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Kylian Mbappe Can Launch Real Madrid Career In First La Liga Clasico

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Kylian Mbappe‘s start at Real Madrid has been satisfactory, his performances neither spectacular nor underwhelming, but Saturday’s La Liga Clasico offers the French superstar a springboard to kick on from. The derby clash against league leaders Barcelona is the kind of fixture where contributing to a victory can bank him both credit and time, as he continues to adapt to life in the Spanish capital following his move in June from Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappe completed a “dream” switch to Madrid from PSG after years of failed attempts by the Spanish champions to lure him to La Liga.

The 25-year-old forward has scored eight times in 13 matches across all competitions but does not seem fully at home in the team, as coach Carlo Ancelotti continues to search for the best way to accommodate him.

Should he score against Barcelona and help Real Madrid match the Catalans’ all-time tally of 43 consecutive La Liga matches without defeat, everything will feel easier for the striker.

“We are satisfied with him, because he’s scored goals,” Ancelotti told reporters Friday.

“I think he is gradually getting closer to his best level, but we are in no hurry, neither the staff nor him.

“Obviously, he will continue to improve, because he has all the qualities to do so.”

Jude Bellingham created the blueprint for Mbappe last season, netting twice on his Clasico debut to snatch Madrid the game, and also scored a last-minute Bernabeu winner in the second league clash against Barcelona.

“(In Mbappe) we have a striker that can score 30, 35, 40 goals,” said Ancelotti, as he took goalscoring responsibilities away from Bellingham, who is playing deeper in midfield this season.

The coach also said this week he would rather Mbappe “scores goals than presses”, again highlighting his hopes that the Frenchman will increase his attacking output.

Mbappe has six goals in La Liga — by contrast Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski leads the scoring charts with 12, with the Catalans holding a three-point lead over Madrid at the top.

Problematic weeks

In midweek Real Madrid came from two goals down to thrash Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the Champions League but Mbappe was not on the scoresheet.

The forward did help create a goal for Antonio Rudiger and looked sharp, but it was his strike partner Vinicius Junior who did the damage with a stunning hat-trick.

Mbappe, who said earlier in the season he would like to score 50 goals for Madrid, could not find the net in the kind of devastating Champions League comeback which made Madrid such an appealing destination.

The past few weeks have been problematic for the forward away from the pitch.

According to reports in Sweden, Mbappe is the subject of a rape investigation following a visit to Stockholm earlier this month, although Swedish authorities have not named him.

Mbappe has dismissed the reports as “fake news” and his lawyer told AFP the player would sue for libel.

He is involved in a wrangle with PSG over 55 million euros ($59.5 million) of back pay which the French club is refusing to pay, while he drew criticism for not appearing in France’s recent Nations League games after recovering from a thigh injury.

The Clasico will not make Mbappe’s problems go away but a dazzling performance would put his name back in the headlines for the right reasons.

Mbappe starts in the middle for Madrid although often drifts to his favoured left side, swapping positions with Vinicius.

“How Mbappe arrives at the Clasico — much ado about nothing,” ran a headline in Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo on Friday.

The forward can shut mouths in Catalonia if he adds to his tally of six goals in four matches against Barcelona, all in the Champions League for PSG.

If in the past the Clasico was watched by more than half a billion viewers, hooked by Madrid great Cristiano Ronaldo‘s battles with Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, perhaps Mbappe and Barca’s teen star Lamine Yamal will come to define the next era of the clash.

For now Mbappe would settle for a good performance and result to paper over the cracks while he continues to settle at Madrid, and Madrid’s team settles around him.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Barcelona Rout Red Star Belgrade In Champions League

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Robert Lewandowski struck twice as in-form Barcelona thrashed Red Star Belgrade 5-2 to stay in the upper echelons of the Champions League group table on Wednesday. The veteran striker climbed to 99 career goals in the competition, while Inigo Martinez, Raphinha and Fermin Lopez also netted as Barcelona won comfortably in Serbia. After thrashing Bayern Munich 4-1 in their prior European outing, Hansi Flick’s side followed that up with a seventh straight victory across all competitions.

In that winning run Barcelona have scored at least three times in each game and were similarly lethal at the Rajko Mitic stadium.

“Obviously we are doing things very well, and many of them are being seen and reflected in our play, but there are certain things that I can tell you, as a defender, we’re suffering in,” said Barcelona centre-back Martinez.

“When the team drops (in focus) that little bit in the end… if we can improve that, I think we can be a great team and now we can enjoy this victory.”

Fit again after injury, Frenkie de Jong started a match for the first time since April for Barcelona but Flick mostly selected his regular first choice side.

The German coach operates with an extremely high defensive line that has frustrated Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in recent weeks and after four minutes Red Star had a goal ruled out for offside.

Timi Elsnik broke in behind the defence and finished but had strayed beyond the last defender.

Barcelona took the lead after 13 minutes with Martinez heading home superbly from Raphinha’s dangerous free-kick.

The Brazilian winger should have scored the second himself but lashed wildly over after a sensational ball from Lamine Yamal sent him racing in on goal, and also hit the post directly from a corner kick.

Red Star surprised La Liga leaders Barca by hitting back in the 27th minute when Silas got the better of the offside trap and clipped a finish past the onrushing Inaki Pena.

Gerard Martin, starting at left-back in place of Alejandro Balde in a rare rotation from the coach, was to blame for playing the Congolese forward onside.

Racking up goals

Barcelona nudged their way in front shortly before the break when Lewandowski reacted quickest to finish the rebound after Raphinha’s low drive hit the post.

The 36-year-old wasted a fine chance to add another when Raphinha teed him up but was able to bundle home his second from point blank range after 53 minutes when Jules Kounde’s cross found him.

It was the Polish striker’s 19th goal of the season in all competitions across 16 matches, and his fifth in four European games.

Only former Barcelona great Lionel Messi and Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more in the competition’s history than Lewandowski, one short of a century.

Raphinha stroked home the fourth with a low effort from the edge of the box after more good work by Kounde.

Barcelona’s 17-year-old centre-back Pau Cubarsi was forced off after sustaining a cut just below his eye from a high boot, on a rare negative note for the Catalans.

“He’s laughing, he’s got stitches, but he’s young,” said Flick after the game, indicating the defender was not seriously hurt.

Kounde completed a hat-trick of assists by cutting the ball back to substitute Fermin Lopez to slot the team’s fifth goal past Marko Ilic.

Milson pulled another goal back for the hosts with a fine curling finish past Inaki Pena to offer slight consolation to the hosts.

Lopez hit the bar late on as Barcelona finished with five goals for the fourth time this season, and have scored a remarkable 55 in 16 matches across all competitions.

“We always can improve but what I have to say is I’m really happy,” Flick told Movistar. “They played good, were good with the ball, and also we pressed them and it’s good to see that.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Hakan Calhanoglu Fires Inter Milan To Champions League Win Over Angered Arsenal

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Hakan Calhanoglu fired Inter Milan to a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Wednesday to continue their unbeaten start in the Champions League and inflict a first defeat on the Gunners in this year’s revamped tournament. Turkey captain Calhanoglu rifled home the winning penalty in first-half stoppage time to put Inter on 10 points at the halfway point of the new single league phase. Unbeaten Inter are one of four teams to sit two points behind leaders Liverpool and look a good bet to finish in the top eight places which offer direct qualification for the last 16 as they are yet to concede a goal.

“The boys were magnificent. We beat a really good team, who have been fighting with Manchester City,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told reporters.

“Tonight was a night to remember because we played in front of a stadium which pushed us on all the way, and we deserved to bask in their applause.”

Arsenal meanwhile continued their shaky run of form and sit 12th on seven points, although Mikel Arteta‘s team deserved more from an engaging encounter at the San Siro.

Arteta was angry at the decision to give Inter’s penalty, for Mikel Merino handling Mehdi Taremi‘s flick, as he believed his defender couldn’t get his arm out of the way.

He also couldn’t believe that his team weren’t given a spot-kick early in the first half when Sommer clattered into Merino — who was substituted at half-time due to the impact — while trying to clear the ball.

“If you are going to give a penalty, the other one has to be because he punches him in the head,” he said to TNT.

“There is no deflection, nothing you can do in the box, so can he get away from it? If he is going to give that the other has to be 100 percent a penalty.”

Calhanoglu’s winner was the first goal Arsenal have conceded in the Champions League this campaign and came on his first start since picking up a thigh injury on international duty last month.

Inter march on

His third goal of the season was followed by a clutch of good chances for the away side who were denied a leveller in the second half by a combination of desperate defending and one spectacular Yann Sommer save from Kai Havertz.

Inter now face Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday with the chance to move top after five of Inzaghi’s first-choice players — including Italy stars Nicolo Barella and Federico Dimarco and France forward Marcus Thuram — started Wednesday’s match on the bench.

Arsenal face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as they try to snap a run of three Premier League matches without a win and get a faltering season back on track.

Arteta will be able to count on his skipper Martin Odegaard after the Norway international made an appearance as a late substitute for Havertz.

Odegaard had missed Arsenal’s 12 previous matches after picking up an ankle injury with his country, and his return is a boost for Arteta who is also sweating on Declan Rice who played no part at the San Siro.

Inter started on the front foot and were unlucky not to be ahead in the first minute when Denzel Dumfries crashed a powerful strike off the crossbar.

But little else happened until just before break when Merino’s contentious handball led to Calhanoglu’s neatly slotted spot-kick.

With that lead and Napoli coming up on Sunday, Inter tried to soak up Arsenal’s pressure, but after Dumfries had to scramble to clear off the line and Sommer somehow tipped away Havertz’s dipping effort, Inzaghi called upon his stars from the bench.

Thuram, Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all came on in the 62nd minute but Arsenal kept pouring forward. 

And Havertz had his head in his hands in disbelief in the 75th minute when he spun and let off a shot which seemed destined for the net until Yann Bisseck flung out a leg to save the day for grateful Inter fans.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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‘They Will Cook Jasprit Bumrah’: Australia’s ‘Smart’ Strategy Against India Revealed

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Former New Zealand cricket team fast bowler Simon Doull believes that Australia have come up with a ‘clever’ plan to counter Jasprit Bumrah during the Border-Gavaskar Test series. In a recent discussion on JioCinema, Doull pointed out that Bumrah will be the ‘biggest threat’ for Australia in the series and he thinks that the hosts are trying to ‘cook’ him with the scheduling. According to the ex-NZ star, Australia will tire out Bumrah with the first Test taking place in the ‘heat’ of Perth followed up by the pink-ball Test in Adelaide – something that may force India to rest him in the middle of the series.

“What Australia have done smartly is scheduling. They know that while batters are going to be key in some shape or form, their biggest threat is Jasprit Bumrah. So they have gone with the three hardest and fastest surfaces, plus the Pink-Ball Test. They are trying to cook Bumrah. They will cook him in the heat of Perth, where he will have to bowl a lot of overs. Then he is going to have to go and bowl a lot of overs in that second pink-ball Test match in Adelaide. And then you’ve got to go to Brisbane where generally, first up, the seamers are quite good as well,” he said.

“So we’re going to cook Bumrah in the first two, three Test matches, make sure he bowls a lot of overs. And then they’re going to have to make a change. They’re going to have to go to someone else. So I think the scheduling from Australia’s point of view has been quite smart because very rarely do they start a series in Perth,” the former New Zealand fast bowler added.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that if India captain Rohit Sharma is not playing in the first Test against Australia in the upcoming marquee series, then Jasprit Bumrah should lead the side for the entire tour Down Under.

He said Rohit, whenever he comes in, should participate in the series only as a player.

The Australia tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22 in Perth, and Rohit is likely to miss the first match as his wife is expecting their second child. He is expected to join the team from the second game of the series.

Rohit is, however, not sure about the schedule yet.

In the absence of Rohit, Bumrah is likely to captain the team in Perth.

“It is important for the captain to play the first Test match. It’s different if he is injured, but if he is not available, then the deputy leader will be under a lot of pressure,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.

“I have been reading that Rohit Sharma might not play the first two Tests of the Australia series. I feel that, in that case the selection committee should appoint Jasprit Bumrah the captain of the side for the entire Australia tour, and tell Rohit Sharma that you will participate as a player in this series. For the first Test match, Rohit Sharma has to be there.”

(With PTI inputs)

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