Gary Neville: There’s nothing I like about this Manchester United team

It is Europa League football for Manchester United next season and, after their 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield Town, it is what they deserve.

Those were, in essence, the words of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Red Devils boss not holding any punches at the end of that game at the John Smith’s Stadium.

“The Europa League next year is the right place to be for us,” the 46-year-old was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

Solskjaer was not the only one who did not hold back with his assessment of things, though, with Gary Neville having also been left far from impressed with how his former side’s season has gone.

“This is Huddersfield Town who have struggled all season. You watch them, they haven’t got the quality, but I like watching them a lot more than the ones in the red shirts, to be honest,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“At least you can identify with them. There’s nothing I like about this United team at all. It’s just awful. Look at them. They’re the most despondent group of people.”

And it is not hard to see where the former England defender is coming from. Since falling away after their impressive start under Solskjaer, this Manchester United side have shown no likeable qualities as a team.

They do not defend well, they screw up too many attacks and cannot control games in the way you would expect an outfit of their calibre to.

It is strange, because for all of the deadwood the club do have, they also have some very good footballers at disposal such as Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, though the latter has been struggling for fitness of late.

Whatever the case, next season, something has to change at Old Trafford. And with the summer transfer window they could possibly be about to have, you would expect things to.

Leeds United: Bielsa must start Kemar Roofe against Aston Villa

It was a disastrous Easter weekend for Leeds, wasn’t it Whites fans?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had held a three-point advantage over Sheffield United going into Friday’s fixtures yet following their automatic promotion rivals’ 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, the pressure to respond in their clash with Wigan proved to be too much.

Despite their opponents having a man sent off in the first-half and Patrick Bamford giving his side the lead, the Whites inexplicably capitulated, conceding goals either side of half-time at Elland Road. Although Leeds would have 36 shots in their clash with the Latics, a worrying lack of composure resulted in them losing ground on the Blades.

Rather than simply being a one-off, Bielsa’s men replicated their poor showing against Wigan on Monday when they faced Brentford at Griffin Park. Despite dominating possession, the Whites were hit twice on the counter-attack by the Bees who put a huge dent in their hopes of securing a top-two finish in May.

With Leeds now three points behind Chris Wilder’s Blades, it is surely time to throw caution at the wind and start Kemar Roofe against Aston Villa next Saturday.

The 26-year-old has not started for the club since suffering ligament damage in his knee during a 2-1 victory over Swansea City in February yet has made five substitute appearances since returning to action earlier this month.

Arguably the club’s best attacking outlet having scored 14 goals in the second tier this season, Roofe has the ability to turn a game on its head and will be needed if his side are to overcome a Lions side, who are in red hot form.

With the former Oxford United ace being able to play on the wing as well as up-front, he could be brought in to replace a number of players who have underperformed in recent weeks.

What do you think Leeds fans? Should Roofe start against Villa? Or is it not worth risking the forward with the prospect of play-offs just over the horizon?

Arsenal: Allowing Ramsey to leave is the worst bit of business the club have done this decade

The news came to a shock to every Arsenal fan in the world, and months later it’s still hard to fathom how the club ended up making that decision.

Aaron Ramsey’s departure for Italian super giants Juventus was and still is something that was hard to accept for most Arsenal fans. Here, we have one of the best midfielders the club had had in the Premier League era leaving the Gunners in the prime of his career after the board retracted a contract offer for the Welshman.

Arsenal have a poor history when it comes to dealing with stars at the club, from allowing Robin van Persie to leave on the cheap to the countless amount of players making the move from north London to Manchester City, player negotiations have never been the Gunners’ strongest suit, and Ramsey’s departure might just be the worst case this decade.

Since the announcement that Ramsey will be heading the Turin, the 28-year-old midfielder has been one of the best players in the Arsenal team and a large reason why the club have stumbled their way into third place in the Premier League table, and it is bemusing what Emery or the Gunners board don’t see in the Welsh international.

The case of ‘he doesn’t fit in the team’ is a weak and lazy excuse from Arsenal fans who can understand why the decision was made not to renew Ramsey’s contract. If anything, the former Cardiff City player has been one of the players to thrive in Emery’s new system.

Starting as an eight or a 10 in the team always results in an increase of productivity and attacking threat from Arsenal, and his ability to score more than the average midfielder is what makes Ramsey so unique to the club.

The club have made some bad mistakes in the past, but allowing Ramsey to leave for free might just be up there as one of the worst Arsenal will ever make.

Excellent once again: Tottenham fans loved Vertonghen’s performance against Palace

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Tottenham Hotspur kicked off life in their new stadium with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

It was not the most entertaining of matches truth be told, but it was a very important victory for Tottenham as they returned to third position in the Premier League table.

Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen scored the goals for Spurs, but it was also an impressive defensive performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

And the Tottenham fans have been keen to pay tribute to Jan Vertonghen.

According to WhoScored, the centre-back had two shots, a pass success rate of 93% and also won seven aerial duels during his 90 minutes on the field.

There is no question that the Belgium international is one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

Which team is the dominant force in London right now? Playmaker FC’s Tom Skinner has a very unpopular opinion on the matter. Check it out in the video below…

And it is safe to say that the Tottenham fans absolutely adore the 31-year-old, who has now made 278 appearances for the club in all competitions.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Rangers fans on Twitter were ecstatic to see Lafferty grab a league goal

Kyle Lafferty has had a bit of a tough time on his return to Ibrox this season. The 31-year-old striker had bagged just four goals before yesterday, with his most recent goal coming against Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup in January, and before that his most recent Scottish Premier League goal coming all the way back in late September.

There has been no doubting that Alfredo Morelos is Steven Gerrard’s number one choice up front, and the January signing of Jermain Defoe has only pished Lafferty further down the pecking order. However, when the Northern Irishman came on and scored yesterday it would have given him the much-needed confidence boost that he’s been needing for a while.

The Bluenoses will hope he can put together some kind of run of form now and if he can kick on and grab some goals between now and the end of the season then it will be a welcomed bonus that would relieve some of the goalscoring burden that is so often put on Morelos. However, it won’t be easy to string together goalscoring form, and if it is to happen then the big man will need more than cameo appearances from the bench.

You can read the Gers’ reaction to Lafferty’s strike here:

The Bluenoses loved seeing their big man score and will hope there are few more to come from Lafferty this season.

Time for Unai Emery to hand Denis Suarez his first start

Arsenal have it all to play for in the Europa League this week when they host BATE in their second-leg clash at the Emirates on Thursday evening.

Unai Emery’s charges suffered an embarrassing 0-1 defeat in the Borisov Arena last week in a match that saw the Gunners fail to get their rhythm and momentum going.

Thursday’s encounter is thus a good occasion for the manager to hand new-man Denis Suarez his first start in an Arsenal shirt.

The 25-year-old replaced Sead Kolasinac in the second-half in the match in Belarus and looked a bit more energetic in the time he was on the pitch. It could also be a good time for Emery to give Kolasinac a rest, despite it being a must-win match for the North London club.

Kolasinac has been in solid form this season and has adapted brilliantly to the wing-back position.

But, with Nacho Monreal back in the starting lineup after a long injury layoff, playing Suarez in the left-midfield position might boost Arsenal’s chances of applying a lot of pressure on BATE.

Arsenal host Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday and with fixtures set to become quite congested from now on, the fitness of the players like Kolasinac will become equally important.

With Alexandre Lacazette set to miss the match due to suspension, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will almost definitely start up-front for Arsenal and it could be exciting to see Suarez and him play together.

Suarez’s capabilities will also help Alex Iwobi’s game on the left-wing and it could see Arsenal play with a lot of width and depth, which is exactly the type of game Emery wants his team to play.

Suarez has only made three substitute appearances since joining the Gunners on loan from Barcelona last month and will blast new life into the Arsenal team should he play from the start on Thursday.

رغم الفوز على تشيلسي.. جماهير ليفربول محبطة من محمد صلاح بسبب الفانتازي!

رغم الأداء الرائع لفريق ليفربول أمام تشيلسي الليلة، إلا أن الإحباط كان حاضرًا بين بعض جماهير الريدز خاصة ممن يشاركون في لعبة “فانتازي البريميرليج” بسبب ابتعاد محمد صلاح عن التسجيل أو صناعة الأهداف ضد البلوز.

وحقق ليفربول الفوز بهدفين دون رد على تشيلسي، في المباراة التي جمعتهما على ملعب “ستامفورد بريدج” ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من عمر الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز (طالع التفاصيل).

ملخص لمسات محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي 

وشارك محمد صلاح، نجم منتخبنا الوطني والمحترف في صفوف ليفربول، في المباراة أساسيًا وأكملها حتى نهايتها.

وجاءت ردود أفعال جماهير ليفربول على النحو الآتي..

“صلاح كان قائدي (في الفانتازي)”.

“تياجو عندما يرى صلاح أو ماني يدخلان من الجناح إلى العمق”. 

“أنا عندما منحت صلاح شارة القيادة (في الفانتازي)”.

“ماني أكبر من صلاح”. 

“صلاح القائد (في الفانتازي) قتلني”. 

“أنا عندما منحت شارة قيادة فريقي في الفانتازي لصلاح على حساب ماني”. 

“تياجو وهو يمد صلاح وماني وفيرمينو بالفرص”.

“ليفربول فاز بهدفين دون رد، وصلاح لم يسجل أو يصنع.. إنها أخبار سيئة لمدربي فانتازي البريميرليج”.

Will Kylian Mbappe be fit for the Champions League? PSG make big decision ahead of Real Sociedad clash after resting star forward against Lille

Paris Saint Germain have made a decision regarding Kylian Mbappe's return from injury ahead of their clash against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Mbappe suffers injuryRested against Lille on weekendSet to return for UCL fixture(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The 25-year-old France international is set to return to the PSG line-up for their upcoming Champions League clash against Real Sociedad on Wednesday. Mbappe had previously picked up an ankle injury during the 3-1 win over Brest in the Coupe de France – where he scored the opening goal in the 34th minute.

AdvertisementWHAT LUIS ENRIQUE SAID

Speaking in Tuesday's press conference ahead of the first leg, PSG boss Luis Enrique offered an update on Mbappe's fitness. "Kylian Mbappe is available, just like the other players," he said. "When a team has a player like Kylian Mbappe, of course we know that the more he plays the better, because we all benefit from that. There is no doubt about it. He could have played [on Saturday] if it had been a final, but it wasn't, it was not worth the risk."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Enrique made the decision to rest Mbappe during their last outing against LOSC Lille last weekend, where his side were once again able to secure a 3-1 win. In his absence, PSG played two players up front in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, with both Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos featuring. Both players were on the scoresheet during the game.

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WHAT NEXT FOR PSG?

The first leg of their round of 16 tie is now approaching on Wednesday, as they host Sociedad who currently sit in seventh place within La Liga. Mbappe has three goals to his name in the Champions League this season and his return to the line-up will act as a huge boost to PSG.

Botafogo acerta com Davi Araújo, promessa do Real Brasília

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo tem mais um nome encaminhado para reforçar o elenco visando a sequência da temporada. Trata-se de Davi Araújo, atacante de 20 anos que chega por empréstimo até dezembro de 2021 do Real Brasília. A informação foi dada primeiramente pelo “Canal do TF” e confirmada pelo LANCE!.

A contratação é vista como uma oportunidade de mercado positiva pela diretoria do Botafogo. Davi Araújo marcou dois gols em cinco jogos no Campeonato Candango na atual temporada e chega sem custos e com opção de compra ao final do empréstimo. Os valores não foram revelados.

Davi Araújo foi a revelação do Candangão do ano passado atuando pelo Paracatu. As boas atuações o levaram para o Real Brasília, um clube de maior projeção no estado. É destro e atua pelos lados do campo, com preferência pelo flanco direito.

Além do atacante, a diretoria do Botafogo também está à procura de um volante para o restante da temporada. A diretoria entende que um nome para a posição é necessário para o elenco e estuda possibilidades. Muitos nomes foram oferecidos ao Comitê Executivo de Futebol.

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Confiança, conversa e truco: Antony diz que levará Diniz 'para a vida'

MatériaMais Notícias

Antony fez diversos elogios a Fernando Diniz durante live no Instagram da empresa que gerencia sua carreira, a 4ComM. O atacante de 20 anos, que será atleta do Ajax a partir de 1º de julho, valoriza as conversas que teve com o treinador desde setembro de 2019, quando ele substituiu Cuca.

– Olha, o Diniz é um treinador que me ajudou muito desde quando chegou, me dá confiança e liberdade para jogar. É muito bom de grupo, está sempre conversando. Quando ele chegou, me chamou para conversar, me deu uma confiança enorme. Ele cobra muito, é do perfil dele, e agradeço até pela cobrança. Ele está muito feliz por mim, é um cara que agradeço muito, um treinador que com certeza agregou muito na minha vida e que vou levar para o resto da vida – disse Antony, antes de revelar que Diniz tem liberdade até para jogar baralho com os comandados.

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– Em concentração ele está sempre jogando truco com a gente, sempre dando risada, dando atenção para todo mundo. É querido por mim e pelo grupo.

Antony havia perdido espaço na reta final da passagem de Cuca pelo São Paulo, mas tornou-se titular e peça fundamental da equipe com Fernando Diniz.

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