Pep Guardiola finds himself in unusual territory as he tries to work out how to turn things around at Manchester City after a surprise slump following eight years of almost unbroken success. City's 4-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday was a third straight loss for the English champions -- the first time that has happened since 2018. Midfielder Bernardo Silva said the side were in a 'dark place' after the defeats against Tottenham, Bournemouth and Sporting in three different competitions. But Guardiola had a more optimistic outlook, pledging to 'fight and not give up'. Reasons that may have led to City's recent struggles after strong start to the season Injury crisis When Guardiola confirmed in late September that Spain midfielder Rodri would miss the rest of the campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, it felt potentially seismic. City's squad is packed with talent but Rodri is the man who makes them tick -- he is on a personal unbeaten run spanning 52 Premier League fixtures. Last month the 28-year-old won the men's Ballon d'Or award in recognition of his achievements with City and Spain. Guardiola has also been without a clutch of other stars this season. Kevin De Bruyne returned as a late substitute against Lisbon -- his first appearance since mid-September. Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and John Stones did not travel to Portugal, while other players have also been struggling with injury, including Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake. Silva said before City's match in Portugal that they would "never find excuses" but even a club with their vast resources do not have ready replacements for players of the quality of Rodri and De Bruyne. Lack of hunger? Manchester City have dominated English football for the bulk of the past decade, breaking record after record under Guardiola. They became just the second club to win the Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in 2023 and last season became the first club in history to win four straight English top-flight titles. Guardiola's hunger for success appears undiminished and he has transferred that desire to his players, winning the Premier League in six of his eight full seasons at the Etihad. Also Read: Haaland lifts Man City to the top The Catalan said in August that he and his players go into each campaign driven by a desire to get even better despite their remarkable success. "Always you can improve, always you have the desire to individually be better," he said. "I want to be a better manager, and the players want to be better individually." It is easy to exaggerate City's crisis -- they are second in the Premier League and well-placed in the Champions League despite Tuesday's defeat. But any slight drop-off in motivation can prove fatal in the ultra-competitive world of the Premier League. Before Guardiola, only Alex Ferguson, at Manchester United, and Jose Mourinho, at Chelsea, had managed to retain the Premier League title. Off-field issues Are off-field distractions having an impact at City? Guardiola's contract expires at the end of this season and there has long been speculation over whether he will sign a new deal. Recent reports suggest the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, 53, is likely stay at the Etihad, for another year at least, which would lengthen his reign to a remarkable 10 years. Another off-field issue with huge potential ramifications is the ongoing hearing into more than 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. City deny any wrongdoing and have said they have a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to clear their name. But if they are found guilty, they could face a range of punishments including a severe points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League. The hearing started in mid-September but the verdict of the independent commission is not likely to come before 2025. Guardiola has been bullish in his defence of City, referring to his deep bond with the club, but he must be desperate to shed the unwanted distractions. (With agency inputs)
06 November,2024 06:37 PM IST | London | mid-day online correspondentChampions League holders Real Madrid fell to a 3-1 home defeat by AC Milan on Tuesday in the group stage with striker Kylian Mbappe unable to find the net again. The 25-year-old France captain has scored once in his last six matches for Madrid across all competitions, including three losses for Los Blancos. Malick Thiaw headed the Italian side ahead before Vinicius Junior levelled from the penalty spot for the hosts. Alvaro Morata struck against his former side to restore Milan's lead before the break and Tijjani Reijnders netted the third to secure Milan's victory. Madrid were unable to bounce back strongly from the 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona in late October, their last outing after Saturday's La Liga match at Valencia was postponed because of devastating floods in the east of Spain. Players from both sides wore t-shirts before the match reading "We are all Valencia" while in one stand a giant Valencia regional flag was unfurled for a minute's silence. In the 90 minutes that followed, Paulo Fonseca's Milan, seventh in Serie A, outclassed Madrid. "We are going through a period when our opponents are punishing us a lot and we have to keep working so that this doesn't happen again," Madrid defender Lucas Vazquez told Movistar. Los Blancos have let in nine goals in their last three home matches. "We have to be worried, the team's not giving a good account of itself," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. "The team is not compact, we have to be more compact, more organised, we've let in a lot of goals... we're not well organised on the pitch and we have to work on that." Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe (CL) and Real Madrid's Spanish defender Lucas Vazquez (CR) react after AC Milan scored a goal during the UEFA Champions League, league phase day 4 football match between Real Madrid CF and AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Pic/AFP Milan have won the competition seven times, behind only record 15-time champions Madrid, but have not reached a final since 2007, when Ancelotti led them to the trophy. This victory harked back to their glory days and Fonseca praised his team's bravery. "The players came here with courage, didn't have any fear... in the first half we created plenty and in the second half we were on the back foot, but we fought together," said the Portuguese coach. "We definitely deserved to win." Ancelotti, who won the Champions League twice as a player and then twice as a coach with Milan, only made one change from the Clasico humiliation, bringing in Luka Modric for Eduardo Camavinga. Madrid fell behind in the 12th minute. Thiaw's near-post header from a corner flew past the helpless Andriy Lunin to earn the Serie A side the lead. Mike Maignan saved from Mbappe at the other end as Madrid hit back, with Vinicius winning a penalty as he fell under a clumsy tackle from Emerson Royal. The Brazilian, who finished as runner-up in last week's Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris when he had been favourite to win, coolly dispatched it with a cheeky dinked Panenka effort. '11 lions' Milan regained the lead in the 39th minute through former Madrid striker Morata, who reacted quickly to fire home after Lunin saved from Rafael Leao. Mbappe, yet to find top form in a Madrid shirt since his move from Paris Saint-Germain and particularly frustrated in the Barcelona defeat, broke in again before half-time but Maignan saved his low effort. Ancelotti took action at half-time, bringing on Camavinga and Brahim Diaz, and it opened up the second half for an end-to-end affair. Lunin made a superb flying save from Leao's header before the winger set up Reijnders at the end of a superb solo run to turn home for Milan's third. Antonio Rudiger smashed home but was offside and Maignan denied Diaz with a fine late save, killing any Madrid hopes of a classic European comeback. Madrid have now lost two of their four matches and are in the middle of the table, provisionally 17th, one place above Milan. Their next Champions League match is at Anfield against Liverpool, by when Ancelotti will hope to have solved some of his team's growing problems. Morata thought his team's work-rate was crucial to their impressive victory in the Spanish capital. "It was important for us to know the value we have and that when we are 11 lions on the pitch, it is very difficult for a team to beat us," 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 November,2024 03:58 PM IST | Madrid | AFPViktor Gyokeres's hat-trick fired Sporting Lisbon to a stunning 4-1 rout of Manchester City in the Champions League as Ruben Amorim showed why Manchester United were so keen to lure him to Old Trafford. Sporting manager Amorim has accepted United's offer to replace Erik ten Hag and will officially take charge of the troubled Premier League club on November 11. Regarded as one of Europe's brightest young managerial minds, the 39-year-old delivered a tantalising glimpse of his acumen as Sporting exposed injury-hit City's defensive weaknesses. Phil Foden put City ahead in the opening moments at the Jose Alvalade stadium, but the visitors wasted a string of chances to increase their lead and Sporting made them pay. Gyokeres equalised before half-time and Maximiliano Araujo bagged Sporting's second after the break before Gyokeres's penalty capped their incredible fightback with two penalties. Erling Haaland squandered a chance to give City a second half lifeline when his penalty hit the bar. Amorim said United fans might think "the new Alex Ferguson has arrived" if his team beat City. After the turbulent end to Ten Hag's reign -- he was sacked in October with United languishing in the bottom half of the table -- Amorim clearly faces a huge task to restore the club to the glory they enjoyed in the Ferguson era. Comparisons with United's legendary former boss should be shelved for now, but Sporting's spirited victory will have fans counting down the days until his arrival. Amorim, who led Sporting to two Portuguese titles in four years, is set to take charge of his first United game at Ipswich on November 24. Pep Guardiola will get his chance for revenge in Amorim's first Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium on December 15. But Guardiola has plenty to work on before then as he looks for solutions to City's unexpected three-game losing streak. Premier League champions City suffered a first top-flight defeat of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday, three days after losing to Tottenham in the League Cup. Amid the absences of Rodri, Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Oscar Bobb, City have lost their momentum in dramatic fashion. Their first defeat in four games in this season's Champions League shouldn't be fatal to their European ambitions, but Guardiola will be desperate for a positive reaction at Brighton on Saturday. City stunned Sporting have 10 points from four Champions League games as Amorim leaves them in rude health. In the last home game of Amorim's reign, City looked like puncturing the emotional farewell when Foden struck in the fourth minute. Sporting carelessly conceded possession to Foden, who advanced into the penalty area before drilling a low shot past Franco Israel's weak attempted save. But Israel redeemed himself when he repelled Haaland's drive before the City striker's looping header was cleared off the line by Gyokeres. Haaland tested the over-worked Israel with a volley before Bernardo Silva fired just wide. Guardiola's men had kept clean-sheets in each of their first three Champions League games, but they were breached completely against the run of play in the 38th minute. City centre-back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was making his first start for the club and the raw 19-year-old was exposed by Gyokeres, who accelerated past him to reach Geovany Quenda's pass and clip a predatory finish into the far corner. Amorim's celebration was relatively brief as he focused on issuing tactical instructions to a trio of Sporting players on the touchline. If Amorim's words of wisdom had identified a City weakness, he was rewarded in an astonishing start to the second half. Just 20 seconds after the interval, Araujo surged through for a clinical finish that whistled under Ederson. Three minutes later, City were breached again when Josko Gvardiol's rash foul on Trincao conceded a penalty that Gyokeres slammed past Ederson. Ousmane Diomande blocked Silva's shot with his arm, conceding a penalty that Haaland smashed against the bar. It was Amorim's night and Gyokeres put the exclamation point on it in the 80th minute with an ice-cool penalty after Nunes's foul on Geny Catamo. 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 November,2024 03:57 PM IST | Lisbon | AFPSimone Inzaghi hinted on Tuesday that he might be dropping some of his star names for Inter Milan’s Champions League clash with Arsenal with a key fixture with Serie A leaders Napoli coming up at the weekend. Inter have a near full squad available for Wednesday’s match at the San Siro but a packed schedule and the possibility of snatching top spot in Italy on Sunday means the likes of Marcus Thuram, Alessandro Bastoni and Henrikh Mkhitaryan might not start against the Gunners. “Unfortunately we had three big matches with Milan, Juventus and Napoli after each of our three Champions League matches [Inter played Torino at home after beating Red Star Belgrade]. If you look at the teams who are playing in Europe this week, only Inter have a difficult match afterwards,” said Inzaghi. Simone Inzaghi “This morning the boys looked like they’d recovered well even though we’re only 40 hours after the Venezia match [won 1-0]. Tomorrow morning I’ll try to pick the team best equipped to play and dominate the match,” he added. Asked what he thought of the new Champions League format, Inzaghi admitted that both he and the team were finding it harder to manage the extra games and eight different opponents. Inter sit seventh in the new single standings, in the top eight positions which give direct access to the last 16 but level on seven points with ninth-placed Arsenal and five other teams. “In the old group stage, you only needed to prepare for three different teams, so it was much simpler,” added Inzaghi. “Now you have to prepare eight different matches, whereas before after three games you already had an idea of what the group might look like. Instead, now you know the positions and in theory how many points you might need, but you could end up moving up or dropping down one or two places with one goal scored or conceded. Maybe it’s more fun, more intriguing, but for us it’s much more difficult,” he remarked. 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 November,2024 06:40 AM IST | Milan | AFPA minute’s silence will be observed before this week’s European club matches “in memory of the victims” of devastating floods in the Spanish region of Valencia, UEFA announced on Monday. “UEFA will hold a moment of silence at all club competition matches this week in memory of the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia and all those impacted in the region and beyond,” European football’s governing body said. Also Read: Football fans select top performing teams and trendiest jerseys in the city Champions League matches, including holders Real Madrid versus AC Milan in Spain, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Europa League and the Conference League fixtures on Thursday. Flash floods in eastern Spain which have killed at least 217, had already impacted La Liga fixtures last weekend. Madrid’s La Liga match at Valencia was postponed as was the game between Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano. 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 November,2024 06:40 AM IST | Lausanne | AFPSeasoned defender Sandesh Jhingan, sidelined with a knee injury since January, is set for a comeback as he was on Tuesday named in a 26-member probables’ list for India’s friendly football match against Malaysia on November 18 in Hyderabad. Jhingan, who missed the Asian Cup and the remainder of the Indian Super League season due to the injury, has been named in a 26-member probables list for India’s home friendly against Malaysia, scheduled for November 18 in Hyderabad. The FC Goa centre-back sustained an injury to his right knee during the first half of India’s game against Syria in the Asian Cup, forcing him out of the tournament. Now fully recovered, his return is expected to strengthen India’s defence. Also Read: Three Indian footballers selected for training session at Old Trafford in Manchester Mohun Bagan captain and defender Subhasish Bose was left out while Rahul Bheke retained his place. India head coach Manolo Marquez, still searching for his first win since taking over from Igor Stimac in July. 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 November,2024 06:39 AM IST | New Delhi | PTINeymar will miss at least two weeks’ training after suffering a muscle problem in his second game back from long-term injury, his coach at Saudi club Al Hilal said. The Brazilian superstar lasted just 26 minutes as a second-half substitute before limping off with an apparent right hamstring strain in Monday’s 3-0 AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal. Neymar, 32, who moved from Paris Saint-Germain in a lucrative contract in 2023, was out for more than a year until last month following a right knee surgery. “Neymar, it’s not an easy case,” said Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus. “On the medical level, his knee is healed, but then he will have problems like today, muscle problems because he hasn’t played for a long time. “Now he has a muscle injury. I don’t know how long he won’t be able to train, two weeks at least,” he added. Al Hilal, the reigning Saudi champions, have not registered Neymar for the current Saudi Pro League season, which began last month. But the former Barcelona player, with a reported salary of about 100 million euros ($112 million) a year, is listed to play in the AFC Champions League Elite, Asia’s biggest club tournament. “It felt like a cramp, but very strong!” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ll do some tests and hope it’s nothing more serious. It’s normal for this to happen after one year, the doctors already warned me, so I have to take care and play more minutes.” 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 November,2024 06:39 AM IST | Riyadh | AFPFrench investigators raided offices of the French football league and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possible corruption and embezzlement related to an investment deal, a judicial official said. The searches took place amid an investigation that opened in July into charges of misappropriation of public funds, active and passive corruption of a public official and illegal taking of interest, the judicial official told The Associated Press. Under its current president Vincent Labrune, the French football league approved in 2022 an investment deal with CVC as part of a new commercial subsidiary in charge of marketing media rights. CVC invested 1.5 billion euros (USD 1.6 billion) in return for a 13 per cent stake in the new commercial subsidiary managing TV rights, valuing the entire capital of the commercial subsidiary at 11.5 billion euros. 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 November,2024 06:38 AM IST | Paris | PTIFormer Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema believes Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker in the Spanish capital because he cannot displace Vinicius Junior on the left wing. Mbappe completed a dream move to Madrid this summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain deal, but has not hit top form under Carlo Ancelotti. The coach has retained Brazil international Vinicius in his favoured position on the wing and has used Mbappe, who prefers to play off the left, down the middle. “The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a No. 9, he doesn’t feel right, because that’s not his position,” Benzema told Spanish television show El Chiringuito late Monday. “On the left, he’s got a guy who’s at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem, you can’t play Vinicius as a No. 9 or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game. “Mbappe isn’t a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he’s under a lot of pressure, this isn’t Paris Saint-Germain,” Benzema added. Since arriving from PSG the 25-year-old has eight goals in 14 appearances across all competitions. Benzema, who won the Ballon d’Or at Real Madrid in 2022 before signing for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad last year, said the striker should keep working hard to adapt to his new role. “[I’d advise him] don’t give up, because I don’t think he’s going to push Vinicius to move — he’s the best player in the world at the moment,” continued Benzema. “Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he’s a No. 9, and forget about the left flank for a while.” Benzema, who joined Real Madrid in 2009 and played there for 14 seasons. 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 November,2024 06:38 AM IST | Madrid | AFPChennaiyin FC bounced back in style with a five-star display against Jamshedpur FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 clash on Monday at the JRD Tata Sports Complex Football Stadium, winning 5-1. Chennaiyin took the early lead through an own goal by Pratik Chaudhari (6’), before Irfan Yadwad (22’) and Connor Shields (24’) put the team 3-0 up with two goals in two minutes. Wilmar Jordan Gil (54’) added a fourth to the scoreline with his sixth goal in four games after the break, while Lukas Brambilla (71’) scored a fifth off the bench. Javi Hernandez (81’) pulled back a late consolation goal for Jamshedpur. Also Read: What has Virat Kohli given to Indian cricket and fans? A quick turnaround from the previous match against Punjab FC in Delhi meant head coach Owen Coyle named a much-changed side. In came goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz for his Chennaiyin FC debut, as well as Kiyan Nassiri and Vincy Barretto for their first starts of the campaign. Bikash Yumnam and Elsinho, too, featured from the start. Chennaiyin raced off the blocks in the midst of a raucous away atmosphere and found the net just six minutes in when Pratik Chaudhari turned Vincy’s inviting cross past his own goalkeeper. Advantage secured, the Marina Machans further tightened the screw on their opponents and went close through efforts from Vincy and Bikash. All of CFC’s pressure paid off in a moment of pure magic from Irfan Yadwad, who spun his marker on the halfway line before charging forward with the ball and scoring from the edge of the box. Moments later, Shields added a third for Chennaiyin with a sensational low-driven shot from distance. Nine minutes after the restart, some purposeful pressing from Irfan forced Pratik into giving the ball away as the last man. The ball fell to Jordan Gil, who sat the goalkeeper down with a dummy before finding the corner with a precise strike for his sixth goal of the season. Having come off the bench in the second half, Brambilla got in on the act; the Brazilian playmaker picked the ball up outside the box, before curling it beautifully into the near corner for CFC’s fifth of the night. Javi Hernandez scored a late consolation goal for the hosts from the spot following a dubious penalty call. Following two back-to-back away fixtures, Chennaiyin will return to the Marina Arena on November 9, to take on Mumbai City FC in their next match. 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 November,2024 01:15 PM IST | Jamshedpur | IANSReal Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Monday he did not have the heart to talk about football ahead of his team’s Champions League clash against AC Milan, because of the devastating floods in the Valencia region. Also Read: Bruno apologises to sacked Man Utd boss Ten Hag Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti Los Blancos’ La Liga match against Valencia on Saturday was postponed because of the situation in the east of Spain, where at least 217 people have died and many more are missing. European champions Madrid face Ancelotti’s former team Milan on Tuesday, with whom he won the competition twice, in 1989 and 1990. “I hope [the situation] can be resolved quickly, and I hope you can understand that talking about football is very hard,” Ancelotti told a news conference. “We are part of this country and all this affects us... I don’t feel like talking about football. For me tomorrow is a very special game, but I will try to speak [about it] as little as possible.” Ancelotti said football should not have been played over the weekend in Spain, with eight La Liga matches going ahead. Various other coaches, including Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, and players said over the weekend they would have preferred not to play. “Nobody wanted to play, that seemed the right decision to me, but it’s not us in charge. Those above us make the decision,” continued Ancelotti. “There are many ways to help... football should have stopped and after that football can and should help,” 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
05 November,2024 07:46 AM IST | Madrid | AFPADVERTISEMENT
