EPL

Player ratings as Sancho equaliser rescues Red Devils

Published

2 months ago

February 8, 2023

Manchester United had Jadon Sancho’s first Premier League goal since 1 September to thank for sparing their blushes in a 2-2 comeback draw against manager-less Leeds at Old Trafford.

Leeds made an unexpected dream start when Wilfried Gnonto silenced the Old Trafford crowd inside the opening minute, before a Raphael Varane own goal made it 2-0. But Marcus Rashford continued his outstanding form, before Sancho coolly slotted home

Gnonto’s early strike was impressive. A combination of Tyler Adams and Pascal Struijk won possession from Bruno Fernandes in the hosts’ half, with the goalscorer playing a sharp one-two with Patrick Bamford to manoeuvre the ball infrom the left flank before firing low.

Leeds even threatened to double their lead not long after when only David de Gea’s fingertips denied Pascal Struijk a headed goal at the far post.

Erik ten Hag’s side struggled to hit the target in the opening stages, with Marcel Sabitzer and Alejandro Garnacho both narrowly missing from decent positions. When Garnacho did hit the target midway through the first half, Leeds had a goal-line block from Maximilian Wober to thank after the United teenager rounded Illan Meslier and sat down Luke Ayling.

Having earlier had a few sighters, Sabitzer struck from 25 yards to force Meslier into a top save as United continued to up the pressure as the first half progressed.

Gnonto remained a thorn in the side, however, and his eyes lit up when the ball sat up kindly for him. But a crunching block tackle from Lisandro Martinez stopped the winger in his tracks.

Leeds started the second half how they had begun the first and extended the lead in not dissimilar fashion to the opening goal. As a move threatened to break down and United attempted to counter, Leeds players swarmed Garnacho, with Jack Harrison getting a foot in and then Robin Koch sliding in Gnonto on the left. He moved the ball on to Crysencio Summerville, whose attempt at a low cross ended up being inadvertently turned in by Varane.

United got back into it moments after Ten Hag had made changes form the bench and switched things around. Making his Premier League debut, Facundo Pellistri was involved in chasing a seemingly lost cause, laying back to Dalot to cross. Rashford leapt highest in the middle.

Leeds still posed a danger, though, when Brenden Aaronson struck the base of the post with a curling free-kick. Yet the next goal was to be the equaliser rather than one to extend the lead any futher. This time, it came from United’s left, with Luke Shaw bursting forward and the ball eventually falling nicely for Sancho to steer into the far bottom corner.

Varane almost made up for his own goal with a powerful header that Meslier was equal to, while the French goalkeeper also collected the ball under pressure as Rashford attempted to flick a Bruno Fernandes cross goalward from close range and Leeds held on.

GK: David de Gea – 5/10 – Needed to make a smart early save but didn’t always seem the most convincing display overall.

RB: Diogo Dalot – 7/10 – Back in for the unwell Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Got forward much better in the second half and assisted as Rashford pulled the first goal back.

CB: Raphael Varane – 6/10 – Scored an own goal but was otherwise fairly solid.

CB: Lisandro Martinez – 6/10 – Didn’t shy away from the physical battle.

LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10 – Had more space to play in once Garnacho went off and allowed him to get forward to make Sancho’s equaliser.

CM: Marcel Sabitzer – 6/10 – Handed a full United debut in place of Casemiro. Neat enough on the ball for the most part but something was lacking.

CM: Fred – 5/10 – Suddenly looked more like his old inconsistent self without his fellow countryman alongside him. Squandered a few late shooting chances.

RM: Marcus Rashford – 8/10 – Less effective on the right than his usual role on the left. Made his mark with a towering header after going into the ‘number nine’ position. Led by example in the second half as he carried his team to the draw.

AM: Bruno Fernandes (c) – 7/10 – Put in the hard work and still made chances, having improved significantly in the second half.

LM: Alejandro Garnacho – 7/10 – Played with huge confidence. Some things worked, some didn’t.

ST: Wout Weghorst – 5/10 – A thankless task occupying the Leeds centre-backs and barely even saw the ball.

Substitutes

SUB: Jadon Sancho (59′ for Weghorst) – 8/10

SUB: Facundo Pellistri (59′ for Garnacho) – 7/10

SUB: Tyrell Malacia (82′ for Dalot) – 6/10

SUB: Victor Lindelof (82 for Sabitzer) – 6/10

Manager

Erik ten Hag – 7/10 – Will have been disappointed by the slow start he witnessed. Switching things around at the hour mark brought his team back from the dead.

GK: Illan Meslier – 8/10 – Made a few decent saves that ultimately secured a point.

RB: Luke Ayling (c) – 6/10 – Just about kept Garnacho under wraps but was later off the pace wehn United equalised down his side. Looked exhausted by the end.

CB: Robin Koch – 6/10 – Made the second Leeds goal with vision to play the ball into space out wide. On his heels when leaping with Rashford when United scored their first.

CB: Maximilian Wober – 6/10 – Made a vital goal-line block at 1-0 that would have brough United back into it an awful lot sooner.

LB: Pascal Struijk – 7/10 – Instrumental in making the early goal possible. Later needed lengthy treatment after taking a powerful shot from Rashford full in the face and couldn’t continue.

CM: Tyler Adams – 7/10 – Battled hard with plenty of energy.

CM: Weston McKennie – 7/10 – Sloppy in possession but better on the defensive side of the ball.

RM: Luis Sinisterra – N/A – Lasted only eight minutes due to injury.

AM: Jack Harrison – 6/10 – Wasteful in good areas more than once, but helped make the second goal by nicking the ball off Garnacho.

LM: Wilfried Gnonto – 8/10 – Gave Leeds a dream start with a really well-taken goal, engineering the opportunity himself. Remained a threat and involved in the second goal too.

ST: Patrick Bamford – 7/10 – Linked up well with Gnonto for the breakthrough goal.

Substitutes

SUB: Crysencio Summerville (8′ for Sinisterra) – 6/10

SUB: Junior Firpo (23′ for Struijk) – 6/10

SUB: Brenden Aaronson (64′ for Harrison) – 7/10

SUB: Georginio Rutter (64′ for Bamford) – 6/10

SUB: Sam Greenwood (90′ for McKennie) – N/A

SUB: Mateo Joseph (90′ for Gnonto) – N/A

Manager

Michael Skubala – 8/10 – Thrust into the hotseat following Marsch’s dismissal and forced into two first half changes due to injury. But injected the necessary energy and tempo into the performance.

Player of the match – Marcus Rashford (Man Utd)

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EPL

Europa League final 2023 tickets: Prices for Budapest decider & where to buy

Published

5 hours ago

March 29, 2023

James Cormack

The Europa League final may not be a bucket list event that, say, the Champions League or World Cup finals are, but UEFA’s secondary club competition will mean a whole lot to those supporters whose sides progress into the showpiece event.

Just eight teams remain in this season’s iteration of the competition with several European behemoths of yesteryear still going strong. Manchester United, Juventus, and AS Roma sit among the favourites to at least reach the final in Budapest.

While the final at the Puskas Arena is still some time away yet, tickets for the event are set to go on sale soon.

Here’s everything you need to know about purchasing tickets for the 2023 Europa League final

There’s little information to access regarding 2023 Europa League final tickets right now, with more details expected to be released later this month.

Thus, exact ticket prices for the final in Budapest are not yet known. These were the prices for last season’s final between Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville:

A release date has not yet been revealed for 2023 Europa League final tickets. In 2022, tickets went on general sale on 20 April.

Supporters will be able to purchase 2023 Europa League final tickets via UEFA’s ticket portal once they go on general sale.

There are three different hospitality packages for the 2023 Europa League final, but all are sold out on UEFA’s website.

The most expensive of these packages – Private Suite Gold – costs €890 per person. UEFA’s Private Suite Silver package is €200 cheaper at €690, with the main difference between these two options being where the suites are located. Silver suites are behind the goal, while gold suites are in the main or opposite stand.

Customers in both suites will also receive a match ball.

The Club package also costs €690 per person which grants access to UEFA’s Sky Club lounge.

All packages include prolonged hospitality service before and after the match, world-class catering, a live TV feed, a parking pass, and, most importantly, a match programme.

The 2022/23 Europa League final is scheduled for 31 May and will be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

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EPL

Tottenham director Fabio Paratici banned from football worldwide by FIFA

Published

6 hours ago

March 29, 2023

Grey Whitebloom

Tottenham managing director of football Fabio Paratici has been banned from football worldwide after FIFA extended the punishment imposed in Italy following his involvement in Juventus’ penalised accounting practices.

In January, the Italian giants suffered a shock 15-point deduction after the club was deemed to have inflated player transfer values in swap deals among other financial offences.

Paratici joined the Juventus hierarchy in 2010 and was the club’s sporting director between November 2018 and the summer of 2021, before he took up a similar role at Tottenham. The investigation into Juve’s accounts scrutinised transactions between 2019 and 2021 – when Paratici was at the heart of the club’s dealings.

At the start of the year, Paratici was one of several former Juventus board members that were banned from football following the conclusion of the investigation by the Italian Football Federation. Initially, Paratici was handed a 30-month ban from just Italian football, although the threat of extending the scope of that punishment internationally always loomed.

On Wednesday, FIFA released a statement confirming that they had indeed taken up that option, extending the ban handed out to Paratici and the other Juventus board members – including former owner Andrea Agnelli – worldwide.

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EPL

Sir Alex Ferguson & Arsene Wenger inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame

Published

7 hours ago

March 29, 2023

Sean Walsh

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have become the first managers to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

The duo won 16 Premier League titles between them across respective long-term spells with Manchester United and Arsenal.

With 13 of those championships, Ferguson is the most decorated manager in the history of the competition. He is the only coach to have won the Premier League three times in a row, doing so on two different occasions.

Ferguson said: “I’m truly delighted to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. It’s an honour when you receive recognition like this. However, it’s not just about me as a person. It’s about the job at Manchester United and the bond we had over many years, so I’m also proud for the club, the staff and my players.

“My job was to send the fans home happy. United’s history and my own expectations were the things that drove me, and I then had to try and develop all my players with the same expectations and make sure we could go out and achieve them.

“I feel Arsene is a very worthy inductee as he transformed Arsenal Football Club fantastically. They became a tough team to compete with and we both wanted to win, which motivated us further. Through the years since retirement, we’d go for dinner together in a little restaurant he knows well in Switzerland. He is a really interesting man and I enjoy his company, but it is still my job to pick the wine!”

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Wenger arrived in England in 1996 as one of the Premier League’s first foreign coaches, and quickly proved sceptics wrong, transforming Arsenal into title winners and changing English football’s culture with his scouting and dietary expertise.

The Frenchman won three Premier League titles with Arsenal, including an unbeaten ‘Invincibles’ season in 2003/04.

Wenger said: “I am very grateful to have been selected for the Premier League Hall of Fame. We always wanted to give something special to the fans and when you have players capable of remarkable things, the most important thing for me is the obligation of perfection.

“I’d like to be known as someone who loved Arsenal, who respected the values of the club and left it in a position where it can grow and become even bigger.

“To share this with Sir Alex is a great honour for me. It’s like two boxers, you fight like mad and go the distance together. At the end of the day, you have respect and it will be a great opportunity to meet with him, share a good bottle of wine and memories of our old battles.”

In addition to Ferguson and Wenger, there are 16 other inductees in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry were the first two people inducted when the Hall of Fame was created in 2021. They were followed later that year by Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.

In 2022, Wayne Rooney, Patrick Vieira, Sergio Aguero, Didier Drogba, Vincent Kompany, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes and Ian Wright were inducted.

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