Celtic made a huge profit in the transfer market when they decided to cash in on attacking midfielder Matt O’Riley at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion swooped in to secure a deal for the Denmark international for a fee that is reported to be worth more than £25m.

The Hoops struck gold with the English-born star, who they paid £1.5m for from MK Dons at the start of 2022, as they made a profit of more than £23.5m on him.

Celtic's most profitable stars

O’Riley is not the first example of a big profit for the Glaswegian side with their player trading model undoubtedly the very best in Scotland.

Just think of academy graduate Kieran Tierney who was sold to Arsenal in a mega £25m deal. Think Odsonne Edouard who also left for the Premier League, heading in the direction of Crystal Palace for a fee of around £14m.

The profit Celtic made on Kristoffer Ajer was colossal too. Signed the Dane as a teenager for a price of £500k, he subsequently headed to Brentford in a move that cost the London side a fee of £13.5m.

So, who could be the next mega-money mover out of Parkhead? Well, they’re well and truly set to strike gold if they ship off one of their Champions League stars of the recent week and a bit…

Celtic's next mega-money sale

In the January transfer window at the start of 2024, Brendan Rodgers looked to improve his options out wide and turned to the Austrian Bundesliga to sign a German forward.

It was reported that the Scottish giants splashed out a fee of £3m to sign 24-year-old winger Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna on a five-and-a-half-year deal.

In the first half of the 2023/24 campaign, Kuhn had two goals, five assists, and 11 ‘big chances’ created in 16 appearances in the Bundesliga for his former club.

He followed that up with a return of two goals, two assists, and five ‘big chances’ created in 14 outings for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership during the second half of the season.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

The left-footed wizard’s form during the current campaign, after a full pre-season with the Hoops, has now garnered interest from elsewhere and caused his value to soar.

Nicolas Kuhn's current market value in 2024

Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg claimed that Premier League teams Fulham and Brentford have both been keeping tabs on the German attacker and are eyeing up a possible move for the winger.

It was also recently reported by Kronen Zeitung, via the Daily Record, that a potential fee of €30m (£25m) has been discussed for the former Bayern Munich youngster, which would be around the same value as O’Riley’s move to Brighton.

This means that his value, as it stands, has soared by a staggering 733% from the initial £3m that the club paid to sign him from Rapid Vienna at the start of the year, showing that the Hoops hit the jackpot when they brought him to Parkhead.

Starts

8

Sofascore rating

7.69

Goals

4

Assists

6

Key passes per game

2.2

As you can see in the table above, Kuhn has been on fire in the Premiership so far this season, with ten direct goal contributions in eight starts.

In all competitions, the impressive sensation has contributed with ten goals and 11 assists in 14 starts in all competitions, which shows that he has consistently made a huge impact in the final third, hence why his value has soared.

Kuhn was described as a “cheat code” by pundit Lee Miller recently, which is backed up by his statistics, and his sensational performances on the pitch show that the club have struck gold with him.

Rodgers could land Kyogo upgrade in Celtic swoop for "impressive" marksman

Celtic have been linked with an interest in a swoop for the in-form centre-forward.

1 ByDan Emery Nov 13, 2024

It will now be interesting to see whether or not Brentford, Fulham or another potentially interested side, are willing to come in with an offer of £25m or more when the window opens for business.

Luis Enrique's men sent a message to the rest of Europe with devastating defeat of team that topped the league-phase table

Arne Slot said that his high-flying Liverpool side would need to produce their best performance of the season so far to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League on Tuesday. They didn't, though.

The Reds certainly played a lot better than they did at Parc des Princes last week, when they nicked a 1-0 win thanks to Alisson Becker's heroics in goal and Harvey Elliott's late winner, but the runaway Premier League leaders still weren't good enough to see off PSG, who proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are capable of finally going all the way this season.

The goal that forced extra-time, and eventually penalties, may have been a gift, with Ibrahima Konate leaving Ousmane Dembele with the simplest of finishes. However, PSG produced a complete performance: they withstood a couple of periods of sustained pressure but also repeatedly came storming back at their hosts, with their fluid front three once again causing Liverpool's backline all sorts of problems.

GOAL runs through all of the winners and losers on an absorbing night of action at Anfield that ended with PSG prevailing 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on aggregate…

AFPWINNER: The new, improved PSG project

Luis Enrique insisted all along that PSG would be stronger without Kylian Mbappe – and, at this stage, it really does look like he was right.

As the Spaniard said, in an ideal world they would have held onto their all-time leading goal-scorer last summer, but at least the France forward's departure exit allowed the club to fully focus on constructing a squad of promising players rather than preening superstars.

Mbappe had become a distraction, a monster of PSG's own making, the inevitable consequence of catering to the whims of egomaniacs. The man himself insisted the club shouldn't be known as "Kylian Saint-Germain", but it really did feel like that at times.

Now, though, PSG have become a real team rather than a collection of individuals. The Champions League's 'biggest bottlers' proved their mettle by coming from 2-0 down to defeat Manchester City just to keep their hopes of making the play-off round alive – but winning at Anfield against in-form Liverpool represented an even bigger test of their title credentials and they passed it majestically.

The back four were brilliant, the midfield once again magnificent and the forward line – although still frustratingly wayward in their finishing at times – took it in turns to torment the home side's full-backs.

This is a squad brimming with belief and there's genuinely not a team left on PSG's side of the draw that will want to run into this exciting young side. The new project very clearly isn't just about style; there's real substance there too, with the shift in player recruitment policy already paying off.

PSG 2.0 well and truly arrived at Anfield on Tuesday and provided ample evidence to suggest that even if the Parisians don't finally win their first European Cup this season, they will soon.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Darwin Nunez

Darwin Nunez's biggest attribute is supposedly his unpredictability, but everyone knew that the Uruguayan was going to miss his spot-kick in the shootout. It just felt inevitable.

He'd made zero impact after coming off the bench and, despite a morale-boosting goal at the weekend against Southampton, looked utterly bereft of confidence as he stepped up to take Liverpool's second penalty of the evening. So, it came as no surprise to see Gigi Donnarumma easily save his weak effort from 12 yards.

Nunez will be called upon again by Liverpool before the season is out. Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo have their fitness issues and the Reds still have plenty of games to play in the Premier League, as well as a Carabao Cup final to look forward to on Sunday, meaning there's still time for Nunez to finish the campaign on a high note.

But there's no changing the narrative at this stage; his Anfield career is quite clearly coming to a close. As Tuesday's calamitous cameo underlined, Nunez is simply not good enough to lead the line for a team with aspirations of winning the Champions League.

We might not see him in this competition for some time, in fact, given the interest in his services from clubs in the Saudi Pro League, which would be a much more suitable level for such a flawed forward…

Getty Images SportWINNER: Gigi Donnarumma

Donnarumma has had plenty of ups and downs since joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. He was widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world after being named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024. However, there have been times during the intervening four years where he hasn't even looked like the best goalkeeper on PSG's books.

Plenty of unflattering comparisons were also made with Alisson after last week's first leg in Paris, where the Brazilian made one sensational save after another while Donnarumma failed to keep out Liverpool's one shot on target. The tables were turned to a certain degree on Tuesday, though. Alisson made some crucial stops for Liverpool, but Donnarumma was the difference between the two sides.

As Luis Enrique enthused in his post-match interview with , "Gigi was like Alisson in the first match!"

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AFPLOSER: Ibrahima Konate

Just like Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate's luck ran out at Anfield.

The France defender had been incredibly fortunate to escape a red card in the first leg at Parc des Princes, after quite clearly barging Bradley Barcola off the ball as the winger bore down on goal. However, there was no reprieve for Konate 12 minutes into the return fixture on Merseyside when he made a mess of trying to cut out Bradley Barcola's low cross, thus presenting Dembele with an open goal that not even one of the most infamously wasteful players in world football was going to pass up.

The frustrating thing is that Konate actually played well for the most part on Tuesday. No Liverpool player made more clearances (five) and only Alexis Mac Allister reclaimed possession on more occasions, while his pass completion percentage (91.7) was also higher than anyone else wearing red.

However, as these games against PSG perfectly illustrated, Konate always has a colossal error in him. Last week's went unpunished, but Tuesday's did not, and Liverpool are out of the Champions League as a result.

Legspinner Mitchell Swepson will debut for Australia while Pakistan are expected to welcome back Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali

Andrew McGlashan11-Mar-2022Big PictureShall we try that again? To be blunt, there were not too many redeeming qualities from the opening Test of this much-anticipated series with a docile surface – which has since been deemed ‘below average’ by the ICC – rendering it something of a non-event. Now, all eyes are on the 22 yards that will be produced at the National Stadium in Karachi, with the hope that it will be a more balanced and enticing contest.However, if the draw in Rawalpindi was being scored, Pakistan would have taken the points. Three of their batters hit centuries – Imam-ul-Haq twice – while the bowling attack found a way to take 10 wickets in the first innings. Nauman Ali preyed on Australia’s patience while Shaheen Shah Afridi was the standout quick of the match and deserved more than two wickets.Still, with the post-match admission from the PCB chairman Ramiz Raja that the stultifying surface was largely a tactic so as not to play into the hands of Australia’s quicks, Pakistan do need to show that they are brave enough to take the game to them in Karachi unless they want a single-match decider in Lahore.From Australia’s point of view, they may see the opening Test as a warm-up they did not get on this tour with all the bowlers having got miles in the legs and most of the batters spending reasonable time at the crease. However, they need to be cautious that not converting starts into three figures does not become a habit.No two ways about it, Australia’s bowlers toiled even if much of the last day was going through the motions. A single wicket for a fast bowler and just three overall (the other being a run out) is slim pickings regardless of the pitch. But this next game has been given another element of intrigue with Mitchell Swepson finally handed a Test debut.Hasan Ali’s return will be a big boost for Pakistan•AFP/Getty Images

Recent form(last five matches, most recent first)Pakistan DWWWL
Australia DWDWWIn the spotlightHasan Ali is expected to come back into Pakistan’s line-up after missing the opening match with an abductor strain. It would mean the reunion of the pairing with Shaheen; the duo has claimed 88 Test wickets during 2021, of which Hasan took 41 at 16.07 in just eight outings. Hasan is a skiddy quick bowler who has not faced Australia before in Tests, so it will be a new challenge for the top order.After a long wait, Mitchell Swepson will make his Test debut. “I think it’s quite special that someone like Mitchell Swepson is going to debut tomorrow as a legspinner who grew up trying to replicate Warnie,” Pat Cummins said at the end of what has been an emotional week for the game. The last specialist legspinner to debut for Australia was Bryce McGain 2009, or Steven Smith in 2010 if you consider his response on social media. Swepson will hope for a longer stay than McGain’s lone outing; Smith will likely be stood at slip; his career having gone in another direction.Team newsFaheem Ashraf’s negative Covid test the day after he was positive is a huge boost for Pakistan, and it also means they will be able to balance their side with a seam-bowling allrounder at No. 7. The other change that is likely to happen is Hasan replacing Naseem Shah.Pakistan (probable) 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Nauman Ali, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Shaheen Shah AfridiCummins confirmed Australia’s XI with Swepson handed a debut and that he is replacing Josh Hazlewood. This means Mitchell Starc’s left-arm angle is retained.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Mitchell Swepson, 11 Nathan LyonPitch and conditionsSurely, this one won’t be as flat? Both captains expected the wicket to be of more help for the spinners as the match developed, while Cummins thought reverse swing could be a factor, perhaps, from quite early in the contest given the well-worn square. There won’t be any problems with the weather this time, it’s forecast to be warm and sunny throughout.Stats and trivia Fawad Alam, who did not bat or bowl in Rawalpindi, and dropped a catch, needs 47 runs to reach 1000 in Tests Australia have lost five of their eight Tests in Karachi Nathan Lyon now averages 65.18 against Pakistan away from home (four games in UAE, one in Pakistan). His next highest overseas average is 39.75 in South Africa.Quotes”We didn’t get as many wickets as we would have liked but never let the run rate slip, on past tours of the subcontinent we have. We never lost control of the game. As a Test match, it’s an absolute outlier, so put it behind us and come here where we’ll probably get closer to the conditions, we would expect in a subcontinent Test.”
“We’re not frightened of Australia. The conditions are the same for both teams. The WTC points are very crucial. As a captain, I wanted us to win. The way our side dominated, and our batters scored 150+ and got wickets… So there’s nothing to panic about. We dominated.”

Nottingham Forest are now interested in signing a £100k-p/w striker in 2025, according to a new report.

Forest's strong start

Forest have surpassed expectations so far this season, having collected 22 points from their opening 13 Premier League games, and Chris Wood has led the line in talismanic fashion, with nine goals to his name already.

After such a strong start, it may be unnecessary for Nuno Espirito Santo to spend big in the January transfer window, but he may want to add a little extra firepower to his frontline, given that over half of his side’s 16 Premier League goals have been scored by one player.

Recently, it emerged that Forest are ready to bid over £19m to sign Corinthians forward Yuri Alberto, and the upcoming transfer window coincides with the end of the Brazilian league season, meaning a deal could be a possibility.

Marwan Al-Sahafi, who currently plies his trade at Al-Ittihad, is also an option for the Tricky Trees, having earned a cap for his national side following a good run of form on loan at Belgian side Beerschot.

It is clear that Nuno is keen on a new attacker of some description, and there are now reports linking his side with a move for a player from much closer to home, with Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin said to be on Forest’s radar.

That is according to reports from Spain, which suggest that Premier League clubs are queuing up for the Everton striker, with Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur also keen to bolster their attack alongside the Reds.

The striker, who earns £100k-p/w, is so far refusing to sign a new deal to extend his stay at Goodison Park, meaning his current employers may be forced to cash-in this winter, or risking him leaving on a free when his contract expires in June, potentially to Forest.

Calvert-Lewin's record for Everton

The Everton forward has struggled to maintain full fitness during his time on Merseyside, with his most common setback coming in the form of hamstring injuries, which may be a concern for Nuno.

However, when the Englishman is able to have a consistent run in the side, he is normally capable of regularly contributing with goals:

Premier League season

Goals scored

2018/19

6 in 35 games

2019/20

13 in 36 games

2020/21

16 in 33 games

2021/22

5 in 17 games

2022/23

2 in 17 games

2023/24

7 in 32 games

During his prolific 2020-21 campaign, Calvert-Lewin was lauded as a “monster” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig. Having found the back of the net just twice in 12 league games this season, however, there are doubts over whether the 27-year-old would be capable of displacing Wood in the starting XI if he were to move to the City Ground.

That said, the Sheffield-born striker could well be available on a free come the end of the season, meaning he could be a low-risk signing for Forest. As such, Nuno should continue to monitor Calvert-Lewin’s progress this season and launch a move if he manages to recapture his previous form.

Middle-order batter Khaya Zondo earned his maiden Test call-up, and medium-pacer Lizaad Williams also found a place in the 15-member South Africa squad for the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh.However, South Africa will be without their entire first-choice pace attack – comprising Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen – as well as batters Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen as they chose the IPL over the Test series. Cricket South Africa had also said they would be leaving it up to the players to make the decision, which the Test captain Dean Elgar called a “litmus test of loyalty”.Related

• Elgar: South Africa's IPL players 'were put in an unavoidable situation'

• Money matters: South Africa's shiny eyes for the IPL isn't a question of greed or allegiance

• Bangladesh's chance to break new ground in South Africa

• South Africa's red-ball players to choose IPL over Bangladesh Tests

Wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton, who was one of the reserves for the series against India and New Zealand, is in the squad as is uncapped quick Daryn Dupavillon, who was also called up for South Africa’s tour to Pakistan in 2021.Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje once again missed out on selection with a longstanding back and hip issue. That also means there is no clarity about his availability in the IPL, where he is part of the Delhi Capitals side. Nortje last played in November 2021, at the T20 World Cup in the UAE.Batter Zubayr Hamza, who played in the first Test against New Zealand in February, withdrew from both Test and ODI series because of personal reasons, according to a CSA release.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Zondo, who has played six ODIs for South Africa, has been a consistent performer for Dolphins in South Africa’s domestic 4-day tournament. In the last two domestic seasons, he has scored 786 runs in 13 matches at an average of 52.40.The IPL-bound players will fly to India for the tournament, which begins on March 26, at the conclusion of the ODI series. According to CSA’s current MoU with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), the board cannot refuse players the opportunity to take part in the tournament, as both organisations look to balance the livelihoods and opportunities of players and their duties to the national team.”Having all your assets at your disposal is obviously something that, as a captain, you would like,” Test vice-captain Temba Bavuma said earlier in the day. “Am I happy? Of course. It’s a far from ideal situation. From the point of view of a player who is not affected by the IPL, we would have liked this decision to have been dealt with a lot earlier and with a lot more urgency. On the eve of a one-day series, and with a Test squad due to be announced, we’re still not sure what is happening. We could have learnt from previous years.””The loss of the IPL players is not ideal, but we back the CSA system, its ever-growing pipeline and most of all, the players we have selected,” CSA convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said. “Every member of the team is selected based on the excellence that they have shown over an extended period of time and there is no better opportunity for them than now, to show us what they have to offer the Proteas on this highly anticipated occasion.”The first Test starts on March 31 in Durban and the second on April 7 in Port Elizabeth.Squad: Dean Elgar (capt), Temba Bavuma (vice-capt), Daryn Dupavillon, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Duanne Olivier, Keegan Petersen, Ryan Rickelton, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo

MatériaMais Notícias

Gustavo Gómez entrou para a história do Palmeiras. Com a vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Athletico, na última quarta-feira (2), no Allianz Parque, e a inédita conquista da Recopa Sul-Americana, o paraguaio, capitão do Verdão, foi o primeiro estrangeiro a levantar uma taça pelo clube.

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Mesmo diante do tamanho do feito, Gómez, entretanto, optou por minimizá-lo. Na entrevista após a partida, o paraguaio procurou destacar a força do grupo palmeirense, segundo ele principal responsável não só pelos seus números, mas pelos títulos ganhos na era Abel Ferreira no Verdão.

– Eu acho que hoje a faixa estava comigo, mas aqui temos muitos capitães, como Weverton, (Marcos) Rocha, Dudu, Zé Rafael… Temos um elenco com grandes jogadores, grandes líderes e acho que por isso estamos conseguindo conquistar títulos. São jogadores de muita experiência, líderes dentro do clube.Sou muito grato com a oportunidade que eu tive aqui. Ela vale mais que qualquer coisa.

Para Gómez, essa geração muito vencedora do Palmeiras tem uma fórmula do sucesso: dedicação e muito trabalho. Segundo o paraguaio, é por conta disso que os frutos estão aparecendo e garante abriga por mais conquistas.

– É um grupo muito unido, que se mantém em forma sempre, a mente em forma, a fome de glórias e que respeita as ordens do professor. Agora temos que comemorar muito esse momento, porque no futebol as coisas passam muito rápido.

Current favourite for the potentially vacant West Ham United job, Graham Potter, may have a real competitor in an alternative who’s keen on replacing the under-pressure Julen Lopetegui.

Julen Lopetegui handed Wolves game as last chance to stay at West Ham

Despite some reports yesterday that Lopetegui was “set to be sacked” by West Ham, with Potter poised to replace the Spaniard (Pete O’Rourke), it now appears that he’s been handed one last chance to save his job against fellow strugglers Wolves on Monday.

What Massimiliano Allegri is demanding to replace Lopetegui at West Ham

The 57-year-old is apparently clear.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Dec 5, 2024

The Hammers board are said to regard their face-off against Gary O’Neil’s men as a “cup final” in terms of Lopetegui’s future (The Telegraph), so if things don’t go according to plan, Lopetegui looks very likely to be dismissed as West Ham remain in the market for alternatives.

There is even the prospect of West Ham appointing a new manager on a six-month contract, which may understandably turn some candidates off (The Telegraph), but it could still appeal to out-of-work former Chelsea and Brighton boss Potter.

Match

Date

Opponent

Competition

Result

#16

03/12/2024

Leicester City (A)

Premier League

3-1

#15

30/11/2024

Arsenal (H)

Premier League

5-2

#14

26/11/2024

Newcastle United (A)

Premier League

2-0 win

#13

09/11/2024

Everton (H)

Premier League

0-0 draw

#12

02/11/2024

Nottingham Forest (A)

Premier League

3-0 loss

#11

27/10/2024

Man United (H)

Premier League

2-1 win

#10

19/10/2024

Tottenham (A)

Premier League

4-1 loss

Alongside the Englishman, technical director Tim Steidten and the Irons hierarchy are considering the likes of Roger Schmidt, Sergio Conceicao and Kasper Hjulmand, according to various reports, but Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg believes that Edin Terzić is out of the running.

Steidten held talks with Terzic over taking the West Ham manager’s job, as per GiveMeSport, but it now appears that the ex-Rush Green coach won’t be returning to the dugout in a more senior capacity.

Another very intriguing candidate to succeed Lopetegui is former Juventus and AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri.

The 57-year-old, who reportedly wants a £127,000-per-week contract from his new club – which would make him the fourth-highest paid manager in the Premier League above Enzo Maresca, Ruben Amorim and Arne Slot – is apparently becoming more open to the prospect of managing West Ham.

Massimiliano Allegri now keen on replacing Lopetegui at West Ham

As per The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey, Allegri is keen on replacing Lopetegui at West Ham, following an illustrious last decade in Serie A where he helped Juventus dominate the division.

He won five straight league titles from 2014-2019, including one with Milan in 2011, and actually won the Coppa Italia just two days before he was sacked by the Old Lady earlier this year.

It is believed the tactician has also been making regular trips to London, as Allegri undertakes English lessons in potential preparation for coaching in the Premier League, so his possible arrival may have some legs – if Potter doesn’t beat him to the role.

Aston Villa lost their third Premier League game in their last six, losing 2-1 to Nottingham Forest despite taking a one-goal lead in the 63rd minute through Jhon Duran.

Unai Emery’s side held 50% of the ball, taking just eight shots in the game, and only generating 0.43 xG, compared to the 1.78 xG of Forest.

Emery’s side now sit sixth in the Premier League, winning seven, drawing four and losing five of their opening 16 games. The Villans have accrued 25 points, leaving them now three points off the Champions League qualification spots.

Despite the heroics of Emiliano Martínez, Villa failed to hold on, with Forest scoring two goals late on to steal all three points, winning 2-1. Two performers in particular disappointed on the day, one of whom has been in excellent form so far this campaign.

Morgan Rogers' performance vs Nottingham Forest

Morgan Rogers has been one of Emery’s best performers this season, offering considerable creation and threat in central zones. The 22-year-old has made 22 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring four goals, providing three assists, and totalling 1,832 minutes played.

However, against Forest, the English attacker couldn’t quite get things going. Despite having a strong penalty claim, Rogers lost possession 16 times, only completed two of his six dribble attempts, had his only shot of the game blocked, all while losing ten of his 16 ground duels.

Yet the 22-year-old wasn’t Villa’s worst player. In fact, one of their more experienced stars let the side down, making a huge mistake towards the back end of the game, his error leading to a goal, and overall putting in a performance which wasn’t of the standard required.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Expand Collapse Matty Cash's performance in numbers vs Nottingham Forest

Former Forest man Matty Cash was awarded a 5/10 match rating by Express and Star, with his part in the hosts’ second goal being heavily criticised. The 27-year-old has made 12 appearances for the Villans in all competitions this season, scoring one goal, contributing to two clean sheets and totalling 904 minutes.

The Poland international was deployed as a right-winger against Forest, with the dual responsibility of holding width further forwards, but also tracking back to support Ezri Konsa at right-back, and double up on Callum Hudson-Odoi on the left wing for Forest.

Matty Cash vs Forest performance

Stat

Cash

Minutes

90

Touches

45

Accurate Passes

19/27

Key Passes

1

Crosses

0/2

Successful Dribble Attempts

1/3

Ground Duels Won

4/8

Aerial Duels Won

3/4

Possession Lost

14

Errors Leading to a Goal

1

Stats taken from Sofascore

Alongside the error leading to a goal, Cash also lost possession 14 times in the game, did not complete a successful cross despite finding himself in some good wide areas to deliver, completed just one of his three dribble attempts and had a 70% pass completion.

Of course, being a natural right-back, Cash does bring extra defensive stability when doubling up in those wide zones. However, his mistakes in possession can cost the side, giving up extra possessions to the opposition, and putting Emery’s side under pressure.

The manager will have to change things when Villa face Manchester City next week, and someone like Cash after his error-prone performance could be dropped in order to stabilise things against last season’s Premier League champions.

Related Aston Villa must rue losing £22m flop who's now outscoring Duran & Watkins

This former Aston Villa flop has suddenly become a goal machine.

Posts 3 ByKelan Sarson Dec 12, 2024

Are Liverpool the best team in Europe right now? You’d have to stake a compelling case indeed to convince Anfield’s roaring fanbase otherwise, with Real Madrid added to the growing collection of stunning victories under Arne Slot’s wing.

It might be the biggest yet. Certainly, the most euphoric and awe-inspiring. Los Blancos were made to look distinctly average on Wednesday evening, reduced to mere flashes of the imperious quality that the Champions League has tasted with such regularity over the past decade. More.

The narrative was rewritten with this one. Over the past 15 years, Liverpool have lost seven matches against Real Madrid. Sure, they once drew, but that was only after the Spaniards had assumed control with a 3-1 win in the first leg of their knockout tie.

The challenge has been insurmountable, the road impassable. No more. Slot has taken Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and turned it into something better. A thrash-metal, easy-on-the-eye outfit has been gentrified and polished.

Conor Bradley’s crunching tackle on subdued Kylian Mbappe was the highlight, an image framed and pasted across channels. Alexis Mac Allister and Caoimhin Kelleher were also sublime. But one man continued his revival with a quietly excellent performance.

Darwin Nunez's resurgence continues

Darwin Nunez has scored three goals and supplied two assists in 16 matches this season, starting nine. Not brilliant; it could be better for sure.

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But the 25-year-old’s overall game is noticeably more refined and streamlined. He was a thorn against the La Liga side, playing for 68 minutes before being replaced by goalscorer Cody Gakpo, with Luis Diaz shifting into a makeshift role at number nine once again.

Nunez’s maturity and understanding of Slot’s style is something that can’t be easily defined through statistics. As per Sofascore, the Uruguayan was foiled twice by Thibaut Courtois and saw an impressively-taken header skew wide. It was a good effort all the same.

Courtois has been a byword for misery down Anfield Road these past few years, saving his finet displays when facing Liverpool. Maybe he’s just an exceptional goalkeeper. Yesterday, though, Slot’s tactical assault and the clinically-taken goals finally thwarted the Belgian.

It wasn’t Nunez who beat the Belgian and missed chances are of course a grumpy theme of the forward’s Liverpool career, but he was tenacious and tireless, a thorn in the visitors’ backline.

All that said, it might be that he needs to be dropped for the weekend’s Premier League clash, against none other than Manchester City. They’re coming thick and fast alright.

Pep Guardiola’s beleaguered side are really struggling, look a shell of their usually indomitable selves. Slot won’t expect to steamroll over the most illustrious English side of the modern age, however, and must expect the best version of the Premier League champions.

Nunez should be dropped with Diogo Jota fit once again. The Portuguese ranks among 12% of forwards across Europe – over the past year – for non-penalty goals scored (0.63) per 90, as per FBref.

Now let’s step into more contentious territory. Slot should drop Diaz too.

Ehy Slot must boldly drop Luis Diaz

Diaz didn’t put in his finest display of the season, but he was still effective down the left channel and looked more impactful still when Slot demonstrated his tactical nous once again by moving the Colombian central.

How curious that he almost looks more fluid when playing as Liverpool’s number nine. Even so, Gakpo’s performance proved that he should start against City on Sunday, and while Diaz could do a job up front, Jota may well be preferable.

Anyway, this isn’t to say that the 28-year-old, who has been in fine fettle this term with nine goals and two assists across 18 matches (an identical record to Mbappe at Real Madrid, by the by), can’t leave his mark on the Sky Blues, with his pace and potency sure to have an effect if welcomed to the field after the break.

Gakpo deserves the opportunity, with his refocused role at left wing this season triumphing in making him more dangerous and dynamic.

He boasts a myriad of ways to inflict damage on his opponents, does Gakpo, and this level of incisiveness should be rewarded with a starting berth. Liverpool, to be sure, will need to take their chances against a Cityzen side that would like nothing more than to damage Slot’s high-flying start.

Luis Diaz & Cody Gakpo vs Real Madrid
Match Stats	Luis Diaz	Cody Gakpo
Minutes played	90′	22′
Goals	0	1
Assists	0	0
Touches	19	60
Shots (on target)	4 (2)	1 (1)
Accurate passes	41/45 (91%)	11/12 (92%)
Key passes	0	1
Dribbles (completed)	3 (2)	1 (1)
Total duels (won)	10 (3)	2 (2)
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see from the table above, Gakpo made such economical usage of his time on the field. He scored, yes, great, but he also made a key pass – Diaz did not across the full 90 – and succeeded with his one attempted dribble.

Diaz was good. Jotting down his post-match thoughts, the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle handed him an 8/10 match rating and wrote: ‘Started brightly but should have been more bold up against stand-in right-back Valverde. Second half better, especially when switched to central position. Tenacious.’

Of course, Gakpo’s dynamic approach knows no bounds and saw him win both of his challenges, whereas his South American teammate lost seven of his ten contested duels.

All told, Liverpool deservedly thumped Real Madrid and the Slot machine churns on. The fact that the Reds have such a breadth of high-class options bears testament to the work done by Klopp and co across the past several years, rebuilding the iconic first iteration of this brilliant team.

Diaz will want to start on Sunday, but Gakpo is the man of the moment and proving his prolificness. With nine goal contributions from as many starts during the 2024/25 campaign, he should be placed on that left wing against City and let loose.

He wowed Carragher: Liverpool's 9/10 monster was even better than Kelleher

Liverpool made it five wins from five in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

By
Ethan Lamb

Nov 28, 2024

اختارت لجنة الحكام بالاتحاد الدولى لكرة القدم “فيفا”، حكمًا مصريًا للتواجد في منافسات بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025.

وتقام منافسات النسخة الأولى من كأس العالم للأندية بالنظام الجديد الذي يقام كل أربع سنوات بمشاركة 32 فريقًا، وتُنظمها الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في صيف 2025، ويتواجد الأهلي كممثل للكرة المصرية بالمسابقة العالمية.

طالع | الأهلي يعلن انضمامه لمجموعة ملصقات FIFA العالمية عبر شراكة مع “بانيني”

ويتواجد الحكم الدولى محمود عاشور ممثلًا عن التحكيم المصري في بطولة كأس العالم للأندية كحكم لتقنية الفيديو.

ويتواجد الأهلي في المجموعة الأولى إلى جانب فرق إنتر ميامي الأمريكي وبالميراس البرازيلي وبورتو البرتغالي.

ومن المنتظر أن يستهل الفريق الأحمر مشواره في البطولة بمواجهة مرتقبة أمام فريق إنتر ميامي، الذي يضم بين صفوفه النجم الأرجنتيني ليونيل ميسي.