They've spursed up a 2-0 lead (and one gifted to them by 2 Cucrella slips) and now it's 2-2 and they can't even put a one-on-one in the net (Son). So Ange, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease just hold onto a draw mate, OK????
This seemed like a pivotal weekend. We needed to win and keep pace, not only with Pool but now it's clear also Chel$ki, who could actually top the table in Dec/Jan, with their favorable fixtures during that time. The only remotely good things I can come up with today are that Citeh's little mess continues, and that Tottnum still suck in general. And also that there might actually be a title race this year. (I've been assuming Slot will encounter some rough spots between now and May)
Its cups or nothing for us this year. And even then that requires us to buy either a LW or a ST in Jan.
The original 115 alleged charges handed to Man City have been extended to 130, according to @TimesSport. pic.twitter.com/DmYwpcI2Ce— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 10, 2024
Dude on Atalanta just put the equalizing goal over the cross bar from inside the 6 yard box and no one to beat
Girona whiffed two incredible chances in the first 15mins against Liverpool too and then gave up a fairly soft penalty to lose 0-1. Also a problem that Liverpool have Allison back. Kolasinac won the penalty for the Atalanta goal but his heel brushed the Madrid defenders knee before he kicked his own legs. Retegui really should have buried that though. Lookmans cross in had some serious pace (and if he wasn't 27 I would be saying we should have a look, man) but Retegui should still be finishing that under no pressure. Why not get your body behind it that close to goal and chest it in? Wild that Inter finally lose their first game this far into the UCL and they drop from 2nd to 4th. Villa absolutely lucked out against Leipzig. You think Retegui screwed up watch the end of the RB vs Villa match. 81st minute, bad backpass from the Villa defender intercepted by Openda who could have taken a touch and placed a better shot instead goes for a weak first time shot that Martinez easily saves, ball immediately down the other end, Barkley slips as he shoots which catches the keeper off step and sneaks in. And not that Villa would sell but I would love Duran from them. His goal today was something else. A striker who players direct and scores? Yes please.
Really wish we would start looking for guys like this ourselves. Villa bought him from the MLS for something like 15m. Yeah it's a risk but if they sold him in Jan he likely sells for 50+. I'd rather we take a risk every now and then instead of always looking to fund smaller EPL club's transfer windows.
Sounds like Facundo Torres is going to Palmeiras for an MLS record fee, he was linked to Arsenal a while back. Would that end any interest they might have in Jesus?
We bought Martinelli from the 4th tier in Brazil IIRC. An issue that comes up when a team gets very good is that those longer-shot purchases become harder to do, because the obvious upgrade buys start costing so much more. And the players you want to upgrade from are harder to offload because they're better and thus more expensive for other teams. That's also part of the reason multi-club ownership is so useful. If we could buy those long-shot players and stash them at St-Etienne or wherever for a couple of years, we'd be way more likely to do it than we are now. On Duran though, I had Fire season tickets for the last 4 years, and when I tell you that he was double the quality of anyone else I saw in person, on any team, in that period, I might be underselling how great he looked. If he can screw his head on straight, he could be one of the best forwards of the decade.
@ArsenalMetro that makes sense. Wish the Rapids were doing a little more SA scouting/purchasing for us. Saw Chicago picked up Duran out of SA for around 2m euro and sold for around 15-16m. Seems like that is something KSE would want to imitate and selling the SA players on a path to Europe makes them much more likely to join. That said, it does seem we need another club in Europe where we can stash players that are too good for NA/SA clubs but not quite good enough for Arsenal. A Spanish option feels like it would make sense. Maybe Gijon or Deportivo? Or a Basque club Eibar?
They have been the only bidder since Australia backed out a while back so this was a foregone conclusion.
Disgusting having the World Cup in a country that will be run by a corrupt, petty, childish dictator who doesn't believe in basic human rights...but enough about 2026. This is bad, too.
The nail in the coffin to Citeh in Torino tonight came from 2 Americans: super subs Weah to McKennie. And Clint Dempsey who's in the studio thinks that's the first time that ever happened in UCL. BTW, such a breath of fresh air to have Clint in that seat instead of Micah Richards. If only that could be a permanent swap. YMMV p.s. Later in the show, Kate actually all but invited Clint to replace Micah, assuming Citeh don't make UCL next year. Bring it on!
Pretty controlled performance even with a makeshift backline. Was Monaco really dangerous other than the shot from the Russian dude in the first half? Jesus should've scored but at least he got a really sweet assist and was putting himself about all night. Signs of life.
I think the craziest part (the whole thing is nuts, but this is another level) of the Saudi WC bid is Neom Stadium and not because it will be located 350 meters off the ground, it is that it is located in a city that doesn't even exist right now.
Australia learned when we got burnt badly last time we bid for the WC when we found out its just money laundering and bribes, and one thing we don't like in Australia is when a sporting body cheats. So ******** FIFA, the Womens World Cup was excellent, the matches often were filled with noisy enthusiastic fans, Aussies love our sports and would make a WC here one of the best attended and atmospheric in the history of the event but that balding ******** running FIFA and ruining the sport decided money over legacy. No respect on his name and if I even crossed paths with Infant it would be difficult not to spit on him. I wouldn't because it would be a waste of saliva.
Here’s something that surprised me this morning… Ex-Citeh player Mikheil Kavelashvili is now the president of Georgia. At least if you believe the ruling party’s published election results. That country is in a spot of bother lately.