people feel on the pitch and in the street.”

Klopp also called for action, adding: “I don’t know what to say about it really, because I’m so disappointed that at this moment, in our world, something like this is still possible, that people still use their voice for completely the wrong thing.

“It’s so frustrating. I can’t believe it.

“I watched the England game but without sound, so I was surprised when Hendo [Jordan Henderson] got a yellow card, when Rose got a yellow card, when Raheem celebrated in front [of the Montenegro fans]. ‘What’s going on there?’ Then afterwards it makes sense.

“We’re not allowed to ignore it. We have to point the finger, we have to speak loud about it, we have to finish finally that people are not allowed to do it. Maybe some guys who are doing it think it’s funny – it’s not funny.

“It’s very difficult for me to really feel the situation of Raheem, of Rose, of our players who have faced something like that, because I’ve never had a situation like this. Whatever I could do, I would do.

“We have to stop games. I understand that Gareth [Southgate] didn’t do it and say, ‘come on, off the pitch’ and stuff like that. But we have to make clear that that’s not allowed and that’s not possible.

“But there were a couple of incidents now in the last few weeks – not only racism, [also] running on the pitch and stuff like that. That’s not fun. We have to make clear that that’s not fun. Stop it.”

The winger is heading to Stamford Bridge from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and has been backed for success

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Christian Pulisic has the necessary attributes to make a major impact in the Premier League with Chelsea, according to former Fulham striker Brian McBride.

U.S. national team star Pulisic has already agreed a £58 million deal to link up with Chelsea in the summer and he is currently finishing off the season on loan at Borussia Dortmund.

Pulisic’s exploits during his time with Dortmund have seen him heralded as one of the best young talents in world football, and McBride feels the 20-year-old winger can continue to prosper when he pitches up at Stamford Bridge.

“With the speed of the Premier League, I think Christian Pulisic will fit in and settle in well. He adapted very well as a young player in Germany and in the Champions League. He hasn’t shown any weaknesses so far,” McBride told us-bookies.com .

“Right now, he’s probably not in the best form of his career as he isn’t playing each week, but the talent is there and his thought process is very quick.

“He’s a very mature young player and has a desire to continually improve. When you have that kind of mentality, you can deal with the physicality in the Premier League and at a team like Chelsea this will help him settle in.”

Pulisic is one of several USMNT youngsters making an impact in European football and McBride has also been impressed by Werder Bremen forward Josh Sargent.

He added: “I’m a big fan of Josh Sargent, young centre-forward, extremely good with his understanding of runs and puts himself in great positions. He’s a player who understands movement and has the ability to finish. 

“He has all the attributes you want in a forward, the ability to hold the ball up. But people forget how good a passer of the ball he is. His movement is exceptional, and along with the composure to score goals. You can fine-tune these skills, but he has it from the get-go.”

McBride has also been following the progress of Tyler Adams since the midfielder left the New York Red Bulls to join Bundesliga club RB Leipzig in the January transfer window.

“Tyler Adams is a very similar player to Chris Armas in his day,” said McBride. “Tyler is a little better with the ball than Chris was but when you think about a player that can move box to box, his work-rate and energy is contagious.

“When he’s on the field, everyone else gets a lift because you know he’s a player that will be in the right position, cover the right spots and know that there’s not a ball that he doesn’t want to track down.

“He came on as a substitute for RB Leipzig against Hoffenheim at half-time and changed the game.

“He provided the running and penetration to help the team get the draw in that game. He is one of those players that can slot into a few different positions, but he does his best work from the centre of midfield. He’s a player that has an end product on top of excellent work rate.”

Nicolas Pepe is doing individual training work to help him adapt to life at Arsenal.

The Ivory Coast international joined from Lille over the summer having scored 22 goals in Ligue 1 last season.

Pepe has since started three of Arsenal’s six games at the start of the campaign and is already being unnecessarily questioned. It is September.

Gunners head coach Unai Emery has used the 24-year-old as a second striker alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in two games, a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool and last week’s 2-2 draw away to Watford.

Now the Spaniard admits he and his coaching staff are working closely with Pepe to speed up his adjustment in the hope he can impress against Aston Villa on Sunday.

“He needs to adapt,” said Emery.

“He is playing well but progressively we know there is going to be more from him to help us and I want him to take the last step quickly in adapting for us.

“We are working with him – after training we are watching individual videos with him.

“He is playing well but also we need in our organisation to be strong with every player to improve a lot.”

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