EPL

Varane savoured 'intense' Premier League debut, relishing reunion with 'legend' Ronaldo

By Sports Desk August 30, 2021

Raphael Varane was able to reflect on a winning debut for Manchester United, as he revelled in the intensity of the Premier League.

Signed from Real Madrid in the off-season, World Cup-winning defender Varane made his debut in United's 1-0 win over Wolves on Sunday.

Partnering Harry Maguire at the back, Varane made a team-high five clearances and provided the assist for Mason Greenwood's fortuitous late winner.

"A good feeling! I was very, very happy to be here and to help the team get this victory," the 28-year-old told United media.

"The feeling is absolutely amazing. The Premier League is very intense. The game, it's very fast. I came here for that feeling."

Asked if the major difference between his experiences in Spain and England was the intensity or the atmosphere, Varane replied: "Both. The atmosphere is fantastic, and the game is very fast.

"You have a lot of action during the game. You have to be focused and very concentrated because it never stops. It's attack, attack, counter-attack and it's very fast."

Varane is soon to be joined at United by former Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who is to return to Old Trafford after leaving 12 years ago.

United agreed a deal with Juventus on Friday for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who underwent a medical in Portugal this weekend and is expected to finalise his move before Tuesday's deadline.

"I am very happy. He's a legend and all players can learn when you play with him," Varane said of Ronaldo.

"It's a great help for all players, for all young players, and of course he never stops scoring goals, so he will help the team."

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    Lee Carsley insists Harry Maguire's omission from his latest England squad is not due to form and he still has an important role to play for his country.

    Manchester United centre-back Maguire missed Euro 2024 for beaten finalists England due to injury but was involved for interim boss Carlsey's first squad since Gareth Southgate departed for the Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month.

    However, there was no place for the 31-year-old ahead of this month's Nations League double-header against Greece and the return clash with the Finnish.

    Maguire was the fifth-most utilised player for England under Southgate, with only Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and John Stones appearing more, and Carsley explained that the decision was just to take a look at other options.

    "It was a chance of having a look at other players. It's nothing to do with form. It's looking at the next two camps to look at other players," Carsley said.

    "The players left out all have a case but we saw the benefit in the last camp of the squad being fresh, feeling fresh and a lot of energy in it.

    "It's not just a copy and a paste, I want them to feel like they all have earned their place in the squad. People want to know where they stand long-term, I've told all the players this is a short-term situation.

    "Harry is a player I've worked with in the past. He was very positive in the conversation we have.

    "It was a case of talking to him about what my decision was, we have some really good centre-backs who we are keen to see play. Harry still has a really important part to play, not just in this squad but also in the campaign."

  • Women's Super League Predictions: Man City and Arsenal big favourites on MD3 Women's Super League Predictions: Man City and Arsenal big favourites on MD3

    As we gear up for matchday three in the Women's Super League, the chasing pack have an opportunity to make ground on Chelsea and Manchester United, who are both unbeaten so far.

    The Opta Supercomputer is here to give the inside track on whom the winners and losers may be as we look ahead to each match-up.

    Chelsea and United will not be in action due to fixture congestion as a result of the Blues' Women's Champions League fixture on Tuesday next week. This will therefore be an early chance for Manchester City, Tottenham, and Arsenal to make inroads.

    WSL history could be made this weekend too – if Jordan Nobbs laces up her boots and is selected for Aston Villa in their match away at Brighton, she will break the record for all-time appearances.

    If Nobbs is selected by new Villa boss Robert de Pauw, she will reach a staggering 193 appearances in the competition, 13 years and 175 days since she debuted in the WSL for Arsenal against Chelsea in April 2011.

    Stephanie Houghton (127) is the only player to have featured in more wins than Nobbs (124) and the Villa midfielder will be confident she can surpass the now-retired City defender this season.

    At the bottom of the table, newcomers Crystal Palace will want to banish the memory of their 7-0 drubbing by champions Chelsea and try and get their first points on the board.

    Everton, meanwhile, have been struck by misfortune, losing midfielder Aurora Galli and forward Inma Gabarro both to anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

    Let's check out the Opta supercomputer's match predictions.

    BRIGHTON V ASTON VILLA

    Kicking off the weekend's action, Brighton will welcome Aston Villa to the Broadfield Stadium in the only match on Saturday. Dario Vidosic's side have made an impressive start under the new manager, beating Everton 4-0 in their opening fixture and narrowly losing 1-0 to Man City last time out.

    Only City (31) have recorded more open play sequences of 10+ passes in the WSL this season than Brighton (28), who in their opening home match recorded their best-ever pass accuracy in a league match (87.8%) and their second-most passes ever in a game in the competition (550).

    However, despite Brighton's early good form, the Opta supercomputer has them at only 36.1% to get the home win and 26.2% for the draw. Villa have won just one of their last eight WSL matches (D3 L4), though the exception was a 1-0 away win at Brighton on the penultimate matchday of last season. The Opta Supercomputer is edging them ahead of the hosts to get the win, at 37.8%.

    De Pauw (D1 L1) will be looking to avoid becoming the second Villa manager to go winless across their first three games in the WSL after Gemma Davies (L3), who did so back in October 2020. Two of the Villans' previous three managers in the competition picked up their first away win at Brighton, though.

    MANCHESTER CITY V WEST HAM

    West Ham have had a difficult start to their campaign, only picking up one point so far, though that did come in dramatic fashion when they fought back to draw with Liverpool. They travel to the Joie Stadium to face a City team aiming to make it two wins from two home games.

    City are looking to go unbeaten across their opening three games of a WSL campaign for the eighth time (including the 2017 Spring Series) – prior to this season, only Chelsea (nine) and Arsenal (eight) had done so more times in the competition than the Citizens (seven).

    Opta's model predicts City to get the job done, giving them a huge 87.3% chance of victory. City have won 10 of their 11 WSL meetings with West Ham and half of those victories have come with them scoring at least four goals.

    The Opta model is damming of the Hammers' chances of getting the win, at 4.5%, and gives more chance of a draw, at 8.2%. West Ham are winless in their last six away games in the WSL (D1 L5) and could equal their longest-ever run without victory on the road in the competition.

    Both Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema have opened up their accounts for the season and West Ham should be wary of the duo.

     

    Shaw has scored 13 goals in her 11 WSL appearances so far in 2024, currently the best goals per game rate (1.18) by a player in a single calendar year in the competition's history (minimum three appearances).

    ARSENAL V EVERTON

    Arsenal will be aiming to avoid defeat in their opening three games of a WSL campaign for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, though they did fail to do so last season (W1 D1 L1).

    Everton will travel south with little hope of victory, and they are only given a 7% chance compared to Arsenal's 81.5%; at 11.4%, a draw also seems unlikely.

    The Toffees could break an unwanted record this weekend. Having lost both of their league games this season, should they suffer another defeat, then they will become the first team in WSL history to lose 100 games.

    The Gunners started the season as expected in a tight exchange with Man City on the opening day and then a slender away win at Leicester City.

    Jonas Eidevall has won 49 of his 68 matches in the WSL (D9 L10) and victory against Everton this weekend would make him the second-quickest manager to reach 50 wins (69 games), behind only his predecessor Joe Montemurro (66 games).

    One to watch in this match will be Frida Maanum, who has scored the opening goal in both of Arsenal's WSL games this season. She could become the first player to put the Gunners 1-0 up in three consecutive matches in the competition.

    TOTTENHAM V LIVERPOOL

    Tottenham have enjoyed a strong start to the season and sit third heading into the weekend. They welcome Liverpool to Brisbane Road - Matt Beard's side have yet to register a win so far.

    The Supercomputer calculates Spurs will continue their good form and snatch the win (40.3%) as opposed to a 33% chance of victory for the Reds, though a draw is also a likely outcome.

     

    Building on their form from last season, Spurs have scored a wealth of goals in the opening weeks. Only Chelsea (seven) have had more different goalscorers this season than Tottenham, with each of Spurs' six league goals coming via a different player.

    This will not be a walk in the park, though. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six WSL games, last going longer without defeat in the league in September 2016 (eight). Only Man City (nine) are currently on a longer unbeaten run away from home than the Reds (six – W4 D2).

    LEICESTER CITY V CRYSTAL PALACE

    Amandine Miquel has had a mixed start to her tenure as Leicester boss. She is the Foxes' fifth manager in the WSL, but she could be the fourth to fail to win their first three games in charge, with Lydia Bedford in 2021-22 the only one to avoid that fate.

    Opta's model is backing Miquel to change the record, though, with a home win the result in 47.6% of the supercomputer's simulations, while the likelihood of a draw is 26.1% and Palace are given a 26.3% chance.

    Newly promoted Palace could be the fifth team to lose each of their first three games in the WSL but only the second to lose their first three matches in the competition without scoring a single goal, after Brighton in 2018-19. 

    Leicester, meanwhile, have won all four of their previous WSL games against newly promoted opposition, with Man Utd (10/10) the only other team to have a 100% record against such teams.

    Leicester forward Jutta Rantala was directly involved in five goals in two appearances against newly promoted opposition last season, scoring twice and assisting once away to Bristol City in October and scoring and assisting at home to the Robins in February. She will fancy her chances against a Palace side that conceded seven goals last time out.

  • Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Johnson the difference as Postecoglou's side stay perfect Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Johnson the difference as Postecoglou's side stay perfect

    Brennan Johnson's red-hot form in front of goal continued as he helped Tottenham to a 2-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday.

    Pape Sarr had given the visitors the lead in the first half before Johnson got the second with four minutes remaining prior to Barnabus Varga giving the hosts a late consolation.

    A young Spurs side started slowly and were given a wake-up call 12 minutes in as Varga's header across goal nestled into the far bottom corner, but his goal was ruled out due to a tight offside.

    Sarr put Spurs ahead just 11 minutes later, getting a little bit of fortune as the ball ricocheted through the box before he slotted past Denes Dibusz.

    Pedro Porro then cut inside to drive a low shot against the foot of the right post before the break, while Matheus Saldanha forced Guglielmo Vicario into a fingertip save shortly after half-time.

    Johnson came off the bench and hit the bar before keeping his composure to double Spurs' lead, sending his strike in off the inside of the post.

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    Data Debrief: Johnson proves the difference

    He may not have started the game, but it is Johnson's involvement that sealed all three points for Spurs, and a second consecutive Europa League win.

    The forward has scored in each of his last five appearances for the club in all competitions, matching his goal tally for the entirety of last season (five goals).

    Ange Postecoglou was not afraid to ring in the changes, and Tottenham became the first English side to start four-plus teenagers in a single match in a major European competition since Manchester United versus Astana in the Europa League in November 2019 (six).

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