2023-12-05 22:27:24
United to respond to rumors against Chelsea… and a difficult test for City against Aston Villa
When Manchester United meets its guest Chelsea (Wednesday) in the top 15 matches of the English Premier League, Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag and his team will have to respond to rumors that have spread of a state of division in the players’ room, and strong opposition from a large number of players to the coach’s policy. .
United suffers from clear fluctuations in performance, and has achieved a disappointing start to this season. He lost 10 of his matches in various competitions, recording the worst results since the 1930-1931 season.
After Ten Hag and his team breathed a sigh of relief by achieving 3 consecutive victories, they returned and lost in the previous stage to their host Newcastle with a clean goal, falling to fourth place with 24 points, with a disappointing performance and changes in the lineup indicating that there is something illogical going on in the dressing room. It was rumored that Ten Hag had lost the confidence of half his squad; Whether it be the problems that erupted with a number of players such as Jadon Sancho, who was excluded for a while for educational reasons, and the Frenchman Raphael Varane, who left the coach’s accounts in the last two matches, in addition to complaining about the training methods used that depend on running more than technique, and had a negative impact on the players. physically.
Ten Hag denied the validity of the stories circulating about a loss of confidence within the players’ room, stressing that he is always open to discussing all matters with the group without exception. He said: “I always listen to my team’s players, and I always give them opportunities to express their opinion. If the players have a different opinion then of course I will listen. Maybe there are one or two that differ; But it’s generally about the group, and the majority want to play that way. We want to be proactive, dynamic, courageous, this is what I ask.”
Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, captain of the Manchester United team, tried to put matters together and overcome what was being raised, asking his fellow players to focus on the upcoming matches, instead of thinking about the past.
Fernandes said on the sidelines of the Chelsea match: “The team must work to achieve positive results in the upcoming matches. For now we just have to look at each match individually; Because we know that we are not in the position we want to be in.” The Portuguese playmaker added: “Focusing on each match individually is what we can control at the present time. We cannot look too much at the ranking table; Rather, we must look closely at the future and not be preoccupied with what is happening currently. We must prepare ourselves to face the next challenge that awaits us.”
At the end of his speech, Fernandez stressed: “If we want to reach the position we want, if we want to improve our ranking, we must win every match we play.”
Bruno and his teammates realize that facing Chelsea will not be easy, after the latter, led by its Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, regained a lot of confidence, after a shaky start, and achieved a remarkable victory, Sunday, 3-2, over Brighton, despite playing most of the match minus ten players. Pochettino hopes to continue improving his results; Especially away from his home stadium since the beginning of the current season, which has kept him away from the adult circle; It is in tenth place with 19 points, ahead of Brentford on goal difference.
In contrast to United’s troubled situation, its neighbor Manchester City, the defending champion, is preparing to end its winless drought, after three consecutive draws, when it visits Aston Villa, also on Wednesday, in a match that is not without difficulty.
City players train under threats of penalties due to disorder and non-compliance during the previous Tottenham match (dpa)
City enters the match after the English Football Association opened an investigation into it, into not controlling its players during the match against Tottenham, on Sunday, which ended in a 3-3 draw. The English Federation brought charges against Manchester City, after its Norwegian striker, Erling Haaland, and a number of his teammates surrounded referee Simon Hooper, who overlooked making a decision to continue playing, during a promising opportunity for the team.
The FA confirmed that Haaland will face separate measures due to his actions, then his tweets related to online arbitration. Spanish coach Pep Guardiola defended his attacker, stressing that what happened was a natural emotion on the field, and his reaction was similar to that of the other ten players.
Pending the results of the investigations, it seems that Haaland will be ready to participate against Aston Villa, the fourth difficult test in a row for City, which is hoping to regain the winning tone, and break the jinx of draws that cost it the loss of 6 points, thus relinquishing the lead to its runner-up, Arsenal. Manchester City fell into a draw against Liverpool 1-1, Chelsea 4-4, and finally Tottenham 3-3.
What makes City’s task more difficult is that it will face Villa in the absence of its Spanish international midfielder, Rodri, and its international winger, Jack Grealish, due to suspension. If Guardiola has alternatives on the wing with the presence of Belgian Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden, he will inevitably face difficulty in compensating for the absence of his compatriot Rodri.
Rodri’s influential absence from the City squad was evident when he was suspended for three matches due to his sending off against Nottingham Forest in the sixth stage on September 23 of last year. The team lost all three matches to Wolverhampton (1-2), Newcastle (0-1 in the League Cup competition), and Arsenal (0-1).
Guardiola confirmed that he still feels that his team will win the league for the fourth year in a row, and said: “My feeling is that we will win the league again. People are doubtful after 3 draws; But we’ll do it again. We know that it is not easy, and no team has been able to achieve that yet (four Premier League titles in a row) and that is why it is difficult.”
Aston Villa has fourth place in the standings, which is one point behind City, led by its Spanish coach Unai Emery, who has the second strongest attack in the competition so far by scoring 33 goals, preceded only by City, which scored 36 goals. What also enhances the difficulty of the task of the defending champion and its players is that the Aston Villa team did not lose at its home stadium (Villa Park). He achieved the full mark by achieving 6 victories.
Four other matches will be held on Wednesday, most notably Liverpool’s match against bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, which took an urgent decision to dismiss its coach Paul Heckingbottom and bring back former coach Chris Wilder, in the hope of saving the team threatened by relegation.
Heckingbottom is the first coach to lose his job in the Premier League this season, even though Wolverhampton parted ways with Spanish coach Gulen Lopetegui 3 days before the start of the season. Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Pettis said in a statement: “Firstly, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank Paul for all his efforts at the club. Initially as coach of the under-23 team, before taking charge of the first team. His professionalism and dedication have been a source of pride for the club, and I’m sure Sheffield fans have enjoyed their journey back to the Premier League. But after faltering, being at the bottom of the Premier League and many disappointing results recently, we felt that we needed a change to give the club an impetus and every possible opportunity to remain in the Premier League beyond this season.”
Wilder returns to Sheffield United in a difficult rescue mission (Getty)
Minutes after this statement, an announcement was issued attributed to Prince Abdullah bin Musaed, the club’s owner, appointing Wilder as the new coach, with a contract extending until the summer of 2025. Prince Abdullah said: “Chris has done many wonderful things for the club before. He is, in my opinion, the best person.” On the ground, he can currently coach the team in these circumstances.
Sheffield is at the bottom of the league standings with one win this season so far, and 5 points from 14 matches.
Wilder led the team between 2016 and 2021, and when he resigned, the team was also at the bottom of the standings, and Heckingbottom took charge temporarily for the last 10 matches of the season in which they were relegated to the second division.
“It is an opportunity I cannot refuse,” Wilder said after his arrival at Sheffield’s training headquarters. This is Sheffield United, it’s my club and I’m happy to be back. We find ourselves in a difficult situation, and I understand that; But I believe I can make a difference.”
The 56-year-old coach revealed that he met with the team’s players upon his arrival to motivate them before facing Liverpool, which is second in the standings, and which in turn is seeking to achieve a victory that will keep it in the hot race for the top.
Liverpool miraculously escaped the trap of its guest, Fulham, on Sunday, when it overturned a 2-3 deficit 10 minutes before the end into a crazy 4-3 victory. His German coach, Jurgen Klopp, commented after the match, saying: “I do not think I have ever seen a match with so many beautiful goals in my life. But the meeting revealed some of our stupid mistakes.”
It does not seem that Liverpool’s attack will have difficulty facing Sheffield, which has the weakest defense and attack lines in the league. Its players scored only 11 goals, compared to conceding 39 goals. But Klopp warned his players against complacency, and the need to learn from the lessons of the Fulham confrontation, which he described as unforgettable throughout his life.
Burnley, which is in 19th place with 7 points, will play with Wolverhampton, 13th with 15 points.
Aside from the summit clash and the golden square, 3 other confrontations will take place. Where Fulham, which is in 14th place with 15 points, plays with Nottingham Forest 15th with 13 points, Crystal Palace 12th with 16 points, with Bournemouth 16th (13 points) and Brighton 8th (22 points) with Brentford 11th (19 points). .
The round concludes on Thursday with two high-caliber matches; Newcastle will host Everton at Goodison Park, and Tottenham will clash with its neighbor and guest West Ham in a London derby.
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