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Manchester United vs Manchester City

Manchester United hosted Manchester City on Wednesday in the final Manchester derby of the season.

The game had big ramifications for both sides.

Should City have drawn or lost that would have put Liverpool in the driver’s seat for the Premier League title.

As for United, they are still fighting for a top-four place and could have gone level on points with 4^th place Chelsea should they have beaten their cross-town rivals.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will not have been full of confidence heading into the game though as they had just been smashed 4-0 by Everton.

Fernandinho injured

The first half was probably not what most fans were expecting.

Man City did not dominate and United often looked the more comfortable of the two sides.

However, the Reds defence still looked pretty shaky with Raheem Sterling having a good chance to open the scoring towards the end of the first 45.

City started the second half the brighter of the two sides but they suffered a big blow early on.

Fernandinho was a key figure for City in the first half. Unfortunately, the Brazilian would be taken off in the 51^st minute with an injury.

A night to forget for Emery and co

Arsenal fans are not happy in the slightest after the Gunners were embarrassingly beaten 3-1 away at Wolves on Wednesday evening.

To say Arsenal have had an up and down campaign is an understatement.

Unai Emery started his Arsenal career in brilliant fashion, going on a pretty hefty unbeaten run.

However, performances started to dip around Christmas time with a few questionable results.

They came both in the Premier League and the Europa League, with Unai Emery being criticised after the first leg defeat against BATE.

Thankfully for Emery and the fans, Arsenal came back to beat them and Rennes in the second leg, proceeding through to the quarter final stage where they comfortably beat Napoli.

Last time out in the Premier League, however, they were beaten by Crystal Palace at the Emirates.

Now, there’s been another embarrassing performance and it came against Wolves on Wednesday night.

Wolves romp home against the Gunners

Arsenal were completely played off the park by Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves at Molineux.

Despite having the brunt of possession with 71%, Unai Emery’s side didn’t really manage to muster up that much.

Meanwhile, when Wolves had possession, they certainly made it count.

Out of 11 shots, three were on target and Nuno’s side scored three goals.

The first came through Ruben Neves who scored a delightful free-kick from roughly 25 yards.

Next up was Matt Doherty who added to his impressive tally this season.

The Irishman has now scored a total of eight goals from right-wing back.

Last up was Diogo Jota, who had run Arsenal ragged all evening.

The Portuguese forward burst through the Arsenal defence, shooting low under the poor Bernd Leno.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos did get one goal back in the 80th minute but the game was long past Arsenal.

Man United eyeing a right-back

Over the last few weeks, Manchester United appear to have upped their search for a right-back.

This is hardly surprising given that Antonio Valencia’s contract will expire in the summer leaving Diogo Dalot as their only out and out right-back.

Ashley Young has played there for much of the 2018/19 season but he is 33 and has put in a lot of subpar displays this campaign.

Two of the right-backs United have been linked with this summer are Tottenham’s Kieran Trippier and Crystal Palace’s Wan Bissaka.

Meunier on moving to England

However, another name on United’s list looks to be PSG and Belgium star, Thomas Meunier.

Meunier has played 20 Ligue 1 games this season with injuries halting his progress.

The Belgian’s current PSG deal expires in 2020 with the Mirror reporting that talks over a new deal have stalled.

The Red Devils will also have been glad to hear what Meunier said when asked about playing in the Premier League:

 “I never hid it[his desire to play in the Premier League].

“The discussions with management are hanging around a bit.

“I can understand because of the deadlines of the team that my personal case was put in the fridge, but since then nothing has happened, the message seems clear enough.

“It would annoy me a little if it ends like that, without having the opportunity to finish beautifully.

“It’s true, I had a rough season, but a title is still a title and I am very happy.

“You know, even if I only took part in four or five matches in 2019, my stats, offensive and defensive, are among the best in the PSG defence alongside Bernat’s.”As quoted by the Mirror.

Chelsea were tonight dealt a pair of blows on the injury-front, during the club’s clash with Burnley.

Chelsea 2-2 Burnley

Maurizio Sarri’s men welcomed Burnley to Stamford Bridge a short time ago, in a crucial outing in their pursuit of a top-4 berth.

The Blues headed into the matchup sitting in 5th-place in the Premier League table, behind Tottenham and Arsenal respectively.

However, the defeats suffered by both of their capital rivals, along with Manchester United, over the course of the weekend, meant that Chelsea entered proceedings this evening aware that a victory would vault them into 3rd in the English top-flight table.

When all was said and done, though, Sarri’s side failed to get the job done.

A frenetic opening 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge saw 4 goals shared between the sides, as Burnley took firm advantage of their hosts’ set-piece shortcomings.

The game’s scoring was opened inside 10 minutes, when a corner for the away side saw the ball drop to the edge of the box for Jeff Hendrick to volley home in spectacular fashion.

Chelsea soon pulled level, though, as N’Golo Kante finished Eden Hazard’s pull-back off with aplomb.

And Gonzalo Higuain went on to turn the clash firmly on its head just 2 minutes later, rifling home off the underside of the crossbar from an acute angle.

Burnley, though, showcased their mettle to pull level with 24 minutes on the clock, as another set-piece saw Ashley Barnes arrive unmarked at the back post to slot beyond the helpless Kepa.

Chelsea largely-dominated over the game’s remaining hour but, in the end, failed to showcase the necessary guile to break down the visitors’ stout backline for a 3rd-time.

As such, Maurizio Sarri’s men were forced to settle for a point.

Chelsea’s injury woes

And an all-round disappointing evening’s work for the Blues was also compounded by a pair of blows on the injury-front.

The first player to have picked up a fitness problem was Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The English wide-man pulled up towards the end of the first-half, before attempting to push through his issue.

However, after being tended to by Chelsea’s physio team, the 18-year-old was soon forced to limp off, in what appeared to be some degree of pain.

Tomorrow’s edition of French daily L’Equipe features a number of major claims regarding a potential Paul Pogba summer switch to Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.

Zidane returns

Zinedine Zidane made his return to the bench at the Bernabeu on the 11th of March.

The former Real midfielder was reinstalled following failed stints on the part of both Julen Lopetegui and Santi Solari, which led to the capital giants relinquishing their title as European champions for the first time in 4 years, and failing to mount any kind of serious La Liga title challenge to Clasico rivals Barcelona.

And, on the back of Zidane’s return, Los Merengues have since been linked with a massive summer spending spree.

Numerous outlets across Europe have run similar stories, suggesting that Real are ready to break the bank on a number of high-profile additions.

Pogba targeted

Chief among the names linked with a Bernabeu switch have been Premier League duo Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba.

Chelsea attacker Hazard is known to be a long-time target of the soon-to-be dethroned Champions League holders, though the rumours of a potential Blancos’ swoop for Manchester United midfield standout Pogba have majorly ramped up since Zidane’s reappointment last month.

Zidane is said to have identified Pogba as the ideal addition to his side’s midfield, with Luka Modric set to turn 34 in the summer, and both Toni Kroos and Casemiro having struggled for form this season.

And the Real boss did little to play down the rumours linking Los Merengues with a swoop for his fellow countryman during a press conference late last month, when he explained:

‘I really like Pogba and you know that.’

‘I know him very well. He’s a different kind of player and he can provide many things because of his skills. He knows how to attack and defend.’

‘However, he’s not my player. He plays for United and we have to respect that. He’s always said that he likes Madrid.’

Pogba’s ‘scheduled’ transfer

Pogba himself has also admitted that it would mark a ‘dream for anyone’ to line out in the colours of Madrid, leading to ever-growing claims that the 26-year-old has his sights firmly set on an Old Trafford departure.

And, as per the aforementioned report from L’Equipe (via GFFN), set to hit stands tomorrow, not only is Pogba’s departure from Manchester looking like an increasing possibility, but it ‘appears to be scheduled’ for this summer.

United are reportedly no longer opposed to his sale, on the back of a number of sub-par performances of late.

In fact, the Frenchman is even said to have ‘told certain team-mates that he desires to go elsewhere’.

‘The former Juventus man is dreaming of credibly fighting year after year for the biggest prize in Europe: the Champions’ League,’ a scenario which Pogba does not see as realistic with Manchester United.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, remain the front-runners to seal a deal for Pogba, though PSG also remain an option.

Man United embarrassed at Everton

Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a nightmare day at the office on Sunday.

After being dominated by Barcelona earlier in the week, United were looking to bounce back vs Everton.

They also had the chance to move up to 4^th place with a win over the Toffees.

However, the Red Devils were well and truly embarrassed by Marco Silva’s men.

The game finished 4-0 to Everton with goals coming from Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lucas Digne and Theo Walcott.

Solskjaer on United’s transfer plans

With United clearly in need of some investment, their fans may have been hoping for a big overhaul this summer.

However, speaking in a recent interview, Solskjaer stated that while United will sign players this summer, fans shouldn’t expect six signings in the upcoming window:

“There will be new players coming in over summer but I don’t think you can expect six.

“I don’t think any manager you ask would be in favour of that amount of change anyway. We want to rebuild but it is going to have to be gradual, over a few windows.

“We plan to be in the top four, we plan to be in the Champions League next season and we want players who can keep us in the Champions League and move us up the table.

“But we know there is not going to be a quick fix. We have to take it step by step.”As quoted by ESPN.

United have been linked with a lot of stars already this summer, including Jadon Sancho and Declan Rice.

Solskjaer is targeting some of the best emerging English talent in Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Declan Rice and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Liverpool midfielder James Milner has this evening revealed the reason behind his walking stick celebration during the Reds’ victory over Cardiff City.

Cardiff 0-2 Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds travelled to the Welsh capital a short time ago, for a crunch Premier League clash.

The matchup marked a crucial one at both ends of the English top-flight table, with Liverpool of course in the midst of one of the most tightly-contested title fights in recent history, and Cardiff battling to avoid relegation.

As such, there was an understandably-tense atmosphere around the Cardiff City stadium ahead of kick-off.

When all was said and done, though, there could only be one winner, with Liverpool having held their nerve yet again to eventually emerge victorious.

The Merseysiders took the lead 10 minutes into the second-half, when Gini Wijnaldum rifled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low corner beyond the helpless Neil Etheridge.

Only two Premier League defenders this season have over 6 assists:

Andy Robertson – 9
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8

And James Milner put the game to bed from the penalty spot 10 minutes from time, slotting home in characteristically-cool fashion after Sean Morrison had been adjudged to have felled Mohamed Salah in the Cardiff box.

‘That one was for Virg’

Milner’s game-clincher, meanwhile, saw the veteran English midfielder’s celebration quickly garner attention online.

After finding the net, Milner proceeded to burst towards Liverpool’s fans, before imitating an old man with a walking stick.

And the former Aston Villa and Manchester City man has since provided an insight into the reasoning behind his celebration, confirming that it was in response to persistent ribbing on the part of teammate Virgil van Dijk regarding his age:

Milner on his celebration: “That one was for Virg (Van Dijk) because he always gives me stick about being old.”

Crystal Palace vs Everton

Everton travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday as they look to continue pushing for a Europa League spot.

The Toffees currently occupy 7^th place, above Watford on goal difference.

However, Watford have a game in hand on Everton, as do 10^th place Wolves who are just one point behind Marco Silva’s side.

Everton also have to face Tottenham in one of their final league games of the season so picking up a win vs Palace is a must if they want to stand any chance of qualifying for Europa League.

Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are already safe from relegation and will have very little to play for vs Everton.

Digne & Richarlison updates

Everton’s last tie saw them face Manchester United on Sunday.

The Blues have been in great form recently, baring a 2-0 defeat to Championship bound Fulham last weekend.

They have also been in solid form against the top six clubs.

That form was once again on display vs United as Everton came away 4-0 winners.

Despite the superb result against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, Everton did suffer a few big blows on Sunday.

After opening the scoring Richarlison was subbed off in the 51^st minute.

Then, after putting in a MOTM worthy display that included scoring from outside the box, Lucas Digne limped off in the 84^th minute.

Marco Silva has since given an update on the duo.

While Silva doesn’t know the extent of Richarlison’s injury yet, Digne’s problem does seem to be quite minor.

Cardiff 0-Liverpool 2

Liverpool and Cardiff went head-to-head on Sunday in a key clash at both ends of the table.

Cardiff started the day in 18^th place and in desperate need of a win to continue their relegation battle.

A win for the Welsh side would have seen them go level on points with 17^th place Brighton.

Liverpool, on the other hand, needed to win to return to the top of the table after Manchester City beat Tottenham on Saturday.

Warnock on Liverpool’s penalty

It would be Liverpool who came out on top on Sunday with a 2-0 win.

Georginio Wijnaldum put the Reds 1-0 up before James Milner made it 2-0 from the spot after Mohamed Salah was brought down.