PSG's French forward was the star of the show again and bagged a brace as Luis Enrique's side took control of their Champions League play-off tie.
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PSG win 3-0 at Brest in play-off first legDembele dazzles with two goals for visitorsVitinha opened the scoring from the penalty spotFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE
Dembele scored a hat-trick against Brest 10 days ago when the two sides met in Ligue 1 and was simply too hot to handle once again for Eric Roy's side on Tuesday in the Champions League.
The visitors took the lead midway through the first half when PSG were awarded a penalty for handball after Dembele’s shot was blocked. Up stepped Vitinha to calmly send goalkeeper Marco Bizot the wrong way and casually stroke the ball home from the penalty spot.
Brest did have chances to equalise but couldn't convert and were made to pay just before half-time. Dembele was allowed too much freedom down the right flank and continued his red-hot form by sweeping the ball past Bizot at his near post.
Dembele continued to torment Brest in the second half as PSG took complete control of the tie. The former Barcelona star teed up a chance for Desire Doue at the start of the second half, that was chalked off for a tight offside, and then conspired to miss a clear chance after being sent through by Joao Neves.
Yet Dembele simply was not to be denied and added his second of the night on 66 minutes. The former Barcelona star was quick to latch onto a ball in the box and fire home to finish off a great night's work for Luis Enrique's side.
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Dembele has now scored in each of his last eight matches in all competitions, equalling the best run in history for a PSG player – Neymar (twice), Carlos Bianchi and Kylian Mbappe also produced such a run.
Getty ImagesTHE MVP
Dembele simply can't put a foot wrong at the moment. The former Barcelona man won the penalty and then added two more for good measure. The only real surprise was that he didn't manage yet another hat-trick. That's now 15 goals for the Frenchman since the turn of the year and seven against Brest so far this season. Roy's side must be absolutely sick of the sight of him.
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AFPTHE BIG LOSER
Barring a miracle, Brest's Champions League dreams are over after an impressive run in their first ever campaign in Europe's premier club competition. Roy's side enjoyed some memorable wins in the group stages but were simply no match for PSG. The two sides do meet again next week, but Brest haven't beaten PSG since all the way back in 1985 and it's hard to see that statistic changing at the Parc des Princes.
Celtic moved back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Sunday with a convincing 3-0 win over Motherwell away from Parkhead at Fir Park.
The Hoops had temporarily dropped down to second in the division after Aberdeen had won their eighth match of the season on Sunday, but they have returned to the top on goal difference.
Goals from Luke McCowan, Alistair Johnston, and Adam Idah were enough to secure all three points for the Scottish giants against Motherwell, as they kept yet another clean sheet.
Kasper Schmeichel has now kept seven clean sheets in nine Premiership games for the Hoops since his move to the club on a free transfer from Anderlecht in the summer transfer window.
He was relatively untroubled against Motherwell, making just two saves in total to keep a clean sheet, and did not have to do all that much to preserve the shut-out.
Kasper Schmeichel
This meant that the Denmark international was not one of the top performers on the day for Brendan Rodgers, as a number of other players took centre stage for the Bhoys.
Celtic's top performers against Motherwell
McCowan was handed a big opportunity to shine from the start after an injury to Callum McGregor opened up a space for him in the middle of the park.
The Scottish dynamo, signed from Dundee in the summer, certainly grasped his chance – scoring a brilliant goal to open the scoring for Celtic, weaving inside and out of challenges before finding the bottom corner.
He also completed 100% (2/2) of his attempted dribbles and created one chance for his teammates in the rest of his 75 minutes on the pitch.
The other star of the show for Celtic was the captain for the day – Johnston. The Canada international did score, with a header, in the second half but it was his defensive showing that really caught the eye.
Sofascore rating
9.0
Duels won
8/10
Tackles won
4
Interceptions
1
Dribbled past
1x
As you can see in the table above, the right-back was dominant in his defensive duels, winning 80% of his physical contests, and was only dribbled past once.
The former MLS star also created one ‘big chance’ for his teammates, that they failed to take, and could have come away from the match with an assist to go along with his goal.
Whilst Johnston and McCowan were the stars of the show for Rodgers, there was at least one Celtic player who did not show the best of his abilities – Kyogo Furuhashi.
Kyogo Furuhashi's performance against Motherwell in numbers
The Japan international was selected to lead the line on Sunday and struggled to make an impact at the top end of the pitch, whilst also offering very little in the build-up.
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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
It is no secret that Kyogo is not a traditional centre-forward who is going to hold the ball up and win flick-ons, or battle defenders to link play for his teammates.
This means that his final actions at the top end of the pitch need to be telling when he does get involved to make up for that. Unfortunately, that was not the case against Motherwell.
Minutes played
75
Passes made
1/3
Shots
4
Assists
0
Big chances created
0
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo only completed one pass in 75 minutes on the pitch, failing with his other two attempts, and took four shots without scoring.
The Japanese attacker managed one shot on target and saw the other three blocked, whilst he also had fewer touches (ten) than goalkeeper Schmeichel (37), which illustrates his lack of impact.
These statistics show that the 29-year-old striker had a difficult day at the office, as his decision-making and quality in the final third left a bit to be desired and he failed to get involved in the build-up, with his one pass.
The experienced forward was then upstaged by the man who replaced him for the final 15 minutes of the match, as Adam Idah caught the eye off the bench.
Signed from Norwich in the summer, the Irish marksman scored, with a composed close-range finish, completed all four of his attempted passes and created a ‘big chance’ in those 15 minutes.
Rodgers must now consider brutally ditching Kyogo from the starting XI after a few underwhelming displays from the attacker in recent weeks.
Why Celtic should drop Kyogo Furuhashi
The right-footed striker should be taken out of the line-up when the Hoops face Dundee at Parkhead in the Premiership on Wednesday night.
He has produced one goal and one assist, both of which came in the first half against Aberdeen, in his last five appearances in all competitions for the Hoops.
Kyogo Furuhashi
Kyogo completed 12 passes in those five outings and this shows that the attacker has not offered much outside of his work in the final third, which has also been lacking aside from the opening 45 against the Dons at Parkhead.
Therefore, Rodgers must ruthlessly ditch the striker from the starting XI and offer an opportunity to Idah to lead the line in the Premiership on Wednesday night, hopefully motivating Kyogo to fight hard to win his place back for the game against Dundee United at the weekend.
Appearances
7
Starts
2
Goals
2
Big chances created
1
Passes made per game
4.7
Aerial duels won
60%
As you can see in the table above, Idah has shown promise in his limited minutes on the pitch this season, with two goals in two starts in the Premiership.
He has also averaged more passes completed per game (4.7) than Kyogo (4.4) has managed in seven starts out of nine games, which suggests that the Irishman offers more to the team in build-play play.
His aerial duel success rate also shows that Idah is a valuable asset to Celtic when they need to play longer passes under pressure, as he has the physical qualities to win headers and hold the ball up.
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Therefore, Rodgers must now ditch Kyogo from the starting XI to give his number nine a chance to stake a claim for his place in the team moving forward against Dundee.
Chelsea and Tottenham will not have to have their European ties rescheduled after UEFA decided to make an exception to its same-city guidelines.
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Tottenham and Chelsea in EuropeClubs avoid fixture reschedulingUEFA makes exception to usual ruleFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
According to , UEFA defines a 'clash' as when two teams can't compete on the same day because they share the same stadium, or city, or are within 50km of one another. However, after Tottenham and Chelsea reached the last 16 of the Europa League and Europa Conference League respectively, the London sides – whose grounds are around 16km away from each other – have been given the green light for both home matches to go ahead on March 13.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Both Tottenham and Chelsea have strong chances of winning these respective European competitions in a season that has proven to be eventful for both sides. And now that these matches don't have to be rescheduled, that is a small boost for the Premier League sides.
DID YOU KNOW?
Tottenham will face either AZ or Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Europa League, while Chelsea will come up against either Real Betis or Copenhagen in the same stage of the Conference League.
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AFPWHAT NEXT?
The draws for both competitions will be made on Friday, with the Europa League one commencing at 12pm and the Conference League one beginning an hour later.
Glasgow Rangers turn their attention back to domestic action as they prepare to host Hearts at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership this evening.
The Light Blues played in Europe on Thursday night and battled hard to secure a 1-1 draw with Greek giants Olympiacos away from home, which now means that they have only lost one of their four league phase matches so far.
Philippe Clement’s side must now focus on getting their Premiership form back on track as there is no hiding away from the fact that it has not been good enough this season.
The Scottish giants are currently nine points behind Celtic in the league table, and 11 points behind Aberdeen, who beat Dundee 4-1 on Saturday.
Rangers have lost three of their opening ten games in the division and two of those losses came within their last three Premiership outings, losing to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.
Clement’s side have also drawn one game and that came against this evening’s opponents on the opening day of the season, with a 0-0 draw against Steven Naismith’s side, before the former Scotland international’s departure.
Latest Rangers team news
The only relatively fresh piece of team news is that attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence will not be available for selection once again, having also missed out on the clash with Olympiacos on Thursday.
He had to be substituted during the first-half of the 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park in the semi-final of the League Cup with a thigh injury, which is now set to keep him on the sidelines for several weeks.
Tom Lawrence
Clement recently confirmed that the Wales international is due to be out of action for between four and six weeks, which could include him being out for the League Cup final against Celtic on the 15th of December.
This has come as a big blow to the Belgian head coach and Rangers because Lawrence had enjoyed a strong start to the campaign in the number ten position.
Appearances
8
Goals
3
Big chances created
3
Assists
2
Dribbles completed per game
1.1
As you can see in the table above, the former Derby County star has contributed with six goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in eight league appearances this term.
He has also produced two goals and one ‘big chance’ created in three outings in the Europa League, which shows that he has made a big impact domestically and in Europe at the top end of the pitch.
The low-block issue for Rangers
His absence will not help with the low-block issue that the Light Blues have faced at times under Clement this season, with the side sometimes lacking in creativity and quality when a team decides to sit deep and soak up pressure.
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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
In the recent defeats to Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, Rangers had 63% and 68% possession respectively but only scored one goal, as they failed to break down their Premiership rivals.
The Gers have either failed to score or only scored once in six of their ten league outings this term, holding the majority of possession in all bar one – the 3-0 defeat to Celtic – of those matches.
Cyriel Dessers
This suggests that Rangers are not doing enough with their possession of the ball to break teams down and create enough chances for their forwards to put the game out of sight.
Celtic have scored 14 more goals and Aberdeen have scored nine more goals than the Ibrox giants, which illustrates how far behind their direct rivals they are from an attacking perspective.
Clement has to find a way to solve this low-block issue ahead of this clash with Hearts this evening and one solution could be to unleash the rarely-seen Ianis Hagi from the start, following his two-match suspension.
Why Ianis Hagi should be unleashed
The Romania international had to watch on from the sidelines against Kilmarnock and St Mirren. with Rangers losing one of those two games, after his red card against St Johnstone.
Hagi made his first appearance of the season for the Light Blues against St Johnstone, coming on as a substitute at half-time, and registered an assist before being sent off for a high challenge in midfield.
The 26-year-old star created two chances and provided one assist, teeing up Vaclav Cerny for his second of the game with a defence-splitting pass into the box, in just 36 minutes that night.
Journalist Josh Bunting once claimed that Hagi has the ability to “pick passes” against a tight defence and that he has the creative quality to “unlock” teams that set up with a low-block, which proved to be the case against St Johnstone in his first senior appearance of the season.
As you can see in the clip above, the Romanian wizard also showcased his creativity in the final third with a brilliant cross to record an assist for the B team recently, during his suspension for the first-team.
Hagi is still looking to get his Rangers career back on track since suffering a knee injury that kept him out for 69 matches between January 2022 and January 2023, with a loan spell at Alaves last season helping him to play regularly again.
In his first spell with the Light Blues, prior to his horrendous knee injury, the attacking midfielder, who can also play on the flank, caught the eye with his creative quality.
Starts
23
Goals
7
Assists
11
Big chances created
6
Key passes per game
1.0
As you can see in the table above, Hagi made a huge impact at the top end of the pitch with 18 goal contributions in 23 starts in the title-winning campaign under Gerrard.
These statistics, and his short cameo against St Johnstone last month, show that the potential is there for him to come in and ‘unlock’ a low-block, as Bunting illustrated, which is why he should start for the first time this season against Hearts.
He could either play on the left, with Nedim Bajrami moved into a central role, or directly replace Lawrence in the number ten position for the clash this evening.
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Allrounder to lead Championship and T20 sides, Carlson will retain Royal London Cup captaincy
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2021David Lloyd will replace Chris Cooke as Glamorgan’s club captain from the 2022 season, becoming the first Welshman since Mark Wallace to hold the position.Lloyd, the 29-year-old allrounder, will lead the side in the County Championship and the T20 Blast, with Kiran Carlson – who captained the club to their first trophy since 2004 this summer – retaining the captaincy for the Royal London Cup, unless he is drafted in the Hundred.Cooke, 35, has stepped back from the role despite an excellent season with the bat which saw him score four Championship hundreds. “This has not been an easy decision, but I feel that it is the right time, not only for myself, but also for the development of the squad,” he said. “Throughout my tenure I have tried to improve the culture and performances at the club and I will take a lot of pride from what we have accomplished. I hope that I have helped to set an exciting course for this group of players.”Wallace, now Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said: “Chris has done a great job as captain over the past few years and has led the team with a lot of skill and dedication, but he has decided that now is the right time to step aside.”Lloyd, a product of Wales’ National Counties set-up and the Glamorgan academy, is also the first man from North Wales to become club captain since Wilf Wooller in 1947. He had been due to captain the side in the Royal London Cup in 2020 until Covid-19 forced the competition’s cancellation, and Wallace described him as “the obvious choice”.”David’s hugely respected by everyone in the changing room and the way he stepped up to open the batting showed his leadership capabilities,” Wallace said. “He’s a very considered, measured player with an excellent cricket brain who we think will thrive with the captaincy.”We also think he’ll work very well in partnership with Kiran Carlson, who steps up as vice-captain after he showed an aptitude and talent for leadership during the Royal London Cup victory.”Lloyd will be expected to lead a promotion challenge in the Championship after a busy off-season for Glamorgan, which has already seen them sign Eddie Byrom, Sam Northeast and James Harris, with Australians Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser due to return as overseas players.
Bob Willis Trophy shelved, Yorkshire retained in Division One, Blast to be played in single block
Andrew Miller20-Jan-2022″Lessons have been learnt” from England’s poor Test showing in 2021, according to Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket, following the announcement of a 2022 domestic schedule which will provide prospective Test players more opportunity for red-ball cricket in the lead-up to their encounters with New Zealand, South Africa and India this summer.In the wake of a disastrous showing in the Ashes, and following a home Test campaign last summer in which England lost 1-0 to New Zealand and were trailing 2-1 to India before the postponement of the decisive fifth Test, the ECB’s tentative pledge to “reset” their red-ball fortunes has been backed up with a block of five County Championship matches in June and July, ahead of the South Africa series in August.Two “County Select XI” fixtures against New Zealand and South Africa, distinct from the England Lions set-up, have been added to the schedule as well, to provide Test candidates with further opportunities to pit themselves against the tourists. This comes after complaints in 2021 that England were undercooked going into their main campaign of the summer, against India in August and September, following just two Championship rounds in early July prior to the launch of the first season of the Hundred.”It’s obviously well documented and acknowledged that recent results were extremely disappointing which again has called for a look at our approach to red-ball cricket,” Snowball said. “Clearly, the men’s domestic game has got a significant role to play in that, in terms of making sure that we can develop the best possible Test players who can then go on to aspire to be the best team in the world. We don’t think that county cricket has all the answers, but it certainly has some of the answers, and it certainly has an important role to play going forward, along with the first-class counties and the PCA and other stakeholders.”Related
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County Championship comes in from the margins in rejigged 2022 schedule
Yorkshire have been included in the schedule as a Division One team, in spite of the ongoing investigation into the racism scandal that rocked the club in 2021 and may yet lead to further sanctions from the Cricket Discipline Committee (CDC), while both the Bob Willis Trophy final and the traditional Champion County versus MCC fixture, which has been held in the UAE and Barbados in recent seasons, have been shelved.The Bob Willis Trophy, hastily arranged for the delayed 2020 season, was a success in providing context to a condensed first-class programme and culminated in a showpiece final at Lord’s. However, last season’s final was an anti-climax – comfortably won by Warwickshire, for whom it was a distant second to their County Championship triumph.”The Bob Willis Trophy served us very well in 2020 to rescue the season, and of course we played for it last year as well,” Snowball said. “We’re very keen to continue to celebrate Bob’s legacy with a Bob Willis Trophy in some format but we’re not quite sure what that’s going to be yet. We’re in discussions with his family on that.”ESPNcricinfo LtdThe format of the season falls along the lines that ESPNcricinfo revealed in November, and includes a tweak for the Vitality Blast, in what is set to be its 20th season. This year, the whole competition will be played in a seven-week block from May 25 through to Finals Day at Edgbaston on July 16, an amendment that should allow more of the counties’ overseas stars to be involved in the knock-out rounds. Luke Wright, Sussex’s captain, was a prominent critic of the previous schedule, which had involved a five-week hiatus after the group stages.In a bid to maximise the counties’ preference for Blast fixtures towards the back end of the working week, 99 of the 126 fixtures have been scheduled for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. And, in an echo of the successful staging of the Hundred, in which the majority of women’s fixtures were played as double-headers alongside the men, ten Charlotte Edwards Cup matches will also feature on the same bill as the Blast, and at their respective county HQs.Alan Fordham, the ECB’s head of cricket operations, said that the counties’ desire to put the women’s game on an equal footing to the men had been a factor in the double-header decision – as had the double bank holiday at the beginning of June, which encompasses half term and will provide an opportunity for more families to attend the matches. At this stage, one of the double-headers is due to be televised on Sky Sports.A further boost for the women’s game will come with the final of the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, which is due to be held at Lord’s for the first time, on Sunday, September 25. The men’s Royal London Cup final will once again be held at Trent Bridge, but has been moved back to a Saturday (September 17), having been held on a Thursday last season.”The women’s game is just going to have a phenomenal year,” Snowball added. “We’ve got the Ashes starting in Adelaide. We’ve got the Women’s World Cup and then the Commonwealth Games In Birmingham as well as the second edition of the Hundred. So it’s a huge year for women’s domestic cricket and international cricket. We look forward to seeing how that unfolds.”
Still over a week until Arsenal can hurl themselves back toward the ascendency in the Premier League. The international break has taken centre stage, and the best that fans across the world can do is watch various Gunners perform for their countries.
Not all within Mikel Arteta’s squad have jetted off to compete for their nations for the third of such pauses since the season began three months ago – almost to the day.
In fact, some pretty salient names have been kept back.
Why Arsenal stars have stayed in north London
There’s been a degree of frustration within the Three Lions camp concerning the spate of absences in the build-up to the November international break. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are among those to have opted against the call-up, citing injuries.
Elsewhere, Martin Odegaard made his anticipated comeback last time out and proved crucial in the draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, arcing the delivery for Gabriel Martinelli’s opener.
However, after such a long layoff, the skipper’s decision to stay in north London, instead of linking up with the Norwegian national team, was one of great prudence.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard
As the dynamic midfielder recuperates, another Arsenal star has found an opportunity to step up this week and put in a top showing ahead of the next round of gruelling domestic action.
Indeed, Mikel Merino ran the show for Spain.
Mikel Merino's stats for Spain
Arteta was bound to have taken note of Merino’s display against Denmark on Friday evening. Arteta, after all, is Spanish, and his compatriot is starting to grow into his skin after an injury-affected start to life in the English capital.
Mikel Merino in action for Spain
Merino joined the north Londoners from Real Sociedad this summer in a deal worth £32m but found himself languishing in the infirmary until October, having picked up a shoulder injury before he could make his competitive debut.
The 28-year-old has since completed nine appearances and scored during the draw against Liverpool. His combative and silky style brings much to Arteta’s squad, and he showcased such qualities superbly on the international stage this weekend.
Minutes played
80′
Shots (on target)
1 (0)
Touches
60
Accurate passes
35/44 (80%)
Long balls (completed)
4 (3)
Possession lost
13x
Dribbles (completed)
5 (4)
Tackles
3
Ground duels (won)
13 (9)
Not only was Merino one of the steeliest figures on the field, winning a whopping nine ground duels and making three tackles, but he also completed four of five attempted dribbles, highlighting a mobile edge that, when enforced under Arteta’s wing, keeps things fluid for Arsenal.
Spain defeated Denmark to extend their lead in League A Group 4 of the Nations League, of which they are the holders, and Merino’s performance was crucial – especially as he was performing in another man’s boots, so to speak.
Indeed, Barcelona superstar Pedri was left on the bench for this one and introduced for Merino with ten minutes left to play. It was a big show of faith from Luis de la Fuente, whose team needed to avoid defeat against the Danes to secure top spot and confirm a place in the title play-offs.
Pedri, 21, has been hailed as “one of Europe’s best young players” by journalist Sam Dean, and despite suffering adversity throughout his fledgling career, the £67m-rated talent is one of the most promising players on the globe.
His technical prowess wasn’t preferred to Merino’s dynamic command of the central circle, however, and Arsenal must rejoice at the quality of midfielder they have brought in this season.
A long season stretches ahead, and duel-winning stars like Merino could make all the difference when the business end draws near.
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Luis Enrique insisted that his team could become better without the France captain, and he's being proven right so far this season
Vitinha still can't quite get his head around the fact that he got to play in the same side as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. "It was like a dream," the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder told earlier this month. "It just didn't feel real for a long time… I will remember it for the rest of my career because I played with the best. It's something I will tell my children, and my grandchildren, one day."
As Vitinha also admitted, though, it wasn't always easy for him. He couldn't sit back and enjoy watching three of the greatest talents the game has ever seen work their magic. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have never been particularly interested in tracking back, so others had to pick up the slack.
Vitinha had plenty of "chores", as he put it, and his hard work didn't always get the credit it deserved. In the very same infamous game against Montpellier that Mbappe and Neymar squabbled over a spot-kick, the French forward also turned his back on the play at one point, simply because he hadn't received the ball from Vitinha.
It was a pathetic display of petulance, but also a perfect illustration of the consequences of over-indulging superstars – the main reason why Paris Saint-Germain's project repeatedly failed to deliver the Champions League title that club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi promised more than a decade ago.
AFP'Prefer this kind of project'
Things are different now, though. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have all departed Parc des Princes, and while the latter's exit was particularly traumatic, the feeling within the dressing room is that PSG are actually stronger – or at least more united – than ever before going into Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Liverpool.
"I really do prefer this kind of project," Vitinha said of PSG's recent but very noticeable shift towards investing in youth rather than proven performers. "The way that they want to build the team, the long-term vision, it's the best way."
It's certainly working out well so far this season for PSG, who are in sensational form ahead of the visit of Liverpool. They've won their last five games in Ligue 1 to open up a 13-point lead at the top of the table (scoring 17 times in the process), beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in their all-French Champions League play-off and, last week, routed Stade Briochin 7-0 in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.
AdvertisementAFPBetter without Mbappe
Given the recent goal glut, many supporters and pundits are now wondering if PSG are actually better without Mbappe, whom they relied on so heavily in attack last season, and it's a question that Vitinha doesn't shy away from answering.
"We don't have a problem talking about it," the Portugal international said. "Kylian is one of the best in the world, if not the best. We knew it would be difficult [without him] because you can’t replace him directly. But you replace him with the team. That’s what we did. That takes time, but I think we’re collectively better and we have shown it already. Sometimes the goals don't come as easily as before [with Mbappe], but we have a lot of great forwards." There's no disputing that claim.
AFPBarcola and Dembele step up
When Mbappe finally dumped PSG after years of flirting with a move to Real Madrid, the understandable fear was that the French giants would struggle to score goals, particularly after their one orthodox No.9 Goncalo Ramos was sidelined by an ankle injury just 20 minutes into their Ligue 1 opener at Le Havre on August 16.
Randal Kolo Muani initially looked like he might help fill the void up front, but his form flatlined and he was offloaded to Juventus during the winter transfer window. By that stage, though, PSG were happy to let him leave, as their attack had caught fire.
Ramos' return to action at the tail end of November was an undoubted boost, but the real revelations were Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele. Barcola had already proven himself one of the most exciting young talents in world football during his first season in the French capital; the one question was whether he could add goals to his game. This season, he has, with 22-year-old already up to 17 goals in 39 appearances so far this season.
Rather remarkably, Dembele, the worst signing in Barcelona's history for so many reasons and arguably the game's greatest unfulfilled talent, has proven even more prolific than Barcola. The incredibly frustrating winger has netted 26 times in just 33 outings, which is an outstanding tally for a player whose previous career-high, single-season haul was 14 goals in 2018-19. Worryingly for Liverpool, 21 of Dembele's goals this season have come in his last 16 appearances – making him one of the form players on the planet right now.
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Getty Images SportLuis Enrique told you so!
As Vitinha alluded to, though, PSG are no longer reliant upon the excellence of individuals. Their strength has become the collective, which was Luis Enrique's objective all along.
"I was very brave last season when I told you that we would have a better team in attack and defence [without Mbappe] and the numbers are now there to prove it," the coach told reporters earlier this month. "Of course, we would have liked to keep Kylian, because everyone liked Kyky and we were faced with a situation that we did not want. But it happened and the players took replacing him as a challenge and the whole team is responding very positively, at a spectacular level. I told you that rather than having a player who scores 40 goals, I wanted players who all score a lot." And that's exactly what he's got now.
Paddy Upton joins as “Team Catalyst” and will look after the players’ mental well-being
ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2022Rajasthan Royals have roped in Lasith Malinga as their fast-bowling coach ahead of IPL 2022, and Paddy Upton as “Team Catalyst”.Malinga, who retired as a player in 2021, is the highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 170 scalps across nine seasons for Mumbai Indians. In 2018, he was Mumbai’s bowling mentor as well, and earlier this year, he was appointed Sri Lanka’s bowling strategy coach for the T20I series in Australia.At Royals, Malinga will work alongside his former captain Kumar Sangakkara, who is the franchise’s head coach and director of cricket, and Steffan Jones, who was named as high-performance fast-bowling coach last week.”It’s a wonderful feeling for me to return to the IPL and an absolute honour to join Rajasthan Royals, a franchise that has always promoted and developed young talent,” Malinga said. “I am excited by the pace bowling unit we have going into the tournament and looking forward to supporting all the fast bowlers with the execution of their game-plans and their overall development. I’ve made some very special memories in the IPL with Mumbai Indians and now with Royals, looking forward to new experiences and creating great memories in this journey.”Upton returns to Royals having previously worked as their coach from 2013 to 2015 and then in 2019, leading them to a top-four finish in 2013 and 2015. He will be with the team for the first four weeks of the season, after which he will support them virtually.”Being the Team Catalyst, Upton will play a crucial role in establishing team integration by bringing them together as a cohesive and mutually supporting unit, and look after their mental well-being with the use of various mental conditioning processes and activities that aid in maintaining a healthy culture and environment, especially within the restrictions of being in a bio-bubble,” a Royals statement said.Sangakkara said both Malinga and Upton would be great additions to the coaching staff. “Lasith is arguably one of the greatest T20 fast bowlers of all time, and to have a personality like his around the training ground, and the expertise he brings to the table, is certainly something we feel the team can benefit from,” he said. “We have some of the best fast bowlers in our squad and we are delighted that they will have the chance to work with Lasith and get to learn and develop further.”It’s the same with Paddy, who has been a great servant for the Royals, and has done an exceptional job in building that cohesion between players and also conditioning them mentally. We believe he will act as a great addition to our coaching staff.”Trevor Penney (assistant coach), Zubin Bharucha (strategy, development and performance director) and Dishant Yagnik (fielding coach) will continue in their respective roles.
Despite all the chaos of the previous two seasons at Chelsea, things are actually going remarkably well for the Blues right now.
Following Sunday’s 3-0 demolition of Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, they’re currently third in the Premier League, below Arsenal by virtue of alphabetical order only, considering the two London rivals have an identical number of points, goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head record.
Enzo Maresca has given minutes to 30 different players this season, second only to Southampton across all competitions, rotating his squad heavily for EFL Cup and UEFA Conference League fixtures, keeping star players fresh for Premier League commitments.
Chelsea's plethora of attacking options
Going forward in particular is where Maresca has an abundance of options at his disposal.
The form of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson means they are undroppable, but countless combinations featuring Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk or Joao Felix have completed the attacking quartet in the Premier League so far.
Madueke appeared to be the first-choice on the right wing, starting 11 successive Premier League fixtures, a sequence that began in August when he bagged this hat-trick at Molineux, before being benched at the weekend.
Meantime, Neto’s Chelsea career appeared ready for take-off when he scored an absolute rocket from distance against Arsenal, his first league goal for the club, but a knock suffered on international duty has hindered his progress.
That’s not even mentioning Christopher Nkunku, who hasn’t started in the league since the opening day, despite scoring in all six European fixtures so far, on target 11 times across all competitions, but he still can’t get much of a look in.
Having said all of that, by next summer, there will be a new kid on the block, with Chelsea having already got their hands on a teenage sensation.
Chelsea's Brazilian superstar
Back in June, Chelsea announced the signing of Estêvão Willian, describing him as “one of the most exciting talents around”.
Chelsea summer signing Estevao
He’ll join from reigning Brasileirão champions Palmeiras, costing a reported fee of £29 million, arriving in the summer of 2025 following his 18th birthday, potentially in time for the ill-fated FIFA Club World Cup.
Upon arrival, the teenager will surely become the 15th Brazilian to make a senior appearance for Chelsea.
Some, such as Thiago Silva, Willian, Oscar, Ramires and David Luiz, were ultra-successful; others, looking at you Alexandre Pato and Lucas Piazón, not so much.
Estêvão certainly has the talent to fall into the former category, described as “the best player to have emerged from Brazilian football since Neymar” by João Paulo Sampaio, head of Palmeiras’ academy, adding “you watch him and you fall in love”.
Scout Jacek Kulig on Twitter compared Estêvão’s stats after 28 Brasileirão appearances to both Neymar and VinÃcius Júnior stating “I’m not suggesting that Estêvão will surpass Vini or Neymar, but the way he’s started his senior career is absolutely crazy”.
Across all competitions, the teenager has 14 goals in 44 appearances for the Verdão, as well as providing ten assists, most recently the only scorer during a victory over Grêmio in early November.
According to FBref’s scouting report, Estêvão ranks extremely highly for all the key attacking metrics compared to positionally similar players in comparable leagues.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
He is in the top 10% for shots, assists, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, successful take-ons, touches and progressive passes, which isn’t bad for a 17-year-old.
Of course, he is plying his trade at a lower level and, a tale of caution, his former teammate Luis Guilherme, a year older, arrived at West Ham to similar fanfare for a fee of £25m last summer, but he is yet to make any discernible impact in East London, appearing only twice for a total of 11 minutes to date.
So, Chelsea unquestionably have a serious talent on their hands, but patience will be required and it may take time before we see the best of Estêvão in a blue shirt.
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