Dribble Diaries

The French sports newspaper L'Equipe has focused emphasis on Arsenal's 4-2 victory over Leicester City. The Gunners' performance was examined ahead of their pivotal Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. As Arsenal is ready to take on Luis Enrique's PSG, the French publication emphasized both the offensive variety of the team and the defensive shortcomings that could worry Mikel Arteta. Arsenal had to wait until extra time to defeat a promoted team, indicating both the depth of their offensive capabilities and any possible weaknesses in their defense. The Gunners scared themselves. 29 September 2024, L'Equipe. An intense, yet confident, performance. Arsenal's numbers versus Leicester were lopsided on paper. With 36 shots to Leicester's five, the Gunners had 75% of the possession and an expected goals (xG) total of 3.79, which was a record for any Premier League side this season. Leicester, on the other hand, only managed 0.27 xG, highlighting ho...

On Sunday, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 in a tense match that was contested in a heated environment. With all eyes on the capital of Spain, a record-breaking crowd of 70,112 people at the Metropolitano were treated to a cagey, feisty match that ultimately necessitated a brief halt to play. The strain on Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, and Vinícius Junior increased in the absence of an injured Kylian Mbappé. In the meantime, Julián Alvarez, who had been impressive off the bench lately, began next to Antoine Griezmann. In the first half, the Argentine forced former Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to save a shot at his near post, and Jan Oblak blocked Federico Valverde's attempt from long range. Despite four shots on goal and twelve total fouls, the score was tied at halftime. Before there was fan pandemonium, a set-piece was ultimately needed to break the impasse. Instead of going for the goal, Luka Modrić found Vinícius on the left, who whipped a cross into the box. Éd...

Barcelona player Frenkie de Jong has shot down rumors that he makes up to €37 million a year and disputed reports of a falling out with the team. In recent years, De Jong's stay in Catalonia has been somewhat tumultuous. Due to a complicated ankle injury, he has been sidelined for the past five months. According to sources, he rejected the club's request for surgery to address the issue. The Netherlands international, meanwhile, is frequently the subject of transfer rumors, with Barcelona reportedly willing to sell him in order to relieve themselves of his large salary. When Erik ten Hag, the former manager of Ajax, was named Manchester United's next manager in 2022, they showed a great deal of interest in him, but a deal never happened. De Jong retaliated against the lies about his career and attempted to provide his own version of events in an interview with Barcelona One. "I understand the frustrations because throughout my recovery I have chosen to stay silent,...

José Mourinho has a reputation for being naughty, and tonight was no exception as he hilariously parodied a referee's call in Fenerbahçe's 2-0 victory over Altanyaspor. After Dušan Tadić's goal in the 63rd minute put his team ahead 1-0, Mourinho believed Edin Džeko had wrapped up the three points, but VAR determined the former Manchester City striker had been offside throughout the build-up. Mourinho, who doesn't take no for an answer, set up his laptop in front of the be IN Sports cameras and made the best case possible. The skills of Jose Mourinho. The referee, predictably, did not find it hilarious and booked the Fener manager for his actions on the field. "No offside, the left back was in a position where Dzeko was not offside, and in our perspective with the technical camera, that was clear for us," Mourinho said in a post-match interview to the media, despite his team's 2-0 victory. Never change, The Special One!

On Sunday, two highly exciting Premier League battles took place as the season continues to unfold. Spurs hammer 10 man Manchester United at Old Trafford Tottenham defeated 10-man Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, putting enormous pressure on under-fire manager Erik ten Hag. Ange Postecoglou's side seized the lead after three minutes of the game thanks to Brennan Johnson, but it was all about Micky Van de Ven. The Dutch defender sprinted 70 yards down the left side, through United's midfield and defence, before passing to Johnson, who tapped into an empty net. United didn't settle in the first half and were fortunate not to go two goals behind, with James Maddison and Destiny Udogie both having good chances. Johnson nearly made it two just before the 20-minute mark, hitting the post following more superb work from Udogie. Joshua Zirkzee almost leveled things shortly after, but Guglielmo Vicario saved his shot when Kobbie Mainoo crossed in front of him. Spurs proc...

There was a lot of discussion right before halftime during Manchester United's match against Tottenham on Sunday. Erik ten Hag's side fell behind at Old Trafford in less than three minutes as Micky van de Ven raced 70 yards and teed up Brennan Johnson to grab the lead. United had the woodwork and Andre Onana's instinctive movement to thank for not allowing another goal, but things quickly got worse. Captain Bruno Fernandes received a direct red card for a high, studs-up challenge on James Maddison. The Portugal international has received a lot of criticism for his dismal performances this season. Fernandes has zero goals or assists in nine games and has received his first red card after 242 appearances with the club. Tottenham won the game 3-0 and moved up to eighth place, while United is in 12th.  

In a "special" assist from the Tottenham center-back, Micky van de Ven produced a magnificent 70-yard run from defence to set up Brennan Johnson's opening goal at Manchester United. After Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford mishandled the ball in the Spurs half, Van de Ven pounced, and the Dutchman charged forward from inside the halfway line. Van de Ven dribbled past Manuel Ugarte and his countryman Matthijs de Ligt to get to the byline. He then sent a flawless low cross to the back post, where Johnson was waiting to tap it into an empty net with a smile on his face. Tottenham gets off to a quick start. Micky van de Ven makes an incredible run and puts it on a plate for Brennan Johnson. 💥 It was Johnson's fourth goal in as many games for Spurs, but the forward immediately walked to Van de Ven to congratulate him on one of the best assists by a centre-back in Premier League history. "Absolutely brilliant," exclaimed former Manchester United defender G...

Although Ipswich's Premier League comeback has not resulted in any victories, they are still in the running thanks to a well-known figure. In the match on Sunday against Aston Villa, Liam Delap scored the first goal to lead to more goals at Portman Road. 2 - Liam Delap (21 years and 234 days) is Ipswich's youngest player to score in back-to-back home Premier League outings, and the club's first player to do it since Finidi George in March 2002. Talent. The attacker from Manchester City is currently the youngest player to score twice in a single home game. He then took Villa one step further. Later in the second half, Delap continued his successful run for the Tractor Boys by equalizing Kieran McKenna's team with a brilliant strike. In addition, he becomes the first player from Ipswich to score two goals in the Premier League in twenty-two years. Marcus Bent did it last against Newcastle in March 2002.

Jack Grealish left Aston Villa more than three years ago, but it appears they may have finally found a replacement. One of the acquisitions that lessened the damage after Grealish's British transfer record move to Manchester City in 2021 was Leon Bailey. The Jamaican international has blossomed for Unai Emery's team over the last 13 months, despite his lackluster prior performance. Leon Bailey (16) now has as many Premier League assists for Aston Villa as Jack Grealish.   At Ipswich Town, Bailey recorded his 11th assist of the season as Ollie Watkins sealed the Villans' first-half comeback. Since the start of 2023–24, the former Bayer Leverkusen winger has contributed to 20 goal involvements overall. Grealish's total of 16 top-flight assists over three years at Villa Park matched his personal mark from four complete seasons with his hometown club. How many more will he accumulate before all is said and done next May?

On Sunday, Real Madrid will play its first Madrid derby of the season at the Metropolitano. They will be without Kylian Mbappe for the matchup because he will be out for the next three weeks due to a thigh injury he acquired in the midweek triumph against Alaves. Mbappe, who had expressed a desire to be present in person, will instead watch the game from home, according to L'Equipe. Real Madrid, however, has advised him to avoid the area due to potential security lapses, which would not ensure his safety at the Metropolitano. In recent years, there have been incidents between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid fans, and the former always creates a heated environment when their hated rivals visit town. Los Blancos officials do not want to risk any issues with Mbappe, thus they have declined his request to attend the match with his teammates. It would be intriguing to see how Real Madrid performs without Mbappe, especially because Carlo Ancelotti is likely to return to the method he u...

On Sunday night, the eagerly expected Madrid derby gets underway, promising to be another exciting 90 minutes of football. Ultimately, watching Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid has been a visual feast in recent years. In their last eight derby matches, Real Madrid has failed to keep a clean sheet, with both clubs scoring in the previous seven meetings. The statistic merely serves to highlight how fiercely the two teams compete on the field. The derby tomorrow will be held at the Civitas Metropolitano, where Real Madrid has won only two of their last eight games. Last season, they suffered a 3-1 defeat thanks to an Alvaro Morata brace and an Antoine Griezmann goal. Madrid Universal offers you three hot topics ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid. The long-anticipated revenge. Last season, Real Madrid was an unstoppable force of nature. Los Blancos appeared unstoppable when they won the UEFA Champions League without losing a single game. Furthermore, during their incredible run in La...

After suffering a season-ending knee injury last weekend, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has chosen to be replaced by Barcelona immediately. The German goalie will be replaced by Wojciech Szczesny, who has already reached a personal terms deal to rejoin Hansi Flick's team after coming out of retirement at the age of 34. Monday is the day for the medical, however due to technological issues, the transaction has been postponed for the past few of days. Due to this, Barcelona has requested that La Liga activate Article 77, which would result in the revocation of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen's salary in the amount of 80% and let Szczesny to register. Breaking: La Liga has given Barcelona the green light to sign Szczesny. According to MD, their plea was approved. La Liga has received all of the paperwork pertaining to Ter Stegen's injury, and they are satisfied that his injury fits the conditions (absence for four months or more) for Article 77 to be activated. Barcelona may now move forward...

This Sunday's Premier League matchup between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the two teams seeking the top four, will take place at Old Trafford. The sides' current mid-table places in the Premier League rankings attest to their relatively erratic forms going into the match. Given that both teams are desperate to win, these three crucial matches might make the difference at Old Trafford. James Madison against Manuel Ugarte Man Utd supporters were pleased with the performance of their new midfield destroyer, Manuel Ugarte, despite being upset with the team's 1-1 draw with FC Twente in midweek. Although Manchester United fans were dissatisfied with the 1-1 draw with FC Twente in midweek, they were thrilled by the performance of their new midfield destroyer, Manuel Ugarte. Following his strong performance, Ugarte is largely anticipated to make his Premier League debut for the club this weekend against Tottenham, when he will be charged with stopping one of the divi...

After using injuries as a justification for Manchester United's poor play both this season and last, manager Erik ten Hag appears to be developing a new line of reasoning. During the pre-game news conference before of United's match against Spurs tomorrow, the manager gave an explanation of how Profit and Sustainability Rules have compelled United to purchase young players who aren't quite ready. He declared, "Those are the decisions we have made over the past two seasons." "You can't expect younger players to be at the [top] level; that was our decision." "We need to identify a squad that can succeed consistently; they need to better themselves and we need to improve them. "Over the last two years, this crew has demonstrated their ability to be patient. We can win trophies with patience, but we need to improve our consistency. "Despite the constraints we faced, we performed admirably. Now we need to collaborate with the squad and i...

A piece of Spanish football history was secured for Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo on Saturday. By means of his most recent appearance for La Real, this much is known. At the moment, Imanol's team is engaged in a La Liga match against Valencia. As things stand at Anoeta, the hosts have the upper hand on the scoreboard thanks to a single goal from the previously mentioned Kubo. RealSociedad Takefusa Kubo, who scored his 24th LaLiga goal today, now has the most appearances in the competition (167), breaking Takashi Inui's record of 166. Samurai.   However, it was not his goal-scoring prowess that cemented Real Sociedad's wing wizard's place in history late on Saturday. Instead, his success stems from little more than his appearance versus Valencia. 'Takefusa Kubo, who scored his 24th LaLiga goal today, has become the Japanese player with the most appearances in the competition's history (167), breaking Takashi Inui's record.

This season, Bukayo Saka has been breaking and setting records in the Premier League nonstop, and he recently did so against Leicester City. The Euro 2024 finalist has had a tremendous season, and his play could help Arsenal win the championship. He has been a major assist source for the Gunners, and he has performed admirably. However, he gave an even more remarkable effort in the match against Leicester. Saka led by example as Arsenal's captain for the day, unseating the Foxes and assisting in grinding out the victory. Saka was one of Arsenal's most active players as they continued to pressure their opponents in pursuit of the game-winning goal, even though they were behind 2-2. According to Sky Sports, he accomplished 8+ take-ons and created 8+ opportunities, becoming the first Premier League player to do so in a single game this decade. Arsenal Opinion Saka is our star guy for a reason, and he has proven to be quite trustworthy throughout this campaign. The attacker w...

After Osasuna defeated Barcelona 4-2 on Saturday despite having just 25% of the ball, Barcelona's undefeated record in La Liga is ended. Given that Barcelona had won all eight of their previous La Liga visits to El Sadar, it ought to have been an easy victory. Osasuna, however, had a surprise in store. It eventually came back to haunt manager Hansi Flick when he started a few young players, such as Pau Víctor, Pablo Torre, Gerard Martín, Pau Cubarsí, and Sergi Domínguez. 🔴🔵 Osasuna defeats Barcelona at home for the first time since 2012. Under Flick, Barcelona has only conceded 5 goals in La Liga, while they have scored 4!    After scoring on the counter both times, the hosts took advantage of a 17- and 19-year-old center-back combination to take a commanding 2-0 lead in just 28 minutes. After forty minutes, Barcelona, on the other hand, had no shots. After arriving late in the box, Bryan Zaragoza ran ahead and past goalkeeper Iñaki Peña Sotorres from a tight angle, sur...

Barcelona's 4-2 loss against Osasuna cruelly terminated their undefeated start to the La Liga season. Due to the Blaugrana's hectic schedule leading up to the international break in October, Hansi Flick decided to rotate a lot for the trip to Pamplona. At El Sadar, those adjustments proved to be Barcelona's undoing as Ante Budimir and Bryan Zaragoza gave the home team a 2-0 lead at the half. After the break, Pau Victor's first-ever La Liga goal gave Barcelona a slight advantage, but Budimir's penalty kick restored Osasuna's two-goal advantage. Osasuna was eliminated from sight when Abel Bretones scored his first Premier League goal, but Lamine Yamal had time to fire a late consolation goal from the bench. Barcelona's winning streak will come to an end soon, as they get ready to play Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League on October 1.

Bayern Munich's dismal 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen resulted in their first Bundesliga loss of the year. It was always going to be an exciting match at the Allianz Arena between the record champions and the current champions. And despite the split points, Xabi Alonso's team left the game a little happier after 90 minutes. For ninety minutes, Bayer Leverkusen relinquished possession of their field to Bayern Munich. However, Jamal Musiala's brilliance and Harry Kane's uninteresting performance prevented the hosts from taking full advantage of it. Granit Xhaka, Florian Wirtz, and the rest of the defense put on a masterful display, waiting to take advantage of the situation. And it came as a complete surprise when Robert Andrich's long-range drive, which was made from 21 meters out, defeated Manuel Neuer, who was diving, at 110 km/h. But Bayern quickly leveled the score with a rocket goal of their own. With a stunning half-volley that struck the top right corner at...

Declaring his love, respect, and admiration for Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta makes a transparent attempt to alleviate growing tensions with his former coach. Amidst the fallout from the intense tie with Manchester City the previous weekend, Guardiola ordered Arteta's Arsenal to get ready for battle. The Gunners reacted by defeating Leicester 4-2 at the Emirates in the last seconds. Speaking before of the match on Saturday, Guardiola also asked his old teammate to clarify his assertion that, after his four-year tenure at City, he had "all the information" about the champions. Arteta responded to Guardiola's comments by saying, "I can repeat it, very clear." I adore Pep. I think highly of him. And ever since I was ten years old, I have admired him. "I know how hard he works, which is why I say, 'I know him.'" I have never seen a person work as hard as Pep, the coaches, and the entire football team does to routinely win. And this is what I...

Manchester City can be docked points in a variety of ways. They have lost four since Rodri hobbled out against Arsenal due to a cruciate ligament injury that ended his season. Back-to-back draws have replaced their perfect start to the title defense. Although Rodri is renowned for never losing, his winning percentage might be more important to consider. And just as Pep Guardiola always wins against Eddie Howe, City also usually wins against Newcastle United. Not at this moment. Anthony Gordon's penalty saved Just Howe's second point against his City opponent. Though it is hard to establish, it is tempting to speculate that the Spaniard would have prevented Bruno Guimaraes from providing the defence-splitting ball that resulted in it. When Rodri is on the field, he can seem unstoppable; therefore, many of the team's shortcomings may be linked to the absence of the player Guardiola believes to be the finest in the world at his position. Undoubtedly, Rodri's exceptional d...

The bees refuse to and are unable to stop! On Saturday, Thomas Frank's team welcomed West Ham to town and took an early lead once more. There was some pin-ball since the visitors were unable to clear the ball in the box. After just 37 seconds, Bryan Mbeumo, who had been lurking, was eventually set up by Fábio Carvalho and volleyed home into the upper right corner. They have so made Premier League history by being the first club to score in the opening minute of three straight games. The two earlier incidences happened after 22 and 23 seconds, respectively, against Manchester City and Tottenham. Crazy.

Chelsea will once more be thrilled to have the legendary Cole Palmer on their team. Additionally, Manchester City will be miffed at themselves for letting him go after their Saturday draw with Newcastle. The Englishman is pulling strings at Stamford Bridge against Brighton to help spark a comeback, just as he has done the entire season. 3 - Cole Palmer now has three Premier League hat-tricks, which ties him with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba, and Frank Lampard for the most of any Chelsea player in the competition's history. hare.   Palmer eventually found his touch with a magnificent hat-trick within ten minutes of hitting the post early in the first half and having a goal disallowed for offside. After making a last-ditch dash into the area and smashing the ball into an empty net, the 22-year-old earned a penalty and completed a first-half hat-trick with a stunning left-footed free shot from 25 yards out. He now has the joint most hat-tricks in the Premier League of...

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has warned Arsenal to prepare for "a war" as the aftermath from last week's heated clash between the two clubs continues. Guardiola has also asked his opposing number, Mikel Arteta, to explain himself after making cryptic remarks regarding City, stating that he had "all the information" about the Champions. The Premier League championship rivals drew 2-2 on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, with furious exchanges following John Stones' stunning stoppage-time equalizer for the hosts. A fired-up Erling Haaland was at the center of the argument after throwing the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel's head and then barging into Thomas Partey. Guardiola stated that he did not condone his star striker's conduct but could understand them, underlining a developing rift between the two sides. He replied, "I'd argue that sometimes the emotions are so strong. "Gabriel expressed it exactly after the match: this is a...

It's Friday, which can only mean one thing: it's time to look at the five spicy matches you shouldn't miss this weekend. Here are our five must-see games. Ipswich against Aston Villa Ipswich Town are still looking for their first win since returning to the Premier League, and The Tractor Boys will be hoping to break that streak at Portman Road this weekend. The visit of Aston Villa should set the tone for a lively environment as Kieran McKenna's underdogs face a Champions League team on home turf. Last time out, Sam Morsy's late goal saved Ipswich's third consecutive draw, but the newly promoted side must start turning draws into wins as quickly as possible. Aston Villa are looking to win each of their first three away games in a Premier League season for the second time, after defeating West Ham and Leicester on the road. Newcastle versus Manchester City How will Manchester City fare without Rodri? We are about to find out. The Spaniard's season-ending i...