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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that they have been facing challenges in plotting against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) who they host in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) encounter on Wednesday.

Tshakhuma have a newly-assembled team following the acquisition of their top-flight league status from Bidvest Wits.

After holding TS Galaxy in their opening league match last weekend, Tshakhuma visit Sundowns who are on a high after dismissing Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in their first league game.

But Mngqithi is not reading much into their exploits against Chiefs as he concedes that they have very limited information to use against their Joel Masutha-coached opponents.

“It’s very difficult [to plan against Tshakhuma] because over the last two matches they have played two different line-ups,” Mngqithi told the Sundowns media team.

“You can see they are still bringing on new players into the team. It is a team that does not have too many patterns where you can know what they do when they build up from the back, what they do on transitions.

“Or what they do when they lose possession because they are using different teams and you can see most of their staff is still off the cuff. Players and coach have not been together for long.”

Tshakhuma have played two games in the season so far.

They were first edged 3-2 out of the MTN8 quarter-finals by SuperSport United, before the TS Galaxy draw.

After Masutha fielded almost different games in those two games, Mngqithi says that has made it difficult to gather notes against TTM, which makes the Limpopo side a potential minefield.

“Such teams are very dangerous because you do not know exactly who you will face,” said Mngqithi.

“For instance against SuperSport United, they played [Justin] Shonga, [Mogakolodi] Ngele and [Lerato] Lamola. And then you look at their other match against TS Galaxy, Shonga was no longer there. There was Lamola, [Celimpilo] Ngema, Ngele is still a big factor in that team.

“It is always very difficult to plan for a team like that. They are strong at set-pieces with Ndengane [Alfred], [Lehlohonolo] Nonyane and Ngele is known by everyone for taking them.

“But surprisingly now he has even scored with a header which suggests that we must just be aware of everything that happens in and around the box and try to defend intelligently. Not to give too many freekicks in and around the box because Shonga and Ngele can be very dangerous.

“So we are just planning mainly on individual profiles because the team as such does not have a clear tactical approach. They have no patterns and we are trying our level best to understand what each and every individual can do against us and I think we have made those pointers in our analysis.”

Simba SC coach Sven Vandenbroeck has revealed he is yet to come to terms with the team’s two consecutive defeats in the Mainland Premier League.

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi, who were looking unstoppable when the 2020-21 campaign started, have now lost two matches in a row - a 1-0 defeat against Tanzania Prisons before falling to Ruvu Shooting by the same margin two days ago.

The defeat against Shooting saw Simba surrender the third spot in the 18-team table as they dropped to fourth while their rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) who are still unbeaten, moved to second behind table-toppers Azam FC.

The two defeats have left the Belgian coach scratching his head and has gone ahead to apologise to the fans and also promised a quick comeback in their next league match.

“First of all, I want to apologise for the two losses in a row to the Simba family and it is very hard for us to digest,” Vandenbroeck said as quoted by Daily News. “If you look at the game, we missed some aggressiveness in the first half which was not our usual level of play.

“The second half was much better as we took some risks but in total, we were not efficient enough to take good results today [Monday]. It hurts to all of us.

“At this point, it is very difficult to point out what is the problem and if I have to analyse everything, it is something which I cannot share with the members of the media.

“According to the way we pushed in the second half, I do not think match fitness is the problem to point at. I think the question is what we have available in the striking position which made me play with a false number nine.”

Simba captain John Bocco, who missed a penalty to put the team level against Shooting, has also apologized to the fans.

“On behalf of the players, I want to apologise for the two defeats we suffered against Prisons and Ruvu Shooting,” Bocco said as quoted by the club’s social media pages. “We fell against teams that we should not have but we promise it will not happen again.

“Our promise to the fans is that we will rectify mistakes from the two matches and come back better and stronger to win the coming games.”

Prior to Monday's meeting, Simba and Ruvu Shooting had met 18 times in all competitions and Wekundu wa Msimbazi had managed to win 16 games, drawing the remaining two.

Simba will next take on Mwadui FC at Uhuru Stadium on Friday.

Jurgen Klopp says he has three options to fill in at centre-back after Liverpool lost Fabinho to injury.

The Brazil international, who slotted into the defence to cover for the injured Virgil van Dijk, limped off in the first-half of Tuesday's Champions League win against Midtjylland on Tuesday.

Rhys Williams, 19, replaced the 27-year-old and impressed the Reds boss as his side ran out 2-0 winners at Anfield.

However Klopp insists the England Under-19 international is not the only one who can be trusted to partner Joe Gomez at the heart of the back line, with 23-year-old Nathaniel Phillips and Billy Koumetio, 17, also available.   

He told reporters: “[Williams] did really well. The only problem we have now is unfortunately we have four days to the West Ham game and you will make every day a story of him and then he has to prove he can deal with that as well because before everything was calm around him. We try to do that as well.

"He’s a talent, he plays for England U20s, he’s 19 years old. I didn’t tell any news when I said he has more Champions League minutes than Premier League minutes because he didn’t play in the Premier League yet and has now two Champions League appearances.

"Won both games on top of that, which is pretty exceptional. He did well, everything looks promising.

“Apart from Rhys, we still have Nat Phillips, who for the reason that we thought he might make a transfer to another club, he is not in the Champions League squad, which is strange - but he is a centre-half as well.

"Billy [Koumetio] the kid, I’m not sure if he can train now tomorrow or not but he will be back in training. So, we have very young and inexperienced alternatives, and in the moment it looks like we have to choose one of them.

"I don’t know yet. But to be really clear and positive, Rhys was not in one situation tonight our problem, he played a really good game.”

Liverpool are in action again on Saturday when they host West Ham before continuing their Champions League campaign with a trip to Atalanta on November 3.

Peter Crouch says "there is no limit" to what Harry Kane can do, and that the Tottenham captain has become the best "creator" at the club.

Kane recorded his eighth assist in six Premier League appearances as Spurs earned a 1-0 victory against Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday night.

The England international headed an Eric Lamela cross straight into the path of Son Heung-min at the back post, who nodded past Nick Pope in the Clarets' net to earn the visitors all three points.

Jose Mourinho's side are now two points behind leaders Everton in the top-flight standings, with talk of a title challenge mounting with each passing game.

Kane's form has inspired Tottenham's impressive start to the campaign, with the 27-year-old also contributing five goals to their cause while taking his partnership with Son upfront to a new level.

The pair have combined for nine of Spurs' 16 goals, taking their overall tally as an attacking duo to 29, which puts them behind only Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as the most deadly partnership in Premier League history.

Kane has been content to drop a bit deeper this season and pick out Son's runs in the final third, and Crouch has been hugely impressed to see him show off his passing range after so many years of being pegged as a traditional centre-forward.

“There is no limit to what this boy can do,” the former Tottenham forward told PA. “I played with him when he was a young kid at Tottenham and I was in the first team and he has always scored goals and he has always been a finisher.

“He scores every type of goal but when I look at him dropping deep and making those passes, it’s just fantastic to watch and he’s become a creator for Son and it’s mouth-watering when you add (Gareth) Bale in there as well.

“The runs they make are so quick and Kane’s ability to find them is just amazing. He drops deep into the pockets and pick out passes. He is Tottenham’s best goalscorer and also their best creator.”

Crouch is confident that Spurs can challenge for major silverware in 2019-20, but he thinks a run to the glory in the FA Cup is more likely than a tilt at the Premier League crown at this stage of Mourinho's project.

“It is a crazy league and it feels like anyone can beat anyone at the moment,” he added. “I would say [Manchester] City and Liverpool aren’t as strong as they were and other teams have got stronger. It is definitely something to do with fans not being in the ground, which is causing some strange results and lots of goals. The league is up for grabs.

“Can Tottenham win it? I’m not sure but I think they’ve got as good a chance as anyone. City and Liverpool have to be the favourites just because they’ve been the strongest team over the last three years.

“People have criticised Mourinho a lot. He seems to be getting a team together and building something again and you wouldn’t put it past him to win (something). Maybe the league is potentially too much for them, but for Tottenham fans, bringing the FA Cup home right now would be magical.”

The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) has unveiled a two-year strategic plan to develop women's football in the country.

The development comes just days after the Ugandan ruling body confirmed receipt of a $500,000 grant for the development of women's football from world football governing body Fifa.

In a statement, Fufa's CEO Edgar Watson disclosed to the body's website: "Fufa has received the Fifa grant of USD 500,000 that was allocated through the Covid-19 relief plan for the development of women's football."

With the above in mind, Fufa had launched the ‘Take Flight Project’ in a bid to develop women’s game in Uganda for the next two years.

The strategy was hinged on four key pillars: increasing women involved in football, improving the women football leagues and national teams, increasing the number of girls playing football and increasing revenue-generating streams for women's football.

Fufa also approved a total of UGX 735m to be paid directly to women's football clubs starting Friday, October 30, 2020, with 10 teams in the women's top tier league to receive UGX 40m each. 

The 12-second division teams will get UGX 15m each while 50 teams competing in the Regional Leagues will share UGX 150m, and UGX 5M goes to the five teams in the Beach Soccer League.

In May, Fufa announced the cancellation of the country's women's football leagues without a champion or relegation, having only played the first of three rounds before the Covid-19 outbreak.

Going forward, the Federation has confirmed plans to expand the women's top-flight for the 2020/2021 season, with Isra Soccer Academy and Makerere University joining from the second tier.

Fufa will hope after a successful implementation of the strategy, for the country's first-time appearance at the Africa Women's Cup of Nations in 2022.

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt has shared his thoughts on the club's failure to overturn its Fifa-issued transfer ban. 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) dismissed the Soweto giants' appeal against a two-window transfer ban on Tuesday.

Chiefs will not be able to register new players for two consecutive transfer windows and this has affected Hunt's plans in his first season with the Glamour Boys. 

Hunt led Amakhosi to a 1-0 win over Chippa United in PSL encounter on Tuesday night and the former Bidvest Wits head coach discussed the transfer ban during the post-match press conference. 

"I've been working here for the last month under the illusion that it was not going to get turned over, and it didn't, so I've got to make it better," Hunt told the media.

"I'm going to try and improve the team by trying to improve the players."

The Soweto giants were slammed with a ban after being found guilty of signing Andriamirado “Dax” Andrianarimanana illegally in 2018.

Andrianarimanana's former Malagasy club, Fosa Juniors, lodged a complaint to Fifa stating Chiefs didn’t justifiably compensate them for the transfer of the player.

Chiefs have been linked with several former Wits players, including Thabang Monare and Deon Hotto, who have both joined their arch-rivals Orlando Pirates. 

Hunt explained that he will have work with what he has at his disposal at the Naturena-based giants. 

"I mean, obviously, we know there are certain players in certain positions where we lack, but it is what it is and I must just get on with it," the four-time PSL title-winning coach added. 

"So, one step forward, we try and mould players the way I'm thinking and according to what I'm trying to do, and we'll go from there."

Former Wits duo of Sifiso Hlanti and Phathutshedzo Nange have been training with Chiefs as the club awaited Cas' decision.

It remains to be seen whether the duo will continue training with the Glamour Boys with the club banned from transfers until July 2021. 

The four-time PSL champions are reportedly interested in former Wits goalkeeper Brandon Peterson, who is also a free agent. 

Donny van de Beek's troubles at Manchester United are down to the club's poor recruitment policy over the summer, according to Owen Hargreaves.

Van de Beek opted to continue his development at Old Trafford at the start of September after months of speculation over his future, having also been strongly linked with Real Madrid.

United forked out an initial fee of £35 million ($45m) to sign the Netherlands international from Ajax, where he had firmly established himself as one of the most talented midfielders in European football.

The 23-year-old has not yet been given the chance to build on that reputation in Manchester though, with his four Premier League appearances coming from the bench and his only two starts being in EFL Cup wins over Luton Town and Brighton.

Van de Beek was an unused substitute during United's last top-flight outing against Chelsea, which ended in a 0-0 draw, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has since insisted that he will have a key role to play as the season progresses.

"It says a lot about our depth of quality that we don't have to use him in every game, it says it all about our ambitions," the Norwegian said ahead of a Champions League encounter with RB Leipzig on Wednesday. "You don't have to start the first three games to know you're an important part of the squad.

"I'd be disappointed if some of my team-mates said I wasn't important at Manchester United but I didn't start many games. Donny will be very, very important for us. Don't worry about that."

However, Hargreaves has now joined the long list of pundits to question the Red Devils' decision to bring in Van de Beek, with it his belief that the club went about their business in the summer market in a haphazard manner.

Asked why he thinks the ex-Ajax star has been starved of action at the start of his Old Trafford career, the ex-United star told BT Sport: "Because they have two eights in there in Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba. Again it comes down to recruitment. Liverpool, when they need something, they get something they don't have.

"I'm sure he is going to get a run of games but when you spend £40 million on a player you'd like to think he'd play, but I think Ole will find a place when it's available."

Adam Lallana has expressed his belief that Jurgen Klopp will secretly "love" Liverpool's injury problems because he enjoys meeting a "challenge face on".

Liverpool saw talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk side-lined with a cruciate ligament injury after a rash tackle from Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby clash with Everton on October 17.

Fabinho, a defensive midfielder by trade, was asked to fill in for the Netherlands international in subsequent wins over Ajax and Sheffield United, having proven he can play at the back during a 2-0 triumph at Chelsea earlier in the season.

The Brazilian impressed enough to retain his place alongside Joe Gomez for the meeting with FC Midtjylland at Anfield on Tuesday, but he was unable to finish the match after going down with a hamstring injury.

Klopp confirmed Fabinho will undergo a scan on the issue after the Champions League clash, but didn't sound optimistic about his chances of being fit for the Premier League encounter with West Ham at the weekend.

"He felt his hamstring, and that's not good," the German boss told reporters. "He said he could have played on but no sprints, which doesn't help. We will see, we will know more after a scan but clearly, it isn't good."

Gomez is now the only fully-fit senior central defender in Liverpool's squad, with 19-year-old Rhys Williams in line for a run in the team after a solid cameo in the 2-0 win over Midtjylland.

Lallana, who joined Brighton after being released by the Reds at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, thinks Klopp will try to turn a mounting defensive crisis into a positive, having always relished being an "underdog" over the course of his managerial career.

“He won’t use anything as an excuse, he’ll say it’s the same for every team,” the ex-Anfield favourite told BT Sport. “He’ll say, ‘we’ve got the squad to adapt and deal with it’.

“He’ll meet the challenge face on, the lads will be in tomorrow and they’ll recover and he’ll pick a team to beat West Ham. Okay, it’s going to be a test but it’s a test that he’ll love and the lads will get together and help each other out.”

“Coming from the underdog region he likes that. So there’ll be a little bit of him that will enjoy this test and he’ll be fired up for it.”

Kenya international Clarke Oduor and Barnsley registered a maiden win in the Championship this season after defeating QPR 3-0 on Tuesday.

The victory – which came against a side reduced to 10 men - marked the beginning of Valerien Ismael’s reign at Barnsley.

Rangers suffered the red card blow in the 26th minute when Rob Dickie was sent off for a rough challenge on Cauley Woodrow inside the box, and the forward rose to convert from the spot for the opener.

Conor Chaplin added the second for Oduor’s side 10 minutes later after a good build-up. The third goal came courtesy of Yoann Barbet’s own goal shortly after the hour mark to secure the victory as Rangers extended their winless run to seven games.

Barnsley manager Ismael welcomed the victory and said it would cultivate the best environment for interaction with players going forward.

“It's always very good if you can start with a win. It gives you confidence and the players believe more in the words you tell them when you win,” Ismael said according to BBC Sports.

“We created a lot of good situations and the red card came from one of those good situations. This is how I want us to play, to try and get into the box quickly.

“After this, we controlled the game and we always kept the pressure high all the time. It doesn't matter if you win 3-0 or lose 3-0, I want us to keep going from the first minute to the last.”

On his part, QPR boss Warburton blamed the red card situation for the loss suffered.

“It's 3-0 so we're obviously frustrated and disappointed, but it all changed on the red card incident, unfortunately,” he stated.

“I thought we were very good for the first 25 minutes or so. I thought we started really well, and we were camped in their half.

“You've got to score in those periods and take advantage of that dominance. If you don't do it the game is on a knife-edge still.

“For me, it was a penalty. The ref thinks he is the last man and I can't really argue with it. Yoann's come across and slid in, and purely by chance the ball falls into the path of the striker and if he has a shot, whatever happens, happens.”

Barnsley moved three points clear off the relegation zone and are 16th as Rangers dropped to the 18th position.

Police FC have settled for veteran midfielder Tonny Mawejje as the new captain ahead of the upcoming 2020-21 season.

Mawejje is among the new signings at the Law Enforcers after he agreed to pen a two-year contract in the ongoing transfer window.

The club have confirmed the appointment of the former Uganda international as the captain on their official social media pages ahead of the new Uganda Premier League (UPL) season set to kick off on November 20.

“Tonny Mawejje has been appointed as the club's captain for the season 2020/21,” read part of the statement.

According to head coach Abdallah Mubiru, the experienced midfielder will command the 29-man squad that has already been confirmed.

“Mawejje is an experienced player with commitment and a great personality which no one can question. He commands respect from the team. His leadership skills and discipline make him advantageous," Mubiru said.

Mawejje will be assisted by Dennis Rukundo, Joseph Sentume, and Samuel Kayongo, in that particular order.

Speaking after learning of the appointment, Mawejje said he is ready to take the mantle and try to help the team achieve the season's main objectives.

“I feel delighted being appointed team captain for this big club. I will give it my best as usual and together with my teams, we promise good results to both fans and management," he said.

“We must keep focused and always do things as instructed by coaches. I believe in their qualities and the preparations so far although it's been a long break since the pandemic disorganized everything.

“It’s going to be fun playing again and I pray for God's blessings in all our preparations.”

Mawejje was part of the Police squad, then known as Police Jinja, in 2006 and 2007, although he might take a while to return to full fitness as he has been clubless since 2019 when he terminated his contract with Al-Arabi SC of Kuwait.

Mawejje, 33, is an experienced midfielder having played for more than 10 clubs in his career spanning over a decade.

The Ugandan started playing football in 2004 at Kampala City Council FC, now KCCA FC, until 2005 before he joined Police Jinja for a stint that lasted about two years.

Police signed 13 players and are now set to face the new season which is expected to begin in November 2020 with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

Police struggled in the cancelled 2019/20 season and were lucky to remain in the top-tier when the Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) cancelled the competition mid-2020.

Mohamed Salah accentuated his importance to Liverpool by scoring in the club’s 2-0 defeat of Midtjylland in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Egypt international alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino were excluded from Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI against the Danish Superliga outfit in the Group D showdown.

Without the trio upfront, the Reds laboured to a goalless first-half draw at Anfield Stadium, before the trio was brought on in the second half.

First, it was Diogo Jota who gave Liverpool the lead in the 55th minute thanks to an assist from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In the 90th minute, Salah, who came in for Takumi Minamino on the hour mark, guaranteed victory for Klopp’s team after netting from the penalty spot – curling the ball past goalkeeper Mikkel Andersen - after he was fouled by Paulinho.

Thanks to that strike, the former Chelsea and AS Roma man has now been involved in 10 goals in 10 Champions League games at Anfield (9 goals, 1 assist).

Also, the goal was Liverpool’s 10,001st scored in their history in all competitions, coming 128 years after their first, netted by Jock Smith in September 1892 in the Lancashire League.

As a result, Peter Crouch was in awe of how lethal the Egyptian has been in the final third over the past couple of months.

"Salah's goal record is ridiculous and I feel like he's started the season so sharp. In all his play he just looks unplayable at times. He just looks so on it," he told The Mirror.

 "From the moment we kicked off the season you just saw how sharp he was, his passing his movement, it's just all gone up another level. He's incredible.

"We clipped up some of his stuff at BT the other day and I was looking at it, and some of the passes he's making this year, cutting inside, taking two or three players out of the game, setting up attacks...

"Early on when he came and he got his 44 goals [in the 2017/18 season] he was shooting from everywhere, and you felt that the pass was the last resort, but now he's coming inside and looking for people.

"He's gone from being a winger to a ruthless goal machine, and with the potential to set up chances as well. He's a complete player."

As it stands, the Anfield giants lead the group that also boasts of Atalanta and Ajax with six points from two game.

They return to English elite division action when they host David Moyes’ West Ham, while Frank Onyeka’s Midtjylland host Nordsjaelland in the Danish Superliga.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sees no reason why Manchester United can't aim for the Champions League final after proving their credentials in their Group H opener against Paris Saint-Germain.

United were rewarded for a third-place Premier League finish last season by being drawn in the "group of death" alongside PSG, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in the 2020-21 Champions League group stages.

Few expected the Red Devils to pick up a positive result on matchday one as they traveled to Parc des Princes to face the French champions, but Solskjaer saw his side rip up the pre-match script and pick up an impressive 2-1 victory.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty and a stunning Marcus Rashford striker either side of an Anthony Martial own goal wrapped up a famous win for the Manchester outfit, who will be hoping for a repeat performance when they host Leipzig on Wednesday.

Solskjaer sees no reason why United can't make it all the way to the showpiece in May after getting the better of the 2019-20 finalists in their own backyard.

He told the club's official website: “[We want to] enjoy it and make the most of it as well because we go out to win every single game of football that we play.

"We’ve got a good quality squad and I feel we can go into any game believing we can win it and I think that shows. We played one of the best teams in Europe [in PSG] and we beat them away from home, so why shouldn’t we aim for the final?”

The Red Devils will be looking for their first win of the new campaign at Old Trafford when Leipzig arrive in Manchester, but Solskjaer has played down the importance of home advantage with supporters still unable to attend matches in England amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“At the moment home or away is more or less the same because of course, we don’t have any crowds. I know Leipzig can have eight and a half thousand in their games, so that’s a different scenario," he said. "We’re at home, we feel comfortable at Old Trafford and of course we don’t have to travel. It would have been a completely different game with our amazing fans in there.”

Asked to assess United's latest Champions League opponents, who made it through to the semi-finals last season, Solskjaer responded: “I would use the word impressive. They’ve got a very refreshing, impressive coach as well. He’s bright, he changes, he’s very proactive and it’s hard to prepare against coaches like Julian [Nagelsmann], but we’ve just got to focus on ourselves.

"He will come up with something and we will come up with something. They’ve had some very impressive improvement over the years and you see already they’ve started really well in the Bundesliga.”

Mohamed Salah has become a "ruthless goal machine", according to Peter Crouch, who says the Liverpool star looks "unplayable" this season.

Salah has been in red-hot form for the Reds at the beginning of their Premier League title defence, scoring six goals in as many appearances to help Jurgen Klopp's men rise to second in the table. Liverpool are only behind leaders Everton on goal difference, and have also made a strong start to their latest Champions League campaign.

A 1-0 win at Ajax on matchday one was followed up by a 2-0 home victory over FC Midtjylland on Tuesday, with Salah sealing the result with a stoppage-time penalty after Diogo Jota's opener.

That result means the Reds are now leading Group D by two points ahead of second-placed Atalanta, and some experts are already backing them to go all the way in the competition again after winning their sixth continental crown in 2019.

Salah's continued presence will be crucial to Liverpool's chances of success on domestic and European fronts, with Crouch in awe of how deadly the Egyptian has been in the final third over the past couple of months.

"Salah's goal record is ridiculous and I feel like he's started the season so sharp. In all his play he just looks unplayable at times. He just looks so on it," the ex-Anfield striker told The Mirror. "From the moment we kicked off the season you just saw how sharp he was, his passing his movement, it's just all gone up another level. He's incredible.

"We clipped up some of his stuff at BT the other day and I was looking at it, and some of the passes he's making this year, cutting inside, taking two or three players out of the game, setting up attacks...

"Early on when he came and he got his 44 goals [in the 2017/18 season] he was shooting from everywhere, and you felt that the pass was the last resort, but now he's coming inside and looking for people.

"Don't get me wrong I still think he's selfish, because he's got a right to be, but the way he plays those passes - I don't mind that at all in players. Everyone needs a selfish, ruthless goalscorer. Amazingly that's what he's turned out to be.

"He's gone from being a winger to a ruthless goal machine, and with the potential to set up chances as well. He's a complete player."

Crouch also reserved praise for £45 million ($58m) summer signing Jota, who he believes is capable of forcing his way into Liverpool's front three ahead of Roberto Firmino if he can build on a bright start to his Anfield career.

"You saw it in the Ajax game when [Xherdan] Shaqiri, [Takumi] Minamimo and Jota all came on, I just think it proved that there's going to be chances for all of them," the former Reds striker added.

"They've got so many games, and think losing Virgil van Dijk is going to make the manager more nervous at the thought of losing a [Sadio] Mane or a Salah, the key, important players.

"Jota's a class player. He's so hard-working and he wants to press which they love doing from the front.

"Those front three have been so good in recent years, but there's always a clamour for them to be better. I think Jota is a great adage to that, and he's come in and put pressure on a few.

"I've heard from quite a few Liverpool fans that maybe Mane could go through the middle and perhaps have Jota on the left and Salah on the right, with Minamino pressuring Firmino for a place in the team. That's another option for them, and I think we'll see something like that quite a bit this season."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard believes English managers are judged differently to their foreign counterparts and says more should be given the opportunity to lead Premier League clubs.

Lampard took over the reins at Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2019-20 season to become the first Englishman to permanently lead the club since Glenn Hoddle left in 1996. 

He guided the Blues to a top-four finish in the Premier League in his maiden campaign but has overseen just two wins from the opening six top-flight games this season, with Sunday's 0-0 draw with Manchester United leaving them in 10th. 

That sluggish start has led to some people questioning whether Lampard is the right man for the job, but the 42-year-old is content with the progress the side have made under his tutelage and says he receives more criticism because of his nationality. 

Asked if he is judged differently because he is English, Lampard said: "I think possibly yes. I think when I got this job a lot of people were maybe questioning me getting it.

"Sometimes people can be quick to form opinions about a young English manager with just one year at Derby County. Sometimes we have to judge people on face value. I think all managers should be judged the same.

"I'm proud of what we achieved last season and it could have been even better. 

"We're seeing English managers show their quality in the game. Hopefully there are more opportunities for them. There's been a brilliant invasion of great quality coaches in the Premier League. Our eyes go to that and it becomes new and trendy, and rightfully so with what they achieve.

"But we have managers at home who can do it too. There are great managers and young coaches out there."

Chelsea face Russian side Krasnodar on Wednesday after opening up their Champions League Group E campaign with a 0-0 draw against Sevilla last week. 

Lampard, whose side have lost just one of their last 11 away games in European competition, expects a tough test from Murad Musayev's side in what will be their first-ever home match in the Champions League. 

"You can see the edge in our game and it's very important we keep that edge," he added.

"Coming to Russia to play against a team who are in the Champions League for the first time will not be a comfortable game for us. We have to have our edge."

Thiago Silva, who has contributed to clean sheets in the Blues' last two games, has not been included in the squad for Wednesday's game. 

Kurt Zouma, his centre-back partner in those matches, praised the former Paris Saint-Germain man's contribution but believes there is more than enough quality to replace him. 

"We've got quality everywhere," he said. "Of course, Thiago has been good since he came but also when he wasn't here we were doing good. 

"There's nothing to prove. We've come to win the game and win as a team so there's nothing to prove for us."

Nashville SC defeated Victor Wanyama’s Montreal Impact 1-0 on Tuesday at Red Bull Arena to close in on the Major League Soccer Cup playoffs.

The vital goal was scored by Randall Leal in the 33rd minute to ensure they condemned Montreal Impact to their second successive defeat.

The goal came courtesy of Alex Muyl's quick decision-making after he had been fouled by Jukka Raitala.

He played the free-kick quickly to Leal who outran Montreal Impact’s backline and found himself through on goal and the final job was to beat goalkeeper Clement Diop and score his third goal of the season.

Walker Zimmerman could have doubled Nashville lead in the 64th minute. He rose to meet a free-kick and headed towards the far post but Joel Waterman reacted quickly to clear the ball and save the host from conceding the second goal.

Wanyama’s side could have equalised in the 84th minute after Romell Quioto made a fine run on the left flank before he crossed the ball for Bojan Krkic. The Honduran then found his way into the goal area and scored but his goal was ruled out for offside.

The win saw Nashville distance themselves from Montreal Impact in the Eastern Conference standings and moved above New York Red Bulls and are now seventh on the log.

It now means their place in the playoffs is almost certain while for Wanyama’s Montreal Impact they have a herculean task after losing the second straight game to a direct playoff opponent.

They have two games to try and see whether they can get enough points to earn a playoffs ticket.

The loss came after Thierry Henry accepted to shoulder the blame for the defeat to New York City FC three days ago.

“It was my fault. Maybe we should have stayed [in New York] and trained,” Henry said at the time.

“I wanted to have faith in my guys and think about the mental aspect. But it’s my fault, no problem. We made, again, a clear mistake that changed the rhythm of the game and changed everything.

“But I take the blame. For everything that’s been happening, I take the blame. Those guys are dealing with something that’s very difficult and I take the blame. It’s as simple as that.”

Montreal Impact will face Orlando City FC on Sunday.

Tanguy Ndombele has insisted he was not hurt by Jose Mourinho's criticism and that Tottenham have not seen the best of him yet.

Spurs forked out a club-record fee of £54 million ($70m) to bring Ndombele to north London from Lyon in the summer of 2019.

The Frenchman arrived at Tottenham with a sterling reputation as an all-action midfielder capable of performing at the very highest level, but failed to live up to those high standards during his first season in the Premier League.

He found himself in and out of Mourinho's line-up after the Portuguese was drafted in to replace Mauricio Pochettino in November, with his fitness levels considered to be sub-optimal.

Mourinho addressed Ndombele's erratic form after hauling off at half-time during a 1-1 draw away at Burnley in March, telling reporters: "I hope next season he can be fantastic because until now it is not enough."

The former Lyon star was linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the last transfer window, but he ended up staying put, and has managed to gain Mourinho's trust in the early stages of the 2020-21 campaign.

Ndombele has started all six of Spurs' Premier League games, helping them rise to fifth in the standings, and is now eager to put one of the most testing periods of his career behind him.

Asked if his relationship with Mourinho affected his performances last term, the 23-year-old told Sky Sports: "His words didn't hurt me. They didn't necessarily motivate me either.

"It was just something that I assimilated and took on board. Of course, it's not something that you like to hear, those sort of words, but that was last season and we are looking to the future."

Ndombele also promised that he will continue to improve as he benefits from an extended run in the team, having finally adjusted to the rigourous demands of Premier League football.

"I don't think we have seen the best of Tanguy Ndombele yet. I'm on the right track but there's still more to come," he said.

"I feel better. That comes from playing consecutive matches. It's good for a player to have a good rhythm like that and get into shape.

"Last year I didn't have that so much. This year I do so it's better for the team and it's better for me.

"Between France and England, there's a real difference in the intensity of the matches. Last season my head just wasn't in the right place. This season it's going a lot better."

Ndombele added on Tottenham's chances of challenging for the title: "Our objective has always been to get into the top four. More than that? Why not? But nobody wins the league in six matches.

"Even if we were top of the league at this stage there'd still be 32 matches to play."

Kurt Zouma says it is premature to say Chelsea have "turned a corner" when it comes to defending after they kept consecutive clean sheets.  

The Blues played out goalless draws against Sevilla and Manchester United last week - a defensive improvement on the previous week's 3-3 tie with Southampton.

Zouma has warned they cannot afford to believe they have solved all of their problems at the back but is confident they can maintain this run when they take on Krasnodar in the Champions League on Wednesday.

"I don’t think we can talk about turning a corner, we are just trying to do our best every game," he told reporters. "The last two games we did well to get the clean sheets but that’s just two games. We want to keep doing that and we have to work to get clean sheets."

He continued: "Everyone's been training hard. I think we also played good opponents but defensively we did a great job in the last two games. We did great. The communication has been better too. Also I think the lads put in an effort to keep the clean sheets. Everyone is working the same way.

"We know each other better now because the new players have mixed in well. We've not had much time to prepare because of a short time in training and many, many games. We'll get there soon hopefully. We just need to enjoy ourselves."

Summer signing Thiago Silva played the full 90 minutes of Chelsea's last two matches and Zouma is happy with the 36-year-old's impact.

"He brings experience. We know he's been winning a lot of trophies. As soon as he came in he was part of the group, already talking to the players," the French centre-back added. "It's great for us. He brings calm and all of his experience.

"We've got quality everywhere. Of course Thiago Silva has been good since he came but before that we were doing good too. There's nothing to prove. We're here to win the game and win as a team. There is nothing to prove for us."

The game takes place the day after Zouma's 26th birthday, and the Frenchman knows what his perfect present will be.

He said: "I want a clean sheet and a win. That would be the best gift I could have."

Mamelodi Sundowns will square off with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday.

Masandawana are brimming with confidence after securing an impressive 3-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs as the Tshwane giants returned to winning following a defeat to Bloemfontein Celtic in the MTN8 quarter-finals.

Co-coaches Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena will now be looking to ensure that the defending champions maintain their early position at the top of the league standings with a win over Tshakhuma.

However, Sundowns will face a tricky TTM side which marked their debut in the top-flight league with a 1-1 draw over fellow debutants TS Galaxy over the weekend.

TTM showed character in their narrow 3-2 defeat to Sundowns' arch-rivals, SuperSport United, in the MTN8 quarter-finals and coach Joel Masutha will be hoping his charges produce a similar performance and stun Masandawana.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

The game will be shown live on SuperSport TV. 

Squads & Team News

Sundowns have been boosted by the return of Thapelo Morena with the influential right-back having recovered from an injury and they do not have any suspension concerns.

Kermit Erasmus, who was substituted against Chiefs after picking up an injury, is expected to shrug off the knock and face the TTM having opened his scoring account at Masandawana over the weekend.

His strike-partner Peter Shalulile also netted his first goal for the club in the win over Chiefs and the 2019/20 PSL Golden Boot winner will be keen to inspire the Tshwane giants to a win over TTM.

Meanwhile, Tshakhuma will be boosted by the availability of Justin Shonga after the Zambia international missed the team's match against Galaxy due to personal reasons.

Masutha's side has no suspension concerns and the club is yet to report any injuries in their camp as they look to secure their first-ever victory in the top-flight league.

TTM will look to Mogakolodi Ngele, who has netted three goals in his first two matches for the team and the in-form forward could be key to a massive win over his former club, Sundowns. 

Match Preview

Sundowns are undefeated in their last three matches in the league having recorded three successive wins.

The Tshwane giants have lost just one of their last 10 home matches in the competition - registering two draws and seven wins as the hosts.

While Tshakhuma are winless in their last seven competitive matches having registered six defeats and one draw.

The Limpopo-based side is also winless in their last four competitive games on the road - recording four consecutive defeats as the visitors.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Sundowns and Tshakhuma. 

Former Orlando Pirates starlet Ricardo Lourenco has finally found a new club after leaving the Soweto giants last year.

The central midfielder has joined Jwaneng Galaxy as the club reinforced its squad ahead of their 2020/21 Botswana Premier League and Caf Champions League campaigns.

Lourenco has been clubless since he parted ways with the Buccaneers at the end of the 2018/19 season. 

Galaxy, who are the reigning Botswana Premier League champions, released the following statement regarding their new signings: 

"Jwaneng Galaxy Football Club wishes to announce that we have agreed terms with the following foreign players, who are free agents," a club statement read.

"Yali, Sangare: 19-year-old Ivorian U-20 midfielder. Sede Junior Dion: 22-year-old Ivorian U-23 and former ASEC Mimosas striker. Ricardo Torres Lourenco: 24-year-old South Africa former U-23 player and former Orlando Pirates MDC captain and first-team midfielder."

Prior to joining Pirates, Lourenco played for the Bidvest Wits academy, before moving to Europe where he turned out for Dutch club PEC Zwolle's under-21 side in 2015.

Lourenco was part of the South Africa under-20 side which won the 2015 Russian Commonwealth tournament in St Petersburg.

Upon his return to South Africa, Lourenco joined Pirates and he was one of the top players in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) reserve league, Multichoice Diski Challenge (MDC).

The diminutive midfielder was promoted to the club's first team ahead of the 2017/18 season by then-Pirates head coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic.

His exploits for the Pirates reserve team had also caught the eye of Stuart Baxter, who included Lourenco in the Bafana Bafana squad for the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers in 2017.

However, Lourenco did not feature for South Africa as they eliminated Botswana in the qualifiers under coach Baxter, who resigned as Bafana head coach in August 2019. 

Lourenco was released by Pirates in June 2019 along with Jackson Mabokgwane, Abbubaker Mobara, Ayanda Nkosi as well as Thabo Qalinge.

He left the Houghton-based giants without playing a single competitive match for the club's first team.

Galaxy posted a video of Lourenco in his first training session with the team on Thursday: