Untung99

Arsenal travel to Manchester City on Sunday and the key battle once again looks like the Gunners’ defensive duo against City’s prolific Norwegian The final whistle had been blown but that didn’t stop Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhães. Having battled it out for 90 minutes during March’s 0-0 draw at the Etihad between Manchester City and Arsenal, the Brazilian defender was in no mood to back down. As their teammates shook hands, Gabriel confronted Haaland, whose claim for a late penalty had been waved away by the referee, Anthony Taylor. Pep Guardiola was first on the scene to act as peacemaker as temperatures simmered, pushing the Norwegian striker away before the two players eventually embraced. “Good game,” said Haaland. Continue reading...

* Uruguayan yet to start under new manager * Coaches at club working on striker’s positioning Arne Slot has backed Darwin Núñez to be influential at Liverpool despite not starting him in the first five matches of his tenure. The Uruguayan, who has scored once in 17 club appearances since mid-March, has come off the bench in the past four games. Núñez will likely be a substitute again for the visit of Bournemouth on Saturday, with Slot preferring different combinations for his front three. Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Díaz started the first four Premier League games but Cody Gakpo took his chance at San Siro after replacing the Colombian in the starting lineup. Victory in Italy helped Liverpool bounce back from defeat by Nottingham Forest last Saturday but Slot could be without Alisson, who has a tight hamstring. Continue reading...

Manchester City's manager, Pep Guardiola, and his Chelsea counterpart, Enzo Maresca, have backed players considering strike action over workload, with Guardiola saying 'only the players have the power to do it'. Maresca said the industry doesn't 'protect' players and that the amount of games they are made to play in a season is 'too much'. The comments come in the context of players considering taking strike action over their workload. On Tuesday, the City midfielder Rodri said players are close to striking over the increased number of games, with the Spaniard believing that 40-50 matches a season is the optimum amount. Players face at least an extra two matches in this season’s Champions League and the campaign is set to end for 12 European clubs with Fifa’s new 32-team Club World Cup in the United States. * La Liga chief Tebas hopes a players’ strike would kill Fifa’s Club World Cup * Manchester City’s Rodri warns players close to striking

New-look side still lack an identity in the post-Moyes era and need to be sharper and more fluent at both ends The style revolution is moving slowly. West Ham look no less dowdy after swapping David Moyes for Julen Lopetegui, who has much to prove after beginning his new job by producing football surprisingly lacking in inspiration, guile, cohesion, energy and defensive organisation. It has not been easy to work out what Lopetegui has been trying to do so far. There has been talk of laying on more entertainment and there have been flashes here and there. Mohammed Kudus had an exciting spell during the second half of West Ham’s defeat by Aston Villa on the opening weekend and there was also a burst of assertive play against Manchester City, who had to fight hard for a 3-1 win. Continue reading...

There’s a Scottish takeover in Vancouver, Christian Benteke continues to lead the way in DC and slapstick defending could cost LAFC a shot at a championship Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. I’m convinced something similar goes for CF Montréal owner Joey Saputo, who clearly has beef with his own team given his near-total disregard for his roster. Now, as a reminder, these aren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things. Continue reading...

* Penalty save earned Arsenal Champions League draw * ‘He’s been exceptional. You need that at this level’ Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal were far from their best against Atalanta but praised David Raya for his brilliant double save from Mateo Retegui’s second-half penalty that rescued a point in their opening Champions League match. The Spaniard produced the game’s standout moment three minutes into the second half after first consulting with the Arsenal goalkeeping coach, Iñaki Caña, before facing the penalty. But while Arteta said he was pleased with the impact Raya has made since signing from Brentford last season, he was adamant that Arsenal must improve for Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City. Continue reading...