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The Champions League was back in action this week for the first time since May when Liverpool lifted the trophy in an all-English final.

On Wednesday evening, several eagle-eyed Aston Villa supporters spotted one of their former players putting in a resounding performance against Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 with Idrissa Gueye putting in a star-showing in the centre of midfield. He created the assist for Angel Di Maria’s second of the match just after half an hour and finished on a match rating of 8.3.

It was the 29-year-old’s hard work from the right flank which eventually fed the Argentinian, who struck a wonderful curling effort from 20 yards out past former Chelsea shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois.

One Villa fan claimed the 5 foot 9 man was ‘absolutely bossing’ Madrid’s midfield of Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.

Gueye was signed by former Villa boss Tim Sherwood in the summer of 2015 and made 38 appearances that season as the west Midlands club were relegated to the Championship.

In the time it’s taken the club to get back into the Premier League, Gueye went on to play regularly for Everton, making over 100 appearances, before sealing a huge move to the Ligue 1 champions earlier this summer.

Another supporter said it was no real surprise to see him smashing at the top level despite having a misfortunate campaign in the west Midlands earlier in his career.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

Everton product Fraser Hornby is hoping to replicate Christian Benteke’s route to the top in Belgium, after revealing what inspired his decision to join KV Kortrijk on loan for the season, as quoted by The Times.

Hornby was yet to add to his only senior Everton appearance before joining the Belgian Jupiler Pro League side on a one-season deal (TransferMarkt), with his senior Toffees debut coming against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League in 2017.

Hornby has addressed his decision to seek first-team football while on international duty with Scotland’s Under 21s, for whom he hopes to represent on Tuesday night when they face Croatia, having been forced to watch on through injury as Scot Gemmill’s side beat San Marino last Thursday.

The last time the 19-year-old wore his country’s colours in a competitive scenario saw Hornby net five goals in as many days, as he struck a hat-trick against Andorra and a brace away to the Netherlands.

Hornby has now taken it upon himself to test himself in a new country, as the Northampton-born striker was inspired by Jadon Sancho’s success after leaving Manchester City’s youth ranks for Borussia Dortmund.

“You see a lot of young British players going abroad now,” Hornby said. “There’s an opportunity to make it in one of these big leagues abroad that you maybe wouldn’t get in the Premier League in England. I moved away from home at 14 to go to Everton. Some people would be put off by moving away to a different country. For me that wasn’t a problem; I was always open to it.

“You look at Jadon Sancho, he’s probably done the best of the lads who have gone abroad. But I think it’s about getting that opportunity. He didn’t feel he’d get that at Manchester City and he felt he was ready to make that step.”

Hornby went on to add that Benteke’s rise from Belgium to the Premier League helped to convince the youngster that his decision to join Kortrijk on loan was the right one.

“I did my research on them,” he said. “I looked at certain players who’d been there before, like Christian Benteke. When I went there nothing was a shock. The intensity of training was very high which is what I’m used to at Everton. It’s refreshing for me to go into that environment.”

Crystal Palace striker Benteke began his career in Standard Liege and KRC Genk’s academies, but it was a loan spell with Kortrijk which spring boarded his professional career, netting 16 goals in 37 games across all competitions (TransferMarkt).

He would go on to represent Standard Liege in Champions League qualifying games and Genk in the Europa League before joining Aston Villa in 2012, where he hit 27 goals in 47 games in his debut campaign in England.

Hornby would surely not be expected to replicate the same instant success in the Premier League with Everton come his return from Kortrijk next summer, but if the teenager can use his time in Belgium to also spring board his career, he and Everton will certainly benefit from it.

Another loan spell away from Merseyside for 2020/21 could also be on the cards, too, given his age, but Hornby’s move now could be the one that takes him higher up the football pyramid, ready to make a mark at Goodison Park in the coming years.

Everton fans, does Hornby’s reasoning offer you any confidence that he can make it to the top? Let us know in the comments below…

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Sean Longstaff may be one of Newcastle’s own, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune from getting criticism for his performances like the rest of his teammates.

The 21-year-old enjoyed somewhat of a break-through campaign last season for his hometown club, making nine Premier League appearances and scoring once.

His start to the current campaign however has been rather more low-key, with his display in the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Leicester simply underlining that.

The central midfielder lost possession 22 times over the course of the game, and it led to him getting a measly 5.9 rating from Sofascore.

After seeing Longstaff’s poor performance, Newcastle fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the 21-year-old.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club appeared to point the finger at his fitness and conditioning, with one fan in particular suggesting he “looked like he was towing around a caravan”.

Some Magpies fans compared his current form to last season, and insisted he looked a “shadow of the player he was under Rafa”.

Check out some of the reaction of Newcastle fans below:

Arsenal fans are desperate to see Kai Havertz sign for the club after he spoke to Sky in Germany, refusing to rule out a move away from Bayer Leverkusen (Sky Germany via The Metro).

The north London giants are one of a host of clubs interested in signing the star, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona also said to be interested.

Indeed, the Germany international enjoyed a brilliant campaign with Leverkusen last season, scoring 20 goals in all competitions. The 20-year-old has started this season in a similar vein, scoring in the opening league game against SC Paderborn and in the German cup.

It is thought the German club are confident of fetching a similar fee to the £113m Benfica collected for young star Joao Felix.

Fans seemed to be giddy with excitement at the thought of signing the playmaker, as they took to Twitter to react.

Here is a selection of tweets from the north London faithful:

حقق فريق مانشستر يونايتد فوزًا صعبًا على نظيره فريق وست هام، مساء اليوم الأحد في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب الأولد ترافورد مباراة الفريقين في الجولة الثامنة والعشرين، حيث فاز مانشستر يونايتد بهدف دون رد. هدف فوز مانشستر يونايتد أمام وست هام

هدف فوز مانشستر يونايتد جاء في الدقيقة 53 عن طريق النيران الصديقة، حيث سجل كريج داوسون بالخطأ في مرماه.

وشهدت المباراة استحواذ مانشستر يونايتد على الكرة، ولكن دون فعالية هجومية كبيرة.

وسقط برونو فرنانديز مصابًا على أرض الملعب في الشوط الثاني ولكنه استكمل المباراة.

بتلك النتيجة، ارتفع رصيد مانشستر يونايتد إلى 57 نقطة ليستعيد المركز الثاني من ليستر سيتي، بينما تجمد رصيد وست هام عند 48 نقطة في المركز الخامس.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Darren Bent has described Trent Alexander-Arnold as one of the best right-backs around.

What did he say?

Alexander-Arnold caught the eye of the former striker with his display for England against Kosovo on Tuesday night, and Bent suggests that both him and Kieran Trippier are very good right-back options for Gareth Southgate.

As well as those two, Kyle Walker and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are also candidates for the national team role, but Bent points to the Liverpool full-back’s all-round game as a factor which makes him so impressive.

The 20-year-old has a growing reputation as an attacking threat for the Reds, registering an impressive 12 Premier League assists last year, but he has so far been unable to reproduce that for Southgate’s side.

Despite that, Bent told Football Insider that his ability on the ball makes him stand out, and also highlighted the defensive side of his game:

“On the ball, he’s very, very good, technically he’s very good. Him and Kieran Trippier are technically the best right-backs out there, probably.

“What I really like about him is his defensive positioning, he never seems to get caught out. It was a very good performance from his as well.”

Complete package?

Bent may have been impressed with Alexander-Arnold’s performance on Tuesday, but the fact he was completely out of position for Kosovo’s second goal suggests that he needs to work on his defensive positioning, as well as his crossing as we highlighted earlier this week.

It is not an aspect of his game which he often has to worry about due to Liverpool’s dominance of the ball, and he can rely on the hard-working Jordan Henderson or the experienced Joel Matip to help him out.

Although he has impressed going forward, there are times where he has been caught out defensively. One such example was Alexander-Arnold’s poor positioning in a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in 2018, which resulted in Marcus Rashford being allowed too much space before striking the opening goal.

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Jurgen Klopp appears to have the same worries about the defensive side of his game, leaving him out of Liverpool’s trip to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, opting instead for Joe Gomez.

As a result, the youngster will need to improve defensively if he is to become the complete full-back Bent suggests he is, particularly if he wants to cement a place in the England team for Euro 2020.

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Celtic fans, preparing for the big game on Thursday, have taken to social media to vent their frustration at a rumour linking star striker Odsonne Edouard away from the club.

The Daily Mail are reporting that Napoli are “preparing” a £30m bid for January, and the story is all over the internet. Other outlets, like The Sun, have picked up the story already.

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Celtic fans aren’t pleased at such an unwelcome development, as these social media responses show, with a range of gripes including the timing of the story – the Bhoys face Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday night – the potential transfer fee and indeed the likelihood of Edouard actually moving to Serie A.

First, here’s what some of the Twitterati think of it.

The Sun’s story got short shrift from this guy.

Some people think the price is just ridiculously low as well …

The reaction on Facebook was just as dismissive, even angry – and there was more discussion of the likely fee.

One fan even suggested reasons why Edouard himself may not entirely fancy a move there …

Celtic fans are seemingly in no mood to see another top star depart, especially when they have lost Kieran Tierney over the course of the summer, which is unsurprising considering Edouard has nabbed six goals and five assists already this term.

The sale of another top player might bring in huge sums of money, but it would unlikely be a popular move. Right now fans are more angry with the media than they are upset over the prospect of losing Edouard, but the board will find themselves with questions to answer if January comes around and a deal is sanctioned.

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Jurgen Klopp has been named as the Premier League Manager of the Month for August and Liverpool fans believe it is no less than he deserves.

The German has overseen a brilliant start to the season, with Liverpool winning four from four, scoring 12 and conceding only three, a record no other team has been able to match. They currently sit atop the table, two points clear of reigning champions Manchester City.

Despite the notable success since his arrival in England, Klopp was won the award just twice previously, in March of this year and in December 2018.

He is already loved by Reds fans, and in winning a sixth Champions League title he has arguably elevated himself to icon status at the club, which would become even more substantial if he won the coveted Premier League title.

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And many fans are in awe of their manager and have used the occasion to heap praise onto him.

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قال المدرب الصربي ميلوتين سريدوفيتش، الشهير بـ”ميتشو” المدير الفني السابق لفريق نادي الزمالك، إنه تأثر كثيرًا بتجربة تدريبه في القلعة البيضاء بالرغم من عدم استمراره لفترة طويلة، مشيرًا إلى أنها من أهم المحطات في مسيرته.

وكان ميتشو قد تولى المهمة الفنية للزمالك، من أغسطس عام 2019، وحتى شهر ديسمبر من العام ذاته، بعد الخسارة أمام إنبي في الدوري المحلي، ومازيمبي في دوري أبطال افريقيا.

وأضاف ميتشو في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “الشمس” عبر برنامج “البلدوزر”: “جمهور الزمالك مختلف عن أي جمهور في العالم ولهم مكانة خاصة عندي”.

وتابع: “لازلت على تواصل مع بعض لاعبي الزمالك الذين كانوا متواجدين معي وعلاقتي بهم رائعة”.

طالع | مدرب الزمالك السابق يكشف حقيقة عرض فرجاني ساسي للبيع وأزمة باتشيكو مع حازم إمام

وعن العودة للتدريب في مصر: “دربت في إفريقيا 6 أندية كبار، أورلاندو بايرتس وسان جورج الأثيوبي والزمالك، والهلال في السودان، ويانج أفريكانز، ولو عدت إلى مصر، فأنا دمي زمالكاوي، وأحب الزمالك”.

وواصل: “لا أريد الحديث عن الماضي وأسباب تركي للزمالك، إذا لم تكن هناك أمور إيجابية في الماضي أفضل ألا أتحدث”.

وأتم: “أتذكر مصطفى محمد عندما جاء من طلائع الجيش، كان إضافة قوية للمنتخب الأولمبي والأول، وشوقي غريب يعتمد عليه، ورفع رأس المصريين في جالطا سراي وأحرز أهداف كثيرة وسعيد بما يقدمه”.

واختتم: “محمود شيكابالا رمز من رموز كرة القدم المصرية، ومن اللاعبين الرائعين، صعب أن تنجب كرة القدم لاعبًا مثله، هدفه في نهائي إفريقيا يُظهر أنه مهما كبر سن اللاعب تبقى المهارة حاضرة، أريد أن يظل دائمًا شيكابالا في كرة القدم، ويلعب قدر استطاعته وإن إعتزل يستمر في الكرة ويخوض فترة التدريبات ليفيد الأجيال القادمة”.

No, the Croatian wasn’t campaigning for himself to be inserted into the team despite saying last year that he was one of the best defenders in the world.

Instead, he argued that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson deserved a spot in the side.

It’s hard to disagree with Lovren’s opinion on this one. Liverpool conceded just 22 goals in the league last year, as well as winning the Champions League.

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The full-backs weren’t only brilliant at the back either, both men hit double figures in terms of assists in the league last term.

Matthijs De Ligt, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo all got in ahead of the Liverpool pair, and while the Dutchman had a very good campaign, the two Real Madrid stars can certainly consider themselves very lucky.