Liverpool fans have told Trent Alexander-Arnold to choose between being a "mate or traitor" amid talk of an impending Real Madrid transfer.
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Glasgow Rangers enter 2025 having secured their first Old Firm victory since May 2023 in what was a dominant performance by Philippe Clement’s men at Ibrox.
Heading into the traditional festive clash between the two teams, Celtic were the overwhelming favourites to pile even more pressure on Clement as they looked to go 17 points ahead in the Premiership.
Rangers had other ideas. They stamped their authority early as Ianis Hagi netted a lovely finish and the Light Blues didn’t take their foot off the gas throughout the clash.
Second-half goals from Robin Propper and Danilo secured a stunning 3-0 win as a host of players shone during the game.
Rangers’ best performers vs Celtic
Truthfully, it is hard to pick just one standout player. Everyone battled for each other and showed plenty of fight against a team that has caused the club so much pain recently.
Nicolas Raskin was given the captain’s armband and was wonderful. The Belgian won 60% of his duels contested, made two key passes and looked solid in the heart of the midfield.
Hagi delivered arguably his finest performance since suffering his serious knee injury in January 2022.
In addition to grabbing the opener, the Romanian made four key passes, registered five shots, and delivered eight crosses.
On the opposite wing, Vaclav Cerny showed plenty of attacking intent, even hitting the woodwork twice during the game as he should have added to his goal tally.
Accurate passes
Cameron Carter-Vickers (86)
Shots on target
Ridvan Yilmaz (3)
Ground duels won
Mohamed Diomande (7)
Tackles
Nicolas Kuhn (4)
Key passes
Vaclav Cerny (5)
A special mention must go to Mohamed Diomande, however, as the midfielder was the beating heart of the team, showcasing his class alongside Raskin in the heart of the midfield for the Gers.
Mohamed Diomande’s game in numbers vs Celtic
Diomande did everything but get on the scoresheet against the Parkhead side. Clement has deployed him as a number ten at times this season, but this afternoon, his job was to nullify the Celtic side and control the game.
Finishing the game with a 92% pass success rate while taking 54 touches indicates how impressive he was at this, never giving the Celtic players a moment’s peace to get into any sort of rhythm.
While he may not have contributed much in an attacking sense, Diomande offered plenty defensively. Indeed, the Ivorian won seven of his 11 ground duels contested, made three tackles and only lost possession five times throughout the 90 minutes.
Journalist Jonny McFarlane even hailed Diomande as “excellent” alongside Raskin and Hagi at half-time, and it was very much a mature performance by the young African.
Clement’s first Old Firm victory at his seventh attempt will surely give the Light Blues plenty of confidence heading into 2025. The result must act as a catalyst for the club to push on and try and catch their rivals at the top of the table.
Whatever happens, the 3-0 win today proved that Rangers can go toe to toe with Celtic.
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2 ByRoss Kilvington Dec 31, 2024
Rob McElhenney had admitted he is feeling the tension of another promotion push as Wrexham picked up yet another three points.
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Wrexham win 1-0 against StockportMcElhenney feeling the squeezeRed Dragons still in promotion spotsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Phil Parkinson's side saw off promotion rivals Stockport 1-0 to stay three points clear of Wycombe Wanderers and remain in the automatic promotion spots. It was yet another important result for the Red Dragons who have now beaten three of their direct competitors in Stockport, Wycombe and Huddersfield in recent weeks to cement their place behind leaders Birmingham. Saturday's game marked their fourth win by that scoreline in five League Two games and is clearly beginning to test the club's Hollywood ownership's nerves.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT MCELHENNEY SAID
Posting on X, McElhenney said: "I guess there are worse records to break than the one for most 1-0 victories. But boy, is it terrible for the nervous system.
"8 GAMES TO GO FOR HISTORY."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The Wrexham fans will have little complaints with the 1-0 scoreline so long as the club keeps winning. Not only does the three points help lift the Red Dragons closer to the Championship, but taking those points off their closest rivals is just as important. Parkinson's side will have been frustrated to see Wycombe steal a late winner away at Rotherham on Tuesday and leapfrog the Red Dragons, but Wrexham must focus on their remaining games, and not those around them, if they are to make it back-to-back-to-back promotions.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
With just eight games of the season remaining, there is still work to be done if history is to be made. Wrexham travel down to Exeter next weekend, while Wycombe host 12th-placed Lincoln at Adams Park hoping to close the gap before playing Shrewsbury at home in their game in hand over Wrexham on the Tuesday.
Aston Villa now boast two wins from two in the Premier League after a lengthy winless run, having just about got the better of basement club Southampton 1-0 on Saturday.
Jhon Duran was the difference maker for Unai Emery’s men on the day, as the Colombian capped his first start in the top-flight this season with the winner, after he harassed the shaky Saints defence deep into the first 45 minutes before firing home past Joe Lumley.
Whilst everything looks to be rosy again on the pitch, the Villans won’t turn their nose up at a signing or two this January to boost their squad.
Aston Villa looking at "sensational" addition
As per a report by Football Insider, Villa are one of the leading Premier League outfits interested in Chelsea outcast Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues have made their forgotten midfield man available for purchase, with the confident West London club wanting to recoup some of the sizeable £30m they splashed out on the former Leicester City man.
It remains to be seen whether Villa would pursue the 26-year-old on a permanent basis, with the report also stating that Chelsea would be up for loaning Dewsbury-Hall out if a club wasn’t prepared to match that £30m valuation.
Snapping up the Blues flop for that mammoth amount would be a risky move on the end of Villa, but Emery and Co have had success in the past buying stars who have excelled at the King Power Stadium, much like Dewsbury-Hall managed – whilst mainly starring in the Championship – for the Foxes.
The “sensational” midfielder – as he was once labelled by one of his ex-bosses in Brendan Rodgers – could well end up even becoming the next Youri Tielemans for the Premier League side, who has come on leaps and bounds at Villa Park since leaving Leicester behind in 2023.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
How Dewsbury-Hall could be Tielemans 2.0
The Belgian ace has been a stalwart for the Villans in the hustle and bustle of the top flight so far this campaign, with the 27-year-old yet to miss a league clash and for many a valid reason.
Tielemans has four assists next to his name from 15 league clashes to date, and when you delve deeper at his statistics so far, he has also created eight big chances, with the Villa number eight a smooth and stylish operator for his team under pressure.
Dewsbury-Hall also has this same level of flair oozing out from his game when setting up teammates for chances galore, with 14 assists notched up last campaign for Leicester as they romped home to the Championship title.
Alongside that, he also bagged 12 crucial strikes playing all across the central spots, whether that be occupying a holding role like Tielemans is most comfortable in, or being pushed further forward as a number 10.
Games played
31
Goals scored
1
Assists
2
Big chances missed
3
Big chances created
3
Tackles per game
1.7
Duels won per game
4.6
Of course, an obvious area of concern will be the fact the Blues dud has struggled at Stamford Bridge ever since making a cursed £30m move a reality in the summer of 2023.
But, he has only been handed a slim 13 first-team chances, with the table above bringing into the view that he has shown signs of promise in the tough division before, even as Leicester slipped down to the second tier at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Moreover, the Villans have worked wonders with other players who saw their careers fall to the wayside up the league, with Ross Barkley once on the books of Chelsea himself and struggling for opportunities.
Now, he has two goals and one assist from 12 Premier League outings donning a Villa strip, with Dewsbury-Hall surely also keen for a slice of a similar redemptive arc.
Emery and Co might be best placed to operate with caution here and go after Dewsbury-Hall initially on a loan deal, but if this move was to go swimmingly, Villa could win themselves another top performer in the middle of the park.
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“There were continuous discussions about chasing the total down, but when your main batters are dismissed, you start thinking differently”
Umar Farooq25-Mar-2022Pakistan captain Babar Azam rued “soft dismissals” after his side lost the series-deciding third Test against Australia in Lahore.Set a target of 351, Pakistan had finished the fourth day on 73 for no loss. On the final day, they were 165 for 3 at one stage but were eventually bowled out for 235, with Nathan Lyon picking up a five-wicket haul for the visitors.”We didn’t go defensive, we played positive cricket,” Babar said after the game. “You plan according to the situation. It’s not like you go out, play big shots and go for the runs. We had a good session early in the day but unfortunately we had soft dismissals and that’s the reason we lost the game.Related
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Pakistan were eager to learn from Australia, but ignored one key lesson
“We had a simple plan – to take the momentum in hand first and then think [about the target] after the tea. After lunch, we had a plan to play normal cricket. We weren’t able to decide whether to go for a win or a draw. But with all those wickets falling, we decided to go deep as much as we could but we were positive throughout. There were continuous discussions in our dressing room about chasing it down.”But when your main batters are dismissed, you obviously start thinking differently. Still, Sajid [Khan] and I were trying to build a partnership and extend as much as we could, hoping we could draw. Yet we never held back, kept on playing shots and utilised whatever came in our area. So the mindset was positive but it didn’t go in our way.”Overall, Babar was happy with his side’s performance, even insisting that they had “dominated the first two Tests”. Both Tests had ended in draws. In the series opener in Rawalpindi, only 14 wickets fell across five days. In Karachi, Pakistan batted out 171.4 overs to save the match.”Overall the series went well, especially the Karachi Test where we dominated and saved the match,” Babar said. “Unfortunately, I got out but even then we had our mind set on chasing. But mistakes are part of the game and it’s too early to think about changes [in the side]. We don’t have to forget their recent performances. Our entire team is experienced now, we have developed a good combination and I have full faith in them.”Throughout the series, Pakistan were faced with some selection dilemmas. In the first Test, they were missing Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali because of injuries. The duo returned in the second Test, but for the third, Ashraf was replaced by Naseem Shah as Pakistan went with five specialist bowlers.That left them with a long tail. In the first innings of the Lahore Test, Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 14 runs, and in the second, for 68.When asked about Hasan’s performance – he picked up two wickets in two Tests – and if legspinner Zahid Mahmood could have been picked, Babar said: “The main thing is the combination and you pick players accordingly. We have our offspinner [Sajid] who is a good batter and Nauman Ali is coming along with a good bowling show. I don’t think even their legspinner [Mitchell Swepson] got enough help. Most of the wickets were taken by offspinners. Hasan Ali is a matchwinner, he gave his best effort but sometimes things don’t go your way. It’s part of the game. There are ups and downs but I have my belief in him and it’s still there as ever before.”Throughout the series, the pitches were a big talking point. Pakistan had been pushing to produce spin-friendly tracks but all three Tests were dominated by fast bowlers until the final day of the series.”There is always a home advantage and you definitely have to take advantage of it,” Babar said. “Rest it’s in the curator’s hands and I think they prepared good pitches at all three venues. It had turn and break and helped both our and their bowlers. I think cricket was played well. We only lost by one session, otherwise in all three games our effort was commendable.”
Desperately searching for the reinforcements that could result in Premier League survival, Southampton have reportedly been handed a fresh price-tag boost in pursuit of a Bundesliga talent.
Southampton transfer news
Sat rock bottom and five points adrift of safety, things couldn’t be much more bleak for Southampton as a hectic festive period approaches to potentially compile their misery. Russell Martin’s side came ever so close to causing a major upset against league leaders Liverpool, only for Mohamed Salah to drag the Reds to victory as he so often does. The performance, however, is certainly one that the Saints should build on.
When the January transfer window does arrive, meanwhile, those at St Mary’s must hope that the situation is salvageable enough for reinforcements to make a much-needed impact, with the likes of Vasco De Gama’s Rayan and even Real Madrid’s Endrick already linked to Southampton ahead of 2025.
Endrick could be a particularly sensational arrival on loan from the La Liga giants. If anyone’s got the quality to sharpen the Saints’ attack, it is a Real Madrid gem. But he’s not the only attacking reinforcement to have been mentioned as of late.
According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Southampton have now been dealt a fresh price boost in pursuit of Romano Schmid, whose agent is now pushing for a move away from Werder Bremen. The Bundesliga side will now reportedly accept an offer lower than £10m to potentially hand the Saints a bargain deal if they manage to fend off interest from both Fulham and Aston Villa.
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Primarily an attacking midfielder, Schmid can also play off the left-hand side and in a deeper central midfield role in what would offer Martin some welcomed versatility at the heart of his side.
"Talented" Schmid can form Dibling partnership
By completing a move to Southampton, Schmid could have the chance to form a partnership with one of the Premier League’s most exciting young talents in Tyler Dibling. The winger caused Liverpool all sorts of problems and with a player of Schmid’s calibre next to him, Dibling may thrive even further to potentially fire the Saints to safety.
Impressing in the previous campaign, scoring four goals and assisting another seven in all competitions, Schmid’s rise is one that Werder Bremen saw coming since securing his signature at 18 years old.
Instantly praising the midfielder, Werder Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann told the club’s website after welcoming Schmid: “Romano is a talented player, who’s received really good training, originally in Graz and then in Salzburg. We’re delighted to be able to secure his services.”
Now 24 years old, Schmid looks destined to leave the Bundesliga club with his agent reportedly pushing for an exit ahead of 2025. In what would be his biggest move yet, the Austrian could swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League and the chance to play a pivotal part in keeping Southampton afloat in England’s top flight.
MatériaMais Notícias
A apresentação da história do Fluminense fez parte do ritual de chegada dos reforços da equipe feminina. As atletas Dan Nunes, Thaíni, Nadine, Bia Cardoso, Nainara Lima, Nágila Santos, contratadas para a equipe adulta tricolor e Maria Vitoria, da base, visitaram o Estádio de Laranjeiras pela primeira vez na sexta-feira (11). As jogadoras fizeram um “tour” que teve início na Sala de Troféus do clube, passaram pelo salão nobre, tribuna de honra, arquibancada social e gramado.
RelacionadasFluminenseCampeão brasileiro pelo Fluminense, Internacional e e Palmeiras, ponta Lula morre aos 75 anosFluminense12/02/2022FluminenseDificuldades nos pênaltis, disputa no gol, ‘casca’ na Libertadores e gratidão ao Fluminense: Marcos Felipe abre o jogo ao L!Fluminense11/02/2022
A atacante Nadine falou com otimismo após este encontro.
-A história do Fluminense é grandiosa. Um clube com muitas conquistas e títulos importantes. Foi ótimo estarmos aqui hoje, vendo tudo isso de perto. Espero que possamos colocar mais uma taça aqui em breve – disse ao site oficial do clube.
As atletas também se impressionaram com o espaço dedicado aos diversos títulos das categorias de base. Há as taças do Futebol Feminino pela conquista do Campeonato Brasileiro Feminino Sub-18 de 2020 e do Estadual Feminino Sub-18 de 2021.
OFluTour funciona de segunda a sexta-feira, às 10h, 12h, 14h e 16h; e aos sábados, domingos e feriados, às 10h, 11h, 13h, 14h e 15h. O valor é de R$ 30, com guia do clube e acesso à Sala de Troféus, Salão Arnaldo Guinle e Estádio Presidente Manoel Schwartz. Existe, ainda, a opção de visita somente à Sala de Troféus, sem guia do clube, pelo valor de R$ 20.
Australia have slain some of their demons in the ongoing T20 World Cup, having produced four successful chases to reach the semi-finals, but coach Justin Langer believes it will take “nerves of steel” to chase in a knockout game.Australia qualified for Thursday’s semi-final in Dubai on the back of a successful chase against West Indies in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and are likely to face Pakistan in the knockouts for a place in the final.The tournament has been dominated by the chasing teams, particularly in Dubai where nine of the 10 matches have been won by the chasing teams, with New Zealand the only side to win batting first, in a day match against Scotland.Related
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Australia lost their only match of the tournament when they were sent in by England under lights in Dubai and slumped to 21 for 4. But as good as Australia have been chasing, and as dominant as the chasing teams have been overall, Langer was wary of the pressure that comes with runs on the board in a knockout final.”Most teams are winning chasing and you saw with a set-up of our side with the extra batter for most of the games in the lead up to this [semi-final] that we’ll back ourselves to chase anything,” Langer said. “That said, finals are a different proposition. So we’ll wait and see. There’s also been the dew factor that didn’t really come into it last night, we didn’t think [it did] in Sharjah.”But it takes nerves of steel to chase big scores in finals. It’s certainly worked out well so far.”Mitchell Marsh and David Warner put up a match-winning stand against West Indies on Saturday•ICC via Getty
Langer has been rewarded for a bold shift in strategy moving away from Australia’s long-time preference to play six batters and five bowlers, opting for seven batters and four bowlers with just one spinner for the majority of the tournament. The only exception in this trend was the heavy defeat at the hands of England.Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell bowled four overs between them against West Indies for just 22 runs while Australia’s three quicks took six wickets.Marsh also made a brilliant half-century in the chase batting at No. 3. But Langer was especially full of praise for David Warner who scored 89 not out, saying he never doubted his opener would come good after a lean run coming into the tournament.”I’ve never seen him as fit as he is at the moment,” Langer said. “He’s always fit. But this is at a different level at the moment. You’ve got to work very hard at his age. For him to do what he’s doing, you saw the way he played, ran between wickets yesterday, [in] hot conditions – it’s a great tribute to his professionalism and how hungry he is to keep playing great cricket. So, it’s nice to see him getting the results he’s had to play two amazing innings for us. And let’s hope he stands up again in the finals like the other boys have been doing so far.”Australia’s possible semi-final against Pakistan will also see Langer face his close mate and long-time Test opening partner, Matthew Hayden, who has been a batting consultant for Pakistan during the T20 World Cup.”The difference is we’ll be sitting on the sidelines watching,” Langer said. “But he’s enjoying it. We’ve been back and forth messaging throughout the tournament. No insights, though. We’re sort of keeping business to business.”It’s going to be good to see him. I haven’t seen him for a long time. But there’s lots of relationships in cricket and when it comes to Thursday night, we’ll put our friendship down for three hours and we’ll get to business and it should be good fun.”
Jason Cundy has told Chelsea to sign a fringe Liverpool star so Enzo Maresca can replace one of his mainstay players, with the talkSPORT pundit explaining exactly why Todd Boehly should move for him.
Chelsea's rumoured transfer plans for 2025
As previously reported, the Blues are planning to bolster Maresca’s options both further forward and at the back.
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Despite Nicolas Jackson’s scintillating start to 2024/2025, proving that he’s more than capable of leading Chelsea’s forward line, it is believed that Stamford Bridge transfer chiefs are still internally debating the prospect of a new striker as soon as January (Simon Phillips).
Chelsea made a late summer attempt to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli, but neither the west Londoners nor Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli could strike a deal for the Nigerian, who ended up joining Turkish champions Galatasaray on a season-long loan.
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures
Date
Newcastle (home)
October 27
Man United (away)
November 3
Arsenal (home)
November 10
Leicester City (home)
November 23
Aston Villa (home)
December 1
Maresca was backed with a plethora of signings over the summer window. However, a fresh centre-forward option wasn’t one of them, despite Chelsea having also made a summer proposal to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
Chelsea are also scouring South America for centre-backs and could look to sign defenders from that continent who are plying their trade elsewhere at the moment. Meanwhile, concerns surround current Chelsea number one keeper Robert Sanchez.
The former Brighton shot-stopper has started all eight of their Premier League games so far, but has come under fire by some sections of the media, including Cundy.
Chelsea told to replace Robert Sanchez with Caoimhin Kelleher
Speaking on talkSPORT, via The Metro, the former Chelsea star claims that second-choice Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher would be an ideal successor for him.
Cundy has urged Chelsea to sign Kelleher to replace Sanchez, calling the Republic of Ireland international “top drawer”.
“What was really evident to me at the weekend was that Chelsea’s No.1 isn’t as good as Liverpool’s No.2,” said Cundy on talkSPORT.
“Whenever I see Kelleher play he looks top drawer. Sometimes when you see a No.2 goalkeeper come in, you might see the defence drop a bit deeper or they’re hesitant to do back passes.
“Whenever Kelleher’s in goal and he’s played a lot in the last 18 months to two years both in the Carabao Cup and Champions League, he never looks out of place. Liverpool don’t look any weaker with him in goal and that is a massive compliment by the way.
“If you’re a Liverpool fan, I know you’ve got [Giorgi] Mamardashvili coming in, but you don’t want Kelleher to go either. He’s too good to be a number two. I want him [at Chelsea].”
There is still time for Chelsea’s current first choice to prove his worth, with Fabrizio Romano claiming over the summer window that Maresca really rates Sanchez and couldn’t wait to work with him.
“He is a monster in terms of his physicality,” said Graham Potter on Sanchez during their time together at Brighton.
“He’s not just big but he is powerful, he is fast. In terms of attributes as a goalkeeper, he has got everything to be a top goalkeeper. We have to keep helping him, supporting him.”
The defending champions show their quality in a low-scoring match
Danyal Rasool09-Sep-2021A comprehensive bowling performance from Trinbago Knight Riders routed Barbados Royals by six wickets, chasing down 94 with more than three overs to spare. Knight Riders’ spinners did enough to stifle Royals throughout the first innings, with Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre and Sunil Narine responsible for seven of the nine wickets that fell, conceding just 59 runs in their combined 12 overs. In response, Knight Riders chose to coast rather than blast their way to victory, with the asking rate not a concern for them. Colin Munro’s unbeaten 41 shepherded them through the chase, with Hosein’s two sixes finishing the game off with a flourish and putting Royals on the brink of elimination.Royals got off to a flyer thanks to Kyle Mayers, whose 12-ball 24 was as good as things got for his side. At that stage, the pitch looked like it had little for bowlers and a big total was seemingly on the cards. But once Mayers fell, no batter could build on the mini-platform he had set, and as the spinners took over, Royals began to crumble.A disastrous middle-order collapse saw Knight Riders pick up five Royals wickets for 18 runs, with all three spinners making hay. Azam Khan hung around with the tail without really having much of an impact, and the innings spluttered along to the end, by which time the Royals had limped to 93.Despite a brilliant first couple of overs from Mohammad Amir, including a first-ball wicket, the chase never really threatened to unravel. Knight Riders understood all they need to do was keep wickets in hand and the win was all but assured, and unlike the Royals, negotiated the middle overs expertly. Royals’ spinners had few runs to play with, and thus struggled to build any real pressure, and even though Lendl Simmons and Tion Webster departed early and Darren Bravo struggled for runs, Knight Riders were always in control.Both sides were going through the motions at the end, with the game drifting and the result not in doubt. The win took Knight Riders to the top of the table, with the defending champions assured a spot in the playoffs. Royals, meanwhile, are staring elimination in the face.