Month: October 2021

Thomas Tuchel decided against using Saul Niguez against Southampton to protect the midfielder as he continues to pay the price for a difficult debut.

Saul struggled on his only Premier League outing for Chelsea since joining from Atletico Madrid on an initial loan on transfer deadline day, lasting just 45 minutes before being hauled off against Aston Villa.

The Spain international gave away possession 10 times, misplaced seven of his 38 passes and conceded a team-high three fouls in the Blues’ eventual 3-0 win.

Tuchel said at the time the 26-year-old would need time to adapt to the intensity of the English game after spending his entire senior career to date in Spain.

Saul has featured only once since, playing 76 minutes of last month’s EFL Cup penalty shoot-out victory against the same opponents.

With N’Golo Kante out with coronavirus and Jorginho rested from the beginning against Southampton, Tuchel started Ruben Loftus-Cheek and brought on Ross Barkley from the bench.

Tuchel revealed on the back of the 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge that he did not feel the time was right to select Saul against an energetic Southampton side.

“He was very, very close to start,” Tuchel said. “But in the end I decided against it.

“I thought to put him in another high pressing match, against an opponent pressing so high in the centre of the pitch, would it be fair to say, ‘Okay now prove it and let’s see if your adaption has gone further?’

“I hesitated a little bit. He does not need to worry. Just work hard and adapt and the chances will come. We have only 11 to give a chance. I would like to see it in a positive way.

“If you turn it around of course you have eight players who we didn’t trust today from the beginning. This is a reality. I cannot hide from this reality.”

The 22 league starts made by box-to-box midfielder Saul last season was his lowest tally since 2014-15, a drop from 35 starts in 2019-20, 32 in 2018-19 and 35 again in 2017-18.

Jadon Sancho has failed to live up to expectations since joining Manchester United — and the winger could soon find his place in the England squad under threat. 

Much was made of Sancho’s £72million move from Borussia Dortmund before the summer transfer window slammed shut. 

But he has yet to record a goal or assist since completing his switch to Old Trafford, which came on the back of starting just one game for the Three Lions at Euro 2020. 

As Gareth Southgate’s men gear up to take on Andorra on Saturday, we look at how Sancho’s difficult start at United could affect his international career.

England’s riches

There is no doubting Southgate has an abundance of top-class attackers at his disposal.

With Harry Kane leading the line for England, Raheem Sterling has seemingly nailed down one of the two spots alongside him — which is fully justified following his exploits at the Euros. 

Sancho then has United team-mate Marcus Rashford, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Manchester City duo Jack Grealish and Phil Foden to compete with for the other place in Southgate’s frontline. 

Rashford and Foden both missed the start of the campaign through injury but Grealish and Saka each have a goal and an assist to their name in the Premier League this term. 

And Southgate has even gone as far as to suggest Sancho should arguably not have made it into his latest squad. 

The England boss said: “Does he deserve to be in on these performances over the last few weeks? Well probably not.

“But I think we feel we have invested in Jadon over a period of time, we believe he can get to a high level.”

Theatre of depth

It is not just on the international stage that Sancho faces tough competition.

To the surprise of many, the 21-year-old star has also been unable to nail down a starting berth in Manchester. 

Academy graduate Mason Greenwood has enjoyed a terrific start to the campaign, scoring three league goals in his first seven games. 

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has used Paul Pogba on the left-hand side in his last two league starts, seemingly aware the Frenchman cannot be relied on in the midfield double pivot. 

Jesse Lingard has also enjoyed an impressive start to the season while Rashford recently returned to training, leaving Sancho with a real battle on his hands for more minutes. 

Game time premium

Sancho has started just two league games since arriving in Manchester to great fanfare. 

The winger’s last start in the division came in last month’s 4-1 win over Newcastle and he was handed just 33 minutes off the bench against Everton on Saturday. 

Signs that Solskjaer is yet to fully trust him began to show in United’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Young Boys, when he was hooked in the 37th minute following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card. 

Sancho did start United’s last European game against Villarreal but was subbed with the game all square at 1-1.

Slow burner

Sancho’s slow start to the season will come as no surprise to Dortmund fans. 

He failed to score for the German giants last season until Matchday 14 but went on to register eight goals and 11 assists during the campaign. 

There was always going to be somewhat of an adjustment period as Sancho settled into life in his new surroundings, which was further delayed by illness. 

But the United faithful will take hope from previous seasons that Sancho will go on to rack up 15 or more goal involvements for the fourth consecutive campaign.

Form is what counts

Southgate is no stranger to making big decisions. 

While in temporary charge of England back in October 2016, he opted to drop top goalscorer and captain Wayne Rooney in just his second game in charge. 

He has often stated players will not earn international call-ups on status and must be playing well for their clubs. 

This was displayed when Trent Alexander-Arnold, despite being regarded as one of the world’s best right-backs, was axed following a dreadful spell of games for Liverpool. 

With Sancho seemingly fortunate to make the latest squad, he will need more game time to remain in Southgate’s plans. 

Louis van Gaal is worried about Georginio Wijnaldum’s lack of playing time with Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the Netherlands’ next batch of World Cup qualifiers.

The 30-year-old joined the Ligue 1 giants on a free transfer in June after failing to agree a new contract with Liverpool, where he had spent the previous five seasons.

Having been a regular under Mauricio Pochettino at the start of the season, Wijnaldum has since lost his place in the side to Idrissa Gueye.

He has started just half of PSG’s 12 matches since arriving and has featured a further five times from the substitutes’ bench.

Wijnaldum’s tally of 502 minutes is only the 12th most among PSG players in all competitions this term, with Gueye and Ander Herrera featuring more frequently in midfield.

But while having concerns over Wijnaldum’s situation at the Parc des Princes, Van Gaal intends to stay loyal to his vice-captain.

“Of course I’m worried,” he said at a news conference on Monday ahead of his side’s qualifiers against Latvia and Gibraltar over the next week. 

“I already talked to him about that when he arrived here. But the alarm bells are not sounding just yet. I have lots of trust in certain players. 

“You will remember I took him to the World Cup in 2014 when he was carrying an injury. I started with [Jonathan] De Guzman but Wijnaldum soon took over and did well.”

Wijnaldum is suspended for Friday’s trip to Latvia as the Netherlands go in search of a third successive victory in Group G.

Van Gaal’s side are above Norway on goal difference ahead of the games with Latvia and then Gibraltar three days later.

“This break is a bit calmer. Last time it was almost impossible with three matches,” Van Gaal said. “We played those three games with a new group, new manager and new staff.

“I had to convince everyone of my plan, all within one and a half days. We then had one and a half days between each game.”

Manchester City are the favourites to win the Premier League this year, according to former striker Paul Dickov.

Pep Guardiola’s defending champions started off the new term with a 1-0 loss away at Tottenham but have embarked on a six-game unbeaten run to leave them third — two points behind leaders Chelsea.

City beat Thomas Tuchel’s side 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last Saturday before battling for a well-deserved point against fellow title contenders Liverpool in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Anfield.

The latter result saw Liverpool extend their unbeaten run to 17 games but Dickov sees his former club’s recent run of form as proof that they are the team to beat.

“Yeah, I think they have to be,” Dickov responded when asked if City were favourites to win the league.

“I think if you look at the week that they’ve just had you know there’s probably three of the toughest away games in one week that is against three of the best teams in Europe — Chelsea, PSG and then Liverpool.

“The record has not always been great for Manchester City so for me, I look at the strength and depth in the Manchester City squad and that just edges it for me for them to be the favourites.”

City conceded more goals against Jurgen Klopp’s side (two) than in their previous seven top-flight games combined beforehand, but the draw means Liverpool have only managed to beat City on one of the last seven occasions in the Premier League.

Guardiola’s team may have, perhaps understandably, felt hard done by to leave Anfield without all three points, but Dickov sees City’s squad as the reason they will retain their title this campaign.

“I think the quality they’ve got in the squad, for me over the course of a very long, hard season in England, that’s the thing that stands out for me,” he continued.

“We look at the team [on Sunday] and they had Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez sitting on the bench.

“[There is] Ferran Torres or Ilkay Gudogan, who was possibly Manchester City’s best player last season, coming back from injury.  [They have] Fernandinho, John Stones, I could just go on and on.

“That squad, that for me is the thing that’s going to make the big difference over the course of the season because I don’t feel the other teams are quite like that.”

Claudio Ranieri has been appointed Watford head coach after the sacking of Xisco Munoz.

The Italian is the 15th permanent manager at Vicarage Road in the past decade and has signed a two-year deal at the club.

His most recent job was at Sampdoria in Serie A while he was last in the Premier League at Fulham.

A short spell at Craven Cottage in the 2019-20 campaign saw him dismissed after 17 matches in charge, during which time the Cottagers only won three games.

Now he will be tasked with ensuring the Hornets’ return to the big time lasts longer than one season.

Munoz was appointed last December and guided Watford to promotion, as well as seven points from their opening seven games this season, during his 10-month spell in charge. 

Ranieri, 69, will be joined at Vicarage Road by coaches Paolo Benetti and Carlo Cornacchia and fitness coach Carlo Spignoli.

His first game will be after the international break when the Hornets, who sit 15th in the league table, welcome Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to Hertfordshire.

Serge Aurier has joined LaLiga side Villarreal after leaving Tottenham on transfer deadline day last month.

The full-back ended his time with Spurs after agreeing a mutual termination of his contract.

Aurier will continue his career in Spain, joining the Europa League holders on a deal until the end of the season, with the option of extending his stay by a further two campaigns.

The 28-year-old Ivory Coast captain made 110 appearances for Tottenham following his move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, scoring eight goals.

Aurier helped the London club reach the Champions League final in 2019, as well as the EFL Cup showpiece two years later.

He also has vast experience at international level, winning 70 caps for his country.

Unbeaten Villarreal are 11th in LaLiga, winning two and drawing five of their opening seven games of the season.

Gianluigi Donnarumma feels he has become a better goalkeeper since joining Paris Saint-Germain after training alongside Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

The Italy international signed for PSG on a free transfer in July after failing to come to an agreement with boyhood club Milan over a new contract.

He was one of a number of additions at the Parc des Princes during the transfer window, the highest-profile of which undoubtedly being Messi’s arrival from Barcelona.

PSG already had fellow superstar forwards Neymar and Mbappe in their ranks and the duo, along with Messi, have helped Donnarumma develop both on and off the field.

“Training with them makes you improve a lot. Sometimes there are battles that make you grow,” he said at a news conference on Monday while on Italy duty.

“Training with all these champions helps you develop as a human and as a player.

“It’s a good challenge for me. I’m happy to train with them and grow, to move forward in this new challenge of mine. I always try to give my best.”

Donnarumma has started PSG’s last two matches and now appears to be Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice, with Keylor Navas as back-up.

The 22-year-old was previously sharing goalkeeping duties with Navas but insists he did not fear losing his place in the Italy side as a result of his lack of regular minutes.

“That’s not a problem,” he said. “I went to PSG to play. It’s normal that it’s like this at the beginning. I’m sure everything will be great.

“I have no problems with the national time. I’m continuing on my path and hope everything will go well for me.”

Despite his young age, Donnarumma has already appeared 218 times in Serie A and Ligue 1 combined since making his Milan debut aged 16 in October 2015.

Only Samir Handanovic (219) and Inaki Williams (220) have featured more regularly in Europe’s top five leagues across that period.

Donnarumma has kept 72 clean sheets in those 218 league games and has a save percentage of 72.72.

Eleven others to have played at least 100 times in that timeframe rank higher in that metric than Donnarumma, with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak (78.87) leading the way.

Donnarumma, who is set to start Italy’s Nations League semi-final with Spain on Wednesday, therefore believes there is still room for further improvement.

“There’s always a way to learn and get better,” he said. “My target is to go higher and higher. There’s always something to learn from the goalkeeper coach.

“We try to understand what I need to work on and improve. There’s an excellent relationship between us. We try to structure the training in the best possible way.

“With the new coaches, there’s a different comparison and this makes me happy for my growth.”

Italy confirmed on Monday, meanwhile, that injured Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina has been replaced in their 23-man squad by Federico Dimarco for this week’s Nations League Finals.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was one of the unlikely stars as Chelsea beat Southampton 3-1 on Saturday.

The England international set up the first goal and produced the sort of display that saw him called up to the 2018 World Cup squad.

After spending last season on loan at Fulham, it appeared Loftus-Cheek’s Chelsea career was over.

But with five appearances for the Blues already under his belt this term, the 25-year-old midfielder will feel rejuvenated.

Can he kick on and hold down a regular spot in Thomas Tuchel’s team or will injury problems and a loss of form rear their ugly head once again?

Bleak future

It looked like Loftus-Cheek’s dream of becoming a Chelsea regular was over. 

After an Achilles injury sustained in a game in the US resulted in him making just nine appearances in 2019-20, he was shipped out on loan to Fulham last season.

Though Tuchel praised him in April, with Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount in the German’s squad, chances looked thin on the ground in midfield. 

Links with Roma and West Ham led to nothing and Saul Niguez’s arrival on loan on deadline day suggested a wasted season lay ahead for the England man.

Opportunities

But Loftus-Cheek knew chances would come in competitions like the Carabao Cup — he just had to take them.

Speaking in pre-season, he said: “I had last season as a season where I can find my feet — and it definitely felt like that at the start.

“I was struggling mentally and needed to focus on just taking risks in training and get that feel back.

“But it eventually came and I was doing really well in games, so I’ve had my injury and I’ve had a season now to get fit and feel confident in my body and this season is where I hit the ground running.”

After playing the last minute against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League and the full 90 against Villa in the Carabao Cup, Loftus-Cheek came off the bench with 15 to go in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

He was used as a sub again as the Blues lost at Juventus but had impressed Tuchel enough to be handed his first Premier League start for in 12 months against the Saints.

Saints stunner

And boy did Loftus-Cheek make the most of his chance at Stamford Bridge.

His headed flick from a Ben Chilwell corner set up Trevor Chalobah’s opener yet it was from open play where he really impressed.

As well as creating a further chance for the Blues, Loftus-Cheek attempted five take-ons — the most in the side — and completed three of them.

That was one of the key reasons Tuchel picked him — to try and break the press and provide Chelsea with impetus going forward.

Speaking about Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley, the German said: “They are happy to have these chances, to feel the support. 

“Perhaps six weeks ago they couldn’t have imagined they were in the situation to get real minutes, important minutes.

“So we decided to put Ruben in because we were aware of their high pressing in midfield but we wanted to go through midfield.

“Ruben and Kova [Mateo Kovacic] can not only pass but drive with the ball to escape the press. That is the reason we picked them.”

Back on song

It was an impact that did not go unnoticed after Chelsea’s defeats to City and Juve.

Loftus-Cheek helped England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and his talent has always been apparent.

Speaking after the win over the Saints, Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright said: “I didn’t think we’d ever see him go back to this kind of form.

“The display today was magnificent. People say about his energy and it looked like he was playing in himself.

“But today, in his own box, in midfield, everything. One of the things he’s going to have to do to stay in this Chelsea team, especially as someone who played in a pivot as a [midfield] two, is score more goals.

“The power, the skill, he’s got everything. People say he hasn’t got the energy… look at him now, this is scary.

“We’re looking at a Loftus-Cheek who looks to me like he’s got the fire in his belly back. He’s dangerous.”

The future

Holding down a regular spot in the Chelsea side is a difficult task for any player — especially in the middle of the park.

Loftus-Cheek’s ability has never been in question, it is just whether he can stay fit or not.

If he does and plays a role in a successful season at the Bridge, the sky remains the limit. 

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate is a known fan and has spoken about Loftus-Cheek earning an international recall if he is playing regular football. 

At the end of last year, while the player was with the Cottagers, Southgate said: “He was really unfortunate to get the injury. 

“He was having a super spell with Chelsea going into the latter stages of the Europa League, misses nearly a year and then just as he is getting back to fitness we have the pandemic so he’s missed a huge chunk.

“We know that talent he has, we know what he is capable of. Hopefully he can get back to playing regularly with Fulham and then he can go from there.”