Author: cimi

Now that the unwelcome distraction of the international break has come to an end, Liverpool can focus their attentions back on their Premier League title challenge – as well as another tilt at Champions League glory.

Here’s a roundup of how Liverpool’s national team stars have fared over the past week.

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Brazil (Roberto Firmino, Alisson & Fabinho)

?Roberto Firmino was the only ?Liverpool player who featured in Brazil’s embarrassing 1-1 draw against Panama on Saturday, with both Alisson and Fabinho being rested – which may have been for the best if you recall Panama’s ‘robust’ approach during the World Cup.

It was a much happier Tuesday evening for the Seleção as they defeated the Czech Republic 3-1. Firmino bagged a goal and both Alisson and Fabinho were able to earn some game time.

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Croatia (Dejan Lovren)

?Dejan Lovren hasn’t featured for Liverpool since hobbling off injured during their FA Cup defeat to Wolves at the start of January, but he was finally back in action on Sunday for Croatia.

It wasn’t exactly the best return for the central defender as his side were surprisingly defeated 2-1 against Hungary.

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Jordan Henderson (England)

?It was somewhat surprising to see ?Jordan Henderson in the England squad after he missed Liverpool’s last Premier League match against Fulham through injury, but he managed to play the full 90 minutes during the Three Lions’ comprehensive 5-0 win against the Czech Republic.

He also made a substitute appearance against Montengero which should indicate that he’ll be fit to return to action for the Reds against Tottenham next weekend.

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Netherlands (Virgil van Dijk & Georginio Wijnaldum)

First things first. Yes, Virgil van Dijk is fine. No injuries to report for the Netherlands captain, so he will be ready to return to Premier League action against Tottenham.

He did manage to bag a goal in the Oranje’s 4-0 win against Belarus – as did ?Georginio Wijnaldum – but was unable to prevent defeat against bitter rivals Germany on Sunday.

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Scotland (Andrew Robertson)

Andrew Robertson would have been counting his lucky stars after he missed Scotland’s disastrous trip to Kazakhstan. He was instead undergoing dental surgery, and he used his brand new set of gnashers to great effect as Scotland battled to an important 2-0 win…against San Marino. Still, a win’s a win.

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Senegal (Sadio Mane)

?Sadio Mane played the full 90 minutes as Senegal secured their qualification to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over Madagascar.

He had more reason to celebrate on Tuesday evening as he helped to inspire a dramatic comeback win in a friendly against Mali, scoring an equalising goal in the 87th minute before assisting Pape Konate as he netted a 92nd minute winner.

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Wales (Ben Woodburn & Harry Wilson)

It’s been a season to forget for Ben Woodburn, but he was able to bag his second international goal with a late winner in Wales’ friendly victory against Trinidad & Tobago.

That wasn’t enough to seal his place in Wales’ opening Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia, but loanee Harry Wilson did earn himself a start, playing his part in the 1-0 win.

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Liverpool legend John Barnes has claimed criticising Montengero supporters for the racial abuse they directed towards some England players on Monday? is ‘hypocritical’, as more should be done to deal with the issue in the UK.

England’s 5-1 win at the Podgorica City Stadium was marred by racist chanting directed towards Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling, with calls from all corners of football directed towards UEFA to take action against Montenegro.

However, despite the despicable actions of some select supporters on Monday, the former ?Liverpool forward found similarities between an incident that occurred in a ?Premier League match between ?Manchester City and ?Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, and feels the issue of racism must first be dealt with on British shores.

 “It does not feel any different to how it felt when ?Raheem Sterling was racially abused by Chelsea fans,” he said to ?Sky Sports.

“Up and down the country every single week at football matches you have black football players being racially abused so why is this any different? I think that it is quite hypocritical that we want to talk about Montenegro and say how terrible it is when we have not taken care of the problem here.”

Barnes also questioned the effectiveness of stadium bans, believing the problem of racism is rooted much deeper than just supporters using racist language at matches, and must be tackled at its source.

“The solution is to tackle it in society and once we do that it will disappear from all walks of society of which football is one,” he added.

“You can’t say to a football fan, ‘keep you mouth shut on a Saturday, but for the other six days of the week you can do whatever you want’, and then say we are getting rid of racism. We have to decide whether we want to get rid of it, or if we don’t want to hear it. All we are doing by passing laws is saying, ‘you can be as racist as you want, but not in a football ground.'”

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?Tributes have poured in for Manchester City ‘life president’ Bernard Halford, after the long-time club secretary passed away at the age of 77. 

The news was revealed on the club’s official ?website, with a statement explaining: “Manchester City Life President Bernard Halford has sadly passed away at the age of 77.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mr Manchester City Bernard Halford, who has passed away at the age of 77.

The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with Bernard’s family and friends at this time. pic.twitter.com/H9uI3nlhKx

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 26, 2019

“Former long-serving Club secretary, Bernard had been suffering from ill-health for some time but continued to be a regular visitor at the CFA and the Club he loved up until his final days.

“By his own admittance, Bernard ‘ate, slept and breathed’ City – in fact, his nickname over the years was indeed ‘Mr Manchester City’.”

Man City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was one of the first to offer his condolonces, declaring: “The loss of Bernard Halford marks an extremely sad day for our football club.

“Bernard was an incredibly dedicated, loyal and wonderful part of the City story for almost five decades. I was fortunate and privileged enough to know him for ten of those years.

“In reflecting on his life, I am reminded of the enormous pride he – and we – took from him being able to realise a boyhood dream by lifting the FA Cup in 2011. It was a special moment not only for Bernard, but for everybody connected with ?Manchester City.

“He is irreplaceable, and we will ensure that his legacy lives on. Our thoughts are with his wife Karen and his family at this most difficult time.”

Citizens boss Pep Guardiola proclaimed: “It is such sad news to hear of Bernard Halford’s passing.

“It was an honour and a privilege to meet and talk football with him and his knowledge of this football club was amazing. He was a great man, but moreover, he was also a great football man with a complete understanding of the game from grass roots level up.

“His whole life was dedicated to the game, but mostly to Manchester City and we were lucky to have him.”

Sad to hear the news that Bernard Halford my old Secetary @ManCity has passed away , thoughts and prayers with his family ?? ???

— Shay Given (@No1shaygiven) March 26, 2019

A number of former City players also spoke out about the great man, with Shay Given tweeting: “Sad to hear the news that Bernard Halford, my old secretary at Man City, has passed away. Thoughts and prayers with his family.”

West Ham full-back Pablo Zabaleta, who spent nine years at City, said: “Mr Halford was there when I first joined City and he was always fantastic with me. He could never do enough to help you and I always held him in the highest esteem.

“It was fantastic to see him lift the FA Cup and then win the ?Premier League. He was a true gentleman and today is a sad day for Manchester City.”

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Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud insists that the French media went “too far” linking him with a summer move to Olympique Lyonnais, adding that his immediate future could still lay at Stamford Bridge.

The 32-year-old has largely struggled for game time since leaving Arsenal in 2018, starting just six Premier League matches under Maurizio Sarri this season and is yet to feature from the outset since Gonzalo Higuaín’s arrival in January.

Giroud admitted that he could leave Chelsea at the end of the season and opened the door for a move to Lyon, but he’s now insisted that last week’s comments have been exaggerated by the French press.

“Of course there is a chance I could still be at Chelsea next season, yes, the door is not closed,” Giroud said, quoted by The Mirror. “At the club we still need to wait to see regarding if we will have the opportunity to get some players [in the next transfer windows].

“If not the club will be blocked and maybe then they will need me more and to offer me something. I am very happy there, but it all depends on a few things so we will see.

“The French media have made too much of some comments from me trying to push me into a move to Lyon. I am staying objective, and if I can stay at Chelsea I will be happy – but I need to play more.”

Olivier Giroud has scored more goals in his last 150 minutes of football (4) than Gonzalo Higuain has since he signed for Chelsea in January (3). pic.twitter.com/eFSsValpDj

— bet365 (@bet365) March 22, 2019

Although talk over Giroud’s future at Stamford Bridge is a hot topic, the France international stressed that his focus was on ensuring Chelsea qualify for next season’s Champions League.

“For now we have a very big game against Cardiff now at the weekend. There are only eight matches to go, and going for the Champions League places we will be trying to win all of them,” he added.

Despite the lack of Premier League game time, Giroud was called up for France during the international break, and managed to achieve a milestone by scoring his 35th international goal and overtaking David Trezeguet in France’s list of top scorers where he’s currently third.

#France ?? Le podium des meilleurs buteurs de l’Équipe de France :

1? – Thierry Henry 51 ??
2?- Michel Platini 41 ??
3?- Olivier Giroud 35 ??

4?- David Trezeguet 34 ?? pic.twitter.com/jzYfcJDZ1Z

— supplensois (@supplensois) March 25, 2019

On the remarkable achievement, Giroud said: “It was great to get a 35th goal for France, it is a great honour for me especially to get ahead of David Trezeguet.

“It makes me very proud, he was a striker I really looked up to when I was growing up. There is a lot of competition for places in the forwards with France, so you take nothing for granted.

“Who knows, maybe I could still catch up with Michel Platini on 41 – another six goals, it is possible if I can stay in the team until the Euros, hoping that we qualify.”

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Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu held talks with the decision makers at Ajax this week to discuss their interest in signing defender Matthijs de Ligt at the end of the season.

The La Liga champions have already wrapped up a deal for de Ligt’s teammate Frenkie de Jong, but Barça now want to speed up negotiations for Ajax’s 19-year-old centre-back.

Sport claims that Bartomeu, accompanied by CEO Òscar Grau, travelled to Holland for the General Assembly of the ECA (European Club Association) but also to hold discussions with Ajax chief Edwin van der Sar over de Ligt’s future.

Barcelona have already made it clear that they want to go into negotiations with Ajax, while Sport adds that de Ligt himself wants to finalise his move to the Camp Nou before their Champions League quarter-final match against Juventus.

Although it’s believed that de Ligt is pushing to join de Jong at Barcelona next season, the teenager has stressed that he’s only focusing on Ajax’s chances in the Eredivisie and Champions League this season.

Barcelona’s rebuild is going under the radar, come summer they could have Luka Jovi? and Matthijs de Ligt in the bag and the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Phil Coutinho, Arturo Vidal, Malcom, Arthur, Clement Lenglet and Frenkie de Jong have all been signed over the last 18 months.

— RF9 ?? (@SambaRole) March 21, 2019

“My name comes out in the media but I’m focused on playing,” de Ligt said, quoted by Sport. “I’m concentrating on that and there’s nothing that worries me. That’s the important thing.

“I have no preferences. It’s what I have said, I am focused on Ajax and the national team, gaining experience. And I am really happy.”

De Ligt has made 42 appearances with Ajax this season but once again they look set to miss out on winning the league title season, having last lifted the Eredivisie trophy in 2014.

They’re also outsiders in the Champions League, but they could win their domestic cup as they’ve reached the final where they’ll face a dangerous Willem II side who most recently claimed all three points away at Feyenoord.

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