Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven survived a late scare to defeat lowly Excelsior 3-2 on Saturday, while Twente kept up their pursuit.PSV looked to have sealed up another three points as they entered injury time leading 2-1, only for Edwin de Graaf to draw the hosts level with a late penalty.But there was another twist in the tale as the league leaders were awarded their own penalty before time expired, and Hungarian midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak was on hand to slot the spot-kick past Excelsior goalkeeper Nico Pellatz.Guyon Fernandez gave Excelsior a surprise lead in the 22nd minute with his seventh goal of the season, but their joy was tempered after the break as Jeremain Lens (50) and Atiba Hutchinson (52) scored in quick succession.The hosts very nearly stole a point when De Graaf coolly converted past Andreas Isaksson as the game entered injury time, but PSV had time enough to restore their lead and maintain their three-point gap over Twente.Twente, meanwhile, ran out 2-0 winners over visiting NAC Breda as Luuk de Jong and Nacer Chadli got themselves on the scoresheet in the second half.De Jong put the Dutch champions ahead in the 61st minute, meeting Breda goalkeeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar’s punched clearance at distance with a terrific volley for his 10th strike of the season.Belgian midfielder Chadli sealed the win in injury time, finishing off substitute Ola John’s good work down the right with a simple tap past the Breda number one.Elsewhere, ADO Den Haag thumped 10-man NEC Nijmegen 5-1 to leap to fourth on the table provisionally.Lex Immers, Dmitri Bulykin, Wesley Verhoek, Jens Toornstra and Jordy Brouwer all put goals past NEC, who lost Danish midfielder Niki Zimling three minutes from injury time with a straight red card.Finally, Marco van Ginkel scored and Ferry de Regt added an own goal in injury time as Vitesse Arnhem defeated second-bottom VVV Venlo 2-0.
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has been catching the eye of many during his side’s World Cup campaign in South Africa and Chelsea are just one of the club’s linked with the Ajax man, could he be the perfect foil for Didier Drogba?
Manchester United has previously had the strongest interest in Suarez, but many feel that at £30+ million the Red Devils have been priced out of the market for him.
Suarez joined the list of top scorers in South Africa after his brace against South Korea in the second round took him to a total of three. It is not just his goal scoring that has impressed, but his relationship with fellow Uruguayan forwards Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani.
It would seem as though Suarez’s performances have caught the eye of Carlo Ancelotti according to reports. Ancelotti thinks that the 23-year-old Ajax forward could be a long term successor for Blues’ hitman Drogba, but there’s no reason to suggest he couldn’t be the perfect foil for the Ivorian considering he isn’t always the main man for his country and performs well with the likes of Forlan.
At Ajax Suarez had been used in a more supporting role for both Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Marko Pantelic, it is only since the arrival of Martin Jol he was made captain and became the focal point of the Dutch club’s attack.
So, he can play a supporting role, but he is also pretty prolific as well scoring an incredible 49 goals in 48 games as well as his three World Cup goals.
However, the Eredivisie can often flatter to deceive and if there is any truth in the links then the Stamford Bridge faithful will be hoping that Suarez is more of an Arjen Robben (a player many Chelsea fans feel they still have not successfully replaced) and less of a Mateja Kezman, who came to west London with an impressive goal record in Holland but failed to make an impact in the Premier League (not for the want of trying though).
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It is thought that Ancelotti believes that Suarez has what it takes to achieve on a bigger stage, rather than just the fairly average Dutch league and that he could operate in either 451 or the former AC Milan chief’s preferred diamond formation. Also, Chelsea will have to start thinking about successors for the likes of Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, who are 32 and 31 respectively.
It is not the first time that Suarez has been linked with Ancelotti’s side as there were many rumours circulating ahead of the January transfer window. Many quarters in the Dutch press had suggested that the Uruguayan had signed a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea in December 2009 and was due to move there during the winter transfer window, but the deal never came to pass.
Chelsea may face some competition if they wish to sign the young forward as Manchester United remain in the frame despite financial worries and also Barcelona, who are willing to buy players out of spite if you believe the stories in the press.
Do the Chelsea fans think that Luis Suarez could blend in well with their Premier League and FA Cup winning side?
Can Suarez be the ideal foil for Didier Drogba?
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Click on image below to see the Argentinean babes at the World Cup
It was around this time last year that a man masquerading as Wayne Rooney was putting in awful performances for Manchester United.
It was assumed that injuries as well as fatigue were robbing us of the Wayne Rooney that had scored 34 goals the previous season. He had been rushed back from the ankle injury that effectively ended his season and our title hopes too soon. Coupling that with the fact he went to South Africa with England for the World Cup meant we had been given back a weary and unfit striker.
But at the start of October rumours of the strikers infidelity were smeared across the front pages of newspapers worldwide. Everybody had an opinion on it and subsequently Wayne Rooney made his intentions of leaving Old Trafford clear.
We all know how that saga panned out and it is merely an aside in a season that saw us win league title number 19 as well as reach the Champions League final for the 3rd time in 4 years as Rooney came good and his poor start was put down to off field problems amongst other things.
With that said I don’t suppose I’m the only person with a feeling of Deja Vu here?
News today that Rio Ferdinand has lost a court case to prevent papers revealing cases of extra marital activities make this a very familiar scenario to the one we faced last season.
Last season as he returned against Chelsea in the Champions League we sang his praises, welcoming the returning hero but this season, with the rise of Chris Smalling and the signing of burgeoning talent Phil Jones, it appears Ferdinand is becoming a whipping boy.
Injured in the first league game against West Brom, this season has been a stop start one for Rio Ferdinand and when he has played he hasn’t looked his assured comfortable self and the game against Basel highlighted this.
It wasn’t just the sloppy manner in which we gave away goals with a defence supposedly being marshalled by the former captain, it was silly things that we don’t expect from the usually class Ferdinand, things like his slip that felled Frei, an indiscretion that a harsher ref may have deemed a foul and sent him off for as the last man.
Injuries haven’t been kind to Ferdinand in recent years and it seems this season is no different, at his age they will definitely start taking a toll so having to worry about personal problem won’t help his case.
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Whilst Ferdinand’s form hasn’t been as drastically bad as Rooney’s was it has still been bad enough for people to highlight but like I said in Rooney’s case, players don’t just turn ‘shit’ overnight so I expect that his off field problems will be taken into account when people start writing him off.
Football fans’ willingness to show their dedication comes in all shapes and sizes. One such way is to splay their dedication over their body in the form of a tattoo. I can understand why somebody might choose to tattoo their footballing allegiance onto their body. Whilst women come and go, a football team is for life. It’s the manly man’s equivalent of getting “I love mom’ yet a tattoo is a big commitment, so it’s important to get it right. As you can imagine, this process isn’t always a success.
Below are the top 10 West Ham tattoo’s to be found on the net – the good, the bad and the plain ugly – click on image below to unveil gallery:
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Have you got a better West Ham tattoo? Football FanCast would like to invite the readers to submit their own entry via our Facebook Page. The winning entries will go forward to our grand competition to find the best tattoo in the Premier League.
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Theo Walcott has again caused a World Cup stir after being left out of the England squad named by Fabio Capello for South Africa.
Walcott found himself sensationally included in the squad four years ago during Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign.
However, the Arsenal forward will not be on the plane to South Africa after being sensationally cut from the provisional 30-man squad named by Capello last month.
Walcott started both the 3-1 warm-up victory over Mexico last week and Sunday's 2-1 success over Japan in Austria.
The 21-year-old failed to impress on either occasion and has found himself omitted at the expense of fellow right-sided midfielders Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon this time out.
Walcott, whose only international goals came via a stunning hat-trick against Croatia during qualifying for South Africa back in September 2008, has started only 12 Premier League games for Arsenal during an injury-ravaged campaign.
Elsewhere, Gareth Barry has been included after passing a fitness test on Tuesday morning.
The Manchester City midfielder missed last week's training camp in Austria after damaging ankle ligaments in the penultimate game of the Premier League season but was given every opportunity to prove his fitness.
Club-mate Adam Johnson has been omitted despite his rise to prominence following a big-money move to the Premier League side from Middlesbrough in January.
Joe Cole has also won a somewhat surprise place on the plane to South Africa, which leaves London Heathrow airport on Wednesday evening.
Cole has more than 50 England caps to his name but his participation this summer was believed to be in doubt following a club season at Chelsea where he was regularly left on the bench.
However, after an impressive substitute appearance against Japan on Sunday, the 28-year-old has been included.
Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone were the other midfielders to miss out on selection. West Ham anchorman Parker was expected to be omitted after sitting out the two warm-up games.
However, Huddlestone of Spurs had appeared to have edged Manchester United's Michael Carrick following cameo appearances in both games on the back of a solid domestic season.
Up front Darren Bent is the fall-guy after Capello decided to take four strikers to South Africa.
The 26-year-old bagged 25 goals for Sunderland last season but still find himself behind the likes of Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey in the race to partner Manchester United hot-shot Wayne Rooney.
The other major surprise has come in defence where Stephen Warnock was given the nod ahead of Leighton Baines.
Everton left-back Baines was believed to be heading the queue to prove back-up to Ashley Cole but has lost out to the Aston Villa full-back.
Baines looked shaky during a 90-minute performance against Mexico at Wembley but had been preferred to Warnock during the build-up to the World Cup.
Warnock's solitary England cap to date came as an 84th-minute substitute during a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago two years ago.
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Finally, Ledley King is included rather than Spurs team-mate Michael Dawson.
England's 23-man World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).
Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).
Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a team selection dilemma this weekend as he has one eye on next Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma.
The Merseyside outfit have one foot in the final following a 5-2 victory over the Italian giants at Anfield.
For around 70 minutes, the Reds were at their scintillating best as Mohamed Salah brought his goal tally up to 43 in all competitions, while Roberto Firmino scored twice and Sadio Mane also got on the scoresheet.
Liverpool were initially 5-0 up, but there was a twist in the tale when Roma struck two late away goals to give them a glimmer of hope.
Despite the Champions League being the Reds’ main focus, they still have work to do to qualify for next season’s competition as they currently sit third in the Premier League table, eight points above fifth-placed Chelsea with three games left to play.
On Saturday in the lunchtime kickoff, Liverpool will take on Stoke City at Anfield, and Klopp has a conundrum to solve in midfield.
During Tuesday’s match against Roma, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the campaign, as well as the World Cup in Russia.
This means that Liverpool have just three experienced midfielders available in Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum.
With Klopp likely to want fresh legs for the trip to Italy in midweek, he may opt against starting all three against the Potters.
Instead, perhaps 18-year-old Ben Woodburn should be given a chance to feature this weekend.
The seven-capped Wales international predominantly plays in a forward role, but for the Under-23s this season, he has featured numerous times in midfield.
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Woodburn has had very limited game time under Klopp in the 2017-18 campaign having failed to rack up a single minute in the Premier League, and instead featuring just once as a substitute in the Carabao Cup.
With the enormity of the Champions League semi-final second leg around the corner, should Liverpool put faith in Woodburn for this weekend’s match against Stoke?
With just four games remaining of the Premier League season, north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are starting to look ahead to the future.
Mauricio Pochettino looks set to miss out on a top four finish during his first season in charge, but the improved style of play and the emergence of Harry Kane have given Spurs fans reasons to be hopeful for the season.
Arsenal meanwhile are hoping for a second placed finish, having been the form team in the country over the second half of the season, whilst back-to-back FA Cups can be secured with a win over Aston Villa on May 30.
Arsene Wenger will be cursing his teams slow start to the season, but will hope lessons will be learnt in time for next season.
With both sides keen to push forward, we have decided to take a look back on some of their finest ever players, with this combined Arsenal and Tottenham XI.
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Click on Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino to reveal the best all time Arsenal and Tottenham combined XI
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David Seaman
It speaks volumes for the quality of David Seaman that Arsenal have struggled to replace him since he left the club way back in 2003 (bar a couple of decent seasons from Jens Lehmann).
‘Safe hands’ as he was known is firmly regarded as an Arsenal legend, being the undisputed number one for club and country during Wenger’s most succesful period at the club.
Seaman won twelve major honours in a career that spanned thirteen years with the Gunners.
The only grievance Arsenal fans can hold against him is that ridiculous ponytail he wore during his final two seasons at the club.
Lauren
Football – Stock 04/05 , 26/12/04Lauren – Arsenal Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew Couldridge
Signed as a midfielder originally in the summer of 2000, Cameroon star Lauren would go on to become a key player for the Gunners in the successful years that followed. He pips Lee Dixon to the starting right back slot due to his consistency over the season in which the Gunners became the ‘Invincibles.’
He made his home debut in crunch clash with Liverpool at Highbury, where it took less than 10 minutes for him to open his account as the Gunners went on to a 2-0 victory.
A crucial match winning penalty against Tottenham will also be remembered as one of his Arsenal highlights.
Sol Campbell
Football – Arsenal v FC Barcelona – UEFA Champions League Final – Stade de France, St Denis – 05/06 – 17/5/06Arsenal’s Sol Campbell celebrates after scoring the first goal with team mates Emmanuel Eboue and Ashley ColeMandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton
As he has never been allowed to forget, Sol Campbell represented both sides of north London during his career.
Commanding, physical and a leader, it could be argued the Gunners have not had a centre back to replace him sufficiently since he left the club.
A key member of two title winning sides under Arsene Wenger – including the invincible side of 2003-04 – Campbell was also just minutes away from writing his name into Arsenal history with what would have been a winning goal in a Champions League final, until goals from Samuel Eto’o and Julian Beletti swung the 2006 final back into Barcelona’s favour.
Ledley King
Football – FA Barclaycard Premiership – Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea – White Hart Lane – 3/4/04Chelsea’s William Gallas and Tottenham’s Ledley King in actionMandatory Credit : Action Images / Andrew BuddLivepic
The devestating thing for Tottenham supporters and King himself is the struggles the former Tottenham skipper had with injury.
In the end it lead to an early retirement, but when fully fit – there were few better Premier League defenders than King.
It was sad to see his career finish prematurely, as it will always be a case of wondering what might have been for Spurs had he been fit on a regular basis, whilst supporters of England were left wondering exactly the same thing, with King having impressed every time he pulled on the white shirt at international level.
Jan Vertonghen
Football – Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland – Barclays Premier League – White Hart Lane – 17/1/15Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen celebrate after the gameMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew CouldridgeLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your acc
Given the way Arsenal fans still feel about Ashley Cole, it is Belgian Jan Vertonghen who steps in to cover the left back position!
The Belgian has established himself as the best defender at White Hart Lane since his arrival from Ajax in 2012, and although he is most comfortable in the middle, he has shown he is more than capable of playing the left back role – whilst also popping up with a few important goals.
Vertonghen has often been linked with a move to a club offering Champions League football, however he remains vital to Tottenham’s hopes of breaking into the top four.
Robert Pires
Football – Arsenal v Wigan Athletic FA Barclays Premiership – Highbury Stadium – 7/5/06Arsenal’s Robert Pires celebrates his goal, Arsenal’s firstMandatory Credit: Action Images / Tony O’BrienLivepicNO ONLINE/INTERNET USE WITHOUT A LICENCE FROM THE FOOTBALL DATA CO LTD. FOR LICENCE ENQUIRIES PLEASE TELEPHONE +44 207 298 1656.
The Frenchman was one of the top wingers in the game for a few years before injuries took their toll.
His pace and trickery down the flanks were crucial to Arsenal’s style of play in the early 2000’s, whilst he had a habit of scoring plenty of important goals – some of which were spectacular.
Wenger once again proved he had an eye for a bargain in the transfer market, paying just £6million to bring the World Cup winner to the Red half of north London in 2000.
Luka Modric
The Croatian signed for Tottenham in 2008, and signalled the beginning of another era in terms of Spurs challenging the top sides under Harry Redknapp.
Modric was an integral part of the new Tottenham, dictating the play in the middle of the park, classy on the ball and able to find a killer pass seemingly at will.
He also had the ability to score stunning goals – perhaps not as often as he should have done – but never the less he remained a class act in his four years at the club.
He left the club for Real Madrid in a deal worth £30million in the summer of 2012.
Patrick Vieira
Captain of the invincibles in 2003/04, Vieira typified everything the modern day midfielder should be.
A natural leader in the middle of the park, Arsenal have not had a player quite like him since he left for Juventus in the summer of 2005.
Vieira won two league and cup doubles during his time with the Gunners, whilst popping up with a vital goal against Tottenham as Arsenal claimed another league title in 2004.
His final kick for the club was the winning penalty against Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final – not half bad for a £3.5million signing.
Gareth Bale
Even though Tottenham recouped a world record £86 million for Gareth Bale, there is surely not a Tottenham fan who wouldn’t take him back for the same price if it were offered tomorrow.
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Bale was sensational for Spurs, and is arguably one of the club’s all-time greats, with his performances in the Champions League under Harry Redknapp arguably the moments in which a star was born – his hat trick against Inter Milan in the San Siro a particularly special moment.
Bale carried Tottenham during his final two years at White Hart Lane, but failure to secure Champions League football saw him join Real Madrid in a world record deal.
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry scores his 1st goal (Arsenal’s 2nd) under pressure from Jonathan Fortune (Charlton). Arsenal 4:0 Charlton Athletic. FA Barclays Premiership. Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London, 2/10/04. Credit : Arsenal Football Club / Stuart MacFarlane.
Surely the greatest striker in Arsenal’s history and perhaps even the Premier League era.
Henry scored all kinds of wonderful goals, helped Arsenal to league titles, FA Cup’s and a Champions League Final and left as their record goal scorer.
Originally signed as a winger by Arsene Wenger, Henry went on to become arguably the finest striker in the world for a five year period.
His major regret will be failure to lift the Champions League as Arsenal captain, having reached the final of the competition in 2006.
Jermaine Defoe
Perhaps not the biggest name, but one of the Premier League’s most consistent goal scorers of all time.
Tottenham fans have fallen in love with Harry Kane this season, having watched the local lad fire more than 30 goals in all competitions.
Yet Kane has one good season under his belt, whilst Jermain Defoe scored goals consistently in the Premier League season upon season wherever he was, but particularly at Tottenham.
He pips fellow Spurs forwards the likes of Kane, Jurgen Klinsmann Robbie Keane and Teddy Sheringham to the forward’s position alongside Thierry Henry, having scored over 100 league goals in two spells at White Hart Lane.
Arsenal flop Andre Santos has revealed that he would like to make his loan move to Gremio a permanent transfer this summer.
The Brazilian full-back left the Gunners earlier this year, after a series of below par Premier League appearances pushed way down the pecking order under manager Arsene Wenger.
Injuries to the likes of Kieran Gibbs hinted that he could be set for an increased role during the latter half of the season, but the Gunners elected to swoop for Nacho Monreal, allowing Santos to return to his homeland.
Initially, the 30-year-old said that he would like to return to London to prove himself at Arsenal, but now he has had a change of heart, insisting that he would be more than happy to be a Gremio player on a permanent basis:
“I’ll do my best to win titles. I have won titles at every club I have played for.” He is quoted by Sky Sports via Zero Hora.
“The staff, board and the players have all made me feel very welcome. There is no doubt that I want to stay.”
Santos signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract on the deadline day of 2011’s summer transfer window, as Wenger set about addressing immediate concerns regarding his squad.
After forcing his way into the Brazilian national team, much was expected of the defender, but he failed to adapt to Premier League football.
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He had been linked with a switch to Turkey with Galatasaray, but a proposed move collapsed in January.
A lot more is riding on Arsenal’s Europa League campaign than just simply picking up a piece of silverware.
The club are likely to be in a position where they need to win the tournament in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
As it stands, the club are 13 points adrift of the top four in the Premier League, with just six games left to play.
In Europe, Arsene Wenger’s side have looked relatively comfortable, although they were given a scare on Thursday night in their quarter-final second leg against CSKA Moscow.
The North London outfit headed into the fixture with a commanding 4-1 lead from the contest at the Emirates, but nerves began to jangle when CSKA went 2-0 up after 50 minutes.
Arsenal recovered, though, with goals from Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey, but it was Mohamed Elneny who received most of the plaudits from fans.
The Egyptian international assisted both goals and put in a display that proved he was worth his recent contract extension.
Earlier today, Arsenal were drawn against Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition.
The Spanish outfit were arguably the toughest opponents that the Gunners could have drawn given that RB Salzburg and Marseille were also in the hat.
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Supporters have since given their reactions to the draw.
On Sunday, as Chelsea laboured towards victory over Hull and limped ever closer to the Premier League title. Liverpool and Anfield was playing host to the ‘Juan Mata Show,’ as the 26-year-old Manchester United midfielder was tormenting their dearest rivals.
With home draws against Burnley and Southampton in the not so distant past, Mourinho’s men have lost all the early season flair which differentiated them from any other Jose side.
It is over a year since Mata departed Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford. Are Chelsea beginning to miss the mercurial midfielder?
The strangest thing about Juan Mata’s masterclass on Merseyside, was the fact that it came out of nowhere. van Gaal, similar to Moyes and Mourinho before him, did not trust the Spanish midfielder. He will trust him now.
When Mourinho dispensed of Mata’s services in January 2014, it was a move met with almost complete confusion. The two-time Player of the Season at the Bridge was now seen as surplus to requirements.
His main strengths have always been his technical abilities as opposed to his physical prowess, his work-rate has always been questioned, something Mourinho could not facilitate.
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Instead, the Chelsea midfield is packed with players who are happy to, coining an English phrase ‘Put a shift in.’ Even Willian, has transformed himself from a typical Brazillian attacker, to one that is willing to curtail his own attacking tendencies in order for the team to succeed.
Juan Mata’s Manchester United career has hardly been an unmitigated success. David Moyes did not manage to fit him into his United side. van Gaal has also struggled, but as the Dutchman has continuously searched for the perfect midfield blend, he may have stumbled across it. His last two performances, against Tottenham and Liverpool, have, almost definitely, been their best showings of the season.
Chelsea’s early season form, seemed to perfectly vindicate their manager’s decision. Nemanja Matic has established himself as one of the world’s great defensive-midfielders and early season Cesc Fabregas was unquestionably the best footballer plying his trade in the country.
But as winter turned to spring, Mourinho’s men have begun to stumble.
Following a humiliating defeat to lowly Bradford City in the FA Cup, Chelsea were eliminated from Europe by 10 man PSG. Fortunately for the Blues, their early season form seems to have done enough to secure them the league, but their 2015 has hardly been one to excite fans and perhaps more importantly, the owner.
Fabregas has become the centre of recent criticism from his own fans. His early season form now seems a distant memory. Where once he was dynamic, he is now becoming static.
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Chelsea are the massive odds-on-favourite, to win the title come May, maybe earlier. But it is of no doubt, that for the first time since he’s left, they will have been looking at the magnificent Mata and wishing him to still be in the blue of Chelsea.
Mata’s career was in danger of tailing off. A relic of the tiki-taka era. His performance on Sunday, proves he still has a long future in the English game.
Chelsea may still come to regret that fateful day in January, 2014.