All posts by z3u9t.icu

Manchester City reached the Champions League final with an impressive 2-0 win against PSG on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola’s side superb throughout the entire game.

After earning a 2-1 win at Les Parc des Princes last week, City were favourites to reach the final in Istanbul but still needed to produce a professional display to see off Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

It was comfortable in the end, as Riyad Mahrez’s brace ensured that City would lead 4-1 on aggregate, before PSG lost their heads again, with Angel Di Maria sent off for stamping on Fernandinho, whilst the likes of Marco Verratti, Danilo Pereira and Presnel Kimpembe all could’ve seen red for some shocking tackles in the final 20 minutes.

Whilst the Algeria international will rightly steal plenty of the limelight for his two goals, Kyle Walker also produced an incredible display at right-back, one that should not go unnoticed.

As per SofaScore, the former Spurs defender would earn an impressive 8.1/10 rating for his display, with only Mahrez (8.8) earning higher.

The England international was given the task of keeping Neymar quiet, as he was playing on the left-wing, and the superstar Brazilan got very little out of Walker.

During the game, the 30-year-old right-back would not be dribbled past once, whilst he also contributed three clearances, three interceptions and six tackles.

For comparison, in the Champions League so far this season, Walker has averaged 1.5 clearances, 1.3 interceptions and 2.2 tackles, which emphasises just how good he was at the Etihad on Tuesday night.

The “incredible” Walker completely dominated at right-back from a defensive perspective, winning 11/12 of his duels during the game, resulting in a superb 92% success rate, which was even better than the success rates of Ruben Dias and John Stones, who were both exceptional at the back.

Neymar meanwhile, was able to complete just 4/7 dribbles during the game, whilst he won just 8/20 of his duels and also lost possession 22 times, which emphasises that Walker clearly had the better of him during the game.

The Englishman still contributed in an attacking sense too, as he completed both of his dribble attempts, whilst also playing one key pass and 41/48 of his passes, resulting in a superb overall display.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Sterling: Txiki should seal City swoop for “sensational” PL wizard

Aston Villa are interested in a deal to bring Connor Goldson to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Birmingham Live, who claim that Rangers have already identified their number one target to replace the centre-back this winter, amid the 28-year-old’s links with a move to Steven Gerrard’s side.

Furthermore, in a recent interview with Football Insider, Paddy Kenny suggested that the Scottish Premiership side could be happy to let the defender leave Ibrox in the January transfer window, as the fact the league champions have not yet renewed Goldson’s contract is rather strange.

Speaking about the centre-back’s contract situation, Kenny said: “I find it strange that Rangers haven’t sorted this. The fact that they have let it run down this far is a concern. They must know he can agree a pre-contract in January.

“Maybe Rangers are happy for him to move on, otherwise it makes no sense why they haven’t offered him a deal. As a player, if he has the option to follow Gerrard that might be something he considers.

“There is still time for them to sort a new deal out but it worries me that they haven’t got anything signed considering how big of a player he is for them.”

Lange must move

Considering just how important a player Goldson was for Gerrard during his time in Scotland, should a move for the 28-year-old be realistic in the January transfer window, it would appear highly advisable for Johan Lange to do all he can to lure the 6 foot 3 defender to Villa Park this winter.

Indeed, over his 38 Scottish Premiership appearances during Gers’ title-winning campaign last season, the £6.75m-rated man helped his side keep a mammoth 26 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, three clearances and winning 6.8 duels per game.

The player who Gerrard himself dubbed a “next level” centre-back also impressed going forwards, scoring four goals, registering two assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 0.5 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the £27k-per-week defender earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.39, ranking him as the club’s third-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

As such, it is clear to see that Goldson would make a fantastic addition to an Aston Villa defence that has already shipped 20 league goals so far this season, and, considering he is reported to be available for a bargain fee of just £2m, is also a player who Lange and Villa could easily afford.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops promising AVFC transfer claim that’ll surely leave fans buzzing

Steven Gerrard is dreaming of bringing Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres to Aston Villa, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes. 

The lowdown

The 24-year-old is enjoying a first taste of Champions League football with Villarreal this season, having helped them defeat Manchester United to win the 2020/21 Europa League. He featured in the tournament’s Squad of the Season in recognition of his performances on the road to triumph in Gdansk.

Torres also earned a call-up to the Spain squad for last summer’s European Championship, featuring in all six of their matches as they reached the semi-final, where they lost on penalties to eventual champions Italy.

Javi Calleja, one of his former coaches, has marvelled at his ‘extraordinary talent to construct the play’, which saw him occasionally used as a midfielder. Another mentor, Miguel Alvarez of Villarreal B, has spoken of his ‘barbarous natural talent’ (via The Athletic).

For an idea of his playing style, he boasts a similar profile to Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, former Arsenal defender David Luiz and Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger (via FBRef).

The latest

The report from Fichajes stated that Torres is a player with whom Gerrard ‘completely falls in love’.

The Villa manager apparently intent on upgrading at centre-half, with captain Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe adjudged to be in a ‘significant slump’ of form, and Gerrard knows he has ‘a lot of money’ at his disposal in his new position to strengthen the squad.

However, Villa will apparently need to shell out €50m, which equates to around £42m, to persuade Villarreal to part with Torres. His name has been mentioned in connection with Real Madrid and Manchester United, but there is a feeling that he’s not quite reached the elite level just yet.

The verdict

Signing Torres would be quite some coup for Villa. He has not only held his own against United but also, Calleja says, against the likes of Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

He’d be a real asset to Gerrard when it came to building attacks from deep – his passing success rate of 89.1% is better than anyone who has started a Premier League match for Villa this term.

Is it a realistic signing? If the top clubs haven’t seen enough yet to take the plunge on him, and the Midlanders have the money, then it’s just a matter of persuading Torres to swap Villarreal for Villa.

Given that Villarreal are currently 12th in La Liga, they might not have the advantage of European football next season, which could be another factor in Villa’s hopes of luring him to England.

In other news, this is who Gerrard wants at left-back for Villa

West Ham ended their Europa League with their first defeat of the competition as Dinamo Zagreb recorded a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium on Thursday evening.

David Moyes’ much-rotated and youthful-looking Irons outfit were badly let down by some of the team’s senior stars, most notably Andriy Yarmolenko, who disappointed with yet another lacklustre diasterclass.

His time in the claret and blue is surely creeping towards an end, if it wasn’t already. The 32-year-old dud has no right to still be at the club, particularly with him raking in the second-highest amount of wages at £115k-per-week.

Furthermore, having picked up 106 caps for Ukraine, he would have been expected to be a leader as many of the club’s academy prospects featured, including Jamal Baptiste, Sonny Perkins and Harrison Ashby.

It was the former Borussia Dortmund star who was at fault for the Croatian’s only goal of the game. He did absolutely nothing to thwart Mislav Orsic as he cut inside to make the Hammers’ young backline pay with a sensational strike from range.

‘Still can’t kick with his right foot’ and ‘lazy’ is exactly how football.london reporter Tom Clark described Yarmolenko after the game, whilst it is a rather telling tale that it was Moyes’ 17-year-old striker shouting at the veteran to actually move whilst still on the pitch.

His lack of influence was reflected by the fact that he recorded fewer touches (24) than any starter for either team. Even West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola managed 27 touches, with substitute Said Benrahma (36) also eclipsing the Ukraine international with ease, too.

Similarly, the versatile 6 foot 2 attacker managed only nine successful passes, comfortably the worst of the Irons’ starting XI. Again, Benrahma doubled this tally in half the time, having come on after the break. He also failed with all three of his crossing attempts, echoing Clark’s comments on his poor delivery on the right flank.

As revealed by the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser, who even dubbed him “shocking”, Yarmolenko was even booed off by sections of the London Stadium faithful.

On a night where the result did not matter, that reaction is damning.

Not only was the 32-year-old lazy and uninterested but he was also weak and rather lightweight, having lost four of his seven duels (57%), on top of losing possession 11 times from his 25 touches – once every 2.3 touches, as per SofaScore.

With January fast approaching, it could be time to finally offload the wretched £18m signing. He badly betrayed Moyes and the fanbase this week.

AND in other news, David Moyes dealt triple West Ham blow as injuries pile up…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer talked about his former club Southampton and the dreadful run of form they have been in, prior to their win against basement club Sheffield United on Saturday.

The Saints had lost eight of their previous nine Premier League fixtures before heading to Bramall Lane. It has left them in the bottom half of the table and far from safety, leaving manager Ralph Hasenhuttl with plenty of work to do before the season ends.

During this disappointing period for the club, Hasenhuttl’s men have also lost 9-0 to Manchester United. This, of course, comes after their defeat to Leicester City by the same scoreline in the previous campaign.

Undoubtedly, Southampton are in a difficult moment, with Palmer admitting that he would be worried if he was in the St Mary’s dugout. The retired England international told FFC:

“There’s obviously something going on there that needs to be addressed. They’ve conceded a lot of points from winning positions and that can just be a mental thing that needs to be addressed.

“But certainly, if you get beat 9-0, and it’s not just happened once, it’s happened twice, I’d be worried about that if I was a manager, I really would. In this day and age, you shouldn’t be getting done 9-0.”

Indeed, Southampton’s form is worrying. However, assessing their upcoming fixtures, there is reason for Hasenhuttl’s team to be optimistic.

Following their game against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, the Saints have a run of matches versus Brighton, Burnley, West Brom and Crystal Palace — teams all around them.

Before, however, they face a tough trip to the Etihad to take on runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City in what is likely to be another difficult day out for the Saints.

Alasdair Gold has criticised the display of Dele Alli despite Tottenham Hotspur beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Harry Kane got himself on the scoresheet twice to give Spurs a decent home lead going into the away leg in Croatia, but while there were some very good performances for Jose Mourinho’s team, Gold was critical of Alli’s.

Writing in his latest ratings piece for football.london, the journalist claimed that the former MK Dons star looked “rusty” and gave him a mere 5/10 overall rating, the worst out of any Lilywhites player to have started the game in North London.

Alli looked rusty

Alli did look quite rusty throughout the match in what was not one of his best by his usual high standards.

The attacking midfield player failed to record a single shot on goal, successful dribble or key pass, and also lost possession of the ball no fewer than on 10 separate occasions in total throughout the clash (Sofascore).

The performance will certainly put question marks over whether he should be starting in the derby away at local rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, as THFC will surely be looking to stamp their authority on the fixture and continue their climb up the Premier League table.

In other news, find out who Mourinho is planning to start ‘virtually every game’ here!

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Sean Walsh has now shared a major midweek update on Antonio Conte’s future at the Premier League club, and it’s exactly what supporters need to hear.

The Lowdown: Conte eyeing PSG?

The Italian, who reportedly has a clause in his current Spurs deal which would allow him to leave at the end of this season, has been at the centre of claims linking him with a move to Ligue 1 giants Paris-Saint Germain.

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Former Lilywhites manager Mauricio Pochettino is allegedly set to depart the French capital despite their Ligue 1 title win, prompting rumours of a possible Conte move to succeed the Argentine.

Le Parisien claimed last week that the 52-year-old is seriously interested in a PSG switch, even apparently telling their club chiefs that he is considering the job.

Amid these worrying developments, Walsh has now taken to social media with a positive update Spurs supporters may need to hear.

The Latest: Walsh makes major midweek Conte claim…

According to the reporter, who covers the north Londoners for 90min, Tottenham are ‘confident’ Conte will stay despite the PSG updates.

He goes on to say that former Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane is actually their top target, not Spurs’ man.

Walsh explained (via Twitter): “Understand that #THFC are confident that Antonio Conte will stay this summer despite reports linking him to PSG job. PSG’s top managerial target remains Zinedine Zidane.”

The Verdict: Great news for Spurs fans

Zidane, currently out of work and a proven Champions League-winning manager, is arguably a shoe-in for the Parc des Princes given his availability and how the fans there would idolise the France legend.

He would certainly be an easier appointment than Conte and one with just as much pedigree.

Taking this into account, Walsh’s update certainly makes sense and PSG director Leonardo may be best placed leaving Spurs’ manager and prioritising a move for Zidane.

In other news: Source: Tottenham edge closer to ‘top signing’, he really wants to join Conte! Find out more here.

Glasgow Rangers are back in action after inflicting defeat on Celtic in the Old Firm derby when they travel to Pittodrie to take on Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.

Steven Gerrard’s Gers beat Neil Lennon’s side in a hotly-contested clash at the top of the table last weekend and the Ibrox boss will most likely name a largely-unchanged squad to face the Dons, in what will be another big game for his side.

Rangers will be hoping to avoid of a repeat of the 2-2 draw with Derek McInnes’ side last season and instead, they’ll want to grab three more points.

They will have to do so without Scott Arfield, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe, who have all been ruled out due to injury.

Here is Football FanCast’s predicted starting line-up for this afternoon’s action, which sees Gerrard make a few changes from the Old Firm derby.

Veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor will start in goal behind a back four of Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and James Tavernier.

This means Leon Balogun will be forced to settle for a place on the bench as one of three rotations, such is Rangers’ strength in depth.

It’s likely the Ibrox boss will stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, which means Gerrard will deploy a midfield three of Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara and Bongani Zungu.

Asking Steven Davis to play again after such a taxing Old Firm derby may be a step too far, so giving Zungu a run out in the midfield alongside Aribo and Kamara may be a good idea. The South African international has largely been restricted to a smattering of substitute appearances this season so far.

Upfront, Alfredo Morelos is likely to lead the line with Ianis Hagi and Ryan Kent on either side. Hagi is set to start on the right wing after he replaced Kemar Roofe at half-time against Celtic and put in a very impressive display.

AND in other news, Ross Wilson must sanction Rangers swoop for Bright Osayi-Samuel…

Whenever a new manager walks through the door at Celtic, they will have little opportunity to get to grips with their surroundings at Parkhead.

That’s because the Bhoys’ playing squad is in dire need of being repaired.

On the chalkboard

The biggest concern from Celtic’s diabolical season is their defence. They have shipped 16 more goals than their biggest rivals Rangers and also conceded 19 times in just six Europa League outings.

It has been a wretched campaign which has been summed up by two lacklustre displays in the space of a few weeks against the Gers.

They were demolished 4-1 in the league last weekend in a performance which lacked urgency, authority and composure. Those qualities were also missing in the 2-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup fourth round – on that occasion, it was Diego Laxalt who was made to rue some unforgivable errors.

The AC Milan loanee was completely out of the picture as Rangers charged down his side of the pitch for the opener and then for the second, he was turned inside out in embarrassing fashion by Joe Aribo.

Laxalt’s defensive qualities have left a lot to be desired for vast portions of the campaign and it would be surprising if we saw him back at Parkhead next term.

The solution

Celtic have seen a number of high-class left-backs escape their clutches in years gone by. The Hoops famously let Andy Robertson leave the club when he was just 15, while Aaron Hickey is another defender they should have kept at Lennoxtown.

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Two years ago, Kieran Tierney departed the club in a deal worth £25m. Ever since the Arsenal defender left, they haven’t looked assured on that side of the pitch, and that’s why they should revive their interest in Josh Doig this summer.

Celtic were interested in signing the 18-year-old during the winter months, and if they decide against bringing Laxalt back, it’s Doig to whom they must turn.

The teenager has enjoyed a breakthrough season with Hibernian and has been named alongside David Turnbull as a nominee for the Young Player of the Season. A move to Celtic would be just desserts for an eye-catching campaign in which he’s shown similar attributes to Tierney going forward.

Speaking about Doig this season, former Celtic assistant manager John Collins said: “I have enjoyed watching his appetite, his desire to get forward. He’s a player that, when you watch him, he 100% sprints up and back again. That’s something you don’t often see and it catches your eye. He’s got that real desire to get up and support.”

Collins added: “He still has to work on his final delivery into the box, but he’s shown enormous potential.”

Doig already possesses almost all of the attributes you require from a modern full-back, but crucially, he can also defend astutely – the young Scot has won the same number of tackles per game (1.7) as Laxalt. That said, it’s worth considering how young he is and that number will only grow larger the better and more confident he gets.

He would certainly seem a marvellous pick-up this summer if they can beat others to his signature.

AND in other news, Celtic can sign ideal Elyounoussi heir in £80k-p/w titan with “breathtaking technique”…

The Transfer Tavern have spoken exclusively to former Leeds United midfielder David Norris, who was at the club during the controversial ownership of Massimo Cellino, and he has backed Tyler Roberts to remain at Elland Road and learn from Patrick Bamford.

There had been reports over the weekend suggest that Roberts’ time at Leeds could be up as Newcastle United registered an interest in the 22-year old, who has been capped 13 times by Wales.

Roberts has had an up and down season as he was barely used before February which saw him handed just two league starts, but since their 4-2 defeat against Arsenal, Marcelo Bielsa has put more faith in the 22-year old having named him in the starting XI on 12 occasions.

The versatile attacker has come in for a lot of criticism because of his lack of goals and assists and Norris, who spoke exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, has urged Roberts to learn from Bamford, who has had his fair share of doubters during his career.

He said: “It’s not always been plain sailing for Bamford because he was getting so much stick at one point it was ridiculous, but now he’s a hero. So he has been through a lot as well but he’s also proven that he can score goals and do a job for Leeds.

“Bamford has worked his way up from the Championship and into Premier League so to have those type of players in and around the squad to learn stuff off as a young player, it will only help him.”

Roberts was sent home early from international duty with Wales earlier this season for breaking a curfew which threw his Leeds future up in the air, but Bielsa appears to have handed him a second chance.

The Wales international is still a young player and his versatility may endear him to Bielsa as he can play just off the striker in midfield, as a lone striker or even as a second striker alongside Bamford.