تقدم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، بالهدف الأول أمام إيجل نوار البوروندي، ضمن مباريات دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وتقام مباراة الاهلي وإيجل نوار، على ملعب استاد القاهرة، في إياب دور الـ32 من بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

طالع|فيديو.. طرد جراديشار من مباراة الأهلي وإيجل نوار في دوري أبطال إفريقيا

وجاء الهدف عن طريق عمر كمال في الدقيقة 58 من تمريرة من بن رمضان قابلها عمر كمال بقدمه في الشباك.

ويلعب الأهلي بعشرة لاعبين منذ الدقيقة 16 من عمر الشوط الاول، بعدما حصل جراديشار على طرد من حكم مباراة إيجل نوار، بعد احتكاك بدون كرة مع لاعب المنافس ما اعتبره الحكم اعتداء على مدافع إيجل نوار.

وكان الأهلي قد حقق الفوز في مباراة الذهاب بهدف دون رد، على إيجل نوار، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين السبت الماضي. هدف الأهلي الأول أمام إيجل نوار

MI handed franchise debuts to Bairstow and Gleeson in a knockout game

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-20252:58

Moody: GT have a few more concerns than MI

Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, has chosen to bat first in the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Gujarat Titans (GT).That decision came a day after Punjab Kings (PBKS) were bowled out for 101 after being sent in to bat in Qualifier 1 at the same venue, but a fresh pitch, with significantly less grass cover, is in use for Friday night’s game.Three players won new caps, with overseas players departing both teams on international duty. Jonny Bairstow and Richard Gleeson, who both have previous IPL experience, make their MI debuts, while Kusal Mendis, who comes into the GT side, makes his tournament debut.They replaced Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks in the MI side, and Jos Buttler in the GT line-up.There were other changes too. With the frontline quick Gleeson replacing the batting allrounder Jacks, MI balanced their line-up by bringing in the seam-bowling allrounder Raj Bawa for the swing bowler Deepak Chahar, who may also still be recovering from the hamstring injury while bowling in MI’s last game against Punjab Kings. GT, meanwhile, brought in the spin-bowling allrounder Washington Sundar for the seam-bowling allrounder Arshad Khan, possibly with dry-looking conditions in mind.Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Naman Dhir, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Raj Bawa, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Richard Gleeson.Impact subs: Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley.Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 M Shahrukh Khan, 5 Washington Sundar, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 R Sai Kishore, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna.Impact subs: Sherfane Rutherford, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Jayant Yadav, Arshad Khan.

Manchester United have endured a dismal time on the pitch as of late, as seen by their unacceptable 15th-place finish in the Premier League back in 2024/25.

The hierarchy’s answer to such a year was to splash yet more cash in the transfer window, with Ruben Amorim handed over £200m to make the additions he desired.

The recent window has now seen the Red Devils hierarchy spend upwards of £800m since the summer of 2022, with the club only having an FA Cup and Carabao Cup to show for it.

After the first six games of the new campaign, the club have once again failed to deliver, currently sitting in a measly 15th place once again – with Amorim’s side losing nine of their last 15 league matches.

Big money additions like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have all been added to the squad, but the £200m trio have so far only notched two top-flight goals between them.

Big-money additions don’t necessarily equal immediate success, but one of their previous mammoth additions has proven his worth over the last few years.

Why Bruno has been United’s talisman in recent years

Given the failures of United on the pitch last season, it no doubt made it hugely tricky for any player to produce their best performance levels to help get the side out of trouble.

However, it didn’t stop Bruno Fernandes from thriving for the Red Devils, with the midfielder producing one of the best campaigns of his professional career.

The Portuguese international ended 2024/25 with a total of 37 combined goals and assists, by far and away the most of any player in the first-team squad.

However, despite his impressive form last year, the 30-year-old has struggled to match such heights in the opening weeks of the new campaign – only being able to score twice in his first six outings.

He’s usually been Mr Reliable from the penalty spot during his five-year spell at Old Trafford, but he’s already racked up two misses from the spot – with the most recent costing Amorim’s side a point against Brentford.

Bruno, who’s the manager’s captain of choice, is still a phenomenal talent, but it’s clear that he’s lacking huge amounts of confidence at present – along with the rest of the first team squad.

However, the same can’t be said for one former player, who has managed to take his career to the next level after departing the Red Devils a number of years ago.

The former United star who’s outperforming Bruno

Players leaving United and furthering their careers is nothing new to the fanbase, with numerous talents reaching the next level in their development after departing.

Anthony Elanga is arguably the biggest example in recent years, leaving in a £15m transfer to join Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2023 after emerging through the ranks at Old Trafford.

The Swede managed 82 appearances at the City Ground, scoring 11 and registering 21 assists – before completing a big-money move to join Newcastle United this summer.

He cost a fee in the region of £60m, with the Red Devils selling him for a quarter of the price he generated for Evangelos Marinakis’ side during the off-season.

However, he’s not alone in such an aspect, with Brazilian star Andreas Pereira another talent who has managed to thrive with regular minutes away from the Theatre of Dreams.

He spent nearly a decade as a Red Devil, racking up 75 senior appearances in the process, but many of which were off the substitutes bench – leading to limited first-team action.

As a result, he left in a £10m deal to join Fulham in the summer of 2022, spending three years at Craven Cottage and finally thriving in England’s top-flight.

The 29-year-old racked up 10 goals and 19 assists in his 110 outings for Marco Silva’s men, leading to one analyst labelling the Brazilian international as “sensational”.

However, Pereira has once again been on the move this summer, leaving the Cottagers and joining Brazilian outfit Palmeiras – allowing him to return to his homeland.

He may have only played four games for his new club, but it has not stopped him from having an immediate impact – already scoring twice and registering a further assist.

Games played

4

Goals & assists

3

Chances created

2.8

Cross accuracy

80%

Aerials won

1.2

Interceptions made

1.3

Recoveries made

4.8

Shots taken

1.4

Such a tally of three goal contributions is higher than that of Fernandes, with the Portuguese international missing the chance to outperform him with his two penalty misses.

Given the issues United have had in the middle of the park over recent months, there’s no reason as to why Pereira wouldn’t have been able to play a key role had he not been sold.

However, his story at the Red Devils will always finish with a what if, given his bargain departure a few years ago – with the Brazilian yet another player who got away from their grasp far too soon.

Man Utd flop who had a "nightmare" was even worse than Shaw vs Brentford

The Man Utd player lost the ball 18 times and was even worse than Luke Shaw.

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Bojan Miovski insisted Rangers players felt as frustrated as the fans and urged an immediate return to winning ways at Falkirk on Sunday.

The Light Blues slumped to a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Sturm Graz in Austria on Thursday night to make it make it zero points from six in the league phase of the competition and disgruntled supporters stepped up their already-fierce criticism of Russell Martin.

The under-fire Rangers boss has won just five games from 16 since taking over the hot seat in the summer, while the Ibrox club has to look back to December 8, 2024 for their last clean sheet away from home, a 3-0 win at Ross County.

In that time, under three different management teams, Rangers have conceded 45 goals in 23 matches outside of Govan.

Miovski addressed the growing concerns of the fans, around 1,000 of whom travelled to the Merkur Arena in Graz to see their side go two down by the interval through goals from Tomi Horvat and Otar Kiteishvili before an early second-half strike from Djeidi Gassama sparked a fightback which fell short.

Miovski: Rangers better than we're showing

The 26-year-old North Macedonia striker, who signed from Spanish side Girona on a four-year deal in the summer, looked ahead to visiting the Bairns in the William Hill Premiership, claiming it is consistency lacking in the Gers squad, not quality.

He said: “In this football club we don’t have time. We need to start winning games. We feel frustrated as well because we are not winning games. Of course, we will give everything from every player, give everything on the pitch to start winning games.

“We have good players, to be honest. We have a really good squad. We don’t show this on the pitch at the moment, we are not consistent.

“But some parts of the game we show that we have a really good squad and we can hurt everyone, so we need to start to have this consistency because in this club, we must win games.

“The first half was not good enough. We conceded two cheap goals. We worked really hard to score that goal, but we conceded very easily.

“It was, to be honest, a really bad first half. But we were better in the second half.

“We were aggressive. We made fouls when we needed. We scored that early goal and I think we gave everything to score that equaliser – but it was not good enough.

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“We put everything into the last couple of minutes because it was 2-1. We put everything forward to score that equaliser because for us, it was so important to score that goal.

“But in the end it was not enough. They defended really well and we are – of course – disappointed.”

With 18 European points still up for grabs, the former Aberdeen striker remained confident that the Ibrox side could still qualify through to the knockout stages.

He said: “Yeah, of course. There are still six games to play.

“We need to show a better performance, of course, but we as a team need to start winning games.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras enfrenta o Deportivo Pereira-COL, nesta quarta-feira (23), às 21h30 (de Brasília), pela partida de ida das quartas de final da Libertadores. O jogo será na cidade de Pereira, na Colômbia, e a dúvida que fica é se o Verdão jogará ou não na altitude. A resposta é não, o Alviverde não atuará em um local com ar rarefeito.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasDeportivo Pereira x Palmeiras: onde assistir, desfalques e prováveis escalações do jogo pela LibertadoresPalmeiras22/08/2023PalmeirasNa Colômbia, Palmeiras treina completo e fecha preparação para encarar o Deportivo Pereira; veja provável timePalmeiras22/08/2023PalmeirasVitória é obrigação? Elenco do Palmeiras vale 12 vezes mais do que o do Deportivo PereiraPalmeiras22/08/2023

+ Veja tabela da Libertadores-2023 clicando aqui

A cidade de Pereira está localizada 1.411 metros acima do nível do mar. Essa altitude não é considerada como aquela que altera o desempenho esportivo. As reações costumam ocorrer em locais acima dos 2,3 mil metros. Nessas condições, a pressão atmosférica é menor, tornando o ar rarefeito e com menos oxigênio.

+ Copo Stanley a partir de R$120,00. Bebida gelada nos 90′ de jogo do Verdão!

Ou seja, em Pereira o Palmeiras não terá esse problema. Na Colômbia, dez cidades ofereceriam uma altitude que poderia alterar o desempenho esportivo dos visitantes. São elas:

continua após a publicidade

San Juan de Pasto – 2.527m
Duitama – 2.530m
Soacha – 2.565m
Sogamoso – 2.569m
Facatativá – 2.856m
Chía – 2.600
Bogotá – 2.629m
Zipaquirá – 2.652m
Tunja – 2.820m
Ipiales – 2.898m

+ Deportivo Pereira x Palmeiras: onde assistir, desfalques e prováveis escalações do jogo pela Libertadores

As cidades de Rionegro (2.125m) e de Manizales (2.150m), apesar de não estarem nos 2,3 mil metros, são locais que podem apresentar certa dificuldade àqueles que não são residentes por lá, mas não tanto quanto os outros citados acima.

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Tudo sobre

LibertadoresPalmeiras

Bangladesh captain Litton Das wants to put the series loss against UAE in Sharjah last week behind and is looking forward to the “new challenge” against Pakistan.”We were not up to the mark in the last series,” Litton said ahead of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. “This is a new series, a new challenge. We know where we did well and where we did badly in the past. We will have to apply that [information] in the game.”This is a different ball game. We however have the belief that we can beat any team in the world. We have to play good cricket. We are not focused on the opposition. I am not only focused on the team’s result, which doesn’t always come your way. I think what’s more important is how we are playing the game. If we can play sticking to a process, we will have more chance of a good result.”Related

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Litton said that he accepts the criticism that comes the way of the team, but he believes that the team is focused on playing better cricket. “It is expected that there will be discussions and criticism when we don’t play well. We always try to play good cricket. We don’t want to repeat our mistakes of the past. I think we can have a good series.”We would be among the top teams in the world if we were a consistent side. We definitely lack something as we are down in the rankings. We are working towards becoming more consistent. Every series presents a different challenge. We faced distinctive challenges in West Indies and UAE. How we accept the upcoming challenges and perform as a team is something worth looking at.”Bangladesh captain Litton Das and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha pose with the trophy•Associated Press

While they struggled to defend totals in the second and third T20Is against UAE, Bangladesh’s batting was inconsistent throughout the series. Parvez Hossain Emon struck a hundred and Tanzid Hasan got a fifty, but the rest couldn’t quite capitalise on good starts. Litton made 65 runs in the series.”I know how important my batting role is in this team,” Litton said. “I will try my best to stay consistent. We have some good form players in the team. T20 needs a combined batting effort, so if we can do well together, we will have chance of good results.”Bangladesh are also wary of the conditions in Lahore. Litton said that he hasn’t spotted dew in the training sessions at the Gaddafi Stadium so far, but expects it to be a high-scoring series.”We fielded in the second half in all three matches in Sharjah. The dew was a factor in those games. We haven’t seen any dew in the three days we have been in Lahore. We expect the conditions to be similar to how it was in the PSL. It will be a high-scoring series. We have to play smart cricket.”The three matches are scheduled on May 28 and 30, and June 1, all in Lahore.

أعلن مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك، اليوم السبت بشكل رسمي رحيل البلجيكي ياينك فيريرا، عن تدريب الفريق، بعد سلسلة من النتائج السلبية في بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وكان نادي الزمالك، قد تعاقد مع يانيك فيريرا لتولي تدريب الفريق، منذ بداية الموسم الحالي 2025-2026، لمدة موسم واحد.

تعادل الزمالك الأخير في مباراة البنك الأهلي، التي أقيمت يوم الخميس الماضي، في بطولة الدوري المصري، كان نقطة النهاية لمسيرة البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا مع القلعة البيضاء.

طالع | جوزيه جوميز يحسم موقفه من العودة إلى تدريب الزمالك

واستقر مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك، على تعيين الكابتن أحمد عبد الرؤوف مديرًا فنيًا للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي، وسيقوم عبد الرؤوف بتشكيل الجهاز الفني المعاون له، خاصة وأن الفريق مقبل خلال أيام على المشاركة في بطولة كأس السوبر المحلي المقرر لها في الإمارات، وسيتولى عبد الرؤوف قيادة الفريق بالبطولة.

بطولات يوضح ماذا قدم يانيك فيريرا مع الزمالك في فترة توليه القيادة الفنية للقلعة البيضاء

– الزمالك خاض مع يانيك فيريرا 13 مباراة، 11 مباراة في بطولة الدروي المصري، ومواجهتين في بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية.

– فاز الزمالك تحت قيادة يانيك فيريرا في 7 مباريات، 5 في بطولة الدوري ومباراتين في بطولة الكونفدرالية.

– تعادل الزمالك مع فيريرا في 4 مباريات كلها في بطولة الدوري المصري.

– خسر الزمالك مع المدرب البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا في مباراتين أمام الأهلي ووادي دجلة.

– سجل فريق الزمالك مع المدرب فيريرا 22 هدفا.

– استقبل نادي الزمالك 8 أهداف تحت قيادة فيريرا.

ومن المقرر أن يلعب الزمالك ضد طلائع الجيش، غدا الأحد بالجولة الـ 13 ببطولة الدوري المصري، ثم يسافر إلى الإمارات لخوض منافسات بطولة السوبر المصري حيث يستهله بمواجهة بيراميدز في دور نصف النهائي يوم الخميس 6 نوفمبر.

The 2026 World Cup will create a $4.5 billion sponsorship economy for the 13 cities in the United States and Canada set to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a report by SponsorUnited released this week. The report provides a detailed look at how the cities fit within the broader sponsorship systems shaping North American sports.

Getty Images SportA World Cup lens on evolving sports sponsorship

Published annually, SponsorUnited’s Markets Report examines the shifting dynamics of sports sponsorship across key North American markets. This year’s edition applies a World Cup-focused perspective, targeting the cities hosting the 2026 tournament (Mexico will also have three host cities). 

Alongside major leagues such as MLS and NWSL, the report also covers NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA and major college conferences in each market. 

That broad scope highlights how the World Cup host cities are central to nearly half of North America’s team sports sponsorship revenue, which totals just more than $9 billion. In the past year, the host cities collectively attracted $725 million in new sponsorship investments, led by Los Angeles at $178 million, New York/New Jersey at $124 million and the San Francisco/Bay Area at $55 million.

AdvertisementHome-market sponsorship focus

The report reveals a pronounced home-market focus among top sponsors in those cities. Nearly 40 percent of the highest-spending sponsors allocate at least 75 percent of their sponsorship budgets to their respective markets.

Los Angeles leads with six such hyper-local investors, followed by Atlanta, Kansas City, and Miami with five each. These concentrated spenders tend to be unique local entities – regional banks, universities, or health systems – that dedicate virtually all their sponsorship dollars to their home markets.

Soccer’s rapid growth

Soccer currently accounts for just 9 percent of total team sponsorship revenue among U.S. professional sports in these markets, according to the report, but has grown at a 21 percent rate over the past three years. This growth is fueled in part by a 331 percent surge in branded social engagement, signaling increasing fan interaction and commercial opportunity.

Average sponsorship deal sizes vary widely across host cities, reflecting differing levels of market maturity and opportunity. Markets such as Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey boast average deal sizes around $750,000, while smaller to mid-sized markets –  Houston, Kansas City and Vancouver – have smaller but growing deal sizes ranging from $350,000 to $500,000.

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Getty Images SportLooking ahead to 2026 and beyond

The report highlights how soccer’s rapid growth is complementing established sports markets, creating new avenues for brand engagement and investment ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

You may not want to but let’s cast our minds back to March 2023. Arsenal are facing Sporting in a Europa League knock-out match and William Saliba has gone down injured.

The replacement that day was Rob Holding. Yes, it’s remarkable just how much this squad has progressed since that day.

Holding was a loyal servant to the club but he was never really Arsenal quality. The run-in during the end of the 2022/23 campaign, a season in which the Gunners played some scintillating football, showcased just that.

After that injury on the European stage, Saliba didn’t play another minute of the season, which meant Holding was forced into the side. It did not go well at all; the Londoners only won five of their last 11 league matches, missing out on the Premier League title.

The central defender did score against Manchester City, albeit it that came in a crippling 4-1 defeat a match where Jamie Carragher explained at full-time that Erling Haaland vs Holding was a “physical mismatch.”

That sequence of games has been a learning curve for Mikel Arteta and it perhaps still scars him to this day. Arsenal have signed a whole host of defenders since and the way with which they’ve dealt with Saliba’s latest injury setback is a testament to that.

Enter, Cristhian Mosquera.

Cristhian Mosquera's stunning form for Arsenal in numbers

Holding, who? The level of progression from Arsenal’s backline since the English centre-half departed for pastures new is remarkable.

The layers of depth Arteta now has at his disposal in defence speaks volumes. At left-back, he can call on Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Piero Hincapie.

In the middle, he can call on Calafiori and Hincapie again, although right-backs Jurrien Timber and Ben White also possess the ability to play as centre-backs should Saliba and Gabriel be absent.

There will be no more Holding situations, and Mosquera’s early-season form in London proves that.

Very rarely can a football player be described as a bargain in the modern market but the £13m that Arsenal spent on Mosquera certainly looks like that.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Valencia phoned the police to report a robbery, that’s how cheap his price tag looks.

That’s because his latest two outings demonstrate that if Saliba or Gabriel are missing, there won’t be a drop off in quality.

When the French central defender hobbled off early on in the defeat against Liverpool, every supporter feared the worst, but Arsenal’s new Spanish signing was a match for the likes of Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike and Mohammed Salah.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Yes, the hosts may well have won at Anfield but Mosquera was phenomenal, completing 92% of his passes and winning four of his five duels.

Against Forest, he was arguably even better. Saliba was still missing but his young stand-in, aged just 21, didn’t put a foot wrong.

On this occasion, he kept a clean sheet, completed 91% of his passes and lost just one of his four duels. Impressive stuff indeed.

Remarkably, however, the Gunners may well be brewing a bigger talent in the Hale End ranks.

Introducing the best centre-back Hale End has produced

When Arsenal announced the arrival of Mosquera over the summer, Andrea Berta found it difficult to hide his admiration for the young defender: “We identified Cristhian as one of the strongest young defenders in European football, and he is an important signing for our future,” exclaimed the Italian.

Well, speaking of the future, there is a world where he could be partnered by one of the most promising talents in the club’s academy.

That player is Marli Salmon. Aged just 16, he’s already been described as the Max Dowman of defenders and while he is yet to appear in a competitive fixture for Arsenal, he did make his first team bow during pre-season.

Salmon looked miles above his age and really did stand out at the heart of Arteta’s backline, featuring against both Milan and Newcastle.

Versus the Italian giants, the young defender played the final 24 minutes of that encounter and completed 94% of his passes. Against Newcastle, he featured for just 13 minutes but once again looked at ease, this time completing 100% of his passes.

He’s certainly composed at the back and testimonies from those who follow Hale End more closely indicate that he could well be on Dowman’s level.

Currently being mentored by Saliba, insider Hand of Arsenal has noted that Salmon is “rated very very highly by everyone at the club,” while suggesting that he is “the best centre-back in his age group.”

Well, data analyst Ben Mattinson has gone a step further by suggesting that the teenager is “the best centre-back Hale End has produced.”

Possessing Saliba-like calmness in possession, Salmon’s talent looks immense and it would not be a surprise if we start seeing him playing more first-team minutes in a few years.

He’s not quite ready yet, but the fact he went on the club’s pre-season tour suggests Arteta likes the look of him. Those reviews suggest he could become an even bigger talent than Mosquera. Exciting times indeed.

He dropped a 10/10: Arsenal's "signing of the summer" could be Xhaka 2.0

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Arne Slot has revealed Alexander Isak is fully fit again after his lack of pre-season, with the £125 million ($166.7m) striker now searching for his first Premier League goal for Liverpool. The Swedish striker might have forced his way out of Newcastle United in a messy transfer saga over the summer, but he is yet to shine since swapping St James' Park for Anfield.

• Isak's slow start at Liverpool

  Having refused to join Newcastle’s pre-season camp to push through his dream move, Isak arrived at Liverpool lacking match sharpness. Hence, it was no surprise when his first few weeks on Merseyside were something of a slow burn. His only goal so far came in their 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton, and as fans grew impatient to get a glimpse of the ruthless finisher who terrorised defences in black and white, pressure kept building on the forward. Slot claimed that the 26-year-old’s stop-start introduction was deliberate, designed to rebuild his conditioning and avoid any early muscle setbacks. But the wait is finally over, and the Dutch manager can't wait to unleash the beast version of Isak that went missing in the first few weeks.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Slot backs Isak to start firing

  Slot acknowledged that supporters and the media have been quick to question the Swede’s lack of goals, especially after he drew blanks in international defeats to Switzerland and Kosovo. But the Dutch coach urged patience, insisting that form will come once fitness meets confidence.

  "Now he has had his five, six weeks of pre-season which is normal for every player, especially if you have been out for three or four months," Slot said at a press conference on Friday.

  "Fitness-wise he is close to the level he should be and we can judge him in a fair way from now on. I know how this industry works, if he plays for Sweden twice and doesn’t score that’s not what you’re hoping for, of course.

  "You are hoping if they go to the national team they score goals like Cody (Gakpo) did, like Virgil (van Dijk) did, like Dominik (Szoboszlai) did, like (Alexis) MacAllister, did but he didn’t. His pre-season has finished now. He has played a few games, 70, 80, 90 minutes, so let’s see where he is in the upcoming weeks."

• Gravenberch & Konate fit again after injury scares

  As Liverpool prepare for Sunday’s mammoth Premier League showdown with Manchester United at Anfield, Slot received a welcome double boost. Both midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and defender Ibrahima Konate have been declared fit and available after minor injury scares. Gravenberch was withdrawn during the Netherlands’ win over Finland due to hamstring tightness, while Konate missed France’s fixtures with a slight quad strain picked up against Chelsea two weeks ago. Slot, though, was upbeat about their recoveries.

  "Ryan is completely fit, although we still have to train twice," Slot added. "We are in a good place with the Dutch national team if Ronald Koeman can make a decision either to play Tijjani Reijnders or Ryan Gravenberch, so he played them both 45 minutes. Ibou has come back to us, started the sessions again and is expected to train with us today."

  While Slot’s optimism is unwavering, not everyone shares his rosy outlook. reporter Lewis Steele, who covers Liverpool closely, warned that Isak’s path to full match sharpness may take longer than the club hopes.

  "The road to full fitness is a little bit longer than expected, and there’s a report from one of the Newcastle guys, saying they expect it to be three months until he’s fully fit," he said. "And that is probably about right. He’s been at Liverpool now for four or five weeks, so maybe we are now probably another three or four weeks away from seeing Isak at his best. There have been glimpses, lovely assist on Saturday and he got his goal against Southampton, to be fair he’s got to score that, but he had to be in the right place at the right time. But, the road to full fitness does seem a bit bumpier than me or Slot predicted."

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  A gruelling run awaits the Reds

  Liverpool have an unenviable calendar after the international break. Following the United clash, the Reds face a relentless stretch of fixtures including Eintracht Frankfurt in Europe, followed by Premier League meetings with Brentford, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and then a blockbuster Champions League tie against Real Madrid in early November. Slot knows the coming weeks will define Liverpool’s season, and it's no surprise that the manager wants Isak to be at his sharpest for it.