Author: HelenAtAmarIt

Speaking to Prime Video in the aftermath of his team’s 1-1 draw against Lorient last night, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas lamented the refereeing decisions which, in his eyes, cost his side points in their last two matches.

Referring to the decision to send off Emerson after 15 minutes, leading to the free-kick from which the Brittany side opened the scoring, Aulas pointed the finger at the official and the non-use of VAR.

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As for the game against Paris Saint-Germain, he highlights the decision to award Neymar a penalty which allowed Les Parisiens’ equaliser, despite replays showing the Brazilian had pulled down defender Malo Gusto along with him. OL would go on to lose the match 2-1 after a late Mauro Icardi winner.

“I dreamt of a match on equal terms. A bit like in Paris, strangely we’re not disappointed by the result but rather the quality of the refereeing and what VAR hasn’t done. As a director I am immensely disappointed as VAR is not bringing to the table what it should. A referee can make mistakes, especially when he is young and lacking experience [Bastien Dechepy, last night’s referee, is 35], but there are things at stake which can’t be ignored. Nobody from the refereeing committee has spoken about the monstrous error [to award Neymar the penalty]. We’ve just lost five points on refereeing decisions.”

In an documentary produced by DAZN about Neymar, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder notably reflects on the injury he suffered at the 2014 World Cup, which he points out as “one of the worst moments of my career”. 

The production also sees the Brazilian international state that the 2022 World Cup would likely be his last as a result of the mental toll that football has and will have taken on him at that point, as he reaches 30.

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“It was one of the worst moments of my career. It destroyed my dream to keep playing in the World Cup. When I felt that pain in my back, I remember that Marcelo wanted to help me up, but I was really in pain. I then tried to move my legs, but I wasn’t able to. I didn’t have the strength to get up. I told them: ‘I can’t, I can’t, I can’t feel anything’.”

“The doctor told me, ‘I have good news and bad news’. I asked him to tell me the bad news first. He said, ‘your World Cup is over’. I started sobbing, and asked him, ‘and the good news?’ – he said: ‘you were two centimetres away from not being able to walk anymore’.”

 

French football’s professional league body, the LFP, held a Board of Directors meeting today, resulting in the body deciding to formally oppose the idea of a World Cup every two years.

In a statement, the LFP asserts that “FIFA want to take a decision which serves just their interest and of which the impact is irredeemably negative for the domestic leagues and the clubs as employers of the players.”

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They further add that they feel that the prestige of World Cups should be preserved and that FIFA should instead focus on development of professional club leagues rather than more international tournaments.

The project is the brainchild of FIFA’s Head of Football Development Arsène Wenger.

It’s hard to keep track of Marseille’s wealth of young talent. The summer acquisitions of Barcelona winger Konrad de la Fuente as well as Arsenal pair William Saliba and Mattéo Guendouzi on loan, were well publicised while Boubacar Kamara and, to a lesser extent, Luis Henrique were already on most European scout’s radars. By comparison, the rise of Senegalese striker Bamba Dieng feels like it has come out of nowhere.

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In fairness, the 21-year-old only made the journey from Senegal to France in October 2020. The move came a year after Marseille solidified a partnership with Dieng’s club, FC Diambars, a Senegalese side founded in 2003 by Patrick Vieira. In 2019, Diambars were returning to the Senegalese first division after relegation two seasons earlier, Dieng had joined in 2014, aged 14. Three years later he was starting for the first team, scoring 12 league goals in the 2019/20 campaign – 67% of Diambars’ total goal output. Dieng was on course to finish as the league’s top scorer before the pandemic abruptly ended the season.

Dieng played upfront and was described by Senegalese paper Enquête as the ‘architect’ of Diambars’ attack, adding to a variety of comparisons and conflicting descriptions that have been attributed to Dieng throughout his short career so far. Former Liverpool and Senegal forward El Hadji Diouf compared Dieng to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba but Drogba disagreed, saying it was a little early for comparisons and that “when I see his performances, I say to myself that he has pep and he’s skilful in front of goal”.

At 5’8 with electric pace, Dieng’s style can feel more reminiscent of fellow Senegalese forward Sadio Mane’s as evidenced by his debut Marseille goal against Auxerre in a February 2021 Coupe de France tie. With Auxerre pushing for an equaliser, Dieng was put through on goal and held off a recovering defender before firing low in at the near post. Dieng ended last season with just 127 minutes of Ligue 1 action, with that being his only goal in 2020/21. Although he quietly impressed during his first Ligue 1 start in a 3-2 win over Nice, those humble figures make his recent explosion even more surprising.

At the start of September, Dieng was handed a start against Monaco with Dimitri Payet and Arkadiusz Milik injured. Despite the untold complexities of Marseille’s 3-2-4-1 system, Dieng scored twice in a man of the match performance as part of a 2-0 win.  Both strikes were outstanding. Dieng pulled wide for his first after a long lofted pass from Luan Peres. After beating Axel Disasi to the ball, Dieng jetted into the box before an accurate finish at Alexander Nübel’s near post. His second came after originally losing control of the ball as Amine Harit carried it into the box, sliding it into Dieng’s feet. Dieng rolled his marker before firing into the near post. Ironically, the strike was reminiscent of Drogba, particularly his ability to bounce a marker under pressure.

Still, with less than 340 minutes of Ligue 1 football played, it’s hard to build a solid picture of Dieng’s abilities. From what we can tell though, Dieng is a shot-heavy player. He’s averaging just under four per 90 league minutes, which would put him in the company of strikers like Harry Kane. Despite a tendency to pull wide, Dieng has only completed three dribbles in six appearances, reinforcing the idea that he is more forward than midfielder or winger. Footage of his days at Diembars also shows his shots were so powerful they often left goalkeepers rooted while, regardless of where he’s deployed, Dieng’s illusive movement has been particularly impressive.

Whether he plays upfront or on the left hand side of Jorge Sampaoli’s constantly evolving system, Dieng will face competition. Konrad de la Fuente, Amine Harit and especially Dimitri Payet have all started the 2021/22 season in good form but Dieng has the backing of his coach. “He has a lot of explosiveness and a good quality of shot. He’s a player with great potential for the club,” said Sampaoli when asked about putting Dieng straight into the first team.

Time will tell just how effective Dieng can continue to be. Despite goals being hard to come by since that Monaco victory, the signs are positive. We are at the beginning of what will undoubtedly be an interesting career. Bamba Dieng could become an asset not only for Marseille, but also for Les Lions de la Teranga.

AB

 

This weekend, Ligue 2 leaders Toulouse made an impressive, but hardly surprising, comeback from 2-0 down away at Paris FC to take a point and retain their position at the top of France’s second division table. The equaliser was an 85th minute masterpiece scored by a player who is fast becoming one of the league’s premier talents. With five minutes left, Rhys Healey received the ball with his back to goal just inside the 18-yard box, surrounded by four Parisian defenders. With the ball still bouncing, he shifted to give himself half a yard of space and, on the turn, buried his shot in the side netting with his weaker left foot to level the game.

If you’ve kept even half an eye on Ligue 2 this season, Rhys Healey is a player you’ll be well aware of. Healey currently sits atop the second tier’s scoring charts, with eight goal in twelve games, and that’s without taking responsibility for Toulouse’s penalties, of which Dutch midfielder Branco van den Boomen has totted up three already this season. What is perhaps more of a shock is Healey’s journey up to this point.

Like van den Boomen, Healey arrived in Toulouse last summer, both players signing for around £500,000. But, to British ears, Healey’s name piques interest. As it is, players from countries outside of the Francophonie are a rarity in Ligue 2. Other than France, the most common nationalities are Senegal (26 players), Cameroon (13), Mali (9), Algeria (9), Côte d’Ivoire (9) and Morocco (9). Rhys Healey makes up one third of the English players in Ligue 2, the other two being 22-year-old Nancy goalkeeper Nathan Trott, who is currently on loan from West Ham, and now 21-year-old Jonathan Panzo, the Dijon defender who won the under 17 World Cup with England in 2017.

However, while Trott and Panzo might still be considered youth prospects, Healey is reaching his peak at 26. Born in Manchester and starting out at Welsh side Connah’s Quay Nomads, his route to Toulouse has been one of frustration and perseverance, having played in all of England’s top five divisions as well as both the Welsh and Scottish top flights having moved to Cardiff in January 2013, following impressive form in the Welsh Premier League.

There, however, he struggled to make his mark on the squad. A first-team debut didn’t arrive until over a year after his transfer, on the final day of the 2013/14 season when Cardiff had already been relegated from the Premier League. On that day, he got fourteen minutes against the Chelsea of Eden Hazard, Mohamed Salah, Oscar and Fernando Torres. Afterwards he was loaned out to five different clubs throughout the English and Scottish footballing pyramid, including National League club Torquay, League Two’s Newport and Colchester of League One.

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It was while on loan to Milton Keynes Dons that Healey’s form began to finally pick up. Joining for the first half of the 2018/19 season, the Mancunian scored eight in eighteen appearances, helping the Dons to promotion to League One. During the second half of the season, he added three more Premier League appearances with Cardiff, with whom he was eventually relegated for a second time. Understandably, Healey then chose to sign with MK Dons on a permanent basis for the 2019/20 season.

Before the suspension of the season in Spring 2020 due to the pandemic, Healey scored eleven goals in nineteen appearances, making him the club’s top scorer and was subsequently voted the Dons’ Players’ Player of the Year. It was this impressive form that attracted Ligue 2 club Toulouse in the Summer of 2020. Despite his positive experience in Milton Keynes, Healey chose Toulouse, a decision which has again reignited his career.

Upon signing for the southern side, Healey received the number nine shirt, one which fits his style perfectly. He is as traditional a centre forward as they come, with his strongest attributes being positioning, finishing, composure, heading and strength. Of the 23 goals he has scored for Toulouse in the last 15 months, all but one have been from inside the box while more than a quarter have come from inside the six yard area.

However, as his goal against Paris underlined, it would be unfair to say he only scores tap-ins. The majority of his goals display an impressive calmness and confidence, particularly when faced with a number of defenders in tight areas. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Even when Toulouse score without his direct contribution, Healey is always in shot, anticipating a rebound or a deflection. As a result, he has become a fundamental part of the Toulouse squad, only missing one game this season and starting every other fixture. Last term, he made the most appearances in one season for with a single club (36) in his entire career, the previous best being 23 with Newport in 2016/17.

Rhys Healey is finally settling in to a club for the long term, grasping his opportunity. However, should his form continue, it’s not difficult to imagine interest from bigger sides from around France and Europe. The choice between staying put or moving on once more would certainly be a tricky one. But, for now, his sights will be firmly set on getting TFC back into Ligue 1. Should the Englishman’s purple patch continue, promotion, much like Healey’s strike at Paris, would hardly be a surprise.

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Speaking to the press after Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 win over Lille last night, director of sport Leonardo discussed his team’s performance as well as hitting back at what he sees as unncessary criticism.

His words transcribed in L’Équipe, Leonardo also reiterated his support for the under-fire Mauricio Pochettino, notably underlining the fact that PSG are top both in the league and in their Champions League group.

Why do PSG only play for 30 minutes a match?

The fact that we have things to improve is obvious, it’s normal even given the context. There are players who arrived at the end of pre-season, there were big changes. We are not where we want to be but the team is working hard. The only thing I don’t like is the way we are judged. There is a right way to speak.

Do you think that the press is too harsh?

You can say we’re not doing well but it’s starting to cross a line now. To say that the coach is clueless about football, that the big players we signed are rubbish – there are people who want to make themselves look smart by talking about PSG, it’s for personal promotion. Ok, we’re not playing as we want to. But we are on a path. You can’t talk about Messi, Mbappé, Verratti, Neymar, or the coach like that.

Ramos as well? We knew he had an issue [calf injury]. You are playing the Spanish press’ game. We know what is happening.

Can supporters be demanding given the recent recruitment?

We are demanding, but we are where we wanted to be, top of the league, top in our Champions League group. It’s true that we’re not playing well, but we are aware of it.

How do you judge the manager’s work?

[People are acting] as if the manager didn’t know about a style of play, that he understands nothing. He’s searching. Pochettino, before arriving, was a top 5 coach, now, apparently, he’s clueless. We changed some aspects. We’ll assess things at the end.

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In his recent interview with L’Équipe, Nice director of football Julien Fournier notably discussed the club’s summer signings, indicating that more was expected of some members of the cohort that arrived this year.

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First highlighting Dutch forwards Justin Kluivert and Calvin Stengs, Fournier also names other players who have been at the club for longer, such as striker Kasper Dolberg.

“I expect more of them. Even if injuries are a part of the life of a high-level player, it’s evident that I expect more of Justin and Calvin, that I expect more of Kasper, more of Alexis [Claude-Maurice]. They have to give more to the club. They know that.”

“They are fantastic in their commitment and in their mentality. But the reality is on the pitch, we’ve played nearly thirteen games without them. They’ll have to join us at one point. The team is doing well, we have a good manager, a style of play. They were chosen, we invested money on them, we gave them comfort, now they need to contribute. We need them. They are not ordinary players.”

“[On Andy Delort and Melvin Bard being successes] Yes, but Andy Delort has been scoring goals in the French league for ten years. It’s easy to have a good window if we’re only signing Andy Delorts. Melvin is a boy that we should have signed last year. We had no doubts on his quality.”

RMC Sport report that Marseille are set to press charges against a person unknown after Dimitri Payet was struck by a waterbottle during last night’s match against Lyon, leading to the fixture being called off.

The individual who had thrown the projectile was eventually apprehended by security and later placed in police custody. 

Dimitri Payet, described by his president Pablo Longoria as “psychologically affected”, did not attend OM training today. The midfielder will now see a specialist to evaluate the mental and physical effects of the incident.

The Bad Gones, the principal Lyon supporters’ group, have released a statement condemning the bottle-throwing, and indicated that the individual was not part of their ranks, nor was he a season ticket holder. They ended their statement by pointing out that they would continue to collaborate with Lyon to prevent such cases happening in the future.

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In an interview for Amazon Prime Video, Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé spoke to pundit Thierry Henry about his future but remained coy on his exact plans, insisting: “I’m happy here, I’ve always said it.” Mbappé said:

“One day there’s this [PSG], another day there’s something else. There’s so much going on, you have to take time. It’s a decision which is not easy. Whatever happens, I’m going to play for a big club. That’s why when people ask me: ‘Are you disappointed that you weren’t transferred?’ I respond: ‘Yes, a little at the beginning, but that’s normal when you want to leave.’ But I’m not playing for a third division club. I’m at a club that wants to win the Champions League. And besides, I’m a Parisian, I have all my family here. I’m very happy here, I’ve always said so. It’s just, that at that point, I wanted to discover something new.”

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Saint-Étienne have announced that starting goalkeeper Étienne Green will be out for six weeks due to an elbow ligament injury.

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The England youth international had been forced off at half-time in his side’s 2-0 loss to Reims last weekend, the club’s tenth defeat of the season.

The 21-year-old has impressed in Ligue 1 since making his debut at the back end of last season, saving a penalty and keeping a clean sheet in a win over Nîmes.