2020年10月27日星期二

Spurs' dynamic duo of Son, Kane give Mourinho an old-school style

 BURNLEY, England -- Tottenham Hotspur are a tough team to define under Jose Mourinho -- rampant one game, defensively-naïve the next and there are also more questions than answers right now when it comes to Gareth Bale and Dele Alli.

But there is one certainty with Spurs and that is the unerring ability if Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane to deliver when Mourinho's side needs a goal.

Just as Monday's trip to Burnley appeared to be heading for a dismal 0-0 draw, the Kane-Son double-act struck again to seal a 1-0 victory and extend Tottenham's 100% run away from home this season to five straight wins.

Spurs had scored 16 goals in four road trips prior to the visit to Turf Moor, hitting Manchester United for six and putting five past Southampton during that run, but Son's 76th-minute header was enough to clinch a win that leaves Burnley marooned in the bottom three with just one point from five games.

And once again, the goal came courtesy of a Kane assist, with the England captain heading on Erik Lamela's corner for Son to head home from six yards.

It is the 13th Premier League goal between Kane and Son in six games this season.

"Me and Sonny have had a nice little partnership going recently and hopefully it continues," Kane said after the game. "It was not an amazing assist but it fell well for Sonny and 1-0 away to Burnley is a fantastic result."

It was Kane's eighth assist of the season -- twice as many as his closest rival, Aston Villa's John McGinn -- and was the 29th time that he and Son had combined for a Premier League goal. Only Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba have more in Premier League history, with the former Chelsea pair racking up 36 goal combinations during their time together at Stamford Bridge.

Many of those goals would have come under Mourinho during his first spell in charge at Chelsea, so the Spurs boss will know the value of having two attacking players in his team who seemingly always know where the other will be when the goal is in sight.

Lampard and Drogba helped Mourinho's Chelsea win everything in England. Whether Spurs can be quite as dominant as that Chelsea side remains to be seen, but with Kane and Son in his side, Mourinho knows that they will at least be competitive.

And in a rare display magnanimity, Mourinho credited his predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, with laying the foundations of the Son-Kane partnership.

"It is an understanding that comes from Maurcio's time," Mourinho said. "I don't want all the credit myself, let's share with Mauricio. They play together for a long time, probably a different way because Harry is not always a No. 9 now.

"What pleases me more about them both is that they are two top players but close friends, no jealousy, they both play for the team. Credit to them, two great players, two great boys."

The modern game has moved away from the strike pairings of old, with coaches preferring to operate with a fluid front three rather than two forwards who dominate the attacking third.

But when two strikers click, they can be devastating and impossible to stop. Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton -- nicknamed the SAS -- scored 49 league goals between them when Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title in 1994-95 while Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole scored 53 goals as a partnership to help Manchester United to the Treble in 1998-99.

Kane and Son are good enough to eclipse the tallies of both Sutton and Shearer and Yorke and Cole because they offer completely different qualities.

Son has pace, exceptional movement and nerveless finishing ability, while Kane is strong, powerful in the air and able to score from distance and close range.

Keeping them fit, Kane in particular, is the challenge that Mourinho must overcome, but if either player is struck down by injury, Spurs can at least count on Bale and maybe even Alli to plug the gaps.

Bale has managed just 18 minutes in the Premier League since returning to the club from Real Madrid last month and he spent the entire 90 minutes on the bench at Burnley.

At 31, and with a chequered fitness record, Bale is being carefully managed right now, so he will come to the party at some point and is a proven goal scorer when fit and able to play.

The same applies to Alli, but he was nowhere to be seen at Turf Moor, with the former England player left out of the squad once again by Mourinho, who said at the weekend "it's about him, It's not about me," when asked about Alli's repeated absences this season, adding: "If the player is not motivated, we can't do much."

Alli is too good a player to be cast aside for too long, but right now, he is having to sit on the outside, looking in, as Kane and Son perform like players at their peak.

And while they continue to do so, Spurs will be contenders to finish in the top four at the very least this season.

All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com.

2020年8月12日星期三

Damian Lillard drops 61 to lead Portland past Dallas, keep playoff hopes alive

 Damian Lillard wasn’t going to lose on Tuesday night.

He more than made sure of that.

Lillard put up a career-tying 61 points — marking yet another 50-point game this season — to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks 134-131 at Walt Disney World, keeping their postseason hopes alive in the process.

“It ain’t nothing I want more,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes after the game. “I told you when I first came here, I ain’t come here to waste my time. They gave us a chance to get in like we asked for, and that’s what we’re here to do … our work ain’t done yet, but we’re fighting for it.”


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2020年7月20日星期一

Zero positives out of 346 NBA players tested in Orlando bubble

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association said Monday that coronavirus tests of 346 players at the league's bubble campus in Orlando, Florida, since July 13 have yielded zero positive result, according to iSports basketball API.

When the league announced its initial batch of tests in the bubble on July 13, it said that two of 322 players tested came back positive.

Also Monday, the NBA announced the rosters for all 22 teams participating in the season's resumption at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, part of the Walt Disney World Resort.

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As per iSports data, NBA games are set to resume July 30 after being halted in mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Each of the teams participating in the restart will play three intersquad scrimmages from July 22 to July 28.

All basketball stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com.

Manchester United prepare to announce three signings for the future

Manchester United hope to confirm the additions of three teenagers from abroad.

According to the iSports football API, the Red Devils are hopeful of signing Marc Jurado, Alvaro Fernandez and Isak Hansen-Aaroen.

United have already confirmed the signing of Joe Hugill from Sunderland and Radek Vitek from Sigma Olomouc.

The report claims United are waiting on international clearance for Jurado, Fernandez and Hansen-Aaroen. The latter became Tromso’s youngest-ever player at the age of 15 years and 319 days earlier this month, as per iSports football API.

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A source told: “Hopefully they’ll be sorted soon and we can get them confirmed.”

Although we have yet to see any first-team additions, I find it encouraging that United are signing youngsters from Spain’s two giants (Barcelona & Real Madrid, as well as them being players who were recently offered new deals to stay put. That means they decided to move on and join United.

These are talented boys who are coming to Manchester to further develop their careers. With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the wheel they can see a route into the first-team, and the club is very much built on believing in young players.

You never know which youngster will be next to break into the first team. For instance, we didn’t know much about Brandon Williams before his emergence this season.

All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com.

Southampton finalise 8-figure signing after agreeing £35K-a-week deal

Southampton have agreed the signing of Mohammed Salisu from Real Valladolid after finalising personal terms, Football Insider can reveal.

The Premier League club will pay the £10.9m (€12m) release clause in the Ghanian centre-back’s contract, according to iSports API football data.

A Southampton contract has told Football Insider the club have also agreed a long-term deal with Salisu worth £35,000-a-year.

He is expected to join the club in the coming days although he cannot be formally registered until a work permit is obtained.

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Salisu is a left-footed centre-back who stands at 6ft 3ins and has been a mainstay of the Valladolid team this season.

As per iSports football API, he started 30 of their 38 La Liga matches after graduating from their B team.

French club Rennes had been the main competition for the Ghanaian defender but Salisu made it clear he wants to play in the Premier League with Southampton.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has prioritised strengthening his side’s central defence this summer.

Southampton have carved out some impressive results either side of the lockdown and climbed to 11th in the Premier League table following their 2-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday.

But Hasenhuttl’s side have conceded 59 goals in their 37 league matches, and have moved to rectify that ahead of the official opening of the window next week.

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Man City 'close' to signing Bournemouth's Nathan Ake

Manchester City are close to agreeing a deal for Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Aké.

As per iSports football API, the 25-year-old is expected to becoming Pep Guardiola’s first signing of the summer transfer window, according to The Guardian.

Guardiola is believed to be keen on strengthening his defence after a poor showing this season, and has been linked with a move for Aké repeatedly in the past.

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The report states that City will pay a fee in the region of £35m for the former Chelsea defender.

Bournemouth’s relegation to the Championship was all but sealed following the 2-0 defeat to Southampton on Sunday, and will now find it almost impossible to keep hold of the Dutch international, according to iSports API football data.

Aké arrived at the Vitality Stadium for £20m in 2017 and has made 121 appearances for Eddie Howe’s side.

All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com.

2020年7月19日星期日

Barcelona offer Coutinho in swap deal for Guendouzi

FC Barcelona are offering Philippe Coutinho in a swap deal for Matteo Guendouzi, with both club hierarchies seemingly keen on the idea.

French outlet Foot Mercato claim Barcelona are discussing a swap deal with Arsenal between Philippe Coutinho and Matteo Guendouzi. The two clubs are talking about the deal ‘in a concrete way’, according to the report from iSports football API.

Coutinho is keen on a return to England, whilst Guendouzi is an outcast in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side. A mixture of off-field behavioural problems, the on-field incident with Neal Maupay and his inability to make amends leave him out of the squad completely.

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Edu Gaspar is reportedly a big fan of Coutinho, and Arsenal established contact with his advisers over a move many months ago. Meanwhile, the Barcelona hierarchy are long-term admirers of Guendouzi, so it seems like a decent match.

Guendouzi himself is still unsure of his next step, and he’s prioritising the ‘sporting project’ of any potential new club.

Some Arsenal fans have already shown hesitance to the deal as well. The idea of losing a young talent for a player entering his prime may have short-term benefits, but it could also look like bad business a few years down the line.

According to iSports football API, Coutinho scored nine goals and assisted eight in 34 games this season. That’s certainly a big upgrade on any current Arsenal midfielder’s output. We know he can produce those kinds of numbers in the Premier League too.

For now, it’s just a rumour. Most of the recent reports lean more towards a loan move for Coutinho, if Arsenal even hold an interest at all. But it’s an interesting one to consider.

All football stat collect from isports API, for more details, please visit www.isportsapi.com.

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