Lionel Messi said it was a “shame” he could not play in Inter Miami’s pre-season friendly in Hong Kong on Sunday, with his absence leaving angry fans demanding a refund.
Messi, who has been suffering with a hamstring injury, was left on the bench as his side beat a Hong Kong XI 4-1, much to the anger of local fans who had turned up in numbers in expectation of seeing the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner.
Inter co-owner David Beckham was also greeted with boos at a post-match speech while the Hong Kong government later expressed its “deep disappointment” over Messi not playing and at organisers for “failing to provide a detailed explanation promptly”.
Beckham’s MLS side have since moved on to Japan where they will play Vissel Kobe on Wednesday and Argentina superstar Messi trained on Tuesday.
The World Cup winner said in a press conference shown on Sky Sports: “Unfortunately in football things can happen in any game, that we may have an injury. It happened to me.
“I couldn’t play in the Hong Kong match, and it was a shame because I always wanted to participate, I wanted to be there and even more so when it came to these matches.
“When we travelled so far and people were so excited to see our matches. I hope we can return and we play another game and I can play as I do whenever I can. But the truth is that it is a game that I was not able to participate.”
Vancouver Whitecaps v San Jose Earthquakes: Gauld not expecting easy game against struggling visitors
Ryan Gauld says Vancouver Whitecaps will not treat the visit of San Jose Earthquakes as an "easy game" as they look to get back to winning ways in MLS.
Vancouver have lost just one of their last eight league matches but fired a blank for just the second time at home this season in a 0-0 draw with FC Dallas last time out.
They sit sixth in the Western Conference, but a win, coupled with defeats for Seattle Sounders and Colorado Rapids, could see them move up the table.
Gauld is prepared for a tough fight though, despite how it looks on paper.
"We've got to treat it like any other game," said the captain. "They're at the bottom, but they've still got a lot of good players that can hurt us if we're not at our best.
"If you look at the standings, someone can say that [Saturday] is an easy game. But it's not. We need to play a very good game."
San Jose have won only five games this season, though one of those came in their last road match, beating high-flying Real Salt Lake 2-0.
Interim head coach Ian Russell is hoping they can build on that result as they try to finish the season on a high.
"It's going to be a good road trip for us to play quality opponents," Russell said. "It's a place where we won last year, and we'll look to get a result again.
"We need to start better in Vancouver than we did in our last game [against Minnesota United]. We have to go out on the front foot and try to put them under pressure. We have to get points on the road now, and it's going to be a really good test for us."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vancouver Whitecaps – Mathias Laborda
Vancouver's goalless draw with Dallas on Saturday marked just the second time they failed to score in a home match this regular season (0-0 vs. Austin on May 4).
It was not for lack of trying though, as they had 21 shots (though just four on target). Mathias Laborda had five of those efforts, creating 0.4 expected goals, though only tested the goalkeeper with one of those.
San Jose Earthquakes – Ousseni Bouda
Ousseni Bouda scored the Earthquakes' lone goal in their defeat to Minnesota United on August 31.
Bouda is the seventh different player to score one of San Jose's last seven MLS goals dating back to June 19, as no 'Quakes player has more than one goal in league play in that time.
MATCH PREDICTION: VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN
The Whitecaps ended a five-match winless run against San Jose (D2 L3) with a 2-0 road win on March 9. Vancouver have only recorded consecutive wins over the Earthquakes once in the last nine years, doing so during the 2018 season.
Vancouver have lost only one of their last eight regular season matches (W5 D2) following a scoreless draw with Dallas on Saturday. The Whitecaps have kept consecutive clean sheets in league play for the first time since October 2023.
However, San Jose defeated Real Salt Lake, 2-0, in their last away match on August 24, just the fourth win in the 'Quakes' last 42 away matches in all competitions. San Jose last won consecutive away matches in all competitions in July 2019, with the second of those being a 3-1 win in Vancouver.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Vancouver Whitecaps – 61.8%
Draw – 20.2%
San Jose Earthquakes – 18%
Fonseca: Venezia treated with same importance as Liverpool or Inter
After three games without a win, Paulo Fonseca's main focus is getting a first victory of the season against Venezia, without looking ahead to other big matches.
Fonseca is already under pressure, with Milan having collected only two points from three games, and with their first Champions League match at home to Liverpool on Tuesday followed by a derby clash with Inter next weekend, things could get even worse.
For now, though, the 51-year-old badly needs a win and, with the visit of Venezia to San Siro the priority, Fonseca has prepared his 14th-placed team to take on the promoted side, who have one point and are second-bottom in the standings.
"They [games] are all important, even more so at this time. I am confident, as always. It's important to win on Saturday, then we'll think about Liverpool," Fonseca told a press conference.
"Milan must always win, not just on Saturday. I looked at Venezia. They are a dangerous team on the counter-attack.
"Against Parma [2-1 defeat] we suffered, but against Lazio [2-2 draw] we improved a lot. The problem was defensive organisation. We worked on it. We know Venezia's strong point, and we are prepared."
Milan have conceded six goals in three games, with no other Serie A side allowing more so far this season, and the international break has given Fonseca time to work on their defensive problems.
"We didn't have many players during the break, but we had many defenders. We worked on the behaviour of the defensive line and on individual behaviour," he added.
"We have to improve on the many goals conceded. A team that doesn't want to concede goals must keep the ball more. We are working on it.
"The players understand the importance of keeping the ball and managing the game with the ball."
Fonseca is well aware of the scrutiny he is under after the poor start to the season, but the real pressure comes from the fans, who will again be there supporting Milan on Saturday.
"We coaches always are [under scrutiny], we depend on the results. But I'm just focused on my work," Fonseca said.
"After these first three games, having 70,000 supporters is a great declaration of love.
"It's also a big responsibility for us, to keep evolving and make the fans proud of us. That's what we want to do tomorrow, repay the support of our fans."
Arteta believes Sterling has point to prove as debut awaits
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes Raheem Sterling has a point to prove following his deadline-day move from Chelsea.
Sterling made the journey across London late in the transfer window after being deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
The 29-year-old, who is with the Gunners on a season-long loan, could make his debut in the North London derby against Tottenham on Sunday and Arteta, who worked with him during his time as an assistant coach at Manchester City, has enjoyed linking up with the Englishman again so far.
Arteta said of Sterling: "He looks great. First of all, because he has a big smile on his face, a lot of energy. He's at it and wants to prove a point."
The Spaniard has already seen a desire from Sterling to return to his past form, which saw him win four Premier League titles with City, and score 123 Premier League goals.
"When someone has got that in his belly you sense it straight away," said Arteta.
"Obviously, I don't need to discover anything about his quality and what he can bring to the team.
"What I see is hunger. He is a player who wants to play every minute of every game. When that is not the case, he's not happy."
Arteta refused to rule out the possibility of Martin Odegaard being involved on Sunday, despite the midfielder sustaining an ankle injury during the international break.
Norway's national team doctor said Odegaard would be out for the next three weeks, but the Arsenal boss was bullish about his chances of possibly being involved.
He said: "We need some more tests so let's see what happens in the next day or so, this afternoon probably, and see what happens with the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back.
“"48 hours until the game, players could always become available, but let's see what happens."
Arteta signed a new three-year contract during the week, having been appointed in December 2019, and said his strong feelings towards the club made the decision to extend a no-brainer.
"The emotional attachment that I have, that my family has, and my kids have [to Arsenal], as well as the experience that I have and the moment [I am sharing] with the people - it is too strong," said the 42-year-old.
"We are going in the right direction, we have made some huge steps, and we have a lot still to make."
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