Stale Solbakken admits it was a “big blow” to lose Erling Haaland for Sunday’s dead-rubber Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland at Hampden – but the Norway manager is confident the Manchester City striker’s injury is not a serious one.
The free-scoring forward withdrew from the squad on Saturday morning after damaging his ankle in the second-half of Thursday’s 2-0 friendly win over Faroe Islands.
“It’s a big blow for any team but we have played without him before, sometimes with success, sometimes without,” said Solbakken, speaking at Hampden on Saturday evening.
“We started the qualification when he was not ready for the first two games, but after that he has played every single game so it was unfortunate for us that he got the small knock on Thursday.
“It’s the movement in his foot that is the problem but it’s not a serious injury. Had it been a final, I don’t know (if he would have been fit to play).
“All parties agree it is probably a little too early (for him to play) but it is not a career-threatening injury.”
When asked why Haaland – a talisman for club and country – was risked in such a low-key match, Solbakken said: “It was his choice. He wanted to play 45 minutes to keep the momentum in a week where we were maybe not training as much. It was his decision.
“There were three players who have played many games and we had conversations with all three of them and Erling’s much preferred choice was to play 45 minutes.”
Many anticipated Sunday’s match being a qualification decider but Scotland’s 2-1 win in Oslo in June, when they scored two goals in the closing minutes to overturn Haaland’s penalty, has proved pivotal.
The Scots are already assured of a place in the finals in Germany and are six points ahead of third-placed Norway, who have only a slim chance of landing a play-off if results elsewhere go their way.
“It was probably the sorest defeat you will ever feel,” said Solbakken, recalling Scotland’s late turnaround in the summer. “I still wake up at night thinking about those last five minutes but that is life.
“If you look back now, those five minutes were very, very damaging. Otherwise the game tomorrow would have been a final. That speaks volumes.
“But we must congratulate Scotland on a great campaign. They have done really, really well, not only in this campaign but also in the years before that.
“They’ve played at a very high level and have also been good at bringing the margins on their side in tight games, which is very important in national football when there are so few games.”
Unless they manage to salvage a Euro 2024 place via a play-off, Norway’s run without major tournament football will extend to 26 years. The Scots ended a 23-year wait when they qualified for the Euros in 2021 and Solbakken feels his nation can draw inspiration from Steve Clarke’s resurgent side.
“Of course we can,” he said. “I think we are quite even. We always play very tight games against each other but they have been better than us with the small margins lately. We need to see if we can find that way too.”
Everton win again as Abdoulaye Doucoure and Lewis Dobbin down toothless Chelsea
Everton’s second win in four days kept Sean Dyche’s side climbing the Premier League table as a toothless Chelsea found Goodison Park to be as difficult a place as Newcastle in a 2-0 defeat.
This may not have had the flourish of Thursday, when the hosts scored three goals in the last 11 minutes, but the manner of victory would have been no less pleasing to the Toffees boss.
Having kept the visitors at bay relatively comfortably, Abdoulaye Doucoure struck early in the second half and substitute Lewis Dobbin drilled home his first Premier League goal in added time as Everton moved four points clear of the bottom three despite their points deduction.
Chelsea had 71 per cent possession but familiar failings up front cost them and Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now won just twice in eight league games.
One downside to the afternoon for the hosts was fifth bookings of the season for defender Jarrad Branthwaite and midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The pair will be suspended for the trip to strugglers Burnley.
The loss of the former – excellent again in his partnership with James Tarkowski – will be a particular blow as Dyche is not blessed with centre-back options. Unused substitute Ben Godfrey’s only Premier League appearance came in the 89th minute in September while Michael Keane was not even in the matchday squad.
But this Everton team thrives on adversity, as they have shown since the 10-point deduction for breaching financial regulations last month.
Since being plunged into the bottom three following the punishment by an independent commission they have taken nine points from a possible 12.
Their extended run is 13 points from six with just one defeat and without the penalty Everton would be above their opponents in 10th.
The first half was significant only for injuries to both teams’ starting right-backs – Reece James and Ashley Young – a Cole Palmer booking for diving and Jordan Pickford saving the only shot on target from Palmer’s 20-yard curler.
Gueye was replaced by the fit-again Amadou Onana at half-time and buoyed by the confidence of Thursday’s win and the fact the visitors had not really hurt them, Everton set about formulating a response.
Winger Dwight McNeil, who has had a growing influence in recent games, had a low shot tipped around the post by Robert Sanchez before threading a pass through to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Although the England international’s attempt was charged down by Sanchez, who clattered into the striker in the process and later departed injured, the loose ball rolled to Doucoure and he drilled home his fifth of the season.
Branthwaite’s foul and booking gave Chelsea a free-kick 20 yards out but Pickford comfortably held Palmer’s low, drilled effort.
Chelsea sent on Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson to boost their attacking options but Pickford continued to be under-employed.
That was in part due to the increasing resilience of the defence in front of him, with bodies being thrown in all directions to keep out the threat.
“You can stick you points deduction up your a***” rang out in the closing stages at Goodison Park, where late substitute Dobbin wrapped up victory in the second minute of stoppage time.
Manchester City survive scare in battling Premier League comeback win at Luton
Manchester City survived a scare as they recovered from going a goal behind at half-time to put down a brave fight by Luton and battle to a 2-1 Premier League victory at Kenilworth Road.
The champions had been without a victory in four games and that run looked like stretching in the most unlikely circumstances when Elijah Adebayo headed in for Rob Edwards’ side on the stroke of the interval.
City were missing the injured Erling Haaland – with in-form winger Jeremy Doku also ruled out – and looked set to remain seven points off the Premier League summit as Luton bravely held their lead beyond the hour mark.
Then, Pep Guardiola’s side burst to life to revive their title defence, with two goals in three minutes from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish turning the game on its head as a famous upset was narrowly bypassed.
City came at Luton from the off. Inside two minutes, Phil Foden broke into the box down the left and stung the palms of Thomas Kaminski, who beat his effort away well. From the rebound, Silva lashed wide with a hurried miscue when greater composure was required.
Rodri was next to test Luton’s goalkeeper, drawing a fine one-handed save after unleashing a fierce drive from 20 yards, before the Belgian made his third and finest save of the opening half-hour, diving low to keep out Foden’s bullet effort with a firm wrist.
City though were getting closer. Julian Alvarez dinked one wide at the near post, getting on the end of Grealish’s intelligent ball into the six-yard box but finding only the side netting.
But the longer Luton held out, the more frustrated City appeared to become.
The final 10 minutes of the first half saw Guardiola’s side reduced to speculative efforts from outside the box, either closed down by the hosts’ tireless defence who never let City rest on the ball, or sailing harmlessly behind Kaminski’s goal.
Then came the moment that stunned the champions. It began in midfield with Ross Barkley, showing sublime strength and skill to hold the ball, spin and release Alfie Doughty racing down the right.
He moved it on to Andros Townsend, who checked from his right foot to his left, lifted his head and – with a raking cross – found Adebayo rising at the far post between Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias to head Luton into the lead from a yard out.
The hosets had come within seconds of beating Liverpool and drawing with Arsenal here this season and looked determined to finally earn a win against one of the league’s top sides and to put pressure on 17th-placed Everton in their bid to escape the relegation zone.
On the hour mark, Dias rattled the crossbar from Nathan Ake’s cut-back in what was the visitors’ first real opening since falling behind.
Within minutes they were level and it was the architect of Luton’s goal Barkley who was at fault, losing the ball in midfield to Rodri who drove at the heart of the defence.
He collided with Tom Lockyer who had come across to challenge and as the ball broke loose, it was pounced upon by Silva, barley glancing up at the goal before thumping it impudently first time inside the far post.
Seconds later it was 2-1 and it was the simplest finish for Grealish. Alvarez’s low cross evaded the desperate lunge of Teden Mengi, arriving at Grealish’s feet six yards out.
With Luton’s defence breached, he had time to take a touch, decide on his spot and stick the ball calmly between Kaminski’s legs to the relief of visiting supporters behind the goal.
Luton’s spirit was unbroken and they sought an instant riposte. Barkley ran round Foden and Mateo Kovacic and sent a fizzing right-footed drive inches past the post.
From that point, City were never comfortable and Luton did not look beaten until the very end, but the champions hung on to end their barren run.
Fulham put in another five-star display to thump West Ham
Fulham hit five goals for the second time in a week as they thrashed West Ham at Craven Cottage to move into the top half of the Premier League.
The floodgates have certainly opened for the Whites in recent weeks, with David Moyes’ men the latest side to be put to the sword as five different scorers struck in a fine 5-0 home win – just four days after Fulham beat Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring to take his personal tally to four in five games having previously not scored a Premier League goal since March 2022, when he was a Wolves player.
Willian and Tosin Adarabioyo goals then had the hosts coasting at the break before a fine effort from substitute Harry Wilson and late effort from Carlos Vinicius added the gloss.
Jimenez’s upturn in form has dovetailed nicely with Fulham’s as a whole – in their previous three outings heading into this London derby they had scored three to beat Wolves, three in a losing effort at Liverpool and five to down Forest in midweek.
A rasping free-kick from James Ward-Prowse had Bernd Leno diving across his goal to make an early save, but that would be as good as it got for West Ham.
It was Fulham who missed the first gilt-edged chance of the afternoon, Jimenez picking out Willian with a perfectly-weighted ball over the top of the West Ham defence only for the forward to shoot tamely at Lukasz Fabianski.
With the hosts enjoying more of the ball, they took the lead as Jimenez’s fine run of form in front of goal continued as he crashed home a header from Joao Palhinha’s cross to the back post.
The lead was doubled just after the half-hour as Willian curled home into the far corner after possession had been recycled following Fabianski’s save from an Alex Iwobi strike.
Bowen passed up a decent opportunity to get West Ham on the board as he shot straight at Leno when picked out in space in front of goal.
The visitors were struggling at both ends as an Iwobi half-volley deflected off Aaron Cresswell to flash wide of the post only for Adarabioyo to rise high and steer the resulting corner past Fabianski to extend Fulham’s advantage.
There could have been another before the interval but Fabianksi’s outstretched leg prevented Iwobi’s cross from reaching its target.
While Willian was forced off injured at half-time, replaced by Wilson, Moyes made two alterations to his West Ham side as he introduced Emerson and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Wilson should have scored 10 minutes after the restart as a slick move ended with the midfielder inside the box but unable to guide his effort beyond Fabianski.
He more than made amends as he hit the fourth goal on the hour, curling a superb 20-yard strike beyond the reach of Fabianski to send Craven Cottage into raptures.
Moyes made further changes, more likely to rest the weary legs of the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Kurt Zouma, and they did dominate possession in the latter part of the game but still managed to ship another late goal.
Harrison Reed, whose own goal settled the corresponding fixture in favour of the visitors last season, picked out Wilson with a raking pass forward and the Wales international showed an unselfish touch to square for Vinicius to complete the rout with a tap-in.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
