Football Blog (Page 59)

[ad_1] It’s been a season of ups and downs for Southampton. The Saints have won six games in cup competitions this term, although that’s as many as they’ve managed through their opening 26 league matches. The board finally gave in to the fans’ demands and got rid of Ralph Hasenhuttl but replaced him with Nathan Jones who didn’t even have time to get his hands on the club’s table tennis table before he was sacked. One rather large negative is the team’s current status as the Premier League’s bottom side. However, Southampton are just three points adrift of safety with 11 games of the campaignRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal ended the previous season with just two players in double digits for Premier League goals. Yet, with 11 games of the current campaign still to go, the Gunners boast as many as three individuals with ten or more top-flight goals. Gabriel Martinelli (12 league goals), Bukayo Saka (ten) and Martin Odegaard (ten) have offered Arsenal three reliable routes to goal during their title charge this year. To put into context how impressive that feat is at such an early stage of the season, only one other club in Europe’s top ten leagues can boast as many prolific goal-getters (per Opta). 10+ – ArsenalRead More →

[ad_1] Mikel Arteta has said that he’s delighted with reaching 100 wins as Arsenal manager, but was keen to insist that such a milestone isn’t a ‘title’. Arteta’s team were very impressive at Craven Cottage, putting Fulham to the sword in the Premier League with a dominant first half display in an eventual 3-0 win. The result sees the Gunners move back to five points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City in the title race, and was also Arteta’s 100th win as the club’s manager. The ex-Man City assistant coach took the reins at Arsenal at the tail-end of 2019, and since then has wonRead More →

[ad_1] The gap between Arsenal and Manchester City remained the same at the end of the weekend’s Premier League action with both winning, but other top-half sides faltered. Arsenal claimed victory against Fulham with ease thanks to three goals in what was a sumptuous first-half display. The hosts didn’t concede any others after the break but couldn’t get themselves on the scoresheet either. Man City weren’t nearly as comfortable as their title rivals in their match with Crystal Palace but a 78th-minute penalty from Erling Haaland ensured that they remained the only side other than the Premier League leaders to be unbeaten in their lastRead More →

[ad_1] Mikel Arteta has revealed that Leandro Trossard came back early from an injury for Arsenal’s thumping win over Fulham. Trossard was in fine form for the Gunners on Sunday afternoon, bagging three first half assists and earning himself a 9/10 rating from 90min for his showing at Craven Cottage. The January signing was close to not being able to feature for Arsenal at all in the win over Fulham however, as Arteta has revealed during his post-match press conference that Trossard suffered an injury scare in mid-week. “I think he was really impressive. He had an injury three days ago which could have takenRead More →

[ad_1] Aitana Bonmati is quietly having a standout season at Barcelona, starring in midfield and leading her team to countless victories.  When Alexia Putellas suffered an ACL injury ahead of the 2022 UEFA Euro competition, the general narrative heading into the domestic season was that Barcelona would struggle without the Ballon d’Or Feminin winner.  But even without Putellas in the lineup, Barca have continued to dominate the domestic league. This season they’ve won every single match they’ve played in Liga F, Copa de la Reina, and Supercopa de Espana, the latter of which they won for a record third time. In the Champions League, theyRead More →

[ad_1] Sadio Mane has revealed that he would like Bayern Munich to sign Joao Cancelo on a permanent transfer from Manchester City. After joining City from Juventus in 2019, Cancelo established himself as one of Europe’s finest full-backs, demonstrating a proficiency to play on either flank and on the wing. But he fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola at the start of the 2022/23 season and was surprisingly sent out on loan to Bayern at the back-end of the January transfer window. Cancelo has since struggled for consistent minutes in Germany, but made an impression in a 5-3 win at home to Bavarian neighboursRead More →

[ad_1] Barcelona have been handed a major boost in their hopes of beating charges of ‘continuous sporting corruption’. Spanish prosecutors filed charges against the club and two former presidents – Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu – in relation to the Negreira scandal. Barça are alleged to have paid €8m to former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, from 2001 to 2018 in exchange for detailed information and analysis on match officials, hoping to gain an extra advantage. When charges were officially levelled at Barcelona, it was further hinted that the club tried to influence decisions in games and in the appointmentsRead More →

[ad_1] The BBC’s coverage of the top of the table clash between Chelsea and Manchester United in the WSL is set to be significantly reduced as the row over Gary Lineker’s suspension from Match of the Day remains unresolved. Lineker was told to step back from his role as Match of the Day host in the wake of his tweet last week in response to the UK government’s new plans regarding illegal immigration. That prompted the likes of Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Alex Scott, Micah Richards and various other on-air talent to also step back from the corporation’s football coverage on Saturday. There was noRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has revealed why he decided to withdraw Joao Felix at half-time of Saturday’s 3-1 win at Leicester City. The Blues recorded their third win in seven days at the end of a week that has breathed fresh life into a largely disappointing season. An opening goal from former Fox Ben Chilwell was cancelled out by a thumping strike from Patson Daka. A delicate dink from Kai Havertz put Chelsea back in front in first-half stoppage time, before Mateo Kovacic iced the game with 15 minutes remaining. But there was a lot of attention around the decision to replace starRead More →