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[ad_1] Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has named a 21-player squad that will travel to Catalonia for the Europa League knockout playoff first leg against Barcelona at Camp Nou. Midfield enforcer Casemiro, who has an outstanding record at the iconic stadium from his years as a Real Madrid player is a welcome return in the squad due to his ongoing domestic suspension not applying to European competition. But Ten Hag has been forced to leave out centre-back Lisandro Martinez and January signing Marcel Sabitzer from the selection. Martinez has long since silenced his critics following a big money summer transfer from Ajax, quickly becomingRead More →

[ad_1] The highly-anticipated Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich was an insipid anti-climax as the Bavarians ran out deserving 1-0 winners. PSG, in the absence of Kylian Mbappe for much of the bout, lacked any sort of cohesion against Julian Nagelsmann’s evolving machine. A complex possession structure allowed Bayern to control large swathes of Tuesday’s contest and they grabbed the winner early on in the second half through Kingsley Coman. Mbappe’s introduction midway through the second period tilted the tide somewhat as the Frenchman had a couple of potential equalisers ruled out for offside – one of which was incredibly tight. Nevertheless,Read More →

[ad_1] Leah Williamson has confirmed that England will wear the OneLove armband during their Arnold Clark Cup campaign, emphasising the importance of the equality message in the week that Jakub Jankto became the most high profile current male footballer to come out as gay. The OneLove armband is part of an anti-discrimination movement and had been intended to be worn by seven teams at the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar – a country where homosexuality is illegal. However, on the eve of the tournament, England and the six other nations back tracked on their decision to wear the armband after being threatened with sanctionsRead More →

[ad_1] Rodrygo has admitted Real Madrid have missed Casemiro this season following the midfielder’s summer move to Manchester United. Casemiro made the surprising switch in the summer and has been key to United’s resurgence under Erik ten Hag, dominating midfield as the Red Devils eye an unlikely title challenge and a Champions League spot at the minimum. However, his exit has not been dealt with well by Real, who have struggled to replicate the former Sao Paulo man’s presence in the centre of the pitch. There is also increased pressure on youngsters like Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to step up with Toni Kroos andRead More →

[ad_1] Joao Cancelo has commented on reports which linked him with Real Madrid prior to his loan move to Bayern Munich at the end of the January transfer window. After falling out of favour at Manchester City following the World Cup, Cancelo was shipped out by Pep Guardiola, with Bayern taking him on loan with an option to buy. The deal happened very quickly over the course of a few days to the shock of Europe, with few other contenders emerging for Cancelo in such a short space of time. Reports from Spain have suggested Real Madrid were interested in a deal and could continueRead More →

[ad_1] Marc-Andre ter Stegen has opened up on the role he played in Frenkie de Jong spurning interest from Manchester United to stay at Barcelona. Erik ten Hag heavily pursued De Jong during his first summer as United boss having coached him previously at Ajax. However, the midfielder ended up staying at Camp Nou and has taken on more responsibility in Xavi’s side this season, with Barça now heavy favourites to win La Liga. Ahead of Barcelona’s meeting with United in the first leg of the Europa League knockout round play-offs, Ter Stegen spoke to The Times about how he helped convince De Jong toRead More →

[ad_1] Kylian Mbappe has issued a rallying cry after Paris Saint-Germain were beaten 1-0 at home by Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. Kingsley Coman scored the game’s only goal as the Bavarians ran out narrow winners at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night. After a dismal first half saw PSG register a grand total of zero shots on target, Mbappe – only just returning from a thigh injury – was brought off the bench in the second half and sparked life into the hosts. He twice had goals disallowed for offside, while Bayern were reduced toRead More →

[ad_1] It’s hard to imagine Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United being led by Cristiano Ronaldo. The first period of the season – where the Red Devils were getting packed in by Brentford and Brighton, shipping goals for fun, scrambling to break into the top four – seems a long time ago now. Ronaldo’s rigid style, lack of pre-season and desire to leave last summer meant that he did not immediately feature in Ten Hag’s plans. But after getting some minutes in his legs, he quickly fell out of them altogether. Eventually, Ronaldo’s frustrations saw him leave a match at Old Trafford before the final whistleRead More →

[ad_1] Kylian Mbappe has been named as a substitute for the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League last 16 tie with Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, but Lionel Messi is in the starting lineup. The French forward picked up a thigh injury in a win at Montpellier last month and had initially been a doubt to take part in the mammoth clash on Valentine’s Day. However, Mbappe returned to training ahead of schedule and was in contention to start at Parc des Princes, with reports in Germany claiming Bayern Munich were fearful that his injury was not as serious as first thought. Christophe GaltierRead More →

[ad_1] It is 20 years since one of the most notorious football dressing room incidents of all time, when Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a loose boot towards the face of David Beckham. Both figures were already legends, both at Man Utd and in the Premier League in general, and it didn’t take long for the story to be splashed all over the tabloid front pages. It is an incident that has never been forgotten and likely never will be, probably because if it seen as the beginning of the end of Beckham’s time at Man Utd. When icons collide, the tales reverberateRead More →