Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund name their price for Erling Braut Haaland
Borussia Dortmund have slapped an enormous €180 million price tag on star striker Erling Haaland, reports ESPN. Haaland made his breakthrough during the 2019/20 season. He first caught the eye with his prolific performances for RB Salzburg in the Champions League group stages. He carried this form into the second half of the season with Dortmund following his transfer in January 2020. Haaland is a man in high demand He has since established himself as one of the world’s very best strikers, scoring 49 goals in as many games for the Black and Yellows. This has attracted the attention of several of the world’s biggest clubs. However, ESPN claims that any club willing to sign the 20-year-old will need to stump up an eye-popping €180m for his services. This would be the second most expensive tr...
From Owen to Wilshere, the Premier League’s Unfulfilled XI features the best players to never make it
The launch of the Premier League in 1992 sparked a wave of hype that has continued apace since then. While the self-styled ‘best division in the world’ clearly has plenty of attributes, it is debatable whether the excitement it generates is truly justified. One area where the propaganda machine has run riot is regarding players, with the last few decades littered with examples of someone being hailed as ‘the next big thing’. With many of those players failing to live up to expectations, we have assembled a Premier League Unfulfilled Potential XI. David James (GK) – Although James ended his career with two major trophies on his CV, it is impossible to look back on his playing days and think that he delivered what was expected of him. For starters, you don’t end up with the nickname ‘Calamit...
Manchester City and Barcelona could compete to sign £28.8m French star
Manchester City and Barcelona are closely monitoring Adrien Rabiot’s situation at Juventus ahead of a possible summer move, Calciomercato reports. The Bianconeri have experienced a poor season by their high standards, and they are currently 10 points adrift of the top of the league standings. After nine league titles in a row, their Serie A dominance appears set to end this term with leaders Inter Milan in stunning form at the moment (eight straight wins). Ahead of the summer, it is reported that manager Andrea Pirlo wants a rebuild of the midfield, and the club are prepared to part ways with Aaron Ramsey and Rabiot. The Bianconeri ideally want Manuel Locatelli and Paul Pogba to fill the void, and they are hoping to recoup part of the funds through the sale of the duo. Unlike Ramsey, Rabio...
FA Cup semifinal draw: Man City and Chelsea to face off
From 736 entrants overall, just four now remain in this season’s FA Cup. The path to domestic glory in the world’s oldest cup competition became clearer over the weekend as eight became four. Southampton and Manchester City secured their place in the Semi-finals on Saturday, while Chelsea and Leicester City completed the set with victories on Sunday. At half-time in Leicester’s victory over Manchester United, the draw for the penultimate round was made. 2020-21 FA Cup Semi-final draw Leicester City (Last Semi appearance in 1982 at the Old Wembley) Vs. Southampton (First FA Cup Semi-final appearance since 2018) Chelsea (2019-20 runners-up) Vs. Manchester City (Second FA Cup Semi-final running) To be played on the weekend of 17th/18th April 2021 – The date of each individual g...
Joao Virginia posts message on Instagram after Everton defeat vs Man City
Everton lost 2-0 against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park on Saturday. Late goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne broke Everton’s resistance and kept their hopes alive for a historic quadruple. Toffees’ goalkeeper Joao Virginia took to social networking site Instagram to send a message to Everton fans. The 21-year-old, who made his first senior appearance against Burnley after Jordan Pickford got injured, started the match against Pep Guardiola’s side. The young goalkeeper was simply superb during the game, making some brilliant saves. In the second half, he scrambled down to tip a Raheem Sterling effort around his left post. Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for the youngster after the game. The Italian said that he had no doubt over Virginia...
League Cup final: Rio Ferdinand makes bold prediction about Man City vs Tottenham
Manchester City are still in contention to win a historic quadruple this season. Pep Guardiola’s side are leading the Premier League table by a large margin, and it’s their title to lose. City are also in the final of the Carabao Cup, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur next month. They have also progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after defeating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park on Saturday. City are also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they will be up against Borussia Dortmund in the two-legged tie. Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender and popular football pundit, was asked to comment on City’s dominance this season yesterday after the FA Cup victory. He was asked on BT Sport whether there is any reason why City can’t win the quadruple this sea...
Ancelotti confirms five Everton players out of Man City clash, 26-year-old available to play
Everton will take on Manchester City in the FA Cup sixth-round clash at Goodison Park on Saturday. Ahead of the match, Carlo Ancelotti has given the latest team news update, and Everton fans won’t be too happy about it. Jordan Pickford is injured and he is out of tomorrow’s game. He hasn’t been picked for the England national team squad as well. Second-choice goalkeeper Robin Olsen is also out injured for this game. In his absence, Joao Virginia, 21, is expected to start. Olsen out of tomorrow’s game. Gbamin will train with the team next week. James too — Patrick Boyland (@Paddy_Boyland) March 19, 2021 Everton fans will be relieved to see that Jean-Philippe Gbamin has finally returned to training after a long injury lay-off, but he won’t feature against City. The 25-year-old def...
Champions League flashback: Liverpool and Man City’s chance for revenge + 2020 Final repeat
The fixtures for the Champions League quarter-finals have been drawn, with several enticing fixtures. Manchester City were the first side out of the pot, coming up against Borussia Dortmund, while Porto got drawn against Chelsea. The final two fixtures see repeats of recent finals, with Bayern Munich facing Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid playing Liverpool. In anticipation of the next round of European games, here is a look back at some of the best clashes between these sides. Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Balotelli’s equaliser was not enough to prevent an early exit for Man City Rather surprisingly, this is only the second time that these two sides have been drawn up against each other. The first came in the group stages of the 2012/13 season. It was a very different Borussia ...
Gareth Southgate names 26-man squad for World Cup qualifiers
The latest England squad has been released ahead of the upcoming international break. The Three Lions are set to begin their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in the closing days of March. They begin by welcoming San Marino to Wembley before a trip to Albania. Finally, they’ll face Poland at home. Several players miss out on the squad through injury. Leicester City duo James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have been sidelined in recent weeks, while wingers Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish are also unavailable. Regular number one Jordan Pickford misses out after being substituted early against Burnley, while Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez remain long-term absentees. Jesse Lingard has earned a recall to the England setup following an impressive loan spell at West Ham United. John ...
Manchester City emerge as favourites to sign Jack Grealish
Manchester City are in pole position to sign Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, according to the Daily Mail. Grealish came through the academy at Aston Villa, earning his first Premier League appearance with the club in on 7th May 2014. He has since made over 200 appearances for the Midlands side, scoring 32 times. This season, the Englishman has emerged as one of the most creative players in the division. He has recorded ten assists in the Premier League this term – a figure bettered only by Harry Kane and Kevin De Bruyne. In addition, he has also bagged six goals, making him Aston Villa’s joint second top scorer. Grealish had enjoyed a fine season As a result of his form, Grealish has been constantly linked with moves away from Villa Park. Man City are the latest club to be mentioned as pot...
Barcelona very interested in signing €25m Portuguese defender, but face Man City competition
Barcelona will compete with Manchester City in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon left-back Nuno Mendes this summer, AS reports. The Catalan giants are likely to part ways with Junior Firpo at the end of the season and they have lined up Mendes as the suitable replacement. At just 18, the Portuguese has made 34 appearances for the Lisbon giants and 25 of those have come during the ongoing campaign. He has a release clause worth €25 million in his contract and it is claimed that the Blaugrana could face competition from the Cityzens for his services. Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young full-back and he is reportedly prepared to loan him back to Sporting for next season. Sportslens: The Blaugrana currently have Jordi Alba as the undisputed left-back with Firpo acting as his deput...
Can Manchester City win the Champions League this season?
Following Manchester City’s progression into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, we take a look at their chances of going the distance in the competition and ending the season with the much sought after trophy in their cabinet. Pep Guardiola’s side reached the last eight of the competition with a routine 4-0 aggregate win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, and are still on course for a first-ever quadruple. They remain in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and are runaway leaders in the Premier League. They have scored 17 goals in eight Champions League games, remarkably conceding just one in the process. They have dominated every opponent faced having won every fixture barring a 0-0 draw away at Porto in the group stages. Now in his fifth season with the Cityzens, the Champions League tr...
