سلطت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، الضوء على المباراة التي جمعت بين فريقي يوفنتوس وكومو، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإيطالي لكرة القدم، موسم 2025/26.

وحل يوفنتوس ضيفًا على كومو في الجولة السابعة من بطولة الدوري الإيطالي لذلك الموسم، حيث خسر اليوفي بهدفين دون رد. أهداف مباراة كومو ويوفنتوس في الدوري الإيطالي

جاءت هزيمة يوفنتوس في مباراة اليوم قبل صدامه بـ ريال مدريد، في إطار منافسات الجولة الثالثة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري، يوم الأربعاء المقبل.

وتحدثت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية عن مباراة يوفنتوس وكومو، خاصة مع تألق نيكو باز، رفقة أصحاب الأرض، حيث لعب دورًا مهمًا في فوز فريقه قبل صدام الملكي في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وانتقل نيكو باز إلى يوفنتوس قادمًا من ريال مدريد، ذلك الصيف، بمقتضى عقد ساري لمدة 4 سنوات، مع وجود بند خاص للملكي يتيح له إعادة شراء اللاعب.

ودخل كومو تلك المباراة بدون مدربه سيسك فابريجاس، الذي تم إيقافه لمباراتين بسبب إهانته الحكم خلال مباراة كريمونيزي، وكذلك بدون خيسوس رودريجيز الموقوف كذلك، كما تعرض جاكبو راموس قلب الدفاع للإصابة خلال عمليات الإحماء.

ورغم ذلك، لم تتعقد الأمور على كومو، حسب وصف الصحيفة نفسها، حيث بدأ أصحاب الأرض المباراة بشكل أفضل عن طريق ضغطهم المعهود بعد فقدان الكرة، وكان الضغط كبيرًا لدرجهم حصولهم على ركنية بعد 3 دقائق مما منحهم هدف التقدم.

اقرأ أيضًا | كومو يعلن.. هل يريد “المتألق” نيكو باز العودة إلى ريال مدريد؟

ونفذ نيكو باز الركلة الركنية لكومو، ومررها إلى دا كونها، الذي أعاد الكرة من جديد إلى لاعب ريال مدريد السابق، ليسدد كرة قوية إلى القائم البعيد ناحية زميله مارك كيمب، وسجل هدفًا.

ومنذ ذلك الحين، تحولت المباراة إلى لقاء تبادلي مع فرص لكلا الجانبين، لكنها اتسمت بنقص الدقة في الدقائق الأخيرة، وهو ما أثر سلبًا على يوفنتوس طوال المباراة.

وتغزلت الصحيفة في نيكو باز، اللاعب الأكثر صناعة للفرص في الدوري الإيطالي، والذي حسم المباراة لصالح كومو ضد يوفنتوس بعدما مرر بيروني الكرة إليه، وسيطر عليها وراوغ مدافع الخصم وسدد كرة يسارية ناحية المرمى.

وساهم نيكو باز في 8 أهداف ذلك الموسم، متفوقًا على أي لاعب آخر في إيطاليا خلال النسخة الحالية، كما إنه يتصدر قائمة هدافي وصانعي الألعاب في الموسم برصيد 4 أهداف و4 أسيستات.

وأكدت الصحيفة أن الأرجنتيني يُعد أفضل لاعب في الدوري الإيطالي هذا الموسم حتى الآن، مع العلم إنه قاد كومو لإلحاق أول هزيمة بـ يوفنتوس في الموسم الحالي، بعدما فاز في 3 مباريات وتعادل في مثلها.

Rasmus Hojlund has lauded the impact Antonio Conte is having on him now that he is playing for Napoli. The Dane has a new lease of life back in Italy, having previously played in Serie A for Atalanta, and netted in his team's 2-1 win over Genoa at the weekend. Ex-Manchester United teammate Scott McTominay has been a similar beneficiary of the much-travelled coach.

• Napoli move necessary

  Hojlund told local station Radio Kiss Kiss that leaving Manchester United for Napoli was something that he had to do for his career, having been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford following the big money acquisition of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

  "Conte is a top coach," Hojlund told Radio Kiss Kiss. "I came here because I knew this was an important step for me. Napoli is a great club, and a wonderful place to live. It's exactly what I need right now in my career."

  Hojlund had started the recent summer transfer window determined to stay at Old Trafford, but was forced to reconsider his position when it was clear that the club was looking to go in another direction – also spending substantial sums on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Hojlund rejects formation assumptions

  Conte's Napoli are operating in a 4-1-4-1 system, whereby the attacking midfielders and wingers have more license to support Hojlund as the lone striker thanks to the sitting No. 6.

  He had previously done respectably well under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United in a 4-2-3-1, but the squad struggled to then adapt to Ruben Amorim's very different 3-4-2-1. Hojlund's confidence slowly drained away over the course of last season, but he insists his new-found spirit is not linked to being utilised in a different tactical setup.

  "For me it's the same, I don't care about the formation," he said. "I just play football and try to do my job as best I can."

• Conte: Man Utd could regret losing Hojlund

  Conte has overseen some of Romelu Lukaku’s best seasons, across spells with Inter and now Napoli, proving his ability to get the best out of strikers who haven't hit their potential elsewhere.

  Potential is exactly what he sees in Hojlund, who is not yet the finished product but has certainly quickly demonstrated to his new boss that stardom is a possibility in the future.

  "He's a 22-year-old who was on the sidelines at Manchester United. He has significant room for improvement; he needs to work because he has the potential to become a star, and he's proving it," Conte told reporters after the Genoa victory.

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• Chasing down last season's goal tally

  With two goals in four Serie A appearances for Napoli under his belt, Hojlund is already halfway to matching his Premier League tally from the whole of last season – netting just four times in 32 games in England's top flight. The striker had scored 10 times in his first Premier League campaign in 2023-24, which remains his most prolific return in a league setting in his career to date.

  Hojlund scored nine Serie A goals for Atalanta during his sole prior season in Italy.

  It's four goals in six Napoli outings across all competitions, having netted both in this month's 2-1 Champions League win over Sporting CP.

The first IPL after the latest mega auction brings with it much anticipation of new alliances and loyalties. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be thrilled that their latest acquisitions played an impactful role in their emphatic start to IPL 2025 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).Josh Hazlewood used the spongy bounce at Eden Gardens to scuttle KKR’s powerplay and death-overs plans with analysis of 4-0-22-1; Krunal Pandya ended Ajinkya Rahane’s high-intent fifty in a spell of 4-0-29-3; Suyash Sharma salvaged an ordinary night with the massive wicket of Andre Russell; Phil Salt killed the chase with 56 off 31, an identical score to Rahane’s. A regular fixture at RCB, Virat Kohli then sealed the game with 59 off 36 with 22 balls to spare in the chase of 175.Related

• Hazlewood: 'This is probably the freshest I've been in a long time'

• Krunal: 'If you get hit, you should only get hit on a good ball'

Known for pushing convention, KKR played safe with their captaincy choice post the auction. Rahane the batter will have to allay doubts practically every day, but he got off to a good start as he and Sunil Narine smashed 98 runs in overs four to ten. However, KKR were outplayed pretty much throughout the night outside those seven overs.

Hazlewood’s height troubles KKR

It was just two overs at the top but that comprises 10% of the innings in T20s. Hazlewood, unavailable last IPL, was re-acquired by RCB at the auction. Coming off a long injury layoff, he started as if he had never been away: hard length, good pace, extra bounce. He had Quinton de Kock dropped in the first over before getting him two balls later. Then he had Narine swinging and missing through the third over.Ajinkya Rahane injected momentum after KKR’s slow start•Associated Press

Rahane takes off, Narine follows

RCB did help Rahane out, but he dispelled some of the doubts around his batting with a high-intent innings even as Narine struggled to come to terms with the uneven bounce on the pitch to start with. RCB kept feeding Rahane straight balls, and Rahane kept picking them up over the leg side: all his first 30 runs came there. Once Narine joined the mayhem, that slow start was forgotten.One of the key moments was Narine going after his former team-mate Suyash, who tends to get the better of batters when they play him as a legspinner. Narine kept going over the off side as 22 came in the ninth over.

Krunal leads RCB’s comeback

KKR were 107 for 1 in 9.5 overs when Narine tried to crash Rasikh Salam over the off side but was done in by the extra bounce. Struggling for options until that point, RCB could then go back to Krunal as Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer can both be shut down by spin. In each of his three previous overs, Krunal, who used clever changes in pace, picked up a wicket with quicker balls. Rahane holed out to deep midwicket while Venkatesh and Rinku Singh were castled.The wicket of Rinku brought in Russell, cue for RCB to bowl legspin. Russell’s ordinary record against the wrong’un continued as he failed to pick one from Suyash and lost his middle stump. Since 2018, he averages 13.41 and strikes at 123.24 against the wrong’un. That wicket was worth about 40 runs.1:48

Why were RCB spinners successful?

Angkrish Raghuvanshi couldn’t get going as the ball gripped the surface. Hazlewood and Yash Dayal used the middle of the pitch masterfully to concede just 23 in the last four overs.

Salt punishes former team

Salt, who played a huge role in KKR’s title run last year with an average of 58.33 and a strike rate of 185.18 in matches in Kolkata, soon reminded KKR they should not have let him go. The first ball of the chase was crashed wide of mid-off for four. The intent never stopped, especially with Kohli turbo-charged during the powerplay too. KKR were forced to bring in Varun Chakravarthy in the fourth over, and Salt took 20 off him. Also, the ball had stopped gripping by then, possibly because of the dew.By the time Varun got the better of Salt, RCB had reached 95 in 8.3 overs. The asking rate had dropped under seven, and Kohli was never going to let such a chase slip. However, what will thrill RCB is that Kohli kept the intent up and sought to get them a big net run-rate boost. He slog-swept Varun for a six in his last over when it would have been easy to just play him out. New captain Rajat Patidar played the perfect little hand at the other end with 34 off 16 as RCB romped home.

Orange Cap leaderboard

PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer (250 runs) had an opportunity to get into the top three, but his second-ball duck meant the top few held on to their places.Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) Nicholas Pooran continued to lead the batting table. He has 357 runs from seven games at an average of 59.50 and a strike rate of 208.77.Gujarat Titans’ (GT) B Sai Sudharsan is second with 329 runs from six games. He is followed by another LSG batter, Mitchell Marsh, who has 295 runs, also from six games.Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli (248 runs) and Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Suryakumar Yadav (239) are in fifth and sixth place, respectively.Purple Cap leaderboardChennai Super Kings’ (CSK) left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad continues to be the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. He has 12 wickets from seven games at an economy rate of 7.12.Only one wicket behind him are his team-mate Khaleel Ahmed and LSG’s Shardul Thakur.Before Tuesday, there were five bowlers – Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Kuldeep Yadav, MI’s Hardik Pandya, and GT’s Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj – with ten wickets each. Now KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana have joined them. Varun picked up 2 for 21 against PBKS and Rana 3 for 25.Highest batting strike ratesBest bowling economy ratesMost sixesBest bowling figures in a match

“SRH can’t second-guess themselves at this point,” Aaron says about their ultra-aggressive approach

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-20250:42

Knight: Klaasen batting far too low for SRH

That Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) haven’t been the team many people expected them to be in IPL 2025 is common knowledge. Now, with the wham-bam top three not quite coming off, is there logic in pushing Heinrich Klaasen higher than the No. 5 or 6 he has usually batted at (except in one game, when he went in one down)? After all, he has been their only consistent batter, and their highest run-getter at this stage of the tournament.”Those of us who’ve seen him play over the years and those who are watching [know] that’s what he is capable of and more,” Nick Knight said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show. “He just needs an opportunity to do it more often. I think he is batting far too low in that side. Six overs [or] a tick over, get him out there.On Wednesday night, during SRH’s sixth loss of the season in their eighth game, against Mumbai Indians (MI) at home, Klaasen walked out at No. 5 with SRH 13 for 3 in the fourth over. That became 35 for 5 by the ninth. “It was game over [by then],” Knight said, but Klaasen, with Impact Player Abhinav Manohar for company, gave the innings a semblance of respectability. The 99-run stand with Manohar ended when Klaasen fell off the last ball of the 19th over for a 44-ball 71.Related

Harshal, Cummins capitalise on dry pitch to keep CSK down

SRH bowl, Brevis debuts for CSK

Dhoni's 400th T20 sees CSK and SRH in now-or-never territory

'There are times when you have to rejig your attitude' but SRH haven't done that

Suryakumar climbs to third spot on Orange Cap leaderboard

“It’s difficult to do [assess the par score and play accordingly] when you’re 24 for 4 after the powerplay,” SRH head coach Daniel Vettori said at the press conference. “[But] Klaasen and Abhinav had a wonderful partnership and took some responsibility to try to get a score, but it wasn’t enough.”The 71 took Klaasen up to No. 11 on the Orange Cap table for the season, with 281 runs at an average of 40.14 and a strike rate of 159.65. Klaasen hasn’t had a real failure yet, with 21 not out his lowest score. He has had two scores in the 20s, four scores in the 30s, and the 71. For an under-performing batting unit, that’s remarkable.Varun Aaron, speaking on the same show, agreed with Knight and marvelled at how well Klaasen stuck to the basics while batting.”Just how still he is [at the crease], he just doesn’t give the bowler anything before the bowler can bowl,” Aaron said. “Just still, hands through the ball, and it almost looks like he isn’t trying to overhit anything.”1:45

Would Heinrich Klaasen rather dance at the IPL opening ceremony or appear in a Telugu film?

SRH ‘can’t second-guess themselves now’Vettori acknowledged that the batters haven’t been able to adapt to the changing conditions well this year, but stressed that the style of play – with Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, primarily, going hard to “maximise” the powerplay – wouldn’t change.”They can’t second-guess themselves now,” Varun Aaron, Knight’s co-panellist, said. “When we talk about Bazball, or the style of cricket SRH is playing, it’s given them results last year. They came back last year after being eighth and tenth the previous two years to play in the finals last year. So that has given them results. It’s not worked out this year.”But again, if you see last year, the guys who performed for them: Abhishek Sharma had a blitz out of nowhere, previous to that his record wasn’t the best; Travis Head again didn’t have the best record in the IPL; Pat Cummins, up until then, didn’t have a great IPL ever. So a lot of the guys last year had their best IPLs. So coming back from your best IPL and trying to replicate that can never be easy.”So people must be mindful of that. And obviously they have had their best IPL with a lot of players playing a certain way. They wanted to bring that same kind of pattern this year and it hasn’t worked out. But they can’t second-guess themselves at this point.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Nessa semana, Athletico Paranaense e Internacional decidiram a classificação para as quartas de final da Copa Libertadores nos pênaltis e tiveram dois resultados diferentes. O maior duelo ficou entre Inter e River Plate com 20 cobranças. No fim, os colorados venceram por 9 a 8. Mas o confronto não está perto de ser a disputa de pênaltis mais longa da história do futebol.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoPênalti ou não? Carlos Eugênio Simon analisa lance de Palmeiras e Atlético-MG e explica regraFora de Campo10/08/2023FlamengoLibertadores: Flamengo liga alerta em caso de decisão por pênaltis contra o OlimpiaFlamengo10/08/2023Futebol NacionalQual é o melhor batedor de pênaltis da história?Futebol Nacional10/08/2023

Em jogos oficiais, o recorde é de 48 cobranças e aconteceu na final da Copa da Namíbia de 2005. Depois de um empate de 2 a 2 no tempo regulamentar, KK Palace e Civics decidiram o título nos pênaltis. No final, o KK Palace venceu por 17 a 16 e ergueu o troféu. O duelo é reconhecido até mesmo pelo Guinness, o livro dos recordes.

Já em partidas não oficiais, o número é maior. Em 2019, pelas quartas de final do Campeonato Nacional de Educação Secundária da Coreia do Sul, Yongin Taesung e Cheongju Daesung fizeram um confronto de 62 pênaltis. O Taesung venceu 29 a 28.

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No Brasil, a mais longa disputa aconteceu esse ano. Náutico e Salgueiro enfrentaram 34 cobranças pelas quartas de final do Campeonato Pernambucano de 2023. Na ocasião, o Salgueiro conseguiu avançar às semifinais, por 14 a 13, nos Aflitos. Outras disputas com 30 cobranças vem logo em seguida, todas em campeonatos estaduais: Guarani x Ituano (Troféu do Interior de 2020), Ponte Preta x Botafogo-SP (Troféu do Interior de 2021), e Criciúma x Avaí (Campeonato Catarinense de 2023).

Hoje, dois confrontos da Copa Libertadores podem ser definidos nos pênaltis: Racing x Atlético Nacional e Olimpia x Flamengo. Os times que jogam fora de casa têm a vantagem do empate. O Atlético Nacional pode até perder por um gol de diferença, enquanto o Flamengo venceu o Olimpia por apenas 1 a 0 no Maracanã. Caso o rubro-negro avance, teremos um Fla-Flu nas quartas de final da Libertadores.

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LancepediaLibertadores

England A lost 5 for 12 late on the final day, including a run out with seven balls remaining, having set themselves a chance for a win

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2025

Charli Knott followed her century with the winning wicket in the last over•Getty Images

Australia A pulled off a last-gasp victory over England A in their four-day match in Sydney when captain Charli Knott, who had earlier scored a century, capped a triumphant performance by dismissing Georgia Davis with four balls remaining after the visitors had put themselves in with a strong chance of chasing down the target.In fading light, Knott brought herself on for the final over of the match when the umpires ruled the quicks couldn’t operate and bowled Davis as she played back, with all the Australia A fielders in catching positions, to complete an England A collapse of 5 for 12.Related

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Scholfield, Capsey centuries make it England A's day

Trenaman builds Australia A lead as final day chase beckons

Having been set 289 in 63 overs, a stand of 91 between Hollie Armitage and Alice Capsey put England A in a strong position then Paige Scholfield followed her first-innings century with 39 off 24 balls, including a brace of sixes off the spinners, to leave them needing 37 at less than a run-a-ball.However, when Scholfield was caught at mid-on against Tess Flintoff it opened the door for the home side. The loss of Bess Heath ended England A’s hopes of victory with the ninth-wicket pair of Davis and Issy Wong playing for the draw until Wong was run out off the last ball of the penultimate over after a horrendous mix-up.Knott, who also made a half-century in the first innings, had earlier led Australia A towards their declaration during the morning by compiling 123 off 153 balls forming stands of 113 with Rachel Trenaman, who fell in the 70s for the second time in the match, and 89 with Nicole Faltum.She called the innings to a close shortly after lunch in what proved a perfectly-timed decision that led to an enthralling afternoon and a dramatic finish to the series which had previously seen Australia A take the rain-effect T20s 1-0 and the one-dayers 2-1.

Tottenham could soon wave goodbye to midfielder Yves Bissouma with a host of windows outside the UK still open for business, but he isn’t the only Spurs squad member potentially available.

Bissouma, who was left out of Spurs’ UEFA Super Cup side, has now also been omitted from their final 22-man Champions League A-list squad.

Frank has already criticised the African for his punctuality and discipline since taking over from Ange Postecoglou, explaining exactly why Bissouma, who’s currently out injured, didn’t travel with the squad for their Super Cup clash in August.

The writing appears on the wall for a potential out-of-window exit, amid reports that Tottenham are expecting proposals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey for Bissouma, with the 29-year-old likely to leave in the coming days as a result (GiveMeSport).

Villarreal (home)

September 16

Bodo/Glimt (away)

September 30

Monaco (away)

October 22

FC Copenhagen (home)

November 4

PSG (away)

November 26

Slavia Prague (home)

December 9

Borussia Dortmund (home)

January 20

Eintracht Frankfurt (away)

January 28

This is somewhat backed up by Sky Sports correspondent Micheal Bridge, who reported earlier this week that Bissouma’s exit is indeed a serious possibility after the UK transfer deadline passed at 7pm on Monday.

Bissouma could leave as a free agent next summer with his contract set to expire in 2026, meaning Daniel Levy, CEO Vinai Vinkatesham, technical director Johan Lange and unofficial advisor Fabio Paratici need to find a new home for him quite quickly.

Clubs in Saudi can make new signings until September 23, whilst Portuguese sides have until September 15 and Turkish teams until September 12.

A move to any one of those divisions could be a good option for Bissouma, as it could also be for young forward Dane Scarlett.

Dane Scarlett could seal out-of-window Tottenham move with Bissouma

As per reliable football.london correspondent Alasdair Gold, Scarlett could leave Tottenham in an out-of-window move with Bissouma, after failing to secure an exit before the deadline on Monday.

The 21-year-old was recalled to the senior side by Postecoglou during Spurs’ injury crisis last season, bagging an assist during their 4-1 win at Ipswich, and got on the scoresheet in Tottenham’s 3-0 victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League.

Scarlett missed the remainder of the season after picking up a groin problem which required surgery — an extremely unfortunate bit of bad luck for the attacker — but his form prior to that is perhaps a sign of things to come.

José Mourinho called the Englishman a “diamond” during his spell in charge of Spurs, likening Scarlett to Marcus Rashford, but the introduction of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani this summer means he’ll be hard-pressed to battle his way into the squad.

It has started to feel like James Tavernier’s time as the first-choice right-back at Glasgow Rangers has been in question every single transfer window in recent seasons.

The Light Blues captain is not a perfect player. He has defensive flaws that sometimes see him caught out defending the back post or switching off in transition.

However, he always seems to find a way to get back into the starting XI by proving his worth on the pitch with his performances for the Scottish Premiership giants, which is exactly what he has done this season.

Why James Tavernier is still a starter for Rangers

Tavernier turns 34 next month and is valued at just £1.3m by Transfermarkt, but he looks worth way more than that on the field for Russell Martin’s side.

The English defender has started three of the club’s five matches in the Scottish Premiership so far, per Sofascore, and delivered two goals and seven chances created.

Taverniers scored five goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign for Rangers, per Transfermarkt, and is showing that he still has what it takes to put up impressive numbers in the final third this season.

One of the reasons why he is a locked-in starter for Rangers at the moment is that summer signing Max Aarons has failed to live up to expectations so far.

Why Max Aarons looks worth less than James Tavernier

The Bournemouth loanee was an exciting addition to the squad at the time of his arrival from the Premier League side, as he had been incredibly highly-rated in the past with Norwich.

Aarons won two Championship titles with the Canaries down south and was reportedly valued at a whopping £30m by Norwich in 2021. That came a year after Spanish giants Barcelona failed with an attempt to sign him on loan to bolster their squad.

Now, a player once valued at £30m and pursued by Barcelona looks worth less than Tavernier on the pitch for Rangers this season, which is why the captain has retained his spot as the first-choice right-back.

Appearances

5

3

Sofascore rating

7.02

6.63

Goals

2

0

Big chances created

1

0

Key passes per game

1.4

0.3

Duels won per game

3.0

4.0

As you can see in the table above, the Gers skipper looks worth more than Aarons based on their respective performances in the Premiership this season, as the Bournemouth loanee has not offered anywhere near enough of a threat in possession from a full-back position.

The former Norwich star has not played a minute of football for the Gers since he was given a straight red card for hauling Christos Tzolis down early on in the 6-0 defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Aarons has been an unused substitute in the last two Premiership matches, which Tavernier has started, after being sent off in that European humiliation.

BBC Sport reporter Kenny Macintyre said “Max Aarons for me in every game has looked out of his depth. I know it’s early days but it’s a huge concern” after the first leg against Club Brugge, an opinion that is unlikely to have been changed by the defender’s sending-off in the second leg.

Aarons, simply, has not been good enough on or off the ball in the games that he has played for the Light Blues since his move to Ibrox in the summer, which is why Tavernier is the current first-choice and looks worth even more than him to the team.

Rangers flop who's "not helped his team" is as big a problem as Martin

This Glasgow Rangers flop has been as much of a problem for the team as Russell Martin this season.

ByDan Emery Sep 16, 2025

Hopefully, the 25-year-old full-back will be able to turn his Ibrox career around and start to show supporters why he was once wanted by Barcelona and valued at £30m.

Martin Odegaard and Arsenal have been given a concerning injury update after seeing the midfielder suffer medial collateral ligament damage. The Norway international picked up that knock during a Premier League clash with West Ham. In what has been a frustrating season on the fitness front for the Gunners captain, he is now facing another spell on the sidelines.

How long will Odegaard be out? Update from doctor

Arsenal have stopped short of putting a timescale on Odegaard’s recovery, with it yet to be determined when he will be ready for a return to action. Unfortunate history has been made early in the 2025-26 campaign by becoming the first Premier League player to be withdrawn before half-time in three consecutive appearances.

Odegaard is back on the treatment table following a clash of knees with Hammers winger Crysencio Summerville, with an MRI scan revealing the full extent of that problem. A former doctor with the Norwegian national team has suggested that the 26-year-old could be missing for a couple of months.

Lars Engebretsen told : “I don't have information about exactly what the MRI showed but based on the injury video, it could be a lateral ligament injury. If it is such an injury, Odegaard risks being out for six to eight weeks but it depends on the size. It could also be a more extensive injury, cruciate ligaments maybe. In that case, the period on the sidelines could be longer.”

AdvertisementGettyNorway boss & Haaland react to Odegaard injury

Odegaard has also been forced off against Leeds and Nottingham Forest this season. His failure to build match fitness and sharpness is a source of concern and frustration for all concerned.

Norway boss Stale Solbakken has said, heading into a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying clash with Israel: “We have to tweak some plans, and we have done that before. The last time Martin was out, we played a little differently based on who the opponent was. It is clear that the plan we had made will be different.

“We lose our spokesman, and we have to live with that. Of course you get angry and upset and those kinds of feelings, but then you quickly get into a mode where you have to think constructively. Of course, he is very sorry, too. It is the third time in a short time, and it is hard for him and hard for Arsenal.”

Norway will still have prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland at their disposal, with his goal tally this season standing at 18 through 11 appearances for club and country, but he is another that is disappointed to see Odegaard ruled out.

Haaland said: “It's a shame and it's not good for us. We need him, so I hope it's not serious. I haven't spoken to him, but it didn't look good. We're going to miss our captain, it's tough. We just have to do the best we can without Martin. It won't be easy, as he is a big part of our game – but we have to do what we can without him – and I will do what I can to do that.”

Arteta addresses loss of Arsenal captain

Arteta has said of his seeing his skipper laid low at Emirates Stadium: “We haven't had him since the start of the season for one reason or the other. The shoulder twice and then this injury. We'll have to wait and see the extent of that injury, and we'll find solutions, but obviously he's our captain and is a player that gives us a completely different dimension with the things that he can do, especially in attacking.”

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GettyTop of the table amid Odegaard concerns: Next up for Arsenal

Arsenal have still been able to move to the top of the Premier League table, with 16 points being picked up across seven fixtures. They are now one clear of defending champions Liverpool and two above north London rivals Tottenham.

It remains to be seen when Odegaard will be ready again, but the Gunners will return to action after the latest international break when taking in a short trip to Fulham on October 18.