Month: November 2024

David Moyes has warned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he will need to improve results soon if he is to remain Manchester United manager.

Scrutiny on Solskjaer has been building in the wake of back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir.

United were particularly poor in the Champions League loss in Turkey, with Demba Ba s opening goal – in which he was given a free run from inside his own half following a clearance from a corner – leading club great Paul Scholes to compare the Red Devils defending to that of an under-10s team.

Solskjaer has overseen impressive victories over Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig this season, and United had been on a club-record 10-match winning run away from home prior to the visit to Istanbul, but inconsist…

Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich maintained their 100 per cent start in the Champions League with a rollicking 6-2 win at Salzburg despite a scare on Tuesday. 

The holders eased to victory over Atletico Madrid in their opening game and then saw off Lokomotiv Moscow but looked as though they might come unstuck in Austria when Masaya Okugawa levelled matters at 2-2 in the 66th minute  just 42 seconds after he was introduced as a substitute.

Jerome Boateng, Leroy Sane, Lewandowski and Lucas Hernandez all scored inside the final 11 minutes to clinch the points, however, with Bayern earlier bouncing back from Mergim Berisha s opener to lead through a Lewandowski penalty and Rasmus Kristensen s own goal.

The late show leaves Bayern sitting pre…

Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick was left annoyed after his side wasted a host of chances in their 2-1 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Leon Bailey scored a first-half brace in Saturday s Bundesliga clash at the Allianz Stadium to inflict a first defeat on the reigning champions since Flick was named interim boss.

Bayern hit the frame of the goal three times and had 11 attempts on target but could not add to Thomas Muller s first-half strike, despite Jonathan Tah being dismissed nine minutes from time for a last-man challenge on substitute Philippe Coutinho.

I can t really criticise my team s performance today, Flick said at his post-match news conference. They played well and tried all they could to win. It s annoying to not take any points from a game like tha…

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he is excited by the openness of the Premier League title race this season as the Red Devils eye silverware.

United visit Burnley on Tuesday level on 33 points alongside rivals and defending champions Liverpool atop the table, and with the chance to move to the summit having played a game less.

Liverpool cruised to Premier League glory by 18 points last season, but only a point separates the leaders and third-placed Leicester City this term, while Chelsea are just seven points adrift in ninth position through 17 rounds.

Solskjaer is relishing the competitiveness as United seek to win their first Premier League trophy since 2012-13.

I think all the teams want to take a grip on the Premier League, of cour…

Jurgen Klopp was overjoyed after seeing Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 to reach the FA Cup final in their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple, convinced they beat the world s best team.

Liverpool secured their spot in the English football showpiece for the first time since 2012 with a thrilling victory at Wembley on Saturday, though for a while it looked set to be far more comfortable than it ultimately proved.

The Reds were 3-0 up at half-time thanks to an Ibrahima Konate header and Sadio Mane s double – his first punished a Zack Steffen lapse, before then lashing in an excellent volley for his second.

City pulled one back through Jack Grealish and forced a tense finish when Bernardo Silva made it 3-2 in stoppage time, but Liverpool held on to leave Klo…

It appears there is still life in Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta oversaw a potentially season-changing 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day.

The Gunners had been on a dreadful run, but with the odds against them they produced their most complete performance in a while, with some of the youngsters playing important roles.

Leicester City and Manchester United began the day s action with an entertaining draw that doubled as a microcosm for the Red Devils season.

Using Opta data, we have looked at the pick of the action on a busy Saturday.

The best Boxing Day performance was ______________  

— Premier League (@premierleague)

Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United: Red Devils clicking in attack but let down by defence

Manchester United s unbe…

Best Odds: 7/10

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Knowing that they can wrap up this season’s La Liga crown on Sunday night, Barcelona will make the trip to bitter local rivals Espanyol.

Espanyol

Starting with the hosts, while Espanyol might have claimed a crucial 1-0 victory at home against Getafe when signing off April, Luis Garcia’s men came immediately crashing back down to earth. Eventually suffering an action-packed 3-2 loss away at Sevilla last time out, the Periquitos find themselves at the heart of a real relegation scrap. Opening up this weekend’s fixtures sat three points adrift of safety and tipped as a leading contender to be hit with a Segunda return, Espanyol have recorded just a single win from any of their last 10 straight La Liga appearances. In fact, with tha…

On Sunday afternoon, Chelsea and Liverpool met at Stamford Bridge for what sure to be a match that would have strong impact on the title race in the Premier League. These two teams were seen as genuine contenders, possibly able to snatch the crown away from Manchester City, but as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool a two-goal lead and Mateo Kovacic halved it before Christian Pulisic equalized, the only winners of the contest are the defending champions.

Controversies

Hardly a game goes by in the English top flight these days without the officials and their decisions drawing immediate, and mostly fully deserved, criticism. Anthony Taylor was in charge for this one, with Paul Tierney in the VAR room.

Not 10 seconds into the match, Mane was booked for el…

Everton manager Frank Lampard is excited to get to work with Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli, adamant the latter can rekindle his best form.

Alli signed for Everton from Tottenham on Monday, with official confirmation coming just under 12 hours after Lampard himself was revealed as their new manager, while Van de Beek arrived on loan from Manchester United having struggled for game time at Old Trafford.

England midfielder Alli has signed on what is initially a free transfer, though the fee will rise to £10million after 20 appearances and perhaps as high as £40m based on performance-related add-ons. He told Sky Sports he just wanted to be happy playing football again after a difficult end to his Spurs career.

Alli burst onto the scene under Mauricio Pochettin…

United keen on Watkins

While Rasmus Hojlund might have impressed many around Old Trafford after completing a £72million move from Atalanta last summer, it appears that Manchester United have another striking option on their wishlist ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Although Man City record-breaker Erling Haaland might be cruising his way to consecutive Golden Boots, has enjoyed his own remarkable flurry this season and finds his stock at a red-hot high.

Sat firmly in the driving seat to be the deputy to at this summer’s European Championships, the England international has cemented his spot as one of the Premier League’s elite marksmen.

Registering 19 top-flight strikes this season and spearheading Aston Villa’s charge to a famous Champions League return…