Liverpool’s Jota upset by FIFA 21 upgrade snub

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has said he feels let down by the 80 rating he has been given in EA Sports’ “FIFA 21” game.

The Portugal international, who joined Liverpool from Wolves in September for £41 million, won the inaugural ePremier League Invitational in April — beating Trent Alexander-Arnold — to show he knows what he is talking about when it comes to FIFA.

“I think they were taken by surprise with my move to Liverpool,” Jota told Portuguese channel TVI. “They thought I was going to stay at Wolves and didn’t even bother to upgrade my card’s attributes.new nike nfl jerseys cheap

“Although I was one of the best scorers in the Europa League, unfortunately, they did not bother to change my card.”

Jota scored 44 goals in a total of 131 appearances for Wolves, including hat tricks in last season’s Europa League wins over Besiktas and Espanyol.

His rating in the virtual football game has remained the same as in last year’s edition.4

Jota has scored seven goals in 11 appearances since joining Liverpool.

The 23-year-old was named Player of the Week in the last round of the Champions League after his hat trick in Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Atalanta.

A big fan of the virtual game since his childhood, Jota has shared his results online with fans.

“I like to play FIFA, I always liked it, it was something I always did and I still do,” Jota said. “After I got home from school, I would do my homework and then I would start playing. I also went to the backyard to play ball, but I always spent a lot of time holding on to the controller. “nike nfl jerseys cheap china

Jota is nevertheless looking forward to receiving his Pro Player Card, a special 99-rated card real-life footballers receive in FIFA Ultimate Team.

“As long as they send me my 99 card, which it seems every professional player is entitled to, I am happy,” he said.

Liverpool forward Salah tests positive for coronavirus

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Egypt Football Association confirmed, ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification double-header against Togo.

Sources have told ESPN that the former Chelsea and AS Roma player, who is the Premier League’s joint-leading scorer this season with eight goals, is now likely to have to quarantine in Egypt for a period of seven days in order to comply with the COVID-19 protocols in the country.cheap nfl nike jersey

Gomez could miss the majority of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a damaged knee tendon.3

Salah, who will miss the Premier League clash with Leicester City after the international break and potentially the Champions League home game against Atalanta on Nov 25, is the fifth Liverpool player to be forced out of action due to COVID-19 this season, with Thiago Alcantara, Sadio Mane, Konstantinos Tsimikas and Xherdan Shaqiri also testing positive since the start of the campaign.

The loss of Salah, following the injury to Gomez, in the middle of an international break comes just a month after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp voiced his frustrations and concerns at the number of international fixtures being played this season.

“I really don’t want to sound disrespectful as we don’t know too much about what other countries are doing, but everyone in this moment wants family around you. You want to keep your players. I’m not saying this is the safest place in the world but it’s the place we know, at least. We know how to deal with the different situations and scenarios,” Klopp said.nike nfl jerseys cheap china

“In these moments as a club we are completely alone. As a football club you are alone in this moment.

“We have to make sure we bring the players home in the quickest and safest way because nobody helps us. This is the situation we’re in. It’s really tricky. We try everything to make it right and as safe as possible.”

Fulham beat West Brom to climb out of bottom three

Fulham chalked up their first Premier League win of the season and climbed out of the relegation zone after first half goals from Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Ola Aina helped them to a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

The result lifted Fulham two places up to 17th on four points from seven games, while winless West Brom dropped one place to 18th on three points after yet another lacklustre performance.

“I’m happy to score my first Premier League goal,” 27-year old British-born Jamaica forward De-Cordova-Reid said.cheap nike nfl jersey

“It was vital and I’m just happy I was able to help the team to get a lead that we could build on and try to be comfortable.

“It was a very important win for the club. It has been a difficult start to the season, we needed this to build momentum.”4

Fulham dominated the opening half and ran out deserved winners at Craven Cottage, although the visitors nearly drew first blood in the second minute when Conor Townsend hit the woodwork with a cross-turned-shot from the left.

De-Cordova-Reid gave Fulham a 26th-minute lead when he nodded the ball past goalkeeper Sam Johnstone from close range after Aleksandar Mitrovic headed an Antonee Robinson cross from the left across the face of goal.

Right-back Aina, who is on loan at Fulham from Serie A side Torino, doubled the home side’s lead four minutes later with a spectacular goal as he unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner with his weaker left foot from 18 metres.

Fulham could have added a third in the 80th minute as the visitors twice cleared the ball off the line in quick succession while West Brom failed to trouble keeper Alphonse Areola at the other end.

Visiting coach Slaven Bilic was disappointed with his team’s performance.nfl nike jerseys for cheap

“We only played for 25 minutes,” said the Croatian. “They were better than us in everything, and I’m extremely disappointed. It all starts with the work rate, it was nowhere near good enough.”

Vibrant Leicester go second with 4-1 win at Leeds

Jamie Vardy inspired and Youri Tielemans scored twice as Leicester City enjoyed an impressive 4-1 win at Leeds United on Monday which moves them up to second in the Premier League.

The Foxes, who have now won all four away games this season, grabbed the lead in the second minute when Vardy intercepted a poor back-pass from Leeds defender Robin Koch and set up Harvey Barnes to slot home.

Brendan Rodgers’ side doubled their lead in the 21st minute when Marc Albrighton whipped in a cross and Vardy’s low header struck Leeds keeper Illan Meslier in the face and fell to Tielemans to fire home.cheap nike nfl jersey

Leeds came out strongly after the break and pulled a goal back three minutes after the restart when a deep cross from Stuart Dallas went through a crowded box and into the far corner of the net.

Pablo Hernandez then hit the bar for Leeds with a fine effort from the edge of the box but Leicester restored their two goal advantage with a beautifully worked third goal.3

Substitute James Maddison found Cengiz Under who showed great finesse to pick out Vardy who slotted home.

Maddison was involved with the fourth goal, in stoppage time, when Mateusz Klich challenged him from behind and after a VAR review, referee Andre Marriner awarded a penalty which Tielemans confidently converted.

“I thought my players were brilliant. We had to be tactically disciplined and then play when we had the ball,” Rodgers said. “If we get to March, April and we are in that position [second], then it will be nice, but there is a long way to go.”cheap nfl jerseys china nike

Leicester are on 15 points, just one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Leeds are 12th on 10 points and their Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa struck a self-critical tone.

“In the first 30 minutes we defended poorly and after we didn’t create enough danger. That is one of the main responsibilities of the manager,” Bielsa said.

“I am not taking the blame, just stating the players were not correctly distributed. The players are disappointed.”

Man United’s Solskjaer defends Greenwood amid breach of discipline reports

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has launched a strong defence of Mason Greenwood insisting the striker has never been late for training.

Greenwood was left out of the squad for the wins over Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain prompting speculation he was being punished for a breach of club discipline.

“He made a mistake with England this summer and suddenly all the English press go after him,” Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale

“He’s a fantastic boy to work with and I have to disappoint you, he’s never ever late for training, he’s never a problem when he’s at the training ground.4

“I’ve seen the stories and some ex United players talking about him and they don’t really know what they’re talking about. We have photographers outside the training ground every day and they can see he’s on time every day. I don’t know where these stories have come from.

“He’s got a good family behind him, a good background in the academy and he’s a good trainer, he trains really well, and I cannot believe all these stories about him not being professional. That’s something we have to deal with many players, many other players at United have had that.”

As well as Greenwood, Solskjaer also expects to have captain Harry Maguire and striker Edinson Cavani available to face Chelsea after the pair missed the 2-1 win over PSG on Tuesday.

With Anthony Martial suspended, Cavani could make his debut after returning to training following a spell in quarantine following his free transfer move on deadline day.nike nfl jerseys cheap china

“I hope and expect all three to be available for selection,” Solskjaer added. “We’ve got a training session this morning [Friday] but they’ve all got a chance, all of them.

“Edinson wants to tick all the boxes that he’s gone through in his programme to be ready and make an impact. We will have a discussion. It seems positive with Mason and Harry.”

Man United vs. Chelsea a reunion for former PSG stars Edinson Cavani, Thiago Silva

A few weeks ago, the pair of longtime teammates would have never thought that the next time they’d met would be on opposing sides of a big Premier League match. Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva have left both Paris and Paris Saint-Germain behind them, leaving in a bit of an acrimonious way for the former, and a disappointing one for the later. On Saturday, they should face each other on either side of the Manchester United-Chelsea divide.

For PSG fans, it will feel strange to see them in different shirts. Silva, 36, has already played four games with the Blues but after eight great years in the French capital, it’s still difficult to believe that he’s no longer the Ligue 1 champions’ captain. Cavani, 33, missed the trip to Paris with United so he could keep training in Manchester and be available for this huge game. He trained really well all week and could make his United debut this Saturday at Old Trafford, especially with Anthony Martial still suspended following his red card in the 6-1 defeat vs. Tottenham.

Cavani deserved a better conclusion in Paris. The Uruguayan striker is synonymous of PSG’s greatest era and yet, he’s not synonymous of the greatest achievement of this generation of players: the 2020 Champions League final. “Edi,” still bitter that his deal (which expired in June) was not extended despite him wanting to stay, refused to stay at the club for the conclusion of the European season.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale3

Some fans didn’t forgive him. Others didn’t like the fact that although he left the club on June 30, he waited until September to say a proper goodbye to them, via social media, but having moved on, the 33-year old would love to be involved on Saturday. His last game was his 301st and last appearance for PSG, against Borussia Dortmund on March 11. He is, and might always be, the club’s top scorer, with 200 goals in 301 games in all competitions across seven glittering seasons. There was his attitude, his work rate, his famous goal celebration. But above the goals, there was his incredible mentality and his love for the club and for the supporters.

On the pitch, Thiago Silva has already become indispensable for Frank Lampard. When they spoke prior to him joining Chelsea, Lampard told Silva that he wanted him to be his leader, to lead by example with his experience and help the younger players. This is what he is doing. His Premier League debut at West Bromwich was tough — he made one crucial error that helped the Baggies race to a 3-0 lead — but since that day, Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in the two games he played in, at home against Crystal Palace in the Premier League (4-0) and in the Champions League against Sevilla (0-0).

The Brazilian is still not at his best and is still getting to know his new teammates. He’s working on building his relationship with the likes of Kurt Zouma and Edouard Mendy, talking to them regularly outside of training. He’s also very close to Cesar Azpilicueta, and has been really impressed by the talent of Reece James.cheap nfl jerseys china nike

For his first big encounter in England, Silva’s really hoping that he will face Cavani. There will certainly be no secret between them. They have faced each other a million times at training. They know each other’s weaknesses better than anyone else and after the game on Saturday, they will surely spend time catching up on each other’s fresh starts, or reminiscing about the old days.

Overall, the fans will always have great memories of Cavani and of Silva despite any lingering unhappiness over their exits. They will probably watch Man United vs. Chelsea on Saturday with interest, and maybe a little tear in their eyes, too.

Chelsea’s Frank Lampard did not rate Christian Pulisic because he was American – Jesse Marsch

RB Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch has said Frank Lampard did not rate Christian Pulisic at the start of his Chelsea career because he was American.

Pulisic struggled for regular game time after his £58 million move from Borussia Dortmund and said he was “frustrated” at the time.

“The perception in Europe, mostly, is that the American player is willing to run, willing to fight, has good mentality, but technically they’re not very gifted and tactically they’re not very aware and their experiences aren’t very big,” he told Extratime Radio.where to buy nfl jerseys cheap

“But we’re seeing that change. We’re seeing more and more of these players develop themselves.4

“Even Frank Lampard, when I spoke to him in preseason a year ago now, I was talking to him about having Christian Pulisic, and he was kind of like: ‘Yeah, he’s got a lot to learn, so we’ll see how he does.’ I said to him: ‘Listen, he was at Dortmund, and they had a high level of tactical thinking, of playing, and he was very successful.’

“He was considered one of the best young players in Germany, and that’s in a group of players with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich, these kinds of players. He was in a group with those players, and it’s not just because he was talented but it was because he understood the tactics and understood how to fit in the game and he was developing a real astute way of how to play.

“I could see right away that Frank Lampard’s idea of Christian Pulisic was shaped a lot by the fact that he was American and not that his football education came a lot from what has happened in Germany. Since then, I think Lampard has learned that Pulisic is a lot better than he gave him credit for.youth nfl jerseys

“Christian had to fight for that, which is the American quality, but he’s a damn good player. Same with Gio Reyna, same with Tyler Adams, same with Weston McKennie.”

Pulisic went on to enjoy an impressive debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, contributing 11 goals and 10 assists in all competitions. He was also nominated for the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year award.

The United States international was handed the club’s iconic No. 10 jersey this season as a result of his performances.

Pulisic made his first appearance of the campaign in the 3-3 draw against Southampton and could feature in Chelsea’s Champions League opener against Sevilla on Tuesday.

Man United leave out Romero, Jones from Premier League squad

Manchester United have omitted Sergio Romero and Phil Jones from their Premier League squad.

Marcos Rojo, who was left out of the Champions League squad along with Romero and Jones, has been included.

New signings Edinson Cavani and Alex Telles are also in, while 18-year-old winger Facundo Pellistri has been placed on the Under-21 list with Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams and Teden Mengi.nfl cheap nike jerseys

Jones, who still has a minimum of three years left on his contract at Old Trafford after signing a long-term extension in February 2019, is currently injured and hasn’t featured for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first team since in a 6-0 win over Tranmere in the FA Cup on Jan. 26.3

Romero played the bulk of United’s games in the FA Cup and Europa League last season but was replaced for the semifinals in both competitions by David De Gea.

Earlier this month, a number of United players expressed their disappointment at the treatment of Romero, sources told ESPN.youth nfl jerseys

The 33-year-old has slipped down the pecking order after Dean Henderson’s return from a successful loan spell at Sheffield United. Lee Grant, 37, has been included as United’s third choice goalkeeper in both the Premier League and Champions League squads.

Coronavirus: Arsenal hopeful for Tierney return against Man City

Arsenal are hopeful Kieran Tierney will be available to face Manchester City on Saturday despite coronavirus rules forcing him to self-isolate.

Tierney and Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie were asked to quarantine for 14 days after their Scotland teammate Stuart Armstrong tested positive for coronavirus while the trio were on international duty.

Although both Tierney and Christie have repeatedly returned negative test results for the virus, the Lothian Health Protection Team identified the pair and two members of Scotland’s backroom staff as close contacts of Armstrong.

“This is getting very complicated when we are sending players abroad and obviously you lose control and some authorities have different regulations to the ones in the Premier League,” Arteta said at a news conference on Thursday. “We are still having some discussions with the authorities and hopefully we will know more this afternoon.”cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale4

Asked whether there was a chance Tierney could play, Arteta added: “I hope so.”

Arsenal have lobbied the Scottish government to release Tierney, submitting photographic evidence that shows he was sitting further away than the socially distancing requirement of two metres when playing computer games in a hotel room with Armstrong and Tierney.

The international break has caused a variety of logistical issues relating to coronavirus for many clubs but Arteta is not in favour of scrapping next month’s matches.nfl nike jersey cheap

“I think international football has to continue going because there are some competitions that have to happen,” Arteta said. “They were already delayed last summer and they have to take place because as well those organisations have to be sustainable and we all understand that.

“What we are asking is that we try to unify those protocols, rules to try to create a safe environment for our players, but as well protect the clubs because obviously the impact of having a few players out when we resume the Premier League is really big.”

Man United’s Marcus Rashford launches petition to end child hunger; rejected by UK government

The United Kingdom’s prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will not continue to give free school meals to children hours after Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford launched a petition to encourage the government to end child food poverty.

The petition asks the government to implement three points from the National Food Strategy including expanding free school meals, providing meals and activities during the holidays and expanding other schemes in place to prevent child hunger.

“Remember when I said I was going to need your help,” Rashford tweeted with a link to the petition. “For the millions who do not have the platform to be heard. Let’s stand as a ‘United’ Kingdom to #endchildfoodpoverty.“nfl nike jersey cheap

The peition surpassed the 100,000-signature mark by Thursday afternoon that it needed considered for a parliamentary debate. However, when asked about the scheme a spokesperson for Johnson said: “It’s not for schools to regularly provide food to pupils during the school holidays.”3

In June Rashford convinced the UK government to reverse a decision to end a national voucher scheme to feed children from low-income families.

He wrote an open letter to politicians asking them to extend the free school meals programme and earned an eventual U-turn.

“We are in a different position now,” the spokesperson added.

He has also raised over £20 million for food distribution charity FareShare during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 22-year-old, who relied on meal vouchers during his school days in Manchester, was praised by Johnson for his “contribution to the debate around poverty.”cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale

“It’s a nice moment for me personally but I feel like I’m still at the beginning of the journey that I set out to try to achieve,” Rashford told the BBC after receiving the award.

“I think what I would like to do now that I’m in this position is just speak directly to the prime minister and really ask for the vouchers to be extended until at least October half-term because I think that’s what the families need.”