Solskjaer tells two-goal Pogba to cut out showboating

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer encouraged Paul Pogba to cut showboating from his game to recreate the “efficient” display that saw the Frenchman score twice for the second straight game in a 4-1 thrashing of Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

A third consecutive victory since Solskjaer took caretaker charge until the end of the season keeps United eight points adrift of Chelsea in the fight for a top-four finish.

Pogba has been key to all three wins, but this was arguably his best display as he also teed up Romelu Lukaku’s fourth goal and struck the post late on to just miss out on a first career hat-trick.

“That is a top, top performance for a midfield player because it’s all-round: work rate, dangerous in the box, no showboating. It’s touch, pass, move,” said Solskjaer.

“It’s an efficient game and Paul knows he’s at his best when it’s an efficient game.”

The change in mood around United in the 12 days since Jose Mourinho was sacked is palpable, no more so in the performances of Pogba, who was discarded from the Portuguese’s starting line-up for his final three league games in charge.

“We are Manchester United and we need to be at the top of the league. It is just a reaction of all of the players and everyone is enjoying themselves,” said Pogba.

“It is different, we still won games with the old manager but it is just a different style of playing, we are more offensive and we are creating more chances and that is how we want to play.”

United have now scored 12 times in three games under the Norwegian, but Solskjaer insisted he has just tried to instill what he learned under Alex Ferguson during 11 seasons as a player at Old Trafford.

“This is how it was. I’ve just gone about the job as I experienced it as a player, and a coach,” added Solskjaer.

“We want to go attacking. We’ve been at home two games and we have to entertain the fans. I love working with good players and good people.”

Pogba played a part in four of United’s five goals at Cardiff last weekend to get Solskjaer off to a flying start before scoring twice against Huddersfield on Boxing Day.

Solskjaer has spoken of his desire to see Pogba break into the box more regularly and he had the simplest of tasks to prod the ball into an empty net after Marcus Rashford had bewildered the Bournemouth defence.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2AlzSsm

Dinnage turns her back on Premier League chief exec role

London (AFP) – Susanna Dinnage has shocked English football by deciding she no longer wants to be the chief executive of the Premier League despite previously accepting the post.

Dinnage, a television executive, was announced as the successor to the long-serving Richard Scudamore in November, with her appointment hailed as a major step forward for women in sports administration.

It was planned that Dinnage, currently the global president of Discovery’s Animal Planet brand, would take over from Scudamore, in charge for 19 years, early in 2019.

Quite why she has rejected the high-profile position remains unclear, with a Premier League statement issued Sunday simply saying: “Despite her commitment to the Premier League in early November, Susanna Dinnage has now advised the nominations committee that she will not be taking up the position of chief executive.”

This was a far cry from Dinnage’s comments following the initial announcement of her appointment last month, when she said: “With the support of clubs and the team, I look forward to extending the success of the League for many years to come.

When Scudamore took over as chief executive in 1999, the Premier League’s domestic television rights deal was worth around £670 million.

The latest deal for rights between 2019 and 2022 sold for more than £4.5 billion.

While the vast majority of that money still comes from television giants Sky and BT, it also includes the sale of 20 matches to retail giant Amazon’s streaming service for the first time.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, Burnley chairman Mike Garlick and Leicester chief executive Susan Whelan led the recruitment process, with Buck describing Dinnage as “the outstanding choice” from a “very strong field” of candidates.

Now, however, the Premier League will have to re-open the search for Scudamore’s successor.

“The committee has reconvened its search and is talking to candidates,” the Premier League statement issued Sunday also said. 

“There will be no further comment until an appointment is made.”

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2EVRQ7U

Guardiola warns defeat against Liverpool will mean title race is ‘over’ for City

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City side a failure to beat Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday will effectively mean their title challenge is “over”.

Reigning champions City revived their bid to retain the Premier League trophy with a 3-1 win away to Southampton on Sunday that followed shock defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester.

Victory at St Mary’s, however, still left City seven points behind leaders Liverpool and for a while it seemed Guardiola’s side might drop more points on the south coast.

David Silva put City ahead after 10 minutes but they then squandered several chances and gifted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a 37th-minute equaliser.

But the uncertainty that crept into City’s play was ended by a James Ward-Prowse own goal and a Sergio Aguero header just before half-time that left City 3-1 up. 

Saints’ frustrations boiled over with a red card for Hojbjerg after a wild challenge on Fernandinho late in the game.

“We knew it, that with the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it (the title race is finished,” Guardiola said. 

“It would be almost impossible. Of course they are going to drop points but not too many. If you want to be there as far as possible until the end we have to remember what happened last season and this as well –- apart from the last few days,” the City manager added.

Guardiola was adamant he had not lost confidence in his side, despite the Palace and Leicester reverses. 

“How can I doubt them?,” he said. “Football is like this. We make 30 exceptional minutes again, especially without the ball, we create chances to go 2-0 or 3-0, we concede one goal. 

“Against Crystal Palace and Leicester they were happy with 1-1 and they found a second one, I always judge our intentions of the game and always our intentions are to try.”

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “We won a lot of games but unfortunately we lost two and we have a rival (Liverpool) who at the moment is the best team in Europe, or in the world. 

“That’s why it’s a challenge for us next Thursday, to try and win and sustain this position as far as possible to arrive at the end of the season fighting for the title.”

– ‘Know what we have to do’ –

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2GN7d54

Man City bounce back as Pogba shines again for Man Utd

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a 3-1 win at Southampton as Paul Pogba shone again for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United by scoring twice in a 4-1 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday.

City’s shock run of three defeats in four league games has allowed the unbeaten Liverpool to close in on a first title since 1990 with the sides set to meet at the Etihad on Thursday. 

But after Jurgen Klopp’s men thrashed Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday to open up a nine-point lead, the champions responded despite an early scare at St Mary’s.

“We knew it, that with the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it is finished,” said City boss Pep Guardiola.

“It would be almost impossible. Of course they are going to drop points but not too many.”

Charlie Austin wasted a great chance to give Southampton the lead before David Silva slotted home Bernardo Silva’s cross to put the visitors in front.

However, just as in defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester, City surrendered the lead when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg blasted high past Ederson eight minutes before half-time.

The game swung back in back in City’s favour just before the break as James Ward-Prowse turned Raheem Sterling’s cross into his own net before Alex McCarthy couldn’t keep out Sergio Aguero’s header.

Guardiola’s men should have added to their advantage as Aguero hit the bar and McCarthy made amends by denying Gabriel Jesus.

Fernandinho had been badly missed in City’s recent defeats, but his return from injury made a huge difference in midfield and Southampton ended with 10 men after Hojbjerg was shown a straight red card for scything down the Brazilian five minutes from time.

– Pogba doubles up –

Pogba had scored just one goal from open play in the Premier League this season under Jose Mourinho, but continues to flourish since the Portuguese’s departure with his second double in four days.

The Frenchman’s opener on five minutes owed much to the brilliant skill of Marcus Rashford who dribbled beyond two Bournemouth defenders before crossing for Pogba to tap into an empty net.

Pogba then powered home a header from Ander Herrera’s inviting cross before Rashford’s outside of the boot finish put United 3-0 up.

Nathan Ake reduced Bournemouth’s deficit before half-time, but Pogba turned provider for substitute Romelu Lukaku to make it 4-1 and only the post denied Pogba a first ever hat-trick.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2EWSfHg

Three and easy for Solskjaer as Pogba stars again in Man Utd win

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Paul Pogba scored twice for the second time in five days as Manchester United’s revival since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho continued unabated with a 4-1 thrashing of Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

A third consecutive victory since Solskjaer took caretaker charge until the end of the season keeps United eight points adrift of Chelsea in the fight for a top-four finish.

Marcus Rashford also shone as the England international’s stunning run and cross teed up Pogba’s opener before he scored United’s third.

Nathan Ake pulled a goal back for Bournemouth just before half-time, but Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to round off the scoring before Eric Bailly was shown a late red card to leave United to finish with 10 men.

The change in mood around United in the 12 days since Mourinho was sacked is palpable, no more so in the performances of Pogba who was discarded from the Portuguese’s starting line-up for his final three league games in charge.

The French World Cup winner played a part in four of United’s five goals at Cardiff last weekend to get Solskjaer off to a flying start before scoring twice against Huddersfield on Boxing Day.

Solskjaer has spoken of his desire to see Pogba break into the box more regularly and he had the simplest of tasks to prod the ball into an empty net after Rashford had bewildered the Bournemouth defence.

Ake and Diego Rico were left beaten by Rashford’s combination of fleet-footed dribbling and pace before his cross perfectly picked out Pogba’s run.

The roles were reversed 10 minutes later when this time Pogba’s header teed up Rashford for a powerful strike that was deflected just behind.

However, in stark contrast to the final days of Mourinho’s tenure, it seemed only a matter of time before United struck again and once more it was Pogba who provided the finish with a bullet header from Ander Herrera’s cross.

Unlike Pogba, Nemanja Matic was one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants but the Serbian has also epitomised the change in tack orchestrated by Solskjaer with the former Chelsea midfielder much more willing to look for a forward rather than sideways pass.

And Matic began the move for United’s third when he picked out Anthony Martial’s run and the Frenchman’s cross with the outside of his boot was turned home by Rashford.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2Rn6Gek

Iran national stadium to host women’s football team: official

Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s largest stadium will host the women’s national football team for the first time since the Islamic revolution, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported on Sunday.

The team will face Russia at Tehran’s Azadi stadium in a friendly match as part of the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, football federation chief Mehdi Taj told ISNA.

Only female spectators will be allowed to attend, though no date has yet been fixed for the match.

Women were barred from attending matches after the 1979 Islamic revolution, with clerics arguing they must be protected from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.

They have also worried about inadvertent touching as dense crowds of men and women leave stadiums.

There has been some relatively loosening of the rules in recent months, with a select group of around 850 women allowed to attend the the Asian Champions League final between Iran’s Persepolis FC and Japan’s Kashima Antlers in November.

The women were seated in a separate stand and entered two hours before the game to avoid the crush.

Some women were also allowed to watch screenings of Iran’s World Cup matches at Azadi (which means “freedom”) in June.

The first time women attended a post-revolution football match is believed to be November 2001 when around 20 Irish women were among the crowd for an Iran-Ireland World Cup qualifier.

Iranian women had to wait four more years, until June 8, 2005 when a few dozen were allowed to watch an Iran-Bahrain match, also a World Cup qualifier.

There have been other rare occasions when women were allowed to watch matches, but the issue continues to sharply divide the authorities. 

After women attended an Iran-Bolivia friendly in October, the prosecutor general warned it would not happen again, saying it would “lead to sin”.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2CGROze

Manchester City stop the rot against Southampton

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City showed they are willing to accept the challenge of Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title with a 3-1 win away to Southampton on Sunday.

Following shock defeats by Crystal Palace and Leicester, reigning champions City cut the gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Liverpool to seven points ahead of their meeting with the Merseysiders at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.

But they allowed a limited Southampton side back into the game after a dominating start, which suggests there are still frailties for Liverpool to exploit.

David Silva put City ahead after 10 minutes but they passed up a number of chances to add to the lead and gifted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg an equaliser in the 37th minute.

For a period, Pep Guardiola’s side looked fragile, but a James Ward-Prowse own-goal and a header by Sergio Aguero just before half-time restored their confidence. 

Saints’ frustrations boiled over with a red card for Hojbjerg after a wild challenge on Fernandinho late in the game.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl sprang a surprise in his team selection by giving a debut to 18-year-old former Chelsea starlet Kayne Ramsay at right-back.

City should have gone ahead in the fifth minute when Jack Stephens allowed Raheem Sterling to steal possession and set up David Silva. 

But the City man tried to be too deliberate, with his shot blocked by goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

But Saints could also have taken a more surprising lead after eight minutes when Mohamed Elyounoussi’s clever flick over the City defence sent Charlie Austin clear.

Austin’s first touch, however, was dreadful and sent the ball into Ederson’s grateful arms.

Instead of being a goal up, the home side were behind within a minute.

The left side of their defence was opened up with ease by a simple one-two, leaving Bernardo Silva clear of full-back Matt Targett and free to advance down the right. He had all the time he wanted to pick out the unmarked David Silva, who hit the ball first-time past McCarthy. 

Riyad Mahrez then shot wide after a move that began with City playing a series of passes inside their own penalty area. 

And Aguero squandered an excellent chance in the 25th minute, hitting his shot against McCarthy after Sterling had accelerated past the hapless Targett.

But overplaying at the other end almost proved City’s undoing.

Ederson was nearly caught by Austin before dribbling round the striker. But he showed a mastery of the more conventional goalkeeping arts on the half-hour with a diving save to keep out Austin’s glancing header from a corner by Ward-Prowse.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2QcWz79