List of All Articles with Tag 'por'

New faces, same issues. Pre-season is not the proving ground, more the moment to set the tone of what’s to come and, where needed, prune and alter approaches. For Liverpool, this summer is shaping up to be more of a change than manager Jurgen Klopp had expected, but perhaps just enough of the same remains to serve as a reminder that alterations were required before and that is still the case now. On the one hand, that isn’t unexpected. Defensive issues plagued the season in 2022/23, even among the improvement of the final third of the campaign, and while the new in-possession shape has brought definite improvements on the ball, it was still jarring and lacking cohesion by late May. Fast forward a few mostly meaningless games and that same mix of output remains on show – and that’s all the more the case after a totally new midfield trio looks to be in place once the 23/24 Premier League season starts. Wednesday’s friendly 4-3 defeat with Bayern Munich showed the good and the bad of the past few months, in the most relevant and difficult encounter of the summer for the Anfield club: great interplay at times, plenty of players in goalscoring areas, ragged running back against transitions and a mix-up in responsibilities inside the defensive third. New signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister look increasingly likely to start the campaign as the two advanced midfielders, left and right-sided respectively. The former appears to have brought more of his A-game so far, showing good ball-carrying and chance creation, but sheer numbers probably dictate they’ll both be in the line-up anyway – six senior midfield options have left since last season, with just those two through the door so far. Behind them, Curtis Jones once more operated as the No.6, the stand-in replacement for the departed Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, having starred for two or three months last term in the left-sided role now occupied by his new Hungarian teammate. Between the trio, the build-up approach, playing from deep and manipulation of the ball around a press can at times look exceptional. Jones in particular can be seen taking more risks in individual movements than his predecessors did, but against that comes his lack of natural positional awareness and lesser tenacity in ball-winning. Certainly, the latter is a big trait currently missing in the Reds’ heart of operations, along with aerial ability and overall aggression to get goal-side against counter-attacks or direct balls over them from deep. Of more importance remains the ability for the team to organise itself after Trent Alexander-Arnold roves centrally or beyond the midfield line, in his still-new, impactful style. Two of Bayern’s goals came in this regard while he was still on the pitch; one more came down that side after the new vice-captain departed. It’s clearly an area that Klopp and his coaches have not yet reached a consensus on, or else been able to transmit to the players who is responsible for each area according to different phases of play: the person covering centre-back if the right-sided defender is pulled across, where Alexander-Arnold himself is most effective getting back to and where the left-back needs to track if runners are both centrally and on his side. Andy Robertson has been a victim of this indecision and lack of clarity more than once, and the same proved true against Bayern, missing a tackle and tracking a runner in the wrong area before a goal ends up being scored from his side of the box. And yet so much of this is a knock-on from the No.6, the defensive midfielder. Jones has impressed on the ball and has the diligence to fight for a place in the team, yet again, and his summer with the England U21 team saw him get game-time in that role. But runners surging past him, still-to-improve tackling technique and just the natural inclination to be in place against the best central passers and runners are, naturally, not going to be his forte. Should he remain in place for the opening league match of the season, Chelsea vs Liverpool could be an epic opener for the top flight: both have clear attacking excellence, but neither have secured the ball-winner in the middle they desire. It could be that Romeo Lavia or an alternative arrive at Anfield between now and then, leaving Klopp to decide between the lack of cohesion between three new signings who have never played together – but one has natural defensive tendencies – or three players who are new to their roles in this team, but one who at least has had a regular role over the past few months. Either way, it won’t be perfect. And either way, the set-up doesn’t yet look fully prepared for the rigours of bigger challenges ahead– just as was the case three months ago, albeit with very different faces in place. Read More Jurgen Klopp wanted a midfield change at Liverpool – instead he got a revolution Man United join Romeo Lavia chase as midfield transfers look set to shape the market Klopp hits out at the Saudi Arabian transfer window length: ‘Not helpful’ Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Liverpool transfer news: Lavia, Andre, Doucoure, Thiago and more

Forget about orange slices, players like Alex Morgan, Australia’s Katrina Gorry and Jamaica’s Cheyna Matthews are redefining what it means to be a “soccer mom.”

The final day of group stage action takes place in the Women’s World Cup as Colombia, Germany and Morocco all hope to reach the last-16. Colombia have the best chance after their shock victory over Germany in their previous outing. Manuela Vanegas scored a dramatic 97th-minute winner to put the South America side top of Group H and needing just a point to ensure they progress to the knockout rounds. They take on Morocco who have hopes of causing an upset of their own. The African side currently sit third in the table on the same amount of points as Germany. To have any chance of making it out of the group they need to defeat Colombia, by a big margin and hope the Germans drop points. Meanwhile, Germany have the easiest task on paper. South Korea are bottom of the group having lost their opening two fixtures. A win for Alexandra Popp and co. should be enough to get them through thanks to their healthy goal difference yet they may have to settle for second place. Check out our best bets and predictions for Thursday’s matches. Elsewhere, Lauren James shone again on with two stunning goals as England put in their best performance of the Women’s World Cup so far earlier this week to sweep aside China 6-1 and march into the last 16. The Lionesses are now preparing for a clash with Nigeria for a place in the quarter-finals. Follow all the latest news and match updates below: Read More Genius Lauren James takes over Women’s World Cup — but England must learn from rivals Sarina Wiegman’s brave England switch solves key Women’s World Cup problem USA’s narrow escape spells the end of Women’s World Cup dominance

The former mayor of a Maryland college town pleaded guilty Wednesday to 140 charges stemming from child pornography possession and distribution, prosecutors said.

What the papers say Manchester United have joined Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in the race for Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia, according to the Independent. Liverpool had their bid rejected by Southampton and United look like they will swoop in to try and lure the 19-year-old to the club. Aston Villa look to be interested in American Tyler Adams and are willing to reach Leeds’ £25million release clause to free up the 24-year-old midfielder, the Daily Mail says. The Telegraph reports that Bournemouth look like the favourites to sign Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott, beating Wolves to matching the £25m transfer fee. Turkish club Besiktas are in talks with former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose contract with Liverpool expired this summer, according to the Daily Express. The Manchester Evening News says the confirmation of Manchester United’s big-money capture of Rasmus Hojlund could be delayed after the 20-year-old arrived in the north west later than planned. Social media round-up Players to watch Kylian Mbappe: The 24-year-old told Chelsea he would be open to playing with them but only for one year and only if they agree to let him move to Real Madrid on a free transfer next year, Spanish media outlet Sport says. Gianluca Scamacca: The Evening Standard reports that Inter Milan are raising their bid to £21.5m for the West Ham striker.

Slade Cecconi’s first career strikeout might go down as one of the most unique in the majors

Cole Ragans pitched out of trouble for six spotless innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 4-0 for their fifth consecutive victory, extending their longest winning streak in more than two years

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The arms race in the AL West began with Lucas Giolito and quickly escalated

Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in four runs to lead Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2, preventing a three-game sweep

Dane Dunning had a career-high 11 strikeouts, All-Star shortstop Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat coming off the injured list and the Texas Rangers maintained their slim lead in the AL West with a 11-1 win over the Chicago White Sox

Jesús Sánchez hit a bases-loaded single with no outs in the 12th inning as the Miami Marlins rallied from a five-run deficit and came back twice in extra innings for 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders