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Manchester United almost lost tonight’s match

March 3, 2021 No Comments

Manchester United’s already slim Premier League title hopes were dealt a blow as they were held to a goalless draw in a drab encounter at Crystal Palace.

The visitors dominated possession but struggled to create many meaningful chances, with Nemanja Matic going closest in the first half when he brought out a decent save from Vicente Guaita.

Palace did not manage a shot on target until early in the second half when Jordan Ayew fired straight at keeper Dean Henderson after a good one-two with Christian Benteke.

But the hosts almost pinched it right at the end when Patrick van Aanholt was put in on goal, but he was denied by Henderson.

The draw means Manchester United are 14 points behind leaders and local rivals Manchester City before the two sides meet on Sunday.

The point for Crystal Palace moved them on to 34 points and 11 points clear of the relegation zone as Roy Hodgson’s side edge closer to securing another season of Premier League football.

This is the start of a potentially season-defining month for Manchester United. After facing their city rivals on Sunday, they have games against AC Milan in the Europa League, as well as an FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester.

It was, therefore, important they made a strong start to March. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have only lost once in the Premier League since 1 November, but too many of their recent games have ended in draws.

This was a match they really needed to win to keep up the pressure on Manchester City, but they were far from their best as they displayed a severe lack of creativity.

Even Bruno Fernandes, so often their attacking spark having contributed to 25 goals this season, was below par as he struggled to make an impact on Wednesday’s game.

Indeed, for large periods of this fixture the increasing thickness of the fog that had descended over Selhurst Park was the most exciting thing to develop, as Manchester United played out their third goalless draw in a row.

The lack of attacking threat will surely be a growing concern for Solskjaer going into a crucial period of their season.

Football

Lampard’s Chilwell obsession explained in match-winning Premier League debut

October 4, 2020 No Comments

The left-back delivered an extraordinarily assured performance on his league debut for his new club following on from a £50m move from Leicester

Ben Chilwell was at the top of the Chelsea transfer shortlist all summer, with Frank Lampard having identified the left-back spot as a glaring weakness, and the England man is producing the goods from the off.

Following on from an assist on his debut against Barnsley, and an accomplished 60-minute display in the EFL Cup penalty shootout defeat against Tottenham, the full-back was the best player on the pitch at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The 23-year-old struck his first goal for the club after Cheikhou Kouyate’s clearance in the 50th minute to cap off what was already a man-of-the-match performance on his Premier League debut for his new side.

He went on to provide for the second, a deep cross for Kurt Zouma to head home to make it 2-0 at home to the club’s London rivals. That was his second assist since joining and his first full 90 minutes on a day when Chelsea hit four in total. Jorginho went onto add two penalty goals to round off a comfortable 4-0 win.

Chilwell had consistent, impressive moments on the ball throughout, demonstrating his stamina on the left-hand side. Going forward he was deadly. And with Mason Mount and Reece James on the bench, Chilwell stepped up to take corners and free-kicks. Deliveries from the £50 million ($65m) defender led to a free header from Zouma and a good chance for Jorginho.

It was the first clean sheet of the season against Premier League opposition for what might turn out to be a defence Lampard can settle on. What a difference seven days make, following last week’s disastrous defensive showing against West Brom.

Crystal Palace’s threats are well known – a counter-attacking team good at set-pieces – and they have already gone to Old Trafford and beaten Manchester United this season. Chilwell’s speed and stature were crucial against such opposition on Saturday afternoon.

Chilwell met the media for the first time since leaving Leicester for Stamford Bridge this week, revealing that he still prioritises his defensive work and is looking to fix what was a weak backline last season.

“I’ve come here to try and help Chelsea concede fewer goals. If I can chip in with helping to score or creating goals, that’s a positive,” he said. “But myself coming here, the aim has to be to help the team stop conceding goals,” he said in a Zoom conference on Thursday ahead of the match.

Blues boss Lampard has been chopping and changing his defence since taking over and with Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta at full-back – allied with central defensive duo of Thiago Silva and Zouma – Chelsea finally look solid.

The Foxes were understandably reluctant to sell but eventually had to let go of their homegrown prospect, with Lampard getting his man. In the process, both of the club’s other left-backs, Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri, were unsettled and are now competing over a move to Inter.

Alonso was substituted following a half-time row at the Hawthorns with Lampard that has thrown his future in doubt. The Spain international works better as a wing-back so hasn’t been able to excel when in a back four under Lampard.

The left-backs are part of Chelsea’s overall strategy to offload players and they weren’t in the squad for Palace as Chilwell impressively stepped up to take his place.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Antonio Rudiger were also left out and Lampard found his most complete performance of the season after five flawed games to begin.

Callum Hudson-Odoi started the match despite an approach from Bayern Munich, with the German giants once again making their interest public. Lampard sent a message to his youngster by starting him – first-team football may help convince the 19-year-old that Chelsea is the place to be.

Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic returned from injury late on, with Hakim Ziyech also closing in on a comeback from a knee injury.

There has been a ruthless purge to fit in six new signings in recent weeks, but Chilwell, or ‘Chily’ as they call him in west London, proved that renewal is not only necessary but to be welcomed.

Fixing a defence that conceded 54 goals last season in the league is going to be a priority, the worst such record since Roman Abramovich bought the club. Even signing Anthony Barry as a coach from Wigan Athletic has been part of that particular repair job.

“At the minute, I am working on set-pieces, certainly overseen by Frank, and nothing would ever be done without his blessing and approval,” Barry said in the programme before kick-off.

Amid an inconsistent start, the win shows Lampard’s project has got a fresh outlook after criticism following their defeat in the Carabao Cup.

Football

‘I cannot have grudges’ – Lampard addresses uncertainty around Chelsea player sales and Alonso incident

October 2, 2020 No Comments

The Blues will be active in the transfer market but it is mostly going to be around slimming down their squad having signed six players this summer

Frank Lampard is readying himself for Chelsea‘s game against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon amid uncertainty in his squad around outgoing transfers ahead of deadline day.

The transfer window closes at 5pm on Monday with a host of Chelsea players likely to leave the club. Ross Barkley became the latest to depart this week, on a season-long loan to Aston Villa.

The latest player to see his future thrown into doubt was Marcos Alonso after he was subject to a dressing down by Lampard in front of the squad before being substituted at half-time away at West Bromwich Albion.

Lampard addressed the situation for the first time with Internazionale interested in taking him on loan in the coming days. The Blues boss approached the subject cautiously but was clear that he doesn’t want to hold grudges with his squad over incidents.

“I am not going to disclose what goes on in the dressing room, I think that would be wrong,” Lampard said of the incident which has since been widely reported. “We were disappointed to be 3-0 down at half-time, I had to make changes.

“All I ask from all the players, through the good and the bad, is that the players stick together. That is the only thing which will bring through a successful group. That’s as much as I have got to say on it. It doesn’t affect anything ongoing.

“I cannot have grudges but carry on. We work, we carry on and be honest with each other and carry on to work to get better and better and things happen over the course of a season they happen a lot.”

Lampard could see Antonio Rudiger leave with Paris Saint-Germain leading the race for a loan deal, Chelsea having signed Thiago Silva from the French club a free transfer.

Fikayo Tomori is likely to stay, and so is Callum Hudson-Odoi despite talk of a loan move to Bayern Munich, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek could make a temporary move. Lampard spoke about the three homegrown stars, with the latter gaining interest from West Ham.

“With every player in the squad, with the situation of a loan you have to consider what’s best for the player, what’s best for the club first and foremost,” he said. “Then see how it stacks up. So with all those three players, I would take those things into consideration.

“I haven’t got an answer for you on any of those three. I have a good relationship with them all, speak honestly with them, again that’s one that we’ll broach player by player in the next few days.

“Once the window shuts every player that will be here will be used within our squad, because it’s a long season and a lot of competitions coming up. We’ll know more on Monday.”

When pressed about Rudiger, who also has interest from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, Lampard said: “No, there are no more developments.”