Football (Soccer) News
After the departure of the manager and some of their best players, fans on Tyneside are braced for a transitional season at best
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 17th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 12th
Continue reading...A stunning double from the summer signing Camilo Durán helped Celtic open up a commanding lead against Lask in their Champions League playoff. Benjamin Nygren also produced a superb finish to send Martin O’Neill’s side on their way to a 3-0 first-leg win over their Austrian opponents in Glasgow.
The visitors had two goals disallowed for offside and created chances throughout in an open encounter but Celtic were clinical as they continued their strong start to the season. Nygren has been at the heart of it with four goals and four assists in as many games and he opened the scoring in the 26th minute. The Swede readjusted his body to volley into the top corner from 20 yards after a weak clearance from Kieran Tierney’s cross.
Continue reading...Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans will be key to Michael Carrick’s chances of success over a full season and of healing the rift between club and fans
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 3rd
Continue reading...With the departures of Pep Guardiola and Rodri it looks like the end of an era at City. Will Enzo Maresca be able to sustain their position as a domestic and continental superpower?
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 2nd
Continue reading...Andoni Iraola has his hands full – replacing Mo Salah and restoring faith at Anfield – and will hope big name investors bring stability not disharmony
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 5th
Continue reading...Amazon Prime captures strain of manager’s final season
Club chair says Spaniard threatened to leave ‘100 times’
Pep Guardiola clashed with his captain and almost broke down in tears as he railed at players during his worst run as Manchester City manager.
Guardiola stood down at the end of last season after winning 20 trophies in a 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium. One of the lowest points of his glittering reign came during a testing run in the autumn of 2024, when City lost nine times and won only once in 13 games. Guardiola outwardly showed signs of strain, notably when he scratched his face after City surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Continue reading...After keeping Leeds up last season and reaching an FA Cup semi-final, Daniel Farke has good reason to expect further improvement at Elland Road
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 14th
Continue reading...Rubin Colwill scored a ferocious equaliser with almost the final kick of the match to earn Cardiff a 1-1 Championship draw with Wrexham.
Wrexham appeared to have the Welsh derby bragging rights sewn up as the contest ticked into the eighth minute of added time at Cardiff City Stadium.
Continue reading...The Community Shield isn’t always a sign of things to come, but City’s form in their defeat to Arsenal is concerning in the wake of Pep Guardiola’s departure
There are caveats. It was only the Community Shield – and no side has gone on to win the league after lifting the Community Shield since 2018. It was against the league champions, whose pre-season has involved far less strenuous travel than their own. By the time the season really gets going, there will be greater clarity in central midfield, with Rodri set to complete his move to Barcelona imminently. But this was a startlingly bad opening for Enzo Maresca at Manchester City.
Succeeding a manager of Pep Guardiola’s stature is never easy, as numerous clubs have found. But it’s not just Guardiola’s stature, the sense that whoever follows him stands in his shadow. It’s that his style of play is so idiosyncratic that the transition process inevitably becomes more difficult. Even though Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant at City in 2022-23, and his football is Guardiola-inspired, it is not identical, not least because Guardiola was always evolving. Even allowing for all that, though, it was remarkable how poorly City defended in their 3-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.
Continue reading...Larne defender Dan Bent has played in two European competitions this summer and now faces a former team in a Conference League tie that could earn his club vital funds
Premier League footballers are gearing up for the start of the season, but some of their fellow professionals in smaller leagues across Europe have been going all summer – even those who play a winter campaign. Some played the biggest games of their lives when the rest of us were watching the World Cup. The Champions League qualifiers began when the World Cup was at the last-16 stage, with some clubs already knocked out of Europe by the time England were beaten by Argentina in Atlanta.
Larne, the champions of Northern Ireland, began their European crusade on the day Argentina beat Egypt in the World Cup last-16, Dan Bent’s penalty in the second leg a week later helping them overcome Tre Fiori of San Marino in the Champions League. Larne’s reward was a meeting with former European champions Red Star Belgrade. They were beaten 9-0 on aggregate by the Serbian giants, but it is an experience Bent will treasure for ever.
Continue reading...They have a new manager and a higher net spend than Manchester City, but will that be enough for Ipswich to avoid another yo-yoing relegation?
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 2nd (Championship)
Continue reading...Playoff winners are expected to go back down, but their owner is optimistic and is investing in the squad
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 20th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 6th (Championship)
Continue reading...Live updates from the 4pm kick-off at Turf Moor
The colour scheme. Burnley are in claret and blue, naturally. West Ham are in their third strip, which is pale, swirly and makes each player look like a box of washing powder.
The players are out there and a lot of fists are being bumped.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s fans’ network looks ahead to the new season: fresh talent, weak links, and who will be sacked first
Having finally got the title monkey off our back, and with much of the competition in a state of flux, there’s plenty of optimism. Obviously the target is for Arteta to sustain the same appetite and intensity to mount a credible defence. The big questions are whether we can reproduce the same resilience at the back with Saliba on the long-term missing list, and will the introduction of Guimarães be the catalyst for the sort of midfield chemistry we’ll need to carve open opponents who plan to park the bus?
Bernard Azulay onlinegooner.com; @GoonerN5
Jonathan Pritchard
Continue reading...Lankshear ends Lincoln’s nine-month unbeaten run
Millwall start with 2-0 win over 10-man Bristol City
Will Lankshear scored a second-half double on his debut as Middlesbrough fought back to kick off their Championship campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory, ending promoted Lincoln’s remarkable nine-month unbeaten run.
The Imps – playing their first second-tier match in 65 years – made a strong start and opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Adam Reach. But the former Tottenham forward Lankshear marked his first league appearance since his move to the Riverside by equalising just after the hour and then stabbing in a stoppage-time winner.
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