Liverpool 1-0 Ajax: Player Ratings as Reds Win Seals Qualification for Last 16

A fine Curtis Jones goal was enough to give Liverpool a 1-0 win over Ajax with the victory confirming the Reds’ progression into the Champions League knockout stages as group winners.

The game got off to a pulsating start with Jones hitting the post five minutes in. Ajax had several chances of their own in the first half with Champions League debutant Caoimhin Kelleher being kept busy in the Liverpool goal.

After the break, the Reds managed to poke their noses in front with two academy graduates combining; Neco Williams swung in a looping cross and a stranded Andre Onana could only watch as Jones provided a cute finish from the angle to put the Reds 1-0 up.

After substitute Roberto Firmino missed a gilt-edged chance, the Reds had Kelleher to thanks late on with the Irishman making a point-blank save to keep out Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s header.

Here are your Liverpool player ratings from Anfield…

Caoimhin Kelleher
Kelleher had a busy European debut | Pool/Getty Images

Caoimhin Kelleher (GK) – 8/10 – Looked very much at home on his Champions League debut. Made one particularly impressive save in the closing stages that won his side the game.

Neco Williams (RB) – 8/10 – Tireless performance. Always keen to support his teammates going forward, but did not neglect his defensive responsibilities. Great assist as well.

Joel Matip (CB) – 7/10 – Certainty not a perfect display but he was solid enough. Tadic caused him a few issues by playing between the lines.

Fabinho (CB) – 7/10 – Felt like he was attracting the ball with a magnet at times. In the end he finished the game with eight clearances.

Andrew Robertson (LB) – 7/10 – First-half injury scare aside, he enjoyed a fairly routine night, defending well and supporting the Reds’ front three.

Curtis Jones
Jones’ finish was right out the top drawer | Pool/Getty Images

Jordan Henderson (CM) – 7/10 – Toasted being nominated for Sports Personality of the Year with three points. Nothing too flashy but he did his job well – standard.

Georginio Wijnaldum (CM) – 7/10 – Broke things up in the middle and used the ball fairly smartly in possession, only committing two turnovers.

Curtis Jones (CM) – 8/10 – Continued to look at home in the first team. Picked up some promising positions and went close to scoring twice inside the first five minutes. Eventually got his goal and what a finish it was.

Diogo Jota
Jota lead the line for the Reds | Soccrates Images/Getty Images

Mohamed Salah (RW) – 6/10 – Something of a frustrating night for the Egyptian. Often his clever runs were not spotted by his teammates and he only managed two shots.

Diogo Jota (ST) – 7/10 – Got into a few promising positions but often made the wrong final shot or pass. Kept possession circulating nicely though, finishing with a team-high 91% pass completion rate.

Sadio Mane (LW) – 6/10 – Played his part in the Reds’ ultra-fluid front three which caused Ajax problems.

Roberto Firminho
Firmino should have scored after coming on | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Roberto Firmino – 5/10 – Missed an absolute sitter that would have put the game beyond all doubt.

Rhys Williams – N/A

Let’

Porto 0-0 Manchester City: Player Ratings as Stalemate Secures Top Spot for Citizens

Manchester City recorded their first ever goalless draw in the group stages of the Champions League against Porto on Tuesday night, though the stalemate was enough to secure their status as winners of Group C.

Despite dominating the early stages, City were unable to find a way past a resolute Porto backline, with Ferran Torres guilty of spurning the first half’s only real opening when played through following a rapid City counter.

The visitors continued to probe throughout the second half, yet the brilliant Agustin Marchesin in the Porto goal continued to repel their advances, with VAR ruling out Gabriel Jesus’ effort for offside when City finally did find a way past the Argentinian.

A frustrating night for Pep Guardiola’s men but top spot confirmed, nonetheless. That’s the match highlights out of the way, now to the Manchester City player ratings.

Jesus Corona, Oleksandr Zinchenko
Zinchenko was yet again named in City’s Champions League starting XI | Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Ederson (GK) – 5/10 – Barely touched the ball all evening, though did threaten to give away a penalty having erratically rushed out of his goal and clattered into Otavio.

Joao Cancelo (RB) – 5/10 – Had very little defending to do all evening, it was all about whether he could find the killer ball in the final third – which he couldn’t.

Eric Garcia (CB) – 6/10 – Could have played the game from his armchair. Barely broke sweat and provided good distribution into midfield.

Ruben Dias (CB) – 6/10 – The former Benfica man would have loved a goal on his return to Portugal and he really should have had one, but instead he inadvertently hooked the ball away from under the Porto crossbar. Nevertheless, defended well and rarely looked troubled.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – 5/10 – A regular in the Champions League this season despite featuring for just 12 minutes in the league. A constant outlet on the City left but rarely found a delivery of any real quality when given the chance, with a whole host of crosses cut out by the first man.

Fernandinho flies into a challenge
Fernandinho flies into a challenge | Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Rodri (CM) – 6/10 – Became increasingly frustrated as the game wore on and found himself attempting speculative long-range efforts. Kept things ticking over but didn’t provide any real urgency.

Fernandinho (CM) – 7/10 – With the home side retreating further back with each passing minute, the emphasis was on Fernandinho to step forward and pick the lock, and he did a brilliant job of it. Were it not for some wayward finishing he would have had a number of assists to his name.

Bernardo Silva (CM) – 7/10 – Returned to the starting XI having been rested for the weekend Premier League win over Burnley. His usual energetic self, constantly looking to receive the ball on the half-turn and drive at the Porto backline.

Phil Foden, Wilson Manafa
Phil Foden tussles for possession | Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Raheem Sterling (RW) – 5/10 – Very wasteful in possession early on as he looked to needlessly force the pace. Picked out on a number of occasions by the quality of Fernandinho but couldn’t find the touch to bring the ball under his spell.

Ferran Torres (ST) – 6/10 – Yet again fared reasonably well as a makeshift number nine, though he clearly lacks the killer instinct of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. Played through in the first half but unable to find a way past the Porto goalkeeper.

Phil Foden (LW) – 7/10 – Effortlessly drifted past the opposition when he had the ball at his feet and didn’t neglect his defensive duties when called upon. A good performance given the attention paid to him by the opposition.

Gabriel Jesus (ST) – 6/10

Let’

La Liga President Hopeful Fans Can Return to Stadiums in January

La Liga president Javier Tebas has revealed that he hopes fans can be welcomed back into stadiums in Spain’s top flight as early as January.

The league has been operating behind closed doors since the first coronavirus lockdown ended and football resumed back in the summer.

Speaking to Spanish outlet El Chiringuito, Tebas initially revealed that fans would be allowed back into stadiums ‘in 2021’, before going as far as to say it could be possible next month.

Javier Tebas
Tebas says he ‘hopes’ fans can return soon | Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

“Yes, we will have fans (in 2021). We’ll start with a few and then we’ll see,” Tebas said. “For January, we hope.”

La Liga will first need the go-ahead from the Spanish government before an exact date can be decided upon and announced.

Spain’s secretary of state for sport, Irene Lozano, said on Tuesday (as quoted by SuperSport): “I have never stopped thinking about the return of the public. The supporters are important for football and football is important for the supporters.

“I am hopeful that with the vaccine on the horizon, we can have fans (in the stadiums), or at least partially, before the end of the season.”

In England, supporters will be able to return to stadia from Wednesday under the UK government’s new stricter tier system following a second national lockdown.

Areas that have been designated as Tier 2 can welcome back a maximum of 2,000 supporters, which means the London, Merseyside and south coast Premier League sides will have fans in the stands for home games going forward, for the time being at least.

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
2,000 fans will be allowed into London stadiums from Wednesday | Pool/Getty Images

With Greater Manchester being placed in Tier 3, Manchester United and Manchester City supporters will be unable to return to Old Trafford and the Etihad respectively. Leicester has also been placed in the highest tier, meaning the King Power will remain crowd-free.

It remains to be seen how many fans will initially be allowed to return to grounds in Spain should the plans be given the green light.

Let’

Twitter in Meltdown as Real Madrid Fall to ANOTHER Champions League Defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk

In any normal season, Real Madrid would not fear a trip to Ukraine to take on Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, this is not a normal season. Already this campaign, Los Blancos have been humbled by Valencia, edged out by Alaves and of course, defeated by a coronavirus-stricken Shakhtar.

Surely lightning wouldn’t strike twice though, right? Right?! RIGHT???!!!

Wrong.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. How on Earth did this happen?

Well, it didn’t always look like Real were doomed for another embarrassing defeat – far from it. Zinedine Zidane’s side actually started the game pretty promisingly. Martin Odegaard was picking up some nice pockets of space and even the much maligned Marco Asensio was impressing.

Don’t believe us? Luckily social media has the proof.

After the break, things went downhill – fast.

With 57 minutes on the clock, Dentinho made the most of some hilariously static defending from Raphael Varane, darting onto a loose ball and smashing it past Thibaut Courtois.

It was the latest in a long line of Champions League mistakes for the big Frenchman… as social media was more than happy to point out.

After this setback, Real tried to rally but, in truth, they never looked like breaking the hosts down.

Few could complain when Shakhtar made it 2-0 – particularly as Manor Solomon’s goal was so brilliant. Picking the ball up from deep, Real just kept backing off and off, and they were punished when Solomon produced an unstoppable finish from just inside the box.

That was all she wrote with Shakhtar sealing the win and securing a famous Champions League double over the most successful team in the competition’s history.

As has often been the case in recent weeks, many people chose to lay the blame squarely at Zidane’s door. To be fair, Real did look pretty aimless but is sacking Zizou really the way to go?

Some people certainly seemed to think so…

Whatever happens, this result has set up a nail biting climax to Group B, and we cannot wait.

Let’

Premier League Clubs Barred From Signing Overseas Under-18 Players Under Post-Brexit Rules

Premier League clubs will be barred from signing overseas Under-18 players under new post-Brexit transfer rules, the FA has announced.

All overseas recruits will also require a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) in order to move to England. The changes will be enforced during the upcoming January transfers window with the Premier League and EFL both involved in the decision-making process.

The FA announced the news via a statement which read: “The FA, the Premier League and EFL have come together to agree a plan for entry requirements for overseas players post-Brexit.

England U21 v Andorra U21 - UEFA Euro Under 21 Qualifier
The FA had keep fairly quiet regarding the effect of Brexit on football until now | Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

“Football’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) proposal was submitted to the Government last month by the FA, as the governing body for football, and has now been approved by The Home Office.

“The criteria will provide the framework for Premier League and EFL clubs to sign overseas players when the UK leaves the European Union (EU) after 31 December 2020.

“Post-Brexit, clubs will not be able to sign players freely from the EU. Players from EU countries who want to play in the Premier League or EFL will be required to gain a GBE, like all other overseas players without the right to work in the UK.”

The GBE will operate a points-based system in which several factors – including the number of international appearances a player has made and the stature of the selling club – will be taken into account.

The post-Brexit landscape will also see top-flight sides hampered by how many young, foreign talents they can stockpile.

“In the Premier League, the number of overseas Under-21 players a club can sign will be limited to three in the January transfer window and six per season moving forwards,” the statement added.

sepp van de berg
Sepp van de Berg would have been prevented from signing for Liverpool under these new rules | Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images

“This enables the recruitment of the best players from around the world to train and play together with homegrown talent. Under FIFA’s rules, the UK’s exit from the EU will also mean that clubs will not be able to sign players from overseas until they are 18.”

Let’