Match-winner Bernardo Silva has accused the Football Association of not caring about the wellbeing of players over the scheduling of Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final.
Silva scored the late clincher as a weary-looking City ground out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday to book a second-successive final appearance.
Yet – after the game – manager Pep Guardiola hit out at the decision to make City play less than three days after they were taken to a penalty shootout in their draining Champions League quarter-final loss to Real Madrid.
He contrasted this to the preparation time afforded to Sunday’s semi-finalists Manchester United and Coventry, neither of whom had midweek fixtures, and branded the situation “unacceptable”.
Those sentiments were echoed by Silva, who felt City had been treated unfairly.
The Portuguese said: “We didn’t play on a level field because the FA didn’t give us a chance to recover, which in my opinion is not reasonable at all.
“I’m saying this because we won. If we didn’t win, I wouldn’t say it because I don’t like to find excuses, but I don’t think it’s acceptable we had to play (on Saturday).
“It’s too much. We played 120 minutes less than three days (prior) and we had to play against a team that didn’t travel because they’re from London.
“And they had five days waiting for us and thinking about our game. There’s no excuse for the game to not be Sunday. It’s not acceptable. For all of us as a team, that’s how we feel.
“It looks like they don’t care because we’ve said it many times. It’s not about wanting to be favourites, it’s about health.”
Silva feels there could be greater consideration given to the impact of European competitions on players when domestic fixtures are scheduled.
He said: “I wasn’t fine at all. I’ll be honest, I was feeling my left hamstring and my right calf. This is not fair for Man City, for us.
“I say Man City – maybe other clubs went through it. This is just our personal experience.
“They have to pay more attention to these details. We represent England in these European competitions and it’s important for England, for this country, for other clubs to qualify for the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League. So they need to pay more attention.”
The FA has not commented directly but its position on such matters is that the needs of the clubs, local authorities, police and broadcasters all need to be considered and balanced. It schedules all ties collaboratively.
In this case, the matter is also complicated by Chelsea having a rearranged Premier League game against Arsenal next Tuesday.
Southampton bring back former captain Lallana ahead of Premier League return
Southampton have re-signed their former captain Adam Lallana after the midfielder left Brighton and Hove Albion as a free agent.
Lallana initially joined Southampton at the age of 12 and was with the club for 14 years before he left for Liverpool in a £25million deal in 2014.
During eight years with the Saints' first team, he made 265 appearances and scored 60 goals, helping them win back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League as well as lifting the EFL Trophy at Wembley Stadium in 2010.
He then went on to help Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool win the Premier League, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies before joining Brighton in 2020.
He heads back to St Mary's as Russell Martin's first signing ahead of their return to the Premier League, after Southampton earned promotion by beating Leeds United 1-0 in last month's Championship play-off final.
Speaking to Southampton's website, Lallana said: "I've been no stranger. My son's at the academy, so I'm in and around it quite a bit, but I've not been this close to being home, so it's amazing.
"Although it sounds like a bit of a fairytale, in my head there's still a job to do and I'm really confident I've still got a lot to give to this football club."
Southampton will discover their Premier League fixtures for 2024-25 on Tuesday, when the schedule for the new campaign will be released.
FC Dallas v St. Louis City: Luccin wants Toros to bring passion in his first game in charge
FC Dallas interim head coach Peter Luccin has urged his players to show their passion on the pitch when they welcome St. Louis City to the Toyota Stadium.
Dallas announced they had parted company with Nico Estevez on June 9 after a run of five matches without a win left them second from bottom in the Western Conference.
Peter Luccin was brought in as his interim replacement, with the Frenchman aiming to make a positive mark in his first game in charge.
"I think it's very important to understand that not everything was bad in the past. I think that we build some foundation," Luccin said.
"I can see the passion in their eyes. They see passion in my eyes, too. So, the passion for that game is a key factor, too. This is what I saw. This is what they see from me.
“To be honest, I will say that maybe it's not the best team to start to play against in my first game, but I'm looking forward to playing against St. Louis because I know that is going to be very demanding."
St. Louis City are just four points above Dallas in 11th after their own five-match winless run.
Head coach Bradley Carnell admitted it was not easy to plan for this game due to the unexpectedness a new opposing manager can create.
"It's a new manager with new tactics, so we don't know what to expect, but we've played some really good games against strong opponents and outshot those opponents," said Carnell.
"We have a process, we have a style, but we need to match the intensity they're going to come at us with. They have something to prove, but so do we."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
FC Dallas – Liam Fraser
After an MLS career that spanned three teams over six seasons, Fraser scored his first goal in his 77th regular-season appearance in Dallas' draw with Minnesota on Saturday.
Only one player this season, Portland's Eric Miller (186 games), scored his first career MLS goal after more regular-season games.
St. Louis City – Chris Durkin
St. Louis City won possession in the attacking third five times in their draw with Portland on Saturday, with Durkin responsible for two of those, the joint-most in the team.
St. Louis have now won possession in the attacking third 102 times this season, 11 more than any other MLS team.
MATCH PREDICTION: FC DALLAS WIN
Dallas and St. Louis split the first three meetings, with each team winning once and drawing once. A total of five goals have been scored over the three games with all of them coming in the 80th minute or later.
Dallas have lost only two of their last 19 home matches in all competitions (W8 D9) dating back to the beginning of the Leagues Cup last July. Those two losses came against Canadian sides (Montreal, Vancouver Whitecaps) as the last U.S.-based team to win in Dallas was D.C. United last July.
St. Louis earned a league-high ninth draw of the season in a scoreless match against Portland on Saturday. They have only four defeats all season, with only seven teams losing fewer matches than City since the club joined MLS last season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
FC Dallas – 47.6%
Draw – 26.1%
St. Louis City – 26.3%
Curtin sees opportunity as Messi, Suarez and Gazdag miss Philadelphia-Miami clash
Saturday's MLS clash between the Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami will require both teams to cope without key players, but Jim Curtin is viewing it as an opportunity.
Miami will be without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for the match, with the duo preparing to represent Argentina and Uruguay, respectively, at the Copa America.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, will have to make do without 10-goal leading scorer Daniel Gazdag, who is part of Hungary's squad for Euro 2024.
Asked about the difficulties of coping without Gazdag, Curtin pointed out that Miami will also need to adjust and highlighted 20-year-old midfielder Jack McGlynn as an example of a player who could stand to benefit.
"He's not a 10 but he has the passing range to unlock a defence," Curtin said of McGlynn. "Maybe he does it from a deeper position, but we might need him to be a little more aggressive.
"Unfortunately, he won't be passing the ball to Daniel Gazdag so all these things weigh in, just like Jordi Alba won't be combining with Messi.
"Both teams aren't at full strength, so we have to make the most of what it is. I see this as an opportunity to bring out players' skills, like with Jack."
Miami lead the way in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, 15 clear of the eighth-placed Union having played two additional matches.
Since Messi joined the Herons last year, they have only won three of 14 matches without him, drawing five and losing six.
The Argentine's minutes were managed ahead of him linking up with Argentina, which coach Gerardo Martino says was necessary.
"With the passage of time, one sees the body does not recover in the same way," he told TyC Sports this week.
"He understands it, he sees that there are trips that are high-risk and long. That's why we started to agree on when it is necessary for him to stop."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Jack McGlynn
McGlynn, who is expected to play a major role for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, has two goals and four assists this season.
That first figure is a joint career best, while the latter is a new personal benchmark. The cultured left-footer could be set to play a central role at Subaru Park.
Inter Miami – Sergio Busquets
With Messi and Suarez absent, it could be down to Busquets to lead the way for Miami.
The Barcelona great trails only Riqui Puig (1,330) for successful passes in MLS this year (1,115), and four of his 17 chances created have become assists.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Miami have won two of their last four away games against Philadelphia (one draw, one defeat).
They are one of just three teams (alongside New York City and Orlando City) with multiple road wins over the Union since the start of the 2021 season.
Philadelphia have struggled at home in general lately, going six regular-season matches without a win (two draws, four defeats) at Subaru Park.
Since last September, they have only won two of their 13 league games on home soil (seven draws, four defeats), with only two MLS sides collecting fewer home points than their 13 since that run began.
However, with both teams missing key players, it is difficult to have much confidence in either. A draw could be on the cards, with Miami lacking their usual firepower.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union – 38.4%
Inter Miami – 35.2%
Draw – 26.5%
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