List of All Articles with Tag 'ot'

Raphinha and head coach Xavi both saw red as Barcelona got their LaLiga title defence under way with a goalless draw at Getafe in a tempestuous affair that saw both sides finish with 10 players. Raphinha came close to breaking the deadlock when his shot was saved by David Soria before rebounding off Stefan Mitrovic and on to a post, but the Barcelona winger was given his marching orders soon after. Having been booked for dissent moments earlier, the Brazilian was given a straight red after appearing to use his forearm in an off-the-ball clash with Gaston Alvarez, prompting uproar from Getafe’s bench. The incident on the stroke of half-time left Barcelona a man down with more than half the game to go but the sides were evened up just before the hour when Jaime Mata received a second yellow card. Robert Lewandowski saw a looping header cleared off the line by Alvarez before, with 20 minutes left, Xavi was given his marching orders for arguing with the officials. Barcelona dominated possession and had 14 shots to their opponents’ five on a steamy night in the Spanish capital but ultimately drew a blank in a clash that produced eight yellows and the three red cards. They thought they should have had a penalty in the 12th minute of added-on time, with referee Cesar Soto Grado checking the monitors following potential fouls on Gavi and Ronald Araujo. But the official saw no transgression by the Getafe defence and the hosts held on to secure a point. Goals from Ayoze Perez and Willian Jose – in the 90th minute – secured a 2-1 victory for Real Betis at Villarreal, who had equalised through Jorge Cuenca, while Ruben Garcia and Moi Gomez were on target as Osasuna won 2-0 at Celta Vigo. In Ligue 1, Lens squandered a two-goal lead as last season’s runners-up started their campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Brest. Florian Sotoca and Deiver Machado put Lens two goals ahead inside 22 minutes but Romain Del Castillo’s spot-kick on the stroke of half-time gave the home side a foothold in the game. Kenny Lala equalised just before the hour mark and after substitute Adrien Thomasson was sent off just a quarter of an hour after coming on, Del Castillo scored his second penalty to give Brest the points. Wissam Ben Yedder bagged a brace as Monaco won 4-2 at Clermont, while Ibrahim Salah also scored twice as Rennes dished out a 5-1 beating to promoted Metz. Le Havre, back in the top flight after a 14-year absence, had substitute Samuel Grandsir to thank for a last-gasp strike that rescued a 2-2 draw at Montpellier, while Toulouse came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Nantes and Strasbourg beat Lyon by the same score. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Man United will not ‘rush’ Rasmus Hojlund back to fitness – Erik ten Hag Ashley Young embracing challenge of turning things around for Everton Former Scotland bowler Majid Haq allegedly racially abused umpiring this weekend

Player ratings from Barcelona's 0-0 draw with Getafe on matchday one of the 2023/24 La Liga season.

Erik ten Hag has told Harry Maguire to go to West Ham if he is not confident enough to fight for his place at Old Trafford. Manchester United have accepted a £30m bid from the Hammers for their former captain, who has dropped out of the team as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have become the first-choice centre-back partnership. But while Ten Hag insisted he wants to keep Maguire as he hopes to have two players for every spot in the side, he believes the England international should go if he does not believe he can get back into the side. “He has to fight for his place,” the United manager said. “He has the ability to be a top-class centre-back and he is the best for England so why shouldn’t he be the best for us? But he has to prove it. When he is not confident enough to fight then he has to go, then he has to make a decision, but I’m happy with him. “We don’t have a squad with 11 players, and the last year proved definitely we need all the players. That means you need some high-level players who are maybe not starting but that can change so there is an internal competition, everyone has to fight for his place. “Every player when they were good they will get their games but no one can play all the games and finally you find out what is the best team. In the squad now all the positions are double and every player has the perspective to fight for his place. You have to show with your contribution it’s the best team performance. It is up to the players if they have game time or less.” Ten Hag also suggested he could keep Dean Henderson. United have been in talks with Nottingham Forest about the goalkeeper but with third-choice Tom Heaton out for several weeks, United may be reluctant to let Henderson leave. Ten Hag added: “He was always in my mind so I think we have a strong keeper group with Onana, Henderson and Heaton.” Read More Manchester United agree deal with Fenerbahce for Fred David Moyes: Man City bid for Lucas Paqueta was nowhere near our valuation Erik ten Hag has no regrets over Harry Kane ahead of Bayern Munich move

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4 centre-backs Real Madrid could sign to replace injured Eder Militao, who tore his ACL on the opening weekend of La Liga action.

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Mauricio Pochettino insisted Chelsea have put the disappointment of last season behind them after watching his new-look team open their Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. The hosts endured a difficult start against Jurgen Klopp’s side and deservedly fell behind to a breakaway goal by Luis Diaz after 18 minutes, guided into the bottom corner from Mohamed Salah’s fine pass. They were saved from going further behind when VAR intervened to rule out Salah’s strike for offside as Liverpool dominated for much of the first half. But Chelsea slowly eased their way back and were level when defender Axel Disasi, making his first start, stole in to touch home from Ben Chilwell’s header eight minutes before the break. VAR was called upon again to disallow Chilwell’s goal two minutes later, but thereafter Pochettino’s side settled and were a ready threat to Liverpool’s back line, with debutant striker Nicolas Jackson spurning the best chance when he fired over the bar from six yards. The manager reflected on a performance in which he felt his team showed the traumas of last season, when the club failed to challenge for silverware and finished a dismal 12th, had been exorcised. “I agree from the beginning it was tough, it was difficult,” he said. “Liverpool were better after 15-20 minutes but we started to find our ways to play and our position and what we were working on. And after that, the performance was really good. “We scored and after we showed a great performance. I think we deserved to win, we conceded only one shot on target against a team like Liverpool. “(I am) so pleased. It is only the start, the beginning. I can say thank you to the players. “When we arrived here the first day, we don’t talk about the past, it is a long time ago. You need to move on, even if you are thinking about what happened a few seconds before, it moves on. “The most important action in football is the next one and that is what we want to settle. We want to talk about the present and the future. We showed the belief and the team keep fighting.” With the teams still locked in a battle to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, the need for more steel and control was evident in both midfields as attack got the better of defence and the middle of the pitch appeared porous for much of the game. Chelsea remain in pole position to win the race for his signature, with the Ecuador international believed to favour a move to west London over Klopp’s side. Pochettino would not be drawn on the progress of any deal but confirmed that the club were still looking to reinforce in midfield before the end of the transfer window. He was also keen to point to his team’s success in limiting the visitors to a single shot on target during the game. “Today we concede only one shot on target and we concede a goal, against Liverpool,” he said. “We need good players and to improve the squad, yes, but that is not new and we are working very hard. “It is about (trying) to find the right profile, the right player, but the team was solid. We concede only one shot on target against Liverpool but for sure we need to create more chances, to have the capacity to score more goals. I think it is the first step.” The manager hinted that the decision to leave goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga out of the squad, with Robert Sanchez selected for his Chelsea debut, was down to reported interest from Real Madrid. “The reason he has to explore different situations, different possibilities,” he said. “Yesterday we were talking and the decision is to have all the players who are committed to being in Chelsea for the season.” Klopp said that he had no issue with the reaction of Salah when he was brought off during the second half. The forward, who has scored in his first game of the season in each year of his Anfield career and struck the crossbar at Stamford Bridge, was visibly unhappy to be taken off as his side sought a winning goal, but the manager said he felt it was a natural response. “I can understand because if Mo scored it would have been a new record for goals scored in the opening game but I didn’t think about that,” he said. “We needed stability and we needed fresh legs. It was super intense for everybody. That’s all I can say about it. His reaction was absolutely OK.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Key talking points as the new Premier League season gets under way Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham’s resilience following Harry Kane’s departure

College football is set to start back up in weeks. However, UNC football receiver Devontez Walker is still looking to find his fate. He's not alone.UNC football transfer wide receiver Devontez Walker has petitioned for immediate eligibility after being denied on account of his multiple-time...

Tottenham kicked off the Ange Postecoglou era with a 2-2 draw at Brentford, ending a week in which the club sold their greatest ever player on a relative high.

Chelsea's best and worst players in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

So this is what happens when you don’t have a midfield plan fully in place. In either team. End-to-end, sometimes intermittently and sometimes non-stop, but in either case when one side attacked, they invariably reached the final third to present some potential of danger. Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp will be content enough to not have lost the opener of the season, perhaps both will feel they can win the upcoming off-pitch battle even though they couldn’t get over the line on it. On the balance of what we saw at Stamford Bridge, longer term that’s the more important confrontation to win and the one which can add the most points across the course of the season: landing the right holding player to add much-needed stability to these technical, speedy sides. Chelsea and Liverpool seem to both want the same two players, though at this point who wants which the most is anybody’s guess - even without considering the back-and-forth over which destination the players themselves want. What is certain: put Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia into the lineups here and it’s a very different chance of victory for whoever scores first, a very different task for one team trying to break down the other. Read this without having seen the game and it might seem to suggest Conor Gallagher and Alexis Mac Allister gave terrible performances – they absolutely didn’t. Both were aggressive, combative, tracked runners, made big tackles in key areas and passed out from deep with aplomb. But neither are true defensive midfielders, neither have the innate, automatic and natural instincts to be where they need to be at every moment: call it positional sense, spatial awareness or just an understanding of the team tactics; either way, neither have it right now and both are better-served playing elsewhere. Brighton’s hierarchy, we can be sure, watched on with a smile inching ever-wider each time either side scythed through on the counter-attack. The price tag for Caicedo surely won’t be coming down after this opening 90 minutes of the Premier League season, and Southampton too will feel utterly justified in sticking to their valuation for Lavia. For the Blues, Gallagher’s opportunity to start at the base of midfield came with notable knock-on considerations: he has been the subject of transfer interest this month to the tune of £40m or so - not enough for Pochettino to consider selling - while he also freed up Enzo Fernandez to play higher upfield. The Argentine was largely impressive, pushing forward to good effect in both link play and chance creation, amassing more touches of the ball than any individual other than centre-back recycler Thiago Silva. Gallagher scurried about relentlessly, not in his usual box-to-box manner but laterally, frustrating Mohamed Salah in the channel or nicking the ball away from Diogo Jota. Now 23, there’s still a question over whether Gallagher is good enough, consistent enough, impactful enough to command a regular starting role at Chelsea. This game showed the endeavour and intent to do so, if also the certainty that all that sprinting back to make recovery tackles was as a direct consequence of simply not being in the right position initially. Against that Mac Allister started life as the Reds’ newest No10 in a role most recently occupied by the former No 3. Such is the imbalance and upside-down nature of Klopp’s midfield after a total summer reset, the man who was signed to bring control and creativity from the middle has to initially be deployed as the principle defensive support – and this Liverpool side is one which really, really needs its holding players to do a lot of support work. Attacking-wise, they are excellent at times. In transitions and against direct passes or runners from deep, they remain a mess. As Fabinho showed toward the back end of last term, an in-form anchor can make a lot of difference; as he also showed, Liverpool now need one with far more athleticism and recovery speed than the Brazilian possesses. Mac Allister, like Gallagher, performed the job well in terms of both distribution and dirty work. The Argentine also has the added caveat to his game that he is merely weeks into learning a new team and system; the Englishman, for his part, is learning a new management approach. In spells, these two sides looked like what they are: tremendously talented, attack-minded big teams who will expect to win many matches and be among the top four in 10 months’ time – but also ones with gaping holes in the plan, particularly right through the heart of midfield where so many through-balls, so many dribbles, so many runners were able to penetrate. A draw on the road isn’t bad for Liverpool; a draw from behind isn’t terrible for Chelsea. But the manner of the game and its inherent uncertainty until the very final minute was nothing less than pitch-perfect for Brighton. Read More Chelsea and Liverpool trial football without defensive midfielders Chelsea vs Liverpool player ratings: Salah and Sterling sparkle in draw Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Moises Caicedo transfer takes twist as Chelsea look to hijack Liverpool offer Liverpool offered hope in battle with Chelsea over Moises Caicedo transfer Jurgen Klopp urges caution over Liverpool’s move for Moises Caicedo

Look at Georgia athletics partnering up with Thor's favorite brewery in Creature Comforts.Creature Comforts is now the official beer of Georgia athletics, and Thor could not be happier!The Athens-based brewery offers a wide variety of beers to those of the legal age. Their most popular ...