NEW YORK: Liverpool continued their winning streak under new manager Andoni Iraola after defeating Wrexham 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium, New York, this morning.

Teenage striker Rio Ngumoha scored the only goal of the match in the 75th minute with a close-range finish that was greeted with cheers from more than 42,000 fans, the majority of whom supported Liverpool, at the famous stadium, which is home to the New York Yankees baseball team and the Major League Soccer (MLS) club, New York City.

The win came after Liverpool beat Sunderland 4-2 in Nashville last Saturday in Iraola’s first game since the former Bournemouth manager replaced the sacked Arne Slot.

However, the victory was marred by an injury to defender Joe Gomez, who was among the players not fielded against Wrexham, in addition to new player Jeremy Jacquet and players who played at the World Cup, namely Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

Before the match, Iraola announced that Gravenberch (Netherlands), Wirtz (Germany) and Isak (Sweden) may return to action in the final match of the United States tour against Leeds at Soldier Field Stadium, Chicago, this Sunday.

Wrexham, who have improved significantly in recent years under the ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, failed to qualify for the Championship play-offs on the final day of last season.

Phil Parkinson’s squad arrived at Yankee Stadium after recording pre-season victories over Manchester United and Leeds.

LONDON: Chelsea are planning a surprise move to sign Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson on a free transfer this summer.

The Blues are looking to add experience to the squad and see the former Liverpool captain as an ideal candidate to strengthen the team.

Henderson, 36, joined Brentford on a two-year contract before last season after spending 18 months with Ajax.

The team managed by Keith Andrews now has the potential to allow the experienced player to leave the club for free to continue his career at the highest level.

Chelsea are not the only club interested as two other Premier League (EPL) clubs are believed to be also chasing the midfielder’s signature.

Henderson was part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad at the World Cup and is considered a key leader in the dressing room.

The situation makes it suitable for Chelsea’s transfer approach this summer which is starting to shift from just hunting for talented young players to an effort to acquire more experienced players.

Earlier this summer, the Blues targeted Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 33, who previously played for Arsenal.

Today, reports emerged that Chelsea want to add Brighton striker Danny Welbeck, 35, to their attack.

SunSport also reported last week that the Blues were considering a move for John Stones, but the player is now expected to join the Serie A club.

Henderson began his career with Sunderland and made 79 appearances for the club before moving to Liverpool in 2011.

The Sunderland-born player was a mainstay at Anfield for 12 years, taking over the captaincy from Steven Gerrard and helping the club win the EPL title, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups and the Club World Cup.

After his playing minutes dwindled, Henderson opted to rejoin Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq in the summer of 2023.

The move to Saudi Arabia sparked criticism of the England player before he decided to return to Europe by joining Ajax in January 2024.

Henderson then revived his career in Amsterdam, making 57 appearances for the Dutch giants before returning to the EPL with Brentford in 2025.

MADRID: Brazilian star Vinicius Junior reportedly wants to resolve his contract issues with Real Madrid and is not interested in considering an offer from Arsenal at the moment.

The Athletic’s report yesterday claimed that Arsenal are exploring the possibility of securing the services of the 26-year-old player, with the effort receiving full support from the Premier League club’s management.

Vinicius’ current contract with Real has only 12 months remaining, sparking speculation about his future at the Santiago Bernabeu as Arsenal look to add strength to their attacking line-up.

The rumours have intensified after Real reportedly reached personal terms with RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande, raising questions about whether Vinicius’ eight-year spell with the Spanish giants is coming to an end.

According to reports from AS, Vinicius feels undervalued due to ongoing speculation about Real’s interest in several other strikers such as Julian Alvarez, Michael Olise and Diomande.

However, the player who was runner-up in the 2024 Ballon d’Or is said to want to remain at Real, with his main priority being to reach an agreement on a new contract extension.

Vinicius wants the negotiation process to go smoothly without creating tensions like what happened last summer when contract talks stalled after the Club World Cup.

This approach also received support from Real management, who wanted to ensure that negotiations with Vinicius’ camp were going positively to end any doubts about the player’s future.

Contract talks are expected to resume next week after Vinicius returns from a short holiday in his hometown of Sao Goncalo, Brazil.

He is understood to want assurances about his role in Jose Mourinho’s first-team squad as well as a salary structure commensurate with his status.

Vinicius is reportedly demanding a salary of around 20 million euros net per season, an increase of 5 million euros compared to the earnings after his last contract renewal in 2022.

Since joining Real from Flamengo in 2017, the player has scored 128 goals and created 100 assists, in addition to helping the club win 14 trophies including three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.

BARCELONA, Spain: Lamine Yamal provided two assists and scored another as Barcelona edged closer to defending their La Liga title with a 4-1 win over Espanyol in a clash of neighbours early this morning.

Ferran Torres scored twice while Yamal and Marcus Rashford also found the target late in the match as the Catalan club moved nine points clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid.

Real were held to a 1-1 draw against Girona on Sunday and with seven games remaining, including El Clasico at Camp Nou next month, Hansi Flick’s men are now in a very comfortable position.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid early Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-finals, looking to bounce back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit, but Flick still fielded a strong starting lineup against Espanyol.

Midfielder Pedri Gonzalez and 18-year-old winger Yamal played throughout the match as Flick did not want the return leg to disrupt his team’s league campaign.

Flick stressed that he will not accept complacency from players even if they are in a strong position.

“Every match has to start with the right attitude and mentality, with quality alone you won’t win anything,” said the German coach.

“I’m sure we can win La Liga but it’s not over yet.”

After a good start to the season, Espanyol lost at home to Barcelona in the first match of 2026 and have failed to record a win since.

They barely put up any resistance as Flick’s team comfortably led by two goals.

Yamal created both of Torres’ goals, including a corner kick that the Spain international headed in for his first goal since January.

Although some thought Flick might rest Yamal ahead of the match against Atletico, the teenager always wanted to play and become a favorite of Barcelona fans.

Yamal’s assist for the second goal was quite impressive when he laid a beautiful ball to Torres before the striker’s attempt beat Marko Dmitrovic.

“You always hear things around you, more negative than positive… I always focus on myself and keep improving,” Torres told DAZN.