سجل أليخاندرو جارناتشو هدف التقدم لـ مانشستر يونايتد في مرمى مانشستر سيتي، بنهائي كأس الدرع الخيرية، على ملعب ويمبلي في العاصمة الإنجليزية لندن.

مانشستر يونايتد بطل كأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي يواجه مانشستر سيتي بطل الدوري، في مباراة افتتاحية الموسم الجديد 2024\2025 للكرة الإنجليزية.

طالع أيضًا.. ذا أثلتيك: مانشستر يونايتد يحسم صفقتين مدويتين من الدوري الألماني

أليخاندرو جارناتشو دخل بديلًا في الدقيقة 59 بدلًا من أماد ديالو، في تغيير ثالث للمدرب تين هاج لتنشيط الهجوم.

دخول جارناتشو كان وراء التقدم، عندما سجل الهدف في الدقيقة 82 في مرمى الحارس إيديرسون مورايش، بعد تمريرة من راشفورد، مهدها لنفسه وسدد بالقدم اليسرى على يسار الحارس البرازيلي. هدف جارناتشو في مباراة مانشستر يونايتد ومانشستر سيتي 

Craig McMillan, the New Zealand batting coach, has urged his batsmen to come up with “precise and clear” plans against Yasir Shah ahead of the third Test against Pakistan, which begins on December 3 in Abu Dhabi. Yasir’s match figures of 14 for 184 in Dubai were instrumental in Pakistan levelling the series after they lost a pulsating first Test by four runs.McMillan rued the “crazy hour” on day three, when Yasir sparked a New Zealand collapse from 50 for 0 to 90 all out in their first innings, and said the performances of second-innings half-centurions Tom Latham, Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls showed how the legspinner could be countered.”From a batting point of view you just have to be so precise and clear with your batting plan, especially against Yasir Shah who was outstanding,” McMillan said. “He’s going to test you early on, he’s going to test that defence, so your defence has to be so tight, has to be so spot on, because if you make a mistake it’s pretty vital over here.”And we saw, certainly in that second innings, some improvement, from the likes of Taylor and Nicholls and Latham, who batted a long time out there and showed what was possible. It didn’t happen in the first innings – it would have been a very different Test match if it had happened – but the guys are learning. We need to learn a bit quicker and get it right, I guess, in that first innings of the third Test.”Henry Nicholls gets down to sweep•AFP

McMillan took the example of Taylor’s first-innings dismissal – the ball drifting in towards leg stump, opening up the batsman, and spinning past his outside edge to hit off stump – when asked what made Yasir so difficult to negotiate.”Right up there, in terms of quality,” McMillan said of Yasir’s bowling in Dubai. “The drop and the drift that he was able to generate, especially in that first innings, in that spell, was as good as I’ve seen, and that was one of the things that made Shane Warne so difficult to face, that drift, and we saw that with a couple of dismissals that he bowled – the likes of the Taylor dismissal, that late drop and drift.”It just takes the bat out of line, so you have to take your hat off to him and say that it was an exceptional bowling spell. I think Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan coach, labelled it one of the best spells of legspin bowling that he’d seen, so that makes it even more challenging for us, but the great thing was we saw guys adapt and get better in that second innings, and they trusted those plans, and they were able to put them into practice for a period of time – we just need to do it for longer.”During his second-innings 77 in Dubai, Nicholls went past 1000 runs in Test cricket. The left-hander has had a fine 2018, with a 55 in the first Test in Abu Dhabi and an unbeaten 145 against England in March helping lift his average for the year to 53.00. McMillan was pleased to see Nicholls establish himself in New Zealand’s middle order.”Terrific for Henry,” he said. “Been rapt with the way he’s progressed over this tour. It’s been challenging for him in terms of [playing] spin, and he’s made some real nice adjustments to his gameplan.”He did a lot of work pre-tour, out at Lincoln, at the HPC (High Performance Centre), on some of the surfaces out there, and you can see that progression in his game, even from the first innings where he left the gap and just got done by a ball that dipped and then spun viciously and he left a hole that the ball went through and we talked about that and he made some really nice adjustments, and showed that he could bat for a long period in those conditions, so that will give him a lot of confidence.”He’s just continued his great form over the last 12 months where he’s been one of our better-performed Test players. He’s making a real good performance in the middle order, he’s over a thousand Test runs now, [ICC Test] ranking is up to 17 – that’s great.”

Along with sister Shaiza, Sharmeen had gone about getting women’s cricket in Pakistan officially recognised in the mid ’90s

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2018Sharmeen Khan, one of two sisters all but responsible for the birth of the modern women’s game in Pakistan, has died. Reports suggest that Sharmeen, 46, died of pneumonia.Sharmeen played two Tests – Pakistan’s women’s team has only ever played three – and 26 ODIs between 1997 and 2002, opening the bowling with her right-arm pace and batting in the lower-middle order. Sharmeen, along with her elder sister Shaiza, played in Pakistan women’s first ODI, in Christchurch in 1997.But far more than her playing record, Sharmeen’s role as a fiery advocate of the women’s game in Pakistan in the mid-90s is her legacy. A year before that first ODI the two sisters had helped secure ICC membership for Pakistan women all on their own. It had not been easy, the sisters fighting off various conservative forces within the country, as well as administrative indifference. Those years were marked by various legal battles involving the control of the women’s game – in Pakistan women’s cricket dates back to the 1970s.Such was their influence, the sisters had Pakistan’s earliest tours in that era bankrolled by their father’s business – training camps would be conducted by Sharmeen and Shaiza often at their sprawling residence in Karachi. The sisters set up the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Control Association (PWCCA). This body was recognised by various PCB chiefs and was aligned with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) in the days before the women’s game came under the administration of the ICC.Once that did happen, and the women’s game in Pakistan came under PCB control, Shaiza and Sharmeen were edged out of the scene, though not without a legal fight.Shaiza was the more dominant presence, much more vocal with her opinions and also the more gifted player of the two. But both sisters were recognised internationally – among their proudest achievements were representing the MCC when the club opened membership to women for the first time in 1999. And both Shaiza and Sharmeen, along with Kiran Baluch, were given lifetime MCC membership in 2003, in recognition of their pioneering roles in Pakistan.

Afghanistan will play two ODIs in Edinburgh as part of their build-up to the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2018Afghanistan will play two ODIs against Scotland as part of their build-up to the 2019 World Cup. The matches will be held on May 8 and 10 at the Grange in Edinburgh.The two sides last met at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe at the start of the year, with Scotland recording a seven-wicket victory; however, it was Afghanistan and West Indies who came through the competition to take the final two World Cup places.”Our win versus Afghanistan earlier this year was for me the highlight of 2018, as we played them at their own game,” acting head coach Toby Bailey said. “It was very pleasing to watch the team manage their world-class spin attack with the skills we had been developing throughout the winter.”Scotland have already arranged two ODIs against Sri Lanka, to be played on May 18 and 21, and will take part in a quadrangular T20 tournament with Oman, Ireland and Netherlands in February. After beating No. 1-ranked side England at the Grange in June, they complained about the lack of fixtures in the 2019-2023 FTP.”It is fantastic to have attracted two Full Members for our summer internationals and we are delighted to be playing Afghanistan in May,” Cricket Scotland CEO Malcolm Cannon said.”With our quadrangular series in February and the new ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 starting in July, 2019 looks set to be a busy year for the men’s international team.”

Leeds United are set to play host to Middlesbrough in the Championship at Elland Road this afternoon as they go in search of back-to-back victories.

The Whites head into this match off the back of a 3-1 win over Swansea City on Wednesday night and they are seven points adrift of Ipswich Town in second place.

Daniel Farke's side are chasing down the automatic promotion places as they attempt to secure an instant return to the Premier League.

The German head coach confirmed ahead of the game that Junior Firpo and Joe Gelhardt are the only fresh injury absentees who will not be available to feature today.

Despite no players from his starting XI against Swansea being unavailable, Farke could make one change by finally unleashing Djed Spence from the start.

The right-back was an unused substitute against the Swans and should be brought in to start this match, if fit, as he could form an exciting partnership with Wilfried Gnonto down the right flank.

Wilfried Gnonto's Leeds statistics

FFC have predicted the Italy international to start on the right ahead of Daniel James, who could be rested, for this clash with Middlesbrough.

The 20-year-old whiz has produced three goals and five assists in 21 league starts for Leeds since the start of the 2022/23 Premeir League campaign.

Gnonto is a versatile forward who has experience playing centrally and out wide and could thrive on the right side of the attack if he is an attack-minded right-back who can create overloads to exploit in the final third.

The Italian talent could use Spence's attacking thrust to come in to central positions from the right, both to create space for him in central areas around the box and to open up room for the full-back to sprint forward on the overlap to provide crosses.

Why Djed Spence should start against Middlesbrough

Leeds signed the right-back on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer and his only appearance to date came at the start of September against Sheffield Wednesday.

However, his previous form at Championship level suggests that he has the attacking capabilities to provide more of a threat at the top end of the pitch than Archie Gray, who has been deployed out of position in the back four.

Gray has produced zero assists, one 'big chance' created, and 0.6 key passes per game across 17 outings in the second tier so far this season.

Whereas, Spence scored two goals, provided four assists, created six 'big chances', and made one key pass per game over his 42 league matches on loan at Nottingham Forest during the 2021/22 campaign.

Former Arsenal forward once hailed the 6 foot gem's "swashbuckling" full-back performance against the Gunners whilst the defender was at Forest, which is backed up by his impressive attacking contributions for the Tricky Trees.

His aforementioned statistics at Championship level suggest that Spence has the potential to offer more quality in possession than Gray, who is not a natural right-back and has been more reserved as a result.

Therefore, Gnonto – or James if he starts – would love the 23-year-old dynamo alongside him on the right flank to cause havoc for the opposition defence.

Last Sunday, Aston Villa put to bed any doubts about the team's away form in the Premier League by earning a massive 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur to leap into the top four. However, this afternoon, those concerns reared their ugly head once more.

The Villans only managed to pick up one point against 16th-place Bournemouth, with a 90th-minute equaliser from Ollie Watkins rescuing the side from a dismal day on the south coast.

It certainly wasn't a vintage display by Villa under Unai Emery at the Vitality Stadium and several players struggled throughout the match, including one man in particular who took the cake.

Aston Villa's game in numbers

Aston Villa dominated possession in the game, boasting 63% of the ball to the home team's 37% but Emery's side struggled to create many opportunities.

The Midlands club ended the match with 11 shots at goal, recording an xG of just 0.88, according to FotMob. This is an average of 0.08 xG per shot which is quite low. Despite scoring, Watkins had an xG of merely 0.24, showing how poor Villa's chance creation was on the night.

On the flip side, the Cherries registered an xG of 2.11 from 15 shots which comes to an average of 0.14 xG per shot. Bournemouth had a higher quality and volume of chances than the visitors so perhaps a 2-2 draw was a decent result on the balance of play, with Dominic Solanke alone garnering an xG of 1.47, six times more than Watkins.

Furthermore, Villa accumulated nine key passes during the game to the opposition's 13 despite having the lion's share of possession, while only 146 of the away side's 463 passes were in the final third, with more coming in their own defensive third, as per WhoScored.

Despite the team's poor showing statistically, a mistake from one player cost Villa the points during what was ultimately a highly entertaining game.

Diego Carlos' game in numbers

Two minutes after Leon Bailey levelled the game midway through the first half for Aston Villa, Diego Carlos placed a shot past the Bournemouth goalkeeper to take the lead. Unfortunately, the goal was chalked off after a VAR review.

The most disappointed man in the ground will certainly have been the centre-back who missed his shot at redemption after his careless pass landed straight to the feet of Ryan Christie to slip in Antonio Semenyo for the opening goal of the game.

Not only was Carlos at fault for Bournemouth's first goal but he also ranked pretty dismally in Birmingham Live's player ratings, being handed a 6/10. The Athletic's Aston Villa writer Jacob Tanswell called Carlos "sloppy" during the game.

Having signed for the club back in 2022 for a whopping £26m, the 30-year-old earned his fifth Premier League start of the campaign by playing alongside Pau Torres in the heart of the defence. Central defender Ezri Konsa was utilised as a right-back once more, an experiment Emery has grown to favour in recent weeks.

Unfortunately, this trial failed to launch at the Vitality. Carlos lost possession of the ball 12 times through the match, with one leading to a Bournemouth goal. Additionally, he lost 50% of his aerial duels and failed to win a single tackle during the game, while also attempting ten long balls and completing merely four.

Konsa, on the other hand, remarkably won 100% of his 15 total duels against the Cherries, which was more than any other player on the pitch, and also made four ball recoveries before being replaced by Matty Cash with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Perhaps Emery needed this game to see that Konsa is better suited alongside Torres at the back, with Cash returning to the starting lineup on the right.

MatériaMais Notícias

Um passeio. Possivelmente esse seja o melhor termo para explicar a goleada por 4 a 0 do Palmeiras sobre o Corinthians, nesta quarta-feira (18), em jogo atrasado da 28ª rodada do Brasileirão, no Allianz Parque. Raphael Veiga e Luiz Adriano, cada um duas vezes, foram os autores dos gols no jogo.

>> VEJA COMO FICARAM VERDÃO E TIMÃO NA TABELA DO BRASILEIRO

Mesmo com um primeiro tempo equilibrado, até o Verdão abrir o placar, aos 33 minutos, o Alviverde sempre esteve tranquilo, controlando as ações, tendo mais posse de bola e trocando melhores passes que o rival, que dependia de esticadas individuais e bolas paradas para criar algumas chances nos primeiros 45 minutos.

Já no segundo tempo, o Corinthians foi uma equipe anímica e completamente perdida em campo, o que propiciou o Palestra consolidar o placar elástico em seus domínios.

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BOM INÍCIO DO PALMEIRAS

O Palmeiras dominou as ações nos primeiros cinco minutos do jogo. Desde a saída de bola errada do Corinthians, o Alviverde tomou a frente ofensiva, mas tinha dificuldades na criação.

CORINTHIANS LEVA PERIGO PRIMEIRO

A resposta dada pelos corintianos para o bom início palmeirense foi na base da bola parada. Aos sete minutos de partida, o zagueiro Jemerson aproveitou uma bola cruzada pela direita, após cobrança de falta, cabeceou como manda o manual, no chão, e obrigou Weverton a fazer grande defesa.

PALMEIRAS TROCA BONS PASSES

Mas, ainda que o primeiro bom momento do jogo tenha sido do Corinthians, o Palmeiras seguiu tendo mais a bola que o rival. Mesmo que em alguns trechos da etapa inicial tenha caído de ritmo, logo voltava a trocar bons passes e levar dificuldades ao Timão, que buscava a sua criação em jogadas individuais de Gustavo Silva pela direita, mas sem um meio-campo criativo.

CORINTHIANS CHEGA MAIS AO GOL

Quando controlou o ímpeto do Palmeiras, o Corinthians resolveu criar e construiu as melhores oportunidades da etapa inicial, até os 33 minutos, quando o Alviverde abriria o placar.

Primeiramente, o Timão acertou a trave com o zagueiro Gil, que subiu mais que a defensiva palmeirense após cobrança de escanteio pela direita. Na sequência, Cazares encheu o pé na entrada da grande área e obrigou Weverton fazer grande defesa.

PALMEIRAS ABRE O PLACAR…

Quando o Corinthians tomava a frente da partida, o Palmeiras conseguiu abrir o placar, em lance construído da forma que vinha gerando perigo no início do jogo: troca de passes. Aos 33 minutos, Willian, inteligentemente, ganha o bote de Gabriel e serve Raphel Veiga, que bate seco no direito de Cássio para abrir o marcador.

…E POR POUCO NÃO AMPLIA…

Oito minutos após fazer o primeiro gol, o Palmeiras, aceso, quase marca o segundo, após nova boa jogada de Willian, que passa com facilidade por Fábio Santos, bate cruzado para entrada da pequena área, mas vê Fagner chegando primeiro que Luiz Adriano para interceptar.

…MAS DEPOIS AMPLIA

No entanto, quatro minutos depois o gol de Luiz Adriano saiu, e novamente com participação de Willian. Aos 45 minutos do primeiro tempo, Bigode recebeu lançamento em profundidade e serviu o seu companheiro de ataque, que escorou com gol vazio. Inicialmente, o bandeiraAndre da Silva Bitencourt assinalou impedimento, mas após consulta ao VAR o árbitroJean Pierre Gonçalves Lima confirmou o segundo tento palmeirense.

PALMEIRAS VOLTA AINDA MAIS ACELERADO

O Corinthians voltou para o segundo tempo com duas mudanças, Ramiro e Léo Natel no lugar de Cantillo e Matheus Vital, mas de nada adiantou. Os primeiros 30 segundos da etapa complementar foi o reflexo do Timão em todo os 45 minutos finais. Logo de cara, Weverton mandou um chutão pra frente, Cássio saiu estabanado do gol e, ao tentar afastar o perigo, acertou o rosto do zagueiro Jemerson, com a bola quase morrendo contra o patrimônio corintiano.

Na sequência, Cássio teve que aplicar um milagre, após Willian escorar uma cobrança de escanteio no segundo pau. Os palmeirenses ainda pediram gol, mas a bola não havia entrado totalmente.

Contudo, de tanto insistir o Palestra anotou o terceiro gol aos 3 minutos do segundo tempo. Luiz Adriano foi acionado no setor de ataque, mas deixou a bola para Raphael Veiga encher o pé de fora da área e ampliar o placar palmeirense.

LUIZ ADRIANO AMPLIA

E se o meia Raphael Veiga tinha ido às redes duas vezes, o centroavante Luiz Adriano não poderia ficar atrás. Aos 21 minutos da etapa final, Gabriel recuou mal a bola, o camisa 10 alviverde dividiu com Cássio, que tentou abafar, e colocou no fundo do gol, finalizando a goleada no Dérbi.

GABRIEL EXPULSO

O volante, ex-palmeirense, que já havia falhado em dois gols do rival, perdeu a cabeça aos 30 minutos do segundo tempo, quando dividiu com Danilo, sofreu uma falta de ataque do volante adversário, mas na queda deixou o braço no rosto do atleta do Verdão. Após revisão no monitor, o árbitroJean Pierre Gonçalves Lima expulsou o camisa 5 do Timão.

PODERIA SER MAIS

O Palmeiras chegou a balançar as redes mais duas vezes no segundo tempo, com Viña, aos 20 minutos, e Breno Lopes, aos 45, mas ambas as situações foram bem anuladas pela arbitragem por impedimento.

FICHA TÉCNICA
PALMEIRAS 4 x 0 CORINTHIANS

Data e Horário: 18 de janeiro de 2021, às 19h (horário de Brasília)
Local: Allianz Parque, São Paulo (SP)
Árbitro:Jean Pierre Gonçalves Lima (RS)
Assistentes: Leirson Peng Martins (RS) e Andre da Silva Bitencourt (RS)
Árbitro de vídeo:Rodrigo Guarizo Ferreira do Amaral (SP)
Público e renda: portões fechados
Cartões amarelos: Viña e Danilo (Palmeiras); Gustavo Silval, Gi e Xavier (Corinthians)
Cartão vermelho: Gabriel (Corinthians)
Gols: 1-0 Raphael Veiga (33’/1T); 2-0 Luiz Adriano (45’/1T); 3-0 Raphael Veiga (3’/2T); 4-0 Luiz Adriano (21’/2T)
​
CORINTHIANS:Cássio; Fagner, Jemerson, Gil e Fábio Santos; Gabriel, Cantillo (Ramiro, intervalo), Gustavo Silva (Xavier, 27’/2T), Cazares (Everaldo, 27’/2T) e Mateus VItal (Léo Natel, intervalo); Jô. Técnico: Vagner Mancini.

PALMEIRAS: Weverton; Mayke, Luan (Emerson Santos, 36’/2T), Kusevic e Viña (Gustavo Scarpa, 36’/2T); Danilo, Zé Rafael, Gabriel Menino e Raphael Veiga (Pedro Acácio, 44’/2T); Willian (Breno Lopes, 23’/2T) e Luiz Adriano (Rony, 23’/2T).Técnico: Abel Ferreira.

Brazilian sensation Tarciane has signed for the Houston Dash for the third-highest transfer fee ever recorded in the women's game.

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Dash sign Brazil's TarcianeHouston traded Maria Sanchez to SD WaveNWSL side pay third-highest fee ever for defenderWHAT HAPPENED?

The Dash have splashed the cash, signing the 20-year-old defender in stunning fashion. The 11th signing of the 2024 campaign for Houston, General Manager Alex Singer has completely revamped her squad – including the transfer of star player Maria Sanchez to the San Diego Wave.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The central defender has climbed the ranks with the Brazil national team in 2024, making both the CONCACAF W Gold Cup and SheBelievesCup rosters. She appeared in five out of eight matches for the Canarinha, leading them to a second and third place finish each respective tournament. Tarciane was ranked the 14th best wonderkid in women's soccer in 2022 by

WHAT TARCIANE SAID

“I'm very happy to play in Houston, I am motivated and prepared for this new challenge in my career,” Tarciane said. “Playing in the NWSL is a dream come true. This is one of the best leagues in the world plus a country with so much tradition in women's soccer. It's such a fantastic opportunity and I'll do my best to represent this club on-and-off the field.”

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DID YOU KNOW?

Tarciane had a breakout SheBelieves Cup in 2024, scoring against Canada and playing 90 minutes in both the semifinals and third-place match against Japan.

Aston Villa have been sensational this season under Unai Emery and a massive 1-0 win over treble-winners Manchester City on Wednesday night was a testament to how good a job the manager has done since moving to the Midlands just over a year ago.

However, with games coming thick and fast, Villa cannot afford to bask in the glory over their victory in midweek, with league-leaders Arsenal coming to town on Saturday. With four points separating the two sides, the Villans can prove they truly are title challengers by beating the Gunners.

Many may expect Emery to go with the same starting lineup that put City to the sword on Wednesday but the Spanish coach is a notorious tinkerman and could be looking to make things even more difficult for his old side by making one key tactical change.

Diego Carlos' statistics this season

Diego Carlos spent the majority of last season absent with a long-term injury but has become a regular under Emery over the past few months. The manager started the season using a back four comprising Lucas Digne as the left-back, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa in the heart of the defence, and Matty Cash at right-back.

However, recently, Emery has found his new favourite tactical ploy by employing Konsa as a right-back, with Carlos sitting alongside Torres.

Meanwhile, Cash has dropped to the bench. This strategic decision has had mixed effects so far. While Villa kept a clean sheet against City during the week, Carlos also put in a "sloppy" performance away at Bournemouth last weekend, as was the opinion of The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell.

Emery must now bench "sloppy" 6/10 Aston Villa star

This £26m dud lost possession of the ball 12 times for Aston Villa against Bournemouth and should be dropped in the next game.

ByAdam Scully Dec 3, 2023

The Brazilian gave away a goal after playing the ball directly to the Cherries' Ryan Christie who slipped in Dominic Solanke and the centre-forward made no mistake about tucking his chance past Emiliano Martinez.

Furthermore, at home in the 1-0 win over City, the 30-year-old received a FotMob match rating of 6.9 which was the lowest of any Aston Villa player in the starting lineup. The centre-back failed to win a single tackle and triumphed in merely 33% of his ground duels and 50% of his aerial duels.

Carlos did not have a bad game, but Emery could potentially look to replace the experienced defender with someone who will be champing at the bit to get back into the starting lineup.

Matty Cash's statistics this season

Cash's last Premier League start came away in a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago. The Poland international was replaced at half-time with the game locked at 1-1, having featured on the right side of Aston Villa's midfield four throughout the opening 45 minutes.

Emery labelled the £80k-per-week whiz as "versatile" before so this tactical change certainly fit the manager's description.

Konsa has done quite well at right-back and, against Man City in midweek, the 26-year-old won 67% of his tackles and 100% of his total duels, keeping the opposition quiet on his side.

However, the centre-back-cum-fullback put just one cross into the box, ending the match with a 0% crossing accuracy, as per FotMob. Meanwhile, on the left side, Digne whipped eight balls into the box, creating one opportunity for his teammates to score.

There was a huge burden placed on the Frenchman to supply crosses from the wide areas as he delivered more balls than Konsa, Leon Bailey and John McGinn put together.

Konsa is not a marauding fullback, with Emery expecting the former Brentford man to tuck inside and become a third centre-back while Digne bombs on.

Nevertheless, pushing Konsa back into his preferred spot at centre-half and bringing Cash back into the team could remove some of the creative burden from Digne's shoulders as Cash boasts similar attacking numbers to his teammate on the opposite side.

Assists

0.13

0.11

Expected Assists

0.11

0.15

Progressive Passes

3.47

3.39

Progressive Carries

2.47

1.86

Progressive Passes Received

4.47

9.23

Pass Completion %

83.2

74.4

Switches

0.13

0.16

Crosses

1.31

7.13

Passes To Final Third

2.33

2.35

Passes To Penalty Area

0.8

1.69

Crosses To Penalty Area

0.2

0.77

Stats via FBref

Digne is still outperforming Cash in several key metrics such as crosses per 90 and progressive passes received per 90 but is actually boasting more assists than his counterpart and could help Villa be a little more dangerous on the right side against Arsenal.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will be largely satisfied with his summer rebuild after a miserable 2022/23 campaign, and despite impressing since the summer, the need for a specialist No. 6 is clear.

Indeed, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are all acquisitions tantalising success for years to come, but none fit the mould, though Mac Allister has been used from deep to combat the absence of a defensive star in the centre.

Wataru Endo was also signed after failing to convince Chelsea-bound duo Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to make the move to Anfield, but the 30-year-old Japan international is not the convincing long-term solution.

Liverpool transfer news – Morten Frendrup

According to Get Italian Football News, Liverpool are interested in signing rising Danish star Morten Frendrup in 2024, with the Genoa ace cementing himself as one of the Serie A's standout defensive midfielders since arriving from homeland side Brøndby in January 2022.

CIES Football Observatory's valuation model reveals that Frendrup's price tag amounts to around £9m at present, though it's likely that his Italian outfit would issue demands of a far greater sum for his departure.

The 22-year-old helped Genoa achieve promotion to the Italian top-flight last season and has been instrumental in rising to midtable so far this year, and the Reds have taken note.

Morten Frendrup's season by numbers

As per Sofascore, Frendrup has started all 12 of his side's league encounters this term, earning three assists and completing 79% of his passes, also making a stunning average of 4.1 tackles and 6.9 ball recoveries per game, having succeeded in 69% of his duels.

With Genoa currently in 13th place – five points off the relegation zone – after 12 matches, the Denmark native's importance is underscored, providing a sturdy foundation for his team.

He has been described as a "destroyer" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who also hailed him as a "superb" and "extremely effective" prospect.

Given the need for a defensive midfielder at Anfield, it's entirely possible that Frendrup is on Klopp's radar, despite CBS Sports' reporter Ben Jacobs claiming that he's not on the radar, but if he is of interest, it could mean that Liverpool are faced with a decision for January, with summer target Andre still linked with a move.

How Morten Frendrup compares to Andre

Andre was of a vested interest to Liverpool in the summer but Fluminense's progress in the Copa Libertadores prevented his departure, and while he opted to see out the season, he has been blessed with triumph in the esteemed South American tournament.

Frendrup may be the latest name to enter transfer circulation, and while his signature feels attainable for Klopp's side should concrete attention be thrown Genoa's way, the question remains whether he would be the better fit.

As per FBref, Frendrup ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 12% for blocks and the top 4% for assists per 90, emphasising his defensive strength and creative streak.

He does, however, need to work on his distribution as a whole, completing only 78% of his passes on average, which places him in the bottom 25 percentile.

Andre, in comparison, is rather on the other end of the spectrum in that regard, ranking among the top 1% of midfielders across divisions similar to the Brasileiro Serie A for pass completion, the top 2% for passes attempted and the top 12% for successful take-ons per 90.

Clearly, Andre is a natural with his ball-playing skills and would be the ideal replacement for maestro Thiago Alcantara, whose contract is up at the end of the campaign.

But, with that being said, certain claims have been made that the Anfield bosses are not interested in a mid-season move for the Brazilian, with perhaps the ball-playing skills of players such as Mac Allister and Gravenberch now negating the need for his skill set.

In Frendrup, Klopp could secure an exciting midfielder of the traditional mould at the base of the centre, and while he still needs work, his age and profile mean that he would be the perfect fit to enter the fray and fight for a place in the starting line-up.