Category Uncategorized

Chelsea are still without a solution to their goalkeeping problem and could be looking at another season with Kepa Arrizabalaga as their first choice.

Unless the Blues can finalise a deal for a new shot-stopper, they will continue to have a weak point in their defence this season. However, The Athletic have reported that Frank Lampard is eyeing up a move for Manchester United ‘keeper Sergio Romero (via The Mirror).

Chelsea have been shopping around for the answer to their goalkeeping woes for months now. After Lampard put his foot down on Kepa and ruled him unreliable between the sticks, they have scoured Europe for his replacement.

Their initial interest looked to spell a London move for Jan Oblak, but Atletico Madrid remained firm on their £110million asking price, which put him out of their budget.

Nick Pope was another name thrown into the mix, but talks have died down surrounding a swoop for the England international. Instead, the Blues could now capitalise on Romero’s situation at Old Trafford, with Dean Henderson signing a new deal and David de Gea the favourite to start most of the Reds’ games.

Although Romero may be a bit older than Lampard would like at 33, he boasts 96 international caps for Argentina and was part of the Olympic gold medal-winning side from 2008 (via Transfermarkt).

His international experience behind fellow veteran Thiago Silva could be a huge boost for Chelsea’s struggling defence. Plus, with Henderson in line to challenge de Gea, United may be open to letting Romero leave this window.

No price tag has been specified but his Transfermarkt value is a mere £2.5million and he has just one year left on his current contract. The Reds may be forced to cash in before he is eligible to leave as a free agent next summer.

If the Blues can wrap up a deal for the Argentinian, it will likely be the cherry on top of Lampard’s very expensive transfer cake.

Do you think Chelsea should sign Romero? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Manchester United have made the first moves ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season by completing the signing of Odion Ighalo.Â

Ever since he arrived on loan from Shanghai Shenhua at the start of the year, the Nigerian has impressed at the club he supported as a boy, scoring four goals in eight appearances so far. Ighalo has earned himself a contract extension off the back of these performances which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2021.

United were in the process of planning for a squad overhaul before the nationwide lockdown was imposed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (ESPN). Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to bring in a new crop of young talent and scouts have been monitoring the development of Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.

However, the Red Devils accept that Fati will remain at Barcelona, despite rumours of a £100m bid for the Spanish under-21 international.

This eye-watering figure will surely raise a few eyebrows, given his young age. The 17-year-old recently signed a new deal in December that will expire in 2022 and includes a release clause reportedly worth €170m (£152.73m).

The Spaniard is yet to be officially promoted to the first team as he is still technically registered with the Barca B team, although he has scored four goals in 16 games in La Liga this season (WhoScored).

As the transfer window approaches, Solskjaer has once again been linked to a number of expensive targets, including Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, who is unlikely to come cheap.

Unsurprisingly, loads of United fans slammed the club’s “rubbish” link to Fati, with one supporter blasting the “ridiculous” amount of money, while another branded him a “Messi wannabe” in reference to his famous teammate.

Scroll down through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, should Ed Woodward sign Ansu Fati in the summer? Let us know down below!

أعلن المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، كارلو أنشيلوتي، قائمة اللاعبين المسافرين إلى إيطاليا من أجل مباراة إنتر ميلان في الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويتواجه ريال مدريد وإنتر ميلان يوم الأربعاء، في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” على ملعب “جوسيبي مياتزا” بقيادة الحكم الألماني الدولي دانيل شيبرد.

وشهدت قائمة ريال مدريد عودة المدافع والظهير الأيسر ديفيد ألابا، بجانب لوكا يوفيتش واستمرار غياب جاريث بيل وتوني كروس للإصابة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. أنشيلوتي ينتقد دفاع ريال مدريد: المشكلة ليست في الجودة ولكن في التضحية

📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados para el partido 🆚 @Inter!#UCL pic.twitter.com/8jJO07v1bi — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 13, 2021

قائمة ريال مدريد ضد إنتر ميلان في دوري أبطال أوروبا

حراسة المرمى: كورتوا، لونين، توني فيودياس.

الدفاع: كارفاخال، ميليتاو، ألابا، فاييخو، ناتشو، ميخيل.

الوسط: مودريتش، كاسيميرو، فالفيردي، فاسكيز، إيسكو، كامافينجا، بلانكو.

الهجوم: هازارد، بنزيما، أسينسيو، يوفيتش، فينيسيوس، رودريجو، ماريانو.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após a vitória contra o Paris Saint Germain, na 2ª rodada do Mundial de Clubes, o Botafogo se prepara para enfrentar o Atlético de Madrid, nesta segunda-feira (23), às 16h (de Brasília), no Rose Bowl, na Califórnia. Para esquentar o confronto, o Lance! conversou com o influenciador Daniel Braune, que fez um “cara a cara” entre os jogadores do time de Renato Paiva e da equipe de Diego Simeone.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasMundial de ClubesGregore projeta jogo decisivo do Botafogo com o Atlético de Madrid: ‘Estamos concentrados’Mundial de Clubes22/06/2025BotafogoÁrbitro de Boca x Benfica vai apitar Botafogo x Atletico de MadridBotafogo22/06/2025Mundial de ClubesGonçalves: ‘Botafogo não deve nada a nenhum clube europeu do Mundial’Mundial de Clubes22/06/2025

➡️ Projete os resultados do Mundial de Clubes com o Simulador do Lance!

Dentre as escalações prováveis, Braune escolheu a maioria dos jogadores do Atlético de Madrid, mas deu vitória a Jhon, Barboza, Alex Telles, Gregory e Savarino contra Oblak, José Maria Gimenez, Llorente, Pablo Barrios e Gallegher.

Do time colchonero, o influenciador escolheu Javi Galán, Le Normand, De Paul, Giuliano Simeone, Julian Álvarez e Griezmann. No total, foram seis jogadores do Atlético do Madrid escolhidos pelo comunicador, contra cinco do Botafogo.

continua após a publicidade

➡️ Siga o Lance! Fora de Campo no WhatsApp e saiba o que rola fora das 4 linhas

Botafogo x Atlético de Madrid

O confronto entre as duas equipes acontece, nesta segunda-feira (23), às 16h (de Brasília), no Rose Bowl, na Califórnia, pelo Mundial de Clubes. Para a ocasião, o Botafogo joga pelo empate para alcançar as oitavas de final do torneio da Fifa.

A equipe de Renato Paiva ainda pode perder por até dois gols de diferença, que, mesmo assim, ainda se classificaria para a próxima fase. A colocação da vaga dependerá do resultado entre PSG e Seattle Sounders, que acontece no mesmo dia e horário.

continua após a publicidade

Tudo sobre

Atlético de MadridBotafogoFora de campoMundial de Clubes

ذكرت تقارير صحفية إيطالية، أنّ فريقي آرسنال وتوتنهام هوتسبير الإنجليزيان، يتنافسان على التعاقد مع أحد لاعبي فريق اي سي روما، في الصيف القادم.

آرسنال وتوتنهام يبحثان عن لاعبي وسط جدد، من أجل تعزيز صفوفه، والمُنافسة على الألقاب في الموسم المُقبل.

اقرأ أيضًا | رسميًا.. أرتيتا يؤكد رحيل ديفيد لويز عن آرسنال

وحسب صحيفة “كوريري ديلو سبورت” الإيطالية، فإن آرسنال وتوتنهام يرغبان في التعاقد مع اللاعب الغامبي إبريما داربو، متوسط ميدان روما.

داربو لديه عقد في روما، حتى 30 يونيو 2023، والنادي الإيطالي، سيكون مُنفتح على بيعه حال وصل عرضًا جيدًا؛ وفقًا لما ذكرته الصحيفة.

داربو تم تصعيده للفريق الأول لـ روما، وهذا الموسم خاض 5 مُباريات، وظهر بشكل جيد مع الجيالوروسي.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Despite Aston Villa falling to a third consecutive Premier League defeat in their West Midlands derby against Wolves, Dean Smith can look to the promising and increasingly consistent form of one summer signing as a source of optimism in his side’s bid to retain their top-flight status in 2019/20.

Consecutive victories over Norwich City and Brighton had lifted both Villa’s league positioning as well as spirits surrounding B6, yet the stark and hard-hitting realities of the Premier League have begun to firmly ring true for Smith’s side.

They’ve now suffered three successive losses to Liverpool, Manchester City and most recently Wolves, sending the newly-promoted outfit to 18th place; just three points above the relegation zone.

Villa’s porous defending – having conceded the fourth-highest number of goals (20) so far this season – has been a clear drawback despite a distinct ability to attack with vigour and intent – having scored 17 goals, the second-highest in the bottom-ten. Central to the frontline’s relative success has been summer signing Trezeguet.

Signed from Kasimpasa, the Egyptian international has now scored in back-to-back Premier League games after a mixed start to life in England, with a red card against Crystal Palace in September halting his initially consistent presence in the starting XI.

After serving the one-match suspension, Trezeguet was resigned to a spot on the bench for three of Villa’s next four league fixtures, but Smith has re-ignited his faith in the tricky winger to start him in their last three fixtures, with a series of exceptional performances alongside goalscoring returns vindicating his manager’s decision.

Across the last two league games against Liverpool and Wolves, Trezeguet has had 24 touches in the final third – more than any other Villa player – whilst having received 22 passes in the opponent’s half – another team-high that highlights the winger’s ability to find space and offer a dimension of attacking purpose to his side’s frontline.

With six take-ons, Trezeguet is tied with John McGinn, highlighting how the Egyptian is not only finding space to receive passes but is also creating space to dart through opposition defences and provide the likes of Wesley with the type of service that the Brazilian front-man can thrive off.

These are tricky times for Villa with their desire to stay in the top-flight likely to be tested over the coming weeks ahead of the festive fixture list, but Smith can unquestionably take solace in the ever-improving form of his summer signing Trezeguet who is gradually growing into his role.

If the 25-year-old can retain his starting berth and continue to act as a source of both goals and creativity, then Smith will find it increasingly difficult to drop the winger from his place in the Villa starting XI.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Mauricio Pochettino made a mistake on Sunday as he benched Tanguy Ndombele against Liverpool.

On the chalkboard

The Frenchman was curiously missing from the starting XI when the teams landed before the encounter, having played against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League in midweek.

He did come on as a substitute in the 63rd minute, though, replacing Harry Winks, and enjoyed an excellent cameo performance.

However, one has to wonder why he wasn’t included initially; Spurs struggled to exert any measure of control on the game prior to his introduction, as evidenced by the final possession tallies. Liverpool had 68% to Spurs’ 32%.

During his time on the pitch, Ndombele registered a total of 19 touches, per WhoScored, one shot and two key passes and a passing accuracy of 77%, higher than all but two of Spurs’ starting XI.

And his statistics so far this season are enlightening too, painting Pochettino’s decision in an even darker light.

He has played twice in the Champions League, along with seven times in total in the league, and his performances in Europe have been genuinely exceptional.

Per WhoScored, he has registered two assists, one shot per game, two key passes per game and 1.3 dribbles in the Champions League.

Defensively, he has also won two tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions and 1.3 fouls. He also has a passing accuracy of 89.1% from an average of 43 passes.

In the Premier League, he already has two goals to his name, one assist, 0.8 shots per game, 0.8 key passes and 1.1 dribbles. He also makes 2.3 tackles and has a pass completion rate of 83.1% from 29.5 passes.

Baffling call

Ndombele was signed for a club-record fee in the summer but here he was, on the bench, against perhaps the best team in the Premier League and technically speaking, the best team in Europe.

Per WhoScored, Ndombele is better than Moussa Sissoko in every attacking area bar dribbles, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, and is also a more assiduous defensive presence.

Both Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier have struggled for minutes this season and are not really direct competitors to his spot, while Harry Winks, meanwhile, makes more interceptions than Ndombele but is outperformed in every offensive category, even though his pass accuracy is higher.

The stats show that the Frenchman is better than the majority of the players he has been bought in to play alongside and yet, he was not introduced until the game was slipping away.

He should have been on the teamsheet from the outset, and while that is not to say he would have rescued his side from an Anfield defeat, he could well have had an impact on them keeping the ball an providing some sort of counter-attacking threat when 1-0 up.

That he wasn’t able to is the result of a poor Pochettino decision.

Some Liverpool fans took to Twitter in fury after Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were both omitted from the starting XI against Tottenham on Sunday.Both men lit up the midweek Champions League win over Genk on Wednesday, with Oxlade-Chamberlain in particular impressing after scoring two goals in the 4-1 victory – the England international was named as the WhoScored Man of the Match for his efforts in Belgium.

In Keita’s case, the Guinea international was also in fine form, having more touches of the ball than anyone else on the pitch with 140 while also completing three dribbles and recording three tackles.

However, despite their impressive performances, Jurgen Klopp opted to go with his trusty midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum for the visit of Spurs – something that did not go down too well with some Liverpool fans on Twitter.

Let’s take a look at what they were saying prior to kick-off…

أكد الدولي البلجيكي، تيبو كورتوا، حارس مرمى فريق ريال مدريد، بأنه ليس بالأمر السهل أنّ يكون حارس مرمى لدى النادي الملكي، بسبب الضغط الجماهيري ووسائل الإعلام، مُشيرا إلى أنه يأمل أنّ يستمر في الظهور بمستوى جيد مع المرينجي.

كورتوا انضم إلى ريال مدريد، في صيف عام 2018، قادمًا من تشيلسي، بعد التألق رفقة بلجيكا في مونديال روسيا، وأول مواسمه مع اللوس بلانكوس لم يكن جيدًا، ولكن خلال الموسمين الماضيين، أثبت أنه أحد أهم اللاعبين داخل الفريق.

وقال كورتوا في تصريحات خلال حواره مع شبكة “TNT” البرازيلية: “بصفتك حارس مرمى عليك دائمًا التركيز، عليك معرفة جودة كل لاعب، نحن حراس المرمى، نُشاهد الكثير من مقاطع الفيديو، ونقوم بتحلليها”.

وأضاف: “اليوم يُمكن لأي فريق أنّ يسجّل عليك هدفًا، لذا علينا دائمًا أنّ نكون في تركيز دائم، أشعر أنني بحالة جيدة، حيث يُمكنني مُساعدة الفريق في بعض النقاط الرئيسية، وهذا موضع تقدير بالنسبة لي دائمًا”.

وواصل: “عندما تقوم بتصدي ويساعد في تحقيق الفوز، فإنك تشغر بالرضا، مُنذ وصولي أحاول العمل بجد، وفي العام ونصف الماضيين الأمور كانت تسير على ما يُرام معي، وآمل أنّ أستمر على هذا النحو”.

وبسؤاله حول أصعب وقت مرّ به في ريال مدريد، تابع: “في البداية لعبت شكل جيد، ولكنني لم أقم بأي تصديات غير عادية، ولكن حتى إذا فعلت ذلك، وخسرنا على سبيل المثال، فالأمر لا يبرز، الآن أقوم بتصديات جيدة ونحن نفوز، لم أغير أي شيء من طريقة عملي، أنا أقوم بنفس وظيفيتي، أعمل بجد، ولديّ ثقة كبيرة”

اقرأ أيضًا.. كورتوا: نُدرك خطورة محمد صلاح ومُهاجمي ليفربول.. ولكن!

وردًا على “هل من الصعب أنّ تكون حارس مرمى في مدريد؟”، أجاب: “نعم، لأن هُناك ضغطًا كبيرًا، عندما تكون في ريال مدريد، وضغط أكبر من الصحافة ومن الجماهير، أنّ تلعب هُنا ليس أمرًا سهلًا”.

وعن أفضل ثلاثة حراس مرمى في العالم، واصل: “هذه الأسئلة عادةٍ ما تكون صعبة، اليوم مستوى الحراس مُرتفع للغاية، هُناك أليسون (ليفربول)، تير شتيجن (برشلونة)، أوبلاك (أتلتيكو مدريد)، وأنا، نحن تقريبًا في نفس العمر ومن نفس الجيل، هُناك نوير أيضًا ولكنني أترك للناس ترتيب الحراس الأفضل”.

وأردف: “مُنذ أنّ كنت طفلًا كنت من أشد المُعجبين بـ إيكر كاسياس (أسطورة ريال مدريد)، لكن بعد ذلك، كبرت ورأيت أنّ إيكر أقصر مني، وله أسلوب مختلف ونظرت لاحقًا إلى فان دير سار، الذي كان مثلي الأعلى أيضًا، ثم أعجبت بـ تشيك، ولم أنس بوفون”.

وأتم تصريحاته بالحديث عما كان يرغب في الفوز بالكرة الذهبية يومًا ما قائلًا: “ستكون جائزة جميلة، لقد فزت بجائزة The Best في 2018، والقفاز الذهبي في كأس العالم، لقد كانا مميزين بكل تأكيد، ولكن أنا أحب الفوز بكأس مع الفريق”.

Earlier this week, Billy Gilmour made his first competitive start for the Chelsea first-team as the Blues took apart Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup by winning 7-1 at Stamford Bridge.

It was a fine performance from a Blues side possessing some of the famed youth that they have at the club and it is certainly apparent that Frank Lampard is willing to use his kids at the moment.

Whether or not Gilmour features in the league much this season is perhaps up for debate, but it is clear that the Glasgow-born player – formerly at Rangers – is on the right path in terms of his progression.

Indeed, Rangers fans should be pleased to see one of their own making his mark at a top Premier League club – though they, of course, would surely prefer him to still be at Ibrox.

Even so, the Rangers ties remain strong with Jordan Jones among those to congratulate Gilmour on Instagram after he posted about his full debut on the social media platform…

/B22iFxnJu1Z/

An exciting moment for the youngster and potentially the first of many as he looks to advance his career at the west London club.