Month: November 2024

It was another Premier League weekend where off-the-pitch (well, sort of) matters dominated the headlines, with Manchester United s home game against Liverpool postponed as a result of anti-Glazer protests.

That also meant Pep Guardiola had to put the Cava back on ice for another week, with Manchester City s title celebrations on hold.

Nevertheless, there was still plenty to keep us occupied, with Mike Dean adding another to his red card haul for the campaign and Gareth Bale proving he can cut it against the best with a hat-trick against *checks notes* relegated Sheffield United.

Using Opta data, we look at some of the quirky facts from the latest Premier League matches…

Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City: Guardiola s men unrivalled going for…

Spain boss Luis Enrique will consider Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista for selection if he becomes available to the national team.

Brazilian-born centre-back Gabriel is in the process of gaining Spanish nationality and last year expressed an interest in representing Spain once he is eligible.

Speaking to Movistar+, Luis Enrique confirmed it was a situation he was monitoring.

I am aware of every player who could be called up, he said.

Paulista is going through a process that could make him eligible.

Should Gabriel make the cut for Euro 2020, it would evoke memories of Diego Costa making a switch to play for Spain as opposed to his native Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Costa struggled as the defending champions were dumped out in …

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag confirmed Jack Butland is set to join the club on loan from Crystal Palace, as he eyed further opportunities to strengthen his squad in January.

United signed Martin Dubravka on a season-long loan deal to provide backup to David de Gea in the last transfer window, but they were left in need of a replacement when the Magpies recalled the Slovakia international on Sunday.

On Thursday, reports suggested the Red Devils were close to sealing a similar deal for Butland – who has made just 10 Premier League appearances since joining Palace from Stoke City in 2020.

Ten Hag confirmed the move was imminent in a press conference looking forward to Friday s FA Cup tie against Everton, emphasising the importance of having a third exper…

Real Madrid made it back-to-back wins to start their LaLiga title defence as goals from Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde sealed a 4-1 victory over Celta Vigo.

Carlo Ancelotti s side agreed a deal with Manchester United on Friday for the sale of midfielder Casemiro, but they scarcely missed the Brazilian enforcer in what was a dominant performance against Eduardo Coudet s men at Balaidos.

Benzema opened his league account for the season from the penalty spot early on, before Iago Aspas levelled with a spot-kick of his own midway through the first half.

Modric gave Madrid the lead again with a wonderful strike shortly before half-time, while Vinicius and Valverde were on target in the second half as Los Blancos, who missed a l…

Istanbul Basaksehir celebrated their first Super Lig title with a 1-0 win over Kayserispor, ending the stranglehold of Turkey s big three.

Defending champions Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas have dominated Turkish football – the three Istanbul giants winning 54 league trophies between them.

But the powerhouse trio were unable to compete with fellow Istanbul outfit Basaksehir this season.

Basaksehir – formed in 1990 – became just the sixth club to win the Super Lig since the league s inception in 1959 thanks to Sunday s victory and second-placed Trabzonspor s 4-3 loss to Konyaspor.

 ŞAMP1YON MEDİPOL BAŞAKŞEHİR 

— İstanbul Başakşehir  #TürkiyeninYeniŞampiyonu (@ibfk2014)

Boasting the likes of former Re…

Rudi Garcia has attempted to brush off any criticism of Napoli’s slow start to their Serie A title defence.

The champions opened their campaign with two victories but were then poor in a home defeat by Lazio before struggling to force a draw at promoted Genoa, with the sequence of results leaving them sixth in the fledgling table.

A 2-1 midweek Champions League triumph at Braga has done little to sway the detractors of Garcia’s system – which is traditionally attack-focused but has so far failed to excite fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona who watched a team led by Luciano Spalletti swashbuckle their way to success in 2022-23.

: We re totally focused on tomorrow s game. We re going to Bologna to win, aware of the quality of the team and the coach we…

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Newcastle United.

The 33-year-old joins on an initial one-year loan which United have the option to make permanent, an option they will be obligated to take if he makes a certain number of appearances.

Reports suggest the Red Devils will pay a loan fee of around £2million, with the potential obligation to buy set at £6m.

United had earlier in the day confirmed the capture of Brazil international Antony from Ajax, with the Premier League club expected to pay an £81.3million (€95m) fee for the winger.

Dubravka joined Newcastle in 2018 from Czech side Sparta Prague and has since made 127 Premier League appearances for the Magpies, keeping 37 clean sheets, and was named …

Neymar revelled in Paris Saint-Germain s late victory against Lyon as the Ligue 1 giants preserved their perfect start to the season.

Lionel Messi made his home debut in PSG s 2-1 win over Lyon, who succumbed to Mauro Icardi s 93rd-minute goal on Sunday.

Neymar had restored parity with his 66th-minute penalty, cancelling out Lucas Paqueta s second-half opener, before Icardi came off the bench to secure PSG s sixth league win from six matches.

PSG star Neymar has scored 71 per cent of his Ligue 1 goals in 2021 from the penalty spot – the highest ratio among all players with five-plus goals in the top-flight over the period.

Since his first season with PSG in 2017-18, this is the sixth time the Brazilian won and scored a penalty in the same Ligue 1 game, …

Jordi Alba has expressed his hope he would remain a Barcelona player for the rest of his playing days.

The left back started his career in 2008 as a Valencia player, though his first year was spent on loan in the Segunda Division with Gimnastic de Tarragona.  He then returned to the Mestalla Stadium where he played three seasons before joining Barcelona in 2012. So far he has made 250 appearances in all competitions and found the target 13 times for the Catalan giants.

It was a few days ago that talks about a new contract for the 29-year-old were afoot as his current deal expires in two years and the club are keen to avoid any doubt about the player s future.

Taking some time off in Seville due to the controversial snub by Spain, according to he spoke to Tele…

Harry Kane produced a long-range stunner to help Bayern Munich close out 2023 with a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.

Kane fired home from 25 yards in the 43rd minute for his 21st Bundesliga goal of the season to put Thomas Tuchel’s side in control after Jamal Musiala opened the scoring on his landmark appearance.

Wolfsburg captain Maximilian Arnold reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time with a fine strike of his own, but Niko Kovac’s men were unable to take points off his former side Bayern, who stayed second and four points behind Bayer Leverkusen going into the mid-season break.

Tuchel could only name six substitutes at Volkswagen Arena and remained without Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.

It was actually Wolfsburg who made the stronger start with Ma…