Blog (Page 206)

[ad_1] From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting CP on Wednesday evening, missing the chance to secure qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League. A win would have sent Spurs through to the last 16, while Eintracht Frankfurt’s win against Marseille meant a victory would have allowed them to top the group, but qualification now rolls over to matchday six with Antonio Conte’s men one point clear in first. Tottenham very nearly found a clear sight of goal early on when Eric Dier’s searching ball over the top reached Lucas Moura, but the Brazilian was unableRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City have been one of the most dominant teams in world football over the last decade. They’ve won nearly every trophy available to them, have torn apart every team they’ve come across, and yet they still don’t know how to score a bleedin’ penalty. Pep Guardiola must be pulling his hair out (y’know, metaphorically) over such a torrid streak. What more can he do to help his players score from 12 yards. Well, he could stop letting those with poor records step up for a start. Here’s Manchester City’s statistically best penalty takers – ranked. Congratulations to these 13 players who are allRead More →

[ad_1] The Portland Timbers have signed head coach Giovanni Savarese to a contract extension, keeping him at the club through the 2025 MLS season, with an option year in 2026. Should the Venezuelan stay put until 2026, it’ll be his ninth year in charge of the Western Conference side. “Gio has a proven track record of success in MLS, and we are excited to officially announce his extension as the head coach of the Portland Timbers,” technical director Ned Grabavoy said in a release. Savarese joined the Timbers in 2018, inspiring the team to the MLS Cup final during his debut season. He led theRead More →

[ad_1] One point will do the job for Arsenal as they travel to face PSV Eindhoven on Thursday looking to cement their spot as group winners. With a five-point lead over their opponents, Arsenal are obvious favourites to get top spot but proved at the weekend that they are not infallible as they fell to a 1-1 draw with Southampton, so they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas here. With that in mind, here’s how Mikel Arteta could set up. Nketiah is the Europa League starter / Craig Mercer/MB Media/GettyImages GK: Matt Turner – Turner is the Europa League goalkeeper and willRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea are keen to sign a new right-back to improve their depth in the position following the injury to Reece James, 90min understands, with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries a key target. James is Chelsea’s undisputed starter and the 22-year-old was recently awarded a massive six-year contract as a sign of the faith in him from new co-owner Todd Boehly, but there are concerns about the depth behind him. With James facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines, manager Graham Potter has used the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta and Raheem Sterling but has failed to replicate the impact had by James, who was among Chelsea’sRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has been brought back into the Manchester United squad for Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Sheriff Tiraspol. Ronaldo was dropped for the weekend’s Premier League draw with Chelsea as a ‘consequence’ for refusing to come on in the previous game against Tottenham, leaving the bench walking off down the tunnel before the final whistle. The player himself later said it happened in the ‘heat of the moment’ and pledged his commitment to his teammates, although stopped short of an outright apology for his behaviour. Ronaldo has since returned to training and could even be in contention to start against Sheriff givenRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City are a football club with just about everything you need to plan for global domination. With an elite playmaker in Kevin De Bruyne, an electric goalscorer in Erling Haaland and arguably the best young player around in Phil Foden, City’s wealth of talent and limitless funds make everything in football achievable. Apart from, apparently, scoring a goal from 12 yards. Pep Guardiola’s side are ruthless and efficient in open play but have a major stuttering problem when it comes to penalties, fluffing their lines when handed the easiest opportunity to score with alarming regularity. Here’s the info behind their infamously bad recordRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed he isn’t sure how long Erling Haaland will be out for after the Norwegian picked up a knock against Borussia Dortmund this week. Guardiola and co were held to a 0-0 draw for the second Champions League match in a row on Tuesday night, with Dortmund keeping them at bay just as Copenhagen did two weeks ago. Their quest to break down their opponents was made all the more difficult by the fact that star striker Haaland was subbed off at half-time, with Bernardo Silva replacing him. His manager says there were multiple reasons behind such aRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Riyad Mahrez will ‘take a break’ from penalty duty after failing to convert another spot-kick on Tuesday night. Mahrez saw his effort against Borussia Dortmund saved by Gregor Kobel in the 0-0 draw, having previously also missed from 12 yards in the Champions League against Copenhagen. The winger isn’t the only City player to miss penalties over the last six years since Guardiola took over, with Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, the latter two of whom have since left the club, also failed with penalties last season alone. Sergio Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and KevinRead More →

[ad_1] The man, the myth, the Mbappe. 23-year-old Kylian Mbappe is well on his way to defining the footballing landscape in a (wipes tears) post-Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo world. The generational Frenchman is the world’s most decorated young footballer, while his scoring record (240 goals in 351 games) is utterly obscene. Mbappe’s genius was rewarded with an absurd contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain in 2022 that will see him set a new record for earnings in 2023. However, superstardom in the modern day is not merely defined by one’s prowess on the pitch. Nowadays, the significance of a player’s off-field ventures in terms ofRead More →