وجّه النجم النرويجي إرلينج هالاند، مهاجم مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي، رسالة تهنئة إلى نادي الهلال السعودي، بعد فوز الأخير بنتيجة 4-3 في مواجهة مثيرة جمعت الفريقين ضمن دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025.
وكتب هالاند عبر حسابه الرسمي على منصة “إكس”: “لم تسر الأمور كما أردنا هذه المرة. تهانينا للهلال وأتمنى لهم التوفيق فيما هو قادم”.
جاءت هذه الرسالة في أعقاب الأداء القوي الذي قدمه زعيم آسيا خلال المباراة، والتي شهدت تنافسًا حادًا حتى الدقائق الأخيرة، حيث تمكّن الهلال من إقصاء بطل أوروبا في واحدة من أبرز مفاجآت المونديال.
طالع أيضًا | الهلال السعودي يفقد لاعبه حتى نهاية كأس العالم للأندية
الهلال حسم التأهل بعد نهاية الوقت الأصلي بالتعادل 2-2، قبل أن يسجل هدفين في الأشواط الإضافية مقابل هدف وحيد للسيتي، ليضمن “الزعيم” بطاقة العبور إلى الدور ربع النهائي.
ويستعد الهلال لملاقاة فلومينينسي البرازيلي يوم الجمعة المقبل، 5 يوليو، في مباراة منتظرة تُقام عند الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية.
It’s the third year on the bounce that Mikel Arteta’s side have fought for the Premier League, but instead of Manchester City, it’s Liverpool who, as things stand, look set to pip them to the crown.
The North Londoners haven’t been at their scintillating best for much of the campaign, but they have also been incredibly unlucky with injuries, with their two best attackers, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, out injured.
Worse still, a player the club released as a youngster continues to thrive at the very highest level and has already scored more goals than Saka and Havertz combined.
Havertz and Saka's seasons
So, it would be fair to say that since he moved to Arsenal for £65m in June 2023, Havterz has been a player who has split opinions among fans and pundits alike.
The German international initially joined the club as a midfield option, but halfway through last season, when he was struggling to adapt, Arteta opted to move him up and make him the team’s starting number nine, which was a decision that more than paid off.
By the end of the campaign, the former Chelsea ace had scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 51 games, but eight of those goals and seven of those assists came in just 18 appearances up top, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.2 games.
He hasn’t been quite as clinical this season and has received flak for it, but we’d argue that the Aachen-born marksman has been more effective than people have given him credit for, as in 34 appearances, he’s scored 15 goals and provided five assists, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 1.7 games, and also makes him the club’s top scorer.
From one player who sometimes has as many critics as fans to one who was in simply sensational form prior to his unfortunate hamstring injury: Saka.
In just 24 appearances, totalling 1828 minutes, the Gunners’ “legend in the making,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored nine goals and provided 13 assists, which comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.09 games, or every 83.09 minutes.
In short, Arsenal are in for a serious uphill battle if they are going to overtake Liverpool without these two in the team, which makes the club’s distant decision to release a prolific goalscorer, who has more goals than he pair combined this season, as a child even harder to take today.
The former Arsenal prospect outscoring Saka and Havertz
With a club the size of Arsenal, there will always be incredible youngsters who slip through the gaps, such as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Donyell Malen.
Crystal Palace player Michael Olise
However, we aren’t sure many teams have made the decision to release a player who would end up being as unbelievably talented as Harry Kane.
The England captain was a part of Hale End until he was around 12 years old, when then-academy manager Roy Massey decided to release him, as he didn’t believe the youngster had what was needed to make it in the game.
Harry Kane for England
Now, while the club have since come to regret that decision in a big, big way, it did take about three years for Tottenham Hotspur to swoop in and pick him up after he spent a few weeks on trial with Watford, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Following a number of loans around the Football League, the Walthamstow-born star finally made it into the Lilywhites’ first team and went on to become their all-time top goalscorer, racking up an incredible haul of 280 goals and 61 assists in 435 games before securing a mega-money move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.
The “world-class” centre forward, as dubbed by Harry Maguire, has been just as devastating in Germany, and this season, he has already scored 29 goals and provided ten assists in just 31 appearances, totalling 2459 minutes.
That means he is not only outscoring Havertz and Saka combined, but he’s also averaging 1.25 goal involvements every game, or one every 63.05 minutes, which is utterly outrageous and the sort of output that would surely fire Arteta’s men to the title.
Appearances
31
24
34
Minutes
2459′
1828′
2776′
Goals
29
9
15
Assists
10
13
5
Goal Involvements per Match
1.25
0.91
0.58
Minutes per Goal Involvement
63.05′
83.09′
138.8′
Ultimately, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and Arsenal are blessed with a plethora of incredibly talented players of their own, but a world in which they kept hold of Kane is one that might’ve seen them win a lot more silverware.
An £85m superstar in the making: Arsenal struck gold on "incredible" dynamo
The sensational talent is already a game-changer for Arsenal.
“Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player who was involved in the game told ESPNcricinfo
Shashank Kishore21-Dec-2022The second day of the Ranji Trophy fixture between Railways and Punjab at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi had to be suspended after the surface was deemed “dangerous and unfit for play” by the match officials.As many as 24 wickets had fallen in a little under four sessions of play in just 103 overs; 20 of those went to the seamers. Punjab, who had taken a 12-run first-innings lead after posting 162, were tottering on 18 for 4 in their second innings when play was halted.As the first drinks interval neared on Wednesday, on-field umpires K Madanagopal and Rajeev Godara apprised match referee Youraj Singh of the situation, before both captains – Mandeep Singh (Punjab) and Karn Sharma (Railways) – were spoken to. It was eventually decided that the match would start afresh on Thursday on a new surface, adjacent to the one the game had started on. This means the Elite Group D contest has now effectively been reduced to a two-day fixture. A fresh toss will take place with teams permitted to change their XIs.”They could have repaired the surface and resumed on the third day from where the match was stopped, but the match officials decided to play on a fresh surface,” a Railways team official said. “We were in a fantastic position but will possibly lose out on a chance to win because of this decision.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the ground authorities had wanted to prepare a grassy surface, but early-winter chill and heavy dew had hampered preparations in the lead-up to the game.
“The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot. It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue”
“The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue.”The truncated nature of the contest left both Railways and Punjab with the prospect of going two rounds without an outright result, something that didn’t look like a possibility when play started on Wednesday. Punjab were denied by bad light and had to settle for first-innings honours against Chandigarh in the opening round, while Railways were handed a 194-run loss by Vidarbha despite Karn’s career-best 8 for 38.Surfaces at the Karnail Singh Stadium have come under the scanner in the past too. In 2011, BCCI’s technical committee had put the venue on a watchlist for producing poor pitches.In 2012, it was barred from hosting matches for two years, after the committee had found the local curators to have deliberately left the surface underprepared to help Railways try and force outright results in a bid to progress further in the Ranji Trophy. At the time, Railways had temporarily shifted their home base to Bhubaneswar, before their original home venue was reinstated in 2014.
India put up a fight thanks to some big hitting from Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh, but a chase of 189 proved just beyond them
Ashish Pant17-Dec-2022If her swashbuckling 47-ball 75 on Wednesday wasn’t proof enough that she is well and truly back, Ellyse Perry kicked it up a notch with a classy 72 not out as Australia beat India by seven runs and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match T20I series being played in Mumbai. This, despite a late flourish from Richa Ghosh, who caused a few flutters in the Australia camp in the end.After losing Alyssa Healy to a calf injury and Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath falling cheaply, Australia seemed to be losing their way in the first half of their innings, managing only 73 in their first 11 overs. However, Perry, supported in equal measure by Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris, changed all that and Australia went to the break 188 for 3, their last nine overs yielding an incredible 115 runs.Related
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India's bowlers try and step up in the absence of a bowling coach
India then lost wickets at regular intervals to slip in the chase. However, Harmanpreet Kaur and later Richa provided the hosts with a semblance of chance. Needing 38 to win off the last two overs, Richa smashed two sixes and a four to get the equation down to 20 off six. Deepti Sharma hit a couple more fours, but 189 was too steep a mountain to climb.An injury and two strikes The final total notwithstanding, Australia seemed to be in a spot of bother mid-way through their innings. While Healy started in fifth gear, Mooney struggled with her timing. She only managed a mere 2 off 8 balls before mis-hitting Deepti to mid-on. Healy though remained unfussed. She struck six fours in her 21-ball 30, and just when it seemed to be her night, she sprained her calf muscle and had to retire hurt at the end of the sixth over. McGrath fell soon after and despite Perry smashing the first ball she faced for a six, the India bowlers seemed to be all over the visitors. Australia only managed three boundaries between the seventh and the 11th over, and faced 29 dot balls in the first 11 overs with the run rate less than seven.Perry, Gardner and Harris run riot Soon enough, Australia realised they needed a bit of impetus, and they got it through a Renuka Singh over. Tied down by spin, a change to pace brought about a change in the scoring rate. Perry and Gardner smashed Renuka for three fours in the 12th over, and there was no turning back. Australia collected a boundary at least once every over thereon, with only the 17th going for less than 10 runs.Perry and Gardner added 94 runs off 59 balls for the third wicket. Gardner fell for a 27-ball 42 and her departure summoned even more power in the middle. Harris continued her stellar form smashing four fours and a six in her 12-ball 27 not out. Perry was equally adept in finding the ropes, her innings laced with seven fours and four sixes. Australia tonked 66 runs in the last five overs to reach a more-than-par total.Gardner weaves her magic; Richa makes Australia sweat If India had any shot of overhauling the target, they needed Smriti Mandhana to get going. She started the chase with a four first ball and hit two more in her next five balls as India raced to 21 in the first two overs. McGrath, standing in as captain for the injured Healy, then turned to who else but Gardner. And, the offspinner did not disappoint. She got one to dip and turn on Mandhana outside off, who could only edge it behind to Mooney. Later, she returned to get rid of set Devika Vaidya to finish with excellent figures of 2 for 20.Australia picked up wickets regularly all through. Shafali Verma fell for 20, while Jemimah Rodrigues came and went. Harmanpreet did smoke a few lusty blows during her 30-ball 46, adding 72 runs with Vaidya for the fourth wicket, but once she fell, the target seemed a fair distance away. Richa did manage to make it interesting, though. The 19-year-old walking in with the asking rate in excess of 11, smashed her first two balls for fours. She had a slice of luck when McGrath dropped her on 17, and went about finding the ropes for fun. However, her unbeaten 19-ball 40 proved insufficient on the day.
The midfielder dictated the rhythm of the game as City cruised their way through the semi-final tie and booked yet another date at Wembley
Mateo Kovacic ran the show as Manchester City stormed their way to a third-successive FA Cup final with a dominant 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Rico Lewis gave Pep Guardiola's side a dream start by firing into the bottom corner from the edge of the box in the second minute while Joso Gvardiol powered home a header from a corner shortly after the break to secure victory.
City were making their 28th appearance at the new Wembley and Guardiola pulled some surprises in his starting XI, dropping Kevin De Bruyne and Nico Gonzalez. It proved to be a stroke of genius, though, as Kovacic utterly controlled the game, making the most of the space Forest afforded him due to their sit-and-wait approach which has been so effective this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side barely threatened in the first half, but substitute Anthony Elanga missed an incredible chance to level just after the break, side-footing wide of the near post after a breakaway run from Callum Hudson-Odoi. City then went down the other end and conjured a brilliant move which led to them firing three times at Forest's goal as 'keeper Matz Sels stopped the ball going over the line with his foot.
City had screamed for a penalty for handball, but were only awarded a corner. It proved just as useful, however, as Gvardiol rose high to head in Omar Marmoush's delivery, delivering a sucker punch to Forest. City target Morgan Gibbs-White went on to shake the crossbar with an awesome volley and then hit the post, wasting a golden chance to pull one back after a disastrous pass from Gvardiol.
Forest hit the woodwork for a third time late on, but still City's lead rarely looked troubled as they became the sixth club to reach three straight FA Cup finals. Guardiola's side will be aiming to lift the trophy for an eighth time when they meet Crystal Palace next month.
GOAL rates City's players from Wembley Stadium…
AFP
Goalkeeper & Defence
Stefan Ortega (6/10):
Didn't need to make a save until late in the game when he tipped Gibbs-White's header away. Quick out of his area when he needed to sweep up through balls.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Played intelligently, perhaps lifted by his crucial winner against Aston Villa last time out. Kept the ball well and got in behind the defence a few times.
Ruben Dias (6/10):
Put in a commanding performance at the heart of the defence, keeping Wood quiet all game.
Josko Gvardiol (6/10):
Put his strength to good use in both areas and his brutally powerful header effectively saw off Forest's threat. Loses a mark for his terrible pass to Gibbs-White which he was lucky to see go to waste.
Nico O'Reilly (7/10):
Another strong display in the FA Cup, a competition he has taken by storm and used to establish himself as a regular.
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AFP
Midfield
Rico Lewis (7/10):
Got the ball rolling with a fine finish and nearly got himself a second, too. Helped City cruise through most of the game.
Mateo Kovacic (8/10):
A dominant performance from start to finish, dictating the rhythm of the game. Also teed Lewis up for the opener.
Bernardo Silva (6/10):
His energetic display ensured City had a tight grip on the game, although he largely stayed out of the final third. Made a sloppy pass late in the game leading to short-lived Forest breakaway.
Jack Grealish (5/10):
Played a supporting role, helping tick things over without doing anything remarkable. The first player to make way, coming off for Gundogan in the 71st minute.
AFP
Attack
Omar Marmoush (7/10):
Delivered the perfect ball for Gvardiol to head in the second. Had freedom to get at Forest's defence and caused them plenty of headaches.
Savinho (6/10):
Didn't exactly terrorise Forest with his usual trickery but kept them on their toes until making way for Foden.
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Subs & Manager
Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):
Continued City's strong grip on the game.
Phil Foden (N/A):
Had some nice touches in and around the area after coming on in the 81st minute.
Jeremy Doku (N/A):
Ran at Forest on a couple of occasions to limit how much they could throw at City in the final stages of the game.
Nico Gonzalez (N/A):
An 89th-minute substitute.
Pep Guardiola (8/10):
His starting XI was surprising when it landed, but it soon made sense as City dominated the game and ensured Forest rarely stood a chance.
Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo continues to "brighten up every game" and remains capable of scoring "amazing goals", claims Paulo Sergio.
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Showing no sign of slowing downGOAT status already securedRemains a source of inspirationFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has earned all-time great status as a result of his ability to illuminate almost any contest that he graces. A remarkable career has taken him from Sporting to Saudi Arabia via Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
At 40 years of age, CR7 is showing no sign of slowing down. He has hit 32 goals through 36 appearances for Al-Nassr this season and continues to chase down 1,000 in total before any thought is given to retirement.
WHAT PAULO SERGIO SAID
Fellow Portuguese Paulo Sergio, who is also in the Saudi Pro League as manager of Al-Okhdood, remains in awe of Ronaldo. He has told : “Cristiano is a flag bearer for the championship. He drives all the marketing around this league, gives it a lot of visibility and continues to score amazing goals and brighten up every game he takes part in.”
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Ronaldo helped to break down barriers when moving to the Middle East in 2023, with Paulo Sergio impressed with how quickly the Saudi league has developed since his previous stint with Al Taawoun in 2019. He added: “At the time, it was already a championship with a lot of good players. Now, with permission to play with eight foreigners and with a very strong investment in football, it is a well thought out and structured project. Top-notch players are coming here, who would certainly be playing in the best championships in Europe.”
On Sunday, the Sky Blues smashed Ipswich Town 6-0 at Portman Road; Phil Foden bagging a brace, while Mateo Kovačić, Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee were all also on target in Suffolk.
This is Man City’s joint-most emphatic top-flight away victory of all-time, previously hammering Watford 6-0 in September 2017, a scoreline that sees them move up to fourth on goal difference, above Newcastle, unbeaten in six across all competitions ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain.
Off the field too, the Citizens continue to be busier than any other club this January window, set to complete the signings of Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush this week, costing a combined £120m.
But their spending is not done yet, with Pep Guardiola looking to bolster his midfield options too.
Manchester City looking to re-sign midfielder
According to a report by David Ornstein of the Athletic, Manchester City are “considering” re-signing Douglas Luiz on loan for the remainder of the season, while Juventus are only willing to sanction such a deal if an “obligation to buy” is included.
Luiz only joined la Vecchia Signora from Aston Villa as recently as last summer for a reported £42.5m, with Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior moving in the opposite direction to Villa for a reported £18m, as the Villans aimed to avoid a potential PSR breach.
However, as described by Adam Digby of Forbes, Luiz’s time at Juventus has gone disastrously, with the front page of Gazzetta dello Sport labelling him ‘a flop’ as early as October.
This came after the most high-profile of his missteps, giving away a penalty for handball mere seconds after being introduced as a substitute against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, spared further scrutiny because ten-man Juve scored twice late on to snatch victory in Saxony.
In total, Luiz has seen just 474 minutes of action in a Bianconeri shirt, that’s little over 18% of their total minutes, coming on for the final 15 minutes against both Atalanta and AC Milan this week, but Thiago Motta clearly does not view him as a key figure.
Both his former club Aston Villa as well as Nottingham Forest have reportedly shown an interest in securing Luiz’s services, but surely Man City would be at the front of the queue if he were to return to the Premier League.
How Douglas Luiz would improve Manchester City
The Brazilian actually spent two seasons on Man City’s books, signing from Vasco da Gama for a reported £10m in 2017, but he never made an appearance for the Sky Blues, spending two seasons on loan at Girona, making 46 appearances for another club owned by City Football Group, before being sold to Aston Villa in 2019 for £15m.
During his time at Villa, Content Strategy Consultant Adam Gilks described Luiz as “one of the best sixes in the Premier League”, impressed by his “great vision and… fantastic work rate”.
This sale included a 20% sell on clause, which proved to be a nice little earner for the Citizens last summer, while Man City also had a buy-back clause that Jake Bayliss of the Manchester Evening News believes “expired in 2021”, emphasising that the four-in-a-row Premier League champions have long thought Luiz was capable of playing for their first team one day. However, that could well be set to change in 2025.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
As has been widely documented, Manchester City’s downturn in form this season has primarily been due to Rodri’s ACL injury suffered against Arsenal in September, with Guardiola describing the reigning Ballon d’Or winner as “irreplaceable”.
İlkay Gündoğan and Kovačić are doing their best to fill Rodri’s enormous void, the Croatian starting 12 of the 17 Premier League matches since the Spaniard’s injury, including each of the last six, but the duo clearly need help, so let’s see how Luiz and Kovačić compare.
Appearances
74
80
Minutes
4,854
5,194
Goals
9
8
Assists
10
2
Attempted passes
3,156
3,362
Pass completion %
85.9%
93.5%
Touches
3,527
3,737
Tackles
86
90
% of dribblers tackled
50.6%
50.6%
Interceptions
30
44
Blocks
41
44
Clearances
32
26
Ball recoveries
246
174
% of aerial duals won
58.5%
57.1%
As the table shows, Luiz is much more of a goal threat than Kovačić, albeit that isn’t what Man City are looking for from a midfield addition this month.
More pertinently, Luiz and Kovačić are comparable when it comes to passes, pass accuracy and all the out-of-possession metrics, tackles, interceptions and blocks, with the Brazilian ranking higher for ball recoveries as well as aerial duals won.
This is impressive considering Villa finished 21 points below Man City last season, while Luiz has seen very little action since swapping Birmingham for Turin, with these numbers suggesting he’d slot into the Sky Blues’ team seamlessly, eight years after first joining the club.
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Chelsea are emerging as the main contenders to sign a new midfielder after reaching out to his club, and it is believed the west Londoners have been considering a deal for more than 12 months.
Chelsea working on new centre-back for January
Despite the odd report linking Enzo Maresca’s side with a new striker, the consensus is that Chelsea are prioritising a new centre-back in January.
Fabrizio Romano – Chelsea chiefs debate January deal for £50k-per-week star
The Blues are working on a potential winter signing.
ByEmilio Galantini Jan 7, 2025
Injuries to Wesley Fofana, who could be out for the rest of the Premier League season, and Benoit Badiashile have cut Maresca’s central defensive options in half – with there being many reported targets on Chelsea’s shortlist.
Tomas Araujo [Benfica], Antonio Silva [Benfica], Ousmane Diomande [Sporting], Illia Zabarnyi [Bournemouth] and Dean Huijsen [Bournemouth] are all centre-backs being considered by Chelsea, according to reliable journalist Simon Phillips, but perhaps the most headline-grabbing one of them all is former player Marc Guehi.
Bournemouth (home)
January 14
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)
January 20
Man City (away)
January 25
West Ham (away)
February 3
Brighton (away)
February 14
The Crystal Palace stalwart, fresh off the back of an incredible 2024, is being eyed by Chelsea as an option for the club before February 3, even if a deal is described as difficult to do.
Chelsea chiefs have been internally debating a January deal for Guehi, according to Fabrizio Romano, but it is unclear just how much Palace will demand for the England international after rejecting a £65 million bid from Newcastle in the summer.
The 24-year-old has 18 months left on his deal at Selhurst Park, so perhaps Palace chairma Steve Parish could be forced to sell for a cheaper fee if Guehi pushes for a return to Stamford Bridge.
As rumours surround the potential arrival of Guehi, there are suggestions that Chelsea are considering a loan recall for Trevoh Chalobah as well, so Palace face the very real possibility of losing at least one defender this month.
Meanwhile, in terms of other positions, TEAMtalk report that Chelsea have looked at a January deal for River Plate sensation Franco Mastantuono.
Chelsea moving into pole position to sign Mastantuono
The teenager is fast earning a reputation as “one of the world’s best upcoming young stars”, as per TT, and he’s been in Chelsea’s sights for over a year.
Chelsea have been in contact with River Plate over signing Mastantuono in that period, and Maresca’s side are entering pole position for the Argentine ahead of other interested clubs.
Franco Mastantuono for River Plate
However, while they’ve entertained the possibility of bringing the 17-year-old to west London as soon as this month, they will have to wait until the summer as things stand.
Mastantuono’s deal includes a unique release clause, currently set at around £38 million, but it is set to increase as January goes on. The clause could go as high as £43 million, and this has apparently prompted Chelsea to stall on moving for him until later in 2025.
In any case, TT state that Chelsea are “working hard” on his signing, as BlueCo carry on their trend of cherry-picking world football’s hottest emerging talents.
أعلن المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة، هانز فليك، عن قائمة اللاعبين الذين سيخوضون مباراة إنتر ميلان في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.
ويلتقي برشلونة وإنتر ميلان مساء اليوم في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “مونتجويك” بقيادة الحكم الفرنسي، كليمون توربين.
وشهدت قائمة برشلونة عدم تواجد مارك أندريه تير شتيجن رغم عودته للفريق والتدريبات الجماعية، بل وكان يجلس على مقاعد البدلاء في مباراة ريال مدريد الأخيرة في نهائي كأس ملك إسبانيا.
بجانب غياب روبرت ليفاندوفسكي بسبب الإصابة التي تعرض لها في مباراة برشلونة وسيلتا فيجو في الدوري الإسباني.
اقرأ أيضًا.. موندو: ريال مدريد بدد حلم لابورتا مع برشلونة في دوري أبطال أوروبا
🚨 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐎̀𝐑𝐈𝐀🚨#BarçaInter | @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/KTneZjQYpc — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) April 30, 2025
Newcastle United are now keen on signing a “special” Premier League forward with 10 goals to his name this season, according to a report.
Newcastle on the rise
After enduring an inconsistent start to the season, Newcastle finally look like they could be putting a run together, winning their last four matches in all competitions, culminating in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
The Magpies are now pushing for a top-four spot, and with the January transfer window just around the corner, it could be the perfect opportunity to strengthen their ambitions of reaching the Champions League for the second time under Eddie Howe.
Having missed out on Marc Guehi in the summer, one of Howe’s priorities this winter appears to be signing a new centre-back, and Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov is thought to be the number-one target.
A proposal has been sent to Barcelona regarding Eric Garcia, while Newcastle are also leading the race for Milan’s Fikayo Tomori, highlighting the strong desire to strengthen the defence in the January transfer window.
Fixture
Date
Manchester United (a)
December 30th
Tottenham Hotspur (a)
January 4th
Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)
January 15th
AFC Bournemouth (h)
January 18th
Southampton (a)
January 25th
Although the defence is a priority, a new report has now revealed that Howe also has his eye on a forward, with The Boot Room detailing that Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha is now a target.
However, there may be stiff competition for Cunha’s signature, amid interest from a number of other big Premier League clubs, namely Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Clubs from the Saudi Pro League are also keen, with the player’s camp very much aware of the widespread interest.
Although Wolves have struggled for much of the current season, the 25-year-old is not expected to push for a move this winter, with the Old Gold hoping to tie him down to a new contract.
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ByHenry Jackson Dec 24, 2024 Cunha impressing for Wolves
Although it appears unlikely the Brazilian will be on the move in January, he could be a fantastic signing in the summer given how impressive he has been in the Premier League so far this season.
The £60k-p/w Wolves star has 10 goals to his name already this term, most recently getting on the scoresheet and bagging an assist in the Boxing Day 2-0 victory against Man United.
Matheus Cunha
New manager Vitor Pereira praised the forward in the wake of his performance, saying: “He is a special player. He can do things that can make the difference in small details.
“Matheus Cunha is a player, in my opinion, who can reach high standards in this league. I hope not [elsewhere] because we need him.”
With doubts over Alexander Isak’s future amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle may be forced to strengthen their attacking options this summer, and Cunha has proven he could be up to the task.