Fabregas sees red as Chelsea pip Liverpool in ICC

Ribery expands on Pep criticism, Bayern fall to Milan

PASADENA, United States, July 28, (AFP): Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas was sent off for a reckless lunge at Liverpool new boy Ragnar Klavan, overshadowing a 1-0 friendly win at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

The Premier League giants locked horns in the pre-season International Champions Cup in a match which was more remarkable for its clumsy fouls than free-flowing football.

Spanish midfielder Fabregas, 29, could have no complaints as he got his marching orders in the 70th minute for sliding late into Klavan with his studs up.

By then Californian referee Baldomero Toledo had already been forced to show yellow cards to four Liverpool players — with another to come — and one to Chelsea’s Gary Cahill.

Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte told reporters after the final whistle the match was more competitive than he had been expecting, apologizing for Fabregas’s foul.

“I think that in this period, the fatigue sometimes can bring a (player) to go too late,” he said. “I know Fabregas is a good man, a good boy and is not a player to have this type of situation. I’m sorry for him, I’m sorry for the Liverpool player.”

Klopp said Klavan had escaped unscathed from the challenge but revealed that fellow recruit Marko Grujic was in hospital after receiving a knock to the head in the first half.

“He can’t remember anything ... The situation’s not too cool but injuries happening in games like this in the pre-season, that’s the biggest problem.”

Klopp denied that the game had more edge than a normal pre-season clash, but added: “It was far away from a friendly game, and that’s okay.”

England defender Cahill got the 53,000 crowd going in the 10th minute when he rose above several Liverpool defenders to connect with a Fabregas corner for an alltoo-simple header.

Liverpool looked the more enterprising side for much of the game, creating chances and dominating possession, but they lacked a cutting edge up front with striker Daniel Sturridge deemed unfit.

Liverpool’s best chance came in the first half when Chelsea’s Brazilian winger Willian gave away a throw inside his own half and left-back Alberto Moreno was played in down the left.

The 24-year-old Spaniard cut it back for Roberto Firmino, who got the ball stuck under his feet and couldn’t pull the trigger. The striker had a goal ruled offside minutes later after finishing off a gorgeous exchange of back-heel passes.

Liverpool pushed for an equalizer in the later stages, but they were unable to break down a deep-lying Chelsea defense.

The International Champions Cup is an exhibition tournament involving 17 clubs playing on four different continents, all tuning up for their league seasons.

Sturridge did not join Liverpool’s traveling party to Southern California, staying at their base in Palo Alto to complete extra training sessions.

Reds fans had been hoping to see Georginio Wijnaldum after the Netherlands international became the club’s sixth summer signing following his arrival from Newcastle, but he was left out.

The £25 million ($33 million, 30-million-euro) buy is on an intense training programme designed to ensure he can match the fitness levels of his teammates, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Also missing were Belgian forward pairing Christian Benteke and Divock Origi, who are focusing on fitness after extended leave following their involvement in Euro 2016.

French winger Franck Ribery has again criticised his ex-Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola during the club’s tour of the United States, claiming the Spaniard talks too much and lacks experience.

Guardiola is now head coach of Manchester City after three seasons with Bayern and Ribery has wasted no time in criticising his former boss.

Bayern lost 5-3 to AC Milan on Wednesday in a penalty shoot-out after their friendly in Chicago finished 3-3 after extra time.

Ribery netted twice, including converting a 90th minute penalty, and has refound his form after injury restricted his number of appearances last season.

Carlo Ancelotti, 57, has replaced Guardiola as Bayern coach for the 2016/17 season and Ribery has been quick to praise the Italian, at the expense of the 45-year-old Guardiola.

According to Ribery, 33, Ancelotti is an experienced coach, “totally different” from Guardiola, who “has not had a long career as a coach” and the player says he feels “motivated and liberated” again on the pitch.

“I don’t need a coach to tell me what I have to do right on the pitch when I have the ball,” added Ribery.

Having sometimes had a strained relationship with Guardiola, the Frenchman says Ancelotti has given Bayern “what we have been missing a bit” while the Italian said Ribery was “one of the best” players on the pitch in Chicago.

In magazine Sport Bild, Ribery continued his criticism of Guardiola, pointing to the Spaniard’s lack of experience despite winning 14 titles in four years with Barcelona and seven trophies in three years with Bayern. Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek (center), is defended by Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren (right), and Ragnar Klavan during the second half of the International Champions Cup soccer match at the Rose Bowl on July 27, in Pasadena,

California. The Chelsea won 1-0. (AP) over West Germany with Hurst becoming the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

But whether or not the ball bounced behind the line from Hurst’s shot for England’s third goal has been debated for half a century with Saturday marking the 50th anniversary of the 1966 final.

Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst awarded the goal after consulting with his linesman, Azerbaijan’s Tofiq Bahramov, of the then USSR. Some modern studies, using film analysis and computer simulation, suggest the ball never crossed the line, something Seeler has been insisting on for half a century.

“I was standing at the back of the box and saw exactly that the ball didn’t cross the line,” said the 79-year-old Seeler.

Hurst’s shot beat West Germany goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski, the ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced on the line before being headed away by defender Wolfgang Weber.

But Dienst’s decision has always baffled the Germans and their skipper Seeler.

“We were all in a state of commotion, none of us knew what was going on,” said Seeler.

“No one (in the West Germany team) could understand why the goal was given.”

While the 1966 final remains England’s only World Cup triumph, the Germans’ victory at the 2014 Brazil finals was their fourth world title and Seeler says it is time to put the 1966 controversy to bed.

“I believe all the players have now well digested the events,” he said.

“Even if it was a defining moment, sport is sometimes like that. You have to absorb it and put it away.”

Up until his death in 1998, Dienst admitted he had no idea whether the ball ever fully crossed the line and, in his autobiography “1966 And All That”, even Geoff Hurst has said the Germans were probably right.

And Seeler joked about the incident whenever he met members of England’s 1966 side.

“When Geoff or Bobby (Moore) or Jackie (Charlton) were here, we’d have a laugh together about it,” said Seeler.

“They knew alright that the ball wasn’t in. They saw it.”

And Seeler said he is pleased goal-line technology in the modern game means there will be no such repeat of the events 50 years ago.