Football Blog (Page 194)

[ad_1] Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has declared that he never wants his team to ‘fear’ trying to play the ball out from the back and insists isolated mistakes in key moments can be fixed following a first WSL defeat of the season at the hands of Chelsea. United went into the heavyweight clash against the reigning champions off the back of five consecutive WSL wins, averaging 2.8 goals per game and conceding not even once. In front of a bumper crowd at Leigh Sports Village, it was a closely fought and physical first half in which both sides had chances. United were well inRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea general manager Paul Green has called on Blues players to appeal more for penalties, after his side were not awarded a spot kick during Sunday’s WSL victory over Manchester United for a Maya Le Tissier foul on Guro Reiten. Reiten hit the deck in the penalty area after attempting to cut inside Le Tissier during the first half at Leigh Sports Village, and replays showed that the Manchester United defender had accidentally tripped the Chelsea winger without making contact with the ball. However, Reiten did not appeal for the spot kick, and there were limited protests from her Chelsea teammates. The decision ultimatelyRead More →

[ad_1] From Leigh Sports Village – Chelsea are the first team to take points off Manchester United in the WSL this season after a clinical performance and goals from Sam Kerr, Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert saw them to a 3-1 victory on Sunday evening. United had been well in the game for the first hour and pulled a goal back through Alessia Russo to make it 2-1 and potentially set up a grandstand finish, before Cuthbert’s third for Chelsea in stoppage time ended the contest. Following a poignant silence and observation of the Last Post, kick-off was greeted with the outbreak of heavy rainRead More →

[ad_1] From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – It would be easy to look at Spurs’ 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday as a clear step backwards. And, well, yeah, that’s the case for top teams whenever they lose. You don’t have the luxury of stumbling and having it swept under the rug. You have your cake and eat it – just ask Graham Potter about the developing differences of managing Brighton and Chelsea. Tottenham have stumbled through the 2022/23 season so far. They have yet to hit the free-scoring heights of Antonio Conte’s debut season, but they still sit comfortably in the top fourRead More →

[ad_1] Brighton survived a late West Ham fightback to run out 5-4 winners in a nine-goal WSL thriller at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday. Brighton had Amy Merricks in charge for the first time following Hope Powell’s resignation on Tuesday, and had trailed 1-0 after two minutes and then led 5-2 with six minutes remaining in a breathless encounter, before West Ham found their second wind in the dying stages to set up a enthralling finish. It was a game where all preconceptions were thrown out of the window; Brighton had scored just twice in their previous five WSL matches, failing to find theRead More →

[ad_1] Luke Shaw was critical of Manchester United’s performance in their 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday. Two early goals from Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne saw a stunned Unitd 2-0 down inside the opening 10 minutes of the game. A deflected goal at the end of the first half pulled them back into the contest, but they collapsed again after the break. Unai Emery’s side capitalised on a rotated United outfit who were all at sea and out of the game when Jacob Ramsey made it 3-1 in the 49th minute. Speaking to reporters after the game, Shaw didn’tRead More →

[ad_1] Graham Potter believes his Chelsea side ‘huffed and puffed’ in a 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on Sunday. The Blues played much of the game on the back foot and had to look long in an attempt to steal a march on the visitors, but were unsuccessful and fell behind after an hour thanks to Gabriel’s eventual winner. A loss means Chelsea have slumped to back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since 2020, having lost to Brighton last weekend. Speaking to Chelsea’s official website after the game, Potter evaluated the performance: “I thought we huffed and puffed, to be honest.” “WeRead More →

[ad_1] PSG had to dig deep to overcome a spirited Lorient performance and extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1. Lorient handed PSG the perfect start to the game after less than 10 minutes when goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo dawdled on the ball and allowed Neymar to close down his eventual clearance. Hugo Ekitike rolled the ball back to Neymar and the Brazilian calmly rounded Mvogo and slotted home to open the scoring. This would prove to be Mvogo’s only contribution to the afternoon’s proceedings, as he picked up a knock and had to be replaced by former Arsenal stopper Vito Mannone. The restRead More →

[ad_1] Lionel Messi is gearing up for his final World Cup appearance when the Argentina forward goes to Qatar later this month. The Paris Saint-Germain star is yet to win FIFA’s flagship event, having appeared at the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 tournaments. He came closest in 2014 when the Albiceleste reached the final but were beaten by Germany in extra time. However, some fears of an injury-enforced absence have come to light. PSG have confirmed Messi will sit out their penultimate fixture before the break for the World Cup against Lorient with an Achilles problem. However, they add that the Barcelona legend will beRead More →

[ad_1] Erling Haaland described stepping up to take a last-minute penalty against Fulham as ‘one of the most nervous moments of my life’. The 22-year-old returned from injury off the bench against the Cottagers on Saturday, just in time to step up in injury time and take the decisive spot kick. “I was nervous – it was one of the most nervous moments of my life,” Haaland told BBC Sport. “A penalty in the last minute? Of course I would be nervous. But it was about getting through the situation in the proper way and I did that. It was a fantastic feeling to score.Read More →