Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is now in the final year of his four-year deal with the Premier League club, which he signed back in 2021. After weeks of speculation, the Dutch defender has now confirmed that discussions over a new deal have 'started up'. “Discussions have been started up," Van Dijk was quoted as saying by BBC when asked about a new deal with the Anfield outfit. "I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don't know, we will see what happens in the future. My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else. What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started up and we will see," he added. In his six years at Liverpool, the center back has the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and two League Cups to his name. Also Read: Chelsea to face stern test against Liverpool Liverpool signed Van Dijk in January 2018 for 75 million pounds, a then-world-record transfer fee for a defender. He quickly went on to assert his dominance in the league and was undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the world before his cruciate ligament tear injury in the 2020/21 season kept him out of action for 254 days. "I feel very good, physically, mentally and I am having fun. What the future brings, I have no idea at the moment, but like I said in my previous answer, discussions are ongoing with the right people and when it's time to make a decision or whatever, I think you guys (the media) will know it as well. But now full commitment and focus is on Liverpool and to be successful this season. So we will see," said the Dutch defender. Liverpool have had a great start to life under Arne Slot having won seven of their eight opening encounters which sees them sit at the top of the Premier League table. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 October,2024 09:11 AM IST | Liverpool | IANSWith Rei Tachikawa and Jordan Murray scoring a goal each in the first half, Jamshedpur FC edged past Hyderabad FC 2-1 in the 2024-25 edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the JRD Tata Sports Complex here on Monday. As a result of this win, Jamshedpur FC are now placed at the second spot in the league table. Tachikawa opened the scoring in the 28th minute and Murray doubled the lead at the stroke of half-time for the Men of Steel while Cy Goddard reduced the margin for the visitors in the 50th minute. However, Hyderabad FC could not find the equaliser and the hosts claimed three points. The match started tactically with both teams taking time to assess the opposition. In the ninth minute, Jamshedpur notched their first proper attack when Imran Khan sent in a delightful cross into the Hyderabad FC penalty box. However, Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) graduate Mohammed Sanan, to whom the ball was intended, fell a yard short. The very same minute saw Hyderabad FC inspire their first move of the game too. Chunga Hmar played a through ball to Cy Goddard and the latter’s cross fell into Lenny Rodrigues’ feet after a deflection from Pratik Chaudhari. Rodrigues meanwhile, punched it straight into Albino Gomes’ palm. In the 29th minute, the Men of Steel earned their much-desired lead. Sanan crossed a ball from the left which fell into Imran Khan’s feet after a missed header from Alex Saji. His feeble shot hit the post but Rei Tachikawa was there to turn the ball home. Also Read: 10-man Bengaluru FC snap Punjab FC’s winning streak to remain only unbeaten side Five minutes later, the Japanese midfielder had the chance to score his second of the night. His fiery shot was successfully punched away by Arshdeep Singh. A minute later, Khalid Jamil’s side got another opportunity but Sanan’s attempt was inches away from target. In the 41st minute, Hyderabad FC could have levelled the score as Goddard put a delightful pass on the plate to Chunga whose curling attempt was touched out by the stretching hand of Gomes. Just when Hyderabad FC were trying to get back into the game, Jordan Murray extinguished that fire. In the 44th minute, Sanan sent in a pitch-perfect through ball onto Murray, who calmly chipped it over an advancing Singh into the goal. Thangboi Singto’s army started the second half on a high. In the 50th minute, they brought one back for their side. Leander D’Cunha went for a long throw into the Jamshedpur FC penalty box, which was headed by Allan de Souza. The Brazilian’s header was left by Pratik Chaudhari, expecting his custodian Gomes to get hold of the ball. But before Gomes could collect the ball, Chunga got a touch to it and Goddard utilised the defensive frailty to ignite the fuel among the visitors. Both teams brought in changes to yield their desirable outcome from the fixture. However, the attempts were either not on target or thwarted away successfully. In the end, Jamshedpur FC grabbed the crucial three points. Jamshedpur FC will now travel to Guwahati to face NorthEast United on October 26 while Hyderabad FC will take a trip to Kolkata to face Mohammedan SC on the same date. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 October,2024 09:01 AM IST | Jamshedpur | IANSJude Bellingham’s first season at Real Madrid started with a glut of goals and ended with a dream double, but his second is yet to take off. The England international faces his former side Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu in a rematch of last season’s Champions League final, which Bellingham and Los Blancos triumphed in to win the competition for a record 15th time. Bellingham, 21, has shown signs of frustration in his sophomore year at Madrid, tasked with more defensive responsibility in midfield following the arrival of French superstar Kylian Mbappe. Ten goals last season Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti used Bellingham on the right of midfield in Saturday’s 2-1 La Liga win at Celta Vigo, another new role for the 103 million euro man. Also Read: Alcaraz mimics Bellingham goal celebration Bellingham started last season as a key figure in the centre of Madrid’s attack, scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games across La Liga and the Champions League. Thrust into the position after Karim Benzema departed while Madrid waited for then Paris Saint-Germain striker Mbappe to arrive, Bellingham thrived. After nine games this season in all competitions, he is yet to score. Rivalry with Vinicius During the win over Celta, Bellingham appeared furious with Brazilian teammate Vinicius Junior after the forward did not pass him the ball when he was well placed to score and instead lashed over. “I haven’t seen that [moment] you’re talking about, but if it happened, it means that he has balls, character, and seems good to me,” said Ancelotti, who has looked to shore up Madrid’s defence during the second half of last season by getting Bellingham to play a hybrid role which saw him drop to the left of midfield. The midfielder looked exhausted in the final months of the campaign and struggled with shoulder and ankle issues. Ancelotti has emphasised Bellingham’s job has changed and he should be appreciated for what he’s bringing to the team, in a midfield role now similar to what he was accustomed to before joining Los Blancos. Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin under pressure Borussia Dortmund travel to Real Madrid on Tuesday in a rematch of last season’s Champions League final amid worrying form and criticism of coach Nuri Sahin. Dortmund have looked inconsistent and still appear to lack a clear tactical identity. Sahin’s side are seventh in the Bundesliga, but top of the 36-team Champions League group after wins at Club Brugge and against Celtic at home. The only discernible trend so far for them has been their strength at home and their woes on the road. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 October,2024 07:49 AM IST | Madrid | AFPArne Slot said Liverpool rose to the challenge posed by a step up in opposition after beating Chelsea 2-1 to move back top of the Premier League on Sunday. The Reds had not faced any of the top nine in the table in their opening seven league games of the season to give Slot a gentle start to the demanding task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool did not have things all their own way at Anfield, but ground out another victory thanks to Mohamed Salah’s penalty and Curtis Jones’ second-half winner after Nicolas Jackson brought Chelsea level. “The better the teams you face the more you need to fight,” said Slot. “It helps if you play against a Chelsea, it is a big game and everyone feels it.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
22 October,2024 07:48 AM IST | Liverpool | AFPThe French football league (LFP) has condemned homophobic chanting by a section of Paris Saint-Germain fans at Saturday’s match against Strasbourg at their Parc des Princes stadium. “These latest discriminatory chants from PSG supporters are unacceptable,” the LFP said on Sunday. “The whole of professional football has been working for several seasons to ban homophobic behaviour and chants from stadiums.” Also Read: Mbappe-PSG salary row faces hearing as France captain cited in 'rape' report The LFP said its disciplinary committee would investigate the incident at the match, which Paris Saint-Germain won 1-0. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:12 AM IST | Paris | AFPOn-fire Lionel Messi scored his second hat-trick of the week and Luis Suarez scored twice as Inter Miami beat the New England Revolution 6-2 to smash MLS’s regular season points record. Miami’s win, in their final game of the regular season, took them to 74 points - one more than the previous record, set by New England in 2021. Messi, who came off the bench in the 58th minute and led the late flurry of goals, has now scored 20 goals in 19 appearances in MLS with his former Barcelona team-mate Suarez also notching 20, from 27 games. The challenge of breaking the record added some spice to the final game of the regular season with Inter having already secured the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in the regular season to stamp themselves clear favourites in the MLS Cup playoffs which start next week. Miami had trailed 2-0 before Suarez scored twice before half-time to send Gerardo Martino’s team in level at the interval. Goals from Argentine Luca Langoni and Colombian Dylan Borrero in the 34th minute had the home crowd chanting for Messi’s introduction from the bench but it was Uruguayan Suarez who began the comeback. Also Read: Messi wins MARCA America award A firm left-foot finish from the former Liverpool and Barcelona striker, pulled one back, after good work from David Martinez. Then Suarez levelled with a fine solo finish, making space for himself and switching to his right foot before drilling home. Messi, who had scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Bolivia on Tuesday, came off the bench in the 58th minute and immediately helped put the team ahead finding Jordi Alba who set up Benjamin Cremaschi for a tap-in. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:11 AM IST | Fort Lauderdale | AFPMikel Arteta admitted Arsenal’s shock 0-2 defeat at Bournemouth was an “accident waiting to happen” as William Saliba’s red card condemned them to a first Premier League loss since April. Arteta’s title-chasing side played for an hour with 10 men after French defender Saliba was dismissed for a professional foul on Evanilson. Ref cracks whip Referee Rob Jones initially showed Saliba a yellow card but the punishment was upgraded to a red after VAR intervened. It was the third time Arsenal had a player sent off in the league this season after Declan Rice saw red against Brighton and Leandro Trossard was dismissed at Manchester City. Arteta conceded the disciplinary problems were making it harder to win, with Arsenal taking just two points from the three games played with 10 men. “It’s very difficult to win in the Premier League with 10 men for 60 minutes. It’s just an accident waiting to happen. We have had to go through it in three games and that cost us the game,” he said. “We had the big chance and the moment in the game to score and have a different result and then we conceded a goal. We try to stick to the rules. The three red cards have been different ones and three very different outcomes.” Mikel Arteta Beaten in the league for the first time since Aston Villa’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium last season, Arsenal’s loss cost them the chance to go above Liverpool at the top of the table. Arteta acknowledged his third-placed team were below their best for long periods at the Vitality Stadium. “The team tried, the effort with 10 men was fantastic but today it was not enough to win the game,” he said. Also Read: ‘PSG are really aggressive’ “It took us a while to understand what we had do in the first 15 minutes, then we grabbed the game but after 30 minutes the game changed.” Arsenal midfielder Rice was even more honest in his assessment of the lethargic performance. Trossard’s wayward pass was the trigger for Saliba’s dismissal as the centre-back was forced to make a panicked tug on Evanilson. It was a careless mistake by Trossard and Rice said Arsenal must stamp out that kind of blunder if they want to mount another title challenge. Rice proud of players “We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games and we got away with it at home to Brighton and away at Manchester City. Bournemouth kept probing and made it 2-0,” Rice said. “I’m proud of the players for fighting, even with 10 men, but the naivety, we need to stop making mistakes because you want 11 players for 90 minutes and that’s what wins you football matches.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:11 AM IST | Bournemouth | AFPBayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl described striker Harry Kane as a “killer” after his 23-minute hat-trick carried the side to a 4-0 home win over Stuttgart on Saturday. The victory came after a three-game winless run in all competitions. Kane had not scored in four games for club and country, his longest drought since moving to Germany. The hat-trick was Kane’s sixth for Bayern in the league as he brought up 57 goals in all competitions for the club. The England captain told Sky Germany: “There’s always talk when you don’t score for a while as a striker. I always believed in myself, my abilities and my teammates — that was clear today.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:09 AM IST | Munich | AFPManchester City snatched a controversial 2-1 win at Wolves as John Stones’s last-gasp goal was given after a VAR review to send the champions to the top of the Premier League on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side trailed to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s surprise opener for Wolves early in the first half. Josko Gvardiol dragged City back on level terms before the interval and, with just seconds left in stoppage-time, Stones headed the visitors to a dramatic sixth win in eight league games this season. Bottom of the table Wolves claimed Stones’s goal should have been disallowed for offside and interference by Bernardo Silva on keeper Jose Sa. But referee Chris Kavanagh ignored their protests after consulting the pitchside monitor. City are two points clear of previous leaders Liverpool, who can reclaim pole position with a victory against Chelsea later on Sunday. Chasing a fifth successive EPL title, Guardiola’s men have set a new club record as their unbeaten run in the league reached 31 games since their loss to Aston Villa in December. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:09 AM IST | Wolverhampton | AFPKylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior’s goals earned Real Madrid an entertaining 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Saturday to pull them level with La Liga leaders Barcelona. France striker Mbappe started and sent the Spanish champions ahead amid reports he is being investigated for an alleged rape during a visit to Sweden. The 25-year-old was criticised in his homeland for not appearing in his country’s recent Nations League matches before the Swedish media reports emerged following his trip during the international break, which Mbappe labelled “fake news”. Also Read: Mbappe ‘shocked’ with rape investigation case Williot Swedberg levelled for Celta, who might have snatched a draw, but Vinicius tucked home what proved Madrid’s winner after 66 minutes. Madrid, unbeaten in 42 La Liga matches, host Barcelona next weekend in the Clasico, after the Catalans welcome Sevilla on Sunday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
21 October,2024 08:09 AM IST | Spain | AFPBayern Munich remain top of the table after Harry Kane's second-half hat-trick paved the way for a 4-0 win over Stuttgart in the seventh round of the Bundesliga season on Saturday. Bayern took control from the kick-off and pinned the visitors back, but clear-cut chances were hard to come by in the opening 45 minutes. Bayern came closest on 11 minutes when Serge Gnabry failed to connect with a dangerous square pass from Kane, reports Xinhua. The crowd at the Allianz Arena had to wait until the 29th minute to see more half-chances, but Gnabry couldn't convert Michael Olise's good work, while Kane shot wide from a promising position two minutes later. The German giants should have broken the deadlock six minutes into the second half, but Kane shot wide from Gnabry's cut-back. Stuttgart almost shocked Bayern, but Ermedin Demirovic and Josha Vagnoman couldn't beat Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the 54th minute. Kane finally broke the deadlock and ended his three-game goal drought, hammering the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from 25 meters in 57 minutes. Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel had his hands full after denying Kane and Joao Palhinha in quick succession on the hour mark. Also Read: "Some of the shots that he played were really really good", Rohit Sharma hails this young batsman Kane turned his next chance into a tangible reward moments later when Stuttgart failed to clear the ball out of their area, allowing the England striker to fire home from close range. The Englishman remained in the thick of things and completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute after collecting a rebound and slotting the ball past Nubel. Stuttgart couldn't offer any resistance, but Bayern weren't done scoring as Kingsley Coman made the most of Thomas Muller's assist to fire into the right-hand corner in the closing stages. The result keeps Bayern at the top of the table, while Stuttgart drop to 9th. "We've played well in the last few games, but we haven't had the results. So, after the break, we had to bring the game to another level and after my goal, the game opened up," said Bayern striker Kane. In Saturday's other matches, Leipzig stayed close on Bayern's heels with a 2-0 win over Mainz thanks to goals from Xavi and Willi Orban. Freiburg made it two wins in a row with a 3-1 victory over Augsburg. Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen stay in the top four after a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Bottom club Bochum remain winless as Hoffenheim won 3-1 and Borussia Monchengladbach came from behind to beat Heidenheim 3-2. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 October,2024 07:27 PM IST | Berlin | IANSADVERTISEMENT
