Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract that will extend his tenure as the Manchester City manager to 2027. Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies since he joined City in 2016, spoke about his decision making process in an interview with the club. Speaking about his side's poor recent form, he said: 'The problems we had in the last month [four consecutive defeats], I felt now was not the right time to leave.'
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Højlund has chance to impress Amorim, Villa look to end miserable month and will Forest trouble Arsenal?
After masterminding Leicester’s return to the Premier League, Enzo Maresca jumped ship to Chelsea. The Italian had given little confidence he would stay at the King Power, despite his success amid problems in the background and the lure of London. Maresca did, however, ensure he took one thing with him in the form of the central midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a leading light in the Foxes’ promotion charge. While Maresca has impressed at Stamford Bridge, Dewsbury-Hall is yet to find his feet and has been limited to a cup-player role. Of his 10 appearances for Chelsea, only three have been in the league and none from the start. It might be time to show some faith in him and there is no better place to do so than his old home. Dewsbury-Hall rose through the ranks at Leicester and his £30m transfer fee this summer was highly beneficial to their accounts after financial problems. Leicester fans will welcome back Maresca and Dewsbury-Hall with open arms, the embrace the latter might need to kickstart his Chelsea career. Will Unwin
Leicester v Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)
Bournemouth v Brighton, Saturday 3pm
Arsenal v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm
Everton v Brentford, Saturday 3pm
Fulham v Wolves, Saturday 3pm
Continue reading...Premier League to proceed with vote on APT rules despite Villa’s call for delay
- Clubs are to vote on Friday over changes to financial rules
- Aston Villa followed City in wanting postponement
The Premier League has told Aston Villa it plans to press ahead with a vote to amend financial rules on Friday despite the club calling for it to be postponed.
The league has been consulting for more than a month with clubs on changes to its rules on associated party transactions (APT) after an arbitration panel found aspects of them unlawful. Clubs are to vote on those changes at a league meeting in central London on Friday, despite Manchester City, whose legal challenge to the rules led to the arbitration panel being convened, warning amendments should not be rushed through.
Continue reading...Onana to Delap: a Premier League XI of this season’s surprises so far
The Premier League players who have belied expectations (in a good way) so far this season
The Cameroonian had a debut season to forget in England. A series of blunders during a nightmarish Champions League campaign helped contribute to Manchester United’s group-stage exit, while high-profile errors on the domestic front led to serious questions about his future. Onana has enjoyed a far better start this time, dropping no conspicuous clangers and keeping five clean sheets in 11 games, the highest of any goalkeeper. He is overperforming in shot-stopping metrics and boasts a pass-completion rate that is on course to be higher than last season. An unexpectedly reassuring presence during another period of early-season turmoil at Old Trafford.
Continue reading...From Maupay to Doak: how Premier League players are faring on loan
We assess 10 players who made temporary summer moves, including an unusually small goalkeeper who is thriving
It seemed very sensible to send the creative midfielder to learn more about top-flight football under the tutelage of Cesc Fàbregas, although Perrone would probably have had opportunities at City amid their recent injury crisis. Como are back in Serie A and have attracted an eclectic group of players, including Sergi Roberto and Alberto Moreno. Perrone has made eight league appearances and sits alongside Roberto in front of the defence where he has looked composed and capable of instigating attacks with his intelligent use of the ball. The Argentinian is happy to collect facing his own goal and smart in tight spaces.
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Ipswich’s young English duo catch the eye, Liverpool march on and the brilliance of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba
It took them an hour of huffing and puffing, but Arsenal did something at Stamford Bridge they hadn’t managed since September – they scored an away goal in the Premier League. After toothless performances at Newcastle and Inter in the past week – and last month at Bournemouth – Gabriel Martinelli’s cute finish was itself a moment of relief, but Mikel Arteta was frustrated that his team didn’t find a winner. Their expected goals figure was lower than Chelsea’s (1.27 to 1.69) but that does not account for Leandro Trossard’s costly miskick at the death nor Kai Havertz’s would-be opener, which was just offside. The Gunners will almost always control games, especially now Martin Ødegaard is fit and firing again, but that age-old itch has not been scratched. They are not ruthless enough and they still lack a penalty box killer. Dominic Booth
Match report: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Match report: Brighton 2-1 Manchester City
Match report: Manchester United 3-0 Leicester
Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Newcastle
Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich
Match report: Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth
Continue reading...Neto cancels out Martinelli’s opener as Chelsea and Arsenal share spoils
There were people on the pitch, Chelsea substitutes to be precise, the joy of everyone connected to the club overflowing. Pedro Neto had produced the equaliser with a vicious low drive from distance and if it did not turn out to be the statement victory that Enzo Maresca and his players wanted – a first against a so-called Big Six rival – they could see the merit in a battling draw.
For Arsenal, this was a better performance than some of those of late and yet it was not the result that Mikel Arteta had called for, the one to silence the noise that has built around his club. It was another example of them losing the lead in a big game – after the draws against Manchester City and Liverpool – and it meant they have not won in four Premier League games, a sequence that has yielded two points. They are now nine behind the leaders, Liverpool. Is it too much to recover?
Continue reading...Szmodics and Delap stun Spurs as Ipswich end long wait for first win
Ipswich had waited 22 and a half years for this, and how their vibrant support celebrated after nine seemingly interminable minutes of added time. It said plenty that their first Premier League win since April 2002 was entirely deserved, a clever first-half performance seeing them pull clear through goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap before they passed a test of resilience in the second.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s header was all that Tottenham, disjointed throughout and never quite managing a late siege, could manage and the outcome was yet another feather in the cap for Kieran McKenna. The Ipswich manager began as an academy coach at Spurs and his side’s performance was a credit to him here.
Continue reading...Bruno Fernandes sparks Manchester United to easy victory over Leicester
Eleven days after Manchester United routed Leicester under Ruud van Nistelrooy in the Carabao Cup here, the interim manager signed off with another easy-street win over the Foxes and so ends his four-game term unbeaten.
In all the Dutchman has three victories, and for this one he thanks Bruno Fernandes, who graced a 250th United appearance by scoring the first goal and causing enough trouble for the hapless Victor Kristiansen to bundle past his goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen, for the second.
Continue reading...Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa: Premier League – as it happened
Villa pushed Liverpool hard, but clinical counter-attacks finished off by Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah were enough to send Arne Slot’s team five points clear at the top
Once the last strains of You’ll Never Walk Alone disappear into the night sky, a lone bugler plays the Last Post, the night before Remembrance Sunday. Exquisitely played, met with perfect silence, then a warm ovation.
The teams are out! Liverpool all red, Aston Villa all white. A bit like Real Madrid have come to town, three weeks early. A cracking few-pints-in atmosphere at Anfield, which reportedly rocked during the second half against Brighton last weekend. It’s usually one louder when the lights are on. The Villa support making their fair contribution to the noise as well. Here’s to everyone keeping it up.
Continue reading...Wissa double inspires Brentford to win from behind against Bournemouth
Yoane Wissa made it seven goals for the season as his double helped Brentford bounce back from Monday’s collapse at Fulham and beat Bournemouth.
The Bees needed a response after Fulham’s Harry Wilson scored twice in second-half added-time to stun them in the Premier League last time out. And after Evanilson took advantage of a Sepp van den Berg error to give the Cherries an early lead, Wissa’s header brought parity in west London.
Continue reading...Brighton v Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened
Substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley got the goals as Brighton came from behind to consign Manchester City to their fourth consecutive defeat
Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 0-2 Fulham
West Ham 0-0 Everton
Wolves 2-0 Southampton
Brighton v Manchester City (5.30pm GMT)
Liverpool v Aston Villa (8pm GMT)
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Lucas Paquetá is struggling, Ruud van Nistelrooy nears Old Trafford farewell and will Luis Díaz play as a striker again?
Brentford have scored nine and conceded six in their past two Premier League home games. Their leaky defence did not cost them in victories over Wolves and Ipswich but they were shown up by Harry Wilson’s injury-time double on Monday night at Fulham to suggest things need to improve at the back. Wilson’s goals both came from crosses. Brentford allowed Fulham to cross the ball 43 times, although Thomas Frank was not too worried about it and was surprisingly relaxed that they led to two goals. With Ethan Pinnock and Nathan Collins, he does have centre-backs capable of dealing with the majority but it is a dangerous game to play. Bournemouth will have taken note and their fine wingers and full-backs will probably target the space afforded out wide. Will Unwin
Brentford v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)
Crystal Palace v Fulham, Saturday 3pm
West Ham v Everton, Saturday 3pm
Wolves v Southampton, Saturday 3pm
Brighton v Manchester City, Saturday 5.30pm
Liverpool v Aston Villa, Saturday 8pm
Manchester United v Leicester, Sunday 2pm
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle, Sunday 2pm
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Forest and Bournemouth shine again, Gordon provides Tyneside tonic, while Gomez and Solanke are winning over doubters
If Ruud van Nistelrooy was supposed to wash the nostalgia out of the Manchester United system then perhaps that was achieved, though maybe not as intended. If Rúben Amorim was distracted from preparing Sporting for Manchester City on Tuesday, he will be more aware of a United squad bereft of confidence. United’s first 60 minutes against Chelsea saw them fumble pathetically for creativity. Not even the presence of one of the club’s greatest strikers has lifted the finishing quality in a group low on goals. Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were both bereft of touch and instinct; substitute Joshua Zirkzee’s signing remains a mystery. There was something of Van Nistelrooy in Rasmus Højlund winning Bruno Fernandes’s penalty, and the goalscorer’s knee slide towards the tunnel at the Stretford End. But there was to be no Ferguson-era ecstatic denouement. This United don’t do them. Van Nistelrooy has two games remaining until United seek the progressive future postponed by mistakenly retaining Erik ten Hag. John Brewin
Match report: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
Match report: Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
Match report: Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa
Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Match report: Wolves 2-2 Crystal Palace
Match report: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City
Continue reading...Ennui is The Thing: welcome to the death-football of late-stage capitalism | Barney Ronay
Manchester United and Chelsea demonstrate that boredom is a key part of the sport and an element of its beauty
Well, something definitely happened there. But what exactly? There is an affectionate joke about good, punchy Australian sports writing, which basically involves saying Here’s The Thing, right, then spelling out exactly what The Thing is in 800 brutally frank words, pounding The Thing into submission, shaking hands with The Thing, then, ideally, going off for a quick drink with The Thing.
What was the thing here? Trapped energy. Drift. Ennui. A good goal by Moisés Caicedo. The death-football of late-stage capitalism. Casemiro lying down a lot, often to surprisingly good defensive effect.
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