The first departure from Liverpool’s championship side is not Adam Lallana, rather a center back.
Dejan Lovren has signed for Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia, putting an end to a seven-year Premier League career spent between Southampton and the Reds.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
The 31-year-old will reportedly net Liverpool around $14 million. He had one year remaining on his contract, and leaves Liverpool with a center back crop of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip. The club has also has young Ki-Jana Hoever and Sepp van den Berg under contract and some versatile midfielders, but they will be buying depth.
Lovren has 57 caps for Croatia and was part of the 2018 World Cup runners-up. He’s won the French Cup, the Croatian Cup, the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and the top two league tiers in Croatia.
Here is part of a tribute from Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s web site:
“Another Liverpool legend who leaves the club, because he was absolutely a very, very important part of this team from the first day since I was in,” said Jurgen Klopp. “He had so many good games. … A great player and a great person. Yesterday we said, ‘Who is now the best friend of Mo?’ because they were really real, real bezzies. They were really close and that’s the thing, we will miss him. He is a model athlete, has everything you need and now he goes to Russia, but he can come back always – he will be always welcome because he is a really nice guy.”
— Dejan lovren (@Dejan06Lovren) July 27, 2020
Lionel Messi has done, once again, as Lionel Messi is known to do: he has scored another fantastic Lionel Messi goal (video below) in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
[ MORE: Andrea Pirlo named Juventus manager | Sarri sacked ]
One, two, three, four, five defenders in his way? So what, says Messi.
One or two decent attempts to tackle the ball away — and perhaps even succeeding on at least one occasion? Again, so what?
He’ll have the ball back, continue on his merry way and tuck the ball just inside the far post, all while falling down, getting back up and falling down again. The goal put Barcelona 2-0 ahead on the night (3-1 on aggregate). Prior to this post being published, he scored again, but the goal was taken away for a perceived handball upon video review.
Surely we’ve discovered a superhuman soccer league we can send him to by now, just to level the playing field a bit more for the actual humans walking planet Earth.
Anyway, here’s the latest head-shaking, smirk-inducing Messi goal video you came to see.
As only he could, the magician does it again. A masterclass in balance, precision, and skill puts @FCBarcelona up 3-1 on aggregate. pic.twitter.com/nKBPfu1Ywi
— Champions League on CBS Sports (@UCLonCBSSports) August 8, 2020
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Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says there will be no hard feelings on his part if Willian’s rumored transfer to rivals Arsenal comes to pass in the coming days.
[ MORE: MLS restart to include games played in home stadiums, with fans ]
Lampard was one of the very best players of his generation, which clearly allows him to assess a situation such as Willian reportedly moving to Arsenal from the perspective of the player. If it’s the best possible offer for Willian and his family, Lampard accepts that he must choose that path — quotes from the Guardian:
Willian is set to become a free agent once Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League campaign ends, presumably on Saturday as the Blues trail Bayern Munich 3-0 ahead of the second leg.
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Andrea Pirlo has been named Juventus manager.
[ MORE: MLS restart to include games played in home stadiums, with fans ]
The legendary Italian midfielder has been named Maurizio Sarri’s replacement after the he was fired in the wake of the club’s shocking exit from the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
— JuventusFC (#Stron9er ?????????) (@juventusfcen) August 8, 2020
Pirlo was named manager of Juventus’ U-23 side less than two weeks ago, but the expectation is that he will now be promoted to first-team manager. Given the unexpected nature of Sarri’s departure, and in the timeframe in which it occurred, it would appear the Juve board was either fully prepared to install Pirlo in short order, or hadn’t even considered the possibility they might have to fire Sarri.
[ MORE: Chelsea reveal Christian Pulisic injury update ]
The 41-year-old has no prior experience in management. He retired his playing career in 2017 after three seasons with MLS side New York City FC.
Pirlo takes over an aging squad which, while it has won nine straight Serie A titles, is in desperate need of a rebuild.
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UPDATE: MLS commissioner Don Garber has since clarified that none of the league’s teams have been granted final permission from the league to host fans inside their stadiums, contrary to what press releases from three teams stated.
MLS restart: MLS announced on Saturday its intention and preliminary schedule for resuming the 2020 regular in its teams’ home markets — with fans in attendance in stadiums where permitted — beginning with an Aug. 12 bout between FC Dallas and Nashville SC, a matchup of two teams forced to withdraw from the MLS is Back tournament due to a significant number of positive cases of COVID-19.
[ MORE: Chelsea reveal Christian Pulisic injury update ]
Each team is expected to play 18 additional games, taking the total number of regular-season games played by each team to 23 in 2020. The regular season will wrap up on Nov. 8, assuming no further stoppages. 18 clubs will then qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, leading up to MLS Cup on Dec. 12.
Sporting Kansas City, FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake have announced that they will welcome fans into their respective stadiums upon the restart of the season. Sporting KC will allow 14 percent (roughly 2,500) of the total capacity of Children’s Mercy Park, while Dallas announced that 5,110 (roughly 25 percent) will be allowed into Toyota Stadium and 5,000 (roughly 25 percent) at Rio Tinto Stadium.
From the league’s press release:
At this time, the majority of the matches in local markets will be played without fans in attendance. MLS and club leadership are working with local health authorities and government officials on a plan for limited capacity at certain games where allowed.
At this time, the league’s three Canadian teams — Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps — do not have any games scheduled.
MLS revealed that regular testing of players and staff for COVID-19 will continue during the resumed portion of the regular season, a protocol which proved effective with 24 of the 26 teams inside the bubble in Orlando, Fla.
As with the MLS is Back tournament, COVID-19 testing protocols will again play an important role in MLS’ competition framework. MLS continues to work closely with the league’s infectious disease advisors as well as advisors for the MLSPA on the plan for testing. All clubs are forming testing partnerships with a local certified lab, and all players, technical staff, and essential club staff will be tested every other day, including the day before each match day. Also, guidelines will be provided to players, coaches and essential staff to avoid the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 during their time away from club facilities.
Travel protocols will also be different for the remainder of 2020, with teams exclusively traveling via chartered flights, or buses. In most instances, teams will arrive the day of a game and return to their home market that night, aiming to limit time spent out of market.
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