Manchester City were once again indebted to Phil Foden as they lifted the Premier League title on Sunday, and Micah Richards believes the midfielder is now Pep Guardiola's "main man".
Foden cannoned an early opener past West Ham's Alphonse Areola to set City on their way, before doubling his tally and the hosts' lead after 18 minutes at Etihad Stadium.
Indeed, Foden has scored six goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season, the most of any player, and the most ever by a Man City player in a single campaign.
It is also the most by a player for any team in the competition since the 2018-19 season, when Christian Eriksen scored six, but Foden's heroics stretch further than his long-range shooting.
The England midfielder helped City become the first team in English top-flight history to win the title in four consecutive seasons, having won the league in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Former City and England defender Richards believes Foden is now the key for his boyhood club, after his efforts in the 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Shortly before City lifted the Premier League trophy on home turf, Richards told Sky Sports: "It is ridiculous and unbelievable!
"It makes it sweeter that someone homegrown is a big part of it. Phil Foden has become the main man of this team, what Pep has created is unbelievable."
City went 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W29 D6), the longest run ever by a Premier League team, to secure the title.
That run ensured Guardiola's side pipped Arsenal, whose 2-1 victory over Everton on the final day mattered for little, to another top-flight crown.
"It is a brilliant young team and there is more to come at Arsenal," Richards added.
"Kai Havertz has done well and Gabriel Jesus has probably not played at a level which we expected when he left Man City.
"If you're looking on how they can improve they need to get a striker who can score all type of goals, even when Erling Haaland has not played at his best he has scored goals."
This triumph for City means Guardiola has clinched his sixth Premier League title – he is just the fourth manager to win as many as six English top-flight titles, along with Alex Ferguson (13), George Ramsay and Bob Paisley (both six).
'Exceptional' Fernandes can thrive under Amorim, says former Man Utd coach Meulensteen
Ruben Amorim's impending appointment as Manchester United boss will benefit skipper Bruno Fernandes, former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen believes.
United confirmed on Friday, four days after they sacked Ten Hag, that Amorim would be coming in as their new head coach.
The 39-year-old, who has won the Portuguese title twice in the space of three years, will join the Red Devils officially from November 11, after serving a notice period with Sporting CP.
United have agreed to pay Sporting around £9.2million (€11m) in compensation, with Amorim signing a contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027.
He will link up with compatriot Fernandes, who also swapped the Portuguese capital for Manchester back in January 2020.
The skipper has been directly involved in 151 goals since his debut, the most of any midfielder across Europe's top five leagues during that time.
And Meulensteen, who spent 12 years on the coaching staff at Old Trafford, thinks Fernandes will thrive under Amorim, and hopefully cut out some bad habits.
"It's always important, but all managers expect certain things, have certain expectations from Bruno," he told Stats Perform.
"I do think Bruno is an exceptional player. He's been so important in so many goals, in terms of his assists and contributing goals himself.
"Although, there's also another side that we've seen in Bruno - which you don't like to see as a club captain - a little bit of petulant behaviour, like throwing the toys out of the pram if things are not going well.
"Obviously, they're both Portuguese, so that helps them in terms of speaking in their native language.
"It's going to be interesting. The way that he sets up his teams, he doesn't play with out-and-out wingers. He plays far more with people in between the pockets, which [the likes of Bruno] are suited to.
"As soon as he steps over that line and steps through the door, we will see very, very quickly how he's going to shape up the team."
Mutual respect deceives Frank and Silva's desire to deliver 'special' London derby win
The mutual respect shared between the dugouts in west London belies the desire both managers feel to deliver a “special” derby win in west London as Brentford visit Fulham on Monday night.
It is a derby unlikely to disappoint with Brentford’s affinity for goals setting up a potential thriller. There have been a league-high 36 goals scored in Brentford’s nine league matches, while three of the last five league meetings between these two sides have finished 3-2.
Both clubs have established themselves in the English top flight over the past few seasons, with their managers also securing stable tenures, leading to a shared admiration in west London.
Though, with just one point separating the sides in ninth and tenth, both Thomas Frank and Marco Silva will be just as intent on delivering a memorable result for their fans under the lights on Monday.
“A London derby, local derby, is always more special, probably more intense, and it’s always a tough game. Away or at home against them, it’s always a tough game, like it’s always the same for them to play against us,” said Fulham’s Silva.
“We want to give a great feeling to our fans, that is to win a local derby. We know what we are going to face, we know that it’s a little bit more special to the fans, and what we want to give what they deserve from the Monday Night Football.”
Silva can see parallels between his own journey in west London and that of Brentford, who have fared well despite facing their first season without former talisman Ivan Toney.
“You can compare the same story to us as well, losing important players, selling important players, [but] being able to rebuild again,” he explained.
“There are similar things between both sides in that aspect, to sometimes sell their best players and to go again, to try to rebuild, to try to put some young players and fresh players inside. [Frank] is a top person, his job speaks for itself.”
While their similarity in mindset might lead to a shared story, it also means both are just as determined to deliver the three points to their borough of west London.
“In recent years, it has been very tight between the two teams - we have had some fantastic games against each other,” added Frank.
“Now, we're going to play Monday night, under the floodlights, Craven Cottage - a historic stadium - we're bringing 3,000 fans, and we'll do everything we can for them to get the win. I'm really looking forward to it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Andreas Pereira
Only Bukayo Saka (27) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (26), although none of those chances have been converted by his teammates yet.
He’s set up 11 different players, with only Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski creating a chance for more different team-mates (12).
Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo
Mbeumo has netted eight goals in the Premier League this season, with only Erling Haaland scoring more (11). He has scored 11 goals in his last 13 London derbies, including two goals at Craven Cottage in a 3-0 win last campaign.
He has been integral to Brentford’s attacking efforts, having taken the most shots (16) and provided the joint-most key passes (17) in the squad.
MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN
Fulham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League London derbies (W2 D3), last having a longer unbeaten run against fellow sides from the capital during the 2006-07 season (seven in a row).
They will also be looking to punish the Bees' leaky defence. Brentford have conceded 18 goals in their opening nine Premier League games this season, their most after nine league matches since 1961-62 (19). It’s the first time they haven’t kept a clean sheet at this stage since 2015-16.
Only West Ham (275) have seen more shots in the league than Brentford’s nine games this term (268). The Bees have faced 56 more shots than they’ve had themselves (106 for, 162 against), the third-worst differential behind only Leicester City (-81) and Southampton (-67).
That being said, Brentford have still managed to secure wins despite such a worrying defensive record. While they have shipped eight goals in their last three Premier League games, they have won both of the matches in which they’ve conceded three goals in that time.
Brentford have only lost one of their last 11 away league games against Fulham (W5 D5), failing to score just once at Craven Cottage in that run.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 46%
Draw – 24.3%
Brentford – 29.7%
Van de Ven out with hamstring injury until after international break, says Postecoglou
Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for Tottenham until after the international break, head coach Ange Postecoglou has revealed.
Van de Ven left the pitch in tears while clutching the back of his right leg 14 minutes into Tottenham’s EFL Cup victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.
While Postecoglou confirmed the fears of Spurs fans, he was optimistic about the prognosis with the defender not expected to be out for a long stretch.
"Micky has strained a hamstring. It's not too serious, but it will probably be after the international break for him [to return]," the Spurs boss told reporters ahead of his side's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.
"He was disappointed. Obviously, he was really looking forward to the game, so he was a bit emotional, but it is definitely not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.
"He will work hard, and the good thing is we've got the international break, which is an extra two weeks. Hopefully, it means he won't miss too much football."
Van de Ven has featured in eight of Tottenham's nine Premier League games this season and has been a reassuring presence in defence.
Indeed, he has made the second most clearances (23) and blocks (four) in the squad, only second to Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro respectively.
There was, however, positive news about skipper Heung-min Son, who was absent during Spurs' defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.
"Sonny trained [on Friday], so if he gets through training [on Saturday], he should be OK," Postecoglou added.
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