Tag Futebol

A number of Liverpool fans have taken to social media to blast the performance of Naby Keita in Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Genk.

The 24-year-old has only played 14 minutes of Premier League football this season but made his third Champions League appearance of the campaign against Genk at Anfield.

Keita lasted until the 74th minute of the match when Jurgen Klopp made his first change – Andrew Robertson entering the field in place of the midfielder.

According to WhoScored, Keita had five shots, made three tackles and completed three dribbles during his time on the field.

However, it would be fair to say that the Liverpool supporters were not impressed by what they saw overall from the 2018 arrival in the 2-1 victory, if their reaction on social media is anything to go by.

The 33-time Guinea international made 33 appearances for the Reds last term but failed to convince, whilst he is also yet to ignite this season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Liverpool fans in relation to his latest performance can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Have they done enough?

That will be the question that will be answered when Brendan Rodgers names his side to face Crystal Palace on Sunday, because after their display against Burton Albion on Tuesday, there will be a couple of names banging on the manager’s door that wouldn’t usually be.

What’s been said?

Speaking on Quest’s Carabao Cup highlight’s show on Wednesday night, former Premier League striker Bent was asked by host Colin Murray to name his star players from the side’s performance.

In response, he picked out Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans and also took the opportunity to praise Demarai Gray, which may come as a bit of a shock to the fans, especially when you consider the amount of stick he got after his display.

Host Murray then briefly talked about Kelechi Iheanacho and his performance on the night, describing him as “the forgotten manâ€.

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Going to be a team effort

It’s interesting that those players should be the ones that get the majority of the praise from Murray and Bent, because two of them can easily be described as ‘fringe’ players in the squad setup.

Gray has only managed 147 minutes of league action so far this season with Iheanacho failing to get an appearance in the league (both from Transfermarkt).

This is something that we touched on with Iheanacho earlier this week, in that there are a number of players, with the Nigerian the best example, that clearly have a lot to offer the Foxes, but as the statistics show they just aren’t being utilised incredibly well.

If Leicester City are going to keep performing the way that people like Bent think they can, it is going to take an effort from the rest of the team, and displays like that on Tuesday night should really give players a platform to make a push for league places.

After all, Iheanacho rose from the shadows to score what is now a rare goal for the forward. Who knows what he could achieve with more chances?

Leicester have some good players, but what really tests a team through a season is strength in depth. If they are just being made to sit on the bench with the odd cup game here and there, their fitness levels if and when they get called upon might not be up to scratch.

A lack of match action will only decrease their performances levels too.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Aston Villa slumped to another Premier League game without a victory as Burnley twice hit back to earn a point at Villa Park.

The game had its controversial moments, not for the first time this season, as VAR toyed with the heartstrings of the home faithful.

It was Anwar El Ghazi who opened the scoring for Villa, meeting Frederic Guilbert’s cross just after half an hour before former West Brom man Jay Rodriguez levelled things up with a powerful header in the second half.

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John McGinn edged Villa in front after having a previous effort chalked off, but that lead lasted a matter of two minutes as Chris Wood equalised with another headed attempt.

Snapshot

With the game tied at 1-1 in the 70th minute and the home team lacking in attacking flair, recording just two shots on target, manager Dean Smith brought on summer signing Trezeguet to spark a change, and it paid off inside ten minutes.

The winger did well to create some space to put in a cross for McGinn to fire home as Villa took the lead on the 79th minute.

Off the Bench

During Trezeguet’s 20 minutes, he assisted a goal, put in three crosses and had a further six passes in the final third of the pitch, per WhoScored.

In addition to that, he was fouled three times, thus giving a chance to stick the ball into the box onto the head of either of their towering centre-backs, who are both above 6 foot 4.

It also suggests that the Egyptian was a significant threat in the final third and had Smith introduced him earlier, the game might have gone differently.

He recorded the same number of crosses that El Ghazi managed in double the time and two more than captain Jack Grealish on the other wing, via WhoScored.

If Trezeguet was on the pitch before the 70th-minute mark, he could have had a greater impact on the match as he would have been given more time to show his creative exploits.

It’s something that clearly had some sort of influence as he assisted the goal that regained his side the lead, albeit not for long.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, John Hartson has leapt to the defence of Gareth Bale. 

There’s been a lot of talk about Gareth Bale and his colourful Real Madrid career in recent months. Of course, he joined Los Blancos as their most expensive purchase of all-time for what then represented a world-record transfer fee. 

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A lot was expected from the Wales international and while Bale certainly has delivered on big Champions League nights and helped Real Madrid achieve glory, that hasn’t been enough to warrant him a special place at the club. At least not if you asked Zinedine Zidane just a couple of weeks back.

It was a tough summer for Bale and it was expected that he would indeed spend more time playing golf than football if he ended up staying at the Santiago Bernabeu. After all, Zidane said it himself: it would be for the best if Bale were sold.

But Hartson believes that Bale has commanded an unfair reputation, suggesting that he doesn’t get the type of glowing credit he duly deserves: 

“Gareth Bale is not somebody you see falling out of nightclubs at 3AM in the morning. Bale is a family man, he’s got a wife and two kids and he enjoys his golf. The worst thing Gareth does is go and have a game of golf. He’s arguably Real Madrid’s best player.” 

“He’s the best foreign import that we’ve ever seen go onto foreign soil. He’s got 104 goals for Real Madrid. He’s a world class player.”

“I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves.”

And Hartson really did hit the nail on the head with that one. Bale wasn’t expected to be in the fold at the beginning of the season, but he’s defied the odds and has been highly influential in the early stages of the season, bagging two goals and one assist in the process.

Sure, he has his faults. He sure does enjoy his golf, as Hartson reveals, and he has been injury-prone in the Spanish capital. But he is also a brilliant footballer when fit and fully motivated, one that has the unteachable ability to deliver big performances in big moments.

104 goals and 66 assists in the Los Blancos colours can attest to that and then some. For all the noise and all the past criticism, he’s never been the one to cause trouble, to rebel or to start squabbles. He has kept his head down and, more importantly, he has justified the club’s decision to sign him with his performances on the field.

Maybe the time has finally come to cut Bale some slack and give him the credit he richly deserves.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

There can’t be many Leeds players that divide opinion as much as striker Patrick Bamford does.

After failing to score against Barnsley, Leeds fans backed him and hailed his work rate. Yet, after drawing with Derby, comments made about the 26-year-old weren’t in his favour.

In fact, they were incredibly damning in light of a drawn game that Leeds should have won.

They had 13 chances to Derby’s five, had over 60% of the possession and also missed a penalty, via WhoScored.

But it was the performance in front of goal from Bamford that also had a large say in how the game went.

On the chalkboard

There has been rife debate surrounding Eddie Nketiah this season. Leeds fans want him to start and Marcelo Bielsa has teased the possibility of him playing alongside Bamford in attack.

The Arsenal loanee has started life in west Yorkshire in superb fashion. He’s scored as many goals as Bamford, despite only starting two times in the Carabao Cup.

He is yet to play from the off in the Championship but has thrived when being brought on from the bench, scoring two late goals against Brentford and Barnsley.

The 20-year-old has more than hit the ground running but given Bamford’s latest performances, he must be walking an extremely thin tight rope right now.

The latter worked hard to fashion chances for himself last weekend but he could have won the game for Leeds on Saturday.

There were a host of moments that proved telling, not least Mateusz Klich’s missed penalty, but Bamford hit the post and spurned four further opportunities.

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It’s something that tells the story of the 26-year-old’s campaign. He has scored four times but is now goalless in his last three matches.

Based on his abject display against the Rams, he must now be looking over his shoulder more than ever.

The 6 foot 1 striker has had four shots per game in 2019/20, the highest number of anyone in the Championship. Based on that, you’d expect him to have scored more goals but he’s missed the target entirely 17 times – also a league-high.

If Leeds are going to get promoted they’ll have to start taking their chances on a more regular basis. That begins with their number nine who is beginning to struggle quite significantly.

Perhaps it’s finally time to start Nketiah.

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Leeds continued their unbeaten start to the season on Wednesday evening as they defeated Brentford 1-0.

Creating just eight chances, the Whites struggled to break down the Bees until Eddie Nketiah was introduced.

Another substitute in Helder Costa did all the work as he showed tremendous pace to get to the byline and then play the ball across for Nketiah to tap home.

It was a simple finish and almost mirrored the goal the pair combined for just over a week previous against Salford.

However, the main narrative leading up to the game surrounded Pontus Jansson, a player who had dedicated valuable service to the Yorkshire club, even being named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year last term.

The Swede was a popular figure at Leeds, something that was summed up by their supporters refusing to get drawn into the possibility of booing him in the build-up to the fixture.

However, after becoming Brentford’s captain, his return to Elland Road didn’t go to plan and his reaction at the full-time whistle showed he wasn’t too happy.

In this picture, Jansson fittingly stands dejected as he trudges off a pitch that brought him so many good memories.

The central defender played 120 times for Leeds but was rather forced out this summer due to a number of reasons.

Paul Bell claimed financial fair play was to do with his departure but arguably that doesn’t add up too much when you consider he left for just £5.5m.

Adam Webster, who was nowhere near the Team of the Year, meanwhile left Bristol City for £20m.

But there was also an attitude problem at the heart of the centre-back who was one of the players who wasn’t best pleased when Leeds allowed Aston Villa to score a goal last season.

Jansson would have been looking forward to returning to his old club but this time he was left with a rather sour taste in his mouth, leaving the stadium having lost against his former employers.

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تقدم النجم الأرجنتيني ليونيل ميسي بالهدف الأول لفريقه برشلونة أمام إلتشي في منافسات الدوري الإسباني.

وأحرز ميسي هدفه في الدقيقة 48 بعدما أنطلق ومر من لاعبي إلتشي، ثم مرر الكرة لبرايثوايت، الذي مررها له بدوره بالكعب تمريرة رائعة، ليسدد ميسي في الشباك.

برشلونة يستقبل إلتشي على ملعب “الكامب نو”، في مباراة مؤجلة من الجولة الأولى من الليجا ويمكنك متابعة أحداث المباراة لحظة بلحظة من خلال الرابط. هدف ميسي في مباراة برشلونة وإلتشي

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

West Ham have a measly transfer budget to work with prior to Thursday’s deadline, per ClaretandHugh.

What’s the word?

The Hammers have signed Sebastian Haller for a club-record fee this summer, spending £45m on the striker, per Football FanCast sources, and have also signed Pablo Fornals from Villarreal for a fee of £24m.

Those deals have taken a significant chunk of the club’s budget and ClaretandHugh now reports that they have “considerably less than £5m” available to spend on any more new additions.

Indeed, manager Manuel Pellegrini has reportedly been told that he can only afford one more squad player as he looks to further strengthen a squad that finished 10th last season.

Football FanCast understands, however, that the club’s board expects the Irons to qualify for Europe this season after a summer of investment.

Deflating news

West Ham still need additions.

The club have been left with two strikers – Haller and Javier Hernandez – after Jordan Hugill, Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic all departed the club.

Michail Antonio can play up top but he is more of a winger and one feels that another forward would be a shrewd addition.

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The club could also use another defensive addition, particularly with Winston Reid a remarkably injury-prone centre-back.

The New Zealand international missed the entirety of the 2018/19 season with a knee injury and he cannot be relied upon to complete as many as 38 games in a single campaign.

Having even less than £5m in the kitty, though, suggests that the Irons may well have to sacrifice depth in one key position; that cannot be a good thing prior to the season’s kick-off.

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According to The Daily Mail, Newcastle United are keen on Manchester United centre-back Axel Tuanzebe ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.

The report does not actually mention the word ‘loan’, but the fact that the 21-year-old only signed a new contract with United earlier this summer suggests that the Red Devils would only be open to a short-term exit.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side would allegedly be prepared to allow Tuanzebe to leave this summer providing that Harry Maguire arrives from Leicester City.

It is not exactly an ideal situation for Newcastle as they could face a long wait for Tuanzebe before potentially missing out at the final moment.

The defender has been regularly involved for United during pre-season, but could fall further down the pecking order if Maguire arrived at Old Trafford.

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A number of Newcastle fans have been on social media reacting to the latest speculation and a selection of the tweets are available to view below:

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Manchester United are still in the hunt for Aaron Wan-Bissaka but fans don’t understand why the deal hasn’t been completed already.

The Daily Mail reported on Saturday that United officials have been locked in talks with Crystal Palace recently in an effort to secure a deal for the full-back.

Could United be in the hunt for an £85m blockbuster signing this summer? Check out the video below…

The paper reckon that the Old Trafford side are on the brink of concluding a £42.5m deal that will have significant add-ons attached.

Wan-Bissaka had a breakthrough year at Palace last season, making 35 Premier League appearances, impressing with his athletic and ambitious forward play as well as his robust defending – only Wilfred Ndidi and Idrissa Gueye made more successful tackles than him in the top flight in 2018/19.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoping to usher in a new successful era at Old Trafford, the 21-year-old has the potential to breathe new life into the Red Devils’ play on the right flank.

Man United fans don’t understand why the transfer pursuit has turned into something of an extended saga, taking to Twitter this weekend to share their thoughts on the report…