PRAGUE: Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane found the target again as England beat 10-man Czech Republic 2-0 early this morning to revive their Nations League campaign.
Thomas Tuchel’s team lost 3-2 to world champions Spain in an entertaining opening match at Wembley on Saturday, while the Czech Republic also lost to Croatia.
The hosts managed to contain England in the first half at Fortuna Arena despite playing a man down, but Gordon broke the deadlock just after the break before Kane gave England the lead.
“It was a well-deserved win. It was strange to receive a red card so early. It wasn’t good for the fans and it wasn’t the best for the team.
“It was a difficult situation but we got an important win and that’s the most important thing,” said Tuchel.
Tuchel made four changes to his starting line-up compared to last weekend’s game, including bringing on Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold for his first England start in almost two years.
England dominated possession early in the game, but the hosts threatened several times with counterattacks.
Morgan Rogers, who replaced Jude Bellingham, had his effort hit the post after a clever move in the penalty area in the 15th minute before Elliot Anderson and Bukayo Saka were also denied chances as the ball bounced in the penalty area.
The match changed in the 25th minute when Lyon midfielder Pavel Sulc was shown a red card for a hard tackle on Anderson.
He was initially only given a yellow card, but Turkiye referee Umut Meler changed the punishment to a red card after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The Czech Republic were then forced to defend completely as England continued to find space around the penalty area, but the visitors struggled to create any truly dangerous chances.
England captain Kane almost broke the deadlock as first-half injury time began, but goalkeeper Matej Kovar saved his curling shot.
England finally broke the deadlock early in the second half when a dynamic Gordon headed in Alexander-Arnold’s precise pass, with the ball going past Kovar and into the net.
“It’s always an honour and a joy to represent my country. It’s been a long wait, but I always believed I could play for England,” said Alexander-Arnold.
The goal was Gordon’s third in three games for England, including one in the World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina and another against Spain.
Defender Lewis Hall almost doubled England’s lead a few minutes later but his shot went narrowly wide, before Czech Republic captain Ladislav Krejci inadvertently blocked Hall’s cross and it hit his own crossbar.
Kane, who also scored against Spain, then gave England a more comfortable lead midway through the second half when he fired a powerful shot past Kovar after the ball fell to him in the penalty area.
LONDON: Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson has claimed that anything could happen, including the most drastic possibility of relegation from the Premier League (EPL), after the club was found guilty of breaching the league’s financial regulations.
The Premier League has accused the club of widespread financial ‘fraud’ throughout their period of continued success, with the independent panel proceedings ending in 2024.
Since then, there has been a frustrating wait for a decision, but Daily Mail Sport sources have revealed that clubs have been informed the panel has now reached a decision and there is a belief that the decision is in favour of the English top flight.
City are understood to have been found guilty of all but one of 115 charges of breaching rules relating to the Premier League’s financial regulations.
Borson, who was an advisor to Man City between 2002 and 2007, was asked by talkSPORT whether the most drastic option of relegation from the Premier League could be imposed as punishment following the decision.
“Anything can happen and things are going to be very chaotic right now, because this is going to drag on for weeks,” Borson said.
“It will be very difficult for City to say anything or control the impact of this situation and that too without being able to see what the decision entails.”
“We will almost certainly see the independent commission’s decision explained in detail soon, and it will give the public plenty of material to attack the individuals involved as well as the club.”
“Then we will enter the sentencing process, which will be conducted behind closed doors.”
“Man City have denied everything throughout this process, they have gone through a process that could have cost over £100 million between the two parties and they have been found to have breached almost everything.
“They are in very, very serious trouble.”
An appeal from Man City is considered inevitable as the club has consistently denied any wrongdoing since they were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.
A Manchester City spokesman said: “The Premier League process is ongoing, with a number of key matters still to be resolved and subject to strict confidentiality. As such, Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement in February 2023.
“The club has respected due process for eight years based on the assumption that the Board and the management of the Premier League will act as an independent, impartial and fair regulatory body, free from influence from other parties.”
Borson claimed that Man City’s appeal was too slim to succeed and considered the club’s statement to show the arguments that could be used to overturn the decision.
“An appeal based on the facts is highly unlikely to succeed,” he said.
PARIS: France captain Kylian Mbappe did not take part in training on Wednesday after suffering flu-like symptoms, raising questions about his fitness for the team’s upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign, the French Football Federation (FFF) said.
The Real Madrid forward remained at the French training centre while the rest of Zinedine Zidane’s squad underwent the session.
The session was the second conducted by new France coach Zinedine Zidane who is preparing for his first match when France take on Turkiye in Kocaeli on Friday.
France are also scheduled to face Belgium at home and away, as well as hosting Italy throughout the international window.
Mbappe’s condition was an initial concern for Zidane when he began his job with the national team after replacing his former France teammate Didier Deschamps following the World Cup.
LONDON: Brentford thrashed London neighbours Chelsea 3-0 with second-half goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho, handing Xabi Alonso’s side a third consecutive Premier League match without a win.
Anthony opened the scoring in the 61st minute when he headed the ball in from close range after Jannik Schuster headed a corner back into the goal, extending Chelsea’s record of conceding in the league to 21 matches.
Thiago doubled Brentford’s lead in the 83rd minute when Emiliano Martinez saved Kevin Schade’s shot on a counter-attack, but the ball fell straight to the Brazilian who made no mistake to finish off the opportunity.
Substitute Carvalho completed Brentford’s victory in injury time after finishing off Schade’s cross.
Schuster said he and his teammates increased the pressure on Chelsea after the break and that approach paid off.
“I think when the second half started we played more forward and then we scored, so I’m very happy,” the Austrian told Sky Sports.
The win lifted Brentford, who are still unbeaten in the league this season, into third place ahead of the weekend’s action, while Chelsea are seventh.
It was Brentford’s first home win over Chelsea since 1938 and manager Keith Edwards and his players celebrated the victory as soon as the final whistle blew, with their fans dancing in the stands.
Chelsea, who are usually prolific in front of goal, having scored 10 goals in the first four games of the season, only behind Brighton & Hove Albion who have collected 13 goals, almost opened the scoring early in the game through Pedro Neto’s curling shot which was parried by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Cole Palmer twice came close to breaking through the Brentford defence with individual moves, but overall Chelsea, who were missing Brazilian striker Joao Pedro through injury, failed to break through a well-executed home defence.
Alonso made five changes to the starting line-up, while captain Reece James was also ruled out through injury.
Danny Welbeck made his first appearance as a Chelsea player in the league this season, while another experienced player, Jordan Henderson, made his Chelsea debut against his former club last season.
Moises Caicedo is still sidelined with an injury that has seen him play only a few minutes this season, contributing to Chelsea’s defensive woes.
MANCHESTER: Enzo Maresca began his tenure as Manchester City manager in style when his men, who played with 10 men, managed to defeat Manchester United 1-0 in their local rivals Manchester at Old Trafford.
Maresca ran to the sidelines to celebrate the victory with the visiting City fans, realising how important the victory was on his debut in the competition.
City’s task became increasingly difficult after Phil Foden was shown a red card in the 23rd minute, but Maresca’s squad rose to the challenge.
The midfield pairing of Enzo Fernandez and Elliot Anderson also proved why City were willing to spend almost £250 million to secure their services.
City also benefited from a controversial decision when Erling Haaland’s winning goal was only confirmed after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
The review found that Fernandez did not interfere with play when he attempted to head the ball before it reached Haaland.
United were furious with the decision, with their defender, Lisandro Martinez, describing it as an ‘injustice’.
However, it was difficult for United to dispute City’s victory because the visiting team looked better despite playing for over an hour with a player missing.
Maresca said he managed to win a tactical battle with United manager Michael Carrick when the home team failed to capitalize on the space to counter-attack.
“I think the match was more difficult for us with 10 players but at the same time it was also difficult for them.
“They are a team that likes to transition and use space behind the defense. With 10 players, we just retreat and wait for them, so we don’t allow any transition attacks or space behind the defense,” he said.
The victory continued Maresca’s excellent start after many expected City to face a difficult season following the departure of Pep Guardiola, who left the club after a trophy-laden decade.
After being beaten 0-3 by Arsenal in the Community Shield, City bounced back with four consecutive wins to continue to trail The Gunners at the top of the English Premier League (EPL).
They also opened their Champions League campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Porto.
Early season developments show that City’s buying activity has given Maresca a squad of players of sufficient quality to ensure the team’s ability does not decline after the Guardiola era.