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Date: 2023-12-06 21:34:58 | Author: Olympics 2024 | Views: 377 | Tag: football
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Scotland gave France an early fright before suffering a chastening 4-1 loss to their classy hosts in Lille football
The Scots went into the friendly knowing they had qualified for the 2024 European Championships at the weekend after Spain beat Norway to ensure Steve Clarke’s side a top-two finish in Group A football
Clarke took the opportunity to utilise his squad, giving a debut to Liam Kelly among eight changes from last week’s game in Seville and they stunned the home side when midfielder Billy Gilmour guided in the opener after 11 minutes – his first ever senior goal football
However, France defender Benjamin Pavard scored twice with headers by way of a rapid response and skipper Kylian Mbappe added a third from the spot before the break football
Substitute Kingsley Coman hammered in a fourth in the 70th minute to seal a commanding win for the superior home side football
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In addition to Kelly’s introduction to international football football in The Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre Mauroy, Clarke also brought in defenders Nathan Patterson, Greg Taylor and Liam Cooper, midfielders Kenny McLean, Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson and striker Che Adams football
It was always going to be a tough test against Les Blues, who qualified comfortably for Euro 2024 by winning their first six qualifiers football
Mbappe was part of a strong France side (Getty Images)Boss Didier Deschamps also freshened his side up from the 2-1 win over the Netherlands last Friday football
Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann kept their places while Ousmane Dembele and all-time leading scorer Olivier Giroud came back into the side football
The kick-off was delayed for around 10 minutes due to the long queues at the stadium amid extra security measures put in place after two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Brussels the previous evening football
There was a minute’s silence before the game to commemorate that incident and it was a low-key start to the game on a pitch still showing markings from its use in the Rugby World Cup, before the Scots took an unexpected lead football
France defender Eduardo Camavinga cut out a pass from Gilmour inside the box but with a poor touch gave it straight back to the unmarked Brighton midfielder, who curled the ball low past goalkeeper Mike Maignan football
However, there was little time for the Tartan Army to enjoy the landmark goal as a Griezmann corner from the left five minutes later was all too easily glanced past Kelly by Inter Milan centre-back Pavard football
A refocused France side took control of the game and Mbappe skipped past Jack Hendry before crossing for Pavard again to head past Kelly from close range football
The visitors were struggling to get up the pitch and in the 40th minute France were awarded a penalty after referee Tobias Stieler went pitchside at the behest of VAR and judged Cooper had held Giroud inside the penalty area, with Mbappe stepping up to send the penalty past the diving Kelly, who got close but not close enough football
The Motherwell keeper did not look great moments later when he fumbled a shot from Dembele but the lurking Mbappe could not capitalise football
Hearts keeper Zander Clark replaced Kelly at the start of the second half to make his debut and Jacob Brown and John Souttar would take over from Adams and Cooper football
Giroud and Dembele made way for Marcus Thuram and Coman and in the 70th minute the latter thrashed a shot high past Clark after Griezmann had volleyed against the bar football
A low drive from Brown in a rare Scotland attack was pushed past the post by Maignan and the corner came to nothing before Ryan Christie and Stuart Armstrong came on for Gilmour and McLean football
Thuram rattled Clark’s crossbar with a drive and at the other Maignan made saves from Armstrong’s volley and Brown’s header but the game was already well gone for Scotland football
More aboutPA ReadySteve ClarkeKylian MbappeBilly GilmourBenjamin PavardOlivier GiroudScotland football footballFrance football FootballJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/2Scotland come back to earth as France recover from early fright Scotland come back to earth as France recover from early frightMbappe was part of a strong France side Getty ImagesScotland come back to earth as France recover from early frightScotland qualified for Euro 2024 on Sunday Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today football
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It tends to be the derby of the dismissals football
The red side won in part because of a red card and, if the time when the meetings of the two halves of Merseyside were known as the “friendly derby” feels increasingly distant, these days the sendings-off are stacking up football
A 29th in the 32 seasons of Premier League rivalry went to Ashley Young, the man who ought to have been old enough to know football better football
Mohamed Salah’s subsequent opener, and the first of his brace for Liverpool, stemmed from a second decision by referee Craig Pawson – both of which ought to be uncontroversial, though his leniency in sparing Ibrahima Konate the fixture’s 30th red card seemed more of a mistake – as Everton’s obduracy with 10 men ultimately merely spared them a heavier defeat football
There can be a tendency to pin results on referees, to say decisions changed games; that suggests players are powerless, yet Young was complicit in his own downfall football
Two cautions were the consequence of his choices football
Of such a vintage that he was born a couple of months after Howard Kendall’s Everton won their first Division One title and is a former teammate of his 52-year-old manager Sean Dyche, Young should have shown a greater sense of responsibility football
He could be doubly faulted for his first booking: for fouling Luis Diaz in the Liverpool half and with just 18 minutes on the clock, putting himself needlessly in peril football
Eight minutes before the interval, he had a greater need to challenge the Colombian on the edge of his own box, but sliding in and chopping him down rendered his expulsion inevitable football
Within a duel where Young had a notable early success – a magnificent, and perhaps goal-saving, block when Diaz shot – was a tale of the two clubs: a £50m winger up against a 38-year-old free transfer, a player reinvented as a right-back late in his career football
It threatened to be an unfair contest football
It became no contest when one of the participants was removed football
Salah gives Liverpool the lead from the penalty spot (Reuters)And Diaz, the brightest of Liverpool’s attackers on a day when they did not quite gel, when the wrong option was taken too often and when Jurgen Klopp’s dislike of 12 football
30pm kick-offs threatened to become more pronounced, was a match-winner of sorts football
His cross struck the needlessly outstretched arm of the substitute Michael Keane: summoned to the monitor to review it, Pawson gave the penalty and Salah rifled it past Jordan Pickford football
There was to be a second goal whereas Everton felt there ought to have been a second red card football
Before the deadlock was broken, Konate, already on a yellow card, evaded another for tugging back football Beto football
Klopp proved more decisive than Pawson football
Instead, when Konate swiftly exited, it was because his manager substituted him football
It did raise the question if Dyche, with a specialist right-back on the bench in the shape of Nathan Patterson, could have taken early preventative action football
And eventually, with Everton stretched, Salah ensured the scoreline was the same as in Dyche’s first defeat as their manager: 2-0, as he swept in a shot from Darwin Nunez’s pass on the counterattack football
It was his 105th Anfield goal, taking him past the storied duo of Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard football
It also meant his recent record stands at 18 goals and 11 assists in his last 24 league games football
Salah celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s opener (PA)The post-match announcement that Liverpool were top, if only briefly, brought elation where there had been frustration football
This was not the emphatic performance of potential champions: while Liverpool amassed 26 shots, it was partly a consequence of Everton being depleted and, of the many optimistic, long-range efforts, most were harmless football
It was only when Jordan Pickford tipped Harvey Elliott’s 90th-minute effort on to the bar that they almost scored from outside the box football
The replacement Elliott, though, had made a difference, with his cleverness, brought on as Young’s early exit prompted each manager to alter their approach football
There had been some ambition in Everton’s initial blueprint and it could have produced a first-minute lead when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed straight at Alisson football
But, down to 10 men, Dyche responded by removing his wingers at half time, bringing on two defenders, in Patterson and Keane, and playing 5-3-1 football
A quarter of an hour later, Klopp removed his left-back, Kostas Tsimikas, who was no longer needed to defend, in effect adopting a 2-5-3 formation football
Dyche’s tactic was predicated on not conceding and, with his rejigged rearguard showing organisation and concentration, it threatened to succeed during an impasse that lasted almost half an hour football
Then Keane’s right arm and Salah’s left boot brought a breakthrough football
As Klopp has been keen to point out, his side have often won the Fair Play league football
But Liverpool have four red cards already, and Konate could have made it five in a season of sendings-off football
They have become accustomed to playing with 10 men this season football
They profited from playing against 10 football
And if Everton are entitled to wonder what might have happened if the numbers had been evened up, they can first blame Young football
More aboutMohamed SalahLiverpool FCEvertonJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Young’s costly mistakes gift Salah and Liverpool Merseyside derby winYoung’s costly mistakes gift Salah and Liverpool Merseyside derby winSalah gives Liverpool the lead from the penalty spotREUTERSYoung’s costly mistakes gift Salah and Liverpool Merseyside derby win Salah celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s opener PAYoung’s costly mistakes gift Salah and Liverpool Merseyside derby winEverton’s Ashley Young brings down winger Luis Diaz to earn a second yellow card after 37 minutes Liverpool FC/Getty✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today football
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsfootball BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy football
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply football
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