Juan Mata was replaced half an hour after coming on for Manchester United in the Community Shield, but Jose Mourinho has explained things. Jose Mourinho says he took off Juan Mata just half an hour after his introduction in order to defend against high balls in the final minutes of Manchester United's 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester City. Mata was introduced on 63 minutes for opening goalscorer Jesse Lingard, who had taken a knock to his foot, but was hauled off in injury time for Henrik Mkhitaryan as the Premier League champions pushed for an equaliser. The 28-year-old, who has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford in recent weeks, was visibly frustrated as he made his way back to the dugout for the final seconds of United's triumph at … [Read more...]
Walcott nets as Arsenal beat Man City in final warmup game
Theo Walcott boosted his confidence by scoring the decisive goal for Arsenal in a 3-2 victory over Manchester City on Sunday in their final preseason warmup ahead of the new season. Walcott made a perfect run into the box to meet Alexis Sanchez's pass and chipped a delicate finish over the onrushing Joe Hart to make it 2-1 in the 73rd minute as the Gunners came from a goal down in the second half. Substitute Chuba Akpom then made sure of the Gunners' fourth straight preseason win in the 85th minute before Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for City. Petr Cech still had to preserve the win by diving low to keep out Yaya Toure's shot in the final minutes and Jesus Navas wasted another chance for an equaliser by shooting high. However, it may have been a … [Read more...]
Zlatan Ibrahimovic wins Jose Mourinho’s first title with Manchester United
Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed a late debut goal to secure a 2-1 victory for Jose Mourinho's Manchester United against Premier League champions Leicester in the Community Shield at Wembley. Jesse Lingard followed up his memorable FA Cup final winner with a fine solo effort to put United ahead, only for a defensive error from Marouane Fellaini to enable Jamie Vardy to equalise. But the winner arrived seven minutes from time as Ibrahimovic, kept quiet for much of the afternoon, rose to nod in, although there were question marks over whether he was offside. Fellow debutant Eric Bailly impressed but was tested inside five minutes as Vardy skipped past him before Daley Blind's challenge put the ball behind for a corner. Leicester, with Claudio Ranieiri … [Read more...]
Community Shield: All you need to know
There will be plenty of new faces on display at Wembley as Premier League champions Leicester take on FA Cup winners Man United in the Community Shield on Sunday. Manchester united to play Leicester City Team news New Manchester United signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitarayan and Eric Bailly are all in line to start for the Red Devils. Chris Smalling and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are likely to be available but Bastian Schweinsteiger is set to miss out altogether as his future at Old Trafford remains unclear. Ahmed Musa, Papy Mendy and Luis Hernandez could all make their Leicester debuts, as well as Ron-Robert Zieler and the Foxes’ latest signing Bartosz Kapustka. Robert Huth is free to play despite serving a three-match ban carried … [Read more...]
Rummenigge rules out Bayern return for Schweinsteiger
Unwanted at Manchester United, Bastian Schweinsteiger will not return to Bayern Munich, the German club's chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge said on Saturday. "I regret that what is happening to him just now," Rummenigge said in a news conference. "But we have not entertained any thought of getting him back." Schweinsteiger left Bayern for United last summer and made 13 Premier League starts during the 2015-16 season. With Jose Mourinho taking over United this summer, the 32-year-old is reportedly training with the under-23 squad after being told he has no future at Old Trafford. But Rummenigge said he would not be offering the midfielder a lifeline after he asked to leave Bayern a year ago. "I would like to remind you that one year ago Bastian … [Read more...]
Mane shines as Liverpool dominate Barcelona at Wembley
Mane and Divock Origi eased Jurgen Klopp’s worries over Daniel Sturridge with goals as Liverpool thrashed Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley. Saido Mane Saido Mane scored for the first time in a Reds shirt and Origi grabbed an assist and a goal in the space of a minute, but Sturridge and James Milner gave Klopp a potential headache before the big Premier League kick-off. There are once again question marks over Sturridge’s fitness ahead of next week’s opener at Arsenal after the England striker missed out with what the club explained was a slight hip injury. And Klopp was dealt another blow when Milner, who was playing in Liverpool’s problem left-back position, limped off moments before half-time. Nevertheless, the Anfield boss would have been hugely … [Read more...]
15 Facts you are addicted to the EPL
We love the English Premier League; the quality of football that’s witnessed in England is thrilling and sensational. However, there is wide berth when you consider the difference between genuine love for the game and over the top emotional involvement in the EPL. That wide berth is what we call addiction and believe me, EPL addiction is real. Here’s how I know 1. Match day is your Sabbath day and you keep it wholly; as in wholly games. Nothing else can be scheduled on match day… Absolutely Nothing! 2. If any crisis happens while you are watching a game, you wait until it is half time to attend to it and when you do attend to it, you pull moves so fast that even Flash would have a hard time keeping up 3. Which brings us to the next; living in a different … [Read more...]