Premier League

BRUNO FERNANDES plays football “like it’s 20 years ago”, claims Manchester United legend Gary Neville.The Portuguese skippered the Red Devils as they drew 2-2 with Tottenham last weekend.
Bruno Fernandes has scored just three Prem goals this seasonCredit: Getty
Gary Neville had his say on Fernandes’ style of playCredit: Getty
Neville, 48, watched the game at Old Trafford in his role as a pundit for Sky Sports.
Reflecting on Fernandes’ performance while appearing on the Stick to Football podcast, the former full-back revealed the flaw he sees in his game.
He said: “Any team that is anything at all, you see repeated pass patterns and combinations.
“I think about Bruno Fernandes, and I watched him on Sunday, he’s obviously the best player in terms of talent – but he’s everywhere.
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“He must be being told to go and do what he wants. I don’t think Bruno Fernandes is that type of guy.
“If, for Pep Guardiola, a player plays out of position for a minute or two, he’s on the sideline saying, ‘Get back into your position’.
“And I think Ten Hag is giving him the freedom to go everywhere, and actually that means you can never have a combination or a pattern – when you’ve got your main midfield player everywhere on the pitch.
“It’s almost like 20 years ago, where your No10 was given licence to play.
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“That’s gone now, you have to fit within a combination and pattern system and attacking shape, and that’s the bit that I think Bruno is told he must be able to go everywhere.
“I never see Ten Hag going up to him and telling him to get back into position.”
Man Utd have slumped to seventh in the Premier League, eight points off the top four – and are ten worse off than there were this time last season.
Fernandes, 29, has scored just three goals in 20 Prem appearances this term, adding a further trio of assists.
Neville’s fellow pundit Jamie Carragher also likened United’s football to 20 years ago – potentially pointing the finger at a member of their coaching staff.
He asked: “Do you think Steve McClaren is an influence [to the style of Manchester United’s play]?
“The reason I say that is because when you talk about the style of play, it’s probably the style of play that we all played.
“Sometimes you might play in Europe, counterattacking, or you play a small team at home, and you know you are going to have lots of the ball. United feel like it’s football from our day, 20 years ago.”
Roy Keane, meanwhile, took a swipe at boss Erik ten Hag.
The Irishman, 52, said: “Sometimes the team can reflect the attitude of the manager.
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“You see [Jürgen] Klopp up and at them, but you do listen to the Manchester United manager, and you think, I just want to see a bit more personality from him and the team sometimes reflect that.”
Man Utd will return to action on January 28 when they travel to League Two Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round. More

ARSENAL and Manchester United are among the worst teams in the Premier League compared with last season’s points totals at this stage of the campaign.Mikel Arteta’s men sat top of the table with 50 points after 20 matches during the 2022/23 season.
Manchester United had ten more points this time last seasonCredit: AFP
Liverpool have improved their points tally the most compared with last season, while Newcastle are the worst off
But after the same number of games this term, Arsenal have collected ten points fewer and are languishing down in fourth place.
The significant drop off is the joint-second worst in the league of the 17 teams in question – with promoted clubs Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton not included.
Newcastle are the only team with a more sizeable reduction in points compared with last season.
Eddie Howe’s side were on 40 after 20 games 12 months ago, but are now on just 29.
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Like Arsenal, Man Utd are also ten points worse off as they have just 32 after 21 matches.
And it is Erik ten Hag’s rivals Liverpool that come out joint-top when using the comparative metric.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are top of the Premier League table and 16 points better than they were this time last season when they ended up finishing fifth.
They are joined by West Ham who were fighting relegation in January 2023, but now sit sixth.
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Aston Villa and Wolves are the only other teams to have improved by ten points or more at this stage, while Bournemouth and Tottenham have also added to last season’s tallies.
But perhaps the most shocking revelation is that Chelsea are better off than they were under Graham Potter 12 months ago.
Mauricio Pochettino has picked up 31 points, one more than the Blues had last season.
Yet they are still down in ninth place, nine points adrift of the top four.
Arsenal are a long way off where they were at this stage in the 2022/23 campaignCredit: Reuters
Surprisingly, Chelsea have marginally improved compared with last seasonCredit: Alamy More

ARSENAL fans will be fuming with Gary Neville after hearing who the Manchester United icon thinks will finish above them this season.Neville made a bold top-four Premier League prediction and revealed Tottenham will leapfrog the Gunners.
Gary Neville has made a bold top-four Premier League prediction that will upset Arsenal fansCredit: Getty
The Man Utd legend revealed that Tottenham will finish above the Gunners this seasonCredit: Alamy
The pundit reckons Arsenal and Liverpool need to watch out for Ange Postecoglou’s squad.
Jurgen Klopp’s side top the table with Manchester City in second.
But after Spurs’ 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Sunday the Red Devils legend is convinced they will be the eventual runners-up.
He said on his podcast Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet: “I made a statement that I think Tottenham will finish second this season.
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“With the five players they have coming back – Dejan Kulusevski, Heung-min Son, James Maddison, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
“If they kept them fit, and with the run they’ve got, they could push Arsenal and Liverpool to second place. Is that a mad statement?”
Assuming City will take the title, Tottenham will push London rivals Arsenal as well as Liverpool and Aston Villa down the table, according to Neville.
He continued: “I think Tottenham are in a position they could push and dismantle Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Arsenal – they could. It’s not a ridiculous statement!”
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Spurs have been without at least four key players since the 4-1 home defeat by Chelsea in November.
That thrilling London derby saw Spurs have Cristian Romeroi and Destiny Udogie sent off, with James Maddison and Micky van de Ven picking up long-term injuries.
Spurs will get key men back when Afcon and the Asian Cup end.
This will give them a boost – and could see them leap ahead of Arsenal. More

APRIL 27, 2014 is a date Liverpool fans will never forget – especially former Reds midfielder Steven Gerrard.While many blame Gerrard for his slip that led to Chelsea’s Demba Ba’s notorious goal – which cost Liverpool the title – Jamie Carragher has pointed the fingers at goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Jamie Carragher has blamed Simon Mignolet for Demba Ba’s notorious goal in 2014Credit: Getty
Steven Gerrard’s slip allowed Chelsea’s Ba to steal the ball and scoreCredit: Sky Sports
Carragher revealed Mignolet should have done more in the one-to-one situationCredit: Mark Robinson – The Sun
While Gerrard’s fall has stuck with fans Liverpool icon Carragher insists it was the shot-stopper Mignolet who was at fault.
He revealed the Belgian goalkeeper should have done more in the one-to-one situation in Gary Neville’s Stick to Football podcast brought to you by Sky Bet.
Carragher said: “I still blame Simon Mignolet for that goal with Demba Ba against Liverpool (0-2 Chelsea on 27th April 2014).
“He was so straight going through on goal, there was nowhere he could put it except through the keeper’s legs.
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“He was running so straight on goal that I think it was difficult to score and there was nowhere else he could go.”
Under Brendan Rodgers’ management Liverpool were inches away from ending a 24-year wait for what would have been a 19th league title.
His side were thriving through an 11-game winning streak before they took on the Blues at Anfield.
A victory against Jose Mourinho’s former side would have lined them up for Premier League glory.
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But Gerrard who gave the ball away in the first half left Ba to run clear with the ball to put Chelsea 1-0 ahead.
The Special One was not done there as Mourinho’s side secured a 2-0 win.
And while Carragher blames Mignolet its Gerrard who will be tainted with the memories forever.
The 2013-14 season ended with the Reds finishing second and Gerrard revealed in his autobiography “My Story” that he was filled with sadness after the game.
He said: “I sat in the back of the car and felt the tears rolling down my face. I hadn’t cried for years but, on the way home, I couldn’t stop.
“The tears kept coming. I can’t even tell you if the streets were thick with traffic or as empty as I was on the inside. It was killing me.”
Gerrard would leave Liverpool the following year having won every honour possible except the Premier League title. More

CHELSEA are on a £170million collision course with two of their most pricey and unsettled stars this summer.A week of dramatic twists has thrown the futures of on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku and keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga up in the air.
Jose Mourinho was sacked by Roma this week after two-and-a-half years in chargeCredit: Rex
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku have both spent this season away from Chelsea on loanCredit: Getty
Jose Mourinho’s sacking as Roma manager is set to trigger a domino effect that will tumble all the way from Italy’s capital to Stamford Bridge.
The Special One has worked   with  Lukaku three times in his career and seems to be the only boss who still has faith in the £97.5m Belgian ace.
A fee of around £37m was privately agreed between the Blues and Roma for a permanent deal at the end of the season.
But with Daniele De Rossi taking over the Serie A side, that agreement is in jeopardy — even though Lukaku has scored 14 goals for Roma this season.
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Lukaku, 30, is due back in London at the end of the campaign and will still have two more years left on his Blues contract.
It is a similar story for Kepa, who had hoped to make his loan move to Real Madrid a permanent one come June.
He even went public with his wish to stay in Spain beyond the summer.
SunSport revealed last week that Kepa, who cost Chelsea a world-record £72m for a keeper four and a half years ago, fears he will be shipped back to England after slipping down the pecking order under Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
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Lukaku’s Serie A stats this season

Kepa, 29, will still have 12 months left on his Chelsea contract.
In his absence, the Blues have bought two goalkeepers to replace him, making it crowded between the sticks.
Between them, Kepa and Lukaku earn around £500,000 a week — posing a major financial headache for Chelsea’s chairman Todd Boehly and his sidekick Behdad Eghbali.

The pressure will be on sporting director Paul Winstanley to find alternative teams for both men next season because neither wants to come back.
Winstanley is Chelsea’s transfer specialist and heads up a committee that includes co-director Lawrence Stewart, Boehly, Eghbali and head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The club is mindful that neither man wants to come back and play for Chelsea and they are also surplus to requirements.
There will be a need to get them off the wage bill to help stay within financial fair play limits.
Mourinho coached Lukaku at Chelsea, Manchester United and, most recently, at Roma.
Lukaku has not been at Chelsea for more than 18 months — spending the season before last on loan at Inter Milan.
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He was shipped out after publicly criticising then-Blues boss Thomas Tuchel during an unauthorised interview with Italian TV.
Ironically, Chelsea are craving a goalscoring striker, with Nicolas Jackson at the Africa Cup of Nations, Christopher Nkunku injured and Armando Broja still regaining sharpness following a long-term knee injury. More