⚡ Juve need Yildiz for Champions League, stats with/without No 10 clear 😮
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
Kenan Yildiz is ready to return to the field and take Juventus on his shoulders at the decisive moment of the season. After a two-match suspension for elbowing Bianco, the young Turkish forward is available again for the last two Serie A games against Udinese and Venezia. These matches are crucial for qualifying for the next Champions League, a vital goal both from a sporting and economic perspective. With him on the field, Juve's point average is almost triple compared to when he is absent, and the locker room has welcomed him with enthusiasm, including a humorous moment with Carlo Pinsoglio that went viral online. Now everything depends on the feet of number 10, who wants to make amends and save a so far disappointing season. THE RETURN OF YILDIZ Yildiz missed the last two league matches against Bologna and Lazio due to suspension, a penalty that came after an elbow to Bianco during the match against Monza. A lapse that the Turk paid dearly for, not only personally but also for the team, forced to do without his creativity at a crucial moment. In these fifteen days, the 2005-born player has not stopped: he continued to train intensely, tormented by the mistake he made. Now he is ready to return to the field, more mature and determined. JUVE, HARSH NUMBERS WITHOUT YILDIZ The data is clear: with Yildiz on the field, Juve is a different team. In Serie A, with him present, the Bianconeri have achieved 16 wins out of 33 matches, with an average of 1.9 points and 1.5 goals per game. Without him? Zero wins, 0.7 points, and just 0.7 goals on average. A clear impact, highlighting how crucial his presence is for the team's offensive performance and overall effectiveness. TUDOR REGAINS THE EXTRA WEAPON With Yildiz's return, Tudor can once again count on a fundamental asset from a technical and tactical standpoint. In his 3-4-2-1 formation, number 10 will play as an attacking midfielder, alongside Nico Gonzalez, behind the striker Kolo Muani, with Vlahovic ready to step in. A more unpredictable and quality lineup, just what is needed to overcome the tight defenses of Udinese and Venezia. PINSOGLIO-YILDIZ, VIRAL MOMENT Yildiz's return was met with enthusiasm in the locker room. In particular, goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio was the protagonist of a comedic moment at Continassa, captured in a video that quickly went viral. Hugs, laughter, and a relaxed atmosphere: a clear sign of how well-integrated Yildiz is within the group and how important he is off the field as well. CHAMPIONS AND FUTURE Juventus has its destiny in its own hands: with two wins in the last two matches, qualification for the Champions League would be certain. A goal that is not only sporting but also economic: without the lucrative European income, the club might be forced to sell. And one of the potential sacrifices could be Yildiz, who is being closely watched by Premier League clubs. The Champions League, therefore, could also determine his future with the Bianconeri.
📸 Valerio Pennicino - 2025 Getty Images
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Victor Boniface stance is causing problems for Bayer Leverkusen
As reported by Bild, Victor Boniface is considered the main player that Bayer Leverkusen which to offload this summer. The Nigerian came incredibly close to leaving last winter for the Saudi Pro League, but the deal fell through in the 11th hour. Advertisement B04 are now hopeful that they can fetch around €50m for the striker, but there's a catch. Boniface no longer wishes to leave Leverkusen. Bayer Headaches It's an early headache in the transfer window for B04 and new head coach Erik ten Hag. The plan this summer was to keep Czech international Patrik Schick, offload Boniface, and bring in a new backup forward. The forward's agent, Emefie Aneke Atta, has explained to Bild the Nigerian's situation and stance: 'Victor has ended the season after his trip to the national team. He's on vacation now, will train hard during his vacation, and then return for preseason. There's a new coach, a new setup, but still a very good team that's back in the Champions League. Victor and I have never discussed a transfer.' Internal talks will now take place as to what the club should do next. What's more, expect ten Hag to have a big say on how this plays out. The Backup Striker in Question Should Boniface leave B04 this summer, the club have their eyes set on Christian Kofane from Albacete Balompié in Spain's second tier. The 18-year-old Cameroonian would cost Leverkusen just €5m, having scored 8 goals in 20 appearances last campaign. Advertisement However, with Boniface's stance, all this now hangs in the balance. GGFN | Jamie Allen
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Chess: Carlsen stumbles at finish but wins sixth title in seven years at Stavanger
'Winning by half a point after a lot of results go my way doesn't feel like a statement,' was how Magnis Carlsen summed up the Stavanger tournament, where he finished just half a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana. The centrepiece of the event was his second game with India's world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, in which Carlsen banged the table in frustrated rage when his winning position slipped away. Carlsen said that 'the Armageddon games were atrocious' but pointed out that he had scored plus two in classical and claimed that he had played the best chess. He did, with the glaring exception of round six and the table fist-pump. Advertisement It was a moment that went round the world. Even the Paris Saint-Germain football team used Gukesh's shocked reaction to describe the feeling of winning the Champions League for the first time. After the tournament was over, Carlsen said: ' It definitely wasn't my finest hour, but I regret the moves I made more than the gesture, because that happened on the spur of the moment.' He noted that he was only upset at himself and revealed how great the impact had been: 'I was so out of it that I had to jump out of the car on the way back and compose myself for several moments.' For the world No 2, Hikaru Nakamura and Caruana, the world No 3, the target was a good result and, specifically for Nakamura, to keep his lead over Arjun Erigaisi in the race for the 2026 Fide Candidates rating spot. In the event, Caruana went close to winning the tournament in the penultimate round, while for Nakamura it was mission accomplished. Advertisement Stavanger's classical time control is unique – 40 moves for the first two hours, then a cliff drop to 10 seconds a move, with draws replayed under Armageddon rules where a draw count as a black win. With three points for a classical win, that is a huge gearing for the cliff drop games, of which Gukesh v Carlsen was one, where the outcome changed 180 degrees between moves 40 and 50. Spectators in Norway and online loved it, but it is hard to imagine the players in a local club coping. There was another event in Stavanger with the identical prize money, $150,000, to the men's contest, but the many fans who commented freely on Carlsen, Caruana and Gukesh mostly ignored the women's tournament, won by Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk with the world champion, China's Ju Wenjun, relegated to fourth place. Anna, 35, and her younger sister and former world champion Mariya, 32, are the world's strongest chess playing sisters next to Hungary's more famous Polgars. They cooperate closely and, when one takes part in a tournament, the other acts as her second, a system which works well despite their different numerous classical games have all been drawn, although Anna leads 2-0 at blitz. Ju had won Stavanger 2024 with Anna Muzychuk runner-up, and led for seven rounds in 2025, but faded at the finish. Ju v Muzychuk in round nine, where the world champion miscalculated in an equal position at move 27 and was then outplayed in a long endgame, was the decider. Advertisement Chess fans often judge women players by their success against very strong male GMs, and by this criterion there are arguably few qualifiers – the Polgars, China's Hou Yifan who is still ranked world No 1 but is semi-retired, and Nona Gaprindashvili from half a century back. One could also add the first woman world champion, Vera Menchik, who was uniquely accessible as a Londoner who played a leading role in the capital's chess life as a player, teacher and writer until her tragic death from a German V1 rocket in 1944. In her day, the 'Menchik Club' was the name for the group of her master victims, led by Max Euwe, a world champion. Whereas the young Indians are the clear future of world chess, it is harder to single out their female equivalents. China's Lu Miaoyi is a possibility, but her progress has slowed lately. The most likely stimulus for a young female mega-talent is the Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield prize of $100,000 each for up to five US women who become grandmasters in the next five years. The best young US talent, 15-year-old Alice Lee, has declared herself up for it, and won her first round game in the traditional $250,000 Cairns Cup at St Louis this week. 3976 1 Bxf6!+! Rxf6 2 Rxh7+! and Black resigned. After 3 Qxh7+ Kxh7 4 Nxf6+ and 5 Nxe8 White finishes decisive material ahead.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Potential payday puts extra Pep into players' step
When Rodri suggested in September that players could strike over their increased workload, it seemed the newly expanded Club World Cup was the last thing Manchester City needed. The influential Spanish midfielder may also have been making a point about the expanded Champions League format, but the additional tournament in the US, shoe-horned into a period normally kept free for rest, was clearly a bone of contention. "I think we are close to that," the Ballon d'Or winner said when asked if players could stage industrial action over their seemingly ever-growing fixture commitments. "If it keeps this way, (there) will be a moment that we have no other option, but let's see." As the season unfolded, with City suffering an uncharacteristic blip - failing to put up a strong defence of the Premier League title they had won for the previous four years, and exiting the Champions League before the last 16 - it looked like they would need the break to regroup. Yet as the time has neared, no doubt helped by the announcement the winners of FIFA's latest showcase event could pocket nearly £100 million ($A209 million), the tone has changed. If Pep Guardiola has reservations about fixture congestion, injuries and a lack of preparation time for next season - all more than hinted at over the past season - he is now keeping them to himself. "This is a very, very serious competition," the City manager said recently with typical vigour. "In the summer, the whole world will be watching this. "A big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament, and I can assure you we're going to give it our best shot. We're going there to win it." City were the last team to win the Club World Cup in its old guise in December 2023, but that only required them to win two games in four days. The new quadrennial tournament is a different proposition, featuring 32 teams and lasting a month, following a format used for the traditional World Cup. City have been placed in Group G for this edition in the US alongside Morocco's Wydad Casablanca, Al Ain of Abu Dhabi and Italian side Juventus. Their regular Champions League foes, Real Madrid, could lie in wait in the first knockout round. Other notable sides involved include newly crowned European champions Paris St Germain and beaten finalists Inter Milan, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. There are 12 European entrants in total, with six from South America, four each from Africa and Asia, five from North America and one from Oceania. Brazil has the most participants of any country with four. The tournament, which begins on Saturday (Sunday AEST), has had plenty of detractors, particularly from Europe, and its success remains to be seen. However, for City the message is now clear: they would rather be involved than not. "It's an honour," Guardiola said. "It means in the last seasons we have done really well. It's a new competition for us and I'm looking forward to it." City play their first game against Wydad in Philadelphia on Thursday (AEST).
