Anthony Martial thinks Manchester United have plenty of reason for optimism ahead of the second half of the season, praising the great dynamic instilled by Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils have enjoyed something of a resurgence under the Dutchman following a dismal 2021-22 campaign, mounting a charge for the top four once again.
With a quarter-final berth in the EFL Cup secured, United next face Nottingham Forest on Tuesday as they resume their Premier League season following the break for the World Cup in Qatar.
Martial, who has been limited by injury so far but nevertheless has picked up four goals in eight games, certainly believes there is cause to believe the club can succeed this term under Ten Hag.
Why not? he told MUTV. We ve [got] a very good team o…
Dayot Upamecano has claimed he turned down an opportunity to join Manchester United as a teenager because Ralf Rangnick presented such a persuasive alternative.
The defender, who will leave RB Leipzig to join Bayern Munich at the end of this season, was targeted by United as a teenage prospect when he was with French club Valenciennes.
He elected to turn down United and move to Austrian club Salzburg, Upamecano says, after being wowed by Rangnick s precise vision for his career.
At the time, Rangnick was sporting director for Salzburg and Leipzig, with both clubs part of the Red Bull empire, and talking Upamecano into a move proved one of many successes he achieved in that role.
United had tempted the youngster, however, and Upamecano told The Athletic: I…
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed Danilo suffered a broken ankle during their 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on the opening matchday of the Premier League season.
The 23-year-old sustained the injury just minutes into the new campaign, falling awkwardly following a challenge involving Antoine Semenyo, who scored an 86th-minute equaliser for Bournemouth after Chris Wood put Forest 1-0 up.
The midfielder was treated by medical staff for over eight minutes and Nuno has now confirmed the severity of his injury, saying he will be a big miss for his side.
It was a horrible moment for everybody. It’s serious, we’re going to miss him, not only on the pitch, Nuno said after the game.
“He’s a wonderful boy. He’s always smiling, always w…
Chelsea have completed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, seeing the forward reunite with his former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel s side have been in the market for attacking reinforcements since allowing Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to return to their respective former clubs, Inter and RB Leipzig, after disappointing spells in west London.
Aubameyang enjoyed a successful half-season in LaLiga after leaving Arsenal in January, scoring 11 goals in 17 league appearances for Barca last term – a tally only bettered by Memphis Depay (12 goals in 28 games).
That form has persuaded Chelsea to agree a deal worth £10.3million (€12m) for the striker, who has signed a two-year contract with the Blues.
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Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane believes departing Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta deserved to win the Ballon d Or during his career.
Iniesta confirmed on Friday that he will be leave Barca at the end of the season, bringing to an end his long and successful association with the Catalan club.
The midfielder is on course to win the LaLiga title for a ninth time in his swansong campaign, having already won a sixth Copa del Rey last week, while he has also lifted the Champions League trophy four times while at Barca.
Yet Zidane believes it is Iniesta s success with Spain most notably his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against Netherlands that should have led to him scooping the game s biggest individual honour.
The two or three times that I coinc…
Liverpool are interested in signing Quinten Timber from Feyenoord, according to . The report has claimed that Liverpool have been scouting the 22-year-old Dutch midfielder and has been impressed by him.
Quinten Timber is the twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, who moved to the Gunners in the summer transfer window. The 22-year-old midfielder has been on the books of Feyenoord since 2022 and has established himself as one of the best young players in his position. Timber has scored one goal and given three assists in seven Eredivisie matches for Feyenoord so far this season. The youngster has also played twice in the UEFA Champions League this campaign.
Liverpool are fourth in the Premier League table at the moment with 16 points from seven matches, two poin…
Prediction: Hungary to win 2-1
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Hungary and Bulgaria will face each other in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group G next week. The match between the Magyars and the Lions will be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time next Monday.
Hungary
Hungary are one of the biggest and most well-known footballing nations in Europe. They finished runners-up at the 1938 and the 1954 FIFA World Cup and ended up third at the UEFA European Championship in 1964. Hungary, though, have not much of note in recent years. They have not qualified for the World Cup finals since 1986 and could not get past the group stage at the 2020 European Championship finals.
The Magyars, though, will fancy their cha…
Argentina will hope to belatedly get their Copa America campaign up and running when they face Paraguay in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday.
Lionel Scaloni s men fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Colombia in their Group B opener in Salvador at the weekend, with Lionel Messi again coming for criticism after what was perceived by many as another sub-par display on the international stage.
Five-time Ballon d Or winner Messi will be hoping to get Argentina firing at the Mineirao against a Paraguay side that were held to a 2-2 draw by Qatar in their opening match.
Nicolas Burdisso, who played with Messi at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, remains confident the Barcelona superstar can lead Argentina to their first senior title since 1993.
He s a leader who asks …
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte lauded the fantastic Luis Enrique, the man linked as his potential replacement at Stamford Bridge.
Conte is under increasing pressure ahead of his side hosting West Brom in the Premier League on Monday.
Luis Enrique, who went up against Conte s Juventus while at Roma, has been linked as a possible replacement.
Despite that, Conte – whose team are fifth in the table – talked up the former Barcelona coach.
We played against each other and he s a really good person. I have great admiration for Luis Enrique and he is a fantastic coach, he said.
He reached his targets with Barcelona, and also with Roma, you could see a well-organised team. I can speak about him very well, as a person and a coach.
Also lin…
Atletico Madrid had 25 attempts at goal but could not find the breakthrough as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Espanyol in LaLiga on Wednesday.
Espanyol are the only team yet to score in LaLiga and they showed no signs of breaking their duck in a one-sided contest at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano.
Yet despite mustering 2.71 expected goals (xG), Atleti were unable to blow the door down.
New signings Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth came close to opening the scoring in the first half, while Rodrigo Riquelme had two goals chalked off for offside, the first after a lengthy VAR check and the second in added time.
13 have made 13 shots vs Espanyol in the first half, more than any other team without scoring at the half time in the Top 5 European Leagues thi…