Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri believes David Luiz was a “confused” player when the Italian took over in the summer, but is enjoying the direct manner in which the defender will challenge his decisions.

Brazilian Luiz’s Stamford Bridge career appeared over under former manager Antonio Conte, yet since Sarri arrived he has been a regular starter in central defence.

Against Liverpool on Saturday Luiz, 31, showed a different side to his game than the often erratic performances we have become used to, unafraid to boot the ball clear but combining that no-nonsense play with some impressive attacking passing.

‘Very technical’

“He was a little confused as two seasons ago he was a protagonist but then came six months without playing,” Sarri said after the draw. “So he was a little confused. I think he is very able to play my way with his characteristics. He is very technical and understands the action of the defensive line very much.”

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Sarri revealed that, unlike Conte, he prefers players who are direct and confrontational and has been enjoying that side of Luiz. “He is much better than I thought before,” Sarri said. “Much better, as a player and a man. I don’t know what happened before but when I arrived immediately I had a feeling he is a very good player for my way of football as he is a very technical centre back. I appreciate very much the man as he is direct. If he has to say something to me, he does that. I like direct people.”

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has challenged Daniel Sturridge to start producing his highest level for 95 minutes of a football match.

The striker came on from the substitute’s bench in the 86th minute against Chelsea and netted the equaliser three minutes later with a wonderful shot swept into the top left corner from 25 yards. It was his third goals in three games, following starts in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, when he was substituted after 72 minutes, and in the EFL Cup defeat to Chelsea, in which he played the entire game.

Klopp laid out his expectation of Sturridge in brutal fashion shortly after taking over at Liverpool in 2015, revealing publicly that he believed the player needed to learn “what is serious pain or what is only pain”. Sturridge, 29, has not reached his full potential over the years due to repeatedly missing spells through injury, but the goal on Saturday was his fourth this season in seven games.

Read more: Seven-and-a-half things to take from Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool

“That must always be the target, to play high intensity over 95 minutes,” Klopp said following the draw at Stamford Bridge. “We have not tried it yet.

“That is the target. He played fantastic against PSG. Against PSG, that role exactly. High intensity. He played for 60 or 70 minutes but certainly a long time. And he could have played longer – but we had Bobby (Firmino to come on).

“Daniel does not want us to change our style for him. He plays exactly how we want him. He makes moves in the right places and judges situations and scores goals.

“Daniel is a tactical, very, very smart player. He did not have to improve a lot. Since we worked together he had spells that when he was fit, they were not long enough. When he was fit, like in the first season and European league games, stuff like that, Dortmund, he was so decisive and important. Villarreal at home and he scored there. When he was fit, he was always an important part of the team and so he is now.”

Positivity

Klopp took exception to being repeatedly asked about Sturridge following a game which ended Liverpool’s 100 per cent start to the Premier League season but was, nonetheless, a vital point away from home against a Chelsea side who look like title challengers. “Are you all a bit crazy that after a 1-1 at Chelsea only [talk] about Daniel Sturridge. What is the problem?” Klopp half-joked.

So it was left to Liverpool team-mate Virgil Van Dijk to discuss Sturridge’s England prospects, with Gareth Southgate set to announce his squad on Thursday for the upcoming Nations League matches against World Cup finalists Croatia and Spain.

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“Of course (he is good enough), come on,” Van Dijk said. “I don’t think there should be any doubt. But it’s all about the manager, he made the choices, but I know what he’s capable of, how good he can be and when he’s at his best, by playing against him and seeing him in training with the hard work that he puts in and the positivity that he brings as well. But it’s the manager’s choice and I hope for the best for him and that’s the only thing I can say about him.”

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Sport, as with many things in life, is about putting on a show, giving the audience what they want – preferably with a little of that razzle dazzle. Like with Peter Reid, who won praise last week for calling a host of Conservative Brexiteers “absolute dopes”.

The former Everton midfielder was cheered in his short, impassioned speech at a rally calling for a people’s vote on the shambolic process that has been the Tories’ modus operandi on leaving Europe. He is to be commended: far too few people in sport are prepared to speak for common people on political or social issues. But there is no mistaking the fact that he was telling his listeners exactly what they wanted to hear.

His preaching to the converted would have been fine, if we had not recalled that back in May he was on television in Qatar, speaking about how wonderful the 2022 World Cup will be. He sat next to Richard Keys and Andy Gray recounting his tour round the stadiums with Hassan al-Thawadi, the (deep breath) Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for Qatar 2022. He said the tour was “very, very impressive” and the “infrastructure will be amazing”.

We will give him the benefit of the doubt on his part in whitewashing the Qatar World Cup. After all, he was merely giving his audience – and more to the point, the Bein Sports paymasters – what they wanted. And maybe he was merely helping out an old Everton team-mate, Gray, while getting some spring sunshine at the same time.

Ethical knots

Still, football is full of these little moral knots. Vincent Kompany was revealed to be planning on giving his testimonial proceeds to a Manchester homeless charity (and we must point out that it was the mayor of the city, rather than the City captain, who was most vocal in publicising this deed). Ahh, aren’t Manchester City caring, the football world cooed – ignoring that it was Kompany whose idea it was, not the club, who are owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi, a nation with a patchy human rights record.

Read more: We need to talk about Richard Keys and Andy Gray going to bat for the Qatari regime

Before Reid went to Qatar – and again, given his People’s Vote rally speech, we must presume he has the masses close to his heart – he should have watched The Workers Cup, the excellent 2017 documentary which was repeated on BT Sport last week.

It gave rather a different angle to the “amazing infrastructure” of Qatar as it followed the fortunes of a football team representing a construction company in the Emirate competing in a tournament with similar business sides.

The team was made up of workers from Kenya, Nepal and Bangladesh, all of whom are working on the 2022 World Cup stadiums and infrastructure. It began as an upbeat tale of workers being given time to indulge in a competitive, hard-fought tournament.

But the motivation for staging the event quickly became clear: to serve as propaganda for the companies when hiring new recruits from Africa and the sub-continent.

After all, pictures of workers enjoying the camaraderie of a football tournament would surely get people on the plane to get involved in the back-breaking, life-threatening building effort for the 2022 World Cup.

Worker’s pain

There were two heartbreaking scenes towards the end of the film.

One was a conversation between two workers, sitting on a bench, looking at a forest of gleaming skyscrapers. “If I go home, I will miss looking at these,” said one. “We don’t have them where I live in Nepal.”

His colleague pointed at one, remarking that he once worked 22 floors up it when it was under construction. He then pointed to another, saying he knew of a friend who had died working on it. The first man said yes, he also knew of someone who had lost their life “on that one over there”.

The camera faded, then we were taken to the final of the Workers Cup. The team we had been following, GCC, had not made it to the final, but were instead watching. One GCC member remarked that the team of rotund, balding men “did not look like workers”. “They are staff,” he said with disgust, meaning office staff.

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The team of rotund “staff” ended up winning. Cue razzmatazz and confetti, as pictures were taken of the team holding the trophy aloft, flanked by various dignitaries.

Most of the crowd lapped it up. A significant few didn’t – although, it must be said, they were not really the target audience. “This is not for the workers,” said David, a Kenyan who was GCC’s top scorer in the tournament, as he looked at the pageant in front of him. He shook his head slowly and repeated: “This is not for the workers.”

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Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed accusations made by a US woman, who alleges she was raped by the footballer in 2009, as “fake news”.

In an Instagram ‘story’, Ronaldo said: “They want to promote [themselves] by [using] my name. It’s normal.”

The allegations were published in the German magazine Der Spiegel, which said that Kathryn Mayorga had claimed Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room in Las Vegas. Ronaldo’s lawyers say they will sue the magazine.

She also claimed that in 2010 she signed an out-of-court settlement of around £275,000 to never go public with the allegations. Her lawyers are now seeking to find the declared non-disclosure agreement void.

Seeking compensation

In a statement, Ronaldo’s lawyer Christian Schertz said “the reporting in Spiegel is blatantly illegal”. Schertz said he would seek compensation from the magazine for “moral damages in an amount corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, which is probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.”

Mayorga’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall said in a statement: “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”

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The magazine’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Alfred Weinzierl, told Reuters the publication has repeatedly sought contact and comment from Ronaldo’s management and lawyers about the allegations before publishing.

Ronaldo transferred from Real Madrid to Juventus this summer for a Serie A record transfer fee near £100 million. He is one of the most famous figures in football and world sport.

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Theresa May has backed moves to bring the Centennial World Cup to the UK and Ireland in 2030.

The Prime Minister signalled she would offer government support if the Football Association decided to move forward with an official bid.

The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic are undertaking a feasibility study and considering putting forward a joint proposal.

Mrs May, speaking on the eve of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, said: “The decision on whether to bid is for the football associations to make.

“But if they decide to go forward, they can count on this government’s full support.”

Opposition

Any England bid would face opposition from the joint campaign of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay which could be buoyed by the fact 2030 marks 100 years since the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930.

Read more: Worrying whiff of disinterest around England so soon after incredible World Cup

Another bid is anticipated from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Morocco lost out to the US for the 2026 tournament.

‘A brilliant time’

The former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand welcomed the Government’s backing, saying:

“It’s a brilliant time to be a fan of the Home Nations teams.

“I made my Premier League debut in 1996, the last time there was a major football tournament on these shores, and the excitement across the country was something else.

“So I really welcome the support the Government is offering.”

London and Glasgow will host 11 games in the Uefa European Championships in 2020 with Wembley hosting the semi-finals and the final.

Taking the lead

Labour also welcomed the announcement, with the shadow Digital, Culture, Media and Sport secretary Tom Watson pointing out it had also backed the plan in July.

The deputy party leader added: “I’m delighted the Prime Minister has followed Labour’s lead and is willing to back a bid.

“This summer’s World Cup and the performance of England inspired the nation.

“In 2030, it’s time for football to come home.”

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The news comes as the Education Secretary Damian Hinds and sports minister Tracey Crouch announce they will lead a new cross-government action plan to improve competitive school sports.

They will convene key organisations in the sports world – including the Premier League, the FA and the Rugby Football Union – to agree a new plan on how to get more children playing competitive sport.

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Dele Alli has been ruled out for around four weeks with an injury set back in a huge blow for Tottenham Hotspur.

The midfielder had only just returned from two weeks out with a hamstring problem picked up on international duty with England but is now looking at another month out.

Read more: Tottenham line-up vs Liverpool – latest Spurs team news after Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli injuries

Alli, 22, will miss Tottenham’s Champions League clash with Barcelona at Wembley next week and is likely to be out when Manchester City visit in the Premier League later next month.

Alli had to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s squad during the international break three weeks ago when he picked up the initial injury in the Nations League match against Spain.

Out for an extended period

He missed England’s friendly against Switzerland and was unavailable for Tottenham’s subsequent two matches, the Premier League match game with Liverpool and Champions League fixture against Inter Milan, which they both narrowly lost.

Alli returned against Brighton and Hove Albion in the league last weekend, making an appearance as a substitute for Lucas Moura for the last 12 minutes to ease him back into action.

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Alli starred on his full return against Watford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. He was made captain for the evening as Spurs played at Stadium:MK, while they complete work on their new stadium, scored a penalty during the match and the winner in the shootout.

But he will now be out for an extended period as he tries to fully solve his injury issues.

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Plans to have around 100,000 football fans converge on Glasgow for two cup semi-finals on the same day have been branded “absolutely nonsensical”.

The Scottish Professional Football League and Police Scotland announced the unprecedented move to cope with a fixture problem but there are fears over fans’ safety.

The Betfred Cup semi-finals – the traditional League Cup – will see both major matches played on Sunday, October 28.

Semi-finals plan branded “absolutely nonsensical”

Aberdeen will play Rangers at noon with Hearts versus Celtic kicking off at 7.45pm.

The plan is the SPFL’s solution to a problem caused by both Glasgow clubs’ involvement in the Europa League on the previous Thursday night.

This effectively ruled out the normal practice of spreading the two games out over a weekend.

But the plan would see more than 100,000 supporters from four clubs with large supports flooding into Glasgow’s south side.

Crowd safety must be paramount

MSP James Kelly described the decision as “ absolutely nonsensical” and said it must be reconsidered.

He added: “The idea that Hampden is equipped to cope with two 50,000-attendance games in the space of hours is bizarre. There are likely to be serious problems with transport as it takes an age to leave Hampden by public transport as it is, never mind with 100,000 people coming and going.

“Crowd safety must be paramount and the SPFL should review this with full input from the police and other bodies.”

SPFL secretary Iain Blair stressed he and colleagues had to find a solution that gave Celtic and Rangers the “necessary two-day gap between competitive matches”.

Blair said: “Because they both have a UEFA Europa League match on Thursday 25 October, we had to find a solution which gave them the necessary two-day gap between competitive matches.”

Both Hearts and Aberdeen condemned the decision.

Aberdeen said they have repeatedly asked for the authorities to stop giving them “completely unacceptable” kick-off times.

Read more about Scottish football

With Celtic faltering, can Hearts go and win the Scottish Premiership?

Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool underworld and why managing Rangers will not faze him

How Scottish Twitter reacted to England’s World Cup exit

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A university student managed to brush shoulders with some of football’s biggest stars on Monday night, when he snuck into a VIP area of the Best Fifa Football Awards 2018 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

20-year-old Niall Moran, who studies  film industries and creative writing at the University of Portsmouth, won an Instagram competition to attend the event.

On arrival, he learned that his entrance would not include access to some of the biggest stars of the game, instead he was on the fifth floor of the event.

“When I got in I was ushered past the gala room into an elevator. I was told there wasn’t a chance I could meet any players, which was so frustrating,” Niall said.

“But after the ceremony finished they were just walking around downstairs, so I tried to delay leaving and waited in the toilet with my cousin Aidan who was there too.

“When we came out, all the security was gone so we walked round to where we knew the lift was and went downstairs. We’d timed it perfectly and somehow came out in the hallway where all the players were leaving. It was like the Lion King – like a stampede.”

The Arsenal fan allegedly jumped to embrace Brazil and Real Madrid star Marcelo, before realising he should keep a low profile. “I bumped into the wall and hit the back of my head. I looked to the right and who was there – the bane of my life, the person who made me cry more than anyone as a kid – Didier Drogba.

“He saw the whole thing go down and thought it was hilarious.”

He took a selfie with the Chelsea forward, before allegedly telling him “I wasn’t supposed to be there”. He asked him “not to let security take me.”

Dorgba apparently agreed to keep quiet, paving the way for a star-studded night. “He’s made up for my childhood now and I told him that,” Niall said.

Selfie collection

The student went onto take selfies with Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Diego Forlan (formerly Manchester United), Marcel Desailly (French World Cup winner), Sol Campbell (formerly Arsenal) and David Seaman (former England and Arsenal goalkeeper) – as well as past and present Arsenal managers Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery.

“They all found it hilarious, they were helping me fulfil my dream. It was one of the best nights of my life,” Niall said. “I wouldn’t say I’m a troublemaker, but an opportunist. I wouldn’t have got the chance to meet these people if I didn’t try to myself.”

Asked whether it would be worth facing repercussions, Niall replied: “It was worth it. I didn’t harm anyone. If you ask any footballer, they enjoyed the company – I was no hassle.”

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Monday’s awards ceremony notably saw Croatia and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric win Fifa’s Best Men’s Player award – ending 10 years of shared victory for Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and now-Juventus frontman Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah won the Fifa Puskas Award for best goal and Brazil forward Marta Vieira da Silva won The Best Fifa Women’s Player.

This article originally appeared on our sister website The News in Porstsmouth.

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