Blog (Page 235)

Nemanja Matic has leapt to the aid of former Manchester United teammate Harry Maguire, insisting the criticism aimed at the centre-back is ‘a disaster’. Maguire has been a regular target of abuse from both United fans and rivals for well over a year now, with the criticism ramping up in recent weeks after he lost his place at club level under new manager Erik ten Hag. “What people are doing to him, it is a disaster,” Matic said told The Times. “Everything has to have limits and some of these people writing on social media, they don’t have their own lives, so they just haveRead More →

Arsenal are once again keen to sign Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, who would be interested in a move to the Emirates next summer if Arsenal can secure a place in the Premier League’s top four. (Fichajes) Talks have already been held between Inter and Chelsea over extending the loan of Romelu Lukaku, who does not believe he will play for Chelsea again. (Gazzetta dello Sport) Xavi is desperate to re-sign Lionel Messi next summer and is prepared to offload a number of Barcelona‘s current forwards to make space for the Argentine. Messi can become a free agent in 2023 if he opts out of theRead More →

Matchday six of the Nations League group stages got underway on Sunday evening as we learned of the first teams to qualify for next summer’s finals. 10 fixtures were played out across the competition as the group stage section comes to a close, with storylines being wrapped up and the script edging closer to completion. June’s mini-tournament began to take shape with two sides confirming their place in the final four. Without further ado, here’s what went on in the biggest fixtures of the evening. France ended a difficult Nations League campaign as defending champions on a sour note as they were outclassed by Denmark.Read More →

Robert Lewandowski’s excellent assist for Karol Swiderski condemned Wales to Nations League relegation on Sunday night in Cardiff, as the hosts signed off for their trip to the World Cup with a defeat. Wales have ended their Nations League campaign with one point from six games in a group which also contained the Netherlands and Belgium, with valuable experience given to a number of youngsters as qualification for Qatar took priority for the most part in this group. They started their final game before the tournament without the absent midfield pair of Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen in central midfield, but an early high pressRead More →

With their 3-2 win over rivals San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, the LA Galaxy jumped back above the MLS Cup Playoffs line at just the right time. The Galaxy had been slipping down the Western Conference standings after suffering a run of just one win in six games. But this victory against Cali Clasico foes San Jose – coupled with a 4-1 thrashing of the Colorado Rapids – has them fifth, three points clear of Real Salt Lake below the line with just two games left. Speaking after Saturday’s win in Stanford, Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney highlighted the importance of building ‘momentum’ at thisRead More →

Gareth Taylor has insisted Manchester City’s performances have provided ‘something to build on’ despite suffering a pair of defeats in their opening two fixtures of the 2022/23 WSL campaign. City have gone through a summer of high squad turnover, with seven new arrivals and eight permanent exits, and have begun the new season with a surprise 4-3 loss to Aston Villa and a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea. “It’s not great but it is what it is,” said Taylor. “We’ve had two away games, two tough away games. We’ve gone to Villa who are a new team and have done tremendously well on the day, andRead More →

Chelsea bounced back from their surprise opening day defeat to Liverpool to secure their maiden WSL victory of the season with a 2-0 win over Manchester City. Goals from Fran Kirby and Maren Mjelde either side of half time saw Emma Hayes’ side to victory, leaving City still looking for their first points of the season. Chelsea started the brighter and almost opened the scoring inside 30 seconds as Sam Kerr fired the wrong side of the post after Guro Reiten had crept in behind the City backline. Kerr was then gifted a sighting of goal by a lax Steph Houghton back pass, but theRead More →

The final round of 2022/23 Nations League group stage fixtures are almost upon us and countries throughout Europe have plenty on the line. While some sides have already secured their fate for better or worse, qualification for next year’s finals is still up for grabs. So how does promotion and relegation work in the UEFA competition? Here’s what you need to know. For the 2022/23 Nations League, the 55 UEFA national teams were divided into four leagues of 16 teams – except League D, which has seven teams divided into one group of four and one group of three. The teams in League A competeRead More →

Gareth Southgate has insisted that he is the right man for the England job following a disappointing run of results. The Three Lions remain one of the favourites to win the FIFA World Cup this winter, but Southgate’s side have struggled for form of late, failing to win any of their last five games and suffering relegation in the Nations League. Perhaps the most damning stat from this poor run is, despite the wealth of attacking talent in the squad, they haven’t scored a goal from open play in five games. Speaking ahead of England’s Nations League clash with Germany on Monday at Wembley Stadium,Read More →

Eduardo Camavinga has hailed Real Madrid teammates Luka Modric and Toni Kroos’ influence on his career. The talented young midfielder signed for Los Blancos in 2021 and has impressed thus far, being a key player off the bench last season as the club won the UEFA Champions League. Speaking in an interview with GQ, Camavinga discussed his adaptation to life at Real Madrid and compared the pressure at the club with that at his former club Stade Rennais: “I’m not shy, I talk to anyone really. It’s easy for me and ever since day one everyone was very friendly. “My adaptation was easy and smooth,Read More →