'I forgot about the first yellow' - Giroud angry over red card for celebrating late winner

By Sports Desk November 05, 2022

Olivier Giroud was "angry" with himself for forgetting he had already been booked when he whipped off his shirt to celebrate scoring Milan's late winner against Spezia.

Giroud came off the bench to snatch a 2-1 victory for the Rossoneri with an 89th-minute volley after being picked out by a superb Sandro Tonali pass.

The France striker was then given his marching orders, having been shown a yellow card six minutes before scoring his decisive goal.

Giroud has been in the thick of the action this week, scoring two goals and providing as many assists in a 4-0 thrashing of Salzburg that put Stefano Pioli's side in the Champions League round of 16.

The 36-year-old was frustrated that his earlier caution had slipped his mind after his clinical finish in the closing stages at San Siro.

"It was certainly a very nice goal, which came thanks to Tonali's assist," he told Sky Sport. "We wanted to win this match, the important thing is to have three points more in the standings but I'm angry because I forgot about the first yellow card."

Asked if he was not thinking clearly due to the ecstasy of scoring the winner, he replied: "Yes, football is like that. The adrenaline and the happiness of having given victory to the team after a difficult match has affected me.

"In my head I am still a child, but I have great faith in the team and also on Tuesday [against Cremonese] we will fight to win the three points."

Theo Hernandez put Milan in front with a first-half volley from close range, but Daniel Maldini equalised against his parent club with Spezia's first away goal of the season.

Tonali had a goal ruled out at 1-1 for a foul on M'Bala Nzola by Fikayo Tomori following a VAR check, but Giroud moved them six points behind Napoli in second place after the leaders beat Atalanta 2-1 earlier on Saturday.

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  • Carsley: No more 'copy and paste' England squads Carsley: No more 'copy and paste' England squads

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    Carsley oversaw 2-0 Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month, having taken the reins on a temporary basis after Gareth Southgate's resignation.

    The former under-21 boss announced his latest 25-man squad for upcoming matches against Greece and Finland on Thursday, making four changes from last month's party.

    Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke won his first call-up in seven years, with Eberechi Eze, Harry Maguire, Tino Livramento and Jarrod Bowen all left out.

    Predecessor Southgate was often criticised for sticking with a trusted core of players during his eight-year spell with the Three Lions, but Carsley says nobody is guaranteed a place under him.

    "In the back of my mind, I wanted to make sure it feels fresh," Carsley said.

    "When you get that email or WhatsApp to say that you've been called up, it's an achievement because it shouldn't be something that is taken for granted.

    "I thought it was important that it was not just a copy and paste. I want them to feel like they have earned their place in the squad."

    Tottenham midfielder James Maddison and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford – both of whom were left out of Southgate's Euro 2024 squad – were among the players to be overlooked. 

    Carsley said he had been left with several tough decisions to make but had prioritised those in form in order to build rhythm before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers start next year.

    "The players I've left out, I could make a case for them being in, but ultimately I have to make those decisions," Carsley said.

    "The reality is you want a player to be coming in in top form and fighting for a position in the team.

    "Getting out of this Nations League is important for us in terms of setting up World Cup qualification. Whether I'm here or not, it's important we are in a favourable pattern and in a position to win the World Cup."

  • Rashford withdrawal down to rotation, insists under-fire Ten Hag Rashford withdrawal down to rotation, insists under-fire Ten Hag

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    United are still searching for their first Europa League win of the campaign, after Harry Maguire's late header salvaged a 3-3 draw in Porto on Thursday.

    After the Red Devils went 2-0 up through early goals from Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, a strike from Pepe and a brace from Samu Omorodion had put them on the brink of another humiliating defeat.

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  • The Numbers Game: Ten Hag searches for much-needed turnaround at Villa Park The Numbers Game: Ten Hag searches for much-needed turnaround at Villa Park

    Manchester United are in desperate need of a Premier League win when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday.

    The pressure has piled on Erik ten Hag after last week's sorry 3-0 loss at Tottenham.

    United have lost three of their six league fixtures this season, winning just twice - against Southampton and Fulham - while they have lost their last two home matches in the top flight by an aggregate score of 6-0.

    Their tally of seven points is their joint-fewest after six games of any Premier League season (two wins, one draw, three losses), having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020-21.

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    Here, we crunch the numbers and dive into the Opta insights ahead of Sunday's clash.

    What's expected?

    As far as home defeats in the Manchester rain go, last week's capitulation against Spurs was as bad as they get.

    Ten Hag looked on miserably as United, who were reduced to 10 men when Bruno Fernandes was sent off late in the first half (that red card has now been rescinded), were carved open time and time again.

    Spurs generated a huge expected goals (xG) figure of 4.59 on Sunday – the third-highest United have allowed a Premier League opponent since such records began in 2009. Only versus Arsenal in December 2017 (a 3-1 win) and against Man City in October 2011 (a memorable 6-1 loss at Old Trafford), have United given up a greater quality of chances in a Premier League match.

     

    United also saw their opponents have nine big chances – only in five previous games in Premier League history has a team had more big chances in one game (Man City v Watford 2019-20, Man Utd v Sunderland 2012-13, Arsenal v Fulham 2018-19, Arsenal v Stoke City 2015-16, Man City v Crystal Palace 2017-18 – all 10).

    Villa, on the other hand, have won both of their Champions League games without conceding a goal, and though Ipswich Town fought back to draw 2-2 with them last weekend, Unai Emery's team have enjoyed a fine start to the campaign.

    They have picked up 13 points in their opening six Premier League matches this season (four wins, one draw, one defeat), their best start to a season since 2008-09 under Martin O’Neill (also 13 points).

    As such, it's no surprise to see Opta's supercomputer makes Villa the favourites with a 42% win probability, albeit the gap is perhaps not as big as one might expect. United came out on top in 33.2% of the model's simulations, while the threat of a draw is 24.8%.

    And it is worth noting that United have a great record against the Villans.

    United have won 40 Premier League games against Villa, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition's history (41 vs Everton).

    Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against Manchester United (eight draws, 16 losses), with that victory coming in Emery's first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).

    Duran's hungry like a wolf

    Forgive the quite abysmal Duran Duran reference, but Villa's fans are surely going to be pulling out the 1980s hits this season if their super-sub forward Jhon Duran continues to thrive as he is right now.

    Duran scored a brilliant lob to see off Bayern in midweek, taking his tally of goals for the season to five in all competitions - all of those have come from the bench. His four league strikes have come from just 2.1 xG.

    He has also netted four league goals in his last four league appearances at Villa Park, all as a substitute.

     

    The 20-year-old averages a goal every 43 minutes at Villa Park in the competition, the second-best ratio by a player at a single venue (250+ minutes played there), behind Luis Suarez at Carrow Road (a goal every 38 minutes).

    Duran is averaging a goal every 39 minutes this season in the league - in comparison, 10-goal Erling Haaland averages one every 54 minutes.

    The Colombian has had just 10 shots in the league this term, so he has a 40% shot-conversion rate, the best rate in the competition of any player to score more than three times.

    With such a quality talent in reserve, Villa's attack will surely be licking their lips if they can get at United's defence in the same way Spurs did.

    Since Emery's first Premier League game in charge, only Man City (85), Liverpool (84) and Arsenal (81) have picked up more home points than Villa (74).

    Among Villa managers to take charge of five or more home top-flight matches, only European Cup-winning boss Tony Barton (70%, won 37/53) has a better home win percentage than Emery (66%, won 23/35).

    Leaking like Old Trafford's roof

    United have actually kept successive away clean sheets in the league, winning 3-0 against Southampton and drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace. They last kept three away clean sheets in a row in March 2021.

    However, United have lost eight Premier League matches by a margin of three or more goals under Ten Hag. Since the start of 2022-23, the only current Premier League managers to suffer more 3+ goal defeats are Gary O'Neil and Sean Dyche (nine each).

    United so often leave wide open spaces in midfield and huge gaps in defence, with defenders isolated in one-v-ones. 

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    That is despite United allowing just 74 shots, which ranks ninth in the top flight. However, United’s average per-shot xGA is 0.14, which is the second-worst in the league, after Brighton (0.17).

    Ten Hag has to find a defensive formula that works if United are to get something out of this game.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Aston Villa - Ollie Watkins

    While the limelight is on Duran, it is worth mentioning that Watkins has also scored four Premier League goals this term.

    Watkins has been involved in 55 goals in 67 Premier League appearances under Emery for Aston Villa (36 goals, 19 assists), with only Erling Haaland (65) and Mohamed Salah (60) scoring or assisting more goals in that time. The former Brentford attacker is looking to score in four games in a row for the first time since April 2023.

    Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes

    United will be delighted Fernandes will be available for this game. He was set to miss just his eighth match for the club since his debut in February 2020, with the Red Devils winless in their last four (one draw, three losses) and failing to score in their last three without the Portuguese international in the team.

    Fernandes has had 17 shots in the Premier League this season, but is yet to score.

    That tally of shots is the most any player who is yet to score this season has had across the entirety of Europe's top five leagues this season.

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