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Goal takes a look at Lionel Messi's teammates from his international debut for Argentina…

Argentina's blue-eyed boy Lionel Messi made his international debut on August 17, 2005, in an international friendly match against Hungary at the Puskas Stadium in Budapest.

Messi was introduced into the match as a substitute in the second half. He replaced forward Lisandro Lopez in the 64th-minute of the match. Despite going down to 10 men, Argentina won the tie 2-1 thanks to Maxi Rodriguez and Gabriel Heinze's strikes.

What was supposed to be a dream debut for the then Barcelona prodigy, turned into a nightmare soon as he was sent off within two minutes of coming on to the pitch.

But things have turned out pretty well since the horrible debut as Messi is now the most-capped Argentine player of all time with 151 matches in his kitty and also the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 76 goals to his name.

Let us take a look at the players who had donned the Argentina jersey on the day Messi made his international debut.

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  1Lionel Messi – FW (Sub)

  The Argentine superstar recently won his first-ever international trophy as he guided La Albiceleste to Copa America 2021 triumph. Messi's contract with FC Barcelona got over in 2021 but he is very close to sign a fresh five-year contract with the club.

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  2Mario Santana – MF (Sub)

  Mario Santana spent most of his professional career in Italy and played for clubs like Fiorentina and Napoli. After spending the last two seasons at Palermo, Santana retired from professional football.

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  3Pablo Zabaleta – DF (Sub)

  Zabaleta joined Manchester City in 2008 where he spent the better part of his career and became a legend at the club. He left City in 2017 and spent the final three seasons of his professional career at West Ham United. He retired in 2020.

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  4Hernan Crespo – FW

  The legendary Argentine forward played for clubs like Inter Milan and Chelsea in his long and illustrious professional career. He retired from football after spending two seasons at Serie A side Parma in 2012.

  Crespo joined Brazilian giants Sao Paulo as their head coach in February 2021 on a two-year deal. He won the Campeonato Paulista, the club's first trophy in eight years.

Noel Whelan has slammed Glasgow Rangers’ Leon Balogun following his performance in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Whelan slams Balogun

Balogun was selected to play at right-back in the absence of James Tavernier against Celtic. In what was an unfamiliar position for the 32-year-old, he struggled to deal with the Bhoys’ attacks on that side of the back four.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan was particularly critical of the Nigerian’s display as he said:

“They massively missed Tavernier. If you’ve got a player like that missing, you’re missing your captain, your leader.

“You could see Celtic targeting that as well. They could see there was a weak link in the defence and that’s where it was.

“When you’re missing a key player like Tavernier, you’re gonna feel it. Celtic, fair play to them, they recognised that and used it to their advantage.

“I think it showed just how much they miss him and just how good he is in that department. He gives you everything, defensively, in midfield, quality going forward.”

Hard to disagree

There is no doubting that Balogun was out of his depth, as Whelan has hinted. He was taken off after just 56 minutes to be replaced by 19-year-old Nathan Patterson, who had been an injury doubt in the build-up to the game (Daily Record). Clearly, Steven Gerrard’s decision to play the Nigeria international in that role backfired, even though he did move to justify Balogun’s inclusion afterwards and praised him for his “fantastic” involvement in Alfredo Morelos’ equaliser (rangers.co.uk).

Obviously, the absence of James Tavernier is a big blow to the 55-time Scottish champions. With 17 goals and 15 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt), he has been a huge attacking threat, while he has also contributed defensively to a team which has conceded just 10 goals in the league this season (BBC). Balogun may be an experienced defender, but he was always going to have a hard time replacing the Gers captain.

In other news, this Rangers man has been tipped to be the club’s Player of the Year.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard are both coming under increasing scrutiny after their respective teams' poor starts to the 2019-20 campaign

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  Winner: Unai Emery

  After an oddly directionless transitional year, Arsenal are finally reflecting their manager’s tactical beliefs, namely frantic energy, sharp vertical counter-attacks, and high-risk possession.

  For example, David Luiz and Sokratis guarantee the odd error but their frenzied playing style is exactly why Unai Emery trusts in them.

  In addition, while Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, and Dani Ceballos would represent a worryingly erratic midfield for a more conservative coach, it is ideal for Emery, who is already in possession of the dynamic front three he needs to create a Klopp-esque 4-3-3.

  Once their first-choice full-backs, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney, return from injury, the Gunners will finally have all the pieces in place for a successful – if chaotic – season.

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  Loser: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

  Ole Gunnar Solskjaer references the United team he was a part of in the 1990s when explaining his tactical philosophy.

  ‘Pace and power’ is the long and short of it, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Daniel James expected to freestyle attack the opposition defence to create the waves of pressure that characterised Sir Alex Ferguson teams.

  It has been 20 years since the days of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, players name-checked by Solskjaer when asked to describe his tactics. In 2019, Big Six clubs are forced to hold the vast majority of possession while opponents sit back, which explains why Solskjaer’s out-dated methods aren’t working.

  There is simply no space in the final third for United’s speedy attackers; Crystal Palace won’t be the last team to park the bus at Old Trafford and emerge with three points.

• Winners: Everton

  Marco Silva's penchant for aggressive attacking football – characterised by extremely high full-backs and constant pressing – explains why Everton were so often formless last year, one minute playing cohesively and collapsing the next.

  The addition of Fabian Delph in central midfield adds dynamism on the ball and athleticism off it, potentially preventing matches from spiralling out of control.

  Moise Kean finally gives Everton – and Gylfi Sigurdsson, in particular – a target to create chances for, while Richarlison’s directness is nicely balanced by the hard-working Alex Iwobi on the other side.

  In short, Everton’s tactical approach hasn’t changed this season but they have signed exactly the right players for Silva’s coaching to bear fruit.

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  Losers: Norwich & Aston Villa

  Although Norwich and Aston Villa are being praised for playing aesthetically-pleasing football so far this season, both Daniel Farke and Dean Smith could be accused of playing with a too-wide formation and a too-open midfield.

  Villa don’t use a defensive midfielder and instruct the full-backs to bomb forward, which led to Bournemouth scoring two early goals against Villa a fortnight ago before Crystal Palace – arguably the least creative team in the division – managed 22 shots on goal at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

  Norwich were praised for throwing caution to the wind at Anfield on the opening day, but they should not have done the same at West Ham. The hosts repeatedly cut through Norwich primarily because they allowed Pellegrini’s side to play on the counter-attack.

  In the Premier League, many home teams would rather sit back but are denied the opportunity. It would be naive for Norwich to assume winning the possession battle is automatically a route to victory.

A list of all the major transfers completed in the January window by clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1

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  PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG

  Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal | £55 million

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  ALEXIS SANCHEZ

  Arsenal to Manchester United | Player swap

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  HENRIKH MKHITARYAN

  Manchester United to Arsenal | Player swap

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  PHILIPPE COUTINHO

  Liverpool to Barcelona | £142m

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting to the ‘huge’ difference made by the midfield combination of Fabinho and Thiago, after the Reds’ victory over RB Leipzig.

Jurgen Klopp’s men made a welcome return to winning ways on Wednesday evening, easing past the Bundesliga side with a 2-0 triumph.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane replicated their first leg brilliance with a goal apiece, meaning Liverpool progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 aggregate win.

It was in midfield where the most exciting tactical tweak took place, however, with Fabinho restored to his favoured No.6 role, in what could be a massive boost for the rest of the season.

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The Brazilian was a colossus in the middle of the park for Liverpool, winning two tackles and making three interceptions, as well as nine recoveries.

Not only that, but Fabinho also brought the best out of Thiago, with the 29-year-old arguably enjoying his best performance to date in a Reds shirt.

He was given more freedom to express himself in midfield, and had Salah not been wasteful during one first half counter-attack, he would have got a wonderful assist to his name.

If the duo can continue this sort of relationship, it will provide a huge boost as the Reds try to ensure their campaign doesn’t peter out.

Liverpool fans heap praise on Fabinho and Thiago

A number of Liverpool fans took to Twitter to lavish the Reds pair with praise after the game, as positivity returned to the fanbase.

“Fabinho at CM and Thiago in a more attacking role, it’s beautiful.”

Credit: @ScouserChrisLFC

“Fabinho made a huge difference tonight. Offered so much protection to the defenders but also set thiago free to play. Special mention for Nat Philips too. Lad just heads and tackles everything. Nothing complicated. Played well.”
Credit: @wacka83

“Fabinho is world-class at DM. Made a huge difference to the shape, fluidity and core. Thiago certainly enjoyed having Fab there too”
Credit: @Justin_Burns1

“Liverpool look a much better side with Fabinho in midfield and Jota up front. No surprise to see Thiago look so much better as well. Glimpses tonight of what the plan was before injuries killed our season.”
Credit: @sisteers“Fabinho unlocks Thiago.”Credit: @McGlynnimino“FABINHO AND THIAGO IN MIDFIELD IS THE THING OF DREAMS”Credit: @theredsforeverIn other news: Reds boosted in bid to sign Kylian Mbappe. 

Crystal Palace are having a steady season, however there is uncertainty around a lot of players’ futures and Roy Hodgson has commented on this situation.

Hodgson discusses contracts

The manager, when asked about the numerous players whose deals have expired, said: “It’s not been discussed as yet. I’m certain that when the day comes – I’m pretty certain that the club are informing players about their intentions in terms of when they intend to sit down seriously and discuss what the next step is.
“There’s a third of the season still to go, these players are still under contract. It’s not unfair, I don’t think, of us to ask those players to keep giving their best, to keep playing to the absolute top level of their ability in order to earn the amount of money we’re paying them.
“But there will come a time, I’m sure, when they’ll want to know: ‘What is my future – is it here with you or am I going to be allowed to leave?’ Because they’ll be looking to find other clubs if they don’t get the contract here. I know that both the chairman and the sporting director are both fully aware of that.
“But I think it’s sometimes not a good thing if you very early on let players know that you don’t want them any more, all the time we are depending very heavily on them. There will no doubt be some who don’t necessarily get a new contract.”

The club have a big problem

It is a crazy situation that the club find themselves in. If you include the loan of Michy Batshuayi expiring, the club currently have seventeen players whose contracts expire in June 2021 (Transfermarkt).
Therefore the Eagles need to be making decisions immediately on the future of their players so that they can have a plan and structure for next season.
It is even more of a peculiar situation because Hodgson’s contract is also expiring in the summer. The club might know their plan for next season, but the South London fan base do not, and it is unfair to an extent to leave them in the dark on such a serious matter.
Therefore it would be great for all associated with the club if they tied some of the players down to a new deal, and allowed others, who are surplus to requirements, to leave.
In other news, Palace fans reacted to Hodgson’s comments following the win over Brighton!

Everton must look to offload Fabian Delph at the end of the season after Carlo Ancelotti admitted he is “frustrated” by the midfielder’s injuries.

What’s the word?

Via quotes by the Liverpool Echo, the Blues boss has vented his frustration at Delph’s string of issues that have kept the England international sidelined since the start of December.

Delph sustained a hamstring injury during the first-half of his side’s 1-1 draw with Burnley and missed Sunday’s meeting with Fulham due to fitness concerns, which had kept him from taking a place in the squad that beat Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.

The £80,000-per-week midfielder had returned to Ancelotti’s matchday plans earlier this month when listed among the substitutes against Leeds United and Manchester United, and would have featured in some capacity against Spurs if included.

Ancelotti now hopes Delph will be fit to play a role in Wednesday’s Premier League clash with title-chasing Manchester City, as the former Sky Blues midfielder can help to ease the burden on those who have played frequently this season.

“He’s not injured again, but he has a little problem and is not fit 100%,” Ancelotti said. “The fact he had a problem in the past we want to be sure to put him in.

“He was on the bench the game before and during training he had a contraction of his muscle, not a big problem but he’s not available for the [Fulham] game. Maybe Wednesday he will be.

“Of course, we are frustrated because I think he’s an important player with a lot of experience. He could help us with the fact, in this moment, as in the game against Tottenham, I only had two midfielders.”

Time to get rid

Delph has now missed 19 of Everton’s 29 Premier League and cup games through injury, illness or fitness issues this season after sitting out the Fulham affair, while missing 21 of the Toffees’ 38 top-flight fixtures last term.

The 31-year-old has also only started four of his seven appearances across all competitions during the 2020/21 campaign, as the £10m ex-Man City midfielder brought his total outings to 27 since being signed to a three-year deal under Marco Silva in 2019.

Delph is bleeding Everton’s majority owner Farhad Moshiri dry on his £80k-p/w deal, that has seen the Blues pay out almost £11m in wages over his 135 weeks at Goodison Park so far.

Everton are seeing absolutely no value in his signing with Delph costing the club, including the fee paid to Man City, £770,500 a game. He is also yet to score or assist a single goal.

Ancelotti must now see that Delph does not play into the third and final year of his current deal, and should urge the Blues’ Director of Football Marcel Brands to spend the coming months shopping the 20-cap international on the transfer market.

Time simply has to be up for the perennially crocked dud.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring an “exciting” teen prospect Carlo Ancelotti could sign for free…

Liverpool went out with “a whimper” and were “disgraceful” as they lost 1-0 to Brighton at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Cundy not impressed

Those were the words of former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy, as he reacted to the Reds’ second home defeat in a row.

The Seagulls’ Steven Alzate scored the only goal of the game in the second half after Trent Alexander-Arnold got himself caught under the ball and Dan Burn headed across goal to provide the assist.

While Liverpool once again fielded a makeshift defence, it was at the other end of the field where their problems lied, having created just two big chances and one shot on target during the 90 minutes (Fotmob).

Speaking to talkSPORT, Cundy was furious with what he saw and did not sugarcoat his words while discussing the performance.

“That was pathetic from Liverpool tonight,” he said.

“They are up against a side, and credit to Brighton they are a good side, but that is the defending champions you just watched there.

“A whimper, disgraceful, shocking… and you know what? History may be repeating itself.”

Klopp managed to secure two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund before he left his position, and Cundy related Liverpool’s current form to the German tactician’s final days in charge in North Rhine-Westphalia.

“You look at what Klopp did at Dortmund when their season imploded; in his final season all of a sudden it went to pot when they went on a run of two wins out of 16.

“This is something that has happened before to Klopp, in Germany. He demands so much, and his demands have been brilliant.

“But are we looking at a Liverpool side now that has just run out of gas? Because that is not the Klopp Liverpool that we have seen over the past three seasons. They went out with a whimper.

“Credit to Brighton, because they deserved it, but that was just shocking!”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

While it was a really poor performance from Liverpool, it’s fair to say there are elements about the display which were out of the manager’s control – namely injuries.

Let’s not forget, captain Jordan Henderson is being made to play as a centre-back, costing the Reds his usual energy in midfield, while the likes of Alisson, Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota all missed the match as well.

Supporters will be feeling down in the dumps after that one, but it can all change again if they can beat Manchester City on Sunday. What a funny old game football can be.

In other news, Liverpool fans go after under-fire Klopp star once more after Brighton slip-up.

Carlo Ancelotti has dropped a pre-FA Cup hint that could see Everton deliver Tottenham Hotspur a rare challenge when the two sides meet on Wednesday.

The Toffees beat Spurs when the clubs last faced one another in the Premier League with the Merseyside outfit running out 1-0 victors in North London last September, ending a 15-game winless run in the fixture.

Everton had not beaten Tottenham in any competition since December 2012 before this season’s win, and are now preparing to face the Lilywhites in the FA Cup for the first time since 1995 when the Blues won 4-1 to seal a place in the Final.

Tonight’s match will see Everton and Tottenham contest for a place in the Quarter-Final of this year’s edition, with Ancelotti also looking to maintain his unbeaten record in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

To do so, the Italian has hinted he may stick with the new formation he deployed at Old Trafford on Saturday, when Everton came from behind twice to hold Manchester United to a draw.

“Maybe it was difficult to adjust again to Goodison being empty but we could do better at this – and I am really pleased with how my players adapt to many things,” Ancelotti wrote in his programme notes ahead of tonight’s FA Cup tie with Tottenham.

“They can move to different positions and, like at Manchester United on Saturday, go into a new system. We had a diamond in midfield to give us one more body in an area where United are really strong.

“The plan worked, in my opinion, and even at half-time when we were 2-0 down, I was happy with the tactical aspect. But our passing in the first half was too safe. It can happen against a team that is strong on the counter-attacks and United are one of the best in the world at this.”

Ancelotti fielded Everton in a 4-3-1-2 system for the first time since his appointment in December 2019, with Richarlison joining Dominic Calvert-Lewin in attack but tasked with playing wider to afford James Rodriguez space to operate in a free role in front of Andre Gomes, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Tom Davies.

The Toffees boss noting that he felt the diamond system was working at Manchester United even when trailing would suggest he is considering utilising the formation against Tottenham in the FA Cup, which could help nullify the threat of Tanguy Ndombele like he sought to with Bruno Fernandes.

Only Harry Kane (20) and Son Heung-Min (17) have scored more often for Spurs than Ndombele (6) across all competitions this season, while Jose Mourinho has also seen the 24-year-old Frenchman provide three assists yet lauds him for his “magnificent” general play.

Everton lining up in a 4-3-1-2 on Wednesday night will also present Tottenham with a challenge they are not accustomed to facing, having yet played against a side using the formation in any of their 37 competitive matches played this season.

The closest Mourinho’s men have come is in their fixtures against sides using a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1, which coincidently returned two defeats in their last three games with Brighton and Chelsea both running out 1-0 victors over the last two weeks.

If Ancelotti is to see Tottenham’s run of results stretch to three defeats in four and record a rare Everton win over the north London side, sticking with the 4-3-1-2 used at Manchester United may be the way to go.

AND in other news, Everton have been tipped to sign a £2m-rated veteran this summer after a 2020 deal collapsed…

It must be a huge relief for everyone at Sunderland that they can finally focus on the football again.

Their festive period was ruined by a bout of Covid and thus, they had four consecutive games postponed by the authorities.

A 0-0 draw wasn’t exactly the most ideal way to return to action last weekend and they now face a tough encounter against Hull City.

It’s a clash we’ve seen in the Premier League and Championship in the last decade but they now meet in League One amid multiple years of plight.

It will be interesting to see how Lee Johnson decides to line-up with his squad nearly back to full health.

Denver Hume and Luke O’Nien are still a few weeks away from a return but Callum McFadzean is set to be back in the squad this weekend.

With that in mind, we’re tipping the Mackems to make three changes from the side that drew with Northampton.

Lynden Gooch returns to the starting XI for the first time since picking up an injury towards the latter stage of November. He’s made a few substitute appearances under Johnson but now should be his time to fully prove his worth to the new manager.

That means that McGeady is dropped from the starting XI, but on the opposite flank, we also think that Jack Diamond will be taken out of the firing line. Consequently, Chris Maguire – their top scorer in League One last term – comes into the XI.

The other change is at left-back where McFadzean is fit enough to play again. Dion Sanderson deputised in that third of the pitch against the Cobblers but unfortunately misses out on this occasion.

The midfield has a familiar look to it while Conor McLaughlin continues at right-back with O’Nien out and recovering from a dislocated shoulder.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Grigg: Speakman can boost SAFC promotion bid by signing “terrific” 12-goal gem…