Author: Conal

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has reportedly rallied the troops by taking his players on a novel team-building trip to meet soldiers at an army base. It comes after a shaky run of form for the Blues that has seen them drop to 10th in the table after winning just once in their past five league games. Poor results have not stopped them from signing players, though, with the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix arriving in a January window that has already seen them spend close to £190 million. Chelsea boss Graham Potter has taken his players on a novel team…

It might go down as one of the worst periods in Manchester United’s history. Just days after a humiliating home defeat to Brighton in the opening game of this season, the once formidable football juggernaut were again shamelessly demolished by another Premier League minnow, Brentford, as the newly-appointed Erik ten Hag watched his abysmal team concede four comical goals in about half an hour. Nevertheless, Casemiro was undeterred by what had unfolded at Old Trafford. The unassuming Brazilian midfielder, who had not yet completed his shock move from high-flying Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid to the incredibly chaotic United, texted a…

Lionel Messi’s former Argentina team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme believes former Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal was foolish to anger the forward ahead of their World Cup quarter-final showdown. Before the game, Van Gaal said it ‘wasn’t difficult to come up with an answer as to how to stop him,’ having previously claimed Messi didn’t touch the ball when the two nations met at the 2014 World Cup. The quarter-final in Qatar would go on to be the fieriest match of the tournament with 15 yellow cards brandished – but it was Messi’s side ended up progressing to the semi-finals on penalties. Lionel Messi…

The coach clarified the issue of PSG captains, after Presnel Kimpembe’s complaint. In recent days, from France they pointed out that Kylian Mbappé was appointed by the board of directors and coaching staff as the vice-captain of PSG and that there was the possibility that he would assume the band completely from the following season. In this context, Christophe Galtier, coach of the Ligue 1 champion, came out to clarify the situation and his words surprised even Lionel Messi. The PSG fans were excited about Mbappé’s supposed vice-captaincy and the press pointed out that this would have a positive effect…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has delivered a fresh team news update ahead of our Emirates FA Cup clash with Reading at Old Trafford this weekend. The Reds will be bidding to book our spot in round five of this season’s competition, have already beaten Everton 3-1 to reach this stage earlier this month. Anthony Martial, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw all missed out during our most recent outing against Nottingham Forest in midweek, with Harry Maguire available for selection once more following his one-match Carabao Cup ban. United’s players can be seen hard at work at Carrington, ahead of…

Plenty of narratives surround the clash between Arsenal and Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round, ranging from a dress rehearsal for the title race in the Premier League to a reunion between Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. The Gunners boss was assistant coach to his opposite number for a few seasons at the Etihad Stadium. The Spaniard won plenty of trophies in his time under his compatriot but in 2019 took the large leap to taking over at the Emirates Stadium. The rebuild has taken time and plenty of backing but this season is showing that process bear fruit as Arsenal sit…

Chelsea injury news: The Blues have endured a number of injuries to the likes of Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in recent weeks. Ben Chilwell takes part in training ahead of a potential return against Fulham (Image: (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)) Graham Potter has had to deal with a number of injury concerns since taking over from Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea manager. The Blues had as many as 10 players out with injuries at the start of the new year. The west Londoners’ struggles on the pitch have not…

Paris Saint-Germain players have visited a construction site which will soon be home to their new £263million training ground. The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar exchanged their football kits for hard hats, jackets and trousers as they got to see where they will be training from the start of next season. PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who invited the players to the facility, hopes it will allow them ‘to train in the best possible conditions to achieve success for years to come’. PSG players including Lionel Messi and Neymar have visited the club’s new training facility PSG players wore hard hats and jackets as…

Jose Mourinho is eager to return to England next season amid frustration at a lack of financial backing from Roma. An extraordinary third spell at Chelsea would be his ideal scenario and his representatives have let it be known that he would be interested in any vacancy at Stamford Bridge, but the club have made it clear they intend to stand by Graham Potter. Mourinho’s wife and children still live in London and he has always preferred working in the Premier League to elsewhere. Jose Mourinho has grown frustrated over the lack of financial backing he receives at Roma The manager would like a third stint…

The Saudi Pro League is set to adjust its rules in a bid to lure Lionel Messi over to the Middle East to join long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo, according to reports. Ronaldo put pen to paper on a £175m-a-year contract with Al-Nassr last month, and Saudi Arabia’s top division has now set its sights on landing Messi as well. Saudi clubs are currently allowed to register seven foreign players, but that number is set to increase to eight to allow more stars from Europe to play in the league, as reported by ESPN. Argentine and PSG star Lionel Messi is reportedly wanted by multiple…

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has waxed lyrical about Leandro Trossard after his display against Manchester City on Saturday. The Highbury icon, speaking on ITV, said the Gunners January signing has hit the ground running, and City’s players were “afraid of him”. Arsenal signed Trossard last week, bringing him to the Emirates Stadium from Brighton in a reported £27million deal. 1.6M85Ranking ALL 20 Premier League Managers As Players Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images The Belgium international put pen to paper on a contract worth a reported £90,000-a-week until the summer of 2027. Trossard made his debut just days after joining, coming on as…

Erik ten Hag wants young attackers Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri to keep showing him that they deserve the chance to feature in his Manchester United side. The South American duo will be champing at the bit to be involved in Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie with Reading, having made substitute appearances during Wednesday’s 3-0 success at Nottingham Forest. The former has played 18 times under Ten Hag this season, scoring two goals and Facundo’s cameo at The City Ground followed his competitive debut against Charlton Athletic – also in the Carabao Cup – earlier this month. While the narrative around the domestic cup…

Cristiano Ronaldo has once again shown a lesson to his detractors. Despite the fact that he is 37 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo is still one of the most popular athletes in the world (or the most popular), and in a place where his influence is appreciated is in social networks, since no person in the whole The world has more followers than him. With a record breaking amount of 540 million followers on Instagram, it is clear that the Portuguese has not lost popularity after leaving European football and joining Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr a few weeks ago. Now, in…

PSG boss Christophe Galtier caused some uproar at the Parc des Princes with his decisions in a Coupe de France tie with Pays de Cassel and has now been forced to hold face-to-face discussions to smooth things over. Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier has been forced to hold clear the air talks with defender Presnel Kimpembe as he attempts to smooth things over at the Parc des Princes. The former Lille and Nice boss caused controversy at the weekend after naming French forward Kylian Mbappe as his captain for a Coupe de France showdown with Pays de Cassel in the absence of Marquinhos. The…

The greatest compliment you can pay Lisandro Martinez is that very few people talk about Manchester United’s defence any more. Apart from those difficult early weeks of the season, when United were losing to Brentford and Brighton and Martinez was dismissed because he is only 5ft 9ins, the United back four is no longer a popular topic for debate. Remember the Harry Maguire psychodrama during the tortuous latter days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s regime? Error after error followed by discussion after discussion about whether Solskjaer would keep faith with the England defender. The Man United back four is no longer a popular topic for debate thanks to…

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech. Graham Potter speaks to Hakim Ziyech (Image: 2022 Chelsea FC) The Moroccan winger has made only ten league appearances for the Blues this season and the competition for places at Stamford Bridge has only intensified this month with the arrivals of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana – more could join too. Ziyech, who turns 30 in March, could be one player leaves Chelsea in the next week in order to secure a more regular supply of first-team football, although he has started three of…

Manchester City welcome the Gunners to the Etihad Stadium on Friday night in the FA Cup. Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola (Image: PETER POWELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Manchester City legend Shaun Goater has claimed that Pep Guardiola will be keen not to lose to his ‘student’ Mikel Arteta when the two teams face each other in the FA Cup this weekend. Friday night’s clash will be the first time the two sides have met this season in any competition after the Premier League game had to be rescheduled for this year after a Europa League tie was moved. Guardiola does have a good…

Kylian Mbappe made PSG history Monday night as he scored five goals against sixth-tier amateur side Pays de Cassel in the French Cup, with his side easing to a 7-0 win. Manager Christophe Galtier picked a relatively strong side with Mbappe, Neymar and Sergio Ramos included in his XI, and the French star did not take it easy on his opponents as he hit a hat-trick before halftime. Neymar and Carlos Soler also got on the scoresheet as PSG booked a last 16 matchup with rivals Marseille. Kylian Mbappe had a night to remember at Stade Bollaert-Delelis as his side won 7-0 Mbappe lobbed the Pays de Cassel…

Lionel Messi has been spotted enjoying some downtime in the Alps on holiday with his family. The Argentinian, who is still on a high having won the World Cup with his nation last month, was pictured in the mountains with his wife and three children. They were seen exploring their surroundings and taking in the scenery, while also enjoying some downtime in an outdoor pool. Lionel Messi took some time away from PSG to holiday in the Alps with his wife and children Messi and his family took in the stunning scenery in the mountains and wrapped up warm Messi spent some time…

Chelsea saw Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leave the club on free transfers and could see more players in the same situation in the future. Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea warm up (Image: Michael Regan) There is no denying that Chelsea have been active in trying to establish a new group of players to take the club forward under Graham Potter. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have helped drive the Blues to signing 14 players in addition to a number of young stars like Omari Hutchinson and Cesare Casadei for the Blues’ development squad. Most of those players have…

GRANIT XHAKA hailed “very special” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and his tactical plan for every letter of the alphabet. 4Arsenal are flying high at the top of the Premier LeagueCredit4Manager Mikel Arteta has drastically transformed the Gunners in the three years since his appointmentCreditGunners ace Granit Xhaka credits the Spaniard for the club’s huge turnaroundCredit The Gunners now sit five points clear at the top of the Prem with a game in hand on second-placed Manchester City. And midfielder Xhaka said: “I’ve had many coaches in my career but never one like Arteta. “He seems like he is focused only on football 24 hours…

The striker has 18 months left on his contract with the club trying to tie him to a new long-term deal. Marcus Rashford has been sensational since the arrival of Erik ten HagCredit: AFP Paris Saint-Germain have already made known their interest in the in-form 25-year-old. But Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag insists the local lad can achieve all he wants in football if he sticks with the club where he grew up. Ten Hag said: “I hope that all our players can have interest from clubs because that means you are doing a good job, that the team is outperforming so that is what…

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to monopolize all the front pages of the newspapers and was a trend on social networks, as he finally managed to officially debut with his new team in Saudi Arabia, Al Nassr. During the match, CR7 had a curious experience with his new fans. It is no secret to anyone that Cristiano Ronaldo is a world star and therefore is received in Arabia. The stadium was completely full, there wasn’t even a needle, besides, the fans were applauding him throughout the game and chanting the name of the Portuguese. At the end of the game, which Al…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was instrumental in his side coming out with a 3-2 victory over Premier League rivals Manchester United on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. How Mikel Arteta tactically outsmarted Erik ten Hag during Arsenal’s crucial win over Man United. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) When Arsenal met Manchester United at Old Trafford back in September it was a back-and-forth game, one which the Gunners had dominated over large stretches but they had ultimately still come away empty-handed. A second-half Marcus Rashford brace earned United a 3-1 victory, handing Mikel Arteta and co. their first Premier League loss…