HAMBURG: Georgia earned their first-ever point at a major tournament in a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic at Euro 2024 on Saturday. It was nearly a win.
Midfielder Saba Lobjanidze fired his shot narrowly over the bar with the last kick of the game as Georgia’s promising three-on-one counterattack came to nothing.
Lobjanidze — who plays for Atlanta United in the US state of Georgia — seemed to be in tears after the final whistle and was comforted by coach Willy Sagnol.
Earlier, video reviews were in the spotlight.
The Czech team dominated the opening stages and celebrated the opening goal in the 23rd minute when Adam Hlozek bundled the ball into the net at the far post off a long throw.
Replays, however, showed Hlozek’s shot had bounced back off goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and in off the Czech forward’s face and arm.
The situation was reversed when Georgia defender Guram Kashia shot straight at the goalkeeper just before halftime. Georgia’s fans rued the missed chance but celebrated when a video review found the ball had come off Czech defender Robin Hranac’s arm a couple of seconds earlier.
Georgia, the only team making their debut at Euro 2024, then took the lead with a Georges Mikautadze penalty given for handball by Czech defender Robin Hranec.
The Czech team got back into the game when a header rebounded off the post and Patrik Schick scored with his chest for his sixth career goal at the European Championships, ranking him joint-sixth on the all-time list.
Schick limped off soon after and applied ice to his calf, potentially a major concern for the Czech Republic given the Bayer Leverkusen striker’s importance to the team and his long record of previous injuries.
VAR didn’t intervene later in the game when the Czech team appealed for players being pushed by Georgian defenders in the penalty area, perhaps because the contact on both occasions was relatively slight.
The draw means that both teams almost certainly require a win in their last group games to qualify for the knockout stages.
Türkiye and Portugal are the other two teams in Group F. They play later Saturday.
Georgia get their 1st point but miss a win in 1-1 draw with Czech Republic at Euro 2024
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Georgia get their 1st point but miss a win in 1-1 draw with Czech Republic at Euro 2024
- Georgia took the lead with a Georges Mikautadze penalty given for handball by Czech defender Robin Hranec
- The Czech team got back into the game when a header rebounded off the post and Patrik Schick scored with his chest
Rooney says Salah ‘destroying his Liverpool legacy’
- The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Liverpool
- He was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute
LONDON: Mohamed Salah is “absolutely destroying his Liverpool legacy” following an extraordinary outburst at manager Arne Slot, according to Wayne Rooney.
The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and that he no longer had a relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute.
After next weekend’s home match against Brighton, Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations and hinted that could be his final appearance in a Liverpool shirt should he be selected.
Former Manchester United and England striker Rooney believes Slot must now demonstrate he is in charge at Anfield by leaving Salah out completely from Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Inter Milan.
“Arne Slot has to show his authority and pull him in and say ‘you are not traveling with the team, what you said is not acceptable’,” said Rooney in his latest BBC podcast.
“Take yourself off to AFCON (the Africa Cup of Nations) and let everything calm down. If I was him there would be no way he would be in the team.”
Rooney added: “He (Salah) is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool. It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He’s gone about it all wrong.”
Salah is Liverpool’s third highest goalscorer of all time with 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club.
However, the 33-year-old has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the club are now ninth in the table — with a mere four goals in 13 Premier League appearances.
After the Leeds game, Salah told reporters: “I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager, and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”
