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Tag: Man City

  • EPL: Gordon penalty denies Man City victory at Newcastle

    EPL: Gordon penalty denies Man City victory at Newcastle

    Anthony Gordon’s second-half penalty earned Newcastle a point as Manchester City were held to a draw at St James’ Park.

    City defender Josko Gvardiol had put the visitors ahead after 35 minutes when he finished smartly from Jack Grealish’s lay-off.

    However, while Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis combined well in covering for the influential Rodri, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, City eventually buckled during Newcastle’s best spell of the game just after the break.

    When Bruno Guimaraes played an excellent pass through the City defence, Kyle Walker played Gordon onside and the England forward went down under Ederson’s challenge. Ederson was booked and Gordon kept his cool to send the Brazilian the wrong way from the spot.

    Read Also: Man City confirm Rodri has injured knee ligament

    Pep Guardiola’s side should have been further ahead at the break but Ilkay Gundogan fluffed his attempted chip after Newcastle keeper Nick Pope had presented a clearance straight to City when he was a long way out of his goal.

    Both sides tried to force a winner, with Newcastle substitute Sean Longstaff going close for the hosts and Bernardo Silva testing Nick Pope deep in stoppage time.

    The Magpies remain with only one win in 34 top-flight meetings with City, who have have now dropped four points in the space of a week after their 100% start to the campaign.

    BBC

  • EPL: Rodri-less Man City face stiff test  at Newcastle 

    EPL: Rodri-less Man City face stiff test  at Newcastle 

     Premier League leaders Manchester City will have a Rodri-shaped hole in their midfield at Newcastle United tomorrow with their title rivals hoping to see early evidence that the Spaniard’s absence will leave the champions vulnerable.

    Without giving a definite time frame on Rodri’s recovery, champion City confirmed that the 28-year-old midfield anchor sustained ligament damage in his right knee during last Sunday’s tumultuous 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal.

    If, as seems certain, Rodri faces several months on the sidelines, City manager Pep Guardiola will need to find a solution to a problem that has so far proved beyond even him.

    Statistically Guardiola’s City are a far more formidable unit with Rodri in the side.

    All three of City’s Premier League defeats last season came with Rodri missing and tellingly since he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2019, City have lost seven of the 21 Premier League games in which he did not feature — a loss rate of 33%.

    With Rodri, who has played 174 Premier League games for the club and won four successive titles, the loss rate is 10.9%.

    Guardiola describes Rodri as irreplaceable but says he has “a duty” to provide a solution.

    “Last season, we were three months without Erling (Haaland), five months without Kevin (de Bruyne) and we found solutions,” Guardiola said after City’s 2-1 League Cup victory against Watford on Tuesday.

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    Sixth-placed Newcastle will present a stiff challenge to City who have 13 points from their opening five games and their former striker Alan Shearer believes the loss of Rodri could undermine City’s bid for a fifth successive title.

    “There isn’t anyone better in world football than Rodri at what he does, so to have him out for that amount of time is a huge blow to Man City,” Shearer told Betfair.

    “There’s no doubt that a potential season ending injury to Rodri will have an impact on Man City’s title hopes.”

    Any City slip-up at Newcastle could allow either Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal or even Chelsea to take top spot.

    Second-placed Liverpool, who along with Villa have 12 points, travel to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers in Saturday’s evening kickoff while Villa go to 17th-placed Ipswich Town on Sunday.

    Fourth-placed Arsenal, who have 11 points after their battle with City last weekend, host Leicester City, one of six clubs at the bottom still to record a victory this season.

  • Man City, Arsenal push for early lead in title race

    Man City, Arsenal push for early lead in title race

    Sunday’s clash between champions Manchester City and Arsenal is already being billed as a pivotal moment in the title race even though the Premier League season is only four rounds in.

    The two teams have been battling it out for the past two seasons with Pep Guardiola’s City triumphant on both occasions as they stretched their run to an unprecedented four in a row.

    Nothing in the opening salvos of the new campaign suggests it will be any different this time, although many are predicting that Arsenal can finally break City’s stranglehold and a positive result on Sunday would be a psychological boost.

    A hearing began Monday after England’s Premier League accused its current champions of breaching financial regulations.

    Read Also; ‘How my stepmother inserted stick into stepson’s six-year-old daughter’s private part’

    City’s sky blue horizon is clouded by the beginning of an independent commission’s hearing into 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules — charges the Abu Dhabi-owned club strenuously deny — which began on Monday.

    But despite that distraction it has been business as usual on the pitch and City sit top of the table with a maximum 12 points and striker Erling Haaland already threatening to shatter his own records having scored nine goals already.

    Arsenal came through a key test last weekend when they went to north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur without key midfielder Declan Rice and captain Martin Odegaard but still claimed a 1-0 victory to move them to 10 points from their four games.

    Mikel Arteta’s side beat City 1-0 in the early months of last season and drew 0-0 at The Etihad — a result that at the time looked better for the London club.

    But City won their next nine matches and clinched the title on the last day of the season by two points.

    Arsenal know the margin for error in the title race will be wafer thin again and while defeat at City on Sunday would not be terminal — a five-point deficit would already look ominous.

    Arteta will be boosted on Sunday by the return of England international Rice from suspension but their Norway midfielder Odegaard will again be absent with ankle ligament damage.

    City will be keen to get back to winning ways having been held to a 0-0 draw at home by Inter Milan in their Champions League opener on Wednesday and will have a slight advantage with Arsenal having one day less to prepare after their Champions League clash against Atalanta on Thursday.

    “We know Arsenal very well, they know us very well, and obviously it will be a very intense game,” City defender Ruben Dias said of the eagerly-anticipated clash.

  • Man City face daunting clash on UCL opening day

    Man City face daunting clash on UCL opening day

    The  2022/23 UEFA Champions League finalists are set to renew their rivalry as Manchester City host Inter Milan on the opening day of the 2024/25 league phase.

     After falling short in the final last season due to a penalty-shootout defeat to eventual champions Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City now enter the competition as one of the top contenders for the title.

    Since that heartbreak, City have added another Premier League title to their collection and started the new domestic campaign in dominant fashion. The Citizens have won all four of their opening matches, including a 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium. With their strong form, City appear poised to make a deep run in this season’s Champions League.

    Read Also: EPL: Haaland scores brace as Man City beat Brentford 2-1

    Inter Milan, however, have had a more inconsistent start to their season. The Nerazzurri were held to a 1-1 draw by Monza over the weekend, marking their second stumble in just four Serie A matches. Last season, Inter were eliminated in the Champions League knockout stages by Atletico Madrid. With new signings like Mehdi Taremi and Piotr Zielinski, Inter hope to reignite their European campaign, but they face a tough test in Manchester.

    Manchester City come into this clash as firm favorites, bolstered by the red-hot form of Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker netted two more goals at the weekend, bringing his tally to eight goals in his last three Premier League games. With Rodri returning to the starting lineup, City’s chances of securing a positive result look even stronger.

    In contrast, Inter have struggled on the road, with both of their early-season slip-ups occurring away from home. As they head into the Etihad, the Italian side will need to be at their best to challenge a City team firing on all cylinders.

  • EPL: Haaland scores brace as Man City beat Brentford 2-1

    EPL: Haaland scores brace as Man City beat Brentford 2-1

    Erling Haaland scored twice to take his Premier League tally to nine as Manchester City recovered from conceding after just 23 seconds to maintain their 100% record with victory over Brentford.

    Visiting forward Yoane Wissa scored the quickest top-flight goal of the season, heading into an empty net from close range after John Stones and Ederson inexplicably messed up attempting to clear Keane Lewis-Potter’s nod-back.

    City were rocking but Haaland steadied the ship, driving home the loose ball after Kevin de Bruyne had been tackled inside the Brentford box.

    The Norwegian was playing despite the death of a close family friend in midweek. He scored a second before the break as he outmuscled Ethan Pinnock to reach Ederson’s long punt forward.

    It left Haaland tantalisingly close to becoming only the fifth player in English top-flight history – and the first since 1946 – to score three successive hat-tricks.

    Read Also: EPL: Ipswich draw Brighton 0-0 at Amex Stadium

    He came close. Brentford keeper Mark Flekken tipped one goal-bound effort over the bar. Haaland then sent an instinctive first-time strike against the post and was unable to get enough power behind the rebound to take it into the net.

    But, despite the crowd clearly willing him on, dad Alfie watching from the stands and manager Pep Guardiola opting not to take him off even though his side start their Champions League campaign with a 2023 final rematch against Inter Milan on Wednesday, this time Haaland had to settle for two.

    BBCSports

  • Arsenal, Man City prepare Evan Ferguson bids

    Arsenal, Man City prepare Evan Ferguson bids

    Ferguson has been linked with a move away from the AmEx Stadium in recent days, with Brentford rumoured to be interested in the Republic of Ireland international as a replacement for Ivan Toney. 

     Arsenal and Man City are following the situation closely and are ready to make an offer to Brighton.

     Both clubs have been seeking additional firepower, with the Gunners looking for a natural No.9 to support Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, while Pep Guardiola’s side only have Erling Haaland available in the centre-forward role after they allowed Julian Alvarez to leave. 

    Read Also: Haaland treble fires Man City to win over Ipswich

     Ferguson signed a contract extension with the Seagulls last summer and is under agreement with the club until 2029 but the south coast outfit have seen little of the 19-year-old since due to injury issues.

     He has not featured since March. On top of this, Joao Pedro’s fine form, which continued as he grabbed a late winner against Manchester United at the weekend, will make it harder for Ferguson to break back into the team when he does return to fitness.

     Brighton CEO Paul Barbe when speaking to Soccerex TV in November, said: “The higher level we can play at, the more chance we’ve got of keeping our top players for longer.

     Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has, however, insisted that Ferguson remains in his plans, stating: “Evan came back after a long injury, so we have to be very careful.

  • Man City beat United on penalties to take Community Shield

    Man City beat United on penalties to take Community Shield

    Manchester City avenged their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United to lift the Community Shield 7-6 on penalties on Saturday, after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

    The game exploded into life in the final 10 minutes as Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead before Bernardo Silva levelled in the 89th minute.

    Pep Guardiola’s men then edged a marathon shoot-out as Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans failed to score for United.

    Read Also: Above 50 Football boss, Olutoke is president of ADICC

    City have won the Premier League for a record four consecutive seasons but it is the first time in that run that they have won the season opener after defeats to Leicester, Liverpool, and Arsenal in the past three years.

    The English champions were severely hampered by the absence of a series of key players due to their late return to pre-season after competing at Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

    City’s England trio of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, as well as Spain midfielder Rodri are yet to return to training following their efforts in reaching the final of Euro 2024.

  • BREAKING: Man City beat Man Utd to win Community Shield

    BREAKING: Man City beat Man Utd to win Community Shield

    Premier League champions Manchester City defeated rival Manchester United on penalties to win the FA Community Shield final.

    The game went to penalties after a hard-fought 90 minutes that ended in a draw.

    United youngster Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring in the 82nd minute before a late Bernado Silva equaliser.

    Read Also: Man City face Man United in crunch Community Shield tie

    Man City won the shootout 7-6, with misses from Jonny Evans, Jadon Sancho and Bernado Silva.

  • Man City face Man United in crunch Community Shield tie

    Man City face Man United in crunch Community Shield tie

    Premier League champions, Manchester City, and 2023/24 FA Cup winners, Manchester United, will rekindle their rivalry in the 2024 Community Shield match at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday, in what will be the 194th Manchester derby.

    The match, the curtain raiser for the 2024/25 Premier League season, will be broadcast live on DStv ch 203 and GOtv ch 66 at 3 pm.

    Despite City’s dominance, which has seen them win the title four times in the last five seasons, the derby has remained a close contest. In the last 46 Manchester derbies, City won 22 scoring 75 goals, United won 20 netting 59 times, while four encounters ended in a draw. Pep Guardiola’s men have also lost two of the last five derbies, with the last coming in a 2-1 FA Cup final defeat in May.

    Read Also: Atletico agree £81.5m deal for Man City’s Alvarez

    The encounter already has an intriguing build-up, with the FA having to replace the initial match-day referee, John Brooks, after suffering an injury. Fellow Premier League match official Jarred Gillett, will take charge on Saturday.

    Guardiola has had an imperious eight-year reign as City boss. He has won the league six times but has endured a not-too-impressive record in the Community Shield, with just two wins. His City side will want to avoid a repeat of last season’s result that saw them lose the Community Shield to Arsenal at the same venue.

  • Man City to sell defender Couto to Dortmund

    Man City to sell defender Couto to Dortmund

    Manchester City have agreed a deal to sell Brazilian right-back Yan Couto to Borussia Dortmund.

    City have agreed an initial loan with the Champions League finalists that also contains a 30m euro obligation to buy.

    City signed Couto as a 19-year-old in 2020 but he has never played a game for the club.

    Read Also: Alvarez to decide Man City future after Olympics

    He was initially loaned to fellow City Football Group outfit Girona for a year, then spent two more campaigns with them following a year with Portuguese side Braga.

    He helped the La Liga side qualify for this season’s Champions League.