أجاب المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي أتلتيكو مدريد، دييجو سيميوني، على سؤال هام بشأن الثنائي الهجومي المميز، لويس سواريز ودييجو كوستا.

وانتقل سواريز إلى أتلتيكو مدريد يوم، الجمعة الماضي، من صفوف برشلونة ونجح في تسجيل هدفين وصناعة آخر في أولى مبارياته مع الفريق أمام غرناطة في 20 دقيقة فقط.

وشارك الأوروجوياني في المباراة بدلًا من دييجو كوستا الذي سجل هدف أتلتيكو مدريد الأول في المباراة، وهو ما جعل سيميوني يستبعد رحيله عن الفريق بعد أن كان قاب قوسين أو أدنى من الانتقال إلى فناربخشة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. أسباس يشيد بـ فاتي ويؤكد: بالطبع أفضل برشلونة بدون سواريز

وتحدث سيميوني عن إمكانية لعب سواريز وكوستا معًا في خط الهجوم في تصريحات بمؤتمره الصحفي لمباراة الغد أمام هويسكا، وقال: “يمكن ذلك، دييجو مختلف عن لويس من خلال تعديل مركزهما مع الفريق حسب احتياجنا كجهاز فني”.

وتابع: “سواريز يجيد التحرك على الأطراف والمساحات وهو ما شاهدناه منه دائمًا في الفترة الماضية، مما يمنحنا مزيدًا من الخيارات داخل منطقة الجزاء”.

وأضاف: “سنرى متى يمكننا الدفع بهما معًا في المباريات المقبلة، الشيء المهم هو أن يعطينا كلًا منهما ما نحتاجه”.

وعن إمكانية التعاقد مع كافاني: “ما نهتم بهم هما اللاعبين المتواجدين في أتلتيكو مدريد، والذين نسعى معهم للوصول إلى أهدافنا في كل موسم”.

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The Scottish Premier League title race is almost over, and Steven Gerrard should use the last few games of the season to test out a new system that may help his side in the future.

After Celtic’s win against Dundee on Sunday, Rangers’ campaign is effectively over.

The Gers still have the Old Firm to look forward to, but there will be no silverware at Ibrox this summer, and Gerrard is surely already plotting his plans for next season.

The boss brought in a whopping 14 new signings during his first summer at the club, so there could well be some serious movement in the transfer market again, but what can he do with the players already at his disposal?

Well, with nothing left to play for this campaign, the gaffer should switch to a three at the back. It may not be a system he employs permanently, but the experience will only help his squad in the future, and hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

On the chalkboard

So what exactly does switching to a three at the back system do for the Gers? To start with, it would make life an awful lot easier for the midfielders, who would not have to spend half of every game filling in for the full-backs.

James Tavernier and Borna Barisic both like to bomb forward, and having three centre backs covering would allow the midfielders to keep their eyes forward, rather than constantly looking for gaps to protect because their full backs are nowhere to be seen.

The switch would also help Alfredo Morelos, who has been completely isolated in every match he has featured in since the beginning of March.

With Tavernier and Barisic getting the freedom to fly down the wing and get balls into the box, as well as more progressive and risky passing from the midfield, the feisty Colombian international would see far more of the ball and would rarely find himself isolated against two towering centre backs.

Boost for McCrorie

This could also be the perfect chance to get Ross McCrorie some regular minutes, as the 21 year-old’s lack of playing time is really quite baffling.

He is strong, a fantastic leader (he is captain of the Scotland Under-21 side), versatile enough to slot into a back three, and has the ball-playing abilities to spread the ball around from deep.

The youngster does tend to struggle with his discipline, but with nothing left to play for this season, now is the right time to iron out those creases in his game.

McCrorie could be a star for the Gers in the future, but not if Gerrard doesn’t take this golden opportunity to erase the mistakes from his game and get him used to the intensity of regular first-team football.

Mesut Ozil’s long-term future at Arsenal remains unclear after falling out of favour in north London.

The former Germany international was once considered one of the finest playmakers in all of world football. However, Ozil has failed to replicate his world-class performances in recent years. After struggling during Arsene Wenger’s final seasons in charge, his woes have continued under Unai Emery who has constantly omitted the former Real Madrid man from his squad.

It’s surely likely that the Gunners will look to offload the midfielder during the summer window. Taking home a whopping £350,000-per-week, he simply isn’t justifying his mammoth wages. With cash likely to be limited for Emery, getting rid of Ozil could be a priority.

To replace him, the former Sevilla boss should snap up Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid – Kai Havertz. Valued at £58.5m by Transfermarkt, the German was earmarked as one of the country’s hottest prospects after making his name in the Leverkusen youth academy. Havertz’s transition to the first-team has been seamless with the youngster now enjoying a prominent role in the side.

The 19-year-old drew comparisons to Ozil during his earlier years but his overall game has completely evolved since. Classy on the ball, Havertz is extremely well-rounded meaning he is comfortable in a variety of midfield roles. The Germany international is enjoying his finest season to date, helping his side with an incredible return of 12 goals and six assists in all competitions this season.

Havertz has the potential to develop into one of the world’s best midfielders; the Gunners should be doing everything in their power to lure him to the Emirates.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?

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Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival has galvanised a multitude of individuals who can now all make a genuine case for the club’s most improved player of the season accolade. The award is typically the least glamorous of all those on offer but widespread improvement throughout the Leeds squad has added a layer of prestige to this particular honour.

Discussion over exactly which Leeds player has showcased the greatest level of improvement this season has been rife at Football FanCast towers of late, but a consensus remains elusive. Read a handful of our writers’ verdicts below…

James Beavis – Liam Cooper

“While he may have been captain last season under Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom, the 27-year-old was seen as one of Leeds’ weak links – not helped by some of the errors he made. However, he has been a completely different animal under Bielsa, and like many of his teammates his game has come on leaps and bounds under the Argentine. A brilliant leader who isn’t afraid to put his body on the line for his side, he has improved massively from a technical point of view in recent months, and is arguably more important than Pontus Jansson now.”

Billy Myers – Kemar Roofe

“Admittedly, the diminutive forward was very good last year, but he seems to have stepped it up a notch this season and already has three more Championship goals than he managed in the previous campaign. Roofe bagged 15 Championship goals during the course of the previous two campaigns, and his 14 so far this term prove that he is always improving and working on his game.”

Ben Goodwin – Gjanni Alioski

“The Macedonian international was best known for getting caught offside last season, and likely would have been shown the door if fans had their way in the summer. He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet due to his engine, drive and versatility. In fact, his transformation is perhaps the best of all the Marcelo Bielsa success stories at Elland Road this season. With Barry Douglas struggling for form and fitness, Leeds may not even be in the title race without Alioski filling in at left-back.”

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According to reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee on Episode 124 of ‘The West Ham Way’ radio show, Winston Reid has said he will be back in full training next week after almost a year on the sidelines, and Irons fans have been quick to react.

The 30-year-old has been out of action ever since landing awkwardly during a Premier League clash against Swansea City in March 2018, and it was reported back in July that he would be out for at least three months following surgery.

However, that timeframe didn’t prove to be very accurate at all and it is now only nearly 12 months on that the New Zealand international looks set to return to the training ground, having told people there he expects to be back in action next week.

In his absence the likes of Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna have featured at the heart of the defence, with the former duo – both summer additions – in particular impressing.

West Ham supporters have taken to social media to have their say on Reid’s imminent return, and while one said “OMG finally”, another said it is “exciting times”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

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Newcastle’s good performances in recent weeks have hardly earned them the results they’ve deserved but that changed completely against Huddersfield on Saturday, who were truly put to the sword by the Magpies.

The Tyneside outfit ran out 2-0 winners, with Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez getting on the scoresheet in quick succession after the break to secure all three points for the home side.

Miguel Almiron, making his St James’ Park debut after signing for a club-record fee in January, nearly capped off a fine move but his chipped effort struck the post 11 minutes in.

Have the new Newcastle home and away kits for next season accidentally been leaked? See for yourself in the video below…

With the Paraguayan making a promising start, his afternoon was nearly cut short by Terriers defender Tommy Smith, whose dangerous challenge nine minutes later could easily have had catastrophic consequences for the Newcastle man.

The Huddersfield captain was deservedly shown a straight red card – making him the first player to be sent off against Newcastle since 2014 – for his horror tackle and, fortunately, Almiron was able to carry on.

Here’s what the Toon Army had to say about 26-year-old Smith’s red card on Twitter, with some relieved that they had finally seen a red card awarded to their opposition, while others were simply pleased that Almiron wasn’t injured…

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The Fulham fans could not quite believe what head coach Claudio Ranieri did during Friday night’s Premier League clash with West Ham United.

At the interval of the match, with Fulham 2-1 down, Ranieri decided to bring both Jean Michael Seri and Ryan Sessegnon off, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Lazar Markovic entering the field.

It would be fair to say that the double change did not go down well with the Fulham supporters, with many taking to social media to blast their head coach.

As it transpired, Fulham suffered a 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium, despite taking the lead in the early stages through Ryan Babel, so it’s safe to say the half-time switch-up didn’t work out.

Indeed, goals from Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Michail Antonio secured the points for the Hammers, leaving Fulham in 19th position in the table, eight points from safety.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the struggling club’s fans – in relation to the double substitution at the break – can be seen below:

أحرز الدولي الهولندي لوك دي يونج مهاجم إشبيلية، الهدف الأول لفريقه في مرمى برشلونة في المباراة الجارية بينهما في الدوري الإسباني.

برشلونة يستقبل إشبيلية، على ملعب “الكامب نو”، بالجولة الخامسة من الليجا (طالع المباراة مباشرةٍ لحظة بلحظة).

هدف دي يونج جاء في الدقيقة الثامنة بعد تخبط دفاعي، وخطف الكرة من أمام مدافعي برشلونة وسدد الهدف الأول. شاهد هدف لوك دي يونج فى برشلونة

وبعدها بدقيقتين وتحديدًا في الدقيقة 10، تمكن البرازيلي فيليب كوتينيو، من إحراز هدف التعادل بطريقة رائعة بعد تمريرة من ليونيل ميسي شاهد هدف كوتينيو فى اشبيلية

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Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to a rather special moment in their win over Bolton, as the Whites won their first first-half penalty kick since September 2017.

Leeds got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over struggling Bolton at Elland Road on Saturday, courtesy of goals from Patrick Bamford and Gjanni Alioski.

The Whites were on top for most of the match, racking up 69 per cent of the possession, 21 shots and eight shots on target, per BBC.

This meant lots of pressure in and around the visitors’ penalty box, and Marcelo Bielsa’s side were awarded a penalty 15 minutes in – their first penalty kick before half-time in 80, yes eighty, games in all competitions, per lufcstats. It was also just their second spot kick of the season.

Bamford stepped up to tuck the spot kick home, and Alioski’s somewhat fortunate winner earned Bielsa’s side all three points after Mark Beever had equalised.

While the focus for Bielsa and his squad is of course the next game and kicking on to try and catch league leaders Norwich, fans are all too busy reacting hilariously to the penalty.

Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay tweeted out about the spot kick, and the fans in the replies went absolutely wild.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Naby Keita’s recent spell out of the starting XI, after a good run of form in which it appeared like he had finally settled in at the club.

The Guinean international arrived at the club to much fanfare after a £52.75m move from RB Leipzig, but struggled to acclimatise and bring his Bundesliga form over to the Premier League.

In recent weeks, however, the 24-year-old looked to have turned a new leaf, with the 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Anfield a real indicator that Keita had finally found his feet in a Liverpool shirt.

He had made four successive league starts for the Reds from the end of January to the middle of February, but has since been dropped inexplicably – Keita has played just six minutes of league football since the aforementioned victory over the Cherries.

Jurgen Klopp’s decision to omit him seems unfair, and Liverpool fans have been discussing the matter on Twitter…