Manchester City
‘No, no, no’: Arsenal boss set to miss a trick after ruling out intriguing move
Mikel Arteta’s decision to rule Arsenal out of running to sign Sergio Aguero could be a huge blunder on his part. With doubts over the futures of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, the Gunners may need to strengthen their forward options this summer. However, in his press conference for Arsenal’s game against Liverpool this weekend, Arteta dismissed the idea that he could make a move for Aguero. “No, no, no – we will see what happens with him in the future,” he said. SL View Aguero has been hugely successful at Manchester City, firing 257 goals in 384 appearances for the club. City’s decision to allow him to leave on a free transfer this summer is undoubtedly surprising given what he has achieved there. Injuries and illness have limited the 32-year-old’s impact this season,...
March International Break Round-Up – Manchester City
With the March international break reaching its conclusion, players only have a short amount of time before they’re expected to be back in action with their club sides over the Easter weekend. Manchester City visit Leicester City on Saturday, and we’re going to look at how the 15 internationals in Pep Guardiola’s squad fared during their respective national duties ahead of that game. ENGLAND Four of City’s squad were called up to Gareth Southgate’s national team squad for their World Cup qualifiers, and all four will be at least reasonably happy with their playing time across the three matches – all of which were victories. Centre-back John Stones was back in the national team setup for the first time since November 2019 and played the first half of a 5-0 victory over San Marino at Wembley...
Leicester boss declares Manchester City as champions-elect
Leicester City boss, Brendan Rodgers, has declared Manchester City as champions-elect. Leicester beat Manchester City 5-2 back in September, but City have since built a 14-point cushion at the top of the table and Rodgers is sure his side will be playing the champions this weekend. “I don’t think there’s any doubt they will go on and win the league,” he said. “We, of course, want to make it as difficult as possible but their level of consistency over a long period this season sees them out in front and if they go on and win it, they’ll be very deserving. “But all the teams they have to play want to make sure they have to fight for it and they have to earn it.” Leicester sit third, 15 points adrift of City but more importantly seven better off than fifth-placed West Ham in the battle for Ch...
Man City will attempt to sign £108m-rated star if they fail to land Erling Haaland
Manchester City will consider a move for Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane if they fail to land the signature of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland this summer, The Times reports. Haaland has been in exceptional form for Dortmund since arriving from Red Bull Salzburg last year, registering 49 goals and 11 assists from just 49 appearances. His progress has caught the eye of some of Europe’s elite clubs, and the Cityzens consider him as a replacement for Sergio Aguero, who will leave at the end of the season. However, a deal won’t be straightforward with the fierce competition, and it is reported that Kane is one of the alternatives being considered to bolster the frontline. Sportslens view: Haaland, 20, is regarded as the prime striker target for the Cityzens, and he could have a similar...
Mo Salah dreams of future La Liga action
Mohamed Salah has hinted his future could lie in Spanish football amid continued speculation the forward could leave Liverpool. The Premier League’s joint-top scorer this season is under contract at Anfield until 2023 but has been linked with a move elsewhere, with Barcelona and Real Madrid often touted as potential destinations for Salah if he were to depart Merseyside. Last year, the forward described the Spanish sides as two “great” clubs, but Jurgen Klopp later played down any transfer talk surrounding the Egypt international. Liverpool play Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April as the two sides meet for the first time since 2018’s final in Kiev which finished 3-1 to the Spanish side and ahead of the games, Salah refused to rule out a future move to La Liga...
Jorginho leads Manchester and Tottenham stars as best performing player in the league
The final phase of the Premier League campaign will resume after the international break and there is plenty of stake for clubs in both ends of the table. While Manchester City appear to be cruising to a third league title in four seasons, there is plenty of competition for the remaining three Champions League spots. At the bottom, Fulham have given themselves a fighting chance of beating the drop as they are only two points adrift of 17th-placed Newcastle United, who have a game in hand. There have been many standout performers this season and the CIES Football Observatory has published a list of players ranked on the basis of their performances. Here are the top-five best-performing players in the league since the turn of the year, who have played at least two-thirds of the ava...
Manchester City confirm that Sergio Aguero will leave at the end of the season
Sergio Aguero will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, as confirmed via the club’s official website. Aguero joined Man City from Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window of 2011 for a reported fee of £35 million. He became a hero at the Etihad Stadium in his debut season, helping the club to their first league title in 44 years with 23 goals – including the memorable injury-time winner against Queens Park Rangers on the final day. The Argentine continued to achieve incredible things at the Cityzens, winning three more Premier League titles and five League Cups and an FA Cup. In the process, he became the club’s all-time top goalscorer, sealing the feat with a strike in a 4-2 Champions League win against Napoli in November 2017. Aguero nets against Napoli to become City’s a...
Daniel Sturridge on the verge of MLS move
Daniel Sturridge could be set to move to the MLS, according to the Daily Mirror. Sturridge has been without a club since being released from Trabzonspor back in March 2020. The striker had just received a four-month ban and a £150,000 fine after a breach of betting rules. It’s been a difficult few years for the Englishman, who was once one of the Premier League’s deadliest strikers. In his first season-and-a-half at Liverpool, he scored 31 league goals in just 43 appearances, finishing as runner up in the 2013/14 Golden Boot race behind strike partner Luis Suarez. However, he suffered numerous injury problems which severely limited his game time over the next few years. Suarez’s departure and the replacement of manager Brendan Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp also impacted his form, and he found ...
‘Just a matter of time’: Fabrizio Romano provides contract update on Man City star
Manchester City are convinced that Kevin De Bruyne will put pen-to-paper on a new contract in the near future, reputed Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claims. The Belgium international had a superb 2019/2020 campaign with the Cityzens with 16 goals and 23 assists as he was named the PFA Player of the Year. In the current season, he has been hampered by a couple of muscle injuries, but he has still excelled with seven goals and 16 assists from 31 outings. His contract with the Cityzens does not expire until June 2023, but the club are keen to reward him with an extension at the earliest possibility. Talks have been underway for a while and Romano has said that it is only a matter of time before he signs a fresh deal with the runaway Premier League leaders. Manchester City are convinced t...
The Longest Winning Streaks in Football History
Teams across the world dream of compiling the longest winning streak in football, but very few ever come close to topping the list. Manchester City’s bid to set a new record for consecutive victories was recently ended at the 21-game mark by Manchester United. The Red Devils triumphed 2-0 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium to leave City eight games short of the 29 successive victories set by Benfica between 1972 and 1973. Across the rest of Europe, Dinamo Zagreb (2007/08 – 28), Celtic (2003/04 – 25), Ferencvaros (1931/32 – 22) and PSV Eindhoven (1987/88 – 22) have also topped City’s 21-game run. In terms of Europe’s main five leagues, City rank third on the list behind Bayern Munich (2019/20 – 23) and Real Madrid (2014/15 -22). Longest Winning Streaks (Big Five Leagues) 1. Bayern ...
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...
Manchester City, Barcelona interested in £81m Serie A striker, but club don’t want to sell
Manchester City and Barcelona have been credited with an interest in Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, according to Calciomercato. Lukaku left Manchester United for the Nerazzurri in 2019, and he has since impressed with 59 goals and 13 assists from just 85 appearances. His performances have caught the eye of the Cityzens and Blaugrana, who are aiming to sign an elite striker during this summer’s transfer window. However, Inter have no plans of parting ways with the Belgian, who has been instrumental to them being top of the Serie A. Sportslens view: The Cityzens currently have Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero as their main strikers, but the latter’s future is uncertain beyond the summer. Aguero has fallen down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola in recent months, and he could leave...
