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  • ‘And I wish I had long hair’: Chelsea manager jokes about Nkunku’s playing time

    ‘And I wish I had long hair’: Chelsea manager jokes about Nkunku’s playing time

    At a press conference on the eve of Chelsea’s European Cup match, Enzo Maresca responded with a hint of irony to a journalist’s question about the French international’s desire for playing time.

    Enzo Maresca is a coach who is clearly as teasing as he is annoyed. At the head of a gargantuan squad, overflowing with talent, especially offensive ones, the Chelsea coach must manage the desire for playing time and the ambitions of many players, including French international Christopher Nkunku, the Blues’ flagship signing for the summer of 2023.

    Used sparingly this season, particularly in the Premier League where he has only played 163 minutes in 11 matches, the Frenchman could want more. Asked about this at a press conference on Wednesday, on the eve of the Blues’ Europa Conference League match, the very balding Enzo Maresca responded with irony. “Nkunku would like to play more? And I would like to have long hair. That’s how it is…”

    “Joao Felix played a Premier League match the other day against Leicester. And of course Christopher Nkunku is also going to play Premier League matches. But we have a lot of players and we try to share the minutes between them. We want to make them all happy, even if sometimes it is not possible.”

    “I spoke with Christopher a few days ago, he did not tell me he was unhappy, continues the Italian, who categorically ruled out parting ways with the Frenchman this winter. Of course, he would like to play more, but like many players. We have so many games…”

    Maresca does not isolate Nkunku, on the contrary. But he highlights a characteristic of his squad that has the merit of jumping out at you: it has too many alternatives. “It is the same question with him as with the others: if you play with Cole (Palmer), Joao (Felix), Christo (Nkunku), Noni (Madueke), Jadon (Sancho)… who defends?” Fortunately for Maresca, Chelsea’s squad is also copiously stocked in defense.

  • Football: injured, Benjamin Pavard out for several weeks

    Football: injured, Benjamin Pavard out for several weeks

    The French defender was injured during the first half of the Champions League match between Inter Milan and Leipzig. According to Sky Sport, he will be sidelined for three weeks.

    A tough blow for a French international. Replaced in the first half against Leipzig this Tuesday in the Champions League, Benjamin Pavard will miss several matches with Inter Milan. The French defender underwent clinical examinations this morning and is suffering from a strain in the hamstring of his left thigh. His condition will be “reassessed next week”.

    According to Sky Sport, the duration of his unavailability will however be longer. This injury would indeed require three weeks of rest for Benjamin Pavard, who would then miss the trip to Fiorentina, the reception of Parma and, even, the trip to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

    This is the first injury for the Northerner this season. His last major problem dates back to November 5th when he suffered a dislocation of the patellar toe and was sidelined for almost a month and a half.

    Starting on Tuesday against Leipzig, Benjamin Pavard was replaced in the 44th minute, after receiving a yellow card at the start of the match. He had been replaced by Yann Bisseck. A blow that did not prevent the Nerazzurri from winning thanks to an own goal by Castello Lukeba in the 27th minute (1-0). This success allows Inter Milan to move into second place in the group stage.

  • “The atmosphere is heavy, we need to burst the boil”: Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s spleen at PSG

    “The atmosphere is heavy, we need to burst the boil”: Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s spleen at PSG

    The Paris Saint-Germain striker spoke about the tensions that exist between the Parisians and their coach Fabrice Abriel.

    Forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto spoke to AFP about a “heavy atmosphere” at PSG since the start of the season, marked by tensions between players and coach Fabrice Abriel, but wants to “move forward”. “It’s heavy, the atmosphere is heavy, we have to get to the bottom of it and tell each other things”, said the Parisian centre-forward about the tensions in the locker room since Fabrice Abriel’s arrival this summer.

    The season “started off on a very bad footing and with misunderstandings during this transfer window”, added the PSG star, mentioning in particular the departure to OL of top scorer Tabitha Chawinga. Sandy Baltimore and Oriane Jean-François also left PSG for Chelsea, as did goalkeeper Constance Picaud who signed for Fleury. Defender Griedge Mbock and goalkeeper Mary Earps went the other way.

    “You have to accept some departures and move forward. We can’t stay in this in-between: either we’re all together and we go to war together, or we continue to cry and we’re going to have a very long season,” she insisted. 

    Asked about the tensions between Fabrice Abriel and Grace Geyoro, deprived of the captaincy and excluded from the group on Saturday against Dijon (6-1), “MAK” simply replied: “What happens between them, that’s none of my business.” 

    A “decision already made” for her future

    Between the coach and her, “that hasn’t changed.” “I’m here to train and play. He’s a good coach who knows football well, he’s a former professional player, he knows what he wants to put in place, he knows what he’s doing,” said Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who had spoken highly of the new coach at the start of the season. 

    Regarding PSG’s early elimination from the Champions League, Katoto acknowledged that the start of the season had been “difficult”. “We were able to bounce back well, I’m very happy and proud because it really wasn’t easy to get back on track after this kind of failure that happened very early on,” she said. 

    At the end of her contract at the end of the season, “MAK” assured that her “decision has already been made and that it will not change”. If negotiations are underway with the club for an extension? “No”. If she wants to leave PSG? “We’ll see.” 

    Arriving at Clairefontaine on Monday for the gathering of the French women’s team, Grace Geyoro then reacted, to L’Équipe, to the tense situation between her and her coach at PSG. “I can’t control what people say, or what happens,” she explained. “I can’t do anything about meanness or injustice. I want to be me, above all. I was looking forward to it. It’s a real breath of fresh air. Here, I can train properly, express myself, play matches and have fun. Laurent Bonadei (Editor’s note: the coach of Les Bleues) counts on me a lot, so I give my all for him! This confidence is a pleasure.”

  • Behind the scenes of Mbappé’s iconic photo: ‘Rare to capture such a star in such a strange position’

    Behind the scenes of Mbappé’s iconic photo: ‘Rare to capture such a star in such a strange position’

    The image, which has gone around the world, was on the front page of all the Spanish sports press this Thursday. The photographer who took the photo tells us how he captured this moment, as unusual as it was memorable.

    It’s a photo that went around the world in just a few hours. Which also became the subject of multiple humorous montages on social networks. Wednesday evening, during Real Madrid’s defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League (2-0), Kylian Mbappé found himself upside down, as if buried in the ground, following contact with a Reds defender in the first half. 

    In the front row, English photographer Peter Powell captured this incredible moment. He tells Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France how he did it. And is delighted to have taken THE photo of the match.

    “I am 50 years old and I work as a freelance photographer in the United Kingdom for the national press and agencies. Wednesday evening, I covered the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid for the EPA agency with which I have collaborated for 13 years on major football events (World Cup, Euro and European finals). Before becoming a freelance photographer, I worked for 16 years for the News of the World newspaper.

    On Wednesday night, I was sitting on one side of the pitch, along the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand. It’s not a position I usually occupy as I prefer to be behind a goal. But in this game, with Vinicius Junior injured, I knew that all eyes would be on Kylian Mbappé who was back in his preferred position, on the left wing, rather than at the forefront of the attack where he has played most of the season. So, I knew that Kylian would be a major story of this game, whatever the result, and I focused on him much more than usual.

  • 2026 World Cup: France in Pot 1 for the qualifying draw on December 13

    2026 World Cup: France in Pot 1 for the qualifying draw on December 13

    Thanks to their status as quarter-finalists in the Nations League, Les Bleus are protected for this draw.

    The summer of 2026 is still far away, but it is getting very close. In any case, it will enter the minds of the players of the French team, who will defend their World Cup final, reached in December 2022 against Argentina. 

    On December 13, the first step: the draw for the qualifiers. The procedure and the seedings were made official this Thursday, and the Blues will be protected.

    Because logically, they are part of pot 1. Winners in 2018, finalists in 2022, Didier Deschamps’ men will therefore avoid all the European big names for the qualifiers. The eight quarter-finalists of the Nations League are in this first pot, and are joined by the four European nations best placed in the FIFA world rankings: England, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. This same ranking determined the composition of the other four pots.

    Twelve groups will therefore be drawn on December 13. While the Blues will avoid strong teams like Spain, England or Germany, they will still be able to meet Ukraine, Turkey, Greece or Norway. Only the top teams in each group will qualify directly for the competition.

    The draw pots:

    Pot 1: France, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria

    Pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Norway

    Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel

    Pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Lithuania

    Pot 5: Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino.

  • Europa League: Nice implodes against Glasgow Rangers (1-4) and remains at the bottom of the table

    Europa League: Nice implodes against Glasgow Rangers (1-4) and remains at the bottom of the table

    Crushed by Glasgow Rangers and weakened by too many absences, Nice has sunk and remains stuck in 35th place out of 36. It will take a miracle to avoid being eliminated prematurely.

    Miracles are for others. Nice remains stuck at the bottom of the Europa League table. Against the Scottish team Glasgow Rangers, the absence of too many Aiglons proved prohibitive. Because Nice is hit by a cascade of absentees for this match since in addition to the suspensions of Bombito and Diop, Franck Haise had to deplore the injuries of Dante, Clauss, Mendy, Sanson, Moffi or Orakpo. On his bench, the Nice coach had called up five youngsters who had never played a single minute of play in an official match…

    At first, Nice thought they had obtained a penalty but the Var took charge of overturning the referee’s decision (7th). And then, the troubles will arrive in squadrons on the heads of the Nice. First with the premature exit due to injury of captain Youssouf Ndayishimiye (19th). As if there weren’t enough players on the flank already. Gradually, the Scots grew bolder and opened up a huge gap in the last ten minutes of the first half.

    After a cross from Sterling on the right, the ball came back to Cerny, who took his chance. His shot was deflected twice and wrong-footed Bulka (0-1, 35th). Another cross from Sterling made the difference again three minutes later as he found Diomandé whose left-footed shot crucified Bulka (0-2, 38th).

    Completely demotivated, the locals sank into nonsense. Abdelmonem didn’t press hard enough on a back pass to Bulka, which benefited Igamane (0-3, 45th + 3). After the break, the latter took advantage of another gift. This time, it was Rosario who lost a ball and then a duel at the edge of the area. And Igamane only has to open his foot (0-4, 54th).

    In the stands of the Allianz Riviera, already sparsely filled, the spectators, disgusted, leave the stadium in handfuls. They will not see the direct free kick from Bouanani reducing the score at the end of the match (1-4, 83rd). Nice is 35th out of 36 teams in the Europa League. The rank of the bad ones. Its true place in this competition.

  • Football: Ronaldinho’s exceptional free kick in the top corner during a Barça-Real match between old glories

    Football: Ronaldinho’s exceptional free kick in the top corner during a Barça-Real match between old glories

    The Brazilian had a great time in a gala match held on Thursday in Doha.

    He may be 44 years old and have had a sometimes eventful post-career, but Ronaldinho has lost none of his touch on the ball. Invited like several former glories of Spanish and European football to Doha for a Barça-Real clasico between old glories, “Ronnie” delighted with a touch of the paw that he has the secret.

    On a free kick close to the edge of the area, a little off-center, the former PSG or Barça striker found the perfect trajectory, just above the wall, to find the skylight of Paco Buyo, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper.

    And if Paco Buyo, 66 years old, did not make the slightest gesture, we are quite curious to know what a goalkeeper in the prime of life could have done faced with such a gesture. In any case, this goal allowed Barça to lead by two goals, before finally winning on penalties.

    Other very prestigious names took advantage of this moment with Ronaldinho: Ludovic Giuly and Eric Abidal for the French, but also Luis Figo, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo for the world’s elite.

  • Former UFC fighter challenges Ronaldo to a fight: “He seems like a big, tough guy. I’d like to see his strength”

    Former UFC fighter challenges Ronaldo to a fight: “He seems like a big, tough guy. I’d like to see his strength”

    Cristiano Ronaldo is a fan of combat sports. He has been seen at several events in Saudi Arabia, such as boxing and MMA.

    Darren Till, former UFC fighter, launched an unusual challenge to Cristiano Ronaldo. And how about a fight between the two?

    The man who will face Tommy Fury on January 18, 2025, in Manchester, in a boxing fight, was asked which personality he would like to face in the Octagon.

    “With Gary Neville, because we already had an argument on Twitter. He doesn’t like me and we had this little disagreement. I don’t hate him, but I would probably choose him or Cristiano Ronaldo. Because Cristiano seems like a big, tough guy. I would like to see the speed and his strength. He seems to be very explosive.

    Cristiano Ronaldo is a fan of combat sports. He has been seen at several events in Saudi Arabia, such as boxing and MMA.

    Darren Till is preparing to switch from MMA to boxing. His first fight will be against Tommy Fury, younger brother of world champion Tyson Fury.

  • Yuki Tsunoda believes he is ready for a chance at Red Bull’s first team

    Yuki Tsunoda believes he is ready for a chance at Red Bull’s first team

    Tsunoda, who competes on Red Bull’s secondary team, wants to move up to the main team.

    Yuki Tsunoda, who competes for RB, has shown that he wants to make the jump to the main team, where he believes he could fight Verstappen.

    “I’m ready to fight this monster [Verstappen], but at the same time, I want to congratulate him on what he did today”, he said during the celebrations of Verstappen’s fourth consecutive title, leaving the idea that he will be preparing for a duel against to Dutch.

    Following recent criticism of Sergio Pérez, the Japanese welcomes taking this position. “If I knew what to do to get to Red Bull, I would do it straight after this interview. We know these are things I don’t control, the only thing I can control is my performance, as I have demonstrated so far this year,” he said .

    “I trust in myself and I have shown that my results are the most consistent possible”, added he, who is 11th in the championship with 30 points.

  • Zeno Debast returns to training at Sporting

    Zeno Debast returns to training at Sporting

    On Saturday, Sporting, leader of the I League, with 33 points, receives Santa Clara, fourth, with 21, at the José Alvalade Stadium.

    Zeno Debast returned to training as part of Sporting’s main squad, after recovering from injury, revealed today the Portuguese champion, who is preparing to welcome Santa Clara, in the 12th round of the I League.

    The 21-year-old defender missed the triumph against Amarante (6-0), in the Portuguese Cup, on Friday, and the defeat against Arsenal (5-1), on Tuesday, in the Champions League , both at the José Alvalade Stadium, after returning from the Belgian national team injured.

    The ‘lions’ return to training on Friday, at the Academy, in Alcochete, where the pre-game press conference with the Azoreans will take place, starting at 1pm.

    On Saturday, Sporting, leader of the I League, with 33 points, receives Santa Clara, fourth, with 21, at the José Alvalade Stadium, in Lisbon, at 8:30 pm, in a match for the 12th round of the competition.

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