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Showing posts from August, 2022

Player Spotlight: Ansu Fati vs Real Sociedad

Embed from Getty Images Ansu Fati (left) celebrates with Ousmane Dembélé after assisting Barcelona's second goal Ansu Fati made the difference for Barcelona on Sunday as they beat Real Sociedad 4-1 on Sunday. The Spanish international forward came off the bench in the 63rd minute with Barcelona drawing 1-1 with Sociedad and scored 1 goal and assisted 2 to secure Barcelona's victory. Both of Fati's assists came in the 5 minutes after he came on, setting up one for Ousmane Dembélé with a cheeky backheel pass and then setting up another for Robert Lewandowski only 2 minutes later. Late on. Lewandowski played provider as his pass set up Barcelona's fourth goal, scored by Ansu Fati. 

Player Spotlight: Sydney van Hooijdonk and Amin Sarr vs Vitesse

Embed from Getty Images Sydney van Hooijdonk and Amin Sarr celebrate the win vs Vitesse Sydeny van Hooijdonk and Amin Sarr combined beautifully to outclass Vitesse. Van Hooijdonk scored three, all assisted by Sarr, who scored a goal himself. Throughout the game, Van Hooijdonk played the role of the penalty box striker, deftly finishing tap-ins, while Sarr played the role of the provider. The pair were key to Heerenveen's respectable 8th place finish in the Eredivisie last season after they joined in the January tranfer window. Sarr scored 5 goals after signing permanently from Malmö and Van Hooijdonk rejoined this season after scoring 6 goals on loan from Bologna last season. The pair played fluidly together in the game and reminded me of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son of Tottenham and it'll be interesting to see how important of a role they can play for Heerenveen this season. 

Player Spotlight: Josh Sargent vs Millwall

Embed from Getty Images Josh Sargent celebrates in front of the Norwich fans After a poor start to life back in the championship, Norwich have started to pick up wins, coinciding with a run of good form by USMT's Josh Sargent. The American striker scored two against Millwall and one against Huddersfield, already bettering his Premier League tally.  Against Millwall, Sargent scored two excellant goals, his first coming from a through ball by Danel Sinani, who has 1 goal and 2 assists since returning from a loan at fellow championship side Huddersfield Town. His second came from a counter-attack after Sargent completed a smart 1-2 with Kieran Dowell and slotting a cool finish past Białkowski. A salute celebration was perfect for Norwich's Sargent. With Daryl Dike seemingly out with a long-term injury, will Sargent start for the United States at the World Cup this Winter?

Women's Champions League: Glasgow City 1 - Roma 3

  Embed from Getty Images Roma celebrate after scoring vs Glasgow.   Roma braved harsh winds away from the Italian capital to win 3-1 against an uncharacteristically direct Glasgow City side. The Giallorosse proved too much for the Scottish side and an impressive midfield display ensured that Roma controlled the game. The wind caused havoc early on as referee Ainara Acevedo had to ask Desirée Monsiváis to retake the kick-off after the wind pushed the ball away from the spot and into Glasgow's half. Ultimately, the wind proved too strong for a clean kick-off and Monsiváis was eventually allowed to take it regardless. Shortly after, the wind's influence was felt again as Glasgow were nearly gifted an early lead when a floated corner was pushed towards the goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and rebounded away.  After the early chance for Glasgow, Roma started to find their feet as Bartoli put a good chance wide. Glasgow tried to push forward but found Roma consistentl...

EFL Loan Report Week 3

  Embed from Getty Images Jaden Philogene-Bidace (left) in action for Cardiff City Every year young players from Premier League sides join teams across the EFL in search of development and game time. In this series we'll highlight a few key performances each week.  Sunderland's Ellis Simms has been in good form since signing on loan from Everton. The prolific striker scored 13 goals during loans at Blackpool and Hearts last season and has scored 3 goals in the Championship so far this season. He scored his 3rd, a scrappy toe poke past Seny Dieng, on Saturday as Sunderland were held to a 2-2 draw by QPR.  Arriving late at the back post, Jaden Philogene-Bidace scored his first goal for Cardiff in a 1-0 win vs Birmingham. The England u20 international spent the second half of last season on loan at fellow Championship club Stoke City where he made 11 appearances and scored 1 goal. Aston Villa will be hoping that with some experience under his belt, Philogene-Bidace will be...

Player Spotlight: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia vs Hellas Verona

  Embed from Getty Images Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring vs Hellas Verona Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened his Napoli account against Hellas Verona on Monday. Following his move from Dinamo Batumi in July, Kvaratskhelia registered a goal and an assist as Napoli came from behind to win 5-2. The 21-year-old scored a tidy header at the back post and set up an excellant through ball for Piotr Zielinski to score. His talent was showcased in a statement season-opener from a Napoli side that will still be stinging from their failure to win the Scudetto last season.  Napoli's fans will be hoping that Kvaratskhelia can fill the Lorenzo-Insigne-shaped hole in their hearts following his move to Toronto FC in Canada. Luckily for them Kvaratskhelia is the kind of player that's easy to love, his flair makes him exciting to watch and it's helped him leave his mark in Russia with Rubin Kazan and in Georgia during his 5 months with Dinamo Batumi following the R...

Player Spotlight: João Félix vs Getafe

  Embed from Getty Images João Félix (left) in action for Atl ético Madrid João Félix will be hoping to silence his haters once and for all this season. As the fourth most expensive player ever, the weight of expectation rests firmly on  Félix's shoulders. Despite consistently strong performances for  Atlético in the past three seasons, he has never reached the heights that he reached at Benfica as a teenager, where he scored 20 goals and made 11 assists aged only 19. After arguably his best season in an  Atlético shirt last season, he will be hoping to continue his good form from the second half of the 21/22 season in which he won the March player of the month award in LaLiga.  A good performance against Getafe will certainly bolter  Félix's confidence. He set up all three goals as  Atlético won 3-0, including a neat layoff for Álvaro Morata to score his first of two goals in the game. He also took 3 shots and was unlucky to see his only shot on tar...

Player Spotlight: Dušan Vlahović vs Sassuolo

Embed from Getty Images Dušan Vlahović celebrates after scoring a penalty vs Sassuolo Dušan Vlahović consistently created problems for Sassuolo's defence in Monday's league opener as Juventus won 3-0. The 22-year-old Serbian striker was underwhelming for Juventus last season after joining from Fiorentina in January for €70 million. 9 league goals from a player who, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, holds the record for the most Serie A goals scored in a calendar year (33) was perhaps fewer than Juventus expected from him. However, Max Allegri has not panicked. No new striker has arrived at the Allianz Stadium yet and it seems that Vlahović will be awarded the opportunity to prove himself.  Against Sassuolo, Vlahović proved an effective threat, consistently connecting with through balls from Ángel Di Maria and Alex Sandro. He won and scored a penalty, and was also able to score from a pass by Di Maria. However, it took two great chances squandered before Vlahović was able to find h...

Player Spotlight: Rares Ilie vs Strasbourg

Embed from Getty Images Rares Ilie (right) in action for Nice Perhaps one of the most under-the-radar signings of the summer window so far has been OGC Nice's acquisition of Rares Ilie from Rapid București. The French club payed a reported fee of €5 million plus bonuses for the 19-year-old Romanian forward. In two seasons at Rapid, Ilie scored 9 goals in 60 appearances and made his Romania under-21s debut. He frequently showed his flair with fancy footwork and skills as București finished mid table last season.  Against Strasbourg on Sunday, Ilie made his first league start for Nice and played 75 minutes as Nice drew 1-1 with Strasbourg. He had a good game, making a high number of progressive carries (9), setting up 3 chances for his team and taking 2 shots himself. This was the joint-most chances created of his team and also the joint-most shots. Ilie looked comfortable on the ball and was dribbling past players for fun, completing all three of his attempted dribbles, once a...

Player Spotlight: Neco Williams vs West Ham

Embed from Getty Images Neco Williams (right) in action for Nottingham Forest Welsh international right back Neco Williams played a full 90 minutes for Nottingham Forest on Sunday as they controlled the game through an early lead and were able to see off West Ham to win 1-0. The 21 year old joined The Trees in July for a reported fee of £17 million from Liverpool and impressed verses West Ham on his home debut in front of a packed City Ground. Against West Ham he took the shots in the game (4) and the most on his team with 2 on target, forcing Fabianski into action. He also took the most touches on his team (63) and made the 2nd most pressures (12). His creativity was also on display as he amassed an xA of 0.4, the most of any Forest player. He made a high number of carries (31) and successfully completed all three of his attempted dribbles, once again the most of his team. Should he continue this form Rob Page will surely be looking to add to Williams' 21 caps ahead of the world ...