Latest news with #defeat
Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Former Barcelona star Neymar in Santos fan row after goal ruled out
Striker Neymar had a heated exchange with a fan after his late goal was ruled out, condemning his club Santos to a 2-1 defeat and leaving them in the Brazilian Serie A relegation zone. The 33-year-old, who has had a frustrating time since returning to his boyhood club this year, went over to the stands at the end of the game with Internacional on Wednesday night to talk to a fan who appeared to be remonstrating with him. Videos showed Neymar agitated and gesticulating, then raising a thumbs-up as a teammate ushered him away. Santos had been pushing for a comeback from two goals, with Alvaro Martin Barreal scoring a minute into added time. Three minutes later, Neymar thought he had scored with a left-footed shot and celebrated in front of cheering home fans. But boos rang out across the stadium in Vila Belmiro as the referee ruled the ball had not crossed the line. Santos are 17th in the 20-club league, where the bottom four are relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player has had a torrid time since returning: sidelined with injury, sent off for a handball and suffering COVID-19.
CNA
13 hours ago
- Sport
- CNA
Neymar confronts Santos fan after late goal ruled out
Striker Neymar had a heated exchange with a fan after his late goal was ruled out, condemning his club Santos to a 2-1 defeat and leaving them in the Brazilian Serie A relegation zone. The 33-year-old, who has had a frustrating time since returning to his boyhood club this year, went over to the stands at the end of the game with Internacional on Wednesday night to talk with a fan who appeared to be remonstrating with him. Videos showed Neymar agitated and gesticulating, then raising a thumbs up as a teammate ushers him away. Santos had been pushing for a comeback from two goals with Alvaro Martin Barreal scoring a minute into added time. Three minutes later, Neymar thought he had scored with a left-footed shot and celebrated in front of cheering home fans. But boos rang out across Vila Belmiro stadium as the referee ruled the ball had not crossed the line. Santos are 17th in the 20-club league, where the bottom four are relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. The former Barcelona and Paris St Germain player has had a torrid time since returning: sidelined with injury, sent off for a handball and suffering COVID-19.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Harrison rues lack of chances in Conference League loss
The New Saints head coach Craig Harrison expressed his disappointment following a defeat that leaves their European hopes hanging in the suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Differdange 03 in the Uefa Conference League second qualifying round first side, who dropped down into the Conference League after their Champions League exit, must win the away leg in Luxembourg next Tuesday to remain in Europe this season."We're really disappointed and we've got to make sure that we're positive moving forward," Harrison told BBC Radio Shropshire."The performance was OK but it wasn't any better than that really."We controlled the game from a defensive third and a middle third and we didn't create as many chances as we would have liked in the final third." The game's only goal came in the first half. Artur Arbeu made a run into the box and his strong finish beat Saints keeper Nathan Shepperd."It was a mistake by us," Harrison said."It wasn't great… we didn't cover ourselves in glory with that but it was probably the one and only time we've had a bit of a mix up at the back and it was disappointing."Apart from that I don't think they were too much of a threat and we contained them reasonably well."Harrison also confirmed that the ankle injury suffered by full-back Harvey Godsmark-Ford early in the second half is a suspected fracture.
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Man City kept losing the same way – how will Pep Guardiola solve the counterattacking problem?
After Manchester City's extra-time defeat to Al Hilal in the round of 16 at the Club World Cup, Bernardo Silva provided a damning diagnosis of his team's failings. The reason they conceded four goals and lost all control of the game from half-time onwards was nothing new, the Portugal midfielder explained. Advertisement Instead, it was a case of deja vu in which he sensed permanent danger whenever the opposition won the ball and attempted to counterattack. 'We allowed them to run way too many times, we didn't control the offensive transitions as well as we should have,' said Silva. 'Most teams that beat us play this way. We are very used to playing teams like this. We've played against teams like this for eight or nine years and they are normally situations we recover very well by being aggressive in the first five or six seconds when we recover the ball quick. 'This time, they always managed with one or two passes to create danger in behind and cause problems. That was the main problem.' A premature exit from the competition was a disappointment but City had the caveat of embedding in a new backroom staff and four new outfield signings. However, when the club's messaging had been about treating the time in the U.S. as a line in the sand to psychologically disconnecting from the troubles of last season, for the captain to experience that same vulnerability is a concern. City's players will return to training on Monday and have just over a fortnight to prepare for the Premier League season. It is clear what the No 1 priority must be for Pep Guardiola as he looks to re-establish City as the dominant force in English football. There were mitigating factors for City's drop-off last season — the absence of Rodri from September being the main one — but there was a fundamental issue in the structure of the team. On average, between 2018 and 2024, City conceded 2.9 expected goals (xG) from fast break situations across a season. Last year that number leapt to 8.1. Often a slight dip in performance can look concerning held up next to City's lofty peaks across Guardiola's tenure, only to then still rank among the best in the league. This is not the case with counterattacks. Only Leicester City, who finished 18th and conceded 80 goals, conceded more xG via fast breaks in the Premier League last season with their 8.2. There are overarching themes contributing to City's struggles to contain opposition counterattacks: the No 6 being isolated, no pressure on the outlet pass, a defensive line that does not drop or push up in unison, passive one-v-one defending and a lack of tactical fouling. The wins over Wydad and Al Ain were comfortable but both caused issues for City in the U.S. The warning signs were there but the level of City's 4-1 win over Juventus in the final group stage game looked like things may have clicked as they smothered the Italians in the second half with the intensity of their counter-pressing. Advertisement 'I only ask Erling (Haaland) to make the first action,' said Guardiola. 'No intensity beyond. He has to be a machine in the press but we have to support him. Sometimes he goes and we don't go but today we went there, no matter what.' Familiar flaws came creeping back into their defensive work against Al Hilal and they were punished. In the first clip below, City lose the ball around the edge of the opposition penalty area but get pressure on the ball quickly out wide. After the ball goes back, they do not set their shape. While three forward players press, those behind them are static and it leaves Tijjani Reijnders alone against three players in the middle. Al Hilal are able to play around him and spread the ball wide, gaining an overload and almost scoring from the cross. It was Guardiola who said that the 'touchline is the best defender in the world'. By that, he meant forcing the opposition into the wide areas rather than allowing them to play through the centre. There have been gaping holes in the middle of the midfield since Rodri's anterior cruciate ligament injury — and they remained even when he was present against Al Hilal. Once City lost the ball in the final third below, he was drawn to the ball along with Manuel Akanji, which left three blue shirts in between the City back four and centre-backs. It was not helped by Ruben Dias dropping off when Nathan Ake was pointing for him to step in and squeeze the space, but Al Hilal were able to work the ball wide and curl a shot just wide. Against Bournemouth late in the season, a cutback from Silva ran through to Lewis Cook. It seemed harmless but once again the lack of intensity and awareness, particularly of Mateo Kovacic, who has a lot of responsibility in protecting the back line, allowed Bournemouth to play through the centre and end up with a five-v-five. It was similar to what happened against Club Brugge in the Champions League when Kovacic darted forward with a dribble. As the lone holding midfielder, it is high-risk and when the ball was turned over, all three midfielders were the wrong side of the ball. Mateus Nunes had the job of slowing the break down but he showed his lack of experience as a full-back by diving in and the Belgians scored from the cross. The arrival of Reijnders will add dynamism to the midfield, which was lacking at times last season with Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Silva all the wrong side of 30. Guardiola batted back against the suggestion that his team were being overrun by younger teams. 'The guys are running and making effort more than ever… It's many little details or big details that make (us), all together, not as good as we were,' he said in December. Advertisement But there were times, as against Brighton & Hove Albion below, where City did lack legs in the middle. In slide four here, Joao Pedro runs off Nico Gonzalez, while in slide six Gundogan is level with his man but is not able to track him the whole way back to his area. Chelsea decided that they would try to bait City into giving the ball away high up by kettling Akanji into the centre circle. Noni Madueke blocked the pass out wide and Moises Caicedo jumped from midfield to force the ball into a crowded area. Trevor Chalobah was ready to pounce and, with Akanji out of his position, Cole Palmer was immediately played through on goal. Only Chelsea' convoluted attempts at pass the parcel blew the chance. The number of offsides City successfully trapped was considerably lower last season, despite a much higher line than in previous years. The average distance from goal when provoking an offside was 35 metres last season, which is seven metres further from Ederson than it was in 2020-21. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, there was an example of City refusing to drop off when they should have. After not boxing Wolves in and being cut open through the centre, Josko Gvardiol, Dias and John Stones made the strange decisions to halt their recovery runs or arc them to play offside, despite Nelson Semedo being several yards behind Stones. City used to stop these situations from unfolding by being smart and tactically fouling. Rodri carried on the baton from Fernandinho, subtly disrupting play high enough up the pitch that it did not earn him a yellow card. Last season, this rarely happened. In the 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, in the lead up to the third goal, there were four times within five seconds that a City player could have brought down Dejan Kulusevki but he and Son were somehow able to evade challenges from Phil Foden, Gundogan, Kyle Walker and Akanji. There were similar other instances, including at home to Everton and away to Sporting CP. Whether it was a case of the ruthless edge going out of the team during the toughest few months or not, the win-at-all-costs mentality has to return.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Embattled Salford players out to avoid tag of Super League's worst ever team
For much of last Friday's game at Leeds, no one could possibly think they were watching one of the worst teams in rugby league history. Salford eventually sank to a 40-6 defeat, a harsh scoreline given they were the better side in the first half and conceded 18 points in the 10 minutes they had a man sin-binned. Despite a week of huge upheaval – players threatening a strike, crisis meetings with the Rugby Football League and a squad stripped by injuries of another three senior players – Salford competed heroically. It was another spirited display after their victory over Castleford – just their second win of the season – but coach Paul Rowley is not expecting things to keep getting better over the remaining eight rounds of the season. Wages are due next week, with some players extremely concerned that, once they play the final game of the campaign at home to Wakefield on 19 September, they may not receive the final two paychecks of their contracts. Threats of a strike were quashed after a meeting with the RFL, but the players know they face an uncertain future. 'Distractions are not good for any team but for this team in particular,' says Rowley. 'We're trying to squeeze every last drop out of them every week. To be at their best and compete, they need to be focused and it's been very hard to have a clear mind and true focus on the job in hand. I was nervous, knowing what Leeds can do, so I was pleasantly surprised, but not shocked. I knew they were capable of it but pleased they did themselves justice.' Things are improving on the pitch but are almost certainly about to get worse off it. Salford have picked up four points from their first 19 games of the season but that will become minus four if, as expected, they are docked eight points for fielding 13 reserves and only three subs at St Helens on the opening weekend. The Red Devils will need to win a few of their eight remaining fixtures to avoid the dreaded nul points. There are many metrics by which to judge the worst team ever: fewest points, fewest wins, lowest win percentage, greatest points average deficit. In the 57 seasons there has been more than one division in rugby league, only one club has finished a top-flight season with no points: Halifax in 2003. They only won one of their 28 games all season – their first of the campaign – but were docked those two points for breaking the salary cap the previous year. No top-flight club has gone all season without a win, but four clubs have only won once. Halifax were in financial meltdown before 2003 began; London Broncos only just made it to the start line in 2014 with a team of kids; and both Barrow in 1989-90 and Rochdale the following season were over-promoted, having finished fourth in Division Two. They were never going to cope. Salford are different. Their disintegration since finishing fourth in Super League last September is both remarkable and dire. Half of the players who helped them beat Huddersfield four months ago have left the club – including Kallum Watkins, who played against them for Leeds on Friday – or are injured. Week after week Rowley has turned to inexperienced youngsters and 14 loanees. The return from injury of senior players such as Chris Hill and Joe Mellor has added experience, but Rowley acknowledges his resources could be further weakened after the 1 August transfer deadline. 'Everybody's having a look and worrying about what's next,' he says. 'We wouldn't judge anyone if they took decisions on their own futures. I've learned over this period to expect nothing and take every day as it comes.' After a chaotic six months, Rowley admits his squad has struggled to remain 'obsessed with being a professional rugby player, as you need to be' with too much on their minds. Having just one fixture in the next three weeks – against leaders Hull KR next Thursday – Rowley has sent everyone home to reset. 'If we had a normal squad it would be a chance to work on combinations, but our priority is to get people fit: healthy bodies and healthy minds,' says the former England hooker. 'The best thing for us to do is to have a break and enjoy some time with their families without the stresses they've been under.' Salford's best chance to pick up their third win of the season will come in September, when they host Castleford and visit Huddersfield. If they don't win again, the Red Devils will become just the 10th top-flight team to win just two matches all season. Dewsbury were the first, in 1977-78, and three more did it in the following seven years, all newly promoted sides in the era of four-up, four-down. The full-time realities of Super League brought a further flurry of flops, from Workington and PSG managing just 12 points between them in Super League's first season, to London Broncos and Hull doing the same last year. And still some people want to promote three clubs to Super League this winter. Salford are aiming to better their previous nadir, when they finished bottom of the 25-team league 104 years ago with just 9.4% of their available points, which is how the table was calculated when not everyone played the same number of games. Getting less than 10% of the available points is rare. Leigh Centurions did it as recently as 2021, when they were hastily promoted during the pandemic to replace Toronto. Ranking the worst sides in history is a tricky task. Even though Halifax finished the season with zero points in 2003, they did so with a higher win percentage than London Broncos in 2014, Barrow in 1990 and Rochdale in 1991. When it comes to average scorelines over a season, Salford's is a 41-8 defeat, which is marginally better than Barrow's average of 44-8. The worst ever defence belongs to the London Broncos team of 2014, which leaked 46 points per game. But Salford are scoring fewer points than any top division team before them: just 7.6 per game. But even in the darkest days, some bright lights shine. Young talent emerged from the humiliated Rochdale Hornets in Neil Cowie, Darren Abram and Martin Hall. Paul Crarey survived playing nearly every game for Barrow in their horror season and is about to coach them for a record-breaking 350th match. Josh Drinkwater, George Griffin and Mike McMeeken were on the receiving end of weekly batterings with London Broncos in 2014 but went on to have stellar Super League careers. It's a similar scene at Salford this year. Several unknown kids thrown into the deep end have managed to swim. Some are having a whale of a time. Kai Morgan, signed from Leeds last summer to be a backup halfback, has played at pivot nearly every game. Nathan Connell has gone from a sixth form college in Eccles to facing Super League's record tryscorer Ryan Hall – and survived. Their standout player on Friday night, full-back Declan Murphy, was making his senior rugby league debut having arrived on trial from New Zealand via Hertfordshire. After a shaky opening, Murphy settled and soon shone, safe under Jake Connor's aerial bombardment, dazzling with his footwork and speed. Three years ago, Murphy left school in Auckland to join Wasps academy. When they folded, Saracens gave him a chance. His only experiences of senior rugby have been on loan spells at Reading, Harpenden, Ampthill and, earlier this year, Bishop's Stortford – all in union. 'Out of all this tough situation, the shining light is that we get to give people opportunities that they probably wouldn't get,' says Rowley. 'It's a source of pride. We're pretty good at unearthing some decent talent. Hopefully Declan joins that list, along with Sam Hill and others. He's got some raw attributes: he's brave, he's fast, skilful. There's always something good to look for.' Red Devils fans can hang on to that. Follow No Helmets Required on Facebook
