Month: February 2023

Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award for a second time.

Messi saw off competition from club-mate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema to collect the award at Monday’s ceremony in Paris.

The award spans the period between the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the World Cup, which saw Messi end Argentina’s 36-year wait to win the competition.

Former Barcelona superstar Messi claimed the Golden Ball award in Qatar – given to the best player of the tournament – after scoring seven goals and assisting three more.

Those 10 direct goal involvements were matched by Mbappe, who finished as top scorer, but that was not enough to see the France forward win his first Best FIFA award.

Messi made a slow start to life at PSG by his own personal high standards, scoring 11 goals and assisting 14 in 34 games in his maiden campaign at the Parc des Princes.

However, the 35-year-old – who has also won a record seven Ballons d’Or – matched those figures in his first 18 games this season ahead of the World Cup.

Messi, who previously won the Best FIFA award in 2019, joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as two-time winners, having also finished as a runner-up three times.

Alexia Putellas has been crowned the Best FIFA Women’s Player, denying England’s female representatives a clean sweep at Monday’s ceremony.

Sarina Wiegman and Mary Earps had earlier been crowned the Best FIFA Women’s Coach and the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper respectively following England’s Euro 2022 success on home soil last year.

But Beth Mead, the Euro 2022 Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot winner, missed out to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Putellas.

Putellas, who won the Primera Division with Barcelona in 2021-22 but missed the Euros with an ACL injury, is now a two-time winner of the award after also coming out on top last year.

“If you have a dream and fight for it as hard as you can, you can achieve that dream,” Putellas said upon collecting the award. “The most important thing is to enjoy yourself along the way.”

San Diego Wave and United States forward Alex Morgan was the other candidate in the running to land the award.

Putellas, Mead and Morgan all appeared in the FIFPro Women’s World 11, although Earps missed out to Christiane Endler.

England also had Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh in the team.

Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez made it a clean sweep for Argentina in Monday’s glitzy ceremony for the Best FIFA Awards in Paris.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Messi was crowned the Best FIFA Men’s Player, Scaloni took the the Best FIFA Men’s Coach and Martinez the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper.

The award period spans between the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the 2022 World Cup, which saw Argentina end their 36-year wait to win the competition.

Martinez, who plies his club trade for Aston Villa, finished ahead of Thibaut Courtois and Yassine Bounou of Real Madrid and Sevilla respectively in the voting – although Courtois made the cut for the FIFPro Men’s World 11.

Scaloni was next to pick up an award after seeing off competition from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won a LaLiga and Champions League double last season.

La Albiceleste have lost just one of their 23 games since the start of last season, with their solitary loss coming in their opening Qatar 2022 group game against Saudi Arabia.

Messi made it three from three for Argentina by claiming the top prize at the ceremony in the French capital, which started with a poignant tribute to Brazil great Pele.

Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Messi’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe had also been in the running for the award.

Argentina’s fans also claimed the FIFA Fan Award.

Their domination on the men’s side was not quite matched by European champions England in the women’s prizes.

Mary Earps was named the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper and Sarina Wiegman took the Best FIFA Women’s Coach award for a third time.

But Beth Mead was pipped to the Best FIFA Women’s Player accolade by Alexia Putellas, last year’s winner.

Other winners included Luka Lochoshvili, then of Austrian side Wolfsberger, in the FIFA Fair Play Award category for potentially saving the life of opponent Georg Teigl during a game after the Austria Vienna player fell unconscious mid-match.

Polish amputee footballer Marcin Oleksy won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal for his perfectly executed bicycle kick for Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.

An outrageous finish by Rotherham’s top scorer Chiedozie Ogbene earned the Millers another precious point in their battle for survival as they drew 1-1 at Swansea.

Ogbene had almost got the game off to a flying start when he fired a left-footed shot from the edge of the box against the left-hand upright with less than a minute gone.

That came from Swansea skipper Matt Grimes giving the ball away at a throw in, and he was not the only one in the home ranks to suffer a shaky start as Rotherham followed Stoke’s lead from their 3-1 win at the same venue last week by pressing high and hard.

A few minutes later Ryan Manning sent Oli Cooper running in on goal and his shot forced Viktor Johansson into a smart save. The majority of the first half saw Rotherham on the offensive and a fierce half-volley from Leo Hjelde from 35 yards went inches over.

Swansea eventually got to grips with their intricate passing and a great ball from Joel Piroe gifted Morgan Whittaker a great chance in a one-on-one with Johansson in the 37th minute. He went for the dink over the keeper, but did not get the ball high enough to clear the visiting stopper and his touch sent the ball wide.

The next Swansea attack was more clinical and was finished with aplomb by leading goalscorer Piroe. The overlapping Manning was the provider from the left as he picked out the Dutchman with an inch-perfect pass to the edge of the Rotherham D.

Piroe took one touch before firing into the left-hand corner with his right foot to bag his 13th goal of the season. That gave the Swans the lead on the stroke of half-time, but they did not hang on to it for long.

Seven minutes into the second half, Rotherham dangerman Ogbene made up for his bad luck in the opening minute by scoring a great solo goal. Tariqe Fosu picked up a loose ball just inside his own half and went on a burst down the left.

He gave Shane Ferguson the chance to cross and he picked out Ogbene in the middle of the goal on the six-yard box. His initial lunge at the ball saw him trap it between his legs before flicking it into the goal while lying on his back.

It was end-to-end stuff for the rest of the half, with Rotherham having the best chances to win the game. Andy Fisher’s legs came to the rescue for the home side in the 79th minute when he blocked a shot from point-blank range by Georgie Kelly.

Lionel Scaloni is set to lead Argentina into the 2026 World Cup after signing a new deal with La Albiceleste.

Scaloni, with more than a helping hand from Lionel Messi, guided Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year.

It was Argentina’s third world title but their first since 1986, when Diego Maradona starred in Mexico.

Messi, with seven goals and three assists, was the driving force in 2022, as Scaloni scooped his second prize as Argentina coach, after winning the Copa America in 2021.

Scaloni’s contract had expired, but he always outlined his intention to stay on and news of his new deal was confirmed on Monday.

It means Scaloni is set to take charge of Argentina at next year’s Copa America and at the next World Cup.

The United States will stage both the Copa America and the 2026 World Cup, though Mexico and Canada are also co-hosts for the latter tournament.

Scaloni, who counted Newell’s Old Boys, West Ham, Lazio and Atalanta among his clubs across a 20-year playing career, took charge of Argentina in 2018 following a stint as the nation’s under-20 coach.

He has been nominated for the FIFA Best Men’s Coach for 2022, alongside Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

– Bristol City are unbeaten in 12 matches 
– Man City will be buoyant after a 4-1 win at Bournemouth 
– Recommended bet: Man City & under 3.5 goals

Ashton Gate welcomes the Premier League champions Manchester City for a fifth-round FA Cup tie, and underdogs Bristol City go into the game with spirits high.

Nigel Pearson’s side may still be some way off the playoff pace, but they are finding form at the right time courtesy of a 12-game unbeaten run.

That run has included FA Cup successes over Championship stablemates Swansea and West Brom, and you do not need to tell them this is a massive step up in class.

For Man City, this is something of a relief, having squared up to both Chelsea and Arsenal in rounds three and four. Having won their last ten consecutive away FA Cup ties and beaten lower-league opposition in their previous 12 meetings in this competition, they should be confident of winning this and moving into the quarter-finals.

Team news

Bristol City were rocked to the core two weeks when towering centre-back Rob Atkinson, one of the very best in their section, was ruled out for the season.

With key midfielder, Kai Naismith also sidelined through injury and new signings winger Anis Mehmeti and striker Harry Cornick cup-tied, the Robins will be some distance from full strength.

The Premier League champs and FA Cup favourites will be hoping Kevin De Bruyne has recovered from an illness.

The stats

City’s ten successive away wins in the FA Cup is a record, while they have also won their last 12 ties against lower-league opposition.

As for Bristol City, the fifth round is something of a stumbling block, they have played at this stage of the tournament 14 times and lost on 13 of those occasions.

However, they are in good form. Saturday’s 1-0 win against Hull made it 12 unbeaten, with Nakhi Wells scoring the winner from the penalty. That is two in the last two games from the spot for Wells.

Manchester City’s 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday was a timely reminder after a couple of away draws at Nottingham Forest in the league and Leipzig in the Champions League, both ended 1-1, that they can still cut sides to ribbons when in the mood.

This is a fifth successive away game for Guardiola’s men, and both teams have scored in each of the previous four.

Predictions

Manchester City are understandably a short price over 90 minutes but are tough to oppose.

This is a huge night for Bristol City, who will throw as much as they are allowed to and will play with passion and fire. But the bottom line is they are in a different league, literally and in terms of talent, to the visiting City and this tie will surely only end one way.

City would like to get the game wrapped up early and be able to make changes ahead of a weekend showdown with Newcastle, so we expect them to win comfortably in a low-scoring affair.

Back Manchester City to win & under 3.5 goals at 5/4.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Lucas Canizares has signed a new deal with the LaLiga giants.

Canizares is yet to play a senior game for Madrid, but he has been named among their substitutes 10 times this season and was part of their Club World Cup-winning squad.

The 20-year-old, who is the son of former Madrid and Spain keeper Santi Canizares, finds himself behind Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin in the pecking order.

He was reportedly close to leaving the club in January in order to seek regular football, but he confirmed on his Instagram page on Monday that a new contract had been signed.

“I’m very happy to expand my link with Real Madrid,” Canizares said. “Eager to return with work the trust deposited. Let’s go!”

There were no slip-ups from title hopefuls Arsenal and Manchester City on another pulsating weekend of Premier League action.

Matchday 25 consisted of only eight fixtures due to Sunday’s Carabao Cup final but top-fight fans were still treated to 17 goals, with crucial wins also arriving for struggling Leeds and West Ham.

Read on as we pick out our five top individual performers from the weekend games.

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Unai Emery has made a promising start to his Aston Villa tenure and Ollie Watkins is fast becoming the Spaniard’s star attraction.

Ex-Brentford ace Watkins, 27, netted for a fifth consecutive Premier League game against Everton on Saturday when coolly beating Toffees stopper Jordan Pickford from the penalty spot midway through the second half.

He could have easily added a couple more to his tally on Merseyside too as Pickford pulled out two superb stops to foil his in-form England international colleague either side of the interval.

Playing with supreme confidence, the speedy striker looks irrepressible and will be confident of extending his stunning scoring streak further against Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth in the coming weeks.

On course for a double-figure goal return for a third straight top-flight campaign, Watkins is giving Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate plenty to think about ahead of next month’s international break.

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Champions City roared back to winning ways at Bournemouth with Phil Foden putting in a majestic display on the South Coast.

The 22-year-old was making a remarkable 200th Premier League appearance for his boyhood club and fittingly played a part in all four goals as they ran riot against the struggling Cherries.

As well as playing crucial parts in the build-up of the visitors’ first and last strikes of the evening, the No47 squared cleverly to assist the prolific Erling Haaland for his 27th effort of a record-breaking campaign.

Foden’s goal was arguably the pick of the bunch, however, as he intercepted Philip Billing’s loose pass and took three decisive touches before firing past Neto in ruthless fashion.

Asked about Foden’s lack of playing time recently, Guardiola said last week: “If you are saying I don’t trust Phil, forget about it. Phil is our diamond.”

Oliver Skipp (Tottenham)

Tottenham piled more misery on their London rivals Chelsea yesterday as Oliver Skipp’s first Spurs goal set the hosts on their way to an important 2-0 victory.

Despite the Blues’ struggles under Graham Potter, Sunday’s contest was an even one until Skipp rifled a stinging strike beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga from 25 yards in the first minute of the second half.

It capped an impressive display from the 22-year-old, who spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at Norwich before injury disrupted his breakthrough season in North London last term.

Opportunities have been limited this season but injuries to fellow midfielders Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur have presented an opportunity to the academy starlet, which he is taking with both hands.

Skipp confessed the last year has been “difficult” in his post-match interview, but business is now starting to pick up.

Manor Solomon (Fulham)

Israeli winger Manor Solomon is finally getting to show Fulham fans what he is all about.

It has been a frustrating start to life in England for the 23-year-old, who joined the Cottagers on a season-long loan from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer with a burgeoning reputation.

Sustaining an injury in Fulham’s opening-day draw with Liverpool that required knee surgery, Solomon is still yet to make a Premier League start but has been making a stunning impact from the bench for Marco Silva’s men. 

His goal in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves, where he cut in from the left flank before bending a devastating 20-yard strike into the far corner, was his third in as many substitute appearances.

With Silva remarking post-match that Solomon is still not ready to play 90 minutes, however, his late cameos look set to continue for the foreseeable future.

Danny Ings (West Ham)

West Ham’s clash with Nottingham Forest had the look of a must-win match for David Moyes and the hosts did exactly that.

At the heart of the victory was new recruit Danny Ings, who notched a brace on his first Hammers start since arriving on loan from Aston Villa last month via two typical striker’s finishes.

Both times, low balls were drilled across the box and Ings was on hand to steer them home — an art form he has become a master of, as showcased by his 70 top-flight strikes in 193 outings. 

Having a genuine goalscorer in the ranks can be the difference between survival and relegation, so it was little wonder Moyes was left purring about his 30-year-old marksman post-match.

Moyes said: “What we’ve said is we need someone who knows the art of it and knows exactly where his runs are.

“I know he bundled in the net, but that’s the goals you want to see from centre forwards at times.”

Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane all added to their impressive goal tallies at the weekend. 

Read on as we take a look at how the prolific trio compare. 

Golden Boot race

Haaland, 22, remains streets ahead of the competition in the Premier League scoring charts, despite his astronomical early rate for Manchester City slowing down somewhat. 

With 27 goals in 24 appearances, he is nine clear of Tottenham’s three-time Golden Boot winner Kane and only 11 players have ever scored more than him in a season in the 30 years since the English top flight was rebranded. 

Kane, 29, is one of those, with 29 in 2016-17 and 30 the following season. 

Alan Shearer achieved the feat three times with Andy Cole, Robbie Fowler, Kevin Phillips, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez and Mohamed Salah the other names on the list. 

Manchester United forward Rashford, 25, is four behind Kane this season, level with Brentford’s Ivan Toney in the league, but has scored six in his last five games and 10 in 10. 

All competitions

Rashford has also fleshed out his tally with goals in other competitions, with seven in the domestic cups and four in Europe taking him to a personal-best tally of 25 already this season. 

He was eventually credited with United’s second in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, which had initially been ruled a Sven Botman own goal, meaning he scored in every round as United won the trophy. 

The England star’s six goals in six games included a brace against Charlton, while he scored in the semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest before turning provider in the second. 

His strike in the first leg against Barcelona took him to four in the Europa League this season. 

It is worth noting that both his rivals have played at a higher level in the Champions League, with Haaland scoring five in five games —including doubles against Sevilla and FC Copenhagen — while Kane netted in Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. 

Haaland has one League Cup goal to his name, with Kane scoring once in the FA Cup. 

Rashford has six assists in all competitions compared to four each for Haaland and Kane. Three of those have been in the Premier League, with two in that second leg against Forest and one against Everton in the FA Cup. 

Haaland’s have all come in league action but Kane, who led the league in that category two seasons ago while also winning the Golden Boot and added nine more last term, has only two in the top flight this time around plus two in the Champions League. 

Recent form

Since the domestic season resumed following the World Cup break, Rashford’s form has left his rivals in the shade. 

While United’s Carabao Cup run has led to more games for him than Haaland or Kane, his 17 goals in 19 outings leave him out on his own with a ratio of 0.89 goals per game. 

Haaland has scored 10 in 14 (0.71 per game), including a hat-trick against Wolves and a brace against Leeds, while Kane has seven in 12 (0.58), including a double against Crystal Palace. 

Those are both impressive figures in isolation but serve only to further illustrate Rashford’s flying form in comparison.

It was quite the performance on Sunday from Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who combined for all three goals as Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 at Marseille in Ligue 1.

In the absence of the injured Neymar and with PSG trying to get back on track after a recent run of three consecutive defeats before a 4-3 win against Lille last week, the star duo took it upon themselves to rip apart Marseille.

As well as both achieving personal landmarks on Sunday – Mbappe scoring his 200th PSG goal and Messi scoring his 700th career goal – they also improved their already impressive record as a pair in the league this season.

The two standout players from December’s exciting World Cup final between France and Argentina have proven there is no ill will from Qatar as they continue to lay chances on a plate for the other.

Mbappe and Messi have combined for 10 goals in Ligue 1, three more than any other two players in Europe’s top-five leagues this season.

In fact, the second-most productive combination in France’s top-flight also involves Messi, who has combined with Neymar for six goals, while Lille pair Jonathan David and Remy Cabella have five.

It is perhaps no surprise with Napoli seemingly strolling to the Scudetto in Italy that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen sit in second place in Europe with seven goals, but it may raise eyebrows to learn that they are joined on the same amount by another Serie A duo of Roma’s Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham.

Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are the third-most efficient in Italy after providing one another with a total of five goals.

In the Premier League, it did not take a fortune-teller to predict that Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland would work well together when Manchester City signed the Norwegian striker from Borussia Dortmund last year, and they lead the way in England with six combinations so far, ahead of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, as well as Jack Harrison and Rodrigo Moreno at Leeds United (both five).

There are also three pairings in Europe’s top 12 from the Bundesliga, though interestingly, none from Bayern Munich or Dortmund.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram and Bayer Leverkusen duo Jeremie Frimpong and Moussa Diaby have both combined for six goals, while surprise title contenders Union Berlin have been boosted by Jordan Siebatcheu and Sheraldo Becker producing five goals for one another.

Spain’s LaLiga has not been quite as filled with potent partnerships, with three pairings tied on four goals each.

They include Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona, who have shone together at Camp Nou since the latter arrived from Bayern, while Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann have also managed four, as have Brais Mendez and Mikel Merino of Real Sociedad.

None can compare to the efficacy of Mbappe and Messi though, and while two of the world’s best players continue to link up at the Parc des Princes, expect more and more magic moments from them.