Liverpool manager Arne Slot says his side will always 'push one more time' to win matches and praised his squad's mentality after Virgil Van Dijk scored in stoppage time to secure victory against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
It should have been a lot easier than this for Liverpool but the 92nd-minute roar to celebrate Virgil van Dijk’s winner against Atlético Madrid made the hardship worthwhile. After scoring twice in the opening six minutes through Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool were galloping to victory but were pegged back by two goals from Marcos Llorente, only for their captain to head home a late corner and send Anfield wild in the process. Continue reading...
Bolivia, Peru, struggling Nigeria and flagging Italy face an uphill struggle, but others have reason for optimism There are only three automatic places available via the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers because the USA, Mexico and Canada have secured their spots as hosts, although the two best runners-up head into the inter-confederation playoffs. Suriname have made it to the final round of qualifying only once before and will be hoping to kick off their campaign with a victory when they host Panama in Paramaribo on Thursday. Managed by the former Netherlands goalkeeper Stanley Menzo, they have been steadily climbing Fifa’s rankings since allowing players born in the Netherlands with Surinamese heritage to represent the national side and have the Huddersfield defender Radinio Balker in their ranks. Continue reading...
Experts believed club had 1% chance of survival Ties to Roman Abramovich led to KNVB’s investigation Vitesse Arnhem have been dealt a dramatic reprieve after an appeals court ruled against the Royal Dutch Football Association’s (KNVB) decision to revoke their professional licence. Vitesse looked doomed after a civil court in Utrecht judged in favour of the KNVB last month, appearing to confirm the 133-year-old club would be kicked out of the Netherlands’ second division. Many supporters were resigned to at least one season in the cold after no arrangement to continue in amateur football could be reached, but they will now be able to watch their team again after a shock turnaround on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo signs a new long-term contract and says he hopes to create "many more beautiful moments".
Watch the best goals scored by Xavi Simons in the Bundesliga as Tottenham Hotspur confirm the signing of the Netherlands midfielder.
Tottenham are on the verge of signing RB Leipzig and Netherlands attacker Xavi Simons for £51.8m.
After an offseason full of transfer intrigue, Americans in Europe are looking to make their final push for a World Cup roster spot. Our experts have some predictions to share. Sergiño Dest at PSV. The full-back has not only healed from the ACL injury that cut short his last campaign, but is off to a torrid start to the new Dutch season, with a pair of goals from the back-to-back champions’ first three games. It’s early, sure, but the 24-year-old is rested, confident and on a club where he doesn’t have to do much defending during domestic games. Dest looks entirely capable of turning in another standout season like he did in 2019-20. That prompted Barcelona to buy him from Ajax to form their right flank with Lionel Messi. LS Continue reading...
Today’s fluff is not cashing cheques After Manchester United so kindly signed Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui last summer, Bayern Munich may return to the favour this time around. With Rasmus Højlund and Jadon Sancho coming to the end of their Old Trafford careers, the German side might offer the duo a chance to start a new life on the continent. Sancho has previously impressed in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund and could welcome a return to the league. Getting a lesson from Tottenham was enough to make some people at Manchester City a bit twitchy. Efforts are supposedly being made in the market to add some quality in defensive areas. Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma is said to have agreed terms over a move to the Etihad Stadium, while City are stepping up interest in Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi. City could sell two centre-backs before the window slams shut, with Nathan Aké and Manuel Akanji available. Continue reading...
Whether Manchester City restore their powers as the Premier League’s formidable force after a summer of change remains one of the great unknowns but for Pep Guardiola the early evidence in victory at Wolves was supremely encouraging. The substitute Rayan Cherki, a summer signing from Lyon, capped the scoring within eight minutes of entering and Tijjani Reijnders, another one of those pinpointed to drive the close-season makeover, was peerless on his league debut; the Netherlands midfielder was the architect for Erling Haaland’s double, which bookended Reijnders’s first City goal, a feathery first-time finish. “City are back,” crooned the away support and, by the end, it was hard to argue otherwise. Continue reading...
Defender joins from Parma on six-year contract Other clubs including Newcastle wanted him Liverpool have confirmed the signing of the 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni from Parma for an initial £26m. He has a six-year contract and is regarded by the club as a potential long-term successor to Virgil van Dijk. Leoni was a target for other clubs, including Newcastle, and is expected to go straight into the first-team squad. The 6ft 4in defender has played for Italy’s under-18s and under-19s. Continue reading...
Today’s tall tales want to swing their hips It’s been an unusually busy summer at Manchester City: lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous. And Hugo Viana, City’s new director of football, isn’t done yet. According to selected rags, City may hijack Chelsea’s move for the RB Leipzig and Netherlands forward Xavi Simons. City are also attempting to reunite last year’s France Olympic squad by stealth. First they signed Rayan Cherki; now they’re being linked with the Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche. Continue reading...
Micky van de Ven opens the scoring after Joao Palhinha's effort from close range rebounds off the bar and falls to the Dutch defender to give Tottenham a 1-0 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine.
‘You defend as a team, you press as a team’ Champions begin defence of title on Friday night Virgil van Dijk has acknowledged Liverpool must improve defensively to retain the Premier League title and backed the club to bring in more reinforcements before the end of the transfer window. The Netherlands defender revealed after Sunday’s Community Shield that he had spent the previous five days in bed with a virus. Van Dijk was culpable for Palace’s first equaliser in the 2-2 draw when he brought down Ismaïla Sarr for a penalty and Liverpool’s defence struggled to contain the Senegal forward, who scored his team’s second to take the game to a shootout won by Palace. Continue reading...
