Ruben Dias thirst for defensive dirty work and natural leadership qualities are among the reasons for his outstanding debut season in the Premier League, former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told Stats Perform.
Dias was named FWA Footballer of the Year on Thursday after inspiring City to their third title in four years under Pep Guardiola, whose team also won their fourth consecutive EFL Cup.
The 24-year-old Portugal international is the first defender to the win the prize since Steve Nicol in 1989 and the third man to lead the voting on his first season in English football after Jurgen Klinsmann (1994-95) and Gianfranco Zola (1996-97).
Onuoha believes Dias has a natural aptitude for the qualities most celebrated in Premier League defenders, something t…
(GSM) Everton defender John Heitinga admits he is flattered with interest from Bundesliga duo Bayern München and Wolfsburg.
Reports from Germany claimed that the Bundesliga clubs are attempting to lure the Dutchman in January.
Wolfsburg and Bayern? I have heard nothing.
Last summer there was interest from Wolfsburg, but not thereafter. Heitinga told voetbal.nl.
However, Hetinga, who has established himself as a first-team regular at Goodison Park since 2009, says he will take the rumors seriously.
I take that rumour not so seriously.
But it is no punishment at all to be associated with such beautiful, big clubs.
…
“We did it but obviously I think today the difference was the individual quality from the players of City that made them win this game.”
The gulf in quality was clear to anyone watching, although under-fire boss Erik ten Hag believes the gap would be closer if United were not beset by injuries.
Such issues have undoubtedly hurt the Red Devils in a second season to forget for the Dutchman, whose side are an eye-watering 19 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool with 11 matches remaining.
If that was not bad enough, Ten Hag’s side are facing an uphill battle even to secure a return to European football’s top table.
Is this the greatest title race we ve ever seen?
— Premier League (@premierleague)
United sit sixth, 11 poin…
Remi Garde is hoping the Villa Park faithful can help struggling Aston Villa achieve a positive result against Watford on Saturday.
Villa sit bottom of the Premier League having won just one of their 13 matches this season a 1-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth on the opening day.
After taking over from Tim Sherwood at the start of November, Frenchman Garde steered the Midlands club to a respectable goalless draw with Manchester City in his first match in charge, but Villa were soundly beaten 4-0 at Everton last time out.
Villa have taken just two points from their seven home Premier League games this term, but Garde has urged fans to roar them on this weekend.
It s a big match for us. Home games will become very important for us, Garde said.
U…
Tony Pulis has nothing but admiration for the fantastic Jurgen Klopp ahead of West Brom s trip to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
Charismatic German Klopp has proven a huge hit among both players and supporters at Anfield since taking over from Brendan Rodgers a little over two months ago.
Liverpool have won seven of their 13 games with Klopp at the helm, including emphatic victories at Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton.
Last weekend s surprise 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United checked the momentum gained by seven wins in eight games in all competitions, but Liverpool remain handily placed in the Premier League, just six points adrift of fourth spot.
Thursday s 0-0 draw at Sion secured top spot in their Europa League group and West Brom hea…
Frank Lampard believes that Pep Guardiola may have asked for too much from his Manchester City squad, adding that the Spaniard will have learnt more from his first season in the Premier League than from any previous campaigns.
Guardiola s debut season in England has not gone according to script, with City still involved in a top-four tussle with Liverpool, Arsenal and city rivals Manchester United.
FA Cup and Champions League exits to Arsenal and Monaco respectively in recent weeks mean that Guardiola whose side are 13 points adrift of league leaders Chelsea will end a season without a trophy for the first time in his managerial career.
And Lampard, who spent a season at City in the 2014-15 campaign after ending his 13-year stint at Chelsea, thinks Guardiola may …
Lucas Hernandez has confirmed he is willing to consider leaving Atletico Madrid amid links to Bayern Munich.
Recent reports in Spain suggested Bundesliga champions Bayern were preparing to trigger the defender s €80million release clause in January.
Atletico s executive director Miguel Angel Gil Marin dismissed the possibility of Lucas departing in the upcoming transfer window but said the club would think about talks at the end of the season.
The France international is remaining tight-lipped over a possible destination.
There are plenty of clubs in Europe that make me dream, but I will not tell you which ones, Lucas told Le Figaro.
If have to leave tomorrow because a project interests me, I ll think about it.
I am very happy in …
The latest PlayStation 5 system firmware update has just gone live, and if you were expecting a new patch that adds more stability to the console, then you’re completely right. The newest system patch–which is about as exciting as the last batch of Nintendo Switch patch notes–improves system performance once again, and that’s it.
That being said, a PS5 that runs more smoothly than ever before is always welcome. Version: 21.02-04.50.00’s patch notes simply state: “This system software update improves system performance.” Come from Sports betting site VPbet
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In what was a frantic affair from Stamford Bridge on Monday night, Chelsea secured a 3-0 victory against Newcastle in west London.
Two sides who opened Monday’s showdown separated by just four points, it was the Blues who got off to a flying start as Nicolas Jackson produced a smart flicked finish after just six minutes.
However, with Alexander Isak hammering home just seconds before the half-time break, Mauricio Pochettino’s men faced a real psychological test after returning from the interval.
With Cole Palmer restoring the Blues’ lead after notching an 11th Premier League goal of the season just before the hour mark, Mykhailo Mudryk then appeared to have wrapped up all three points for Pochettino’s side.
While second-half substitute Jacob Murp…
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Following Maurizio Sarri s resignation, Lazio is determined to kickstart their recovery in what has been a challenging season as they travel to face Frosinone on Saturday.
With a potential loss to their regional rivals, the Rome club faces the risk of dropping into the bottom half of the Serie A standings. Frosinone, meanwhile, is entrenched in a fight for survival in the top flight.
Frosinone
When Lazio and Frosinone last faced off at the end of the previous year, both teams were in better form. However, since then, Frosinone s performance has taken a drastic downturn.
The Canarini, after a string of setbacks, find themselves in the relegation zone for the first time this season, despite a promising start upon their …