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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

During Manchester United’s pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils were perhaps one of the most feared teams on the planet. Pace, power and goals. That late 2000s team involving the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, amongst others, was brimming with attacking potential and frightened the life out of their opponents.

Whilst they have some way to go to match their aforementioned counterparts, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Daniel James delivered a searing performance against Leeds that hearkened back to the glory days under Sir Alex.

The young United trio were fearless going forward and took the game to Leeds with their work on the ball and off it. Their speed on the counter-attack was devastating and is perhaps another piece of evidence of how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking to set his team up for next season.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Indeed, speaking after the game about United’s fine second goal, the Norwegian remarked: “With the second goal, I like the counter-attack, we know we’re a threat with the pace we’ve got up front and the quality in that attack was high as well.”

Having the likes of Rashford, Greenwood and James start in the front three positions for United would cause all kinds of problems, particularly in the games against the top sides. The rest of the ‘big six’ traditionally play a high-line as they look to press the ball, and United’s speed merchants could thrive on counter-attacks with simple balls over the top.

It would give their much-maligned defence a breather if they know a clearance could potentially lead to a chance at the other end and even in games against packed defences, their dribbling skills could open the game up to.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Whilst United’s pre-season so far has only seen them look impressive against Australian outfit Perth Glory and Championship side Leeds United, their style of play seems like a template they can take into the season, and it’s all led by that rip-roaring pace up front.

Ferguson’s United were always catchy on the eye and blistering on the break; caution is required, but the early signs from United’s youthful trident up front bear some of the same signs.

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While some players have the luxury of enjoying the sun and the seaside after a long season, others are still hard at work defending their national team’s colours.

Roberto Firmino and Brazil are already tearing it up in this year’s iteration of Copa America, and Liverpool’s ace has already registered two wins and a draw to top the group.

In their latest bout, Firmino scored one of his signature no-look goals as the Selecao strolled past Peru with five goals to nil. The Brazilian shared a snap on

/BzB3Z4TlTmc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram after they won the group.

Firmino posted a motivational message to go along with the image, and soon enough, his friends and teammates responded, showering the 27-year-old forward with praise.

Fabinho was first to the scene and simply told Firmino that there’s no one quite like him, calling him different than the rest.

Reds fans will particularly love Fabinho’s comment, considering from as far back as 2016 the Anfield faithful have enjoyed how “weird” the man they call “Bobby” truly is.

Xherdan Shaqiri also shared a reply of support after the impressive Brazil victory.

Once again it was another slow and steady campaign from Roy Hodgson and his men, a 12th-place finish isn’t far off what anyone expected from the Eagles, and it’s a position that they probably deserve given their overall performance. 

As each season goes on, Palace make themselves that little bit harder to play against, and once again they have delivered this term. Their only real worry has been the lack of consistency when Wilfried Zaha hasn’t been available. Luckily for them, though, the transfer window is now open, go out and buy another Zaha!

So, what were the defining moments that led to yet another steady Premier League campaign? Let’s have a look.

Huddersfield Town 0-1 Crystal Palace (Saturday 15th September 2018)

Despite being so early in the season, this was a game that quite easily could have deepened a then low on confidence Palace side. A loss and they would have suffered four straight defeats and been lurking in the depths of the relegation zone. A start like that and everyone knows how hard it is to bounce back… Ask Huddersfield fans.

But instead it was a win for the Eagles and they managed to soar their way up the table into a safer spot and that is where they were to remain for the most part of the season. Proving to be yet another inconsistent performer, it was as though 12th place had Palace’s name on it from day one.

Watford 2-1 Crystal Palace — FA Cup (Saturday 16th March 2019)

Indeed, reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup is no easy task, but once you’re there, it means being one win away from a trip to Wembley, dreamland for a club like Palace.

After beating Tottenham in one of the previous rounds, most of Palace’s fans would have thought a trip to Watford would be a walk in the park. It was quite the opposite.

With eventual finalists Watford ending all hopes of any silverware coming to Selhurst Park, it pretty much ended Palace’s season. It really took the wind out of their sails and left Palace looking a little bored throughout the rest of the season.

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Some Manchester City fans on Twitter are looking particularly foolish right now after last night’s hugely significant 1-0 win over Leicester.

As most of you will already know, the Citizens scraped past the Foxes courtesy of Vincent Kompany’s goal-of-the-season contender, a fierce strike into the top right corner from 30 yards out.

Relive all the drama of Man City v Spurs through the eyes Spurs’ fans in the video below…

It is these kind of games, in which so much is at stake, where the Belgian centre-back thrives.

He always seems to come up trumps for his club in crucial moments, and the impact of his strike against Brendan Rodgers’ men was reminiscent of his thumping header against Manchester United in 2012, which put City in the driving seat for the title.

His leadership and calmness in these situations is pivotal, and it is probably why Pep Guardiola decided to play him against the likes of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison, two nippy players who many thought would cause the ageing Kompany some issues.

Many City fans on Twitter were moaning about the captain’s inclusion in the starting eleven prior to kick-off on Monday night, and they have been forced to eat their words after the 33-year-old’s match-winning performance…

As a football fan, when we use the phrase ‘couldn’t hit a barn door…’ we do not often mean it literally, but in the case of Christopher Wreh, we think it is a pretty fair assessment. But it was not always like this for the man who confused us all.

Constructing worst ever XI sides is always good fun for fans who want to retrospectively piece together miserable memories in the comfort and safety of present time, far beyond the misery of old.

Indeed, spend enough time with Arsenal fans discussing this very topic and you will notice a trend emerging – one that begins with the letter ‘W’ and ends with ‘H’.

Cousin to legendary Liberia forward George Weah, Christopher had the pedigree to suggest he was going to be an alright player when they brought him over to Highbury during the 1997-98 season. As we have learned in the past however, success in the family does not always equate to results on the pitch. Look no further than Kaka and his brother Digao (yes, he has a brother) or Clarence and Chedric Seedorf, for example.

In fairness to Wreh, he actually jumped into that season in pretty impressive fashion scoring some vital winners in the Premiership, which helped guide Arsenal to the title and the winning goal in the FA semi-final. He collected his winners’ medal when the Gunners defeated Newcastle the next round. For all this success, what happened to him the following season was incomprehensible.

If you have ever seen the film Space Jam, you may notice some similarities between Wreh and protagonists; and, if you haven’t, essentially what happens is a bunch of aliens steal the talents of some of the best basketball players in the world, who then become totally useless overnight.

The writing was on the wall when Arsenal signed Thierry Henry in the season of 1990/00.

He left on loan in 1999 to never return, and by 2005 was playing for Buckingham Town in the Spartan South Midlands

Football League Premier Division, in the ninth tier of English football.

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Danny Rose insists that Ruud Gullit’s criticism of Tottenham Hotspur inspired the club to their historic victory over Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals, per Sky Sports.

What’s the word?

Tottenham, of course, lost 1-0 in north London and were aware that they needed to win in Amsterdam to have any chance of reaching the final, where they will face Liverpool.

A 3-2 victory, inspired by a brilliant Lucas Moura hat-trick and capped with a 96th-minute goal, sent Spurs to Madrid, and Rose took aim at Gullit in his post-match interview due to his previous comments.

Speaking after the club’s loss in north London, the former Chelsea star told beIN SPORTS: “A lot of players were disappointing because I see them every week in the Premier League.

“Dele Alli, oh my god, technically wise so bad. Wanyama, my god, technically wise, Rose too.

“Like I said I see them every week and how is it possible to make so many mistakes? I know you’re under pressure but you need to know what to do and they didn’t.”

Rose, a target of the Dutchman, was quick to respond following the final whistle, insisting that his statement spurred his team-mates on.

“Seeing people’s comments, like Ruud Gullit, after the first game and how rude he was, it’s nice that we fought back tonight and hopefully we shut him up.

“He was very critical of individual players and saying how bad we were technically and he’s bang out of order for that.

“So that was fuel to the fire and I hope he eats his words after tonight.”

Constantly written off

Spurs have been written off all season, particularly in Europe.

They took just one point from their first three games and appeared to be heading out of the competition but they rallied, beating PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan and earning a draw with Barcelona.

Wins over Borussia Dortmund – then-leaders of the Bundesliga – and Manchester City, apparent champions-elect in the Premier League, did much to change perceptions.

But, even so, Gullit still chose to castigate the club after a narrow first-leg defeat.

He was foolish and Rose is surely right; last night’s result must have shut him up. He would be well advised not to make any similar statements ahead of the final.

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Crystal Palace pulled it out the bag on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Newcastle despite the Magpies having the larger share of chances, although the manner in which the three points were won won’t matter one bit to the Selhurst Park faithful whose team will surely remain in the Premier League for another season as a result.

Luka Milivojevic eventually broke the deadlock with his customary penalty, but it could have been the Eagles’ second had Christian Benteke connected properly with Andros Townsend’s back-post cross minutes earlier.

Bursting down the left, the former Spurs winger curled it towards Benteke, who was in acres of space, although somehow the big Belgian was unable to strike the ball on the volley nor bring it down, instead just sliding it out of play.

Check out the fan cams from Newcastle 0-1 Palace in the video below…

The missed chance was the latest exmple of ‘how-did-you-not-score-that’ from the 28-year-old, who has been a shell of the all-conquering striker he was in 2016/17 and has yet to net in the current campaign.

Will he manage to open his account with five games remaining? It looks unlikely right now.

Here’s what the Palace fans had to say about the number 17’s miss on Twitter…

أفلت فريق إنتر ميلان الإيطالي من الهزيمة أمام ضيفه بوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ الألماني، وحول هزيمته لتعادل إيجابي (2-2)، في آخر دقائق المباراة.

وحل الفريق الألماني ضيفًا على إنتر ميلان، بالجولة الأولى لدور مجموعات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وتقدم روميلو لوكاكو للإنتر في الدقيقة 49 ثم تعادل رامي بن سبعيني لمونشنجلادباخ من ضربة جزاء في الدقيقة 63.

وأضاف جوناس هوفمان الهدف الثاني للضيوف في الدقيقة 84، وقبل إطلاق صافرة النهاية تعادل لوكاكو للإنتر بهدف آخر في الدقيقة 90.

انتهت المباراة (2-2)، وحصل كل فريق على نقطة واحدة، ويتصدر شاختار دونيستك المجموعة بثلاث نقاط، بعد فوزه على ريال مدريد، متذيل المجموعة، بنتيجة (3-2).

ويحتل إنتر ميلان المركز الثاني بنقطة واحدة يليه مونشنجلادباخ ثالثًا بنقطة واحدة أيضًا. أهداف مباراة إنتر ميلان وبوروسيا مونشنجلادباخ

After riding on a high for the past few months, Newcastle United were cruelly brought down to earth by Arsenal.

Indeed, the Gunners displayed ruthlessness in exposing their frailties, running rings around their defence and putting on an absolute masterclass for their fans as they chase Champions League qualification.

Wouldn’t that be nice, Newcastle fans? Oh, memories.

For the Magpies, it was anything but pretty. They were barely able to get the ball up field and were really rather poor defensively. However, the most shocking display came from captain Jamaal Lascelles, who was terrorized by Arsenal’s menacing flurry of hugely talented attackers.

On a day when his teammates needed someone to rely upon, he failed to be the influential leader they required and, to be fair, had become accustomed to.

Rather than making strong challenges to get his side forward, the England defender cramped up in a shell to invite pressure, looking a shell of the rock-solid star who had established himself as the club’s best captain in years. Eventually, it cost Newcastle, who were made to pay for being too defensive with Lascelles’ poor error leading to Lacazette’s goal, where his poor reading of the move allowing the French striker to lob past Martin Dubravka.

It wasn’t the first time he’s made consequential errors for the Magpies. He’s done it time and again this season, costing Newcastle points with his poor decision-making and, sadly it’s looking as if he’s believing his own hype.

Lascelles might be a strong, hard-tackling defender who can neutralize opponents on his day but crumbles up too often to be a captain. Linked with big moves to Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham following his exploits last season, has it gone to his head? It’s certainly looking like it.

Rafa Benitez should reevaluate his decisions on who should represent his side’s spirit on the field. He has more than enough options in central defensive areas and, more symbolically, he should give the captaincy to a more influential, stronger figure, as Lascelles is still too inexperienced and shaky to lead his side to stand up to intimidating opposition.

Newcastle fans, who do you want as the Magpies captain? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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According to France Football, Real Madrid are set to reignite their interest in Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who was reportedly close to a move to the Spanish capital before Zinedine Zidane surprisingly left his post at the end of last season.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Spanish champions had even allegedly agreed personal terms with the Senegalese attacker, only for Zidane’s exit to put an end to negotiations.

Since then, Mane has gone from strength to strength and is currently Liverpool’s star man ahead of Mohamed Salah. The 26-year-old has 11 goals in his last 11 games, and 20 in total across all competitions – he is just one off the top of the Premier League scoring charts, and he doesn’t even take penalties.

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

Now Zidane is back in the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat, a move for Mane looks to be at the top of Los Blancos’ priorities, although Liverpool will obviously make it hard for him to leave as they did when Philippe Coutinho found the lure of Barcelona too hard to resist.

Liverpool should demand Isco-plus-cash in return

Since the departure of the aforementioned Coutinho, the Reds have severely lacked a source of creativity in midfield. Most of Jurgen Klopp’s current options seem to be too pragmatic, such as Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum, with no real No.10 type player in there like Coutinho.

As a result, Liverpool and sporting director Michael Edwards should kill two birds with one stone and demand Isco, plus a lot of cash, from Real Madrid for Mane’s signature.

The Spanish international can play in a centre-attacking midfield role, like Coutinho did, whilst he is equally as effective in a left-wing role, the position that Mane primarily occupies.

If the Merseysiders do find themselves in negotiations with Madrid over Mane, getting a hefty financial package and Isco in return would be a masterstroke from Edwards and Klopp.