PSV v Arsenal: Moroccan star Ismael Saibari can make the difference for Dutch champions
Football
Eindhoven club's versatile talisman has been driving force behind their run to last 16
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The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Arne Slot admits defensive concerns after Liverpool's Community Shield defeat
Liverpool manager Arne Slot conceded his team need to get their act together in defence when they begin their Premier League campaign, after defeat in the Community Shield to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Premier League title holders have spent heavily in the summer, signing playmaker Florian Wirtz, plus forward Hugo Ekitike and attacking full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, even as key players departed Anfield. Liverpool won the league in Slot's first term with only Federico Chiesa added to the squad left by former boss Jurgen Klopp. Fans would have expected the team to only grow stronger after the transfer spree. The new-look Liverpool side has started brightly, scoring 20 goals in six pre-season friendlies. But after conceding two goals to Palace, having shipped eight in their last four warm-up games, Slot expressed concern that Liverpool's improved attack may have come at a price. 'Last season we had a lot of ball possession but that didn't always lead to promising situations,' Slot said after they were beaten 3-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw with Palace. 'Now we are better in creating and getting promising situations than we were, in my opinion, throughout the whole last season. 'But the other side is also true. What made us really strong last season was we only won mostly [by] a margin of one goal and that had mostly to do with us keeping a clean sheet or as a maximum conceding one goal.' He added: 'It needs maybe a little bit of adjustment defensively at the moment because we don't concede a lot of chances, but we do concede goals at the moment.' Still, Slot is confident Liverpool can integrate their new signings, adding that 'sometimes you need some time either to adapt offensively, to adapt defensively'. Liverpool maintained their pattern of pre-season friendlies as they were cut open with ease on the counter-attack. AC Milan beat Slot's team 4-2 in Hong Kong, while Liverpool edged out Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in one of two friendlies against the Basques on their return to Anfield on Monday. 'If you look at our attacking play against a team that is so compact, that might be a bit better than last season,' said Slot. 'We only could score one goal against Palace [last season]. Now we scored two and created more against them. 'But, on the other hand, we conceded two goals, which we did against Bilbao, and we conceded a couple more against Milan, so that is something we need to do better.' There was an unfortunate incident during the match that caused consternation. A tribute to former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva was disrupted when some fans failed to observe a moment's silence. Before the game at the Wembley Stadium both teams and their staff stood silently to commemorate the brothers, who died in a car accident in Spain in July. A minority of fans broke the silence, eliciting a strong response at the other end of the field as well as from other Eagles supporters who tried to silence those not respecting the tribute. Referee Chris Kavanagh then blew his whistle to signal the end of the tribute. Liverpool manager Slot later played down the incident. 'I don't think this was planned, or that this was the idea of the fan that made some noise. Maybe he wasn't aware of the fact that it was the minute of silence,' he said. 'And I think then the fans of Palace were trying to calm that person or those persons down … They tried to calm him down, but that was a bit noisy as well. And then our fans reacted, 'Hey, what's happening here?''
Khaleej Times
14 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Liverpool's Uruguay striker Nunez joins Saudi club Al-Hilal
Liverpool's Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez has joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal from the Premier League champions on a three-year deal, both clubs said on Saturday. Financial details of the transfer were not revealed but British media reported that the Saudis paid 53 million euros ($61.69 million) to the Anfield outfit for the 26-year-old. "Al-Hilal Club Company is pleased to announce the signing of Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez from Liverpool FC on a three-year contract," the Saudi club said on their website. "Nunez has just joined the squad during the current pre-season training camp in Germany," Al Hilal added. Nunez joined Liverpool in June 2022 from Benfica for an initial fee of 75 million euros but struggled for consistency, with 40 goals and 26 assists in 143 games in all competitions. The striker found himself on the fringes of the first team during Liverpool's title-winning campaign last season, starting only eight league matches and netting five times. His departure will help finance Liverpool's close-season outlay of almost 300 million pounds so far. They have already signed Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz for a club-record fee of up to 116 million pounds and French forward Hugo Ekitike for 69 million plus add-ons. Al-Hilal, under former Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi, became the first Asian club to defeat a Premier League side in an official match when they beat Manchester City at the Club World Cup last month. Inzaghi's new side are aiming to secure a record-extending 20th league title this season, having finished second in the Saudi Pro League last term. Their other high-profile signing of the transfer window was Theo Hernandez from AC Milan.
Khaleej Times
18 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Revamped Manchester City ready for new era without talisman De Bruyne
Manchester City will embark on a new era this season in their first in 10 years without talisman Kevin De Bruyne as Pep Guardiola looks to make last term's third-place finish a distant memory and restore his revamped outfit to their former glory. They face a tough task against champions Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea -- all big spenders in the transfer window -- but the anticipated return of Ballon d'Or winner Rodri and scoring machine Erling Haaland to top form give reason for optimism. City were tipped last season to win a record-extending fifth consecutive Premier League title, but a mid-season nose-dive saw them fall well off the pace and miss a top-two spot for the first time since 2016-17. They finished third behind Liverpool and Arsenal with their worst points total under Guardiola, their nine league losses were more than their two previous seasons combined, they crashed out of the Champions League and League Cup early and their FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace meant no silverware for the first time in eight years. Rodri was sidelined for most of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Arsenal in September. Guardiola's men showed how much the Spaniard was missed when they went on a woeful run of nine defeats in 12 games across all competitions. After leading the Premier League in scoring for two successive seasons, Haaland's 31 goals across all competitions in 2024-25 remarkably constituted a drop in performance, although he still showed his lethal scoring ability in what was considered an off-year for the Norwegian. He will be keen to prove a point this season and put himself back in the running for the Golden Boot. Guardiola began his rebuilding last term, splashing out 180 million pounds ($241.72 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis. Marmoush had an almost immediate impact with a 13-minute hat trick in a 4-0 win over Newcastle United in February. City's manager has further galvanised his squad by signing Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, winger Rayan Cherki and goalkeeper James Trafford in the close season to push City's spending for 2025 past the 300 million pounds mark. Ait-Nouri was brought in to reinforce the left-back position, while Reijnders and Cherki were signed in the hope that they could replace De Bruyne's creative spark in midfield. While City boast one of the best strikers in the game in Haaland, the fight to support the 25-year-old runs deep with Marmoush, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and Cherki all in contention. Guardiola said that while there is a lot of positivity in the squad, he did not expect this season to be smooth sailing. "I'm pretty sure it'll be good, but it won't be a red carpet season, there'll always be problems, it's how you overcome those situations," the Spaniard said at a sold-out open training session earlier this week. "The expectation at the beginning of the season is always, let's go and try to do our best, win the first games, get confidence and move forward. Of course, we want to try and do better than last season, especially with consistency." The manager, who is under contract until June 2027, is not setting any targets for the season, saying it is difficult to determine what a successful campaign would be. "When the (players) give good spirit and fight and run and give their best, sometimes you can do your best and the opponents are just better," he said. 'It depends on ourselves, this is what we have to try to do. We challenge against ourselves, this is the target for the season.'
