Looking for Soccer News?

Roberto Mancini has expressed his sadness at seeing Mario Balotelli go from being Italian football's golden boy to the odd man out.

Italy boss Mancini gave Balotelli his Serie A debut for Inter when the striker was just 17 years old, in December 2007, and a first Azzurri cap came before his 20th birthday.

Balotelli followed Mancini to Manchester City, where he showed flashes of brilliance but his stay was tainted by off-field controversies and claims about his conduct.

After a string of subsequent moves, which has seen Balotelli also play for Milan, Liverpool, Nice, Marseille and Brescia, he is without a club at the age of 30.

Speaking at a sports industry event on Thursday, Mancini said of Balotelli: "I am very sorry to see him in this condition. At the age of 30 he should be in full technical football maturity and would have been very useful to the national team.

"I love him and I hope something good always happens to him."

Mancini, appointed to the Italy post in 2018, immediately recalled Balotelli to the national team after several years without a cap, but the striker could not keep his place.

Balotelli has been linked with several clubs since leaving Brescia at the end of last season and said earlier in October that he would join a new team "in a few weeks".

Quoted by Corriere dello Sport , one of the organisers of Thursday's event, Mancini said France and Spain would be the teams to beat when the delayed Euro 2020 takes place next year.

He may already be looking to life beyond his Italy role, saying of the experience of an international boss: "I find it hard to feel like a coach, I don't like this life very much. My favourite thing is to coach every day."

Mancini, 55, also expressed concern about the state of football during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"COVID is destroying us," he said. "If it were up to me, I would already send more crowds to the stadiums, perhaps well distributed among the various sections."

Nigeria goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi has been recalled for November’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games against Sierra Leone.

The veteran Super Eagles stopper's last game for the country was against Lesotho on November 17, 2019, when Victor Osimhen’s brace led the West African giants to a 4-2 triumph at Setsoto Stadium, Maseru.

The Kaizer Chiefs star was excluded from Gernot Rohr’s team that faced reigning African champions Algeria and Tunisia in October's international friendlies owing to injury.

However, he has been invited to compete for a starter’s shirt when the three-time African champions take on the Leone Stars enroute qualification for Cameroon 2022.

“Daniel Akpeyi returns to the Nigerian team for their upcoming Group L home and away games against Sierra Leone,” a statement from his South African team read.  “Akpeyi who has already played in the Super Eagles' opening two games of the qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho, will face Sierra Leone at home in Benin City on 13 November and in Free Town on 17 November.”

After missing Amakhosi ’s 3-0 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns, he returned to the team as Gavin Hunt’s side secured a 1-0 away win against Chippa United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

John Keister’s Sierra Leone, who are eyeing a third appearance at the biennial African football showpiece, sit at the base of Group L having made a stuttering start in the race to Afcon 2022 qualifying campaign.

A shock victory over Nigeria in the first leg on November 13 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium would put their qualification hopes back on track. The return leg will be held four days later at the National Stadium, Freetown.

The Super Eagles, they have graced the championship on 17 occasions, emerging victorious three times, finishing as runners-up four times and returning third for a record eight times.

They finished third in their last outing, staged in Egypt after defeating Tunisia 1-0 in the third-place play-off after bowing to eventual champions Algeria in the semi-final.

Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font wants to arrange a reunion between Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.

A new era is about to be ushered in at Camp Nou in the wake of the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu. The 57-year-old stepped down along with the entire board of directors amid the threat of a vote of no confidence in November.

Bartomeu's position had become increasingly unstable over the past few years, with blame for the team's failures on the pitch and the club's struggles financially off it laid at his door.

An 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in last season's Champions League quarter-finals saw the situation reach boiling point and sparked a major squad overhaul with several senior stars leaving the club in the summer transfer window.

The likes of Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez, Nelson Semedo and Arthur all moved on to pastures new, with Messi very nearly joining them after handing in a transfer request.

The Argentine ultimately opted to remain at Camp Nou to avoid a potential legal dispute, but he was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City to link up with Guardiola before clarifying his short-term future.

Font, who is currently the favourite to replace Bartomeu in the board room, thinks bringing the former Barca boss back would help convince Messi that a return to the elite stage can be achieved in the coming years.

The Spanish businessman would also like to see club legends such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol return, as he told Sky Sports: "Replacing the best generation the world of football has ever seen, which I believe we have had over the last decade, is a big challenge. Particularly at a time when competition is intense and many clubs are owned by very powerful owners.

"Barcelona also need a significant investment to rebuild the stadium and all in a world which has been hit with one of the worst crises ever [coronavirus].

"It is clear we need a very solid plan to meet these challenges and this is what we have been doing over the last few years.

"It is our intention to build a very strong and competitive project and we are very lucky at Barca that we inherited a style of play that Johan Cruyff instilled throughout the organisation, and most of the best professionals who know about this style are also fans and love the club - like Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol.

"They are all legends that love Barcelona but do not work for Barca today - we need to bring them back to ensure we will have a very competitive project.

"The only thing Messi needs is to know he is part of a competitive project that aspires to win the next Champions League. We have no doubt that if we basically have the honour to take the helm of Barcelona we will be able to achieve that [Messi staying]."

Ronald Koeman hopes he is told if his situation at Barcelona changes following president Josep Maria Bartomeu's resignation.

A day after Bartomeu resigned, Barca showed few affects as they claimed a 2-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League.

After a trophy-less 2019-20 season, Koeman was appointed as Barca coach in August, and the La Liga giants faced further turmoil as Lionel Messi requested to leave, only for the star to remain.

Asked if he was worried about his position following Bartomeu's resignation, Koeman said that was not the case.

"No. We have to channel all of our energies into playing football. Off-field issues are out of our hands," he told reporters.

"If my situation changes in any way, I hope that I am told about it. We want to gain better results and improve the way we play. That is what we are putting all of our efforts into doing. Everything outside of that is out of our control. We'll see what happens.

"I am not liberated by what has happened, not at all. We all have our own thoughts on what happened. The team showed that it hasn't affected us – if it had, we wouldn't have put in a game like we did."

Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi, either side of Juve defender Merih Demiral's red card, saw Barcelona to their win as they moved onto six points in Group G.

Barca have only suffered one loss in their past 18 Champions League group stage games away from home, including going unbeaten in 11.

Koeman hopes Bartomeu's exit has no impact on his side, who visit Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.

"We have to think about the sporting side. After the president's decision, the team played well," he said. "Hopefully it won't affect us."

On the pitch, one of Koeman’s biggest concerns is the form of Antoine Griezmann, who is yet to score this season.

“As far as Antoine is concerned, it’s bad luck,” the Dutchman said. “He couldn’t have done any better with his first shot against the post and it was the same on his second.

“He must continue to work. What he’s doing well is creating chances for others, and we can’t complain about him. When luck’s not on your side, the only solution is to keep working. That’s the same for any player. The goal will come, I have no doubt about that.”

Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says he has limited time to gear up his team for Saturday’s MTN8 quarter-final showdown against Orlando Pirates.

Chiefs will arrive at Orlando Stadium fresh from Tuesday’s 1-0 Premier Soccer League win over Chippa United.

But Hunt says they have had little time to prepare for the Soweto derby since returning from the Chilli Boys assignment.

“We have just returned from Port Elizabeth so we are looking forward to the game,” Hunt told the media.

“It’s right on top of us, so not really much time to effect the team too much. We will do a little bit of a light session tomorrow [Friday] and then play on Saturday. So we are looking forward to the game.”

Before joining Chiefs in September, Hunt had tasted intense derby football while he was in charge of SuperSport United, playing against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Tshwane affair.

But now he is involved in the Soweto derby, the biggest fixture in South African football.

“I’m trying to get the team right, keep working on the team, trying to get us play they way I want,” said Hunt.

“Obviously it is a derby. If you look at it, no supporters and that makes a huge difference. So I’m just trying to continue on my path forward and trying to build the team and trying to prove results.”

The four-time Premier Soccer League (PSL)-title winning coach will be facing five players he coached at Bidvest Wits who are now at Pirates.

Thulani Hlatswhayo, Deon Hotto, Terrence Dzvukamanja, Deon Hotto, Thabang Monare and Frank Mhango are the Buccaneers players Hunt worked with at Wits.

“My opinion is that they [Pirates] are big favourites for the league title. They have built a good squad," Hunt said.

"They have a lot of players whom I know and obviously worked with. So they have a very good squad of players. What they do is not for me to say. I’m concentrating on what we must do. Pirates are much stronger than they were last season. In know what is ahead of us so we look forward to the game."

What could be worrisome for Chiefs is their seemingly blunt strikeforce which is yet to score a goal in three matches under Hunt so far.

It took defender Yagan Sasman to grab a brace in their MTN8 quarter-final 2-1 win over Maritzburg United, before a goalless outing in the 3-0 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns last Sunday.

Their 1-0 victory over Chippa United on Tuesday came courtesy of an own goal by Gregory Damons.

Nigel Martyn has praised James Rodriguez for making a "big impact" at Everton, while admitting to being "pensive" over the "excellent" Real Madrid midfielder's initial arrival at the club.

Everton forked out £22 million ($35m) to sign James from Madrid on September 7, ending his six-year stay at Santiago Bernabeu.

The Colombia international scored 37 goals in 125 games for the Blancos, winning two Liga titles and two Champions League crowns, but fell way down the squad pecking order after returning from a loan spell at Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019.

He jumped at the chance to reunite with former Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park, and has since helped the Toffees climb to the top of the Premier League.

James has contributed three goals and three assists to Everton's cause in his first six top-flight outings, impressing with his superb passing range and guile in the final third.

Martyn wasn't sure the ex-Madrid star was going to fit in on Merseyside at first, but has been pleasantly surprised by the playmaker's swift adjustment to English football.

“The addition of Rodriguez, from the outside, I was a bit pensive,” the former Toffees goalkeeper told HITC. “Great player, great World Cup, going to Real Madrid, perhaps he would have been hoping to go to a bigger club so you often worry about that type of signing.

“The things that I’m looking for is chasing back, lost possession and then didn’t just stay where he was and wait for somebody else to do his work, he was working back as well, which shows he’s keen to find a new home.

“His start has been excellent, he’s created, he’s scored. When he performs, he will be looked up to be those players. That’s been a big impact on the club.”

Martyn also praised another of Everton's summer signings, Allan, who has added steel to Ancelotti's side in the middle of the park since moving to Goodison Park from Napoli.

“I like Allan. Goes under the radar but breaks up a lot of play, doing a bit of the Lee Carsley role from my time there!" the Toffees legend added. “They’re the players other players appreciate a heck of a lot, they do a lot of the running, tackling, the nastier side of the game, the selfless running.

“He’s been really good; his passing is decent as well. He’s impressed me quite a lot. Midfield-wise, they look a stronger outfit than they were last year.”

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has justified dropping Happy Jele in previous matches, before picking him for Wednesday’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) 1-1 draw against Stellenbosch, saying he selects his twin centre-backs according to the opponents his team is facing.

Jele came on as a late substitute in the 1-0 MTN8 quarter-final win over Cape Town City, before being overlooked for the league opener against AmaZulu.

In Jele’s absence, Zinnbauer preferred Thulani Hlatshwayo and Ntsikelelo Nyauza as the central defence pairing.

But on Wednesday at home, Hlatshwayo was at the heart of defence with Jele, while Nyauza operated as a right-back.

“We have more centre-back possibilities. This was the first game [Hlatshwayo and Jele played together],” Zinnbauer told the media.

“I saw it in the first half [against Stellenbosch] all players were not in the game. The second half all players were in the game. When we play football, for all players it is possible [to play], we have a big squad and we have more centre-backs and it is always up to the opponent and the performance a player gives us in a game or in a training session. I say it again that it is also important for me which opponent we are playing.”

The Stellenbosch draw was a consecutive similar result for Pirates who were held 1-1 by AmaZulu four days earlier.

Zinnbauer feels that his side were unlucky not to collect maximum points at home.

“Had we had a little luck then I think we could have scored more than two goals in the second half but it’s obvious in football when it doesn’t work in 90 minutes, then it is not enough, you need more luck,” said Zinnbauer.

“We expected three points and it was a home game. As Orlando Pirates we want three points from all games but we know it is not always possible. But when you watch the second half, it is possible.”

New goalkeeper signing Richard Ofori made his debut for Pirates, starting ahead of Wayne Sandilands.

Zinnbauer says he will be selecting his goalkeepers based on performance in the last game.

“After the game now we go at home and watch the game again and analyse it with my staff and then we have a training session tomorrow. We will then we make a decision for the next opponent. We find a solution for which player will help us win the game,’ said Zinnbauer.

Pirates now prepare to face old foes Kaizer Chiefs in Saturday’s MTN8 semi-finals and it is yet to e seen which goalkeeper will start.

Gennaro Gattuso has left Victor Osimhen out of Napoli’s starting XI to face Real Sociedad in Thursday’s Europa League Group F game, Goal understands.

The striker, who scored 18 goals in 38 appearances for the Ligue 1 side in the 2019-20 season, joined the Serie A giants in a deal reported to be worth €50 million (£45m/$59m).

However, he has made a slow start to life at Stadio San Paolo – scoring just once in four Italian topflight games – which came against Atalanta on October 17.

He made his Europa bow against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, albeit, the Nigerian could not rescue the Blues from losing 1-0 at home.

With the Italians in dire need of victory against the Spanish topflight side at Reale Arena, manager Gattuso has made some changes to his team with 25-year-old forward Andrea Petagna taking the place of Osimhen.

Also missing in the starting XI are Dries Mertens, Hirving Lozano and Fabian Ruiz. Nevertheless, Napoli boss kept faith in Kalidou Koulibaly to anchor his defence line with goalkeeper David Ospina staying in goal.

For Imanol Alguacil's men, Manchester City legend David Silva will start alongside Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino and Brazil's Willian Jose.

"It's a really important game. There are another 15 points to play for,” Gattuso said during Wednesday’s pre-match game.

"We'll change a few things around tomorrow but we'll put out a very strong side.”

The 42-year-old also said his team will not worry about Silva, insisting Sociedad have got a depth of quality in their squad.

"David Silva is not the only problem we have to worry about. They have lots of good young players They're a quality side who know how to scrap,” he continued.

"We know how we want to play tomorrow. We need to play well not just from a technical point of view but as a team.

"We have a duty to give our all in every competition. Real Sociedad play good football. It's no coincidence they're top of La Liga."
 

Probable line-ups

REAL SOCIEDAD (4-1-4-1): Remiro; Gorosabel, Elustondo, Le Normand, Monreal; Guevara; Portu, David Silva, Merino, Oyarzabal; Willian Jose.

NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Demme, Bakayoko; Politano, Lobotka, Insigne; Petagna.

Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila have announced that the departure of former Kaizer Chiefs striker Gustavo Paez.

This has come as a surprise as the Venezualan player only joined the club earlier this month.

Paez was amongst the 22 new signings which were unveiled by the new Premier Soccer League (PSL) club.

However, Tshakhuma have since realized that Paez is still contracted to Venezualan club Mineros de Guayana. 

The club released the following statement confirming that they have released the 30-year-old player. 

"TTM FC can confirm that we have parted ways with Gustavo Paez due to the fact that the player is still contracted to Mineros de Guayana Soccer Club," a club statement read. 

Paez is the third player to part ways with TTM without playing a single competitive match for the team.

Augustine Mulenga and Brian Onyango were also announced as new signings by the Limpopo-based side.

Zambia international Mulenga has since been snapped up by AmaZulu FC, while Kenyan defender Brian Onyango has joined Mamelodi Sundowns.

Paez reportedly signed a two-year contract with Tshakhuma with the player claiming that he has terminated his deal with Mineros. 

However, Tshakhuma were yet to receive the Merida-born player's clearance from Mineros with the new 2020/21 PSL season having already started.

TTM are reportedly fearing to be banned by Fifa for signing Paez illegally with their PSL rivals, Chiefs currently banned from registering players.

Chiefs are not able to register players for two consecutive transfer windows due to the illegal signing of Andriamirado “Dax” Andrianarimanana 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 lodged an appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) last month and the court dismissed the Soweto giants' appeal earlier week and they remain banned.

Willian has admitted to getting "frustrated" by Mikel Arteta's tactics, but says he has been "learning a lot" from the Spanish boss at the start of his Arsenal career.

Arsenal signed Willian on a free transfer in August after seeing him depart Chelsea at the end of the 2019-20 season.

The Brazil international established himself as one of the most consistent performers in the Premier League during his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Europa League.

Arteta explained that the 32-year-old's desire to add to his trophy collection fueled his desire to move across London after seeing him impress in the 3-0 win over Fulham on his Gunners debut.

“With some players when that [winning trophies] happened they have a full stomach but with Willian, I got the opposite feeling, that he wanted more and how he wanted to move to a different club and get to the level that he got before,” said the Arsenal boss.

“So I’m really pleased because he showed [at Fulham] how much he really wants it and how much he is going to drive the other players on in order to achieve that.”

Willian recorded two assists in that contest, but hasn't been involved in any more goals in his subsequent five outings for the club and has been unable to exert his usual influence on games from the middle of the park.

Arsenal have struggled to find the back of the net on a regular basis, with Arteta persisting with a high pressing formation which centres around playing out from the back.

Willian has been enjoying working on the more disciplined side of his game, but concedes he is not used to seeing so little of the ball in midfield.

"It’s been a cool, new experience. I hadn’t worked with a coach with that mindset," the ex-Chelsea star told Globo Esporte of Arteta's approach.

"The positional game doesn’t mean that you have no freedom on the pitch, you have the freedom to move, but many times you have to respect the position, what the coach asks, the instructions, understanding that it’ll be better for the team.

"It may happen that you don’t touch the ball and get frustrated, but Mikel always says that, wait a minute, the ball will arrive. I’ve been learning a lot."

The Gunners will be back in Europa League action at home to Dundalk on Thursday night, before their attention shifts to a vital Premier League encounter against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Frank Lampard has responded to Red Bull Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch, who said that the Chelsea coach was slow to trust in Christian Pulisic's talent after he joined the club in a £58 million (€64m/$75m) deal from Borussia Dortmund.

Pulisic scored twice against Salzburg in a 2019-20 pre-season match under the newly appointed Lampard but initially had a slow start in west London.

Eventually, Pulisic became a first-team regular and he went onto play his best football at Chelsea after the coronavirus-enforced lockdown ended and football restarted.

After an injury in the FA Cup final against Arsenal, Pulisic returned in the 4-0 win over Krasnodar in midweek and Lampard responded to Marsch's recent interview.

“I did read the comments and I was surprised that Jesse had managed to read my mind as well as he thought he did," Lampard told reporters ahead of a trip to Burnley this weekend.

"He’s recounted the conversation wrong, I have to put it correctly because it was the game against Salzburg were played and Christian scored two goals in pre-season. Fair enough, Jesse came up to me and said what a talented player Christian was which I knew and I agreed with.

"I spoke about the fact it was so exciting to see how he could develop for us with the talent he has. That was the conversation. Jesse managed to put it across slightly differently.

"Maybe Jesse knows the feeling of American managers and coaches that travel into Europe, but one thing I did have was I played in America for 18 months and I would never underestimate the desire that American soccer players – football players – have to learn, to improve, take on information and understand the technical side of the game.

"So when you have that, which Christian had, and you have incredible talent, it was never in doubt for me. My only thing is I coach in the Premier League and have played here for nearly 20 years so I understand the rigours of it.

"That brings me on to Christian’s development last year. It is clearly the toughest league in the world to come and play at a young age from a different league. It is not just Christian who will have felt that in the early stages.

"Some of the greatest players in Premier League history, whether they came from America or Europe or anywhere in the world, have felt that. What Christian did was find his feet very quickly and have a great first season in the Premier League where he produced goals and assists.

"I thought his performance last season was massively impressive. He will get better and better because he is a young player but I never doubted him in the first place, and that’s not me jumping on Jesse because there’s probably a bigger issue there with American players.

"I don’t want to comment on that – he can field that one himself – but as a manager I never doubted Christian and it is important for me to put that straight actually, more for Christian than anything."

The USMNT captain's best performance last season arguably came at Burnley's Turf Moor ground. He scored three goals at with each foot and a header to crown a perfect hat-trick.

Lampard started with Pulisic on the bench in Russia and is aware of his impact against Sean Dyche's side last season.

"Christian played a lot of good games for us last season, he's an important player for us, came on and we saw his qualities," he said. "It was important he had some rest last night because he'd played three games for us in a week after coming back from injury. So I have to keep a balance, and also keep consistency and stability in the starting XI."

Meanwhile, the Blues have almost a completely injury-free squad with just long-term absentee Billy Gilmour joined by Kepa Arrizabalaga on the list.

Lampard admits his squad are tired ahead of the weekend match, having travelled four-and-a-half hours back and forth from Russia for the Champions League clash with Krasnodar, while Thiago Silva was cut from the trip just to rest for the weekend.

"Thiago's fit, taking him out of the trip to Russia was more of a maintenance issue for him," he continued. "Kepa has got some progression in his shoulder injury, so we're hopeful but we'll see with that one.

"In terms of the rest of the squad we don't have any clear injuries, but it's a tired group, we arrived back quite late in the early hours of this morning. So I'll have to assess everybody, as much tomorrow as today, and see how everyone settles down over the next 24 hours and we'll see where we're at."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the Premier League due to the fixture congestion that the top clubs face.

The defending champions, in common with the other teams participating in European football this season, face the prospect of playing two matches a week until the Christmas period except for the international break in November.

Klopp says that the powers that be have been careless with their scheduling of matches, often asking a team that has played on Wednesday night to be involved in the early Saturday kick-off.

To the former Borussia Dortmund boss, that is a major source of concern, particularly as he has a mounting injury list.

“I think everybody would agree that if you play Tuesday night, you can play the Saturday 12:30pm game, but somehow the Premier League never realises that,” Klopp told BT Sport.

“They always put in the Wednesday night game, like last Saturday, Man City had to play this game [12:30pm on Saturday] - I can’t believe it. We are obviously not friends, we play against each other and fight against each other, but how is that possible?

“Maybe I’m too dumb. Premier League CEO Richard Masters and all the others have all said it before: ‘Come on, that’s how it is.’ They just aren’t bothered. I don’t understand why.”

Liverpool were in Champions League action against Midtjylland on Tuesday and are slated to play West Ham in the Premier League late on Saturday before travelling to Bergamo for another Tuesday match against Atalanta.

Klopp’s men have given themselves some breathing space in Europe with six points from six, while they lie second behind local rivals Everton in the league standings presently.

The run up to Christmas, though, promises to be a gruelling spell for the Reds, with their only midweek off – aside from the international break – before Christmas being the one leading up to the holiday.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, there is no winter break scheduled for the Premier League this season, meaning the players face cramming matches in until the campaign ends in May, after which many players will travel for summer tournaments such as the rearranged European Championships.

Frank Lampard has backed Jorginho to regain his confidence after the midfielder missed another penalty on Wednesday night. 

Jorginho saw his spot-kick bounce off the post in the first half of Chelsea's Champions League encounter with Krasnodar, his second penalty miss of the season.

The Italy international had only missed one penalty in his career prior to this season, but also failed to score from the spot against Liverpool earlier this campaign.

Jorginho's miss did not damage Chelsea on the night as the Blues defeated the Russian side 4-0 to clinch their first Champions League win of 2020-21.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's Premier League match with Burnley, Chelsea boss Lampard said it was only natural that Jorginho wouldn't see his stellar penalty record continue.

"With Jorginho, if you're going to take penalties as regularly as he does - and I did - you're going to miss some," Lampard said. "You might actually miss a couple because of the level of goalkeeper and the pressured situation.

"It was not normal that he had such a great record - it was unique and stood out. I've got no worries with his confidence and he shouldn't have. I'm not concerned about that at all but I'll speak to him about it myself."

After Wednesday night's match, Lampard admitted that there would be discussions over who would be Chelsea's top penalty taker moving forward with Timo Werner netting from the spot in the second half against Krasnador.

"Jorginho has had an incredibly successful rate of scoring penalties in his career, particularly at Chelsea," Lampard said on Wednesday. "My feeling is that when you take as many penalties as he does there can be periods when you can miss one or two. I've experienced that as a player.

"I've no problem at all with his style of taking them because of the success he has had and Timo Werner I know is very capable of taking penalties, as we saw. We have other players that can do it so I'll talk with them afterwards to see how we move forward, but we have good takers at the club."

Tanzania Mainland League champions Simba SC have parted ways with Muharami Mohamed and Patrick Rweyemamu who were serving as the club's goalkeeping coach and team manager respectively.

The 21-time league champions have confirmed the new development through a statement released on Thursday, October 29.

"Simba Sports Club would like to inform the public that we have parted ways, by mutual consent, with our goalkeeping coach, Muharami Mohamed and team manager Patrick Rweyemamu," the club confirmed in a statement obtained by Goal.

"The club intends to improve its technical bench and will soon be announcing their successors.  

"Simba Sports Club would like to thank them for their services and wish them all the best in their future endeavours."

After starting the 2020/21 league on a good note, Wekundu wa Msimbazi have registered back to back 1-0 losses to Tanzania Prisons and Ruvu Shooting in their last two league matches.

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

The defeat against Shooting saw Simba surrender 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 stated, "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 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."

Dundalk manager Filippo Giovagnoli says that if his side are to stand a chance in the Europa League against Arsenal, they will have to make the Premier League giants feel “uncomfortable”.

The League of Ireland side travel to the Emirates on Thursday for what is, on paper, an incredible mismatch, as the Italian admitted.

Drawing on a boxing analogy, though, he refused to dismiss his side’s chances of causing an upset.

“We just need to try to make them uncomfortable,” he told the media. “The difference in quality is obvious. What a lightweight can do with a heavyweight is they have to work more. If you get close to them then they're going to kill you.

“There's not really a way to compare the two sports in terms of performance because a lightweight eventually has to run more. How is it possible to run more than Arsenal?

“We just have to match their intensity for a part of the game and stay focused and play with passion and with these kind of characteristics.”

The Gunners may be depleted at centre-back, with Gabriel and Shkodran Mustafi their only two fit options, but Giovagnoli does not believe that will make a great difference.

“They can pick any player and they're going to be a top player,” said Giovagnoli. “It's more important to understand what is their style and how they're going to play instead of looking at the players. The way that they are going to build up, the way that they are going to attack, where they attack, what they do.

“It's a huge challenge to be here and play one of the best teams in the world.”

Dundalk presently lie third in the League of Ireland Premier Division, sitting on 25 points after 16 games, well off the pace of leaders Shamrock Rovers, who have won 12 of their 14 matches and have a goal difference of plus-31.

The Irish side, meanwhile, are coming off a 2-1 loss to Molde at home – a game in which they led at the break – and are seeking a first European group-stage victory away from home.

Simba SC forward Bernard Morrison has been banned for three matches following violent conduct during the Mainland Premier League tie against Ruvu Shooting on Monday.

Morrison was involved in a physical altercation with Juma Nyoso – who has also been banned and fined - after Simba had been awarded a penalty in the 71st minute.

The Ghanaian was irked by a Shabani Msala poor challenge on Luis Miquissone as he entered into Ruvu Shooting's area. As the players surrounded the referee before he awarded a penalty, Morrison appeared from the back and punched the Ruvu Shooting star and that escalated the tension even further.

“Simba player [Bernard] Morrison has been banned from featuring in three matches for hitting [Juma] Nyoso of Ruvu Shooting. Nyoso, on his part, has been fined TSh500,000 and a three-match ban given for intentionally stepping on Morrison,” a Premier League Board statement obtained by Goal read.

Morrison did not receive immediate punishment from centre referee Abdalla Mwinyi from Singida even after Nyoso showed where he had been punched by the former Orlando Pirates winger.

The escalated tension on the pitch delayed the match for over four minutes and it took the intervention of Simba captain Bocco – who did not manage to convert the penalty – to calm the players from both sides down.

Ivorian defender Serge Wawa had to pull Morrison to the sidelines away from the irked Ruvu Shooting players.

Simba ended up losing the match with a 1-0 scoreline and it became their second straight defeat in the ongoing season.

The three-match ban will mean Morrison is not going to feature in the Kariakoo Derby against his immediate former side Yanga SC on November 7 at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

The Yanga against Simba encounter was expected to be highlighted by Morrison’s presence given that his August move created friction that is yet to be settled by either side and the Tanzania Football Federation.

Although the Players’ Status Committee declared Morrison a free agent paving way for his Simba move, Yanga are still contesting the legality of the contract which they have maintained is legally deficient.

The first match the Ghanaian will sit out will be the Mwadui home encounter on October 31 and the last one will be the away tie against Kagera Sugar on November 8.

His absence has occurred when Simba have parted ways with goalkeeping coach Muharami Mohamed and team manager Patrick Rweyemamu after two losses.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has picked his favourite player between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while also naming a dream team of his former opponents.

Messi and Ronaldo have battled for supremacy at the very highest level for well over a decade, with their rivalry considered to be among the greatest in the history of football.

The former has spent his entire professional career at Barcelona, scoring 636 goals in 737 appearances while getting his hands on ten La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, enjoyed hugely successful spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid after beginning his career at Sporting CP, before taking up a new challenge in Serie A with Juventus in 2018.

The Portuguese has scored 641 goals in 852 outings over the course of his career, winning league titles in three different countries and conquering the Champions League on five occasions, with a European Championship triumph also on his CV at international level.

However, Messi has won six-Ballon d'Or awards to Ronaldo's five, and is generally considered to be the more gifted player in terms of his ball control and overall influence in the final third of the pitch.

Lampard is among those to share that opinion, but he is still in awe of what a man who is still delivering the goods at the age of 35 has been able to accomplish.

Asked to choose between Messi and Ronaldo during a Q&A session for Hyundai, the 42-year-old head coach said: "I'm gonna go Messi on this on pure, natural talent but what Ronaldo has done has been absolutely incredible."

Lampard named two players who used to play alongside Messi when pressed on the toughest players he ever came up against at Chelsea, having faced Barcelona on several occasions at the height of his career.

"The two that I name when I say against is Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona. They were great players, they were kind of not the biggest and quite slight," he said. "It just shows it doesn't matter, because sometimes people think you have to be huge to be a footballer player. You don't." 

Lampard didn't include Xavi or Iniesta in his dream team of former opponents though, with two of his ex-England team-mates making the final cut along with another Barcelona legend, Bayern Munich's current No 1 and Real Madrid's World Cup-winning manager.

"It's [Manuel] Neuer, Rio (Ferdinand), Steven Gerrard, [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldinho, Messi and Ronaldo," the Chelsea head coach said.

Yanga SC striker Michael Sarpong is confident he will soon discover his form at the club.

The forward was signed by Wananchi at the start of the season from Ghanaian outfit Asante Kotoko. The 28-year-old, who had also played for Etoile Filante de Ouagadougou before his exploits took him to the Ghanaian side in 2018, has managed to score just one goal for the Tanzanian outfit in the top-tier.

"It took me some time to adapt to the new environment considering the fact that it was my first time to play in the Tanzania Mainland League," Songne told reporters.

"However, I think I am now ready to deliver for Yanga since I am used to my new environment. I will fight for the team to ensure we stand a chance of realizing our set objectives.

"I have no worries, I will score."

The Burkinabe has also stated he understands his main job is to score but the team comes first.

"As a striker, my major job on the pitch is to score goals," the striker continued.

"But the team comes first; if I don't score but the team wins, it will not matter that my name is not in the score sheet. The most important thing is for the team to get a win consistently."

The towering attacker played a huge role in helping Yanga SC come from behind to defeat KMC 2-1 in their latest assignment. Sarpong was fouled in the danger zone with Timu ya Wananchi trailing, and the ref awarded a penalty scored by Tuisila Kisinda.

Timu ya Wananchi are the only unbeaten side in the league. They have managed to get 19 points from the seven matches played; they have managed to win six and a draw.

New coach Cedric Kaze is happy with his first two matches in charge of the club but has promised more is still to come from the team.

The Burundian tactician signed a three-year contract for the Jangwani giants following the abrupt exit of Serbian Zlatko Krmpotic, who had overseen the club for only 37 days.

So far, Kaze has overseen two matches – winning 1-0 against Polisi Tanzania before beating KMC 2-1 at CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza.

Manchester United legends Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes do not believe the club have a defence that can allow them to win major trophies.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have made a promising start in the Champions League, scoring wins over Paris Saint-Germain and on Wednesday against RB Leipzig, but they are not seen as challengers for the crown, according to two players who have won it in the past.

The heart of the Red Devils’ defence is the area they cite as being a problem, largely because they are not imposing enough.

“Is it good enough? I'd probably say no, if you're trying to win the top competitions,” Ferdinand told BT Sport. “Yes, last season they had a good defensive record, but I just see moments in games where they get opened up, they get physically dominated at times, especially in terms of pace, especially if their protection isn't what you'd expect it to be if the game opens up a little bit.

“If the game opens up and they're on the halfway line and they're playing one versus one or two versus two, then I fear for my life in that situation. If the team shape is fine and it's all set up properly, then they look a decent pairing.”

Scholes echoed the thoughts of the former England centre-back, saying the the current crop of United defenders are only capable if they are well-shielded by the midfielders in front of them.

“When they have the two [Fred and Scott McTominay] in front of them, they look different,” he pointed out.

“You're a defender for a reason, you're supposed to be OK one-on-one, sometimes it can take away the attacking side of the team which it has done in the last couple of games, especially against Chelsea on Saturday. Fred and McTominay have definitely made them look better players, and they'll prefer that.”

While United have made a strong start in Europe, they have not been as convincing domestically and lie 15th in the early Premier League standings with just a couple of wins to their credit. They tackle Arsenal at home on Sunday while their next Champions League outings are a double header against Istanbul Basaksehir.