Category: Soccer

Barcelona locked the horns with Rayo Vallecano late Monday evening in Montjuic in a match that had massive consequences for the League classification.

After Real Madrid and Atletico, Madrid have lost points in their weekend matches, Barcelona had the chance to get away from their rivals in the standings with a victory. However, playing the side of Inigo Perez was never going to be easy.

The Catalans dominated the opening fate of the game and even continued in the first half thanks to a penalty by Robert Lewandowski.

Visitors quickly withdrew one, but had excluded it for a player hindering the game.

The second half was more balanced with the two parts creating openings. In the end, however, Flick’s men maintained themselves and took the three vital points.

Barça Universal brings you the ratings of Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano players.

Wojciech Szczesny: 8.5

The Polish goalkeeper had an excellent performance for Barcelona and has greatly proven why he is the favorite option of the manager between the sticks with his experience.

Despite a slow and unanswered start, Szczesny had a ten-minute closure in the first half and was tested several times by waves of attacks by Rayo Vallecano.

His best stop, by far, was a double stop in the 37th minute.

Alejandro Balde: 8

The left rear was perhaps the Barcelona player who covered the most field of the night while he was tirelessly loading the flank for the pioneer of counterattacks while remaining in a position on the defensive.

While Jorge de Frutos did well to neutralize the Balde crosses in part, the rhythm of the Spanish was a deadly weapon for the Catalans.

Inigo Martinez: 9

Another immense performance of the Spanish veteran when he rolled in contributions through the field both in attack and in defense.

To start, Martinez won the penalty that helped the club take the head of the night after taking up the challenge of Pathe Ciss.

In addition, it was immense in defense and with its execution of the offside trap. His release out of the line towards the end of the first half was the icing on the cake.

Pau Cubarsi: 8

Calm, composed and reliable that never with its distribution, Cubarsi rarely seemed to be a place to disturb against Rayo Vallecano last night.

Although he suffered slightly in the periods when adversaries dominated in attack, his decision -making and his interceptions remained unaffected and at an elite level.

Fort Hector: 7

The only big rotation of the regular starting program, Fort began in place of Jules Kounde and did decently well to fill.

The academy star was reliable with the ball and with his liaison game. However, it was a slight defensive responsibility that visitors sought to target.

Frenkie de Jong: 7.5

The Dutchman began as part of the double pivot and continued his promising form when he looked comfortable in limited spaces and excelled with his distribution decisions in the midfield.

Showed an excellent combination game with Pedri and Gavi, but was slightly vulnerable on the break with the transitions of Rayo.

Pedri: 9

Another beginning, another fishing of a Pedri display which now makes a serious file to be named the best midfielder in the world.

The former winner of Golden Boy was silky on the ball, never seemed to be under pressure and always sought to evoke a pass that could open the rear line of Rayo.

GAVI: 7

The young attacking midfielder played a little more than the manager would have liked it and did well with his work out of the ball.

His contributions to the attackers, however, were again limited and he did not create as much threat in the last third as the manager would have liked it.

Lamine Yamal: 7

The academy’s winger had a slight half-time slightly in the first half when he played a few passes badly, missed a relatively simple chance to score and does not seem as fluid as D ‘Usually with his dribbles.

Much finished a very similar second half and has never really started.

Raphinha: 8

The Brazilian was a protagonist in the last third, leading the charge on counterattacks and facilitating the accumulation of the left wing.

Had some chances of brands of brands, but saw them go beggar.

Robert Lewandowski: 8.5

The Polish striker opened the Barcelona scoring with a calm and reassuring penalty and also looked rejuvenated from his goal.

However, he missed some big chances in the first half.

The Liverpool screening machine is rarely silent, in particular under the clever management of the Arne location. Recent murmurs of Anfield suggest that a eye is well formed on the prodigious midfielder in Paris Saint-Germain, Warren Zaire-Emery. As David Lynch reported in a discussion with Dave Davis for Anfield Index, the links, although not confirmed, are as intriguing as they are plausible.

Talent beyond years

Warren Zaire-Emery, with only 18 years old, has a curriculum vitae that most experienced professionals would envy, with more than 100 appearances for PSG. Its rapid ascent in the ranks at such a tender age says a lot about its quality and its resilience. As Lynch pointed out: “He’s already an 18 -year -old with 100 PSG games behind him, he is obviously a huge talent.” This recognition of experienced journalists underlines the emerging reputation of the midfield on the European scene.

Transfer challenges and opportunities

However, securing a talent like Zaire-Emery is responsible for challenges. PSG, known for its reluctance by separating itself from the star assets, would naturally hesitate to abandon such a promising player. Lynch rightly says: “I guess the obstacle would be the fact that PSG will never want to let it go, but everything is in terms of the player.” This feeling echoes the complex nature of football transfers, where players’ aspirations play a central role.

Liverpool’s strategy may well depend on the personal ambitions of the young midfielder and his interest in the Premier League. A move to Liverpool offers the promise of continuous development under a progressive coach like Slot, within a team that is still recovering for the best honors.

Impact on the Liverpool midfielder

If Liverpool succeeds in attracting Zaire-Emery to Anfield, the impact could be transformer. His capacity to mix defensive diligence with Creative Flair would offer Liverpool a presence with multiple facets in the midfield – something they have recalibrated since the change of management. Its young vigor and tactical versatility would align well with the dynamic and fluid game style of slot.

Future perspectives and closing thoughts

In the field of football, where potential and performances are perpetually under surveillance, Zaire-Emery represents both a significant investment in the future and a declaration of intention of Liverpool. Although the path to his signature can be superimposed on negotiations and counter-negociations, the attraction of Premier League football and the prospect of developing under a venerated trainer could tip the balance in favor of Liverpool.

In conclusion, Liverpool’s reported interest in Warren Zaire-Emery, as discussed by David Lynch with Davis Davis for the Anfield index, could be speculative at this stage, but this is a perspective that aligns the Strategic vision of the club. Its acquisition would reinforce not only the team but would also reaffirm Liverpool’s commitment to feeding high level talents, positioning them well for future successes in a still competitive football landscape.

The Arsenal title accusation is tested not only by competition, but by a list of mounting injuries that threatens to derail their momentum. With crucial lights to come, Mikel Arteta works with an exhausted team, especially in attack, where the main absent limits his tactical options.

A 2-0 victory against Leicester the weekend provided an essential boost, with Mikel Merino working to fill the void. However, while Arsenal is preparing for their next Premier League clashes against West Ham and Nottingham Forest, the accent remains on the rumor of the rumor of their stars away.

Saka recovery grows

Bukayo Saka was a blatant omission of the Arsenal front line since the tear of the hamstrings in December. The initial prognosis excluded him until March, and although the images of him who train in Dubai last week had the hope of an early return, Arteta remains cautious.

“I don’t know, we have a long-term injury, so what’s faster?” Arteta said when he was questioned about a possible early return. “In a 10 -day injury, three days, it’s a lot because it is 30%, but in three months, a week is probably not so much.”

The winger remains in the first stages of rehabilitation, and Arsenal should target his return for their equality of the Champions League on March 4 or 5, the conflict of high issues against Manchester United on March 9. However, with Saka with Saka with Saka with Saka Important for the team, Arteta will not be attempted in unnecessary risks.

Potential return date: March 2025

Martinelli facing a long fate

Gabriel Martinelli added to Arsenal injury problems when he was drinking in the 37th minute against Newcastle on February 5, tightening his hamstrings. The dynamic presence of the Brazilian on the wing played a decisive role for the side of Arteta, making his absence an important blow.

Martinelli should be released for about a month, which means that the devices will be missing against West Ham and Nottingham Forest. His availability for the Arsenal Champions League has of the last match in the first stage, as well as crucial League meetings with Manchester United and Chelsea, remains in doubt.

Potential return date: March 2025

Havertz excluded for the season

Kai Havertz’s campaign was suddenly finished with a hamstring injury suffered while blocking training during the Arsenal hot time camp in Dubai. The German international has since undergone surgery, excluding it until next season.

In a hospital bed, Havertz shared his disappointment but expressed his determination to come back stronger.

“The last days have been difficult to treat physically and mentally. But yesterday was a good day. A successful OP and a victory, “he wrote. “I now focus on my trip to the full shape and I give all the support that I can provide to the team in the background.”

Potential return date: start of the 2025-26 season

Concerns about the physical form of Tomiyasu

Takehiro Tomiyasu knee problems continue to frustrate the Arsenal medical team. The Japanese defender presented only six minutes this season after his return briefly against Southampton in October.

Given the persistent nature of his injury, Arsenal is now considering the possibility of a second knee operation. If surgery is necessary, it will almost certainly exclude it for the rest of the countryside.

Potential return date: unknown

Return channel of Jesus cannot be clear

Gabriel Jesus remains a long -term absent after knee surgery in January. The Brazilian striker was cruelly missed and no final delay was given for his return. While Arsenal faced himself without him, his presence would be a major boost when approaching the end of the season.

Potential return date: unknown

The depth of the team will be tested

With key players in the foreseeable future, Arteta must find solutions to maintain the Arsenal challenge at the top of the table. As they sail in the crucial Premier League and European matches, the emphasis will be placed on the careful management of these injuries while ensuring that the team remains competitive.

Arsenal hopes to catch Liverpool in the title race may well depend on the speed with which their stars away can return. Until then, Arteta will need his team to intensify, just as they did against Leicester.

As a teenager Kascia Weir and midfielder Nadene Caldwell were called in the Northern Ireland team for the opening matches of the League of Nations against Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Strong Kerry Beattie, 22, was forced into the first half of Aberdeen’s defeat by Motherwell on Sunday while Captain of Cliftonville, Kelsie Burrows, was also forced to withdraw.

The experienced midfielder Caldwell was recalled in the team while his teammate Glentoran and the under -19 -year -old striker in Northern Ireland received a first call.

Caldwell did not appear to neither since he made an ankle injury in the fall while Weir, 18, was rewarded for a strong season with Galentoran, during which she scored seven goals in 2024.

“It is disappointing not to have Kelsie and Kerry to join the team, but it’s great to have Nadene,” said Tanya Oxtby, manager of Northern Ireland.

“She worked very hard to recover from her injury. She is one of our leaders, so it’s really great to bring her back.”

Weir had to play for nor in European qualifications under the age of 19 and Oxtby said that she was a player whom she “has been watching for some time”.

“I was able to see her in two internal games between the seniors and the U19 and she was really impressive,” said the Australian.

“This represents another great progression for us in terms of youth path and the players we bring.”

The former internationals of England Laura Bassett and Izzy Christiansen were added to the establishment of coach for the opening matches of the League of Nations.

Friday, Oxtby’s side face Poland in Gdansk and Bienvenue in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Larne four days later.

Romania is the fourth part of the B1 league and in April in double head.

Covering Manchester United these days is a bit like being a character in a silent witness: each week, you end up writing a post-mortem. Their Sunday defeat in Tottenham was a engaging case if Bitty which finished 1-0 largely because the low defense quality of the defense was offset by the low level of attack. It was fun in his own way, but it didn’t look much like Premier League football.

This also meant that United fell 15th in the table, having won only four of the 14 championship games under Ruben Amorim. Under Erik Ten Hag this season, United was taking 1.22 points per game; Under Amorim, it is at 1.00. No one was fighting on the magnitude of the task he acquitted, but four months after Amorim took the job, it would be very difficult to identify the signs of concrete progress. There was the resilience of performance in the League in Anfield, in the FA Cup at the Emirates, and not much else.

In relation: Premier League: 10 discussion points for weekend action

Amad Diallo has impressed, raising other questions about the reasons why it was used if with sparingly by ten hag, but he is now absent for the season after having undergone an ankle injury in training. The departure XI on Sunday presented three players who feel like it is part of the club’s long-term future, and even it is slightly generous since Patrick Dorgu has just happened and therefore did not Not had time to be afflicted by the general discomfort. In January, United seemed willing to sell one of the other two, Alejandro Garnacho, if only as a product of the Academy, it would represent pure profit in the rules of profit and sustainability of the leagues (PSR), which would allow them to further replenish the team.

This, of course, is a large part of the AMORIM problem. The team he inherited is a mess. And although it is legitimate to wonder why Casemiro is always embarking on the midfielder of United, a glance at the Banc de United, which included eight adolescents and Victor Lindelöf, clearly indicates how Amorim had. It is now likely that United will have been undergoing his first arrival in slightest half-time since 1989-90-the season when, by the legend at least, the winner of Mark Robins in Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup kept Alex Ferguson In the work – but no one should think is the fault of anyone except the owners of the club.

This week will mark a year since Jim Ratcliffe bought a little more than a quarter of the club and the right to manage the Glazers football operations. It was welcomed by optimism; It is local and logical said that no one could be as bad as the last lot. Since then, he has imposed a multitude of cost reduction measures – a lot of mean. He deleted discounts for retirees and children and has installed a range of expensive executives. Dan Ashworth was installed as a sports director, probably to try to ensure the type of coordinated approach which was so obviously defective since the departure of Ferguson in 2013, to leave after five months, apparently to oppose the AMORIM appointment.

The 40 -year record in Portugal clearly indicates that he is a gifted coach, but that does not make him the right coach for United. He reiterated on Sunday that he will continue to play his 3-4-3, that it is a season which must almost be radiated as the players become familiar with the system. But he should know that most of this team cannot play it. He must also realize that there will be no great silver infusion to rebuild the team in summer; United is already under pressure to avoid violating PSR regulations.

Even with an equitable wind, as Gary Neville said on the podcast, it would be a huge task for Amorim to transform the tactical identity of a club that has almost never played with a rear three. And that leads to questions: how certain the hierarchy is that Morim is the right man? Defining philosophy should be a job for a sports director, who would then recruit players and coaches accordingly. The absence of such a director has been one of the biggest problems for United for more than a decade – so they name one and immediately ignore their advice.

And the wind is not fair. Fans are frustrated by the lack of progress, which on the one hand is difficult for Amorim, but on the other hand is easily understandable, given the way in which they are pressed by the club, paying for a supplement in 35 years.

The danger is that, even if Amorim is the right man, his reputation will be so tarnished at the end of the season that he will never be able to inspire the belief that successful management requires. It is a mess without easy solutions.

That day …

After losing a vote for the Ajax captain in the summer of 1973, Johan Cruyff decided that he had finished. He had won three European cuts with the Amsterdam club, but he needed to stretch his wings. While Spain softened its regulations on foreigners, Real Madrid sniffed, but it was Barcelona who jumped to bring Cruyff together with the Dutch coach who had inspired him so much in Ajax, Rinus Michels. The agreement was agreed on August 13 but which broke the Dutch regulations which indicated that all transfers should occur in July. It took two and a half months for the bureaucracy to be resolved, and Cruyff finally made its debut on October 28.

He joined a team that is just starting to find his feet after winning only one of their first five games of the season. They only lost after their first League title in 14 years. But the highest point, without a doubt, came on February 17, 1974, when Barcelona went to the Bernabéu for the Clásico. Cruyff ran the match, scoring three goals and scoring one, showing a remarkable balance and strength to beat two players on the edge of the box, while Barça won 5-0.

• It is an extract from football with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look of the Guardian US during the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Do you have a question for Jonathan? Send an email to soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he will respond to the best in a future edition.

Omar Marmoush received a clear message from Savinho in the Manchester City locker room before kick-off against Newcastle on Saturday, he was revealed.

The Egyptian star not only recorded his first goal for the title champions of the Premier League, but won his first strike as part of a career hat and of course, his first in English football with Manchester City.

Only 14 minutes separated Marmoush’s opening goal from long -distance assistance Ederson and his triple finishing third via an excellent work of Savinho in the right side in a clear reflection of the talent in which the city has invested.

But the latter’s help seems to have been planned before kick-off between Manchester City and Newcastle United, as the Brazilian striker revealed during his post-match media tasks.

Speaking after the convincing victory of the Premier League this weekend, Savinho told journalists of his promise to Omar Marmoush before the match he would provide the Egyptian star a hat-trick at some point in the competition.

“Manchester City did not pay the price for nothing, he was one of the best scorers in the Bundesliga,” opened Savinho about the 26 -year -old after his first goal for Manchester City and possible.

“I am buzzing for him,” continued the Brazilian winger. “I told him in the locker room that I would give him a decisive pass, and I only have to thank God.”

Let’s move on to an overview of the game as a whole and the feeling after such a victory, Savinho said: “I only have to thank God for the three points. Also not to concede.

“I think it is important to trust each other during the match, so that we have made a very good result and to be confident to go to Madrid and to qualify.”

The impressive projection of Omar Marmoush and Savinho will probably improve their chances of being the biggest starting pair for Manchester City against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening.

Pep Guardiola and his players certainly have their work plan as they seek to reverse a 2-3 deficit of the first leg at the Etihad stadium last Tuesday, while the goals of Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham in the closing exchanges have overturned The competition on the competition on his head.

Mehdi Taremi faces criticism for producing “a big moment and then nothing” in the SERIE shock yesterday between Juventus and Inter Milan.

Printed edition of today from the Journal of Rome Corriere dello Sport, via FcCriticizing the 32-year-old for a “disappointing” performance, in particular on a counter-attack decision.

Strongr Mehdi Taremi had a rare opportunity to start in a big serie match yesterday.

Marcus Thuram always recovering from an ankle problem, the Frenchman was not available from the start. Therefore, it was Taremi who obtained the head sign.

“A great moment then nothing” by Mehdi Taremi in Juventus 1-0 Inter Milan

Mehdi TaremI started the fairly brilliant match. The Iranian international worked hard to get on the ball and the impact game.

And then there was a case where Taremi approached very close to the spectacular.

The former Porto striker almost scored with an acrobatic kick during the first half.

However, Taremi’s efforts were just wide.

And after that, Iranian could not really find space in the penalty zone.

Then there was a chance of counterattack where Mehdi Taremi did not manage to choose his teammate Lautaro Martinez.

It turned out to be very expensive at the end.

If Iranian had done more of his race forward, the result could have been very different for Inter.

Former Premier League striker Glenn Murray thinks that Aston Villa fans have seen “the Marcus Rashford of Old” in the second half of the 1-1 draw on Saturday against Ipswich.

The loan of Manchester United was replaced at halftime with his team 1-0 and had an impact on the game with a direct race, a physics and an intention.

It was his beautiful free kick that struck the crossbar and fell to Ollie Watkins to mark the equalizer of the rebound.

Without some late heroic of Ipswich goalkeeper, Alex Palmer, Rashford would have forced the winner when his cross was deflected towards his own goal by Conor Townsend.

A player recently criticized for his work rate, he also recorded impressive defensive numbers, making three plated alongside seven duels to illustrate his commitment to help the team.

“I looked at him and it seemed that a weight had been removed from his shoulders,” Murray told Podcast Daily Football.

“He looked like the Marcus Rashford of old – running on people, committing defenders, being positive in his final product.

“We all knew that it was there, we all knew that he was capable of it. It was long. Aston Villa fans hope that they will continue to see this.

“Really refreshing of Marcus Rashford.”

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