Month: November 2024

All eyes were on Old Trafford for Saturday s Manchester derby, though the 0-0 draw was ultimately a rather duller affair than many expected.

But at the very least, the draw actually took them a point closer to one of the title favourites in Chelsea, who suffered a shock defeat to an Everton side who had been struggling badly in recent weeks.

Newcastle United piled on the misery for West Brom with a late winner, while Aston Villa claimed a trademark – yes, that s right, and you ll soon understand why – victory at Wolves to continue their fine campaign.

Here is the pick of the Opta facts from Saturday s action in the Premier League.

3 Manchester United have failed to score in three home league games this season, one more than in the whole of the 2019-20…

Ben Davies is in advanced negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur over a new contract, according to the Telegraph.

The Wales International, who moved to the North London club from Swansea City in the summer of 2014 is in talks over a fresh deal which would see him committed to Mauricio Pochettino s side for another five years.

Over five seasons, Davies has racked up one hundred and sixty-eight appearances in all competitions in all competitions, scoring four goals.

He played forty times last term, but was an unused substitute in last month s Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.

Internationally, he has been capped forty-six times for his country and was an ever present as they reached the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championships in France.

Pep Guardiola concedes he wondered if he made a mistake in selling Yaya Toure during his time in charge of Barcelona after seeing the Manchester City favourite make a flying start to life in the Premier League.

Toure will step out at the Etihad Stadium for the final time on Wednesday when the freshly crowned champions take on Brighton and Hove Albion, Guardiola confirming last week that the 34-year-old midfielder s contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season.

Having operated primarily as a holding midfielder at Barca, Toure was unleashed by then-City boss Roberto Mancini as a dominant midfield powerhouse who scored FA Cup semi-final and final winners in 2011.

The league title followed in 2011-12 and the Ivory Coast international scored a…

Outgoing Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery was in a celebratory mood after farewelling Allianz Arena with a seventh successive Bundesliga title.

Ribery – like fellow veteran Arjen Robben – will leave Bayern at the end of the season with his contract due to expire and Saturday s trophy-sealing victory over Eintracht Frankfurt provided the perfect home finale.

The 36-year-old Ribery came off the bench and scored in Bayern s 5-1 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt, which ensured Niko Kovac s side finished two points clear of Borussia Dortmund.

After 12 years and nine Bundesliga trophies, Frenchman Ribery savoured his final Allianz Arena appearance ahead of next week s DFB-Pokal decider against RB Leipzig in Berlin.

Campeones, ole ole ole!

— #MEIS7ER…

Verdict: Away win

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Buoyed by the impressive triumph over Portugal, in-form Uruguay will fancy their chances of claiming another major scalp when they take on star-studded France in the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals. Les Bleus, on the other hand, managed to outclass Argentina few days ago and they hope this will be just another obstacle on the road to the final in Moscow.

Uruguay

Uruguay had reached new heights under long-serving manager Oscar Tabarez, finishing fourth at the 2010 World Cup finals while also lifting the 2011 Copa America trophy. But, despite finishing second in the South American zone of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, La Celeste were not exactly seen as one of the candidates for the coveted trophy. Nevertheless, Ta…

Dani Alves believes Juventus must aim to score when they travel to Camp Nou for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, despite his side having a 3-0 advantage.

A brilliant brace from Paulo Dybala set Juventus on their way to a crushing win, with a second-half Giorgio Chiellini header extending the Serie A leaders advantage in Turin on Tuesday.

But Barcelona came from 4-0 down after their first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, with Sergi Roberto s injury-time strike sealing a 6-1 victory to complete one of football s unlikeliest comebacks.

Alves said Juventus must therefore aim to score to increase the size of the task facing his former club when the sides meet again in Barcelona on April 19.

I thin…

Rodrigo Moreno and Paco Alcacer scored two goals each as Spain claimed a 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands to maintain their 100 per cent record in Euro 2020 qualifying.

After a less than convincing performance in their 2-1 victory over Romania, Spain arrived at El Molinon hoping for a morale-boosting result on a night when Sergio Ramos made his 167th appearance and equalled Iker Casillas caps record for the national team.

Rodrigo s goals one in each half and a late double from substitute Alcacer made sure the Euro 2012 winners avoided embarassment against Group F s stragglers, but the visitors deserved credit for stifling Spain s strikers for long periods.

Head coach Robert Moreno, taking charge of Spain for the second time since he was appointed on a full-time b…

France s World Cup triumph will have no impact on Sunday s Nations League clash with Netherlands, Ronald Koeman has warned.

Didier Deschamps side host Oranje in Paris in their second match in the competition, having drawn 0-0 with Germany in Munich on Thursday.

Koeman is full of admiration for the way France won their second World Cup in Russia, a competition for which the Dutch failed to qualify.

However, he is confident they can deliver a vastly improved result compared to their last trip to the French capital in August 2017, when they lost 4-0.

France deservedly won the World Cup, he told a news conference. It s a great achievement, but also a thing of the past. It s now up to us to have a good game against the world champions and get a result. Everyt…

Speaking to Catalan outlet L Esportiu a few days ago, Barcelona president Joan Laporta refused to rule out a sale of Frenkie De Jong this summer, despite the Dutch midfielder having four years left on his contract.

De Jong joined Barcelona in the summer of 2019 for a fee which reportedly stood at €86 million. Since then, he s gone on to play for the Catalan club on 139 occasions, scoring 13 goals and producing 17 assists. He s a fairly regular feature of Barcelona s midfield section and his contribution has been notable, but it seems the people running the club wouldn t have too much difficulty imagining the future without him.

The 25-year-old has frequently been linked with Manchester United, where his former box at Ajax Erik ten Hag has just started his reign as the…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Anfield is a “nightmare” for opposition teams as the ground has once again become a fortress for his side.

The 4-0 Europa League victory over LASK extended their 100 per cent home record to 10 matches this season, in which they have scored 31 goals and conceded just four.

Liverpool have not lost at home in any competition since their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in February, and domestically it stretches back to October last year.

1 0 Matches played at Anfield this season… 1 0 wins

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

They have dropped just six points in the Premier League in that time in a run of 18 wins and three draws.

“It is our home, it must, must, must be a difficult place to come,” sa…