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Chelsea’s win sets them up against Newscastle

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Chelsea’s win sets them up against Newscastle

MAURICIO Pochettino believes Chelsea can win the Carabao Cup after his side beat Blackburn Rovers to set up a home quarter-final against Newcastle.

Goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling were enough to beat the Championship side at Stamford Bridge, as they won for the first time at home since a third-round victory against Brighton in late September.

“We need to think that it is an important competition for us” manager Pochettino said.

“We are not in Europe. That should be an opportunity for us like the Premier League and like in January we will start the FA Cup. Of course, we need to think we that we can win this competition.”

French centre-back Badiashile, making his first start for Chelsea since May, opened the scoring on the half-hour mark after Rovers keeper Leopold Wahlstedt palmed Conor Gallagher’s cross from a short corner straight to him inside the area.

Sterling doubled the lead with nearly an hour gone when he ran on to Cole Palmer’s interception and curled the ball into the far corner.

Blackburn’s best chance came in the final moments, when substitute Arnor Sigurdsson was played through but denied by a fine Robert Sanchez save.

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Chelsea have struggled in the Premier League this season, sitting 11th in the table with just three wins from 10 games, but their Carabao Cup performances have been a positive and moving one step closer to some silverware will be a timely boost for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The sight of Reece James flying down the right as part of Chelsea’s attack is something supporters at Stamford Bridge have missed for most of this season.

The Chelsea captain was making his first start since the opening day of the Premier League season and was constantly threatening against Blackburn, having a good chance to open the scoring saved after an excellent pass by Enzo Fernandez

He was substituted after an hour but the minutes under his belt will give him a good chance of starting away at Tottenham in the Premier League on Monday.

“He’s an important player for us. He’s an amazing player, for me one of the best full-back in the world,” Pochettino said.

“The temptation is ‘Ok, come on go and play 90 minutes’ but we need to be careful. Little by little he is going to get fit and cope with the demand of the games.”

Badiashile, a £35m January signing from Monaco, was in the treatment room before Pochettino arrived at the club and his performance on his return will have been a big positive for the Chelsea manager.

The 22-year-old put in a solid display before being withdrawn along with James, looking assured next to former Monaco team-mate Axel Disasi.

The goal and clean sheet will be a real bonus as he looks to put a long injury absence behind him.

The next challenge on his hands will be getting into the Chelsea side ahead of Levi Colwill who is also a left-sided centre-back.

Chelsea’s win sets them up against Newscastle

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French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris

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Paul Pogba

French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris

Six men linked to Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba go on trial Tuesday, accused of blackmail, attempted extortion of millions of euros and holding the player at gunpoint.

The case at the Paris criminal court has shocked the French football world because the alleged perpetrators include three childhood friends and Pogba’s own brother Mathias.

Tuesday’s trial comes on top of football woes for Pogba, whose career has struggled since France’s 2018 World Cup win when he scored against Croatia in the Moscow final.

He suffered repeated injuries that led to his 2022 departure from Manchester United, returning to Juventus where he remained in and out of treatment.

The Turin club this month cancelled his contract following his suspension until March 2025 for doping.

The six defendants in Paris are accused of attempting to squeeze 13 million euros ($13.5 million) out of Pogba.

His brother, Mathias was the one to go public in the case, publishing a video on social media in August 2022 promising revelations about his younger brother that were “likely to be explosive”.

In a subsequent clip, Mathias accused Paul Pogba of casting an evil spell on his France teammate, Kylian Mbappe.

Paul Pogba’s lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta said in a statement later the videos “came on top of threats and attempts at extortion”.

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He had already filed criminal complaints in Italy and France in July that year.

Pogba told French investigators he had in March 2022 been “tricked by childhood friends” from the gritty Paris suburb where he and Mathias grew up.

He accused them of snatching him before he was held at gunpoint by two hooded men with assault rifles, demanding 13 million euros for “services rendered” and blaming him for not helping them financially.

 

Pogba said at the time that he had paid them only 100,000 euros.

 

The footballer said he had also been pressured at the France national team’s training centre in Clairefontaine, at one of his homes in Manchester, and at Juventus’ training ground.

 

Pogba added that he had also paid a bill of more than 57,000 euros that the same friends had racked up at the Adidas store on Paris’ glitzy Champs-Elysees avenue.

“It’s been really difficult for me off the pitch, what’s happened, it’s been especially hard mentally,” Pogba told broadcaster Al-Jazeera at the end of the last season.

 

“Money changes people, it’s the truth, it can destroy a family, start a war”.

Paul Pogba’s lawyer Pierre-Jean Douvier declined to comment ahead of the case when contacted by AFP.

His friends have all denied the allegations.

They had “a friendly relationship, with chats, joking around, and alongside that, yes, maybe Paul Pogba gave them a helping hand,” said Karim Morand-Lahouazi, a lawyer for one of the accused.

 

French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris

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Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters

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Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters

Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a stellar performance for Al Nassr, scoring twice in their 3-1 victory over Al Gharafa in Qatar.

The win, secured at Al Bayt Stadium on Monday, leaves the Saudi champions needing only three points from their final three group matches to reach the AFC Champions League quarterfinals.

The 39-year-old faced initial frustration after several missed chances in the first half. However, Ronaldo broke the deadlock just 50 seconds into the second half, heading home Sultan Al Ghannam’s pinpoint cross from close range.

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Angelo Gabriel, a summer signing from Chelsea, doubled Al Nassr’s lead in the 58th minute. Moments later, the Brazilian setup Ronaldo for his second goal of the night, bringing his tally to four in this season’s competition. The Portuguese star was substituted in the 74th minute after his decisive contributions.

Al Gharafa pulled one back through Joselu, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate. However, their hopes of a comeback were dashed when Seydou Sano received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 84th minute.

The victory ensures Al Nassr remains unbeaten in five matches in the Western zone of the draw. They now sit second in the 12-team standings, inching closer to a coveted spot in the tournament’s last eight.

Ronaldo’s performance reaffirms his status as a key player, driving Al Nassr’s aspirations in the rebranded AFC Champions League.

 

Ronaldo’s brace propels Al Nassr toward AFC champions league quarters

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Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract

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Mohamed Salah

Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract

Mohamed Salah says he is disappointed by Liverpool’s failure to offer him a new contract and believes he is “more out than in” as he nears the end of his existing deal.

The 32-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season, is out of contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

The Egypt international showed his enduring value on Sunday, scoring twice in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory at Southampton, which took them eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

But his comments after the match suggest Salah, who arrived at Anfield in 2017 and has won the Champions League and Premier League with the club, could leave for free.

“We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club,” he said. “I’m probably more out than in.

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“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands.”

Salah is one of the three key Liverpool players who will soon be heading into the last six months of their deals, with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold also out of contract at the end of the season.

All three will be free to speak to overseas clubs in January if they do not sign an extension before then.

Asked if he was disappointed not to have received an offer from Liverpool, Salah added: “Of course, yeah. I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see.

“I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.”

Mo Salah disappointed as Liverpool fails to offer new contract

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