EPL

Man Utd 4-1 Real Betis: Player ratings as Fernandes redemption inspires big win

Published

2 weeks ago

March 9, 2023

Manchester United have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after a 4-1 victory over Real Betis at Old Trafford on Thursday night, featuring goals of great quality from both teams.

In a perfect response to Sunday’s embarrassing 7-0 defeat, Marcus Rashford gave United an early lead. Ayoze Perez, on loan from Leicester scored a somewhat controversial equaliser, before second half goals from Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst settled things.

With sleet swirling in Manchester, Weghorst almost gave United an even earlier goal when he chested the ball into the net with only a few minutes on the clock. But Fred, who crossed to the giant Dutchman, was offside when he received it.

Rashford’s excellent strike followed only moments later. It actually started with Betis probing at the other end, but United moved up the field quickly and Rashford had the composure not to snatch at the ball as it fell to him, sidestepping a defender on the floor and then smashing high into the net.

United stayed in control and probably should have doubled the lead when Weghorst fired wide from Luke Shaw’s first-time low cross – it wasn’t seen by the officials, but Betis defender Luiz Felipe got a touch on it to deflect the effort wide. Straight after that, veteran former Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo raced off his line to stop Rashford having a free run at goal.

Bravo denied Rashford again just under half an hour in as the United striker tried to bend one from the left into the far bottom corner – arguably the pass from Antony was slightly misplaced and made it tough to get enough power on the shot.

The Betis equaliser was their first shot on target, but it was a fine goal. There were strong suspicions of handball from Juanmi, but there was no doubt once he had played it to Perez, who controlled on his chest and struck a sweet half volley into the far bottom corner.

Weghorst and Antony both had further chances before half-time, although had either gone in an offside flag would likely have gone up. But United were living dangerously as a David de Gea gaffe nearly put Betis ahead, passing straight to Juanmi and the ball eventually deflecting onto the post.

The second and third United goals came in quick succession early in the second half. Both were excellent in their own way but very different.

Antony’s go-ahead strike was even better than the one he had scored against Barcelona last time in this competition, cutting in from the right and curling a superb left-footed shot into the top corner from 25 yards. Fernandes, meanwhile, got his from a corner, running to the near post and powering a header past Bravo.

Having played the ball to Antony for his goal, Fernandes was eliminating some of the demons from Anfield, although he could easily have been sent off for a moment of madness when he went flying in on Bravo. The only thing that perhaps saved the United skipper was that contact with the goalkeeper’s shin was with the side of his foot rather than the studs.

Weghorst has become a popular figure with his United teammates. The Dutchman had endured a tough night until his late goal, missing several chances over the course of the first 80 minutes. It was a poacher’s finish, sweeping in a loose ball after substitute Scott McTominay’s shot was saved – the whole chance was engineered by the searing pace of Facundo Pellistri off the bench.

Pellistri tested Bravo with his own chance in stoppage time, but United will still take a three-goal aggregate lead into next week’s second leg in Spain.

GK: David de Gea – 5/10 – Almost gifted Betis a goal on the strole of half-time with another example of alarmingly poor distribution on the ground. Not massively tested.

RB: Diogo Dalot – 4/10 – Subbed at half-time after not a particularly good first half.

CB: Raphael Varane – 6/10 – Will be disappointed not to get a clean sheet but largely in control.

CB: Lisandro Martinez – 7/10 – Excellent in his distribution and won his tackles.

LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10 – A decent night but afforded some rest rest once it was 3-1.

DM: Casemiro – 7/10 – Pulled the strings from deep.

RM: Antony – 8/10 – Plenty involved in creating chances throughout and capped off his night with another excellent Europa League goals, having already done so against Barcelona in the last round.

CM: Fred – 6/10 – Flew under the radar a little compared to his teammates.

CM: Bruno Fernandes (c) – 8/10 – Had a lot to prove after the weekend and was much, much better. Found Antony in space, even if the Brazilian did most of the work for the second goal, and scored a rare header at the near post. Don’t tell Roy Keane it was reminiscent of Juventus in 1999. But arguably very lucky he wasn’t sent off for a reckless challenge on Bravo later on.

LM: Marcus Rashford – 8/10 – Looked to be using the anger from the Liverpool game to fuel his performance here. Got a 26th goal of the season.

ST: Wout Weghorst – 6/10 – Worked extremely hard without much success for 80 minutes, but persistence finally paid off late on.

Substitutes

SUB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (46′ for Dalot) – 6/10

SUB: Jadon Sancho (65′ for Rashford) – 6/10

SUB: Tyrell Malacia (65′ for Shaw) – 6/10

SUB: Facundo Pellistri (82′ for Antony) – 7/10

SUB: Scott McTominay (82′ for Fred) – 6/10

Manager

Erik ten Hag – 8/10 – Surprisingly stuck with the same XI that started against Liverpool, but it proved to be the right call and then he could rest and rotate later on.

Player of the match – Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)

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EPL

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

Published

2 hours ago

March 25, 2023

Sean Walsh

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

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.

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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EPL

Arsenal lead Rice race; Man Utd eye Ferguson

Published

2 hours ago

March 25, 2023

90min

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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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EPL

Arsenal pre-season 2023/24: Fixtures and schedule

Published

13 hours ago

March 24, 2023

Euan Burns

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.

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.

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.

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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