Ander Herrera at CB- United crash to defeat against Spurs

UK Football

Perhaps a reflection of the faith (or the lack of it!) that Jose Mourino has in Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof. The duo were criticised by fans for their role in the second round defeat against Brighton and Mourinho, wanting to play 3 at the back, opted to ask Ander Herrera, normally a central midfielder by profession, to play alongside Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.

It didn’t matter- United’s defence continued to be poor, none more so than for Spurs’ third goal and Lucas Moura’s second, when the Brazilian sent Smalling straight back to Maidstone United, with the latter failing miserably in a one on one situation. That’s not how United defenders of the past would’ve performed, and it indicates how badly things have fallen at Old Trafford.

MUN TOT

United had their chances, the best of which fell to Romelu Lukaku, who took advantage of a poor backpass from Danny Rose. Continue reading Ander Herrera at CB- United crash to defeat against Spurs →

Bayern 3:1 Hoffenheim- Bavarians kick off new season with win

German Football

Champions Bayern Munich kicked off the new Bundesliga season with a hard fought 3-1 win at home over TSG Hoffenheim. The fixture, which saw late drama with VAR being involved, also had Kingsley Coman stretchered off, with fears that the French international could be set for a long stint on the sidelines.

The game, Niko Kovac’s first BuLi one in charge of Bayern, saw the home side go ahead in the 23rd minute when Thomas Muller headed in Joshua Kimmich’s pinpoint corner.

Bay

Adam Szalai’s low, drilled finish, aided by some lethargic Bayern defending, brought Hoffenheim level just before the hour mark. Szalai, for those not in the know, is a former Liverpool player- the Reds are themselves in action tomorrow night against Brighton, a game they’re expected to win.

There was however late drama when Robert Lewandowski converted from the spot seven minutes from time to put Bayern ahead. He had missed the original spot kick, but was asked to retake it- a VAR decision, and made no mistake from the second attempt. Hoffenheim, deflated, were then caught out by a quick throw in, with Arjen Robben capitalising to give the hosts a 3:1 win.

Bayern 3 (Muller, Lewandowski pen, Robben) beat Hoffenheim (Szalai 1)

Chelsea 3:2 Arsenal | Late Alonso goal condemns Unai Emery to another defeat

UK Football

A late goal from Marcos Alonso condemned Unai Emery to the second straight defeat of his Arsenal managerial career as the Gunners went down 3-2 to Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal had been beaten by Pep Guardiola’s clinical defending champions on the opening week, but Emery would’ve been hopeful of a result against Chelsea- a team against whom the Gunners have enjoyed success, and like them, only just settling into a new system under a new manager. Continue reading Chelsea 3:2 Arsenal | Late Alonso goal condemns Unai Emery to another defeat →

Kevin de Bruyne picks up knee injury in training

UK Football

Star Man City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne is set for a stint on the treatment room after injuring his right knee in training. The extent of the injury is unknown, but initial estimates suggest that De Bruyne would probably miss the next two months of City’s season. He is expected to be treated by Dr Ramon Cugat in Barcelona.

If De Bruyne is out for about 2 months, the games he’ll miss (Premier League ones) would be the ones against Huddersfield, Wolves Newcastle, Fulham, Cardiff, Brighton, Liverpool and Burnley. Not a very tough set of fixtures- you’d expect City, with their squad depth, to comfortably get through all those fixtures, with the trip to Anfield being the only really testing one for Pep Guardiola’s side. Continue reading Kevin de Bruyne picks up knee injury in training →

Transfer failure could cost Jose

UK Football

As the summer transfer window of 2018 began to draw to a close, Jose Mourinho’s demeanour became ever-more gloomy. The Portuguese has never been a man to enjoy a jovial, light-hearted press conference but the media were given an extra dish of truculence by the ‘Special One’.

The main issue concerned Manchester United’s failure to secure a number of reported transfer targets as the new Premier League season drew closer and based on the club’s opening day win over Leicester, Mourinho’s mood may start to get even darker. Continue reading Transfer failure could cost Jose →