Dark horses Netherlands pin Euro 2024 hopes on De Jong despite injury

Dark horses Netherlands pin Euro 2024 hopes on De Jong despite injury
Dutch former pro footballer Wesley Sneijder (C) during the opening of an 'Official Oranje Fanstore' at Utrecht central station, where shirts, balls, caps and other items from the Dutch national team are for sale, ahead of the Euro 2024, in Utrecht. (AFP)
Updated 06 June 2024
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Dark horses Netherlands pin Euro 2024 hopes on De Jong despite injury

Dark horses Netherlands pin Euro 2024 hopes on De Jong despite injury
  • The Oranje could yet prove to be dark horses for the tournament, with an experienced defense and a midfield packed with talent from Europe’s top clubs
  • Joining De Jong in midfield will be Jerdy Schouten, who has impressed during PSV Eindhoven’s all-conquering season in the Dutch top flight

THE HAGUE: Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman is gambling on the fitness of Frenkie de Jong, hoping the Barcelona playmaker can inspire a talented side to emulate the European Championship heroes of 1988.

While not among the top favorites in Germany, the Oranje could yet prove to be dark horses for the tournament, with an experienced defense and a midfield packed with talent from Europe’s top clubs.

Central to Koeman’s plans is De Jong, who has battled ankle injuries this season at Barcelona but hopes to be fit for his team’s Group D opener against Poland on June 16.

Koeman included the 27-year-old in his squad despite not recovering from his third ankle injury of the season, saying he was prepared to make an exception for his star player.

“We have a trajectory in mind, but it will depend on how the ankle holds up whether I will be fit in time,” said De Jong, adding: “There are no hard deadlines.”

Koeman will want his talisman fit from the off as the Oranje face a tough group, with joint-favorites France and Austria to come after the opening clash with Poland.

Joining De Jong in midfield will be Jerdy Schouten, who has impressed during PSV Eindhoven’s all-conquering season in the Dutch top flight and run to the Champions League knock-out stages.

The Dutch can count on a formidable defense, with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk joining up with Nathan Ake, fresh from Premier League glory with Manchester City.

Veteran defender Daley Blind and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt are also in the mix, with competition for squad places so tough there was no place for Ian Maatsen, who helped Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final.

Up front, Koeman is likely to play former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst as a target man, with Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo providing valuable support.

Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen should come into the tournament brimming with confidence and Steven Bergwijn could play a role despite suffering a horror season with Ajax.

The Oranje qualified second in their group behind France, and Koeman will be hoping to overturn two defeats to Les Bleus (4-0 and 2-1) when they meet on June 21 in Leipzig.

The Netherlands warmed up by thumping Scotland 4-0 in March but a 2-1 friendly loss four days later to Germany raised questions about their ability to compete with the continent’s best sides.

What is sure is that the team will be roared on by an army of orange-clad fans hoping to erase painful memories of the team’s last tournament outing, a brutal 2022 World Cup quarterfinal with Argentina.

In what became known as the Battle of Lusail, the referee brandished a record 16 yellow cards, with Dutch wing-back Denzel Dumfries also seeing red for a second bookable offense.

The Oranje snatched a last-minute equalizer only to lose on penalties, the end of the match marred by ugly clashes including between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.

Recent history in the Euros has not been kind to the Netherlands either.

They suffered a shock loss to the Czech Republic in the last 16 in Euro 2020, failed to qualify in 2016 and crashed out at the group stage in 2012.

Koeman played a key role in the Oranje’s finest hour, the 2-0 defeat of the Soviet Union in the Euro 1988 final, alongside stars like Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit.

Gullit, who captained that side, had some choice words to say about de Jong, telling Ziggo Sport: “If you look at Frenkie de Jong during the last World Cup, he was like a ghost!

“He needs to take matters into his own hands.”


Guardiola needs Man City stars to return as crisis mounts

Guardiola needs Man City stars to return as crisis mounts
Updated 2 min 39 sec ago
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Guardiola needs Man City stars to return as crisis mounts

Guardiola needs Man City stars to return as crisis mounts
  • Guardiola’s fourth-placed side head into Sunday’s derby against Manchester United reeling after a dismal run of one win in 10 games in all competitions
  • A 2-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday left City in danger of failing to make the last 16

LONDON: Pep Guardiola admits troubled Manchester City will not recapture their peak form until his injury-plagued side are finally whole again.
Guardiola’s fourth-placed side head into Sunday’s derby against Manchester United reeling after a dismal run of one win in 10 games in all competitions.
A 2-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday left City in danger of failing to make the last 16, while they are languishing eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
After winning an unprecedented four successive Premier League titles and six in the last seven seasons, City have looked more vulnerable than ever before in the Guardiola era.
The City boss attributes their stunning decline on injuries to key players, mostly notably Spain midfielder Rodri, who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award earlier this year.
Rodri, who helped Spain win Euro 2024, is not expected back from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for several months, although he has hinted he could feature at some point this season.
“What I want is my players back. The complete squad we had at the beginning of the season. My regret is that we don’t have these and not needing new ones,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“We have known it from the beginning but Rodri is a Ballon d’Or player. We are playing without the best player in England last season. That is the problem.
“Not one other team plays with a central midfielder who has a Ballon d’Or. It is difficult. The moment he comes back, we will be strong again. We will be a good team.
“Of course, we still have to try and play the same way and to win. Sooner or later we are going to be back.”
With City mired in such a woeful period, the champions have been linked with new signings in the January transfer window.
On the day City announced record Premier League revenues of £715 million ($903 million). Guardiola didn’t rule out the possibility when it was put to him that reinforcements were needed to save their season.
“If we need players then we go to the transfer market but I don’t know who is around,” he said.
“Massive congratulations on the accounts because the club must be sustainable. That doesn’t mean we have big resources to buy whatever we want, especially with how expensive the transfer market is.”
Beating United at the Etihad Stadium this weekend would be a significant boost to Guardiola’s hopes of ending City’s spiral.
The Spaniard, who recently signed a new two-year contract, vowed to solve City’s crisis eventually and claimed he was not feeling under pressure.
“In our jobs we will always do our best and when the best doesn’t happen you are more uncomfortable than when the situation is going well. As a manager you are in scrutiny for every step of the team,” he said.
“But I am fine. I have more thoughts at this moment but what I feel right now is the same as what I’ve said for the last few weeks or month.
“We have to shoot more and cut out the mistakes. But we have been in the games.
“We have not been consistent for the 90 minutes but I know the reason why. We just have to keep working and moving forward.”
Adding to Guardiola’s mounting problems, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji has been ruled out of the Manchester derby with a pelvic injury.


PSG and Lyon meet in end-of-year summit in France

PSG and Lyon meet in end-of-year summit in France
Updated 52 min 3 sec ago
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PSG and Lyon meet in end-of-year summit in France

PSG and Lyon meet in end-of-year summit in France
  • PSG head into the final round of Ligue 1 games this calendar year unbeaten domestically and with a five-point lead from nearest challengers Marseille and Monaco at the top of the table.
  • They have struggled to convince recently and have been held to draws in their last two domestic outings

PARIS: Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, the two clubs who have taken turns dominating French football so far this century, pits the stuttering reigning champions against opponents who have hit a rich vein of form.
PSG head into the final round of Ligue 1 games this calendar year unbeaten domestically and with a five-point lead from nearest challengers Marseille and Monaco at the top of the table.
However, they have struggled to convince recently and have been held to draws in their last two domestic outings, against Nantes and Auxerre.
At least they breathed life into their faltering Champions League campaign in midweek, a 3-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg calming fears that they might not make the knockout phase of Europe’s elite club competition.
Even then, coach Luis Enrique suggested his team had played better in earlier games against PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid, neither of which they won.
“To be honest we didn’t play better than we did against PSV or Atletico. We were worse, but that’s football,” said the Spaniard.
All is far from rosy at the Parc des Princes, amid recent reports in the French media of a rift growing between the coach and certain players.
Their best performer this season has been young winger Bradley Barcola, who has scored 10 goals, but he has gone off the boil lately and will hope to find form again as he comes up against the club he left last year.
Lyon, who won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles in the first decade of this century, have often been a thorn in PSG’s side even if they have won just one of the last eight meetings of the clubs.
After stumbling in the early weeks of this campaign, they look in superb shape just now, on a run of nine games unbeaten and just one loss in 15 altogether.
They have won their last four matches and scored at least three goals in each of them, including an entertaining 3-2 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday.
That game, in which Rayan Cherki was outstanding, saw Lyon secure a place in the knockout phase play-offs of the Europa League at least.
Domestically, meanwhile, they are currently fifth and would be just six points behind PSG with a victory in the capital. They cannot be written off right now.
The 21-year-old was a transfer target for PSG during the last close season but ended up staying at Lyon where he is now playing the best football of his career.
The gifted winger or attacking midfielder may yet leave Lyon in January due to his current club’s need to raise funds in the transfer market.
That would be a blow for Lyon coach Pierre Sage, who has seen Cherki score two goals and set up three in two games over the last week. Sage feels his player deserves to be in the next France squad.
“I think today Rayan is being watched and is under consideration,” he said of a player who featured sparingly in the France side that won Olympic silver.
“His experience at the Olympics was not very positive but now he has other arguments in his favor and, if he gets a call-up, he will deserve it.”

8 — Brest are enjoying a heroic campaign in the Champions League but have lost eight times in Ligue 1 this season — that is one more defeat than in all of the last campaign.
15 — Also doing well in the Champions League, Lille are unbeaten in 15 games before Saturday’s clash with Marseille.
6 — PSG have lost six times to Lyon in Ligue 1 since the transformative takeover of the club by Qatar in 2011. Only Rennes (7) have recorded more wins against Paris in that time.

Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Toulouse v Saint-Etienne (1945)
Saturday
Marseille v Lille (1600), Auxerre v Lens (1800), Reims v Monaco (2000)
Sunday
Montpellier v Nice (1400), Brest v Nantes, Le Havre v Strasbourg, Rennes v Angers (all 1600), Paris Saint-Germain v Lyon (1945)


Manchester City report record revenues, but profits are down

Manchester City report record revenues, but profits are down
Updated 13 December 2024
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Manchester City report record revenues, but profits are down

Manchester City report record revenues, but profits are down
  • City won a record fourth straight Premier League title last year and has been crowned English champion in six of the last seven years

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester City on Friday reported record revenues of $903 million (£715m) for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Revenues were up by $2.78m (£2.2m) on the previous year, but profits were down slightly — $93.2m (£73.8m pounds) compared to $101.5m (£80.4m).
“The club’s three primary income sources — commercial, broadcast and matchday — all remained strong, reflecting the continued differentiation and impact of the club’s multi-decade strategic approach,” City said in a statement.
City was taken over by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi in 2008 and has gone on to dominate English football after spending billions of pounds on some of the world’s best players and hiring Pep Guardiola as manager in 2016.
City won a record fourth straight Premier League title last year and has been crowned English champion in six of the last seven years.
But it is currently struggling on the pitch both domestically and in the Champions League, and City’s financial report comes against the backdrop of a hearing on alleged financial breaches. The four-time defending champion is facing more than 100 charges by the Premier League ranging over a nine-year period when it was trying to establish itself as the biggest force in English football.
City was accused by the league of providing misleading information about its finances from 2009-18. A hearing by an independent commission began in September and a verdict is not expected until next year.
City denies the charges.


Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1

Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1
Updated 13 December 2024
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Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1

Hojlund scores twice for Man United to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Europa League, Tottenham held 1-1
  • Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points
  • Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice after coming off the bench and Manchester United rallied to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Denmark striker netted in the 88th minute after collecting Bruno Fernandes’ pass off a free kick to seal the victory and put United into the top eight of the standings.

Hojlund replaced Marcus Rashford in the 56th and scored an equalizer six minutes later after Amad Diallo’s shot was deflected by goalkeeper Martin JedliCka into his path for an easy finish.

The 21-year-old Hojlund also scored twice in the previous round, when United beat Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt 3-2, and has five goals in his six appearances in the second-tier competition.

“It feels good to have scored two goals but I am more happy with the win,” Hojlund said. “My instructions? Go out there and score two goals! Just to use my qualities, run the channels and be assertive in front of goal.”

United had come off two straight losses in the English Premier League, 2-0 away to Arsenal, and 3-2 at Old Trafford to Nottingham Forest that left the club 13th and eight points adrift of the top four as progress looked slow under new coach Ruben Amorim.

Matej Vydra, who previously played for Burnley and Watford, opened the scoring three minutes into the second half.

United have 12 points from six games after three wins and three draws in Europa League play — good enough for seventh place.

The top eight qualify directly to the Round of 16. The teams placed No. 9 to No. 24 go into a two-legged playoff.

Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form in a 1-1 draw at Rangers, leaving the north London team in ninth place. The Scottish side is eighth.

Substitute Dejan Kulusevski was fed by fellow substitute Dominic Solanke to score 15 minutes before time and salvage a point at Ibrox Stadium.

Spurs were held 2-2 at home by Roma in the previous round and lost 3-2 to Galatasaray before. The draw came after losing 4-3 to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

Hamza Igamane netted for Rangers at the start of the second half off a cross from James Tavernier in what was a return to Glasgow for Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou, who led Celtic for two seasons.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro Rodriguez scored one each for Lazio in the second half to defeat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam and move to the top of the standings with 16 points from six games. Bilbao are level on points but in second on goal difference.

Anderlecht beat Slavia 2-1 in Prague to move into third place.

Lyon jumped to fourth by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2. The German team are fifth.

Among other results, substitute Sergio Peña equalized in stoppage time for Malmo to hold unbeaten Galatasaray 2-2. The Turkish club is sixth in the standings. PAOK routed Ferencvaros 5-0.

Roma showed signs of improvement by beating Braga 3-0 for a second straight victory that came after the struggling club earned its first win under new coach Claudio Ranieri, 4-1 over visiting Lecce in Serie A.

Braga goalkeeper Matheus received a red card in the 68th with the score 2-0.

Conference League

A youthful Chelsea lineup made the most of a long trip to Kazakhstan by beating Astana 3-1 to stay perfect in the UEFA Conference League.

Marc Guiu struck twice within five minutes early in the first half. The 18-year-old forward opened the scoring on a solo effort in the 14th and added his second after meeting a cross from Pedro Neto from the right in freezing conditions in the city of Almaty.

Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored three in the competition.

Renato Veiga, who is 21, headed home the third before Marin Tomasov scored for the hosts late in the first half.

Neto was the only player to remain from the squad that beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday to move to second in the Premier League.

Chelsea have 15 points atop the standings of third-tier competition with one more game to play in the league phase.

Fiorentina crushed LASK 7-0 and Legia Warsaw lost 2-1 at home to Lugano. Swedish team Djurgarden beat Vikingur 2-1 in Iceland.


Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals
Updated 13 December 2024
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Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

Holders Barcelona cruise into Women’s Champions League quarter-finals

PARIS: Barcelona wrapped up the last quarter-final berth in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday as Ewa Pajor netted twice in a 3-0 victory over Hammarby in Sweden.
The three-time European champions were effectively already through before kick-off, leading Hammarby by six points in Group D with two games to spare and with an all but insurmountable head-to-head record after thrashing the Swedes 9-0 in October.
But a fourth straight Champions League win since an opening loss to Manchester City mathematically confirmed Barca’s place in the last eight, joining City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Lyon and Wolfsburg in progressing through the group stage.
“It feels amazing,” Barcelona’s Swedish international Fridolina Rolfo told uefa.com.
“I’m really happy that we’re here on Swedish soil and performing like this, winning away.
“It feels great, I’m happy to be back seeing my friends and family, and playing here in Sweden.”
Polish star Pajor pounced on some slack defending to slot in a seventh-minute opener.
She doubled the visitors’ lead five minutes before the break after a corner was completely missed by several defenders and Hammarby goalkeeper Anna Tamminen.
Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati completed the scoring with 10 minutes remaining with a deflected strike that dribbled past Tamminen.
Group leaders Man City maintained their three-point advantage over Barca ahead of their clash at the Olympic Stadium next week with a 2-0 win against St. Poelten.
However, City captain Alex Greenwood was stretchered off with an apparent knee injury.
Earlier, Arsenal kept alive their hopes of snatching top spot off Bayern in Group C thanks to a 3-1 win at Valerenga in which England striker Alessia Russo scored a brace.
Bayern stayed one point ahead of the Gunners before their meeting in London by thumping Juventus 4-0.