Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola, Man City off the Carabao Cup hook

Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola, Man City off the Carabao Cup hook
Newcastle will want to forget their forgettable history in the competition in which they have twice been bridesmaids (finalists in 1976 and 2023) but never the bride. (Reuters)
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Updated 27 September 2023
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Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola, Man City off the Carabao Cup hook

Eddie Howe does not intend let Pep Guardiola, Man City off the Carabao Cup hook
  • Though his rival intends to rest key players in their third-round clash on Wednesday, Howe will not follow suit as he aims to end Newcastle United’s long trophy drought
  • ‘We will give it every importance and try as hard as we can to progress because we want to try and compete in every competition,’ says Howe

NEWCASTLE: It’s about time Newcastle United finally won another trophy — few fans are old enough to remember the last time they hoisted anything of merit.

By the time the Carabao Cup final comes around next year, it will have been nearly 69 years since Newcastle United claimed a domestic honor: the FA Cup in 1955. In fact it will have been 55 years since the Magpies won a trophy of any sort, the last one being the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, a forerunner of the Europa League, in 1969.

There is some beautiful symmetry about all this. It feels to many as if this is finally Newcastle’s time to shine, with Eddie Howe in charge of a Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed, “new money” Premier League Goliath.

However, now is not the time for the Magpies to take their foot off the pedal, as so many top-end, top-flight clubs are guilty of doing around this time of year.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has promised to rest most of the key men from his history-making, treble-winning side when they visit St James’ Park in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. It was the only honor his side did not win last year.

Meanwhile, Newcastle will want to forget their forgettable history in the competition in which they have twice been bridesmaids (finalists in 1976 and 2023) but never the bride.

Therefore, despite far greater battles to come in the Champions League (Paris Saint-Germain will be in town next week) and the Premier League (in which Newcastle got back on track with an overwhelming 8-0 win at Sheffield United on Sunday), Howe cannot rest too many players in his bid to lift the only domestic cup the club has never won.

The coach does plan to make a few alterations but wholesale changes to the squad are unlikely as he is clearly taking the game very seriously.

“It’s an important competition for us,” Howe said. “Last year was amazing for us. We started it against Tranmere, which was an incredibly difficult game. It seems a long time ago now but you have to go to some tough places in the early rounds.

“We’ve got the ultimate test coming up, so a totally different tie to last year, but we will give it every importance and try as hard as we can to progress because we want to try and compete in every competition. We’re certainly not dismissing it as anything other than an important game.”

Pushed on whether he might take the Guardiola approach — the Spaniard said he would not be wasting any energy on the competition — Howe said: “I think we will use the squad. I say ‘think’ because it’s not finalized in my brain what we’re going to do yet.

“I need to assess everybody physically first, from the game we’ve just had. There have been players carrying certain things so we’ll need to manage them but we do have players who are really keen to play.

“I think I have to utilize the squad, especially with what we have coming up, not just at the weekend but midweek next week. As I’ve said many times, we want the players to enter the pitch in the best physical condition to showcase their skills.

“There’s no priority list (of competitions). There’s no one tournament more important than the other, as I’ve said to the players many times. The most important game is our next game, whoever that is or whatever competition that is. We’ll focus all our energies in trying to win that match.”

It is the blue half of Manchester that will be visiting Tyneside on Wednesday but it was their red rivals, Manchester United, who dished out the biggest reality check of Howe’s largely successful reign so far at St James’ Park.

In February, coach Erik ten Hag’s men spoiled Geordie Carabao Cup dreams with a 2-0 win in the final at Wembley. Has that shaped Howe’s thinking about the competition this time around?

“That experience has driven us all forward because the experience of the run to get to the final was something we really enjoyed,” he said. “The final, itself, we didn’t (enjoy) because we didn’t get the outcome we wanted but it’s there in the back of our minds.

“We know the Premier League is intense and very difficult and, of course, we have got European competition. But this, with the FA Cup, which our recent performances haven’t been strong in, are competitions we take seriously.

“We are well aware of our hunt for a trophy here. It is pushing us all. This is a competition we take very seriously. We would love that to be a trophy, that we want to win, so we will do everything we can to try and do it.”


Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five

Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five
Updated 11 sec ago
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Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five

Nervy Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Burnley score five
  • Bukayo Saka opened the scoring and Arsenal doubled their lead when Oleksandr Zinchenko cut the ball back for Martin Odegaard
  • The home side came agonizingly close to a third goal when Gabriel Martinelli cannoned a shot off the post toward the end of the first half

LONDON: Arsenal survived a late scare against Wolves on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as Burnley lifted themselves off the bottom with a 5-0 trouncing of 10-man Sheffield United.
The big win for Vincent Kompany’s men briefly sent Everton to the foot of the table but Sean Dyche’s team beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the evening kick-off to edge clear.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, brimming with confidence after their 6-0 hammering of Lens in the Champions League in midweek, raced into a 2-0 lead at the Emirates within 13 minutes.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring and Arsenal doubled their lead when Oleksandr Zinchenko cut the ball back for Martin Odegaard, who picked out the bottom corner as they threatened to run riot.
The home side came agonizingly close to a third goal when Gabriel Martinelli cannoned a shot off the post toward the end of the first half.
But they failed to put the game to bed and were made to sweat when Wolves forward Matheus Cunha found the top corner in the 86th minute to set up a tense finale.
Despite the wobble, Arsenal, last year’s runners-up, held on to win 2-1 and notch their 10th win in 14 league games, which moves them four points clear of champions Manchester City, who host Tottenham on Sunday.
“I can only praise the players,” said Arteta.
“They were excellent. We played against a really good side and generated so much and conceded almost nothing. The scoreline should have been very different. We were very unlucky because we hit the post three times I think.
“At the end we made an error close to the goal — in the Premier League you get punished big time for that. Then it’s game on. Overall I’m really happy with how we performed again.”
At the other end of the table, Burnley put five goals past Sheffield United at Turf Moor.
Jay Rodriguez fired the home side ahead with just 15 seconds on the clock — the fastest goal of the season so far.
Jacob Bruun Larsen extended their lead and Sheffield United’s task was made almost impossible when Oli McBurnie received a second yellow card shortly before the break.
Zeki Amdouni made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute, with Luca Koleosho and Josh Brownhill also finding the net as the floodgates opened.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men are now bottom — stuck on just a single win and they have now conceded five goals or more on three occasions this season.
But Burnley are just two points from safety after only their second win of the season — and Kompany said he hoped the three points would be a launch pad.
“I think the guys have deserved it,” he told the BBC. “They have performed well for a while. This league is brutal.
“I haven’t felt the nerves (from the team). I could barely contain them, they were raring to go. The frustration of last week (conceding two late goals against West Ham) didn’t turn into negativity. It turned into ‘we’ll show people’.”
Luton, just outside the drop zone, sank to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford, with Neal Maupay, Ben Mee and Shandon Baptiste on target for the Bees.
Everton, hit last month with a swingeing 10-point deduction for breaking Premier League financial rules, against which they have appealed, are above Burnley on goal difference.
Dwight McNeil broke the deadlock midway through the second half, smashing the ball into the top corner, as Everton secured a third consecutive away win.
In the late match, Newcastle face Manchester United at St. James’ Park, where a win for either side would lift them to fifth place in the table at the expense of Tottenham.


Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank

Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank
Updated 24 min 19 sec ago
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Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank

Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by noises in German concert hall in claimed social media prank
  • The interruption, which seemed to sound like sexual noises, was clearly heard for several minutes
  • A British prankster claimed credit on social media for the stunt

HAMBURG, Germany: The draw ceremony for the European Championship in men’s soccer was disrupted by unexplained noises that competed for attention with the team names being read out on stage on Saturday.
The interruption, which seemed to sound like sexual noises, was clearly heard for several minutes on the ceremony broadcast from a concert hall in Hamburg.
A British prankster claimed credit on social media for the stunt and posted footage of himself making cell phone calls to activate a ring tone in the venue which has excellent accoustics.
UEFA director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti noted the noise in his commentary before continuing with the draw for the last five places for lower-ranked teams in the 24-nation tournament lineup. The sound continued sporadically until the draw was completed.
Similar noises disrupted a BBC live broadcast of an English soccer game in January between Wolverhampton and Liverpool. It turned out to be a prank use of a mobile phone next to the studio.
Euro 2024 is being played in 10 Germany cities from June 14 to July 14.


Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage

Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage
Updated 02 December 2023
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Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage

Italy and Spain drawn together in Euro 2024 group stage
  • Much-fancied England will meet Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia Hosts
  • Germany take on Scotland in the tournament’s opening game on June 14 in Munich

HAMBURG, Germany: Reigning champions Italy were placed in the same group as Spain in Saturday’s draw for Euro 2024, while France will come up against the Netherlands.
Much-fancied England will meet Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia, with hosts Germany taking on Scotland in the tournament’s opening game on June 14 in Munich.
Italy, who beat England on penalties at Wembley in the final of the last European Championship in 2021, and Spain will also face Croatia and Albania in Group B.
Spain, victors over Italy in the final of Euro 2012, will take on 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia in their opening match in Berlin on June 15.
The meeting of France, the 2022 World Cup runners-up, and the Netherlands will be the other heavyweight tie of the opening phase.
They were in the same section in qualifying, with France winning both encounters. The two nations are in Group D along with Austria and a play-off winner, which will be one of Poland, Wales, Finland or Estonia.
England, in contrast, will have few complaints about their opponents in Group C, although a Denmark side ranked 19th in the world were arguably the team to avoid from the second pot of seeds.
Gareth Southgate’s team, considered the favorites along with France for the tournament, will take on Serbia in their opening game in Gelsenkirchen on June 16.
Scotland, who famously lost to Brazil in the opening match of the 1998 World Cup, will again have the honor of featuring in the tournament’s curtain-raiser when they meet Germany to start in Group A.
Hungary and Switzerland complete that section, which could be one of the most evenly-matched.
Euro 2016 winners Portugal were drawn in Group F with Turkiye, the Czech Republic and a play-off winner from either Greece, Georgia, Luxembourg or Kazakhstan.
Belgium are in Group E alongside Slovakia, Romania and the winner of the other play-off path, which will be Israel, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine.
The month-long Euro will conclude with the final in Berlin on July 14.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the last 16, along with the four best third-placed sides.


Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him

Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him
Updated 02 December 2023
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Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him

Xavi calls on Felix to let Atletico criticism inspire him
  • Atletico playmaker Antoine Griezmann this week said Felix lacked “consistency” or “got tired” of finding it
  • “(The criticism) should be extra motivation against Atletico,” Xavi told reporters Saturday

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez called on Joao Felix to use criticism from his former Atletico Madrid team-mates to motivate him when the teams meet on Sunday in La Liga.
The Portuguese forward, on loan at Barca from Atletico Madrid, failed to convince coach Diego Simeone during four years in the Spanish capital.
Atletico playmaker Antoine Griezmann this week said Felix lacked “consistency” or “got tired” of finding it, while midfielder Saul Niguez also said Felix had plenty to improve on.
Simeone said Saturday he did not want to speak about the forward because he was not at the club, despite still being an Atletico player.
“(The criticism) should be extra motivation against Atletico,” Xavi told reporters Saturday.
“I see he is motivated and happy, he is being consistent, I am happy with his performance and how he has adapted to the group.”
Barcelona loaned Atletico’s record 126 million euro ($137 million) signing in the summer and after an impressive start, he began to struggle.
Felix scored his first goal in 13 matches against Porto on Tuesday as Barcelona secured qualification to the Champions League last 16.
The victory helped quieten the negative noises around the club after a string of bad performances and Xavi hopes they can build on it against Atletico.
“We have to find our game, the second half against Porto was very good ... we have to be more consistent,” said the coach.
“We can’t say we’re in our best moment of the season, (but) we have had some very good minutes.
“We have to improve our performances and the consequence will be good results.”
Xavi confirmed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was still sidelined because of back pain and will not feature at the weekend.
Champions Barcelona are fourth after last weekend’s draw at Rayo Vallecano, while Atletico Madrid are third, level with the Catalans on 31 points.
Simeone said his team was still at a disadvantage against the traditional big two — Barcelona and Real Madrid — but were always looking to level the playing field.
“In principle Barcelona and Madrid start with more chance of winning, but in recent times we’ve cut the gap,” said the coach.
“This is about deeds and not words, and we will keep working to keep cutting into it.”


Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow

Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow
Updated 02 December 2023
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Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow

Bayern Munich’s game with Union Berlin called off due to snow
  • “It was decided not to play the game because of the security risks for all involved,” Union said in a statement
  • The German soccer federation said that stadium management had made the decision not to host the game “due to persistent heavy snowfall”

MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich’s home game against Union Berlin was called off Saturday because of heavy snowfall.
Cold weather, snowfall and ice have caused transport chaos in Munich and southern Germany.
“It was decided not to play the game because of the security risks for all involved,” Union said in a statement 5½ hours before the Bundesliga game was due to start.
The German soccer federation said that stadium management had made the decision not to host the game “due to persistent heavy snowfall.”
It came after a winter storm dumped snow across southern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland, affecting travel across the region.
“We very much regret that we have to postpone the match, but the safety of our fans and the supporters of Union Berlin has absolute priority,” said Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen, who referred to the “numerous road closures and various public transport cancelations.”
Flight operations at Munich airport were canceled until 6 a.m. Sunday, and numerous railway lines around Munich had to be closed. News agency dpa reported that some passengers in Munich and the nearby city of Ulm spent Friday night on trains because of the service suspensions.
The Union team had been in Munich since Thursday after traveling directly there from their Champions League game at Braga in Portugal on Wednesday.
Club spokesperson Katharina Brendel said the team and staff were already on their way home Saturday using a combination of “bus, car and mini-bus.”
With Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen not playing until Sunday, Bayern had been hoping to move provisionally atop the standings on Saturday with a win over Union, which are on a 15-game winless run across all competitions.
Leverkusen are due to host Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.