List of All Articles with Tag 'football'

Jurgen Klopp accepts change at Liverpool was inevitable as he urged his “reloaded” side to find their own way ahead of the start of their Premier League campaign. Liverpool saw captain Jordan Henderson and fellow midfielder Fabinho leave for the Saudi Pro League for a combined £52million, while Roberto Firmino and James Milner also departed Anfield this summer. Virgil van Dijk will skipper the side this season as Liverpool try to rebound from last season’s fifth-place finish, which left them outside the Champions League places for the first time since 2015-16. The Reds have signed World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai, while Klopp expects a number of youngsters to bloom following the departures of a few big personalities. Klopp said: “We don’t have to always say ‘Milner would have said that and Henderson would have said that and Firmino would have smiled here.’ We should not do it like that. That makes no sense. “We have this kind of new start with this Liverpool FC reloaded, it’s an exciting thing. Everybody was asking for changes, rightly so, because we were together for a long time. “It’s a new chance for everybody, everybody has to step up. We all share responsibility and it’s not that we should give ourselves too much time to grow into it, let’s do it. “Let’s take the responsibility and go from there and don’t try to be like somebody. Be the best version of yourself and then you have a good chance to help the team in the best possible way.” Liverpool have had a British transfer record fee in the region of £110m accepted by Brighton for Moises Caicedo but the Ecuador international’s preference for a move to Chelsea muddies the waters. Chelsea have had a longstanding interest in the 21-year-old midfielder and are reportedly ready to step up with a similar bid, adding an intriguing subplot to Liverpool’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The Blues’ 12th-place finish last term – their lowest in almost 30 years – has led to a complete overhaul, with former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino appointed to transform their fortunes. Ahead of both sides’ Premier League opener, Klopp said: “They will want to show up, definitely. Poch is a top manager, so they will show up. We have to be ready. We have to be absolutely ready. “The football they played (in pre-season) you can see it – Poch is there. We played against Mauricio very often when he was at Tottenham, you can see a lot of similarities from that time. “It’s the first really competitive football game for us this season. We don’t want to waste time, we really want to go for it, but we have to see how it goes.” Klopp insisted he has not felt the need to remind his charges of last season’s disappointing outcome and is satisfied by what they have done in pre-season. He added: “The desire, the concentration, the readiness, the openness. I saw a lot of things where my thought was in that moment, ‘OK, they mean business, so let’s give it a go.’ You could see it. “We are not happy. It’s not that I want to remind the boys every day and say ‘by the way, last year was like this and that.’ That makes no sense. We have a lot of targets and we are highly motivated.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Manchester City aiming for quadruple this season, says Rico Lewis Harry Kane hints at future Tottenham return after completing Bayern Munich move Ange Postecoglou backs Richarlison as Tottenham deal with Harry Kane exit

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

Rico Lewis says winning the treble once “isn’t good enough” as Manchester City look to repeat the feat and eye an unprecedented quadruple. Pep Guardiola’s perennial Premier League champions added the FA Cup in June before beating Inter Milan to win the club’s first ever Champions League crown. City joined Manchester United’s 1999 side as the only English teams in history to complete the treble, but there appears little chance of them stopping there. Erling Haaland’s brace saw them open up their league campaign with a 3-0 win at promoted Burnley on Friday, after which teenage star Lewis outlined his ambitions. “The objective is to win the treble again, to win the quadruple,” the homegrown 18-year-old talent said. “You know, winning it once isn’t good enough, so we have to keep on going and try and win it again.” You would not back against City winning the European crown on top of claiming the three main domestic trophies given their quality, cohesion and strength. However, Guardiola’s men have already missed out on one piece of silverware this season having lost the Community Shield to Arsenal on penalties. This week, though, offers another chance at a trophy as City seek to win the UEFA Super Cup for the first time against Sevilla in Athens. “Obviously it’s a new competition for us,” Lewis said. “We’ve never won it, the club’s never won it, so, again, it’s another trophy that we want to go and win. “It’s another competition and an important thing we need to go and take on.” City make the trip buoyed by a solid start to the Premier League season, with Rodri adding to Haaland’s double on a night that also saw Lewis struck by an object. Burnley quickly confirmed the individual responsible for the first-half incident had been identified, removed from the ground by police and now faces a banning order. “Obviously when you’re in the game you can’t really focus on that,” Lewis said. “But it was just something I had to deal with at the time. “It’s just an incident that’s unfortunate it’s happened to me but, you know, it happens to a lot of players, which is not a good thing. “But there’s nothing really much you can do about it. You’ve just got to ignore it and then it’ll get sorted at the end of the game.” Another issue City’s players could not let distract them was the injury to skipper Kevin De Bruyne. The 32-year-old has only recently returned from a hamstring issue and Guardiola says he faces weeks on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of the issue. “Well, you know, injuries happen to everyone,” Lewis said. “Every team suffers with injuries and it’s something that you’ve just got to deal with. “There’s enough quality in the squad where if someone gets injured someone can slot in and just carry on playing in the same way that the last person did. “Obviously there’s going to be certain positions where we’ll be more hurt than others just because of squad depth, but it’s something that happens to everyone and everyone has to deal with it.” While City return to action on Wednesday, the Clarets have an extended wait until they play again. Next weekend’s trip to Luton was postponed due to ongoing stadium works at Kenilworth Road, meaning Vincent Kompany’s side are next in action at home to Aston Villa on August 27. That fortnight will give promoted Burnley an invaluable opportunity to work with their new-look squad after showing signs of promise against City. Summer signing Luca Koleosho, 18, said after making his debut: “I think we had our moments in the game but obviously we were playing against the best team in the world right now. “So, I just think that every game we’re going to get better and just improve. “The mentality is just to win, there’s 37 games (to go), it’s a long season but just take it one at a time and just go out there and try and win.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry Kane hints at future Tottenham return after completing Bayern Munich move Ange Postecoglou backs Richarlison as Tottenham deal with Harry Kane exit Harry Kane’s highs and lows at Tottenham as he signs with Bayern Munich

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

Watch live as England and Colombia fans arrive at Stadium Australia for the Women’s World Cup quarter-final on Saturday 12 August. The Lionesses have had to dig deep for three of their four wins at the tournament, but goalkeeper Mary Earps insisted there are “so many more levels” for the team to reach ahead of the last eight meeting. After finishing goalless in normal time against Nigeria in their last 16 fixture, England advanced with a penalty shoot-out win. It was a tricky test for Sarina Wiegman’s side, who were reduced to 10 when Lauren James was sent off for a stamp on Michelle Alozie, but Earps believes “the best is yet to come”. “I think it’s an exciting time to be an England player for sure, but we have to earn that right every day,” the goalkeeper said. Colombia, meanwhile, knocked Jamaica out in the last 16 after a famous win against Germany in their group. Read More Harry Kane hints at future Tottenham return after completing Bayern Munich move Ange Postecoglou backs Richarlison as Tottenham deal with Harry Kane exit Harry Kane’s highs and lows at Tottenham as he signs with Bayern Munich

England captain Harry Kane has left the door open for a return to Tottenham after completing his £100million move to Bayern Munich. Kane travelled to Germany on Friday for a medical and the Bundesliga giants confirmed on Saturday morning he had signed a deal until June 2027 and will wear the number nine shirt. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said the club had “reluctantly” agreed to the move after Kane, who was in the last 12 months of his contract, made it clear he wanted a fresh challenge. Kane said in a message to Tottenham fans posted on his social media accounts: “It’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future, but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.” The 30-year-old told his new club’s website that he hoped to play some part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night as he looks to win the first trophy of his career. “I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now,” Kane said. “Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’ve always said that I want to compete and prove myself at the highest level during my career. This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here. “I feel like it was the right step in my career to really push myself and test myself on the highest level so that’s why I’m here and I look forward to that challenge.” Shortly before the deal was officially confirmed, Kane posted a message on social media in which he thanked the fans and said he had not wanted to start the season with his future unresolved. “From the moment I’ve been playing I’ve been one of your own and I’ve given everything that I possibly could to make you proud and give you as many special moments and memories to hopefully last forever,” Kane said. “This is a message to all you fans around the world, every single Tottenham fan that’s supported me and been with me throughout my journey. “Me and my family will cherish it forever, we’ll never forget all the moments we’ve had together so thank you. “I felt like it was the time to leave. I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk. “I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck. “I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.” Postecoglou had revealed on Friday that Kane’s move 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. Kane leaves Tottenham having scored 280 goals to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, but without a trophy. “I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck,” Kane said. “I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.” Bayern had seen their previous bids for Kane turned down, but refused to give up their pursuit of the 30-year-old, who remains 47 goals shy of equalling Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260. Harry was clear that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer Spurs chairman Daniel Levy Levy told the club’s website: “We sought over a long period of time to engage Harry and his representatives in several forms of contract extension, both short and long term. “Harry was clear, however, that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer. We have reluctantly, therefore, agreed to his transfer. “We have seen a product of our academy system become one of the best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt and become one of world football’s elite strikers. It has been a truly remarkable journey.”

England face Colombia in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals as the Lionesses continue their knockout campaign in Sydney. The European champions survived a major scare against Nigeria in the last-16, and know they will need to improve when they take on a dangerous Colombia side, who shocked heavyweights Germany in the group stages. Sarina Wiegman’s side are without star forward Lauren James, who is suspended for the quarter-final. James has been replaced in the line-up by Ella Toone. The Lionesses will know who could await them in the semi-finals before facing Colombia, as hosts Australia and France goes to penalties in Brisbane. There will be a new winner of the Women’s World Cup this year after Sweden knocked out Japan on Friday, setting up a clash with Spain on the other side of the draw. Follow live updates from the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals, and get the latest England vs Colombia odds here Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today England reach World Cup dividing line as Sarina Wiegman faces crunch decision How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card? Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings?

With their sights set on another title challenge, Arsenal will hope to get their Premier League season off to a good start as they host Nottingham Forest. Mikel Arteta’s side led the way for much of last season but faded late on as Manchester City secured a third successive title. It has been a productive summer at the Emirates Stadium, with Declan Rice a marquee midfield addition and Kai Havertz likely to provide plenty of creativity. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are hoping to build after securing a second season in the top flight after a long time out of the Premier League, though Steve Cooper must contend with trips to Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City before the end of September. Here’s everything you need to know. When is Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest? Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest is due to kick off at 12.30pm BST on Saturday 12 August at the Emirates Stadium in London. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the match live on the rebranded TNT Sports 1 channel, with coverage from 11am BST. The streaming home of TNT Sports is on discovery+. Team news After their involvement in the Community Shield last weekend, Mikel Arteta could hand Arsenal league debuts to Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber. Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out of the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery, though, but Oleksandr Zinchenko is moving closer to a return from his calf issue after featuring in last weekend’s Game4Ukraine. Steve Cooper has confirmed that Felipe (knee), Moussa Niakhate (elbow) and Taiwo Awoniyi (ankle) are injured for the visit to the Emirates, though Brennan Johnson is available for selection. Cooper may utilise a back three in front of Matt Turner, who joined the club from Arsenal this week. Predicted line-ups Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli Nottingham Forest XI: Worrall, Boly, McKenna; Aurier, Yates, Danilo, Mangala, Aina; Gibbs-White, Johnson. Odds Arsenal win 1/5 Draw 7/1 Nottingham Forest win 15/1 Prediction Arsenal get their campaign up and running with a solid victory. Arsenal 3-1 Nottingham Forest Read More Premier League LIVE: Chelsea and Liverpool battle for Moises Caicedo and Harry Kane latest Harry Kane set to complete Bayern move after late Tottenham request The Mikel Arteta transfer gambles that will shape Arsenal’s season Where Harry Kane’s big-money move stands in British football history 5 English success stories Harry Kane will look to emulate in Germany ‘Not my decision’ whether I get time to transform Chelsea – Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists it will take a collective effort to replace the goals of Harry Kane, but has backed the “fantastic” Richarlison to fit in well into his attacking system. Spurs start a new chapter when they make the trip to Brentford on Sunday with Postecoglou in charge for the first time and the Premier League opener will mark the beginning of the post-Kane era. Kane has joined Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million with add-ons, which means Tottenham are now without their record goalscorer and a forward who scored 30 of their 70 Premier League goals last season. Richarlison only scored once for Spurs in the top flight following a £60million move from Everton, but Postecoglou is a big fan of Brazil’s number nine and will count on him alongside the likes of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison to fill the void of talisman Kane. “Oh, I don’t think there is a like-for-like replacement for Harry mate but yeah in terms of (trying to buy) a striker, again we’ve been planning for this, fair to say, for a while,” Postecoglou said. “A lot of our business up to now is with that in mind. This doesn’t change things dramatically, from my perspective anyway, in terms of what we’re trying to build.” On Richarlison, Postecoglou added: “He’s fit. There’s no issues with him. He picked up a slight knock in training and he got through the Barca game really well. “Richy is a fantastic player and I said before he’s got some really strong attributes that fit in well with the way my team is set up. He’s a hard worker for the team and apart from doing the stuff he needs to in front of goal, there are other aspects of his game. “He’s represented his country at a World Cup, which is not an insignificant thing and sometimes when things like this happen, opportunity exists and it’s up to somebody to step through that door. That’s Richy or anyone else. “That’s all you can ask for in football, just to have that opportunity. “I wouldn’t be expecting one player, and it’s not the way we’ll be set up, to cover the absence of Harry. It’s about the collective and how we can become a really strong offensive force with the players we have. “We have some really fantastic attacking players and Richy is one of them.” While Kane scored close to 43 per cent of Spurs’ goals in the Premier League last season, they also had a poor defensive record under Antonio Conte and caretakers Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason, shipping 63 times in 38 fixtures. Tottenham will hope reinforcements to defence this summer can bring about improvement in that area and Postecoglou has a decision to make over centre-back Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman joined from Wolfsburg this week and could be handed his debut at Brentford, with Guglielmo Vicario and England international Maddison nailed on to start while Destiny Udogie, who returned to the club this summer after a loan with Udinese, could receive his professional bow for Spurs. “There is still three or so weeks to go in the transfer window, so I think there will still be movement but not because Harry has gone, that’s always been in the plan,” Postecoglou revealed. “From my perspective we’re preparing for Brentford and there won’t be any incomings between now and Sunday. “Micky’s settled in well. He’s had a pre-season with Wolfsburg but he hasn’t played 90 minutes yet so match-conditioning wise he’s probably not at the level, but he’s definitely available for the weekend.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry Kane’s highs and lows at Tottenham as he signs with Bayern Munich Where Harry Kane’s big-money move stands in British football history 5 English success stories Harry Kane will look to emulate in Germany