Blog (Page 89)

[ad_1] Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both been named on the shortlist for this year’s FIFPRO World XI. Both players have been named in the final XI on 15 occasions, with both players being named in the team every year since 2007. Alongside Messi and Ronaldo on the forwards list are Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Karim Benzema, Neymar and Robert Lewandowski. Messi is considered the heavy favourite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or award having put in all-time great performances for Argentina on their way to World Cup glory in Qatar. Watch 90min’s Gas Tank as Harry Symeou, Scott Saunders, Grizz Khan & HunterRead More →

[ad_1] Bayern Munich have already confirmed to Manchester City that they do not plan to trigger their €70m option to sign full-back Joao Cancelo permanently, 90min understands, but the Bundesliga side are keen to do business for a lower fee. Cancelo asked to leave City in January after falling out of favour under manager Pep Guardiola and ended up joining Bayern on a six-month loan which includes an option to buy at the end of the campaign. Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has publicly admitted it is ‘difficult to imagine’ triggering their €70m purchase clause, but sources have confirmed to 90min that the Bundesliga sideRead More →

[ad_1] So, here it is. The big one. Arsenal and Manchester City lock horns for their first Premier League meeting of the season on Wednesday night. Very few projected Mikel Arteta’s Gunners to be City’s biggest threat for their crown before the 2022/23 season got underway, but the north London outfit have embarked on a remarkable campaign up until this point. However, after Brentford took two points off the league leaders on Saturday, Arsenal’s advantage over City at the summit is just three and victory for the visitors on Wednesday would see them usurp the Gunners as the Premier League’s top dog for the firstRead More →

[ad_1] Son Heung-min says Tottenham must quickly learn from their ‘lesson’ in Saturday’s horror show against Leicester City on Saturday ahead of their Champions League last 16 tie against AC Milan. Despite taking the lead inside 14 minutes through Rodrigo Bentancur, Spurs were thrashed 4-1 at the King Power Stadium as Nampalys Mendy, James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho turned the game on its head before half-time. Harvey Barnes then netted fourth to cap a thoroughly miserable afternoon for Spurs, who also lost Bentancur to a season-ending cruciate knee ligament injury. The shock of the result was heightened given Spurs had won their previous three gamesRead More →

[ad_1] Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is unsure why ‘first taker’ Erling Haaland did not take Manchester City’s penalty kick in the win over Aston Villa. City cruised to a crucial victory over Villa on Sunday thanks to first half goals from Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and a penalty from Riyad Mahrez. There was plenty of confusion however when Mahrez, and not Haaland, stepped up to take the aforementioned penalty. Speaking to the press following the win, City manager Guardiola echoed that confusion. “Normally Erling is the first taker,” Guardiola clarified. “I wanted that but Riyad always tries to do it, Rodri was involved. IRead More →

[ad_1] Referee chief Howard Webb has called all Premier League referees, assistants and VAR officials to an emergency meeting following a weekend full of controversy in England’s top flight. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have admitted that officials working on VAR were guilty of ‘human error’ on two separate occasions on Saturday. Lee Mason did not use the right lines to analyse a potential offside call for Brentford’s equaliser against Arsenal, which was controversially allowed to stand, before John Brooks used the wrong defender to rule out a goal for Brighton in their meeting with Crystal Palace. Both games ended in 1-1 draws. “BothRead More →

[ad_1] Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the league table to 11 points thanks to hard fought win over Villarreal. Pedri’s goal was enough for Barca, who’ve now won their last 11 games in all competitions. Inside three minutes, Robert Lewandowski spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring for the league leaders. The legendary Polish striker was played clean through on goal by Pedri, but could only find Pepe Reina’s mid-riff with his subsequent effort on goal. Lewa would then turn provider for Pedri in the 18th minute to break the deadlock. A sublime one-two between Lewandowski and Pedri led to theRead More →

[ad_1] The Nathan Jones appointment at Southampton didn’t go well, with him becoming one of the shortest-reigning managers in Premier League history. It would be wrong to call that ‘an achievement,’ but it is genuinely a very difficult list of names to get yourself onto. You need a special level of failure to even stand a chance. Jones has done that though and become one of just eight managers to last fewer than 100 days. Ross Kinnaird/GettyImages Former assistant managers stepping up to the top job and not lasting long is a common theme on this list, and that was the case with Colin Todd.Read More →

[ad_1] Brandon Vazquez isn’t ready to give up on FC Cincinnati quite yet.  After a stellar 2022 Major League Soccer campaign, the striker became a sought-after figure during the winter transfer window. His 18 goals in 33 appearances for FC Cincinnati attracted the attention of several international clubs, but one stood as the frontrunner: Chivas de Guadalajara.  The Liga MX team held intense talks with the Eastern Conference team before submitting two competitive bids, but Vazquez stayed put. “You know, growing up with a Chivas jersey in my closet, it was exciting to hear their interest. I was flattered to have an offer like thatRead More →

[ad_1] The weekend’s Premier League action saw Manchester City and Manchester United close the gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium by a plucky Brentford side riding the crest of a form wave under Thomas Frank. A point was enough to ensure Arsenal maintained their position at the top of the Premier League form table, with seven wins from their last ten outings, but City‘s 3-1 win over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium means the gap at the top of the table is back down to three pointsRead More →