Posts

Showing posts from August 4, 2024

Community Shield: Some of the best ever matches

Image
More than a pre-season friendly? As we look forward to Saturday's Community Shield, this article will look back on some of the most memorable clashes between some of the country's top sides in what is the English football season's traditional curtain raiser.  Wembley awaits Leeds United vs Liverpool - 1992 In a thrilling match, champions Leeds defeated Liverpool 4-3 with a hat-trick from French forward and Premier League icon, Eric Cantona . However, by the end of the season, Cantona had joined Manchester United and helped them win the league title. The game was filled with compelling goals and high drama, setting the stage for the twists and turns of the following season. Manchester United v Newcastle United 1996 Fresh off a Premier League season that saw United narrowly edge past the Magpies to clinch the title, this match was full of tension from the very first whistle. Manchester United were too powerful on the day.  The match was a sign of United's ability t

Pre Season: Real Madrid beat Chelsea

Image
Real Madrid 2 - 1 Chelsea First-half goals from Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz secured a win for Madrid despite Noni Madueke’s header, exposing Chelsea’s defensive frailties once again. Chelsea have conceded 12 goals across five pre-season games in America, having gone 4-0 down in two of those matches and managing to win just one. Ceballos capitalised on a deflected Lucas Vazquez shot to score in the 19th minute. Eight minutes later, Diaz rounded the new goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen to score from a tight angle past the Dane, who was making his first start at the Bank of America Stadium. Chelsea pulled one back in the 39th minute as Madueke headed in Enzo Fernandez’s cross at the far post. Maresca made no substitutions at half-time, but his slightly adjusted team appeared more solid, playing out a dull goalless second half. The best chance of the half was a missed one-on-one opportunity for Christopher Nkunku. Carlo Ancelotti's side were still without many of their star players, b

UCL: Rangers earn dramatic draw

Image
Dynamo Kyiv 1 - 1 Rangers Cyriel Dessers' dramatic 94th-minute equaliser earned Rangers a crucial draw in the first leg against Dynamo Kyiv in their bid to qualify for the Champions League. Powered by youtube embed code and låna pengar snabbt utan krav Highlights above courtesy of Premier Sports Amid increasing negativity surrounding the start of the Ibrox club's season, Philippe Clement's side fell behind to Andriy Yarmolenko's first-half opener. Similar to their goalless draw with Heart of Midlothian on Saturday, Rangers were both wasteful and occasionally vulnerable. However, Dessers' close-range finish with the final kick of the match rescued what could be a priceless result in Poland. The winners of this tie will face either RB Salzburg or FC Twente for a place in the 2024-25 Champions League, with the Austrians taking a 2-1 lead to the Netherlands. A closer analysis of what happened As on Saturday, only one new summer signing, Connor Barron, featured in t

News: Lee Carsley expected to become England interim boss

Image
There has been an interesting announcement from the FA. Lee Carsley is anticipated to step up as the interim manager for the England men's team for their Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland next month. Carsley previously guided England Under-21s to victory in the European Championship in 2023, marking their first triumph in the tournament in 39 years. Gareth Southgate resigned from his role as England manager two days after the team's defeat by Spain in the final of the 2024 Euros last month. The progression from Under-21s manager to interim senior team manager is a familiar route, with Howard Wilkinson, Stuart Pearce, and Southgate himself having made the transition after leading the Young Lions. Southgate eventually secured the permanent position and managed the team for eight years, achieving notable successes such as reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2018 , the World Cup quarter-final in 2022, and the Euros finals in 2021 and 2024.

The Big Discussion: Manchester United's potential midfield signings

Image
Man United target a new midfielder Let's explore some of the options that they could sign to improve their squad before the transfer window closes.  Adrien Rabiot - Free agent Rabiot, 29, is a free agent after leaving Juventus. The France international is reportedly interested in a move to the Premier League. He almost joined the Red Devils last season before signing a new one-year deal. Liam, a Manchester United fan, told us: "This would be a great signing for us. On a free transfer, it would make complete sense. He has great experience and would be a fantastic partner for Mainoo in our midfield." Manchester United are currently aiming to reduce their wage bill, so you could argue that It makes no sense to revive their interest in Rabiot. However, on a free transfer, you could make the case for the transfer to give the club more experience in the midfield. Will United sign him this summer? United's hopes of securing Rabiot's signature for a second consecuti

Scotland: Celtic start title defence in style

Image
Celtic 4 - 0 Kilmarnock Celtic kicked off their Premiership title defence with a comfortable 4-0 victory at home against Kilmarnock. Reo Hatate opened the scoring after 17 minutes, coolly finishing from the edge of the box. Celtic doubled their advantage five minutes before half-time when Liam Scales headed a Matt O’Riley corner into the far post. Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn made it three on the hour mark with a deflected strike that looped over Kilmarnock’s goalkeeper, Robby McCrorie. Anthony Ralston sealed the win in stoppage time, netting his first goal for Celtic since 2021. Click here for more Celtic news and stories A closer look at the match Before the match, they were greeted to an impressive fan display when they took to the Parkhead turf. This created an amazing atmosphere and the Celtic players responded.  Reo Hatate put the champions ahead in the 17th minute, firing into the bottom corner from just inside the box. Earlier, Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi was denied by a brillia

Transfer News: West Ham sign Niclas Fullkrug

Image
West Ham have signed Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund for £27m. The 31-year-old, who joined Dortmund from Werder Bremen last summer, scored 15 goals in 46 games in 2023-24 and finished as a Champions League runner-up. This video contains some of his best goals from his time in the Bundesliga.  He also netted twice during hosts Germany's run to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, despite not starting a match. Fullkrug is the fifth signing made by new West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui this summer, following the arrivals of former Wolves captain Max Kilman for £40m, Dutch forward Crysencio Summerville from Leeds for more than £25m, goalkeeper Wes Foderingham from Sheffield United and Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme for £25.5m from Palmeiras. Premier League: Summer 2024 news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Click here for West Ham news and stories Fan reaction Jamie, a West Ham fan, told us: "He should be an excellent signing for West Ham and looks lik

Scotland: Dundee derby proves to be a thriller

Image
Dundee United 2 - 2 Dundee Dundee twice came from behind to deny Dundee United a victory in their Scottish Premiership return, as the first city derby in over two years lived up to its billing as the game of the weekend. There was a fantastic atmosphere created by both sets of fans. After a dull start on Saturday with two 0-0 draws, three early goals set the new top-flight season ablaze. Dundee gave their hosts a guard of honour before last season's Championship flag was raised, then left Kristijan Trapanovski plenty of space to slot the opener after just 13 minutes. Seb Palmer-Houlden equalised from close range five minutes later, but Miller Thomson restored United's lead with a similar finish—all within the first 15 minutes of the game. United deserved their lead, but Dundee finished stronger in a thrilling end that saw a Luke McCowan penalty 11 minutes from time. Dundee United now remain unbeaten in seven derbies , while Dundee have not won at Tannadice in their last 13

Pre Season: Chelsea lose again

Image
Manchester City 4 - 2 Chelsea Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to lead Manchester City to a 4-2 pre-season victory over Chelsea in Columbus. Haaland, 24, scored two quick goals in the first five minutes, taking advantage of two mistakes by Chelsea.  The first goal came from a loose pass by Tosin Adarabioyo, with Levi Colwill fouling Haaland for a penalty, which the Norwegian scored after a re-take. Haaland then doubled City's lead, intercepting a misplaced pass and scoring.  Pre Season: Celtic thrash Chelsea (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Click here for more Manchester City news and stories In the second half, City added two more goals, with Raheem Sterling's mistake allowing Oscar Bobb to score, followed by Haaland's hat-trick goal after another error from Malo Gusto. Despite Chelsea scoring twice, City secured the win.  Both managers blamed the "dry" pitch for the errors. City will now face Manchester United in the Community Shield, while Chelsea will pla

Scotland: Motherwell and Ross County play out dull draw

Image
Motherwell 0 - 0 Ross County Motherwell and Ross County couldn't be separated on the opening day of the new season, ending in a goalless draw at Fir Park. The home side had several chances, but either missed the target or were thwarted by goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw. Academy graduate Ewan Wilson came closest to scoring five minutes from the end, but his powerful shot was tipped away by Laidlaw. Ross County, buoyed by their relegation play-off win in May, struggled to create significant chances and were likely happier with the point. The first real opportunity came after 20 minutes and should have resulted in a goal. Zach Robinson dispossessed Will Nightingale near the halfway line but shot wide when one-on-one with the keeper. Motherwell's next chance tested Laidlaw. A clever chip found Wilson, who cut the ball back to Moses Ebiye, but his close-range shot was brilliantly saved by Laidlaw. Keeping a clean sheet on his first Premiership appearance 🧤 pic.twitter.com/Ws3m8nYAk

Scotland: Hearts hold Rangers

Image
Hearts 0 - 0 Rangers Hearts and Rangers kicked off the Scottish Premiership season with a draw, highlighting that last season's runners-up are still finding their footing after a turbulent summer. The teams met again at Tynecastle, where they had concluded the previous season with a thrilling 3-3 draw. In that match, Hearts secured a point with a last-minute equaliser from Kyosuke Tagawa . This time, Hearts, who finished third last season, were unlucky not to edge out an evenly-matched contest, indicating they have closed the gap on Rangers over the summer. Hearts' head coach Steven Naismith extended his unbeaten home streak to 12 games. Still, it is Philippe Clement, the Rangers' manager, who may feel more satisfied with the result, as it maintains Rangers' 16-game unbeaten run against Hearts. The draw gives champions Celtic a chance to end the opening weekend two points ahead of two potential top-of-the-table rivals when they host Kilmarnock on Sunday. Where