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Pyramids will be without Ramadan Sobhi for just one match after the Egyptian Football Association clamped down on the former Stoke City and Huddersfield Town winger.

The 23-year-old was given his marching orders in his debut game for PFC as they bowed 2-1 to Al Ittihad in Saturday’s Egyptian Premier League opener.

Furious with his team’s home defeat at the 30 June Stadium, Sobhi expressed his frustration to referee Mohammad Sabahi after the final whistle, leading him to getting a second caution for dissent.

His team had appealed the dismissal and were hopeful that Sabahi’s decision be rescinded but in an EFA statement on suspension and fines, the Egypt international has been hit with a match ban.

With this result, he will be unavailable for selection when Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s men take on Zamalek on Thursday evening.

He will return on December 27 for Pyramids’ trip to New Suez Stadium for their clash with newly-promoted Ceramica Cleopatra.

Ceramica made a bright start to life in the Egyptian topflight, securing a 2-0 away triumph at En Entag El Harby thanks to goals from Sherif Dabo and Mahmoud Nabil at the WE Al-Ahly Stadium.

In addition, Al Masry head coach Ali Maher has been suspended for one game and fined 20,000 Egyptian Pounds following his dismissal in the Canal Derby versus Ismaily. Ismaily’s Tarek Abo El-leil has also been handed the same sanction for the same reason.

Thanks to his impressive showing at Al Ahly, he was signed by Premier League side Stoke City on 25 July, 2016 for a fee of £5 million – making his English topflight bow on August 20 against Manchester City.

After two seasons with the Potters, Sobhi joined English Championship side Huddersfield Town on a five-year deal in a deal.

However, his inability to impress former manager David Wagner at the Kirklees Stadium saw him return to Al Ahly on loan in 2018. He extended his loan with the Egyptian giants for the 2019–20 season which was later cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite impressing with the Red Devils – where he scored seven goals and provided 14 assists in 36 appearances across all competitions, Sobhi decided to end his loan deal with the team to opt for a move to Pyramids permanently, for an undisclosed amount.

Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune has explained why he has made two identical mistakes in back-to-back Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches.

Six days after giving away possession to Ovidy Karuru, who then scored during a 2-2 draw with Black Leopards, the experienced goalkeeper committed another error against SuperSport United on Tuesday night.

Khune tried to play a pass to Nkosingiphi Ngcobo and the ball was intercepted by the opposition who then scored through Bradley Grobler as Chiefs succumbed a 2-1 defeat by SuperSport.

The 33-year-old said he prefers building from the back rather than kicking the ball forward, but he feels he should now go back to focusing on basics of goalkeeping. 

"I don't know. I think I am trying to do too much. I am trying to be a ballplayer [and] I am trying to be a goalkeeper at the same time," Khune told SuperSport TV. 

"I think that I should just go back to sticking to be a goalkeeper because I want the team to play more. I mean I don't want us to keep playing the ball in the air."

The defeat to SuperSport extended Chiefs' winless run to five matches in the league and Khune promised to improve his form between the sticks.

"I want us to play more out from the back and I want to look for those pockets [of space] unfortunately tonight the guys [the opposition] read the ball that I wanted to play in the pocket to Mshini [Ngcobo]," he continued.

"They converted the chance and it is sad that I just gave away two goals in two weeks. It is very bad and we have to go back and work on it because I have been playing for many seasons and I have never made such mistakes." 

The accomplished shot-stopper has now conceded 10 goals from five matches in the league this season - averaging two goals per game.

It remains to be seen whether Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt will keep his faith in Khune when they take on Bloemfontein Celtic in a league encounter at the iconic FNB Stadium on Saturday. 

Nigeria international Daniel Akpeyi has been patiently waiting for his chance as Amakhosi's second-choice keeper. 

The Premier League’s top two—Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur collide at Anfield on Wednesday evening—with the chance to lead an engrossing table heading into the festive period up for grabs between these two heavyweights.

After 12 matches, Spurs and Liverpool are neck and neck on 25 points, with Tottenham leading the table by virtue of having a superior goal difference (+14) to the Reds’ +9.

Both of these two have identical win-loss records, but both were on the end of underwhelming results at the weekend, with Spurs ceding a lead to draw with Crystal Palace and Fulham holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.

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Will these two giants cancel each other out once again—in this rematch of the 2019 Champions League final—or will either team take an advantage in this fascinating title race?

Liverpool vs Tottenham: Team News

Liverpool are facing a litany of injury problems as they head into this potential season-defining bout, with the likes of Thiago, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Xherdan Shaqiri and James Milner all sidelined.

Jurgen Klopp will have hoped for Naby Keita to have been available for the festive period, but he’s also absent with a new muscle injury.

Their injury problems have been compounded recently by the absence of new arrival Diogo Jota—who sustained an injury in the Champions League game against FC Midtjylland—and Klopp faces an anxious wait to see whether Joel Matip will return to action after being taken off with injury against Fulham.

With van Dijk and Gomez both absent, it remains to be seen whether Klopp will trust youngsters such as Nat Phillips or Rhys Williams, or shunt midfielders Jordan Henderson or Fabinho into the backline.

For Spurs, Gareth Bale is set to be back in contention after missing the Palace game with illness, while Erik Lamela is out with injury.

Liverpool vs Tottenham: Key Stats

Spurs have a poor recent record against Liverpool, having won just one of their last 15 league games against the Reds.

Liverpool, by contrast, have won 10—including all of their last four league games against the North Londoners.

Not since 2011 have Spurs won away against Liverpool in the league, but they’ve also never before lost six consecutive matches against the Merseysiders in all competitions—a record they would break if they were defeated again on Wednesday.

However, Tottenham can take encouragement from Liverpool’s slight drop in form so far this season.

They’ve already dropped 11 points so far this season—a remarkable drop from having lost 15 throughout the entirely of their title-winning campaign—but Klopp has a strong record against Jose Mourinho when the German has home advantage.

In five attempts, the Portuguese coach has never defeated Klopp away from home, but could that record be broken this week?

Liverpool vs Tottenham: Predictions

If they have every player fit and firing, Liverpool would surely be further ahead at the top of the table and on course to retain their Premier League title…particularly considering their rivals’ failing.

However, the Merseysiders are really battling against a swathe of injury concerns, with Klopp forced to manage his resources—and a squad who appear to be leggy—as the games continue to come thick and fast.

How he organises his defence will surely be key, but without van Dijk and Gomez, can the Reds really expect to keep Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at bay?

They’ll hope to give Spurs problems going forward, although the Londoners—now underpinned by Mourinho’s traditional grit and rigour—will take confidence from taking seven points from recent fixtures against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Prediction: 1-1

What is wrong with Sadio Mane? Something has clearly gone awry for the Liverpool forward, whose ability, end-product, consistency and street-wise nature made him one of the most-complete attackers in Europe.

Undoubtedly, being voted Africa’s best player in January didn’t flatter him in the slightest, but the Senegal star has dipped since that mid-October meeting against Everton at Goodison Park. If anyone had predicted at the time the former Southampton attacker was to go two months without a league goal, he may have been laughed out of the room.

The reality of how events have panned out, however, presents a curious case amid Liverpool’s general Jekyll and Hyde campaign.

Maybe it’s a tad expected; after all, this side had been at the top of their game for about two straight seasons, where they won the Champions League in 2019 for the first time since Istanbul and only missed out on successive Premier League titles by a top-class Manchester City side in 18/19...so maybe a drop off was always around the corner.

There’s an impulse to put Mane’s apparent slump this season down to a lack of rest — he’s played 71 of the side’s 76 Premier League games in the last two seasons, starting 66 times — or little pre-season before the start of the new campaign.

Naysayers may brush that suggestion aside owing to how the defending champions had ample time, compared to other nominal top six rivals at least, to prepare for the 20/21 season.

They won the league with games to spare, didn’t have to feature in the revamped Champions League knockout stages in August, and were one of the few sides that had the benefit of pre-season friendlies.

Injuries, which always seem to be knocking at Liverpool’s door this term, haven’t helped Klopp’s side whatsoever and Mane’s numbers so far make for very grim reading. Despite starting the season amazingly, the 28-year-old hasn’t scored since October, having initially hit the back of the net four times in as many league appearances.

Diogo Jota’s immediate impact on Merseyside largely eased the burden on the Mane and Mohamed Salah’s shoulders, the pair who struggled for open-play goals from October until December when the latter scored against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While the Egypt superstar has the advantage of being the Reds’ penalty taker, his West African teammate gets no gimmes and has toiled for goals and even assists in the last two months. The pair’s paucity of strikes was examined after the frustrating 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion in late November, and the former Southampton forward still hasn’t hit the back of the net since.

The injury to Jota thus puts the English giants in a quandary in every sense of the word as the Portugal attacker is likely to miss six to eight weeks, according to Klopp.

This means a return date could possibly be in mid-February, leading to a further absence in 12 games. Given how swiftly the former Wolves wide attacker has integrated into life at Anfield, he’ll be hugely missed, especially as Mane and Salah continue to struggle.

Even though the ex-Chelsea winger has netted in his last three games in all competitions, there’s a feeling he isn’t playing at his best, and the goals from 12 yards have mostly embellished an otherwise average campaign so far.

As for Mane, a dive into his underlying stats reveal quite interesting numbers. Per Fbref, the Senegal star is underperforming his Expected Goals tally slightly and is on pace to finish the campaign by scoring lower than he ought to for the first time in the last three seasons.

The Senegal forward’s xG of 6.0 has only resulted in four league goals in reality. Contrast this to 2018/19 when the former Metz forward netted 22 times from xG of 16.1, while he scored 18 goals in Liverpool’s title-winning season from Expected Goals of 13.8.

This year’s decline has been interestingly striking and below previous standards set, although an even deeper dive then suggests the corner could be turned soon enough. Mane xG per 90 this term (0.59) is higher than the average from the last two seasons — 0.45 last term and 0.47 in 18/19.

He’s apparently also averaging a higher involvement in the side’s build-up play, averaging 4.33 Shot-Creating Actions; which trumps the number in 19/20 (3.57) and two years ago (3.13).

The aforementioned numbers give the impression that Mane could get back on the goalscoring trail sooner rather than later but with Jota’s unfortunate injury, Klopp needs the striker to promptly blow away the cobwebs and rediscover the form that saw him voted Africa’s best player.

Orlando Pirates will resume their Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign when they welcome Chippa United at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

The Buccaneers are in a celebratory mood after clinching the MTN8 title over the weekend with a win against Bloemfontein Celtic in Durban.

However, coach Josef Zinnbauer will be determined to ensure that Pirates returned to winning ways in the league having drawn their last two matches in this competition.

Bucs, who remain undefeated this season, are up against a Chippa side who are wounded after they let a 1-0 lead slip in their 2-1 defeat to Baroka FC a fortnight ago.

Coached by former Pirates captain Lehlohonolo Seema, the Chilli Boys will be looking to snap their three-match winless run in the league when they take on the Buccaneers.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

The game will be shown live on SuperSport TV

Squads & Team News

Pirates will be without the services of Thabang Monare, who has been ruled out of the match against Chippa after picking an injury during the cup clash with Celtic.

However, Zinnbauer has the luxury to replace the experienced midfielder with either Nkanyiso Zungu or Linda Mntambo, while Siphesihle Ndlovu is also an option.

The German tactician will look to Thembinkosi Lorch after the versatile attacker inspired the Soweto giants to a 2-1 win over Celtic and he could be key to a victory over an unpredictable Chippa side.

Meanwhile, Chippa midfielder Raymond Sibeko will miss the encounter against Pirates due to suspension after he was sent off during the Eastern Cape-based side's defeat to Baroka.

However, Seema's side has been boosted by the arrival of Uganda international Ismail Watenga with the goalkeeper having joined the club as a free agent over the weekend.

Lesotho-born mentor Seema will be hoping that Bienvenu Eva Nga, who scored the first hat-trick of the current season, rediscovers his scoring touch and inspires the team to a much-needed win over Bucs.

Match Preview

Pirates are unbeaten their last nine matches in the PSL having recorded five wins and four draws.

The Soweto giants are also undefeated in their last seven home matches in the league - registering four draws and three victories as the hosts.

While Chippa are enduring a three-match winless run in the PSL having registered two defeats and one draw.

They have also failed to win their last five away matches in the league - recording three defeats and two draws on the road. 

In head-to-head stats since the 2012/13 season, Chippa and Pirates have met in 14 league matches.

Bucs have dominated this fixture recording 10 wins compared to three for the Chilli Boys, while one game has been drawn.

Pirates also completed a league double over Chippa last season as they emerged 2-1 winners both home and away with Tshegofatso Mabasa and Frank Mhango each scoring braces for Bucs. 

Simba SC have confirmed new signing Taddeo Lwanga will likely feature for the side when they take on KMC FC in a Mainland Premier League match on Wednesday.

The Ugandan winger signed for the Wekundu wa Msimbazi on December 2 for an undisclosed fee after leaving Egyptian club Tanta SC but was yet to make a start for the team as the transfer window was still closed.

However, Simba have now confirmed in a statement obtained by Goal the player will be in contention to face KMC at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

“This is because the mini-transfer window is open since December 15; thus Simba will have the opportunity to use Lwanga in the match and the forthcoming Caf Champions League match against FC Platinum of Zimbabwe,” read the statement from Simba.

“Lwanga is a free player, after completing his contract with Egyptian Premier League club, Tanta SC.”

The statement further continued: “He has been signed to replace Gerson Fraga who recently underwent knee surgery due to an injury he picked earlier this season. Fraga will be out of action for more than six months so he was allowed to return to Brazil to oversee his treatment.”

In a recent interview, Simba coach Sven Vandenbroeck explained why he signed Lwanga.

“As you know, Gerson [Fraga] was ruled out for six to eight months meaning we had only one holding midfielder Jonas [Mkude],” Vandenbroeck explained as quoted by Daily News.

“This means Fraga will be missed for the whole season hence, we had to get another player to fill his void.

"I would have loved to have him [Fraga] for the whole season but unfortunately, he will not be able to play any game this season. It is unlucky for Fraga to be out of action for eight months and his contract expires at the end of the season.”

Simba are keen to win their two matches in hand starting with the KMC game so they can catch up with Yanga at the top of the 18-team league table.

Yanga are on 37 points while Simba are second on 19.

Simba will also use the match to polish the squad for crucial second preliminary round Champions League match against FC Platinum on December 22.

Egypt are in danger of missing out of the 2021 U20 Africa Cup of Nations after losing their first game to Libya without even kicking a ball.

The Young Pharaoh needed 11 starters and four substitutes to take part in their opener against the Junior Mediterranean Knights, however, they fell a man short owing to their recent positive coronavirus cases.

As a result of this, coach Rabie Yassin’s boys forfeited maximum points to the Libyans despite their presence at the match venue.

17 members of the Egyptian U20 team had returned positive Covid-19 tests a day before their first game in the 2021 U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers versus Libya in Tunisia.

Nevertheless, the Egyptian football body rejected the result and managed to secure another round of tests on Monday evening after meeting with the Tunisian football authorities.

 “The youth team manager Rabie Yassin, called for an immediate swab on all members of the mission in Tunisia,” a statement from Efa read.

“The Egyptian team, born in 2001, conducted a medical examination for the mission in Tunisia after the results showed that 17 players, in addition to the technical director Rabie Yassin, were infected with the Coronavirus.

“The Egyptian Federation demanded from the North African Union to conduct a swab in another accredited laboratory, and a meeting is now taking place between the Medical Committee of the North African Union and the Egyptian national team doctor Walid Mazhar to study the matter.

However, a tweet by EFA on Tuesday morning announced that the second test had Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Shehata and Mahmoud Saber Abdel Moneim return negative

“The results of the second swab performed on the youth team proved that the result of the smear of three players turned negative, namely Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Shehata and Mahmoud Saber Abdel Moneim. This morning, the test of Mr. Attia and Mahmoud Abdel Mohsen is repeated and also confirmed the positive sample of Rabie Yassin, technical director of the Young Pharaohs.”

Assuming the match result stands, Egypt must now defeat Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco to ensure their qualification for the 2021 Africa U20 Cup of Nations billed for Mauritania. There, Africa’s four representatives for the Fifa World Cup would be determined.

KMC FC have vowed to halt Simba's run to the top of the Mainland Premier League table when the two sides clash on Wednesday at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi are keen to win their two matches in hand so as to catch up with table-toppers and rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC).

However, KMC Media Officer Christina Mwagala has stated their team has prepared well for the match and they don’t fear Simba.

“We are not afraid of tomorrow's [Wednesday’s] game because we are well prepared, we have a strong squad, the players are good who can meet any team and we got results,” Mwagala told Sokalabongo.

“Our players are ready for the match and we will go into the battle needing victory, so our opponents must be ready to lose as it is within our power to make sure we get the three points that are important.

“We know they have come out on top to win against Mbeya City [in their last game], but that does not mean if they meet KMC FC they will also get a good result, for us we are prepared and ready to beat them, they should know we are ready.”

KMC have not beaten Simba in the last two seasons (both home and away) but did manage a victory in a friendly played at Azam’s Chamazi Complex last season.

Mwagala is confident the current squad is ready to erase the bad record against the champions.

“So according to the record [we have not beaten them in two seasons], but the squad in the 2020/2021 season is determined to break the record to ensure that no game will be lost and instead we will go on to emerge the winners.”

The giants are beaming with confidence having beaten Mbeya City by a solitary goal with striker and captain John Bocco notching the winner.

Simba will also welcome back striker Chris Mugalu, who has been out injured and could be given the chance to play against KMC.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat explained that while physicality is an important aspect of football, his team don’t necessarily look to commit fouls. He acknowledged that he has strong players in his squad but they use their physique to their advantage well within the rules of the game.

“Every game is physical. In the end we are in a professional sport and physicality is very important. I am very happy with my players because we play within the rules. I think that we are a physical team with good physical players like Ashique (Kuruniyan) and Suresh (Wangjam) also the big guys like Erik (Paartalu) and Juanan, they are really fit. But at the same time, we are team who do not commit a lot of fouls and we are playing the game in the right way,” said Cuadrat.

The Spanish boss was questioned on his decision to bench Udanta Singh in their last two outings and whether he would play a bit-part role from the bench this term. It must be pointed that the winger signed a contract extension at the end of last season which will keep him at Bengaluru until 2022-23 season.

“Udanta is a very valuable player for us. He is from the national team, he has good pace and it is important to have players with good pace because they break the defensive line of the other team. But at the same time, I have to try to get a balance team and I think that now Cleiton (Silva) playing on the right and Suresh helping us in the center of the pitch, we have a good balance in the team.

“So it is true that in the last two games, I have been using Udanta to try to take advantage of the space when the game is more open. So I am happy with the performance of him against NorthEast United and Kerala Blasters. It is good for the team that he appears in the second half,” reasoned the Bengaluru coach.

Odisha FC have been in poor run of form this season as they are yet to register a single win. Not just their results, but their performance has failed to uplift the mood in the squad. Cuadrat was asked if his team could possibly get complacent against a team who are in the bottom half of the Indian Super League (ISL) table.

“I know my players very well, there is no complacency. There is no room for that. They are very competitive and for sure, they will try to get the three points. But at the same time, we know how football is. We have seen a lot of games where the team who is not getting results suddenly change things.

“For sure teams like Odisha are very dangerous. We are all conscious of that. We know that they have been fighting for the points, it was not happening until now but one of these days they will win a game because they have the quality for that. They have a good coach (Stuart Baxter), good players and so it has to happen.

“So, there is no question that we are ready for the game and we are not overconfident. We are never complacent against any team in the ISL because we know that any team can beat any team in this league,” explained Cuadrat.

He further elaborated by stating that Odisha have some important players in their ranks such as Diego Mauricio and Cole Alexander. Cuadrat also mentioned that they have been analysing the strengths and weakness of their opposite team in order to devise a game-plan for Thursday’s match.

“We saw Diego Mauricio scoring wonderful goals against Jamshedpur. He was also very important for the team when they were losing and they came back from being two goals down, that shows they have mental strength. They also have two powerful central defenders with a lot of experience. I especially like Cole Alexander.

“I think he is one of those players who give a lot to the team. He has a good background and experience in international games for South Africa and he is one of those quite players who is doing a lot for the team. So, we have been studying the opponents and we will try to avoid their tricks and try to manage the game.”

Rahul Bheke was rested in the last game against Kerala Blasters and instead Pratik Chaudhari was handed an opportunity to partner Juanan at the back.

“We are preventing Rahul Bheke for the game. He will not be in the list but it is just a prevention because of his muscle situation. We are going to have him for the next game,” said Cuadrat.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa has revealed he was saddened to see Mathare United and Zoo FC removed from the FKF Premier League.

The two ‘rebel clubs’ were finally suspended from the top-flight and scrapped from the 2020-21 fixtures after they refused to endorse the broadcast deal between FKF and StarTimes.

According to Mwendwa, they gave the teams more than enough time to sign the document but they refused and as FKF they did not have any other option rather than to remove them from the league.

“I am saddened that the effort put by the two clubs to reach where they are and what they are doing now,” Mwendwa said as quoted by FKF Media.

"Mathare United was formed in 1994, I was in form one, surely then they have refused to sign a contract and they don’t have an alternative, how will they get help, I am saddened but we don’t have options, the only decision we had was to remove them.

Mwendwa has now urged the teams to wait for next season and join the National Super League (NSL) but under the same conditions as the top league.

“Now they have to wait until next year and join NSL but they should be aware that we also have sponsors in the lower tier so it will be difficult for them again, and division one also we have sponsors, so they will have to follow the law or stay out,” Mwendwa continued.

“The only option they have now is to come to NSL next season but they should know also in NSL they will be required to sign an endorsement [similar to that in the top-flight for sponsors], so I don’t know if they will be ready to sign it.”

Mwendwa has also revealed how FKF made repeated efforts to have the two teams endorse the document before they were finally suspended.

“We wrote to them for five weeks and asked them to sign the endorsement, the sponsor is waiting and also reminded them if they keep delaying the sponsor will walk away and the other teams that have signed will continue to suffer [without money], but they refused.

“Every week, we wrote them letters, every week we talked to the clubs, every week we sent emissaries to talk to them but they refused and stood the ground saying they cannot sign the endorsement, we don’t want StarTimes to show our matches.

“It is good to know that FKF Premier League is not for one club but for many clubs, the league belongs to FKF and the constitution states clearly the league belongs to FKF and is planned by FKF and not for one club, and the constitution says the rights are for FKF and for all members and how to spend the sponsorship it is the prerogative of the National Executive Committee of FKF to decide.”

Mwendwa continued: “NEC are the ones to put regulations, on how have we used the sponsorship, NEC sat in 2018 and said all the rights are for FKF and sold by FKF and NEC will decide how the money will be shared.

“For five weeks we wrote to Mathare United and Zoo we even asked them what is your problem, they said they want to see the sponsorship, we gave it to them and they read through and said it is okay, they asked how much will we get, we gave them everything.

“Every week we kept asking them when are you signing, then it reached match day one we told them we will postpone their matches as you decide, we entered match day two, and they had not signed yet and we postponed their matches again.

“When it reached match day three, we did not have any options, we called for NEC meeting to discuss the way forward now that the clubs had refused to sign and they were wasting our time and also spoiling sponsorship for other clubs and we decided to axe them.”

The suspension of the two teams means the Kenyan league will now feature 16 teams.

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt was disappointed with his side's poor finishing and mistakes following their defeat to SuperSport United on Tuesday night.

The Soweto giants extended their winless run to five matches in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) when they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Matsatsantsa in Tshwane.

Hunt's side dominated the match, but they could not convert their goal-scoring opportunities with Lebogang Manyama and Dumisani Zuma guilty of missing clear cut chances. 

"We didn't win. I think we deserved it. I thought we had so many chances in the first half. There were no problems," Hunt told SuperSport TV. 

"But once we had crept in and then they are 1-0 up at half-time when we could have been three or four to the good in the first-half.

"And then we fought and we had unbelievable chances again. But we didn't take them. We have to defend better. We can't commit the errors we were making."

The opening goal came after Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune made a mistake as he gave away possession and the home side scored through Bradley Grobler.

Philani Zulu made things worse for Amakhosi as he was sent off for making a dangerous tackle on Ghampani Lungu in the 64th minute and Hunt's men had to carry on with 10 players. 

"Yeah, we had mistakes. We have to stick together and we will try to eradicate it. We have to really look at it. We will go back and look at the situation and take it from there," he said. 

"We are certainly not having the rub of the green but that is football. Sometimes you have to work a little bit harder to achieve a little bit more. 

"As I said at half-time we had those three, four unbelievable chances under the crossbar just to finish them off and you turn the other way around. That is football."

SuperSport doubled their lead through Sipho Mbule, before Manyama scored Chiefs' consolation goal from the spot-kick after the visitors were awarded a late penalty. 

Hunt admitted that it is one of the toughest periods in his coaching career with Amakhosi having been unable to register new players during the last transfer window due to a Fifa ban. 

"Yeah, it is because of the situation. But we knew once the season started what the situation was," he said. 

"We are coming off an unbelievable situation. We have to knuckle down and try to eradicate these situations." 

Chiefs are set to take on Bloemfontein Celtic in a league match at FNB Stadium on Saturday. 

After holding Jamshedpur FC to a 0-0 draw, in spite of playing the lion's share of the match with 10-men, Robbie Fowler had claimed that a 'better (version of) East Bengal' will be seen in the next game. But to the utter dismay of the fans, their performance went southward against Hyderabad FC as they went down 3-2 on Tuesday evening.

Fowler made a few changes to his line-up with C.K.Vineeth and Jeje Lalpekhlua starting upfront but the two strikers were isolated as they didn't get any service. Vineeth had seven touches in the first half while Jeje had 10 to his name.

On the other hand, Hyderabad went all guns blazing right from the off and utilised their flanks to put pressure on East Bengal's backline. The likes of Mohammed Yasir and Hitesh Sharma made sure that they kept delivering crosses inside the box for Aridane Santana, who came tantalisingly close on quite a few occasions to break the deadlock in the first half.

East Bengal were completely outclassed by the Hyderabad youngsters. Their two strikers ran around aimlessly for the majority of the match and as usual, the onus was on Anthony Pilkington and Jacques Maghoma to create as well score goals. owler, after the Jamshedpur match, had said that the Indian players need to support the two foreigners but Lalpekhlua and Vineeth could hardly make any impact whatsoever.

The backline looked extremely ordinary and porous. Liston Colaco was introduced at half-time and the winger toyed with East Bengal's defence at will. Narayan Das could not deal with his pace and gave away a free-kick from which the Nizams levelled the score and it was his assist which saw Aridane score his second of the game. 

Much was expected from Scott Neville, but the manner in which the Goan teased him with stepovers before finally getting past the Australian to set up the third goal for Halicharan Narzary was certainly an embarrassment for the veteran defender.

Fowler, after the match, once again vented out his frustration and said, "I just think we are a team that is built for the I-League. The recruitment process for this team was for the I-League and then we were catapulted to the ISL. Now its up to the players to show that they are good enough for the ISL."

The current squad clearly lack quality, fitness and are far from being consistent. They are lacking in concentration and switch off at critical junctures. To concede twice in less than a minute is unacceptable and that too giving away cheap possession is downright farcical. 

Out of the five matches, they have lost four.  With just a point, they continue to languish at the bottom of the league table. 

Antonio Habas's men started their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign on a high by winning three successive games, including the derby against East Bengal. But there has been a slump recently as they have picked up just one point from their previous two fixtures. 

While defending set-pieces has been a concern (all three goals in the last two games have been conceded from dead ball situations), the team's anaemic midfield should be a cause of bigger worry for the Spanish coach. 

Habas' teams are not known to play possessional football. They are happy to absorb pressure and hit on the counter. Against Kerala Blasters in their opening match, they made only 252 passes, which was a league-low after matchday one in the current edition of the league. 

Bagan continued in an identical style in the next match against East Bengal and at the end of matchday two, they continued to be the team with the least number of successful passes; yet they were on top of the table. But as the season progressed, their frailties in midfield are becoming even more evident. And it must be noted that after five matches, they continue to be the team with the least number of passes (1535). 

The fact that Pritam Kotal has the most number of touches and passes (171) to his name highlights the sorrow state of Bagan's midfield. Even Carl McHugh, who is known to be the metronome in midfield, comes second (168) on the list. Javier Hernandez's injury has further complicated matters for the team. 

The Mariners have mostly played with two banks of four where their creative midfielders are more involved in chasing down the opposition rather than building up their team's play. The opposition is having a free run around the centre circle once they bypass the initial press and are putting pressure on the defence. They are lacking the presence of a defensive midfielder who will break attacks and regain possession. 

Against FC Goa, this could prove costly for the Green and Maroon brigade. With players like Alberto Noguera and Edu Bedia in their ranks, the Gaurs definitely have the firepower to take control of proceedings and push back Bagan into their defensive cocoon. 

It should come as no surprise that FC Goa are the team with the most number of average passes (509) and touches (635) in a match. They knock the ball around at will and test the opposition's defensive resolve with patience and composure. A momentary lapse in concentration and an opportunistic striker like Igor Angulo will be more than happy to put a defender to the sword. 

Playing 90 minutes with such focus is difficult for any defence. ATK Mohun Bagan might have experienced campaigners like Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri and Kotal in the backline, who are yet to concede from open play, their skill set will be tested to the limits on Wednesday evening. 

The problem with ATK Mohun Bagan's midfield is that neither do they recycle possession and quickly pass the ball to the likes of Garcia to create openings nor do they stop the opposition from having a free run at their defence. 

Habas will have to look into this as they can ill afford to drop points if they wish to clinch the top spot on the league table and thereby, earn a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League.

Jose Mourinho is convinced Son Heung-min wants to end his career at Tottenham and is therefore unconcerned about delayed contract negotiations.

Son has already spent over five years at Spurs and has been a key player for the majority of that time. His goal against Arsenal in the recent north London derby saw him reach double figures for a fifth successive Premier League season.

The difference this term, however, is he has reached that point in just 12 matches and also got four assists, while his haul of 18 league goals under Mourinho is remarkably almost double his expected goals (xG) rating of 9.3.

His relationship with Harry Kane has been particularly notable, as the pair have already combined for 12 goals in the Premier League this term – that is one less than the record for a single campaign (Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton in 1994-95).

Son is contracted to Spurs until 2023, meaning there is no rush for the club to tie the 28-year-old down, though rumours in recent months have suggested a new deal is desired by both parties.

Mourinho is not expecting that to come soon, though, given the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic – not that he is overly concerned.

"No, I don't have any news," Mourinho said when asked about talks over fresh terms for the winger, who on Tuesday won the South Korean Footballer of the Year award once again.

"To be honest, this instability around society, clubs and football...we have 2,000 people [in the stands], we are expecting more people, more income certainly a couple of weeks later, then 2,000 goes back zero people a couple of weeks later.

"I'm not a money man but wouldn't like to be an owner or CEO of one of the big clubs with all this instability. How can you sign a new contract with a player?

"You don't know what's going to happen next season, you don't know if you can offer the player a better contract. I think it's a very strange moment, I just trust Sonny and Mr. [Daniel] Levy [Tottenham chairman], I know both want to stay, if possible, for life and until the end of careers, so I see Son signing a new contract here, but I don't believe – I don't even ask – for something to happen now because it's not the right moment."

Like Son, Kane has been essential to Spurs' rise to the top of the Premier League, with the England star boasting an incredible record of nine goals and 10 assists in 12 appearances.

Kane has also scored 18 goals (excluding penalties) in the Premier League since Mourinho took charge, outperforming his xG figure by 5.1.

Mourinho has been put under pressure to "manage" Kane's minutes given his importance at international level with England as well, though it does not look likely national team boss Gareth Southgate will be receiving too many favours in this regard over the coming months.

"Yeah, tomorrow he [Kane] is not playing, so no risk," a sarcastic Mourinho said ahead of Wednesday's clash with champions Liverpool. "I rest him against Leicester [City] as well, so no risk."

When pressed for a serious response, Mourinho added: "I want to win matches and if I want to win matches, I have to play my best players. If there is an alert of something not going well, of course we have to make decisions.

"We have lots of people working very hard on detection of problems [injuries], from the medicals to nutritionists and analysts. We have lots of people working with every player.

"I promise, when players are at an orange light, we are going to protect them, but when players are on green light and feel fine, then great, but injuries sometimes happen in amazing moments even when there are no signs of anything.

"Our calendar is hard. I manage Harry where I feel I could. He didn't play much in the Europa League matches.

"But now in the Premier League, it is what it is – we have this sequence of matches, we have Liverpool, Leicester, Stoke City [in the FA Cup], and I need the best players for it."

Zinedine Zidane hailed Karim Benzema as the best French striker ever after he helped Real Madrid past Athletic in La Liga on Tuesday.

Benzema scored a late brace as Madrid beat Athletic 3-1, moving them level on points with Real Sociedad and Atletico atop the table.

The Frenchman took his tally to 10 goals in all competitions this season – more than any other La Liga player.

After the game Zidane was asked if Benzema was the best French striker ever and replied: "For me yes, in addition to what he does, what he shows, he has been at Real Madrid for a long time.

"More than 500 games, all the goals, his record. What he has done speaks for itself. For me he is the best, it is very clear."

Benzema has become a Real Madrid legend but has not played for the France national team since 2015 after an incident involving his then national team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

Still, the 32-year-old did score 27 goals in 81 caps for Les Bleus, in addition to scoring more than 250 goals during his time at Real Madrid.

“He is a more complete player now than he used to be. He is not a pure No.9, he doesn’t just think about scoring goals and that’s what I love about him,” Zidane, himself a French national team legend, added.

“He loves to combine with his team-mates and create chances for them but he also knows how to score goals and he does that when the team needs him the most like he did today. That’s what Karim is all about.”

Toni Kroos gave Madrid the lead at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Tuesday, where Athletic were reduced to 10 men in just the 13th minute following Raul Garcia's red card.

But Ander Capa drew the visitors level and Madrid struggled to create clear-cut chances before Benzema delivered late.

Zidane admitted Madrid were below their best, feeling his side pushed too hard against 10 men.

"It is true that we suffered. When you play 11 against 10, if you interpret the game well you can have it easier, but it has been the other way around. We were too hasty," he said.

"When they lose a player, you say, 'I'm going to score the goal in 15 minutes'. And you have to be patient.

"After the fourth game in 10 days, there are three points and you have to be very happy."

Madrid will look to extend their four-match winning streak when they visit Eibar on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho believes he could stay at Tottenham for the long term after he felt he was not giving sufficient time to put his project together at Manchester United.

Mourinho, who recently celebrated one year at the helm of Spurs after he replaced Mauricio Pochettino last season, has Tottenham flying high to start the 2020-21 season. 

Spurs are in first place in the Premier League on goal difference over Liverpool, with the two sides set to face each other in a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday. 

Mourinho joined Spurs 11 months after he was sacked at Manchester United, leaving the club after two and a half years in charge. 

After he experienced quick success with several clubs earlier in his career, Mourinho said that United was a long-term project that he felt was prematurely cut short when he was sacked. 

"In a certain period of my career, with a profile of club I was getting in hands, we didn’t need as much time to reach success," Mourinho said.

"We did it at Porto, Inter, Real [Madrid], Chelsea, both times, we did it without that need of that longevity and also my desire to try different things and my crazy desire to go to many countries, and to try to win it, and try to get different experiences in many different countries, was perfect because was about winning, and good bye, and let’s try another thing.

"The first club where I felt I need time and time was not given was at Manchester United, because I felt that I left at the middle of the process, but I learn very early to respect decisions, which I did at United.

"We did what we did, we did what was possible to do, and we move on. I am happy, they are happy, and we have a great relation, which is something I am very proud always to say, when I leave clubs, I keep very good relationship with everybody, and United is one more example of that."

Mourinho has now been a manager for more than 20 years, achieving major success nearly everywhere he's been. Now 57, he said he can see himself at Spurs for the long term.

“Now, in Tottenham I know the profile of job I have in hands, and hopefully until now I am enjoying very, very much to be in the club, I believe that the club is happy to work with me, so I see myself staying for a long time, but if we can accelerate the process, like we are accelerating, and being doing good things like we are doing, of course we are not going to waste time," Mourinho said.