Ronaldo debut & rest of Serie A to go ahead as Genoa & Sampdoria games postponed over bridge collapse

Lega Serie A has confirmed that, while Genoa and Sampdoria’s season-openers have been postponed due to the tragic Ponte Morandi bridge collapse on Tuesday, the remainder of the weekend’s games will go ahead as scheduled.

At least 38 people died and up to 15 others were injured when a large section of an overhead motorway gave way during stormy conditions in Genoa, resulting in dozens of vehicles falling approximately 148 feet (45 metres) on to the railway lines, river and warehouses below. 

A state of emergency has since been declared, as rescuers continue to look for survivors, while Saturday has been declared a national day of mourning, on which funerals of many of the victims are set to be held.

Massimo Ferrero, the president of Sampdoria, one of the city’s two top-flight clubs, had called for all of this weekend’s Serie A games to be postponed as a mark of respect but only the Blucerchiati’s clash with Fiorentina at the Luigi Ferraris, and Genoa’s meeting with AC Milan at San Siro have been called off.

However, while the eight other fixtures will go ahead, it was confirmed in a Lega Serie A statement released on Thursday that, “in memory of the victims of Genoa, one minute of silence will be observed before kick-off and the teams will take to the field with black armbands.”

Despite his earlier request, Ferrero voiced his support for the league’s decision. 

“I thank president Gaetano Micciche and all of Serie A for the sensitivity shown to Sampdoria and its fans,” read a statement from the Samp supremo.

“Postponing the games Sampdoria-Fiorentina and Milan-Genoa represents an important act of solidarity that Genoa and the Genoese people, who are living days of profound pain and sincere astonishment, will not forget.

“It is also right that the rest of Serie A goes ahead and starts in other stadiums: that takes nothing away from the sense of closeness and fraternity that all of Italy showed it has in its soul as a nation that gets back on its feet every time.

“Genoa will get back on its feet again too: stronger, more secure and even more beautiful.”

Serie A’s decision to proceed with the other games means that the 2018-19 campaign will kick off on Saturday at 5pm BST (12pm ET) with Chievo hosting reigning champions Juventus, who are expected to give a debut to star summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Liverpool defender Klavan set to join Cagliari in £2m deal

Liverpool have agreed to sell defender Ragnar Klavan to Cagliari in a £2 million ($2.5m) deal.

The Estonia international will travel to Italy on Friday to complete a medical and finalise personal terms as he ends his two-year stay at Anfield.

Goal revealed earlier this week that the Reds would consider offers for the 32-year-old, and Cagliari have seen off interest from Germany to land the experienced centre-back.

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Jurgen Klopp has personally sanctioned the sale, with Klavan in the final year of his contract and keen to play regular first-team football. He turns 33 in October, and Klopp is keen to be fair to the player, who has been a consummate professional during his time at the club. 

With Joel Matip fit again after a thigh problem, and Dejan Lovren expected back at the end of the month, Klopp feels his options at centre-back are sufficient, especially with Nathaniel Clyne’s return enabling Joe Gomez to move inside from right-back.

Gomez started for Liverpool against West Ham last weekend, and is seen as a centre-half, long term. That has been a key factor in the decision to allow Klavan to leave.

Klavan joined the Reds for £4m ($5m) from Augsburg in 2016 and went on to make 53 appearances, scoring twice.

His sale is likely to the be the first of a number in the next fortnight, with Simon Mignolet, Lazar Markovic, Pedro Chirivella, Marko Grujic and Divock Origi all facing uncertain futures. Exits for all, either on loan or permanently, could be sanctioned.

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Man Utd team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Manchester United will be looking to build on their opening-day win over Leicester City when they make their first away trip of the Premier League campaign to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho will be sure to remind his players that the corresponding fixture last season was one of three away defeats to the trio of newly-promoted clubs and Albion will present another potential upset for his side this time around.

United finished 19 points adrift of champions Manchester City last term, and victories over teams such as Brighton will be considered imperative if they are to narrow that gap and challenge for the title in 2018-19.

Man Utd Injuries

Mourinho is likely to remain without the six players who missed the win over Leicester through injury.

Nemanja Matic recently underwent surgery on an abdominal issue picked up at the World Cup, while Diogo Dalot has also been under the knife due to a knee problem and he remains some way off his club debut. Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo also had surgeries after being injured on international duty.

Antonio Valencia limped out of the pre-season draw with San Jose Earthquakes with a calf injury, while Ander Herrera is out after developing a hamstring problem during the loss to Bayern Munich in United’s final summer fixture.

Man Utd Suspensions

Neither team has any suspension concerns carried over from the end of last season, while none of their players were sent off in their opening game of this term.

Possible Man Utd Starting Line-Up

The extra week of training afforded to many of United’s World Cup stars could see more of them being included in Mourinho’s starting XI on the south coast on Sunday.

Paul Pogba’s man-of-the-match display against Leicester came on short rest and he is likely to have more energy in his legs for the trip to Brighton. There could also be first starts for Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young after both reached the third-place play-off with their countries in Russia this summer.

Elsewhere there are unlikely to be too many changes, with Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata fighting for one spot in the forward line and Luke Shaw set to keep his place ahead of Matteo Darmian following a goalscoring performance on opening night.

Jesse Lingard is another who could be involved but it may be too soon for him to start the match, having not long returned from his post-World Cup holiday.

Man Utd possible XI

Brighton Team News

Albion boss Chris Hughton has the task of steering his side clear of second-season syndrome following a hugely impressive first campaign in the Premier League.

They suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to Watford last week but will be hoping to carry over their superb home form of 2017-18 when they welcome United on Sunday.

There has been a huge turnover of fringe players at the Amex over the summer as the likes of Connor Goldson, Jamie Murphy and Tim Krul have all been shipped out and in their place have come a number of anticipated upgrades including Iran World Cup star Alireza Jahanbakhsh, former Barcelona right-back Martin Montoya and RB Leipzig’s Brazilian left-back Bernardo.

While expectations will not be massively increased among the Albion fan base, there will be a clear desire to repeat nights like the one in May which saw the home side clinch Premier League survival with a memorable 1-0 win over Manchester United.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh Brighton

TV Channel & Kick-off time

The match at the Amex kicks off at 4pm BST on Sunday, with live coverage available in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 3:30pm. In the U.S. the game will be shown on NBCSN at 11am ET.

Best Opta Match facts

  • Brighton have won their last two home league games against Manchester United, with these games being spaced almost 36 years apart (1-0 in November 1982, 1-0 in May 2018).

  • In all competitions, Manchester United’s last away win against Brighton came in April 1982 (D1 L2 since), winning 1-0 thanks to a Ray Wilkins strike.

  • Manchester United failed to score in their last two away league games of 2017-18, including a 0-1 loss at Brighton. They last went three without a goal on the road in the Premier League in April 2005.

  • Man Utd’s French midfielder Paul Pogba scored the Red Devils’ first Premier League goal this season, a penalty against Leicester – Pogba has been involved in 26 league goals (12 goals, 14 assists) under Jose Mourinho, more than any other Man Utd player.

  • No Man Utd player has had more shots on target (2) or touches in the opposition box (3) in the Premier League this season than left-back Luke Shaw.

  • Brighton’s Pascal Gross has had a hand in six goals in his last seven Premier League games at the Amex Stadium (3 goals, 3 assists).

  • Man Utd forward Romelu Lukaku has scored against 17 of the current 20 Premier League sides – Brighton are one of the three he’s yet to score against (along with Cardiff and Wolves).

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Ramos: Real Madrid will win again

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has no doubts the European champions will reign supreme again after they suffered UEFA Super Cup defeat against Atletico Madrid.

Bragging rights went in favour of city rivals Atletico, who were 4-2 extra-time winners over Madrid in Tallinn on Wednesday.

It was Madrid’s first defeat in an international final since 2000 as doubts emerged regarding the state of the team following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus.

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However, Ramos – who put Madrid ahead from the penalty spot before Diego Costa’s second goal forced extra time in the Estonian capital, where Saul Niguez and Koke sealed the victory – issued a rallying cry via social media.

“We learn something from every defeat. We will make this badge win again,” Ramos wrote on Twitter. “No one will doubt it.

“#HalaMadrid yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever.”

Julen Lopetegui’s Madrid open their La Liga campaign against Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

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