How are the football leagues affected by Covid-19?
Champions League final has been postponed
European Football Federation indefinitely postpone Champions League and Europa League finals this season. This is the second time UEFA has rescheduled the match in the past week, after deciding to leave Euro to 2021.
The new schedule arrangement depends mainly on the control of Covid-19 in Europe, where a pandemic is intensifying with an increasing number of infected and dying people.
According to the original plan, the Champions League final took place on May 30 in Istanbul, Turkey, and the Europa League final on May 27 in Gdansk, Poland.
The Champions League has just completed four pairs of rounds of the eighth round, with the victories going to Atletico, PSG, Leipzig and Atalanta. Four other pairs are waiting for the return leg: Barca – Napoli, Bayern – Chelsea, Juventus – Lyon and Man City – Real.
Many European national championships are also postponed indefinitely, like La Liga. Ligue 1 may only return in mid-June, the Premier League aims at the beginning of May, while the Bundesliga and Serie A are unlikely to rematch in early April as expected.
FA Cup and League Cup are proposed to be cancelled next season
Foreign English clubs can sacrifice two domestic Cup tournaments, if the schedule is too thick due to Covid-19.
Premier League leaders will meet on March 26 to discuss when the tournament will return. Other issues are also discussed. One of the proposals is for clubs to abandon the FA Cup and League Cup if the schedule for the 2020-2021 season is too thick, according to Sun.
Due to the influence of Covid-19, it is not possible to determine the date of the Premier League and the competitions returning to compete. But one thing is certain, that the clubs will face a much thicker schedule to ensure the season can end. It may even encroach on to the following season.
Therefore, the Premier League teams are considering leaving two domestic Cup arenas – FA Cup and League Cup. They want to focus on the Premier League. To do this, clubs must send the Football Association of England (FA) and the Association of Professional Football League (EFL) a compensation.
But compensation may not solve the problem. The FA Cup and League Cup are key events organized by the FA, so they are thought to be difficult to cancel, even for a year.
Liverpool are three wins away from the championship (Part 2)
Bournemouth are 18th and grappling with relegation. But after the opening goal, they made the homeowners confused clearly, and had two more chances to eat the table in the 13th and 14th minutes. Fraser hung the ball from the right to enter, but Stanislas headed the ball missed. Next, Bournemouth almost doubled the gap when Fraser corner kick, let Ake head stretch, but goalkeeper Adrian chose the right position to push the ball, save.
However, Liverpool quickly regained their spirit, almost equalizing in the 17th minute. Alexander-Arnold passed a long pass to Firmino to overcome Steve Cook’s block and then shot into the near corner. Only thanks to the timely reflex of goalkeeper Ramsdale, Bournemouth has not lost the advantage. But they also could not hold out long.
Center-back Cook was sore, and his replacement, Simpson, made a decisive mistake, leading to a goal in the 27th minute. Mane stole the ball from Simpson and passed it into the 16m50 area. Blocked by a guest defender, but Salah still managed to find a convenient position and the necessary space, to twist the shot into the near corner, defeating Ramsdale.
The atmosphere was blown back, Liverpool continued to bombard the visitors, and was rewarded with a goal to make the score 2-1 at 33 minutes. In a dispute in the middle of the pitch, Van Dijk had a ball and a long pass. up above, for Mane to open up the speed, beat goalkeeper Ramsdale in no tutoring position.
Bournemouth almost know how to stand after it. Liverpool regularly control the ball at over 70%, sometimes up to 80%. Opportunities also follow, but their strikers lack a bit of feeling to concretize, widen the gap. The most unfortunate phase of eating for the home team in the remaining time came in the 74th minute, when Mane shot the ball away from the touch point between the vertical column and the crossbar.
Win 2-1, Liverpool extended the unbeaten circuit at home in the Premier League to 55 games, including 45 victories and 10 draws. Calculated in the last 22 Premier League matches played at Anfield, Liverpool won, thereby setting a new record of the highest league in English football on the winning circuit at home.
Premier League is suffering because of Covid-19
The decision to postpone because Covid-19 of the Premier League is causing many problems. This is related to the contract of the players at the tournament.
According to the BTC decision, the Premier League will be postponed until April 3 when the Covid-19 pandemic is booming in Europe. However, this is only a temporary solution, the number 1 tournament in England may even take off until May or June. And this will cause the Euro 2020 finals to be postponed.
But if the above scenario happens, an irony situation will occur when many players will not be able to play for their club until the end of the season.
Willian & Matic are the players who are out of contract
Specifically, the Daily Mail said there are 69 players will be out of contract with the host club on June 30. Worth mentioning, there are dozens of stars playing for big teams like Nemanja Matic (MU), Willian, Pedro, Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Vertonghen (Tottenham), David Silva (Man City), etc.
In the case when the season returns, an unprecedented prospect is that the aforementioned players may refuse to play for the club because they no longer have a binding contract. This season there are still 9 rounds to play and this is what can happen.
Director of sports law firm, Udo Onwere shared on Sportsmail. “The teams will try to wait, but after June 30, the player no longer has any obligations to play the game. The player has all the power in that scenario.”
Obviously, the raging of Covid-19 has brought to the football world many difficult problems. After the announcement of the postponement of the Premier League was officially announced, there were many questions. Even the possibility of canceling tournament results is taken into account.
In order to solve the contract maturity problem, a solution was put forward, that the players and the host club must come to a separate agreement.
For example, Nemanja Matic will continue to play in the final rounds of MU when receiving a one-time payment (payment). However, the Serbian midfielder will not be signing any contracts with other teams during this period.
In general, given the escalating situation of Covid-19, the Premier League must extend the compensatory time until July is entirely possible.
Liverpool are three wins away from the championship (Part 1)
Against Bournemouth 2-1 in the 29th round on March 7, Liverpool were one step closer to winning the Premier League.
Sadio Mane is the hero of Liverpool’s victory. He passed the ball to teammate Mo Salah equalizing 1-1, shortly after the home team conceded. The Senegal striker then scored the goal himself, with a forte acceleration, beating the Bournemouth keeper to set the result 2-1 when the clock just scored 33 minutes.
The ungainly Van Dijk, Salah, Firmino and even Mane made Liverpool unable to score more goals in the remaining time. A 2-1 score means Liverpool have conceded for the first time and scored less than three goals against Bournemouth, after firing 17 goals and keeping clean sheets during the last five encounters. Coach Klopp is also more or less not satisfied, considering the babbling of the home defense.
However, after all, Liverpool can still smile the way the players share the joy with the fans at Anfield after the game. After two consecutive defeats, 0-3 at Watford in the Premier League and 0-2 at Chelsea at the FA Cup, Klopp’s teachers and students have returned to winning.
Not only being a little closer to the first Premier League title in history, defeating Bournemouth is also the spiritual boost needed to give Liverpool more confidence to prepare for the big battle in the Champions League mid-next week. Thursday 12/3, they will host Atletico Madrid with the task of reversing the situation after losing 0-1 away away in the first round of 1/8.
The desire to win after losing three of the last four matches makes Liverpool enter the game as if to eat the opponent alive. After only about five minutes of play, they were in complete control of the situation and at times made up to 9 in 10 Bournemouth players – not counting the goalkeeper – to retreat to the backyard to support.
In the midst of that ebbiness, Liverpool was poured into a cold water right after ninth minute. After a cross by Mane’s cross, the visitors counterattacked quickly. Host midfielder Joe Gomez made a mistake during a dispute with Callum Wilson, allowing him to pass to the right. Bournemouth coordinated another two beats, before Lerma stretched for Wilson to close the ball. VAR intervened, but still recognized the opener for the away team.
Barca is facing a personnel crisis for Champions League
Injury and a penalty card could cost Barca up to three key positions after a 1-1 draw at Napoli’s Champions League Stadium on February 25.
Busquets and Arturo Vidal, because of a card, will be absent when Barca reunite with Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Nou Camp on March 18.
Busquets received a yellow card after 49 minutes for kicking in the ball under Dries Mertens. But this card means that the Barca midfielder has enough penalty cards, and therefore, will have to sit out in the second leg.
Vidal was shown a yellow card for dissent after a dispute with left-back Napoli Manuel Rui on the 89th minute. But due to the reaction, Barca midfielder was penalized by the referee Felix Brych for a second yellow card, indirect red card.
In stoppage time, Gerard Pique got hurt after a block in the penalty area. The Barca center-back grimaced and rolled to the field because of the pain in his left ankle, then replaced with Clement Lenglet shortly thereafter.
Barca is waiting for the evaluation of Pique’s injury department. In the worst case, the center-back may have to miss El Clasico at Real Madrid on March 2, and the second leg against Napoli.
The defending champion La Liga is truly becoming a miniature hospital with a total of 29 injuries and 16 players affected since the start of the season. The three most injured players are Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Ousmane Dembele. Each player has three times. The most serious cases were Neto (broken left arm), Suarez (knee) and Dembele (hamstring). All three players have to go to the operating table and take a long rest.
Barca currently has only 18 players from Team A that are fit to play. When needed, coach Quique Setien was forced to call some more players from the B team such as Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, or Alex Collado. The Nou Camp host has three rare players who have not yet worked with the doctor, Frenkie De Jong, Antoine Griezmann and Sergio Busquets.
However, Busquets, in all circumstances, Barca will still fight hard for the goal of victory.
Tottenham lost 0-1 in the first round of 1/8 Champions League
He played on home field, Tottenham runner-up lost to Leipzig 0-1 in the first round of 1/8 Champions League on February 19.
The only goal came in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Left-back Ben Davies made a mistake, before illegally stopping Konrad Laimer in the penalty area. Referee Cuneyt Cakir immediately pointed to the 11m mark. VAR team agrees with this decision. In a series of brainstorming matches, Timo Werner finished exactly, bringing the victory for Leipzig right on the pitch of Tottenham.
The goal is a reward for what Leipzig has been offering since the beginning of the match. They entered the game better, having four finishes in the first 10 minutes, in which a ball hit the post after leaving Angelino’s leg. “Rooster” kicks hard, to block the excitement of the visitors but failed. Hugo Lloris constantly worked, and repeatedly denied the efforts of Werner striker – Patrik Schick. However, until the challenge on the 11m mark, the Tottenham captain gave up.
After taking the advantage, Leipzig dropped the squad to low to preserve the gap. They accepted to give the game to the home team and only had two more finishes in the remaining 30 minutes. Jose Mourinho’s army is on the rise, but mostly relying on fixed situations to turn things around. Their best chance came in the 72nd minute, when Giovani Lo Celso took a beautiful free kick from about 25m. Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi gently touched the ball, sending it to the post.
Lacking both the best strikers, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Jose Mourinho arranged a 4-4-2 layout, with the main strikers Dele Alli and Lucas Moura. Last season, Moura excelled in this position, culminating in a hat-trick against Ajax in the semi-final second leg, helping Tottenham win backwards. The intention of the “Special One” is to use fast, direct counter-attacks, when Leipzig accrues, in order to maximize the speed of Moura.
The performance in the first half was exactly as Mourinho predicted. Leipzig, with full of mighty soldiers, actively controlled the ball with three central midfielders. Tottenham avoided confrontation in the middle and always sought to develop the ball to the front lines as quickly as possible.
Losing 0-1, Tottenham has much work to do in the second leg after three weeks. In the last few seasons, the upstream in the Champions League knockout stages, after losing the first leg, is not uncommon. It was the “Rooster” fans who tasted that feeling last season, when Mauricio Pochettino’s teachers and students eliminated Ajax in the semi-finals.
Man City – West Ham kicked back on February 19
The Premier League round 26 between Man City and West Ham has been postponed due to Super Typhoon Ciara will replay on February 19.
Man City and West Ham will be competing at 19:30 on Wednesday 19/2, London time. According to the previous schedule, this match should have taken place from Sunday 9/2. But due to bad weather because of Typhoon Ciara, and concerns for the safety of fans and staff, the parties concerned decided to postpone.
The replay will cause Man City and West Ham to shorten the winter vacation. After coming back this weekend, Man City have to play six matches in just 19 days. The next rivals of the Guardiola teachers and students will be Leicester on February 22, Real Madrid (February 26), Aston Villa (1/3), Sheffield Wednesday (March 4) and Man Utd 8/3.
The match between Man City and West Ham is a rare time for an English Premier League to take place on the same day as the European Cup schedule. On February 19, Guardiola’s star orchestra will play 30 minutes earlier than the ball time for Tottenham – RB Leipzig and Atalanta – Valencia in the 1/8 Champions League round.
Previously, the European Football Federation (UEFA) did not allow member clubs clubs to reschedule on the same day as the matches in the European Cup. But since 2017, UEFA has abandoned this rule.
Man City is currently ranked second in the Premier League, 22 points behind Liverpool in 25 rounds. West Ham are struggling in the relegation battle, finishing third from the bottom with only 24 points.
Previously, postponed Man City – West Ham match
UK The Premier League match between Man City and West Ham on February 9 is one of many sporting events that have been postponed due to the influence of Super Typhoon Ciara.
Super Typhoon Ciara is considered the most feared storm from about seven years, hitting the UK today. The strongest wind in the center of the storm reached nearly 130 km / h, causing rain, flooding and even snowstorms across much of the UK.
The British Meteorological Agency forecasts the impact of Ciara will be spread across the country, disrupting air, rail and sea operations, sporting events and destruction of many properties. Many areas will have blackouts on a large scale, because snowstorms and 10cm thick snow cover in some places.
Eriksen is the most valuable player in Serie A
Christian Eriksen quickly surpassed Dybala and Ronaldo to take the number one spot, after switching from Tottenham to Inter.
According to Transfermarkt transfer pricing website, Eriksen is currently worth $ 105.5 million. This is the highest level for a player in Serie A today, more than 100 million of Dybala (Juventus) and 94 million of Lautaro Martinez (Inter).
Matthijs De Ligt, Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) and Romelu Lukaku (Inter) came in fourth with 88 million. Followed by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Miralem Pjanic (Juventus) came in eighth place with 82 million, and Marcelo Brozovic (Inter) ranked tenth with 70 million.
Transfermarkt’s calculation of transfer value is based on age, style and future development potential. Accordingly, at a ripe age and at 27, Eriksen is one of the top players in the world. Ronaldo has a more outstanding performance, but is underestimated because he is about to turn 35.
Inter only cost about 22 million to buy Eriksen. Tottenham sold him for a much cheaper price than the value because there was only half a year left on contract. If waiting until the summer of 2020, the English club will have to leave Eriksen on a free transfer.
After arriving at Inter, Eriksen signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. The Danish midfielder receives the top salary in Serie A with about $416,000 per week.
The early purchase of Eriksen also proves Inter’s determination in the Serie A 2019-2020 race. In the Top 10 Serie A value players, Inter and Juventus all have four positions.
Juventus is leading Serie A with 51 points after 21 matches, three more than Inter. Lazio ranked third with 46 points, but played less than one match. The remaining 17 laps are expected to have more interesting developments with the three horse race.
After the Champions League final in early June, Eriksen sent a message to Tottenham that he wanted a “new challenge”. The Danish midfielder has played six seasons for the north London team and has only one year left to sign. This is the time Tottenham needs to sell before it is at risk of losing.
In six seasons at Tottenham, Eriksen has not won a title. The team twice reached the final, but lost in the 2014-2015 League Cup and the 2018-2019 Champions League.
In the opposite direction, Tottenham aimed Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso of Real Betis as Eriksen’s replacement.
Defeating Man City, MU still had to leave League Cup
Manchester City beat Man City 1-0 in the second leg of the League Cup second leg at Etihad, but that was not enough for the “Red Devils” to reach the final when they lost 3-1.
As a team underestimated, Man Utd joined the defense of the majority. With De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Man City still easily penetrated the multi-layer defense of the visitors. At least twice in the first half, Aguero was close to the goal but the Argentine striker could not beat De Gea.
Man City played overwhelmingly but suddenly let MU concede after a fixed situation in the 35th minute. Nemanja Matic hit the left foot volley accurately into the far corner that Bravo could only stand still. In the last minutes of the first half, the pressure was increased by the host but no goals were scored.
The initiative still belongs to Man City in the second half. De Gea’s goal was wide open, but the blue-footed strikers handled it so perfectionist that the opportunity passed unfortunately.
76 minutes, MU only played with 10 people when Matic received a second yellow card from the referee Kevin Friend. Man City with an advantage over people also can not take advantage to score goals. In the 84th minute, Aguero put the ball into the visitors’ net but like Sterling in the first half, the goal was not recognized for offside.
To lose 0-1 but Man City still won the right to the League Cup final against Aston Villa when the total score after 2 matches was 3-2.
Solskjaer coach believes MU can comeback against Man City
Coach Ole Solskjaer insists Man United can afford to overcome Man City, as they did before PSG in the Champions League in the 2018/19 season.
“The next game will be very difficult, we will have to score 2 goals against Man City away and it would be great if not to concede a goal first. The players will have to play with the same spirit as the game against PSG at Champions League. We have the strength to beat Man City, the way we beat them in the Premier League”, Daily Star quoted the Norwegian strategist.
Guardiola proposed to kick it back in the FA Cup
Man City coach Pep Guardiola sees dropping the FA Cup replayings as a solution for English football to reduce the current competitive density.
“League Cup and FA Cup will still take place, but we should skip the replay, and there are fewer teams from the First Division or Premier League,” Guardiola said January 24.
The manager of Man City has repeatedly expressed concern about the players having to play too much. And Guardiola continued to speak, ahead of the FA Cup match against Fulham on Sunday 25 January – the 37th match of Man City from the beginning of the season.
However, Guardiola also asserted that in any case, Man City will always follow the FA schedule. He said: “I always try to be honest and answer questions, but I don’t think about what the FA has to do to reduce the current harsh schedules, it’s not my job. to get our team better every day. When the FA decided they had to play these games, those matches, we complied. ”
Man City are competing on all four fronts this season, including the Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup and the Premier League. But the chances of Guardiola’s teachers and students defending the Premier League title are slimmer. After 24 rounds, they are 16 points less than the top of Liverpool – the team still has a match yet to play.
Liverpool lost just two points from the start of the season, and are believed to be able to break the championship record with 100 points set by City two years ago.
Man City used to set records when some people thought that the score record in the Premier League was impossible to break. Sooner or later.” Man City ‘s record will also be surpassed, this season, or later. History always shows that, “Guardiola said casually when talking about Liverpool’ s chances.
