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Liverpool are set to lose Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for the Africa Cup of Nations, with the rescheduled tournament set to begin on 9 January and conclude on 6 February.

Liverpool are hopeful that the trio won’t have to join up with their countries until after their clash with title rivals Chelsea on 2 January, but the associations are entitled to demand that the players be released on December 27.

Discussions are ongoing, but there’s a possibility that Salah, Mane and Keita could miss up to four Premier League matches. That could be a huge blow for the Reds given the sensational form of the Egyptian in particular, who leads the Premier League charts for both goals and assists.

Mane has chipped in with nine goals himself, while Keita is a valuable squad option, having started seven games in the Premier League and Champions League.

Doubts about wisdom of holding AFCON?

At a meeting on Thursday, the Executive Board of the European Club Association (ECA) ‘expressed its deep concerns about player safety and welfare’ ahead of the tournament. This is ‘in light of the worsening public health situation’.

The ECA will work with FIFA to ‘ensure all necessary precautions are in place’ for the protection of players and ‘club interests’.

Fan feed Anfield Edition relayed their statement, and here’s how some Reds supporters reacted.

Liverpool fans flock to AFCON latest

“I totally agree !!! AFCON SHOULDNT HAPPEN”

Credit: @lewedwards12

“AFCON must be cancelled for the sake of everyone’s safety”

Credit: @AngelDiMezzala

“I hope they just cancel or at least postpone it. Risks are huge and we would like to see empty stadiums again. Football without fans is nothing”

Credit: @SH13895102

“Can’t see it going ahead”

Credit: @deedna00

“There’s hope?”

Credit: @lewis20

“If they cancel it we might win it all…”

Credit: @PrinceTrent66

In other news, many Liverpool fans hailed this pre-Wolves injury update

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outOmar Phillips began his Test career positively, but his dismissal for 94 allowed Bangladesh back into the game•AFP

It was a cat-and-mouse affair in Kingstown. Every time West Indies threatened to get too far ahead, Bangladesh struck back to leave the game in balance. West Indies, courtesy contributions from Omar Phillips, David Bernard, and Darren Sammy did gain a vital 69-run lead but they have to bat last on a pitch which is increasingly offering assistance to the spinners.While Bernard and Sammy spiced up the afternoon with their positive batting, it was Phillips who set the platform with a patient 94 in the morning. There were occasional losses in concentration – first when he reached 50 and then, as he neared the debut century – but for the majority of the time, he was quite solid.When the day started everyone knew Bangladesh’s chances of coming back in the game lay in the hands of their spinners and in particular, Shakib Al Hasan. However, he was thwarted by the slow pitch, the determined Phillips and nightwatchman Ryan Austin. There was spin, and occasional bounce too, for Shakib but the ball came on slowly, allowing the batsmen the time to adjust.Bangladesh were also hampered by the fact that Mashrafe Mortaza left the field, leaving Shakib to captain, with the score on 38 when he collapsed after delivering the ball and hurt his right knee. But they were kept in the hunt by their bowling debutants – the slinger Rubel Hossain, who bowled well with the old ball, and the offspinner Mahmudullah, who decided that on this pitch it was better to push the ball through a tad quicker to get the results.For their part, Phillips and Austin put their heads down and concentrated hard on survival. Philips displayed a simple technique to reach a half-century; he used the crease well, going back or forward as the length demanded, to tackle the spinners. Now and then, he lunged forward to lift the ball over mid-on or mid-off and as the bowlers dragged back the length, he was quick to go back to cut it through point.Austin gave him admirable support with his stoic defense. For a nightwatchman, he displayed a sound ability to survive, displaying enough awareness to use the slowness of the track and hang on the back foot to tackle the spinners. It took a full delivery from Rubel to induce an edge that was taken very low by Imrul Kayes in the slip cordon.Phillips looked set to take his team into the lead but a rush of blood cost him his wicket, and a century on debut, as he failed to curb his instincts, striking Rubel straight to short cover. Dave Bernard, however, took charge after Phillips fell to push West Indies past the Bangladesh total; he played attractively, lashing out at every opportunity to drive through the off side. He started with two cover drives and a square drive against Rubel and even hit Mahmudullah for a six over long-off. But the shot of his innings was a delicious inside-out extra-cover drive against Shakib. He took care not to press the front foot across against Shakib, who is always looking for the lbw decision, and chose to drive with the turn.The West Indies captain Floyd Reifer assisted Bernard well. He started off with a couple of square drives – the second hit on a bent knee being the highlight – against Rubel but, once Bernard arrived and started timing from the word go, he dropped anchor and concentrated on rotating the strike.At this point West Indies were sitting pretty at 227 for 4 but Mahmudullah struck at the stroke of tea, removing Reifer – lured into edging to slip – and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton – caught at backward short leg – off successive deliveries to bring Bangladesh back into the game. And when Shahadat Hossain had Bernard pulling the new ball straight to deep midwicket it looked like West Indies had squandered a good start, but Sammy fought back, playing several feisty drives to build a crucial lead.Sammy played almost similarly to Bernard, choosing to loft the spinners, in particular Shakib, over the off-side field. The stand-out shot was a lovely lofted drive, with the turn, over extra-cover. He was the last man out, bowled while playing inside the line to Mahmudullah, but had given West Indies a slight advantage. However, by the end of play, the Bangladesh openers had reduced the deficit to 43. Game on.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo começa nesta quinta-feira a decidir o título da Copa do Brasil de 2017 contra o Cruzeiro, no Maracanã. Na caminhada até a final, o Rubro-Negro eliminou o Atlético-GO, o Santos e o Botafogo. Antes do primeiro jogo da final, Rueda destacou a importância de Zé Ricardo na caminhada do time até essa fase.

– O professor Zé Ricardo fez um caminho importante para o Flamengo chegar hoje nesta final. Esse é o futebol, as vezes outro treinador entra no lugar do outro e é a lei da vida. São como os filhos, você cria, educa e as vezes outra pessoa desfruta. É lutar, trabalhar e é muito importante estar nessa final desse torneio que é histórico e muito importante para o futebol brasileiro.

Rueda assumiu na semifinal contra o Botafogo e conseguiu levar o Flamengo à final da Copa do Brasil. Nas oitavas de final contra o Atlético-GO e nas quartas de final contra o Santos, quem estava comandando o Rubro-Negro era Zé Ricardo, que atualmente está no comando do Vasco.

O treinador colombiano também falou sobre a final contra o Cruzeiro, destacando a importância de conseguir um bom resultado no jogo em casa. O comandante elogiou o adversário, mas vê grupo muito bem preparado para sair com o título da competição.

– São jogos muito intensos, esses de 180 minutos. Penso que todos os jogadores do Flamengo estão acostumados e preparados para assumir a responsabilidade nestes jogos. É muito importante esse primeiro jogo, para fazer a diferença. Temos um rival muito bem estruturado, mas estamos preparados.

RelacionadasFlamengoEm alta na seleção peruana, Trauco quer recuperar boa fase no FlamengoFlamengo06/09/2017Futebol NacionalFlamengo x Cruzeiro: prováveis times, onde ver, desfalques e palpitesFutebol Nacional06/09/2017

MatériaMais Notícias

O elenco do Corinthians se reapresentou ao CT Joaquim Grava na tarde desta segunda-feira após dois dias de folga. O período de duas semanas sem partidas tem sido importante para colocar o elenco inteiro à disposição do técnico Fábio Carille até o próximo sábado, na retomada do Campeonato Brasileiro contra o Vitória. Desta vez, a novidade ficou por conta de Marquinhos Gabriel, que participou do treinamento com bola e deve estar apto a disputar posição com Clayson após ser desfalque em dois jogos por conta de uma lesão na coxa esquerda.

As ausências da atividade desta segunda-feira foram o goleiro Caique, que sofreu uma fratura na mão esquerda e já iniciou tratamento, além do zagueiro Léo Santos e do atacante Carlinhos, que fizeram atividades regenerativas por terem jogado no sábado pelo sub-20, do volante Mantuan, do zagueiro Pablo e do meia Jadson, todos em transição física.

Pablo, aliás, está mais próximo do retorno aos gramados. Ele está fora há quase um mês em razão de uma lesão na coxa direita e nesta segunda-feira deu as caras na parte externa do CT Joaquim Grava durante sua travessia do Lab R9 até a academia. Ele caminhou sem dificuldades e deve iniciar a transição para o campo no máximo até o fim da semana. Jadson vive o mesmo processo, mas nesta segunda-feira não apareceu do lado de fora do CT.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansTimão ganha ‘filho perdido’ de goleiro da Seleção depois de lesão de reservaCorinthians14/08/2017CorinthiansCorinthians já vende quase 30 mil ingressos para volta ao BrasileiroCorinthians14/08/2017CorinthiansComo Corinthians garantiu ‘fico’ e valorizou Arana em mais de 100%Corinthians14/08/2017

Pablo dá as caras pela primeira vez desde a lesão. Fez trabalhos no Lab R9 e complementa na academia. Volta mais próxima #lanceCOR pic.twitter.com/Av9li96Q4r

— Gabriel Carneiro (@gabe_carneiro) August 14, 2017

Em campo, os demais jogadores participaram de um treino para aprimorar as triangulações e transições ofensivas comandado por Carille. O grupo foi dividido em dois e até os goleiros trabalharam com os pés em parte da atividade. Durante os trabalhos, o lateral-esquerdo Guilherme Arana e o meia Rodrigo Figueiredo sentiram dores após uma dividida joelho com joelho, mas completaram o treino sem demonstrar incômodo. Após o treino, Cássio e Giovanni Augusto permaneceram em campo para corridas ao redor do gramado.

O Corinthians volta aos treinos na tarde desta terça-feira, às 15h30, quando segue a preparação para a partida de sábado, ás 16h, contra o Vitória.

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansMarquinhos Gabriel

Everton fell to a 5-2 defeat at home to Watford on Saturday afternoon, with former Toffees striker Josh King netting a hat-trick on his return to Merseyside.

Tom Davies gave Rafa Benitez’s side the lead early on and Richarlison netted in the second half to put the Toffees back in front, but a crazy final 15 minutes saw the hosts concede four times and leave Goodison Park with nothing.

As to be expected with the result, a number of Everton starters disappointed, as The Transfer Tavern dives into the three worst-rated outfield starters by statistical specialists SofaScore…

Allan

The Brazilian midfielder kept up his record of starting every Premier League fixture so far this season, partnering Davies in a 4-4-1-1 system.

However, he had an afternoon to forget, recording a SofaScore rating of 6.1/10. Allan lost six ground duels and one aerial duel, while losing possession 13 times and being dribbled past on five occasions.

Seamus Coleman

Coleman also received a SofaScore rating of 6.1/10 – the joint-worst when it came to outfield starters alongside Allan.

The right-back lost the ball on 16 occasions, lost four ground duels and two aerial duels and was dribbled past three times.

He also only made one tackle all game, compared to Lucas Digne at left-back who made seven.

Salomon Rondon

Summer signing Rondon is still awaiting his first Toffees goal, and like Allan and Coleman, he failed to have a single shot on goal against the Hornets.

He had just 26 touches all afternoon, lost the ball eight times and struggled in the air, losing eight of his 12 duels and three of five on three ground.

It seems as if the quicker Dominic Calvert-Lewin can return from injury, the better, following the much-maligned Venezuelan’s SofaScore match rating of 6.5/10.

In other news: ‘Don’t make me cry’ – Many Everton fans buzz over ‘great news’. 

Many Everton fans have been left flocking to some comments made by Rafa Benitez.

Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, the Spaniard said when asked about his targets for this season: “To be in the middle of the table is not my target, my target is to be sure we can go higher and higher. Some people say to finish eighth is a great target. That means nothing for me.”

The Goodison Park faithful currently sit in fifth spot in the table in the Premier League ahead of their game against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, and Benitez clearly thinks that there is no reason that they cannot clinch a European place.

It is the mindset of an elite manager who has been at some of the top clubs in European football, including the likes of Liverpool, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, and the fact that he is aiming so high should help motivate his players for the campaign ahead.

Nonetheless, the comments were very much welcomed by several supporters of the Merseyside club.

Everton fans on Benitez comments

These Toffees were left flocking to the comments made by Benitez as they were shared on Twitter:

“Love to hear it from him, really trying to put his point across that he wants to succeed and slowly changing the sceptics views!”

Credit: @TOwen2011

“RB once again saying what we all want to hear, been very impressed so far”

Credit: @dbignall85

“Mindset of a winner”

Credit: @NSNOCOYB

“Finally someone who understands the meaning of NSNO”

Credit: @NSNO39

“We’re in good hands”

Credit: @murph6210

“Shudders down Kenwright’s spine quotes like that”

Credit: @pdefc84

In other news, find out what transfer news has Blues buzzing here!

Taking into account how Liverpool are unbeaten across all competitions at this point in the season and having scored more goals in the Premier League than any other side, it’s safe to say the Reds have a number of talented players in their squad.

One player that has been a regular figure for the Merseyside club over the past few years is Roberto Firmino, who has been with the Reds since the 2015 summer transfer window after he signed from German club Hoffenheim for a fee of £21.3m.

Since then, the 30-year-old, who is currently earning £180k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made a total of 298 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side across all competitions in which he has managed to score 90 goals and provide 69 assists along the way.

Regarding Firmino’s market value, it has taken a bit of a drop recently.

In December 2019, the Brazilian’s value according to Transfermarkt was at its highest point in his career at £81m. Now just under two years later, it currently stands at £36m, marking a very significant drop – 55.5%, to be precise.

In terms of what could have led to Firmino’s market value taking such a big drop, he has only managed to score nine goals and provide seven assists in his last 36 Premier League appearances, whilst the fact that former Liverpool star John Aldridge labelled him as a “problem” may well highlight why his overall market value has decreased.

Despite this, with Klopp previously sharing his praise for Firmino reiterating just how important he is for the team even if he doesn’t score a plethora of goals every season, this shows just how highly thought of he at Anfield.

On a more positive note, the fact that Firmino has managed to score three goals in just six appearances across all competitions so far this season, starting just one of the games, shows that he has been a rather useful impact sub for the team when called upon.

Moving forward, as long as Firmino keeps playing games for Liverpool this season and managed to score goals and provide assists wherever he can, while this may not get his market value back to where it was a couple of years ago, it should certainly stop it from dropping down even further than it already has done.

In other news: Edwards could seal Liverpool masterstroke by signing “magical” £31.5m-rated ace – opinion

كشفت تقارير صحفية تركية، عن عقبة تقف أمام صفقة انتقال الدولي المصري مصطى محمد من جالطة سراي إلى فريق نانت الفرنسي.

التقارير خلال الأيام الماضية أشارت إلى أن اللاعب المصري سيجري الكشف الطبي في نانت تمهيدًا لإنتقاله، بعد سفره أمس إلى فرنسا.

طالع أيضًا.. مرتضى منصور يعلن التقدم بشكوى ضد جالطة سراي بسبب مصطفى محمد

موقع “mynet” التركي، أكد بأن هناك تفاصيل مفقودة حتى الآن، تؤجل خضوع اللاعب المصري للفحوصات الطبية قبل الانضمام إلى نانت الفرنسي.

وأشارت التقارير إلى أن التفاصيل بين الزمالك وجالطة سراي المالية لم تُحسم بعد، والتي من شأنها أن تُعطل الصفقة.

ولم يجتاز اللاعب المصري الفحوصات الطبية في النادي الفرنسي حتى الآن، وسينتظر حتى يتم حل المشكلة بين الزمالك وجالطة سراي.

Fast bowler Abdur Rauf has been added to the PCB’s list of centrally-contracted players after he complained of being treated unfairly

Cricinfo staff12-Jan-2009Fast bowler Abdur Rauf has been added to the PCB’s list of centrally-contracted players announced last week. Rauf has been given a Category C contract, the lowest grade, after he complained of being treated unfairly in television interviews.According to a report in the , a PCB spokesman confirmed on Sunday that Abdul Qadir, the chief selector, recommended a C-category contract for Rauf, which was approved by board chairman Ijaz Butt.Rauf, who made his international debut last year, has played four ODIs and one Twenty20 international for Pakistan. “I am really sad at not being considered for the contract. I don’t understand why they ignored me,” Rauf had said in one of the interviews. The 30-year-old bowler has taken eight ODI wickets at 26.50 apiece.Among the surprises in this year’s list of contracts were the promotion of Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria to the top category. The contracts were awarded by the board after inputs from Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam, Abdul Qadir, chief selector and Yawar Saeed, the team manager, with seniority having played a significant role.

Scorecard

Federal Areas’ formidable fast bowling, led by Shoaib Akhtar, sparked a dramatic Punjab collapse to leave the match evenly poised going into the fourth day.Punjab were on top after overnight batsmen, Salman Butt and Umar Akmal, pushed the score to 78 for 1, an overall lead of 171. Ifthikar Anjum then had Butt caught behind but Punjab were still in control after Akmal guided them to 102 for 2. Things swiftly went downhill for them as Shoaib and Sohail Tanvir took six wickets for 21 runs before Ifthikar cleaned up the tail. Wahab Riaz (19*) was the only one of Punjab’s last eight batsmen to make more than 6. Shoaib finished with 10-7-14-4 while Tanvir took 3-27 to leave Federal Areas chasing 238 for a come-from-behind victory.Their openers gave the chase a solid start, putting on 70, and Federal Areas had moved to 124 for 2 before Mohammad Talha struck a double-blow to leave them 111 runs away from the target with six wickets in hand.
Scorecard
Sind’s batsmen showed a lot more resolve in their second innings compared to the first and clawed their way back into the match against Baluchistan.Three contrasting half-centuries averted the possibility of an innings defeat after fast bowler Kamran Hussain had Sind in trouble at 50 for 3, still trailing by 188 runs. Fawad Alam, who had an outstanding tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya recently, laboured to 68, opener Khalid Latif made a cavalier 78 and captain Shahid Afridi hammered a couple of sixes in his typically belligerent 81.Sarfraz Ahmed, a handy batsman to come in at No. 8 with a first-class average of 44.96, continued Sind’s resistance with a brisk 57 to help his side finish with a 128-run lead and two wickets in hand. Hussain was the most effective of the Baluchistan bowlers, picking up five wickets to go with the three he took in the first innings.