Sports

Jonathan Cook’s World Game Wrap-Up

Posted on | Posted by Jonathan Cook

Lampard back in the game with Everton

Former England, Chelsea and West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard is ready to reignite his managerial career at Everton.

Caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson and Porto boss Vitor Pereira were both considered for the position before Lampard was offered a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Lampard, who started out in management with Derby County, had been out of the game for 12 months after being sacked as Chelsea boss.

Everton recently fired Rafa Benitez just six months into the job after the Toffees won just one of their last 13 games under his charge.

Everton’s first action under Lampard could be to sign Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.

Liverpool sign Porto winger

Liverpool have splashed AUD$72 million on Luis Diaz as they aim to close a nine-point gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City.

And the fee could rise a further AUD$24 million in bonuses should Porto’s Colombian winger live up to expectation.

Liverpool went into the recent break with a game in hand on City but with a mountain to climb given Pep Guardiola’s run of form.

But with 16 games to play, including an April clash against City on the fixture schedule, Liverpool have not yet given up on the title race.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp revealed his interest in Diaz had been sparked during the Reds’ UEFA Champions League victories over Porto earlier this season.

Window closing on frustrated Toon

Newcastle United have found out the hard way that having rich new owners doesn’t necessarily make it easier to sign players. Newcastle’s new wealth has meant longer negotiations as some clubs have pushed for higher fees.

The end of the transfer window is fast approaching with three players signed and the possibility of more, depending on the result of on-going discussions.

England defender Kieran Trippier is Newcastle’s standout addition so far, costing AUD$23 million, with Chris Wood, a functional attacking player signed for AUD$48 million from Burnley, and Lyon’s Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes (AUD$ 67 million) an unknown quantity in terms of the Premier League.

Brighton defender Dan Burn is also likely to move to St James’ Park after agreeing to a deal, while Newcastle are one of several clubs to have expressed an interest in Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.

Barca swoop on Wolves’ Traore

Wolves winger Adama Traore has returned to Barcelona after his English Premier League club agreed to a loan move.

Traore, who was a youth player for Barcelona before joining Aston Villa in 2015, is an unpredictable talent, whose strength and penetrating runs were not matched with an eye for goal. He scored just 11 goals in 154 appearances for Wolves.

But these are changed times for cash-strapped Barcelona, who could make the 26-year-old’s move permanent at the end of the season.

Socceroos win with Arnie on Zoom

Perhaps Graham Arnold should consider continuing to manage the Socceroos via Zoom?

The Australian national team boss was forced to do things differently in the build up to last week’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Vietnam after a positive COVID-19 test forced him into isolation.

But working remotely, in conjunction with assistant coaches Rene Meulensteen and Tony Vidmar, didn’t seem to be a problem as the Socceroos won 4-0, albeit against the group’s weakest side.

The Socceroos face tougher opposition on Tuesday when they take on Oman in Muscat. Arnold’s men are in desperate need of another win to keep alive their hopes of automatically qualifying for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Topor-Stanley chasing games record

Nikolai Topor-Stanley is closing in on an A-League record after making his 350th appearance in Western United’s 1-0 win over Melbourne City on Saturday.

Topor-Stanley is only the second player to achieve the milestone and is now closing in on former Western United defender Andrew Durante’s record of 358 games.

While Durante played at just three clubs, including 11 seasons at Wellington Phoenix, Topor-Stanley has played for six A-League sides, including two seasons at Perth Glory.

Steven Lustica scored the only goal of the game to ensure Topor-Stanley had more reason to celebrate as United climbed above City and into second-place on the A-League table.

Wanderers sack coach after Roar defeat

Western Sydney Wanderers have sacked coach Carl Robinson after a 3-0 defeat to Brisbane Roar.

The Wanderers, who signed former Everton and Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell this season, have won just one of their seven games.

The thought of a fifth successive season without finals football was clearly a major factor in the decision to axe Robinson with just a quarter of the 2021-22 matches played.

The win lifted Brisbane four places from last to eighth on a congested A-League table.

Salah dazzles as Egypt progress

Two key contributions from Liverpool’s Mo Salah helped steer Egypt into the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Salah scored the equaliser and then set up Mahmoud Trezeguet to score an extra-time winner after Sofiane Boufal had given Morocco a sixth-minute lead from the penalty spot.

Egypt will meet host Cameroon, who beat Gambia 2-0 in the quarters, in a semi-final on Thursday.

The other semi-final will feature Burkina Faso, who beat Tunisia 1-0, and Senegal, who were 3-1 winners over Equatorial Guinea.

Matildas out of Asian Cup

The Australian women’s team have been dumped out of the Asian Cup by South Korea after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the first knockout round.

After scoring 24 goals in three group stage matches – including an 18-0 win over Indonesia – the Matildas were undone by a late winner from Ji So-yun, a Chelsea teammate of Australia’s Sam Kerr.

It could have been worse for the Matildas, who watched Cho So-hyun fire a penalty over the cross bar in the first half.




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