EPL

Bryan Mbeumo delighted to come to the fore in absence of Ivan Toney

By Sports Desk May 21, 2023

Bryan Mbeumo was happy to step up for Brentford in the absence of Ivan Toney in their 3-1 win at Tottenham.

The Bees were without 20-goal striker Toney, who has also been nursing a hamstring injury, after he was handed an eight-month ban by the Football Association on Thursday for repeated betting breaches.

When Harry Kane fired Spurs into an early lead, it looked like Brentford’s faint hopes of European football were about to end but Mbeumo struck twice in a 12-minute period at the start of the second half before setting up Yoane Wissa for the visitors’ third late on.

“Yeah, sensational. I can’t say more than this,” Mbeumo told BT Sport.

“The first half was a bit sloppy from us, in the duels we were not maybe there but in the second half everybody raised the level and it is a fantastic win.

“Of course it is hard because we lose a big personality on the pitch (in Toney) and yeah we have to do it as a team but I am happy to score.

“I always push myself as hard as I can and yeah, I want to push the level. I am very hard on myself but I am happy.

“We want to aim high, be high on the table and we still have one chance so we will do everything we can.”

Mbeumo received praise from manager Thomas Frank after he scored his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign.

Frank added: “He works so hard, is a fantastic pressing player and can score goals, assist and link up, but maybe he lacked goals (last season).

“Probably a little bit unlucky in some situations because he hit the post seven times last year so we’re talking about margins there.

“He does work very, very hard at his finishing and especially with Justin Cochrane but also Kevin O’Connor on those two finishes he made. So, I was very pleased to see his hard work pay off.”

Brentford’s win means they are guaranteed a ninth-place finish but victory on the final day at home to champions Manchester City could secure Europa Conference League football.

Frank knows revenge will be on the mind of Pep Guardiola’s side after they stunned them at the Etihad in November.

“We know we need Tottenham and (Aston) Villa to drop points on the last day when we are facing the best team in the world,” Frank smiled.

“So, it is a little bit of a challenge but we will do everything we can to make an absolutely outstanding season even better.”

Spurs’ acting head coach Ryan Mason was left bitterly disappointed by their latest defeat with their goals against tally now standing at 62, their worst in a Premier League campaign since 2003.

He admitted: “Obviously we’re conceding a lot of goals for different reasons.

“I thought we showed a lot of courage in the first half. We were brave, played a good match with the ball but in the second half the intensity dropped.”

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    Ruben Amorim must at least guide Manchester United back into the Europa League in his first season as the club's manager.

    That is the view of ex-Manchester City defender Danny Mills, whose former side were beaten 4-1 by Amorim and Sporting CP in the Champions League earlier this month.

    Amorim has been hired by Man Utd to replace Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman was sacked midway through his third season in charge at Old Trafford.

    Having taken charge of his final games in Lisbon, a spell which included that famous continental win over Man City, Amorim started his work at United during the international break.

    His first game at the helm comes this Sunday away at Ipswich Town and while Mills acknowledges the task of rebuilding United's team is a long-term project, he feels there is still a certain level of results Amorim needs to hit in the 2024-25 season.

    "Amorim needs to figure out which players fit his mould and buy into his project," former England international Mills said to Stats Perform.

    "That will take six months or so. Then he will need to move some players out and bring new ones in. 

    "This season, though, they still need success. European football – Europa League – is probably mandatory. They must avoid the Conference League. 

    "Without being disrespectful, third-tier European football isn’t good enough for Manchester United, so it has to be the Europa League or Champions League. 

    "The Europa League is very achievable and not making it would be a huge disappointment. 

    "There are still good players at the club and they have still got to aim for the Champions League, but [getting into the top four] will take good coaching, a big turnaround, and maybe a bit of luck."

    Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013. 

    The 39-year-old won three Portuguese league titles with Benfica as a player while he left Sporting as head coach after guiding them to two league titles and two Taca da Liga trophies.

    Sporting also started this season by winning all 11 league games under Amorim before his departure.

    "The appointment of Ruben Amorim is a good one," added Mills. "You have to look at the people involved [in the appointment] as well.

    "Dan Ashworth hasn’t made too many wrong decisions as a sporting or technical director. Throughout his career, at West Brom, England, Brighton, and Newcastle, his recruitment has been very good. 

    "Jason Wilcox, who sits under him, did incredibly well at Manchester City. He identified many young players who, if they didn’t become stars at City, went on to become stars elsewhere.

    "Recruitment will be handled well in terms of managers, coaches, and players, but that takes time and it’s going to take at least two or three transfer windows. 

    "I like that Amorim came in and said, ‘Right, that’s it. A new start’. He has moved away from the Ferguson era that people keep harping on about.

    "Ten-plus years ago, we knew how good Manchester United were, but football moves on. Liverpool went through a similar phase after their success in the 1980s."

    Amorim takes over at United with the club 13th in the Premier League with 15 points from 11 matches and having collected just one win from four matches in the Europa League. 

    Mills believes there is plenty for United fans to like about the new boss' approach on and off the pitch.

    "Football has evolved faster in the last 10 years than ever before and Amorim deals with the press well," he said.

    "When Sporting beat Manchester City, he admitted they played well but got a bit lucky. People appreciate that honesty. 

    "Fans and pundits are more knowledgeable now than ever before, thanks to the amount of football they consume and the opinions they hear, especially on social media."

    After facing Ipswich, Amorim's first two home games will see Man Utd take on Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and Everton in the Premier League.

    He will then take the Red Devils to the Emirates Stadium for a huge clash against Arsenal on 4 December.

    United reached this season's Europa League by winning the FA Cup under Ten Hag and they have that potential path again this season, while they are also still in the EFL Cup, a competition in which they will play Tottenham in the quarter-finals.

    Winning the Europa League itself, meanwhile, would mean qualification to the Champions League.

    But while there are multiple routes open to Amorim in his bid to secure a continental spot, the Opta supercomputer does not like his chances of doing that through United's league placing.

    After their poor start to the season, United have just a 13.2% chance of finishing in the top six, and a 33.1% shot at reaching the top eight.

    As things stand, they are most likely to finish between ninth and 11th, meaning they are on track for their worst-ever Premier League finish unless Amorim can lead a rapid revival.

  • Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills

    Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.

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    The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.

    Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.

    Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.

    Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.

    "Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.

    "Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.

    "It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much. 

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    Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.

    Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.

    "Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'. 

    "That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."

    Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.

    They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).

    "Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences. 

    "You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."

  • Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt

    Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.

    The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.

    Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.

    "Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.

    "We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."

    Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.

    Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.

    Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.

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