Category: Champions League

Easily distracted?: Man United target raises concerns over mental state

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Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre has hinted that Jadon Sancho’s poor early season form has had to do with Manchester United’s interest in him.

The talented Englishman is said to not be at his explosive best and with reports of him having attitude problems, there are those who are concerned.

The last report The Peoples Person covered on Sancho had to do with how United were one step away from signing him but changed the structure of their over at the last minute, putting off Dortmund.

The hope was the German giants would eventually accept the offer with the pressure of the deadline day and the economic effects of Covid-19 but they did not budge.

That meant Sancho was forced to remain with Dortmund for another season and the Red Devils ended up signing two youngsters in Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo instead.

According to Manchester Evening News, … Read the rest

‘Klopp raging’ as FC Midtjylland repeatedly foul Liverpool players and Jurgen has had enough

Liverpool were atrocious in the first-half, and our failings were not because of the Danes being especially dirty – but because we played abysmally – no ifs, no buts.

But watching the FC Midtjylland players go in late on more than one occasion, especially following the unfortunate injury to Fabinho – which occurred when the Brazilian pulled up with a hamstring – was a little annoying.

In fairness, Liverpool fans, and obviously Jurgen Klopp, are a little sensitive to the issue following the infamous Everton game in which horrendous fouls saw Thiago and Virgil van Dijk injured.

We also have a raft of other players out right now, which means every time someone goes down, the hearts of fans are collectively in mouths!

James Pearce explained the reaction of Klopp to the Midtjylland boss on the sidelines, which mirrored that on social media.

Thankfully, Jordan Henderson isn’t crocked, says David … Read the rest

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman facing ban of up to 12 games after blasting VAR decision in defeat to Real Madrid

According to Dutch outlet VI, Ronald Koeman may have landed himself in hot water after his comment blasting the use of VAR following Barcelona’s defeat to rivals Real Madrid in last weekend’s Clasico.

Madrid scored the decisive goal of the tie after a controversial penalty call, with Sergio Ramos not wasting the opportunity to score from the spot.

VI report that Koeman confronted the referee over the decision immediately after the clash, with the Dutch legend also taking to social media to express his discontent at the call.

VI add in another piece that the club have sent a statement to the Spanish Football Association – RFEF, slamming the decision and accusing the powers at be of bias towards Barcelona.

As part of their complaint, the Catalan outfit have included audio of the assistant referee informing the main official in charge that Ramos committed a foul before the … Read the rest

Big blow for Juventus with Ronaldo against Barcelona

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of tomorrow’s big clash with Barcelona.

The Portuguese has been missing since testing as positive on international duty two weeks ago, and despite showing zero symptoms of the virus, continues to test as positive as confirmed by James Horncastle.

This will not only be a devastating blow for Juve, with fans around the globe having been excited in anticipation of seeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going head-to-head, with both in the latter years of their careers.

The Argentine may only be 33 years-old, but he was linked with a potential switch to the MLS in the summer, with Manchester City also strongly linked, and with only one year remaining on his Barca deal, his future is very much … Read the rest

Four ruled out: Huge injury news ahead of United’s clash with Leipzig

Manchester United have received a boost ahead of their clash with RB Leipzig on Wednesday night as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aims to top the group.

The legendary Norwegian put together a brilliant plan to get a remarkable win away from home vs PSG.

United were thoroughly enjoyable to watch in that 2-1 win and it was not a counter-attacking smash and grab by any means imaginable.

Leipzig represent a different kind of threat to Solskjaer’s goals in what is one of the toughest groups in the Champions League this season.

The Red Devils will need to get some form of a result on Wednesday night and their chances have been boosted by some potential absentees.

According to SportWitness, Kicker report that Leipzig could be without Nordi Mukiele due to a thigh injury while the likes of Konrad Laimer and Lukas Klostermann are still recovering from their own injuries and … Read the rest

LFC predicted XI v. Midtjylland: Klopp set to be handed injury boost as stars return

Liverpool are up against Midtjylland in the Champions League this week, and Jurgen Klopp looks set to receive an injury boost ahead of the fixture.

Alisson returned to the fold over the weekend, starting in goal for the Reds against Sheffield United in the Premier League after a few weeks out.

Thiago and Joel Matip could possibly make their returns against Midtjylland, but it remains to be seen if they’ll face a late fitness test.

UPDATE:

It’s incredibly hard to predict how the Reds will line-up at the best of times, but here’s our opinion…

MORE: Liverpool urged to sign former player to ease injury woes – here’s why we shouldn’t

In goal will be the aforementioned Alisson, who will be … Read the rest

‘Really important for us’ – Fabinho full of praise for Liverpool’s new arrival and what he brings to the team

Over the course of the last few seasons, Liverpool’s form has built and built to the extent that success was almost inevitable.

From lost finals to a Champions League victory, denied the Premier League by a point in surely the best title race in the history of the top flight (since 1992) to winning it the following year.

Everything that Jurgen Klopp has touched in fact, has eventually turned to gold, and that includes the players that the manager has brought in.

In a real coup for the Reds, Thiago Alcantara was secured from Bayern Munich, and suffice it to say that his team-mates are already impressed.

“Our squad is very strong but we know that the signing of quality players is a plus for the team,” Fabinho told the official Liverpool website.

“Thiago’s arrival will be really positive and he’s a player coming from an exceptional season at … Read the rest

Andrea Pirlo makes a clear demand of his Juventus players

After seeing his team wait for Verona to take the lead before responding with serious intensity, Andrea Pirlo has urged his players not to wait to be slapped before they respond.

Juventus started their weekend game against the impressive Verona sloppily and their opponents made them pay by taking the lead.

Juve’s start to the game was poor and slow, but they responded well after they went behind and Pirlo has revealed that they ought not to be reacting to situations, rather they should be proactive and start their games with high intensity.

The former midfielder praised some of his payers with the likes of Arthur proving to be able to handle the pressure placed on them by the Verona team press.

“Our first half wasn’t aggressive enough, we waited for them, and yet we created the best chances,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia.

“We reacted well after they … Read the rest

How penny-pinching Man United missed out on solving a problem area for a decade

Manchester United reportedly missed out on an opportunity to sign Dayot Upamecano for a ridiculously small fee after deciding they didn’t want to meet his asking price.

The RB Leipzig star is now one of the world’s most sought-after youngsters and is even said to have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s attention.

It’s believed United were keen on signing Upamecano this summer but had to wait for his release clause in the next summer window to trigger it.

However, it’s now been reported that the French centre-back could’ve been at Old Trafford a while back and for an inexcusable decision didn’t make the transfer.

Solskjaer would’ve had his centre-back position sorted for a decade at least had those in charge at the time made the right call.

According to The Sun, five years ago the Red Devils could’ve signed Upamecano for £700k after showing him around Old Trafford but refused to … Read the rest

(Video) Everton’s Digne sent off a week after joking about horror challenge on Thiago

Everton full-back Lucas Digne was shown a red card this afternoon for a clumsy challenge on Crystal Palace defender Kyle Walker-Peters.

The sending off comes with a palpable sense of irony as the Frenchman openly joked about Richarlison’s red card after clattering Thiago in the Merseyside Derby last weekend.

The incident which got Digne sent off happened just 20 minutes from the full-time whistle, as the Blues fell 2-0 to Palace away from home.

The Frenchman was trying to chase down Walker-Peters and stood on the back of his leg, riding it like a skateboard and bringing the player down.

Take a watch of the video below (via Sky Sports):

… Read the rest