Manchester United beat Everton last night by 2-0 in the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park and progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-final. Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial scored one each at the final minutes of the game to seal the victory for the Reds.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made some changes in the starting XI to give the chance to his players from the reserve bench. Manchester United dominated in the most part of the match.
After the match, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, “It was a good start. For the first 20-25 minutes, we were excellent. We should have been maybe one, two, or three up but Robin Olsen made some good saves and kept them in the game.”
“Second half we dominated.”
“It went there and back, attacking and defending, but you are always confident if the game opens up with the pace we put on.”
“We know that when we defend well we have players to win games. The spirit in the camp is good; winning gives you energy.”
Manchester United will face their ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-final. Manchester United was knocked out of this competition by Manchester City last season in the semi-final. United surely wants to take revenge this season.
Ole said, “We are in the semis and one step away from the final. It is the worst game to lose, a semi-final. If you get to the final you get that feeling in the build-up.”
“We are going to try to get to the semi-finals in a good state, but there are many league games before then.”
In the other semi-final of the Carabao Cup, Tottenham Hotspur will face Brentford.
It is safe to say that Thomas Tuchel’s Christmas is effectively ruined after Paris Saint-Germain announced that they had fired their manager earlier today. The main reason behind the sacking of the manager was the lack of influence of the team. Additionally, the way Tuchel communicated also played a part, amongst sporting decisions.
The German was relieved of his duties as manager of PSG only hours after securing a 4-0 victory over Racing Strasbourg. During his tenure at Paris, he managed to guide the club into their first-ever Champions League final, falling short of the trophy to Bayern Munich in a closely contested 1-0 victory in favour of the Germans.
Thomas Tuchel has been sacked by PSG board, confirmed. Game over and new manager is coming. Official announcement expected soon. 🇫🇷🔴 @cfbayern#PSG#Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel was rather critical about his position at the club when he spoke to Sport1:
‘To be completely honest, during the first six months, I said to myself: ‘Am I still a manager or am I a politician in sport, a Minister for Sports?’ In a club like this, it is not always just about football.’
While the Parisians endured a shaky start to the 20/21 Ligue 1 campaign, they were only now beginning to climb back to the top. They currently find themselves in third place behind Lyon and Lille, both with 36 points from 17 games while the reigning champions have 35.
Mauricio Pochettino [with his lawyers] and PSG board are in contact by 24 hours to reach the agreement.
‘Poch’ is expected to become the new PSG manager on next hours when every detail will be sorted.
Former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly on the verge of being announced as the new head coach of the club. Pochettino has been out of a job since being replaced by Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, and was recently quoted saying:
‘I have always said that one day it would be a pleasure to manage a big club like Paris, a dream.’
Tottenham Hotspur’s Kyle Walker-Peters, manager Mauricio Pochettino and Ben Davies celebrate after the UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
‘I try to watch all of their games, especially in the Champions League and sometimes I speak with [Paris Saint-Germain assistant coach] Jean-Louis Gasset.’
The board is set to meet with Pochettino before arriving at a conclusion, and it seems ever so likely that the former Spurs boss will land the job.
We already know that last week the IT management company SolarWinds was hacked, possibly by the Russian government, and the US Treasury, Commerce, State, Energy, and Homeland Security departments have been affected. Later investigations revealed that other government agencies and many companies are still identifying the data which was stolen.
The investigation revealed that most of the tech companies were also infected by hackers. Tech giants like Cisco, Intel, Nvidia, Belkin, and VMware have all had computers on their networks infected with the malware.
SolarWinds had stated that “fewer than 18,000 companies were impacted” and that it even attempted to hide the list of clients who used the infected software. All these tech companies are just repeating the same thing from day one. “we’re investigating, but we don’t think this has impacted us.” It can take a long time for the impacts of a hack to be fully realized. Once hackers are inside a system, it can also be difficult to tell if they’re fully gone.
The hacking groups target the tech companies to target future product plans or employee and customer information that could be sold or held for ransom. But it’s also possible these companies were only collateral damage as these hacking groups went after government agencies, ones that happened to share the same SolarWinds-provided IT management systems.
For now, the tech companies don’t seem like any of these companies are particularly worried. In truth, the companies may not have the least bit of care, but it is the user’s data that is vulnerable.
On Wednesday, Lionel Messi surpassed Pele to become the highest scorer for a single club. He now boasts 644 goals for Barcelona compared to Pele’s 643 goals for Santos.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 players with the record of the highest number of goals for a single club.
5. Josef Bican
Josef Bican was a Vienna-born footballer, also the greatest player to have ever pulled on the Austrian international jersey. Bican, who was a clinical striker, notched over 805 goals in 530 matches. Bican made his debut for the senior Austria team at the age of 20.
Not only this, but Bican also has a record of scoring 542 goals for a single club, Slavia Praha, which makes him stand at the 5th positions for the players with most numbers of goal for a single club.
The Austrian forward played for Slavia Praha for 11 years but his career was severely damaged by World War II.
4. Fernando Peyroteo
Source – These Football Times
Also called the goal-scoring machine, Peyroteo scored 330 goals in 197 matches in the Primeira Liga with an average of 1.68 goals per game.
Peyroteo’s best season marks for most goals in the Primeira Liga with 43 goals in only 19 league matches. That record stood until another Sporting player, Argentinian Hector Yazalde, scored 46 in 1973-74 but he did it in 29 matches.
Peyroteo’s 9 goals in a single match against Leça F.C. in 1942 still stands as a record in Portugal’s top competition. He also became the first player to score five goals in consecutive matches in 1942. He comes at the 4th position to have scored most goals for a single club with 569 goals for Sporting CP.
3. Gerd Muller
Source – FC Bayern
The former Germany international, Gerd Muller netted 570 goals for Bayern Munich between 1964 and 1979. Gerd Muller began his football career with the TSV 1861 Nördlingen and joined FC Bayern Munich in 1964.
With his club, Muller won many titles during the 60s and 70s. He won the German Championship four times, the DFB-Pokal four times, the European Champions’ Cup three times, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup once. A supreme goal-scorer who also became a German top scorer seven times and a European top scorer twice.
Muller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, almost 100 goals more than the second most successful Bundesliga scorer, Klaus Fischer. He also holds the record of scoring most goals, 570, for a single club after Messi and Pele. He holds the single-season Bundesliga record with 40 goals in season 1971–72. He scored 68 goals in 62 German Cup games.
2. Pele
Source – Britannica
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, simply known as Pele, a global icon who revolutionized the sport of football in the last 80 years.
When Pele was selected by Brazil for the 1958 World Cup, aged 17, he became the youngest player to be named in a World Cup squad. Pele scored 95 goals in 114 games for Brazil, and 77 goals from 92 official caps that were recognized by FIFA. Another big record Pele has in store is that of winning the World Cup twice.
Also, Pele is the second player after Messi to break the record with the highest number of goals for a single club, 643 goals for Santos.
1. Lionel Messi
Source – NDTV Sports
Messi scored his 644th goal for Barca on Tuesday, at 65th minute against Real Valladolid to break the long-standing record held by legend, Pele, which was made almost half a century ago.
The Argentine also has a long list of records as, he is the overall top goal scorer in La Liga, 451 goals; the player with the most hat tricks in the Spanish top flight, 35; the only player to score the most goals, 91 goals, for club and country in a calendar year; the only player ever to have scored more than 50 goals or more in nine different seasons and also the winner of the most Ballon d’Ors ever with six of them.
As we step into the last month of the year, we step into the last month of festivities with Christmas and New Year. Is it even Christmas, if you do not spread some Christmas Joy and give away lovely innovative gifts to your near and dear ones? Browse through this list of unique Christmas gifts to find yourself the ultimate gift.
Portronics Harmonics 300 Wireless Sport Neckband
Portronics Harmonics 300 Wireless Sports Headset offers stunning HD Stereo Sound, with revolutionary bass and booming sound. Specifically designed keeping skin sensitivity in mind, it is crafted with soft, silicone material that does not irritate the skin and is wearable for long hours. A reinforced design with IPX4makes the headset sweats & water-resistant. Harmonics 300 also boasts of longer battery life ensuring prolonged playtime with added comfort, and crystal clear sound. A single full charge lasts for a solid 8 hours and even a rapid charge for 10 minutes lasts up to 4 hours. Bolstered with features like an Ergonomic Design and Active Noise Cancellation, it offers a quality listening experience with maximum comfort. Magnetic earbuds and power-efficient 5.0 Bluetooth features keep your music on the go. Portronics Harmonics 300 is available in Black and Blue Color at an introductory price of INR 2,999/- from all leading online and offline stores. It is backed with 12 months’ warranty.
U&i Rocky is India’s Smallest True Wireless Earphone having dimensions of Width 4.43 cm, height of 4.4 cm and weighs a mere 36.61 gram. U&i Rocky wireless earphones are stylish and easy to operate and are powered with extra bass. The earphone eliminates the hassle of all the wires, by letting you connect your headset via Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and giving you a range of up to 33 feet (10 meters). With a staggering output of 25 mAh battery, Rocky earphone helps you enjoy your favourite music for 10 hours at a stretch. The earphone also allows you to easily switch over from music to calls, letting you receive, reject and redial, with the touch of a button, and comes with an in-line mic. U&i Rocky Wireless Earphone (White Color) is available at an introductory price of INR 2999/- and can be bought from all the leading retail stores & e-commerce platforms.
Inbase Multi-Functional Box
The Multi-Functional Box is a must-have travel companion for people who spend most of their time travelling and would require a one-stop solution for their Smartphone. The Box contains multiple cable adapters and space for SIM Kit. Inside the box, there is a 3A Fast Charging Type-C to Type-C Cable and various charging connectors such as Type C to Micro Adapter, Type C to Lightning, and Type C to USB 3.1 OTG Connector. Also, the box holds TF Card and 2 Nano SIM Card Slots and holds an Ejection Pin as well which comes handy when opening a Mobile SIM/SD Card Tray. At the back of the device, a phone cradle is present to hold your phone and can act as a mobile holder allowing you to enjoy your favourite movie on the move. Inbase Multi-Functional Box is available at an introductory price-point of INR 1,299/- backed with a 6 months warranty and can be purchased from all leading online and offline stores.
Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 is a dual-band model, but it has 6 strings. It also has four LAN ports, so one can connect wired devices such as game consoles and smart TVs without purchasing an additional switching hub. The powerful 1.5GHz Triple-Core processor with a fully offloaded CPU increases the overall performance of the network. The Nighthawk RAX50 supports the Wi-Fi 6 technologies OFDMA that gives you more Wi-Fi for more devices by allowing efficient data transmission at the same time. Also designed as a dual-band model, the router theoretically supports a transmission rate of up to 5.4 Gbit/s over 2.4 and 5 GHz. The Nighthawk AX6 also offers a USB 3.0 port and five Gigabit LAN connections. The NETGEAR Nighthawk AX5400 6-stream Wi-Fi 6 Router (RAX50) will be available in India through various e-commerce and authorized NETGEAR store at a price point of INR 19,499/-.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday during their AGM approved the 10-Team IPL tournament from the 2022 year.
The 2021 season of IPL will be played with the regular 8 teams which is much relief to the franchises. All the eight franchises were rumoured to be against the addition of the new teams from 2021 because it would have to arrange the mega auction compulsorily as the franchises were not getting enough time to prepare for the mega one, as it is rumoured that the upcoming auction for 2021 will not be a mega event.
“Two new teams will be introduced in the 2022 IPL,” a Board source told PTI.
“At this point, the 10-team IPL, if BCCI intends to conduct it in 2021, will be a hurried one given that the tendering process and a mega auction will be difficult to organize in such a short span of time. It is only fair that the approval is taken and the big 94 match tournament is held in 2022,” a senior BCCI official stated on the eve of the meeting.
Also, another huge decision is taken at the AGM is that the BCCI has also expressed its interest in supporting ICC for the inclusion of cricket in the Olympics. There were also discussions about women’s Test cricket and the domestic cricket season which is delayed due to the pandemic which will be suitably compensated and will start from January with Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
It is also understood from the general body is that they decided in favour of Sourav Ganguly as a director in the ICC Board and Secretary Jay Shah will be the alternate director as well as India’s representative at the Chief Executive Committee meets of the global body.
The Pichichi award is given to the highest goal scorer in La Liga, the top flight league of Spanish football. Last season, although Real Madrid pipped Barcelona to the La Liga title, Lionel Messi scored 25 goals to become the top scorer of the league in 2019-20.
This is the 7th time the Barcelona captain has won the Pichichi award, making a record as he overtook Zarra’s record of 6 Pichichi trophies.
While receiving the Pichichi trophy, Messi spoke to Marca during the ceremony. Here’s the full conversation.
Isn’t it amazing to have won seven Pichichi trophies?
“The truth is that I would have never imagined that I would win so many and surpass Zarra’s record (six Pichichis). It is a very joyful feeling.”
At the moment you have fewer goals than when you won the Pichichi. Are you already thinking about the 8th trophy?
“I do not know. I am not really thinking about it. It is not something that worries me. I would prefer to win La Liga again, something we didn’t do last season, rather than winning the Pichichi, so we will fight for that.”
This season we have seen a big difference between Barcelona in the Champions League and Barcelona in La Liga. Do you think the team can win both competitions?
“We are going to try and win everything, as is always the case with the club. We are improving little-by-little. It is true to say that it took us a little while to get going in La Liga. We should not have dropped so many points.”
“I think we deserved more in the games against Alaves and Getafe, and also against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. In those three games we created a lot of goalscoring chances, and if we had converted them, the situation in those games would have been different.”
Is there a formula to get back on the right path in La Liga?
“Now the important think is to have a streak of good results in a few games order to move up the table. This takes time and with the pandemic all the games are very difficult. The truth is football has changed a lot, and it’s difficult for everyone, but step-by-step things will settle.”
It has been nine months of empty stadiums in the pandemic. Is it hard for you to play without fans?
“Yes, very. It’s horrible to play without fans. It’s not a nice feeling. Not seeing anyone in the stadium makes it like training, and it takes a lot to get into the game at the beginning. That’s why we see such even games. It’s very hard to win whoever you are playing against.”
“The pandemic has caused football to change a lot, and for the worse. We are seeing it in games. Hopefully, after all this is over, we can get people back into the stadiums and get back to normal.”
You recently scored a special goal after which you paid tribute to Diego Maradona, how did you feel?
“It was a very special day and I was able to pay a little tribute that I had prepared. I was able to show his jersey. It’s a wonderful memory on a day which represents Diego no longer being with us.”
Lionel Messi has also recently broke Pele’s record of the most no of goals scored for a single club. The Argentine no has 644 goals for Barcelona making him the highest goalscorer for a single club.
Mino Raiola took the footballing world by a storm when he announced the fate of his client right before United’s high-profile clash against Leipzig. The Frenchman is not a part of the Red Devil’s future plans and is surely on his way out of the club. However, we will have to wait till the end of the season to see the Frenchman move to another club.
There were mixed reports regarding one of the bigger clubs in Europe (who can actually afford his wages) moving for the midfielder in January. But, according to Fabrizio Romano on his “Here We Go” podcast, Pogba is set to stay put during the January transfer window.
The player has always talked about one day playing for Real Madrid, and Zinedine Zidane is also a known admirer of his fellow countryman. While there were always signs that Los Blancos would someday move for the World Cup winner, it won’t be happening in January.
Madrid president Florentino Perez has ruled out any signings during the upcoming transfer window, and the expenses of signing Paul Pogba are completely out of the question owing to the club’s current financial situation.
Pogba’s former club, Juventus, are still on good terms with the player, and he is very appreciated by the fans and the staff as well. But the Bianconeri too, do not have the financial backing to splash out 100 million Euros to bring the midfielder back to Turin.
Raiola has assured United fans that Pogba is currently focused on being a true professional and giving Manchester United his best for as long as he is at the club. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has also made a point of proving that Pogba still has his head in the game by playing him regularly.
A move away from Manchester United is surely on the cards, but it is a very respectable decision from Pogba to remain focused on playing and training regularly with the club for as long as he is a part of the squad.
Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva have been absolutely outstanding for Chelsea this season and have almost completely turned around Chelsea’s poor defensive performances from the 19/20 season.
While a major part of the credit must go to Edouard Mendy as well, the two French-speaking center-backs have been very resolute in their showings on the pitch. Chelsea now have the third-best defensive record in the Premier League, and have conceded 14 goals so far, only behind Manchester City and, quite surprisingly, Aston Villa.
Thiago Silva for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this season:
Eight games Six wins Six clean sheets Two goals Two draws Zero losses
While Zouma has been at Chelsea for a few years and has also spent a couple of years out on loan, Thiago Silva only joined the club in the summer and has already established himself ahead of the young and promising names already at the Bridge, despite being 36 years old.
The Brazilian originally signed a 1-year deal with Chelsea when he joined this summer, but there was an option to extend that deal for another year. Thiago Silva is taking things very slow, according to Fabrizio Romano and Francesco Porzio on their “Here We Go” podcast on Patreon.
A decision regarding his future at, or away from Stamford Bridge will be made in March or April.
Chelsea’s Defence (Thiago, James, Chilwell & Zouma) have more goals (9) than Arsenal’s attack (Willian, Pepe, Laca & Auba) who have (8) #shamblespic.twitter.com/6f3DmwxGHV
Kurt Zouma, on the other hand, is a decade younger than his partner at the back and is on the verge of entering his peak years as a footballer. His contract at Chelsea expires in 2023, but the club will be looking to ensure long-term commitment from Zouma in the new year.
The Frenchman has been phenomenal this season and has also scored four goals in the Premier League so far. His contribution not only to the Blues’ defensive solidarity but to the goalscoring exploits as well, has made him a vital part of Frank Lampard’s exciting new Chelsea.
The French forward was on the sidelines at Chelsea since the beginning of the 20/21 season. However, his four goals against Sevilla were enough to seal the victory for Chelsea in their Champions League group.
Didier Deschamps had reportedly urged the France international to secure a move away from Chelsea to get more playing time in order to secure a place in the France squad for EURO 2021. Around October, the scenery looked all set to change for Giroud, but a resurgence in form has turned that around.
Giroud himself wanted to leave the club since he was not getting any playing time, with the likes of Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham getting preference ahead of the veteran.
Speaking on the player’s future at Chelsea, Fabrizio Romano and Francesco Porzio acknowledged that the player is currently very happy in episode 18 of their “Here We Go” podcast on Patreon.
Inter Milan were, much like last year, the frontrunners for the striker’s signature and wanted to sign him as a backup option for their star player, Romelu Lukaku. However, with the recent developments in the Frenchman’s status at the Bridge, a move in January looks very unlikely to happen.
All that said, his contract will expire at the end of the season and he will be available for free. Inter Milan will most probably have to wait it out if they really want to have the Frenchman at the San Siro stadium, because a move in January is surely not on the cards.
