Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet needed a late winner from young substitute Odin Bailey to put an end to their run of three straight defeats.

The teenager popped up in the 89th minute with a close-range header just minutes after Middlesbrough had bundled in what looked to be a point-salvaging equaliser through Daniel Ayala.

But the 19-year-old’s first goal for the club handed the Blues a much-deserved victory, considering they recorded 26 attempts at goal in comparison to Boro’s five, per WhoScored.

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Fran Villalba also bagged his maiden strike for Birmingham just after the half-hour mark as he slotted home an excellent first-time finish past Darren Randolph, with the assist coming from right-back Maxime Colin.

The 27-year-old has received a lot of praise on social media following his performance in the game as a whole, not just because he assisted their opener.

One supporter claimed Colin was the best right-back in the league while another went one step further to call him the best in the world.

Other members of the St Andrew’s crowd used the words ‘unreal,’ ‘unbelievable’ and ‘sublime’ to describe his showing.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Shields Gazette, West Brom could go back in for former loan star Dwight Gayle in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

The 28-year-old striker was on loan at the Hawthorns last season under former boss Darren Moore and quickly became an influential member of the squad.

Gayle scored 24 goals in 41 appearances as the club made the playoffs last season. He also added eight assists, showing how much of a team asset he really was.

In the summer, Bilic tried to get his hands on the forward but his parent club, Newcastle United, kept hold of him at manager Steve Bruce’s request.

At the time, they valued their frontman at between £15-20m which West Brom simply couldn’t afford.

The Croatian has added fuel to the fire by stating he would, in an ideal world, like another striker.

Music to Albion’s ears

If the Baggies can find the money for him, he could be one of the signings of the season based on how he performed last term.

He’s clearly a very popular figure at the Hawthorns despite only being at the club temporarily and several supporters wanted him to re-sign this summer.

The move would not only add goals to a frontline which has scored just two in six between them, but it would also enable Bilic to play the two striker system he spoke about when he first arrived at the club.

Gayle predominantly played in a two last term and alongside Jay Rodriguez, they scored 46 times.

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Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore could really benefit from having someone like Gayle alongside them and a possible pairing could bring fruitful benefits to all concerned, specifically with Austin.

West Brom could have two proven goalscorers leading the line for them in the second half of the season if the attacker signs again. Austin has 68 in 135 Championship appearances, per Tranfermarkt, and the Newcastle man showed his potential last season.

Landing a player like Gayle could well be the difference between securing promotion or remaining in the Championship.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Leeds’ transfer business this summer initially didn’t look like too much to rave about.

They sold Pontus Jansson to Brentford whilst Kemar Roofe also walked out of the door as he joined Anderlecht.

In total 31 players departed Elland Road either on a temporary or permanent basis and six arrived on loan.

Given Leeds can only include five of them in a single matchday squad it was a rather bizarre choice.

What may also have been strange was turning down a colossal bid of £27m for Kalvin Phillips.

The midfielder epitomises the club. He was born in Leeds and came through the academy to turn in over 40 appearances last term.

Selling him would have raised question marks about the Whites’ ambition but instead, he’s now put pen to paper on a new contract, revealing how he wants to stay with the Whites for a long period.

The 23-year-old has started the season in exceptional form and has won the most tackles per game of anyone in the division.

Remarkably, however, had he left over the summer he wouldn’t have even been the Championship’s record sale.

That falls at the feet of Moussa Sissoko who departed for £30m to Spurs.

In turning down an offer for Phillips, though, it displayed the might of Leeds and proved they’re capable of achieving things so few Championship sides manage.

This summer we saw a host of talents leave the league. Adam Webster moved on for £20m whilst the same price was enough for Oliver McBurnie to walk through the exit door at Swansea.

But there was a bigger deal too.

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Ryan Sessegnon sealed a £25m switch to Fulham as clubs all over the division struggled to hold onto prized assets.

Che Adams left Birmingham, Neal Maupay fled Brentford whilst Daniel James commanded a fee of £15m.

Some top clubs were seeing some of their key players leave but Leeds held onto the beat and soul of their side despite interest from Aston Villa, Wolves and Bournemouth.

Some of the money thrown at other clubs in the Championship demonstrated that it’s tough to turn down big fees but that only provides evidence of why plenty of teams struggle to live with Leeds.

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Don’t panic, but Jesse Lingard has bagged himself an assist.

The Manchester United man has been in wretched form since the start of last season, and has come increasingly under fire for his performances.

A stat that went viral back in mid-August pointed out how the England international had not registered a league goal or assist this calendar year, and it looked highly unlikely the run would be ending anytime soon.

But in an incredibly early Christmas miracle, Lingard saw his lay-off finished off by Mason Greenwood in the clash against Rochdale in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

After seeing the 26-year-old end his hoodoo, United fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the midfielder.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted Lingard has now returned to form and would be back to delivering his best.

Some Red Devils fans pointed out how United’s next fixture is against Arsenal, and insisted the Englishman has timed his return to form perfectly.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

أشاد البرازيلي رودريجو بالفرنسي كريم بنزيما، زميله في ريال مدريد، مشيرًا إلى أنه أفضل مهاجم في العالم خلال الوقت الحالي.

رودريجو جوس  يعتبر أحد أكثر المهاجمين الواعدين في البرازيل وريال مدريد، خاصة بعدما انتقل من سانتوس بقيمة 45 مليون يورو في 2019 للنادي الملكي.

وقال رودريجو في تصريحات لموقع فيفا الرسمي: “لطالما كنت أحب نيمار وروبينيو وكريستيانو رونالدو، لكن والدي كان دائمًا بطلي المفضل”.

طالع أيضًا.. زيدان يرد.. من يكون مهاجم المستقبل لـ ريال مدريد بين رونالدو ومبابي وهالاند؟

وأضاف صاحب الـ20 عامًا: “أريد أن أكون أحد هؤلاء اللاعبين الذين كنت أشاهدهم في كأس العالم، أتمنى تمثيل البرازيل في قطر، حيث أن ذكريات الشوارع المطلية بالألوان الصفراء وتجمع أفراد الأسرة لمشاهدة المباريات، والجميع يهتفون بأسم السيليساو بتعصب، مازالت في ذهني”.

وعن مواطنه نيمار: “إنه عبقري في كرة القدم، لاعب فريد ولا يوجد مثله كثير، في الفترة القصيرة التي قضيناها معًا، كان له تأثير مثير”.

وفي ريال مدريد، أكد فينيسيوس أنه تلقى المساعدة من مواطنه كاسيميرو: “لقد ساعدني كثيرًا منذ وصولي إلى هنا، إنه شخص رائع، كذلك كلاعب هو أفضل مما كنت أتصور، كاسيميرو بلا شك أفضل لاعب خط وسط دفاعي في العالم”.

واستمر بالحديث عن زملائه في ريال مدريد، وأكد: “بنزيما بالنسبة لي هو أفضل لاعب في العالم، إنه استثنائي، يقدم مستويات مُذهلة، اللعب بجانبه شرف كبير، أنا أستمتع حقًا به”.

وشدد: “اللعب بجانب بنزيما شرف كبير، أنا أستمتع حقًا به، وأتمنى الاستمرار معه لفترة طويلة حتى استفاد منه”.

وعن مواجهة ليفربول في دوري أبطال أوروبا، علق رودريجو: “كلما تقدمت في هذه المنافسة، زادت صعوبة الأمر، كل الفرق قوية وليفربول واحدًا منهم”.

وواصل: “ستكونان مباراتين رائعتين، وسيكون هناك تكافؤ كبير للغاية، دائمًا ما تكون هذه المباريات مميزة لكل مُحب لكرة القدم”.

واختتم: “نهائي 2018 كان سببًا في حبي الكبير لـ ريال مدريد وتشجيعي لهذا الفريق، لقد كان نهائيًا مميزًا ولا يُنسى”.

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Sean and Matty Longstaff agreed to appear on BBC Sport’s Youtube channel this week to answer a series of questions.

Unfortunately for the two Newcastle youngsters, things were quickly made awkward for them as they had to answer a rather difficult question.

The pair were asked whether they’d rather play with Alan Shearer or Michael Owen, and luckily they provided the answer that every Newcastle fan will have wanted to hear.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Shearer and Owen had a very public spat a couple of weeks ago, due to some comments made in the former Liverpool striker’s book, so choosing between the two former England strikers was quite awkward for the Longstaff brothers.

In the end, they both opted to pick the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer.

As Newcastle players, this was absolutely the right choice, as the pair would have been crucified on social media had they chosen Owen over the club legend.

Manchester City seemingly have a big problem in their defence at the moment.

The Premier League champions are currently without their two first-choice centre-backs as John Stones and Aymeric Laporte have both been ruled out of action due to injury.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It seems as if the club’s inability to bring in a player to fill the void left by Vincent Kompany has come back to haunt them, but ESPN’s pundits believe that the solution to replacing the Belgian is to bring in another player from the same nation.

Indeed, Steve Nicol believes that Man City should be moving for Toby Alderweireld to fill the gap in their backline.

With the 30-year-old entering the final year of his contract, Nicol believes that the Spurs star would be available for around £30m.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Manchester club pursue the defender, but if they do he would certainly provide some much-needed depth in a problematic spot.

Aston Villa face a tough trip to Norwich as the search for their first away win in the Premier League this season continues.

Dean Smith’s side have struggled so far with only one top flight win and that has partly been due to the inconsistency in his team selection, although he does appear to have narrowed in on his preferred starting XI.

John McGinn impressed many with his performance against Burnley last time out, and Conor Hourihane playing alongside him allowed Jack Grealish more freedom in attack, with the Irishman also unlucky to see a first-half assist ruled out for offside.

Midfield could prove to be very important for Villa once again.

They enjoyed a lot of the ball against the Clarets but Norwich promise to be a different proposition, having had the majority of the ball in the league games they’ve played in 2019/20.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Daniel Farke’s side have looked impressive at Carrow Road, beating Newcastle and Manchester City whilst showing confidence and ability on the ball that could allow them to play the ball around with ease.

However, they have looked vulnerable in defence at times, and with the likes of McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi taking up goalscoring positions of late, the visitors could find a breakthrough.

Here is how they could line-up against Norwich on Saturday.

The Canaries may have lost all of their away matches but they have scored eight in three games at home, and therefore an improved defensive performance is needed from the Villans.

Who says there’s no atmosphere at the Emirates? The evidence in the video above suggests otherwise…

Marvelous Nakamba is central to that, and if he performs to the level he has shown this season then his side should have some joy.

He has made a great start to his Premier League career with an average of 4.7 tackles per game, and his handling of players like Todd Cantwell and Emiliano Buendia could be pivotal.

The pair have a combined total of six assists and have been instrumental in the success of six-goal Teemu Pukki – the one player Villa must watch out for.

In order to do so, Mings and Engels will need to organise the defence better than they have done so far, with 11 goals conceded from seven matches.

Frederic Guilbert will need to step up too, as he could drop out for Elmohamady if he fails to stop crosses coming into the box, as he did for Jay Rodriguez’s goals last weekend.

One player who may consider himself unfortunate to miss out is Hourihane. His energy and pass accuracy of 92% was important in Villa having as much possession as they did against Burnley, and he could be involved if Smith decides to play Grealish out wide once again.

However, Trezeguet made an immediate impact when he was brought on in the last match, assisting McGinn with a well-picked out cross and also enjoying a pass success rate of 100%, so he is deserving of a return to the starting line-up.

[ad_pod ]Blimey, what a summer this would be.Despite the ongoing murmurings about Ed Woodward, Manchester United recruited well in the summer with Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James all joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ranks.But if Gary Neville was at the helm, how different would their window have looked?Let’s imagine for a second that United still possessed the overwhelming pull factor enjoyed by a very exclusive group of clubs including the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich.Indeed, combined with United’s silly wealth, which ranks them as the sixth most valuable sports club in the worldÂaccording to Business Insider, this would give them access to just about any star they set their sights on.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This is the idealistic world Neville was living in when he pitched the three names he’d sign for United: Kylian Mbappe, a World Cup-winning wonderkid, Raphael Varane, a former favourite of Jose Mourinho, and N’golo Kante, Chelsea’s sensationalÂone-time PFA Player of the Year…

Time to get to work, Ed.

أفادت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن نادي برشلونة يفكر في رحيل الدولي البرازيلي، نيتو، حارس مرمى الفريق، خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.

برشلونة يخطط للعديد من الأمور في الموسم المقبل مع الرئاسة الجديدة لـ خوان لابورتا، ومن بين هذه الأمور، مركز حراسة المرمى.

نيتو الذي يجلس احتياطيًا للألماني تير شتيجن، كان قد طلب المغادرة في الشتاء الماضي، ولكن النادي رفض، ليستمر حارس يوفنتوس الأسبق.

طالع أيضًا: برشلونة يعلن إصابة نيتو.. وتقارير تتوقع مدة غيابه

صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو” الإسبانية، قالت إن النادي يثق في ايناكي بينيا وأرانو تاناس، اثنين من حُراس فريق الشباب، وتناوب كلاهما على دخول قائمة برشلونة في العديد من المباريات كـ حارس ثالث.

برشلونة يرى بأن الثنائي الشاب، تم تدريبهما بشكل جيد، وإيناكي صاحب الـ22 عامًا، في النادي منذ سن 10 سنوات، بينما تاناس صاحب الـ19 عامًا، من أكاديمية لاماسيا منذ أن كان طفلًا.

نيتو وصل إلى برشلونة قادمًا من فالنسيا في صفقة تبادلية مع الهولندي سيليسن، ولكن مع غياب المشاركة، أبلغ الحارس البرازيلي النادي برغبته في المغادرة، ولكن العروض لم تكن مُرضية لرحيله.

برشلونة سيعرض اللاعب للبيع في الصيف المقبل، للاستفادة المادية منه، وتخفيف الرواتب في النادي، والاعتماد على الشباب، وهي السياسة التي كانت تُميز البلوجرانا دائمًا، وتحديدا مع الرئيس لابورتا.