All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

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Lots of Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed by news outlet Conclusion that Giovani Lo Celso would not be featuring for Argentina against Mexico, and would instead be returning to the club after picking up a groin injury.

The summer signing from Real Betis was withdrawn midway through his country’s last outing against Chile due to an issue with his groin – an injury which he himself played down – but Conclusion reports that it has been enough to see him return to north London for treatment.

Lo Celso is yet to start a game for Spurs since his arrival from Real Betis, making just three appearances from the bench so far equalling a total of 44 minutes combined.

It seems as if some of the Spurs fans below aren’t very happy with the news.

One said that he’s ‘absolutely sick’ of hearing news like this, whilst another made the somewhat reactionary statement that Spurs’ season is over following Lo Celso’s injury.

Let’s take a look at some more of the reaction from Tottenham fans on Twitter…

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Leicester didn’t have a very happy outing against their former central defender Harry Maguire on Saturday as Manchester United prevailed 1-0 against the Foxes.

A penalty from Marcus Rashford separated the two teams in a match which wasn’t overly thrilling.

Leicester had more of the possession, 57.7%, but it was United who had more shots, 10-9, according to WhoScored.

There weren’t a huge number of talking points but one did present itself from 70 minutes onwards when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put on Tahith Chong for Juan Mata.

His performance had Man United fans divided as they shared mixed views on the teenager via Twitter.

The 19-year-old’s display was brandished as horrific and sloppy by two supporters but there were words of praise from others.

A further fan said he was class whilst another said that he had Leicester right back Ricardo Pereira on strings.

Chong completed one dribble when he was on the pitch as the Dutchman appeared for the first time in the Premier League this term.

He featured in pre-season but is yet to start in competitive action.

Here’s the best of the debate.

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[ad_pod ]Rangers beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday evening at Ibrox.There were a number of excellent displays from Steven Gerrard’s men as they passed a tough European test, but Alfredo Morelos was a stand-out performer.The Colombian international has been in sensational form at the beginning of the season; after scoring 30 goals from open play last term, he is on 11 goals for this campaign already. It is the middle of September.Of course, Morelos didn’t score against the Dutch side, but completed eight dribbles throughout the game and also won one aerial duel, per WhoScored. He also had six shots on goal in the 90 minutes.

So good was his performance that manager Steven Gerrard declaring him “unplayable” via The Sun.

And fans were equally impressed as the former Liverpool captain, taking to Twitter to hail the forward after his performance.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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The reigning champions of Spain have definitely seen some better days as of late.

We are slowly but surely getting closer to matchday six and after five games played in the 2019/20 La Liga season, Barcelona comfortably sit in… Eighth position on the table.

If you had to double-check that, that’s completely justified because Blaugrana only winning seven points from the 15 that were up for grabs is not really a sight that you can see that often.

In fact, seeing Barcelona anywhere but in the top two or top three at the very least is very much a novelty in the modern days of football. But on the other hand, it is still early days and the league table is bound to balance itself out come the latter stages of the competition.

Still, this hardly takes anything away from the Catalans’ (under)achievements so far in the domestic competition.

And their troubles and issues certainly run deep because when you are sitting in eighth with a 1.06bn-rated squad, something is definitely amiss.

Their latest bout against Granada away from home on matchday five ended in a surprising 2-0 defeat to a newly promoted side that was still in Segunda when Blaugrana were claiming their La Liga title in the 2018/19 season.

And one big part of that defeat, among others, was Ernesto Valverde’s weird choice of personnel that seemed to arrive out of the blue and not really following a clear tactical plan.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Just prior to that game, Barcelona were hosted by Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park in a mid-week Champions League opener and ended up tallying a goalless draw to start their campaign.

That game, and the one before that, saw the introduction of a really dynamic midfield comprising of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Arthur Melo. Even though the results were quite mixed, obviously, that part of the pitch seemed to work rather well throughout all the games.

And then Valverde decided to mix it all up, deploying Ivan Rakitic and Sergi Roberto next to De Jong instead of the aforementioned duo and he kept an underperforming Luis Suarez in the squad to the detriment of the whole team.

We can’t really say for certain why exactly he decided to tamper with something that seemed to work. Was it maybe underestimating Granada and feeling a weaker Barcelona squad could still get the job done against a newly promoted team? Did he feel that Rakitic and Roberto deserved their starts over the former midfield trident? Both answers could be true but either way, he made a big mistake in his lineup selection and he did in multiple positions across the pitch.

He changed the midfield, left Suarez in the squad, dropped Antoine Griezmann to the left and then had to resort to still not match-sharp Lionel Messi and a 16-year-old kid saving the day. Not really ideal by any stretch of the imagination.

So if he had to take away a single thing from the Granada game and apply it to the clash against Villarreal on Tuesday evening, it should definitely be getting his starting XI right.

That means playing players that have warranted a spot in the gala squad and benching players who didn’t. It’s difficult to say that he’s been guilty of playing stars only based on their names and reputation alone, since there’s no real proof of that there, but the Suarez example mentioned above is definitely a real contender for that.

Still, the exclusion of Rakitic from the latest squad list might be a sign Valverde is actually learning how to choose his players properly but the biggest proof will have to come once the official lineups are out tomorrow before the game.

If he wants his team to get better and improve, he will have to start getting the basics, like the lineup, right.

It all starts with Villarreal. Is Valverde finally going to make the right move or is the team going to continue their descent down the table?

We’ll see tomorrow night.

Sinclair posted a defiant message on Instagram stating that he will continue to fight for the Celtic shirt.

It seems as if the former Man City man isn’t willing to let his career at Celtic Park just pass him by, and if he can show that he’s still got something to offer in these cameo appearances he may be able to work his way back into the side.

It must be an awful time to be a Manchester United fan.

Not only are the Red Devils in a bad place at the moment, sitting tenth in the Premier League table, but to make matters worse, their two biggest rivals are currently on top of the world.

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Man City won a domestic treble last term, and Liverpool picked up the only trophy City didn’t win as they lifted the Champions League.

It once again looks like one of those two sides will win the league title this term, and while that will infuriate a number of Man United fans, one of their biggest legends doesn’t seem to mind.

Roy Keane was asked on Sky Sports whether he’d rather see City or Liverpool win the league this term, and he gave a very mature response.

He says that despite his affiliation with Manchester United he wouldn’t mind seeing either team winning the title as they would have deserved it.

Considering some of the intense encounters the Irishman played in against those two teams, his answer is somewhat surprising, but certainly refreshing.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Goals. Goals. Goals. Or in Manchester United’s case, a lack of them. The Red Devils have built their entire history around swashbuckling football, and throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition. These days, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side’s attack closely resembles a domestic cat lazily pawing at a passing fly. No intent, no ambition and no creativity whatsoever.

The fact that they haven’t scored more than one goal in a game since the 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea in the opening Premier League match of the season makes for worrying reading. Marcus Rashford has been the subject of much criticism for his perceived role in their attacking demise, but that only tells half the story. Against Newcastle last weekend, the England international looked starved of service and completely isolated up top on his own, registering no shots on goal.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

As one of the few genuine creators in the side, much would have been expected of Juan Mata. But games just appear to pass him by at the moment. What United desperately need to do however, is consider using the Spaniard in a more deeper position. Does Solskjaer really think they need both Fred and Scott McTominay in a midfield two? Talk about being defensive.

Getting Mata alongside the latter could well be the answer to getting more out of their attacking play. As per Understat, the 31-year-old has played in a central midfield 14 times over the course of his United career, and it is the position where he has the highest expected assists per 90 minutes (0.24). Allowing him to pick the ball up from the centre-backs, and immediately face forwards, rather than with his back to goal as he does in the number ten role, could make the most out of the side’s pacey attack.

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The likes of Daniel James and Marcus Rashford have the speed to get in behind opposition defences over and over again, but they simply don’t get provided with enough opportunities to do so. Currently, Mata averages just 22.6 passes per game in the Premier League – a total that is the lowest amount of any league season in his entire career as per Whoscored. It goes without saying that the 5 foot 7 man hasn’t contributed a single goal or assist this year either.

The Red Devils simply need to get more out of the play-maker, and changing up his position so he can see more of the ball may be the cure they desperately need.

Many Everton supporters have been discussing on social media whether or not the Blues should take any form of action over Cenk Tosun’s military salute celebration for Turkey.

Europe’s football governing body UEFA have said that they will be investigating the celebration given by Turkey’s national side, per the BBC, after several of their players offered a military salute when Tosun scored against Albania last week.

Tosun also shared a post on Instagram following the game, with the message: “For our nation, especially for the ones who are risking their lives for our nation.”

Turkey’s army are currently clashing with Kurdish fighters in areas of northern Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, with dozens of civilians and fighters killed on both sides.

The offensive move by Turkey sparked the Syrian government to send its army to the northern border to try and halt the advances, via the BBC, in a decision taken after the United States withdrew all of its remaining troops from the area; they had been a close ally of the SDF, who were heavily bombarded over the weekend.

UEFA disciplinary rules prohibit any form of political gesture, or an act that is intended to provoke a reaction on political, ideological or religious beliefs.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

German Bundesliga 2 outfit FC St. Pauli have recently parted company with one of their players, Cenk Sahin, for his involvement in Turkey’s military salute celebration and a subsequent post on his Instagram account, with the Hamburg-based club releasing the midfielder with immediate effect on Monday.

The club took action after an internal investigation which included discussions with fans, board members and friends with roots in Turkey.

A statement by St. Pauli read: “Sahin has been released from his training and playing duties with immediate effect. The prime factors in reaching the decisions were his repeated disregard for the club’s values and the need to protect the player.

“After numerous discussions with fans, members and friends whose roots lie in Turkey, it has become clear to us that we cannot and should not attempt to gauge nuances in perceptions and attitudes from other cultural backgrounds in detail.”

Some Everton supporters have now suggested their side should do likewise with Tosun, although there is a clear break among fans who feel the Blues should not intervene in matters that did not occur at club level.

Here are some of the messages shared…

The former Birmingham City man was very optimistic in his post as he said that he’s looking forward to recovering and coming back very soon.

The winger should come back better than ever, and may soon show Villa Park exactly what he is capable of when fully fit and firing.

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…

Even though it sounds strange to say at this stage in the competition, Real Madrid are truly desperate to stay afloat in the Champions League.

And yes, seeing how they are the single most dominant force in European football – having already bagged 13 trophies to their names and snatching a historic three in the row not that long ago – this statement really does make you think.

But without too much exaggeration, and despite their Tuesday night clash only being their third in the 2019/20 season, they have already reached a “do or die” phase of their Champions League campaign.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

How did it come to that, you may ask.

Well, despite being decent in La Liga, considering they just suffered their very first defeat last Saturday in a huge upset against Mallorca, they were, for the lack of a better term, pretty abysmal in Europe.

And that’s another thing you rarely connect to Real Madrid and especially to Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. After all, it was the Frenchman who orchestrated that historic run of three consecutive Champions League crowns a couple of years ago during his first tenure with the club.

But at the moment, that is their reality.

Los Blancos were humiliated in their Champions League curtain-raiser at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain, losing 3-0 in the process, before Club Brugge added insult to injury, robbing them of a win at the Santiago Bernabeu by snatching a point with a 2-2 draw on the night.

Because of that, the illustrious Galacticos are sitting last in the group and will be hoping to tally their first European triumph on Tuesday night.

But it will be a task easier said than done as they are travelling to Galatasaray away from home.

The Turkish side will no doubt welcome them in a fiery atmosphere and will be looking to take advantage of the recovering giants from the Spanish capital who definitely seem quite shaken at the moment.

Indeed, not all is rosy back in Madrid and, should Zidane fail to win on Tuesday, it could potentially set things into motion that cannot be stopped anymore. But we’ll have to wait and see about that one.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

One thing that we can definitely be sure of, however, is that a certain no.7 in the team will have to take out his shooting boots on Tuesday and finally show his true colours.

Of course, Eden Hazard is no Cristiano Ronaldo and this is not meant as an insult in any shape or form.

The truth is, rarely anyone is like the Portuguese superstar but just by donning that famous number on his back and playing in Ronaldo’s position, Real Madrid just might look to the Belgian to take them out of this slump, just as Ronaldo used to do back in the day before he joined Juventus.

After all, that’s exactly what you would expect from an £89m man who arrived with certain pedigree and reputation from his days spent at Stamford Bridge, wouldn’t you?

By now, we all know that Hazard has been underperforming ever since he joined Real Madrid or rather, he is yet to fully emerge from his cocoon.

So far, he only has one goal and one assist to his name while donning the royal white, which is, by all accounts, not good enough.

And of course, just like any other player who’s making a huge leap from one league to the other, from country to country, he needs time to settle. But the game against Galatasaray has his name stamped all over it.

After all, this is exactly the type of must-win game that Real Madrid brought him in for, is it not?

A game-changer, a player to decide who wins and who loses and the one to turn the tides in Los Blancos’ favour during times when it seems all but impossible. That’s more or less what it should say in the contract he signed back in the summer.

Just as Gotham city light up the bat-signal when they need their Dark Knight to save them in their hour of need, Real Madrid will also look to get the Hazard-signal up and running.

Is the Belgium bomber going to answer the call and be the hero the Madridistas need him to be?