All posts by h716a5.icu

It finished all square at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace battled to a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in the first A23 derby of the Premier League season.

Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha scored his seventh goal against Brighton, the most he has scored against any opponent before Lewis Dunk received a red card in extra time after a reckless challenge on Gary Cahill, but one player stood out from the rest: Jairo Riedewald.

Much has been made of the 3-cap Dutch international’s time at Selhurst Park, as it is fair to say that he has struggled for consistency so far, as he averaged fewer than one tackle per game in the top flight last term, via WhoScored.

It seems like he played like he had a point to prove in an attempt to try and silence the critics – and boy, did he deliver.

Per SofaScore, the 24-year-old completed a staggering 23 out of 24 passes (96%), whilst he also won four out of seven ground duels, and made two tackles, four clearances, one interception and blocked one shot. Tellingly, he only lost possession five times, unlike Michy Batshuayi.

Playing in the middle of the pitch, the versatile player even picked out the perfect pass to send the Belgian striker through, only for his teammate to be flagged offside, which was checked by VAR.

The Dutchman demonstrated that not only is he capable of putting in a defensive shift but he can also be a useful asset in attack if and when required. It’s just a shame that Batshuayi was leaning offside when the ball was played, but the least said about that, the better.

Sky Sports awarded Riedewald with a high rating of 7/10, whilst football.london went one step further and gave him a grade of 8/10, claiming he “looked at home in the Premier League on his first start of the season, his passing and movement with the ball helping him out of some tight spots.”

It’s hard to argue otherwise at the very least, as Riedewald was perhaps unfortunate to miss out on the Man of the Match award, which went to Brighton striker Neal Maupay instead.

However, Hodgson will have been buoyed by his performance, especially when you consider the fact that James McCarthy picked up a hamstring injury whilst away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.

The Palace boss has had plenty of faith in Riedewald’s ability on the pitch in the past, so it’s about time he was given a chance to build upon this impressive display.

AND in other news, Wilfried Zaha spares Crystal Palace’s blushes vs Brighton…

Tottenham Hotspur’s quest to qualify for the Europa League knockout stage nudged a little closer after they defeated Ludogorets in Bulgaria on Thursday evening.

Jose Mourinho wanted a reaction and boy did he get one as Spurs romped home to a 3-1 victory in Group J, though for now, they remain behind Royal Antwerp in the standings.

The north Londoners took the lead through Harry Kane in typical fashion, heading home his 200th goal for the club in the 13th minute. His assister, Lucas Moura, then became goalscorer by doubling the advantage before Giovani Lo Celso sealed it after the home side had clawed one back in the second half.

Supporters voted for the Argentine playmaker as their Man of the Match on Twitter, which echoed the thoughts of the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who lauded him as Spurs’ “star man” on the night.

However, it was Lucas Moura who shone above everyone else – even if he was withdrawn after just an hour. That only goes to show he did enough to creep into Mourinho’s plans for West Brom on Sunday.

Per SofaScore, the €40m-rated (£36m) winger picked up the highest rating on the pitch (8.9) and also recorded four tackles, four dribbles and two key passes.

Moura won 75% of his duels, both on the ground and aerially, delivered one accurate cross and created Kane’s opener.

It’s no wonder that former teammate Jan Vertonghen, who is now at fellow Europa League side Benfica, once lauded him as an “unbelievable player” who is “just a nightmare” to play against in training.

The Brazilian dynamo stole the show in Bulgaria on Thursday night and deserves way more plaudits for how he’s been performing as of late.

That goal was his third in the competition this season – there’s just something about Moura and playing in Europa – remember Ajax?

Right now, there’s a chance that he’s the man to keep Gareth Bale out of the starting XI in the Premier League and that would be some feat to achieve.

AND in other news, £18m-rated Spurs lightweight has given Jose Mourinho a new headache…

Glasgow Rangers ran riot over Aberdeen in a 4-0 rout at Ibrox to take an eleven-point lead over their arch rivals Celtic at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Steven Gerrard’s side took the lead by way of a long-range strike from Ryan Kent, which was followed by a well-timed finish from Kemar Roofe, before Scott Arfield’s shot took a deflection off Shay Logan and James Tavernier struck the final blow.

The Ibrox boss handed Bongani Zungu his first-team debut in the second half of the 8-0 victory over Hamilton Academical and he had been in contention to start against Aberdeen until the 28-year-old suffered a knee injury whilst away on international duty with South Africa.

In his absence, Arfield was once again an integral part of Gerrard’s side as Rangers routed the Dons at home to secure their 18th win and 17th clean sheet in all competitions so far this season.

SofaScore awarded the 32-year-old with a high statistical score of 7.7 for his performance – he made one tackle and one clearance, whilst he made three key passes, completed 76 out of 89 passes (85%), took one shot on target and had two shots blocked.

Arfield also took a staggering 105 touches of the ball whilst he was an influential part of the Gers side as he provided one goal and set up another which shows that his hard work paid off.

Gerrard clearly rates the Canadian very highly indeed, once calling the powerhouse the “perfect professional” and adding that he is an important figure in the dressing room after a string of fine performances last season.

In 116 games for the Gers, the centre-midfielder has scored 26 goals and supplied 17 assists in all competitions, whilst he is the club’s third-highest top scorer in the Premiership this season behind the likes of Tavernier, who has scored nine so far this season, as well as Kent and Roofe (who are tied on five goals apiece).

By comparison, Zungu has failed to find the back of the net so far for the Light Blues, although admittedly it is still early days yet.

Rangers are enjoying a 21-game unbeaten streak, with the win their 13th of 15 league games, which is their best start to the season for over fifty years.

However, Celtic have two games in hand and are four points clear of the third-placed Dons in the Premiership. If the Gers are to regain the coveted trophy for the first time in almost ten years, we suspect that Arfield will still have a part to play in spite of Zungu’s arrival in the summer. One thing’s for sure, his influence cannot and should not go unnoticed.

AND in other news, Ryan Kent: Wilson must answer Gerrard’s call to give Englishman a new deal as Leeds are on red alert…

Celtic are stuck in a rut.

Neil Lennon is facing enormous questions over his future and it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was soon sacked.

The Hoops boss is under scrutiny following a 2-2 draw with Hibernian and a second 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague.

To say things aren’t going well would be putting it lightly. Heading into this weekend, the Hoops were 11 points behind their rivals Rangers in the race for the SPFL title.

On top of that, they have just been dumped out of the Europa League with two games still to play.

With that in mind, surely change is needed in terms of the manager?

Either way, Lennon has a League Cup clash with Ross County to prepare for. A solid cup run could act as a good distraction for the Hoops right now, but equally, if they get beaten it won’t look good.

Who starts will be interesting to see. At the moment, Celtic’s defence is being breached on a regular basis so replacing Scott Bain in goal would be a canny idea.

The stopper was in wretched form against Sparta Prague on Thursday and was torn to shreds by a certain Chris Sutton at full-time.

“I thought the goalkeeper was hopeless. I don’t know what he was doing for the fourth. It summed up Celtic, their performance and their season so far,” he remarked on BT Sport’s post-match show (26/11).

Indeed, Bain was all over the place. He failed to stamp down his authority in the penalty area by letting the ball roll across the six-yard box for the second goal and then for the fourth, he came racing out of his goal before missing the ball.

The 29-year-old made one individual error according to SofaScore, and made just eight accurate passes. Clearly, he was not great with his hands or his feet, gifting possession to the opposition on a regular basis.

Remarkably, for a ‘keeper, he was also dribbled past on one occasion. It was an embarrassing night for Bain and thus, Lennon needs to consider Vasilis Barkas on Sunday afternoon.

The summer signing has kept eight clean sheets in just 14 outings this season so it’s obvious to argue that Celtic are a sturdier outfit with him between the posts.

Regardless of that, Bain needs some time out of the team.

Meanwhile, Celtic could spark a revival by hiring a “special” manager… 

After appointing Lee Johnson less than a week ago, Sunderland’s new technical director Kristjaan Speakman could be about to deliver another masterstroke.

According to The Athletic, the Black Cats could soon have a new academy lead in Mike Dodds, who is currently the Head of Professional Development Phase at Championship outfit Birmingham City.

It’s claimed that the Dodds has been lined-up to follow Speakman to the north-east despite the club reshuffling their academy system in the past few days.

The pair have played a huge part in developing some of City’s brightest players, most notably Jude Bellingham, who secured a £25m move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

You also have the likes of Nathan Redmond, Jack Butland and Demarai Gray in years gone by.

Earlier this year, the SAFC chief lauded Dodds, he said:

“In Mike, we have someone who is an exceptional coach with a deep understanding of player development and the pathway through to the senior squad.

“The combination of him and our lead coaches at each age group really strengthens our programme moving forward.”

Sunderland have been looking for a new Academy Manager ever since the departure of Paul Reid back in July this year and a move for Dodds not only makes a ton of sense but would also provide major encouragement for the future.

The Black Cats never truly profited from players like Josh Maja, so getting in someone who has consistently delivered is the right way to go about it.

Johnson has plenty of young hopefuls amongst his first-team ranks, namely Jack Diamond and Elliot Embleton, so getting the appointment right for the Academy of Light should be high on the agenda.

The League One giants really should look no further than Dodds. It would be another masterclass from Speakman having already delivered Johnson.

AND in other news, Forget McGeady: Johnson should unleash Sunderland prodigy who has the “scare-factor”…

Leeds United defender Robin Koch limped off against Chelsea in the Whites’ 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night but Bielsa could have a natural replacement in 17-year-old Nohan Kenneh.

The German international looked to be struggling in the opening stages of the game against Frank Lampard’s side and was replaced after less than 10 minutes after he had gone down clutching his knee.

He was replaced by Spanish centre-back Diego Llorente, who made his first start for the club after missing the first two months of the season with a groin injury.

This leaves Bielsa with just Llorente, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk as fit senior centre-backs in this side, and as we approach a busy Christmas period, you worry that if the Argentinian manager doesn’t rotate his side, then he will suffer more injuries in his defence.

Fortunately, he also has 17-year-old Kenneh available to him, with the academy graduate having trained with the first-team in recent weeks, so he is clearly knocking on the door for a start in Bielsa’s side.

Therefore Koch’s injury, whilst unfortunate, gives the Leeds manager the perfect opportunity to unleash Kenneh and show fans what the young academy sensation is capable of.

The England U17 starlet is yet to make a senior appearance for the Elland Road outfit but has made seven appearances for the academy sides so far this season.

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Leeds have five more Premier League games between now and the new year, so surely Bielsa will be tempted to make some changes to his squad to try and avoid his senior players being overexerted, which could lead to Kenneh being an opportunity to shine.

The 17-year-old can play as both a centre-back and a defensive-midfielder too, which gives Bielsa some more freedom in where he wants to play him if he decides that he isn’t ready to feature as a centre-back in the Premier League.

Either way, Koch’s injury is a blow for Leeds, so it will be interesting to see if Bielsa trusts Kenneh, or any other youngster, to replace him in the upcoming fixtures.

And, in other news… Forget Rodrigo: “Brilliant” £7.2m-rated beast is proving himself to be Leeds’ signing of the summer

According to Calcio Mercato, Aston Villa have made an offer to Matias Vecino ahead of a potential move in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Dean Smith recently delivered an update on the club’s potential transfer plans next week, saying: “We are looking at it in general in terms of whether there is anything we need to do. We are certainly not desperate in terms of players we need to bring in or go out. We have our finger on the pulse but I don’t envisage us doing an awful lot, to be honest.”

And now, Calcio Mercato claim that Inter midfielder Vecino appears to be in their sights, and that despite him currently recovering from injury, his days at the Serie A giants are numbered.

Lange can find a huge Nakamba upgrade

With Douglas Luiz and John McGinn holding down the fort in central midfield, the likes of Marvelous Nakamba hasn’t had much of a look-in this season.

The 26-year-old has played just four times in the Premier League, and even that has only totaled a measly 103 minutes of football. In Vecino however, Smith could find a huge upgrade on the Zimbabwe international, and someone who could legitimately stake a claim to breaking up his favoured central midfield duo.

A profile from ESPN said: “Part of Vecino’s charm is the fact that he tends to bring a little bit of everything to the table — something modern midfielders are increasingly asked to do. He can pass well, he can tackle, and is both physical and graceful: the former Empoli man has, in short, the toolkit needed to shine not just in Italy, but (hopefully) also among Europe’s elite.”

With his years of experience playing in Serie A and for a top side like Inter, who have of course been competing in European football’s elite competitions, Vecino could bring some real quality and know-how to this Villa side. Johan Lange’s capture of the Uruguay international would prove to be another major blow to Nakamba’s chances of featuring under Smith.

Ross Wilson must secure a January loan move for Glasgow Rangers winger Josh McPake after he completed a successful spell on loan at Greenock Morton in the Championship.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Record, English League Two outfit Harrogate Town have reached an agreement with the Scottish league leaders for McPake to move to The EnviroVent Stadium on loan until the end of the season.

It’s claimed Forest Green Rovers and Salford City are also interested in the highly-rated right-winger, so it remains to be seen if they will be able to get a deal over the line. He has been linked with loan moves to both teams so his short-term future is still up in the air.

McPake made his senior debut for Rangers in the Europa League qualifying game against St Joseph’s at Ibrox in 2019, coming on as a replacement for Greg Docherty in the second half.

Rangers coach Michael Beale heaped praise on his young charge after he earned his first cap for the club, saying he has “a very bright future” ahead of him.

When one door closes, another opens

Since then, however, the 19-year-old has found his chances both few and far between, having scored twice in three appearances for the reserves.

It’s been a difficult start to life at Ibrox for McPake so far and the fact he’s been privy to just 23′ minutes of first-team action should give him some cause for concern.

We’d gone so far as to suggest that he may be pushing for a recall with Rangers duo Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones in the firing line but upon reflection, he’d probably be better off going out and getting some game time elsewhere instead.

For the time being at least it’s fair to say that the long road back to Ibrox remains blocked, with Barker, Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent, Kemar Roofe, Jones and even Joe Aribo starting out wide so far this season and Steven Gerrard insisting Jones can still salvage his career at the club despite breaching COVID-19 rules.

“We’ll now move forward and try to get these players both back to where they need to be,” Gerrard said about Jones and George Edmundson, as quoted by The BBC.

“They’ve gone about it the right way since they’ve accepted their punishments.”

Both Hagi and Roofe have been in prolific form on the right wing over the past couple of weeks with a tally of seven goals between them, via Transfermarkt, while Gerrard will be hoping Kent can stay injury-free for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, he may feel like he has plenty of wide options available, and as such will likely sanction a loan exit for McPake in a matter of days.

As it stands, he faces an uphill struggle to climb the pecking order at Ibrox barring an injury crisis or a coronavirus outbreak, and will no doubt be reassessing his options.

Plenty of sides have already expressed their interest in signing McPake on a temporary basis but it’s now up to Wilson to work his magic and find the right fit for the talented teen.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard dealt huge blow as Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield ruled out of Old Firm clash…

As is always the case once a transfer window ends, there will be players who slip through the net that end up proving you wrong. And in Leeds United’s case, that man could well be Nicolas Gonzalez.

Reports over the course of the summer suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were very much interested in bringing the Argentina international to Elland Road from Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart, but a deal failed to materialise.

Since then, he has been in outstanding form for the German side, showcasing just why Leeds were interested in luring him to the Premier League in the first place, and why they must surely regret missing out on his signature.

In just 10 games in the German top-flight this campaign, he’s scored five times and provided a further two assists, and was in particularly excellent form against Augsburg on Sunday afternoon.

He scored one from the spot, and also set up Gonzalo Castro’s goal as Stuttgart ran out emphatic 4-1 winners. But it was his overall game that was really outstanding, providing two key passes, sending in two crosses, and winning four duels too – as per Sofascore, he finished with the highest match rating of any player on the pitch with an 8.2.

Stuttgart’s head coach, Pellegrino Matarazzo, said of him: “He’s got a lot of qualities, but what I like best about him is that he’s a winner. He wants to win at all costs. He always gives 100 percent, and gets stuck in. He’s very important for us.”

That mentality would have fit in well at Elland Road, where Bielsa has got his players running through brick walls week-in and week-out for him, covering lung-busting amounts of distances in games and getting involved in the physical challenges.

And when you compare Gonzalez to Patrick Bamford’s performances this season, then it really sways towards the former. The Argentine has a far better minutes per goal ratio, has missed far less big chances, and provided double the amount of key passes and successful dribbles per game too.

If there’s one signing Leeds may look back with a sense of ‘what if’, then Gonzalez might be that man.

Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hamilton was a refreshing moment for Hoops supporters.

For the first time in 2021, they managed to secure a victory and at the same time, it was fairly comfortable.

Much has been made about a two-prong attack featuring Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths but they both stood out on Wednesday evening by finding the net.

Their link-up play was impressive and it would appear that they’re now developing quite the partnership. Unfortunately for the Bhoys, they are still 23 points behind Rangers in their quest for ten SPFL crowns in a row.

That now feels like it’s distinctly out of the realms of possibility and thus, they ideally need to start thinking about next season.

But while they’ll want Edouard and Griffiths to be at the forefront of their plans in attack, their defensive duo will be one they’ll surely have to eradicate.

The Hoops may have kept a clean sheet against Hamilton in midweek but it didn’t come without its scares. That’s because Neil Lennon chose to field Nir Bitton and Shane Duffy together at the heart of defence.

Duffy has been a constant worry for Celtic and nothing was more evident than that in the Scottish Cup final last month. He and Christopher Jullien shipped three goals and their lack of communication was quite frankly horrendous at times.

Though, on this occasion, it was Bitton who continued to betray Lennon with an inept performance. The Israeli has received criticism right throughout his Parkhead career and although he defied them with a solid display when Celtic last played Hamilton, he was anything but assured on Wednesday.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-celtic-manager-stories” title=”Read this week’s latest Celtic news!”]

Indeed, it’s been a tough time for the defender who was sent off in the Old Firm derby a few weeks ago. Clearly, his confidence has been dented and that was evident this week.

Kristoffer Ajer was keen to get forward at right-back and as a result, it left Bitton isolated in the channels. In ground duels, he disappointed and won 50% of those he contested – a figure down ever so slightly from his season average of 56%.

Though, worst of all for a defender was his poor passing and constant will to surrender the ball. The Israel international lost possession a colossal 21 times. That happened to be the worst figure of any Celtic player and by a decent margin too. Ajer was the next worst with 17 concessions of the ball.

To make matters worse, Bitton committed two fouls and struggled in close situations with the Hamilton strikers. He did reign supreme in the air – winning a colossal ten aerial duels – but that was more to do with the opposition’s style of play than anything else.

Bitton has been tried time and time again at centre-half but that experiment now simply has to end. He is a defensive midfielder by trade – either play him there or don’t put him in the starting XI at all.

It feels brutal but he is letting Lennon down on a regular basis.

AND in other news, Celtic struck genius deal with £10k-p/w titan who’s “grabbing the bull by the horns”…