Juventus vs Chelsea in group H, UEFA and The Super League
Tuesday’s soccer news starts with matchday 2 in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed earlier today that Christian Pulisic will miss tomorrow’s game at Juventus in group H. Pulisic continues to recover from the injury he picked up during the USMNT’s game at Honduras on September 8.
“You never know with players that are missing,” Tuchel said about making squad adjustments. The guys who come in want to show they are reliable. We play Juventus at Juventus. It’s a no-brainer that demands respect to the quality and tradition of the club. We need to refocus and regroup and face a tough challenge with positive energy and determination to bounce back from our defeat.”
Juventus’s home win over Sampdoria would normally not be cause for optimism, but Weston McKennie’s club is looking for signs of improvement after a slow start to the Serie A season.
“This is a difficult time in terms of mental and physical fatigue, but slowly, slowly we are moving up the rankings,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said following the Sampdoria win. “Today’s victory must make us understand that we must suffer at times, like we did in Spezia, now we need a clean victory, which would further increase our self-esteem.”
Juventus beat Malmo 3-0 away in their group H opener while Chelsea won 1-0 at home over Zenit St Petersburg. Goal difference has Juventus top of the table. With Chelsea and Juventus the clear favorites to advance, their head-to-head games are what should decide the order. Malmo and Zenit are playing to disrupt that.
Staying with Juventus, club president Andrea Agnelli sent a letter to shareholders on Monday that underlined his belief in a Super League concept. Specifically, that it will reset the economics of the game. Referring to the project, Agnelli wrote, “In short, this is a new meritocratic paradigm and a return to the fundamentals of cost control and transparency.”
Juventus, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are the three clubs still pushing the Super League as a concept, with a Spanish court preventing UEFA from imposing penalties. AP’s Rob Harris reports on the court case. CNN’s Matias Graz also works through the situation with the court case and penalties. UEFA released a statement on Tuesday underlining its position.
“UEFA has always acted in good faith throughout the proceedings pending before a Court in Madrid. Accordingly – and notwithstanding that UEFA does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Court in Madrid and firmly believes that it has always acted in full compliance with the pending proceedings – UEFA has today made formal submissions to the Court in Madrid evidencing its ongoing compliance with the orders. In addition, UEFA has filed a motion for the recusal of the judge presiding over the current proceedings as it believes there are significant irregularities in these proceedings. In line with Spanish law – and in the fundamental interests of justice – UEFA fully expects the judge in question to immediately stand aside pending the full and proper consideration of this motion.”
In Monday’s USMNT players in Europe roundup, Gianluca Busio subbed out in the 86th minute of Venezia’s 1-1 home draw with Torino. Falling behind in the 56th minute, a Mattia Aramu penalty in the 78th leveled the score for Venezia. Torino played a man down from the 76th minute. Tanner Tessman was on the bench for Venezia. Reggie Cannon wasn’t in the squad for Boavista’s 1-1 home draw with Estoril Praia in the Primeira Liga. Gustavo Sauer converted a Boavista penalty in the 24th and Estoril Praia equalized in the 71st minute.
MLSsoccer’s Dylan Butler looks into the situation with the LA Galaxy.
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan reports on the coaching change at FC Cincinnati. The Athletic’s Sam Stjeskal runs the numbers on MLS as a selling league during the summer transfer window. Soccer America’s Ian Plenderleith asks about FIFA’s biennial World Cup proposal.
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