Football Blog (Page 207)

[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 →

[ad_1] The first batch of Champions League matchday five fixtures took place all over Europe on Tuesday night, with big results for a number of teams. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Juventus and more were all on the schedule. Take in a recap of at all of the action here… Chelsea secured their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a win in what was the reverse fixture of Graham Potter’s first game in charge of the Blues. And much like the reverse fixture, the game was well contested from the very first whistle. Red Bull Salzburg rallied inside a boisterous RedRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea overcame an impressive Red Bull Salzburg to eke out a 2-1 victory in Austria and secure their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a game to spare. Following a touching tribute to Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz who passed away on Saturday, the game kicked off in explosive fashion with both sides getting forward freely and enjoying space to attack into, inside a boisterous Red Bull Arena. Once Chelsea perked up and pulled ahead, though, they dominated proceedings, playing Salzburg off the park through to half-time. Die Roten Bullen levelled things up almost immediately after the break as the game burstRead More →

[ad_1] After it was teased that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would finally get it on in the ring following years of back and forth, boxing fans have been forced to settle with WBC world heavyweight champion Fury taking on Derek Chisora for a third time. Fury has dominated his duel with ‘Del Boy’ over the years, winning the first two fights in 2011 and 2014, and many fans are hopeful that this is the first step towards the champion facing off against Oleksandr Usyk in a unification bout further down the line. The fight will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what’s theRead More →

[ad_1] Eric Dier has said that he sees himself leaving Tottenham to play abroad again at some point later in his career. The England international, who emigrated to Portugal aged seven, began his career with Sporting CP, who Spurs will face in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Dier completed a permanent move to Tottenham in 2014 and was one of the first signings of the Mauricio Pochettino era – only Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Harry Kane remain from the squad that he first joined. The 28-year-old is now just under two seasons away from being due a testimonial at Spurs, but speaking toRead More →

[ad_1] NJ/NY Gotham FC signed forward Ifeoma Onumonu to a contract extension, keeping her at the club through the 2025 NWSL season. She originally joined the team in 2020, in a trade with OL Reign. She has since recorded 14 goals and nine assists in 61 appearances across the regular season, Fall Series and Challenge Cup tournament. “I’m really excited to sign on long-term with Gotham FC! It’s been a journey already with this club and I’m looking forward to many more years competing to be the best team in the NWSL. The club and community around me has truly made me feel valued asRead More →