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THE VAN DE VEN TACKLE: THE SURPRISE REASON VAR REFUSED TO SHOW A RED CARD
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak faces six months out with a suspected broken leg following Micky van de Ven’s tackle.
After Liverpool's tight 2-1 win against Tottenham on Saturday, everyone's talking about Micky van de Ven's tackle on Alexander Isak. Isak, who scored the first goal, might have a broken leg because of it.
Right after Isak scored, Van de Ven slid in and caught his leg as he planted it. Isak had to leave the game. Everyone was worried; it looked bad. They called for a stretcher, but he managed to walk off with help from Liverpool's medical staff.
The club doesn't think it's an ACL injury, but what they suspect is still pretty serious. Reports said Sunday it could be a lower leg break. But they don't know how bad it is or how long he'll be out until they get more scans and updates.
Lots of people are wondering why Van de Ven didn't get a penalty because the tackle looked rough. Replays showed he went in hard and didn't really have a chance to get the ball, which led to a bad injury for the £125m player.
The tackle started a big argument. The experts on Sky Sports' Ref Watch didn't agree whether it should have been a red card. Jay Bothroyd, a former pro, said that Van de Ven probably didn't mean to hurt Isak, but the tackle was still reckless and deserved a red card.
Bothroyd said Van de Ven wasn't trying to hurt Isak on purpose. He was just trying to stop a goal.
But even though Isak scored, it should still be a red card. He lunged and went right into him. It checks all the boxes for a red-card challenge. They let it slide because he scored.
He was out of control. He's trying to block, but he's not going to get there. If that happened in the middle of the field, it would be a red card.
Dermot Gallagher, who used to be a referee, disagreed. He thinks it wasn't a red-card tackle and that what happened after shouldn't change how you see the tackle itself.
Gallagher said, I don't see anything he did that a normal soccer player wouldn't do. I'd be shocked if that got a red card anywhere on the field.
Players mess up tackles all the time. He was a bit late, but it's not a red card whether it's in the penalty area, the D, the centre circle, or the other half.
But both experts did agree that the ref was right to send off Xavi Simons for his tackle on Virgil van Dijk earlier in the game. Simons went in dangerously on van Dijk, catching his calf with his studs.
Gallagher said about the Simons thing, I want to be clear that I don't think Simons meant to do it, but he did it. Once you see the replay, you can't ignore it.
In today's game, VAR is always going to call that a red card. He's unlucky, but he's going to get a red. You just can't make tackles like that anymore.
ANTOINE SEMENYO CHRISTMAS EVE UPDATE REVEALS ADVANCED TALKS BETWEEN MAN CITY AND BOURNEMOUTH
Antoine Semenyo chooses Manchester City in a 65 million pound move that could send Savinho to Tottenham this January.
Word is, Antoine Semenyo might go to Man City, and that could shake things up for Tottenham and Aston Villa, maybe helping them get the players they want.
David Ornstein from The Athletic said that Semenyo wants to join Man City this January; he has a £65m release clause.
Fabrizio Romano, who knows a lot about transfers, said Man City is trying to wrap up the deal after speeding things up this week.
Romano tweeted that Man City is getting closer to signing Antoine Semenyo soon. The city pushed hard in the last day or so to get talks moving. Semenyo likes Man City the best, even though Man United tried hard, and Chelsea and Spurs are out of the running.
Romano mentioned later that Man City and Bournemouth would talk this week about Antoine Semenyo. The £65m release clause is good until January 10, but Man City will talk to Bournemouth about other ways to structure the deal and payments. Semenyo would rather play for Man City.
If Semenyo goes to Man City, Tottenham might still try to sign Savinho from City, and Aston Villa really wants Brennan Johnson from Spurs.
Man City thought Savinho was worth £61m this summer, but he might not get much playing time if Semenyo comes. Dean Jones told TEAMtalk that Savinho was interested in going to Spurs this summer.
Jones said that Savinho played for 20 minutes against West Ham, but lately, that's about the best he can hope for in the league.
He added that if City signs Semenyo, he thinks Savinho's spot in the team is questionable.
It'll be a tough call because they just gave him a new contract.
Tottenham was interested in him, and he seemed interested because he would be a really good player for them.
The city also has to decide what to do with Oscar Bobb if it gets offers.
But he does think Spurs are still interested in Savinho if they can't get other players like Semenyo, Maghnes Akliouche, and Yan Diomande.
If Tottenham gets Savinho or another winger, then Aston Villa might be able to get Johnson.
TEAMtalk says Aston Villa wants Johnson to add speed and the ability to play different roles to their attack. Harvey Elliott's loan move from Liverpool didn't go well, so it will stop.
Tottenham is okay with selling Johnson permanently or loaning him out. Sources told TEAMtalk that Spurs want £30m-£40m for him.
THE SECRET TEXT MESSAGE MICKY VAN DE VEN SENT TO INJURED ALEXANDER ISAK
Thomas Frank defends Micky van de Ven as Arne Slot fumes over the challenge that left Isak with a broken leg today.
Tottenham's Micky van de Ven said he apologised to Liverpool's Alexander Isak after accidentally hurting him during their game. Isak is out for a while after getting surgery on his leg, which he broke during Liverpool's 2-1 win at Tottenham.
Isak got hurt at Tottenham.
Isak, who came on for Conor Bradley at halftime, scored for Liverpool about ten minutes later. Later, Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0.
Richarlison scored late for Tottenham, but Liverpool won. Sadly, Isak got seriously hurt while scoring.
When Isak shot, Van de Ven tried to block it. He couldn't stop the shot, and Isak's leg got twisted, forcing him off the field.
Van de Ven said he messaged Isak after the game to say sorry and wish him well.
Van de Ven: I didn’t want to hurt him.
Van de Ven told Sky Sports, “I texted him because I didn’t want to injure him.” I was just trying to block the shot. His foot landed awkwardly. I texted him afterwards and wished him all the best. I hope he's back soon. He replied and appreciated the message.
Liverpool's coach, Arne Slot, wasn't happy with Van de Ven's tackle, calling it 'reckless.' Isak had surgery on his ankle, and Slot is sure he'll be back this season, but he's upset about the situation.
Slot said, It was reckless. The tackle of Xavi Simons was unintentional. But Van de Ven's tackle? There’s a good chance of a player getting hurt. It’s a long injury, which is disappointing for him and us.
Frank defends Van de Ven.
Tottenham's boss, Thomas Frank, disagreed with Slot, saying any defender would try to block a shot like that.
Frank said, I don't agree. Van de Ven was trying to stop the goal. He was sprinting back and slid to block the shot. Isak's foot was planted there, making it look worse. Any defender would do that.
If my defender didn't do that, I wouldn't think they were a real defender. He's fair and competitive. Also, the players sorted it out, which is good.
Frank needs to improve things.
Tottenham's boss, Frank, hopes to win again when they play Crystal Palace this weekend. He might be the next Premier League manager to leave after only winning one of their last eight games.
After losing to Liverpool, they're 14th in the league, nine points above the drop zone. Frank needs to turn things around.
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