Tag Futebol

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Real Madrid have an incredibly important match this Tuesday, as they go in search of their first Champions League win of the season against Galatasaray.

But they face a tall task and for that reason, Karim Benzema may once again have to put the team on his shoulders.

On the chalkboard

It is not often that we see Los Blancos in such a difficult situation as this one.

Their first two games in Europe ended in a 3-0 defeat and a 2-2 draw against PSG and Club Brugge respectively, leaving Zinedine Zidane’s troops with no wins to their names just yet.

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And quite frankly, anything other than a victory over Galatasaray on Tuesday night would make the situation that much worse for the giants from the Spanish capital.

Seeing how it’s a do or die game, Benzema, who is currently their best-rated player in the squad according to Whoscored, will have to step up and save the team once again.

But that also means outperforming the man on the other side of the pitch, Ryan Babel.

A tight battle

The Champions League has always been Real Madrid’s bread and butter throughout their history.

After all, they are the team with 13 European trophies to their name and Zidane played a major part in that success, winning three consecutive ones in his last tenure with the club.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

But times are tough and the Galacticos will now have to fight to even stay afloat in the competition.

Seeing how Benzema has been one of the only consistently good players in the squad, Zidane’s hopes will likely hinge on him once again.

After all, the big French forward has already scored six goals in La Liga this season and has done so with 3.6 shots and 1.5 aerials won per game. Other than that, he has also tallied one dribble, 1.5 dispossessions and 2.4 unsuccessful touches per game as well.

But his counterpart on the other side is the versatile Babel.

Even though he can be deployed as a midfielder, the 32-year-old is often slotted up front to lead the line for Galatasaray. For that reason, he already has three goals to his name in the domestic league and has done so with 2.3 shots and 1.5 aerials per game, which is pretty close to Benzema’s own tally.

But this experienced Dutchman is also a great dribbler as well as he has recorded 2.3 dribbles per game in the Super Lig and fewer dispossessions and unsuccessful touches than Benzema with 1.4 and 2.1 respectively.

This is bound to be a great matchup and considering Real Madrid’s poor form in Europe, it could well come down to which forward provides the most firepower on the night. Benzema may be the obvious candidate, but don’t write off Babel just yet.

A Jermain Defoe hat-trick fired Rangers to a 5-0 win against Hamilton Academical on Sunday afternoon as the Gers went top in the Scottish Premiership.

Earlier in the day, Celtic had lost to Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena to open the door to the Gers to go top as we headed into the international break.

And, indeed, the Light Blues took the opportunity presented to them emphatically with them hammering the away side.

It was Defoe who was the lead goal-scorer during the game with Connor Goldson and Borna Barisic also notching for the Gers on the day.

Most of the praise, unsurprisingly though, fell to Defoe on social media as he scored yet another career hat-trick.

He’s showing no signs of slowing down as he turns 37, then, and fans had this to say on Twitter about his performance…

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Real Madrid defied the odds last weekend when they travelled to Sevilla and snatched all three points with a narrow 1-0 victory over their hosts.

By all means, this was a triumph worth celebrating.

After all, this was Los Blancos’ first victory away at Sevilla in four years, which is an incredible piece of information in itself.

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But one other thing made it even more satisfying than it already was – the Galacticos finally managed to keep a clean sheet, their first one in the ongoing 2019/20 campaign, to the delight of supporters.

They quickly jumped to social media and Twitter to celebrate the achievement and many of them were seemingly over the moon about it.

And no one can really blame them, especially considering the venue and the opposition on the other side of the pitch.

You can see some of their replies in the collection of tweets down below. Take a look!

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Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 4-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday – scoring all of their goals in the first half – and it was no surprise that their performance garnered some praise from pundits, including former Arsenal man Paul Merson in his latest Sky Sports column.

What did he write?

Tottenham made Crystal Palace look average.

They looked a proper team and as soon as the first whistle blew, they meant business. They rolled the ball back to the centre-half, the lumped it forward and Winks put it over the bar within 10 seconds.

The fans didn’t have to wait. They took the game to Palace, and they didn’t know what day it was.

Verdict

He may be a former Gunner, but it is clear that the one-time England international was impressed with what he saw from Spurs – and rightly so.

Their previous home defeat against Newcastle United proved that the visit of Crystal Palace – who beat the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Wolves away last season – was a potential banana skin, but as Merson says the hosts were at it from the very first whistle.

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When the north London outfit play with that intensity it is difficult for opposition teams to cope, and in that respect it is a bit of a mystery why they haven’t been playing in a similar vein throughout the campaign to date – Sky Sports reported last week how they had pressed fewer times than any other Premier League team prior to the clash against the Eagles.

What is for sure is that if Tottenham can keep that level of performance up for the next seven or eight months, they shouldn’t be too far away from potentially challenging for a top-two finish in 2020.

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Alexandre Lacazette is reportedly waiting to see what sort of market there is for him before signing a new contract with Arsenal.

What’s the story?

Earlier on this year, the France international was said to be of interest to FC Barcelona. Whilst nothing came of that speculation, it could have played on the mind of the 27-year-old.

It is being reported that the former Lyon forward is waiting to see what the market for him is next summer before committing to a new contract with the north London outfit.

“They have the bigger mentality” – Spurs fans come to blows after the North London Derby in the video below…

Lack of playing time

It has been a good start to the season for Lacazette, and he has once again shown exactly what he is capable of. In his first three Premier League games, he has scored twice and notched up an average WhoScored rating of 7.14. His performance against Tottenham, in particular, galvanised his side as they recovered from a 2-0 deficit to earn a point.

There is a possibility he will be frustrated at the Emirates Stadium, and that is down to a lack of playing time. Last season, he started just 27 league games, and has already been dropped for once this term, against Liverpool of all teams.

Quite frankly, Lacazette is too good to be on the bench. Last season, he scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions, despite starting just 36 matches. If that fixture against the Reds is anything to go by, he may once again be used sparingly this time around.

As such, he may be looking to move on to another top side in a bid to start more regularly, and there are a number of clubs in the Champions League who would surely be willing to take him. After all, he is a top class player. If he wants to keep him in north London, Emery should think about giving him a bigger role.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Soccer Link, via Get French Football News, Southampton have joined a host of clubs in the race to sign Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile, and he would be the addition that would leave manager Ralph Hasenhuttl in dreamland.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Soccer Link, via GFFN, report that Saints have made a formal enquiry for the highly-rated defender, who made 26 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit last term despite only celebrating his 18th birthday in March.

GFFN have relaid information that the south coast outfit have joined Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United, who have made verbal offers of €30m (£27.4m) for the teenager, as well as La Liga trio Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Valencia, in the chase for the young Frenchman’s signature.

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The report adds that while Monaco director Oleg Petrov doesn’t want to lose Badiashile this summer, manager Leonardo Jardim is unable to guarantee him regular first-team football in 2019/20.

Just what Hasenhuttl ordered

It has been no secret that Southampton, who have looked good going forward but sometimes shaky at the back in pre-season, have been wanting to bring a new centre-back to St Mary’s before the transfer deadline next week.

From a Norwich effort described as “bird poo” to a hipster classic, fans show off their favourite ever football kit in the video below…

The Telegraph reported it was their priority in the market following the addition of Che Adams – but links to players in that position have been very few and far between.

However, the Monaco man ticks a lot of boxes for Saints and their Austrian manager, as he is a player who has already shown his quality and has the potential to get even better and be sold on for a larger fee in the future, while he also fits into the under 24 age range for signings Hasenhuttl mentioned in an interview with SportBild earlier this summer.

According to Soccer Souls, the 6 foot 4 Badiashile is powerful, reads the game excellently and is a real ball-playing defender – backed up by the fact that he had a pass success rate of 89.5% in 20 Ligue 1 appearances last term, as per WhoScored.

Saints have been calling out for a quick and intelligent defender who can complement the likes of Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek at the back after 65 Premier League goals were conceded last term, and the 18-year-old appears to fit the bill.

His potential arrival could also be the one that finally allows Hasenhuttl to switch to the 4-2-2-2 formation that served him so well at RB Leipzig previously, seeing as he is still favouring a five-at-the-back system as shown by his selection for the first half against Feyenoord on Sunday.

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A number of Aston Villa fans have been on social media reacting to the news that Mitchell Clark has joined Leicester City on a three-year contract.

Clark came through the youth system at Villa but only made one first-team appearance for the club and was released earlier this summer.

The 20-year-old has been snapped up by Leicester, though, in a deal that has not gone down too well with a number of the Villa supporters.

Indeed, some claimed that the club could be made to regret getting rid of Clark, with Marc Albrighton and Gary Cahill being used as previous examples of where Villa might have got it wrong.

It remains to be seen whether Clark, who spent last season on loan with Port Vale in League Two, can make the breakthrough at Leicester.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, the Villa fans are concerned that the club could regret his exit – a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Thursday’s West Brom transfer roundup touched upon interest in a League One midfielder, news on a 16-year-old prodigy and an update on an Egyptian international. Today’s edition consists of the Baggies entering the race for a French striker, an approach from a Chinese club for a 29-year-old forward and a knockback in the race for an Irish forward.

West Brom interested in Maupay

According to The Express and Star, West Brom have joined the race to sign Brentford’s Neal Maupay, but are currently behind Sheffield United and Aston Villa. Albion will be able to raise the 22-year-old’s wages, but cannot compete with the Premier League clubs on that front. Maupay scored 25 goals in the Championship for the Bees last season.

Benitez makes Rondon approach

West Brom have received an approach from a Chinese club in regards to Salomon Rondon The Express and Star is also reporting. The interested party is Rafa Benitez’s Dalian Yifang. Although it is not known whether they have matched the Venezuelan’s £16.5m release clause, they have offered more than any English club so far.

Sheffield United beat Baggies to Robinson

The Baggies made an attempt to sign Preston’s Callum Robinson according to journalist Laurie Whitwell. Slaven Bilic and co had been willing to “go all the way” for the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international, but the forward chose Premier League side Sheffield United instead. Robinson has now been confirmed as the Blades’ new record signing.

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According to an exclusive report from TEAMtalk, Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Ousmane Dembele for around £90m as Barcelona bosses look to recoup some cash.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Spanish champions have already tied up a £65m move for Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong, and are seemingly close to capturing Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann – Atletico’s president Miguel Ángel Gil Marín has already confirmed that the Frenchman will go to Barcelona.

As a result, TEAMtalk report that the Catalan-based side want to recoup some cash, and see selling Dembele as an ideal way to do that.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

Anfield is said to be one of the winger’s preferred destinations, although he will cost the Champions League winners a fair wedge with Barcelona chasing around £90m for his signature – roughly £6.8m less than they signed him for.

Why would Jurgen Klopp do this?

Klopp hates players who cause trouble.

We’ve seen evidence of this in the past when he froze Mamadou Sakho out of the team, who was a key performer in the side at the time; the German doesn’t care who you are if you don’t follow the rules.

Liverpool have a great team spirit, and signing Dembele may disrupt that given the flashy winger’s past antics.

The former Borussia Dortmund forward trashed the house that he was renting in Germany whilst attempting to force a move to Barcelona back in 2017 – that house, coincidentally, was Klopp’s, and he was far from happy.

Dembele’s lack of professionalism and drive is holding him back, and he has been accused of disrespecting the Spanish champions and his teammates having also shown up late for training a number of times.

Gerard Pique and former Liverpool man Luis Suarez have both tried to give him some advice, but nothing seems to be prompting the French international into action.

Klopp would not be happy with a player like this, and would risk upsetting the tight-knit squad he has if he signed Dembele.

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Phil Hay on Twitter immediately shut down any rumours that Leeds United would once again look for a move for Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez.

The forward proved his striking credentials in English football during his spell at Hull City where he netted 20 goals in the Championship in one season.

The 28-year-old has now been released by CSKA Moscow and is available on a free. Leeds were chasing him back in 2018, but it seems that they’re unwilling to go back in for him this time around.

Need a striker

Leeds are in desperate need for a forward this summer. Although Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford scored quite a few goals between them, the Whites’ conversion rate was the worst in the Championship last season.

The strikers at Elland Road have been squandering too many chances over the past 12 months, and if Leeds are to go up next year that has to stop.

Hernandez is a proven goalscorer at this level, and if he is available for free it doesn’t make any sense for Victor Orta to just ignore that.

29 goals in 52 Championship appearances tells you all you need to know about the Uruguayan’s proficiency up top.

Best option available

Leeds have been linked with loads of strikers since the season ended. Michael Frey and Dwight Gayle immediately spring to mind.

The Newcastle man would cost close to £20 million, whilst Frey is valued at £2.25 million by Transfermarkt.

Both of these fees would likely add up to more than Hernandez’s yearly wages if he is signed on a free transfer.

Frey has never been a prolific scorer in his career, and whilst Gayle has been a fantastic Championship striker, Hernandez may be better value for money.

Gayle has an unbelievable strike rate scoring 47 goals in 72 Championship appearances, but Hernandez is one of the only players in the world who can rival that in this division netting 29 in 52.

Leeds would be saving themselves a lot of cash if they opted for Hernandez rather than Gayle, and despite his marginally worse goalscoring record he would still be the better signing.