'Incredible' keeper hurts Aussie World Cup plans

2 years ago 142

By Sam Worthington with AP

Socceroos manager Graham Arnold has a caller World Cup enactment headache aft Kamil Grabara took a stranglehold of FC Copenhagen's goalkeeping gloves connected Wednesday.

The Poland planetary was antheral of the lucifer successful the upset 0-0 Champions League gully against Manchester City, redeeming a punishment and making different important saves to frustrate Pep Guardiola's star-studded squad.

"He made an unthinkable performance," City manager Guardiola said.

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"I don't cognize if it was due to the fact that of the disguise oregon something!"

Grabara has present started 3 consecutive games since returning from a facial injury, consigning Socceroos skipper Mat Ryan to back-up duties.

"He was perfectly outstanding contiguous including a punishment prevention from (Riyad) Mahrez," erstwhile Manchester United custodian Mark Bosnich said connected Stan Sport.

Mat Ryan’s contented with Copenhagen teammate

Former Liverpool shot-stopper Grabara had aggressively, and successfully, agitated to regain his starting occupation portion taking thinly veiled shots astatine his Australian teammate.

The developments endanger to permission Ryan starved of important game clip up of Australia's World Cup opener against defending champions France connected November 23.

Understandably, Arnold has said helium volition look favourably upon players getting regular minutes astatine their clubs.

Ryan already had a combat connected his hands after the antecedently retired Mitch Langerak made a daze international instrumentality successful September.

Langerak is simply a prima successful Japan with his nine broadside Nagoya Grampus portion likely No.3 Andrew Redmayne was the antheral who booked the Socceroos a summons to Qatar successful the archetypal place.

Grabara became the archetypal goalkeeper to halt City from scoring this season.

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Still, the constituent was capable to unafraid City's spot successful the past 16 with 2 matches near successful the radical stage.

A VAR telephone resulted successful a reddish paper for City near backmost Sergio Gomez successful the 30th infinitesimal for pulling backmost Hakon Arnar Haraldsson arsenic the past man, harming the visitors' attacking ambitions astatine the atmospheric Parken Stadium.

Earlier, City midfielder Rodri had a superb agelong scope onslaught disallowed aft VAR spotted a handball by Mahrez successful the build-up.

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Then, pursuing different review, City was awarded a punishment aft a escaped footwear swung into the country struck the outstretched limb of Copenhagen defender Nicolai Boilesen.

Mahrez, who has been progressively reliable from the spot, saw his effort palmed distant by Grabara.

Prolific striker Erling Haaland started the crippled connected the seat - possibly successful presumption of the travel to Liverpool successful the Premier League connected Monday - and didn't travel on.

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Guardiola said Haaland, who has scored 20 goals successful 12 competitory games successful his archetypal play with the English champions, wasn't successful bully capable signifier to commencement aft playing against Southampton successful the Premier League connected Sunday.

"Yesterday was not good, contiguous a small amended but not perfect, truthful we determine not to instrumentality the risk," Guardiola said of Haaland.

City is 3 points wide of second-placed Borussia Dortmund and tin beforehand arsenic radical victor by avoiding decision erstwhile the teams conscionable successful Germany successful 2 weeks successful the 5th circular of games.

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It was lone the 2nd clip City has drawn 0-0 successful the radical signifier of the Champions League.

"We started truly good with 11, past we had an hr and 10 minutes to bent on," Guardiola said.

"When we had the shot we were clever. It's a bully point."

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It was a 2nd constituent earned successful radical play by last-placed Copenhagen, keeping live its chances of a third-placed decorativeness and dropping into the Europa League playoff round.

Copenhagen and Sevilla some person 2 points.

"It was different pugnacious crippled against 1 of the champion teams successful the world," Copenhagen's Kiwi midfielder Marko Stamenic said.

"I deliberation we tin permission the stadium arrogant of ourselves and our team. We fought to the precise past minute."

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