Month: September 2019

The Belgium playmaker continues to light up the Premier League and has been compared to some past greats by a Manchester United legend

Gary Neville believes Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is as good a crosser of a ball as David Beckham.

Belgium international De Bruyne, who is capable of whipping in balls with supreme accuracy, was ‘unplayable’ according to ex-Manchester United defender Neville during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham in the Premier League.

And Neville admitted he was ‘mesmerised’ by the former Chelsea star’s latest display, and believes he is up there with his former team-mate Beckham, considered by many as one of the greatest crossers ever, and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

“I like watching tactical games, close games, I have never really got overawed by watching an individual but De Bruyne mesmerises me,” Neville said during Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show.

“He is the type of player that is so good, he is world class, and for the first hour on Saturday it was stunning.

“His positions are always good. David Beckham and Steven Gerrard are two of the best crossers I have seen on the right side in the Premier League. He matches them in terms of the quality he delivers – and that is high praise. He does things that they did just as well.”

Neville also analysed the 28-year-old’s display and was impressed with his intelligence and movement.

Dropping deep to assist Raheem Sterling’s opener before racing forward for Sergio Aguero to score the second, De Bruyne’s ability to mix his play up caught the eye.

“On the first goal he drops back and then you are talking about the quality of the delivery and it is so special,” said Neville.

“The second goal is slightly different. He has got people covering the drop back so he goes the other way. He is intelligent and the timing of his movement is perfect. You are never in doubt that his cross is going to go exactly where he should do.

“For about an hour on Saturday he was unplayable and it took me back to playing with the best crosser of the ball I played with – David Beckham.

“Teams ordinarily tucked in narrow and tight but that tactic never worked against Manchester United. You had to get out and close him down and make sure he couldn’t get the ball out of his feet. Even from deep positions the crossing was out of this world.

“De Bruyne is repeating the level of quality and precision from that inside right channel that Beckham produced for United and that is not something I would see again in the Premier League for a long time.”

Manchester City are next in action when they travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.

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Steven Gerrard takes his side to Poland for the next step in their Europa League qualification journey

Rangers travel to Legia Warsaw on Thursday for the latest instalment of their quest to reach the Europa League group stage for the second year in succession.

Steven Gerrard’s side have won their last five competitive matches and have negotiated their way impressively past St Joseph’s, Progres and Midtjylland to reach the play-off round.

They will face their sternest challenge to date in Poland, where they tackle a Legia outfit that has not conceded a goal in their last five outings but is hardly prolific.

Can the Gers keep their fine run going?

Game	Legia Warsaw vs Rangers
Date	Thursday, August 22
Time	7pm BST / 2pm ET

In the United States (US), the game will be available for streaming on Rangers TV.

US TV channel	Online stream
N/A	Rangers TV

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast on television but can be streamed via Rangers TV.

UK TV channel	Online stream
N/A	Rangers TV

Position	Legia Warsaw squad
Goalkeepers	Majecki, Muzyk, Cierzniak
Defenders	Wieteska, Lewczuk, Luis Rocha, Vesovic, Inaki Astiz, Stolarski, Jedrzejczyk
Midfielders	Jodlowiec, Antolic, Gvilia, Niezgoda, Karbownik, Novikovas, Nagy, Andre Martins, Cafu, Praszelik
Forwards	Carlitos, Kante, Rosolek, Luquinhas, Kulenovic

Legia Warsaw have seen Arvydas Novikovas and Vamara Sanogo both ruled out in attack. Midfielder Domagoj Antolic is set to miss out but Ivan Obradovic should be fit to take up a spot on the bench at the very least.

Possible Legia Warsaw starting XI: Majecki; Stolarski, Lewczuk, Jedrzejczyk, Rocha; Martins, Cafu; Vesovic, Gvilia, Luquinhas; Kulenovic

Position	Rangers squad
Goalkeepers	McGregor, Foderingham, Firth
Defenders	Tavernier, Edmundson, Goldson, Katic, Polster, Barisic, Halliday, Flanagan
Midfielders	Jack, Davis, Ojo, Kamara, King, Barker, Aribo, Arfield
Forwards	Stewart, Morelos, Defoe, Jones, Hastie

Jamie Murphy and Graham Dorrans are back playing for the development side but are not included in the European squad at this juncture, while Filip Helander and Greg Docherty have dropped out of the Europa League group to be replaced by new additions Brandon Barker and Andy King.

After making extensive changes for the match against East Fife on Sunday, Gerrard will revert to his strongest XI, although Glen Kamara may drop out.

Possible Rangers starting XI: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Flanagan; Jack, Davis, Aribo; Ojo, Morelos, Arfield

Betting & Match Odds

Rangers are 13/10 favourites to win this match at bet365. Steven Gerrard’s men can be backed at 11/5 to get a draw, while a Legia Warsaw victory is on offer at 11/5.

Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .

It has been an impressive start to the season for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side, yet they travel to Legia Warsaw in the Europa League with much on the line.

A £7 million ($8.5m) windfall for qualifying for the group stage represents significant money to the Glasgow outfit, and while they flexed their muscles as they dispatched Midtjylland 7-3 on aggregate, the trip to Poland is expected to be a very different experience.

If the Danes were a stronger side on paper, the unique atmosphere that the Gers will face when they travel to the Polish Army Stadium will pose a fresh challenge to Gerrard’s men.

Nevertheless, former Motherwell defender Tom Hately, who plays for the Piast Gliwice that stunningly won the Polish league last season, believes that the Ibrox side will have too much for their hosts over two legs.

“I expect that Rangers will be too strong for Legia, and that’s the way the tie is being viewed over here too,” he told the Evening Times.

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“Legia are expected to be the side winning trophies over here and they expect to win the league, so it was a real shock to them when we won it. It is a little like a Hearts, maybe, winning the title in Scotland, so you can imagine how that would go down in Glasgow. It would have been the same in Warsaw after we won it.

“With the strikers Rangers have, I just think they can outscore Legia and I expect them to go through.”

The Scottish side’s attack is set to have its work cut out, though. Legia boast five successive cleansheets, although they have scored only three times themselves during these fixtures.

In the previous round of the Europa League, they edged Atromitos 2-0 on aggregate, while they struggled past Finnish side KuPS 1-0 over two legs and were unimpressive as they defeated Gibralta outfit Europa 3-0, having drawn the first leg 0-0 away from home.

Rangers, who have won all of their last five games, scoring 18 goals in the process, should be quietly confident of successfully negotiating this tie before the big Old Firm game against Celtic on September 1.

After Gunners manager Unai Emery said the defender is free to leave, the Germany international’s father says an exit is best for both parties

The father and agent of Shkodran Mustafi has admitted his son needs to look for a transfer away from Arsenal, though he warned whether that happens depends on the transfer market.

Mustafi’s future at the London club is in doubt following manager Unai Emery’s revelation he has encouraged both the defender and Mohamed Elneny to depart the club before the close of the transfer window on the continent September 2.

Neither Mustafi nor Elneny featured in Arsenal’s first two matches of the season, both victories for the Gunners.

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And now Mustafi’s father Kujtim, who also serves as his agent, has admitted his son’s time at Arsenal is nearing an end despite a contract that runs through 2021.

However, he cautioned it may hinge on what the market is willing to pay for Mustafi, who joined the Gunners in 2016 in a £35 million ($43m) deal from Valencia.

“Shkodran had a great time with Arsenal,” Kujtim Mustafi told Sky Sport Germany. “We still have a contract for two years and can imagine a stay in London.

“However the best for both sides is probably to work on a transfer. But for that, it also needs market-driven transfer-fees.”

Mustafi has made 115 appearances for Arsenal since his move in 2016, and made 31 Premier League starts last season – a high for him in London.

But his three-year spell with Arsenal has seen Mustafi come in for criticism from fans, and the Germany international was subject to boos during the Gunners pre-season tour of the United States.

While the exit of Laurent Koscielny appeared to potentially give Mustafi a lifeline back into the squad, the arrival of David Luiz at the transfer deadline again left him outside.

Mustafi first came to England in 2009, joining Everton’s academy but never making a first-team appearance with the Toffees.

Instead, he Sampdoria on a free transfer in 2014, making one appearance for the club in Serie B before their promotion to Serie A.

After three seasons with Sampdoria, Mustafi made the move to Valencia, playing two seasons for the La Liga club.

His time at Arsenal saw Mustafi claim silverware with the 2017 FA Cup.

The PSG coach has conceded that the club must clarify their Brazilian star’s future as soon as possible

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After playing another Ligue 1 game without Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel admits the club must look to clear up his situation as soon as possible. 

The Brazilian attacker continues to be linked with a transfer back to Barcelona, while Real Madrid are also reportedly circling. 

With Neymar again absent from PSG’s 4-0 win over Toulouse on Sunday, Tuchel stressed he wants to put a swift end to the ongoing transfer saga.  

“It has always been our goal to close this folder as soon as possible,” Tuchel told Canal+ after the match. 

“Leonardo knows that I want to keep him. But that doesn’t depend only on him. The situation is not very clear, yes. And we must clear it up.”

After losing 2-1 to Rennes last weekend, PSG bounced back against Toulouse with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting bagging a brace either side of an own goal before Maquinhos wrapped up all three points.

While a positive result, Tuchel’s night was soured with star duo Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe both forced off with injury. 

Cavani hurt his right adductor just 14 minutes into the match, while Mbappe limped off late in the game with an apparent hamstring issue. 

“I do not know if it’s serious for Mbappe and Cavani. If they substituted, then that’s usually the case,” Tuchel said. 

“I am a little disappointed because we were strong at that moment. And every injury is too much for me, because we want to work with the whole group. It’s difficult.”

Though Tuchel could be without three of his star players on Friday against Metz, the victory against Toulouse proved PSG can cope without Neymar.

After the club’s shock loss to Rennes last week, Tuchel conceded Neymar’s situation has taken its toll .

“It’s hard right? For everyone, the club, and for us, the players,” Tuchel said. 

“But that isn’t an excuse. It isn’t because of that that we’ve been less focused tonight. Ney wasn’t here and we have to concentrate on ourselves, and about all we need to do this season.”

The defender has been praised for his attitude and commitment to the Foxes at a time where he seemed destined to leave for Old Trafford

Leicester City midfielder James Maddison has lauded former team-mate Harry Maguire for his conduct this summer, despite seeking a move to Manchester United.

The 26-year-old did, of course, secure his much-anticipated switch to Old Trafford earlier this month and made his United debut in the 4-0 victory against Chelsea last weekend.

Often, players can use the press to facilitate transfers, or they can simply refuse to show up for training and matches to force through a deal, but Maddison has praised Maguire for not doing so, and instead claimed his behaviour was ‘perfect’ during the long-running saga.

“The way he conducted himself over the summer was fantastic and it’s the perfect example for anyone going through that situation,” Maddison told Sky Sports.

“He came into training every day, trained as well as he could, was excellent in pre-season games and his focus was on Leicester. When it came to the time to sign for Manchester United then so be it, but he conducted himself brilliantly.”

Maddison himself was linked with a move to United earlier this summer, and while the former Norwich City man wasn’t drawn on his club career, he did admit that he hopes to earn a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad over the next 12 months.

“I don’t want to set long-term targets but I want to have a successful season, build on my output last year and I want the team to finish as high as we can,” he said.

“I never hide that it’s my dream to play for England but it’s about playing for Leicester, playing as well as I can for the gaffer and the lads and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

One man who has gained international recognition is Maddison’s team-mate Ben Chilwell.

The full-back has been capped seven times since making his England debut in September 2018 and has overtaken the likes of Danny Rose, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young in the pecking order for the national side.

That type of quality in the Leicester ranks means Chilwell believes the Midlands club can better their ninth-place finish last season and challenge for a top-six place this time around.

“It’s not something that has been spoken about but it is at the back of everyone’s minds and is an achievable goal,” the 22-year-old said in the same interview. “It’s something that everyone at the club wants to happen this season.

“When you look at this season compared to last season it seems more competitive. We have bought players and certain positions might be a bit more crowded, but that shows the quality we have and the gaffer has said that people that train the best will play at the weekend, which has made training more intense.”

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The Portuguese midfielder has swapped the Bundesliga for Ligue 1

Renato Sanches has completed a reported €25 million (£22.6m/$27.8m) move from German champions Bayern Munich to French side Lille.

News of the transfer broke on Friday evening, with Bayern confirming the transfer via their official Twitter account.

The Portuguese midfielder, who has won two Bundesliga titles in his three years at the Allianz Arena, is the latest arrival in what has been a busy summer at Lille, following the likes of Yusuf Yazici, Victor Osimhen and Timothy Weah through the door.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “Renato Sanches asked us for the transfer because he wanted to join a club where he plays regularly.

“Unfortunately, we could not guarantee him this at Bayern. Match practice is also important for him because he wants to keep his place in the Portuguese national team for EURO 2020.

“I would like to thank Renato for his achievements and wish him all the best for his future on behalf of FC Bayern.”

First team football has been hard to come by for the 22-year-old since he arrived at Bayern from Benfica in July 2016. 

Die Roten saw off interest from Manchester United to land the Amadora-born star, but a little over a year after his arrival he had been shipped out on loan to Welsh side Swansea City.

Despite becoming the first Portuguese player to win the Golden Boy award for best European player under the age of 21, he struggled for form in Germany and failed to register a single goal or assist in his first season.

His season-long loan at Swansea and foray into the Premier League did little to inspire confidence in a player who had reportedly struggled to settle into the German way of life and master the language.

The Swans were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2017-18 season, while Sanches suffered an injury-plagued campaign that limited him to just 15 appearances in all competitions.

Since returning to Bayern in July last year, manager Niko Kovac gave the player further opportunities to live up to his sizeable price tag, but a regular place in the starting XI continued to evade him.

On the international front, Sanches was a European Championship winner with Portugal in 2016 and was named Young Player of the Tournament.

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The Nerazzuri saw off their opponents for their second win in a row to start the season and their coach says they’re done with business this summer

Inter head coach Antonio Conte believes his team are done with their business this transfer window, despite persistent rumours linking unwanted Mauro Icardi with a move away from San Siro.

Conte addressed the transfer window, which closes on September 2, after his team’s 2-1 win over Cagliari sees them head into the international break with two wins from two Serie A games.

New arrival Romelu Lukaku scored for the second straight game, though his day was tarnished by the Cagliari fans racially abusing him, abuse Conte said he “didn’t hear”.

Lautaro Martinez scored the other goal for Conte’s men, and the win, plus their business so far meant the former Chelsea boss was content ahead of a two-week rest from domestic football.

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“The market comes to a peaceful close,” Conte said after the game, “as we all know that we’re sorted in terms of arrivals and departures this window.

“I’m happy with the squad, but we obviously know it can be improved. Through hard work they can all be improved.”

Conte selected one Inter player for special praise as a result of his performance on Sunday.

Stefano Sensi impressed from midfield, and his coach believes he, and some other attacking players can offer the Nerazurri the thrust they need to unseat seven-time Serie A champions Juventus.

“Sensi is a player who simply sees and understands football, he gets it right away. He was a little quiet in the first half but then in the second he really took a hold of the game, it was extraordinary.

“We have a whole host of great attackers, we need to bring everyone to their best possible form. I expect a lot from everyone.

“From [Matias] Vecino, from [Roberto] Gagliardini, they all have great potential, [Nicolo] Barella too is a complete player. Where can he play? On the inside, on the left, or on the right.”

After the international break Conte and his new team are slated to take in Udinese at home on September 15 before they entertain Slavia Prague, also at San Siro, to open their Champions League campaign two days later.

The Milan derby awaits on September 21.

The teenager has become one of the Bundesliga’s top players and has been backed to go on to even bigger things

Paco Alcacer believes that his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Jadon Sancho has what it takes to become one of the world’s best. 

Sancho enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2018-19, scoring 12 Bundesliga goals and tallying 14 assists, the most of any player in the German top flight. 

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The England international has followed that up with a strong start to the current season, having already scored two and assisted three in just three league games thus far. 

At 19, Sancho has become the youngest Bundesliga player to ever reach 15 career league goals. 

Alcacer, who has had three of his four Bundesliga goals this season assisted by Sancho, has backed his team-mate to go on to achieve even bigger things.

“He’s a kid, 19 years old, with great quality. If he keeps his head, he will be a top player,” Alcacer told Sport.

“There’s uncertainty at that age, but as a player and a person in the dressing room, he’s top.

“If he improves and picks up other qualities, he will be one of the best in the world.”

Alcacer has joined Dortmund permanantly after spending part of the 2018-19 season with the Bundesliga club on loan from Barcelona. 

After struggling for form at Barca, the 26-year-old had a breakout season with Dortmund last term by scoring 18 goals in Bundesliga play. 

Asked if this is the most confident he’s felt in his career, Alcacer said: “It could be. The numbers suggest that. I feel confident and comfortable with my teammates — which is a plus on the pitch. 

“It’s a question of confidence and feeling comfortable on the pitch. Minutes are important. The treatment from my teammates, having an understanding with them, that’s also key.”

Alcacer will get a chance to square off against his former club in this season’s Champions League, as Dortmund have been drawn with Barcelona in Group F.

When asked if he would celebrate against his former club if he scores, Alcacer wouldn’t rule the possibility out. 

“I wouldn’t know what to do, because at the end of the day you’re really happy [to score],” Alcacer said.

“A lot of people behaved really well with me there, a lot of people also said things that you don’t like, but the respect was always there.”

The same trio go head-to-head again after also being nominated for UEFA’s Player of the Year, which the Liverpool defender won

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk have been named as the final three-man shortlist for FIFA’s The Best men’s award.

The same trio were nominated for UEFA’s Player of the Year, with Liverpool’s Van Dijk becoming the first defender to win the award at the Champions League draw ceremony last week.

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric won the award last year, beating Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to the prize.

Pep Guardiola is among the contenders for The Best Men’s Coach award after guiding Manchester City to the English domestic treble last season.

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp is also nominated after taking the Merseysiders to a sixth Champions League success.

Mauricio Pochettino, whose Tottenham side were beaten by Liverpool in the Champions League final, completes the nominations.

Manchester City and Liverpool were also represented in The Best Goalkeeper category, with Brazilian duo Ederson and Alisson nominated along with Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Messi is also in contention for a second award with his chip for Barcelona against Real Betis in March nominated for the Puskas Award for goal of the season.

Juanfer Quintero’s free-kick for River Plate against Racing Club and Daniel Zsori’s strike for Hungarian side Debrecen and Ferencvaros are also nominated.

USA internationals Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan are nominated for The Best Women’s Player. The duo scored six goals each at the Women’s World Cup in France for a share of the Golden Boot.

England star Lucy Bronze, completes the nominations for Women’s Best Player. The Lyon defender became the first English winner of UEFA’s Women’s Player of the Year award last week.

Jill Ellis and Phil Neville are in contention for the Women’s Coach of the Year. Ellis guided USA to World Cup success while Neville’s Lionesses reached the semi-finals.

Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands, whose side finished runners-up, is also nominated.

Netherlands goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal, Chile’s Christiane Endler and Sweden’s Hedvig Lindahl are nominated for the inaugural Best Women’s Goalkeeper award.

Silvia Grecco from Brazil, the Netherlands fans at the Women’s World Cup and Justo Sanchez from Uruguay are nominated for the Fan Award.

The nominations were announced at San Siro in Milan with the winners revealed at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony, also in Milan, on Monday, September 23.

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The former Red Devils striker can understand why the Chilean would want out of Old Trafford, but is puzzled by the terms of a move to Serie A

The terms of Alexis Sanchez’s loan move to Inter represent a “bad deal” for Manchester United, says Louis Saha, with another questionable piece of business having been done.

The Red Devils have allowed the Chile international to link up with the Serie A heavyweights on a season-long agreement.

Having seen Sanchez struggle since arriving at Old Trafford from Arsenal in the winter transfer window of 2018, the decision has been taken to offer him a fresh start elsewhere.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested that there is still a future for the 30-year-old in Manchester and United will be funding much of the deal that has taken him to Italy.

Saha can understand why Sanchez would be so keen to snap up that deal, given how badly he has flopped with the Red Devils, but is puzzled as to why United were so desperate to move him out.

The former frontman told Stadium Astro: “It’s a strange one. I think Alexis got to a point where his confidence dropped.

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“The terms of the agreement show he needed to move.

“He’s a great player with an abundance of skills and passion. But he couldn’t deliver for United, so having a deal where United pays is a bad deal.

“You would think he could remain there and help the side but mentally it was too exhausting.

“That’s why he wanted to move – he didn’t feel appreciated. It was really hard for him. The decision is not sustainable.”

Sanchez, who has managed just five goals in 45 appearances for United, has suggested that he could still have a future in England.

He claims to have no regrets at having joined the Red Devils, telling BBC Sport: “I’m very happy I went to Manchester United.

“I’ve always said that. It’s the club that’s won the most in England.

“When I went to Arsenal it was fantastic – I was happy there – but United were growing at the time, they were buying players to win something.

“I wanted to join them and win everything. I don’t regret going there.”