For the first time ever, Manchester City played a European giant at their own game and matched their opposition in a Champions League fixture as if they were equals. What Pep Guardiola achieved on Tuesday night, as his side bettered Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad, was hugely important on their progression in the competition. The Catalan was brought in to improve the club’s performances in the top level of European football and there were eyebrows being raised after a disappointing 3-3 draw with Celtic in September. It got worse in their next fixture, a 4-0 hammering by Barcelona at the…
Author: David Folami
When Arsenal went 2-0 down inside 15 minutes against Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday, it had all the hallmarks of a classic Arsenal collapse. On the first day of November, their bogey month of late, Arsenal were crumbling like autumn leaves on the ground. But their old habit of mixing stellar performances with major letdowns has been replaced this season by a pattern of producing results in games where they may have previously folded. The 3-2 comeback win in Bulgaria was only the latest example of why many think there is something different about Arsenal this year. It…
It’s probably strange to say this of a player who has won as much as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but now is as good a time as any to retain faith. The Swede has only scored once in his last 10 games and has not only struggled for his finishing touch but also looked listless and lacking in energy. Ibrahimovic’s underwhelming performances of late have put his preseason boasts into context and, for now, any comparisons to Eric Cantona look fanciful. Having said that, it still makes some sense to persist with Ibrahimovic as the focus of United’s attack. Though he and…
Crawl before you walk. Walk before you run. Run before you fly. It might be a (tired) cliche, but it still carries some significance. Not in the sense that change can’t be radical or that gradual evolution is the best kind. Rather, the mark of a good manager — not just in football — is knowing what to change, how to change it and when to change it. And, if your changes go too far, to have the humility to dial them back. Pep Guardiola landed in the blue half of Manchester with the joint tag of messiah and revolutionary.…
At which point can Jose Mourinho be judged as Manchester United manager? Many United fans would say not yet, but their place as meek bystanders to a burgeoning Premier League title race — United are eighth, eight points behind leaders Manchester City — was not what they had been promised this summer. Despite failing to beat Burnley in Saturday’s 0-0 draw after 37 shots on goal, Mourinho is granted patience because he is neither David Moyes nor Louis van Gaal, predecessors who melted under the pressure at Old Trafford. Though his starting record is already worse than Moyes’ single season…
Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi wants to make sure Mesut Ozil does not get carried away after his winning goal against Ludogorets — but the defender did admit that his teammate is “incredible.” Ozil’s 88th-minute goal was the talk of the Arsenal camp after he completed a 3-2 comeback win in spectacular fashion in Bulgaria on Tuesday. But Mustafi, who has previously said he is not afraid to criticise Ozil in order to keep him at him best, jokingly tried to talk the goal down at first. “I don’t want to say too much because it will get in his head…
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has dismissed reports linking striker Luis Suarez with a move to Premier League side Manchester United. United manager Jose Mourinho signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer but the Swedish striker’s age, coupled with Wayne Rooney’s drop in form, have led to suggestions that he is on the lookout for a new frontman. Reports in the English media earlier this week claimed United would offer €140 million to Barca in the hope of luring former Liverpool man Suarez back to England. But Suarez, 29, recently said he would love to retire at the Camp Nou and…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that he wants to stay at the club at least until the end of his contract but, after that, “who knows.” Mourinho signed a three-year contract when he arrived at United this summer, with the option of an extension until at least 2020. It has been a challenging start for the former Chelsea manager at his new club, which has included two FA charges, which he refused to react to on Wednesday. Mourinho was banned for a game and fined for allegedly using ”abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official” in the…
Jose Mourinho has said it was a “professional decision” to bring Bastian Schweinsteiger back into the Manchester United fold. Mourinho said the former Germany captain had conducted himself well during his exile and was an option if there were problems in midfield. On Monday, United released pictures showing Schweinsteiger and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in training. Schweinsteiger, signed by Louis van Gaal in 2015, had not been training with the first team following Mourinho’s arrival in the summer. The midfielder said in August that he “will be ready if the team needs me” but United subsequently wrote him off as an asset…
Antoine Griezmann scored a 93rd-minute winner as Atletico Madrid secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over FC Rostov at the Vicente Calderon. Griezmann’s brilliant volleyed effort gave Atletico the lead just before the half-hour mark, but Rostov immediately replied through Sardar Azmoun. Atletico struggled to create chances throughout, but got a break deep into added time when Griezmann fired home and the goal was allowed to stand despite Rostov’s furious protests for offside. “They are a similar team to us: they defend and counter-attack well. They made it…
Atletico Madrid’s last-gasp 2-1 win over Rostov on Tuesday which sealed a place in the Champions League last 16 was the latest demonstration that Diego Simeone’s side are even more determined to win the trophy that has twice slipped from their grasp. After losing to Real Madrid in the final last season on penalties and in extra-time in 2014, Atletico have got stronger in the competition, winning all four of their Group D games so far with only Leicester City matching their 100 percent record. Simeone’s men had beaten Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Rostov 1-0 but Tuesday’s dramatic late…
Playmaker Juan Mata says he did not lose any sleep over Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Manchester United despite longstanding and widespread rumours that the pair had fallen out when they were both at Chelsea. Mourinho dropped the Spaniard during his time at Stamford Bridge before selling him to United in January 2014 for a then club record fee of 37 million pounds ($45.24 million). Mata has been a key player for the Premier League club this season, however, scoring twice and racking up an assist in eight league games. “Too many things were said. Too many stories were created as…
Misfiring Manchester United and an Inter Milan who have fired coach Frank de Boer can take a welcome boost from the Europa League in matchday four of the group phase on Thursday. The epic Group phase of 12 round robin pools of four teams is remarkably close so far with only Zenit, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk and Schalke 04 eyeing qualification for the knock out round with Thursday wins. Much has been made of United’s 37 shots without a goal against Burnley at the weekend, the failure to hit the ground running of £89 million signing Paul Pogba and the sorrowful…
Embattled Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will serve a one match touchline ban and pay a £50 000 fine after being punished by the Football Association over two separate incidents on Wednesday. The 53-year-old Portuguese received the ban for being sent to the stands during the 0-0 draw with Burnley last weekend and the fine for remarks he made ahead of the Premier League game with Liverpool. He also receives a mandatory £8 000 fine for being sent to the stands. “Jose Mourinho has been fined £50 000 in relation to media comments he made prior to Manchester United’s game…
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, insists Kelechi Iheanacho is a young player still in the process of his footballing education. Iheanacho has impressed since breaking into the City team last season, weighing in with crucial goals. Guardiola says Iheanacho’s talent is unquestionable but must continue to keep his feet firmly on the ground while playing his part to complement the club’s number one striker, Sergio Aguero. “Kelechi is a young player – huge talent but he is still learning. Sergio is a special player. “We have to convince him how special player he is for us. We need him a…
Ilkay Gundogan scored twice as Manchester City sank Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday to give manager Pep Guardiola an electrifying victory over his former club. Barca had won 4-0 when the sides met two weeks ago, but although Lionel Messi put them ahead, City stormed back in thrilling fashion as Gundogan scored twice either side of a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick. It ended Barcelona’s run of five successive wins over City and moved Guardiola’s side to within two points of Luis Enrique’s Group C leaders with two games remaining. “Our (first) goal here changed everything. Our players…
Barcelona will not be knocked off course by their 3-1 defeat at Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday despite being outplayed in the second half by Pep Guardiola’s fired-up side, the Catalan club’s manager Luis Enrique said. The Spanish champions are second in La Liga two points behind arch rivals Real Madrid and face a testing game on Sunday at high-flying Sevilla, who are a point behind them, with Luis Enrique declaring they would not dwell on the City defeat. “We have to get up and keep going. We never sit back when we win and we don’t…
Chelsea legend Pat Nevin is the latest to applaud Victor Moses over his impressive performance as a wing-back under Antonio Conte. Moses has nailed down a regular starting place at Chelsea with a series of impressive performances. His contribution as a wingback has helped Chelsea to four unbeaten games with clean sheets. Nevin described Moses’ performance as colossal and likened it to that of an Olympic 400 metre gold medallist. “Victor Moses was colossal and for me, he had his best game by far in a Chelsea shirt,” the former Chelsea player wrote in his column on the club’s official…
Stung by a chastening 4-0 defeat at the Camp Nou two weeks ago, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola makes a second attempt to outwit his former club Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday. Guardiola’s men were undone by the second-half dismissal of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo on October 19, when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to propel his side five points clear of City at the Group C summit. Another defeat would give Borussia Moenchengladbach and Celtic — who meet in Germany — an opportunity to overtake City and Guardiola knows his side face a major test of their nerve…
Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United’s derby victory over Manchester City can inject fresh life into his team’s spluttering Premier League title challenge. Mourinho’s side bounced back from a miserable 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea by defeating arch rivals City in the League Cup on Wednesday and the United boss hopes the momentum carries over into Saturday’s meeting with Burnley. Seeing off City, who had already beaten United in the league this season, was a welcome boost for Mourinho following his side’s spluttering start to the season, but he knows they can’t afford another to slip back into bad habits with table-toppers…