Sports

Man City Truise Towards Champions League Quarters In Copenhagen

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

Manchester City closed in on the Champions League quarter-finals with a dominant display to beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the Danish capital on Tuesday.

Kevin De Bruyne’s early opener was cancelled out against the run of play by Magnus Mattsson.

Bernardo Silva restored City’s lead before half-time, but they had to wait until stoppage time to add further punishment for the hosts as Phil Foden turned home De Bruyne’s cut-back.

The English champions have now won 11 consecutive games in all competitions as they remain on course to repeat last season’s treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

Copenhagen had not played a competitive game for two months since sealing their place in the last 16 by dumping out Manchester United and Galatasaray in the group stages.

That lack of match sharpness from the Danish champions showed in the early stages as City stormed out of the blocks.

De Bruyne headed a glorious chance wide and Kamil Grabara denied Ruben Dias with a fine save inside six minutes.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper had no chance when De Bruyne broke the deadlock on 10 minutes with a clinical low finish from Foden’s pass.

Jack Grealish had been surprisingly handed just his second start of the year by Guardiola, but the England international lasted just 15 minutes before he pulled up with a suspected groin injury.

The visitors barely skipped a beat with the enforced change as Jeremy Doku replaced Grealish and nearly set up a spectacular goal for Erling Haaland.

Doku cushioned Rodri’s pass into the path of the Norwegian, who contorted his giant frame to meet the cross acrobatically on the volley but the ball flew wide.

City had enjoyed nearly 80 per cent possession and barely let Copenhagen inside their half for the first 35 minutes, yet were made to pay for one moment of sloppiness.

Ederson’s poor clearance was straight into the path of Mohamed Elyounoussi and his blocked shot fell to Mattson to mark his debut with a stunning strike from outside the box.

City regained their composure and the lead before half-time.

Mattson was unfortunate as his attempted clearance ricocheted off De Bruyne and perfectly into the path of Silva to flick beyond Grabara.

The Copenhagen goalkeeper kept his side in the tie in the early stages of the second period with spectacular stops to deny De Bruyne and Doku.

Grabara then twice won a head-to-head battle with Haaland in stoppage time.

City were keen to build up a comfortable advantage with the second leg falling between crucial Premier League games against Manchester United and Liverpool next month.

And they finally got the third goal that should have killed off the tie when the in-form Foden slammed home his 15th goal of the season as City extended their unbeaten run in European competitions to 21 games.

AFP

Sports

[FULL LIST] EPL: From Jesus To Madison, Other Key Players Sidelined By Injury

Published

28 minutes ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

As the Premier League resumes after the international break, clubs are grappling with a mounting list of injuries that could shape the outcome of the next round of fixtures.

From title contenders like Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool to struggling sides fighting to climb the table, nearly every team has at least one key player sidelined.

The official injury update obtained from the Premier League website on Friday shows that several players are battling knee, hamstring, and groin issues, with some expected to face lengthy spells on the sidelines. Managers now face tough decisions as they prepare their line-ups for a crucial weekend of matches that could influence both ends of the table.

Below is the full list of players currently injured across all 20 clubs, according to the latest data from the Premier League’s medical updates.

Gabriel Jesus – Knee
Kai Havertz – Knee
Noni Madueke – Knee
Piero Hincapié – Groin
Martin Ødegaard – Knee

Aston Villa

Youri Tielemans – Calf
Tyrone Mings – Knock
Jadon Sancho – Illness
Ollie Watkins – Knock

Bournemouth

Enes Ünal – Knee
Adam Smith – Hamstring
David Brooks – Hamstring
Burnley

Lyle Foster – Dead leg
Jaidon Anthony – Knock
Connor Roberts – Knock
Jordan Beyer – Knee
Zeki Amdouni – Knee

Brentford

Gustavo Nunes – Hamstring

Edmond-Paris Maghoma – Hamstring
Yehor Yarmoliuk – Knock
Antoni Milambo – Knee

Brighton & Hove Albion

Adam Webster – Knee
Solly March – Knee
Jack Hinshelwood – Ankle
Joel Veltman – Calf
Kaoru Mitoma – Ankle
Brajan Gruda

Chelsea

Levi Colwill – Knee
Liam Delap – Hamstring
Dario Essugo – Thigh
Cole Palmer – Groin
Moisés Caicedo
Enzo Fernández
Pedro Neto
Benoît Badiashile

Crystal Palace

Chadi Riad – Knee
Cheick Doucouré – Knee
Caleb Kporha – Back

Everton

Jarrad Branthwaite – Hamstring
Merlin Röhl – Hip

Fulham

Kenny Tete – Knee
Raúl Jiménez – Knock
Rodrigo Muniz – Muscle
Saša Lukić – Groin

Leeds United

Lucas Perri – Thigh
Wilfried Gnonto – Calf
Daniel James – Ankle
Harry Gray – Hip

Liverpool

Giovanni Leoni – Knee
Stefan Bajčetić – Hamstring
Jayden Danns – Hamstring
Federico Chiesa – Knock
Ibrahima Konaté – Quadriceps

Manchester City

Rayan Aït-Nouri – Knock
Omar Marmoush – Knee
Mateo Kovačić – Achilles

Manchester United

Lisandro Martínez – Knee
Noussair Mazraoui – Knock

Newcastle United

Jacob Ramsey – Ankle
Joelinton
Yoane Wissa – Knee
Tino Livramento – Knee
Lewis Hall – Thigh

Nottingham Forest

Ola Aina – Hamstring
Douglas Luiz – Hamstring
Oleksandr Zinchenko – Groin

Sunderland

Aji Alese – Shoulder
Dennis Cirkin – Wrist
Leo Fuhr Hjelde – Achilles
Romaine Mundle – Hamstring
Habib Diarra – Groin
Omar Alderete – Knock
Noah Sadiki – Knock

Tottenham Hotspur

Dejan Kulusevski – Knee
James Maddison – Knee
Radu Drăgușin – Knee
Kota Takai – Foot
Yves Bissouma – Knock
Dominic Solanke – Ankle

West Ham United

George Earthy – Hamstring
Wolverhampton

Wanderers

Matt Doherty – Wrist
Leon Chiwome – Knee
Toti Gomes – Illness
Several clubs (like Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton) are carrying multiple knee and muscle-related injuries, threatening their rotation options in both domestic and European fixtures.

Teams may need to adopt more cautious lineups or revert to older but trusted players to plug gaps. For instance, Arsenal’s attack will look very different without Jesus and Havertz, while Manchester City will miss the midfield stability of Kovačić.

Sports

Ballon d’Or: Why Neymar Didn’t Win Award – Gerard

Published

1 day ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Barcelona legend, Gerard Piqué has said that Brazil legend, Neymar could have won the Ballon d’Or had he remained at the Catalan side a little longer.

Neymar left Barça for PSG in 2017, becoming the costliest player in the world.

Pique said that the move stopped the Brazilian from winning the Ballon d’Or.

He said that the superstar footballer actually deserved to win the France Football award in his career.

Speaking on the PodPah podcast, Pique, who was Neymar’s teammate for many years at Barcelona, said he tried to convince the Brazilian not to make the move but the former PSG star did not listen to him.

“I’m convinced he deserved a Ballon d’Or. I think going to PSG hurt him. We tried to convince him not to go, we did everything possible.

“Everyone thought he was going to stay, even me, but it seemed that it was already decided. In the end, he had an incredible career,” he said.

The Brazilian was at Camp Nou until 2017 when he decided to move to PSG who were willing to activate his €222 million release clause.

He left for Al-Hilal in 2023 and returned to Brazil with Santos in 2025.