French national team coach Zinedine Zidane praised the performance of substitute Michael Olise, after he scored two goals in France's crushing 4-1 victory over Belgium, at the Stade de France, in the fourth round of the first level in the European Nations League.
Zidane said in a press conference after the match: “Olesih, what he did is simply exceptional.” The German Bayern Munich player was one of the stars of the French national team after he entered the field from the bench in the 60th minute. He scored two goals and passed a decisive ball, overturning his country's deficit against Belgium with a goal by Dodi Lukebakio (35).
Zidane added, referring to his first international camp as coach of the French national team, which achieved 3 victories in 4 matches: “This is encouraging, and I am very optimistic about the future. I'm happy with the results, we got 10 points, and apart from the wins and points, the biggest satisfaction is the good work I did with the players and the coaching staff. It was very important that we had 15 days of high quality. There are aspects that need improvement, but this will happen gradually. We can do better, and we will do better.”
The 54-year-old former midfield star only regretted “the poor attacking effectiveness in the last 25-30 metres, as was the case in the other three matches.” He added: “We have to press more inside the penalty area, and involve a larger number of players on the field, to be more effective. But when we tied, the game changed completely. “It is a reward for everyone, and concludes the 15 days with a very positive result.”
In turn, Andy Diouf praised his colleague Oliseh, saying: “He is a player capable of changing the course of matches.” The Italian Inter midfielder, who was rehired by coach Zidane in the left-back position, added: “I knew him before, from the French youth teams. He's a high-caliber player, and we saw that throughout training camp. "He is capable of changing the course of matches."
Goalkeeper Guillaume Rest, who played his first international match with the national team against Belgium and won the silver medal in the Paris Olympics alongside Oliset, expressed the same opinion. “He is a very excellent player,” the Toulouse goalkeeper said with admiration. “He made the difference when he came in, and he gave a great performance, and we are happy to have him join us.”
Lenny Euro, who moved from the France U-21 national team to the first team at the beginning of the training camp to replace the injured Ibrahima Konate, was the most praising Oliseh, who scored 4 goals in 4 matches, in addition to two assists. The English Manchester United defender said: “Honestly, what he offers to the team every time is impressive. I hope it continues like this. "Honestly, with everything he brings to the team, we won't complain, I think."
Czech Karolina Muchova qualified for the quarter-finals of the Beijing Tennis Championships, after she narrowly defeated Japanese Naomi Osaka, formerly ranked number one in the world, 7 - 5, 1 - 6, 7 - 6 (9 - 7), taking advantage of the ninth match point after an exciting tiebreaker on Tuesday.
Muchova, ranked seventh in the tournament, overcame 50 direct errors that she committed during the match, which lasted two hours and 52 minutes.
Osaka, currently ranked 17th in the world, wasted a three-game lead in the first set after a series of foul shots in the seventh game.
The 28-year-old Japanese woman lost only one game on her way to winning the second set, and saved eight match points in the third set, but she was unable to save the ball with which Muchova decided the match.
The 30-year-old Czech player told the fans: “I think she played wonderfully and consistently all the time.”
She added: “I was shaking.” I'm glad I hit the last shot... Naomi could have been standing right here. But I'm here now, and I'm really grateful for that.”
In the next round, she will face either her compatriot Nikola Bartonkova or Austrian Senia Kraus.
Russian Mira Andreeva defeated Ukrainian Daria Snegur 6-2, 6-2 and reserved her place in the quarter-finals, where she will face her compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Alexandrova, ranked 28th in the world, achieved a surprise by defeating Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2, ending the latter’s attempt to return to the Beijing final, which she reached last year.
In the men's competition, Novak Djokovic is scheduled to face Australian Alex de Minaur in the final.
Djokovic, 39 years old, enters the final with six titles in Beijing, although the last of them dates back to 2015, with 33 wins in 33 matches.
The Serbian secured his place in the final after a grueling physical confrontation with Russian Daniil Medvedev on Monday ended with the latter being disqualified due to hitting a spectator with a ball.
The tournament organizers informed Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that the fan was “fine” and “was not seriously injured.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that Manchester City should face a multi-year penalty for financial irregularities.
An independent committee had convicted Manchester City of violating the rules of the English Premier League, in a strongly worded report issued last week, a decision against which the club filed an appeal.
The committee concluded that the club inflated its revenues by more than 830 million pounds ($1.1 billion) over 9 seasons, while Carragher believes that if the appeal fails, the penalties should reflect the extent of these violations.
In statements by Carragher, reported by the British news agency (PA Media), the former player (48 years old) said: “If people talk about a penalty of deducting 80 or 100 points, this means relegation for only one season and then coming back again.”
The English player added: “I think some players may leave, but others may say: I can handle this for only one year.”
Carragher explained: “But since these violations continued for a long period, I believe that the punishment should extend for several years, from 3 to 5 years, and then the players will leave the club.”
Manchester City returns to competitions this week by facing Liverpool, which is undoubtedly its most prominent competitor for titles over the past decade and a half, in the English Premier League, next Sunday.
Enzo Maresca's team can expect a hostile atmosphere at Anfield, while former Manchester City defender and coach Stuart Pearce believes that the Italian coach should try to exploit this to his advantage.
Pearce said: “The opponent will be fully prepared and motivated for the confrontation, and the atmosphere on the field will be very tense. “It is amazing that the match against Liverpool is this weekend, the atmosphere will be full of energy and excitement.”
Pearce concluded his speech by saying: “So, this atmosphere will motivate everyone against Manchester City, and it must also motivate Manchester City against everyone.”
