Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar is returning to his Brazilian boyhood club Sao Paulo after 14 years, which included a long spell in Chinese football. Sao Paulo president Julio Casares posted photos on Tuesday on his social media channels which showed him with the 33-year-old former Brazil international. Casares described the move as “a super transfer.” Minutes later, Oscar thanked China’s Shanghai Port, where he played for eight seasons, for his time at the Chinese Super League club. “Today I finish a cycle that marked my life forever,” he said. Oscar joined Sao Paulo on a free transfer. 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
26 December,2024 06:29 AM IST | Sao Paulo | AP | PTIChristmas Premier League chart-toppers Liverpool are overwhelming favourites to see off struggling Leicester on Boxing Day (Thursday). Meanwhile, both crisis-hit Manchester clubs will seek a festive fillip, with faltering champions City at home to Everton and United away to Wolves. Second-placed Chelsea host Fulham while in-form Arsenal will fancy their chances against relegation-threatened Ipswich on Friday, even without the injured Bukayo Saka. Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, licking their wounds after a brutal 6-3 hammering by Liverpool, face a tough assignment at high-flying Nottingham Forest. Liverpool are top of the table on Christmas Day for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Just once in the past seven top-flight campaigns in which they have sat at the summit on December 25, have they gone on to win the title. Arne Slot’s side returned to winning ways in style on Sunday, overwhelming Spurs following two frustrating draws. They are four points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand. It would be a huge surprise if they slipped up against Leicester at home, especially with Mohamed Salah enjoying a purple patch. The Egypt international is the first player to reach double figures for both goals (15) and assists (11) before Christmas in the history of the Premier League. Leicester won their first match under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy earlier this month but have collected just a single point in their past three matches, conceding nine goals. 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
26 December,2024 06:27 AM IST | London | AFPSoccer star Cristiano Ronaldo said it was 'just a little cold' as he posed bare-chested in the snow before taking an icy dip in a pool during a Christmas vacation in Finland's Lapland region. The 39-year-old Portuguese international traveled with partner Georgina Rodriguez and their children, who met Santa Claus in a 10-minute video posted online by Ronaldo on Tuesday. It’s just a little cold 🥶😂Watch my complete family trip video: https://t.co/hUJ1n3v0h1 pic.twitter.com/5yOUzeVvEb — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) December 24, 2024 The former Real Madrid and Manchester United great appeared to decline to ski with his family. He wished his followers, including 645 million on Instagram, a 'Merry Christmas' in Spanish. The Al-Nassr striker is on a winter break from the Saudi Pro League until January 9. Meanwhile, Ronaldo recently led the celebrations after Portugal and five other countries were officially announced as hosts of the 2030 men’s World Cup, with the player saying the unique tournament will be the “most special” yet. The 2030 tournament will be the first World Cup played in six different countries, with Spain, Portuga,l and Morocco as the main hosts while South American nations Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay will each get one game. The format will help FIFA mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. “A dream come true,” the 39-year-old Ronaldo wrote in an Instagram post that had a photo of him celebrating while wearing Portugal’s jersey and featured the words: “The Most Special World Cup ever.” Ronaldo is the only man to have scored at five World Cup tournaments, but he is unlikely to still be playing in 2030. “Portugal will host the 2030 World Cup and make us proud,” he wrote. The approval of the six-nation bid was mostly a formality at FIFA’s online meeting on Wednesday, with Saudi Arabia also officially confirmed as the 2034 World Cup host.
25 December,2024 01:28 PM IST | Helsinki | mid-day online correspondentThe world football players’ union disagreed with FIFA’s temporary changes to transfer rules on Monday following the landmark Lassana Diarra judgement. Former France international Diarra challenged FIFA ‘s rules due to a dispute with a club dating to 2014, and the European Court of Justice ruled in October that some rules were contrary to European Union law because they restricted freedom of movement and were anti-competitive. FIFA then opened a “global dialogue” and on Monday published interim amendments which take effect in time for the January transfer window. They “strike a balanced compromise,” FIFA said in a statement. But global players’ union FIFPRO was against the changes, and accused FIFA of failing to reach consensus. “Following Lassana Diarra’s successful challenge against the legality of Article 17 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, FIFPRO informed FIFA of the conditions under which it could negotiate the amendments to the regulations to reflect the ruling,” a union statement said. “Until now, we have been unable to reach a consensus. We do not agree with the temporary measures announced by FIFA which have been introduced without a proper collective bargaining process. “The measures do not provide legal certainty to professional footballers and do not reflect the judgement by the European Court of Justice.” 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
25 December,2024 06:16 AM IST | Zurich | AP | PTIThe Mumbai Knights Football Academy, who emerged victorious at Mumbai Football Association Women’s Premier League 2024-25 by winning all their matches in dominant fashion, owe their success to some solid beach training. Coach Preetam Mahadik, who was head coach for the Maharashtra boys U-21 beach football team that won the silver medal at the All-India Football Federation-approved Beach Sports Festival in Diu earlier this year, told mid-day about his beach training strategy for the girls. “For a good three months before the league, we underwent some rigorous beach training sessions. The girls worked hard daily — five days of the week — with the sessions getting more intense as the league approached. And their hard work has paid off brilliantly,” said Mahadik. Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Pakistan set to be played on February 23, here's the full schedule Ronnie D’Souza, who was the manager of the Maharashtra beach soccer team alongside Mahadik added: “Running on the sand is a great activity for footballers, and if you can master controlling the ball on sand, it becomes that much easier when you do the same activities on a normal football ground. Preetam made his Mumbai Knights team do the same beach drills that we did with the Maharashtra U-21 boys team. And the results are there for all to see.” Mumbai Knights won 11 out of 11 games in the MFA Women’s Premier League, scoring a whopping 59 goals and conceding just four. Pranita Nimkar, named the WPL’s best defender, scored 18 goals while Bhagyashree Dalvi, who was awarded the best forward, netted 14 times. Some of the country’s top women’s teams have taken note of the Mumbai Knights’ strong performance and one of their central defenders, Priyanka Sujeesh has been signed by IWL outfit East Bengal. The Mumbai Knights are now preparing for the Indian Women’s League 2. Their target is to achieve qualification in the top tier of Indian women's football — the Indian Women’s League.
24 December,2024 06:40 PM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin FerroLiverpool head into Christmas with a four-point lead, a game in hand and as the overwhelming title favourites in the Premier League on the back of a wild 6-3 win at Tottenham. Also Read: MCG curator defends poor practice tracks Heung-min Son 21 games without a loss Make that 21 games in all competitions without defeat after the Reds’ biggest league win of the season, with Mohamed Salah netting two of the goals to move above Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to the top of the scoring charts. Liverpool have 39 points from 16 games and stretched their lead over second-place Chelsea, who could only draw 0-0 at Everton, to end a five-match winning streak in the league. Salah now has 15 goals in the Premier League to break a tie with Haaland — and will leave London thinking he should have had more. Biggest win this season In an end-to-end contest, resembling a basketball match, Liverpool scored more than five goals for the first time this season, with Luis Diaz (two), Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai being the scorers. “You can see quality players with top discipline,” Tottenham captain Son Heung-min said. “There’s a reason they are top. If you give them a mistake, they punish you.” Tottenham’s injury-hit defence was open at the back but its attack caused Liverpool’s problems throughout, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all finding the net. Spurs are another big team in the bottom half, having slipped to 11th place. 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
24 December,2024 08:03 AM IST | London | AP | PTIHoly Family High School (Andheri) clinched the MSSA boys U-14 Div I inter-school football title, defeating Don Bosco High School (Borivli) 5-4 in a nail-biting tie-breaker at Goan Sports Association ground on Monday. The match ended in a goalless draw at the end of regulation time, thanks to some fine goalkeeping at both ends, from Marc Fernandes of Don Bosco and Sanctus Fernandes of Holy Family. The tie-breaker was a close affair. It was locked at 4-4 after the first five attempts from either side before Daniel Vaz of Don Bosco missed his attempt during the sudden death. Shaun D’Souza, Leon Dias, Amen Kedare, Daksh Rathod, and Emmanuel Fernandes successfully converted their penalties, while skipper Rajiv Shinge missed for Holy Family. Also Read: "He’s one of the greatest we’ve seen": Abbott on Jasprit Bumrah For Don Bosco, Asher Aranha, Sumil Wadgaokar, Evan Gomes, and Travis Pereira found the back of the net. Holy Family coach Glen Rodrigues praised his team’s composure under pressure. “It was a tough match, both teams played exceptionally well. I’m happy with the outcome. Our boys stayed calm and delivered when it mattered most,” he said. Earlier, in the third-place match, Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) comfortably beat Bombay Scottish (Mahim) 3-0. Anaai D’Souza and Ameya Vanikar were the stars for Cathedral. Anaai netted a fine brace while Ameya added one as Cathedral emerged champs.
24 December,2024 07:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamKylian Mbappe added to his scoring streak with a superb strike in Real Madrid’s 4-2 win over Sevilla in the Spanish league to finish the year on a positive note after hitting what he called “rock bottom” in early December. Mbappe sent a right-footed shot into the upper corner 10 minutes into the match for his fourth goal in as many games with Madrid in all competitions. It was Mbappe’s sixth goal in his last eight matches with Madrid. Also Read: "He is short of confidence with self-doubts": Manjrekar reflects on Rohit Sharma He struggled early on with his new club, and said his lowest point came when he missed a penalty in the team’s 2-1 league loss at Athletic Bilbao on Dec 4. “I know I have a lot more to give,” Mbappe said on Sunday. “The last few games I’ve played better, I took a lot of positives from the Bilbao game, when I hit rock bottom.” Mbappe said he feels his period of adjustment with the club is finally over. “I think we now know each other better,” he said. “I’ve joined the team and that changed a lot of things. The settling-in period is over, as the coach says. I feel very comfortable in the team and I play better with the others on the field. The team is playing much better.” 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
24 December,2024 07:41 AM IST | Madrid | AP | PTILiverpool emphatically asserted their claim at the top of the Premier League table with a 6-3 victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Both Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah scored a brace with goals by Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai rounding off the rampant victory for the Reds. The league leaders took early control of the encounter as they reached 2-0 up by 36 minutes with goals from Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister. James Maddison got Spurs back into it on the 41 minute mark, only for Dominik Szoboszlai to strike again for 3-1 before the break. Liverpool racked up a 5-1 advantage via a Mo Salah double by the hour but to the players' credit, Spurs kept going and reduced the arrears to 5-3 thanks to Dejan Kulusevski's volley and Dominic Solanke's close-range finish. However, the visitors had the final word as Diaz made it 6-3 five minutes from time. Salah became the first player in the division ever to reach double figures for both goals scored and assists prior to December 25, a new record in the competition to date. Salah’s assist for Dominik Szoboszlai’s strike in first-half stoppage time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw him bring up the landmark achievement. He also moved past Billy Liddell to move up to fourth in Liverpool’s all-time goal scorers list. The Egyptian reflected on what was yet another milestone at the club "It’s great to achieve that at such a big club, but the most important thing is that we won the game. Wherever I am going to end my career I am happy about it,” said Salah to Sky Sports. With Chelsea dropping points against Everton with a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday, Liverpool now sit four points clear with a game in hand with 39 points to their name after 16 games played. 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
23 December,2024 09:50 AM IST | London | IANSKerala Blasters FC produced a scintillating second-half performance to secure a commanding 3-0 victory over Mohammedan SC in the Indian Super League here on Sunday. After a cagey first half, the Blasters found their rhythm after the break, with Noah Sadaoui and Alexandre Coeff finding the net, while an own goal by Bhaskar Roy added to Mohammedan's woes. With this win, the home team completed a league double over Mohammedan SC this season. The first half hour of the game saw both defences holding their shape and thwarting the opposition's attack. However, the hosts had a few half chances with Noah orchestrating most of the moves. He combined with Kwame Peprah brilliantly before the drinks break but the Ghanaian's header was too tame to trouble Roy in goal. The final quarter of the first half saw Kerala Blasters FC dominate possession, whereas Mohammedan SC were happy to sit back and hold their lines. However, Kerala eventually created the best opening of the first half when Adrian Luna found Noah in the box with a long ball. The Moroccan headed the ball towards an onrushing Korou Singh. However, the youngster's header struck the post before Peprah nestled the side netting, summing up the first period which saw only a solitary shot on target. Kerala continued their dominance in the second half with Milos Drincic coming very close to breaking the deadlock from a corner delivered by Luna. The defender rose the highest from the corner and made a great connection but he was denied by Bhaskar, who made a diving save to keep the visitors in the game. Luna found Drincic in the subsequent corner as well but this time he headed it wide. Kerala Blasters FC finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute courtesy of an error from Bhaskar Roy. The Mohammedan SC custodian misjudged a corner kick from Luna as he tried to punch it out instead of gathering the ball. Therefore he deflected the ball into his own net, opening the scoring for the game. Kerala almost doubled the lead with Korou squaring it to Luna in the box. But before it could reach him, Zodingliana Ralte cleared it away. The hosts doubled their lead in the 80th minute when Korou found Noah in the penalty area after Luna's corner kick was cleared away. The Moroccan was in acres of space to direct a thunderous header into the bottom right corner. Kerala brought in Alexandre Coeff and Lalthanmawia Renthlei to close out the game. The Frenchman made an instant impact as he scored the third goal for the hosts in the 90th minute. 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
23 December,2024 09:48 AM IST | Kochi | PTIEverton secured a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Chelsea at Goodison Park, ending the visitors’ eight-match winning streak. In challenging conditions, with swirling wind and rain, both teams battled to find rhythm, but the Toffees’ resilience at the back and Chelsea’s attacking intent resulted in a tense stalemate. Chelsea, aiming to go top of the Premier League with a win, started brightly. Cole Palmer had an early chance, dragging a shot wide, and Nicolas Jackson’s near-miss was expertly saved by Jordan Pickford. The Toffees, while under pressure, stuck to their defensive shape, frustrating Chelsea’s attacking line. Enzo Fernandez was particularly influential for the Blues, threading a brilliant pass to Jackson, whose close-range header hit the post. Despite this early dominance, Chelsea could not break down Everton’s well-organized defense. Pickford was the hero for Everton, denying Jackson on several occasions, including a fine save from a tight angle. The Toffees also had their moments, with Jack Harrison testing Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez, but the Spaniard was in top form, making crucial saves, including one from Harrison’s close-range effort in the second half. Everton’s counter-attacks, spearheaded by the lively Iliman Ndiaye, caused Chelsea problems throughout. Ndiaye’s brilliant footwork led to a chance for Morgan Sanson, but his 20-yard shot was palmed away by Sanchez. Everton’s substitutes, including Jesper Lindstrom and Beto, kept up the pressure, and Ndiaye almost found the net late on, but his effort was blocked by Chelsea’s Tosin Adarabioyo. While Chelsea enjoyed the majority of possession, it was Everton who had the better chances in the second half. However, neither team could find a breakthrough, and the match ended in a deserved 0-0 draw. 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
23 December,2024 09:47 AM IST | Liverpool | IANSADVERTISEMENT
