Category: Sport News

MILAN: Inter Milan advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League to face Bayern Munich after a 4-1 aggregate victory over Feyenoord in the last 16.

Simone Inzaghi’s squad now has the opportunity to make up for the loss against the German giants after losing four times to two different teams.

Inzaghi met Bayern in this tournament four times, twice with Inter and twice with Lazio, but lost all of them.

Inter midfielder Kristjan Asllani has been suspended for one match after being shown a yellow card in the 2-1 second leg win against Feyenoord.

Inter are currently struggling with injuries to Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco, Piotr Zielinski and Nicola Zalewski.

“It will be a difficult match. I face Bayern along with Inter and Lazio.

“We will fight hard, like we have done so far. We hope everyone can play, I sympathize with Asllani’s yellow card.

“Two players from the youth squad have been called up, they will also help us because at the moment we are short of players,” said Inzaghi.

After leading 2-0 in the first leg, Inzaghi brought on 18-year-old defender Matteo Cocchi and midfielder Thomas Berenbruch, 19, for their first senior debuts.

Marcus Thuram opened the scoring for Inter in the eighth minute of the second leg to make it 3-0 on aggregate, before Jakub Moder reduced the deficit with a 42nd-minute penalty. Hakan Calhanoglu, however, converted a 51st-minute penalty to give Inter a 4-1 aggregate victory.

LONDON: Liverpool must block out players who perform better than Mohamed Salah if they are to overcome Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League.

Ousmane Dembele scored his 18th goal since the beginning of January last Saturday as PSG crushed Lille 4-1.

Previously, the player with the most goals since the start of the 21st century for any club in the top five leagues was held by Lionel Messi, who scored 17 goals for Barcelona in 2016 — after he surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo’s 16 goals for Real Madrid in 2013.

Dembele equalled that record in midweek during PSG’s dominant win over Stade Briochin in the French Cup quarter-finals, in which he scored the final goal of the match.

The France international has been in impressive form, scoring 26 goals in all competitions — an astonishing 21 since December 15.

Salah has scored 30 goals in total, with 14 goals since mid-December.

It sparked Liverpool’s long-awaited clash, sparked by Salah’s inspiration, in the last 16 of the Champions League in Paris early Thursday morning.

Both strikers have made significant contributions to their respective teams’ success this season, both domestically and in European competitions.

The head-to-head clash could have important implications for the Ballon d’Or award race, which looks to be wide open this season.

Dembele enjoyed the best season of his career as PSG trusted him to lead their project after the departure of Kylian Mbappe.

LONDON: Arsenal and Liverpool are now competing to get the services of Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich.

Kimmich’s contract expires this summer and the Bundesliga giants have no plans to renew his contract.

Kimmich is now free to negotiate with other clubs, and several Premier League clubs as well as Barcelona are interested in the German player.

The Gunners are looking to strengthen their midfield with Jorginho, 33, and Thomas Partey, 31, also in the final year of their contracts.

Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is also on the shortlist for a £51 million move to the Emirates.

However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is quite interested in Kimmich’s game, who can also play as a centre-back.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, who also need to strengthen their midfield after failing to do so last summer, are hoping Kimmich can replace England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Barca manager Hansi Flick, who previously coached Kimmich at Bayern, is also interested in signing the player but the La Liga club are still facing financial difficulties.

LIVERPOOL: While Liverpool fans celebrated their victory over Newcastle United at Anfield as if they had won the Premier League, manager Arne Slot and the players were still down to earth.

The Premier League leaders now extend their lead at the top of the league to 13 points over nearest rivals Arsenal, who have played a game less, after a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

“There’s still a long way to go, 10 games, we have the (League Cup) final and two important games against Paris Saint-Germain, so we’re not focused on the long term.

“Now I think the players have two days off, so on Saturday we will come back and focus on Paris Saint-Germain more than on the Premier League standings,” said Slot.

Liverpool, who lead the Champions League standings after eight league matches, head to Paris to face PSG for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday.

Slot’s men have been consistent this season, unbeaten in 27 of their 28 league games.

The victory early this morning was the 32nd in 43 matches in all competitions, the most by a team in Europe’s top five leagues.

The win over Newcastle came courtesy of goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, with Szoboszlai also suggesting it was not time to breathe a sigh of relief.

“After that they (Arsenal) could no longer catch us. We were very happy to be 13 points ahead but we were just focused on ourselves.

“The Champions League game is also waiting for us, so that’s what we need to focus on. We want to stay at the top,” said Szoboszlai.

LONDON: Antony continued his impressive form at Real Betis by scoring against Gent in the Europa Conference League play-off.

The 24-year-old, who failed to make it to Manchester United, joined the Spanish club on loan last month after struggling at Old Trafford.

The Brazilian found the net in his second appearance for Betis against Celta Vigo last weekend, having provided an assist on his debut.

He continued his resurgence by scoring a stunning goal to give his loan side the lead in Belgium earlier this morning.

Less than two minutes after the break, the winger received a pass on the right wing before deflecting a stunning left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the opponent’s goal.

Fans online were quick to comment on Antony’s goal.

One fan said: “United are the ones in trouble.”

While the second criticized: “Now it’s clear United are ruining every player.”

A third fan wrote: “It’s crazy what confidence can do to a player.”

Real Betis chief executive officer Ramon Alcaron admitted his team were interested in signing Antony permanently.

The former Ajax star is under contract at United until June 2027.

MADRID: Barcelona will have to make a deal with Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-finals when Real Madrid meet Real Sociedad.

It is the first time since 2014 that Spain’s top three teams have advanced to the last four, with Real Sociedad also in the group.

Barcelona, ​​who have a record of 31 titles and last lifted the trophy in 2021, are scheduled to host Diego Simeone’s squad for the first leg of the semi-final before visiting their opponents at the Metropolitano stadium.

Atletico, who are second in La Liga and one point ahead of the Catalan giants, last lifted the trophy in 2013 and have won the title 10 times.

Spanish and European champions Real Madrid, who have a record 20 titles, are scheduled to visit San Sebastian for the first leg before hosting Real Sociedad afterwards.

Real Sociedad have only lifted the trophy twice, most recently in the 2020 edition.

The first semi-final is scheduled to take place on February 25 and 26, while the return leg is scheduled for April 1 and 2.

LONDON: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has admitted that winger Alejandro Garnacho has regained his trust after showing a significant improvement since being sidelined in the derby win over Manchester City last December.

In that match, Amorim surprised many when he dropped Garnacho and Marcus Rashford from the squad that won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

However, unlike Garnacho who has recovered and improved his performance, Rashford is still in a period of isolation and has hinted at wanting to leave Old Trafford.

Amorim, on the other hand, stressed that the England star needs to improve his level of play if he wants to return to the team.

Garnacho, 20, proved his commitment when he came on as a substitute and created the assist for Kobbie Mainoo in United’s 2-0 Europa League win over FCSB earlier this morning.

According to Amorim, Garnacho’s change in attitude since being sidelined in the match against City was the main factor in him regaining trust.

“He changed immediately after that match. The way he understood the situation, accepted that I just wanted to help and win the match,” Amorim said.

“He’s changed in everything, the way he talks, the way he recovers after games.”

The former Sporting Lisbon coach also admitted that he often urged Garnacho to be more consistent, in contrast to the approach of former manager Erik ten Hag, who used him more often in the starting lineup.

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record with Al-Nassr after he scored twice in their 3-1 win over Al-Khaleej yesterday.

The victory means his team has jumped to third place in the Saudi Pro League, now with 32 points and in good position to book a place in the AFC Elite Champions League.

However, it is quite far compared to the leader Al-Hilal who is superior with 43 points.

The all-time leading goalscorer scored his 918th and 919th career goals and now has 13 league goals this season, surpassing Al-Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in the race for the golden boot.

Ronaldo, 39, has now completed more than 100 goal contributions for the Saudi Arabian club – 101 in 92 matches, including 83 goals and 18 assists.

While most famous footballers would be happy to make more history, he has no qualms about chasing a single record.

He now only needs 81 goals to become the first player to score 1,000 goals in his career.

Al-Nassr won on the road, helped by Saeed Al-Hamsal’s red card in the 35th minute.

The score was tied without a goal before Ronaldo scored two goals.

Al Khaleej hit back when Konstantinos Fortounis converted a penalty in the 80th minute, before their hopes of a comeback were dashed just a minute later by Sultan Al Ghanam, who scored Al Nassr’s third goal.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim labelled his team the worst in the club’s history after their 10th Premier League defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 3-1 defeat left United in 13th place in the league and heading towards their worst finish in the Premier League era.

Brighton comfortably won and United have now collected just 11 points from a possible 33 since Amorim joined them from Sporting in November. It is the first time since the 1989-90 season that they have lost 10 of their opening 22 league games.

“Imagine how Manchester United fans feel now. Imagine how I feel. We’ve got a new manager who’s lost more than the previous manager (Erik ten Hag). I’m aware of that.

“But I wouldn’t change it for a moment. I know we can succeed, but we have to get through this. I’m not naive and I know we have to get through this.

“We are the worst team, probably, in the history of Manchester United. I know you want the headlines, but I say that because we need to realise that and change it,” said Amorim.

The 20-time English champions have collected just 26 points from 22 games this season. Their worst finish in the Premier League era was eighth place last season.

Amorim said the road ahead for them is getting tougher before the end of the season, with Rangers travelling to Old Trafford for a Europa League match on Thursday before a trip to Fulham for their next Premier League match on Sunday.

United, who were last relegated from the top flight in 1974, have lost six of their first 12 league games at home – their worst record since 1893-94.

The last time United lost 10 of their first 22 games was under Alex Ferguson, who went on to become the club’s greatest manager with 13 English top-flight titles.

LONDON: Arne Slot said the best-performing team, Nottingham Forest “deserves” to be treated as Premier League (EPL) title contenders as he prepared Liverpool for their visit to the City Ground early Wednesday morning.

Third-placed Forest have handed Liverpool their only defeat this season and they can move three points behind the favourites if they win their seventh consecutive game this midweek.

Forest were just outside the relegation zone last season and their current position comes as a huge surprise.

However, Slot, when speaking at the pre-match press conference today, said Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad must be treated like serious contenders.

“I always say the best way to see the league standings is in the middle of the season, and that’s now, so if Forest are with us, with Arsenal, Chelsea, (Manchester) City and all the others, they will definitely be competing with us and the other teams,” said the Dutchman.

“And they deserve to be treated like this if you see the way they play, if you see the results achieved. So it will be very challenging to get a good result tomorrow.”

Forest, who have not conceded a goal in the Premier League since mid-December, beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in September.

Although Slot said it was due to their performance, the result was not a surprise at the time.