French international footballer Paul Pogba said on Friday his “nightmare is over” after a four-year ban for doping was reduced to 18 months. Pogba, who is under contract with Italian giants Juventus until 2026, will be able to return to competitive football from March 11 next year, four days before his 32nd birthday. Also Read: Suarez criticises Uruguay coach Bielsa for mistreating team “Finally, the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again,” the player said in a statement released to Britain’s Press Association. “This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold,” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 08:23 AM IST | Paris | AFPJust-retired striker Luis Suarez has criticised Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa for the way he treated players during the Copa America, saying the “friction” hurts.“There were situations at the Copa America that hurt me, but I didn’t say them for the sake of coexistence,” Suarez told the DSports TV channel. Also Read: ‘We, The dominant team’ The relationship between Bielsa and the players was so bad that some are considering leaving the national squad, Suárez said. He retired his 17-year international career a month ago as Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer. “You can see that players go with the team and are not enjoying themselves,” he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 08:22 AM IST | Montevideo | AP | PTILiverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to remain top of the Premier League as Arsenal and Manchester City came from behind to win on Saturday. City were 3-2 victors over Fulham to stay one point behind Liverpool, alongside Arsenal who saw off Southampton 3-1. Arne Slot has now won nine of his first 10 games since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, but was frustrated that the visitors invited a late onslaught from the winless Eagles. Also Read: Divanshi secures 2nd gold at Jr World Cup Arne Slot Jota prodded the Reds into the lead from Cody Gakpo’s cross on nine minutes. The Portuguese international was then guilty of missing two big chances to extend Liverpool’s advantage. Palace failed to make them pay, but victory came at a cost for Slot as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off with a hamstring injury. “If you score the second you break them mentally,” said Slot. “All the fans kept believing in a result because it was only 1-0, even though in my opinion, we were the dominant team,” he added. Fresh from a dominant win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Arsenal were expected to sweep aside winless Southampton. But the Saints shocked the Emirates 10 minutes into the second half when Cameron Archer fired in his first Premier League goal since a summer move from Aston Villa. The lead only lasted three minutes before Kai Havertz scored for the seventh consecutive home game. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 08:19 AM IST | London | AFPNorthEast United FC shared the spoils with FC Goa in a scintillating 3-3 draw in the Matchweek 4 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 campaign at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on Friday. Both teams went hammer and tongs with their respective frontline while the defenders had a tough day in the office. NorthEast United FC believed they had three points in the bag until Borja Herrera came up with a late stoppage-time goal to split the pie. The Highlanders started the game on the front foot courtesy of their extremely flexible attack, with Jithin M.S., Alaeddine Ajaraie, and Nestor Albiach all interchanging positions. They were rewarded for the bright start as Nestor ran into the FC Goa penalty box like a hot knife through butter before nestling the ball into the back of the net in the sixth minute. He dazzled his way past a crowd of Goan defenders before beating Laxmikant Kattimani in goal. The Gaurs were caught off guard by the pace and trickery of NorthEast United’s frontline as Ajaraie almost doubled the lead within three minutes of their first goal. Minutes later, Goa had a loud appeal for a penalty as Armando Sadiku went down in the box following a shirt tug by Michel Zabaco but the referee was completely disinterested. Also Read: ISL 2024-25: Jamshedpur FC overcome FC Goa 2-1 with injury-time winner Sadiku missed the best chance of the first half when he scuffed his shot wide from five yards following an exceptional low cross from Dejan Drazic. Two minutes later, Jithin controlled a long ball and released Ajaraie in space but the Moroccan’s subsequent effort was deflected out after Odei Onaindia threw his body on the line. In the 45th minute, the hosts earned a penalty after Mohammed Ali Bemammer brought down Drazic in the danger area. Sadiku shouldered the responsibility of taking the spot-kick and hammered home the equaliser. The host had a perfect start to the second period as Boris Singh won possession in the danger area and he released Ayush Chhetri in space in the box, who found Sadiku with an intricate low cross. The Albanian made no mistake to hand FC Goa the lead in the 47th minute. However, the Juan Pedro Benali-coached team retaliated brilliantly in the 51st minute as Jithin, Ajaraie and Nestor combined with the latter slamming the ball past Kattimani to bring the match back on level terms. Five minutes later, the provider turned scorer when Ajaraie won possession in midfield and ran at the FC Goa defence with purpose. The Moroccan continued his goal-scoring streak with a vicious left-footed effort from just outside the box handing the visitors a deserved lead. FC Goa came close to equalizing the score through Akash Sangwan in the 74th minute, but a full-stretched Gurmeet Singh denied his effort. However, the hosts ended the match on a flourish with some relentless attacks. They were finally rewarded when Borja Herrera combined with Drazic and the former hammered it home past Gurmeet in stoppage time. The Gaurs almost found the winner when Drazic found himself in space but Gurmeet held his fort brilliantly, allowing the Highlanders to salvage a point from the match. Lastly, young defender Robin Yadav was given marching orders after he received his second yellow card for unfairly blocking Brison Fernandes. NorthEast United FC will be in action again at home as they will host Chennaiyin FC on October 17, whereas FC Goa will welcome Mumbai City FC on October 19 in an afternoon fixture. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:10 AM IST | Fatorda (Goa) | IANSThe Indian senior men’s football team will face Vietnam in a one-off friendly match on October 12 following the withdrawal of Lebanon from the tri-nation friendly tournament, at the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh, Vietnam, with points counting towards the FIFA Rankings. As per the original schedule, India were supposed to face Vietnam on October 9 and Lebanon on October 12. After Lebanon’s withdrawal, the All-India Football Federation requested the Vietnam Football Federation to reschedule the Vietnam-India match to October 12, which was accepted by the VFF. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:07 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSFIFA has agreed on interim transfer rules aiming to help players change teams and go to the Club World Cup in the United States next June-July. The move on Thursday opens the door for players whose contracts expire on June 30 to sign early as free agents for one of the 32 teams who qualified for the relaunched FIFA club tournament. FIFA’s council approved interim transfer market rules that give member federations the option of opening an exceptional transfer window from June 1-10. If agreements are reached between clubs, the FIFA transfer amendments would let players represent a new team for two weeks from mid-June, before their formal contract expires, in a tournament that is technically still part of the current season. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:06 AM IST | Zurich | AP | PTICNS (Kandivli) charted their progress by creating a huge upset when they stunned strong title contenders Don Bosco (Matunga) by a solitary goal in the boys under-16 Ahmed Sailor pre-quarter finals of the MSSA inter-school football tournament at the St Francis D’Assisi ground, Borivli, here on Thursday. Coming up with an industrious performance in the midfield and backed by a resilient show at the back, CNS struck the winner mid-way through the second half. Ridhiman Singh found the match-winning goal after receiving a square pass from Anjaney Pandey who was found clear down the right by a long diagonal delivery from their captain Anirvinya Sarkar from his own half. More than the result, it was the performance that was disappointing by Don Bosco. The reigning first division champions were lackluster to say the least. Not being disciplined enough in retaining possession, poor quality of passes from the midfield, apart from wastefulness in front of goal marked large portions of their play. Consequently, they found themselves on the wrong side of the score line. Though it was Don Bosco, who dominated play, both in terms of possession and creating openings, their lack of finishing denied them from seizing the advantage. This eventually proved to be their undoing. Also Read: It’s day won for Bosco boys CNS, on the other hand, were happy to play second fiddle for a major part of the match. They focussed on keeping themselves fairly organised at the back and worked hard in the midfield as they held onto their slender, one-goal advantage till the final whistle. In the other match of the day, an impressive Don Bosco (Borivli) who led by a solitary goal at half-time, ran out comfortable 4-0 winners against Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) to enter the quarter-finals. Malekai D’Silva, captain Cristiano Lewis and Aarav Kataria struck a goal each while pick of the lot came from substitute Elijah Fernandes, who struck a brilliant free-kick into the top corner.
05 October,2024 07:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Neeraj AnandBelgium coach Domenico Tedesco named his squad on Friday that will take on Italy and France in the Nations League, with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne missing out through injury. The 33-year-old midfielder had left the question of his international future somewhat up in the air but told Tedesco that he would still be available for selection for the next two years. “I had a long telephone talk with Kevin where, first of all, now he is injured but in general he is very motivated to continue to be with us and to play also the World Cup,” said the Italian coach. “He asked me to be out for this camp and for the November camp to take care of his body.” Napoli star Romelu Lukaku’s name was also missing from the list of 23 as Tedesco decided to rest the striker and allow him “to work individually” as he settles into life in the southern Italian club. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:05 AM IST | Brussels | AFPErik ten Hag has explained why Marcus Rashford was substituted at half-time of Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League game, saying that rotation was the reason as he needs his players “fit and fresh” for Sunday’s Champions League away fixture at Aston Villa. Rashford was outstanding during the first 45 minutes at the Estadio do Dragao, and opened the scoring inside just seven minutes. He then teed up the second, powered home by Rasmus Hojlund, in the 20th minute. Erik ten Hag Rashford continued to torment Porto right-back Joao Mario for the rest of the first period, though Porto managed to level before the half-time whistle. However, when the teams returned after the interval, Alejandro Garnacho had taken to the pitch in place of Rashford. “He is okay,” Ten Hag told MUTV, warding off any worries of an injury issue. “But also Alejandro Garnacho, he is our attacking threat in this moment, and we brought him from the bench. We need fresh players also for Sunday so, yes, it was all in the plan. “We have to rotate. Garnacho, we didn’t start him. He had a great game, not only on Sunday, but I think in the whole season. We sub them the players who went off because on Sunday we have another hard game, a good game, so we need players to be available and be fit and be fresh. It’s a quick turnaround to Villa. They have a day longer to recover and we have an away, game, so we want fresh players on the pitch,” he further explained while speaking with TNT Sports. Porto struck again soon after the restart through Omorodion’s second of the game. But, Ten Hag’s side dug in to salvage a draw when substitute Harry Maguire headed in from a corner during stoppage time. Reflecting on the game, the Dutchman said, “We started the game very good, we dominated, scored two good goals, but then we lost control. So, the start was good, the middle part was not good, and then we finished very good. It’s a tough place to go, so coming back from 3-2 we get the equaliser, which is good for the spirit. You see again that the team have a really strong character.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:05 AM IST | Porto | IANSArne Slot said Friday it is up to Liverpool to help misfiring forward Darwin Nunez increase his goal tally as well as the player himself. The Uruguayan international has scored just once this season, against Bournemouth, which was his first goal for the club since April. Slot, whose Premier League leaders travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday, defended Nunez after his latest spluttering display in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win against Bologna. The Liverpool boss pointed to Nunez’s lack of playing time — he has started just three games this season — as a possible reason for his malaise. Asked whether the former Benfica striker needed to work harder to adapt to his style, Slot said the responsibility lay with both the coaching staff and the player. Also Read: Liverpool not good enough: Slot after shock loss “It’s both,” the Dutchman said at his pre-match press conference. “I think it’s the challenge we as a staff always have to bring the best out of the individuals. So, we try to find different ways of positioning Darwin from Diogo [Jota] because they are not the same players so their teammates also adjust to the player they are playing with. “And that’s also what I as a manager have to do and also what we are doing,” Slot added. Nunez did have the ball in the net against Bologna but the goal was ruled out for offside. “When we bring him the chances, he’s able to score,” said Slot. “But unfortunately, we couldn’t bring him that much in a position.” Slot has won eight of his nine games since taking over the Anfield hotseat from Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are one point clear of Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 07:04 AM IST | Liverpool | AFPOdisha FC played out a 2-2 draw with Kerala Blasters FC in a home match of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday night. Diego Mauricio scored for Odisha FC while Alexandre Coeff conceded an own goal. Meanwhile, Noah Sadaoui and Jesus Jimenez combined well to get on to the scoresheet for Kerala Blasters FC. The match was lively right from the start as both sides produced back-to-back attempts. On one hand, Danish Farooq snatched the ball from Mourtada Fall and had free space in front only to see the latter sliding the ball out for a corner. Similarly, Hugo Boumous passed it onto Diego Mauricio in the six-yard box, and the Brazilian falsed his kick, but Sachin Suresh comfortably collected the ball. In the 15th minute, Jimenez nutmegged both Thoiba Singh and Ahmed Jahouh to find Sadaoui in the six-yard area. However, once again Fall came to the rescue, to clear it off. Mikael Stahre’s side didn’t need to wait much, as three minutes later, the duo combined again. Jimenez laid it off for Sadaoui inside the box, to witness the latter curl it past Amrinder. Three minutes later, Sadaoui turned provider. He cut in and went towards the penalty box and passed it on to Jimenez. The Spaniard glanced a shot towards the first post to see Amrinder concede another. In the 29th minute, Sergio Lobera’s side got some respite. Ahmed Jahouh played a short corner and then crossed it into the six-yard area. Sachin fumbled to collect it and the ricochet from his teammate Alexandre Coeff crossed the goal line. Also Read: ‘It’s always difficult’ Odisha FC didn’t take much time to score again. Seven minutes later, Mauricio combined with Jerry Mawihmingthanga. He passed it onto Jerry, who crossed it towards his path and the Brazilian’s shot was too much for Suresh to save. This was Jerry’s 21st assist in the ISL. The 42nd minute saw another defensive blunder from the Juggernauts. Fall played a wrong pass to Sadaoui who was lurking outside the box. He received the ball and took a sidefooted attempt only to see Amrinder punch it away. In additional time in the first half, Odisha FC could have taken the lead. Jahouh dipped in a free-kick from near the centre circle to find Fall at the end of it. However, his header was saved luckily by an advancing Suresh. Lobera introduced a fresh pair of legs early in the second half. In the 56th minute, it was newcomer Roy Krishna who chipped in a cross from the right. Suresh got a hand to it, guiding the same to Isak Vanlalruatfela’s path. The winger, however, couldn’t keep the ball on target. In the 88th minute, a short pass from Thoiba Singh to Amrinder could have been converted into an opportunity by the returning Adrian Luna, but the goalkeeper’s clearance deflected off the Uruguayan to go out for a goal-kick. Both teams added more sharpness into their armour in search of the winner in the next few minutes. But the winning goal was not to come. Odisha FC will be back in action on October 22, when they take East Bengal at home. Kerala Blasters will travel to Kolkata to face Mohammedan SC on October 20. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 October,2024 01:52 PM IST | Bhubaneswar | IANSADVERTISEMENT
