*Liverpool’s Record Signing May Have Fractured Leg Vs Spurs
Super Eagles Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was shown a straight red card just seven minutes into his team’s Serie A matchup against Fiorentina on Sunday, 21 December.
Okoye was punished with an early exit for a collision with Moise Kean outside of his area.
Weakened therefore, Udinese went on to lose the match 1-5.
Okoye will now miss three straight games for Udinese.
Recall that some football afficionados in Nigeria had suggested that the goalkeeper declined Nigeria’s AFCON invitation and a bench role to avoid losing his starting spot as Udinese No.1.
Man U Lose Twice
In English Premier League (EPL), Manchester United suffered a 2-1 away loss to in-form Aston Villa, with club captain and arguably its best player Bruno Fernandes injured in the game and could be on the treatment table for some time.
But, manager Ruben Amorim insisted Man U risk making mistakes in the January transfer window if they panic after Fernandes joined their growing injury list.
Amorim said he expects the captain to miss their home Boxing Day game against Newcastle and fears Fernandes will be sidelined “for a while” after being forced off at half-time in the defeat.
On the flip side of the coin, Villa manager Unai Emery revealed he was unhappy with the match-winner Morgan Rogers before he scored his decisive second goal.
Matheus Cunha cancelled out Rogers’ magnificent opener in first-half stoppage time.
“I was not happy with how Morgan was performing in the first half, because we needed more,” Emery said.
“He scored the second goal because he was aggressive for the second action. He is a protagonist, a fighter, a really good guy and his attitude every day is really fantastic. When he is getting numbers like today we are proud of him and everybody,” he said.
Fernandes clutched his left calf after a sixth-minute tackle from Boubacar Kamara and was later fouled by another Villa midfielder, Amadou Onana. He was replaced by Lisandro Martínez at the interval.
The Argentina centre-back played alongside Manuel Ugarte at the base of United’s midfield, with Kobbie Mainoo absent with a calf issue sustained in training on Saturday.
“I will see what we’re going to do,” Amorim said of Newcastle’s visit to Old Trafford in Utd’s next game. “I think Kobbie Mainoo is out and Bruno is out. So we will see. We are going to find solutions. No excuses. We need to win the next game and we will try to win the next game.”
Amorim made it clear United cannot attempt to hastily rectify their injury crisis in the transfer market.
The United head coach said he would seek solutions from within rather than press the Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, and Chief Executive, Omar Berrada, into buying reinforcements.
Barca Re-establish Comfortable Lead Over Madrid
Barcelona enjoyed a composed 2-0 La Liga victory at Villarreal on Sunday thanks to goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal in a match that tilted firmly in the visitors’ favour when the hosts were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
It took only 12 minutes for Barcelona to take the lead from the penalty spot after Santi Comesana blocked Raphinha with his back as the winger tried to break through and the Brazilian calmly converted the spot-kick.
Villarreal’s Renato Veiga mistimed his challenge and slid in late on Lamine Yamal, catching him directly on the foot and leaving the 18-year-old in pain.
Veiga was shown a straight red card six minutes before half-time, and Lamine Yamal was able to return to action after medical treatment.
Yamal netted Barcelona’s second in the 63rd minute, pouncing on a rebound after a flurry of chances that Villarreal’s defence failed to clear.
Villarreal continued to put up a fight despite their numerical disadvantage, with Georges Mikautadze breaking clear only to be denied twice by the Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García, who produced sharp saves from both the initial effort and the rebound before a third attempt drifted wide.
Isak May Have Fractured Leg Vs Spurs
Liverpool fear their record signing Alexander Isak has fractured his left leg and will face months on the sidelines.
The league champions are waiting on the results of an MRI scan after the £125m man was injured against Tottenham in Saturday’s Premier League game.
The 26-year-old sustained the problem while scoring the opener against Spurs – his second league goal of an already injury-hit debut season – in the 2-1 win after defender Micky van de Ven slid across and caught his leg as the striker planted it on the ground.
Isak, who had been on for only 11 minutes after appearing as a half-time substitute, left the pitch looking in considerable distress.
Many of the Liverpool staff were puzzled as to why the challenge did not merit a further look from the video assistant referee (VAR) during a match in which Tottenham had two other players sent off.
Immediately after the game, Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slot, referred to the injury as “not a good thing.”
“If a player doesn’t even try to come back, that is usually not a good thing but I cannot say anything more than that,” he said. “That is just gut feeling and nothing medical … let’s not be too negative yet. We don’t know yet. Let’s hope he is back with us soon.”
Slot will face the media again on Tuesday (tomorrow) as he previews Liverpool’s home game with Wolves on Saturday.
It has been a frustrating time for the Sweden international after his protracted summer move from Newcastle, with the striker having no pre-season and then a troublesome groin injury punctuating his campaign.
He scored against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and against West Ham in the league but he has found it difficult in an evolving side.
Ironically, the link-up between Florian Wirtz and Isak – which set up the goal against Tottenham – looked to have kickstarted his Liverpool career, before the crushing blow of the injury.
Isak’s extended absence will stretch Liverpool’s forward options with Mohamed Salah now at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Cody Gakpo not ready to return from a muscle injury until early in the new year.
It leaves Slot with just Hugo Ekitiké, who has five goals in his past four games, and the little-used Federico Chiesa as his only senior forwards. The academy graduate Jayden Danns is stepping up his recovery from a hamstring injury and could be an option in the new year.
Liverpool are hoping to bring in Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in a £65m deal, with the in-form wide man having reportedly agreed personal terms over a January move. Manchester City and Manchester United are also keen on the Ghana international but he is believed to favour a move to Anfield.
RESULTS FROM MAJOR DOMESTIC LEAGUES ACROSS EUROPE, SUNDAY, 21 DECEMBER:
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa – Manchester Utd 2:1
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Mainz – St. Pauli 0:0
Heidenheim – Bayern Munich 0:4
ITALY: Serie A
Cagliari – Pisa 2:2
Sassuolo – Torino 0:1
Fiorentina – Udinese 5:1
Genoa – Atalanta 0:1
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
Utrecht – PSV 1:2
Feyenoord – Twente 1:1
G.A. Eagles – Groningen 1:1
FC Volendam – Sparta Rotterdam 0:1
Sittard – AZ Alkmaar 4:3
SPAIN: LaLiga
Girona – Atl. Madrid 0:3
Villarreal – Barcelona 0:2
Elche – Rayo Vallecano 4:0
Betis – Getafe 4:0
*PHOTO CAPTION: Maduka Okoye.
