Tag: MCFC

Erling Haaland Fires Four Past Wolves in Six Goal Thriller

The Premier League top scorer has regained his spot once again at the top of the golden boot race with a first half hattrick against Wolves that has silenced fans saying that he is a shadow of his 22/23 performance.

With his 5 goals on Saturday, Haaland has now registered 25 goals in the Premier League and 36 goals across all competitions in 41 appearances. It has come to the back end of the season where he has really come to life after scoring his sixth hattrick for the treble winners in just two seasons at the club.

Two of Haalands goals against Wolves came from the Penalty spot with a soft one given in the 12th minute and then a blatant foul onto Jeremy Doku in added time on the first half. It took him 54 minutes of the game to score 4 goals and, as Guardiola does, he inevitably subbed him off and sent him to rest which fans are speculated caused his frustration on the subs bench.

After the game concluded, Manchester United legend, Roy Keane, had a lot to say about Haalands outburst on the bench saying he was ”behaving like a spoiled brat”.

This comes only weeks after calling Haaland a ‘‘League Two player without his goals”. It has been highly critised that he can have this statement on the post match after just scoring 4 goals and giving his team the push that they need in the title race.

He did then say in the post match interview with viaplay that he ”does not care specifically about that man” referring to Roy Keane, possibly igniting Roy Keanes comments in the punditry box at full time.

Manchester City’s next game in this neck and neck title race is against Fulham on the 11th of May on the early 12:30 kick off where they will hope to regain their lead that they have in the Premier League over Arsenal and set up for their toughest game in this back end of the season against Spurs on the 14th of May, only three days later.

Foden Brace Keeps Man City in Driving Seat For Title Push

Phil Foden, who is having the best season of his career delivers once again for Manchester City in the run in to the end of the season where City normally perform their best.

After missing last weeks Premier League games due to the FA Cup ties, Manchester City travelled to Brighton to close the gap that Arsenal gained after winning both of their games. Manchester City are now in the final games of the season which, they took control of last season breaking a 13 point gap into a Premier League winning season.

Phil Foden has taken over the role of the centre of attention for this City side this year with injuries to Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne going in and out of injuries, but Foden was the one stable person within Manchester City this year. He has now become the main person to look towards a game changing moment this year.

City took the game comfortably 4-0 with a 3-0 first half making the home side realise that their chances for Europe next year is now near impossible with even winning out the rest of their games, they would still need the 5 teams above them to drop drastic points in their battle for Europe.

The day before the Manchester City game, Liverpool got shocked by Everton in a 2-0 loss putting their title chances even further in doubt now sitting 3 points off of Arsenal at the top of the table.

Arsenal are currently sat at the top of the table, however, the top position will be short-lived as City are one point behind them with a game in hand. Meaning even a draw for Manchester City could put enough pressure onto Arsenal in this title race.

Manchester City’s next game is against Nottingham Forsest on Sunday following the North London Derby between Tottenham and Arsenal where City fans will be having their best Spurs shirts on for the huge game in the title race.

A Fatigued City Squeeze Past Chelsea in FA Cup Semi-Final

Only 2 full days after being knocked out of the Champions League in added time, Manchester City travelled to London to try and defend their title in the FA Cup against Chelsea who have been rested since last weekend.

Despite the 120 minutes in the midweek, Guardiola only made 4 changes to the side with one of them being the goalkeeper, with Pep’s reasoning being that they did it years ago against Liverpool (made changes after midweek game) and they got destroyed 3-0 so he learnt not to do that and stuck with the team that he knew would win.

You could tell from the get-go that the Manchester City players that played over 90 minutes in the midweek were very fatigued and were not playing to the standard that was expected from their side especially Rodri, who made several sloppy plays which is unusual for the superstar midfielder. Kyle Walker is another player who only just coming back from injury has played 210 minutes of football in one week. It can be shown that the fact Champions League and FA Cup being played in one week is a major flaw of the formatting.

With Bernardo Silva to be one of the players to miss a penalty in the shootout in midweek, he made redemption for himself by scoring what proved to be the only goal of the game against Chelsea to send them into the FA Cup Final where they will look to defend their title once again.

This win also makes City’s first win against Chelsea this season with the London side being able to keep the Champions to a draw both at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium.

Bernardo Silva celebrated clutching the City badge on his shirt showing his loyalty and love towards the club that has brought him so much success and the club he has given his heart to since signing in 2017.

Embed from Getty Images

Despite being by far the superior team in creating clear chances and counter-attacking off of City’s mistakes, Chelsea just were not clinical enough in front of the goal with their striker, Nicholas Jackson squandering a hat-trick of clear cut opportunities for Chelsea to take the lead in the tie against a fatigued Manchester City.

After the game concluded, Thiago Silva was seen on camera shedding tears for this loss at Wembley with the 39-year-old set to hold talks with the club over his contract and whether or not he will extend with the likely possibility being that this was his last chance at a trophy in his final year at the club.

Chelsea now put their efforts towards the Premier League where they can still fight for a spot in the Europa League against Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham.

Manchester City turn their efforts onto the Premier League title race, with the FA Cup final not taking place until the 25th of May 2024.

Real Madrid Knock Manchester City OUT Of The Champions League

After the 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu stadium, Manchester City welcomed Real Madrid to the Etihad where it was nothing but a win expected from the holders of the Champions League. However, the game went all the way to a penalty shootout where it was always favoured in the hands of the 14 time winners Real Madrid.

Manchester City came with the aim to win the game by dominating the stats however, the solid defence of Rudiger was enough to stop the goals from flowing in from the 33 shots that were taken at the Real Madrid goal. If you go off of the goals statistics only, Manchester City dominating every aspect of the game, besides the one that mattered the most.

After 90 minutes the game was tied at 1-1 with goals coming from Rodrygo for Madrid and Kevin De Bruyne for City. However, the extra time wasnt enough for either team to get a goal and Manchester City had already taken off two of their best penalty takers, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

Jude Bellingham grabs a hold of his first semi-final appearance in the Champions League with this win over the Champions where there is the highly likely possibility of Real Madrid going on to win the entire tournament with the performances that they showed in the two legs.

Rodri, for Manchester City, said in the post match interview ”To be honest, today I only saw one team” showing his frustration in the fact that Real Madrid taking the early lead, sat back and defending for the game which ended to be the right game plan known that in penalties, there were the far more superior side.

Real Madrid carry on their run in Europe and continue to impress in the Champions League with the semi-finals in their eyes against Bayern Munich who advanced ahead of Arsenal where it will be two giants of European football facing off against eachother to see who will advance into the final of the Champions League.

Manchester City now focus on their remaining two competitions where they will face off against Chelsea this weekend in the FA Cup to try and defend their title and then in the neck and neck Premier League title race where they will be hoping to get the domestic double rather than the treble which was hoped for by Bernardo Silva in the pre-game.

Title Race Goes Into The Hands of Manchester City

After a crazy weekend in the Premier League title race, Manchester City are gifted the top spot in the league after both Arsenal and Liverpool lost their games at home.

Manchester City kicked off the weekend with a 5-1 convincing victory over Luton leaving fans reassurance that they aren’t giving up on the title race with a wonderful team performance from City. Despite the 5-1 win they were still sitting 3rd in the league with fans still expecting to not reach the top spot this weekend.

However, it all went in City’s favour on the Sunday with Liverpool kicking off the day against Crystal Palace at Anfield in, what seemed like, a standard win for them. Despite that, Eze shocked Liverpool with a goal in the 14th minute which ended up being the only goal of the game and putting Liverpool’s title race in the balance with City now ahead of them in the league.

Although Liverpool dropped points, City were not to remain at the top if Arsenal were to win their game against Aston Villa who are sitting 4th in the league. City are coming off the back of a 4-1 victory over Villa which led to fans believing that they aren’t the team that got them into 4th spot anymore.

But something to keep in mind was that in the game against City, they were missing Watkins, McGinn, Martinez and Diaby who were all very influential in the game against Arsenal.

The game with Arsenal was very defensive until the the 85th minute where Leon Bailey put the ball in the back of the net to shock the home side with Ollie Watkins doubling the lead only 3 minutes later to send the Arsenal fans into a shock with a possible repeat of last years ‘bottle’ that saw them lose the league to City after being in the top spot for most of the year.

Ollie Watkins has now registered his 19th goal of the season, only 1 goal behind Erling Haaland, proving to fans that he is striker that is one of the most prolific goalscorers the league has seen this year and the past.

After the past weekend of games, City are now sat in the top spot with 73 points with Arsenal and Liverpool sat on 71 with all teams only 6 games to play left in the league where City have the easiest run-in of games of the three and Arsenal still are yet to face Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham which could see City lift the title yet again.

What to Expect From Man City vs Luton

With the title race coming down to the wire in its final 7 games in the Premier League, Manchester City face ‘must win’ games including welcoming Luton to the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

With the Etihad Stadium being something of a fortress over the last 2 years, any team to come and visit Manchester would come away with a draw in the BEST case scenario with teams such as Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal all failing to get a win at the Etihad Stadium.

The upcoming game with Real Madrid could mean that Guardiola would rest players such as Phil Foden or Ruben Dias with the strength in depth of their bench, City can afford for Jeremy Doku and Rico Lewis to step into the side for their tie this weekend.

It is reported that De Bruyne’s illness earlier in the week came from food poisoning which he seems to be recovered mostly from and will be fit for next weeks reverse fixture of the champions league tie against Real Madrid and could star in this weekends tie against Luton Town.

Manchester City go into the game against Luton 1 point off the top spot in the Premier League with Arsenal and Liverpool sitting on 71 points. The run in for Arsenal is without a doubt the hardest of the three where they have to face off against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United in games that could cause their title race could come crumbling down.

City also have to deal with the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League in the space of 8 days with games against Real Madrid and Chelsea in the cup competitions possibly leaning towards resting certain players that wouldn’t need to play the full 90 minutes against Luton.

The team that could possibly be sent out this weekend, should be weaker than usual with Ederson maybe returning to the side and Rico Lewis, Mattheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku returning to their starting XI still possibly regaining their Premier League title.

The Two Titan Teams Forced To a 3-3 Draw at The Bernabeu

Two giants in global football faced off last night at the Bernabeu with the greatest club in the world against the best team in the world in this huge champions league clash.

The game is a repeat of the last three years of Champions League football with these two teams facing each other in the knockout stages with both teams having 1 win a piece, each year one of the two teams winning the competition.

This game had the skill and talent to become a final game however, it was a quarterfinal tie with one of these great teams being taken out of the competition so quickly in the tie next week with the aggregate score being 3-3.

With the run in into the game, people were fixated on the battle between the two hot English talents, Jude Bellingham vs Phil Foden. However, the Real Madrid youngster didn’t have much success compared to the Stockport lad. Phil Foden scored an insane goal from outside of the 18-yard box rocketing into the top left of the goal putting the game level at 2-2 60 minutes in.

The game started off crazy with a 2nd minute free-kick goal from Bernardo Silva which was answered back from Real Madrid with 2 goals in 2 minutes from the 13th-15th minute tie-ing up the game until the second half where Guardiolas side retaliated with 2 incredible goals from Foden and Gvardiol putting the game in their favour. However, it was short lived with Valverde having a sweet volley shot from the edge of the box rattling into the bottom corner of Ortegas goal.

Rodri’s incredible unbeaten run continues with 66 wins in all competitions after the 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu. The reverse fixture of this game should carry on this run with the Etihad being a fortress unbeaten for over a year which could lean towards a repeat of last years tie where it was all square in Madrid and once it kicked off in Manchester, City dominated 4-0 against Real Madrid.

Manchester City will still face Luton Town on the 13th of April at 15:00 with the run up to the reverse fixture in Manchester where they cannot afford to rest too many crucial players in the title race that has fans biting their nails to see if the treble can actually be retained for two years in a row.

Man City Injury Updates Ahead Of Real Madrid Tonight

Pep Guardiola’s treble winning Manchester City return to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid who they beat 5-1 on aggregate last year, despite having a 1-1 draw in Madrid but dominating at the Etihad.

They come into this game with a different team as they are missing key parts of what kept Real Madrid at only 1 goal in the two legs. Real Madrid have also changed but they changed for the better with the addition of Jude Bellingham who has become a scoring machine in the La Liga this year.

City Injuries

Kyle Walker

Embed from Getty Images

The City captain took a hit during his International duty for England where he went to the floor and was unable to play on during friendly games. Despite it only being a friendly, Gareth Southgate put out 33 year old Walker who has been crucial to Manchester City’s defence this year.

His involvement in last years tie against Real Madrid made sure that Vinicius Jr’s speed and dribbling was kept to a minimal 1 goal. Without Walker to face, Vinicius could see a few goals to his name during this tie which would cause some serious problems for City.

Rico Lewis has been playing in the right back role in Walkers absence. Despite how good the youngster is, Vinicius Jr could cause too many problems for the 19 year old.

Nathan Ake

Embed from Getty Images

Nathan Ake joins Kyle Walker in being the only two first team players that haven’t travelled with the side to Madrid for the first leg of this huge tie. An injury that was picked up 2 weeks ago in the Arsenal vs Man City game which saw him off the pitch in the first half meant that Rico Lewis had to step into his position.

In a statement from the manager, Guardiola states that Ake and Walker aren’t close to coming back and wouldn’t be travelling with the squad to face Real Madrid.

In Ake’s absence, it has given the opportunity for Rico Lewis to start as the only natural full-back left on the City books that is un-injured and fit to play. All signs point to a Rico Lewis start for tonight’s game at the Bernabeu.

Josko Gvardiol

Embed from Getty Images

In the 4-2 win over Crystal Palace on the weekend, Pep Guardiola made a surprise substitution at half time for Josko Gvardiol taking to the bench and Manuel Akanji coming into the starting XI for the final 45 minutes.

It was later confirmed that he felt uneasy and the boss decided that it was better to not risk it and brought him to the bench to try and preserve his body for future games. The game was tied 1-1 at half time and even without the Croatian, they managed to take the game 4-2 in the end.

Despite being not fully ready, he has travelled with the squad to Madrid but it is doubtful that he will be a starter for the game with the Manchester City defence being 3 men down that are all usual starters for Pep’s side this year.

Ederson

Embed from Getty Images

Ederson, after taking a hit during the game against Liverpool nearly a month ago, is now fit for selection for the Real Madrid game tonight. However, despite him being back to fit and ready for selection.

”Ederson comes back from being injured and feels good, I think. So I have to decide if a lack of rhythm. But we’re really pleased from Stefan, an exceptional keeper”

Says Pep Guardiola in post press conference after 4-2 win over Crystal Palace.

Ortega has been exceptional in goal for the treble winners in Edersons absence and City fans are slowing realising that Ortega has the capability to become a starter for a world class team with his talents and composure.

It is expected that Manchester City will come into the game with a chip on their shoulder losing their captain and 3 of their starting 4 defenders, however, the Citizens are well known for their strength in depth with the talent that they have in their academy and they reverse rosters such as Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji and John Stones returning from his injury just in time for the Real Madrid tie.

Phenomenal Phil Scores Hat-trick Against Struggling Villa

An incredible performance from ‘the Stockport Iniesta’ gives Manchester City the hope of keeping their title race alive in 4-1 victory over Aston Villa. Foden registers his second hat-trick of the season after his hat-trick against Brentford earlier this year.

Pep Guardiola sent out a team that was considerably weaker than usual with Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and John Stones allowed to rest on the bench, assuming that they will be very important for the tie against Real Madrid on the 9th of April.

After his performance last night, Phil Foden has starting receiving praise once again for his talents shining whilst the superstars De Bruyne and Haaland were resting on the bench. He stepped up for the side and provided three crucial goals that set the game apart after being tied 1-1 after 20 minutes with the game looking very cagey.

In the post match interview, Pep Guardiola had nothing but praise for the youngster with his exhilarating performance in this crucial game;

“He’s still open-minded and he still has to understand some parts of the game, especially attention as he is sometimes distracted in the defensive parts. But his work ethic is unbelievable. He is so special, especially when he is playing in that central position.” – He told BBC Sport.

Fodens number 10 performances this season have grabbed him two hattricks and 10 assists across all competitions giving Gareth Southgate a very simple decision to make for the Euro’s. Start Foden in the 10 role for his country and good things will follow.

Embed from Getty Images

His teammates that are known for the goals and assists were celebrating with him from the bench after his smart free-kick which sent the Aston Villa keeper, Olsen, stuck in the mud with no chance of reacting to the quick free-kick.

With the win secured and Foden up to 31 G/A across all competitions this season, Manchester City look towards the weekend where they play Crystal Palace where, once again, they cant afford to slip up if they want to win the Premier League where they are leaving hope in the hands of their neighbours, Manchester United.

How City Should Line Up Against Aston Villa Tonight

Today’s game against Aston Villa is crucial for Pep Guardiola and his team staying in the title race. After the 0-0 draw against Arsenal on the weekend, City trail the top spot by 3 points, they cannot afford to drop any points in their upcoming games.

After their shocking performance in the reverse fixture earlier in the season where the treble winners only registered 2 shots in the 90 minutes, their availability in players has changed with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne are officially available for picking which they weren’t earlier in the season.

The positive for Manchester City is that the game is set at the Etihad Stadium with Rodri returning to the lineup which only sets up for success after 39 games unbeaten at the Etihad and now 63 matches unbeaten for Rodri.

With certain injuries still causing harm to the full XI, it is expected that City will lineup with a weaker side than what they would hope for in the run in to the end of the season.

Lineup Prediction

With the injuries to Kyle Walker and John Stones, it is expected that Rico Lewis will slot into the right back position where he plays the inverted right back role perfectly for the team allowing the defenders to just focus on defending.

The pace of Jeremy Doku and the close control dribbling of Jack Grealish will not be as effective as usual against this set defence of Villa since the introduction of Pau Torres and Eric Konsa in their back line this season.

Injuries

Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and John Stones were marked out of the Arsenal tie due to injury, with Ake’s injury coming during the game between the title contenders possibly leaving him out of contention for selection as the tie between City and Real Madrid is coming up soon which is very crucial to their chances of a double treble.

The loss of Kyle Walker could cause problems for City as the main striking force in Villa’s attack is their burning pace between Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey. With Ollie Watkins picking up an injury in their 2-0 victory over Wolves, their scoring prowess has taken a hit and can give Manchester City some hope pre-game.

The game is set to play at 20:15 this evening streamed on Sky Sports from the Etihad Stadium. The game is crucial for Manchester City as a MUST-WIN game.