Dario Benedetto is reportedly close to joining Real Betis from Olympique Marseille.
Benedetto could be about to get his first taste of Spanish football. According to a report by Ole, the 31 year old striker has accepted to join the Liga club and both clubs have agreed on the transfer.
However, per the report, there are only minor details left to be ironed out. It remains to be seen if Betis would get Benedetto on loan with an option to buy or if Betis would get Benedetto with a % of his rights or complete transfer.
Marseille paid Boca Juniors 14 million back in 2019 and would want to try to get some of that money back. He has scored 17 goals in 70 matches since joining the club.
The referees have been named for Argentina’s three World Cup qualifying matches next month with one having recently officiated an Argentina match.
The 2020 Copa America champions will play Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia next month as the South American World Cup qualifiers continue. Per a report by TyC Sports, the opening match vs. Venezuela on September 2 will see an all Uruguayan staff. Leodan González will be the main referee with Carlos Barreiro and Martín Soppi as his assistants. Gustavo Tejera will be the fourth official. In addition, the Chilean Cristian Garay will be in charge of VAR with the Uruguayan Nicolas Taran as his assistant.
Argentina will have a familiar referee for the second match on September 5 vs. Brazil. It’s going to be Jesús Valenzuela of Venezuela who will officiate that match. He was in charge of Argentina’s semi final win vs. Colombia at the Copa America. Tulio Moreno and Lubin Torrealba as his assistants and Carlos Betancur as the fourth official. Jhon Ospina will handle VAR with Jhon Leon as his assistant.
And Argentina’s last match of the month vs. Bolivia on September 9 will have Kevin Ortega of Peru as the official. michael Orue and Coty Carrera as his assistants with Michael Espinzoa as the fourth official. Victor Hugo Carrillo will be responsible for VAR With Milciades Saldivar as his assistant.
Angel Correa was the man of the match for Atletico Madrid in their 2-1 win vs. Celta. The Argentine Copa America winner scored both goals for Diego Simeone’s team. Correa gave Atletico the 1-0 lead with a great strike from outside of the penalty area. And with the score at 1-1, Correa would give Atletico the lead once more through a lovely finish from close range.
Rodrigo De Paul was brought on as a substitute in the second half while Nehuen Perez did not take part in the match.
For Celta, goalkeeper Matias Dituro started in their loss while Augusto Solari and Franco Cervi also came on as substitute.
Erik Lamela, like Angel Correa, also scored twice in the opening match of the season. Lamela, who joined the club in the last transfer window, was brought on as a substitute and scored the second goal of the match. A big deflection off the Rayo player beat the goalkeeper.
Lamela’s second goal was similar to that of a poacher as a low cross was sent into the penalty area and his diving leg got to the end of it for Sevilla’s third goal of the match.
Marcos Acuña played the entire 90 minutes for Sevilla while Alejandro Papu Gomez was brought on as a substitute. Lucas Ocampos, injured, was not part of the squad.
Oscar Trejo started the match for Rayo but was eventually substitute off.
Juan Foyth had a match to forget for Villarreal as he was sent off following two yellow cards. He has been hit or miss lately. Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli started the match for Villarreal in their 0-0 draw vs. Granada.
Guido Rodriguez started for Real Betis on the bench as the Copa America winner did not take part in the 1-1 draw vs. Mallorca at all. In addition, Franco Russo and Rodrigo Battaglia, the two Argentine players for Mallorca, were also unused substitutes.
Jeremias Ledesma was the goalkeeper for Cadiz in their 1-1 draw vs. Levante. Marcos Mauro was not part of the Cadiz squad.
Chimy Avila was brought on as a substitute for Osasuna in their 0-0 draw vs. Espanyol. Matias Vargas was not part of the Espanyol team.
Lucas Boye and Ivan Marcone started for Elche while Guildo Carrillo was brought on as a substitute in Elche’s 0-0 draw vs. Athletic Club.
Atletico Madrid: Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Correa, Nehuen Perez FC Barcelona: Aguero Cadiz: Jeremias Ledesma, Marcos Mauro Celta: Augusto Solari, Matias Dituro, Franco Cervi Elche: Guido Carrillo, Lucas Boye, Pablo Piatti, Ivan Marcone Espanyol: Matias Vargas Mallorca: Franco Russo, Rodrigo Battaglia Osasuna: Chimy Avila Rayo: Oscar Trejo Real Betis: Guido Rodriguez Sevilla: Lucas Ocampos, Erik Lamela, Marcos ACuna, Papu Gomez, Gonzalo Montiel Villarreal: Juan Foyth, Gero Rulli
With seven Argentine players in the Premier League, a total of six of them took part in the first match day of the new season.
Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia saw better days as Aston Villa lost 3-2 vs. Watford. Dibu Martinez can hardly be blamed for the three goals which Watford scored. The first goal got the better of Martinez after an initial block by the Villa defender and Emiliano was beaten from close range.
The second goal against Villa took a massive deflection, nothing Martinez can do about it. Martinez was at full stretch on the third goal but the ball was perfectly placed as it struck the post and went in. Buendia was substituted out in the second half.
Alexis Mac Allister was the hero for Brighton. After starting the match on the bench and Brighton being down 1-0 vs. Burnley, Mac Allister was substituted in and scored to give his team the win. A pass into the penalty area found the Argentine as his goal gave Brighton the three points.
Federico Fernandez played the entire 90 minutes for Newcastle as they twice let go of a lead in a 4-2 loss vs. West Ham. The 32 year old defender managed 11 clearances with four blocked shots. Manuel Lanzini was on the bench for the entire match and did not play for West Ham.
In what was built as the match of the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur managed a 1-0 win vs. Manchester City. Gio Lo Celso and Cristian Romero were both substitutes for Tottenham as Lo Celso was brought on in the second half to help control the midfield.
Cristian Romero made his Premier League debut with minutes left in the match when he was brought on.
Alexis Mac Allister🇦🇷 metió el segundo de Brighton en la victoria sobre Burnley 1-2. El otro, con acento francés pero conexión argentina: lo hizo Neal Maupay🇫🇷, cuya madre nació en el país🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/R02Kp9MG16
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez, Emiliano Buendia Brighton & Hove Albion: Alexis Mac Allister Newcastle United: Federico Fernandez Tottenham Hotspur: Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso West Ham United: Manuel Lanzini
Mauro Icardi remains the only Argentine to score in Ligue 1 this season as he netted for the second match in a row.
There were three current Argentine players for PSG in the stands as PSG got their second win of the season vs. Strasbourg. With Icardi scoring, newly signed Lionel Messi along with his fellow Copa America winners Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes were in attendance watching. Former PSG and Argentina man Javier Pastore was also seen with them in the stands.
Icardi with a sniper like header gave PSG the lead very early in the match. A cross into the area and the PSG number 9 jumped as he headed it to give PSG the 1-0 lead in a 4-2 win.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1, goalkeeper Walter Benitez picked up his second consecutive clean sheet of the season. After a 0-0 draw vs. Reims, Nice got their first three points of the season in a 3-0 win vs. Lille.
Facundo Medina played his first match of the season for Lens as they remain without a win after two matches. Medina was not part of the Lens team which drew 1-1 vs. Rennes but did start and get a yellow card in their 2-2 draw vs. St-Etienne.
Leonardo Balerdi started for Marseille once more but he won’t be starting their next match after he picked up a red card. A dangerous tackle by Balerdi where his foot hit the opposition’s ankle saw the referee red card him. Dario Benedetto was substituted on for the second match in a row.
