List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Erling Haaland’s brilliant brace helped Manchester City kick off their quest for an unprecedented fourth straight top-flight title with victory at promoted Burnley. Just two months on from winning the Champions League to become the second treble winners in English football history, Pep Guardiola’s men returned to competitive action with a bang at Turf Moor. Star man Haaland’s excellent first-half double and a close-range Rodri effort did the damage as City ran out 3-0 winners in the Premier League curtain raiser at Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. The 23-year-old frontman swept the visitors ahead 184 seconds into the new campaign and, with his side having lost skipper Kevin De Bruyne to injury, struck a stunning second off the underside of the bar. That display was not enough to avoid being chided by Guardiola as the teams made their way off at half-time, with the City boss pushing away a TV camera as he berated the striker. Rodri completed the scoring and Burnley substitute Anass Zaroury received a contentious late red card, with Community Shield runners-up City now turning their attention to Wednesday’s Super Cup clash against Sevilla. Both sets of players took the knee before kick-off and initial boos were drowned out by cheers at Turf Moor, where the hosts were behind after just three minutes and four seconds. De Bruyne took a short corner and, following a couple of passes, lifted a cross to the far post, where Rodri headed back across goal for Haaland to direct home impressively. It was a gut punch that De Bruyne tried to add to from distance, but the champions of the Championship stuck to Kompany’s principles. Burnley penalty appeals fell on deaf ears when Zeki Amdouni went down under pressure from Manuel Akanji before Luca Koleosho missed the target after fine, composed build-up. Amdouni wriggled free to get a shot on Ederson’s goal as Burnley continued to threaten City, whose youngster Rico Lewis was hit by an object thrown from the stands. The Lancashire club later confirmed the individual responsible had been identified and removed from the ground by police and now faces a banning order. Lewis was all right to continue, but De Bruyne soon had to leave the field. The skipper recently returned from a hamstring injury and, seemingly out of nothing, signalled to the bench that he had felt something, leading to Mateo Kovacic’s introduction. Burnley quickly attempted to capitalise. Amdouni was stopped by Rodri before the midfielder saw a pass cut out and Lyle Foster bent narrowly wide. But the hosts’ hopes of a comeback were short-lived as Haaland scored an incredible second in the 36th minute. Kyle Walker raced down the right and cut back to Julian Alvarez, who laid off for the Norwegian sharpshooter to sweep a first-time strike in off the underside of the bar. Haaland may have been on course for a hat-trick, but something had upset Guardiola, who pulled him back and scolded him before pushing the away a camera. The striker remained on as the visitors began the second half on top, with James Trafford – signed from City in the summer – tipping over a Rodri effort from distance and then saving a header from the Champions League final matchwinner. Alvarez fired off target after a show of strength by Haaland before City struck a third in the 75th minute as the match appeared to be petering out. Burnley failed to effectively clear a crossed free-kick and Rodri lashed home from five yards after Nathan Ake was blocked out. Alvarez saw a shot blocked before Josko Gvardiol came on for his City debut, with Haaland booed by the Burnley faithful when withdrawn as part of a triple City change. Guardiola made a point of getting up to give Haaland a warm greeting after their earlier exchange. Stewards reacted quickly as a fan attempted to get on the pitch towards the end of a night that had seen Burnley impress against mightily tough opposition. Things got worse for the promoted Clarets. Substitute Zaroury was sent off in stoppage time after his tackle on Walker was judged serious foul play after referee Craig Pawson watched the incident back on the VAR’s instruction. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Anthony Joshua focused only on Robert Helenius amid Deontay Wilder speculation Harry Kane arrives in Germany to seal Bayern Munich move Ally Ewing out to emulate Brian Harman with Open win

Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged it will not be for him to decide what constitutes success in his debut season as Chelsea manager ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool. The Argentinian will be the fifth coach to lead the team in a Premier League match since Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium bought the club last May and is tasked with picking up the pieces of a disastrous campaign that saw Chelsea finish 12th last season. As with Boehly’s first two transfer windows, there has been a significant turnover of players this summer, with 10 first-team players released or sold and a further six brought in. That flux has been a feature of the American’s time at the helm, with a sweeping clearout of both playing staff and personnel behind the scenes during his first 12 months in control. The previous manager appointed by the ownership, Graham Potter, was sacked just seven months and 31 games into a five-year contract, with the club insisting up until days before he was removed that his job was safe. Pochettino pointed to the path taken by three of Chelsea’s Premier League rivals – Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool – all of whom had to wait for success to arrive under their current managers. Since their appointments, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta have helped their respective clubs recover from states of relative uncertainty, but the Chelsea coach accepted it will ultimately not be up to him whether he is afforded the same window of time. “I celebrate that these managers can be in place for a long period,” he said. “I was explaining my situation in Paris St Germain and how I knew that we weren’t going to be there the next season (after losing to Real Madrid in 2021), because it was all about winning the Champions League. “It was difficult, because it was a different pressure. We knew about that. I’m not going to complain. We need to work and then it’s not my decision if Chelsea want to be in a similar situation like Liverpool or Arsenal or Manchester City. “I need to work, we need to give our best. Then if the owner is happy with us, then everyone is happy. But it’s not my decision. “But I celebrate when I see coaches like Arteta, Klopp and Pep have a very good run, a nice process at the same club, even when they finish a cycle and they have the opportunity to restart the cycle. “There’s no doubt they are fantastic coaches, it’s only that sometimes you need to renew the team. If they believe in you, fantastic.” Pochettino was asked whether he agreed with the impression of Chelsea as a club in chaos that had been created by a tumultuous last year. The team’s league finish was their worst since 1994, while their goal return was the lowest by a Chelsea side in almost a hundred years. Eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester City in the third round, they were soundly beaten over two legs by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, an exit confounded by Boehly’s ill-judged declaration that the team would beat the then-European champions 3-0. He was also criticised for entering the dressing room to address the players after defeats, most notably immediately after the loss to Brighton in April when he described the season as “embarrassing”. “If that (chaos) is the impression people have on social media or the fans or people outside of Chelsea, then we need to change the impression,” said Pochettino. “My impression from the outside was that this is a club with the capacity to win. “We talk about Chelsea and Manchester United in the last 10, 15 years. Winning the Premier League, the Champions League. That was my (view). We need to create a different vision and for people to trust the club again Mauricio Pochettino “But of course, (there has been) a difficult situation for the people here, for the fans, for the players, when there is a big change. They need time to settle here. People need time to settle in a big club like this. “For me now it’s about work. We need to create a different vision and for people to trust the club again, to get the result and to try to play good football for the fans. We are selling entertainment. “(The owners) didn’t say to me, ‘If you don’t win the Premier League, we will sack you’. What I want to achieve is everything. To fight for the three competitions we are going to play, the Premier League and the cups. “We need to create this good environment for the players to perform in the best way and then I’m not going to spend energy thinking, ‘If we don’t achieve this…’. “After many years working in different clubs, I’m more relaxed, more mature, more experienced. We’ve improved a lot. One of things we’ve improved in is to be more relaxed. It’s not to think too much when you cannot affect the decision of the people.”

The bad news keeps on coming for the New York Yankees, as another member of the starting rotation is heading back to the injured list.The New York Yankees' 2023 season is only getting worse in terms of news. The team's strength was supposed to be their starting rotation. But, Carlos Ro...

Running back Kareem Hunt's free agency tour continues, as he's scheduled to visit with an NFC North team.Training camp is underway, and teams are ready to play in their first preseason games this week. Even so, there are still some big-name players left in free agency, looking for an o...

Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt owner of local sports channels, is racing to formulate a Chapter 11 exit

Chiefs rumors: Former Super Bowl champion signs with the enemyThe Kansas City Chiefs have gotten under the skin of their AFC West counterparts because they were able to win the division title in each of the past seven seasons. Not to mention, three trips to the Super Bowl and two Lombardi Trophies...

Ron DeSantis didn't get the reaction he was looking for from a big line in his speech.

NFL Rumors: Ravens, J.K. Dobbins working on an extension?Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins is currently on the PUP list as he recovers from a knee injury, but could a contract extension be in order for the 24-year-old?It's a well-known fact that the running back market is ice col...

The first preseason game for the Seahawks is in the books and its already clear that three players are heading for the chopping block.The Seahawks opened the 2023 preseason with an encouraging win over the Vikings, 24-13. There were plenty of standouts to warrant praise but always remember that ...

Kevin Brown breaks his silence on Orioles suspension.

Chelsea are close to finalising a £55m agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Romeo Lavia. Liverpool are also interested in the midfielder.

Tottenham’s record goal-scorer Harry Kane has landed in Germany to complete his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kane’s transfer to the Bundesliga champions was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night. It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands. Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport. Kane landed at his soon-to-be new home city on Friday night to complete his medical ahead of a landmark move. Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen. “From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry. “From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway. “But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry. “It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes. “I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.” Kane faces a race against time to officially sign early enough to feature in Bayern’s DFL-Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night. However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, England captain Kane could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off, even if the paperwork is not completed in time. This is not the first summer in which Kane’s future has dominated headlines after Manchester City had a failed pursuit in 2021. Kane sat out the first match of that season – coincidentally against City – but Pep Guardiola’s side never got close to agreeing a fee with Tottenham for the forward. With Kane now into the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, speculation over his future this time always felt more significant. Bayern saw bids reportedly turned down in June and July but made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about Kane’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions. A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday. With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team. But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after Kane took his time to weigh up the decision, he decided it was the right time to end his 19-year stay at Spurs. It means Kane’s pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal-scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260. He will leave N17 as the club’s leading marksman after he surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ 266-goal record in February with the winner against Manchester City. Kane will also get the chance to fulfil his career-long ambition of winning trophies at Bayern, while remaining in the Champions League. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane, but he was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Liepzig. Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal. “I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that. “This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘One step at a time’ – Anthony Joshua shuts out Deontay Wilder comparisons Ally Ewing out to emulate Brian Harman with Open win ‘Honorary Welshwoman’ Shabnim Ismail brings international spirit to Welsh Fire