Phil Foden’s son Ronnie is set to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the world of YouTube, with the five-year-old being tipped to make “loads of money”.

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Youngster features in trophy celebrationsAlready a star on social mediaHas the full support of his mum and dadWHAT HAPPENED?

The youngster has become something of an unofficial mascot for Manchester City, as he regularly features in the trophy celebrations enjoyed by his England international father. Ronnie was seen on the Etihad Stadium pitch trying to open a bottle of champagne during a Premier League title presentation in May.

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Ronnie has his own Instagram account, which boasts 4.7 million followers, and is now expanding his social media reach by moving onto video platform YouTube – with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo another to have trodden that path of late.

WHAT A SOURCE SAID

A source has told of what to expect from Ronnie’s channel, which has been set up by dad Phil and mum Rebecca: “Ronnie loves being the centre of attention and is a big fan of some of the YouTubers so Phil and his mum have set up an account. He could end up making loads of money from it.”

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DID YOU KNOW?

Phil has previously said of his son’s character, which makes him perfect for life in the limelight: “His personality has made him who he is. He just reminds me of myself when I was a kid and he's very funny.”

The powers that be at Sunderland will know the next managerial appointment after Mike Dodds is crucial now, with the new man in the dug-out needing to pick up the pieces to try and steer the Black Cats back into the promotion reckoning in the Championship.

After going through Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale in this disastrous second-tier season, as well as Dodds, the Wearside outfit will just pray that the interim boss' successor is a settled face who can lift the spirits at the Stadium of Light alongside attempting a return up to the Premier League.

One rumoured new manager coming into the building could well end up transforming Sunderland if his current job post in the Championship is anything to go by, with Jack Clarke even potentially staying put after watching what this head coach has managed to get out of the attackers at his disposal elsewhere.

Sunderland's search for a manager

Sunderland have been fishing about for some time now for the perfect replacement to come in after Dodds departs in the summer, with the rumour mill throwing up various different names.

Both Danny Rohl and Paul Heckingbottom have been linked with a switch to Wearside in the off-season, with Sheffield Wednesday hopeful that this is all just speculative talk when it comes to their popular German manager who could pull off an unbelievable relegation escape for the Owls still on the final day of the season.

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The Black Cats could set their sights elsewhere on another second-tier miracle worker, with rumours swirling that Queens Park Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes is being eyed up by Sunderland after turning around the fortunes of the Hoops from relegation favourites to a side who can now beat Leeds United 4-0 with swagger.

The likes of Ilias Chair are loving life under the Spaniard going forward as was seen in that staggering demolition of job of the Whites – scoring once and assisting another two – with Clarke hopeful that Cifuentes could improve his game further if the two link up together at the Stadium of Light next campaign.

Why Cifuentes could be the dream Dodds replacement

Touted to be in the conversation for "manager of the season" by Justin Peach of The Second Tier Podcast, Cifuentes has been a revelation for QPR since coming in last October as an unknown entity from Swedish outfit, Hammarby.

Gareth Ainsworth would win just two of his 15 matches in charge of the Hoops at the start of this season before the left-field face of Cifuentes emerged onto the scene, who has since taken QPR all the way up 17th in the league standings after the club was hopelessly stuck in the bottom three under the ex-Wycombe Wanderers boss.

Cifuentes has also managed to get more of a tune out of the attackers at QPR since coming in, with the aforementioned Chair picking up eight of his 14 goal contributions for the season under the watchful eye of the former Hammarby manager – predominantly operating from Clarke's trusty left-wing area.

Moreover, Lyndon Dykes has become a goalscorer again for the Hoops up top under Cifuentes with all but one of his seven goals for the season coming under Ainsworth's golden replacement.

Operating with a 4-2-3-1 formation over recent months, with a 4-3-3 also in his managerial repertoire, Cifuentes should instantly fit into the new environment at the Stadium of Light with the Black Cats already lining up in the first of those two formations regularly.

Sunderland need a new and fresh revamp in the dugout, and with Cifuentes a hot property in the second tier based off his exploits at QPR, the Wearside outfit should go all in to make him their next manager.

With rumours rife that the aforementioned Clarke – who has 19 goals and assists this season – could be on his way this summer, recruiting such an exciting appointment could well be the solution in tempting the former Leeds United star to stay.

There is an interesting debate in the footballing world; who has the best academy? Arsenal’s Hale End is one that is often mentioned. They have produced some exceptional talent over the years, including the likes of Tony Adams, Cesc Fabregas, and more recently Bukayo Saka.

Manchester United’s esteemed Carrington Academy is another which has a superb production line. In recent years, graduates have included the likes of Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, but those two don’t even begin to scratch the surface of iconic names. The legendary Busby Babes from the 1950s and 1960s was littered with academy stars, as was the famous Class of ‘92.

Chelsea’s Cobham Academy is also one that is favourably looked upon, with several graduates winning the Champions League in 2021. Phil Foden, a Manchester City academy graduate, also won the Champions League with his boyhood club in 2023.

Outside of England, Barcelona’s La Masia academy is widely regarded as the best in mainland Europe. That was where Lionel Messi came through, as well as the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. It has produced some legendary players.

There is one exciting young player, who received much of his football education in La Masia, who has been in fine form this season and is now linked with a big move at the end of the season.

Arsenal target young attacker

The youngster in question here is former Barcelona academy player, and current PSG attacker Xavi Simons. The youngster has spent the 2023/24 season on loan at RB Leipzig, his second loan move in as many years, and has been sublime in Germany.

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Simons is now of interest to Arsenal, and several of their Premier League rivals this summer, should PSG decide to move him on permanently. Aston Villa, Chelsea and City are also interested in signing the Dutchman in the summer.

With that being said, Simons’ preferred move is back to where it all began, in Barcelona. Bailey reports that “the Camp Nou is Xavi’s preferred destination”. That would see him link up with former Barca midfielder Xavi, whom the talented youngster was named after.

In terms of a fee, Simons may come cheaper than expected given his performances on loan at PSV and Leipzig. PSG reportedly value Xavi at £50m, which is certainly a deal Arsenal could afford to do, given Mikel Arteta will likely be backed this summer.

Why Xavi Simons would be a good signing for Arsenal

Over his two loan spells in his native Netherlands, and Germany, Simons has been electric. The Dutchman scored 19 goals and registered nine Eredivisie assists in 2022/23, sharing the Golden Boot, and has scored eight times and registered 13 assists for Leipzig this season in the Bundesliga. He also has four goal involvements in eight Champions League games.

PSV

34

19

9

Leipzig

32

8

12

Total

66

27

21

Simons’ sparkling performances over the past two seasons have not gone unnoticed. In fact, Arsenal legend Ian Wright was left spellbound by the 21-year-old’s performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 this season. On his podcast ‘Wrighty’s House’, the former Arsenal striker said on Simons: “He was brilliant to watch. Unbelievable”.

As far as a creative midfielder goes, Simons is as good as they get, which is reflected in his Fbref numbers. He averages 6.04 progressive passes per 90 minutes, which ranks him in the top 11%, 2.19 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, ranking him in the top 12%, and 2.71 key passes per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 8%. As the numbers show, he is a creative genius.

Slotting into the midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Simons could be superb for Arsenal. As football analyst Ben Mattinson described the signing on X, it could be a “game-changing signing”.

With the defensive security of Rice behind him, the 21-year-old could simply roam free in the final third, impacting the game and flexing his creative muscles in and around the opposition penalty box. He can score, assist, and has the potential to change a game at the drop of a hat. He could help provide the difference between Arsenal winning and losing the Premier League next season.

Mattinson further described Simons as a “superstar”, and it is clear to see why. At just 21 years old, he is one of the most sought-after youngsters in the world, and, should Arsenal acquire his services this summer, he can take their side to the next level.

Arsenal join race to sign "special" £60m star who could emulate Saliba

Arsenal are already pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window.

ByMatt Dawson May 23, 2024

After two disappointing defeats in a row, Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to bounce back with a win against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou’s side suffered back-to-back defeats against London rivals, losing 3-2 against Arsenal in the North London Derby last Sunday, before suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Thursday evening.

Their tough run continues this weekend at Anfield, as they try to put the final nail in the coffin of Liverpool’s failed title challenge. Indeed, the Reds have been in patchy form too, having picked up just four points from their last four Premier League games.

Spurs are currently hunting down Aston Villa who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification place. They are currently seven points behind Unai Emery’s side, although they have a game in hand.

It could well be the case that Postecoglou decides to rotate the Spurs side ahead of the trip to Liverpool this Sunday. There are three potential changes the Lilywhites manager could make ahead of the crunch clash…

1 GK – Guglielmo Vicario

There are fair arguments to say that the signing of Guglielmo Vicario has been the best piece of transfer business Spurs conducted last summer. They signed him from Empoli for an initial fee of £17.2m, and he is so far proving his worth.

The 27-year-old has made some fantastic saves and has kept six clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season, as well as one in the FA Cup.

2 RB – Pedro Porro

Since joining Spurs last January on a loan-to-buy deal from Sporting, Pedro Porro has impressed, but under Postecoglou, he has taken his game to a whole new level.

The Spaniard has one goal and seven assists this season for Spurs, which, as per SofaScore, is the second-most assists for Spurs this season, bettered only by captain Son Heung-min, who has nine. He has also created the third-most big chances, with only Son with 17 and Dejan Kulusevski with 13 having more than Porro’s 12.

3 CB – Cristian Romero

Postecoglou showed great faith in Romero at the start of the season by making him one of the two Spurs vice-captains. He has played a big role this season, featuring 29 times and scoring an impressive five goals.

The Argentine is a tough defender and is very dominant in duels. According to SofaScore, he wins an average of 2.9 ground duels and 2.7 aerial duels per 90 minutes this season.

4 CB – Radu Dragusin

The first of the three Spurs changes could see January signing Radu Dragusin get the nod at centre-back. The Lilywhites paid Genoa £26.7m to acquire his services five months ago, although his opportunities have been few and far between.

The Romanian has made just six appearances in a Spurs shirt so far, making two starts, in back-to-back games against Fulham and Luton. He could be in line to start this week due to a tactical tweak from Postecoglou.

5 LB – Mickey van de Ven

The reason Dragusin could start is because Mickey van de Ven could fill in at left-back. Since Destiny Udogie’s injury, Spurs have played both Ben Davies and Emerson in his place, but both have struggled. Thus, Postecoglou might well turn to Van de Ven.

Indeed, Van de Ven has played at left-back 15 times in his career, although never for Spurs. His pace and excellent ability on the ball will stand him in good stead for that role.

6 CM – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

The second change Postecoglou could make is to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the centre of midfield, ahead of Yves Bissouma.

The Dane, who has played 33 times in the Premier League this season for Spurs, will bring lots of experience to their midfield. As per SofaScore, he averages 3.5 ball recoveries and wins an average of 1.7 ground duels per 90 minutes this season.

7 CM – Pape Matar Sarr

Likely keeping his place in midfield from the defeat against Chelsea is Pape Matar Sarr. The young midfielder has left a great impression in his first full season of Premier League football.

Sarr has contributed to six goals this season, scoring three and registering three assists. Off the ball, he works very hard, winning an average of 4.4 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, according to SofaScore. He will no doubt continue to be a key player under Postecoglou.

8 AM – James Maddison

Since returning from injury, James Maddison’s early season form has taken a bit of a nosedive, leading to Postecoglou dropping him against Chelsea last season. However, against Liverpool, he could well come back into the side instead of Richarlison – who had just 19 touches before being booked on the hour mark during the midweek defeat.

With that being said, Maddison’s quality is obvious, and he was described as a “magician” by pundit Jamie O’Hara. This season, he has four goals and seven assists, which is still the fourth-most combined goal involvements for Spurs this season.

9 RW – Dejan Kulusevski

Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski played as a number 10 against Chelsea, in behind his captain Son. However, he could well shift back out to the right wing against Liverpool, to accommodate Maddison.

The 24-year-old is a silky dribbler, who averages a competition of 1.6 dribbles per game as per SofaScore. Not only that, the 13 big chances he has created for Spurs this season are bettered only by Son.

10 LW – Brennan Johnson

It has been a successful first season for Brennan Johnson in a Spurs shirt, following his £47.5m move from Nottingham Forest on deadline day last summer.

The Welsh international has 12 combined goal involvements in the Premier League, which is more than any other player side from Son with 25 and Richarlison with 13. This is already Johnson’s best return in the Premier League, beating his tally from the 2022/23 season.

West Indies’ seamers took five wickets in the final 75 minutes of the fourth day to leave them on top in an enthralling Test match at the Ageas Bowl.England looked to have put themselves into the box seat as Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley made half-centuries, batting time on a pitch with variable bounce, as thoughts turned to what sort of lead they might want before declaring on the final day.But after Jason Holder drew an edge to gully from Ben Stokes, the wickets tumbled: Alzarri Joseph accounted for Crawley and Jos Buttler in the day’s quickest spell before Shannon Gabriel ripped through Dom Bess and Ollie Pope to leave West Indies dreaming of a famous win.Rory Burns and Sibley had survived a brutal 10-over examination on the third evening but found scoring easier in the morning session, moving through the gears as they added 47 in the first hour of the day. But Holder reacted, bowling dry in tandem with offspinner Roston Chase, and the scoring pressure eventually told as Burns spooned a catch to point off Chase’s first half-tracker of the day.Sibley in particular dropped anchor. He was occasionally bogged down against Chase, and seemed to be caught in two minds when Holder asked Joseph to target his ribcage, a tactic which proved to be his undoing in his final three innings in South Africa and even in the intra-squad warm-up match. He was handed a life the ball after reaching fifty, dragging a back-of-a-length delivery from Gabriel on to his stumps only for the third umpire to decide that he overstepped by a fine margin. But Gabriel had his man two balls later, firing a length ball down the leg side from wide on the crease which Sibley only managed to tickle through to Shane Dowrich.Joe Denly, backed at No. 3 ahead of Crawley, played the sort of innings that has become his trademark, for better or worse. He struggled early on, playing and missing repeatedly and surviving a shout for a catch off Holder which was shown on review to have looped up to second slip via his body. He grew in fluency as his innings wore on, but his dismissal – chipping an innocuous delivery from Chase to straight midwicket – was nothing if not soft.Denly’s failings were exposed further by Crawley’s success. Chris Silverwood had hinted in the build-up to this Test that Denly was likely to be included for the second Test when Joe Root returns, telling the BBC: “Joe is in possession at the moment, and I do believe in giving people one too many chances rather than one not enough.”But it seems implausible that Crawley will lose his place after an innings that oozed class, with a straight drive down the ground off Roach early in his innings one of the shots of the day. While England’s top three relied on flicks, pulls and dabs behind square, Crawley scored the vast majority of his runs in front of the wicket, driving elegantly and using his long levers to hit over the top off Chase.West Indies looked short of ideas against him and Stokes during their partnership of 98, with Stokes in particular taking a disdainful approach to Gabriel’s new-ball spell as England looked to make the game secure. But again Holder’s emphasis on discipline reaped rewards, as Stokes was caught trying to force a shot, falling to his opposite number for the second time in the match, before Crawley offered a return catch to Joseph six balls later.The game turned on its head in a hurry. Joseph, who had been used sparingly earlier in the day rather than being rammed into the ground, bowled with good pace, and burst through Buttler’s loose shot to leave England six wickets down.While Buttler’s failure to make a telling score will undoubtedly put him under scrutiny – his average since the start of last summer’s Ashes is now just 21.38 – Joseph’s spell was incisive, as he found movement with the ball still relatively new. Tellingly, his celebrations were muted even after his breakthroughs, as if to emphasise that there was still a job to be done.The benefits of Holder’s captaincy were evident again when Gabriel was unleashed in the final half-hour. He castled Bess, targeting the stumps from wide on the crease, before Pope dragged on with England staring down the barrel, only 165 ahead with two wickets in hand. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer snuck England through to the close with a lead of 170, and will be tasked with spending time in the middle before making more of an impact with the ball than they managed in the first innings.

England began their Nations League group stage with a 2-0 win over Ireland, and Harry Kane has hailed start under Lee Carsley as 'perfect'.

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• England win 2-0 over Ireland
• Declan Rice and Jack Grealish score in win
• Kane hails 'perfect start' to Nations League

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  England returned to action for the first time since their Euro 2024 final loss to Spain and Gareth Southgate's departure from the post of head coach. Carsley's Three Lions call-ups had a few differences compared to Southgate's Euro 2024 squad, and England looked like a refreshed side against Ireland as they cruised to a 2-0 win over The Boys in Green.

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• WHAT KANE SAID

  England captain Kane opened up on the winning start to life under Carsley as he posted on X: "Perfect start to our Nations League campaign away from home."

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  England were dominant at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin as they started the game strong as Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice finished a chaotic run of play in Ireland's half. Jack Grealish, who had been snubbed by Southgate for the Euros, then doubled the Three Lions' lead on the night as he coolly slotted a cutback from Rice past Caoimhin Kelleher.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  The Three Lions will now take on Finland at Wembley Stadium on September 10 as they look to get six of six points in their Nation League group stage before the end of the September international break.

The latest Covid-19 restrictions have the potential to impact the start of the domestic season

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2020

Cricket Victoria are starting to consider the various scenarios that could be required to allow their domestic season to start on schedule if the new Covid-19 lockdown of Melbourne means the teams are unable to play at home.Melbourne and Mitchell Shire – an area north of the city – returned to lockdown at midnight on Wednesday after a spike in Covid numbers which has also led to fresh border restrictions being put in place.It has created major problems for various winter sporting codes who have rushed to try and keep their seasons going by moving teams to inter-state hubs. While cricket still has some time on its side with the season more than two months away the contingency planning is starting with one potential scenario that Victoria could spend the first chunk of the season on the road.While there is currently no schedule for the domestic season, last year the men’s summer began in late September with a period of Marsh One-Day Cup matches before the Sheffield Shield in early October with the rest of the one-day competition played alongside.If the first part of the season followed the same structure as last year it could also include some Women’s National Cricket League matches ahead of the WBBL which, in its first standalone tournament in 2019-2020, took place during October and November. There are two Melbourne-based WBBL teams, the Renegades and the Stars.”I’m just doing some pre-planning as to how it could look if we were forced to quarantine or get an exemption to be able to quarantine in one of the northern states or across the west,” Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria’s general manager of cricket told . “If we had to quarantine and these [Marsh Cup] games are later in September we’d be looking to have to get out of here if we were able to early September, hopefully get exemptions across the other states and play away from home. That’s one the scenarios I’m looking at, hence I’m looking at we could be away for anything up to two months.”Graf does not believe the potential of being in a hub for an extended period of time would present the same challenge for cricketers as it is doing for some other sports. The players are used to travelling for extensive periods, albeit usually spread across a whole season with 35-40 days on the road for the Shield, although the additional bio-security measures would be a challenge.”We’ve spoken to players, it’s not quite the same as for football codes because we are used to travelling and being on the road a long period of time but everyone needs to know that this may be a scenario if we are to kick the season off,” he said. “We’d have to make sure players stay within the compound of hotels, that’s something we’d need to look at because you haven’t got the freedom to go for a run or have a hit of gold so we’d have to look at those issues that footy has confronted. But generally from a travelling point of view it doesn’t really faze a cricket side as much as the football codes.”Graf added that while travel is a “fairly major cost” in normal circumstances he would expect Cricket Australia to help with the additional expense of a hub which would entail the need for a larger squad. “If we were in the situation where we had to go into a hub we’d talk to CA and I’d expect there would be some offset,” he said.For the immediate future, Victoria’s pre-season for both the men’s and women’s squads has not been stopped by the new lockdown with elite sport having an exemption to train with strict bio-security measures in place. Graf revealed up to six Victoria players have been tested for Covid-19 after reporting symptoms but have all come back negative.

Glasgow Rangers endured a frustrating end to their 2023/24 campaign as they failed to secure their second trophy of the season in the SFA Cup final on Saturday.

The Gers were beaten 1-0 by their city rivals with a 90th-minute goal from Adam Idah, after Abdallah Sima's goal had been ruled out after a VAR intervention for a foul by Nicolas Raskin.

Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen will now look forward to the upcoming summer transfer window as it will provide them with a chance to make changes to the squad, to ensure that they compete to land more silverware next term.

This will mean that some players will have to be ditched in order to make room for new signings and one dud who should be brutally binned from the squad is winger Scott Wright, who was even worse than Jack Butland on Saturday.

Why Scott Wright was worse than Jack Butland against Celtic

First of all, the Gers number one will be disappointed in himself for the winning goal from Idah as his weak parry from Paulo Bernardo's effort allowed the striker to tap the ball in from close range.

However, the former England international had kept a clean sheet up until that point and made one huge save during the first half, as he clawed away a deflected effort at his near post, which provided his team with a platform to go on and win the game before the 90th minute – something they failed to do.

Wright, meanwhile, was brought on with 16 minutes left to play and had a nightmare at Hampden, as the Scottish dud offered very little going forward with zero goals or assists.

GlasgowWorld's Ben Banks awarded him a dismal match rating of 3/10 for his performance off the bench, due to his big error for the goal from Idah.

Whilst Butland did not cover himself in glory for the winner, Wright was the player who made the first and crucial mistake as his poor touch presented possession back to Celtic, which allowed them to break and score.

Not only did this prevent the Gers from building an attack that could have seen them score the winner for themselves, but it also created the counter opportunity for the Hoops to win the cup, which is why his display was even worse than Butland's.

Why Scott Wright should be sold this summer

Clement must now do everything he can to brutally cash in on Wright this summer, if they can find enough interest in him from elsewhere, because he does not offer enough quality on the pitch.

His error for Idah's goal capped off a dreadful campaign from the former Aberdeen winger in front of goal after a season of underwhelming performances out wide.

23/24 Premiership

Scott Wright

Appearances

23

Starts

8

Goals

2

Assists

0

Big chances created

1

Key passes per game

0.6

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old only produced two goal contributions, both of which came in one game against Dundee, in 23 league appearances.

That came after the Rangers dud managed zero goals and one assist in 23 Scottish Premiership outings during the 2022/23 campaign, which means that he has two goals and one assist in his last 46 league games for the club.

Wright, quite simply, has proven that he is not good enough to make an impact on the pitch for the Light Blues and keeping him around the squad increases the chances of things like his mistake for Celtic's winner in the SFA Cup happening again, which is why Clement must brutally ditch the 3/10 flop this summer.

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo enfrenta, neste sábado (24), o Flamengo, pela primeira partida das semifinais do Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17. O time paulista chega embalado após eliminar o atual campeão do torneio, o Fluminense, ganhando de 4 a 1 em Cotia e perdendo por 2 a 0no Estádio Giulite Coutinho. O meia Mateus Amaral, destaque do Tricolor Paulista falou sobre o próximo jogo da equipe.

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CONFIRA A TABELA ATUALIZADA E SIMULE OS JOGOS DO BRASILEIRÃO DE 2021!

Ao todo, Mateus Amaral, de 16 anos, que atuou em 10 dos 11 jogos do time paulista na competição, marcando dois gols. O jovem atleta falou sobre a expectativa de jogar as semifinais.

– Nossa expectativa é chegarmos à final e conquistar nosso objetivo que é o título. Vamos tentar construir uma boa vantagem para o jogo de volta, mas com todo respeito ao adversário – afirma Mateus.

O meia marcou um dos gols na primeira partida das quartas de final contra o Fluminense, ajudando a eliminar a equipe carioca.

Após a eliminação do Tricolor Paulista nas semifinais do último Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17, Mateus falou sobre a vontade de fazer melhor em 2021 e chegar à grande final do campeonato.

– Nosso time evoluiu bastante desde o começo do ano. Ano passado perdemos nessa mesma fase e essa temporada queremos avançar. Sabemos que o adversário é forte, mas a nossa preparação está sendo muito boa e estamos focados em conseguir essa vaga pra final – comentou Mateus.

Destaque da equipe são-paulina, Mateus Amaral chegou a ser convocado pela Seleção Brasileira Sub-17 para um período de treinos no início da temporada. Entretanto, os treinos não foram realizados por conta da pandemia.

Na última temporada, já no Sub-17, o atleta disputou 12 jogos, marcou dois gols e conquistou a Copa do Brasil e a SuperCopa da categoria.

Liverpool will play Aston Villa. And then they will host Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the Premier League season. Then? Jurgen Klopp will unleash one last salvo of fist bumps into the Anfield stands.

He will wave goodbye to Merseyside. There will be song and sadness. Liverpool will remember of the historic journey that has seen success across nearly every possible front. The Premier League and the Champions League? Both conquered.

Klopp's squad swerved away from their finest form in recent months and have now crashed out of the Europa League and FA Cup while slumping in the English top flight, pulled away from a gripping title race.

But FSG did not rest on their laurels and, after bringing Michael Edwards back as their new CEO of Football, have moved to appoint Feyenoord boss Arne Slot. It's not yet finalised but the Dutch manager's move to Liverpool has been cut and dried.

Slot mirrors Klopp in implementing a high-energy, heavy-metal brand of football and he will demand his players to be extremely active in both attacking and defensive moments.

His tactics could be perfect for Mohamed Salah, who has received his share of criticism in recent weeks but remains one of Europe's finest forwards.

Mohamed Salah's season in numbers

Salah has scored 25 goals and added 14 assists for Liverpool this season but has been culpable of some below-standard displays in recent weeks to coincide with Liverpool's toothless run of poor results.

However, he returned to form with a bang as Liverpool thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 last time out and while he's out of contract at the end of next season, The Athletic's ever-reliable David Ornstein has recently suggested that the 31-year-old will remain at Anfield next season.

As per FBref, the Egyptian winger ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals and the top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty area and assists made per 90.

He might be struggling at the moment, having failed to score in four successive Premier League matches before Spurs, producing a limp attacking effort as Liverpool crashed out of the Europa League against Atalanta – who have now reached the final – and even coming to blows with Klopp on the touchline during April's 2-2 draw against West Ham United.

Under Slot, the esteemed Egypt international could be revived, especially given that the tactician operates with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which could spark a transformation within Liverpool's central midfield.

Currently, Klopp employs an industrious and multi-approaching engine room to charge his high-octane brand, and while Slot has stylistic similarities to his German counterpart, he uses a No. 10 to spark creativity and maintain fluency in build-up play.

It's a move that could see Dominik Szoboszlai reach new heights next season, consequently lifting Salah back to the top of his game.

How Salah & Szoboszlai could thrive under Slot

Liverpool signed Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig last summer after activating his £60m release clause, and while he started ferociously, the Hungary international has waned as the campaign has entered its later stages.

The 23-year-old has been affected by injuries but there's no excusing some of the wayward performances that have derailed the fight for trophies, with reporter Lewis Steele even speaking of the "stinker" displays he has produced recently.

The comparison table highlights Szoboszlai's decreased prolificness since moving to Liverpool, noting his rise in progressive passing and carrying, a product of his deeper-lying, more creative central midfield role.

But he's beating a defender – successfully taking them on – at almost half the rate that led him to be described as a "generational talent" by journalist Marcel Moeller while plying his trade in Germany.

Most importantly, perhaps, Szoboszlai is unable to provide the goalscoring support that earned him such acclaim in his pre-Liverpool days. Despite this downswing, he is actually taking more shots than he did last year, though on its own this metric is misleading given that the Hungarian hit the target almost twice as often in the Bundesliga last season.

By playing further forward, in a central or wide attacking midfield role, Szoboszlai could grow considerably as a Premier League star, with the tactical tweak under Slot's guidance possibly even forging a new partnership between the players.

Salah, for example, might be one of the finest finishers that the Premier League has seen but he has also moulded his game into a more dynamic spread that adds emphasis on creativity.

Szoboszlai has showcased his fleet dribbling skills and deft playmaking qualities both during his first year at Liverpool, but there's no doubt that he has been shoehorned into a deeper, more tightly configured role than he might have preferred within Klopp's Reds system.

It's a new era at Liverpool and while Slot will assess, assemble and reassemble his Liverpool squad as he chews over the optimum starting 11, Szoboszlai has all of the talented needed to forge a successful, trophy-laden career for himself under the Dutch coach's guidance.

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By
Angus Sinclair

May 9, 2024

In his favoured position, he might just be the creative linchpin of a fearsome frontline.