Author: Charles

Tariq Lamptey made his full debut for Fiorentina and it lasted only 22 minutes before he hobbled off with a knee injury against Como.

This was his second appearance in Serie A following the late transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, as he had already played for three minutes off the bench during last week’s 3-1 defeat to Napoli.

He was launched into the starting XI of a new 4-4-2 formation this evening against Como at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

However, the match lasted just 22 minutes for the Ghana international, as he landed awkwardly after a jump and hyper-extended his left knee.

A product of the Chelsea youth academy, the right-back moved to Brighton in 2020 and was sold to Fiorentina for €6m on deadline day this month.

It is particularly worrying, as Lamptey had already struggled with a knee injury in May when playing for Brighton.

Chema Andres makes his starting debut for Stuttgart on Friday’s win against St. Pauli. The Real Madrid loanee was one of the best players on the night, which could make it difficult for Atakan Karazor to win back his place right away.

Stuttgart’s captain was a late substitute in their second home win of the season. Following the game, Sebastian Hoeneß and sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth were asked questions about the two players.

“Ata (Karazor) has behaved professionally,” said the coach. “He received the decision very well. His behavior was as you might expect. That was a top reaction.”

Wohlgemuth also stressed Karazor’s stance at the club in an interview with Bild. “Ata has been one of the essential pacemakers in the sporting upward development of the team in the last two years. There is no fundamental doubt about his qualities.

“But he must try to fight his way back into the starting eleven during the training week. This was a decision that came about because of the evaluation of the last matches.”

Stuttgart will kick off their European campaign on Thursday against Celta Vigo, before traveling to Köln for their next Bundesliga fixture.

Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images

Lucas Nygaard moved on loan from Arsenal to Danish third-tier side Brabrand IF over the summer, but he had to wait a little while for his debut. The goalkeeper made his first appearance in the Brabrand squad at the start of this month, but he remained on the bench for the first couple of games.

That changed on Saturday, with Brabrand manager Michele Demontis naming Nygaard in his starting lineup for the first time for a game against Skive IK.

Nygaard played the full 90 minutes of the match and made eight saves, but he ended up on the losing side anyway.

Photo via Brabrand IF on Instagram

Skive’s first goal came after one of those Nygaard saves, with the goalkeeper palming out a shot only for Anders Faester Jensen to turn it in on the rebound.

There was nothing Nygaard could do about the second, with Frederik Sloth getting a free run onto the ball in the centre of the penalty area with no defenders in position to make a block.

The Arsenal goalkeeper will perhaps feel more disappointed about Skive’s third goal, with the low shot from outside the box finding the net despite not quite being in the corner. But with Brabrand conceding so many shots, it was inevitable a few of them would go in.

Even before Nygaard’s debut, Brabrand went into Matchday 8 having conceded more goals than any other team in the league. They probably need more than just a good goalkeeper.

On a more positive note, Nygaard has now made his senior debut in professional football, and there should be more to come over the coming months.

On Monday, France Football will host the 2025 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in Paris, and Barcelona will be present. The Catalans have many numbers up for a variety of awards, although not all of their nominees will make the trip.

Pedri, who has had an outstanding 12 months in terms of performance levels, has agreed with Barcelona not to attend the ceremony, with Sport reporting that he is prioritising proper rest amid a tough schedule for Hansi Flick’s side.

Image via Rafa Babot/Getty Images

Furthermore, Pedri believes that he is not in contention to win the award, which is also the case for Lewandowski – Barcelona’s two main contenders are Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, with both players likely to make up the podium with Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele. For him, this is another reason that he has decided not to attend.

It makes sense for Pedri not to go, given that he is not a realistic candidate to win the Ballon d’Or – and especially since he will likely be a starter – injury depending – when Barcelona face Real Oviedo on Thursday, less than 72 hours after the ceremony in Paris. The same can also be said for Lewandowski, who has had a slow start to the new season after picking up an injury during the summer.

It will be interesting to see how Barcelona’s nominees get on during the Ballon d’Or ceremony. As well as Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Pedri and Lewandowski, they have a number of personnel up for other awards, including Flick with the Coach of the Year.