Jamaica international Leon Bailey has vowed to not give up in the face of a difficult season at English Premier League (EPL) club Aston Villa.
The 24-year-old winger is back on the sideline for a third spell this term after leaving the field just before half-time last weekend. It appears the player picked up what looked to be an ankle injury. Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard confirmed that the prognosis is not as bad as first feared but the player will still miss the team’s fixture against Burnley this weekend.
"Leon Bailey won't make the game," the manager told a news conference on Friday. "He left the pitch last week and unfortunately this game will come too soon. I don't think we're dealing with a serious issue... but he won't be at Burnley.”
The injury is the third for Bailey, who has had a stop-start season to life at the club, with a thigh injury previously putting him on the sidelines for weeks, on two separate occasions. For his part, the forward is determined to recover from his early setbacks and looks determined to return before the end of the season.
“This season has been very tough, but God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. The most important thing is to overcome all those obstacles in your way & never give up, that’s what makes you a solid/stronger individual,” Bailey posted via social media platform Instagram.
“I just wanna say I really appreciate all the love and support from everyone & I’ll be back VERY soon.”
Lyon 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Mbappe fails to score but Ligue 1 champions clinch Coupe de France
Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 2-1 in the Coupe de France final courtesy of first-half strikes from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz.
Making his final appearance for PSG, the club's all-time record goalscorer Kylian Mbappe failed to get on the scoresheet at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday.
Yet it mattered not as PSG sealed a domestic treble in Luis Enrique's first season in charge, winning the Coupe de France for a record-extending 15th time.
Dembele put PSG ahead after 23 minutes when Nuno Mendes' cross found him unmarked in the six-yard box to coolly head home.
Midfielder Ruiz doubled the advantage with a strike from a tight angle at the second attempt.
Lyon pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half thanks to Jake O'Brien's towering header off a corner, before PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a superb save minutes later.
PSG had to withstand late pressure, but ultimately got the job done as Mbappe signed off with another trophy.
Data Debrief: Mbappe moves on
Mbappe will bow out with 256 goals in 308 appearances for PSG across his seven seasons at the club since joining from Monaco in 2017.
He has won all there is to win domestically, though the Champions League has evaded him.
With Real Madrid seemingly his next destination, Mbappe will surely break that duck in the Spanish capital.
Milan 3-3 Salernitana: Rossoneri denied late on in Pioli's farewell
Milan ended their Serie A campaign with a disappointing 3-3 home draw against relegated Salernitana on Saturday in what was the last game at the club for coach Stefano Pioli and striker Olivier Giroud.
The Rossoneri looked set to cruise to victory when Davide Calabria put them 3-1 up in the 77th minute at San Siro.
Rafael Leao, who may well be on the move in the upcoming transfer window, had put Milan ahead after capitalising on a dreadful mistake from Salernitana goalkeeper Vincenzo Fiorillo in the 22nd minute.
Giroud doubled the advantage five minutes later, volleying home from an Alessandro Florenzi corner to mark his farewell appearance in style before he joins MLS club Los Angeles FC.
Salernitana pulled a goal back through forward Simy in the second half before Calabria restored the hosts' two-goal lead, with Pioli seemingly sailing towards a victory in his last match.
Yet Junior Sambia and Simy levelled with two quick-fire goals in the dying moments to deny second-place Milan a victory to end the season.
Data Debrief: Giroud heads off into the sunset in style
Giroud finished the Serie A season with 23 goal involvements (15 goals and eight assists); only twice in his career has he managed a better tally in a single season in the big five European leagues: 24 in 2013-14 with Arsenal and 30 in 2011-12 with Montpellier.
Indeed, the 37-year-old is the oldest player among those with at least 23 goals involvement in the big five European leagues this season.
Christian Pulisic grabbed an assist, meanwhile, to become only the second Milan midfielder to be involved in 20+ goals (12 goals, eight assists) in a single Serie A season, after Kaka (20 in 2005-06, 26 in 2007-08, 25 in 2008-09) in the last 20 seasons.
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka stunner seals DFB-Pokal triumph
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-tier Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Saturday to win the DFB-Pokal and secure the club's first domestic double.
Leverkusen missed out on a treble after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, in what was astonishingly their first defeat of the season in all competitions, after a European record 51-game unbeaten run.
But at Berlin's Olympic stadium, which will host the Euro 2024 final in July, Xabi Alonso's side ensured they capped off a remarkable campaign with another piece of silverware thanks to Granit Xhaka's stunning 16th-minute strike.
The ball rolled out to the former Arsenal man around 25 yards out, and he planted an unstoppable first-time effort into the left-hand side of the net.
They controlled the pace even after they were reduced to 10 men following Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.
Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen limiting their opponents to just 0.2 expected goals.
And even though they could not add to their lead, Leverkusen were able to comfortably wrap up their second trophy of the best season in the club's history.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen join the club
Leverkusen are only the fifth different side to win the double in Germany since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), 1. Koln, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
Xhaka's strike was a worthy winner. He became the first Swiss player to score in a DFB-Pokal final.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
