LONDON: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has tested positive for Covid-19 in a major outbreak at the Premier League club as Burnley also announced on Thursday that manager Sean Dyche had been sidelined by the virus.
Premier League champions City said 21 players and staff were now isolating for Covid-related reasons as the virus wreaked further havoc on English football.
“Pep Guardiola will miss tomorrow evening’s FA Cup trip to Swindon Town after testing positive for Covid-19,” the club said in a statement.
“The City manager recorded a positive test on Tuesday along with assistant Juanma Lillo. Both are now isolating, along with a number of other positive cases within the City first-team bubble.
“This brings the number of those isolating for Covid-related reasons among the group to 21. Of that number, 14 are backroom staff and seven are first-team players.
Despite the outbreak, the third-round FA Cup tie is still scheduled to go ahead with another of Guardiola’s assistants, Rodolfo Borrell, taking charge of the team.
The omicron variant of coronavirus has resulted in record case numbers across Britain, forcing the postponement of many matches over the past month.
City are one of the few clubs not to have had a match called off yet and they have amassed a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
The first leg of Liverpool’s League Cup semifinal against Arsenal, which had been due to take place on Thursday, was rescheduled after an outbreak forced Liverpool to close their training ground.
Dyche tested positive on Tuesday, the club said in a statement.
The Premier League announced on Monday that 94 positive cases were detected on 14,250 tests carried out on players and staff between December 27 and January 2.
It was the first week-by-week decrease in positive tests since early November, with a record 103 positives recorded the previous week.
None of the 32 FA Cup third-round ties set for this weekend have yet been postponed.
Man City boss Guardiola and Burnley’s Dyche test positive for Covid
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Man City boss Guardiola and Burnley’s Dyche test positive for Covid
- Premier League champions City said 21 players and staff were now isolating for Covid-related reasons
- The City manager recorded a positive test on Tuesday along with assistant Juanma Lillo
Liverpool rocked by Galatasaray defeat in Champions League last 16 first leg
- Slot’s side paid the price for a disjointed display in Istanbul, with Lemina netting in the first half at raucous RAMS Park
- Slot won’t look back fondly on his 100th game in charge of Liverpool
ISTANBUL: Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 first leg on Tuesday as Mario Lemina’s goal left the Reds in danger of a shock exit.
Arne Slot’s side paid the price for a disjointed display in Istanbul, with Lemina netting in the first half at raucous RAMS Park.
The six-time European champions hope to salvage a turbulent campaign by winning the Champions League for the first time since 2019.
But Liverpool, languishing in sixth place in the Premier League less than a year after winning the title, will need a second leg escape act at Anfield on March 18 to avoid arguably the lowest moment in their miserable season.
Slot won’t look back fondly on his 100th game in charge of Liverpool, who defended poorly and lacked cohesion in attack.
Mohamed Salah made his 81st Champions League appearance for Liverpool, surpassing Jamie Carragher for the most games in the competition by a Reds player.
But, not for the first time this season, it was a night to forget for the Egypt forward, who was hauled off in the 60th minute after an anonymous performance.
The Reds were beaten 1-0 by Galatasaray in the group stage in September and once again they wilted in the hostile atmosphere generated by Galatasaray’s frenzied fans.
The Turkish club’s intimidating fans famously greeted Manchester United with a ‘welcome to hell’ banner at the Istanbul airport prior to a 1993 European Cup clash.
They set the tone for another febrile environment by reprising that message on a banner before kick-off.
In their first Champions League last-16 tie since 2014, Galatasaray extended their unbeaten run in home knockout matches in the competition to 11 matches since 1973.
- Vulnerable Liverpool -
Florian Wirtz made his first Liverpool start since February 14 after a back injury.
But Wirtz wasted a chance to mark his return with a goal inside three minutes when he intercepted a wayward pass by Galatasaray keeper Ugurcan Cakir, only to drag his shot narrowly wide from the edge of the area.
Instead, it was Galatasaray who took the lead in the seventh minute as Liverpool’s set-piece woes proved costly once again.
Vulnerable to conceding from corners all season, Liverpool were ruthlessly exposed as Victor Osimhen climbed above Joe Gomez to flick on and former Wolves midfielder Lemina punished sloppy marking from Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez with a diving header from close-range.
Shell-shocked Liverpool were ragged at the back and Osimhen was left unmarked to head wide from 10 yards.
Slot’s men briefly sparked into life when a flowing move featuring deft passes from Ekitike and Alexis Mac Allister carved open the Galatasaray defense, but Wirtz fired straight at Cakir.
Deputised for Alisson Becker, who suffered an injury in training this week, Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had to scramble across to save Noa Lang’s curler.
Mamardashvili made another fine save to repel Davinson Sanchez’s header after the defender towered over Virgil van Dijk.
Desperately lacking rhythm and momentum, Liverpool were lucky not to be breached again when Ibrahima Konate’s sloppy mistake handed Osimhen a chance that the Nigerian blazed over.
Dominik Szoboszlai tried to lift Liverpool out of their lethargy with a blast that tested Cakir from distance immediately after half-time.
Mac Allister was guilty of a poor miss moments later, shooting wide from just inside the area.
Liverpool escaped after more shambolic defending allowed Osimhen to tap in, with Baris Alper Yilmaz ruled offside build-up even though he wasn’t interfering with play.
Ekitike squandered a golden opportunity when Cakir raced off his line to block the striker’s shot.
Even when Liverpool finally got the ball in the Galatasaray net, they were denied as VAR ruled Konate used his arm to guide Szoboszlai’s 70th minute corner past Cakir.
Encapsulating Liverpool’s night to forget, Cody Gakpo fired inches wide in the final moments.
