When was the last time St. James’ Park was buzzing as it was on Saturday evening?

After watching Newcastle United pull off the most unbelievable comebacks against Everton, the Geordie faithful could feel the start of something special. It might’ve taken time for Rafa Benitez to get them running, but the inspired win shows he’s taken them the right way.

The Magpies’ poor defensive stature was proved in the first half when mistakes at the back allowed Everton to race into a 2-0 lead. However, instead of falling silent like they usually do, Newcastle decided to pounce on the front-foot. Even after Matt Ritchie missed a penalty, Benitez sensed the possibility of a stunning turnaround.

He drifted away from a 3-4-3 shape to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation by bringing in Paul Dummett for Jamaal Lascelles. This change in system worked wonders. Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon stuck close to each other, troubling Everton’s defenders with their link-up play and unpredictable movement.

The change in tactics allowed Newcastle to put more crosses into the box, which instantly pressurize Everton’s defence to crumble. Newcastle pulled off their first win after trailing 2-0 since the great Sir Bobby Robson’s days. On the day, Benitez must have hailed as highly as the legendary managers by fans.

After so many problems behind the scenes on Tyneside for years, the Spaniard’s finally gaining his magical touch at Newcastle. He’s got them on the rise and inserted a never-say-die attitude, which could get them far up in the Premier League in the final stretch.

Newcastle fans, do you think Benitez can help guarantee a top-half finish? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Arsenal have reportedly found their replacement for former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, who left the club earlier this month.

According to Marca (via the Daily Star), the Gunners are ready to pounce on AS Roma’s sporting director, Monchi, when his current contract with the Italian club expires in the summer.

It is also reported that the 50-year-old has been a target of Arsenal ever since the departure of Mislintat (as per Calciomercato), and the Gunners are hoping to reunite him with manager Unai Emery.

Of course, getting someone of Monchi’s calibre would be huge for the club as many fans were worried when Mislintat departed.

The German made a number of key signings during his time at the Emirates, most notably Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bernd Leno and Lucas Torreira, so his successor will have big boots to fill.

The Roma man could set Arsenal up for success by making use of all of his knowledge and connections on the transfer front, as he has a great reputation for uncovering special talents. He was at hand for the discovery of players like Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas, Dani Alves and Ivan Rakitic during his time at Spanish side Sevilla.

Monchi’s relationship with Emery will definitely help him settle down to life in North London club and the pair will be hoping to achieve similar success if Arsenal secure his services.

Losing Mislintat was a blow, but this would be a big step forward for the Gunners.

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Leeds fans have taken to Twitter to react in horror after an article from the Yorkshire Evening Post highlighted just how badly they have suffered with injuries this season.

The article reveals that, if you were to combine each game that a Leeds player has missed through injury this season, it would tally a whopping 140 matches, which is truly absurd.

Admittedly, since Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival back in the summer, the Argentine boss has demanded a much higher intensity of play, which may have been something of a culture shock to the players who were used to a different tempo.

In fairness, Bielsa’s methods have worked in terms of results, as Leeds sit just two points off the top of the league with a game in hand over their rivals, although their good form appears to be coming at some cost to the physios.

Let’s see how Leeds fans on Twitter reacted to the disturbing revelation…

كشفت صحيفة “إندبندنت” الإنجليزية عن مواعيد مباريات فريق ليفربول في دور مجموعات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، موسم 2020/2021.

وكانت مراسم قرعة دور مجموعات دوري الأبطال قد اُجريت مساء أمس، في سويسرا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب عن مجموعة ليفربول في دوري أبطال أوروبا: تنتظرنا مباريات صعبة

وأسفرت القرعة عن تواجد ليفربول في المجموعة الرابعة مع أياكس الهولندي وأتالانتا الإيطالي وميدتييلاند الدنماركي.

ونشرت صحيفة “إندبندنت” الإنجليزية مواعيد مباريات ليفربول في دور المجموعات. مواعيد مباريات ليفربول في دور مجموعات دوري أبطال أوروبا 2020/2021

أياكس وليفربول، 21 أكتوبر، 9 مساءً.

ليفربول وميدتييلاند، 27 أكتوبر، 9 مساءً.

أتالانتا وليفربول، 3 نوفمبر، 9 مساءً.

ليفربول وأتالانتا، 25 نوفمبر، 9 مساءً.

ليفربول وأياكس، 1 ديسمبر، 9 مساءً.

ميدتييلاند وليفربول، 9 ديسمبر، 6:55 مساءً.

Rangers managed to put in a dominant performance against Kilmarnock in their Scottish Cup fifth round replay last night as they secured a 5-0 victory. 

The Bluenoses currently find themselves trailing in the race for the Scottish Premiership title, with the Hoops holding an eight point lead having been dominant in recent times.

One player who may be of interest to Rangers is Lawrence Shankland, who has been in sublime form in Scotland in the current campaign having produced an incredible 30 goals and eight assists in 30 games.

Interestingly, the 23-year-old told the BBC’s Off the Ball radio show that he would like a second shot at succeeding at Rangers after spending time at the club as a youngster. So, it would make perfect sense for Steven Gerrard to move in for the forward as his contract is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Gerrard has managed to secure a number of impressive signings since taking over as Rangers boss, including the likes of Jermain Defoe, Ryan Kent, Joe Worrall and Scott Arfield. So, many supporters will be eager to see what the 38-year-old’s next move will be, with Jordan Jones already set to rock up at Ibrox at the end of the season.

Indeed, the Rangers boss can pull off another masterstroke by securing the services of Lawrence Shankland on a free transfer as he’s arguably one of the most prolific attackers in Scottish football, and he has pretty much his whole career ahead of him so there’s still plenty of time for him to develop into a star.

What do you think Rangers fans?

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Newcastle United put some breathing room between themselves and the relegation zone with a comfortable 2-0 win over Premier League strugglers Huddersfield Town at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The fixture also marked Miguel Almiron’s full debut for the Magpies. The 25-year-old attacking midfielder became the Tyneside club’s most expensive ever signing in January when he arrived for £20 million from MLS outfit Atlanta United.

Have the new Newcastle home and away kits for next season accidentally been leaked? See for yourself in the video below…

The 14-cap Paraguay international impressed against the Terriers, bringing pace, energy and invention to Rafa Benitez’s side’s play. He also seemed to combine well with his fellow attackers, especially Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez.

Newcastle need Almiron to live up to his price tag if they’re to comfortably avoid relegation this season. His performance this weekend suggests that it was money well spent though.

After the match, loads of Newcastle fans took to Twitter to express their excitement over Almiron’s impact and what he promises for the future…

James Ward-Prowse can feel a little hard done by after his snub from Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.

The Southampton midfielder has been at the top of his game in recent weeks with his stunning free-kick in his side’s 2-1 win over Tottenham displaying the sort of confidence he has right now.

And with the Three Lions playing significant weaker opposition in the Czech Republic and Montenegro, albeit in Euro qualifiers, it was a good chance for Southgate to play around with his options a bit.

Nevertheless, what is done is done and Ward-Prowse must now move on from this setback.

It is obviously not the end of the road for the Southampton academy graduate, though, especially at the age 24.

He now needs to make sure he maintains the level he is playing at and, if he does, there is no reason why he cannot be selected in the future.

With the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fabian Delph not regulars at their clubs, Southgate knows he cannot keep selecting these players, something the Three Lions boss has spoken about in the past (The Guardian).

And when that time comes, should it at all, Ward-Prowse can put himself at the front of the queue if he keeps playing the way he has been.

Southampton fans, are you surprised by Ward-Prowse’s exclusion? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Sheffield United are currently in the thick of the Championship title hunt. The Blades are currently second in the table, only two points behind first placed Norwich City. 

January loan signing Scott Hogan has given an insight into the secrets behind the Bramall Lane club’s current success.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

What he said

Speaking to the club’s official match day programme and website, the Aston Villa loanee was asked what factors are fuelling Chris Wilder’s side’s success. In response, the striker said: “I think this squad is a reflection of the manager. There are no big names, no egos and I always believe every good team is a reflection of what their manager is about.”

Clearly there is a unity and togetherness in Wilder’s squad that Hogan believes is a factor in their positive results. The 26-year-old was also clear that the manager himself is central to the team’s progress. Wilder’s ability to instil a hard-working, positive, competitive atmosphere in the squad, free of destructive egos, is obviously a quality being recognised and appreciated by the members of his team.

The Blades face a nervy few months, as the race for automatic promotion is likely to go down to the wire, with Norwich, Leeds United and West Brom also in the hunt.

The Sheffield United squad must stick with what’s worked for them so far this season and keep faith in Wilder’s approach in order to give themselves the best chance of achieving promotion this season.

Ever since reaching wonderland following the Paris-Saint Germain delight, Manchester United haven’t been able to turn up gears.

Indeed, it’s almost as if a wheel fell off in Paris. In what was described by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer himself as United’s “worst performance” under him as they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Wolves, many stark underperformers stood out in the Black Country.

It’s fair to say Anthony Martial topped the group with a heavily disappointing performance. Fronted with Marcus Rashford in a two-man striking line, the winger stuck to the left-wing in an attempt to do his vintage dribble in and create chances, pulling defenders all over the shop.

However, he was unable to do anything of the sort and was kept embarrassingly in check throughout by a fantastic Matt Doherty.

It was probably the Frenchman’s most frustrating evening under Solskjaer. Martial tried cutting in on many occasions, only to be stopped prematurely. In fact, he only completed one dribble out of four attempted, completed only one cross (stats via Fotmob) and didn’t see much action inside the Wolves penalty area.

For a player who recently signed a long-term deal and found rejuvenated confidence this season, more was expected from the Frenchman.

If he’s ever going to become the player the world has waited for him to be following THAT goal against Liverpool on his debut, Martial needs to get his goal-scoring boots back under the Norwegian.

He’s only scored three and assisted once in all competitions under Solskjaer, not even being able to replicate the spike in form while under Jose Mourinho.

Clearly, Everyone knows the talent Martial has to become United’s next big thing. However, if he plans to win elite-status, he needs to work harder to develop the cutting edge, making himself more lethal and unpredictable in front of goal.

United fans, does Martial need to find back his form from earlier this season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

علق يورجن كلوب المدير الفني الألماني لنادي ليفربول الإنجليزي، على بداية جاره في المدينة، إيفرتون، بالدوري هذا الموسم، بعد تحقيق العلامة الكاملة من 3 مباريات.

إيفرتون الذي حقق 9 نقاط بعد الفوز على توتنهام ووست بروميتش وكريستال بالاس، يتصدر مهاجمه أيضًا كالفيرت لوين قائمة الهدافين بـ5 أهداف.

طالع أيضًا.. كلوب: محمد صلاح قدم مباراة استثنائية أمام آرسنال.. وتمنيت أن يسجل

وقال كلوب في تصريحات لشبكة “سكاي” البريطانية: “هذا الموسم غريب، إيفرتون على سبيل المثال تعاقد مع ثلاثة لاعبين جدد، وجميعهم جيدين حقًا”.

وأضاف: “الفرق الأخرى تكافح أيضًا، ولكن إيفرتون منذ فترة الإعداد قبل الموسم، ورغم أنها كانت قصيرة، إلا أن الفريق جيد جدًا هذا الموسم مع أنشيلوتي”.

كلوب أيضًا حقق مع ليفربول 9 نقاط من 3 مباريات، بعد الفوز على ليدز يونايتد، وتشيلسي وآرسنال على الترتيب.