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Paul Pogba enjoyed a match-winning display against Chelsea in the FA Cup on Monday evening.

The France international laid on the first goal, sending in a peach of a cross to Ander Herrera, who headed home, before scoring the second himself, sending a diving header past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Pogba’s form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been exemplary – in the Premier League he has scored eight goals and laid on five assists since the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

And against Chelsea, yet again, he was at his irrepressible best in midfield, dominating proceedings with his flair and precision dribbling.

Per WhoScored, Pogba, who briefly became the world’s most expensive player when he moved to Old Trafford for £89million in 2016, had 58 touches of the ball, made two dribbles, won three tackles, and scored with his only attempt on goal.

He was handed the Man of the Match award by the BBC during their broadcast of the game and several United fans on Twitter lavished praise on the 25-year-old’s performance. Take a look at some of the best reaction below.

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Crystal Palace had a wonderful win at the weekend, putting four goals past Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Jonny Evans registered for Leicester in the second half of the Premier League match, but the Eagles ran out 4-1 winners in the late kickoff.

It was a wonderful performance from the London club, with Michy Batshuayi scoring his first Palace goal and Wilfried Zaha hitting a double.

However, it was the display of central defender James Tomkins that really caught the attention of then club’s supporters during and indeed after the match.

According to WhoScored, Tomkins won four headers and had a pass success rate of 84% during his 90 minutes on the field.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

The 29-year-old has been quietly excellent for Palace in recent weeks and the club’s fans were very keen to draw attention to the Englishman on Saturday.

A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to his display can be seen below:

Jurgen Klopp could be set to overhaul his Liverpool squad when the summer transfer window reopens in the summer.

The German has built an extremely strong team at the top and bottom of the field after a window of lavish spending last summer. Klopp opted to keep his chequebook closed during the January transfer window as he believes in the ability of his current players. However, the ex-Borussia Dortmund manager will add to his squad when the window reopens in the summer.

While Liverpool may not make any huge additions like the signing of Virgil van Dijk, there is plenty of work to be done. Players such as Daniel Sturridge, Alberto Moreno and Divock Origi are all extremely likely to leave the club in the near future. The injury-prone Adam Lallana, who has made just four Premier League starts in two seasons, could also be shipped out.

To replace him, Klopp should make a move for Leicester City maestro – James Maddison. Valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old was one of Europe’s hottest properties in the summer after a sensational season with Norwich in the Championship. The Foxes won the race for his signature, paying £22m to prise him from the Canaries.

Maddison hasn’t been fazed by the increase in competition and has thrived in the Premier League. The Englishman has been the creative force for his team under Claude Puel, netting five goals and registering four assists for his team-mates this season. The number ten could provide Liverpool with the spark they have been lacking at times throughout the season, Maddison has averaged an incredible 2.7 key passes per game, and his arrival would allow Mohamed Salah to move to his favoured right-wing position in the 4-2-3-1 formation (WhoScored).

Prising him from the King Power could prove difficult, but the allure of Anfield could be too much for the youngster.

Liverpool fans, thoughts?

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Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill said in his Aston Villa pre-match press conference, via The Nottingham Post, that he doesn’t expect to have Lewis Grabban available for the Championship clash on Wednesday night, and striker teammate Daryl Murphy should be relieved.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Reds’ top goalscorer has missed the last three league games with a troublesome Achilles issue, and O’Neill has suggested via The Nottingham Post that the club may not choose to pick him until after the upcoming international break to give him a chance to fully recover.

In his absence, Murphy has stepped up to the mantle as a target-man centre-forward, and while he has done well at times holding the ball up, his all-round striker play hasn’t been great and he hasn’t looked likely to find the net like Grabban can – he has failed to do since New Year’s Day.

The 6ft 3in player once again flattered to deceive in the 3-0 win against Hull City on Saturday, although O’Neill’s latest update means he may well be handed another start against the Villans with loanee Leo Bonatini also failing to convince against the Tigers.

Can he perform?

It will be difficult for him.

Check out Max’s verdict on Forest’s impressive 3-0 win over Hull in the video below…

He turns 36 years of age on Friday and his physique means he doesn’t have the legs to race around the pitch any more, and two games in the space of four or five days will certainly be a big ask.

That is something that limits him in the Championship, and he simply needs to ensure that he is making the most of his strengths if he does keep his spot in the starting XI against Dean Smith’s visitors, in order to keep Forest in the promotion race.

Away from home, Arsenal have put in some very shameful performances this season with their last Europa League outing being one example.

However, at the Emirates, it has been another story. And midfielder Lucas Torreira is now banking on his side to make that home advantage count when the Gunners look to mount a comeback against Rennes tomorrow.

The Breakdown

“I think we were in control of the match and we’d obviously taken an early lead, but the red card did change things and Rennes were able to take advantage of things,” Torreira told Arsenal’s official club website when speaking about the north London club’s 3-1 loss at Roazhon Park.

“With that being said, we do have confidence that we’re going to give a very big performance and go through to the next round.”

While it would be dangerous to underestimate the task at hand, especially considering what happened first time round, it is not hard to understand why Torreira and supporters are so confident heading into the game.

The Roazhon Park encounter was a close one up until Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ sending off and, as already alluded to, Arsenal can be a different animal when it comes to playing at home.

This season, under Unai Emery, the Gunners have claimed impressive victories against Tottenham, Chelsea and most recently Manchester United.

If Torreira and co can play anywhere close to how they did in those fixtures, then a comeback could truly be on the cards for Emery’s men.

Arsenal fans, how confident are you feeling ahead of Thursday’s game? Join the discussion by commenting below.

قدم سيرجينو ديست الشكر لـ نادي أياكس، بعد أن انضم رسميًا إلى برشلونة الإسباني، في أول انتقال خلال مسيرته المهنية.

ديست الذي قضى 9 سنوات في أياكس منذ أن كان طفلًا، انتقل إلى برشلونة وهو في عمر الـ19 عامًا، مقابل 21 مليون يورو + 5 ملايين متغيّرات. “طالع التفاصيل”

ونقلت صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، تصريحات اللاعب: “أعرف أنني شاب الآن، لكنني أحب التحديات، وتغلبت على أشياء كثيرة قبل انضمامي إلى برشلونة”.

وأضاف سيرجينو ديست: “عندما نشرت صورة لي على إنستجرام الاسبوع الماضي، قالوا إنها في ألمانيا، لكنني لم أرد وانتظرت حتى أؤكد للجميع أنني حققت حلمي”.

وأوضح: “أنا أحلم باللعب في برشلونة منذ سنوات، عندما كنت صغيرًا وأنا أحلم باليوم الذي انتقل فيه إلى هنا”.

ووجه رسالة لجمهور أياكس عبر حسابه على “تويتر”: “كنت صبيا أحلم باللعب مع أياكس، أنا محظوظ لكوني مثلت هذا النادي على مدار تسع سنوات”.

واختتم: “شكرًا للجميع في أياكس، وتحديدًا لجمهور النادي، ستحتفظون دائمًا بمكانة خاصة في قلبي”.

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Southampton striker Shane Long admitted in an interview with The Irish Independent after his side’s 2-0 win against Fulham on Wednesday night that he is lacking confidence right now, but he needs to get it back as soon as possible to help his team out.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Republic of Ireland international replaced Charlie Austin in the 64th minute of the clash at St Mary’s, and while it was his 18th Premier League appearance of the season, just seven of those have been starts.

His place in the pecking order was perhaps shown against Arsenal on Sunday when he missed out on a spot in the 18-man squad even though Danny Ings is currently injured, although a hamstring issue that will keep Michael Obafemi out for the rest of the campaign gave him a reprieve against the Cottagers.

The 32-year-old, who went close with an effort from a narrow angle, told The Irish Independent: “I’m trying to train hard and improve things that aren’t going right but I think a lot of it is down to confidence. I’ve got to believe in myself first of all and then others will believe in me.”

How can he get it back?

Obviously one of the main things is getting more goals.

Long has only scored three times in 55 games in all competitions for the south coast outfit since the beginning of the 2017/18 season, and as a striker that is clearly a woeful record.

The Irishman needs one or two to get into a rhythm, and he also needs to get back to doing what he is best at on the pitch – chasing down and harrying defenders to force them into mistakes.

That is something that has been lacking recently and the kind of thing that can get the supporters fully behind him, and he needs to step up for the team sooner rather than later in their battle against the drop.

Reports from the Daily Mirror suggest that Arsenal are set to appoint Roma’s Monchi as their new sporting director.

The Gunners have reportedly lined up the Spaniard to replace the recently departed Sven Mislintat at the Emirates. Monchi has a world-class reputation following his work at Sevilla and would be considered a real coup if he was appointed. The 50-year-old enjoyed plenty of success in Spain working alongside current Arsenal boss Unai Emery.

One of his priorities in the summer transfer window will be to sort out the Arsenal back four. Despite adding the likes of Sokratis and Bernd Leno to their squad, their defence has let them down constantly throughout the campaign. Monchi could raid the Italian club in order to find a solution.

The ideal addition could be Roma superstar – Konstantinos Manolas. Valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, the Greece international has established himself as one of the top defenders in the Serie A since leaving Olympiacos back in 2014. Now approaching the prime of his career, there is no better time to lure him to the Premier League.

The 27-year-old is a fantastic defender who would add some much-needed stability to the Gunners backline. Manolas is extremely quick for a centre-back and loves to get stuck into a challenge. The Greek reads the game superbly and is dominant in the air meaning the physicality of the Premier League shouldn’t faze him. He also excels with the ball at his feet thanks to his excellent range of passing – he would be a perfect fit for Emery’s system in north London.

Having been linked with a move to the Emirates in previous years – with the Gunners said to have had a bid snubbed a couple of years ago (from Sport FM via Goal) – Emery should lean on Monchi to lure the enforcer over from the Italian capital at long last.

With international experience as well as a host of Champions League appearances, Manolas knows how to succeed at the highest level.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?

West Ham United suffered a rather disappointing 2-0 defeat at Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon, which saw the Hammers struggle to work their magic in front of goal, ultimately failing to create any worthy goal scoring opportunities.

The result, however, also emphasised that midfielder Manuel Lanzini still has a lot of work to do to get back to his best following his long injury layoff, which only saw him make his first appearance of the campaign against Fulham at the end of February.

Since then, manager Manuel Pellegrini has tried to ease the 26-year-old back into the team, starting him in their previous two matches.

But, it was evident on Saturday that Lanzini has to get used to playing in a team environment again and will need to adapt as soon as possible to the type of game Pellegrini wants him to play.

Of course, the only way for a player who was out for such a long period of time to get back into the thick of the action is to play and get as many minutes under the belt as possible.

However, he will need to work closely with the manager at the training ground to get the full grip of tactics that Pellegrini wants to implement in the team.

Lanzini started in the centre of the midfield, next to captain Mark Noble on Saturday, but was replaced in the 58th minute of the match, shortly after Cardiff scored their second goal.

Michail Antonio was the man who replaced him as Pellegrini clearly felt Lanzini wasn’t being creative or effective enough for his team to get on the score-sheet.

The manager also threw on Samir Nasri for Noble at the same time, trying to be more attacking but it was all in vain as Neil Warnock’s men hung on for the remainder of the match.

Pellegrini will now have a difficult task in deciding how he is going to use Lanzini for the final stages of the season in order to get the best outcome for both the player and the club.

West Ham welcome Huddersfield Town to the London Stadium this coming Saturday and their fans will expect them to not have a lot of troubles seeing off the Terriers.

West Ham fans, do you think Manuel Lanzini will ever get back to his best? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

أوضح طبيب نادي ليفربول الإنجليزي جيم موكسون السبب وراء الكشف عن هوية اللاعب تياجو ألكانتارا بعد إصابته بفيروس كورونا المستجد، كوفيد 19.

وكان بطل الدوري الإنجليزي قد أعلن، مساء اليوم الثلاثاء، إصابة اللاعب الإسباني بالفيروس المستجد (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وكانت الأندية في بياناتها لا تكشف عن هوية الأشخاص المصابين لديها بفيروس كورونا، حيث تكتفي بذكر وجود حالات إصابة فقط على خلاف ما فعله ليفربول اليوم.

وقال جيم موكسون، في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي للنادي: “لكل شخص حرية اختيار ما إذا كان سيكشف هويته علنًا بعد ثبوت نتيجة اختبار فيروس كورونا”.

وأضاف: “لقد اتبعنا جميع البروتوكولات وتياجو بخير، سيعزل نفسه الآن وفقًا للإرشادات ونأمل أن يعود معنا قريبًا”.

وانتقل تياجو ألكانتارا إلى ليفربول قادمًا من بايرن ميونخ، في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي الحالي، في وقت سابق من هذا الشهر.

وشارك تياجو في مباراة واحدة فقط وذلك كبديل أمام تشيلسي، في الجولة الثانية من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.