Category Uncategorized

Manchester United couldn’t have started the English Premier League in finer fashion than on Sunday, thrashing West Ham United 4-0 in front of their own fans at Old Trafford.

It was a day that United’s new signings Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic grabbed the headlines with supreme performances but the truth is Jose Mourinho’s men throughout the team were excellent, with some of the club’s homegrown talent shining just as brightly.

Many of the plaudits went to young Marcus Rashford, the 19-year-old was a constant threat throughout the match until he was eventually replaced by Anthony Martial.

It was Rashford who provided the assist for Lukaku’s opener, his neat little through ball bamboozling the Hammers defence.

The teenager also went mighty close to grabbing a goal for himself after creating space in the box and unleashing a fierce shot that beat Joe Hart before cannoning off the inside of the post.

If he can produce these kind of performances on a consistent basis then he’s going to have quite the season.

Manchester United fans were delighted with his impact and took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the performance…

Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs has told the Liverpool Echo that the club gave up on signing Eric Dier two years before he joined Tottenham Hotspur.

What happened?

Dier has become a regular first-team member of Mauricio Pochettino’s team at Spurs, but before he moved to White Hart Lane he had an opportunity to sign for Everton.

The now 23-year-old spent 18 months at Goodison Park on a loan deal from Sporting Lisbon in the 2011-12 season, and according to Stubbs, who was Under-21 coach at the time, the Toffees were keen to land him permanently.

It has been claimed by Stubbs that Everton were unwilling to pay a fee upwards of £1m for Dier.

While speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Stubbs said:

“We wanted to sign Eric and, at one point, thought we were going to get him. It took us the best part of eight months to get him up to speed but you could see his game coming on 10-fold and that was when we decided we wanted to sign him and we were in negotiations to do it but, at the time, it was going upwards of £1m, which wasn’t where Everton were at the time.

“Now they wouldn’t blink at two, three or four million for him, so for Eric at that time it would’ve been a case of right place, wrong time.”

Have Everton missed out?

This season Dier has not been as effective as he has been in recent campaigns.

After joining the North London outfit in 2014 he became an integral part of the team in a defensive midfield role, but he has since been shifted about.

Victor Wanyama’s performances in the middle of the park have forced Dier to play as a central defender at times, and that is where he has struggled on occasion this season.

Nonetheless, the former Sporting man is a top talent and a fully-fledged England international at his young age.

Dier would have provided plenty to Ronald Koeman’s lineup at Everton had he stayed and progressed at Goodison Park.

Given that the Merseyside outfit could have nabbed him for around £1m proves that they missed out on a great bit of business.

[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]

Few would believe a few seasons ago that Troy Deeney would be a Premier League player.

He has scored eight goals this season, and as a result is being linked with an England call up, further helped by Wayne Rooney’s standard pre-tournament injury. With Deeney playing so well for Watford right now, should he be considered by Roy Hodgson this summer?

With recent call ups for Jamie Vardy, Danny Ings and Charlie Austin, strikers who have come up through the Championship and performed in the top-flight, it perhaps suggests Deeney is going the right way about earning himself a call up.

With the Euro’s in France this summer, Hodgson may decide to call up players that other teams won’t know how to handle. That is partly why players like Kane, Deeney and Vardy are successful in the Premier League, because the opposition don’t know how to handle them yet.

With Dnny Welbeck seemingly being kept off the plane, and Sturridge being wrapped in cotton wool, this could be the best chance other strikers have to get on the plane.

As long as they continue to perform, then it could be a direct battle between Vardy and Deeney. Both are very different players, and should Leicester win the league with Vardy, then you feel he would have the edge. Vardy’s pace is too much for defenders, and his eye for goal means that he could easily fit alongside any strike partner.

But Deeney still has an outside chance. At the age of 27, he is about to enter the peak of his career. He has constantly worked hard to get to the top, and at least one England cap would be well deserved.

This is really down to Ighalo and Deeney, who have provided most of Watford’s goals this term. If one of the pair isn’t scoring, they will be setting up or creating the play. England have not had such a good pool of strikers in years, and if Roy does not utilise all the different options, then he will be making a big mistake.

Deeney is very much the kind of striker who can not only hold up play and set up goals, but can easily be spotted to get on the end of balls and score. Though it may have taken him 10 games to score his first goal in the Premier League rhis term, he deserves at least one cap for England.

[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

Cameron Carter-Vickers is in no rush to head back to the Premier League, with the USMNT star continuing to generate transfer talk.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Defender left Spurs in 2021Impressed while in ScotlandAttracting interest from afarWHAT HAPPENED?

The 25-year-old centre-half has never appeared in the English top-flight, despite having come through the ranks at Tottenham to make six competitive appearances for the north London heavyweights. He took in a number of Championship loans before heading for Scotland in 2021.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Carter-Vickers saw Celtic complete a permanent transfer a year after his initial arrival and is thoroughly enjoying his time in Glasgow, telling when asked if a move back south of the border forms part of his plans: “If it comes, it comes, great, but if it doesn’t, I’m happy where I’m at now.”

WHAT THEY SAID

The commanding defender has been a full international since 2017, earning 14 caps for the United States, and is still coming to terms with the fact that he is gracing the biggest stages in sport. Carter-Vickers added: “The camp prior to the World Cup in the summer, I didn't really expect to be called up, but when I was, I felt like I was ready to perform for the national team. Looking back now, I'm glad, I think that summer camp was key to impress the coaching staff here and show them what I can do. That got me called into the World Cup squad, which was a dream.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Carter-Vickers figured in both of the United States’ friendlies during the October international break – against Germany and Ghana – and is eager to cement his place in Gregg Berhalter’s plans heading towards Copa America and World Cup tournaments that will be staged on U.S. soil in 2024 and 2026 respectively.

PSG's stars failed to step up to the mark in a 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich that sees the Ligue 1 side bow out of the last 16 3-0 on aggregate

Marco Verratti's mistake cued a Bayern Munich clinic as the German side struck twice to send Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League.

The visitors enjoyed the best chance of the first half, with Vitinha dispossessing Yann Sommer inside the box before poking his shot towards an open net – but Matthijs de Ligt slid in brilliantly to divert his effort off the line.

The Parisians struggled to create thereafter, with Kylian Mbappe rendered anonymous for most of the proceedings.

And the home side deservedly broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, with Eric Chupo-Moting finishing into an empty net after Marco Verratti's giveaway.

Bayern added a second in stoppage time, as Serge Gnabry completed a classy counter-attack to boot PSG out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage without really having to try, triumphing 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate.

GOAL rates PSG's players from a demoralising night at the Allianz Arena…

• Getty
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):

  Made a neat save in the first half, helpless for both goals.

  Achraf Hakimi (4/10):

  Lost the wing battle to the rampant Alfonso Davies. Beaten one-on-one too often, and didn't get forward enough.

  Danilo Pereira (6/10):

  Serviceable playing out of position and made one excellent tackle, but doesn't have the instincts of a centre-back.

  Sergio Ramos (6/10):

  The best of PSG's three centre-backs, but perhaps should have scored on a free header.

  Marquinhos (5/10):

  Tried to play through an injury sustained at the weekend but was removed after 35 minutes.

  Nuno Mendes (5/10):

  Anonymous going forward, outclassed by the excellent Kingsley Coman. One to forget.

Advertisement

• Midfield

  Vitinha (6/10):

  Energetic, silky on the ball, but lacking in his final pass.

  Marco Verratti (5/10):

  Gave the ball away inside his own box to cue up Bayern's opener. A season-defining mistake.

  Fabian Ruiz (6/10):

  Struggled to compete with the Leon Goretzka-Joshua Kimmich pivot. Not the kind of hard-working midfielder PSG need.

• Getty Images
  

  Attack

  Kylian Mbappe (6/10):

  A few loose touches early, some half-chances late. Another crushing end to a Champions League campaign.

  Lionel Messi (6/10):

  Class for stretches, but really faded in the second half. Epitomised PSG's struggles.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Subs & Manager

  Nordi Mukiele (3/10):

  Replaced the injured Marquinhos after 35 minutes. Swiftly substituted at half-time.

  E.C. Bitshiabu (6/10):

  Brought on for defensive solidity in the second half and looked inexperienced.

  Warren Zaire-Emery (5/10):

  Tasked with reviving a struggling midfield, which is pretty hard when you're a teenager.

  Juan Bernat (5/10):

  Legs for a tired Mendes.

  Hugo Ekitike (N/A):

  Last roll of the proverbial dice. Hardly touched the ball.

  Christophe Galtier (4/10):

  Switched to a back five after setting up in a four in the first leg. Contained Bayern's attack far more effectively in the first half. However, PSG were lacking at the other end, failing to create the chances they needed to overturn a 1-0 deficit. He might have coached his last Champions League game for the club.

Some players can invest so much into their routines that they become lucky charms in their minds

In football, players and coaches will do nearly anything to get the slightest edge, something that will bring them over the line ahead of their opponents.

That usually includes seeking out the best diets and trying to train as intelligently as possible, using statistics and so forth in order to maximise the chances of winning.

For some, the pursuit of victory also involves adhering to certain rituals and, while they might seem absurd or odd, an interruption to routine can have an adverse effect.

Goal takes a look at some of the funniest and weirdest superstitions in football.

Getty1Don Revie didn't like birds

Legendary Leeds United manager Don Revie was famously superstitious and felt so strongly about certain matters that he even had someone try to lift a curse off Elland Road.

As well as insisting on the team bus going the exact same route to every game, Revie would wear the same suit as long as the team won – which became a small issue during their successful periods when his trousers wore thin!

Revie also felt that certain birds were bad luck, so the sudden appearance of an owl badge on the Leeds jersey – inspired by the city coat of arms – in the 1960s was a tad unusual. It was eventually dropped in favour of 'L.U.F.C.', with Revie reportedly an influence behind the decision.

Oh, and he didn't like ornamental elephants either.

AdvertisementGetty Images2The battered boots of Jack Grealish

During Aston Villa's 2018-19 promotion-winning season, Jack Grealish became somewhat superstitious about the boots that he wore.

Footballers often have endorsement deals with sportswear producers and more often than not they love to wear the latest boots. However, that was a luxury Grealish decided to ditch.

Having scored a few goals and laid on some more for his Villa team-mates on his return from injury, the playmaker decided that it had to be his boots.

As a result, Grealish kept wearing the same pair, only changing after the club achieved a place in the Premier League.

The leather was tearing off and his favoured left boot was particularly battered.

"They were brand new and then I got a few goals, a few assists," he explained. "I thought these were my lucky boots so I've had to keep them."

Getty3Felix Magath's lucky tie

Former Bayern Munich manager Felix Magath grew quite attached to a green tie when he was manager of Wolfsburg in the late 2000s.

When he steered the Wolves to a then-record number of successive wins, Magath declared that the tie would not be changed as long as they were winning.

Who are we to argue? Magath steered Wolfsburg to Bundesliga glory that season, finishing two points ahead of Bayern Munich.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images4Johan Cruyff the belly slapper

While Johan Cruyff scathingly dismissed the idea of pre-match rituals later in his career, he actually had a few himself in the early days at Ajax.

Before games, the Dutch legend would land a customary slap on the belly of goalkeeper Gert Bals before then proceeding to spit his chewing gum into the opponent's half.

He grew out of that 1970s habit though and by the 1990s he was highly critical of players – and coaches – who had their various superstitions indulged.

Leicestershire could have been forgiven on this of all days if their thoughts occasionally strayed from the Sussex coast to the parties going on in their home city.

David Hopps at Hove03-May-2016
ScorecardMark Pettini hundred added to the success of Leicestershire’s winter imports•Getty ImagesLeicestershire could have been forgiven on this of all days if their thoughts occasionally strayed from the Sussex coast to the parties going on in their home city. Back in Leicester, home of the Premier League champions lest you have been seal spotting in Antarctica for the past month, there were street parties until 4am, fans were reportedly climbing the clock tower and, reinterred last year in Leicester Cathedral, even Richard III was no longer talking of winters of discontent. It could well be the first recorded example of anybody in Brighton being envious of a night out in Leicester.In their own small way, though, Leicestershire had cause for satisfaction even if it did not come with TV cameras, a social media frenzy and an invitation to a Jamie Vardy drinks party. To declare their first innings on 473 for 8, 310 runs ahead of Sussex, pre-season favourites for the Division Two title, was further proof of their determination to lose the tag of the weakest county in the land. Well worth a celebratory room service and an early night.With the leaders Essex seemingly involved in a stalemate with Worcestershire at New Road, Leicestershire have the opportunity to strengthen their hold on second place if they can force victory, but they failed to nick out a couple of Sussex wickets by the close, Ed Joyce and Chris Nash assembling 113 without too many alarms in the 39 overs to the close – although Nash, on 9, was fortunate to survive a slip chance off Clint McKay.Leicestershire have made much of the fact that they were signing leaders when Paul Horton, Neil Dexter and Mark Pettini, former captains all, were identified as key components in the rebuilding of what had been the most ailing county club in the land. They were also signing batsmen: May is barely upon us and all of them have struck a Championship hundred which, even allowing for an early season characterised by flatter pitches, must bring immense satisfaction.Proven players Leicestershire’s trio might be but they are not too far beyond their 30th birthdays, their combined first-class tally is now around 24,000 runs, and all possess solid first-class averages between 35 and 40. The lure of a new county has whetted their appetite. Dexter’s introductory hundred came last week in a strong draw against Kent; Horton and Pettini have followed up here at Hove with Pettini, 42 not out overnight, moving on to an unbeaten 142 – his highest Championship score for nearly a decade – before time was called on their first innings shortly before tea.”It’s been a good start for all of us I guess,” Pettini said. “It is important that we use our experience to get the runs. For myself it’s been fantastic to get a chance to play four-day regularly again. It’s been a great move for me. I have always believed in my four-day cricket but we had some impressive young guys at Essex who needed opportunities.”Pettini lost his way as a four-day player at Essex, but he looked acquitted for the task here, one edge against Ajmal Shahzad which flew wide of slip a rare blemish. He looked strong square of the wicket and three times lofted Sussex’s spinners confidently down the ground for sixes. Luke Wells, a legspinner now with occasional revisitations of his offspin, is a more solid performer these days and he found turn as he struck the stumps of Wayne White with a googly and Ben Raine, heaving to leg, in quick succession, but Danny Briggs, like Pettini eager to prove his Championship worth, went wicketless: so far he has shown more polish than clean-up power.As for the football, Pettini was actually born in Brighton and supports Liverpool. “But it was a great achievement and I’m happy to join the bandwagon,” he said. He has not joined a bad bandwagon at Leicestershire, it seems. If a smallish squad can avoid injuries – and they have mild concern over their captain Mark Cosgrove, who left the field with a jarred hip, suffered intercepting a drive into the covers from Joyce – they look capable of making considerable strides.

Ravi Sawani, the chief of BCCI’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) has resigned from his position citing personal reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2015

Ravi Sawani, the chief of BCCI’s anti-corruption unit (ACU) has resigned from his position citing personal reasons. He is likely to be succeeded by Neeraj Kumar, the former Delhi commissioner of police, who was recently roped in as an advisor to the Indian board’s ACU. Sawani’s tenure is likely to end in June.Sawani’s decision hasn’t surprised the BCCI administration as it is understood he had indicated his desire to quit soon after the board appointed Kumar in April. The former ICC ACSU chief was then informally asked to stay on until the end of IPL 2015.Sawani was considered by many within the BCCI as a trusted aide of N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president whose son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested and charge-sheeted in the IPL 2013 corruption scandal. However, a BCCI official denied that the change in power equations in the BCCI – with Srinivasan losing his control over the board following the elections in March – has had anything to do with Sawani’s resignation.The BCCI hierarchy acknowledged Sawani’s efforts for having set up the ACU after being appointed in 2012. With Kumar’s vast knowledge and experience of dealing with cricket corruption-related cases, the BCCI hopes that he can implement measures to curb fixing-related offences in India.

A collapse which saw them lose seven wickets for 75 runs ended Queensland’s hopes of a place in the Sheffield Shield final, as they lost to Western Australia by 95 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Ashton Agar picked up three wickets in Queensland’s second innings•Getty Images

A collapse which saw them lose seven wickets for 75 runs ended Queensland’s hopes of a place in the Sheffield Shield final, as they lost to Western Australia by 95 runs.Asked to chase 312 on the final day after the visitors were bowled out for 173, Queensland were in the race at tea, needing 185 with seven wickets in hand. However, they slid from 3 for 141 to 216 all out to crash to a defeat.Queensland had begun well in their chase; their openers Joe Burns and Chris Hemphrey brought up their second 50-plus partnership of the match, adding 61, before Andrew Tye removed Burns to pick up the first of his three wickets. He struck again two overs later to dismiss Peter Forrest for a duck.Hemphrey and Chris Lynn stitched together 55 runs before the former fell within touching distance of a half-century for the second time in the game, losing his wicket to Ashton Agar.Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tye then proceeded to remove Lynn, who scored his second fifty of the match, Chris Hartley and Michael Philipson in the space of three overs. When captain James Hopes returned to the pavillion, Queensland were 7 for 160.Cameron Boyce, who scored 42 off 45 balls, and Jack Wildermuth, with a 21-ball 27, quickened the tempo and sustained the fight, but it wasn’t long before Queensland were bowled out, Boyce the last man to fall, off Agar, in the 70th over.Western Australia hadn’t done a lot better with the bat, adding only 20 runs to their overnight total and losing four wickets inside seven overs. Coulter-Nile was the first man to go, run out off the seventh ball of the day.Nathan Rimmington and Tye followed suit soon after; captain Adam Voges was the last batsman to exit, dismissed by Peter George, who claimed four wickets.Western Australia’s win means that their clash with New South Wales in Perth will decide one of the places in the Shield final.

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 Group C matches played on January 22, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2015
ScorecardIshank Jaggi scored his second double-hundred of the season•PTI Assam made slow progress on the second day, adding 174 runs in 92.4 overs, but with a handy 68-run lead and five wickets in hand, they were in the pole position in Porvorim. Starting from 69 for 1, Assam lost opener Pallavkumar Das in the sixth over of the day, but a dogged 80-run stand between Sibsankar Roy (28 off 123 balls) and Gokul Sharma (53 off 169) held Goa’s bowlers at bay for a staggering 45.5 overs. Both batsmen were dismissed within the space of 13 balls, both falling to Darshan Misal, giving Goa a faint ray of hope. Dheeraj Jadhav, playing his 100th first-class game, took the team to lead, but fell soon after. An unbeaten 45-run stand between Tarjinder Singh and Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad helped Andhra finish the day without any further loss.
ScorecardIshank Jaggi’s second double-hundred of the season led Jharkhand to a mammoth 556 for 9 on the second day against Hyderabad in Ranchi. Along with Jaggi’s 201 not out, No. 8 Kaushal Singh scored 69 before Jharkhand’s declaration, making Hyderabad bat for 14 overs in which they lost a wicket.Jharkhand started the day on 295 for 4, with Jaggi on 58, but medium-pacer Ashish Reddy removed Rituraj Singh for 24 and Kumar Deobrat for 10 to leave them on 351 for 6. However, Kaushal combined with Jaggi to shift the momentum back in Jharkhand’s favour with a stand of 177 runs. Kaushal scored his third fifty in four matches while Jaggi registered his 10th first-class hundred which featured 21 fours and four sixes. Legspinner Akash Bhandari broke the stand and took two more wickets to finish with 4 for 136 before Jharkhand declared.Varun Aaron broke Hyderabad’s opening stand in his first over, the second of the innings, before Hyderabad finished on 55 for 1, trailing by a humongous 501 runs.
ScorecardKerala put themselves in a strong position in Agartala, reaching 96 for the loss of KB Pawan in response to hosts Tripura’s 179. Rana Dutta took out Pawan for a duck but his opening partner Abhishek Hegde and Sanju Samson added an unbeaten 81 for the second wicket. Both batsmen took their time as Kerala went at just below two runs an over.Sandeep Warrier had earlier run through the Tripura tail in the morning on his way to 4 for 45. Overnight batsmen Bishal Ghosh (78) and Dutta (21) took their seventh-wicket partnership to 38 but once KS Monish sent back Ghosh, the rest capitulated to Warrier.
ScorecardThe rain refused to let off in Dharamsala, washing out the entire second day’s play between Himachal Pradesh and Andhra. The visitors were well-placed at 123 for 2 when rain also cut short the first day.