Football Blog (Page 254)

[ad_1] Paris Saint-Germain earned a narrow 1-0 victory at home to a struggling Brest side on Saturday afternoon, returning to the Ligue 1 summit. “We can’t take our foot off the gas,” Christophe Galtier declared pre-game. However, his side scarcely found top gear, starting groggily before Neymar gave them the lead in the 30th minute. The wasteful hosts saw their threat dwindle dramatically after the hour-mark – just as it had against Juventus in midweek. Defending deep for most of the match, Brest unsettled their hosts in transition. Islam Slimani had a second-half penalty to level the match saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma as PSG nervilyRead More →

[ad_1] Bayern Munich drew their third consecutive Bundesliga game as a 92nd-minute penalty from Serhou Guirassy saw Stuttgart earn a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Mathys Tel opened the scoring for Bayern but saw his effort cancelled out early in the second half, although Jamal Musiala restored the advantage for Julian Nagelsmann’s side with a fine strike from inside the box. But Guirassy, who had seen two goals struck off, netted a well-deserved equaliser deep in stoppage time to secure a point. Predictably, Bayern dominated possession early on but chances on goal were few and far between, with the hosts’ first opportunity coming 18 minutes inRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has let rip over the treatment he received from Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Jose Mourinho during their spells in charge of the Old Trafford club. The Frenchman arrived amid much fanfare in Manchester back in 2015, but he has struggled to nail down a permanent place in the starting XI under several managers and spent last season out on loan with Sevilla. Mourinho famously quipped in 2018 that Martial lacked ‘maturity’, with the Frenchman stripped of his No.9 jersey following the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic under the Portuguese. And Martial insists that Mourinho lacked respect in their relationship asRead More →

[ad_1] Alessia Russo has admitted that she used to watch clips of Thierry Henry goals growing up due to the former Arsenal forward’s ability to cut inside, and is now inspired by the penalty box movement of Erling Haaland. Like Henry, Russo started out as a winger, and has been deployed both out wide and as a central striker during her two years at Manchester United. The 23-year-old was utilised exclusively as a number nine during Euro 2022, and is expected to step into the role of England’s first choice striker following the retirement of Ellen White. When it comes to being lethal in andRead More →

[ad_1] Raphinha has revealed that he was determined to seal a transfer to Barcelona this summer, insisting no other offer could have compared to his ‘dream’ move. The winger was heavily expected to leave Leeds United for Barça for much of 2022, with the Blaugrana lining up a cut-price deal in the event that the Whites were relegated from the Premier League. However, Leeds managed to survive on the final day of the 2021/22 season, with Raphinha scoring in their decisive 2-1 win at Brentford, and so the asking price was raised. Barcelona were always confident of landing Raphinha regardless, though a rival €65m offerRead More →

[ad_1] La Liga president Javier Tebas has again criticised Premier League clubs for their spending in the transfer market, revealing he is planning to file a report to UEFA. While La Liga clubs were only able to spend £404m over the summer, their Premier League counterparts laid out over £2bn in transfer fees. Of the top 20 spenders this summer, 13 hailed from the Premier League – with Chelsea topping the list with a record £273m spend – while Barcelona were the only representative from Spain on that list. Speaking at a La Liga public presentation, Tebas revealed his fury at how Premier League clubsRead More →

[ad_1] New Chelsea boss Graham Potter is set to green-light the Blues’ continued pursuit of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol. The west Londoners made a huge bid for the Croatian right before this summer’s transfer deadline and remain interested in him. Real Madrid fear they could head into the second half of the season with a depleted squad following fixture congestion and the World Cup, and so they are considering a move for Christopher Nkunku in January. Ajax’s Brian Brobbey has already admitted that Erik ten Hag asked him whether he’d be interested in joining Manchester United this summer – the striker admitted now wasRead More →

[ad_1] Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, all English football has been postponed this weekend. Her Majesty passed away on Thursday following a reign that lasted over 70 years, bringing the country into a state of mourning. As a result, the Premier League and all EFL divisions have postponed this weekend’s fixtures, while the WSL have also postponed what was set to be the first round of the 2022/23 season. In the absence of the usual abundance of English football to get lost on over the course of a weekend, plenty of football fans are going to have to look elsewhere. While English footballRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United have confirmed that their Europa League group stage clash with FC Sheriff will go ahead as planned on Thursday evening. All games in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were postponed this weekend following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday evening. These postponements have thrown many of the British club’s midweek European games into doubt also. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham and Manchester United are scheduled to play in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League or UEFA Conference League. Man Utd, in a statement on their official website, have confirmed that their Europa League game is set to goRead More →

[ad_1] La Liga have confirmed that Barcelona’s spending cap has increased to €656.5m following a large scale sale of assets over the summer. Barca’s previous spending cap had been -€144m in January of this year due to a number of disastrous financial decisions – decisions which ultimately led to Lionel Messi leaving the club for Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Now however, due to the club selling off 49% of Barca Studios and 25% of their television rights for the next 25 years Barca have found more positive financial footing. La Liga president Javier Tebas confirmed the news on Friday, stating: “Barcelona’s limit is [up to]Read More →