The first leg quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League were intense and only the strongest teams prevailed in the evening, helping them to keep their hopes up in the second leg.
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini lost on penalties in the 43rd minute just when the Italian side needed proof that they were strong contenders for the Europa League title this season as they finished the first half without scored with Feynoord. Feynoord's Mats Wieferr delivered a tight first leg victory for the Dutch club with a 53rd-minute goal from Idrissi's assist, to make it 1-0 for the Netherlands on the night. Mourinho's Roma will certainly have to make a double effort in the second leg.
Manchester United blamed themselves for scoring two own goals to help them win at home on a night where they were expected so much. Sabitzer opened the scoring early in the game for United in the 12th minute, giving United the lead over Sevilla. United's star of focus scored a second for the hosts in the 21st minute to seal the first half for United convincingly. However, United failed to bury the game by squandering opportunities and then stalking them. Malacia's late own goal initially gave away Sevilla great hopes in the return leg, but Maguire equalized for the visitors, with United's second own goal late 90 minutes to close the game. match the score 2-2. United now have a big mountain to climb in Spain for the quarter-final second leg.
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Liverpool's decision to abandon the pursuit of Jude Bellingham means a change in transfer strategy this summer
Alexis Mac Allister (L) and Moises Caicedo (R) greet fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool
Liverpool's termination of their pursuit of Jude Bellingham this week would represent a change in strategy this summer.
Under Jurgen Klopp and his two sporting directors, Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, the club became known as diligent and meticulous player-swapping operators.
Overall, for many years Liverpool have operated both clinically and productively to ensure their goals are delivered with minimal fuss. From the razor-sharp move for Fabinho in 2018, the unexpected and unexpected deal with Wolves for Diogo Jota in 2020, to the snappy talks with Benfica for Darwin Nunez last June, the assigns The task of bringing good players to Anfield is often on the move. with surgical precision.
The same goes for Liverpool's activation of RB Leipzig's May 2021 release clause by Ibrahima Konate and their final deal for Cody Gakpo at the start of the year. Current sporting director Ward worked overtime during the festive period to ensure PSV agreed a deal for the Netherlands international. Ward debated terms with his Dutch counterpart, Marcel Brands, for three tense days from Christmas Eve to Gifts Day before the initial £37million deal was agreed.
At the end of Bellingham's nearly two-year pursuit, however, plans dictate could change. Rather than focus on an undisputed first-choice transfer target, Liverpool have now opted to spread their transfers across a number of targets rather than spend most of the figure on the Borussia Dortmund star.
The merits of this appeal will be debated for some time, but one thing that is undisputed is the change in approach the ruling now brings. For years, Liverpool's transfer shortlist was exactly that:
short. The upcoming transfer window will be different and it is understood that Klopp has used at least part of his recent international break to sit down and plan for the summer and beyond. Perhaps it was here that the reluctance to agree to leave Bellingham became apparent.
Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Naby Keita, for example, were then considered club essentials. All three are intensely pursued and in Van Dijk's case, Klopp is so convinced he is the right man for them that he has avoided the chance to pursue another target as his fractious relationship with Southampton falls apart. in the summer of 2017. Diogo Jota is part of a three-man squad alongside Ismaila Sarr and Jonathan David in 2020, while Kostas Tsimikas is selected from a four-man squad that includes Sergi Reguillon, Lloyd Kelly and Jamal Lewis. This time, however, Liverpool are entering a market that needs major reinforcements in the middle of the park, which means the list is longer than usual this time of year when it comes to recruitment plans.
While the Reds typically reduce the number of legitimate transfer targets, the need to add some, coupled with uncertainty over their budget, means a host of names are still under consideration.
"You can imagine that we're constantly working on things like this," Klopp said last summer when asked specifically about the midfield signing. "We talked about why sometimes it doesn't happen, sometimes it's too expensive, sometimes it doesn't.
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