List of All Articles with Tag 'por'

Defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge was the final straw for Todd Boehly. With Chelsea languishing in the lower half of the table, he sacked the manager he had appointed, the one who was supposed to promote younger players and propel some of his many signings to glory. Not Mauricio Pochettino this week, but Graham Potter in April and, in a ruinous reign, dismissing the Englishman is one of the few decisions that Boehly and Clearlake Capital have got right; appointing Potter, however, ranked high and early among the many mistakes. Since his departure, however, Chelsea have only beaten Bournemouth, AFC Wimbledon and Luton. They have scored 16 goals in 19 games, two of them against a League Two side. In the Premier League this season, they have only outscored Luton and Burnley, who both have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s spending in little over a year has careered past £1bn. The only people to have spent more while failing disastrously and yet congratulating themselves are Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. Pochettino’s slow start, with an encouraging second half against Liverpool on the opening weekend looking like a false dawn, has to be placed in the context of Chelsea, and this Chelsea. Callum Hudson-Odoi, offloaded by Chelsea on the cheap, scored on his Nottingham Forest debut last week, just as Christian Pulisic had struck in his first two matches for AC Milan whereas, 22 games into his Blues career, the £88m signing Mykhailo Mudryk is still to open his account. The loaned-out Romelu Lukaku has scored in three games in September for Roma whereas, after three games this month, Chelsea are yet to find the net themselves. Nicolas Jackson has provided different problems: some for opposing defences with his pace, more for Chelsea with his profligacy and indiscipline. The Senegalese was a quixotic choice to spearhead a goal-shy team: he finished last season with nine goals in eight matches for Villarreal but only had four in the preceding 30 and almost joined Bournemouth in January. For Chelsea, he is the Premier League’s greatest expected goals underachiever – one goal from an xG of 4.18 – and has a 5.26 per cent chance conversion rate. Only Erling Haaland has missed more big chances in the Premier League, but with the notable difference that the Norwegian is also leading the race for the Golden Boot and, indeed, has more league goals than Chelsea in the Boehly era. If Chelsea have somehow spent a fortune without acquiring lacked a prolific striker, they will be without a wasteful one for next week’s derby with Fulham: Jackson is banned after becoming the first player in the division to accumulate five bookings. That two of them were for waving imaginary yellow cards is an illustration that Chelsea’s plans tend to backfire, often ignominiously. And yet the burden on the raw Jackson has been too great; his record renders his struggles unsurprising. Christopher Nkunku, the Bundesliga’s top scorer last season, looked a genuine coup of a signing. Except that an injury-prone player has been sidelined since the summer. There are times when it seems Chelsea’s recruitment strategy is to sign the injury-prone; the £70m defender Wesley Fofana has a second major injury since joining. They made the injury-prone Reece James captain. He promptly got injured. His £30m deputy Malo Gusto was sent off against Villa. So Chelsea are now short of a right-back. Yet, despite an unprecedented spending spree, Pochettino has often found himself lacking compelling options. At various points this season, his bench has included Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Alex Matos, Ronnie Stutter, Eddie Beach, Mason Burstow, Bashir Humphreys and Diego Moreira. The unknowns are scarcely game-changers. Meanwhile, his team has never included the £58m Romeo Lavia, who has been injured. Elsewhere in a midfield of unprecedented cost, the £115m record signing Moises Caicedo conceded a penalty on his debut at West Ham and made the mistake for Nottingham Forest’s winner. The argument made in Chelsea’s defence is that it will take time for players to settle and that, with the youngest team in the division after a clearout of the experienced, they are building for the future. It is true, but only up to a point. Pochettino only has a two-year contract, for instance. Chelsea can amortise fees in the books over never-ending contracts but they still need to pay the selling clubs the sizeable fees they agreed to pay. And so far, no one has got better and no one’s value has increased. Meanwhile, can Chelsea afford to wait for this increasingly imaginary future? They are already nine points behind fifth place, four adrift of every other major contender for a top-four finish. They have no revenue – broadcast or matchday – from European football and, in a major failure, no shirt sponsor. They are raising prices for fans; by doing so to compensate for their own reckless overspending and terrible decision-making while providing them with an inferior product suggests they are football’s answer to Elon Musk. Meanwhile, they stumble on. Logically, with a manager of Pochettino’s calibre, with talented if at times mismatched players, with footballers of potential, it will get better. But logically, they should never have plumbed such depths at all. And so Chelsea’s quest for a first goal of September continues against in the Carabao Cup against Brighton, having taken their manager, coaching staff, head of recruitment, player of the year, goalkeeper and, for a record-breaking price, their midfielder for a combined sum of around £250m. And now Brighton are 11 places above Chelsea in the table. Read More Chelsea misery continues as Aston Villa increase discontent at Stamford Bridge Mohamed Salah’s record form is justifying Liverpool’s £150m transfer gamble Why Jonny Evans and band of Manchester United misfits are a genuine feel-good story Chelsea misery continues as Aston Villa increase discontent at Stamford Bridge Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Odegaard signs and De Roon reveals all – Friday’s sporting social

England boss Sarina Wiegman admits it will be “very special” when her side take on her native Netherlands in Tuesday’s Nations League contest in Utrecht. Wiegman played for the Dutch national team before overseeing their Euro 2017 win on home soil and finishing as runners-up at the 2019 World Cup in France. The 53-year-old, who has subsequently matched those managerial achievements with England, told a press conference that being back in her home country with the Lionesses was “very nice, a little bit strange too – of course I have some memories here”. She added: “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It’s just very special to be here and to play the opponents. “Of course we know each other really well, I know the staff, most of the staff didn’t change that much, or the players. Lots of people will be in the stands that I know.” The match is England’s second in Group A1 after they beat Scotland 2-1 in Sunderland on Friday, when the Netherlands opened their campaign with a 2-1 loss away to Belgium. Wiegman said: “We had a good review on the (Scotland) match. “We want to do a couple of things a little better, and keep doing the things that we did really well, bring that to the next level too – that’s what we talked about, and then tomorrow we go again. “I think if you look at the stats against Belgium they (the Netherlands) had pretty good stats. You see how the game developed and they were a little bit unlucky, and Belgium took advantage of that. “Of course they want to do well because their goal also is to come first in the group, so with the first loss they really want to do well tomorrow and have a good result. That is what we expect.” The Nations League offers two qualification places for the Paris 2024 Olympics, with England the nominated home nations team aiming to secure a spot for Great Britain. To do that they will need to win their group to advance to the Nations League’s last four, and then reach the final, or come third should France make the final. Wiegman said she had every member of her squad available for Tuesday’s game, including Alessia Russo, who sat out the Scotland contest – she had joined the group later than others following some recuperation, having played in Champions League qualifying matches for Arsenal earlier this month. Wiegman was joined at the press conference by Russo’s fellow forward Lauren Hemp, scorer of England’s second goal against Scotland. The 23-year-old Manchester City player said of the Dutchwoman: “Sarina is a fantastic coach. Ever since she got the job I feel like she’s taken this team to a whole new level, and for me personally I’m learning every single day. “I feel like I’m getting so much better and feeling so much more confident as the days go by under Sarina. She’s unbelievable.” Meanwhile, Wiegman has paid tribute to Megan Rapinoe after the two-time World Cup winner, who has been an influential figure in the women’s game both on and off the pitch, played her final game for the United States before retirement, a 2-0 win over South Africa. Wiegman said of Rapinoe’s legacy: “I think she is one of the most important players. I think the US were the trailblazers in women’s football, and also (for) the position of women in society. “I think we should be all very thankful for what she leaves behind. I have so much respect for her.” Of her own players driving change, she added: “I think this group of women are very conscious of society too and using the platform in a positive way to change society. “They are so outspoken and well spoken, they articulate themselves so well.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Axed Jason Roy urged to remain positive with World Cup role still a possibility ECB unable to commit to equal pay targets for England men and women Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are looking no further than crucial Scotland clash

IndyCar will return to the Milwaukee Mile next season and Texas Motor Speedway is off the calendar for the first time since 1997 in the 2024 schedule

Homophobic chanting by sections of Paris Saint-Germain fans targeting Marseille players has again marred the biggest game in French soccer and prompted calls for sanctions

Uruguay's players must put the disappointment of defeat to Italy behind them if they are to leave the Rugby World Cup with at least one win

The Asian Games offer a preview of what could soon be coming to the Olympics

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ charter flight home following a Sunday night win in Las Vegas made an emergency landing in Kansas City early Monday

Defending champions Manchester United face Crystal Palace in the third round as a further seven Premier League teams begin their Carabao Cup campaign. Manchester City, West Ham, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Newcastle, Brighton, and Liverpool are all involved after a bye to allow for European competition. In the last round, League One side Lincoln City provided a shock when they beat Premier League opponents Sheffield United 3-2 on penalties. The third round starts on the week commencing the 25 September. Here’s everything you need to know about the fourth-round draw. When is the fourth round draw? The fourth round draw takes place on the 27 September after the match between Newcastle and Manchester City which will be televised from St James’ Park. The match is due to kick off at 8pm, and the draw will follow after full time, starting between 10-10:10pm. How to watch on TV and online Sky Sports will broadcast both the match before and the draw. The draw will also be live streamed for free on the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel. When will the fourth round fixtures be played? The fourth round of the Carabao Cup will be played in the week commencing Monday 30 October. When is the Carabao Cup final? The Carabao Cup final is scheduled for 25 February 2024 at Wembley Stadium. Read More Erik ten Hag’s got a good thing going at Manchester United – Jonny Evans Premier League clubs push government over key question surrounding state ownership in English football Ange Postecoglou has already transformed Tottenham with Arsenal comeback Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta ‘not thinking’ about Man City’s lead after derby draw Pep Guardiola jokes he could play for much-changed Man City in Newcastle cup tie Erik ten Hag’s got a good thing going at Manchester United – Jonny Evans

Barcelona footballer Joao Cancelo lit up social media after his most recent post-match interview – and not necessarily for the right reasons. The defender scored a dramatic late winner on Sunday against Celta Vigo, recording a player-of-the-match performance for his Catalan team. After full-time, Cancelo, 29, was modest about his performance, mentioning that he made “many technical errors that are not normal in my game”. “I had to improve and turn things around,” he told reporters. “I tried to give everything until the end and we were able to come back and to win is the most important thing. “If I perform, the club will love me. If not, they will kick me out.” However, rather than focus on his exceptional performance, many viewers were more fixated on his facial expressions during the interview. Here’s the footage: One person commented: “I’m convinced he's a vampire fighting the urge to eat that journalist.” Another wrote: “At first I thought this was a Snapchat filter.” While Cancelo quickly returned to normal after pulling the face, there was something rather bloodthirsty about it. Another person commented simply: “I’ve seen him in my nightmares.” The 29-year-old joined Barcelona on a season-long loan from Manchester City. Aside from the bizarre interview, he looks to have secured a place in Catalan hearts after the winner. Barcelona went down in the match, but managed to score one back through striker Robert Lewandowski. Then, with just one minute of normal time left, the Portuguese player sent the home crowd wild by finishing a second chance. Manager Xavi said: “We didn't play well (but) came up with the epic, showing winning character. “I think this generation fights until the end. What happened today is a tremendous turning point of winning character, we didn't play well but it's about character, faith, the epic.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

South Korea’s League of Legends team has breezed through its first day of competition at the Asian Games and was bolstered by a strong performance by top player Lee Sang-hyeok

Less than a year after a stirring run to the NL Championship Series, the high-priced, underperforming San Diego Padres are defending themselves against reports there is a lack of clubhouse leadership within a dysfunctional organization

The top tier of The Associated Press college football poll is getting crowded