Manchester United ended a run of four straight defeats in all competitions as they drew 0-0 with Chelsea on Monday, alleviating a small amount of pressure on Louis van Gaal.
The United boss had urged his team to be brave for the visit of the champions and they began firmly on the front foot, with both Juan Mata and Anthony Martial striking the woodwork in the first half.
David de Gea made fine saves from John Terry and Pedro but the home side were in control for the majority of the opening hour against a Chelsea team lacking any real punch in attack without the suspended Diego Costa or the injured Loic Remy.
The game was more balanced in the second half, with Nemanja Matic wasting a glorious chance for Chelsea shortly after Ander Herrera almost broke the deadlock…
Sergio Aguero has provided a glowing endorsement for Argentina compatriot Julian Alvarez after his move to Manchester City.
That is the message from former City and England defender Joleon Lescott, who expects Alvarez to become a key figure for Pep Guardiola s side in the Premier League in the coming years.
Alvarez signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League champions from River Plate in a deal worth a reported £14million ($18.8m) back in January, before being loaned back to his former side.
The 22-year-old initially caught City s eye after 20 goals and 12 assists in 35 games in the Argentine Primera Division last year, with those 32 direct goal involvements at least six more than any other player in 2021.
He added another 11 goal…
According to Fabrizio Romano, Paris Saint-Germain and Georginio Wijnaldum have agreed to part ways this summer, with the club willing to sanction a loan for the 31-year-old midfielder. Both parties are now working on identifying potential destinations.
AS Roma are said to be strongly interested with head coach Jose Mourinho obviously familiar with Wijnaldum from their time in the Premier League, even though they ve never actually worked together.
The 86-cap Dutch international joined PSG in 2021 after five years at Liverpool, where he was one of the main pieces of Jurgen Klopp s revolution. In all competitions, he made a total of 237 appearances for the Merseysiders as Klopp reinvented him in a deeper role than the one he previously played at PSV Eindhoven and Newcastle…
Matias Suarez intends to leave Anderlecht at the end of the season in the wake of Tuesday s terrorist attacks in Brussels.
More than 30 people are thought to have died in three blasts in the Belgian capital, with the city s Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station targeted.
And Argentinian Suarez, who joined Anderlecht in July 2008, has decided he wants a move away from Stade Constant Vanden Stock.
I wasn t at home, I was on my way to training and heard about the attacks on the radio in the car. It was very scary, Suarez told Spanish television show El Chiringuito.
I tried to call my daughter to make sure she was okay and see if I had to go and look for her. Training was called off. It s frightening, particularly for my family.
After what …
Ajax have signed Calvin Bassey from Rangers for a fee of €23million (£19.6m) that could rise to €26.5m (£22.6m) with add-ons.
The 22-year-old defender is likely to be the replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who is close to sealing a move to Manchester United to be reunited with former boss Erik ten Hag.
Bassey has signed a five-year-deal at the Johan Cruyff Arena, and the Eredivisie champions confirmed he has already joined his new team-mates in Austria at their pre-season training camp.
Though born in Italy, Bassey is a Nigeria international, and became a regular at Rangers last season as he starred in their run to the Europa League final, dispatching the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig along the way.
From Glasgow to Amsterdam.
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is refusing to offer any guarantees over the future of Franck Ribery.
The 35-year-old winger s contract expires at the end of the season and it is unclear whether he will be offered an extension.
Ribery has enjoyed huge success since joining the club from Marseille in 2007, most notably inspiring them to a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League wins in 2012-13, but injury problems have restricted his impact in recent seasons.
Rummenigge plans to hold talks with the player but admits he is unsure what the outcome will be.
We ve had some amazing years thanks to him. I have huge respect for Franck, he told Eurosport.
You have to be open and honest. At some point, we ll have a conversation with h…
Finishing off the job on Wednesday night across the capital, Chelsea booked their spot in the final of this year s Carabao Cup with a 1-0 victory away at Tottenham.
Making the trip to north London sat in pole position after their 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge last week, Thomas Tuchel s side will have to wait to see who they will meet at Wembley as Liverpool and Arsenal meet for their rearranged first-leg on Thursday.
Dominating Spurs in both meetings and wrapping up a 3-0 aggregate victory over their local rivals, we have taken a look at the main talking points as Chelsea reached their third final under Tuchel since he arrived 12 months ago.
A Carabao Cup repeat for the Blues
Breezing their way to a 2-0 first-leg meeting against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge last w…
While the Premier League might be taking a brief winter break this weekend, we still have a host of noteworthy meetings from up and down the country. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday January 29th
BST 15:00 QPR vs Reading
Starting with the hosts, while QPR would have been disappointed to have only picked up a single point against Swansea in midweek, the mood in Mark Warburton s camp should still be at a real high. Only continuing to gain a host of plaudits from across the Championship so far this season, the Hoops are firmly sat in pole position to clinch at least a play-off spot this year. In fact, now sat just three points adrift of climb…
Prediction: Draw
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Domestic football has been put on pause for a few weeks in favour of the return of the international break the first one of the new campaign. In the wake of the Euros and Copa America, as well as the Olympics, many would expect this to be a fairly inconsequential few weeks. Alas, the pandemic has ensured we have to speed up the process on the road to Qatar with Northern Ireland and Switzerland being two of the many European nations attempting to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Northern Ireland
The days of Euro 2016 feel like a distant memory for this Northern Ireland side but if nothing else, they still have a lot of heart residing in their squad. Some have long since wondered whether or not the impending…
Bruno Fernandes declared Manchester United must make winning a habit after their revival gathered pace with a 3-1 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
Despite being under pressure for long periods, United dealt the Gunners their first defeat of the campaign after Marcus Rashford followed up Antony s debut strike with a second-half brace, with Fernandes laying on the England international s first.
Since Fernandes made his Premier League debut in February 2020, he has recorded 26 assists in the competition – only Manchester City s Kevin De Bruyne (29) has teed up more goals in that time.
Meanwhile, United s four-match winning sequence is their longest in the Premier League since last April (a run of five) and has provided welcome relief for Erik…