The Catalans have lost a major psychological advantage ever since Lionel Messi left the club earlier in August, admits Ronald Koeman after a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao. “I don’t like to always talk about the same thing, but we’re talking about the best in the world,” the Dutchman opined in the post-match press conference. “Our opponents were more scared when Messi was here.”For us as well, if you pass the ball to Leo, usually he won’t lose it. You can tell [Messi] isn’t there. We know that and we can’t change it.”he was quoted as saying by Goal.com In…
Author: 1X Team
Juventus wasted a two-goal lead in the Serie A fixture against Udinese, whereas Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma won their first league game of the new season, thanks, in part, to a brilliant performance from debutant Tammy Abraham. Returning Massimiliano Allegri left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for Juventus’ league opener. Instead, the Italian chose to start with Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata upfront while new signings Kaio Jorge and Manuel Locatelli were reserved as substitutes. Italy’s Euro-winning captain Georgio Chiellini was snubbed in favor of Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs De Ligt. Juventus took the lead within the first three minutes, courtesy of Dybala. The Argentinian got on the end of a Rodrigo Bentancur pass inside the box before turning…
Romelu Lukaku made the perfect start to life in his second stint at Stamford Bridge, by scoring in a 2-0 victory over Arsenal. Earlier on Sunday, Manchester United drew with Southampton. Lukaku took just fifteen minutes to open his account for the season, while Reece James – who supplied the assist for the first goal – scored before the break to condemn the Gunners to their second straight defeat. Chelsea went ahead after just 15 minutes, despite flashes of early Arsenal brilliance. Lukaku dropped deep to lay the ball off for Mateo Kovacic, who found James advancing on the wing. The wing-back’s cross was calmly slotted…
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan worsens, football government bodies have called for the evacuation of female athletes from the country. FIFA has requested several governments, asking them to help in the evacuation process, reports BBC. FIFPro – a worldwide organisation representing football players – echoed the same via their social channels, confirming that they are working with governments to establish an evacuation plan for the at-risk athletes. Several Afghanistani women players have reportedly gone into hiding since the Taliban took over the country. Ex-Afghanistan women’s team assistant coach and US Marines veteran Haley Carter, who remains in contact with players,…
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has reportedly spoken to Lionel Messi about a future move to join Inter Miami once his current contract with Paris Saint-Germain runs out. There has been a lot of talk regarding Messi’s move to the USA. It was also reported that the Argentine has plans of featuring in the MLS before hanging up his boots. According to the Mirror, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been in touch with Beckham, and therefore a move to Inter Miami is very possible after his contract with PSG runs out in two or three years. Beckham who co-owns…
While 1-1 draw against Athletic was a disappointing result for Barcelona, their second 20-21 LaLiga game saw Yusuf Demir make his debut for the club. The Austria international replaced Martin Braithwaite at the hour mark and became the youngest non-Spanish player for the club since Lionel Messi. The 18-year-old joined Barcelona B this summer from Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna and has impressed everyone in pre-season; therefore, head coach Ronald Koeman has decided to hand him a club debut against Bilbao. The Austrian aged 18 years and 80 days is the youngest foreign debutant for the Blaugrana since Messi. The Argentine, who joined PSG on…
Royal Challengers Bangalore have stepped up their game in the last two seasons. They have reached the playoffs last time around and are now well-poised to make it to the playoff in a convincing manner this season, with the 2016 finalists currently in 3rd place, behind CSK and DD with 5 wins and 2 losses. In what could be a potential blow to the Challengers’ bid for their maiden IPL triumph, their overseas players in Adam Zampa, Daniel Sams and Finn Allen will not be available for the deciding leg of the IPL 2021. RCB have consequently gone on and signed Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, and Singapore-born Australian all-rounder, Tim David, as replacements for…
There seems to be no end to the transfer expenditure debate, which Liverpool manager sparked in August. Recently in a press conference, the German coach explained why Liverpool are not as active in the transfer market as three of England’s other elite teams. Klopp talked about the Manchester clubs and Chelsea, all of whom have spent heavily this season. Chelsea have signed Romelu Lukaku for £97.5 million, while City have inked English star Jack Grealish for £100 million. United, in turn, have spent £107 million on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane. Speaking on Liverpool’s relatively lukewarm transfer activities, Klopp said: “What United are doing, I don’t know how they did it. We…
Free agent Willy Caballero has revealed that he would have been substituted for Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy in the final of the 2020/21 Champions League against Manchester City (1-0), had the match gone all the way to penalties. Following their Champions League triumph, Chelsea added another European trophy to their cabinet recently, in the form of the UEFA Super Cup. The match against the defending Europa League winners, Villarreal, ended 1-1 after extra-time. Thomas Tuchel made a substitution two minutes before penalties, which left fans scratching their heads. He substituted the starting goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with Kepa Arrizabalaga. Ever since his arrival from the French outfit…
Former Manchester United midfielder Anderson has been charged with multiple criminal charges for his alleged involvement with an illegal cryptocurrency organisation. Anderson and seven other people have been charged with theft, fraud and money laundering following an investigation carried out by the local authorities in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The group of people have been accused of illegally redirecting funds by using crypto operations to cover up their money trail. According to the probe headed by the Rio Grande do Sul Public Prosecutor’s (MP-RS) office and dubbed Operation Crypto show, the former footballer has been alleged to have formed a group and stolen money and…