Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United has borne goals, but the Portuguese international has divided opinion over his defensive actions – or lack thereof – for the team. The 36-year-old responded to his critics emphatically in a recent interview with Sky Sports. Ronaldo has netted six goals in eight appearances for United since his return in August, but the general discourse surrounding him has been about what he takes away from the team instead of what he brings to it. Statistically, the Portuguese is the most reluctant pressing forward in the entire Premier League, which as per critics, is causing Ole Gunnar…
Author: Akshat Mehrish
Akshat Mehrish
Akshat Mehrish is a football expert who has a keen interest in tactics and player recruitment aspects of the sport.
According to the Mirror, the search for the next Newcastle United manager is coming to an end. Former AS Roma coach Paulo Fonseca is set to be named the Magpies’ manager and will take over the first-team duties from Steve Bruce. The tactician came close to being named the Tottenham Hotspur manager this summer, but talks ultimately broke down and Spurs decided to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo instead. Steve Bruce, who had been in charge of the Magpies since the beginning of the 2019/20 season, left the club on Wednesday. While speculation surrounding his future persisted over the past few weeks, especially after Newcastle’s…
A razor-sharp first-half display helped Arsenal brush aside an uninspiring Aston Villa side, which looked like it was still coming to terms with the loss of their key man – Jack Grealish – in the summer. Arsenal took control of the match right from kick-off – their intense press forcing Villa turnovers high up the pitch. Early chances presented themselves to Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka, and left-back Nuno Tavares, but none of them were able to force Martinez into making a save. Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also had a goal ruled out in the 8th minute after Alexandre Lacazette was adjudged to have fouled a defender…
Juventus captain also thinks that the Bianconeri paid for Cristiano’s sudden departure in terms of points; Massimiliano Allegri’s men started the Serie A campaign with just two points in four games and were in the relegation zone for a week. In a recent interview, the Juventus centre-back Chiellini claimed that it would’ve been better for the club had Cristiano Ronaldo left earlier in the summer window. Credit: Getty Images The Portuguese secured a return back to Manchester United on the final days of the window – after it looked like he was close to joining rivals Manchester City, initially – leaving Juve little time to…
The Parisians were prepared to offer Ansu Fati a 15 million euros-a-year salary – and a hefty bonus – to sign for them on a free transfer, as per Mundo Deportivo. The club’s attempts were in vain, though, as the youngster renewed his contract with boyhood club Barcelona. The report also claims that the Ligue 1 runners-up wanted to exploit Fati’s contract situation with Barca, where ambiguity remained over the length of his existing contract, by offering him a signing bonus worth 30 million euros. Credit: Barcelona The Spaniard also had interested Liverpool and Manchester United. Both teams were willing…
The Portuguese was on the wrong end of a 6-1 defeat in the UEFA Conference League, as his AS Roma side was thrashed by Norwegian outfit FK Bodo/Glimt. The scoreline marked Mourinho’s heaviest defeat of his illustrious career. The Norwegian outfit registered one of the biggest shocks of the European season by thrashing Mourinho’s side while also handing him the biggest defeat of his managerial career. For the first time in over 1000th matches, a team managed by the former Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager conceded six goals in a single game. https://twitter.com/OptaPaolo/status/1451255038584803330 Eric Botheim was the star of the show as…
The Portuguese scored the late winner as Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Atalanta 3-2 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils surged to the top of Group F as a consequence – three points ahead of the Serie A side. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side again fell behind by two goals, to begin with, due to some glaring defensive lapses. Mario Pasalic gave Atalanta the lead in the 15th minute, turning in a cross from Davide Zappacosta after losing his marker inside the box. United had failed to deal with the opposition’s attack initially, allowing the Serie A side to recycle the ball…
Four late goals, including three inside four minutes, helped Bayern Munich thrash Benfica in their latest group game of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season. In the earlier game, Gerard Pique scored the only goal as Barcelona beat Dynamo Kyiv. Robert Lewandowski thought he had given Bayern the lead in the 43rd minute after he turned in a cross from Kingsley Coman. However, the goal was pulled back due to a handball by the Frenchman in the build-up. Seven minutes past the interval, Bayern again had the ball in the net; this time, it was Thomas Muller who had poked it home from close…
Andreas Christensen scored his first senior goal for Chelsea as they beat Malmo 4-0 in the latest UEFA Champions League group stage matchday. Meanwhile, Juventus had to wait until the 86th minute to find the breakthrough against Zenit St Petersburg. The Dane scored in the ninth minute; the centre-back ghosted in between two Malmo defenders to volley a Thiago Silva cross past the goalkeeper. Chelsea were presented the opportunity to double their lead in the 18th minute, but it came at a cost. Star striker Romelu Lukaku, who had been scythed down inside the box by Lasse Nielsen, went off the pitch injured and…
As per the Telegraph, Newcastle target Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Magpies are currently in the process of major squad overhauls, including the first team manager; the club sacked Steve Bruce on the morning of October 20, after a week of speculation. Despite there being no manager in place at Newcastle, at the moment, the club continues to be linked with players. Calvert-Lewin becomes the latest star to be linked with a transfer to the Tyneside club, following their mega-money takeover earlier this month. https://twitter.com/Everton/status/1450861930793537548 The forward has risen from a peripheral figure to Everton’s key man in attack, subsequently earning his…