All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

[ad_pod ]

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

England may have got off to a lacklustre start in their amazing 5-3 win against Kosovo at St Mary’s on Tuesday night, but a five-goal first half blitz involving Harry Kane surely means Mauricio Pochettino is missing a big trick at Tottenham Hotspur.

On the chalkboard

So far this season, the Argentine manager has used a number of different formations in Spurs’ Premier League matches, including 4-2-3-1, 4-3-1-2 and 4-2-2-2, according to Transfermarkt.

The system most similar to the 4-3-3 one the Three Lions used on the south coast is the former, which was utilised against Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Christian Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko were the wide players against Pep Guardiola’s men, with Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura filling those roles against the Magpies.

On Tuesday, Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho played high up the pitch and almost alongside Kane, and it worked wonders with the former scoring one and assisting three, and the latter netting a brace and providing the cross from which the own goal came about.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Lesson to learn for Poch

Son and Lucas may have played on the flanks in the disappointing defeat to Newcastle, but the presence of Erik Lamela in the No.10 role meant they had to do their fair share of defensive duties, too.

Tuesday night highlighted just how effective Kane can be in a front three if he has two pacey players around him, as well as affording him more space to work in, and Son and Lucas have the skills and speed to play a similar role for the north London outfit that Sterling and Sancho did for England.

It would of course mean Pochettino needs to take a few risks and potentially leave the likes of Lamela and Dele Alli out of the starting XI, but it’s hardly as though they’ve been in brilliant form themselves either in recent months.

A solid midfield trio – picked from Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Sissoko and Eriksen – would then be the answer to allowing an out-and-out Tottenham front three to thrive.

1-0 defeats at home to West Ham, Ajax and Newcastle United at the club’s new stadium in 2019 show they are far from perfect going forward, and the opportunity to play 4-3-3 on a consistent basis is one Pochettino can’t afford to waste given the options he has available at his disposal.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Red Bull Salzburg striker Erling Braut Haaland’s incredible start to the season continued as he scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut in his side’s 6-2 win against Genk on Tuesday night, and Tottenham Hotspur fans want their club to sign the 19-year-old.

The teenager, who netted nine goals in one match as Norway U20s beat their Honduras counterparts 12-0 back in May, took his tally to a remarkable 17 this term with his treble against the Belgian club, as per Transfermarkt.

It was also the 6 foot 4 son of former Leeds United midfielder Alfe-Inge’s second successive three-goal haul, having also netted one at the weekend in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Spurs supporters on the popular social media platform were clearly hugely impressed with what they saw from the tall centre-forward on Tuesday, with plenty believing the north London outfit should be targeting Haaland – not surprising given the lack of real depth they have behind Harry Kane right now.

While one said “sign him up Daniel” as a message to Daniel Levy, another went a step further and urged the club to “bin off Kane” and use the 19-year-old and promising youngster Troy Parrott together.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod ]

Marcelo Bielsa took part in his press conference ahead of a clash with Derby on Thursday afternoon.

It’s the first time the Rams take on Leeds since their meeting in the playoffs last term.

It was a heated contest, primarily because of ‘spygate’, an incident that involved Leeds sending someone to watch Derby play in training.

That will likely be one of the narratives surrounding Saturday’s encounter and Bielsa was questioned about it in the build-up.

It was a question that Leeds fans didn’t seem to take too kindly to as one claimed the journalist who asked it was an idiot. A further supporter stated that it was a ridiculous thing to ask.

Another individual said simply that it was strange.

Derby were able to see off the challenge of Leeds last May but their fortunes at the moment are a stark contrast.

Under Phillip Cocu, they sit 19th in the table, whereas Leeds are currently top and have so far been able to bounce back from the heartbreak of 2018/19.

Here’s the best of the reaction from the Argentine’s presser.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Serge Atakayi had become a forgotten figure at Rangers but with his dramatic late winner for the Ibrox club’s colt team against Ballymena in the Challenge Cup he has returned to relative notoriety.

Born in Kinsasha in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Atakayi and his youth team claimed asylum in 2010 in Finland where he remained until Rangers signed him in 2016 from FC Jaro. He went on to represent his adopted homeland at both U18 and U19 levels and was called up by DR Congo’s Olympic squad earlier this year.

Atakayi plays most of his football on the wing but can play centrally too. His goal against Ballymena is typical of his style, making a run behind a defence before finishing a 1 v 1 situation.

Graeme Murty, who is head coach for the academy side, said afterwards: “Serge has got everything in terms of pace. He’s electric. Unfortunately for them it came from a little bit of an error, but Serge got himself through there and took the goal really, really well.”

Atakayi has already experienced first team football at Ibrox but was unfortunate to suffer an injury after coming on as a substitute in a 7-1 demolition of Motherwell. Once he recovered, he went on loan back to Finland for SJK Seinajoki and managed to bag one goal and one assist. His statistics weren’t great, but he did score a fabulous goal v HJK Helsinki.

Before his move, Atakayi confirmed he had spoken to his manager: “Rangers saw this as the best solution for me. Steven Gerrard has told me he thinks I can play for the first team next season.”

Perhaps his appearance against Ballymena is a positive sign of that next step soon coming, with Gerrard seemingly outlining a squad role for him this term. He clearly harbours hopes of that too, after launching a “let me play” plea on social media.

Hopefully he gets his wish because with his contract due to expire this summer, it’s an important year for the Rangers prospect.

[ad_pod ]

Some QPR fans on Twitter appear to be split over the negative reception received by Matt Phillips in the 2-0 defeat to West Brom at the weekend.

The forward – who played for the R’s from 2013-2016 – was roundly booed by the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium faithful upon his return to that corner of London.

Phillips, 28, scored 14 goals and recorded 15 assists in 94 appearances for the Londoners during his spell at the club, but appeared to put his finger to his lips and also cupped his ears when celebrating in front of them at the Hawthorns last term – a move which seems to still be on the minds of a few fans below.

On the other hand, some have defended the former Blackpool forward, and have said that the discontent he received was unfair – it definitely seems to be an incident which has split a section of the fanbase on Twitter.

Let’s take a look at some of the reaction…

When you think of prolific Manchester United strikers Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Andy Cole and Dwight York spring to mind. Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, does not.

There was a time shortly after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as temporary boss when Rashford looked like he had all the answers.

Indeed, the Norwegian looked like he had worked out how to get the best of the youngster. Rashford bagged five times in Solskjaer’s first seven games as United boss.

We’ve now reached the stage where United are actively looking for a new forward, per The Independent, having seemingly realised their gamble on not replacing Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez hasn’t paid off. Who’d have thought?

While the majority of United supporters, being the loyal bunch that they are, have reserved their criticism for private spaces, spend enough time searching through the many fan channels available and you’ll soon realise that a consensus is developing amongst the Old Trafford faithful that Rashford simply isn’t good enough. Failing to score against Arsenal on Monday night, a game that will mostly be remembered for some pretty terrible football all round, won’t have helped his cause very much either.

But is this criticism harsh? Danny Higginbotham seems to think so…

Of course, that would be to completely ignore the influence of Paul Pogba, who bagged nine Premier League assists last season and so far this term has averaged 2.6 key passes per game. Higginbotham also seemed to miss the moment Pogba sent Rashford through on goal against Arsenal, only for the forward to scupper his opportunity.

Great players make something from nothing, and we’re yet to see Rashford really do that on a consistent basis.

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

Real Madrid had been chasing Paul Pogba for the entirety of last summer. Reports coming from Marca stated Zinedine Zidane wanted the Frenchman exclusively and no one else but Manchester United’s presumed price of €120m (£107.9m) proved to be too much.

And now, it seems like there’s a scenario in which they won’t even have to spend any money at all and could still get their desired player profile.

On the chalkboard

Pogba and Real Madrid had been a true love story throughout the summer.

The question of whether he would make the move was the talk of the transfer window for Los Blancos and after a price was slapped on him that not even Zidane’s club could match, the Frenchman remained at Old Trafford.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And obviously, Pogba is a player of great quality, that much is known to the footballing world, so Real’s interest doesn’t really come as a surprise.

But now, with the recent emergence of Valverde, it seems that chasing Pogba in a multi-million deal would be an unwise decision. After all, the 21-year-old Castilla talent fits the description perfectly.

A better alternative

Saying that Valverde is better than Pogba would be absurd. After all, we’re talking about a World Cup winner and one of Premier League’s best midfielders at the moment, despite United’s current struggles.

The Frenchman has averaged 1.8 shots and 2.6 key passes per game in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign and already has two assists to his name.

But even though Valverde can hardly match him stat to stat, he is just 21 and offers a similar output and similar qualities to Pogba.

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

Just last weekend, in Real Madrid’s 4-2 victory over Granada, the young midfielder was incredible, tallying nine recovered balls, two of which then ultimately led to Los Blancos’ second and third goals.

Not to mention that he has one assist himself already and is capable of playing across multiple positions – as he confirmed himself when asked about his role in the team – offering Madrid the true box-to-box player they’ve been looking to find in Pogba.

With similar qualities that are bound to improve and with no price tag on his head, Valverde definitely looks like the better and cheaper alternative to the £107.9m-rated Frenchman.

His age is just a bonus and so is the fact he is a product of Castilla.

With enough trust and development, Valverde just might save Real Madrid a lot of money come next summer.

Paul who?

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Harry Kane led by example for England against Bulgaria, both on and off the field, and his performance will offer a lot of encouragement for Mauricio Pochettino.

It could actually do more than that, as the style in which he played may lead the Argentine to utilise him in a slightly different role, one that will allow him to provide as much as he scores.

That is what made him so effective in Sofia, with the England captain at times unplayable, providing the perfect foil for players such as Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Ross Barkley, and there’s no reason why he couldn’t do the same for Spurs.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The pace of England’s forwards allowed them to get in behind the defence, with Kane often coming deep and acting as the playmaker, and with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura available for selection, it could be an avenue of success for Pochettino.

As well as his customary one goal, Kane pulled the strings in and around the final third.

He played in a similar fashion in Prague on Friday with a 100% success rate from the two long balls he attempted, as well as creating one big chance. On Monday, though, he raised his game to a new level.

It was the perfect performance for the lone striker role, as his 10/10 rating from SofaScore suggests, shielding the ball to great effect when necessary but also bringing his teammates into play and creating chances for them.

Kane is known for being a goalscorer, but he made three assists against Bulgaria, and could have had two more due to the fact he created five big chances in total.

If he replicates that type of display for his club side, Spurs’ attacking potency should increase, and goals should follow – if Son’s track record is anything to go by.

The fact the 26-year-old only lost possession on seven occasions is another huge positive.

It will not only build the trust Pochettino has in him to operate slightly deeper, but also his faith in granting the wide players freedom to make runs and get up the pitch, stretching the opposition in a manner which Spurs have failed to do too often, with the home defeat against Newcastle an example of that.

That is because the striker has shown he can look after the ball, which is crucial for Pochettino’s style of retaining possession, and if he becomes a creator for the Argentine over the next few weeks he could prove that he will make up for the loss of Christian Eriksen, who looks destined to leave at some point.

Another advantage is that it could see Spurs adopt more of a counter-attacking style, allowing for a defensive-minded midfielder to replace a playmaker in the middle, and that could lead to success against the top-six away from home, having won just three of their last 16 games in that department.

Many eyebrows were raised when Andy Lonergan signed for Liverpool this summer.

The veteran stopper had never played a single minute in the Premier League before joining the European champions as their third-choice goalkeeper.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He still hasn’t played any Premier League football and is yet to see the pitch in any competition this season, and with Alisson returning from injury very shortly it doesn’t look likely that he will be called upon anytime soon.

His latest tweet however, shows that if he is needed he may be up for the challenge.

Lonergan’s caption tells the whole story really, as he uses the hashtag #alwayslearning.

The former Fulham stopper says that he’s been working with the best, and he’s not wrong.

Alisson made the FIFA Team of the Year for his performances throughout his first season with Liverpool, and Adrian has been exceptional when stepping in as his replacement, as the Reds have conceded the fewest goals in the division.

Working alongside these two talented goalies will almost certainly make Lonergan step up his game, and in the unlikely event that he is needed for Liverpool, he may well be able to utilise what he has learnt from his two teammates.

Some Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to react after they heard that former Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino has parted ways with La Liga side Leganes.

The 48-year-old had overseen a dreadful start to the campaign that has left Leganes sitting at the bottom of La Liga with just two points from their first nine games – the Spanish side are currently seven points from safety.

This news seems to have caught the attention of a few Southampton fans on Twitter, given how awful Pellegrini’s stint at St Mary’s was.

The Argentine was sacked from his post in March 2018, having overseen a dreadful run of form that saw the Saints win just one of their last 17 league games.

At the time of his departure, Pellegrino was responsible for the third-worst points per game total out of any Southampton manager in Premier League history – his Saints side recorded just 0.93 points per game.

Let’s take a look at how some of the Southampton fans on Twitter reacted to the news…