Manchester City have their sights set on securing the quadruple in the current campaign but it won’t be easy as they’ll need to overturn a one-goal deficit in the Champions League, and Liverpool are currently leading the race for the Premier League title.

The Citizens have been nothing short of dominant in the Premier League but they didn’t look their usual selves against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, so they’ll be desperate to get back to winning ways.

But, it appears as if the Citizens are more focused on the summer transfer window at this moment in time, as according to The Sun, Txiki Begiristain watched Luka Jovic in action last night.

Indeed, the Serbian international has established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe in the current campaign, having produced an incredible 25 goals and seven assists for Eintracht Frankfurt.

He was even described as ‘unbelievable’ by his Frankfurt team-mate Filip Kostic (as per Bundesliga), which should provide City with even more incentive to go out and sign him.

But, one worry for Manchester City fans at this moment in time is the future of Sergio Aguero as he’s getting older by the day and may only have a couple more seasons of elite level performance left in him.

However, Pep Guardiola can bag himself the perfect long-term replacement for the Argentine by snapping up Jovic as he’s only 21 years of age and he’s already shown he can produce incredible numbers. And, he’s very similar to the Manchester City man as he looks to make use of his pace, strength and finishing ability in the final third.

The defending Premier League champions will have to stump up the cash though as he’s valued at £49.5 million (by Transfermarkt), and there’s still plenty of time for him to add to his tally to increase the hype surrounding him.

Manchester City fans, would you like to see Jovic brought in as the long-term replacement for Aguero? Join the discussion by commenting down below! 

علّق ديفيد مويس مدرب فريق وست هام على التعادل الذي حققوه في مباراة اليوم مع مانشستر سيتي، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتلاقى الفريقان، في معقل وست هام، في الجولة السادسة حيث تعادلا بهدف لمثله. أهداف مباراة مانشستر سيتي ووست هام

وقال ديفيد مويس، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “لقد حصلنا على نقطة رائعة ضد فريق جيد حقًا، الشخصية التي أظهرها اللاعبون وتمسكهم بها أمر رائع”.

وأضاف: “لقد تحسن أداء وست هام كثيرًا اليوم مقارنة بما قدمناه في مواجهاتنا السابقة ضد مانشستر سيتي، يجب أن أقول أن الطريقة التي تدرب بها اللاعبين ولعبوا بها كذلك جيدة جدًا، أنا سعيد حقًا”.

وتابع: “لقد كان الأمر صعبًا بناءً على الطريقة التي اعتمد عليها مانشستر سيتي أمامنا، ولذلك أنا سعيد لأننا حصلنا على نقطة من المباراة”.

واستكمل: “مانشستر سيتي جيد جدًا في التعامل مع الكرة لكنني شعرت أننا يمكن أن نتسبب لهم بعض المشاكل وبالفعل سجلنا هدفًا جيدًا حقًا”.

وعن بداية وست هام في الموسم الحالي من الدوري الإنجليزي، أجاب مويس: “أنا سعيد بمجموع النقاط لأنني لا أعتقد أن الكثير من الناس سيعطوننا الكثير، أظهرنا شخصية حقيقية للالتزام بها ونحن نسير في الاتجاه الصحيح، نحن نريد أن تتحسن وآمل أن نفعل ذلك”.

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The Sun are reporting that Borussia Dortmund and former Manchester City winger Jadon Sancho is top of Manchester United’s transfer list for the summer window.

What’s the word, then?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly considering four England stars to sign after the season’s end, Sancho, West Ham United’s Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Crystal Palace and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.

Sancho is just 19 and one of the brightest prospects in Europe.

After breaking onto the Bundesliga scene in 2017/2018, he’s made 47 senior appearances for Dortmund, scoring 10 goals, bagging a remarkable 21 assists and breaking into Gareth Southgate’s England squad to become a full international.

Sanchez out, Sancho in

It’s time Man United admit that the deal to bring Alexis Sanchez in from Arsenal was a complete disaster and get rid of the Chilean.

At the moment, the 30-year-old is hoovering up wages with little contribution to Solskjaer’s recent success, his ridiculous £350,000 per week salary could even be disturbing the harmony of the squad.

It makes perfect sense to give up on Sanchez now and identify the wage waster’s perfect replacement, Sancho, and make the wonderkid a Red Devil.

In the 19-year-old, who is valued at £72 million by Transfermarkt, United would be signing the player they thought they were getting in Sanchez – but a much younger and better version.

Like Sanchez, Sancho likes to play out on the wing, although he is versatile enough to suit most positions within the attack, from central attacking midfielder to striker.

One could perhaps argue that replacing a left winger with a right winger would make no sense, however, while left wing by trade, the injury-prone ex-Gunner Sanchez has played on both flanks in Manchester.

And, despite the fact it would presumably take a ludicrous fee to sign someone who hasn’t even made 50 appearances in one of Europe’s top five leagues yet, Ed Woodward must pay whatever it takes to bring in one of the brightest talents in world football to fill the boots of an ageing and useless former star.

Claims that Rafa Benitez has demanded funds of £75 million to spend on strikers if he is to stay, appear to be how some people interpreted his post-match comments following the defeat to Arsenal on Monday.

But if you listen to what he actually said, it is not exactly the point he was making.

A report in the Daily Mirror yesterday suggested that it was some sort of ultimatum, which is not how it appeared to us.

They report Benitez said: “The final third, we have been speaking all season… the final third you have to spend £40m, £50m, £75m.”

He is quite right, too.

The point he was making is for a team to be able to compete week in, week out, and challenge the top six sides, they would need to spend those sums of money.

But Rafa has consistently maintained that he does not want, or expect, Newcastle to be transformed overnight into a title-chasing club, or even to be perennial Champion’s League contenders.

He wants to be given a budget that will see the club pull away from their annual relegation scrap, consolidate themselves as a top half team, and if results go better than expected, could push for a top seven or eight finish.

After two or three seasons as an established squad, maybe then they could increase the budget, due to higher prize payouts, and look to kick on towards Europa League places.

To suggest that he is demanding ridiculous amounts for the next transfer window is mischief-making.

It is misinformation like this that gives fans in other regions of the country the wrong impression that Newcastle fans expect success, when all they have ever wanted is a team they can be proud of, that wears the black and white stripes with pride, and makes them excited for Saturdays to arrive.

Do you expect Newcastle to entice Benitez to stay? Do you think it would take a huge budget to convince him? Let us know…

A report from Villa Underground published shortly after he sustained his season-ending injury suggested that the stopper could be sidelined until 2020.

His latest video, though, perhaps suggests that he could return to the first-team fold earlier than anticipated.

Either way it’s great to see that the 28-year-old has made a significant step forward in his bid to return to full fitness, even if Dean Smith’s side have been solid with Steer deputising in goal.

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Either Liverpool or Manchester City could win the title this season and previous heartbreaks for Manchester United and Chelsea in seasons gone by prove that the margins are likely to be incredibly tight.

Here we are with just a handful of games yet to play and history looks set to be made.

A lot of football fans waste no time in chucking around the word ‘bottlejob’ in the modern game whenever a rival team even so much as trips before the hurdle, let alone stumble over it, but get it in your minds that whoever loses this title race is by no means a ‘bottlejob’.

Liverpool and Manchester City, whoever ends up missing out on the illustrious Premier League title, have recorded seasons seldom seen before in English top-flight history – both of them have been extremely impressive, and whoever does lose out should count themselves as seriously unfortunate.

Watch “Jurgen Klopp’s” hilarious masterplan for winning the title in the video below…

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four of the best teams to fall short of first place in the title race…

Manchester United – 2009/10

Having won the previous two Premier League titles, Manchester United looked good value to add a third successive success to their name, but came unstuck against a formidable foe in Chelsea.

The Blues, managed by Carlo Ancelotti, steamrolled anyone who dared to stand in their way, with their leading man Didier Drogba perhaps in the form of his life.

The Red Devils, however, weren’t at all bad – their 4-0 win over Stoke on the final day saw Chelsea respond with their own 8-0 win over Wigan, showcasing the strength of both teams.

Chelsea – 2007/08

In what is perhaps the unluckiest season for any team to go through, the Chelsea side of 2007/08 were perhaps one of the best sides in Europe at the time, but ultimately ended the season trophyless.

Even more frustrating for them I’m sure, was the fact that the Blues lost out on both the Champions League and the Premier League to Manchester United – they lost on penalties to their domestic rivals in Moscow, and finished just two points behind them in the league.

Astonishingly, Avram Grant was sacked after the campaign. Unlucky, lads.

Liverpool – 2008/09

A rampant Liverpool side with Rafa Benitez at the helm, and spearheaded by Fernando Torres in his prime, could only watch on as arch-rivals Manchester United beat them to a maiden Premier League title by just four points.

Despite beating the Red Devils home and away, and recording a better goal difference than Sir Alex Ferguson’s men could manage, 11 draws ultimately cost them dearly.

Manchester United – 2011/12

The final day to beat all final days. Manchester United thought they had won a record 20th title with a 1-0 win away to Sunderland, and as the seconds ticked away in Manchester City’s game against QPR with the scores at 2-2, players and staff were simply waiting to celebrate.

However, as we all know, Sergio Aguero’s late, late goal saw the title end up in the blue half of the city on goal difference – not even a whopping 89 points earned the Red Devils the title in arguably England’s most thrilling title race to date.

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Arsenal have not enjoyed the best of seasons on the road.

As has been copiously covered, the Gunners have been beaten eight times away from home this season, while also drawing four times. They have won just six games.

This is a familiar problem for Emery, though, and a trawl back through his managerial career suggests that he has no idea whatsoever how to fix it.

In 2015-16, Emery was managing Sevilla. He took the club to Europa League glory and a seemingly respectable seventh-placed finish in La Liga.

However, he failed to win away from home at all in the Spanish top-flight.

It is a statistical quirk, some might say, but the difference between the club’s record at home and on the road is stark. That season, they played 19 games at home and won 14. They drew once and were beaten four times, by Atletico Madrid, Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad and Granada. They beat Real Madrid 3-2 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and Barcelona 2-1. The draw came against Deportivo La Coruna. They scored 38 goals and conceded just 21.

Sevilla away 2015-16

Wins: 0

Draws: 9

Losses: 10

Goals scored: 13

Goals conceded: 29

This speaks to a well-organised, well-drilled team who thrives on the big occasion; it is incredibly rare that both Real and Barca fall to the same team outside of the top three.

But away from home, Sevilla were nothing short of dreadful.

They recorded nine draws and were beaten 10 times. Real, the team they scalped at home, thumped them 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona won 2-1 at Camp Nou. Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Levante were all relegated that season and all three drew with Emery’s men at home. Sporting Gijon, who stayed up by one point, won 2-1 at home in the run-in.

Indeed, in all competitions, Sevilla won on the road three times. They beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 away in the Europa League quarter-finals. Ironically, they then lost at home, by a 2-1 scoreline, but progressed on penalties. Their other two wins came in the Copa Del Rey against lower-league opposition, 3-0 successes over Mirandes in the Round of 32 and Logrones in the quarter-finals.

Arsenal, of course, have not quite been this bad this season but they have been far from impressive. They have won six times on the road but half of those victories have come against the bottom three; a 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town on April 9th was followed by a 5-1 success over Fulham in October and a 3-2 victory over Cardiff City in September. The other wins came against Newcastle United in September, AFC Bournemouth in November and Watford in April.

It has been a major problem and it has placed Arsenal’s participation in next season’s Champions League in serious peril. The club are currently fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Chelsea and four off Tottenham Hotspur in third.

They could, of course, win the Europa League and sneak in that way but to do that they will have to beat Valencia over two legs and then beat either Eintracht Frankfurt or old rivals Chelsea in the final.

Emery, as 2015-16 shows us, does have experience of lifting that trophy. When it comes to fixing his side’s away form, however, it does not appear as though he has the answer.

اتخذ رئيس نادي برشلونة السابق، جوسيب ماريا بارتوميو، قرارًا بعد ساعات من تقديم استقالته الرسمية من منصبه بحذف حسابه من على شبكة التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر”.

وتلقى بارتوميو في الفترة الماضية سيًلا من الانتقادات والإهانات من قبل البعض، بسبب غضبهم الكبير من طريقة إدارته لنادي برشلونة والذي أصبح يعاني الكثير من الأزمات المالية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. تيباس يواصل انتقاد بارتوميو: تصريحاته عن الدوري الأوروبي الممتاز من إخراج بيريز!

كان من بين أول القرارات الشخصية التي اتخذها بارتوميو هي إغلاق حسابه على “تويتر” وهو ما ظهر ليلة الأمس، الأربعاء، أنه لم يعد على المنصة الاجتماعية.

واعترف بارتوميو بتعرضه لبعض الإساءات عبر وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي في الفترة الأخيرة، ويبدو وأنه قد فضل الابتعاد بالوقت الحالي عن الإعلام بعد رحيله عن برشلونة.

ولم يكن رئيس برشلونة السابق يستخدم “تويتر” بشكل مستمر، لكنه كان يظهر ويعبر عن رأيه في المناسبات المهمة الخاصة بالنادي الكتالوني.

Liverpool fans must be in dreamland right now as their side breezed past FC Porto in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie last night. 

It’s safe to say that Liverpool are now one of Europe’s elite as Jurgen Klopp continues to bring fans’ wildest dreams to life, with the Premier League title and silverware in the Champions League well within their reach.

The Reds’ midfield has been the driving force at times but you can’t help but feel as if there’s a creative spark missing. Of course, Philippe Coutinho’s exit last January certainly didn’t help and the Merseyside club are still yet to really find their next Steven Gerrard, despite Jordan Henderson’s rise in form.

However, FSG could bag themselves the next Gerrard if they’re willing to spend in the summer.

One player who may be able to fill the void at Anfield is Cagliari’s Nicolo Barella, who is valued at £27 million (by Transfermarkt).

Liverpool were reportedly (as per Football Italia, via The Mirror) interested in the midfielder ahead of the most recent January transfer window but he ended up staying in his home country.

Interestingly, the 22-year-old was once dubbed as the ‘next Steven Gerrard’ by Gazzetta dello Sport (via Anfield Edition), so there’s already an incentive to go out and bring him to England.

It’s safe to say that his playing style is very similar to the Liverpool legend’s as he loves to get on the ball and make things happen, with his passing ability often unlocking the oppositions defence. He may not be as prolific as Gerrard when it comes to finding the back of the net but he’s already shown he can produce in the final third.

Henderson lacks creativity at times as he’s gotten so used to playing in a defensive role that he looks a bit rusty in the final third, so bringing Barella to Anfield must be a no-brainer as he could be the missing spark in the Reds’ midfield.

He’s only 22 years of age with his best years ahead of him and he’s already managed to earn five caps with the Italian national side, so he could be the real deal.

Liverpool fans, do you think Barella could follow in Steven Gerrard’s footsteps? Join the discussion by commenting down below!

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Sheffield United haven’t been halted in their tracks too many times this season but on Wednesday night Birmingham found a way to nullify them almost in perfect fashion.

Had it not been for Dean Henderson then the Blues may have claimed victory, rather than settling for a 1-1 draw.

But their approach to the game meant that United struggled, particularly in midfield. Oliver Norwood still showed positive signs but his midfield partner in John Fleck was almost a passenger as Birmingham overran them in that area of the pitch.

Their willingness to sit deep meant that the vast majority of passing lanes and routes to goal was blocked off. As such, the Blades’ three top assisters in the middle of the park; Norwood, Mark Duffy and Fleck were stifled.

The latter in particular found himself coming deep to get the ball and therefore couldn’t get into the pockets of space Chris Wilder would have liked him too.

John Fleck (Birmingham vs Sheffield United)

59 touches

81% pass accuracy

0 key passes

1 dribble

1 dispossession

(Stats courtesy of WhoScored)

Evidence of how Birmingham prevented him from getting into the game can be seen with the stats he finished the match with.

The number of touches Fleck had was the fourth-worst amount of any United outfield player, emphasising just how little impact he had. The same goes for his pass success percentage. He wasn’t terrible by any means, but it will have been concerning how easily he was stopped.

A lack of key passes and dribbles for the player shows how compact the Birmingham system was too, as the 27-year-old failed to provide his side with the impetus they needed. In a game where the Blades could have regained their advantage in the race for automatic promotion, it was not timely.

Who would make a combined Sheffield XI? Ingood Nick makes his picks in the video below…

Uncharacteristically he also lost the ball once. If any further evidence was needed of his below average display, that was it.

Fleck is still vital to this Sheffield United side but with every game between now and the end of the season proving vital, Wilder will have to ensure one of his key men isn’t marked out of the game again as he was this week.