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Friendly: Man Utd 2-1 Spurs

Manchester United continued their good pre-season form with a 2-1 victory against Spurs in an International Champions Cup match played at the Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China.

Anthony Martial was set up by Andreas Pereira to open the scoring for United in the 20th minute, having already come close when he hit the post as early as the 4th minute. Lucas Moura equalised for Spurs mid-way through the second half with a shot that deflected in off Luke Shaw, but Angel Gomes grabbed the winner with ten minutes remaining.

United began with a strong line-up but replaced all eleven at the interval to give game time to as many players as possible. Unfortunately defender Eric Bailly was forced off only a few minutes after coming on, with an injury to his left knee, meaning that his replacement Axel Tuanzebe was the 23rd United player to get a taste of the action.

That makes it four wins from four on United’s pre-season tour following their 2-0 win against Perth Glory and 4-0 thrashing of Leeds United (also in Perth) and their 1-0 success against Internazionale in Singapore. Next up it’s Kristiansund in Oslo on Tuesday 30th of July.

Vuelta to pass through San Mamés

Stage 13 of the 2019 Vuelta (Tour of Spain) cycle race will pass over the hallowed turf of San Mamés as the stage rolls out from Bilbao. The official start will be on the esplanade outside the stadium and the riders will then enter the stadium itself and ride a lap of the pitch before exiting again during the neutralised period of the race. They then embark upon the remainder of the 167 km towards the stage finish atop the Cantabrian mountain pass of Los Machucos, which is a HC climb.

The stadium was previously acquainted with professional bike racing during the Tour of the Basque Country in 2017 and the old incarnation of San Mamés saw two Vuelta stage finishes in 1960 and 1962, won by Frans De Mulder and José Segú respectively. The 1962 stage was actually the final stage of the race and saw German rider Rudi Altig clinch the overall victory.

Fekir Signs for Real Betis

The long-running transfer saga surrounding the future of Lyon’s star player Nabil Fekir has finally been resolved with the announcement of his transfer to Real Betis of La Liga in Spain. OL will receive an upfront fee of €19.75 million for the attacking midfielder, with the potential for a further €10 million in future add-ons, plus 20% of his next transfer fee.

Also included in the deal is Yassin Fekir, Nabil’s younger brother, who has made one appearance in the Lyon first team. The 22-year-old moves on a free transfer, but Lyon will receive 50% of the fee if the Spanish club ever sell him on.

Having only one year left on his contract, the asking price for the older Fekir was far lower than the €60 million fee that Liverpool were touted to be considering paying for his services last summer, before he reportedly failed a fitness test at Anfield. Despite his injury problems, he managed 29 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon last season but failed to consistently produce his best form. Nevertheless, he still turned in some memorable performances, particularly away at Manchester City in the Champions League.

Fekir’s stock was at an all time high last summer as he followed a spectacular Ligue 1 campaign with some solid performances for the French team that won the World Cup in Russia and he was linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe, but his drop in form and lingering doubts about his fitness appear to have scared off some of his suitors this time around. He was linked with a move to Napoli a few days ago, but Betis stepped in and have potentially got themselves a real bargain. If he can stay injury free and find his top form in Seville then the Spanish club have got themselves a top quality player for a cut-price fee.

The deal takes Lyon’s income from player departures to almost €135 million during this transfer window, following the earlier sales of Tanguy Ndombele to Spurs for €62 million, Ferland Mendy to Real Madrid for €48 million, Jordan Ferri to Montpellier for €2 million, Christopher Martins Pereira to Young Boys for €2 million and Elisha Owusu to La Gantoise for €1 million. Around half of that has already been reinvested in new recruits and the club haven’t ruled out making further signings before the window closes.

OL 3-4 Genoa

Lyon traveled to Gueugnon to face Italian side Genoa in their second pre-season friendly of the summer and it turned out to be an entertaining, goal-filled affair. Sylvinho made the following selection to begin his second match as Lyon manager: Lopes – Tete, Yanga Mbiwa, Denayer (cap.), Rafael – Jean Lucas, Thiago Mendes, Cheikh – Kitala, Gouiri, Terrier, and they opened the scoring in the 11th minute through new signing Thiago Mendes. However, their lead was short lived as Yanga Mbiwa conceded a penalty only four minutes later and Criscito equalised for the Italians from the spot.

It stayed that way until the interval when Sylvinho again opted to rotate his players, commencing the second half with the following line up: Tatarusanu – Dubois, Yanga Mbiwa, Denayer (cap.), Augarreau – Jean Lucas, Thiago Mendes, Cheikh – Traoré, Memphis, Terrier. Mapou Yanga Mbiwa atoned for his earlier error to restore Lyon’s lead in the 51st minute and there was a quadruple substitution on the hour mark when Dramé, Thomas, Ndiaye and Fofana entered the fray. The latter scored immediately to put Lyon in control, but Genoa soon struck back and then equalised again before snatching a late winner. Academy graduate Mathis Louiserre was the final OL player to make an appearance, entering the field for the last ten minutes.

OL 1-2 Servette de Genève

Lyon began their pre-season with a defeat against Swiss outfit Servette de Genève at the Stade Pierre Rajon in Bourgoin-Jallieu.

New manager Sylvinho took the opportunity to experiment as he gets to know his new players and fielded a different XI in each half. He also gave several youngsters the chance to impress.

The initial line-up was Lopes (cap.) – Tete, Marcelo, Denayer, Marçal – Cheikh, Thomas, Y. Fekir – Cherki, Kitala, Pintor. It was an experienced back line on paper, but they began poorly, shipping a goal after only two minutes and going further behind just after the half hour mark. By the time the second goal went in, Kitala had already been replaced by 19-year-old English forward Reo Griffiths.

Lyon fought their way back into the game during the second period, when they fielded the following selection: Racioppi – Augarreau, Dramé, Yanga Mbiwa, Deyonge – Jean Lucas, Thiago Mendes, Ndiaye – Fofana, Gouiri, Terrier (cap.), with Yann Kitala coming back on for Fofana in the 76th minute. Martin Terrier converted a penalty two minutes later to reduce the deficit, but Sylvinho’s men weren’t able to get back on level terms before the final whistle.

Olympique Lyonnais Pre-Season Friendly Program

Lyon will be travelling around France this summer before a trip to Switzerland sandwiched between two visits to England as they prepare for the new season. Their schedule is as follows:

Saturday, July 13, 2019 – 16:30
Servette (Neutral venue: Stade Pierre-Rajon de Bourgoin)

Saturday, July 20, 2019 – 19:00
Genoa (Neutral venue: Stade Jean-Laville, Geugnon)

Sunday, July 28, 2019 – 15:15
Arsenal (Away: Emirates Stadium)

Wednesday, July 31, 2019 – 19:00
Liverpool (Neutral venue: Stade de Genève)

Saturday, August 3, 2019 – 15:30
Bournemouth (Away: Vitality Stadium)

Arenas Getxo 1-6 Athletic Club

Athletic Club overcame a one goal deficit to run out easy winners against Segunda Division B outfit Arenas Getxo in their first outing of the new season on Saturday.

Athletic went behind in the 31st minute to a strike from Matador at the Campo de Fadura, but they were only behind for six minutes until veteran striker Aritz Aduritz leveled the scores in the 37th minute. It stayed that way until the hour mark when the flood gates opened and the gulf in class began to tell with Raul Garcia and Iñaki Williams scoring in quick succession before Ibai Gómez, 21-year-old striker Iñigo Vicente Elorduy, and Williams again, made it 6-1.

The fresh legs may have also been a factor as Athletic coach Gaizka Garitano changed his entire XI at the interval. He began the match with the following selection:

Iago Herrerín – Yeray, Yuri Berchiche, De Marcos – Unai López, San José, Muniain, Larrazabal, Vesga – Córdoba, Aduriz.

Evidently wanting to assess as many of his playing squad as possible after the summer break, Garitano fielded the following XI in the second period:

Ezkieta – Vivian, Balenziaga, Capa, Nolaskoain – Dani García, Raúl García, Sancet – Iñigo Vicente, Ibai, Williams.

Athletic Club Pre-Season Friendly Program 2019

Athletic Club begin their preparations for the new season on Saturday the 20th of July 2019 with a local friendly against Segunda Division B side Arenas in Getxo at the Campo de Fadura.

They then embark on a short tour of Germany, where they will face Paderborn and Borussia Monchengladbach, before returning to Spain for a visit to Numancia followed by a trip to London to face West Ham United. They return to Spain to face Racing Santander before two final friendlies against Roma in Perugia and lastly Mirandés.

The full program is as follows:

Saturday, July 20, 2019 – 12:00
Arenas (Away: Fadura Stadium)

Saturday, July 27, 2019 – 17:00
SC Paderborn 07 (Away: Energieversum Stadion Stadium)

Sunday, July 28, 2019 – 16:00
Borussia Monchengladbach (Away: Christopeit Sport Arena Stadium)

Thursday, August 1, 2019 – 20:00
CD Numancia (Away: Los Pajaritos Stadium)

Saturday, August 3, 2019 – 16:00
West Ham United (Away: London Stadium)

Sunday, August 4, 2019 – 20:00
Racing (Away: El Sardinero Stadium)

Wednesday, August 7, 2019 – 20:00
AS Roma (Away: Renato Curi Stadium)

Thursday, August 8, 2019 – 20:00
Mirandés (Away: Anduva Stadium)

2019-20 La Liga Fixtures

Athletic Club will open their 2019-20 La Liga campaign with a home fixture against defending champions Barcelona at San Mamés on Friday the 16th of August, kicking off at 21:00.

Their first away trip of the new season will be to Getafe the following weekend, where they play on the Saturday evening, again kicking off at 21:00. They follow that with another Friday night fixture on the 30th of August when Real Sociedad are the visitors to San Mamés for the first Basque derby of the season, this time kicking off at 22:00.

The international break then follows before they resume with a trip to RCD Mallorca on Sunday the 15th of September.