Latest news with #ex-Liverpool
Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Real Madrid star makes 'horrible' Trent Alexander-Arnold admission
Trent Alexander-Arnold produced his first assist for Real Madrid in their Club World Cup victory over Juventus and Thibaut Courtois was full of praise for the ex-Liverpool defender after the game Thibaut Courtois has admitted Trent Alexander-Arnold is "horrible" to face in training after he notched his first assist for Real Madrid. Alexander-Arnold assisted Gonzalo Garcia's winner with an excellent cross as Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 in the Club World Cup on Tuesday. And Courtois was not surprised to see the former Liverpool star delivering in a knockout match, with the goalkeeper praising his passing ability and revealing that he is a "nightmare" to go up against in training. "I think he could have already had a few in these four games," Courtois told DAZN after the game. "His pre-assist against Pachuca was also really good. In training he's horrible, his kicking is amazing. His free-kicks, his corner kicks are really on another level. "I don't think I saw some guy with his quality of kicking and crossing so as a goalkeeper sometimes it's a nightmare. But it keeps you on edge and keeps you working hard, trying to save them, to make him better and myself better." Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso also hailed Alexander-Arnold, branding him an "amazing player" but admitting he "needs time" to settle in. "Trent? I believe in him. He still needs time, but he's an amazing player," Alonso said. "Crossing is his trademark; he's done 500 of those. On the right, we sometimes need an extra foot. One-on-one dribbling isn't his thing. He comes to Madrid to compete; he's barely trained. Everything takes time." Alexander-Arnold has started every Club World Cup game so far, but is now set to face competition from Dani Carvajal after he returned to the bench against Juventus after recovering from a serious knee injury. "Trent has adapted phenomenally well, he has got on with everyone fantastically," Carvajal said when asked about Alexander-Arnold ahead of the game. "He has been super friendly: when we have had an afternoon off, he has come with everyone to eat, he seems a very, very good lad. "He already knew Jude [Bellingham] but it's with everyone. And, professionally, it's normal: at every team there are new signings, new players, and I took that as a personal challenge too: I love to compete, I love to have challenges in front of me. "I hope that healthy competition can make the team even better. As for the position: I don't know. I haven't thought about it, because if the manager asks me to play on the left wing I play in the left wing. "It's not something that concerns me, far from it. I just want to help. I've played centre-back, left-back, right-back … if it's in goal, I'm available. It's been nine months but I feel good, I'm ready." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Club World Cup: Real Madrid vs. Juventus official line-ups
Juventus trust Kenan Yildiz, Francisco Conceicao and Randal Kolo Muani, but are forced into a defensive revamp against Dean Huijsen's Real Madrid in the Club World Cup Round of 16. It kicks off at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 20.00 UK time, 15.00 local time. Advertisement You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog. The winners will face either Borussia Dortmund or Monterrey in the quarter-final on Saturday. How to watch Real Madrid vs. Juventus The best way to live stream the Club World Cup is with DAZN, which is offering a free service this summer, which can also be upgraded to a premium service. DAZN's free offer means ads during games, and no replays or extended highlights, but it's still a pretty tempting deal that will surely get Calcio fans and others signing up quickly. ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JUNE 26: Teun Koopmeiners #8 of Juventus FC celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Juventus FC and Manchester City FC at Camping World Stadium on June 26, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by) Team News Igor Tudor's men started with comfortable victories over Al-Ain and Wydad AC, only to be swept aside 5-2 by Manchester City. Advertisement Nicolò Savona badly sprained his ankle in that match and will be out for at least a month, but more changes are forced too, as Federico Gatti is suffering from flu symptoms. With Gleison Bremer not fit either, that means Daniele Rugani has to get his Club World Cup debut from the start with Pierre Kalulu and Lloyd Kelly. Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula are again frozen out after rejecting transfers to Nottingham Forest, with Dusan Vlahovic dropped. Weston McKennie is sent to the bench in favour of Alberto Costa in a more advanced role. BARCELONA, SPAIN – MAY 11: Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Jude Bellingham during the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on May 11, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by) Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Al-Hilal, then beat Pachuca and RB Salzburg as they get used to life under new coach Xabi Alonso. Advertisement He too had a lot of injury issues, missing David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Endrick, Daniel Carvajal and Eder Militao. Kylian Mbappé was suffering from a nasty bout of gastroenteritis, so has not played a minute of Club World Cup football so far and is for the first time on the bench. It is therefore the same starting XI that beat RB Salzburg 3-0, with Gonzalo Garcia, Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler. That sends Jude Bellingham into a deeper role, while former Juventus youth team player Dean Huijsen faces his former club. Another summer signing playing today is ex-Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. Advertisement Real Madrid: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Fran García; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Arda Güler, Gonzalo, Vinicius Juventus: Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Rugani, Kelly; Alberto, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Conceiçao, Yildiz; Kolo Muani Post navigation Liveblog: Real Madrid vs. Juventus, Club World Cup Round of 16
Evening Standard
2 days ago
- Sport
- Evening Standard
Why Liverpool FC signed Darwin Nunez over Alexander Isak 'as Reds plot huge new bid for Newcastle star'
The ex-Liverpool staffer, who between 2012 and 2023 worked to implement data analysis into the club's transfer policy, continued: 'It would be very churlish of me to say, 'It's terrible that Jurgen had his choice', when in the past Jurgen had been persuaded by me and my colleagues of a different choice. And it was still the case that we signed good players - in Nunez's case, one of the best young strikers in Europe.'
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rangers rivals reject mega transfer offer as star man kept for Champions League bid
Panathinaikos has told suitors they have no intention of selling anyone until after they face the Light Blues Panathinaikos have turned down a huge £17million offer from Fiorentina for striker Fotis Ioannidis. The Greek giants have booted out the mega offer as they want him to fire the club to Champions League glory against Rangers. The Ibrox men meet the Greek side in the second qualifying round with the first leg in Glasgow before the return showdown between the pair at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Panathinaikos have received plenty of interest from clubs across Europe after Ioannidis netted 15 goals for club and country, including in Greece's last outing in a clash with Bulgaria. Serie A side Fiorentina were the first club to follow up their interest with a concrete bid for the 25-year-old of £17m. But reports in Greece have indicated Panathinaikos have informed the Italians they no intention of selling anyone until they play their two-legged tie with Rangers. They have already snapped up three players for the new campaign - ex-Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella, defender Georgios Kyriakopoulos from Monza and fellow stopper Ahmed Touba from Turkish side Basaksehir. And they have made it clear they want their star striker Ioannidis available for the games against Russell Martin and Co as both begin their journey to try and dine at Europe's top table in the upcoming campaign. Meanwhile, FC Twente star man Michel Vlap has become the third influential figure at the club to beg their former captain Robin Propper to leave Rangers and return to them. The Light Blues defender has been offered a three-year deal to make the return to the Eredivisie outfit - just 12 months after his move to Ibrox. They are pulling out all the stops to tempt him to return to his old stomping ground after a disappointing first season in Glasgow. Propper has reportedly put the move on hold until he discovers whether new boss Martin sees him as part of his plans at his new-look Rangers. A new regime is underway at Ibrox with the players back on the grass at the Rangers Training Centre while the 49ers Enterprises have also completed their takeover with Max Aarons the first official arrival after Lyall Cameron had already penned a pre-contract. Within the last week, Twente sports director Jan Streuer revealed Propper would be very welcome to return amid reports they had already agreed a £1.5 million fee with Rangers. And the club's manager Joseph Oosting then added that he had spoken with the stopper in a bid to persuade him to re-sign for his former employers. Now midfielder Vlap has added his voice to the campaign to sign Propper. He said: "Robin is a top player and personality, everyone would be happy if he were to come here again," But Streuer admitted they are still waiting for an answer. He said: "We have to wait and see whether Robin wants to go himself. He wanted to go abroad and has only been there for a year. "If he sees a chance to stay, it could also be that his preference lies there. We don't know yet."
The National
3 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Rangers' Champions League rivals reject £17m transfer bid
Rangers meet the Greek side in the second qualifying round with the first leg in Glasgow and the return at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Panathinaikos have received plenty of interest from clubs across Europe after Ioannidis netted 15 goals for club and country, including in Greece's last game against Bulgaria. Serie A side Fiorentina were the first club to follow up their interest with a concrete bid for the 25-year-old of £17 million. Read more: But reports in Greece have indicated Panathinaikos have informed the Italians they no intention of selling anyone until they play their Champions League ties with Rangers. They have already snapped up three players for the new campaign - ex-Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella, Greek international defender Georgios Kyriakopoulos from Monza and fellow stopper Ahmed Touba, with the Algerian international arriving from Turkish side Basaksehir. And they have made it clear they want their star striker Ioannidis available for the games against Russell Martin's new charges.
