09/08/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | AUG 9, 2025

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James insists keeper Giorgi will need to be patient

SHORTS Maddison set to miss most of season

Ű BY CARL MARKHAM

“But he has played at major tournaments and international finals and excelled so I don’t think the occasion is going to faze him. “It will just be interesting if he doesn’t start the season how motivated he will be to wait for his opportunities, because he will get opportunities. “There has to be competition in the goalkeeping area,” added James. “With Mamardashvili we have got another young, talented goalkeeper and if he doesn’t get in the Liverpool side it will be because he has pushed Ali to be the best and that is what Liverpool want. “If he does get in the side it will be because he has been better than Ali, which will mean he will be amazing.” – The Independent

However, even taking into account the Brazil international’s injury record over the last two seasons – he missed 75 days in 2023-24 and 94 last season – the 24-year-old cannot expect to be afforded the same opportunity. “You have to understand Liverpool haven’t looked at Mamardashvili and thought ‘We need to fill a gap here’,”James, who made 277 Liverpool appearances between 1992 and 1999, said. “Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and it’s not often you get asked twice. Mamardashvili has come in as a direct challenger. “He will have to believe he is good enough to play for Liverpool, one of the toughest goalkeeping positions in world football.

FORMER Liverpool goalkeeper David James accepts new signing Giorgi Mamardashvili has the self-belief to think he can displace Alisson Becker as first choice but patience may be the quality which serves him best. The Georgia international joined the squad this summer after agreeing a move to Anfield from Valencia 12 months ago. He will have watched from Spain as now departed predecessor Caoimhin Kelleher made 20 appearances – half of which were in the Premier League due to hamstring and concussion injuries to Alisson.

TOTTE N HAM midfielder James Maddison is expected to miss most of the upcoming Premier league season after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament. The England international missed the end of the 2024/25 campaign with a knee injury but featured in pre-season under new boss Thomas Frank. Maddison collapsed in pain during a 1-1 draw with Newcastle in South Korea on Sunday with no one around him and left the pitch on a stretcher late in the game. Spurs’ worst fears have now been confirmed, with the player facing surgery. “We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee,” said a club statement. “The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the injury during our pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul. “His surgery will take place in the coming days and, following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.” The news is also a major blow to Maddison’s hopes of forcing his way into England boss Thomas Tuchel’s selection for next year’s World Cup. United want RM290m for Garnacho MA N CHE S TER U N ITED have set their price for winger Alejandro Garnacho, who is attracting interest from Chelsea. It’s understood United want £50m (RM290m) for the Argentina international. The 21-year-old’s future has appeared to be away from Old Trafford since the winger, like his brother Roberto on Instagram , expressed frustration at starting May’s Europa League final loss to Tottenham on the bench. United boss Ruben Amorim reportedly told Garnacho in the days after the defeat in Bilbao that he will be allowed to leave and the winger has spent pre-season training away from the first-team. Chelsea were linked with a move in January and are thought to have been in dialogue this summer, with the Red Devils understood to be seeking a £50m fee for the academy graduate. Garnacho was omitted from United’s pre season tour to the United States, where head coach Amorim said last week: “You can see he’s a really talented boy. Sometimes things don’t work out.” Colwill blow for Chelsea CHEL S EA defender Levi Colwill is set to miss a significant portion of the upcoming season after undergoing successful surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The Blues kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Crystal Palace on Aug 17, but Enzo Maresca will not have the 22 year-old at his disposal after Colwill sustained the injury in training. The England international has become a fixture in Maresca’s squad and was pivotal to their fortunes last season, scoring the decisive goal on the final day of the campaign against Nottingham Forest to seal the Blues’ place in the Champions League this term. Maresca added that Chelsea may need to target a potential back-up option for Colwill in the remaining weeks of the transfer window, which closes on Sept 1. “It depends. We need to wait and then we see. But, as I said, we know each other from last year and, you know in our way, how important Levi has been. “I spoke with him yesterday and I told him that if we achieve what we achieved last year, it is also because of him - and he was a main player for us.”

Spurs gets reality check Kane scores as Bayern thump Tottenham in pre-season friendly H ARRY KANE scored his first goal against his former side as Bayern Munich romped past Tottenham 4-0 at home in a pre-season friendly at playing a very good team tonight,” manager Thomas Frank said. “Bayern, in my opinion, are one of the teams that are probably favourites to win the Champions League.

definitely learn from this one. “I definitely got some answers that we will look into, but we will calmly reflect on it after the game now and look through it. “Also, it seems like we lacked some energy somehow which we need to find - no team can play without that energy.” The match was the Europa League winners’ last chance to fine tune before next Thursday’s (3am Malaysian time) Super Cup clash with European champions Paris Saint-Germain. And though Opta’s pre-match simulations hand Spurs a win probability of 18.3%, Frank believes his squad are more than ready to take on Luis Enrique’s star-studded side. “We will 100% be ready for that game. I’m not in doubt about that. There are six days ahead,” Frank added. “We have a normal week for the first time in the last two weeks, so with everything – just getting down, less travel, energising them, three or four good sessions – then we will be ready against PSG.” Commenting on the match, ex-Tottenham defender Michael Dawson told SpursPlay : “Tottenham have to lick the wounds, dust themselves down and go again. Spurs just were not good enough. “Thomas Frank will realise when you are beaten 4-0 in a pre-season friendly, it hurts. “Thomas will say, why did we not take the ball in better areas? Why did not we control it better when you are away from home? “You go a goal down and Estevao is one of six summer signings expected to be part of Maresca’s squad this season. And with 10 departures it has been another summer of change at the club’s Cobham training base. Maresca has previously said he expects players to be able to play in a number of roles and wants at least two players for each position. Nominally a winger, Estevao is likely to be deployed across Chelsea’s attacking line. “He can play everywhere,” said Maresca. “He’s so good. For me, he’s like Cole (Palmer), in terms of – careful – he is like Cole in terms of his position. “He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play everywhere. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.” – The Independent give a penalty away within 15 minutes. You backs are against the wall and it gives them a lift. Spurs did not do well enough in and out of possession.” – AFP/Agencies

“They hit a good level, we didn’t hit a good level. That’s a bad combination, but we will

the Allianz Arena in Munich yesterday. Kane, who is boyhood club Tottenham’s all time top goalscorer with 280 strikes in 435 matches, put Bayern in the lead after 12 minutes with a composed penalty box finish. The England captain then had a chance to double Bayern’s lead two minutes later when Joao Palhinha, who joined Spurs from Bayern on a season-long loan on Sunday, gave away a penalty. Kane however slipped, blasting his shot well over the bar. It was the first time Kane failed to convert a spot-kick since his miss in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to France. Kingsley Coman added the home side’s second with a superb curling shot from the edge of the box with 61 minutes gone. Bayern teenagers Lennart Karl and Jonah Kusi-Asare both scored in the dying stages to complete the one-sided victory. Spurs have had a mixed bag under new coach Thomas Frank this pre season, beating London rivals Arsenal along with Reading, while being held to draws with Newcastle, Luton Town and Wycombe. The London club managed just three shots on target in the match,

Mohammed Kudus (left) and Cristian Romero in action with Harry Kane (centre). – REUTERSPIC

generating an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.36 compared to Bayern’s 3.6 from their 26 overall efforts. “We were obviously

Maresca cools expectations on Brazilian prodigy Ű BY ROBERT O’CONNOR

“We need to pay a little bit more attention, because first of all he’s from the other part of the world and also he’s very, very young,” he said. “So we need to pay attention. “As I said, (he is) not under pressure, give him happiness, give him time, he needs to adapt. “Hopefully we can give him minutes, so he’s even more happy. But for sure, he’s a talented player. “For me, the biggest mistake we can do with him is to put him under pressure. He’s very young, he needs to adapt. “I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He’s a fantastic player, he’s very young, he’s a happy boy. “He’s always laughing, typical from a Brazilian guy, and we need to keep him happy.”

CHEL S EA head coach Enzo Maresca has called for restraint from supporters regarding the highly anticipated arrival of Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian. The 18-year-old’s £29 million (RM168m) transfer from Palmeiras was initially agreed in May 2024, but he remained in Brazil for a year, even finding the net against his new club during a Club World Cup encounter in the United States in July. Having netted 27 goals and provided 15 assists across 83 appearances for Palmeiras, Estevao finally completed his move to west London this week. Widely regarded as one of Brazil’s most promising young talents, Maresca is keen to ensure that expectations surrounding Estevao are tempered ahead of the upcoming season.