THE MITE ENTERTAINMENT UGANDA

Cristiano Ronaldo has been axed from the Manchester United squad to face Chelsea this weekend after he walked down the tunnel early against Tottenham on Wednesday night.

Erik ten Hag has decided to banish Ronaldo from the squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge after he left the ground early following United’s 2-0 win against Spurs on Wednesday night. He won’t be involved in first-team training for the rest of the week and won’t be part of the travelling party, instead training on his own at Carrington.

Ronaldo walked down the tunnel with 30 seconds of normal time remaining, as well as four added minutes, and he also left the stadium promptly.

He was absent as teammates celebrated a landmark win under Ten Hag in the dressing room and the manager said he would deal with the incident on Thursday.

Ronaldo was in at Carrington earlier this morning for showdown talks with Ten Hag and the 37-year-old has been told he will not be part of the squad facing Chelsea on Saturday.

The forward made his exit when United had used just three substitutes and his actions took some of the spotlight away from what had been the best performance of the Ten Hag era so far.

A club statement released on Thursday afternoon said: “Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”

The decision was taken by Ten Hag and subsequently backed by the club, who insist he remains an important part of the squad.

Graham Potter has made an excellent start to life as Chelsea manager – & we’ve got the stats to prove it.

Potter was appointed after the sacking of Thomas Tuchel in September and has guided Chelsea to four wins and a draw from his first five fixtures in charge.

He’s giving all of his new players a chance to prove themselves; Potter made seven changes for the victory over Wolves, followed by six as Chelsea beat AC Milan to claim their first victory on Italian soil since 2003.

Speaking in the bowels of the San Siro, Potter said: “We had a bit of time away because of the international break but we just worked hard behind the scenes in emphasising the importance of the group, emphasising the importance of the team, how we act.

“You can see the boys have got quality. They are a responsible group, are honest and open, and I really enjoy working with them. It’s been a nice start for us and we need to carry on.”

It should also be noted that Potter’s impressive start has been made without N’Golo Kante, which has given Ruben Loftus-Cheek a chance to shine in Chelsea’s midfield.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown summed it up well when he said: “Potter’s team is like a chameleon, always changing and disguising itself from its prey. It leaves opposition coaches scrambling to work out what formation they’re facing.”

We’ve collected nine of the best stats that define Potter’s reign at Stamford Bridge so far.

– One of the positive signs under Potter’s era in charge of Chelsea is the changes to their attack; Chelsea have scored 11 times in their last four matches compared to eight in Tuchel’s last seven games.

– Chelsea have racked up 69 shots in five games under Potter, with over two-thirds of them coming from inside the box.

– Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has now scored in three games in a row for Chelsea from every single shot he’s had on target. The number nine curse at Stamford Bridge clearly isn’t affecting him…

– Prior to Potter’s appointment in September, the Blues had kept only one clean sheet in seven games, conceding 10 goals in the process.

– But Chelsea have now kept three clean sheets in a row, including two games against the Italian champions.

– And the much-maligned Kepa Arrizabalaga has kept three consecutive clean sheets for the first time since April 2019.

– Mason Mount was starting to come in for criticism from the Chelsea faithful but he’s now got three open-play assists in his last 2 games (against Wolves and AC Milan).

– Chelsea were bottom of their Champions League group when Potter left Brighton to take the reins at Stamford Bridge. But, after two victories and a draw, Chelsea are now in first place and look set to progress to the knockout rounds.

– Trevoh Chalobah, who has stepped in for the injured Wesley Fofana, is still yet to experience a single defeat in his 28 starts for Chelsea.

Graham Potter has made an excellent start to life as Chelsea manager – & we’ve got the stats to prove it.

Potter was appointed after the sacking of Thomas Tuchel in September and has guided Chelsea to four wins and a draw from his first five fixtures in charge.

He’s giving all of his new players a chance to prove themselves; Potter made seven changes for the victory over Wolves, followed by six as Chelsea beat AC Milan to claim their first victory on Italian soil since 2003.

Speaking in the bowels of the San Siro, Potter said: “We had a bit of time away because of the international break but we just worked hard behind the scenes in emphasising the importance of the group, emphasising the importance of the team, how we act.

“You can see the boys have got quality. They are a responsible group, are honest and open, and I really enjoy working with them. It’s been a nice start for us and we need to carry on.”

It should also be noted that Potter’s impressive start has been made without N’Golo Kante, which has given Ruben Loftus-Cheek a chance to shine in Chelsea’s midfield.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown summed it up well when he said: “Potter’s team is like a chameleon, always changing and disguising itself from its prey. It leaves opposition coaches scrambling to work out what formation they’re facing.”

We’ve collected nine of the best stats that define Potter’s reign at Stamford Bridge so far.

– One of the positive signs under Potter’s era in charge of Chelsea is the changes to their attack; Chelsea have scored 11 times in their last four matches compared to eight in Tuchel’s last seven games.

– Chelsea have racked up 69 shots in five games under Potter, with over two-thirds of them coming from inside the box.

– Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has now scored in three games in a row for Chelsea from every single shot he’s had on target. The number nine curse at Stamford Bridge clearly isn’t affecting him…

– Prior to Potter’s appointment in September, the Blues had kept only one clean sheet in seven games, conceding 10 goals in the process.

– But Chelsea have now kept three clean sheets in a row, including two games against the Italian champions.

– And the much-maligned Kepa Arrizabalaga has kept three consecutive clean sheets for the first time since April 2019.

– Mason Mount was starting to come in for criticism from the Chelsea faithful but he’s now got three open-play assists in his last 2 games (against Wolves and AC Milan).

– Chelsea were bottom of their Champions League group when Potter left Brighton to take the reins at Stamford Bridge. But, after two victories and a draw, Chelsea are now in first place and look set to progress to the knockout rounds.

– Trevoh Chalobah, who has stepped in for the injured Wesley Fofana, is still yet to experience a single defeat in his 28 starts for Chelsea.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is just a little over four weeks away now. It is every footballer’s dream to represent their country at the World Cup. Players try to it their all as teams battle in the Qualifiers to book a berth at football’s showpiece event.

Several top stars won’t feature at the 2022 FIFA World Cup as their respective national teams failed to secure qualification to the tournament. Players like Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Marco Verratti, David Alaba and Luis Diaz are some of the high-profile stars who will be missing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Additionally, there are also some unfortunate players who might miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury. Without further ado, let’s take a look at five superstars who are at risk of missing the 2022 FIFA World Cup because of injury.

5 N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/France)

Chelsea and France midfielder N’Golo Kante has been sidelined since August 14 with a hamstring injury. The 31-year-old played a pivotal role in France’s triumphant run at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, he has struggled with niggling injury problems in recent years.

Kante was expected to return to the fray this week but suffered a setback in training. The extent of his injury is not yet known as per Chelsea boss Graham Potter’s admission. He said:

“N’Golo we’re just waiting on, he had a reaction in training. So we’re just waiting for the news of that.
“It’s not ideal, disappointing for him and us, but we have to wait and see the extent of it, and go from there.”

4 Paulo Dybala (AS Roma/Argentina

Paulo Dybala has been in excellent form for AS Roma in the 2022-23 season. He has scored seven goals and provided two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions for AS Roma so far this term.

Dybala picked up an injury in Roma’s win over Lecce this past weekend and was forced off. Scans revealed that the Argentine midfielder had injured one of his quadricep muscles. Sky Sports (via Fooball Italia) claim that he will miss out on action for four to six weeks.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in about five weeks time and Dybala is in a race against time to regain fitness.

3 Angel Di Maria (Juventus/Argentina)

Angel Di Maria has been one of Argentina’s most important players in the last decade. The Juventus forward is, however, a doubt for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after picking up a muscular strain on his right thigh.

He was chasing a pass during Juventus’ 2-0 loss to Maccabi Haifa when hepulled up holding his right thigh. Di Maria immediately knew something had gone wrong and looked at the bench to signal something had gone wrong.

The 34-year-old is set to undergo a round of sets to determine the extent of his injury, according to Football Italia.

2 Reece James (Chelsea/England)

Gareth Southgate is a huge fan of his right-backs. He included four right-backs in England’s squad for Euro 2020, namely Kyle Walker, Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Unfortunately for Southgate, he is sweating on the fitness of a couple of them ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Chelsea right-back Reece James sustained a knee injury during the Blues’ 2-0 win against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

Speaking to the press after the game, Chelsea boss Graham Potter chose to be optimistic about James’ chances of recovering early from his injury. Potter said:

“Reece, we’re hoping he’ll be okay. [We’ll need] 24-48 hours because it’s too early to tell you anything more than that.”

1 Paul Pogba (Juventus/France)

Paul Pogba picked up a meniscus injury in pre-season during Juventus’ tour of the USA. He is yet to play a minute for the Bianconeri since making a sensational return to the club as a free agent this summer.

Pogba could return before the World Cup but there’s a very good chance that his lack of match fitness could hamper his chances of going to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In an interview with Rai Sport (via Calciomercato), Deschamps said:

“Paul’s recovery program is going well, but as of today, it’s difficult to give a precise date for the return.
“I will have to decide, but for the moment I cannot confirm whether he’ll be ready or not.
“The lone condition for Paul to be summoned is that he recovers. But then, the fact that he hasn’t played for a while could be a problem. So I hope he can play with Juventus as much as possible before the World Cup.”

The painful draw against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou and Barça’s defensive debacle will have immediate consequences. Xavi Hernández is clear that adjustments must be made despite the injuries that the team is accumulating and the coach is considering benching Gerard Piqué again to pick a defence where he will prioritise speed. Piqué was at fault for some of the Inter goals and also made mistakes that ended up with shots being saved by Ter Stegen. For Pique to be benched, it depends on the recovery of Jules Kounde, who is aiming to be back for the game.

Xavi knows that the team is going through difficult times and that drastic decisions must be made. The coach has never been in favour of forcing players to come back from injury quickly, but the current circumstances are tough and Koundé will play if he is ready. The Frenchman is already training at a good pace and aims to be fit, so he will start if his feelings continue to be good.

The presence of Koundé will send Piqué to the bench. The Frenchman could play at right back with Eric García and Marcos Alonso as centre-backs, while at left-back, Xavi would have to decide whether he plays with Balde or Jordi Alba. Another option being considered is for Balde to be a right-back and Koundé to play as a central defender alongside Eric, while Marcos Alonso would move to the left-back spot.

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah broke two Champions League records with his quick-fire hat-trick in the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers.

Salah entered the fray in the 68th minute and got his first goal in the 75th minute before scoring again just five minutes later. Another goal swiftly followed, with Salah scoring a hat-trick in just six minutes.

The winger broke the record for the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history, achieving the feat two minutes quicker than Bafetimbi Gomis managed for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.

That wasn’t the only record that Salah broke, as he has also now scored the most goals for an English club in the Champions League with 38.

In doing so, Salah overtook Didier Drogba, who scored 36 goals in Europe’s elite club competition for Chelsea and Sergio Aguero, who netted the same amount for Manchester City.

Salah had been criticised for his form this season, with the Egyptian having only scored twice in the Premier League so far.

However, the impact that he made against Rangers was a reminder of what he is capable of.

Liverpool as a whole have struggled for consistency this campaign but their confidence will have been boosted by their emphatic victory against Rangers.

Scott Arfield put Rangers in front in the 17th minute, but Liverpool responded well, with Roberto Firmino scoring a brace, while Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott also managed to get on the scoresheet in addition to Salah’s hat-trick.

Liverpool are currently in second place in their Champions League group having taken nine points from four games.

Barça legend Lionel Messi was an outright menace to their arch rivals in El Clásico over the years, but without him how have the Catalan’s fared?

When Barcelona and Real Madrid clash on Sunday, it won’t be the first ‘El Clasico’ since the little magician’s departure from the club that made him legend, but it’s surreal seeing the Blaugrana without their iconic No. 10. Keeping that in mind, it’s not hard to imagine how different this fixture is now, that Messi isn’t present. To say he was a thorn in Madrid’s side would be an understatement, he was quite frankly a plague upon the Merengues and trust us when we say, there was no cure.

How much of a difference did Leo Messi make in ‘El Clasico?

Though it’s obvious, we’ll say it to be clear: Barcelona were better with Messi. Full disclosure, statistics don’t even come close to doing justice to the how much better, but let’s look at them nonetheless. In total, Messi appeared in 45 Clásicos during his time at the Camp Nou and, as you can see from the graphic below, was part of the winning team on 19 occasions (42%). In exactly a third of the games he played, he had to wash out that bitter taste of rival defeat.

When comparing that to Barça’s historical record against Madrid, every stat is better with the Argentine in the team. Clearly a number of other factors played their part in this comparison – Guardiola’s all-conquering side with Messi and Los Blancos continental dominators of Di Stéfano when Messi wasn’t there two obvious examples – but the fact that the multi-Balon d’Or winner has scored eight goals more than any other player in this fixture suggests he was as influential as they come. Out of interest, if statistically negligible, in the three games that Messi missed due to injury since first arriving on the Clásico scene, the blaugrana’s record was won one, drawn one, lost one. They scored six and conceded three in those matches.

Messi’s final Clásico equalled record

Since his very first appearance against Los Blancos, on 19 November 2005 – a Ronaldinho-inspired, 3-0 Barça win at the Santiago Bernabéu that is chiefly remembered for the home fans’ applause for the Brazilian – Messi has racked up a few Clásico records, including one on what proved to be his final one. As mentioned above, he’s already the leading scorer by far in the fixture and at the Alfredo di Stéfano stadium earlier this year he drew level with Sergio Ramos as the highest ever appearance maker, with 45 Clásicos under his belt.

Messi’s 26 Clásico goals

Messi’s Clásico goals haul far outstrips that of the game’s next-highest scorers, Madrid legends Alfredo di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo, who both managed 18 in their time at the Bernabéu. Meanwhile, Barça’s second-top Clásico marksman is César Rodríguez, who netted 14 times against Los Blancos. Messi also shares the record for the most Clásico hat-tricks: together with Jaime Lazcano, Santiago Bernabéu, Paulino Alcántara and Ferenc Puskas, he is one of just five men to have managed two trebles in the fixture.

Messi ends with Clásico drought

Over the course of his career, only three clubs – Sevilla (38), Atlético Madrid (32) and Valencia (28) – have conceded more Messi goals than Real Madrid. However, the forward’s final seven Clásicos ended with the mercurial Argentine not finding the back of the net, his longest goalless streak in the fixture since he first appeared. The last time he did punish Los Merengues directly came in a 2-2 LaLiga draw in May 2018.

Bayern, Club Brugge and Napoli secured last-16 spots on a night of high drama that brought the fastest ever UEFA Champions League hat-trick courtesy of Mohamed Salah and a thrilling finale in Barcelona.

Bayern, Club Brugge and Napoli all booked places in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with two games to spare, and Inter were seconds from joining them before Robert Lewandowski’s second goal of the game kept Barcelona’s top-two hopes alive. Mohamed Salah went one better, coming on to score the competition’s fastest ever hat-trick as Liverpool, Tottenham, Porto and Marseille all recorded important wins.

Who is through to last 16?

Bayern (GER)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Manchester City (ENG)
Napoli (ITA)
Real Madrid (ESP)

Group A

Rangers 1-7 Liverpool

Salah came off the bench to score the fastest ever Champions League hat-trick as the Reds ran riot in Glasgow. The home side actually took the lead when Scott Arfield finished off a fine team move, but Roberto Firmino levelled and after the break it was all Liverpool. Firmino tucked in Joe Gomez’s cross before teeing up Darwin Núñez for the third. That was Darwin’s final touch as he was replaced by Salah, who duly scored three in a shade over six minutes. Harvey Elliott added a late seventh.

Key stat: Salah’s three-goal salvo came in the space of six minutes 12 seconds, beating Bafétimbi Gomis’s eight-minute hat-trick in another 7-1 win back in 2011, for Lyon at Dinamo.
26/10: Napoli vs Rangers (21:00), Ajax vs Liverpool (21:00)

Napoli 4-2 Ajax

The Italian side once again proved too strong for Ajax as two goals in the opening 16 minutes from Hirving Lozano and Giacomo Raspadori set them on course for a fourth Group A win. The visitors battled gamely, Davy Klaassen’s header halving the deficit and then, after the effervescent Khvicha Kvaratskhelia restored the cushion from the spot, Steven Bergwijn’s late penalty briefly made it 3-2. Substitute Victor Osimhen finally finished off Ajax as Napoli sealed progress.

Key stat: Napoli have scored 17 goals in four games so far, already their highest ever tally in a Champions League campaign and only eight short of Paris’s 2017/18 record.
26/10: Napoli vs Rangers (21:00), Ajax vs Liverpool (21:00)

Group B

Leverkusen 0-3 Porto

Medhi Taremi slotted in two second-half penalties as Porto triumphed at Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen. The Dragons broke the deadlock after just six minutes when Galeno controlled a superb pass from keeper Diogo Costa, bore down on goal and fired into the bottom corner. At the other end, Costa saved a Karem Demirbay penalty, while Amine Adli had an equaliser chalked off for handball. After the break two Taremi spot kicks – both after fouls on Galeno – sealed it for the visitors.

Key stat: Leverkusen have failed to score in six of their last nine Champions League matches.
26/10: Club Brugge vs Porto (18:45), Atlético vs Leverkusen (21:00)

Atlético 0-0 Club Brugge

Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was the hero as Club Brugge withstood persistent pressure to qualify for the knockout stages with two games to spare. Mignolet repeatedly denied Antoine Griezmann and Ángel Correa, securing a fourth successive Group B clean sheet thanks to sensational late saves from Matheus Cunha and Álvaro Morata. Midfielder Kamal Sowah received a second yellow card with eight minutes remaining but the Blauw-Zwart held on.

Key stat: Club Brugge have reached the round of 16 for the first time in ten attempts, becoming only the second Belgian club to do so after Gent in 2015/16.
26/10: Club Brugge vs Porto (18:45), Atlético vs Leverkusen (21:00)

Group C

Plzeň 2-4 Bayern

Four goals in 35 first-half minutes effectively sealed Bayern’s passage to the knockout stages. Sadio Mané gave the visitors an early lead and Thomas Müller soon tapped in the second. Leon Goretzka added a double, the first a sweeping finish and the second a calm chip over the goalkeeper, as Bayern took full control. Adam Vlkanova and Jan Kliment scored in the second half to lift the Plzeň fans but the night belonged to Bayern.

Key stat: Bayern stretched their unbeaten run in the Champions League group stage to a record-extending 32 games.
26/10: Inter vs Plzeň (18:45), Barcelona vs Bayern (21:00)

Barcelona 3-3 Inter

Lewandowski struck two late equalisers to keep Barcelona’s top-two hopes alive. After Edin Džeko hit the crossbar for the visitors early on, Barça went ahead through Ousmane Dembélé before the break. Nicolò Barella and Lautaro Martínez produced clinical finishes before Lewandowski drilled in with eight minutes remaining. Robin Gosens restored Inter’s lead in the 89th minute, and the Nerazzurri were seconds from joining Bayern in the last 16 when Lewandowski levelled again two minutes into added time.

Key stat: Martínez’s goal was his first in the group stage since November 2020, when he found the net against Real Madrid.
26/10: Inter vs Plzeň (18:45), Barcelona vs Bayern (21:00)

Group D

Sporting CP 0-2 Marseille

Marseille took full advantage as Sporting CP ended with nine men in Lisbon. In an extraordinary first half Ricardo Esgaio was booked twice in three minutes – his second for conceding a penalty that Matteo Guendouzi swept in. Alexis Sánchez tapped in a second, and any faint home hopes of a miracle ended when Pedro Gonçalves was shown two yellow cards in a matter of seconds. Without a point after two games, Marseille are now level with their opponents.

Key stat: Marseille’s first clean sheet in 19 Champions League games helped end a sequence of nine away defeats in the competition.
26/10: Tottenham vs Sporting CP (21:00), Frankfurt vs Marseille (21:00)

Tottenham 3-2 Frankfurt

Heung-Min Son scored twice in a brilliant performance as Tottenham came from behind to beat ten-man Frankfurt and move top of a congested Group D. Daichi Kamada tapped Frankfurt ahead but Son soon steered in a superb Harry Kane pass. Kane won and scored a penalty with a driving run before Son scored the goal of the game with a crashing volley. Tuta was then sent off, but in a frantic last few minutes Faride Alidou headed in a corner and Kane missed another spot kick.

Key stat: Kane and Son have combined for 50 goals in all competitions for Tottenham, with Kane assisting Son 24 times, and Son returning the favour on 26 occasions.
26/10: Tottenham vs Sporting CP (21:00), Frankfurt vs Marseille (21:00)

Wednesday highlights and round-up: Bayern, Club Brugge, Napoli through, Salah makes history and Lewandowski saves BarcelonaWednesday 12 October 2022

Atletico Madrid have re-signed France forward Antoine Griezmann from Barcelona on a contract until 2026.

Griezmann became the sixth-most expensive player in history when he joined Barca for £108m in 2019.

He scored 35 goals in 102 games before returning to Atletico on a two-year loan at the start of last season.

The 31-year-old has three goals and two assists in 11 appearances so far this campaign, though only three of those appearances have been starts.

According to Spanish football reporter Guillem Balague, there was a clause in Griezmann’s loan contract that would oblige Atletico to buy the forward for 40m euros should he play more than 45 minutes in more than 50% of their games.

In response, Atletico boss Diego Simeone has used Griezmann as a substitute after 60 minutes in eight of his 11 appearances this season to ensure that clause was not triggered.

Griezmann could make his first appearance back as a permanent Atletico Madrid player against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The 2018 World Cup winner is the fourth-highest scorer in the club’s history with 144 goals in 304 appearances over two spells, having initially joined from Real Sociedad in 2014.

He was won the Europa League, Spanish Super Cup and Uefa Super Cup during his time at Wanda Metropolitano.

Mason Mount believes Chelsea are good enough to win the Champions League again after they cruised to a 2-0 win over AC Milan last night.

Mount was involved in both goals as the Blues continued their unbeaten start to life under Graham Potter to wrestle back control of Group E and take a big step towards the knockout stage.

The 23-year-old first won a penalty for Jorginho to score before setting up a goal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Having conquered Europe in 2019, Mount thinks Chelsea can once again compete for Champions League glory under Potter.


“We just keep going and try to keep giving everything when we have the opportunity to play. That’s what our focus is on.”

Mount was named man of the match by UEFA despite playing just 45 minutes against Milan. Potter opted to substitute the England international at half-time to rest him after he had been booked in the first half.

“Yes, I felt good,” said Mount. “I got a yellow so I didn’t want to risk a sending off. The referee was giving out a lot of cards tonight. That was his [Potter’s] decision. I thought I played well to get the penalty and the assist for the other goal but I was surprised to be given man of the match [having only played one half].

Mount believes his side are well placed to qualify for the knockout stage ahead of their final two group matches, away at RB Salzburg and home to Dinamo Zagreb.

He said: “The most important thing was that we won this game. It was a huge game for us in this group to be leaders at this moment with two games left. I am really positive and it is looking good for us in this group as well.

“To come here and win it takes a lot. It doesn’t just take playing good football but you have to also be mentally strong because their fans play a big part. You have to deal with the crowd and we did that.”