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Player ratings as Cottagers enjoy Boxing Day feast

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Fulham had a very enjoyable Boxing Day runout as they easily swatted aside nine-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

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It looked like we would be in store for a tight and edgy London derby, and it certainly started out that way.

Fulham grabbed the lead just past the half-hour, with Bobby Decordova-Reid heading home after good work by Aleksandar Mitrovic. Palace might have thought that things could only get better from there, but they almost immediately got worse.

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Just three minutes after falling behind, Tyrick Mitchell was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge, and it was tough to see them getting anything out of it from there.

Palace, to their credit, did start the second half with some intent. The Eagles looked to keep things tight and hope one of their talented forward players could produce some magic. There were positive moments, but the contest was all but over before the hour.

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James Tomkins, who was booked early, left a late elbow in on Mitrovic and was given a second yellow card to reduce Palace to nine men.

From there, the only real question was how many goals Fulham would score, and they settled on three, with Tim Ream netting the second before Mitrovic gave the scoreline some added gloss.  

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Not quite the tight London derby we were expecting, but Fulham won’t mind that at all.

James Tomkins

Not James Tomkins’ best afternoon / Paul Harding/GettyImages

GK: Vicente Gualta – 7/10 – Would have been a much heavier defeat for Palace without him.

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RB: Nathaniel Clyne – 6/10 – Did about all that could be expected to hold back the tide.

CB: Joachim Anderson – 6/10 – Never hid but was always up against it.

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CB: James Tomkins – 4/10 – Such a stupid red card for such an experienced player.

LB: Tyrick Mitchell – 3/10 – At least has inexperience as an excuse, but still let his side down.

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CM: Cheick Doucoure – 6/10 – Never gave up but unable to influence things either.

CM: Jeffrey Schlupp – 5/10 – Pretty much entirely ineffectual.

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RF: Jordan Ayew – 7/10 – The pick of the Palace players.

AM: Michael Olise – 6/10 – Did okay in the circumstances.

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LF: Eberechi Eze – 6/10 – Struggled to impact the game.

CF: Wilfried Zaha – 6/10 – Starved of service and not able to produce any magic.

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Substitutes

Chris Richards (60’ for Eze)

Joel Ward (67’ for Clyne)

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Jairo Riedewald (83’ for Schlupp)

Luka Milivojevic (84’ for Doucoure)

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Will Hughes (84’ for Olise)

Manager

Patrick Viera – 5/10 – Tough for him to do much when his players are being this silly.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic

Aleksandar Mitrovic close to his best for Fulham / Henry Browne/GettyImages

GK: Bernd Leno – 6/10 – Had very little to do in reality.

RB: Kenny Tete – 7/10 – Saw plenty of the ball and used it well.

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CB: Issa Diop – 8/10 – Largely dominant, even if the circumstances were kind on defenders.

CB: Tim Ream – 8/10 – Scored a goal and kept a clean sheet. Can’t ask much more than that from a centre back.

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LB: Antonee Robinson – 7/10 – Similar kind of performance as fellow-full-back Tete.

CM: Joao Palhinha – 7/10 – Played his part without needing to be anything special.

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CM: Harrison Reed – 7/10 – Kept things ticking over in the middle.

RF: Bobby Decordova-Reid – 8/10 – Real thorn in the Palace side.

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AM: Andreas Pereira – 8/10 – Thriving with regular football.

LF: Willian – 7/10 – Least effective of Fulham’s front-line but involved in the third goal.

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CF: Aleksandar Mitrovic – 9/10 – Scored a goal, assisted another, just a glorious nuisance.

Substitutes

Tom Cairney (75’ for Palhinha)

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Harry Wilson (80’ for Decordova-Reid)

Daniel James (82’ for Willian)

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Luke Harris (85’ for Pereira)

Vinicius (85’ for Mitrovic)

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Manager

Marco Silva – 7/10 – Palace made it easy for him, but his side went for the throat with real relish.

Man of the match: Aleksandar Mitrovic



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EPL

Harry Maguire suggests he isn’t ‘properly appreciated’ at Man Utd

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Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has suggested that he is not as appreciated at club level as he is for England.

Maguire made the switch to the Red Devils for £80m back in 2019 and has since divided opinion after being named the skipper less than a year later. This season, he was quickly dropped by incoming United manager Erik ten Hag in favour of Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez.

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At international level however, the centre-back has been one of England’s most dependable performers under Gareth Southgate, playing a major role in the Three Lions’ deep tournament runs over the last five years.

Maguire started for England in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn’t cover himself in glory for the Azzurri’s goal but stood tall late on to help grind out the victory.

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Speaking to the media post-match, Maguire was asked if he feels ‘properly appreciated’.

“For England, yes, I do,” he replied. “Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team.

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“I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I’m 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.

“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you’re the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny. Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”

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Maguire recognises that he has not always been at his best while wearing a United shirt.

He was an easy scapegoat during their dreadful 2021/22 season in which they recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League era.

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That said, Maguire has also failed to kick on and if anything has taken several steps backwards after what was a promising first half to 2021, emerging as one of the league’s leading centre-backs and playing out of his skin while unfit in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.

His case hasn’t been helped by his outward need silence critics, notably scoring for England and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration amid his decline for United.

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Arsenal lead Rice race; Man Utd eye Ferguson

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90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…

Arsenal remain ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The midfielder’s preference is to stay in London amid previous links to Manchester City and Manchester United. (Football Insider)

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New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will look to reunite with Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy when the summer window rolls around. (Calciomercato)

Manchester United are ready to send Amad Diallo back to Sassuolo as part of a bid to sign Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi. (CMW)

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Another player on Manchester United‘s radar is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The 18-year-old scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week. (Football Insider)

Liverpool will look to strengthen their defensive ranks with the signing of Dutch defender Perr Schuurs, with current club Torino ready to sell for a fee of €50m. (Tuttosport)

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Ilkay Gundogan is likely to leave Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. His contract expires at the end of the season. (The Athletic)

Real Madrid have joined Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano)

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Meanwhile, Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would prefer to join Real Madrid over the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United this summer. (Cadena SER)

After failing with a bid last summer, Chelsea are working on another offer to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. (Football Insider)

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Arsenal and Newcastle are monitoring Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojland, who grabbed a hat-trick on his international debut for Denmark this week. (Tutto Atalanta)

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Arsenal pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

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Having reached new heights in the Premier League in 2022/23, Arsenal will soon be beginning their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour to get ready for 2023/24.

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Preparations for last season took place in Germany for Arsenal but with the Covid-19 pandemic a bit more of a distant memory for many, it is expected that more teams will be heading further afield again to either the United States of America or Asia.

Arsenal are yet to announce a full training camp location for their pre-season but they do have one fixture already confirmed which drops a big clue.

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The Gunners are going to be coming up against an MLS All-Star team in Washington D.C. which will be coached by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. That takes place on July 19 and it is hard to imagine that Arsenal will only play one game in America.

A semi-regular fixture of Arsenal’s pre-seasons in recent years has been the Emirates Cup, but there has not been any word on whether an edition of that will be taking place or not this summer. If there is, then Arsenal could be splitting their time between America and London.

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All times BST.

As is the case for almost every big club in football now, all of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies are expected to be televised live on Arsenal.com and their official app with a subscription.

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