Sports
Maresca denies Chelsea ‘discipline problem’ | The Express Tribune
LONDON:
Enzo Maresca said Friday he does not believe his Chelsea team have a “discipline problem” following a spate of red cards as he prepares for the visit of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The Blues have been reduced to 10 men in three of their past four matches, two of which have been defeats.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was shown a red card in a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United while Trevoh Chalobah was sent off in last week’s 3-1 loss to Brighton.
Forward Joao Pedro suffered the same fate late in Tuesday’s Champions League match against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica but Chelsea won 1-0.
Chelsea manager Maresca said it was important to assess each situation on a case-by-case basis.
“When it’s a red card for bad intention or for bad discipline, it’s different compared to the Manchester United red card or Brighton red card,” he said.
“In that case, it’s just the decision that you have to take in two seconds, three seconds. Do I do foul or not?
“It’s difficult. So we analyse case for case. Again, I don’t see any discipline problem, even if we consider three or four red cards, that is not something normal. But again, it’s for different reasons.”
Chelsea started the Premier League season strongly before stumbling and are now eighth in the table after taking just one point from their past three games.
But Maresca is confident his team are heading in the right direction.
“Most of the games where we didn’t get the points is because they were games very complicated for us in terms of, again, unfortunately, red cards,” he said.
“But no doubt that also the injury situation — we have at this moment I think eight players out. So it’s a mix but we don’t have any doubt that slowly, slowly we’re going to be again where we need to be.”
Maresca rejected the notion that Liverpool would be more vulnerable after Arne Slot’s team suffered back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray, in the Champions League.
“It’s always a tough game, always a big team,” he said ahead of Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge.
“For me personally, the way they are doing this season, in any case, is fantastic. Especially after (Diogo) Jota’s tragedy.”
Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has been called up to the Spain squad after recovering from injury following last month’s club versus country row.
Yamal, 18, aggravated a groin problem while on international duty in September, angering Barça coach Hansi Flick, and only returned to action last weekend.
The teenage forward made his first appearance as a substitute in the win against Real Sociedad, before playing 90 minutes in the midweek loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has subsequently named him in his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers at home to Georgia on Oct. 11 and Bulgaria on Oct. 14.
Prior to joining up with the national team, Yamal has one more match with his club, away at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday.
Barça will be paying close attention to Yamal’s minutes with Spain after Flick accused La Roja of “failing to take care” of their young players last month.
The German coach said Yamal had been unable to train due to a slight niggle, yet Spain had administered pain killers, allowing him to start games against Bulgaria and Turkey.
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De la Fuente replied that he had “no interest” in Flick’s complaints.
Due to the injury, Yamal missed four matches in total, wins against Valencia, Newcastle United, Getafe and Real Oviedo.
Barça sporting director Deco has since said he has spoken with his counterpart at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Aitor Karanka, to ensure better communication between club and country moving forward.
Spain squad:
Goalkeepers: Unai Simón, David Raya, Álex Remiro
Defenders: Alejandro Grimaldo, Marc Cucurella, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Vivian, Robin Le Normand, Marcos Llorente, Pedro Porro, Dean Huijsen
Midfielders: Rodri, Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino, Martín Zubimendi, Aleix García, Pedri, Álex Baena, Pablo Barrios
Attackers: Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Yeremy Pino, Lamine Yamal, Samu, Jorge de Frutos, Jesús Rodriguez
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Noor Zaman has advanced to the semifinals of the Charlottesville Open after a straight-games victory over third seed Yahya Elnawasany of Egypt.
The eighth-seeded Zaman needed just 35 minutes to dispatch Elnawasany, winning 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 in their quarterfinal clash on Thursday.
The 21-year-old Pakistani will now face top seed Timothy Brownell of the United States in the semifinal. Brownell reached the last four by defeating India’s Veer Chotrani 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-1, 11-6) in 41 minutes.
In other quarterfinal results, England’s Sam Todd overcame Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-8) while Egypt’s Salman Khalil knocked out fourth seed Velavan Senthilkumar of India 3-1 (12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3).
The Charlottesville Open, which carries a total prize purse of $31,250, is part of the PSA World Tour series.
Zaman stormed into the Charlottesville Open quarter-final with a resounding 3-1 victory over England’s Tom Walsh on Thursday.
The in-form player, who received a first-round bye, started the game on a high as he sealed a hard-fought opening set 13-11, while completely outclassing Walsh 11-5 in the second.
The Englishman pulled one back by sealing the third set 11-5, only for Zaman to clinch the fourth and round up a comprehensive victory to book his spot in the quarter-final.
Notably, Zaman is riding high on confidence after clinching the Nash Cup in Canada last week, another PSA World Tour event.
The 21-year-old, seeded fifth, stunned the tournament’s No. 2 seed 3-0 in a gripping 52-minute contest.
Noor Zaman edged a marathon first game 19-17 before sealing the match with 11-7 and 11-9 wins. The triumph marked a significant milestone for the reigning World U23 Champion.
On the other hand, Zaman’s compatriots Ashab Irfan and Asim Khan suffered defeats in their respective Round of 16 matches and were thus knocked out of the tournament.
Asim suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of top seed Timothy Brownell, while India’s Veer Chotrani crushed Ashab 3-1.
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir has responded to Indian criticism over her reference to “Azad Kashmir” during commentary in Pakistan’s ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 clash against Bangladesh in Colombo.
The incident occurred at the R Premadasa Stadium, where Mir, while speaking about Pakistan all-rounder Natalia Pervaiz, initially said “Kashmir” before correcting herself to “Azad Kashmir.”
Mir took to X (formerly Twitter) to issue a statement, lamenting that her remarks were blown out of proportion “and people in sports are being subjected to unnecessary pressure”.
She clarified her words were never meant as a political remark but as part of the storytelling that commentators do by highlighting players’ backgrounds.
“It’s unfortunate how things are being blown out of proportion […] My comment about a Pakistan player’s hometown was only meant to highlight the challenges she faced […] There is no malice in my heart or any intention to hurt sentiments,” Mir wrote.
She added that as a commentator on the World Feed her role was to focus on the sport and players, showcasing inspiring stories of grit and perseverance, not politics.
To support her statement, Mir also shared a screenshot from ESPNcricinfo, showing Natalia Pervaiz’s profile listing her birthplace as “Bandala, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.” Mir explained this was her source of information, though she noted the site has since been updated.
The clarification comes at a sensitive time in cricket relations between Pakistan and India. The men’s Asia Cup 2025 tournament saw India’s men’s team refuse handshakes with Pakistani players, while the trophy presentation was overshadowed by India’s refusal to accept medals from ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.
With Pakistan’s women playing all their matches in Sri Lanka due to PCB-BCCI tensions, the controversy around Mir’s comment has further highlighted how cricket continues to be entangled with politics.
Bangladesh won the match by seven wickets, leaving Pakistan struggling to stay afloat in the group stage of the Women’s World Cup.
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