Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
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EPL
Why Liverpool Need Fabinho In Defence Against Chelsea In A Decisive Game
Liverpool secured their first victory in five league games last weekend and by the end of today the struggling Premier League champions could be back in the top four with things looking a little rosier in his injury-hit squad.
Midfielders Naby Keita and James Milner made their comebacks from injury against Sheffield United while Diogo Jota is ready for action this week.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker returns too following the tragic death of his father.
But the most important return of all is that of midfielder and makeshift centre half Fabinho.
Why Liverpool Need Fabinho In Defence Against Chelsea In A Decisive Game
Manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Wednesday that the Brazilian will be available for selection for the visit of Chelsea to Anfield tonight.
‘Fab has now five or six sessions in his legs and we have to make a decision how we deal with that, but he looks good and is ready for the squad for sure,’ said Klopp.
Stand-in centre backs Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak did keep a clean sheet at Bramall Lane but against the Premier League’s lowest scorers were not fully put to the test.
There is much debate over whether the Reds should continue with that central defensive duo after Klopp has been forced to rotate constantly in that area of the pitch due to injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
Fabinho is a superb holding midfielder who protects the Liverpool backline with control and efficiency and has an excellent ability to cut out the opposition’s supply lines.
But when thrown into the spotlight in the heart of Liverpool’s defence back in September the 27-year-old rose to the challenge. The opponents that day… Chelsea.
There were fears the Blues’ £53million summer signing Timo Werner would expose him at Stamford Bridge but Fabinho nullified the pacey striker.
Timo Werner in his pocket: how Fabinho became the unsung hero of this Liverpool side
He denied the former RB Leipzig forward twice in one-on-one duels and Klopp said he would have been awarded man of the match had it not been for Sadio Mane scoring both goals in a 2-0 win.
‘Fabinho was a top player. He’s really good in one on one situations,’ he said.
‘He was outstanding. If Sadio doesn’t score two goals, Fabinho would have been a man of the match contender.’
Compatriot Alisson, meanwhile, hailed him ‘a monster’ and praised his display as ‘unbelievable’.
Fabinho made the most recoveries (12) and lost the ball the least (3) out of all the Liverpool and Chelsea defenders. He also won 75 per cent of his tackles as well as 50 per cent of his aerial battles.
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He played the most passes from defence but also was not wasteful as he had the highest pass completion rate at 96.7 per cent out of his team-mates Van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s back four of Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso.
Fabinho vs Chelsea
Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness has urged his old club to restore Fabinho to central defence on his return from injury.
‘You’re only as strong as your weakest link in the football team. They looked a bit vulnerable to a couple of long balls and flick-ons tonight,’ he told Sky Sports last weekend.
‘They’ll be [up against] a bigger threat on Thursday night when they play Chelsea and you’ve got to play him at the back.’
Phillips, 23, has not looked out of place but lacks experience while Kabak, who was brought in as emergency cover from Schalke in January, has had a baptism of fire.
The 20-year-old, signed on loan with an option to buy, was involved in a costly mix-up with Alisson on his debut as Liverpool fell to a 3-1 defeat at Leicester.
The young defender has not been afforded the luxury of time to adapt to his new surroundings.
Phillips has the best tackle success out of all the Liverpool centre halves this season at 70 per cent while Fabinho and Kabak have rates of 64 per cent and 62.5 per cent respectively when it comes to winning tackles.
Against Chelsea’s quick and tricky customers of Werner, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech, Phillips and Kabak’s limitations, however, could be laid bare.
Fabinho has played the most minutes in central defence for Liverpool this season. If the champions are to salvage a top four place he will need to rack up plenty more.
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‘Compelling title race a relief for Premier League’
This weekend will be the 10th time that the Premier League title has been decided on the final day of the season.
But rarely before will those in charge of the competition have been so grateful for a captivating conclusion to the campaign.
Liverpool’s challenge ultimately faded, scuppering their fans’ dreams of a triumphant farewell for departing manager Jurgen Klopp and the prospect of an unprecedented three-way battle going the full distance.
But Manchester City or Arsenal will be crowned champions in the final act of what has been a classic duel.
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Sunday may not provide the unforgettable drama of 2012’s last day, which saw massive fans’ participation at MT online sportsbooks, when Sergio Aguero’s stoppage-time winner sealed a first Premier League title for City. But whether it ends with a record fourth consecutive title for the champions or a first in 20 years for Arsenal, league bosses, broadcasters and neutrals will have the special finale they hoped for.
Off the field, however, these have been troubled times for the top flight.
The points deductions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest this season for breaching financial rules have been hugely contentious, the punishments – and subsequent appeals – leading to uncertainty over the league table, resentment by fans and fears that the relegation battle could be decided by the rulings of commission panels.
While both teams have ultimately stayed up, the controversy surrounding the profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) is not going away.
Newly promoted Leicester City have been charged with breaking spending rules when they were in the top flight (and are now taking legal action against the league), while Chelsea have also been under investigation.
And 16 months after City were charged with more than a hundred rule breaches, a hearing in their case is not thought to be scheduled until the autumn, contributing to the mounting scrutiny of the league’s governance and processes.
While City deny wrongdoing, a sixth league triumph in seven years would only intensify questions over the fairness of how they assembled their squad over several seasons, the time the case has taken, and whether the club’s wealth has distorted the competitiveness of the league, alongside admiration for the team and their coach.
Meanwhile, a split has emerged between clubs over plans to introduce a new spending cap, and the Premier League is facing the threat of more legal action from one of its members over amended rules around associated party transactions.
As if all that was not enough to contend with, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters has also warned of the “unintended consequences” of the forthcoming independent football regulator, amid mounting criticism of the failure by his clubs to agree a new financial settlement with the English Football League (EFL).
The Premier League is also known to be deeply concerned about the increasingly congested calendar, with Masters recently warning of a “tipping point”, after criticism following the scrapping of FA Cup replays. The league has also admitted that the VAR system must improve after a series of controversies.
With the title race going right to the wire, Sunday’s final-day drama will provide a welcome distraction from such matters for Masters and his colleagues – but, one suspects, only a temporary one.
Clock ticking for Commonwealth Games
A few weeks ago in Birmingham, Katie Sadleir, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), told me that any further delay beyond May in announcing a host for the 2026 event would be “very problematic”.
Since then Glasgow has emerged as a possible back-up option if no replacement is found for Victoria in Australia, which pulled out last year, plunging the event into crisis.
But there has still been no official announcement by the CGF.
Insiders claim they remain hopeful a host will be confirmed in the next two weeks, but the clock is ticking.
Super League heading stateside?
The National Rugby League (NRL) season kicked off in the US for the first time in March, with a Premiership double-header staged at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as part of a multi-year deal designed to grow the sport in the US.
So could Super League clubs follow suit?
Talks have taken place over the Club World Challenge being staged in the US, and some Super League bosses are keen on regular season matches being part of the tie-up too.
Wigan and Warrington played each other in Milwaukee 35 years ago, albeit as an exhibition match. And with rugby league currently ‘re-imagining’ itself as part of a 12-year deal with agency IMG intended to boost its appeal, anything seems possible.
Manchester United assessing potential Erik ten Hag replacements 👀 Mark Ogden shares details with SportsFila.
The fact that Southgate is on that list tells how serious you should take it
No manager on earth could do anything with Manchester United until Someone takes responsibility for the club and has a viable plan for the future.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, the club’s new partial owners, are exploring options to assume the role. According to Team Talk, the Red Devils are considering the 41-year-old as a candidate for the manager position.
After achieving success as a player with Barcelona, Inter, and Paris Saint-Germain, winning numerous titles, the two-time Champions League winner transitioned to coaching at the senior level.
Flop Antony and Gabriella Cavallin/ getty Images
ESPN loves ManUtd. As much they say that they hate talking about ManUtd they can’t stop talking about ManUtd 😅😅. They have spend 15 mins speaking on rumours – Hypocrites.
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It’s not Ten Hag fault when players like rashford do not put in all the effort after signing a new contract. Also ten hag had to deal with incredible amount of injuries which ESPN deliberately overlooks. So getting another manager isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s so funny how the English media fails to realize that the structure & the players is the problem at united…..but they trying to sack ETH who is an elite manger under a proper management structure 💯
The best manager that seems to be being overlooked shouod be n1 on the list for bayern utd liverpool is someone inzaghi. Hes done great things with Lazio and inter. Loads of experience and has got to european finals and won domestic leagues.
Manchester City 3-1 win over United in Manchester Derby.
It is very different getting an underdog /dark horse to perform vs going to an environment where the spotlight in on you everyday from day 1. The same thing happened at Bayern with a couple of their coaches…
Afcon 2024 victory is well deserved for Ivory Coast they left no stone unturned and they dominated throughout. If there is a one person who deserved to win the AFCON it was Sebastian Haller. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer but he recovered and he returned to play football in 2023 only to bottle the Bundesliga title on the final matchday to Bayern but here we are in 2024 where he scored the winner in the AFCON final to win Cote d’Ivoire AFCON title so congratulations🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🏆
Brazil Antony fulfill his potential at Manchester United?
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
But Ivory Coast won fair and square. They played better. Congratulations champs.
What Adingra did in the African Cup of Nation was phenomenal. Nigerians will remember him as a nighmare forever. The boy has a great future ahead of him.
Why Biased Ten Hag Cannot Discipline Rashford Like Sancho
Haller beats cancer, then comes to the AFCON and scores the most important goal in the final, the winning goal what a beautiful story for that man and Ivory coast, congratulations to them👏👏
Congratulations to Ivory Coast from cameroonian👏👏👏you organized and won the most beautiful AFCON in story, unbelievable achievment when we look how things went for you.
One of the best tournaments I’ve seen.
Almost every team demonstrated that they were not afraid of their opponent and played above expectations.
Congratulations to Côte d’Ivoire who never gave up and believed and implemented their progress towards goal as much as possible until the last second in this tournament. Kudos to Nigeria for high yield and quality.
Thank you for making the spectators so emotional and congratulations and best wishes to the Ivory Coast and the Ivorian people.
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
Thanks for your company.
The night has only just started in Abidjan.
Congratulations to Ivory Coast for winning the Africa Cup🏆! The team showed strength and desire to win and to not give up until the end. And the fans were absolutely amazing
P.s Haller deserved it the most, since he suffered a lot.
The story of Côte d’Ivoire’s victory in the African Nations is one of the most beautiful stories in the history of football. We sympathized with this team’s version a lot and we will tell it to our children in the future 🧡
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