Blog (Page 202)

[ad_1] After putting on the best show of the Graham Potter era to see off Red Bull Salzburg in midweek, Chelsea swiftly followed it up with the worst as they were absolutely trounced by his former employers, Brighton. Chelsea have taken the Seagulls’ manager, assistant, goalkeeper coach, recruitment analyst, first-team coach and left centre-back, and they’re soon to add Brighton’s head of recruitment to their ranks as well, but they still looked light years behind here as they fell to a 4-1 defeat. With Potter’s nine-game unbeaten run now over, questions will be asked of just what went wrong, and the manager must look atRead More →

[ad_1] Bayern Munich moved to the top of the Bundesliga with an emphatic win over Mainz on Saturday afternoon. Julian Nagelsmann’s side have been steadily improving after a shaky start to the season and made easy work of their opponents today, finding themselves a goal up after just five minutes when Serge Gnabry controlled Sadio Mane’s cross and fired home. And the hosts well and truly took control of the game after 28 minutes, with Jamal Musiala playing a neat one-two with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and slotting the ball in to make it 2-0. Mainz had chances of their own in the first half, andRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall is well aware of the threats that West Ham pose to his side when the two clubs meet in the WSL on Sunday, highlighting pace and aerial ability as particular sources of danger to his table-topping side. West Ham have started the season well, winning three of their opening five games and sitting in a cluster of clubs just three points below joint early leaders Arsenal and Manchester United. The Hammers have actually lost all seven previous WSL games they have played against the Gunners, which is their worst record against any side in the division. But they have wonRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea travel to Brighton on Saturday, as Graham Potter faces his old employers in the Premier League. The Chelsea boss has a number of injury concerns for the trip to the south coast, with titanic wing-back Reece James still sidelined. “He’s in a brace for probably four weeks,” reported Potter. The Chelsea and England star is still optimistic about recovering in time for the World Cup, however, and has confirmed that the rehabilitation process is going steadily. “I will try and not rule myself out,” James has said. “It is still slow and in the early stages. I have been in rehab for twoRead More →

[ad_1] Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has suggested he may have to rest players for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, with the club’s Champions League showdown with Marseille looming on the immediate horizon. Spurs’ Champions League group remains finely poised, after a controversial VAR call saw Harry Kane’s last-gasp winner against Sporting CP disallowed for offside in midweek. The result leaves Group D well and truly in the balance, with any of its four sides still mathematically able to win the group. Spurs currently lead the group, but will be wary of complacency ahead of what is sure to be a challenging away trip to Marseille.Read More →

[ad_1] Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has a few injury concerns to contend with ahead of his side’s trip to Leicester on Saturday – including a rather large one in attack. Erling Haaland came off at half-time during City’s 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, with the Norwegian striker suffering from an injury to his foot. In his press conference on Friday, Guardiola admitted he was unsure if Haaland would be able to take part against Leicester, claiming the club still needed to run some tests on their star man but also didn’t rule his top scorer out of the game. “HeRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that he sees Manchester United ‘finally coming back’ after almost a decade of struggling to be competitive in the Premier League. United haven’t won, or even seriously challenged for, the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. In nine full seasons since then, they have finished outside the top four and failed to qualify for the Champions League on five occasions. The Red Devils did finish as high as second under Jose Mourinho in 2017/18 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020/21, but each time Manchester City were well clear and there was no titleRead More →

[ad_1] Reigning champions Real Madrid host promoted Girona in the Spanish top flight on Sunday afternoon. A rotated Real Madrid side lost their first match of the season in midweek, succumbing to a 3-2 reverse away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League. The bitter twang of defeat is a far more familiar taste for Girona. The Catalan side have lost four of their last six matches and trudge into the weekend inside the relegation zone. Here’s everything you need to know about the meeting between two sides at opposite ends of La Liga’s standings. Real Madrid: 4 WinsGirona: 1 WinDraws: 0 Real Madrid: DWWWLGirona: LLDLD Luka Modric, Dani CeballosRead More →

[ad_1] The Seattle Sounders have signed  midfielder Sota Kitahara from the Tacoma Defiance as the club’s 20th Homegrown Player in history. He joins on a two-year deal with club options in 2025 and 2026.  “It’s always nice to bring young players up to the first team who have earned their way through our system,” said head coach Brian Schmetzer. “I’m excited to see how Sota contributes to the squad when we begin preseason camp.” Kitahara first joined the Sounders Discovery Program in 2014 before moving to the Academy, where he made 14 appearances in his first year at the U-16 level. He signed for TacomaRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United welcome West Ham United to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Brendan Rodgers once likened football management to “trying to build an aircraft while it’s in flight”. United’s Erik ten Hag also leaned upon the theme of construction when he recently described his side’s improvement. “You need to construct it downstairs,” the inscrutable Dutchman explained: “You need development before you go to the top, to the roof. Unfortunately, it takes time.” Here’s the XI Ten Hag may line up with to continue building this weekend. David de Gea has lost just three of his 21 career meetings with WestRead More →