Month: November 2024

Cole Palmer said I should have had five or six goals, despite his history-making quadruple during Chelsea s victory over Brighton.

The Blues forward became the first player to score four goals before half-time in a single Premier League game, as the hosts came from behind to prevail 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer took his tally for the season to six for Enzo Maresca s side, who climbed to third place and within a point of Manchester City and Arsenal.

Although, the England man was a little disappointed not to add to his haul, having also hit the post, been denied by the offside flag, and sending a decent second-half opportunity wide.

I try and play every game the best I can, he told Match of the Day. I should have had five or six!

When I missed t…

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has reiterated his view that players should be punished for provoking fans, after some supporters threw objects at Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in Sunday s derby.

Atleti played out a 1-1 draw with their cross-city rivals on Sunday, as both teams maintained their unbeaten starts to the season in LaLiga.

The match was suspended after Eder Militao opened the scoring in the 64th minute, with fans from ultras group Fondo Sur throwing objects including cigarette lighters at Courtois during the visitors celebrations.

After the game, which saw Angel Correa net a 95th-minute equaliser, Atletico s players were heavily criticised for applauding the ultras, while Simeone attracted scrutiny for suggesting Courtois actions contrib…

Erik ten Hag has blamed injuries for ruining Donny van de Beek’s spell at Manchester United and insisted his experience should not put off other players from signing for the club.

Van de Beek, 26, has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan until the end of the season, having failed to establish himself under any of three different managers – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag – at United since joining from Ajax in the summer of 2020.

The £35million midfielder made only 23 starts during his three and a half years at Old Trafford, and already spent time away on loan when he joined Everton for the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, again being limited by injuries at Goodison Park.

Congratulations on your Eintracht debut, ! |

— Eintrach…

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With a spot in the final of this year s Africa Cup of Nations up for grabs on Thursday night, Cameroon and Egypt will meet at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.

Cameroon

Starting with the hosts, booking their spot in Thursday s semi-final thanks to a routine display over the weekend, there is no doubt that Toni Conceição s men will be looking to keep up that momentum. Dominating from the opening whistle and more than deserving of their 2-0 win against Gambia in Douala, the Greens have been tipped by many as a standout pick to claim their sixth Africa Cup of Nations crown this month. Breezing their way out of Group A and with a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde the only minor blip on their adventure so far, Cameroon have continued on an impre…

Gareth Southgate said England s foremost focus will be getting out of their World Cup group after two of their three opponents were confirmed in Friday s draw.

England, who have reached one major semi-final and one final under Southgate, will open their campaign with a first-ever meeting against Iran on the tournament s opening day on November 21.

They will then face the United States in a repeat of their opening game at the 2010 World Cup, while their final group match could see them face a home nations rival in Wales or Scotland, who will compete with Ukraine for Europe s final qualification place in a play-off that has been delayed due to Ukraine s ongoing conflict with Russia.

On paper, Group B looks set to present a smooth passage to the knockout stages fo…

According to Fabrizio Romano, Atalanta are confident of signing Nicolo Zaniolo, who currently plays for Aston Villa on loan from Galatasaray.

A few months ago, rumours of interest from Napoli in the former Roma attacking midfielder appeared briefly. Villarreal are said to have taken concrete steps and even held meetings with the intention of signing him, but Atalanta have moved into the race since and it seems the 24-year-old, who isn t playing for Italy at Euros at the moment due to a metatarsal fracture, is likely to return to his country.

Zaniolo joined Villa on a one-year loan deal last summer and made a total of 39 appearances for Unai Emery s side in 2023/24 as they booked a place in next season s Champions League, scoring three goals. However, he was a part of th…

Michael O’Neill believes Scotland are “very much the bar” for his Northern Ireland side as he recounted the development of Steve Clarke’s squad.

O’Neill rejected the chance to become boss of the Scottish national side in 2018 but the former Hibernian and Dundee United midfielder, who lives in Scotland, kept an eye on emerging talent in dark blue.

Ahead of the friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night, O’Neill talked around a question of him being linked with the vacant managerial post at Aberdeen but discussed the opposition who are going to the Euros this summer with more precision.

“I was always aware that Scotland was a team that was going to grow,” said O’Neill.

“They have had consistent form for a number of years.…

France coach Didier Deschamps has not ruled out calling up the in-form Hatem Ben Arfa ahead of Euro 2016.

The former Newcastle United winger has made up for lost time at Nice this term, having spent much of the last campaign out of action due to technicalities regarding the number of clubs he had represented in a season.

However, with seven goals in 10 Ligue 1 games, there have been calls for Ben Arfa to return to the national squad ahead of friendlies with Germany and England in November.

Asked by Eurosport about the possibilities of a recall for Ben Arfa, Deschamps said:  I did not say no.

Why not? My reflection on the issue will come next week based on what he has done with Nice.

Ben Arfa has not featured for France since Euro 2012, wit…

A whirlwind day last Friday saw Manchester United reach an agreement with Juventus to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club.

The deal was confirmed just hours after it had looked likely the Portugal star would be heading to Premier League champions Manchester City instead.

According to reports, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer encouraged the club to enter the race when it began to seem inevitable Ronaldo would head to the Etihad Stadium. Contact from Bruno Fernandes, Rio Ferdinand and even Alex Ferguson helped persuade Ronaldo that a return to Manchester could mean only one thing.

It all made for a short-lived but extraordinary transfer saga that ended with United re-signing a player who made history with the club between 2003 and 2009, winning three Premie…

The Premier League is approaching a landmark age: on August 15, the competition will be 30 years old, with that date ultimately ushering in a golden era for English football.

Although we may be 10 days away from that particular milestone, Friday sees the latest edition of the Premier League kick off with Crystal Palace and Arsenal contesting the opening game of the 2022-23 campaign at Selhurst Park.

As such, it only seems right to jump the gun a little and look back on the first 30 years of what many believe has become the greatest league in world football.

So, buckle up as Stats Perform takes you on a trip down memory lane…

Managing expectations

This is classic pub quiz territory: which manager has presided over the most Premier League games?<…