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Inexperienced but up for the fight

Inexperienced but up for the fight
The Young Lions are technically Singapore's Under-22 development team but, in reality, the Singapore Premier League (SPL) team are even younger this year.As Fandi Ahmad's team take on Balestier Khalsa in their opening SPL fixture today at the Jalan Besar Stadium, they will have an average age of just 20, with many of them rookies in professional football.
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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 01, 2019, with the headline 'Tigers riding high'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-1 to win the title. (Source: AP) Juventus overcame their European blues when they fought back to beat Fiorentina 2-1 at home on Saturday and claim the Serie A title for a remarkable eighth season in a row.
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Pressure is the same: Alisson

Pressure is the same: Alisson

LONDON • Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has conceded five goals in his last three Premier League matches after letting in five in the 12 before that.
A case of nerves creeping in, perhaps?
No way, insists the Brazilian, who is adamant that his side's confidence has not taken a dent despite the Reds being knocked off top spot for the first time in two months.
Frustrating 1-1 draws in their last two league games against Leicester City and West Ham have allowed defending champions Manchester City to leapfrog them after their 2-0 win over Everton on Wednesday, although Pep Guardiola's side have played an extra game.
"We believe we can win the league," Alisson told Sky Sports ahead of today's home game against Bournemouth. "We've shown in the past that we're good enough and we'll continue to show this in the games we've got to come.
"Our pressure is the same. We take things game by game without worrying about what our opponents are doing. Everyone wants to win this league but, at Liverpool, our concern is winning games and not dropping points.
"We don't think about Man City, we think about ourselves. We only think about what we can do and how things are moving forward.
"To get back to the top of the league, we need to win games. That comes from hard work, starting on Saturday."
Part of Jurgen Klopp's hard work is to find a way of harnessing the desperation to end a title drought of nearly three decades positively, rather than letting the nerves of what promises to be a thrilling run-in become a hindrance.
Tension is already apparent in the stands as much as on the pitch, after the unexpected slip-ups of the past week.
"You get that feeling as well from the crowd and it's not really necessary at the moment," said defender Virgil van Dijk. "Obviously everyone wants to win so bad and that's what we want as well but sometimes you need to be very patient."


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  • Liverpool have lost just once to Bournemouth in 14 meetings (10 wins, three draws).


Klopp also admitted after being held at West Ham on Monday that his side need to "enjoy" the ride rather than fearing the consequences of missing out.
"It's not about pressure, it's about enjoying the situation you are in," he said. "We have 62 points, have lost one game in the whole season so far, which is very positive."
Another positive sign is that his injury worries have eased, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson returning to training on Thursday.
Defenders Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez, and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, remain sidelined.


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Meanwhile, Liverpool yesterday announced a world-record profit of £106 million (S$186 million).
In their yearly financial results, they made an annual pre-tax profit of £125 million - up from £40 million - as turnover increased in the 12 months to May 2018 by £90 million to £455 million, also a record.
They were boosted by a run to the Champions League final last season, which earned an estimated £72 million, and were helped by midfielder Philippe Coutinho's £142 million transfer to Barcelona in January 2018.
Leicester City had held the record for net (post-tax) profit of £80 million in 2016-17 (£92 million pre-tax) after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017.
In revenue terms, Liverpool will leapfrog Arsenal into third place in the Premier League, behind Manchester United and City.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LIVERPOOL V BOURNEMOUTH


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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 26, 2019, with the headline 'Teenage Italy midfielder Zaniolo oozes Roman pedigree'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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Football: Pochettino's positivity propels pursuit of progress

Football: Pochettino's positivity propels pursuit of progress

LONDON • In his biography, Brave New World, Mauricio Pochettino explains his belief in a concept called "energia universal" - the idea that people, places and things are charged with a hidden energy, positive or negative.
It is remarkable how quickly the energy, and the conversation, around Tottenham has changed.
Alongside their resurrection in the Champions League, they have won five Premier League games in a row, scored 11 goals in their past two games, and overtaken Manchester City. Only Liverpool, the league leaders, are pervaded by as much positive energy.
Only three months ago, they lost three matches in a row - to Watford, Liverpool and Inter Milan.
Two months ago they lost to City to sit fifth in the league, and their European hopes were in tatters after a home defeat by Barcelona and a draw at PSV Eindhoven.
As the turn of the year approaches, their fortunes could hardly look more different.
Spurs were not expected to be title contenders, especially after a summer with no new signings. But after 41/2 seasons, Pochettino's side have been through the sort of highs and lows that galvanise a squad and build belief.



His core of players has matured, with Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen in their prime at 25 and 26 respectively, and Dele Alli entering his at 22.
The nagging impression persists that there are elements of Tottenham's armoury that have contributed to success: Kane's finishing; the chemistry between Kane, Alli, Eriksen and Son Heung-min; Pochettino's powers of positivity.
Another source of optimism is the fixture calendar: Tottenham have by far the easiest schedule of the three title contenders over the next few weeks.
Five of their next seven league games are at home and they do not face another top-four team until Chelsea on Feb 27. Liverpool and champions City, meanwhile, play each other on Thursday.
If Tottenham are going to win the title, the next couple of months are probably their best chance to reel in Liverpool and consolidate their lead over City.
There is, of course, another factor: Pochettino's future. It has been under scrutiny since Jose Mourinho was fired as Manchester United manager and the Argentinian emerged as United's No. 1 target.
The Times reported last week that Pochettino is interested in being considered for the United job but, if he is wavering, the past few matches can only have muddied his decision further.
It is possible that Tottenham's players are not only playing for the Premier League title but also to persuade their manager that he is capable of achieving everything he wants at Spurs - another underlying source of positive energy.
Tottenham, in second place, are now title contenders, six points behind Liverpool before today's home game against Wolves.
But Pochettino, as positive as he is, insisted that it is still premature to talk about winning the title.
"We are there because we have the belief, because we are working hard and of course we have the quality," he said.
"It is hard to be in the position that we are in. Still we are a question mark. We will see if we are capable to be consistent like we are in the first half. Then we can talk that we can fight for big things.
"The gap is six points. It's still halfway to play. Everything can happen."
THE TIMES, LONDON, REUTERS
TOTTENHAM V WOLVES
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LONDON • In his biography, Brave New World, Mauricio Pochettino explains his belief in a concept called "energia universal" - the idea that people, places and things are charged with a hidden
Football: Pochettino's positivity propels pursuit of progress

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Contract issue may cost Sala's family $1m in compensation

Contract issue may cost Sala's family $1m in compensation
LONDON • The family of Emiliano Sala are in danger of missing out on up to £600,000 (S$1 million) in compensation for his death because Cardiff made an error in registering his contract with the English Premier League.
The league returned the paperwork to the club asking for corrections, and for the Argentinian striker to sign the forms again.
But, before he was able to do so, the 28-year-old died when the light aircraft carrying him from France crashed into the English Channel on Jan 21, three days after he had become their club-record £15 million signing from Nantes.
The error could be significant because players automatically become part of the Professional Footballers' Association's (PFA) pension scheme as soon as they are registered with the league, and that provides a £600,000 death-in-service payment to their families.
But the PFA is expected to press for the pension fund to honour the payment as Sala had signed a contract with Cardiff on Jan 18. Union officials hope that will be enough to secure a payment to his family.
PFA deputy chief executive John Bramhall said: "It will be for the trustees to see whether they are able to make the payment from there. Normally, it would be a simple process, but we will be speaking with them on this. Usually, as soon as a contract is registered with the Premier League, the player is enrolled on the pension scheme."
The PFA had been unaware of any issues over the paperwork, but it is understood that the registration documents were returned to Cardiff by the league asking for corrections to be made.
The league registration is separate to the International Transfer Certificate, which was completed after Sala's move. That was registered with the Football Association of Wales and confirmed him as a Cardiff player, leaving the club liable to pay Nantes the transfer fee.

CONTRACT COMPLICATIONS
Usually, as soon as a contract is registered with the Premier League, the player is enrolled on the pension scheme.
JOHN BRAMHALL, Professional Footballers' Association deputy chief executive, on the contract Emiliano Sala signed with Cardiff.

There is hope that Sala's family will receive the £600,000 as the league's rules state that "immediately on signing this contract, the player shall be enrolled as... a member of the 2011 Section of the Professional Footballers' Pension Scheme and shall remain so during his employment".
This suggests that as Sala had signed his contract with Cardiff, his membership could be said to have started then rather than at the point the contract would have been registered with the league.
Cardiff did not respond when asked to comment, but they have frozen any payments to Nantes on the grounds that they want the outcome of the investigation into the crash to be completed first.
THE TIMES, LONDON



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Football: Liverpool open up six-point lead as Man City lose again at Leicester

Football: Liverpool open up six-point lead as Man City lose again at Leicester

LONDON (AFP) - Liverpool moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League as the leaders eased past Newcastle 4-0 at Anfield and Manchester City were beaten for the second time in five days, 2-1 at Leicester.
Tottenham leapfrog City into second after thrashing Bournemouth 5-0, while Manchester United's perfect start under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued with Paul Pogba scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Huddersfield.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has tried in recent days to stress that it is still far too early for his side to be talking of ending a near three-decade wait to win the title in December.
However, another routine win and a 12th clean sheet in 19 Premier League games will do little to dampen expectations ahead of a huge week for Liverpool with Arsenal visiting Anfield on Saturday before a visit to City on Jan 3.
"We play City soon - if I was them I would think there is only four points because we still have to play them, then we play Arsenal before then as well," said Klopp.
"The only thing that matters to us is the performance and keeping that level of performance. It's good but that's all. Tottenham are flying - they had a difficult summer but they are doing brilliant."
After a slow start Liverpool went in front through an unlikely source when Dejan Lovren volleyed home after 12 minutes.
It was a far more familiar marksman who made the game safe when Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot two minutes into the second half to briefly move into a three-way lead as the league's top scorer with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Harry Kane.
Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho's first Liverpool goal rounded off the scoring.

'FANTASTIC' PEREIRA GOAL


City boss Pep Guardiola made three changes from the side that lost 3-2 to Crystal Palace on Saturday with Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne returning, but even they couldn't prevent a third defeat in four Premier League games.
"We have to accept it, we have to realise that we have to work harder and try to get immediately one good result and get our confidence back," said Guardiola.
Aguero set up Bernardo Silva to give the champions a perfect start, but Marc Albrighton levelled just five minutes later.
City dominated possession throughout, but after Andros Townsend's incredible volley for Palace on Saturday they were hit by another wonder strike when Ricardo Pereira fired home nine minutes from time.
"It was another fantastic goal against us. There are games when your opponents have clear chances and don't score and games when they score goals like this," added Guardiola.
A terrible afternoon for City was compounded late on by a red card for Fabian Delph.

SPURS RUN RIOT AGAIN


As City flounder, Spurs are firing back into the title race as Mauricio Pochettino's men have now scored 11 goals in four days.
"We are in a very good position, but Liverpool and Manchester City are the real contenders," insisted a cautious Pochettino.
"It is one thing to be a point above them, but Manchester City are the reigning champions and Liverpool are doing fantastic. We are between them and there is still a lot of work to do."
Fresh from a 6-2 hammering of Everton, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura put Tottenham 3-0 up before half-time at Wembley.
Kane then got his goal just after the hour mark before Son recorded his second double in as many games.
Pogba was again to the fore as Solskjaer's dream start continued unabated in his first outing in charge at Old Trafford.
Nemanja Matic tapped home from close range to give the hosts a half-time advantage.
Pogba provided three assists on his return to the starting line-up in a 5-1 win at Cardiff at the weekend after being benched towards the end of Jose Mourinho's reign.
And the French World Cup winner showed the goalscoring threat he also poses from midfield by striking twice in 14 minutes as United moved back to within five points of the top four.
"This is Manchester United. When you score a first, you want a second. When you score a second, you want a third," said Solskjaer, who wants United to take advantage of upcoming games with Bournemouth and Newcastle.
"You need momentum. The next two games will be massive for us. Coming into those games with confidence is great."
Everton bounced back from their Tottenham thrashing by inflicting similar punishment on Burnley with a 5-1 victory at Turf Moor.
At the bottom Cardiff moved three points clear of the relegation zone by holding out for a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
But Fulham remain rooted in the bottom three as Wolves struck late to secure a share of the points in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage.



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