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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:32:56 GMT
(The Guardian) Manchester City to assess Haaland fitnessBut what of Erling Haaland’s fitness after the striker came off at half-time against Borussia Dortmund? Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said after the 0-0 draw in Germany that the striker had a slight problem with his foot and a fever, making him a doubt for the weekend trip to Leicester. Here’s the very latest from Pep: “He feels better, but we train this afternoon, and we will assess in these few hours. We will see how he feels. After we will decide – I will know it in two hours if he can play.” Guardiola has also offered updates on England duo Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips. “They are not ready for Leicester,” said Guardiola. “They are better, Kalvin especially. Apparently, when he came to Dortmund, he said he feels really well. He started to train with contact with the ball – he has not trained with his team-mates yet, but he feels really well, and we are surprised. “If he is fit and can play [at the World Cup] he can play, but right now, we don’t know. They [Walker and Phillips] are optimistic. They are in touch with Gareth [Southgate]. Hopefully they can be ready and get selected.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:33:59 GMT
(The Guardian) Chelsea boss Graham Potter returns to his former club Brighton this weekend and has reported no new injury concerns for the trip south. Chelsea are unbeaten in nine games under Potter so far, a sequence stretched by a 2-1 win away to RB Salzburg on Tuesday. Mateo Kovacic came off early in that game but isn’t a concern. “We’re pretty much the same as Salzburg,” said Potter. “Mateo has no problem with his calf, it was more fatigue. [Kalidou] Koulibaly has an outside chance for Wednesday [Champions League game with Dynamo Zagreb] but not tomorrow.” Reece James, Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kanté are all long-term injury absentees, with Potter previously reporting that the trio were unlikely to feature before the World Cup break.
And here’s Graham Potter on the man who replaced him at Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi. De Zerbi has yet to taste victory in five matches despite taking a 2-0 lead and drawing 3-3 at Liverpool in his opening game. Asked if that first win could come against Chelsea, Potter replied: “Of course, they are capable of that. I think they have been unlucky, that is the only thing I can say, the performances have been good, there are positives there. You need luck and I don’t think they have had any. “I think Roberto has been in a few weeks now, you can see the ideas, the differences, there is definitely change there I would say. There is a new manager, new ideas and there is always something to learn, something to surprise.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:36:35 GMT
(The Guardian) Pep Guardiola says Julian Alvarez will be the first option to replace Erling Haaland if the Norwegian striker isn’t fit for Manchester City’s trip to Leicester. Alvarez has scored only two league goals this season but Guardiola is not concerned given the Argentine striker’s limited playing time. “Play 90 minutes every game and he will score goals, maybe not like Erling, but he will score goals,” Guardiola said. “I don’t judge. I know how many minutes he plays and how difficult it is when you are not used to playing regularly ... since day one, we are really impressed with many things about him.”
Tottenham Hotspur have been fined £20,000 after their players protested the decision to award Newcastle United the opening goal in the London side’s 2-1 home defeat over the weekend, the FA said on Friday. Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was involved in a collision with Callum Wilson when attempting to deal with a long ball, with the Newcastle striker chipping the ball into an unguarded net.Spurs players immediatel y surrounded referee Jarred Gillett in protest and the decision to award the goal after a VAR check also found nothing wrong left the home side furious. “Tottenham Hotspur FC admitted failing to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during the 31st minute, and also accepted the standard penalty,” the FA said in a statement. (Reuters)
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:37:40 GMT
(The Guardian) As former Sevilla and Villarreal boss Unai Emery prepares to take over at Aston Villa (presumably he’s currently sat in his villa in Vilamoura listening to The Villagers), Villa caretaker boss Aaron Danks has heaped praise on the Spaniard. (Per PA Media): “You just have to look at his pedigree, what he’s done and where he’s worked to know he is a top coach. He is a high performer,” said Danks. “I really enjoyed watching his Villarreal team in the Champions League, like many supporters and coaches did. We’re just really excited to welcome him to the club. There’s been no contact, for me it’s been head down and full focus on preparing the team for the game. I can only go on my own experience and when I moved to Belgium (as assistant to Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht), I had a month to prepare and there was a lot to get through. For someone and their staff to have seven days, I totally understand.” Lucas Digne has returned to training following a stress fracture but Boubacar Kamara (knee), Diego Carlos (knee) and Ludwig Augustinsson (hamstring) are out. Danks dropped skipper John McGinn for the 4-0 win over Brentford on Sunday after taking over following Steven Gerrard’s dismissal but has been impressed with how the Scot has responded. He said: “John’s a super professional and he’s a great human being. His reaction has been nothing but positive. He came into the game excellently as we envisaged he would. Training has been fantastic, no issues whatsoever. I knew that with John, that’s why he’s contributed what he’s contributed to this club. That’s why the fans respect him the way they do and why his team-mates respect him so highly.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:38:41 GMT
(The Guardian) Antonio Conte blasts VAR againTottenham manager Antonio Conte continued his tirade against VAR on Friday by insisting it is cutting the emotion of the game and joked he could make better decisions from his own home. Spurs were left furious during Wednesday’s Champions League fixture with Sporting Lisbon when Harry Kane was denied a stoppage-time winner after he was adjudged to be marginally ahead of the ball and therefore offside. Conte lambasted the technology and accused it of being dishonest against his team following the draw with Sporting, which means Tottenham still need a point in Marseille on Tuesday to qualify for the Champions League last 16. He remained unhappy when he spoke at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth and said: “What happened in the last game was incredible, incredible. You score, you are already qualified for the next round, you are celebrating and then you have to stay for five minutes to look at the situation with VAR and you take the decision and you don’t know if its right or wrong. This is not football in this way also because you cut the emotion, the emotion of everybody and especially the players because you don’t know. “You score a goal and you don’t know what happens later. Did someone commit a foul one minute before? Or discover a foul one minute before and then they go to disallow this? It happened this. It happened but it only happened when they want (it) to happen. This is the difference. But when I stay at home and I see the image, I am watching another game and I see the image, the VAR, then for me it is easy to take the best decision. Instead then you see for example they take the opposite decision. Oh, I don’t know football or maybe who stays in the VAR, they are seeing another image.” The Italian reiterated in his mind it was “impossible” for VAR to make mistakes given the time and extra images the official gets to view. (PA Media)
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:39:43 GMT
(The Guardian) If Antonio Conte sounds worryingly grumpy and on the brink of jacking this lark in and heading off down the Amalfi Coast on a scooter, he also declared he was happy at Spurs as his first anniversary at the club approaches. “I’m enjoying my time at Tottenham. I think in one year we had a great path together with the club, the players and the fans. I’m enjoying every single moment with my adventure in Tottenham,” he tooted. “For sure, I discovered a modern club, a club with fantastic training ground, amazing stadium, the passion of our fans and at the same time also the demands of our fans. Because with our fans the demand is very high! Yeah, I continue to enjoy every day to stay here, to work here for this club.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank insists he and his team were quick to shake off last week’s humbling 4-0 loss at Aston Villa. The Bees will look to bounce back when hosting Wolves on Saturday afternoon. “It was a tough 24 hours,” admitted Frank. “It was something I had never experienced in my career, even as an under-8’s coach, being 3-0 down after 12 minutes. But it’s football, it happens, I know this group of players are a remarkable bunch of guys mentally and they are committed to bouncing back against Wolves. “I do my very best to be consistent. Winning 4-0 at home to Manchester United or losing 4-0 at Aston Villa, we need to be consistent in the way we do things. We evaluated it, we looked back at the game, which was very quick, the three goals and the fourth goal, boom! That’s it. “I truly believe we win, or we learn, and last time we definitely learned a lot. Sometimes the learning can be very painful but we will come back from it, no doubt.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 28, 2022 17:40:50 GMT
(The Guardian) Opta stat: Moyes has never won away against Manchester United in the Premier League, drawing four and losing 11 of his 15 visits. His sides have scored just 10 goals across these 15 visits, with 40% of those coming in a single 4-4 draw with Everton in April 2012. On the plus side, he could have Jarrod Bowen back in the squad for Sunday’s trip after the forward missed Thursday night’s Europa Conference League win over Silkeborg with an ankle injury. “He’s done a little bit of running on the grass today, so we will need to see how he is,” said Moyes. “We will need to see if he can do many things, see if he can twist and turn and all of the other parts that come with it.” Meanwhile, PA Media report that West Ham have been fined 20,000 by the Football Association following the 1-1 draw at Southampton earlier this month. The Hammers’ players were incensed as they felt referee Peter Bankes had impeded Bowen in the build-up to Romain Perraud’s goal for Saints.
Wolves caretaker boss Steve Davis admits that five defeats in the last six Premier League games have knocked his team’s morale, especially the 4-0 home defeat to Leicester last weekend that left the Molineux side second from bottom. “Results have definitely affected the players, they were very reflective after the game and we are putting huge demands on everyone because we all want to do better,” said Davis ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford. “I haven’t seen a lack of effort or commitment, everyone is pulling together and working hard to turn it around. When you look at the table, back-to-back wins can make such a difference. We know how hard it is to get points in this division but we know if we can get something tomorrow things can change very quickly.”
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Post by Webster on Oct 29, 2022 17:46:34 GMT
(BBC Sport) Fulham's Willian, the former Arsenal and Chelsea winger, has put in another typically busy performance in what is his 265th Premier League appearance. He now has the most appearances of any Brazilian in the English top flight, taking him past former Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho.
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Post by Webster on Oct 31, 2022 6:06:51 GMT
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Post by Webster on Nov 2, 2022 3:58:10 GMT
(BBC Sport) Arsenal bounced back from Thursday's Europa League loss to PSV Eindhoven by returning to the top of the Premier League table with an emphatic win over Nottingham Forest. Gabriel Martinelli headed the Gunners in front early on before England's Bukayo Saka - who set up the opener - was forced off with an injury. Reiss Nelson, Saka's replacement, doubled the lead four minutes after the restart with his first Arsenal goal since November 2020 before quickly adding his second. Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard goals added gloss to the scoreline as Arsenal restored their two-point lead over Manchester City at the summit, with Forest still bottom after an eighth defeat of the season. (BBC Sport) Marcus Rashford's 100th Manchester United goal was enough to beat West Ham United and provide a fitting tribute to a special 85th anniversary for the Old Trafford club. Across 4,163 consecutive games since 1937, United have had an unbroken run of having a player who came through their youth development programme either in their starting line-up or on the bench. Rashford is the cream of the current crop and it was the England player who scored the winner against a determined West Ham side at Old Trafford. The 24-year-old powered home a firm header seven minutes from the break after Christian Eriksen had curled over a superb far-post cross, making Rashford the 22nd United player to reach 100 goals. "It's been on my mind the last couple of games," Rashford told Sky Sports. "I've been waiting for it to come and thankfully it did. He added: "It's a completely different energy around the club and the training ground. That puts me in a better headspace and I just feel really motivated now. I was struggling at times with more mental things. It wasn't really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That's the biggest difference from last season. Too often last season, I wasn't in the right headspace for games. I wasn't surprised by some of the stuff that was happening." Cristiano Ronaldo's name is naturally also on the list of players with 100 goals but having been given a starting spot because of Antony's injury, the Portugal forward failed to capitalise, wasting one excellent second-half opportunity after he had been sent into the penalty area by Rashford. In a thrilling finish, David de Gea made fantastic saves to deny Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma, before, with almost the final move of the game, the goalkeeper surplus to Spain's requirements turned away a thunderous Declan Rice effort. The result was enough for the home side to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches and go fifth in the table, while West Ham's inconsistency outside European competition leaves them 13th, just three points above the relegation zone.
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Post by Webster on Nov 4, 2022 15:42:38 GMT
(The Guardian) Before Manchester United’s meeting with Aston Villa and their new manager Unai Emery on Sunday, a bit of reaction from that 1-0 win against Real Sociedad last night: Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes praised Alejandro Garnacho’s performance after he scored in a 1-0 Europa League win over Real Sociedad on Thursday, saying the 18-year-old was reaping the rewards of his hard work and an improvement in attitude. United academy graduate Garnacho scored his first goal for the club after 17 minutes when he was played through on goal by Cristiano Ronaldo, with his strike securing victory for the Premier League club. It was the winger’s second start for United, following his full debut in last month’s 3-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol. “He (Garnacho) was good, but he knows we expect a lot from him,” Fernandes told BT Sport. “In the (pre-season) tour, he didn’t have the best attitude. That’s why he didn’t get chances. Now he’s getting his chances because he’s training better, [he has a] different attitude, and he deserves it.” United, who needed to win by a two-goal margin to overtake Real Sociedad in the standings on goal difference, go into the knockout round playoffs. (Reuters)
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Post by Webster on Nov 4, 2022 15:44:21 GMT
(The Guardian) Courtesy of nufc.com, some quotes from Eddie Howe before his side’s trip to Southampton on Sunday. First an injury update – Jonjo Shelvey may feature having not played a competitive match since April: “We’ve had a few bumps and bruises but nothing too bad. Allan (Saint-Maximin) has come through after his little cameo, as well as Jonjo. The strength of the group is slowly returning and we still have Emil (Krafth), Alex (Isak) and Matt Ritchie still out. Karl Darlow is back training and trained well this week. Apart from that, we’re in a good place.
“I think Jonjo would probably say yes. He’s certainly getting closer. This has been his second proper week of training so he’s in a much better place but without that match exposure. We wanted to protect him from that and see him through to the World Cup.”
Eddie Howe continued, on Newcastle backing up their encouraging form: “The next area is to produce those types of performances week in, week out. I have to compliment the players so far this season. I think we’ve been very level in terms of what we’ve produced. We’re always in the lap of the football gods but for us, controlling our application, desire and all the basics that you need to produce a good performance to win a game, I think, have been there.
“We need to maintain that and there’s a lot of areas of the team need to continue to improve which we’re working towards everyday.”
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Post by Webster on Nov 4, 2022 15:45:31 GMT
(The Guardian) The full-back Matty Cash, who is under new management at Aston Villa with Unai Emery, is also heading off to the World Cup with his adopted Poland in a few days. Sky Sports had a chat with him and asked if he knows much about Emery: “Yeah course, I watch all football ... Calum Chambers played under him [at Arsenal] ... his CV speaks highly of himself, and how good he is as a coach, I’m really looking forward to working with him.
“Life changed completely from working at River Island to playing for Forest ... and here I am now. I’ve got to get through the next two weeks without any injuries and then hopefully I’ll be there [at the World Cup with Poland].”
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Post by Webster on Nov 4, 2022 15:47:31 GMT
(The Guardian) Pep Guardiola is asked: How is Erling Haaland’s fitness and will he play this weekend? “He is much better. We will decide today. It’s a good step, to start to train, now we have training this afternoon, and we will see.” How will the decision be made? “Himself, his opinion, the doctor’s opinion … if he’s good for 90 minutes, or less minutes … we will see after training.” Can Alvarez play three times in a week if Haaland doesn’t play? “He’s so young, he’s so young. At that age, you can play every day.” Guardiola reacts to Gerard Piqué’s retirement that was announced last night: “I wish him all the best, for him and his family. Incredible human being. Huge personality. A player for big games. Never missed once a performance at the high level. All the big clubs need these type of players. Won everything with Barça and national team. Of course, the future will be bright because he’s a smart guy. It was an honour for me to be his manager and we spent four years together.”
Guardiola’s fitness update on City’s players: “[Manuel] Akanji is OK. Kalvin [Phillips] and Kyle [Walker] are still not fit. Does anyone else have a problem? “No.” On this weekend’s opponents: “I am not surprised that Fulham are seventh. The manager is exceptional … last season in the FA Cup I know how we suffered [They won 4-1] … top, top … yeah, good team.” Why has Phil Foden been on the bench for recent Premier League matches? “Riyad [Mahrez] has been in the bench as well … [Ilkay] Gundogan as well … Kevin de Bruyne as well. I have many players, I have to use them, I demand the best of them …”
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Post by Webster on Nov 4, 2022 15:48:46 GMT
(The Guardian) "It's his decision": Vieira keen to keep Zaha at PalacePatrick Vieira has been talking before the trip to West Ham on Sunday, firstly on Crystal Palace’s away form: “We have to accept that we will suffer more away from home. At the moment, every time we are suffering away from home, we are conceding goals, and that’s not right if we want to win football matches.” On West Ham’s European campaign: “It’s challenge to play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday … but when you look at the starting 11 they had last Sunday, I don’t think any of those players [who played in Europe last night] will start. “They are in a better place now … they didn’t have the start they were looking for … but now they are playing well and they look really solid. You just have to look at the squad that they have. They have players who can score goals, who can make a massive impact in games, of course it’s going to be a challenging game, but we I believe we have quality to go there and perform well, like we did last year. “We have to believe in ourselves and go there and play as good as we can.” Again, Vieira is asked about the future of Wilfried Zaha, the highly rated winger whose contract ends next summer: “It’s not a distraction for him and for the football club as well … the decision has to be his decision. We will do everything we can in our side to keep him. At the moment he is performing well and that’s all that matters for now. Barcelona and Juventus have been linked with Zaha, says a reporter. Vieira previously smiled when those names were mentioned: “If you take any player in the Premier League, and you mention those names, that of course will have an impact … for any player in the PL that creates excitement. “That [his future] will be his decision. We will do everything we can to convince him to stay … the next couple of years can be really exciting for the football club.”
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