MY ACCOUNT
LiveScore Daily is here to deliver all the big talking points from the world of football throughout the day. Keep refreshing this page for the latest stories in bite-sized chunks.
United bag Butland
Manchester United have signed Jack Butland on loan from Crystal Palace until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old has arrived to bolster Erik ten Hag’s goalkeeping options after Martin Dubravka’s loan move from Newcastle was terminated.
He is expected to provide competition for No1 David de Gea between the sticks, alongside Tom Heaton.
The nine-cap England international told the club’s official site: “This is an amazing club and one that I am now proud to represent.
“I’m really looking forward to working with an unbelievable goalkeeping group, supporting each other every day to create the best training and playing environment for the team.
“I’ve played against David de Gea and represented England alongside Tom Heaton — they are top-class keepers, and I am relishing the opportunity to compete alongside and support them as team-mates.
“There is a lot that this group can achieve this season and I’m excited to play my part in helping everyone to reach these ambitions.”
Butland has 87 Premier League appearances to his name but was yet to feature for the Eagles so far this term.
His contract at Selhurst Park will expire in the summer, though Palace have the option to extend for a further year.
Still learning
Jack Grealish admits adapting to Manchester City’s style of play has been much more difficult than he initially imagined.
The £100million England international came off the bench to set up fellow substitute Riyad Mahrez’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Pep Guardiola’s men had not been at their best throughout the encounter but the 27-year-old’s incisive moment proved the difference as they reduced the gap behind leaders Arsenal to five points.
His third assist of the campaign matched his tally for his first season in Manchester, but the former Aston Villa captain still had more goal involvements in his final season in the Midlands (16) than he has managed in almost 18 months with City (10).
Grealish told Sky Sports: “When I came here, I’ll be honest with you, it was so much more difficult than I thought.
“In my head I thought I was going to the team sitting top of the league and I was going to get so many goals and assists and obviously it isn’t the case. A lot of teams tend to sit in against us and that wasn’t the case at Villa.
“[Ex-Villa boss] Dean Smith would tell me to go and find the weak link in the defence, whether that was on the right, the middle or whether I wanted to hug the touchline — and at Villa, I always had an overlapping full-back.
“I came into City, having been at Villa my whole life, and I’ve never had to change. I’ve always been used to that. I didn’t realise how hard it is to adapt to a different team and manager.”
Grealish and Mahrez had only been on the field for a matter of minutes before they combined for the crucial goal.
He added: “We’ve had games this season — Everton and Brentford recently for example — where they’ve had a back five and they’ve sat in against us.
“Against a back four today it just felt so much more open and we were saying we were desperate to come on.”
Grasp the opportunity
Carney Chukwuemeka is ready to use Chelsea’s injury crisis to his advantage after impressing off the bench in the Blues’ narrow home defeat to the champions.
Mason Mount sat out the encounter through injury, while Raheem Sterling had already been forced off after five minutes when Christian Pulisic was withdrawn in the 22nd minute, allowing Chukwuemeka to enter the fray.
With Graham Potter’s injury list now tallying 10 players, the door is open for the 19-year-old — as well as fellow youngsters Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson — to make their mark in the first team.
The former Aston Villa midfielder said: “At times it can be quite nerve-wracking, especially if you don’t have much time to prepare like today.
“You can’t worry about that though, you just have to switch on and get your mind in the game and see how you can help the team.
“I try to play without fear. I think being as young as I am, when I step out onto the pitch for Chelsea I feel like I don’t have anything really to lose and I can just get out there and express myself.
“I think that’s the same for the other lads, like Omari and Lewis, who I thought both did really well when they came on.
“We all want more chances and now we’ve just got to keep working hard to try and get another opportunity.
“We’ve got a few injuries in the squad at the moment and when we get a chance to feature, it’s a big opportunity for us to show the gaffer what we can offer to the team. So we’ve just got to keep working hard at every turn.”
Chuwkuemeka could well be handed another opportunity against the Citizens on Sunday, with the two sides facing off again in the FA Cup third round.
