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Loads of Everton fans have been giving their verdict on Saturday’s defeat to Manchester City, and they’re fuming at the performance of Yerry Mina.

There’s certainly no shame in losing 3-1 at the Etihad, but Marco Silva will not be happy with his team after Saturday’s defeat, because the Toffees basically beat themselves.

Yerry Mina was at fault for the first goal, passing straight to Ilkay Gundogan, allowing the German to find his compatriot Leroy Sane who put Gabriel Jesus through to score.

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Jesus doubled the hosts lead just after half time, but the Toffees were the better team at points in the second half.

They got their goal when Dominic Calvert-Lewin finished well from Lucas Digne’s cross, but Raheem Sterling restored the champions’ two-goal lead, losing Mina in the box and nodding home.

Mina was fantastic in his first few appearances for the Toffees, but his rash decision-making and poor positional awareness has been on full display in the last couple of games.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are not too happy with Silva’s big signing…

Last season, as Pep Guardiola led his Manchester City side to a Premier League title-winning campaign and won 100 points along the way, the ever-impressive Raheem Sterling was on hand to see his teammates through those tough games in which things weren’t always going their way.

It started against Bournemouth. In just the third Premier League game of the 2017/18 season, Sterling hit a 97th-minute winner to give the Citizens all three points at the death. Against Huddersfield, with the clock ticking down and the score at 1-1, the England international found the back of the net in fortunate circumstances as the ball bounced off of him and looped into the goal.

Against Southampton, Sterling beat Fraser Forster with a delicious curled effort in the 96th-minute to snatch all three points – it must be noted that his 82nd-minute equaliser against Everton on the opening day also gave Guardiola’s side the impetus to mount a title challenge.

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The 24-year-old won 10 points alone with his late goals, which ensured that City always had a comfortable gap over their rivals at the top of the table. This season, however, his inability to step up and produce these types of moments yet again is costing his side dearly.

Sterling and City lost to Crystal Palace and Leicester within the space of four days, with the former Liverpool forward nowhere to be seen as the champions rolled over without a fight.

It was in the Boxing Day defeat to the Foxes at the King Power that his lack of impetus, drive and usual efficiency in front of goal was particularly non-existent.

Sterling, who has ten goals and six assists in all competitions so far this season, failed to find the back of the net against Claude Puel’s side, and even failed to register a single shot.

City’s £49m man also failed to put in a single accurate cross, and had two unsuccessful touches as he found himself marked out of the game by Leicester players.

Interestingly, Sterling’s ineffectiveness didn’t stop there. He was also dispossessed three times, and was caught offside once to round off a day in which City slipped as low as third behind both Liverpool and Tottenham.

Of course, it is a team effort, but even title-winning sides need their star men to step up and deliver the goods when the odds are stacked against them. Sterling has become embroiled in huge media focus over the last month, and if that is to be what’s affecting his performances on the pitch, Guardiola needs to sit him down and get him playing his best football again.

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Steven Gerrard will head into January knowing full well that his side desperately needs more creativity and goals, so must sign Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones.

What’s the word?

After a blistering start to the season, the Gers are finding it more and more difficult to pick up results as teams now look to sit in deep.

Even though Gerrard left the game pleased with how his side played, Rangers had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Hibernian on Wednesday after the Ibrox outfit could not find the killer chance.

The points were also shared when the Light Blues could not break down 10-man Dundee in a 1-1 draw earlier in the month.

A possible player to solve the former Liverpool leader’s dilemmas is Kilmarnock winger Jones.

The 24-year-old was subject to interest from Rangers in January, but the Teddy Bears could not complete a deal when their £350,000 offer was deemed “nowhere near acceptable”.

Now, however, a cut-price sale may be on offer, as Jones will otherwise be available for free on a pre-contract agreement ahead of his current deal expiring next summer.

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Tavernier will have horror flashbacks

If Jones were to move to Ibrox, at least one man would be over the moon, and that is Rangers’ captain James Tavernier.

The 27-year-old has faced Kilmarnock’s winger on multiple occasions and been run ragged by the 24-year-old from Middlesbrough.

The Kilmarnock winger’s former boss, Lee McCulloch, also reckons Jones would be the perfect player to keep Rangers in the mix over the second half of the season.

Speaking to the Daily Record, the 40-year-old said: “He’d be the one who could unlock defences with teams now sitting in against Rangers.

“When Rangers struggled in the draw against Dundee then that’s the type of situation where you need a bit of magic Jordan could provide.

“He’s given James Tavernier a few torrid times and even Mikael Lustig, Jack Hendry or whoever has been Celtic’s right-back. There isn’t a right-back who could handle Jordan when he’s on his game.”

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis confirmed following his side’s 1-1 draw with Derby County on Tuesday that attacker Martin Braithwaite is in Spain as he closes in on a loan move to Leganes, and Boro fans were quick to react on Twitter.

The Gazette reports that the Denmark international is set to join the La Liga outfit on a temporary deal until the end of the campaign, with manager Tony Pulis finally ready to give the green light on the deal having stopped it from happening during the summer transfer window.

The 27-year-old has struggled to settle at the Riverside Stadium ever since his £9m move from Toulouse in the summer of 2017, and he joined Bordeaux on loan soon after Pulis replaced Garry Monk at Boro in January 2018.

Middlesbrough supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the potential exit, and while one sarcastically said “another genius Monk transfer”, another simply said “get Grosicki” given the winger is in impressive form for Hull City right now.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Jurgen Klopp this. Mohamed Salah that. On paper, the German boss and the prolific Egyptian grab all the headlines in Liverpool’s successful season to date, and rightly so. But one man who opts to shun the spotlight and operate in the shadows is the one making everything run smoothly at Anfield – sporting director Michael Edwards.

The 39-year-old was appointed into the newly-created role in November 2016, following the departure of a man who undertook similar operations under the titles of ‘managing director’ and then ‘chief executive officer’ in Ian Ayre.

Interestingly, the fortunes and the general manner of the Reds’ business since the swap has been evidently more shrewd, cut-throat and ruthless – Liverpool now look like a club who know exactly what they’re doing, and seem to be two or three steps ahead of everyone else at times.

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The CEO of the famous Merseyside-based club, Peter Moore, recently said: “We’re in a world now where if you’re not a £500m football team you’re not going to win anything,” which does little to hide the fact that Liverpool are serious about splashing the cash in order to reach the top.

However, you cannot just ‘splash the cash’ and expect surefire results. You have to counter balance things in order for matters to run smoothly, something that Edwards is excellent at doing. Tottenham’s former head of performance analysis has been instrumental in ensuring that the Reds squeeze the maximum out of every deal they sign off.

For example, when Liverpool had no choice but to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona after the Brazilian was desperate to move, Edwards made sure that they got a fee up there with some of the highest in footballing history – £142m. Not only that, but The Times reports that he also cleverly slipped in a clause which slaps an £100m premium on any other Reds player that the Spanish giants come calling for.

Other such deals saw Liverpool secure £52m man Naby Keita 12 months in advance to fend off advances from the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who the Guinean turned down in favour of a move to Anfield.

It would be harsh to compare Edwards to Ayre given the changing times in football, but the impact the former has had is staggering. Liverpool finished in the top four just twice throughout Ayre’s six years at the club, and he was responsible for terrible signings such as Charlie Adam, Mario Balotelli and Christian Benteke.

The Reds finished sixth or below in four of Ayre’s six seasons with the club, which simply isn’t good enough for a club of Liverpool’s stature.

In contrast, Edwards was instrumental in a fourth-placed finish in his first season at the helm, which led to a run to the Champions League final in the following season, whilst his work has been pivotal for Klopp’s men to be leading the pack in the league so far in the current campaign.

That shouldn’t necessarily cloud the good deals, such as the one to bring Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum to the club, but Edwards has hardly put a foot wrong and has a net spend very close to Ayre’s despite orchestrating record-breaking deals for Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

Ayre spent a total of £496.76m during his time at the club, spending £13.8m per player with a net spend of £190.15m across his six years at the club, signing a total of 36 players excluding free transfers.

In Edwards’ case, this is his fifth transfer window during his time at the club, in which he has overseen nine new arrivals for a total cost of £315.21m with a vastly more impressive net spend of £119.01m – considering he has signed some of the most expensive players in the club’s history, to have that net spend is astonishing.

A huge indicator of Edwards’ eye for a potential money-maker is his capture of Dominic Solanke on a free transfer from Chelsea. The England international rarely featured throughout his time at Anfield, but Edwards still managed to make £19m back on a player who cost nothing.

Having said all of this, perhaps the most significant action of Edwards’ Liverpool career was his persistence in telling Jurgen Klopp that he was wrong to be targeting Bayer Leverkusen forward Julian Brandt over Salah, and that the Egypt international must be signed at all costs over the German.

To go up against the boss’ wishes and categorically tell him that he’s wrong takes a lot of bottle, but Edwards is a thorough operator; if he makes his mind up on a decision, more often than not it is the right one.

Klopp duly agreed, and Salah was signed. It is almost unfathomable to think where the Reds would be right now had the former Borussia Dortmund manager got the man he wanted.

The aforementioned report from The Times also includes this snippet which pretty much sums Edwards up:

“His character means he can be quite argumentative as well and that’s healthy. He will stand his ground if he really believes in something: ‘Here are the three targets. I know you like that one better, but let us show why you might want to think about this.’

“It is not to be disrespectful but he will say [to the manager], ‘You are wrong’. You need arguments to get the best for club. The role is not about just agreeing with everything.”

Klopp thrived whilst working under a sporting director at Borussia Dortmund in Michel Zorc, and it is clearly a role which he is receptive to.

As Liverpool sit atop of the Premier League, with a squad packed full of world-class players, the glory days look very likely to return at Anfield – all hands are on deck behind the scenes, but Edwards’ is the driving force in making sure those hands steer the ship in the right direction.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 100 per cent start to life as interim Manchester United manager continued on Sunday as he saw his side beat Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.

The Red Devils have the heroics of David De Gea between the sticks to thank for preserving their clean sheet as United had to survive a second half onslaught from Spurs.

United took the lead in the first half as Marcus Rashford latched onto a wonderful Paul Pogba through ball and finished beyond Hugo Lloris.

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Rashford will be delighted to have made the decisive contribution having been entrusted to lead the line ahead of Romelu Lukaku.

As well as the goal, the 21-year-old’s all round game was good too, and his pace on the break was a constant looming threat the Spurs defence had to be mindful of. 

On the ball, the 31-cap England international recorded a very impressive pass accuracy rating of 88%, and he combined well with his fellow attackers to keep United moving forward in a dynamic fashion. He was also very involved, considering his position on the pitch and the pressure his team were under, making 38 touches.

However, his hold up play left something to be desired, as he committed six unsuccessful touches, which his team could have been punished for.

In front of goal, the striker was confident and ruthless. In a game where few chances fell his way, Rashford still mustered three shots, and of course scored the all important goal. In big games, taking chances is vital, and Rashford showed he has the composure and courage to do so.

All in all, the United academy graduate justified his selection ahead of the 25 year-old Lukaku and both he and Solskjaer deserve credit for that. The Belgian international may now find his place in the starting XI very hard to win back.

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Arsenal brought themselves right back into contention for a top four finish in the Premier League as they beat Chelsea 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening, in a match that saw Lucas Torreira recalled to the starting XI.

Manager Unai Emery had preferred a 3-4-3 system in previous weeks that had only incorporated two central midfield players, and the Uruguay international missed out on a place in the side to Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi for the 4-1 win and 1-0 defeat against Fulham and West Ham United respectively.

However, both he and the aforementioned duo all lined up against Maurizio Sarri’s men in the capital as the Gunners looked to record three points following a patchy run of form, and they did exactly that to close the gap with their opponents to just three points.

Torreira was his usual battling self in the middle of the park for the hosts against the likes of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, and in many ways it was another performance that shows why he has made 29 appearances in all competitions this season following his summer move from Sampdoria.

The 22-year-old produced a game-high nine tackles – four more than anyone else on the pitch – while he also made three clearances and whipped in an impressive four crosses, as per stats-based website WhoScored, to prove he is starting to have an effect in the final third for his team.

However, there were some slightly more worrying numbers that perhaps show why Emery didn’t start him against Fulham and West Ham and why he isn’t starting every Arsenal match – the South American ace failed to make a single interception against the Blues and had a passing accuracy of just under 62%.

While that may be a result of trying to produce those key attacking balls from a slightly deeper position, it is clearly something that needs to improve if he is to continue in that role.

Time is on his side though, and there is no reason why Torreira cannot develop into more of an all-round midfielder in the future.

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According to a recent report from The Scottish Sun, the future of Celtic midfielder Lewis Morgan is far from certain heading into the remainder of the January transfer window. The 22-year-old only made the move to Parkhead at the start of 2018 after impressing at St Mirren, yet struggles for regular game time under Bhoys manager Brendan Rodgers this season has called his future at the club into doubt.

And a recent report from The Scottish Sun suggests that Aberdeen, as well as Championship duo Hull City and Nottingham Forest, are keen on a move for the talented attacker, who only needs to look at Ryan Christie and his progression since returning to Celtic from a loan spell to know that his short-term future lies away from Celtic Park.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it was always likely that Morgan would struggle for regular football at Celtic following his move from St Mirren last year, to the point that he actually returned to the Scottish Championship side for the second half of last season in a bid for the game time he was unlikely to get at Parkhead.

Yet he would have been hoping for more opportunities than the nine league appearances for the Bhoys this term, of which none have been starts, and with no starts in the Scottish League Cup or indeed the Europa League this time round, it doesn’t look like his first team chances will improve heading into the second half of the campaign either.

As such, a loan move would surely be of interest to Morgan, especially if he were to look at Christie’s meteoric rise since returning to Celtic following a loan spell at Aberdeen in 2017 and 2018.

The 23-year-old was signed by ex-Celtic boss Ronny Deila all the way back in 2015 before re-joining Inverness Caledonian Thistle for the second half of the 2014/15 campaign, although upon return to Parkhead that summer, first team opportunities were extremely hard to come by.

In fact, the midfielder only appeared 13 times for the Bhoys before sealing a move to Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen for the second half of the 2016/17 campaign, where he impressed so much with seven goals in 15 games to again join the Dons for the entirety of the following season.

And after another stellar campaign at Pittodrie, in which time he netted eight goals and laid on 15 assists, Christie has since returned to Celtic and become a regular under Rodgers, with 25 appearances to his name in all competitions this season, including starts in eight of their last 11 Scottish Premiership matches.

And with seven goals and five assists in all competitions for the Scottish giants this season, it’s pretty clear that the 23-year-old has returned to Parkhead a completely different player for his experiences out on loan – not only is he now a much-improved player, but he’s a first teamer at Celtic Park.

And that must be of keen interest to Morgan as he seeks to advance his career at Celtic, as to do that he may need to move away in the short-term for the football he simply isn’t going to get under Rodgers.

And he only need look at the exploits of Bhoys teammate Christie to know that a loan spell could be the making of him at Celtic – clearly, his short-term future lies away from Parkhead.

Celtic fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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An 83rd minute Son Heung-Min strike earned Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win over a dogged Newcastle United side at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Spurs were dominant throughout the game, but were made to work hard for their three points as the Magpies sat deep and soaked up plenty of pressure. Ultimately, it was a goalkeeping error – as Martin Dubravka should have dealt better with Son’s shot – that gave Mauricio Pochettino’s side the win.

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With the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli absent through injury, Pochettino had to find another means of breaking down his opposition, with two of his key attacking talents missing. One change he made to his line up for this fixture was the selection of Jan Vertonghen at left-back.

The 31-year-old is primarily a centre-back, but he performed well on the flank, becoming a key, if surprising, creative outlet for his team. According to WhoScored’s stats, the 110-cap Belgium international delivered 14 crosses in the match.

After the final whistle, plenty of Spurs fans took to Twitter to congratulate Vertonghen for his fine performance in an unfamiliar role…

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West Bromwich Albion are set to travel to Stoke City this weekend after suffering back-to-back defeats against Middlesbrough and Brighton.

What’s the word?

The Baggies are firmly in the race for promotion this season under Darren Moore. They currently sit just seven points adrift of top spot with a game in hand ahead of their trip to the Bet365 Stadium.

Ahead of the fixture, EFL pundit David Prutton has delivered his pre-match prediction and tipped the Baggies to bounce back from their recent defeats with a vital victory, as per Sky Sports.

‘West Brom suffered a bit of a blow against Middlesbrough last week and again in the FA Cup on Wednesday, but Darren Moore is an upbeat boss and his side generally responds pretty well to setbacks.

‘I fancy them to go up to the Potteries and sneak all three points.’

A win away at Stoke would hand them the morale-boosting three points they need to heap pressure onto the Championship pace setters, and his assessment of Moore is telling about their promotion credentials.

Moore’s positive attitude holds key to West Brom’s promotion campaign

With so many clubs vying for just two automatic promotion places it looks like the race could go right down to the wire.

There is very little to separate the teams who have their eyes set on the top-flight right now, but a lack of mettle and bouncebackability could see a handful of clubs falter as the pressure begins to intensify.

As Prutton has alluded to, though, West Brom are a side who seldom allow a setback to tarnish their progress, and the fact they have lost back-to-back league games on just one occasion this season speaks volumes about their consistency.

Moore should be held responsible for that impressive record, as the manager is largely responsible for boosting morale within the dressing room and finding solutions to ensure one defeat does not signal the beginning of a rot.

Barring the defeat against Boro last weekend, Moore has guided his side to four victories in the six games which followed their league defeats this season, so the form guide reads well for the supporters ahead of the Stoke clash.