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Kevin De Bruyne has opened up on the key differences between Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte after joining Napoli from Manchester City.

De Bruyne joined Napoli on a free after leaving Man CityHighlights two major differences between Conte and GuardiolaDismisses "king" label, insists he’s just another footballerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

De Bruyne signed for Napoli on a free transfer after leaving Manchester City this summer and already has a few minutes under his belt for the Serie A side, having featured in three friendly clashes for Conte's team.

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The Belgian playmaker has played under some impressive names across his spells at Genk, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and City. Jose Mourinho, Manuel Pellegrini and Dieter Hecking all had him under their wing before he teamed up for a long period of success with Guardiola at City. The 34-year-old spent eight years under Guardiola, winning multiple titles, including the Champions League in 2023. After the Premier League side decided against renewing his contract this summer, he opted to unite with Conte and ex-team-mate Romelu Lukaku in Serie A. After just a few weeks, he has already observed some key differences between his new coach and his old one.

WHAT DE BRUYNE SAID

In an interview with , De Bruyne reflected on the differences between working under Guardiola and Conte: "I'd say they're two different ways of playing: Pep is probably a little more focused on ball control and possession, while Conte is a little more structured in his game and focuses a lot on mentality. Pep works more on the zonal area. There are a couple of different things, but every coach has his own principles and characteristics."

He was also asked about the grand welcome he received upon his arrival in Serie A, where some dubbed him "the king". 

"I'm not the king, I'm just a footballer," he said. "I don't pay much attention to certain things, I try to do my job as best I can, but obviously it's nice to be appreciated. I hope I can continue to have a great career."

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR DE BRUYNE AND NAPOLI?

De Bruyne will make his debut in Serie A soon and hopes to secure the Scudetto with Napoli. The veteran playmaker is also eyeing a Champions League run under Conte.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has again hit back at Barcelona boss Hansi Flick after the German accused the national team of mismanaging Lamine Yamal’s fitness. The teenager’s groin injury has sparked a public row between club and country, with De la Fuente insisting “everyone is condemned by their actions” as tensions escalate ahead of El Clasico.

Flick vs De la Fuente: Tensions boil over

The dispute began when Yamal returned to Barcelona from international duty in September with a groin injury. Flick openly accused Spain of “not taking care of the player”, suggesting that national team staff ignored his condition and overused him despite knowing he was in discomfort. His comments quickly went viral in Spain and Germany.

La Roja's manager responded strongly during an appearance on , criticising Flick for forgetting his own past as a national team manager. He doubled down, saying: “everyone is condemned by their actions”, suggesting that the 60-year-old should reflect before criticising others.

AdvertisementAFPDe la Fuente responds to Barcelona boss

Flick was unable to hide his frustration: "He went to the national team with pain and did not train. They gave him painkillers to play. They had at least a three-goal lead in each match, and he played 73 and 79 minutes, and between matches, he couldn’t train. That’s not taking care of the player. I think the Spanish national team has a great team, the best players in the world, but they haven't looked after their players and I’m very sad about this situation."

De la Fuente did not hold back when asked about Flick’s criticism, he said: "I didn't understand it, because he was also a national team coach. In the end, everyone is condemned by their actions. I also sometimes don't understand the clubs' position. All footballers want to be in the national team.

"There's a schedule where you know the number of matches you're going to be able to play. What's not fair is complaining in November and then saying everything's fine when the year starts again. There are a lot of matches, and for footballers, that's a challenge."

Records, pressure and Spain’s 2026 World Cup dream

Away from the drama, Spain are on the verge of history. Their 4-0 win over Bulgaria saw them equal the legendary 29-match unbeaten run under Vicente del Bosque. Their last defeat came in 2023 to Scotland. Since then, they’ve gone unbeaten through Euro 2024 and World Cup qualifying.

They now chase a 30th game unbeaten when they face Georgia, led by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Victory would edge Spain closer to sealing automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Spain are among the favourites heading into that tournament, De la Fuente said: "We're going to be fighting for a very beautiful dream. I think success isn't just about achieving it; the most beautiful thing is the process, the journey."

AFPYamal’s response is on the pitch

Despite the noise, Yamal has let his football speak. After returning from his groin injury, he assisted Pedri in Barcelona’s late win over Girona and played 60 minutes before being subbed off. In the Champions League, he started against Olympiacos and was outstanding, assisting Fermin Lopez’s opener before scoring a penalty in a 6-1 thrashing. It was a reminder of just how crucial he already is at 18 years old for the Catalan giants.

Yamal now prepares for the ultimate test – away at the Santiago Bernabeu in El Clasico. He scored in his last visit during Barca’s 4-0 win and will be expected to deliver again with Barcelona still battling injuries to key attackers.

Sunderland will be glad that there's a lack of mid-week fixtures in the Championship this week, Michael Beale's men needing time to recuperate and digest what's really going wrong at the Stadium of Light after a torrid recent run of form has seen the Black Cats drop out of the playoff picture.

Three defeats in a row in all competitions has led to Beale's position in the Stadium of Light dug-out come under rightful scrutiny, with supporters already fearing another home defeat this coming weekend at the hands of Stoke City after losing 1-0 to Hull City last time out on their own patch.

Beale could be an even more unpopular figure if Alex Pritchard is sold this January, but he could go some way to appeasing the Black Cats fanbase on his back if he can land this exciting replacement for the 30-year-old.

Sunderland search for a Pritchard replacement

It looks as if Pritchard, whose contract runs out at the end of the season, could well be heading out the exit door this transfer window – Football Insider revealing that former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is very keen to add Pritchard to his new roster at Birmingham City, with an official approach being made.

Even Turkish club Sivasspor have reportedly got a deal in the works to sign the attacking midfielder, with the Black Cats scrambling around now to sign an adequate replacement for their out-going creator.

Barnsley midfielder Callum Styles could well be that man, with the Northern Echo reporting on Wednesday that Sunderland are in advanced talks to sign the Hungary international after Sky Sport's Keith Downie first broke the second-tier outfit's interest.

It's reported a deal is moving closer to completion with further talks set to take place in the next 24 hours of the transfer window.

Able to play down the left wing as well as playing in an attacking midfield role Pritchard excels in, Styles could well be the perfect purchase to make if the 5 foot 7 midfielder does up and leave this month.

How Styles would fit into the Sunderland team

Styles' main joy in a Tykes shirt to date has come from playing down the left wing, Beale keeping in mind the 23-year-old's flexibility if Jack Clarke also leaves the Championship giants this month.

Playing in that role predominantly during the 2020/21 season at the level with the now League One side, Styles managed eight goal contributions as Barnsley shocked everyone by getting into the second tier playoffs that campaign.

This season, Styles has three goals and two assists next to his name in the third tier with Neill Collins using him more as an attacking midfielder.

One of those goals came away at Northampton Town in September, showcasing Styles' urgent approach to instinctively loop a shot over the lackadaiscal Cobblers goalkeeper without a second thought.

Praised as being a "excellent" midfielder by his Tykes manager in Collins during pre-season, Styles has shown why he's so highly regarded at Oakwell with standout displays in League One.

With Sunderland looking passive recently in attack – a limp performance against Hull City allowing the Tigers to pick up a narrow away win last game – Styles could inject more energy and bite into proceedings wherever he is selected.

Also, with Jobe Bellingham being arguably overused by Beale and Pritchard's future being up in the air, Styles could well be a fantastic option to rely upon in attacking midfield if signed.

Adept at also rolling his sleeves up and launching into tackles on top of helping out in attack, Styles could also be utilised alongside either Dan Neil or Pierre Ekwah further back.

Losing a figure like Pritchard would be a major blow, but signing such a versatile replacement in Styles could see the Black Cats win in the long term with the 23-year-old midfielder keen to impress in the division above again.

Of all factors explaining the chasm between Manchester United and Liverpool right now, not one can compare with the differing approaches to appoint their latest managers. Liverpool were compelled to hire Arne Slot after consulting a highly sophisticated data model developed by a Harvard-educated physicist. United, meanwhile, recruited Ruben Amorim largely because of the vibes.

United love a good narrative, and the way that Amorim had revived Sporting CP's fortunes by delivering a first league title in 19 years was highly appealing to a club at a loss as to how to rise again after more than a decade of decline after Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The club's main decision-makers, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Omar Berrada, wanted a young charismatic coach on the rise and in Amorim they saw shades of Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. 

Every time Ratcliffe has discussed Amorim, he has lauded his personality, describing the Portuguese as "intelligent" and "thoughtful" while speaking fondly of their chats over coffee at the Carrington training ground, where the co-owner tells the coach "where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f*ck off." 

What was lacking in United's thought process when they hired Amorim, however, was a thorough analysis of the most intriguing thing about him: his loyalty to the 3-4-3 system. Liverpool, by contrast, saw Amorim's formation fixation as a massive red flag and turned away from him and towards Slot.

Slot might be enduring his most difficult period as Liverpool boss as his side prepare to welcome their arch rivals to Anfield on Sunday after three successive defeats, but overall he has proved to be a brilliant hire. Quite unlike Amorim, who has created an even bigger mess than the one he inherited when he took charge of the Red Devils 11 months ago.

Getty Images SportContrasting processes & results

Amorim's favoured formation was questioned when he took the United job because United's squad had been built over the last few years with the idea of playing a back four. But according to Amorim, it was a short conversation. He explained in August: "They asked me before I arrived here: 'Can you play this system?' I said 'I will do my system no matter what'." And that, bizarrely, was enough to convince United he was the right man. They spoke to no other candidates before offering him the job.

Liverpool had previously considered Amorim as Jurgen Klopp's successor, but they saw the coach's tactics as a real obstacle to him succeeding at Anfield, where the squad had also been constructed with a view to playing four defenders. To Liverpool's lead data scientist Will Spearman and sporting director Richard Hughes, hiring Amorim would have represented a massive change from what the club had been working towards for almost a decade under Klopp. Thus, instead of ripping up their plans, they sought a smooth transition and their data model told them that Slot's Feyenoord were the team that bore the closest resemblance to Klopp's Liverpool.

Liverpool racing to the title in Slot's first season to equal United's record of 20 English league triumphes vindicated their decision to hire the Dutchman over Amorim. In his first campaign, the Portuguese oversaw United's worst league finish, goal count and points total in 51 years, and failed to qualify the team for Europe for the first time in 11 years. In the early weeks of his second season, Amorim has lost three of his opening seven league games while the team were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby Town in United's first-ever defeat to a team from England's fourth division. 

AdvertisementGettyChoosing charisma first

There was reported to be one dissenting voice among United's top brass around Amorim's appointment: the newly-hired sporting director Dan Ashworth. According to , the man who had been headhunted from Newcastle envisaged 'mass disruption' in appointing Amorim and instead petitioned for the club to move for Brentford's Thomas Frank. But among other members of the United hierarchy there was 'a desperation for charisma, and the strong belief was that Amorim could be a tactician to define the next generation'.

According to , Ashworth had also suggested the club copy Liverpool's analytical approach and sub-contract a data firm to compile the most suitable candidates to replace Erik ten Hag. Ratcliffe rejected that idea out of hand because he felt Ashworth should have already known who the best candidates were. He was also reluctant to spend more money at a time when he was slashing costs across the board.

Little more than one month after United appointed Amorim, they sacked Ashworth, paying a total of £4.1 million in hiring and firing fees for him to work for the club for just five months. Strangely, having rebuffed Ashworth's push to use a data-led approach to hiring the new manager, Ratcliffe later decried the state of club's data department, telling : "We must have the best recruitment in the world. Data analysis comes alongside recruitment. It doesn’t really exist here. We’re still in the last century on data analysis here. There’s an immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we’re in the 'very poor' bracket with data analysis here."

AFPGuided by the data

Liverpool have long prided themselves on being at the cutting edge when it comes to data. The Reds begun taking data seriously in 2012, when they hired Ian Graham as director of research, and he helped the club develop an in-house analytics department. It led to, among other things, the creation of the 'possession value' model, which calculates how much each player improves their team's chances of scoring with each touch. The model led to Liverpool signing Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah while walking away from potential deals for Julian Brandt and Mario Gotze, whom Klopp had initially favoured.

Data also led to Liverpool making their best-ever recruitment decision: hiring Klopp in 2015. The energetic German was one of the most admired coaches due to winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund and taking them to the Champions League final in 2013, but his last season with Dortmund damaged his reputation, as his team finished seventh while losing 14 of their 34 games. 

Graham and his team could see, however, that Dortmund had been unlucky in many games and had just failed to take their chances. Graham explained this to Klopp when he met him and the coach was impressed that he had watched so many Dortmund games. Graham responded that he had not watched any of the matches, but had merely looked at the data. 

GettyEnormous gap in goals

Liverpool's data-driven approach has not led to a perfect transfer policy, and while Salah and Mane proved to be incredible buys, there have been some big disappointments, namely £64m ($85m) striker Darwin Nunez. But the Uruguayan, who scored 40 times in three seasons with the Reds, is the exception that proves the rule over the last few years.

In the same era, United have an endless list of expensive attacking flops, from Antony to Jadon Sancho to Rasmus Hojlund. Liverpool's impressive list of forwards signed over the past decade, meanwhile puts United's inconsistent rabble of attackers to shame: Salah has scored 248 goals and provided 116 assists in 411 games; Mane contributed to 166 goals in 269 games; Roberto Firmino notched 187 combined goals and assists in eight seasons; the late Diogo Jota averaged a goal or an assist every two games; Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo played huge roles in last season's title win. 

Liverpool's top five scorers over the past decade (Salah, Mane, Firmino, Jota and Diaz) found the net a combined 434 times in the Premier League. United's most prolific players in the same period (Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku) netted a combined 268 goals, a deficit of 166.

GOAL US writers break down the start of the European season and debate key questions about Americans Abroad

Now it's time for all of the hypotheticals to stop. Christian Pulisic do this. Josh Sargent play there. Johnny Cardoso be a good center midfielder. We now have some evidence, albeit in a very small sample size. Yes, the European season has started, and things are happening.

Pulisic, it seems, still remembers how to play football. Sargent is still probably a little bit too good for the Championship. Elsewhere, it's all just a bit chaotic. Cardoso hasn't settled into his new digs at Atletico Madrid yet.

Tim Weah turned in a whole lot of average for Marseille – but will surely improve in the months to come. Sergino Dest has started well, yet will surely face tougher tests as he returns from an ACL tear.

In short, there's a lot to figure out,  especially as USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino looks to build out his World Cup roster.

GOAL US writers break it all down in the latest edition of…  The Rondo.

Getty Images SportWhich Americans Abroad have been most impressive, based on early returns?

Tom Hindle: Slim pickings, but the best is probably Pulisic. Look, this is going to be a weird season for him. Milan got markedly worse, hired a manager who doesn't really believe in scoring goals, and have now, it seems, decided that Pulisic is a No. 9. That really doesn't bode well for someone who's trying to regain favor with the USMNT fan base. This is a results-based business, and Pulisic grabbed a goal against Serie B Bari to bag a Coppa Italia win. Not exactly spellbinding stuff, but a decent start. 

Jacob Schneider: Sargent, by all accounts, has been really impressive. He's outgrown the Championship and Norwich. The player who has really stood out, though, is Dest. The fullback has been lights out for PSV in his return from injury and has been nothing short of exceptional in attacking areas for the Dutch champions. Top stuff from both players.

Alex Labidou: This one is easy. Sargent has been incredible at the start of the Championship. Yes, it might seem like empty calories, considering his well-known struggles with the national team. But there’s no disputing he’s playing at another level at the moment. Staying at Norwich won’t help his chances, but if you’re Mauricio Pochettino, you have to give him a call up to see if he can finally break his six-year goalscoring drought.

Ryan Tolmich: Definitely Dest. No knock on Sargent, who has been great, but Dest went into this season with some question marks given his injury. Those are gone as he continues to rack up goal contributions for PSV. His return to fitness is massive for club and country, especially when he’s in this kind of form.

AdvertisementAFPWhich Americans Abroad have work to do, based on early returns?

TH: Weah didn't exactly have a blinder, but the concerning one might be Cardoso. He played just one half on Sunday, got booked, and didn't do loads in Atleti's 2-1 loss to Espanyol. Diego Simeone admitted after the game that he got his tactics wrong, too. It doesn't bode well for a guy who took a big step up.

JS: Damion Downs will need to break into the Southampton lineup regularly if he wants any shot of representing the USMNT next summer, while the likes of Weah, Yunus Musah, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Auston Trusty will need to do so, too. Meanwhile, the likes of Gio Reyna, Paxten Aaronson, Cole Campbell, and Folarin Balogun need to figure out their club situations before the close of the window.

AL: It is not encouraging to see Balogun back on the pine with another minor injury – which led him to miss Monaco’s 3-1 season-opening win against Le Havre. This is a crucial season for both him and the USMNT. As an old adage says, the best ability in sports is availability, and due to injuries and inconsistent form, Balogun has not played much for Les Rouge et Blanc. It is still early, but Monaco appear to be a team that is perfectly suited to play without the American – not something he envisioned when he joined the team in a blockbuster move just two seasons ago.  Another name to be concerned about is Brenden Aaronson. After being one of Leeds’ players of the season last year, helping them gain promotion to the Premier League, it appears that reality is hitting in the English top flight. He started on the bench for The Whites first game of the season and minutes might be hard to come by – which isn’t great considering his already loose hold on a World Cup roster spot.

RT: Too early to tell, aside from the one big one that needs a move: Reyna. We don’t have much data from this season, but we have plenty from the last few that says Reyna needs a new challenge. Here’s to him getting one before the window shuts.

Getty Images SportWho are the USMNT players to watch as Bundesliga and Serie A get started?

TH: Outside of the (potential but very unlikely) return of Reyna? It has to be Weston McKennie. Serie A tends to be a bit of a snoozefest, but Igor Tudor is a good coach, and Juventus have a real chance of winning the thing this year. McKennie is staying, Tudor seems to like him, and he will have a role to play. 

JS: Depending on how severe Kevin Paredes' injury is, he could still have a top season for Wolfsburg. But all eyes really are on Malik Tillman in the Bundesliga. The club-record signing has a lot to live up to this year. Meanwhile, a dark horse to watch is Noahkai Banks, Augsburg's highly rated teenage defender. In Italy, it's Pulisic time. One game, one goal – expectations are now on the table.

AL: This is not a flashy pick, but how about Joe Scally? He’s become a bit of a forgotten man under Pochettino, but outside of Tillman, he’s likely guaranteed the most minutes in the German top flight by an American. He’s also one of the best fullbacks in the division. That should count for something, and hopefully, he can prove himself this season. As for Serie A, Pulisic has already gotten off to a hot start for Milan and Max Allegri is utilizing him more as a striker with Rafa Leao up top. If he maximizes his fit as a drifting forward, U.S. fans could be looking at the highest scoring output of his career.

RT: Is this the season that Yunus Musah can finally figure it all out? The USMNT will hope so as Musah still finds himself as something of a tweener. Can he add goals to his game? Can he add defensive steel? Whichever it is, he needs to strengthen his game if he’s going to be counted on as a starter.

Getty ImagesWhich USMNT players have been most impressive in MLS, post Gold Cup?

TH: Alex Freeman, which is probably the least exciting pick of all time. He's a proper right back, and after continuing to impress for Orlando City, is playing himself right into the USMNT picture, and could be due for a step up in quality soon.

JS: Max Arfsten has been brilliant for the Columbus Crew, while Brian White at Vancouver and Freeman at Orlando have been exceptional, too. Diego Luna has stagnated in recent weeks, and hasn't quite been the blistering attacking force he has previously shown he can be.

AL: White has almost no shot of making the 2026 World Cup roster, but it won’t be because of his form in MLS. The Vancouver star keeps dropping goals after goals every game. Still, he’s almost 30 and plays an old school fox in the box forward. He’s clinical, but he’s not going to hold up play or press at the rate that his counterparts – who are playing in more competitive divisions – will do. Still, he’s easily in the conversation for the best striker in MLS right now and would have more goals if he weren’t on the Gold Cup roster.

RT: Small sample size here, but it’s been great to see Matt Turner back close to his best in these first games back with the Revolution. He’s looked strong and confident, which is vital for any goalkeeper with starting aspirations. He’s back in MLS to chase those, and off to a good start.

England seamer confident of protocols on return to socially-distanced training at Edgbaston

Andrew Miller22-May-2020Chris Woakes believes that his first day back at training has given him an insight into how the rest of the England summer will pan out, after admitting that the strict social-distancing protocols at his home ground of Edgbaston would “take up some headspace”.Woakes bowled five overs at about 50% intensity on Thursday, on his return to outside practice, using the box of six balls that each member of the England squad has been allocated since the ban on sporting activity was partially lifted by the UK government.And while he said that his hour-long session was “literally about turning the arm over and getting things moving again”, the measures taken to protect the players from contracting Covid-19 were a central part of the experience, from taking his temperature and uploading it to an app before leaving his house, to following a prescribed route into Edgbaston, the venue that looks set to host Pakistan’s training camp ahead of their planned three-Test series in August.ALSO READ: England training ‘safer than going to supermarket’ – Ashley Giles”The venues and counties have tried to make this as safe as possible,” Woakes said. “In my eyes, they’ve done a really good job. I knew exactly how I was going to go into the ground. You have to drive your own car – at the minute there’s a lot of testing going on at Edgbaston, with the testing facility – [so I] parked in a safe area at the back, and walked onto the pitch through the Hollies Stand. This has all been planned in the last few weeks, so it’s as safe as possible, we don’t come into contact with anyone.”I took everything I needed for training with me: bottles, towels, medicine balls, bands that I use for warming up. I was given a box of balls, ready there for me to use once I got into the ground. And then those balls are now mine. No one else will touch them – the whole thing of having one skin on each ball.”It was all very strict. On arrival there’s a station where you can wash your hands and put anti-bac on before you start. There was a physio from Warwickshire there with me but, again, we don’t come into contact. We stayed more than two metres apart and I did my training. It took about an hour, and then I walked back through the Hollies to my car and left.”The need to ensure no overlap with team-mates means that the players’ sessions are tightly scheduled at this stage of the process, before they progress to “contact clusters” in the coming weeks, ahead of the proposed start of the West Indies Test series in July. And though Woakes admitted he was glad to get back to work after an extraordinary period of downtime, he did acknowledge that the circumstances would take some getting used to.0:56

Stuart Broad enjoys first day back at Trent Bridge

“I guess it’s a bit of a window [into the new reality],” he said. “Cricket is not generally a contact sport, so that helps, but we will get more of an inkling when we start practising more as a team, and have more people training at a venue. There are no changing rooms involved at the moment, match mode will look a lot different.”Off the park, it will take up quite a bit of headspace. The world we are living does take up some headspace. But on the field you want 100% concentration, whether that is batting or bowling, and cricketers and sportsmen in general are quite good at focusing on the job in hand. But the ECB, the venues and counties are going above and beyond making it as safe as possible, so that will help us as players.”Some habits will have to change on the field, however, in particular the ingrained bowler’s instinct to polish the ball with saliva, which has now been outlawed by the ICC.”You’re going to have remind yourself that you can’t use those things to shine the ball,” said Woakes. “Don’t get me wrong, you can shine the ball without saliva and sweat, it probably just doesn’t have the same effect. You might have to work a little bit harder on the rubbing on the trousers, but luckily enough the ball moves around in England anyway.”You don’t always have to work overly hard on the ball, so hopefully that’ll work in our favour a bit. Thankfully it’s a Dukes and not a Kooka this summer, because then we would be struggling.”One trend that could catch on this summer is the use of bowler’s headbands, with both Woakes and Stuart Broad taking to wearing them in their practice sessions. However, while Broad said on Instagram that his had been a bid to prevent sweat running down his face, Woakes claimed that he was merely keeping his hair out of his eyes after several weeks without a trim.”I haven’t had it cut in 12 weeks apart from the wife doing the sides,” he said. “The alice band will probably be a feature for a while until I can get it cut.”

Paris Saint-Germain boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi will invite Prince William and Tom Hanks to the Parc des Princes for Aston Villa's Champions League tie.

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Prince William is a lifelong Aston Villa fanWill be invited along with Hanks by PSGTwo sides to clash in UCL next monthFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Prince William's affinity towards Aston Villa is well-known. The future King was spotted at the Villa Park earlier this month as the Villans welcomed Club Brugge in the second leg of the round of 16. The hosts secured a comfortable 3-1 victory, prompting the Prince of Wales to tell journalists, "See you in Paris," as he got into his car after the match, per the Daily Mail.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

It appears Prince William is ready to keep his promise to fellow Villa fans. According to , PSG president Al-Khelaifi is set to invite Prince William and Hollywood legend Hanks to the first leg of Villa's Champions League quarter-final at the Parc des Princes next month. The invitation comes as Al-Khelaifi marks a milestone, becoming PSG's longest-serving president with 13 years, four months, and 23 days in charge as of Wednesday. The Qatari surpasses Francis Borelli, who held the role from 1978 to 1991.

DID YOU KNOW?

Prince William is a regular at football matches with his son, Prince George, and has even confessed to losing his voice from cheering for Aston Villa. In January, he surprised Villa fans by buying a round of drinks at a Wetherspoons near Birmingham New Street Station ahead of their Premier League clash with Everton. The Prince treated eight fans to a round of beers while enjoying a pint of Bulmers cider, staying for about half an hour before catching a train back to London.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR ASTON VILLA?

Although Villa are currently in ninth position in the Premier League table, they are just four points adrift of the top four. Indeed, they could yet end the season with a Champions League spot as Chelsea, in fourth, have bagged just 49 points. Their upcoming next game is an FA Cup quarter-final clash against Preston on Sunday, March 30, followed by a league encounter with in-form Brighton next Wednesday, April 2.

World record opening stand makes light of steep chase as hosts level series at 1-1

Danyal Rasool22-Sep-2022A world record unbeaten 203-run partnership that was devastating in its brutality and yet delectable in its beauty saw Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam chase down 200 against England with three balls to spare, and without the loss of a single wicket. Babar scored his second T20I hundred, taking 62 balls to get there, while Rizwan’s unbeaten 51-ball 88 was a more than adequate supporting act.The wicket seemed to play especially slow in the first innings, so the 199 England put up looked well above par at the time. That came thanks to two contrasting innings from the England middle order, with Ben Duckett’s pragmatic shot-making setting a platform, before Moeen Ali’s furious elegance saw him caress an undefeated 55 off 23. Given Babar had said at the toss 160 would be the upper limit of what Pakistan wanted to chase, England looked invulnerable.But for all of Pakistan’s strike rate issues up the order, there has never been any evidence Babar and Rizwan aren’t at their best when chasing a total, no matter what that total might be. They did, after all, gun down 204 against South Africa in April 2021 with a 197-run partnership, and they were more than up for the relentlessly attacking cricket they would have to subject England’s bowling to. Fifty-nine came off the powerplay, and the openers simply continued in the same vein as the visitors ran out of ideas. Alex Hales grassing Rizwan in the powerplay was a sliding doors moment, as a virtually chanceless opening pairing timed the chase to perfection to seal a stunning 10-wicket win.The devastating duo
There’s really little point talking about much else. England have the better power hitters, the better middle order, and significantly more batting weapons in their arsenal, and don’t Babar and Rizwan know it. These two put together a solid opening stand in the first game, only to see their team-mates crumble under pressure, and so it appeared they recognised solid wasn’t going to cut it. They might have to do it all themselves.A couple of boundaries either side of square from Rizwan in the first over set the tone. Rizwan led the charge early on as the captain took his time bedding in, though a couple of clobbered boundaries off Sam Curran suggested Babar, too, was beginning to whirr back into form. With the pace bowlers seen to, Moeen turned to Liam Dawson’s spin, but 13 runs off the sixth over suggested Pakistan would allow the visitors no hiding place.ESPNcricinfo LtdA brief quiet spell following the powerplay saw the asking rate creep up, but when Moeen put himself on in the 13th over, the tide turned decisively. Twenty-one from the over, including three muscled sixes, put the openers in a zone few others in world cricket can reach. From thereon, they were unstoppable, England’s bowlers no impediment in the inexorable march to the target. A flurry of boundaries followed and by the time Babar brought up his century, the victory was almost a formality. It was, fittingly, a cover drive that sealed the win, a signature shot from a man who showed an ephemeral dip in form was little more than that.Duckett and Moeen’s contrasting styles
It would be hard to imagine what kind of surface you’d need to produce to ensure both Moeen and Duckett might excel, but this Karachi strip appears to be one of them. A slow surface made it difficult to play down the ground, and so Duckett resorted to playing the paddle and reverse sweep almost exclusively to great effect. A quickfire 50-run stand with Phil Salt allowed England to edge ahead, and by the time Duckett was cleaned up by Mohammad Nawaz, he had scored what looked an extremely handy 22-ball 43 in an innings where England otherwise struggled.But Moeen took over the reins thereafter, punishing every error in line and length – of which there were plenty on an off-colour day for Pakistan’s bowlers – making a mockery of the idea this pitch might not be suitable to conventional shot-making. He didn’t discriminate between spin and pace, Usman Qadir and Mohammad Hasnain both seeing the final two deliveries of their last overs sent sailing over the ropes. It was a breathtaking mix of timing, power and beauty, an all-round treat for the eyes that looked, at that time, as if it might be the point of difference.

Newcastle United built up some positivity during their thrilling midweek draw against Liverpool but were swept aside in tempestuous conditions against Brentford this weekend.

The 4-2 scoreline was just, all things considered, the Bees proving to be far more clinical with their shooting throughout the frenetic encounter.

The two sides began the weekend level on 20 points, but the Bees have flown ahead and left the Magpies grounded. Newcastle have it all to do, with plenty of lacklustre performances sure to leave the manager incensed.

Newcastle's worst performers vs Brentford

While Eddie Howe’s side appear to be finding their shooting boots after uninspiring attacking displays throughout the opening months of the campaign, there is still much work to be done before the requisite fluency is struck.

At the rear, Fabian Schar, hero in midweek, suffered a calamitous defensive display, failing to stand firm as he tried and failed to placate the rampant Bees attacking threat.

Newcastle also lost the midfield battle and thus failed to establish a foothold from which they could control the flow of the fixture. The hosts won 63% of their tackles, whereas United won just 42%, as per Sofascore.

Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff should both hang their heads after flattering to deceive, but it was Joelinton who was the worst of a rotten bunch and must now be dropped. Surely.

Joelinton's game in numbers vs Brentford

There’s no question that Joelinton brings energy and power to the Newcastle midfield, but it needs to be tempered and balanced with greater control and direction.

The Chronicle Live’s Lee Ryder didn’t hold back in condemning the collective performance from the Magpies, though he did brand Joelinton as one of the measliest out there, handing him a 4/10 match score.

The correspondent wrote: ‘Not at it. Switched off too many times not least for goal number three as Nathan Collins, the man he was marking, calmly walked through to score. No surprise he was hooked.’

Minutes played

60′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

36

Shots (on target)

0 (0)

Pass completion

22/24 (92%)

Key passes

1

Dribbles (completed)

2 (1)

Tackles + interceptions

2

Total duels (won)

12 (4)

Sandro Tonali sat on the bench throughout the first half and will be desperate to reclaim a starting berth during next weekend’s St. James’ Park contest against Leicester City.

Joe Willock was not involved but will fancy his chances too, for he is a ball-carrying specialist but brings greater control through his passing.

Ultimately, Joelinton – who lost eight duels in total – flattered to deceive, ran around and made himself look big but failed to sharpen his combativeness to an accurate point nor influence the fixture positively. The fact that goalkeeper Nick Pope (42) recorded more touches than his 36 says it all.

Tonali, who replaced him on the hour mark, completed 87% of his passes and won both of his duels. It’s clear that Newcastle need to improve, and must bench Joelinton for the next match.

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ByAngus Sinclair Dec 6, 2024

Wolverhampton Wanderers fans must be sensing a change is desperately needed at Molineux in the manager department, especially after Monday night’s defeat to West Ham United.

That was the third straight defeat the Old Gold had tasted in Premier League action, which leaves them with just two wins next to their name in a lowly 19th spot, as Gary O’Neil attempts to cling onto his job position for dear life with a basement clash versus Ipswich Town up next.

He might not be so lucky to last until that big game at the foot of the league, however, with a number of rumoured names being lined up to replace the 44-year-old now.

Managers who could replace O'Neil

Although talkSPORT have come out and said that it’s looking likely that O’Neil will still amazingly be in charge for this tie with Kieran McKenna’s men, there must surely be some movement on Wolves’ end now in putting together a list of replacements if the plug is pulled soon.

Rumours had circulated that West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan was in some conversations to oust the former AFC Bournemouth boss from his precarious job post, with the close geography between the two sides one obvious factor behind the link.

Of course, the Spaniard has also made the Baggies regular promotion contenders in the Championship, with the 41-year-old perhaps ready for a test up a level at nearby Wolves.

There had also been some talk of David Moyes being lined up to replace O’Neil, but one face really would be an ideal successor to O’Neil if a move could get off the ground, with the manager in question an improvement too on Corberan.

Wolves could look to appoint "genius" manager

It had been reported that the relegation-threatened Old Gold were holding talks with Graham Potter to come in before Monday night’s defeat to the Hammers, with the temptation to appoint the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss even more palpable now after this crushing loss.

Even West Ham have been eyeing up Potter in their attempts to get rid of Julen Lopetegui, but it’s much more pressing for the Old Gold to improve on O’Neil, with the 49-year-old offering the West Midlands side a lot more than their under-pressure boss.

Whilst he will still feel the agony of how poorly his spell at Chelsea went, Potter managed to oversee an impressive ninth-placed finish for the Seagulls during his final full campaign at the South Coast, alongside also lifting his side way above the bottom three during his first two seasons.

Wolves fans will take some comfort in the fact Potter has been there and done that when it comes to relegation battles, with a hope he could also help the Old Gold soar back into the top half of the league standings over time, having captivated fans at Brighton with some exciting displays of attacking football when things were all going smoothly.

Manager

Matches

Wins

Losses

Draws

Potter

374

144

114

116

Corberan

220

88

61

71

O’Neil

87

25

16

46

Sourced by Transfermarkt

It’s clear looking at the table above that Potter boasts more experience than both Corberan and O’Neil, with Potter even boasting 41 Premier League wins next to his name as a manager that could get the best out of the likes of Rayan Ait-Nouri using his expansive 4-2-3-1 set-up.

Whereas, Corberan wouldn’t be able to make Wolves quite so entertaining, as his Baggies side have only found the back of the net 21 times in the Championship this season to date, where he has also only collected a weak six wins from 19 league outings.

A beloved figure throughout his time on the South Coast before his exit to Chelsea – leading to suggestions that he was a “genius” by journalist Sam Morton – Potter will hope he can repair his managerial reputation at the Molineux helm if he is decided to be worthy of replacing O’Neil.

Of course, O’Neil hasn’t officially been let go of yet, but with faces such as Potter readily available, it might not be long you presume until a decision on the 44-year-old’s future is finally out there.

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