Ed Aarons spoke to the Watford and Ivory Coast defender, Hassane Kamara.
It has certainly been a whirlwind nine months for Kamara, who made his international debut last year after excelling for Nice before moving to Watford at the start of January. Despite a change of manager when Claudio Ranieri was shown the door a few weeks later and replaced by Roy Hodgson, a series of committed performances in 12 Premier League starts so far have already made him a fans’ favourite at Vicarage Road, with Kamara ranked among the league’s best tacklers since his arrival.
“It’s me,” he says. “Every time I do something it’s at 100%. I’ve fought all my life to play football and now I have a chance to play in this league and I want to make the most of it. Since I was young I wanted this challenge – that’s why I play footballI. But it’s my job and I have to stay focused.”
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In the spirit of Klopp/Guardiola’s love-in, Ralph Hasenhüttl has given his backing to Thomas Tuchel, an act of fraternity between two gegenpressing guys. Crisis club Chelsea play Southampton on Saturday with defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid ringing in their ears.
The most important thing is always how you react as a manager and how you are able to lean the focus in the right direction. It is up to you to find the right words and I am sure Thomas does this in a fantastic way, because he has these qualities.
This is the most important thing, because in the end, I don’t think it changes a lot – they (players) go in the morning to the (training sessions), they do their job on the pitch, they want to win games and if it is possible every game. They are part of the Champions League still, they are part of the FA Cup, and in a top position in the Premier League, so I have heard of more difficult situations to be honest, that is the reason why I think it doesn’t affect them massively.
More on Everton Women’s appointment of Brian Sorensen, per PA Media.
A club statement read: “Everton have reached an agreement for Brian Sorensen to become the club’s new Women’s manager ahead of the 2022/23 season, with the Dane signing an initial two-year contract with the Blues.
“Sorensen will take up his position with Everton this summer, from Fortuna Hjorring where, during two stints at the Danish club, he has won two league titles, a domestic cup and established Fortuna as regulars in the knockout stages of the Champions League.”
Sorensen, 41, has also had spells with Danish sides IK Skovbakken and FC Nordsjaelland.
He said: “I’m extremely excited to join Everton. It is one of the historic clubs in women’s football and our backgrounds fit nicely, with common values, work ethic and ambitions. Having studied the squad in depth during this process, I feel there is massive potential, with players capable of making an impact on the biggest stages.”
Reuters have supplied these handy stats via Nielsen’s Gracenote.
- Victory for City would improve their chances of retaining the title to 86% while an away win for Liverpool would give them a 68% chance of reclaiming it.A draw would give City the advantage in the title race (63% chance of winning to Liverpool’s 37%).
- Liverpool have scored more goals (77) than City (70) for the first time since Pep Guardiola’s first campaign in 2016-17.
- It is Liverpool’s second-most potent attack in the club’s history after the 2013/14 squad under Brendan Rodgers (82 goals at this stage of the season) which lost the title to City by two points.
- Liverpool are creating more opportunities and needing fewer shots to score compared to City.
- Liverpool have had 557 attempts on goal this season, the highest since Juergen Klopp took over in 2015 and a near 30% increase from last season.
- Opponents average 12 shots per goal this season when centre back Virgil van Dijk plays for Liverpool, compared to 6.7 shots without him when he was injured last season.
- Liverpool were also conceding around twice as many goals prior to signing Van Dijk
- The index estimates City have a 61% chance of winning the title while Liverpool have a 39% chance.
Welcome to the future/whatever happened to Crawley?
Robert Lewandowski (33) is the top scorer in the Champions League this season and he has already scored more than 30 goals in the Bundesliga; Ciro Immobile (32) is the joint-top scorer in Serie A; Karim Benzema (34) is top of the pile in La Liga; and Wissam Ben Yedder (31) is the top scorer in Ligue 1. How do these veteran forwards continue to thrive in the twilights of their careers?
Big news from the Women’s Super League, where Everton have a new manager.
🤝 | We have reached an agreement for Brian Sorensen to become our new manager ahead of the 2022/23 season, with the Dane signing an initial two-year contract. #EFC 🔵
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) April 8, 2022
Both clubs have been in the news. A transfer for Liverpool and some serious questions to answer for City, though they may say such questions have already been answered.
‘Pep is the best coach in the world’
Jürgen Klopp speaks to his Friday press conference.
I’m expecting a good game. I know very often that doesn’t happen. But it should be an interesting watch, because both teams really go for it.
I cannot decide what people think, but we can just go through the possible results.
If we win we are two points ahead, we lose we’re four points behind. If it’s a draw, one point behind – that is it. Does anyone think that’s done and dusted? A very important game. I like it, if we were fourteen or fifteen points behind it will still be a good game. We’ve qualified for a good game with the season we’ve played so far.
The consistency both teams have shown over the period is crazy. We know it’s tough. What has changed in the four years is everybody else thinks it’s tough.
In sport, I think what helps the most is a strong opponent. In the long term, especially. I think Nadal and Federer enjoyed the rivalry they had. That’s how it is in sport. I wouldn’t say I’m thankful City is that good, but it didn’t harm our development.
Pep is the best coach in the world and we all would agree on that. If anybody doubts him, I have no idea how that could happen.
Perhaps it is the greatest rivalry of all, after all.
Jürgen Klopp’s press conference is imminent, but before that, a short look at the weekend’s games, starting with Newcastle v Wolves, with Eddie Howe’s team having lost their lass three. Everton v Man Utd sees Frank Lampard try and arrest that slide as United look towards their new era under Erik ten Hag. Southampton v Chelsea is a slippery one for Thomas Tuchel after those defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid. Arsenal v Brighton sees Graham Potter’s goal-shy team attempt to compound the Gunners’ Monday night nightmare at Selhurst Park. Then comes Aston Villa v Tottenham, a big game in the race for the top four in Saturday’s evening kick-off.
Sunday sees Leicester v Crystal Palace, a battle between two teams close together in the table who will feel very differently about how the season has gone. Brentford v West Ham could be the latest instalment of the Christian Eriksen fairytale. Norwich v Burnley could see Burnley climb out of the bottom three for the first time since August if Everton have already slipped up. And then to the Etihad and Manchester City v Liverpool it is.
Preamble
It’s all about the big one, the game we have been waiting for all season. But before we go in deep on Burnley v Norwich, there’s the small matter of Manchester City v Liverpool. Some are calling it the greatest rivalry ever in English football. Others look back to Manchester United v Arsenal and Paisley’s Liverpool v Clough’s Forest.
No matter, Sunday’s game is the one we are looking towards, with phoney war press conferences and social media stings along the way, plus team news from the Premier League and other breaking news from the world of football.