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Leeds United missed out on promotion to the Premier League in one of the worst ways possible last month as they were beaten in the play-off final at Wembley.

An entire season of effort culminated in a drab 1-0 defeat to Southampton, thanks to a first-half goal from Adam Armstrong, and the Whites must now prepare for a second year in the Championship.

Head coach Daniel Farke will look back on the 2023/24 campaign and identify ways to improve his side to ensure that they do not fall short for a second time.

Leeds' biggest xG underperformers
23/24 Championship	xG	Goals	xG differential
Georginio Rutter	16.05	7	-9.05
Patrick Bamford	11.11	8	-3.11
Joe Rodon	2.51	0	-2.51
Ethan Ampadu	2.31	0	-2.31
Mateo Joseph	2.43	1	-1.43
Stats via WhoScored

As you can see in the table above, three of his strikers underperformed against their xG and two of them, Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter, significantly underperformed – by a combined 12.16 xG.

Therefore, the German boss could dip into the market to bolster his attack during the summer transfer window, which officially opened for business earlier this month.

Work on that front already appears to be underway as the West Yorkshire side have been linked with an interest in a forward from the Bundesliga.

Leeds United battling to sign £12m attacker

According to the printed edition of The Sunday Mirror (23/06/24), as relayed by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds are one of the sides battling to sign Bayer Leverkusen ace Adam Hlozek this summer.

The report claims that the Whites and Premier League outfit West Ham United are just two of the teams keeping tabs on his situation with the Bundesliga champions.

It states that the versatile forward is set to move on from Xabi Alonso's side before the 2024/25 campaign and Farke is seemingly looking to take advantage of that with a swoop for his services over the coming weeks.

The outlet reveals that Leverkusen are prepared to demand a fee within the region of £12m for the Czechia international, who is currently competing for his country at the 2024 European Championship.

It now remains to be seen, however, whether or not Leeds are willing to offer the £12m that is apparently required to secure his services before the end of the transfer window, or if the player is keen on dropping down from the first division in Germany to the second tier in England.

If they can secure a deal to sign him, though, then they could land an exciting partner for Rutter in the final third next season in the Championship.

Georginio Rutter's creative brilliance for Leeds

As illustrated in the xG table earlier, the French youngster endured an incredibly poor campaign in front of goal with his wasteful finishing for the Whites.

There is no hiding away from the fact that Rutter must improve his finishing quality next year as he spurned far too many high-quality opportunities for Farke's side.

However, the 22-year-old magician did do a lot of brilliant work in possession when it came to creating chances for other players to find the back of the net.

The former Hoffenheim starlet ended the season with a staggering 15 assists and 22 'big chances' created in 45 league appearances for Leeds, which shows that he consistently looked to set up his teammates.

That is backed up by fantastic underlying chance creation numbers as the right-footed wizard ranked highly amongst his positional peers in the division.

Georginio Rutter vs forwards
23/24 Championship (per 90)	Percentile rank
Assists (0.39)	Top 2%
xAG (0.29)	Top 2%
Progressive passes (4.46)	Top 3%
Shot-creating actions (4.41)	Top 2%
Successful take-ons (3.06)	Top 1%
Stats via FBRef

As you can see in the table above, he ranked among the best in his position at creating high-quality chances for his fellow attackers in the Championship.

These statistics show that the Leeds magician has the quality to constantly split open opposition defences with his creative and incisive passing from a number ten position.

This could make him an exciting partner for Hlozek at Elland Road as the young Czechia star has the potential to be a lethal finisher as well as an impressive creator in the Championship next season.

Why Leeds should sign Adam Hlozek

Firstly, he only turns 22 next month and this means that the club would be bringing in a talented young starlet with time to develop and improve throughout his time in Yorkshire.

Farke could work with the youngster, who was described as a "diamond" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, to help improve his performances on the pitch and, as a result, increase his value for the Whites to potentially make a profit on him further down the line.

Secondly, Hlozek has the finishing quality to be a reliable option for the German head coach in the final third, unlike Bamford, Joseph, and Rutter.

In his two seasons in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, the 6 foot 1 marksman, who was dubbed "towering" by Mango, scored seven goals from an xG of 5.72 – an overperformance of 1.28.

The talented dynamo, who scored three goals in four DFB Pokal outings, has shown that he can finish at an impressive rate in a major European league, which suggests that he could be a ruthless finisher who could thrive with Rutter's creativity at Leeds.

Adam Hlozek's last two seasons for Sparta Prague
Fortuna Liga	20/21	21/22	Total
Appearances	19	29	48
Goals	15	8	23
Assists	8	13	21
Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, he arrived at Leverkusen off the back of two fantastic league seasons with Sparta Prague in his home country.

Hlozek racked up a staggering 44 direct goal contributions in 48 matches and Farke could look to unlock his creative quality, with 21 of those contributions being assists, to go along with his superb finishing.

He could, therefore, be an exciting partner for Rutter at the top end of the pitch for the Whites next term as his ability in front of goal could make up for the Frenchman's struggles in that department.

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It is now down to the club to win the battle for his signature and bring him to Elland Road to bolster Farke's attacking options for the 2024/25 campaign.

Fast bowler still keen to learn on the job as England seek improvements to winning formula

Andrew Miller30-Nov-2020Chris Jordan says that a mixture of intra-squad rivalry and on-field collaboration has been the key to England’s T20I success in South Africa, after the team came through two stiff tests in Cape Town and Paarl to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.In the course of Sunday’s four-wicket win in Paarl, Jordan also drew level with Stuart Broad as England’s leading T20I wicket-taker with 65 scalps in 54 games. But, he said, such accolades were just a by-product of the team’s success, and that he took more satisfaction from the improvements he and his fellow bowlers had made from the first match to the second.”Winning the series, that’s what we set out to do first and foremost,” Jordan told Sky Sports after Sunday’s victory. “It’s obviously a nice milestone to have but, as long as I’m doing the job for the team, and the team are winning series and winning games, I’m more than happy. If the accolades come with that, then so be it.”It was a solid team performance in the first game, but we put a lot of things right this game, especially in the bowling department and to restrict them to 146, on what we thought was a pretty decent wicket, and to get over the line, was very pleasing.”Once we’d got a couple of wickets, we were able to build a bit a little bit of pressure, build a few dots,” he added. “But with our batting line-up, most par scores feel as if the teams are 15-20 short most of the time, and [Dawid Malan’s] innings shows why he’s at No.1 right now.”England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, had been underwhelmed with England’s efforts in the field in Friday’s opening fixture, describing the performance as “average” after South Africa racked up a challenging 179 for 6 in their 20 overs – a total that was only overcome thanks to Jonny Bairstow’s brilliant 86 not out from 48 balls.And Jordan admitted he had taken that criticism on the chin and gone away to work on his game to visible effect, as did his fellow death bowler, Tom Curran, who followed up figures of 1 for 55 at Newlands – the most expensive T20I figures of his career – with a much improved haul of 1 for 37, which included an excellent 20th over in which he conceded just seven runs.ALSO READ: Jason Roy’s spin struggles could provide test of Eoin Morgan’s loyalty”We didn’t really speak as an entire group,” Jordan said. “You just drag the coaches to one side, and make your own personal assessments on the game. For the first game, I gave away a couple of soft wides which then cost me at the back end of the over with a couple of boundaries, so I just tried to tidy that up.”And TC [Curran], he tried to stick to his strengths as much as possible, and go to his slowies a little bit earlier. He was a bit more clever with the way he bowled, and was able to look after his figures as well. So it’s about making those personal assessments and trying to put those wrongs right.”As Morgan admitted ahead of the opening fixture, victory in South Africa hasn’t been England’s sole objective for the series. The process of defining roles for each player in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup has been every bit as important, and thanks to two highly competitive intra-squad warm-up games as well as the on-field collaboration that he and his fellow bowlers have been working on this week, Jordan believes they’ve already made good strides.”In the first couple of overs, we try to get a read [of the pitch] from Sam and Jof,” Jordan said. “I stand at mid-off quite a lot, so I’m just trying to get feedback from the bowlers, until I get into the game myself. Obviously Jof’s a taller bowler, Sam’s a skiddier bowler, me and TC are probably a little bit similar in height, so we try to get a read, almost every single ball, and then feed back to Morgs and try and come up with the best possible plans.”The competition for places is brilliant,” he added. “[The warm-up games] were really good fun because everyone wanted to get each other out, or match each other for sixes. It just raised the level of everyone’s game.”The way Sam [Curran] is striking the ball at the minute is pretty unbelievable, he’s come back with a lot of confidence from the IPL. Stokesy and Rooty, there’s a little bit of rivalry there as well, but it’s all in good spirits because we’re trying to pull in the same direction as a team. We’re trying to make the entire team and squad better, and those type of things just get you ready for series like this.”

Arsenal may have fallen just short of ending their Premier League title drought last season, but it was another year in which they took a step forward under Mikel Arteta.

When he took over in 2019, the Gunners were a listless midtable side, but they now look destined to win some major silverware in the coming years.

The Spaniard has cleared out most of the dead wood from the squad and brought in a plethora of talented stars, such as Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard, and with the transfer window open, he looks ready to add more.

One of the latest players touted for a move to the Emirates is Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres, and while he'd be an exciting addition, the Gunners already have a talented forward who is worth even more than him in the squad.

Kai Havertz's Arsenal career

The man in question is none other than German forward Kai Havertz, who was a shock £65m purchase from cross-city rivals Chelsea last summer.

It would be fair to describe the transfer as somewhat unpopular at the time, with pundits such as Gabby Agbonlahor describing the former Bayer Leverkusen man as a "joke" just a month into the season – don't hold back, Gabby.

However, after a rough first half of the campaign in which he was mainly played as a left-eight, the 25-year-old was given a chance to start up top, and from that point on, he became one of the Gunners' best players.

Havertz's form this season

Position

Midfield

Striker

Starts

32

18

Goals

6

8

Assists

0

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.18

0.83

All Stats via Transfermarkt

In just 18 starts as a centre-forward, the "magnificent" ace, as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, scored 18 goals and provided seven assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.20 games.

In contrast, when he started in midfield, he only scored six goals in 32 appearances, which equates to a much poorer average of one goal involvement every 5.33 games.

He wasn't just scoring consolation goals or the sixth in a 6-0 thumping, either. For example, he scored in the club's 3-2 North London Derby win, grabbed the late winner against Brentford and ensured the team ended the campaign with a win thanks to a late goal against Everton.

In all, while he might not be the most aesthetically pleasing player around and have a gaff or two in him, the "versatile" Havertz, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, more than repaid Arteta's faith in him last season and while the club are linked to a new number nine, the German's value is higher.

Kai Havertz's valuation in 2024

Gyokeres is the name most heavily linked with a move to Arsenal at the moment, and the latest is that he might be joining for a fee of around £76m, and while that's a lot of money, it is less than the Gunners' current star forward is valued at.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Havertz is now worth €100m, which converts to around £85m, or about £9m more than the club look set to pay for the Swedish international.

A couple of key factors contribute to Havertz's high valuation. The first, and perhaps most significant, is his outstanding form.

In his final 14 league appearances last season, the Aachen-born marksman scored nine goals and provided six assists, averaging a goal involvement every 0.93 games, which is undeniably impressive under the pressure of a title race.

The second reason for his increased valuation is his contract. As things stand, the former Blues forward has four years remaining on his £180k-per-week deal, which puts the North Londoners in a great position to demand what they like for him should other sides come calling.

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Ultimately, while he has his detractors, it would be hard to argue that Havertz didn't have a good campaign overall last season, and while Arsenal look ready to splash £76m on a new out-and-out striker this summer, they can rest assured that they already have a versatile attacker worth even more in the squad.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com treinos no campo e em fase de transição para retornar aos gramados, Gatito Fernández deu fortes declarações sobre a sua situação física no Botafogo. O goleiro, que está machucado desde outubro do ano passado, afirmou, em uma publicação no Instagram, que houve erro médico da equipe do DM Alvinegro.

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O goleiro, que não entra em campo com a camisa do Glorioso desde setembro, se machucou em um jogo da Seleção Paraguaia, pelas Eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo.

No último domingo, Zé Fogareiro, um influenciador digital do clube, fez uma postagem criticando a situação dos goleiros Gatito e Cavalieri, ambos lesionados, no Instagram. O paraguaio respondeu, afirmou que está empenhado pelo retorno e fez declarações sobre a recuperação.

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TEXTO DE GATITO:
“Zé, gostaria de aclarar que eu nunca forcei ir para minha seleção e jogar os primeiros jogos das Eliminatórias e perder todo ano sem poder jogar. Em [eu] fui para a seleção porque me falaram que em 14 dias ficaria bem novamente. E foi o que eu fiz. O jogo na seleção foi dia 8/10/2020. E sempre se falou que eu piorei a minha lesão indo para a seleção (me convenceram que foi isso que piorou).

Mas quando consultei pela primeira vez com o meu médico particular, 29/01/2021, ele mostrou para mim nas imagens que não tinha mudado praticamente nada da primeira lesão. E falou que a primeira lesão eu já tinha que ter ficado 2 meses com muletas para poder melhorar (então não eram 14 dias).

Então, Zé, tem muitas coisas que um dia eu vou falar que não se falou. Eu estou te respondendo porque já cansou [cansei] que sempre acabam falando qualquer coisa menos a verdade.

E outra coisa: o meu empenho para voltar a jogar é muito grande. E todos no clube sabem o quanto eu me esforço para superar a lesão e poder ajudar ao Botafogo assim desde a minha chegada em 2017″

MatériaMais Notícias

Uma das forças do futebol nordestino é Pernambuco. No estado, três clubes são conhecidos nacionalmente e figuram as três principais divisões do país.

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Com a temporada 2021 em andamento, cada clube vive uma situação parecida abaixo e a reportagem explica um pouco mais sobre os desempenhos de Sport, Náutico e Santa Cruz.

Sport: Único representante de Recife na Série A, o Leão começa a dar sinais de recuperação. Sob o comando de Umberto Louzer, o Sport deixou a zona de rebaixamento e vem de vitória contra o Bahia fora de casa. Agora, a expectativa é que o time possa melhorar e começar a voar mais alto na elite do futebol nacional.

Náutico: O melhor pernambucano da temporada é o Náutico. Sob o comando de Hélio dos Anjos, o Timbu ficou encorpado e faturou o título estadual. Na Série B, o time dos Aflitos está na liderança do torneio, com 30 pontos. O único revés do time no torneio ocorreu na rodada do fim de semana, quando foi superado pelo Coritiba.

Santa Cruz: Do trio, o que passa mais aperto é o Santa Cruz. O time está na Série C e aparece na lanterna da sua chave, com 3 pontos. Nos 10 jogos que disputou até o momento, o Tricolor não somou nenhuma vitória. A semana é importante para o Coritiba. Após vencer o Náutico no Couto Pereira, o Coxa visita o Brusque de olho na liderança da Série B.

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The Champions League final is the creme de la creme. It’s the big one. The pinnacle fixture of club football. But the Europa League has a prestige of its own, and is sometimes capable of stealing the global spotlight.

Europe’s second-tier continental tournament can often be just as exciting, with unfancied teams occasionally going deep into the latter stages, and with a place in the Champions League on offer, it’s an opportunity for those sides to create history.

No matter the competition, finals don’t always live up to the hype. But sometimes, the Europa League and its UEFA Cup predecessor has conjured up a true classic.

Here is our list of the best Europa League and UEFA Cup finals ever contested.

#

Season

Match

Venue

2000/01

Liverpool 5-4 Alaves (aet)

Westfalenstadion, Dortmund

2006/07

Espanyol 2-2 Sevilla (1-3 pens)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

2002/03

Celtic 2-3 FC Porto (aet)

Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla, Seville

1987/88

Espanyol 3-3 Bayer Leverkusen (2-3 pens)

BayArena/Estadi de Sarrià

1971/72

Wolves 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (agg.)

Molineux/White Hart Lane

2012/13

Benfica 1-2 Chelsea

Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam

2020/21

Villarreal 1-1 Man Utd (11-10 pens)

Stadion Gdansk, Gdansk

2015/16

Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla

St Jakob-Park, Basel

2018/19

Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal

Olympic Stadium, Baku

2009/10

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Fulham (aet)

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

10 2010: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Fulham (aet) Fulham's continental conquest ended by Forlan's final touch

Fulham’s Europa League campaign of 2009/10 was a thing to behold. After finishing second in Group E behind AS Roma, Roy Hodgson’s Cottagers defeated Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg en route to the final, with their victory over the Old Lady particularly special, overturning a 3-1 defeat in the first leg to win 4-1 against their nine-man opposition.

Atletico Madrid had battled tooth and nail toward the final themselves, winning on away goals on two occasions before winning in extra time against Liverpool in the semi-finals.

Atleti boasted the European pedigree, and sadly for the Craven Cottage faithful, that prevailed in Hamburg at the Volksparkstadion, with Diego Forlan finishing coolly either side of Simon Davies’ strike, the latter of which came in the 116th minute, with the tie appearing destined for penalties.

Forlan, tormentor of Liverpool in the semis, had previously failed to impress on English shores with Manchester United but proved his elite attacking sharpness on the biggest night in Fulham’s 21st-century history.

9 2019: Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal Hazard inspires Chelsea to stylish second-half romp over the Gunners

Chelsea’s Europa League triumph over London rivals Arsenal in an ominously empty Olympic Stadium in Baku proved to be a watershed moment for one Eden Hazard, who scored a brilliant brace before completing a transfer to Real Madrid for a fee rising to £150m.

The now-retired Belgian fell heavily by the wayside in Spain’s capital, but he engineered yet more trophy-laden success for Stamford Bridge on his final appearance, with Olivier Giroud and Pedro also getting involved in the second-half goalfest.

To bolster what proved to be a highly entertaining final after a lacklustre opening, Alex Iwobi scored one of the finest consolation strikes you will ever see, launching a terrific ranged strike beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal.

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ByFreddie Taylor Oct 13, 2023 8 2016: Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla Sturridge wonder goal fails to prevent brutal second-half collapse against Sevilla

Jurgen Klopp’s illustrious Liverpool tenure has seen the biggest prizes in football restore the club’s status as one of the major players in Europe, but the Europa League is the one accolade that has evaded the German.

Daniel Sturridge’s wonder goal handed the Premier League outfit a slender lead heading into the break, but Kevin Gameiro turned in a whipped delivery moments after action resumed to level the play before Coke’s double condemned Liverpool and Klopp to agony.

Klopp’s Merseyside project might have been in its fledgling phases, but he won six of his other eight finals, and Sevilla’s remarkable powers of recovery bespeak the Andalusian club’s perennial status in the Europa League.

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ByDavid Comerford Feb 27, 2024 7 2021: Villarreal 1-1 Man Utd (11-10 pens) De Gea misses as Villarreal win marathon penalty battle to clinch first-ever major trophy

Unai Emery loves a Europa League final: he’s won a record four titles. The architect of Sevilla’s three-peat, the current Aston Villa manager triumphed with his previous outfit, Villarreal, defeating Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Manchester United in a frenetic penalty shootout.

The match itself wasn’t exactly a barnstormer, with three shots on target shared out between the finalists across 120 minutes, before all 21 players hit the back of the net in the shootout until Red Devils goalkeeper David de Gea was unable to breach Geronimo Rulli’s goal – the Yellow Submarines shot-stopper had just converted himself to secure heroic status in Castellón​​​​.

Moreover, Villarreal had never won a major trophy before that fateful day – further evidence of Emery’s Midas touch on the biggest stage.

6 2013: Benfica 1-2 Chelsea Ivanovic rises highest to send Blues into injury-time ecstasy

Chelsea just know how to win. Sure, the west London giants are languishing below their best at the moment, but before you know it, they will be back competing for honours at the highest level of European competition.

This was a frenzied affair that saw Fernando Torres open the scoring on the hour mark before Oscar Cardozo evened things up with a penalty ten minutes later. Branislav Ivanovic scored in the final minute of stoppage time after meeting Juan Mata’s cross, enriching Chelsea’s European pedigree in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Petr Cech had made a stunning save before Frank Lampard leathered the crossbar with a near-perfect shot, but it was indeed Chelsea who prevailed to win their first-ever Europa League title, a year on from winning the Champions League.

5 1972: Wolves 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (agg.) Spurs defeat Old Gold in the inaugural UEFA Cup final

This one deserves a place on the list, with Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers meeting in the UEFA Cup’s inaugural final to produce an exciting two-legged clash.

England forward Martin Chivers bagged an emphatic brace in the first leg to hand the Lilywhites a 2-1 advantage heading into the return fixture at White Hart Lane.

Drawing 1-1, Tottenham were crowned the first winners of a tournament that continues to dazzle all these years later.

4 1988: Espanyol 3-3 Bayer Leverkusen (2-3 pens) Leverkusen fashion epic European comeback in two-legged showdown

Bayer Leverkusen are the team of the term. At present, Xabi Alonso’s indomitable machine has shredded through German Bundesliga opposition to record a stunning invincible title triumph, ending over a decade of Bayern Munich dominance.

Still hoping to complete an unprecedented unbeaten treble with victory in the DFB-Pokal and this year’s Europa League final, Die Werkself also have previous in the continental competition.

In 1988, Espanyol had stormed into a commanding 3-0 lead after the first leg in Spain, and while Leverkusen took almost an hour to find the back of the net on home turf once Tita turned home, a blitzing half-hour swung the pendulum and saw Erich Ribbeck’s team win their first major European trophy.

3 2003: Celtic 2-3 Porto (aet) The Special One shines as Porto crush Celtic's European dream

We couldn’t possibly compile a list of the greatest Europa League and UEFA Cup finals without paying homage to Jose Mourinho’s triumph with Porto.

Celtic fought with drive and determination against an oiled Porto side and restored parity on two occasions but ultimately succumbed in extra time as Derlei scored his second of the game after 115 minutes to become the first Portuguese side to win the UEFA Cup.

Mourinho clearly liked the taste of continental triumph, for the Dragões would assuredly defeat Monaco 3-0 in the Champions League final one year later.

2 2007: Espanyol 2-2 Sevilla (1-3 pens) Espanyol fail to exorcise demons as Sevilla set the tone

Espanyol were back in the final, 19 years on from letting a three-goal lead slip, and had the trophy in sight.

But Sevilla were about to become the unrivalled wrecking ball of the competition, and this ingrained belief they have mustered on the continent started as Juande Ramos’ side’s ability to hold their nerve against Espanyol braided this present sense of inevitability.

The Europa League kings prevailed in a shootout after throwing away their lead twice to win successive trophies – something only Real Madrid had achieved before.

1 2001 – Liverpool 5-4 Alaves (aet) Gerard Houllier's Reds edge underdogs in crazy nine-goal thriller

Liverpool on a historic European night? Never them. Gerard Houllier won three trophies during an incredible 2000/01 campaign but outpunching Deportivo Alavés in Germany tops the lot.

But the match itself simply cannot be topped, with a nine-goal thriller settled by a golden goal, with two red cards, a trophy-deciding own goal and a comeback all prominent on a stunning night.

The Redmen took an early two-goal lead courtesy of a lively Markus Babbel and a certain Steven Gerrard, with the Anfield stars finding themselves 3-1 up at half-time only to ship twice right after the break. Robbie Fowler fired Liverpool into the lead after 72 minutes but Jordi Cruyff salvaged parity in the dying embers of normal time.

Spanish right-back Delfí Geli’s luckless headed clearance after 116 minutes sent Houllier and his men into rapture to drape the curtain on a breathtaking, matchless finale.

MatériaMais Notícias

Como se não bastasse o empate em 1 a 1 e boas chances de gol perdidas, a partida de ida das oitavas de final da Libertadores, contra o Racing, da Argentina, nesta terça-feira (13), trouxe ao São Paulo uma notícia preocupante. O atacante Eder sentiu a região posterior da coxa e deixou o gramado ainda no primeiro tempo, preocupando o time para as próximas partidas.

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CONFIRA AS PARTIDAS DAS OITAVAS DE FINAL DA LIBERTADORES DA AMÉRICA!​

A possível lesão de Eder foi bem semelhante à sofrida por Rigoni, na última quarta-feira (7), contra o Internacional. Ambos levaram a mão à mesma região da coxa e deixaram a partida ainda no primeiro tempo.

Eder saiu de campo com apenas 27 minutos de jogo, sendo substituído por Vitor Bueno, que fez o gol da equipe mas perdeu chances de ampliar o placar.

O atacante deve passar por exames nesta quarta-feira (14) e, assim, ter um diagnóstico de sua lesão e se desfalcará a equipe nos próximos jogos.

Contra o Racing, o Tricolor já não contou com Luciano, Rigoni e Miranda, afastados por lesão, além de Daniel Alves, convocado para a seleção olímpica, e Bruno Alves, suspenso.

Com muitos lesionados e muitas dúvidas no elenco, o Tricolor enfrenta o Fortaleza na 12ª rodada do Brasileirão, neste sábado (17), no Morumbi.

Na próxima terça-feira (20), o time volta a jogar contra o Racing, dessa vez em Avellaneda, na Argentina, no estádio El Cilindro, pelo jogo de volta das oitavas de final da Libertadores. O empate em 0 a 0 classifica os argentinos

Manchester City star Phil Foden added another goal to his growing collection of impressive strikes in the 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Cityzens academy graduate has now racked up 22 goals and 10 assists in 45 appearances for the club in all competitions this season, and is further cementing himself as one of the best players to have come through the youth ranks.

Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer, who both came through the same academy, are now at Premier League rivals Chelsea, whilst one of the most valuable former City youth stars is now being eyed up for a return to The Etihad.

Man City's interest in Bundesliga star

According to TEAMtalk, City are now chasing a deal to sign Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen for Pep Guardiola as a replacement for Kyle Walker this summer.

He spent nine years in the City academy, between 2010 and 2019, before being sold to Scottish giants Celtic in 2019, who then moved him on to Leverkusen in January 2021.

Transfermarkt values him at €50m (£42.7m) and that makes him the fourth-most valuable active former City academy star, behind Michael Olise, Palmer, and Foden.

TEAMtalk now state that City have identified him as a target this year as they have been on the search for a replacement for veteran defender Walker, and seemingly believe that Frimpong is good enough to be the long-term successor in that role.

However, the report states that his £34m price tag has attracted interest from other clubs, as Real Madrid and Liverpool are also looking at the Dutch international.

This means that it may well take a fight from City to secure his signature ahead of two of their European and domestic rivals, who are also eyeing new right-backs this summer.

Why Manchester City should re-sign Jeremie Frimpong

Frimpong, described as a "monster" in the final third by The United Stand's Beth Tucker, has been in terrific form for Leverkusen as a wing-back this season and could provide an extra attacking threat to Guardiola's side.

The 23-year-old starlet has produced 12 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances for the German side in all competitions so far this term, which includes eight goals and eight assists in 26 league matches.

Walker, meanwhile, has only racked up six goals and 21 assists in 292 games across his entire City career, which speaks to how impressive Frimpong's form has been in Germany.

Appearances

26

26

Sofascore rating

7.31

7.12

Goals

8

0

Big chances created

8

5

Duel success rate

50%

54%

Ball recoveries per game

3.1

5.1

As you can see in the table above, Frimpong has the edge over the England international when it comes to making an impact at the top end of the pitch.

However, the former Tottenham Hotspur speedster has won a higher percentage of his defensive duels and won the ball back twice more per game on average, which suggests that the Leverkusen man still has plenty to improve on out of possession.

That is an area of his game that could be developed under Guardiola over the years to come, as he still has plenty of time left to progress at the age of just 23.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na tarde deste domingo, o Ceará foi até o Beira-Rio e ficou no empate por 1 a 1 com o Internacional, resultado que deixou o time na 11ª colocação da tabela.

Na saída do gramado, o zagueiro Messias conversou com a imprensa e lamentou não ter saído com o triunfo.

‘A gente buscou a vitória o jogo inteiro, criamos oportunidades, infelizmente não saímos com os três pontos. Mas pontuar é sempre importante. Vamos em busca sempre da vitória, queremos ganhar, vamos focar e trabalhar firme para poder sair com os três pontos no próximo jogo’, afirmou ao Premier.

Com o empate no Beira-Rio, o Ceará chegou a negativa marca de seis partidas sem vencer na temporada. O último triunfo aconteceu na estreia do Brasileirão contra o Grêmio.

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Jamie Carragher is a name that football fans up and down the country have grown to become very familiar with over the past 30 years or so, due to his long football career and his thriving punditry and presenting career on television.

However, there's a whole lot more to uncover regarding the former Liverpool centre-back, as believe it or not, he does have a life outside of television and football.

So, we have decided to compile a fact file on everything about Jamie Carragher.

Jamie Carragher's age and height

James Lee Duncan Carragher was born on 28th January 1978, in Bootle, England, making him 46 years of age.

According to various sites, Carragher stands at 185cm, or 6ft 1in, tall.

Jamie Carragher's net worth

Carragher has an estimated net worth of around £16 million.

The 46-year-old enjoyed a long football career at Liverpool, which spanned over 17 years. During this time, he would have been earning a very handsome salary as one of the key figures at Anfield, with Steven Gerrard even calling him his co-captain on the field.

But he's arguably been even more successful since his career came to an end as a leading pundit for Sky Sports. His salary at Sky is believed to be around £1 million per year.

Plus, he may have various investments.

Jamie Carragher's salary

As mentioned above, Jamie Carragher pockets a large sum of money from Sky Sports every year, with his current salary at the broadcasting giants sitting at around £1 million.

Although it's not known exactly how much, he also earns a salary from CBS Sports from his role as a pundit alongside the likes of Kate Abdo, Micah Richards and Thierry Henry. And if his salary at Sky is anything to go by, it won't be cheap.

Jamie Carragher's wife

No, Carragher isn't married to Gary Neville. In fact, he's married to long-term love interest Nicola Hart.

Indeed, the pair have been together for around 26 years after tying the knot back in 2005. They went to primary school together, but things didn't click until they were 18 years of age.

In typical Carragher fashion, he actually asked Nicola to marry him twice after his first proposal went wrong after originally using a wrong-sized ring and a mis-wrapped present.

Jamie Carragher's son & daughter

Jamie and Nicola have two children together: one boy and one girl.

Their first child, James, is a professional footballer. He joined Inverness in the January transfer window on loan from Wigan Athletic, and has since made eight appearances for the Scottish side.

Meanwhile, Mia prefers creative arts and is an aspiring actor, singer and dancer. She has over 50,000 followers on her TikTok account.