Europa League
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to make two changes | Expected Man United line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Granada
Manchester United are scheduled to face Granada on the road in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie on Thursday night. The Red Devils returned from the international break with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. Marcus Rashford picked up a knock during the backend of the game, and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that he has yet to decide whether to start him. Meanwhile, it has also been confirmed that Anthony Martial is set to miss the rest of the campaign after the knee injury sustained on France duty last month. Formation: 4-2-3-1 Predicted Line-up: Dean Henderson appears to have established himself as the regular goalkeeper in the Premier League ahead of David de Gea. De Gea has not featured in the last seven games (three...
Football’s greatest comebacks, featuring Liverpool, Barcelona and Camp Nou in 1999
When players are being taught the basics of the game as youngsters, one of the key messages is to play until the final whistle. That point certainly rings true at professional level, with fans taking a dim view of teams who throw in the towel too early. One of the most thrilling aspects of football is when a team recovers from an impossible position to win a game. With that in mind, we take a look at ten of the best-ever comebacks. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich – Champions League – 1999 Recovering from one goal down is common in football, but the manner of United’s comeback in the 1999 Champions League Final was extraordinary. Bayern took an early lead through Mario Basler and looked on course to lift the prestigious trophy as the game headed into stoppage time. However, goals by Tedd...
Arsenal receive positive Martin Odegaard update after ankle injury scare
Arsenal have been left breathing a huge sigh of relief after it was confirmed that the injury suffered by Martin Odegaard while on international duty is not serious. Gunners fans were left concerned on Wednesday night after the in-form Real Madrid loanee appeared to painfully roll his ankle before being substituted at half-time of Norway’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Gibraltar. The absence of Odegaard for any extended period of time would have come as a sizable blow to Arsenal, with the 22-year-old having grown in influence since moving to north London in January and played a critical role in Sunday’s comeback draw against London rivals West Ham, afterwards attracting effusive praise from manager Mikel Arteta. But not only does it seem that Odegaard is now unlikely to miss key upc...
Lucas Moura: Tottenham squad united behind Jose Mourinho
Lucas Moura has insisted that the whole Tottenham squad are united behind under-fire boss Jose Mourinho amid the club’s turbulent 2020-21 campaign. Mourinho’s position in the Spurs dugout has been called into question in the wake of a nightmare week which saw the team follow up a north London derby defeat to Arsenal by exiting the Europa League in shocking fashion at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb. Spurs were thrashed 3-0 in the second leg of that last-16 tie in Croatia, but responded by beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, with Moura issuing a rallying cry in his post-match interview. “It’s been a very bad week for us, the feeling was very bad,” the Spurs winger told the Evening Standard : “Last night, we showed our nature, we showed attitude. “The good thing about footbal...
‘Enough is enough’: Abused star is right – football must do more to tackle racism
‘Enough is enough’. Glen Kamara’s impassioned statement about the racist abuse he received during Rangers’ Europa League tie against Slavia Prague at Ibrox had a familiar feel to it. For starters, note that we didn’t use the phrase ‘alleged racist abuse’ in that opening sentence. Let no-one be in any doubt here. Slavia’s Ondrej Kudela did not cover his mouth to say, ‘you’re a f****** guy’. As excuses go, it’s probably on a par with Johnny Cochrane’s infamous glove-related ‘if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit’ defence of OJ Simpson during the 1990s. The fact that Kupela cupped his mouth, coupled with Kamara’s incredulous reaction, tells you everything you need to know. The question now is what happens next? Football has been littered with instances of this nature for far too long now. Unfort...
Europa League flashback: Man Utd massive favourites, Arsenal on track for dream final
After an enthralling round of Europa League ties, we’ve reached our final eight. Dinamo Zagreb pulled off an incredible comeback to eliminate Tottenham Hotspur, Paul Pogba proved his worth with a fantastic winner at the San Siro, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers crashed out – it’s been an eventful week in the Europa League. What’s up next? The quarter-finals and there are some tidy looking fixtures. Ajax face Roma, Arsenal compete with Slavia Prague, Dinamo Zagreb oppose Villarreal, and Granada are up against Manchester United. In anticipation of these fixtures, here are the previous meetings between these clubs. Ajax vs Roma A 20-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores against Roma Back when the Champions League was really strange and had two group stages, Ajax and Roma faced each other in the second ...
‘Don’t trust’: Mourinho reveals what he told Spurs players at half-time vs Zagreb
Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has revealed to BT Sport that he felt really sad after Spurs were knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday. Spurs were leading 2-0 from the first leg, but somehow they managed to throw it away, as Dinamo Zagreb took to extra-time to seal a pulsating 3-0 victory. The Portuguese boss has revealed to Football London what his instructions to Spurs players were at half-time. After a 0-0 first-half, it appeared that Spurs were on their way to the quarter-finals. Mourinho has suggested that he warned his players of the potential threat from the home side as he sensed they were gaining in momentum. Apart from a few Spurs players, the rest just didn’t turn up, and it was a lacklustre performance from the visitors collectively. Mislav Orsic scored a hat-trick...
‘I feel angry’ – Steven Gerrard reacts to the racial abuse directed towards Rangers duo
Rangers crashed out of the Europa League after a 2-0 defeat to Slavia Prague last night but the racial abuse directed at midfielder Glen Kamara has left manager Steven Gerrard more disappointed. Apparently, the Rangers player was racially abused by one of the Slavia Prague players and Gerrard has revealed during his post-match presser that he will stand toe to toe with his player and deal with the situation. He also claimed that he completely believes Kamara’s version of the events and he is hoping that UEFA deals with this situation properly. Gerrard said to the club’s official website: “I feel angry, it is difficult to describe now how I feel because I know Glen and I trust him 100 per cent and it is extremely disappointing. There’s too much of it happening around football and the S...
Predicted Spurs starting XI: Mourinho to makes eight changes; 27-year-old returns
Tottenham Hotspur will look to progress through to the next round of the Europa League when they face Dinamo Zagreb tonight. Spurs are leading 2-0 from their round of 16 first leg, and Jose Mourinho’s side will look to finish the job in Croatia. The north Londoners are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League and will be looking to return to winning ways. Harry Kane scored twice for Tottenham in last week’s first leg, but the England striker could be rested for this one. Carlos Vinicius could lead the line in his absence. Mourinho is likely to make a few changes to the side. In defence, Eric Dier, 27, is likely to start in place of Toby Alderweireld. Ben Davies has played regularly in Europa League, and the Welshman is set to start in...
Predicted Rangers XI vs Slavia Prague: Gerrard to make one change, 32-yr-old to start
Rangers host Slavia Prague in the Europa League tomorrow night aiming to book their place in the next round of the competition. Steven Gerrard’s men ground out a 1-1 draw away from home in the first leg and will be confident of getting a positive result at home. Rangers are in rampant form right now, winning five of their last six matches in all competitions. They are also undefeated in their last 12 Europa League matches. The visitors managed to eliminate Premier League side Leicester City in the round of 32, and Rangers cannot afford to be complacent in the second leg. The Ibrox outfit have been outstanding at the back this season and will have to be well organised defensively to grind out a win here. The home side are expected to be without the services of James Tavernier, Ryan Jack and...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms five Manchester United stars could return vs AC Milan
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that five players could return from the sidelines to face AC Milan on Thursday night. The Red Devils returned to winning ways on Sunday with a 1-0 triumph over West Ham United at Old Trafford. Craig Dawson’s own goal split the difference between the sides. Following the game, Solskjaer provided big team news as he confirmed the potential availability of five of the seven United players, who were unavailable to face the Hammers. He told Manutd.com: “We hope, we actually hope all five of them will be back. David [De Gea] hopefully, Donny [van de Beek], Edinson [Cavani], Paul [Pogba] maybe, and Anthony [Martial] is very likely to be back. So a stronger squad to travel to Italy with.” David de Gea recently returned from Spain after t...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no sympathy with David Moyes for Manchester United failure
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not sympathise with former Manchester United manager David Moyes for his short tenure at Old Trafford. Moyes was sacked just 10-months after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Scot who identified him as the club’s next manager. The 57-year-old is now leading West Ham in an impressive charge for the European places, after spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland. Moyes’s West Ham side travel to Old Trafford on Sunday evening, and would go within three points of Solskjaer’s Reds with victory. Solskjaer praised Moyes for his turnaround in East London but refused to have sympathy for the manner in which he lost a ‘dream job’. “I don’t think you can feel sorry for someone who has managed Manchester United,” he said in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by ...
