Tag Futebol

Some Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to defend David de Gea, after the man who replaced him in between the sticks for Spain made a significant error in the dying moments against Norway.

Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga – the most expensive goalkeeper ever at £71m – came rushing off his line in an attempt to punch the ball clear, but instead caught Omar Elabdellaoui’s head with his fist.

The 25-year-old stopper’s error saw Norway handed a 93rd-minute penalty, which Bournemouth’s Josh King converted confidently, meaning that Spain were forced to settle for one point instead of three.

Chelsea’s No.1 seems to have replaced Manchester United’s No.1 in Spain’s starting XI, and after they watched the former Athletic Bilbao stopper make such a terrible mistake against Norway, some of the Red Devils’ supporters on Twitter have stood up for the benched keeper.

Let’s take a look at what the United fans on Twitter have been saying…

West Bromwich Albion fans praised the performance of Brazilian youngster Matheus Pereira after his performance in the 4-2 win over Huddersfield Town, though some also criticised him for what they perceived as a dive during the game.

The Baggies overcame a spirited Huddersfield side as they came from behind twice to ensure they stayed unbeaten in the Championship (via BBC).

Pereira proved to be a crucial player for Slaven Bilic’s side as he provided an assist for Semi Ajayi’s second goal in as many games for the club (via WhoScored).

The 21-year-old has been at the club since signing from Liga Nos side Sporting CP on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal if he makes a certain number of appearances (via Express and Star).

Manager Bilic has bigged up the Brazilian attacker, praising him for the different abilities he possesses.

He said: “He likes to pass the ball and get in the box but he doesn’t mind defending. He’s not a showman – he wants to penetrate and run into the box.” (Source: Football Paradise)

Fans offered up a warning after witnessing his dive inn Sunday’s manic game, though some did also pay him some compliments for his performance as well.

Here is a selection of tweets from the Baggies faithful:

[ad_pod ]Aston Villa will feel frustrated by picking up just a point at home to a ten-man West Ham side.The visitors’ left-back Arthur Masuaku received his marching orders 23 minutes from time after picking up a second yellow card for what appeared to be a challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady.Dean Smith’s men failed to capitalise as the game petered out into a goalless stalemate.Their captain Jack Grealish has since come out and claimed that the result “feels like a defeat,†but what do the experts think?

Lee Hendrie (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie, who made over 250 appearances in B6 over 14 years, didn’t mince his words and kept it short and sweet.

He doesn’t appear to be wrong either as the club are the joint-second lowest goalscorers of this current Premier League campaign, having scored just four goals from five matches.

Ashley Preece (Birmingham Live)

Local reporter Ashley Preece added more fuel to the fire by continuing to blast what appears to be an apparent trend.

He blamed Villa’s frontline of Wesley, Jota and Anwar El Ghazi for their inability to score or even create changes of note.

The home side recorded ten shots at goal, but just half were on target, per WhoScored.

Oliver Kay (The Athletic)

And finally, this tweet from Oliver Kay, the senior football writer at the Athletic, pretty much summed everything up.

He believed the decision-making of the Villa squad was crucial to their demise on Monday night, labelling it ‘bizarre.’

Things will need to drastically improve in the near future otherwise, a relegation battle could be on the horizon.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

While it was always going to be a tough game against Belgium, Scotland international Robert Snodgrass looked to have the perfect opportunity to prove to West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini why he should be starting on the right wing in Michail Antonio’s injury absence.

He may have got the nod against Brighton, but it was Andriy Yarmolenko that featured in the XI there in the subsequent wins against Watford and Norwich City, scoring against the latter.

Snodgrass therefore could have done with a positive showing on Monday to stake his claim for a spot in the east London outfit’s side that looks to be firmly up for grabs, but he failed to take it and was even slated by Scotland fans for his display.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

While you can never question the £10.2m man’s endeavour and high work rate, he does often leave a lot to be desired when it comes to showing some actual quality.

Granted, he did have an impressive passing accuracy of 93% against Roberto Martinez’s men, as per SofaScore, but he also came up short in many other areas.

For example, he committed five fouls – more than anyone else on the pitch – and lost possession on 14 occasions – more times than any of his teammates.

He failed to impress from an attacking sense either when his country needed him, with just one of his eight crosses proving to be accurate on a day when Scotland needed to be at their best to get anything.

As we mentioned previously, Snodgrass has some attributes that make him an attractive proposition for a manager – and one that Pellegrini has heavily utilised in the past – but his latest international display was just another sign that he should be a fringe player and nothing more at West Ham from here on in.

If the Irons really are serious about breaking into the top six in the Premier League, they need players on the pitch with proven quality, and the 32-year-old simply doesn’t cut the mustard any longer.

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Toby Alderweireld had been available for £25m in this summer’s transfer before his release clause expired last week.

The 30-year-old once again enjoyed an impressive season for Tottenham Hotspur during the 2018/19 campaign and it is a touch surprising that he was not acquired for that price.

There remains huge uncertainty when it comes to the Belgium international’s future, though, as his contract will expire at the end of next season.

Alderweireld has been in good form for Mauricio Pochettino’s side during pre-season and impressed against Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup final on Wednesday night after coming off the bench at the interval.

The 6ft 2 centre-back also scored in the penalty shootout as Spurs won the trophy.

Alderweireld then took to social media after the match to comment on the success and that forced a number of Tottenham fans to call for an extension to his current deal.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Kiko Casilla completed a surprise move to Leeds United from Real Madrid during the January transfer window.

The 32-year-old made 19 Championship appearances in the second half of the 2018-19 campaign – conceding 22 times and keeping just six clean sheets.

Casilla showed his quality on a number of occasions but it would also be fair to say that the 6ft 3 stopper made the odd mistake.

The one-time Spain international was between the sticks for Leeds’ 2019-20 Championship opener against Bristol City last weekend, which the Whites won 3-1.

And it does appear that he will spend at least this season with the second-tier club.

Check out what happened when Thogden mixed with some of Montenegro’s craziest ultras in the video below…

The Leeds fans, however, have differing views when it comes to Casilla.

Indeed, in response to an article published by respected journalist Phil Hay, many of the club’s supporters showed that there are a lot of mixed feelings on the stopper.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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

According to Birmingham Live, Rekeem Harper is edging ever closer to committing his future to West Brom.

What’s the word?

A number of top academy stars have left Albion in recent years with the likes of Kemar Roofe, Tyler Roberts and Izzy Brown all departing.

This summer they could see yet more flee the scene. Louie Barry has been linked with a remarkable switch to PSG or Barcelona whilst Jamie Soule has also caught Borussia Dortmund’s eye.

However, there is a continuing saga revolving around Harper. The 19-year-old played 23 times in all competitions last term but his future has been in doubt for a while with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Things hadn’t particularly progressed throughout the back end of 2018/19 but the club revealed they had offered him a new deal in their retained list.

Yet Birmingham Live now report that he is edging closer to staying with the Baggies. He had previously been linked with a potential move to Juventus or Liverpool.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Barry should be tossed aside

Another matter West Brom could look to sort out this summer is the future of Gareth Barry. The 6 ft 1 midfielder was initially released by the club but Express & Star now suggests Bilic is set to take a look at him.

But if Harper does now sign a new deal, would there be any need for Barry? Arguably not.

The West Brom man produced some consistent performances last term, making 1.5 tackles per game and completing 80.2% of his passes.

Despite that, he’s now 38 and shouldn’t really be considered as Albion welcome in a new era.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

Instead, they need to be building their side around players like Harper. Not only would Barry hinder Sam Field’s game time, but a new deal for the seasoned professional would also likely reduce Harper’s impact.

The latter struggled to make inroads as it was last season and if he signs a new deal he will surely be expecting to play a more regular part. With Barry in the team, he wouldn’t achieve that.

Looking at the bigger picture, Harper is someone who could be crucial in the years to come. Furthermore, he’s a player with plenty of resale value.

Barry, on the other hand, has neither. As a result, Bilic must focus solely on new terms for Harper.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

It’s not perhaps quite the same level as Sol Campbell’s infamous move across north London, but Arsenal’s reported swoops for William Saliba and Dani Ceballos certainly does hearken back to the summer of 2001.

Campbell’s decision to leave Tottenham and join their bitter rivals was shocking to say the least, and certainly symbolised the balance of power at the time. But fast forward almost two decades later, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side are in the midst of the summer transfer window having enjoyed arguably their finest campaign in recent memory. And yet it appears they still might get outdone by their north London neighbours.

The North London Derby of 2008 may never be matched for drama. Lewis from Norwich City Central explains why it’s his all time favourite derby in the video below…

Reports in recent weeks had suggested Arsenal were close to completing a deal for St Etienne’s Saliba, but Spurs attempted to hijack the deal with their greater financial resources. But, the 18-year-old has seemingly decided to opt to join the Gunners amid greater interest in their project and the side’s storied history with French players.

Ceballos on the other looked destined for a move to Spurs before Arsenal muscled their way in, and once again it appears another promising star may be on his way to the red half of north London, according to reports in Spain.

A “different knock”

After the disappointing end to the campaign saw them fall short in their hunt for Champions League football for next season, there was an air of doom and gloom about what Unai Emery’s side could realistically achieve in the transfer window.

But perhaps the Gunners need not have feared. Speaking back in May, head of football Raul Sanllehi spoke about how the side’s failure to be in European football’s elite competition would not necessarily mean that they would be completely out of the running for the top players.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Spaniard said: “Fortunately enough, the image of Arsenal is strong enough. We are a reference in the football world, so when Arsenal knocks on the door of players it’s a different knock than other clubs.

“The image of Arsenal is strong enough to help us build a case about all the model we are bringing up, the new era that we are bringing up. It’s very exciting.”

So what could easily have turned out to be a real chastening time for Arsenal with the likes of Saliba and Ceballos choosing to join their great rivals, has become a timely reminder and boost that the club still has the pulling power even after their recent struggles.

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According to reports from Football Insider, Helder Costa could join Leeds on loan this summer after it was claimed the Yorkshire side wanted the player.

The forward struggled for game time during the second half of last season as he found it difficult to adapt to life in the Premier League, being forced out of the side by Diogo Jota.

But with a possible move to Leeds on the cards, Wolves fans have decided to focus on the switch in a positive light.

Taking to Twitter, certain individuals were full of support for him. One fan said a move to the Championship would do wonders for the 25-year-old whilst another claimed he could get his mojo back if he joined the Whites.

A further supporter suggested the move would be perfect for the Portuguese given Leeds play good football. There was also attention cast towards Marcelo Bielsa after one tweeter said he’d be able to improve Costa.

The attacker arrived at Wolves in 2016 for a club-record fee at the time of £13m, proving to be an instant hit. However, he only managed to find the net once in 2018/19.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

سجل فريق ليفربول الهدف الثاني أمام نظيره ولفرهامبتون في المباراة الجارية حاليًا في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب الأنفيلد مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الحادية عشر من البريميرليج.

وتمكن جورجينيو فينالدوم من تسجيل ثاني أهداف ليفربول في الدقيقة 58 بطريقة رائعة للغاية.

جاء الهدف بعد تمريرة طويلة من جوردان هندرسون، وتسلمها فينالدوم الذي انطلق تجاه المرمى وسددها بطريقة قوية بشكل أكثر من رائع في مرمى الذئاب.

وكان محمد صلاح قد سجل هدف ليفربول الأول في الدقيقة 24.

جارِ تحميل الهدف..