All posts by n8rngtd.top

GOAL picks out some eye-catching and unimpressive showings from the last-four clashes in Cameroon

• Getty
  

  Afcon 2021 semi-finals

  Senegal and Egypt defeated Burkina Faso and Cameroon, respectively, to set up what is a highly anticipated final between the West Africans and seven-time winners.

  Which performances in the last four were impressive and whose displays were a disappointment?

Advertisement

• Backpagepix
  

  Too Good: Gabaski

  Since replacing Mohamed El-Shenawy in the 88th minute of the Round of 16 success over the Ivory Coast, Egypt’s replacement goalkeeper has now saved three penalties in those two games.

  He stopped one in the victory over the Elephants and repeated the trick against the hosts on Thursday night and then some.

  Gabaski thwarted Harold Moukoudi and James Lea Siliki to put the Pharaohs into a healthy advantage in the shootout, thus becoming the hero for the North African side.

  If El-Shenawy is unable to feature on Sunday, Carlos Queiroz will trust in Gabaski who is yet to concede from open play since deputising for Egypt’s number one.

• Backpagepix
  

  Too Bad: Vincent Aboubakar

  For a second game running, the Indomitable Lions forward fired blanks, failing to convert one of the host nation’s best chances.

  While Aboubakar did not quite miss as many opportunities against the Pharaohs as the quarter-finals, the striker’s off-kilter finishing proved costly this time.

  Having flourished hitherto, the competition’s top scorer petered out when he needed to come up trumps.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty Images.
  

  Too Good: Saliou Ciss

  Ciss was a constant menace bombing forward for the entirety of Senegal’s 3-1 success over a plucky Burkina Faso outfit, fashioning more opportunities than all but Sadio Mane.

  The left-back was equally dominant in his one-v-one tussles against the Stallions, winning every aerial duel on the night.

  The 32-year-old has featured in every game so far at the finals and Aliou Cisse will count on the full-back for the decider.

Many fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers have been reacting to a post on Twitter in which Tim Spiers relayed an article of his regarding Wolves’ defensive issues.

In his article for The Athletic, Spiers revealed that, out of the 33 Premier League goals Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have conceded so far this season, 15 have come from crosses or set-pieces – highlighting the club’s ‘inability to defend’ a ball from a wide position.

Spiers continued in his piece by highlighting each of the 15 goals in question, the latest of which came during the club’s recent 1-1 stalemate with Newcastle United. One angry supporter described the defensive problem as “pathetic”.

After the journalist relayed his report on Twitter, fans of Wolves flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to blame the statistic on the fact that Nuno often fields midfielders in the heart of his defence – for instance, Leander Dendoncker has played the last four matches at centre-back.

So, what exactly did these Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have to say in reaction to Tim Spiers’ report?

“It really gets me how defenders turn their backs when attackers are crossing – and what’s with tucking your hands behind you? In the penalty area, OK – but elsewhere?”

@mrbcuk

“A midfielder’s instinct is to drop and defend the goal, real defenders hold the line and attack the ball. There’s your answer from a layman on Twitter. Question is, why can’t a multi-million-pound manager identify this?”

@MrR1g4t

“We’re desperate for a class CB in the summer, Dendoncker’s definitely been found out.”

@andywilis62

“Why’s he persisting with using midfielders as makeshift centre-halves when he has a 6ft 4 centre half who’s barely put a foot wrong when he’s played on the bench?”

@superwolves22

“The amount of free kicks we give away around the box is infuriating when we clearly can’t defend them.”

@DannyRosamond

“They looked all over the place, lack of communication. Surely that’s something that can be practised in training?”

@GianSG11

“Playing Saiss in the defence is not the long term answer. Dendoncker needs replacing, the same for Boly. The squad nucleus is stale.”

@FW90

“Maybe down to none of our back 3 are natural centre backs. 100% need to invest in the summer, even when Boly is back.”

@bigal9_wwfc

“Our attitude to blocking crosses is pathetic. Time and time again our full-backs lack the urgency to close down the crosser and then dangle a token leg out with zero intention of taking one for the team and putting their bodies between the ball and the intended target.”

@SDando9

In other Wolverhampton Wanderers news, fans were left furious by one update, find out more here!

The man, the myth, the legend. Beppe Marotta has done it again…

Beppe Marotta is once again being hailed as the master of the transfer market after bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Inter on loan, a year after selling him to Chelsea for £97.5 million ($119m).

It certainly looks like another excellent bit of business from one of the most revered characters in Italian football, one who began his career in calcio by taking charge of the youth sector of his hometown club, Varese, when he was still only 19 years of age.

Marotta then earned himself a reputation as a shrewd sporting director during spells at various mid-level clubs, such as Monza, Como, Ravenna and Venezia, before really starting to rise to prominence at Atalanta.

However, it was fine work at his next club, Sampdoria, that brought him to the attention of Juventus, who were in a state of utter disarray when he arrived in Turin in 2010.

Within a year, though, Marotta had laid the foundations of an unprecedented era of Serie A success, with Juve winning nine consecutive Scudetti thanks primarily to his managerial appointments and inspired signings.

However, after sensationally leaving Juve in 2018 following a falling-out with his fellow directors, Marotta joined bitter rivals Inter and promptly set about knocking his former club off their perch.

The Nerazzurri's 2021 title triumph represented further vindication of Marotta's methods and cemented his status as arguably the most influential director in the game today.

Below, GOAL runs through the best bargain buys of what has been an incredible career to date…

• Getty
  

  Andrea Barzagli – €300,000

  Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci always drew more attention than the other member of the 'BBC', Andrea Barzagli.

  That was understandable, of course. Chiellini may have been a master of the dark arts but he was also a warrior. It was hard to miss him, given he was so often sporting a blood-stained bandage on his head.

  Bonucci, meanwhile, became renowned for his wonderful distribution of the ball, with his long passes from deep often leading to goals.

  Barzagli's role was far less eye-catching but just as integral to both Juve's and Italy's success.

  A quiet, humble character, he simply got on with his job: which was usually marking forwards and wingers out of the game.

  He was often charged with tracking players far quicker than himself but he was rarely caught out, so brilliant was his positional play.

  Barzagli is one of the most under-rated centre-backs of the modern era and, as a €300,000 (£260,000/$315,000) signing from Wolfsburg in 2011, a Marotta masterstroke.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Andrea Pirlo – Free

  "When Andrea [Pirlo] told me that he would come to Juve," Gianluigi Buffon revealed in 2011, "the first thing that I said was 'Thank God!'"

  The Juve captain's joy was understandable.

  In what will be remembered as one of the worst appraisals in football history, AC Milan had concluded midway through the 2010-11 season that the 31-year-old Pirlo was past it.

  As a result, they allowed him to run down his contract and join Juve on a free transfer.

  It was, as Buffon predicted, "the deal of the century".

  Pirlo, driven by the desire to make a mockery of Milan's decision to ditch him, immediately transformed a Juve side coming off the back of two seventh-placed finishes into champions.

  The reinvigorated regista won four Scudetti in total in Turin, and was named Serie A Player of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

  Not just one of Marotta's greatest ever deals, one of the best in football history.

• Getty
  

  Arturo Vidal – €10.5m

  Arturo Vidal has undeniably frustrated fans during recent stints at Barcelona and Inter but the Chilean was a true force of nature at his peak.

  Indeed, for the majority of his four years at Juventus between 2011 and 2015, there was arguably no better box-to-box midfielder in world football.

  He really could do it all, which makes his €10.5m (£9m/$11m) acquisition from Bayern Leverkusen one of best bits of business in Juve's history.

  Pirlo and Pogba provoked plenty more headlines, for a variety of reasons, but Juve's re-emergence as the dominant force in Italy, and a major power in Europe, simply would not have been possible without Vidal's relentless running and tenacious tackling.

  Indeed, while Marotta may be renowned for his free transfers, he also knows a bargain buy when he sees one, and Vidal was certainly that.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty
  

  Stephan Lichtsteiner – €10m

  It takes two to make a pass, so while Pirlo's precision and vision makes things a whole lot easier for any attacking side, the playmaker wouldn't have enjoyed quite so much success at Juve if he hadn't had willing runners.

  Stephan Lichtsteiner was undoubtedly one of his most talented targets, with the Swiss effectively serving as a wide receiver to Pirlo's quarterback.

  Indeed, they showed exactly what they would be all about just 16 minutes into Juve's 2011-12 season-opener, with Pirlo lofting a wonderfully-weighted ball into the penalty area that Lichtsteiner controlled before rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home.

  The buccaneering right-back would go on to make a colossal contribution to Juve's Serie A dominance under Conte, as well as their run to the 2015 Champions League final.

  Indeed, he proved perfect for Conte's 3-5-2 formation, and Marotta had made it happen, prising him away from Lazio for just €10m (£8.6m/$10.5m) as Lichtsteiner had just one year left on his contract at the time.

The Bayern Munich man fended off competition from the usual suspects, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

The race for the 2020-21 Golden Shoe is over after the best strikers from across Europe bolstered their goal tallies in the bid to be crowned the contintent's No 1 sharp-shooter.

Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski came out on top with a record 41 Bundesliga goals, seeing off perennial challengers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Young upstarts like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland scored in the high twenties, but they couldn't keep up with the Polish phenomenon.

With the race now complete,  Goal  tallies up all the top goalscorers from across Europe's top leagues in 2020-21…

• Getty
  

  1Gaetan Laborde | Montpellier | 16 goals (32)

  A key player for Montpellier over the course of the past three seasons, Gaetan Laborde continued to find the back of the net in Ligue 1.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  2Burak Yilmaz | Lille | 16 goals (32)

  Lille's Ligue 1 title challenge was fuelled in part by the goals of veteran striker Burak Yilmaz, with the Turkey international defying the march of time.

• Getty
  

  3Joao Pedro | Cagliari | 16 goals (32)

  Brazil-born playmaker Joao Pedro scored 18 goals in Serie A last season and went close to matching that tally by maintaining his early-season form all year.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty
  

  4Ludovic Ajorque | Strasbourg | 16 goals (32)

  Strasbourg forward Ludovic Ajorque enjoyed his best ever season in Ligue 1, cracking double figures in the goal charts and he will be eager to continue that form into 2021-22.

Goal looks at the players whose deals are due to end, which of them could leave and who might still be at Old Trafford come 2018-19

It's a little over 22 years since the Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman won a landmark case in the European Court of Justice which allowed footballers to break free of clubs at the end of their contracts, and the pre-contract agreement which has since been brought into the game means that from January 1 players with expiring deals can sign with potential new employers six months ahead of a move.

This January, Manchester United find themselves in the kind of position many clubs have been left in since the Bosman Ruling came into effect, with as many as nine of their players holding contracts which are due to expire at the end of the current season.

The one thing they do have going for them is that six of the nine involved have club-option extension clauses written into their deals, which allows the Old Trafford hierarchy the freedom to add 12 months to their contracts if they are unwilling to let them go.

• Getty Images
  

  Daley Blind

  The Dutch utility player has lived a somewhat nomadic existence since signing for United in the summer of 2014 under Louis van Gaal, being variously used as a midfield anchor, a centre-back and latterly a stand-in full-back.

  While United do have the option of adding a further year to his deal, even Blind’s father Danny has admitted that they may do so simply to command a transfer fee in the summer. “That is not an illogical idea, because his contract expires,” Blind Sr told Ziggo Sports. “Manchester United still has the opportunity to trigger an option for an extra season. They might do that, because then they can receive a higher transfer fee.”

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Michael Carrick

  The 36-year-old club captain has had an almost non-existent 2017-18 season thus far after undergoing a procedure to correct an irregular heart rhythm.

  Having been restricted to a single Carabao Cup appearance to this point, Carrick has had no opportunity to persuade Jose Mourinho and his staff to consider keeping him on for a further year and he is highly likely to finally wave a last goodbye to Manchester United two years on from what appeared to be his farewell under Louis van Gaal. Mourinho has even admitted in recent days that he is likely to seek a replacement for Carrick in the transfer market during the summer 2018 window.

• Marouane Fellaini

  United have been rocked over the past couple of months by the realisation that their exhaustive attempts to persuade Fellaini to sign a new deal had come to a dead end and the Belgian now looks set to leave Old Trafford in the coming months.

  Having missed the last 10 matches due to injury, Fellaini’s importance to the make-up of Mourinho’s squad has rarely been more evident. That would make his exit difficult to stomach, hence the manager’s insistence that he is not about to give up hope of the midfielder staying on but at this point it would appear Mourinho’s belief is misplaced.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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

• Getty
  

  Ander Herrera

  While the club are yet to officially confirm it, Ander Herrera has already been told his expiring contract will be topped up with a club-option 12 months for season 2018-19. He may not have featured quite as much this term, but his form last season was enough to win him the club’s Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award and also underline his importance to the United squad.

  Mourinho has hinted that a midfield addition will be one of his priorities next summer but Herrera’s willingness to fight for the cause will not be given up easily despite his lessened status in the manager’s second season.

After going on a run of three consecutive victories in the Premier League, Arsenal were brought back to reality somewhat with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last Thursday.

Mikel Arteta’s side huffed and puffed but couldn’t break the door down against a resolute Eagles defence, mustering just four shots on target over the course of the 90 minutes.

The Gunners face Newcastle on Monday night looking to get back to winning ways, with the north Londoners having just tasted success against Steve Bruce’s men following their FA Cup third round triumph a week prior.

Arteta may be inclined to make some changes to freshen up his team, and with that in mind, below is a look at how Arsenal might line up for the visit of the Magpies.

In goal, Bernd Leno added to his growing reputation as Arsenal’s undisputed number one with a couple of superb stops, including one flying save to deny a Christian Benteke header finding the top corner.

Despite keeping a clean sheet, Arteta may wish to add a bit more impetus to his defence, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ hugely disappointing display at left-back seeing the £16.2m-rated ace drop out. Whilst the Gunners boss may be reluctant to do so given how he has performed further forward, Bukayo Saka may fill in there, with no risk taken on Kieran Tierney.

Midfield could finally see Thomas Partey make his first start since going off injured a couple of months ago, and he could be joined by Granit Xhaka, who was outstanding against Palace.

And behind Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe could be set for a recall to the right-hand side if Saka does move to left-back, with Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining him in attack.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Saka; Partey, Xhaka; Pepe, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette.

Meanwhile, Arsenal must make a ruthless call on this liability…

Liverpool face a tough trip to St Mary’s on Monday evening to face Southampton and whilst a lot of eyes will be on Danny Ings and the threat he poses against his old team, Jurgen Klopp’s side must be wary of James Ward-Prowse.

The Southampton captain has been in superb form so far this season for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, contributing four goals and three assists in 16 top-flight appearances, which has earned him an excellent 7.3 average rating.

This is enough to rank the Englishman as the Saints’ best performer in the top-flight so far this season, which emphasises how important he is for the South Coast club.

Perhaps most impressively, three of Ward-Prowse’s goals have come from direct free-kicks, including two superb efforts in the same game in their 4-3 win against Aston Villa earlier in the season.

Therefore, Klopp’s side must be extremely wary of giving away free-kicks in dangerous positions at St Mary’s on Monday, as the 26-year-old certainly has the quality to punish the Reds.

After Manchester City’s 1-0 win against the Saints last month, Pep Guardiola lauded the Southampton ace, who earns £45k per week at the South Coast club, saying:

“They have the best free-kick taker I have seen in my life in Ward-Prowse.”

It is not just the Southampton man’s free-kicks that are dangerous, however, as his corners have also proved to an extremely dangerous weapon for Hasenhuttl’s side this season, with the South Coast club having scored eight times from set-pieces this season, the joint-most in the league.

Without the aerial threat of Virgil van Dijk, Klopp’s side could certainly be vulnerable from set-pieces, as we saw with Semi Ajayi’s equalising goal for West Brom in the 1-1 draw recently, so this could be another area which Southampton look to exploit against the Reds on Monday evening.

Therefore, although the likes of Ings and Che Adams are likely to cause problems for Liverpool’s defence at St Mary’s, Klopp should be wary of the influence Ward-Prowse has in this Southampton side.

And, in other news… Shades of Lovren: Edwards must steer LFC clear of error-prone £22.5m-rated disaster

Manchester United could land their next Gary Neville in Norwich City starlet Max Aarons.

What’s the word?

United endured a difficult start to the season, dropping their first game against Crystal Palace, but they have transformed their fortunes as they find themselves second in the table behind defending champions Liverpool with a game in-hand over their arch-rivals.

According to The Daily Mail, the Red Devils remain interested in Aarons, who was heavily linked with the Carrow Road exit in the summer.

The 20-year-old has dazzled in the Championship as Norwich have claimed top spot ahead of promotion rivals Brentford and Swansea City.

It’s recently been claimed by The Sun that he would ‘jump’ at the chance of a move to Old Trafford which is exactly why Ed Woodward must sanction a swoop for the fleet-footed speedster.

Gary Neville 2.0?

Ever since Gary Neville hung up his boots for the final time, it’s fair to say that United have struggled to find someone who can come close to the former England international. In Aarons, the Red Devils could find a young player who could do precisely just that.

The 7-cap England U21 international is highly-rated by Canaries chiefs, having scored one goal and supplied three assists across all competitions, via Transfermarkt, while he is averaging one clearance, one interception, 1.3 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

For the record, that’s three assists more than Aaron Wan-Bissaka has managed in 13 appearances in the Premier League this season, despite the fact he currently earns around £90,000-per-week at Old Trafford.

The £18m-rated ace has already received rave reviews for his performances in recent weeks with Norwich boss Daniel Farke effusive in his praise for the young prospect. He said, as quoted by The Pink Un: “In my eyes he is not the young Max Aarons, he is just a special player and he has an unbelievable future.

“I know he has been labelled as one of the best young players in this league. Well I told him we can reject this label now because he is no longer one of the best young players, he is one of the best players.

“When you are close to 100 appearances you are already an experienced lad. He is so young and he has to improve, and he will, but what he has done in the past two years is amazing. I cannot praise him enough.

“The good thing with him is he can handle this praise. He is also a player who never gets annoyed when I have to criticise or ask him to do something else. For me it is not just what he has done on the pitch. It is his development as a person. He is so balanced and level-headed.

“So humble. I remember he played in the derby and produced a fantastic performance and from this moment he has more or less grown on a daily basis.”

Just imagine him and Mason Greenwood bombing up and down the right wing – United could discover a new pairing akin to the telepathic partnership between Neville and David Beckham themselves.

AND in other news, Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire stole the show vs Wolves…

Manchester United spent huge sums of money in a massive spree in the summer as Ed Woodward sought to strengthen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad in all areas.

Whilst Woodward signed Donny van de Beek from Ajax, and secured the services of both Alex Telles and former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani on transfer deadline day, the Red Devils have been unable to hit the ground running so far this season.

Lying in tenth place in the Premier League table, a point adrift of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Solskjaer’s side still have a lot of work to do as they head into December.

It’s about time Solskjaer starts to sort out some of the deadwood, as he desperately needs to lower the club’s colossal wage bill, and he may not have to look much further than Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who currently earns wages worth £15,000-per-week.

According to The Manchester Evening News, Solskjaer wants Fosu-Mensah to stay at Old Trafford as he is approaching the final seven months of his contract.

However, the versatile Dutchman, who can play as a centre-back or right-back, has only played 95 minutes of football so far this season, and was dropped from the first team for their past seven fixtures in the Premier League, via Transfermarkt.

It’s fair to say that he has been replaced by Axel Tuanzebe, who has turned out to be an able deputy at the back in recent weeks, whilst it would be wise for Woodward to cash in on the £5.7m-rated outcast in January whilst he still can before his market value falls even further.

The Red Devils may be reluctant to let go of another academy graduate after Angel Gomes left the club in the summer, but United chiefs will simply have to bite the bullet, as it is surely best for all parties involved if Fosu-Mensah moves elsewhere in the end rather than wasting away as an unused substitute on the bench.

Last season, the former Dutch international played just three games in the Premier League, whilst he averaged fewer than one tackle and one clearance per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is Solskjaer’s undisputed first-choice right-back, managed 3.7 tackles and 1.7 clearances on average per game in the top flight last term, as per WhoScored.

Rather than give him a new contract, Woodward must get rid of him for once and for all in the winter transfer window to raise surplus cash to spend on other areas Solskjaer urgently needs to address.

AND in other news, Manchester United: In-form Alex Telles spells trouble for Brandon Williams…

Glasgow Rangers striker Cedric Itten will have given Steven Gerrard some serious cause for concern with his performance whilst away on international duty. The 3-cap Switzerland international has had a tough start to his time at the Ibrox before being called up by his country.

Albeit, it may be too early to judge him so harshly, as he has started to shown signs of turning things around at Rangers. He notably scored an incredible screamer against Motherwell which left fans raving on social media.

But Itten struggled in the international friendly against Croatia. And he didn’t play at all in the Nations League loss to Spain, which is perhaps telling, as the £3.6m-rated ace watched the entirety of the game from the bench.

As per Wyscout (via Ibrox News), he succeeded in just 23% of his total actions against Croatia, which is 17% lower than his season average so far. In fairness, he only featured for thirty or so minutes during the midweek defeat, but the statistics still make for some pretty grim reading.

The 23-year-old could only muster three successful actions out of a possible thirteen, which shows he wasn’t able to perform at his absolute peak, and he only attempt one shot on goal throughout the game. Did we fail to mention the fact that he couldn’t even hit the target?

What was more worrying was that the Swiss striker only won three out of his eight duels (37.5%) against Croatia. In fact, his 25% completion rate is 7% lower than his season average, which once again shows that he was largely anonymous. It is worth remembering he didn’t win a single duel in his last game for the Gers against Galatasaray before the international break.

Whether or not he will return to form when he returns to his club remains to be seen. But if these stats are anything to go by, they are certainly something to keep an eye on for the rest of the season. Steven Gerrard’s side face Celtic shortly after the international break so they will want to sort out any lingering issues long before the Old Firm Derby.

However, Itten has shown he can overcome adversity, as he bagged a brace against Motherwell in his third game back from a short spell on the sidelines. After all, nobody is perfect, and everyone is allowed a day off every once in a while. At least it wasn’t with the Gers! Fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that he shows signs of improvement before he returns to the Ibrox outfit.

AND in other news, Rangers must make bargain swoop for ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge…