Show more respect to Messi: Koeman
BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman rallied behind Lionel Messi after the Argentine delivered a vintage performance in Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao, hours after full details of Messi’s lucrative contract were published in the Spanish media.
Messi scored his 650th goal for the Catalans with a sumptuous free-kick to put Barca in front against Athletic while Antoine Griezmann struck the winner after Jordi Alba had scored an own goal to pull the visitors level.
“I don’t understand how anyone could link Messi to Barca’s ruin. He has spent years proving his quality and doing great things for this club, helping it win many important trophies,” Koeman told a news conference.
“Whoever published this had bad intentions and wanted to cause Barca damage. But we have to be united and focussed, we have to forget about whatever has been published. Without Leo we couldn’t aspire to win very much.”
“We have known for a very long time that he is the best player in the world, he has done so much for this club and is decisive. We have to respect everything Messi has done.”
Barcelona have 40 points— same as Real Madrid—but are ahead on goal difference. Atletico top the standings with 50 points and a game in hand.
Salah double fires Liverpool to victory
LONDON: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ended his Premier League goal drought in style by scoring twice as the champions raided the capital again to crush West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday.
Liverpool came to life after a first half almost devoid of goalmouth action at the London Stadium, with Salah providing two superb finishes as Liverpool moved into third spot.
Juergen Klopp’s side have 40 points from 21 games, four behind leaders Manchester City who they host next weekend. West Ham’s first league defeat in seven leaves them on 35 points.
“We scored wonderful goals, all three were unbelievable,” Klopp said. “Maybe in the last week we spoke the right stuff. These players are a good group and are not happy with not being successful. But they remained with the right attitude.”
Spurs struggle without Kane, lose to Brighton
BRIGHTON: Tottenham struggled without the creativity and cutting edge of injured striker Harry Kane in a 1-0 loss at Brighton on Sunday, leaving Jose Mourinho’s team six points off the Premier League’s top four.
Leandro Trossard scored the winner for fourth-from-last Brighton in the 17th minute, side-footing home a finish from inside the area after a cut-back from the right by Pascal Gross. It was Brighton’s first home win in 15 league games dating back to June 2020.
Kane was missing after injuring both ankles in the 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Thursday and his absence—for a “few weeks,” according to Mourinho—could be crucial in Tottenham’s bid to keep in touch with its rivals for Champions League qualification.
AS Roma keep pressure on Milan teams
MILAN: Roma maintained third spot in Serie A on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Hellas Verona to keep the pressure on the Milan teams leading the title race.
Captain Edin Dzeko was again sidelined after a fall-out with coach Paulo Fonseca, but Roma shrugged off his absence to stay six points behind leaders AC Milan and four adrift of Inter.
“The team is showing that it does not depend on a single player,” said Fonseca. “Our firsthalf was perfect. It wasn’t easy to score three goals against one of the best defences in the league.”
Mumbai’s Golui, Das move to East Bengal
MUMBAI: Two Mumbai City FC players, defender Sarthak Golui and midfielder Sourav Das, have signed up for SC East Bengal for the remainder of this Indian Super League (ISL) season, it was announced on Monday.
While Golui played four matches for Mumbai this season, Das only featured in one match. Golui was a key member for Mumbai last season, with 113 clearances in 13 matches.
“Being from West Bengal, it is always a dream to don the red and gold colours. I can’t wait to take the field for SC East Bengal and give my best,” Golui said.
In Monday’s match, Mobashir Rahman’s first-half strike enabled Jamshedpur FC beat Odisha FC 1-0. The win moved Jamshedpur into sixth spot with 18 points, three behind FC Goa who occupy the last play-off spot.