TOKYO: Manchester City will “fight” to stop Kyle Walker going to Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola said Tuesday, describing the defender as a key player for the team.
Walker started as a substitute in the Champions League final when City completed a historic treble last month, and the German champions are keen to bring him to Munich.
But ahead of City’s clash against Bayern in Tokyo on Wednesday, Guardiola insisted the 33-year-old was “an incredibly important player for us.”
Walker has “very specific qualities that are so difficult to find worldwide. I know we are in touch, both clubs,” Guardiola told reporters.
“We will fight for him, like I’m pretty sure Bayern (will). I don’t know how it is going to finish.”
Guardiola was bullish when asked if Walker would be considered for selection against Bayern, saying “of course, he’s our player.”
“We need the best players,” he said.
“He’s our player and we hope he’s going to stay all the season with us, so why should he not play?“
Another Premier League player on Bayern’s radar is Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
The German champions are said to be intent on securing the signing of England’s record scorer, whose contract with Spurs runs out in 2024.
Kane’s camp is believed to have approved the move, but Bayern need an agreement on a transfer fee with Tottenham to seal the deal.
Bayern technical director Marco Neppe and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen remained in Europe rather than joining the team on their trip to Asia.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel opted for an enigmatic response when asked why, merely saying they were “doing something that is necessary for them to do in Munich to support us.”
Guardiola said of Kane that he didn’t “have words to say how good he is,” but was similarly hesitant to be drawn on the subject of his potential move to Bayern.
“He is a Tottenham Hotspur player. I understand Bayern always wants to take the best players in the world, so Harry Kane is one of them,” he said.
“I cannot say anymore. He is not our player. I can talk about Kyle, but Harry Kane is not my business so I’m sorry.”
City won the first game of their Asian tour 5-3 against J-League Champions Yokohama F-Marinos on Sunday.
After playing Bayern in Tokyo on Wednesday they will travel to Seoul to take on Atletico Madrid.
After facing City, Bayern will take on J-League side Kawasaki Frontale in Tokyo on Saturday, before traveling to Singapore for a game against Liverpool.
Guardiola says Man City to ‘fight’ for Kyle Walker
https://arab.news/7mxjt
Guardiola says Man City to ‘fight’ for Kyle Walker
- Ahead of City’s clash against Bayern in Tokyo on Wednesday, Guardiola insisted the 33-year-old was “an incredibly important player for us“
- “We will fight for him, like I’m pretty sure Bayern (will). I don’t know how it is going to finish”
Early goal holds up as Benfica beats Bayern Munich to advance to knockouts
- Anatoliy Trubin made four saves to keep Benfica’s second consecutive clean sheet
Andreas Schjelderup scored early and Benfica held on amid oppressive conditions for a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte.
Anatoliy Trubin made four saves to keep Benfica’s second consecutive clean sheet and preserve its first-ever competitive victory over Bayern as the Portuguese club finished atop Group C and extended their FIFA Club World Cup campaign.
Benfica (2-0-1, 7 points) will face either Chelsea or Esperance de Tunis, who play later Tuesday to decide the second spot in Group D, in a Saturday round- of-16 clash also in Charlotte.
A heavily rotated Bayern (2-1-0, 6 points) had already clinched their spot in the knockout phase and will face Group D winner Flamengo on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida
Benfica went in front 13 minutes into a sluggish first half that was played amid temperatures hovering around 97 degrees and beneath bright sunshine.
Ángel Di María played a ball wide down the right for Fredrik Aursnes, who then dragged a low cross back to the penalty area. That’s where Schjelderup met it in stride and fired a low first-time finish past Manuel Neuer.
Trubin was exceptional after halftime as Benfica weathered increasing Bayern pressure.
In the 51st minute, Leroy Sané ran onto Joshua Kimmich’s ball over the top but was denied by Trubin, who also made a more comfortable save of Thomas Müller’s follow-up effort seconds later.
Kimmich thought he’d scored from the edge of the penalty area in the 61st minute, but the goal was ruled offside because Harry Kane was standing in an offside position and in the goalkeeper’s view.
In the 74th minute, he denied Aleksandar Pavlovic with an outstretched leg from about 10 yards after Bayern’s initial cross from the right rattled off a few bodies inside the area.
Then in the 87th, he thwarted Sané on the break for a second time after Sané ran onto Harry Kane’s excellent through ball.
Lyon handed Ligue 2 relegation by financial regulator
- During a hearing earlier in the day, Lyon were unable to convince DNCG to lift the restrictions
- Lyon can appeal the decision
LYON: Seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon have been relegated to the second-tier by French football’s financial watchdog, the French professional league (LFP) announced on Tuesday.
During a hearing earlier in the day, Lyon were unable to convince the regulator (DNCG) to lift the restrictions it had put on the club in November.
Lyon can appeal the decision.
Before the meeting, Lyon’s president John Textor said he was confident of avoiding the drop to Ligue 2 for next season, where the club has not played since 1989.
“We have made a variety of investments in recent weeks,” he said. “Everything is good financially.”
American Textor sold his 43 percent stake in Premier League outfit Crystal Palace earlier in the week. Lyon have reduced their salary bill and sold Rayan Cherki to Manchester City and Maxence Caqueret to Como.
Lyon qualified for next season’s Europa League after finishing sixth in the French top-flight.
If their relegation is confirmed, they would be replaced in Ligue 1 by Reims.
Lyon won seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008. Only five clubs have won Ligue 1 more often. Paris Saint-Germain hold the record with 13 titles.
Club World Cup prize money does not mean more pressure: Chelsea boss Maresca
- If Chelsea, as one of the 12 European representatives, go on to win the trophy on July 13, they can take home around $125m as a cash reward.
- “The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money,” Maresca told reporters
PHILADELPHIA: Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that the club’s owners are not putting extra pressure on him to win the Club World Cup as a result of the enormous financial incentives on offer at FIFA’s new tournament.
World football’s governing body has dangled the carrot of a total $1 billion in prize money to the 32 competing teams in the United States.
If Chelsea, as one of the 12 European representatives, go on to win the trophy on July 13, they can take home around $125 million (£92.4m) as a cash reward.
That could give the Stamford Bridge side a considerable advantage over many of their English and European rivals going forward into next season.
However, Maresca claims money has not come up in discussions with the club’s hierarchy around the ongoing competition.
“The owners just want the best for us and for the players game by game and they are not talking about the final prize or the final reward in terms of money,” the Italian told reporters in Philadelphia ahead of Tuesday’s match against Esperance of Tunis.
“They never put pressure on me or the players in terms of we need to win this tournament because of the money.”
Chelsea must avoid defeat against the Tunisian four-time African champions in order to qualify for the last 16 from Group D.
That is after they were beaten 3-1 by Brazilian giants Flamengo in their last game, when Maresca appeared to prioritize tactical experiments over the need for results.
Playing Cole Palmer on the right of a front three was not a success, as the England international struggled to make a big impact on the game.
“Off the ball Cole was defending a little more wide, but the position on the ball was exactly the same position as during the season,” Maresca explained.
“If it is a good moment or not to try new things, I don’t know. But we also are here to think about the future, and to try different systems.
“Last year we played three or four different systems during the season. The idea is to continue to evolve and improve, and to try different things.”
Philadelphia is sweating under a fierce heatwave at the moment, and while the 9:00 p.m. local time kick-off on Wednesday should mean that is not a huge factor for the game itself, it has made preparations tricky.
“It is almost impossible to train because of the weather. Now we are just trying to save energy for the game,” said Maresca, who is likely to rotate his squad and make numerous changes to the starting line-up.
Striker Nicolas Jackson is suspended after being sent off against Flamengo having come on as a substitute only a few minutes earlier.
Chelsea won their opening match at the tournament, defeating Los Angeles FC 2-0 in Atlanta, before the reverse at the hands of Flamengo.
Esperance bounced back from a defeat to the Brazilians as they beat LAFC 1-0 in Nashville in their last outing — that is the only victory so far in six matches at this Club World Cup for a North African team.
If Chelsea go through they will head to Charlotte for a last-16 tie on Saturday against the winners of Group C, which could be Bayern Munich.
“If we go through we can talk about Bayern,” said Maresca. “In this moment it has to be about tomorrow. Football is full of surprises.”
Maher Kanzari, the coach of the Tunisian champions, said his team were ready for a ‘historical’ battle against the Blues.
“We are prepared and we have to fulfil the expectations of our technical team, of our fans, of the Tunisian public. It will be a historical game,” he said.
“We will be well prepared, especially mentally. Everyone is waiting for this game and we are really proud of what we have achieved so far.
“Hopefully we will do what it takes.”
PSG ease past Seattle Sounders and into Club World Cup last 16
- The French champions will now go through to a tie against the Group A runners-up in Atlanta on Sunday
SEATTLE: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi scored either side of half-time as European champions Paris Saint-Germain eased to a 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders on Monday to secure their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup.
PSG needed to bounce back from their 1-0 loss at the hands of Botafogo in their last Group B outing and they were too strong for the MLS side without ever really playing to their full potential.
Kvaratskhelia deflected a wayward Vitinha shot into the net to open the scoring on 35 minutes in front of 50,628 fans at Lumen Field, Sounders’ home stadium.
Hakimi then made it 2-0 just before the midway point in the second half to kill off any prospect of a comeback by the hosts.
PSG are through to the next round and advance as group winners on goal difference, climbing up from second place because of Botafogo’s late defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid at the same time in Pasadena.
The French champions will now go through to a tie against the Group A runners-up in Atlanta on Sunday, as they leave the west coast for the first time since arriving in the United States.
Paris coach Luis Enrique made four changes to his line-up following the defeat at the hands of Botafogo, with captain Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves all coming in.
However Ousmane Dembele, their top scorer during the European season just finished with 33 goals in all competitions, played no part for a third game running after traveling to the tournament with an injury.
The Sounders needed a big win combined with a defeat for Atletico to progress to the last 16, something which was always going to be a big ask for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League winners.
They didn’t have the quality to overly trouble PSG, who saw Desire Doue threaten early on with a powerful shot that was tipped over by home goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
A mistake by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the other end gifted a chance to the home side, but it was not an easy one for Jesus Ferreira and he fired off-target.
The UEFA Champions League winners got the opening goal 10 minutes before the interval when the ball came out to Vitinha on the edge of the area and his attempt took a rather lucky touch off the back of Kvaratskhelia to find the net.
The second goal arrived on 66 minutes after Doue played a delightful pass out to the wing for Bradley Barcola and the substitute cut in from the left before setting up Hakimi to control and slot in his 10th goal since the season began.
Atletico Madrid earns 1-0 victory, but Botafogo advances out of Group B
It took nearly the entire second half, but relentless attacks on goal paid off for Antoine Griezmann in the 87th minute on Monday.
After teammate Angel Correa’s shot was blocked by a defender, Griezmann sent a left-footed shot into the net to lift Atletico Madrid to a 1-0 victory over Botafogo in Group B action of the FIFA Club World Cup in Pasadena, California
Unfortunately, it was not enough to send the Spaniards on to the knockout rounds as Atletico Madrid needed to book a victory of at least three goals to advance out of Group B. Paris Saint-Germain, which defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Monday, and Botafogo — which defeated PSG earlier this week — claimed the group’s top two spots.
In the 10th minute, Botafogo had a prime opportunity to strike first after a through ball to Jefferson Savarino gave the striker a run at goal. Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, however, stretched out for a score-saving deflection.
Julian Alvarez nearly gave Atletico Madrid the lead just before the half. The forward collected an entry pass just outside the goal area, turned and whipped a right-footed blast, but his attempt was pulled wide to the left to keep the match in a scorelesss draw.
Early in the second half, Atletico again put the pressure on Botafogo with Griezmann settling a lofted ball down the left side and beating his defender along the goal line. Griezmann then attempted to sneak in a left-footed shot by the near post, but it caromed off the post and out of play.
In the 67th minute, Botafogo went on the offensive as Cuiabano lofted a cross into the box that Igor Jesus one-timed on goal. Again, Oblak was there to punch the attempt away to maintain a clean sheet.
Atletico had several chances to build upon its lead following the 87th-minute score from Griezmann, but Botafogo continued to deny the Spaniards.
Oblak finished with three saves for Atletico Madrid, which outshot Botafogo 23-7 (5-3 on goal). Botafogo’s John was credited with four saves.
