EPL

Player ratings as Blues grind out lead in WSL title race

Published

2 weeks ago

March 12, 2023

Chelsea have moved to the top of the WSL table after grinding out a 1-0 win over title rivals Manchester United at Kingsmeadow on Sunday. Emma Hayes side are now firm favourites in the remaining title race, with a two-point lead and a game in hand.

Sam Kerr scored the only goal of a game, the biggest of the WSL so far this season, which had fallen victim to the stripped back BBC coverage that has dominated headlines since Friday.

In the words of Marc Skinner, United didn’t turn up for the first 70 minutes and 2-0 down in the reverse meeting in November. But there was a clear bite in some early challenges as they tried to right that wrong and dominated the ball throughout.

Chelsea’s ruthlessness was a threat even early on. Twice in quick succession, Kerr was put through on goal by searching balls forward – Mary Earps was equal to it both times, with the latter of the saves an outstanding stop from FIFA’s Best.

The third time the Blues hit that long ball to Kerr, she made it count. Lauren James got the assist against her former club, finding the space between centre-backs Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier. Kerr did the rest, lifting the ball over the reach or Earps into the far corner.

United back to life a little more around the half hour mark. First, Nikita Parris was adamant she should have had a penalty after it appeared she was clipped by Kadeisha Buchanan as she entered the box. Shortly after, Alessia had their first meaningful but hit it straight at Ann-Katrin Berger. Yet Chelsea were always dangerous and Earps was soon scrambling as Jessie Fleming’s speculative cross from deep ended up striking the outside of the post and bouncing wide.

Another long ball for Kerr to chase down the left gave Chelsea the first chance of the second half. The Australian eased Le Tissier out of the way and looked certain to double her team’s lead, only to then send the ball the wrong side of the far post.

Chelsea’s creativity had flattened by the hour mark as United came more into the game again, working the ball through, via Russo and Ella Toone, to Leah Galton for a half chance. But Eve Perisset tracked her all the way across and snuffed it out.

Katie Zelem had Turner to thank for keeping Kerr at bay with a last-ditch, with the United captain having cheaply given the ball away in a dangerous position. By then, the visitors were still dominating possession but the game had turned scrappy, which suited Chelsea more.

As the game entered the final stages, Zelem had a free-kick comfortably saved by Ann-Katrin Berger, while Melanie Leupolz blazed over from a good position at the edge of the penalty area. But Chelsea, as they have done so many times, preserved the lead to take maximum points.

GK: Ann-Katrin Berger – 7/10 – Would have expected more to do but actually relieved some pressure on her team late on with some important claims.

RB: Eve Perisset – 7/10 – Took a physical approach to marking Galton and it did work.

CB: Kadeisha Buchanan – 8/10 – Put in a huge defensive performance to stifle Russo.

CB: Millie Bright (c) – 8/10 – Matched her centre-back partner with a major impact.

LB: Jess Carter – 7/10 – Shook off a blow to the head when she was struck by the ball in the first half. Gave a solid defensive account of herself.

CM: Melanie Leupolz – 6/10 – Second best physically in the early stages and missed a late chance to seal the win. But held her own in a tough midfield battle.

CM: Sophie Ingle – 7/10 – Sat deep and made it difficult for United to play between the lines.

RM: Lauren James – 6/10 – Managed a decent assist against her old club without actually seeing very much of the ball overall.

AM: Jessie Fleming – 5/10 – Didn’t actually see much of the ball and lost more than half of her individual duels.

LM: Niamh Charles – 6/10 – Had to have her defensive wits about her to protect Carter from the double threat of Batlle and Parris.

ST: Sam Kerr – 7/10 – Denied by two good Earps saves before showcasing her world class ability with the sublime breakthrough. Saw a good second half chance miss the target.

Substitutes

SUB: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (62′ for James) – 5/10

SUB: Magdalena Eriksson (75′ for Fleming) – 6/10

SUB: Maren Mjelde (90+1′ for Charles) N/A

Manager

Emma Hayes – 8/10 – Dealt a huge blow by losing Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert in the build-up. But it was a gritty and functional performance from her team to get ahead, while she switched to three centre-backs later on try and preserve the lead.

GK: Mary Earps – 7/10 – Made two excellents at 0-0. Stood little chance with the goal.

RB: Ona Batlle – 7/10 – Another all-action performance at both ends from the United star.

CB: Maya Le Tissier – 6/10 – Seemed to struggle against the movement and guild of Kerr as Chelsea sent long passes forward. Improved in the second half.

CB: Millie Turner – 7/10 – Got caught under the ball with Kerr behind her for Chelsea’s breakthrough but later made a couple of important blocks to keep United in it.

LB: Hannah Blundell – 7/10 – Defended well against her former club.

CM: Hayley Ladd – 7/10 – Made a physical start to the game and ensured that Chelsea were never going to come through her.

CM: Katie Zelem (c) – 5/10 – Fought hard off the ball but was nearly caught out with a sloppy pass straight to Kerr in the second half.

AM: Ella Toone – 5/10 – Chelsea made it really difficult to play through the middle so her usual impact was limited and United went a different way in the final 20 minutes.

RW: Nikita Parris – 7/10 – Looked to be clipped in the penalty area in the first half but had her appeals waved away. Put in a real hard-working defensive shift.

ST: Alessia Russo – 5/10 – Looked dangerous when she was occasionally able to get the ball out of her feet and run. But she strugled to escape the attention of the Chelsea centre-backs.

LW: Leah Galton – 5/10 – Started brightly in the first few minutes but never saw enough of the ball to make her usual impact.

Substitutes

SUB: Martha Thomas (71′ for Galton) – 6/10

SUB: Rachel Williams (71′ for Toone) – 5/10

SUB: Aoife Mannion (82′ for Parris) – 6/10

SUB: Lucia Garcia (90′ for Ladd) – N/A

Manager

Marc Skinner – 6/10 – His team competed better than they did in the reverse fixture. Plan A wasn’t working, so he changed things up for the final 20 minutes to try and make the difference.

Player of the match – Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea)

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EPL

Fabio Paratici opens up on Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit & provides update on manager search

Published

5 hours ago

March 28, 2023

Sean Walsh

Tottenham Hotspur managing director of football Fabio Paratici has discussed the decision to part ways with head coach Antonio Conte.

Spurs reached a mutual agreement for Conte to depart the club on Sunday night following a disappointing run of results.

Conte oversaw exits in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Champions League this season despite high hopes of ending the club’s 15-year trophy drought.

In his personal life, Conte lost three close friends – Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, former Italy colleague Gianluca Vialli and Serie A legend Sinisa Mihajlovic – while he had to undergo emergency surgery on his gallbladder at the start of February.

Speaking to Tottenham club channels, Paratici leaned on these reasons as to why Conte’s reign ended so sourly.

“About Antonio, we know how difficult this season was for him personally. Gian Piero died, Vialli and Mihajlovic [died], the surgery, the club supported him a lot about this and everyone was close with each other. But we arrived to this mutual agreement, and I think the decision we made was the right decision to everyone,” Paratici said.

Paratici went on to talk about interim manager Cristian Stellini – Conte’s former assistant who took charge of Tottenham in his absence this year – as well as speculation over a permanent successor.

“So Cristian managed the team even when Antonio was sick this season and was good. He has a lot of experience as a second and even first coach in the past. We have Ryan Mason who can help him a lot because he’s been part of this club for a long time, he knows everything about this club and this kind of group of players. So I think we are really, really confident that these two persons can do a very good job,” Paratici continued.

“The players doesn’t have to change a bit, the style of training. So change everything when you have just 10 games to go I think would be really difficult to the players.

“I would like to see, not just this season but even last season, when we came here we speak about ‘rebuild’ a bit. We started to play Conference League, starting not so good. Then at the end of the season we achieved a big result to get Champions League.

“Then this season, we played Champions League, we passed the group, it was a good achievement for us. And then we get out against Milan.

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“I think about growing up, the team and the club. The pathway for the club was good about results in that way. And then of course we are disappointed because we can be better in the FA [Cup] against Sheffield [United]. Every time you lose one game, you regret it.

“Of course we are focused and looking forward about being better arriving at the end of the season and the next season better again.

“The Premier League always is tough, so we have a lot of teams and clubs [who are] really, really prepared…but we fight, we like that. So we will fight to achieve our target, we are prepared to fight until the end of the season. We have to be focused on the last part of the season.

“We don’t speak about other coaches or follow the speculation in the media because this is just speculation. We are focused and now concentrating on helping Cristian and the staff, the players.

“I think today we have to be focused on our squad and our manager because it’s an important moment.”

Paratici is one of 12 former Juventus officials who were due in court this week regarding the club’s financial mismanagement, though a date for the hearing has now been pushed back until May.

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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss Julian Nagelsmann’s future and links to the vacant Tottenham head coach role, Barcelona’s ambition to bring Lionel Messi ‘home’, Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson, Florian Wirtz, Kalvin Phillips and more!

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EPL

Bruno Fernandes disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo’s assessment of Roberto Martinez

Published

6 hours ago

March 28, 2023

Sean Walsh

Bruno Fernandes has revealed he does not agree with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo regarding the impact of new Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez.

The former Everton and Belgium boss was named as the surprise successor to Fernando Santos following the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While Martinez has been known to coach attacking and entertaining football, his teams are often characterised by their haphazard and sloppy defending – almost the inverse to how Portugal played under Santos.

Ronaldo, who scored four goals in two games for Portugal this month, was quick to tell reporters of the positive impact Martinez has had on the team.

“It’s a new chapter for everyone, for the players, the staff and the country. We feel good energy. It’s a breath of fresh air,” the Al Nassr forward said.

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But when speaking to Portuguese channel RTP3, Fernandes simmered Ronaldo’s excited judgement.

When asked if he agreed with Ronaldo’s comments, Fernandes replied: “No, it’s just a new coach with new ideas. There is no breath of fresh air at all. It’s just a transition period.

“The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There’s never been anything that wasn’t fresh of the air, so I think it’s just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas.”

Portugal have made a perfect start under Martinez’s management, securing a 4-0 win at home to Liechtenstein before beating Luxembourg 6-0 on the road.

Fernandes and Ronaldo’s recent careers have been intertwined due to their prominence with the Portugal national team and their 15-month spell together at Manchester United.

Upon Fernandes’ arrival in England, the Old Trafford faithful devised a chant which referenced his arrival ‘from Sporting like Cristiano’.

The duo didn’t quite hit their best heights in tandem while at United, and Ronaldo’s bitter exit in November 2022 was followed by the two appearing to be on frosty terms ahead of the World Cup.

But Ronaldo dismissed this suggestion at the time, telling the press: “My relationship with him is excellent.”

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EPL

Premier League clubs keen to sign wantaway Lorient star Enzo Le Fee

Published

10 hours ago

March 28, 2023

Tom Gott & Graeme Bailey

A number of Premier League sides are monitoring Lorient midfielder Enzo Le Fee after he confirmed his desire to leave the club this summer, 90min understands.

The 23-year-old has dazzled this season for Lorient, impressing both defensively and in attack and chipping in with four goals and five assists in 28 games.

90min reported in November that Leicester had begun tracking Le Fee as they prepared for the departure of Youri Tielemans, and sources have confirmed to 90min that the Foxes are by no means alone with their interest.

Both Fulham and Wolves have voiced an interest in Le Fee while one source also named Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham as admirers of the France Under-21 international.

The interest in Le Fee has follows the midfielder’s public admission that he does not plan to extend his contract, which expires in the summer of 2024, and his desire to secure a move away from Lorient this summer.

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“It’s time for me to leave,” Le Fee told Le Telegramme on Monday.

“I have a special bond with the club and that’s why I wanted to extend my contract at the start of the season. I waited for a contract offer from Lorient until December. It never came. Now, I don’t expect anything from the club and I won’t extend my contract.

“I hope to leave this summer so that my transfer will bring money to Lorient.”

Before that interview, Le Fee told L’Equipe of his desire to finish the season strongly to boost his chances of a summer transfer.

“I’ve never wanted to leave Lorient through the back door,” he stressed. “We’re having a very good season and I know these last few months are very important if I want to join a big club.

“I am someone who likes challenges, risks too. I want to show that I am capable of playing at the highest level.”

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