Analysis

The best reason for and against Juventus firing Thiago Motta
17Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

The best reason for and against Juventus firing Thiago Motta

After getting torn to shreds by another rival in the battle for a top-four place in Serie A, the pressure on Juventus manager Thiago Motta is beginning to reach a crescendo. There are valid calls from fans and pundits alike to can Motta just one year after he was hired to replace long-time Juventus manager Max Allegri, who was in his second stint as the club's coach. Juventus are currently outside the top four after losing 3-0 to Fiorentina, which came one week after another embarrassing loss in a big game, 4-0 to Atalanta. Although Motta came into this job with tempered expectations due to a developing squad, it has been jarring to see how some of the team's top players, including former Fiorentina stars Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic, have been outright discarded by the form...
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Manchester City need to keep letting Jeremy Doku cook
16Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Manchester City need to keep letting Jeremy Doku cook

Manchester City suffered another disappointing result on Saturday afternoon, drawing 2-2 with fellow European football hopefuls Brighton despite receiving goals form both star forwards Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush. But even though the former Bundesliga superstar found the back of the net, neither were the best players on the pitch - not even for Man City alone. No, that distinction belongs to a former Ligue 1 star, winger Jeremy Doku. For the second time in his last four Premier League games, the Belgian international completed a jaw-dropping 15 completed dribbles, reminding fans around the world that it isn't just Lamine Yamal who has a compelling case for being the best dribbler in the world. Jeremy Doku is the Premier League's best dribbler Doku was irresistible on the ball ...
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Arsenal vs. Chelsea: 5 stars who will decide Sunday’s heated rivalry battle
15Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Arsenal vs. Chelsea: 5 stars who will decide Sunday’s heated rivalry battle

Arsenal are through to the Champions League quarterfinals but will have a big point to prove at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon against London rivals Chelsea after failing to take care of Manchester United, dropping two points to the Red Devils last weekend. So here are three players on Arsenal and two on Chelsea who will be pivotal to telling the story of this weekend's biggest Premier League matchup between second and fourth. Arsenal DM Thomas Partey Thomas Partey will be going up against an exceptional midfield anchoring duo and an even better leading playmaker in Cole Palmer this weekend, so he will need to be as close to flawless as possible for the Gunners. Likely leaving the club at the end of the season, Partey is still a valuable player in the Arsenal starting XI, and he ...
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3 Liverpool players who must step up with Trent Alexander-Arnold out of Carabao Cup Final
15Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

3 Liverpool players who must step up with Trent Alexander-Arnold out of Carabao Cup Final

Liverpool will face Newcastle on Sunday afternoon with the chance to capture their first trophy of what has been an incredible 2024/25 season thus far, which will help erase some of the sourness after a shocking penalty shootout defeat to mild upstarts PSG in the Champions League Round of 16. Their latest Champions League failure can't blight their spirits heading into Sunday's Carabao Cup Final, as Liverpool, even against a formidable opponent, are clear favorites as the side with a 15-point lead in the Premier League. However, Liverpool will be without one of the best players in the world on Sunday, as star right back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of the game with an ankle injury he picked up at mid-week in the defeat to PSG, as if being knocked out of the Champions Lea...
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Leicester City vs. Manchester United: 5 players who will decide Sunday’s game
15Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Leicester City vs. Manchester United: 5 players who will decide Sunday’s game

After grinding out a hard-fought point against second-placed Arsenal last weekend and a huge 4-1 win to eliminate Real Sociedad in the Europa League at mid-week, Manchester United are hitting the road to take on the seemingly Championship-bound Leicester City Foxes on Sunday. Here are five players on both sides will decide the outcome of this Premier League fixture. Manchester United DM Manuel Ugarte Manuel Ugarte's had an uneven first season at Old Trafford, but the talent is clearly there within the Uruguayan. Ruben Amorim's task is to get the former Sporting CP standout to play at the world-class level he flashed while at PSG in his lone season in Paris. On Sunday, Ugarte needs to be the backbone of the Manchester United midfield, control the game, and help drive the ball forwar...
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How Ruben Amorim views Mason Mount tactically in Manchester United formation
14Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

How Ruben Amorim views Mason Mount tactically in Manchester United formation

Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has been an unmitigated disaster at the club since joining in the summer 2023 transfer window for a whopping 60 million pounds, as he's come nowhere near to giving the Red Devils a return on their inflated initial investment. The shame is on Manchester United for signing a player Chelsea clearly wanted to jettison due to, ahem, mounting injury concerns and a knowledge that he cannot play as a starting 8 for a top team in the Premier League and is, instead, solely a glorified No. 10. Well, Manchester United already had a significantly better No. 10 in Bruno Fernandes, who has only distinguished himself further in the face of his critics since the Mount transfer, whereas the England international has only added new critics. However, with Moun...
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Liverpool’s unsung 2024/25 Premier League Player of the Season candidate
13Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Liverpool’s unsung 2024/25 Premier League Player of the Season candidate

There is no question that Liverpool right winger Mohamed Salah is the favorite to win the Premier League Player of the Season for the 2024/25 campaign, and, at this point, it's a foregone conclusion that both the Reds will win the Premiership and Salah will be crowned as the league's best players. His statistics are a wonder to behold. Salah has scored 27 goals with 17 assists this season already, producing numbers at the age of 32 that are unlike anything we have seen in Premier League history and wouldn't look out of place next to prime Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi numbers. But beyond Salah, Liverpool have another player who, in literally any other season, would have a compelling case to win the Premier League Player of the Season honors. That is none other than center bac...
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Three summer 2025 transfers to take Manchester United to the next level
10Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

Three summer 2025 transfers to take Manchester United to the next level

Manchester United have made a ton of high-profile transfers over the years that haven't paid out, but here are three stars who could be worth their time in the summer 2025 window. Sporting CP ST Viktor Gyokeres Obviously, a proven goal-scorer has to be at the top of the Manchester United transfer wishlist, as Joshua Zirkzee has flamed out so badly in his first season at Old Trafford that there are already rumblings that the club are ready to move on from the Dutch international. Even if Manchester United keep Zirkzee next to fellow former Serie A standout Rasmus Hojlund, neither are known as top finishers. The Red Devils need someone ruthless in front of goal, and there is nobody in more demand than Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who was recently coached by new Man United manage...
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3 Manchester City stars who are clearly finished at the top level
3Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

3 Manchester City stars who are clearly finished at the top level

Although Manchester City have picked things up domestically after a busy January transfer window with clean sheet wins over Newcastle and Tottenham - and an FA Cup victory over pesky underdogs Plymouth - their recent resounding defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool are a sobering reminder that the squad still needs an overall in order to return to the very summit it reached in 2023 as treble winners. There are some big names in the Manchester City squad who were once among the world's best but are now struggling to prove that they can still be key players for a team that aims to win the Premier League and Champions League. Here are three of them. Kevin De Bruyne It is sad to see how Kevin De Bruyne has fallen in 2024/25, as injuries have accelerated an inevitable decline that may not e...
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The X-Factor Barcelona need in order to win LaLiga
2Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

The X-Factor Barcelona need in order to win LaLiga

Barcelona must like their chances of winning LaLiga this season a lot more after watching Real Betis completely dominate a Real Madrid side bereft of the midfield trio of Dani Ceballos, Fede Valverde, and Jude Bellingham while Barca themselves thoroughly dispatched Real Sociedad 4-0; the same side Madrid only beat 1-0 at midweek in the Copa del Rey. Although Barcelona have been frustratingly inconsistent in periods this season, there is no question that the Blaugrana field the most exciting attack in world football with attacking trio Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal already breaking goal-scoring records this season. But the trio really could - and should - be a quartet, as Dani Olmo reminded world football fans on Sunday afternoon with a brace of assists against Real S...
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