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Fulham 0-2 Chelsea: Mudryk, Broja strike to earn Blues their second league win of the season

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Chelsea bagged two first-half goals to seal a crucial win over West London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage and move up to 11th on the Premier League table.

The Blues flew out of the blocks as they debuted their new Infinite Athlete kit and created the first chance of the match after only 80 seconds, but Armando Broja could not capitalise.

Chelsea looked bright with Enzo Fernandez conducting affairs, and they picked the Cottagers apart.

Mykhailo Mudryk was looking electric and dangerous. The Ukrainian winger opened the scoring on 18 as he controlled a pass from Levi Colwill before slotting the ball beyond Bernd Leno.

It was Mudryk’s first Premier League goal following his £88 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January. And within seconds, Chelsea had their second.

Tim Ream had a moment to forget as he gave the ball away to Cole Palmer. The young English playmaker then slipped Broja in, but Ream hit the ball off the Albanian striker as the ball trickled past Leno.

Fulham tried to find gaps behind Marc Cucurella and Axel Disasi on the right side of Chelsea’s defence, but it was not working. Chelsea controlled the game and held their two-goal going into the break.

In the second 45, Fulham came out with more attacking poise, and it helped that Mudryk went off with a knock, giving Fulham the impetus to come forward, but Chelsea’s defence stood resolute.

Vinicius and Alex Iwobi came on for Fulham and helped their side find spaces beyond Chelsea’s backline, but the Boys in Blue defended well and showed they were still dangerous.

Ian Maatsen, on for Mudryk, hit the post, and Leno had to be quick to smother Fernandez’s rebound effort. Fulham forced Chelsea to work for their lead, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men looked up to it.

Substitute Tom Cairney created a lovely chance for Sasa Lukic. However, Robert Sanchez stuck out a brilliant leg to save the effort and keep his side in it.

On 83, Willian tried an effort from outside the box, but it did not cause any problems for Sanchez as Chelsea ran out 2-0 victors

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Ten Hag blasts ‘inconsistent’ Man Utd after Bournemouth misery

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Erik ten Hag blasted his “inconsistent” Manchester United charges after Bournemouth made history with their first ever victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ten Hag’s side slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat that underlined the array of problems threatening to ruin United’s season.

Just three days after beating Chelsea to revive their bid for a top four finish in the Premier League, United reverted to the sloppy form that has plagued them for much of the campaign.

Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi handed Bournemouth a memorable win as Ten Hag and his players were booed off at full-time.

With the pressure mounting on Ten Hag with each defeat in his troubled second season as United boss, the Dutchman slammed his team’s lacklustre performance.

“Of course, annoyed and disappointed, definitely. I expected something different,” Ten Hag said.

“I hoped before the game you can build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so then it’s very disappointing.

“That (consistency) is of course the question, but I think we have to always be ready for the game, so I have to take the responsibility for that.

“I have to prepare my team so that they are ready for the game, so from my point of view I’m very disappointed the way we started so I have to do the things better.”

United have now lost 35 home league games since Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 title-winning season.

During the iconic 26-year reign of the Scottish manager, United were only beaten in the league at Old Trafford 34 times

Ten Hag shouldered much of the responsibility for United’s 11th defeat in all competitions this term.

But alarmingly for United fans, the former Ajax boss conceded he did not believe his squad were consistent enough to thrive at the highest level.

“We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day,” he said.

“I think as a squad we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that.”

It was an eye-catching remark at the end of a week that began with reports that some United players had grown unhappy with the manager.

Ten Hag denied those claims but, with his team mired in sixth place, he desperately needs some positive results quickly.

United host Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week knowing they must win to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.

A trip to in-form Liverpool in the Premier League follows the Bayern clash.

“As a group, we have to improve,” Ten Hag said. “That’s a fact. We have to get tougher, that we are ready for the game and from the start.

“I said on Friday, it can’t be in this league that you are not playing on the highest levels because you get killed.

“That’s what happened in the five minutes and then you are following facts and especially against them, such a good transition team, you make life easy for them. They have the perfect conditions to play in.

“Then you see the team fighting, battling, put a lot of effort in for a long period to return in the game, but it can’t happen that you so easily concede a goal.”

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FULL LIST: Final shortlist for CAF Awards 2023

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the final three nominees for all categories in the 2023 CAF Awards, just days before the ceremony in Morocco on Monday, December 11.

The ultimate winner of each category will be decided by votes from a panel consisting of the CAF Technical Committee, media professionals from Member Associations, Head Coaches and captains of Member Associations and clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions and will be announced at the Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco.

Here’s a full list of the final nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association):

1. Player of the Year (Men)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)

Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, Paris Saint-Germain)

Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Napoli)

 

2. Player of the Year (Women)

Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria, Barcelona)

Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa, Racing Louisville)

Barbara Banda (Zambia, Shanghai Shengli)

 

3. Interclub Player of the Year (Men)

Fiston Mayele (DR Congo, Pyramids)

Peter Shalulile (Namibia, Mamelodi Sundowns)

Percy Tau (South Africa, Al Ahly)

 

4. Interclub Player of the Year (Women)

Refilwe Tholakele (Botswana, Mamelodi Sundowns)

Fatima Tagnaout (Morocco, AS FAR)

Lebohang Ramalepe (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

 

6. Coach of the Year (Men)

Abdelhak Benchika (Algeria, Simba SC)

Walid Regragui (Morocco)

Aliou Cisse (Senegal)

 

7. Coach of the Year (Women)

Reynald Pedros (Morocco)

Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

Jerry Tshabalala (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

 

8. Goalkeeper of the Year (Men)

Andre Onana (Cameroon, Manchester United)

Mohamed El Shenawy (Egypt, Al Ahly)

Yassine Bounou (Morocco, Al Hilal)

 

9. Goalkeeper of the Year (Women)

Khadija Er-Rmichi (Morocco, AS FAR)

Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria, Paris FC)

Andile Dlamini (South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns)

 

10. Young Player of the Year (Men)

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Morocco, Real Betis)

Lamine Camara (Senegal, Metz)

Amara Diouf (Senegal, Metz)

 

11. Young Player of the Year (Women)

Comfort Yeboah (Ghana, Ampem Darkoa)

Nesryne El Chad (Morocco, Lille)

Deborah Abiodun (Nigeria, Pittsburgh Panthers)

 

12. National Team of the Year (Men)

Gambia

Morocco

Senegal

 

13. National Team of the Year (Women)

Morocco

Nigeria

South Africa

 

14. Club of the Year (Men)

Al Ahly (Egypt)

Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)

Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

 

15. Club of the Year (Women)

AS FAR (Morocco)

Sporting Casablanca (Morocco)

Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

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‘I need to rest, enjoy my family,’ Luis Suarez drops retirement hint

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Former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has dropped a hint that he may be considering retirement from professional football.

The Uruguayan recently played his final game for Brazilian club Grêmio, fueling speculations about his future plans.

After scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Vasco da Gama, Suarez suggested that his body is speaking to him and that he wants to take some time to rest and enjoy his family before making a decision about his future.

“I can feel pain, my body is speaking for me. I want to enjoy and then decide for myself after a long career. I need to rest, enjoy my family… then the destiny will know where I’ll be in the future,” Suarez said.

Suárez’s career has been filled with success and goal-scoring achievements. He first made his mark in Europe with Ajax, scoring 111 goals in 159 appearances and winning the Dutch league title. His move to Liverpool in 2010 propelled him to new heights, as he scored 82 goals in just 132 appearances and played a crucial role in Liverpool’s title challenge in the 2013-2014 season.

After joining Barcelona in 2014, Luis Suarez formed a formidable attacking trio with Messi and Neymar, winning numerous domestic and European titles. He continued his goal-scoring exploits at Atlético Madrid before returning to South America to play for Nacional and Grêmio. Throughout his career, Suárez has scored an impressive 487 goals in 799 appearances

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