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Man City’s Kyle Walker vows to make Champions League final after injury scare
Man City’s Kyle Walker vows to make Champions League final after injury scare
Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker has played down fears he could miss the Champions League final with a back injury. The England international did not feature in an open training session on Tuesday as City continued preparations for Saturday’s clash with Inter Milan in Istanbul. The 33-year-old looked in discomfort as he was substituted in the final minute of City’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United at Wembley. But Walker was one of a number of players made available for media interviews later on Tuesday and he insisted the problem was not serious. “I’m fine, I’m just getting old,” he told Sky Sports News. “I’m completely fine, it’s just an extra day of recovery. “I’ve played a lot of minutes over the last number of weeks so the manager said, ‘Just stay inside and come Saturday you will be raring to go’. “I’m fine, the minutes that I’ve played when everyone else was injured, I was there digging my heels in and getting through it. I won’t be missing the Champions League final for anything.” Manager Pep Guardiola also said Walker’s absence from training was only precautionary. “He has had a disturbance in his back,” said Guardiola at a press conference. “Yesterday he was not good, today he was a little bit better but we didn’t want to take any risks. We will see what happens in the next days.” City are bidding to win the Champions League for the first time and complete a glorious treble after their Premier League and FA Cup successes this season. They are also looking to erase the memory of their painful loss to Chelsea in the 2021 final. As three-time winners, Inter boast the greater European pedigree but City will go into the match as firm favourites against the side that finished third in Serie A this term. Guardiola, however, insists what has happened in the past – and even current form – counts for little now. He said: “It’s really good to travel in a few days to Istanbul. We go together and it is a dream to be here. “Two years ago we were there but in different situations with Covid. For history, they are better than us but it is about what you have to do to be better than the opponent in 95 minutes Pep Guardiola “We’re going to try to do our best and we know the final is how you behave in that specific 95 minutes, not history. “For history, they are better than us but it is about what you have to do to be better than the opponent in 95 minutes. “It doesn’t count what you have done in the group stages or the Premier League or the FA Cup. We have to be better than them.” Guardiola is comfortable with the tag of favourites. “We are used to it,” he said. “Why should it be more dangerous? Accept the role and go out there knowing the quality of the opponents. We accept what people say, no problem.” City’s form in the latter part of the season, when they reeled in Arsenal to win the Premier League and powered past Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to reach this weekend’s showpiece, has been outstanding. Guardiola acknowledges confidence is high in the City squad but insists there will be no complacency. He said: “It is a final against a top team and we have to do it. We are confident, I’m so optimistic, but at the same time I cannot deny the quality of the opponent. “I have never done that and especially not in the final of the Champions League.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Merger of golf’s warring factions sends shockwaves through sport London Irish suspended as takeover deal collapses London Irish’s highs and lows as the club face suspension
2023-06-07 02:55
ChiefsAholic's Attorney Gives Very Sporty Quote About Innocence of His Client
ChiefsAholic's Attorney Gives Very Sporty Quote About Innocence of His Client
VIDEO: ChiefsAholic's attorney speaks.
2023-08-22 03:48
Manchester United v Man City LIVE: Premier League team news and line-ups as Jonny Evans starts
Manchester United v Man City LIVE: Premier League team news and line-ups as Jonny Evans starts
Manchester United host Manchester City in the Premier League today for the 191st derby between the two rivals. Erik ten Hag’s side have won three games on the bounce after league victories over Brentford and Sheffield United as well as that dramatic last-gasp victory over Copenhagen in the Champions League in midweek. None of those wins were particularly convincing, however, and United fans might be nervous about the prospect of facing the treble winners after such a shaky start to the season. Then again, City haven’t been quite at their best in recent weeks either, with defeats by Wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League, although they bounced back from that loss at the Emirates earlier this month with wins over Brighton and Swiss side Young Boys. Pep Guardiola has said that the derby is always “special” but played down the significance of this one result on the title race, as City chase early pace-setters Tottenham. Follow all the latest updates from the Manchester derby below, and get all the latest football betting sites offers here. Read More Why is Manchester United vs Man City kicking off at an ‘unusual’ time? Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant Erik ten Hag has abandoned his ideals – and it might help United win the Manchester derby
2023-10-29 22:47
Q&A with Kahleah Copper: Gatorade, 3-point shooting and the new Chicago Sky
Q&A with Kahleah Copper: Gatorade, 3-point shooting and the new Chicago Sky
Over the WNBA offseason, the Chicago Sky lost several of the most decorated players in franchise history. Luckily, they still had Kahleah Copper.This was supposed to be a down season for the Chicago Sky, after legendary stars Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker left in free agency and guard Al...
2023-07-13 23:21
Deion Sanders completely downplays Michigan cheating scandal
Deion Sanders completely downplays Michigan cheating scandal
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders weighed in on the Michigan cheating scandal and, unlike many, doesn't actually seem to care.
2023-10-26 01:28
Luis Diaz makes first public statement since kidnapping of parents
Luis Diaz makes first public statement since kidnapping of parents
Luis Diaz takes to social media to share the message "free him now" as authorities in Colombia continue to search for his missing father. He was abducted over the weekend by armed gunmen in the town of Barrancas.
2023-11-02 01:16
Shilo Sanders Ejected On Questionable Targeting Call
Shilo Sanders Ejected On Questionable Targeting Call
VIDEO: Shilo Sanders' targeting ejection against UCLA.
2023-10-29 09:45
Ons Jabeur gets consoled by Princess Kate after a loss at Wimbledon made her 0-3 in Slam finals
Ons Jabeur gets consoled by Princess Kate after a loss at Wimbledon made her 0-3 in Slam finals
Ons Jabeur says her defeat in the Wimbledon final was the most painful loss of her career
2023-07-16 01:25
Shohei Ohtani takes note of Seattle crowd asking for him to call Northwest home
Shohei Ohtani takes note of Seattle crowd asking for him to call Northwest home
Shohei Ohtani was the biggest star of the All-Star Game even if his appearance was rather uneventful
2023-07-12 12:59
Golden generation Dutch keeper Jongbloed dies aged 82
Golden generation Dutch keeper Jongbloed dies aged 82
Former Netherlands goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed, who played in two World Cup finals, has died after a long illness aged 82, according to the Dutch football...
2023-08-31 21:28
Live updates | Rain and wind greet Day 2 of British Open
Live updates | Rain and wind greet Day 2 of British Open
Goodbye, sun
2023-07-21 15:45
The Sam Kerr mystery is over and Australia are World Cup contenders again
The Sam Kerr mystery is over and Australia are World Cup contenders again
Incredibly, there was another level of noise for the crowd of over 75,000 at the Olympic Stadium to reach. The loudest roar of the night came when Australia were already through. Leading Denmark by two goals, the Women’s World Cup and its co-hosts got the moment they had been waiting for. Sam Kerr, the face of the tournament, had finally arrived. Ruled out of the group stages due to injury, Kerr got her first minutes of the World Cup as the Matildas stood with one foot already in the quarter-finals. With the game won and Denmark well beaten, Kerr’s touches were inconsequential; that her only shot from the angle flashed over the bar did not matter. But Australia have their star back, the final piece for a team who are delivering for their country and are growing with the competition. Kerr’s introduction came moments after Hayley Raso had sent the home crowd into a frenzy, doubling Australia’s lead with a crisp finish from another clinical counter-attack. The crowd in Sydney had been electric when Australia attacked, a rolling wave of noise that grew from Caitlin Foord’s sublime opening goal. Nothing, though, could compare to the welcome Kerr received and what it represented for a team who are starting to believe they are contenders again. For so long at this World Cup, Kerr had been forced to watch on as a kind of mascot: the star who could not play. A calf injury had cruelly ruled the Chelsea star out of Australia’s opening game, an absence that grew to three matches as the Matildas were forced to find a way to survive the group stage without their leader. But Australia’s performance in thrashing Canada 4-0 also ensured that Kerr did not need to be used. Once again without Kerr, this time in the last-16, their display against Denmark meant the game was won when she finally arrived. Because with Kerr sidelined, Australia have managed to adjust, instead becoming a different side entirely. It clicked against Canada, a 4-0 win that not only saved their World Cup but sparked their tournament into life. Players who looked lost without Kerr were suddenly released, and they have now grown with the responsibility. Foord was outstanding once again against Denmark, a constant, driving threat on Australia’s left. She was released for the opening goal by the brilliant Mary Fowler, the 20-year-old who excelled as she manipulated the space between the lines, while Raso scored again with another clinical finish. Suddenly Australia now have goal threats across the front line, with the best striker in the world still to add against either France or Morocco in the quarter-finals. “It’s the icing on the cake,” beamed the Australia manager Tony Gustavsson, but Kerr also returns to a team who have changed in her absence and where actually she isn’t guaranteed a start in the quarter-final given how the side has performed. Australia now have multiple goalscorers and other players have taken some of the weight off her shoulders. “It’s a massive boost,” Foord said. “For other teams looking ahead, it’s pretty scary for them that she’s back with us.” The question now, though, is how and when Kerr returns to the starting line-up, and who drops out. Without Kerr, Australia have settled on a 4-4-2 system that is devastating on the counter-attack, an unassuming loaded gun of formation that is built to spring into life on the break. In the atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium, this sort of gritty, counter-punching team, willed on by a wall of sound, looks so dangerous. Foord fits it superbly. A forward with guts and spirit and as well as skill, who has found her confidence since her underwhelming opening displays against Ireland and Nigeria, she was Australia’s player of the match for the second match in a row. She was released by Fowler’s stunning turn and pass for the opener: Foord, with so much time in which to find the finish, kept her head to bury the shot through the legs of Lene Christensen. Australia’s second was also played out to the soundtrack of a team crashing forwards. The break developed on the left, with Kyra Cooney-Cross’ overlapping run from midfield. Emily van Egmond laid it back to Raso, a player who has found her scoring touch. The finish was fired low into the corner for her third goal of the World Cup. Kerr had called to warm-up only a couple of minutes earlier, the excitement rippling around the stadium, yet Australia did not need her really. This was a composed and confident performance, entirely measured, and avoiding the sort of draining emotional energy that accompanied England’s penalty shootout victory over Nigeria earlier in the day. Denmark barely threatened after going behind. Their early chances invariably came through Pernille Harder, their roaming menace who Denmark are just unable to support. Harder went through twice in the opening stages - driving at a retreating Australia defence, first she went to the outside and shot wide, before then ducking inside and firing straight at Mackenzie Arnold. On both counts she knew she should have done better. Denmark were largely forgotten about here as the hosts cruised through and the Kerr mystery was solved. The theories that the extent of Kerr’s injury was being covered up would have grown when she only watched on during Australia’s warm-up, wearing her boots but wrapped under a heavy coat that did not come off. At half time she was not among the players loosening up on the pitch. But for Australia, getting Kerr back was the final step of a tournament that has been defined by their reaction to overcome challenges. After the chaos of the group stage, where they stood on the brink of an early exit, there was finally a comfortable win. This is a team who are galvanised, coming together, and just at the right time. Read More England survive penalty drama to reveal vital quality in Women’s World Cup dream Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Chloe Kelly: England’s woman for the biggest occasion strikes again A timeline of Donald Trump’s spat with Megan Rapinoe How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card?
2023-08-07 22:30