Category: Football

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Monday he was uncertain when Spain midfielder Rodri will be fit enough to return to action.

Rodri missed much of last season with a knee injury and has appeared just once — and then only for a minute — in City’s last 10 games due to a hamstring problem.

The 29-year-old has been ruled out of Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Fulham and is doubtful for the home clash with Sunderland on Saturday.

“No, not yet,” said Guardiola, when asked at a press conference on Monday that lasted just a few minutes, if Rodri was available.

Asked if he could feature at the weekend, Guardiola said: “I don’t know.”

Guardiola also spoke about goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was booked for a fourth time in his short City career in the last-gasp 3-2 win over Leeds on Saturday.

Leeds manager Daniel Farke also accused Donnarumma of feigning injury to allow Guardiola to deliver a key team talk. The Italian is now just one yellow card away from a suspension.

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“Yes, he has a lot (of bookings), he has many,” said Guardiola. “It is what it is.”

Asked if he had spoken to Donnarumma about it, he said: “No.”

Guardiola was more willing to discuss the work of Fulham manager Marco Silva after their impressive 2-1 win away to Tottenham.

“Marco is many, many years there and always (when we) have been there — really, really tough games, difficult,” said Guardiola.

“The organisation is exceptional and every year I have the feeling that with the ball, they are better and better. Tough, tough opponent.

“I saw the games yesterday and today, against Chelsea, against Arsenal, last games against Sunderland.

“Always it’s so, so difficult for the opponents to break them up. It has always been like that in this beautiful stadium (Craven Cottage) in London.”

READ: Barca’s Flick happy to have players back for Atletico clash

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he was relieved to have some injured players returning to fitness ahead of Tuesday’s crunch clash against Atletico Madrid.

Barca moved to the top of La Liga with Saturday’s 3-1 defeat of Alaves, although Atletico in the fourth, are only three points back.

Pedri made his first team return as a second-half substitute on Saturday after more than a month out with a hamstring problem.

He is in line to start against Diego Simeone’s rugged outfit, as is midfield partner Frenkie de Jong, who missed the Alaves match for family reasons.

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“I’m really happy. The players are coming back, maybe we can increase our level. This is the most important thing,” Flick said on Monday, although he confirmed that Uruguayan centre-back Ronald Araujo is out.

The German has come under fire this seen for a series of abject displays, not least in the Catalans’ highest profile matches — a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea and 2-1 reverses against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite being top of the table, Flick admitted that Barca needs to improve.

“I know we are not (in) top (form) like last season,” he said. “But we have potential. And we have to increase our level.”

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Barcelona women’s star player Aitana Bonmati is set to be sidelined for several months after suffering a leg fracture in training with the Spanish national team on Sunday.

The three-time Ballon d’Or winner will miss Tuesday’s women’s Nations League final second leg against Germany and several matches for her club in the weeks ahead.

Catalan media said Bonmati would be sidelined for “a minimum of two months” as she heals from the injury, which could last for more than three months if she requires surgery.

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The Spanish football federation said Bonmati finished the morning training session “in pain after a bad landing” during an accidental fall, before diagnosing her with “a fracture in her left fibula”.

Aitana Bonmati started for Spain on Friday in a 0-0 draw against Germany in the first leg of the Nations League final.

She is set to miss upcoming Champions League games against Benfica and Paris FC in December, as well as the Spanish Super Cup in January and various Liga F matches.

Barca lead the league by six points ahead of Real Sociedad, while they are joint top of the Champions League league phase table with French giants Lyon.

READ: Real Madrid title hopes dented at Girona in third straight draw

Real Madrid were held to a third consecutive La Liga draw in a 1-1 tie at Girona on Sunday, allowing Barcelona to retain pole position.

Azzedine Ounahi fired the hosts into a surprise lead before half-time, with Kylian Mbappe earning Madrid a point from the penalty spot.

After Barcelona beat Alaves on Saturday to move top of the table, Madrid needed a victory at Girona to reclaim top spot but now sit second, a point behind the champions.

Earlier, Alberto Moleiro helped Villarreal, third, move back ahead of fourth-place Atletico Madrid with a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory at Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid’s draw increases the pressure on Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, after recent rumours suggesting his future is insecure in the Madrid dugout.

“We are up there, it’s all very even, it’s a long season, and we have to continue,” Alonso told reporters.

“I liked the reaction from the players. It was not enough to turn it around, but we were close, and we have to continue with the unity we have, being self-critical enough, and wanting to win away from home.”

Real Madrid travel to face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday for a fourth consecutive league match on the road, a game moved because of the club’s participation in the Spanish Super Cup in January.

“The table will be hard-fought, there will be lots of movement,” added Alonso.

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Mbappe and Arda Guler fired off target for Madrid early on in a hotly contested but scrappy clash, in front of a raucous home crowd.

French superstar Mbappe had a goal ruled out for handball moments before Morocco international Ounahi fired Girona ahead, rifling home from just inside the area to stun their illustrious visitors.

Catalan minnows Girona, 18th, have twice beaten Real Madrid at Montilivi since making their top-flight debut in 2017 and for a while it looked like they were going to manage it again.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a stunning save to tip away Vanat’s drive across the goal before Los Blancos fought back.

After having a goal disallowed for offside, Vinicius was clumsily felled in the box by Hugo Rincon.

Mbappe smashed the resulting penalty into the bottom left corner past Gazzaniga’s dive for his 14th La Liga goal of the campaign.

“Absolutely not the result we wanted tonight, but the league is still on and very long,” wrote Mbappe on social media network Instagram.

“We need to change this dynamic and show who we are as a team.”

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Joshua Zirkzee scored his first Premier League goal for nearly a year before Mason Mount grabbed the winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on Sunday.

Ruben Amorim’s side trailed to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first half penalty at Selhurst Park, but Zirkzee and Mount netted after the interval to secure United’s first win in four games.

United recovered from their lacklustre start thanks to Zirkzee’s first goal in the Premier League since he netted against Everton in December 2024.

The much-maligned Dutch striker had gone 24 league games without a goal, adding to perception that his £36 million ($47.7million) move from Bologna in 2024 was a bad investment.

Zirkzee, 24, had failed to score in his eight previous appearances dating back to April.

Plagued by injuries, Mount has also struggled since joining United from Chelsea and this was just his second goal this season.

Beaten by Everton’s 10 men at Old Trafford on Monday, United’s first victory since October was a much-needed boost for Amorim.

The fact that is was Palace’s first defeat at Selhurst Park in the Premier League since February 15 underlined the challenge of United’s gritty fightback in freezing south London.

Amorim had said this week that there were “no excuses” for United’s sputtering start to the season after last term’s troubles.

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He will have been relieved to see United dig deep to subdue the FA Cup holders, who have proved a thorn in the side of the Premier League elite since Oliver Glasner took charge.

Casemiro should have given United the lead inside the first 60 seconds after a long-throw caused chaos in the Palace defence, but the Brazilian’s close-range effort was parried by Dean Henderson.

Mateta was equally culpable at the other end, the France striker holding off Leny Yoro before dragging his shot wide with just United keeper Senne Lammens to beat.

Lammens was called into action to save Daichi Kamada’s low drive from the edge of the area before Yoro blocked Yeremy Pino’s goal-bound strike.

United were on the ropes and it was little surprise when Palace took the lead in the 36th minute.

Yoro conceded the penalty with a crude lunge on Mateta, who scored from the spot only to have his goal disallowed for a double-touch as he kicked the ball.

Due to a new rule implemented this season, accidental double-touch penalties are now taken again if the initial kick was successful.

The clarification was made after Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez had a penalty disallowed for kicking the ball twice against Real Madrid last season.

Granted a reprieve, Mateta confidently fired past Lammens again.

Completely anonymous in the first half, Zirkzee was Amorim’s unlikely saviour with the 54th-minute equaliser.

Running onto Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick, Zirkzee controlled on his chest and smashed a brilliant strike across Henderson into the far corner from an almost impossible angle.

Zirkzee nearly found the back of the net at the other end moments after his goal as he inadvertently deflected the ball towards Lammens’ net before it was scrambled to safety.

But United finally had some momentum, and Mount put them ahead in the 63rd minute.

Fernandes tapped a free-kick to Mount, and the former Chelsea midfielder lashed a low drive under the Palace wall and past Henderson from 20 yards.

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Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano hailed Lionel Messi as “extraordinary” after the Argentine superstar steered the club into their first MLS Cup final with a 5-1 thrashing of New York City FC on Saturday.

A Tadeo Allende hat-trick and goals from Mateo Silvetti and Telasco Segovia sent a revitalised Miami roaring into Major League Soccer’s championship game next Saturday at their home field in Fort Lauderdale.

While Messi did not get on the scoresheet, the 38-year-old provided a crucial, classy assist for Miami’s third goal, scored by Silvetti that effectively killed off the game as New York chased an equaliser.

“Leo has accustomed us to the extraordinary,” Mascherano said of his former Barcelona and Argentina team-mate.

“He’s someone extraordinary, someone we’ll never see again. Today, perhaps we’re surprised that he didn’t score, but he gave us peace of mind with the third goal, an assist that only he can see. He practically sealed the game.”

Miami will host the winner of the Western Conference final, which is being played between San Diego FC and Vancouver Whitecaps, later on Saturday.

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Messi and his teammates will head into that game bristling with confidence after another ruthless, high-scoring demolition job that followed on from their 4-0 drubbing of FC Cincinnati in the previous round.

Allende — who scored twice in the victory over Cincinnati — was once again the focal point of the Miami attack.

The 26-year-old Argentine forward opened the scoring in the 14th minute after cleverly springing the New York offside trap and then headed in a superb second to make it 2-0.

New York rallied back with a headed Justin Haak goal in the 37th minute, and came within a whisker of an equaliser when Julian Fernandez forced a fine one-handed save from Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo in the 66th minute.

That near miss was to prove crucial.

Miami immediately swept upfield, and a flowing move saw Rodrigo De Paul and Jordi Alba combine before Messi slipped a pass to Silvetti, who rifled home to make it 3-1.

Segovia then eliminated any doubt with Miami’s fourth in the 83rd minute before Allende completed his hat-trick a minute from time to spark wild celebrations.

The victory leaves Miami just one win away from completing a remarkable transformation after a season that appeared to be unraveling in disarray earlier in the campaign, following after a string of defeats.

“The real credit goes to the players who embraced where we wanted to go,” Mascherano said. “We strengthened as a group and reached the end of the season with a brotherhood within the team, where everyone pulls together, and it doesn’t matter who starts.

“We are a group, and the power of a group is unbreakable.”

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Pep Guardiola accused his much-changed Manchester City team of “playing safe” in their surprise Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

The City manager paid the price for making 10 changes to his starting line-up as the German side won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

Guardiola felt his players were too risk-averse as they slipped to a second successive defeat following last week’s Premier League reverse at Newcastle.

Referring to the Leverkusen defeat, he said: “We didn’t try. In football, when you play on the green, you have to try things, and we didn’t try.”

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He added: “I think they played not to make mistakes, not to play to do something, that is so difficult. In football, you have to play offense, and you have to try… they played to be safe.”

Pep Guardiola, whose team faces struggling Leeds on Saturday, suggested the players who started against Leverkusen had lacked confidence.

“I have a lot of confidence in them, still right now I have a lot,” he said. “I have a huge value in what they are as football players, and that maybe is higher than (they have) themselves.”

City are still without midfielder Rodri for the Leeds game, but Guardiola said the Spanish international would be back soon.

Guardiola’s men are third in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal.

READ: Major update on Palmer’s availability ahead of Arsenal clash

Cole Palmer is fit to start Chelsea’s summit meeting with Premier League leaders Arsenal this weekend after more than two months on the sidelines, manager Enzo Maresca said Friday.

The England forward has not played for the club since September 20 — initially missing with a groin problem before fracturing a toe.

Maresca told his pre-match press conference that Palmer was fit enough to play from the start in Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge.

A win for the second-placed Blues would lift them just three points behind the Gunners at the top of the Premier League.

“Everyone is happy, his teammates are happy, we are all happy, and the most important thing is that Cole is happy because in the end, football players want to play games,” said the Chelsea boss.

Palmer, 23, was Chelsea’s top scorer in the Premier League last season, with 15 goals.

He has made just four appearances in all competitions for the club this season, scoring twice.

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“He is probably our best player,” said Maresca. “We are happy that he is back. Now we need to give him time, you know, to be 100 percent fit.

“But he has done fantastic in the past and no doubt that he is going to do very good for this club in the future.”

Brazilian wonderkid Estevao scored a stunning solo goal in Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, burnishing his reputation.

Maresca admitted pairing Palmer with Estevao, 18, was an exciting prospect.

“Depends against which team, depends a little bit on the game plan, but for sure the fans are excited to watch both together,” he said.

“We also are excited, thinking that at the end we need always balance.”

Maresca, who won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup last season in his first campaign at Chelsea, said his team had made progress over the past year, but it was too soon to predict a title challenge.

“For sure it’s different compared to one year ago, and it’s because we spent one more year together,” he said. “We went through moments where we can learn from that moment. Then again, for me it’s very early.

“We are still at the end of November, December, so it’s very early and it’s important to be where we are now in March, April, and then we see.”

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Arne Slot vowed Thursday to “keep fighting”, saying his conversations with Liverpool’s owners have not changed despite his team’s deep slump.

The Premier League champions were hammered 4-1 at Anfield by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday — their ninth defeat in their past 12 matches in all competitions.

The stands emptied as frustrated fans quit the ground in droves in the latter stages of the match.

Now Liverpool face a trip to rejuvenated West Ham on Sunday, desperate to improve on their position of 12th place in the Premier League table.

Slot, who led Liverpool to the Premier League title last season in his first campaign in charge, said in the aftermath of Wednesday’s defeat, he was confident his job was safe.

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He held a press conference on Thursday, previewing his team’s match at West Ham, who look a different side under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Dutchman was asked at the start of the press conference whether he has spoken to the club’s owners since the PSV game.

“We’ve had the same conversations since I’ve been here,” he said.

“We fight on. And we try to improve, that’s what we all try. But the conversations have been the same as they’ve been for the past one and a half years.”

Slot admitted Liverpool’s standards had slipped, but insisted he did not feel let down by his players.

“We think we can play better than we do,” he said. “But last season, when we did really well, there was a lot of focus on certain individuals, and I always said it should be about the team, and the team makes the individuals look very good.

“And if the opposite is happening, we should also look at the team and not at the individuals.”

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LONDON: Arsenal thumped Bayern Munich 3-1 in a clash of the English and German league leaders on Wednesday at Emirates Stadium to maintain their perfect record in the Champions League this season.

The Gunners dominated the second half after Bayern’s 17-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl cancelled out Jurrien Timber’s opener in the opening period.

Noni Madueke opened his goalscoring account for the Premier League frontrunners to restore their lead, and fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli took advantage of a huge blunder from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

England captain Harry Kane, a former Tottenham player, had a miserable return to London, largely a peripheral figure despite his astonishing goalscoring record for the six-time European champions.

“Look at Bayern Munich this season, they have been the best team in Europe,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.

“This was probably the toughest game tactically we have played this season. The way they work it is so, so good.”

The England man said this season feels different from the previous campaign, when Arsenal again came up short, finishing second in the Premier League for a third straight season.

“There are so many leaders in the team,” Rice added. “We are just taking it one game at a time. There is a hunger and desire to win every game. There is a long way to go — let’s not get carried away.”

Bayern started the match at the Emirates top of the Champions League table, just above the Gunners, with both teams having won four games out of four.

The game took time to come alive, but the Gunners went ahead in the 22nd minute when Timber headed home a Bukayo Saka corner, with a flailing Neuer unable to intercept.

The goal underlined Arsenal’s relentless brilliance from set-pieces.

Eberechi Eze, who scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s 4-1 win against Tottenham, had a glorious chance to double the Gunners’ lead but scuffed his shot wide.

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Arsenal had looked relatively comfortable, but Bayern were back in the game in the blink of an eye in the 32nd minute, courtesy of Karl’s goal.

Joshua Kimmich played a superb diagonal ball that was laid off first time by former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry, and Karl finished confidently past David Raya.

Arsenal were quickly on the front foot in the second half, with Neuer pushing a fierce Saka shot over the bar.

Karl then surged down the right and into the home side’s penalty box, but his weak shot was easily collected by Raya.

As the intensity built, Arsenal’s Mikel Merino failed to connect properly with another dangerous corner before Neuer saved a Cristhian Mosquera header from point-blank range.

Now it was all Arsenal.

Neuer was called into action again, saving with his legs as Rice bore down on him, with Saka unable to turn in the loose ball.

But the pressure finally paid off with just over 20 minutes to go, when Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano played a stray ball that was picked up by substitute Riccardo Calafiori on the left.

He crossed, and fellow substitute Madueke turned the ball home.

There was worse to come for Bayern when Eze sent a long ball over the top, with Neuer well outside his area.

Martinelli’s first touch took him past the stranded goalkeeper, and he had a free run at goal, maintaining his nerve to slot home.

The delirious Arsenal fans taunted Kane with a chant of “Harry, Harry, what’s the score” as they revelled in his misery.

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