Sports
Virgil van Dijk: Xavi Simons wasn’t trying to hurt me in red card challenge
Virgil van Dijk has revealed he has spoken with Xavi Simons after the midfielder’s red card challenge in Liverpool‘s 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and insisted his international teammate did not intend to hurt him.
Simons was dismissed in the first half of Tottenham’s clash with Arne Slot’s side after a VAR review showed the 22-year-old had raked his studs down the back of Van Dijk’s calf. His dismissal opened the door for Liverpool to secure a win that moves them up to fifth in the Premier League table, while Spurs dropped to 13th.
“I don’t think there was any intention to hurt me but obviously he hurt me and then the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off,” Van Dijk said. “I spoke to him. It’s a chat that no-one needs to know.”
Liverpool’s victory came at a price, with forward Alexander Isak being forced off the pitch just moments after scoring the visitors’ opening goal in north London. The 26-year-old looked in a great deal of pain following a coming together with Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, and the Reds now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of his injury.
“Injuries unfortunately are part of football and hopefully with Alex it’s not too bad,” Van Dijk said. “He scored a great goal. It’s too soon after the game to know [the extent of it]. He will need to be assessed.
“We all saw how bad it looked with Alex but hopefully it won’t be too bad.”
Liverpool are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions but came close to conceding a last-minute equaliser against nine-men Spurs, who finished the game strongly.
Reflecting on the performance, Van Dijk said: “The immediate reaction coming off was that it was a chaotic last five to 10 minutes. It wasn’t great but to get the three points is massive. There was nothing wrong up to us conceding a goal. We need to analyse the last part but personally I’m very pleased and it’s on to the next one.
– Liverpool win marred by Isak injury as Frank pressure builds
– Man City’s Haaland brings back iconic robot goal celebration
– VAR review: Was Xavi Simons’ red vs. Liverpool deserved?
“When you concede a goal and their fans get behind them like they did, it’s never easy to make the right decisions and find the right solutions. That’s something we can improve but I don’t think it’s worrying. It’s a transition and we need to keep getting better.”
The Dutchman added: “Winning more, getting results, is always positive. Losing games, especially at a club like Liverpool, is always bad. For us it’s about staying calm. Taking each game as it comes.
“Today we won. Now we have a couple of days off. We will recover and then we will focus on Wolves. It will be a tough game. I saw their game against Spurs. Wolves will make it difficult for us and we have to be ready for that.
“First we have Christmas. Being with your family and being healthy are the most important things in life.”
Sports
Transfer rumors, news: Fernandes to urge Man United to sign Portugal teammate
Bruno Fernandes has outlined one player he believes should be among Manchester United‘s midfield targets this summer, while Chelsea will again look to sister club Strasbourg to add to their own squad.
Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades
TRENDING RUMORS
– Manchester United are in the market for two midfielders this summer and, according to The Sun, Bruno Fernandes will recommend that one of them is West Ham United‘s Mateus Fernandes. United are set to lose Casemiro this summe when his contract expires and have been linked with a number of replacements, including Nottingham Forest‘s Elliot Anderson. Fernandes will urge United to sign his Portugal teammate, with United sporting director Hugo Viana already a strong admirer of the 21-year-old.
– Chelsea are in talks to sign Strasbourg midfielder Valentín Barco, as reported by TalkSport. The 21-year-old permanently joined the Ligue 1 club last summer for £8 million having previously played for them on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, and he could now reunite with Liam Rosenior by following his route from Strasbourg to Stamford Bridge. The Argentina international has recorded two goals and nine assists in 28 appearances across all competitions so far this season.
– Manchester United have been closely tracking Bayern Munich winger Maycon Cardozo, according to TEAMtalk. The 17-year-old signed a new contract with Bayern last month and has since made his first-team debut. United are reportedly impressed by his technical ability and, although a move anytime soon would be difficult to complete for due to the recent contract renewal.
– Atlético Madrid will soon make their opening offer for Atalanta midfielder Éderson with a proposal worth €35 million plus €3 million in add-ons, as reported by Sky Sports Italia. That falls short of the figure of €50 million that Atalanta expect to receive for the 26-year-old. Éderson has already agreed a four-year contract with Atlético worth €5 million-per-season plus a €2 million signing bonus. Negotiations appear to have begun and Atleti are making aggressive moves to complete a deal.
– Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are among the clubs interested in Blackburn Rovers defender Tom Atcheson, according to TEAMtalk. The 19-year-old has stepped up to the senior level for Blackburn and Northern Ireland under Michael O’Neill, which has also resulted in further Premier League attention from Sunderland, Everton, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion. He is also being looked at by European clubs such as RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and Napoli.
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s resident scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen ranked Mateus Fernandes at No. 33 in his list of the best U21s players in world football. He wrote:
Last season, Fernandes suffered relegation with Southampton despite winning both of the club’s Player of the Season and Fan’s Player of the Season awards, but he had to play only three games in the Championship before making a £40 million move to West Ham. However, somehow he is in much the same predicament this season, as West Ham are in a battle to avoid the drop.
Fernandes is a central midfielder who equally brings defensive and attacking qualities. On one hand, he makes tackles, presses well and regains possession — 158 duels puts him in the 95th percentile among midfielders — while he also has the vision to deliver excellent long passes (61.1% success rate) and pick out deep runs from his teammates.
He generally covers a lot of ground and reads danger superbly, winning a lot of loose balls, while he copes well under pressure and can shift play quickly. That, along with fine dribbling at high speed, makes him equally useful at either end of the pitch. But his three goals this season — including the fastest Premier League goal of the campaign, scored after just 29 seconds against Aston Villa — also suggest he has a knack of arriving in good goal-scoring positions.
OTHER RUMORS
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Hutchison: Cucurella ‘out of order’ for Chelsea transfer policy criticism
Don Hutchison reacts to Marc Cucurella’s recent comments about Chelsea’s transfer policy.
– Chelsea have a strong interest in Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs but face competition from Liverpool and Manchester City. (Football Insider)
– Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Manchester United to make £100 million from departures with Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford all set to leave. (The Sun)
– Liverpool, Inter Milan, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur all have Atalanta’s Cagliari loanee Marco Palestra on their radar. (Caught Offside)
– Juventus and Como have both sent scouts to watch Real Valladolid attacking midfielder Chuki in recent weeks. RB Leipzig and Stuttgart have already made moves for the 21-year-old. (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Juventus could be willing to let Gleison Bremer leave during the summer transfer window. (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Juventus are looking at Genoa for right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy, striker Jeff Ekhator and center back Leo Skiri Ostigard. (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Roma are preparing their strategy to sign Almeria attacking midfielder Sergio Arribas and are interested in Kerim Alajbegovic, whose re-sign clause has been triggered to move him from RB Salzburg to Bayer Leverkusen. (Corriere dello Sport)
– AC Milan and Napoli also want Kerim Alajbegovic, with the former sending scouts to watch him during Bosnia & Herzegovina’s win against Wales. (Corriere dello Sport)
– Paris Saint-Germain Feminines have reached an agreement with Real Madrid striker Naomie Feller. (L’Equipe)
– Several Premier League clubs are monitoring Sassuolo centre-back Tarik Muharemovic. (Nicolo Schira)
– Ollie Watkins is growing increasingly likely to leave Aston Villa during the summer transfer window. (Football Insider)
Sports
Paul wins all-American semi | The Express Tribune
MIAMI:
No. 4 Tommy Paul rallied for his fourth consecutive win over fellow American and second-seeded Frances Tiafoe, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7), on Saturday in the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship semifinals at Houston.
Paul clinched his first ever ATP clay-court final appearance in a grueling 2-hour, 45-minute match that was marred by rain throughout, including a 90-minute delay during the second set. Paul thrived behind 14 aces and no double faults while converting two of five break-point opportunities in the pivotal deciding set.
It was back-and-forth in the final set with Tiafoe notching the first break and Paul breaking him right back in the next service. Then the reverse happened with Paul grabbing a break and Tiafoe nabbing it right back a service game later. In the deciding tiebreaker, Paul squandered two match points up 6-4 before advancing by winning two straight points to break a 7-7 tie.
In another semifinal between competitors from the same country, Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga easily dispatched Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-1, 6-1 to set up a date with Paul. Burruchaga converted 5 of 8 break opportunities while never facing one. Tirante had 25 unforced errors to Burruchaga’s 10.
Grand Prix Hassan II
Qualifier Marco Trungelliti (ATP No. 117) of Argentina continued his Cinderella run by taking down top-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi 6-4, 7-6 (2) in Marrakech, Morocco.
Trungelliti clinched a spot in the final and is the oldest first-time finalist in ATP Tour history at 36. En route to the final, Trungelliti took down the fifth, third and first seeds. Trungelliti converted four of six break-point opportunities and capitalized on Darderi’s eight double faults to deny the Italian a repeat championship in the event.
Spain’s Rafael Jodar will try to halt Trungelliti’s magical run after he took down Argentinian Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in just 63 minutes. Jodar was never broken and held a 23-8 advantage in winners. This would also be the first title for Jodar, who at 19 years old, made his tour debut earlier this year at the Australian Open and is competing in his first tour-level clay tournament.
Tiriac Open
Qualifier Daniel Merida Aguilar of Spain came back from a set down to upset Hungarian third seed Fabian Marozsan 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 in a semifinal match in Bucharest, Romania.
After dropping the first set, Merida Agular knocked home four of his six break-point attempts over the final two sets, finishing with 35 winners. He defended his serve well throughout as he saved 17 of the 18 break points he faced to overcome his 39 unforced errors and reach his first tour-level final.
Sports
PTF junior tennis begins | The Express Tribune
The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is set to host the ITF Pakistan 3rd Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Juniors Tennis Championship 2026, which will begin on Monday at the PTF Tennis Complex in Islamabad.
A total of 39 young players – 24 boys and 15 girls – from 14 countries including Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Japan, China, Australia, Russia, Poland, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand will compete in the week-long tournament.
The championship is dedicated to the memory of Zainab Ali Naqvi, a talented young tennis player from Karachi who died in February 2024 after suffering a heart attack during an ITF junior tournament in Islamabad. Officials said the event aims to honor her legacy and inspire emerging tennis talent in Pakistan and abroad.
PTF President Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, along with Secretary General Col. Zia-ud-Din Tufail, paid tribute to Zainab. “This championship is a meaningful way to keep her memory alive while providing international exposure for young players,” Qureshi said.
Matches for both boys’ and girls’ categories will commence at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. Organizers expect a high standard of play and said the tournament offers a platform for young athletes to showcase their skills against international competitors.
The PTF extended a warm welcome to all participants and expressed hope that the event would strengthen Pakistan’s role in junior international tennis. Fans and tennis enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the matches, which will run through the week and conclude with the final rounds.
The championship represents Pakistan’s continued commitment to fostering youth talent and hosting international-standard tennis events, while keeping alive the memory of a promising player whose life ended too soon.
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