Following a positive case for star midfielder N’Golo Kante, who will not play against Juventus in the Champions League, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has stressed he will not cajole his team into getting their Covid vaccines.
World Cup winner Kante, who was Man of the Match in the Blues’ Champions League final victory against Manchester City last season, will also miss a vital clash against Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend after contracting the disease.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of playing Italian giants Juve in Turin, Tuchel was asked if he would recommend that his squad get vaccinated to prevent further absences.
“It’s easy to say yes and get approval from a lot of people. But do I have the right to say this? I’m not sure,” Tuchel confessed.
N'Golo Kante has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Chelsea's upcoming UCL game against Juventus and their Premier League match with Southampton. pic.twitter.com/N0E3IsjQcz
“I can make a decision for myself, and everyone else has to think and decide whether they want to take risks. This is a serious question,” he pointed out.
“Vaccination seems like real protection to me. I got vaccinated. I made the decision myself. But I don’t think I have the right to make recommendations.”
“This may go too far,” Tuchel went on.
“I am a football coach, I am not at all an expert on the topic of coronavirus. I’d rather leave this to the professionals.”
Tuchel believes his players must make their own choices regarding a Covid-19 vaccination pic.twitter.com/cTEaJEbtoi
“Everyone here is adults living in a free country and society. People have the right to make their own decisions. We do something and then we are responsible for our actions.” Tuchel continued.
“We don’t want to lose players, but we don’t get mad at N’Golo. I care about his condition as well as the well-being of all injured Chelsea players.
“I don’t know what the percentage of those vaccinated at Chelsea is. I just do not know. We only reflect the situation in society. The players are adults and have the right to freely choose whether they want to be vaccinated. We have to accept this. This is more or less all I can say about it.
“I know the situation is far from over. I hope there will be as few infections as possible, but I definitely do not have a clear solution,” the German concluded.
The development comes amid reports of low vaccination rates among Premier League players and the top flight’s authorities struggling to get big stars to front campaigns that encourage fellow pros to get their jabs.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported that some clubs have as few as six players vaccinated against the virus, though some outfits including Wolves, Brentford and Leeds United have achieved vaccination rates ranging from 89-100%.
Lionel Messi scored his first goal for his new club with a sensational strike as Paris Saint-Germain gained Champions League revenge on Man City – then predicted that his partnership with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will grow.
It took 74 minutes for Messi to weave his magic and seal the 2-0 victory. Driving forward from inside the City half on the right, he exchanged passes with Kylian Mbappe, who cleverly heeled the ball back into his path outside the penalty area, before curling a magnificent effort beyond Ederson’s dive and into the far corner of the net.
City arguably deserve credit for bossing much of the game. PSG avenged their lackluster showing against these opponents that sent them out at the quarterfinals stage last season. Those talking points are reduced to subplots: Messi’s enduring brilliance, again, is the story of the night.
“I hadn’t been able to play recently and this was only my second game in this stadium,” Messi told Canal+.
JUST LISTEN TO THE ROAR THAT COULD BE HEARD ALL OVER PARIS
Notice how Messi instantly points to Mbappé who provided the brilliant assist pic.twitter.com/aa5n6FAtaq
“I’m adapting to my new team. The more we forwards play together, the better our relationship will be. We all need to grow together and improve and keep giving our best.”
Billed beforehand as a clash of the two most expensive teams in world football, the identity of the man who opened the scoring with only eight minutes gone would not have been among the pre-match predictions of many inside the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe and Neymar were involved, though: the France forward burst to the byline inside the penalty area on the right, firing a low cross back into the path of Neymar, who could not apply a touch.
Riyad Mahrez was also unable to apply any force to his clearance, gifting Idrissa Gueye a chance in front of goal that he crashed beyond Ederson and into the far top corner of the beaten goalkeeper’s net.
That was the midfielder’s first goal on his 24th appearance in the competition, and it was largely as good as it got for PSG with the exception of a fine Ederson stop to tip a fierce Messi effort over the crossbar.
Mahrez menaced PSG down the right in a whirlwind of stepovers and crosses, and Kevin de Bruyne must have thought he had supplied the equalizer when his classy cross from the left with the outside of his foot found Raheem Sterling’s leap inside the penalty area.
The England striker’s header beat Gianluigi Donnarumma but not the crossbar, bouncing kindly for Bernardo Silva in front of goal, who suffered the same fate as his half-volley rebounded off the same inch of the woodwork.
There was a sense that PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino would need to make changes or risk the regret of acting after one of the attacks on his defense found its mark.
Sterling rolled a shot wide at the start of the second half and Donnarumma needed a second attempt at gathering a cross as the momentum continued to be with Pep Guardiola’s players, who looked more like the home side.
Not for the first time, Mahrez slipped Kevin de Bruyne in on the penalty area on the right, racing beyond Nuno Mendes with a diagonal run before Donnarumma stopped his low angled shot with an outstretched foot in another heroic intervention by the new signing.
Neymar raced onto a short Messi pass beyond the halfway line on the right, rampaging into the penalty area without convincingly appearing to have full control of the ball. Fleet-footed Walker was able to catch up and distract him, sending his shot into the side netting.
Messi had produced a surprisingly quiet performance until then by his standards, although Pochettino will undoubtedly have thought twice about any inclinations to save his star signing for another game after the controversy switching him out caused on his previous appearance.
“They were great opponents,” Messi acknowledged. “It was very important for us to win the match after our [1-1 opening Champions League] draw against Brugge. I’m very happy to have scored.”
Jack Grealish, the most expensive Premier League signing of the summer, had a muted impact, and Phil Foden, making only his second appearance of the season, replaced him midway through the second period.
The first player from Luxembourg ever to in the Champions League did it with a last-minute wondergoal as Sheriff Tiraspol produced a huge upset to beat Real Madrid, whose starting stars included Eden Hazard and Karim Benezema.
On a night of firsts, the Moldovan champions secured one of the greatest surprises in the history of the competition by beating the 13-time champions at a stunned Bernabeu, where the least experienced side to take part this season beat the most historically successful team in European football in dramatic fashion.
Uzbek winger Jasurbek Yakhshiboev headed the opener after 25 minutes, although most onlookers would still have tipped heavyweights Madrid to earn a point or three after narrowly winning at reigning Italian champions Inter Milan in their Group D opener.
Madrid rained in 31 attempts on goal to their visitors’ four in an increasingly desperate attempt to restore parity, finally drawing level when usually-reliable hitman Karim Benzema converted a 65th-minute penalty.
What a strike to win it for Sheriff against Real Madrid!
Not to be denied, Sheriff secured the points at the death when Sebastien Thill, a Luxembourg international who scored the only goal for his nation in a memorable Euro 2016 qualifier against North Macedonia, half-volleyed an unstoppable long-range effort beyond former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, sealing a shock win in the 90th minute.
Thill is on loan to Sheriff from a Luxembourg club that plays at a stadium with a capacity of well under 5,000 – a capacity that is around a 16th of Madrid’s vast home stadium.
“We’re so happy today,” said thrilled Thill, who played seven times for former Russian Premier League side Tambov in 2020.
“We played a really good game. The side were so brave with how we played and luckily enough I was able to score a bit of a stunner.”
The Liga leaders started with an illustrious lineup including Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s Player of the Season before he joined Madrid in a deal that could be worth around $203 million.
Boss Carlo Ancelotti was also able to introduce the likes of Germany international Toni Kroos, $70 million striker Luka Jovic and former Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric as his side toiled for answers.
“More than worried, we’re annoyed,” said the revered coach after his greatest setback since he rejoined the club from Premier League Everton earlier this year.
“We played with intensity and were looking good. We lost because of small details, even though the side played well.
“We could have been better when it came to the final third but it’s tough to explain.
“We had chances, we were creating out wide and Jovic came on and had a couple of opportunities. I think that, in the end, everything went well for them and badly for us.
“It’s small details that cost us this game. It’s a lesson for us in the future as it’s a defeat we didn’t deserve.”
Ancelotti described the group as “wide open“, with Sheriff now three points clear of Madrid in pole position to qualify in one of the top two places that would ensure a place in the knockout stages.
As you marvel at #Luxembourg international Sebastien Thill’s winner in Madrid, watch his father Serge Thill score the best goal I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. This was the season they changed the laws so you could score straight from the kickoff.https://t.co/3yt2310j7o
Also worth mentioning: Sebastien Thill (Sheriff Tiraspol), Olivier Thill (Vorskla Poltava), and Vincent Thill (now also at Vorskla Poltava) are brothers. All three play for #Luxembourg but are still to be ligned up together. Both their parents played for the national team too.
The club had to play eight qualification games to reach the group stage, serving notice of their threat when they beat competition regulars Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in their decisive qualifying tie.
“We aren’t thinking about the last 16 yet as we still haven’t done anything extraordinary,” claimed manager Yuriy Vernydub. “We’re just going forward step by step.
“We have four very important games to go and, when it comes to the final group stage game, then we’ll talk about the next round.
“I’m happy to play a game like that against Madrid. I’m so full of emotion and thankful to my boys for what they’ve done. They went out there as a side, and we deserved it.”
A “very good” 22-year-old Russian athlete is on the brink of competing for Ukraine, the president of the country’s biathlon federation has reportedly revealed.
Biathlon supremo Volodymyr Brynzak is said to have initially played down talk of Daria Sidorova, a promising athlete from the Tyumen region in Siberia, making a transition to represent Ukraine after she was spotted training alongside the national team.
Sidorova reportedly took part in the recent Ukrainian championships as a representative of the country’s Transcarpathian region, with Brynzak appearing to confirm that arrangements are in place to formalize her switch.
“We are now waiting for a presidential decree on her citizenship,” Brynzak was quoted as saying by Suspilne.
“As soon as there is a decree and she receives a passport, she will enter Kiev State University and, hopefully, will perform at the Universiade in December this year.
“She will gradually adapt to Ukraine and try to get into the team next year to train in the new Olympic cycle.”
Brynzak said he sees promise in the newcomer. “She is a very good and young athlete with potential,” he said. “I think she will help us.”
The outlet suggested that Sidorova will be subject to a two-year ‘quarantine’ for athletes wishing to switch country, and that the period could have been considered to have started from when she last represented Russia, in January 2020 – leaving the starlet with a matter of months before she can potentially turn out for Ukraine under purported International Biathlon Union rules.
Speaking to Suspilne in May, Brynzak said that she had started training in Ukraine on the guidance of her late former coach, Roman Zubrilov.
“He really wanted her to be here, to play,” he explained. “I negotiated with Ukrainian coaches – it was his initiative. After he died, she really wanted to move here and train the way he wanted. It started more than a year ago.
“In order for her to be able to [compete] and get citizenship, she needs to train, play in the Ukrainian championship, get into the team and then, perhaps, [perform] for Ukraine.
“But this requires a long [process] and [we are] still only at the beginning. There is no topic at all to talk about.”
Sidorova is said to have finished in the top 20 of the IBU Junior Cup in the 2019/20 season and failed to qualify for the World Cup in the 2020/21 season, as well as coming fourth in the relay race at the Russian championship in the Tyumen region in March.
Five ex-Russian athletes are reportedly in the current Ukraine team, with another offered the chance in 2020 before joining Romania.
NBA legend LeBron James has revealed that he decided to have a vaccine after being convinced by his own research, although the social justice warrior will not be using his considerable voice to encourage people to take jabs.
Superstar James is frequently outspoken about major issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement which he passionately supports in the US and accusations of police brutality, becoming involved in controversial exchanges following the killing of Ma’Khia Bryant earlier this year.
The LA Lakers talisman is clearly relucant to encourage people to follow his lead on vaccines, though, despite opting for his family to receive the treatment following his personal investigations.
“I don’t talk about other people and what they should do,” the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player claimed, responding at a media day after he was asked whether he should use his ‘stature’ to influence people to take a vaccine.
LeBron said that at first he was skeptical of the vaccine, but did his research, and decided to get vaccinated, and have his family get vaccinated.
“I can speak for myself and I think everybody has their own choice to do what is right for them, for their family.
“I know that I was very skeptical about it all, but after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt that it was best suited for my family and friends. That’s why I decided to do it.
“When I talk about something that’s political or racism or police brutality… [vaccination is] about people’s bodies and wellbeing. I don’t feel like, personally, I should get into what other people should do for their bodies and livelihoods.”
LeBron James on the Lakers roster expected to be deemed fully vaccinated by opening night: “We’re excited we gave ourselves another opportunity to be available for each other”
Vaccination has been a contentious issue in many sports, altough 90% of NBA players have reportedly been vaccinated ahead of the the start of the new season on October 19.
Players and coaches have been released from sports teams as a result of being reluctant to become vaccinated, and high-profile athletes have voiced their reservations about the prospect of jabs being made compulsory in order to compete.
Health chiefs behind vaccination campaigns have found key allies with huge reaches in icons such as Neymar, the Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain striker who is the world’s most expensive footballer.
Neymar said he hoped the “whole world may be vaccinated” when he shared footage of himself being jabbed with his social media following of hundreds of millions of accounts.
James is not likely to be following that path any time soon. “You have to do what’s best for your family,” he said.
“I know what I did for me and my family; I know some of my friends and what they did for their families. As far as speaking for people and their individualities, it’s not my job.”
The two-dose Pfizer jab became the first vaccine to be fully approved by the American Food and Drug Administration last month, and data has now been submitted for its endorsed use in young children.
Speaking at the time, Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock called the move a “milestone” that would make the public “very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product.”
“While millions of people have already safely received Covid-19 vaccines, we recognize that, for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” she added.
“Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the US.”
