Category sport-news

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is glad to have Spain midfielder Rodri back in training but has no idea yet if he will feature at all in this month’s FA Cup final, saying “I’m not a doctor”.

Rodri was expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury, rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September.

The 28-year-old Ballon d’or winner’s absence has been a key factor in a City slump that ended their unprecedented run of four successive English top-flight titles, with Liverpool already crowned champions for the 2024/25 Premier League season.

READ ALSO: Barca Fight Back Against Inter In Sensational Semi-Final Draw

City, however, have recovered to fourth in the table and are on course to qualify for the Champions League with a top-five finish.

Guardiola’s men will also play Crystal Palace in their third straight FA Cup final at Wembley on May 17 after defeating fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest 2-0 in last weekend’s semi-finals.

“We are really pleased that Rodri is back in the training sessions,” Guardiola told reporters on Thursday during a pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s league game at home to Wolves.

“The moment the physio and doctor says ‘Rodri can start to play minutes’, after that he will start to play minutes. But the doctors have to tell me.”

The Spaniard added: “It was a difficult injury, seven to 11 months the doctors.

“He feels really good every day making sessions and sessions but we have to avoid making a step backwards or getting injured again. That’s why you have to be careful.

“The important (thing) is one training session, another one, and every time he feels better and better. And when the doctor says ‘Rodri is stable and he can start to play’, after that he is going to come back.”

Guardiola, pressed on whether Rodri would play any part in the FA Cup final against south London side Palace, insisted: “I am not a doctor.”

Haaland to miss Wolves

He was, however, more explicit about the fitness of Erling Haaland, who is unlikely to feature against Wolves despite a recent return to full training.

The prolific Norwegian striker has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury in City’s FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth in March.

Guardiola, asked if the 24-year-old Haaland could feature against Wolves, answered: “He’s getting better (but) I don’t think so.”

City now face a Wolves side in fine form, with new boss Vitor Pereira overseeing a run of six successive victories that has banished the threat of relegation.

“The quality they have, the shape they play, the courage — it’s no surprise,” said Guardiola of Wolves’ winning streak.

“Wolves have always had, in the last years, really good players and now they’re having an incredible run. It’s another final for us, an important game.”

City are 21 points behind Liverpool in the league and one point clear of Chelsea and Forest, who also have a game in hand, in the race for the top five places.

Following the semi-final win over Forest, it was suggested to Guardiola that a combination of FA Cup glory and Champions League qualification would constitute a “successful” campaign.

But he replied: “No, and I have said that many times.

“This season has not been good. We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool, so come on, this season has not been good.”

After his Los Angeles Lakers were ejected from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first round of the playoffs on Wednesday, NBA superstar LeBron James says he’ll have to decide whether to play for a 23rd season.

When James was questioned about how many more years he would play, he replied, “I don’t know.” The answer to that is “I don’t know.” I sit down with my family, my wife, and my support group to sort of go over it, see what happens, and decide how long I want to play.

James, who turned 40 on December 30, had a new record-setting year with a season that included milestones like the two he won with Miami in 2012 and 2013, the one he won with hometown team Cleveland in 2016 and his 2020 crown with the Lakers. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.

READ ALSO: Barca and Inter face off in the semi-final draw.

James became the first player to accumulate 50 000 career points, making him the league’s all-time top scorer in March.

In a February Lakers victory over Golden State, he joined NBA legend Michael Jordan as the only player to add 40 points at the age of 40.

Luka Doncic, the Slovenian star who helped the Dallas Mavericks to the championship finals last year, gave him and the Lakers renewed energy later that month.

Father-son relationship put first

However, James claimed that being the first father-son duo to compete in an NBA regular season game alongside son Bronny was the most significant accomplishment this season.

When the Lakers selected Bronny James last year, James had long anticipated this and it turned out to be possible.

He described playing with his son as “number one, for sure.” Not even close, they say. This year has been one of the most enriching, fulfilling journeys I’ve ever been on because I can play the game I love and be with my son.

Bronny James said he was “super proud” watching him develop from the Summer League, the pre-season, and G League competition, as well as during his brief stints with the Lakers. He spent the majority of the season in the developmental G League.

James also praised first-year coach JJ Redick’s development, noting that while being a rookie head coach for the Lakers, it was “a hell of a lot harder.”

James responded, “I thought he handled it very well.

When Doncic arrived in February, James claimed that despite having a “generational talent,” he wasn’t sure if there was enough time to mesh.

James said, “Ultimately having a guy like that is very dynamic for any franchise,” but he wasn’t interested in seeing how the Lakers can develop around Doncic and, perhaps, himself.

You can’t tell what the roster will look like next year because it’s a business, he said, and I’m not sure where I stand right now.

In a high-speed Champions League semi-final first leg encounter on Wednesday, Barcelona and Inter Milan came away with a convincing 3-3 draw.

With superb strikes from Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries, the Italian side jumped out to a two-goal lead before the unstoppable Lamine Yamal restored Barca’s lead with a sublime solo effort.

A Yann Sommer own goal put the tie at the halfway point, but Ferran Torres levelled for the five-time champions after Dumfries was denied again.

Raphinha’s fierce drive forced the own goal, noting that “let in that many goals (here), is unacceptable, but we also have to give Inter credit. They did very well,” he said.

The key is to leave with a result that allows for any kind of development.

Inter showed resilience and quality in Catalonia despite losing three domestic games in a row and seeing their triple hopes crumble.

We saw the real Inter tonight, after three straight defeats, and we played with heart, Dumfries said on Amazon Prime Video.

We obviously wanted to win, but I believe it was a good performance and still has a lot to gain.

Thuram’s injury to his thigh set Inter on a verge of recovery, and he did just that with the fastest ever Champions League goal in 30 seconds.

Inigo Martinez slipped just in time as Dutch wideman Dumfries attempted to finish with a pass that was clearly in the backheel and left Thuram.

The anxious Olympic stadium crowd cheered on as Barcelona seized control and moved on.

Yamal was leading the charge in his 100th appearance at Barcelona.

Inter scored their second goal in the middle of the third period. For the 2023 runners-up, Francesco Acerbi nodded on a corner before Dumfries scored with a stunning acrobatic effort.

Barcelona’s teams may have suffered in recent years, but Hansi Flick’s young side haven’t been affected by the string of European failures since they last won the competition in 2015.

The least-talented wizard was Yamal, who put Barcelona back in the game just three minutes later with a fantastic individual goal that made him the youngest semi-final scorer ever.

The Spaniard turned down comparisons to the legendary Barca great Lionel Messi on the eve of the game, but his goal was straight out of the playbook.

Before defenders could stop him, Yamal stroked an inch-perfect shot into off the left post after catching him off the right post and floated inside from the right flank.

Yamal nearly repeated the mistake a minute later. Federico Dimarco lunged past him before he was let off the field this time, but he did so outside.

The youngster fired a shot that Sommer tipped onto the crossbar from a tight angle.

Battle without a breath

After 38 breathless minutes, Barca pulled level when Raphinha headed home from close range after Pedri’s ball was smacked into the area.

Barca’s midfielder Kounde limped off before half-time, which hurts, and Lautaro Martinez also suffered a broken leg.

After a miserable night facing the relentless Yamal, Dimarco hammered over early in the second half before Simone Inzaghi hooked him.

Early in the second half, Inter sucker-punched Barca, scoring from a corner with Dumfries’ header crashing in off of Dani Olmo.

Yamal stepped over a corner on the edge of the box to give Raphinha the lead in less than two minutes to equalize.

The Brazilian’s rasping strike hit the crossbar before coming in off the unfortunate diving Sommer’s head.

Thuram was stopped when Pau Cubarsi’s crucial recovery tackle, which resulted in Mkhitaryan having a goal disallowed for a very tight offside, later saying he would consider it “perhaps for the rest of my life.”

Late in the second strike, Yamal slammed the crossbar, but neither team was able to stop themselves.

After scoring 1-0 in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday, Miguel Arteta pleaded with Arsenal to unleash a “special” comeback against Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal were unable to bring themselves level in a tense match featuring key misses from both teams when Dembele scored in the fourth minute at the Emirates Stadium.

In the final moments, PSG wasted two excellent chances to take control of the game, with Bradley Barcola striking from close range and Goncalo Ramos hitting the bar.

Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard were denied by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made two outstanding saves in the closing moments of the game.

READ MORE: &nbsp, Arsenal Can Win Anywhere, Says Merino Following PSG’s Champions League defeat.

The Gunners will have to do it the hard way this time, as opposed to the previous two rounds, when they established significant first-leg leads in the fight against PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid.

On May 7, they will travel to Paris for the second leg knowing that a spectacular performance is necessary to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.

Arteta, whose team has never won the Champions League, saw enough in the first leg to realize that Arsenal’s victory would not be possible.

He said, “We are at half-time, and my message is exactly the same as it was after we defeated Real Madrid 3-0 in the quarter-final first leg.”

“We must win the game in Paris, and we are more than capable of doing that.”

We will have to do something special in Paris to be in the Champions League final, and that is what you need to do. There are still many chances for us to make the final.

Arsenal was on the verge of becoming the most recent English team to be completely overtaken by PSG in the first half.

However, Arteta made an unspecified tactical move that he claimed helped PSG, who had already defeated Manchester City and Liverpool in the league round, regain control.

The margins are so small, says the author.

There was only one problem. After 15 minutes, we fixed it and restarted the game. We had to get something very specific wrong with our play, he said.

We had two one-on-ones with Donnarumma, and if they go back, it will be different.

He saved the saves, which made the difference in the Champions League, he said. The margins are so small, and things didn’t go our way.

This was a significant step in the direction of PSG’s goal of winning Europe’s elite club competition for the first time.

Although the tie is not yet over, Luis Enrique’s team has the advantage and demonstrated enough leadership to suggest they are capable of extending their lead in Paris.

The stadium had an incredible atmosphere, which was deafening, but we started off strong and the early goal gave us a boost of confidence, according to Luis Enrique.

“The game had a lot of chances,” he said. It had the potential to be better or worse. The opponent could have taken the game away from us after 10 or 15 minutes, but it didn’t happen.

Luis Enrique has no intention of underestimating the north Londoners in the second leg despite having a long history of mentorship with Arteta and a steadfast admirer of his team.

This evening, “mission accomplished.” However, he said, “our goal is to win the second leg at home.”

“With Arsenal, we can’t let our guard down or be complacent because they can score quickly and we are back on our feet.”

They can completely rewrite history with a goal in a second.

Nothing is in the bag,” the statement read. Arsenal now has nothing to lose, so we must win when we are at home.