'He cares so much' - what's it like to play under Martin?
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The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Pep Guardiola's summer rebuild has restored Manchester City's old swagger
The winds of change are blowing through Manchester City but some things remain the same. Different faces and a different time - but that old familiar swagger returned at Molineux. Three thousand travelling supporters, basking in the sunshine along the foot of the Steve Bull Stand, sang: 'City are back.' Had they ever really been away? Two years have passed since the epoch-defining treble and only four of the side that started on the club's greatest night in Istanbul were named by Pep Guardiola at Molineux. And two of them - John Stones and Bernardo Silva - are in the final year of their contract. There's no Kevin de Bruyne, no Rodri and no Jack Grealish. Moved on, laid up and kicked out. Ederson - the cornerstone of everything Guardiola stands for - is on the cusp of a move to Turkey. Club warrior, Kyle Walker, is finding out how the other half live in Burnley. And Ilkay Gundogan, on the substitutes' bench, should have 999 on the back of his shirt: Only to be used in an emergency. It feels like a new page was being turned at Molineux. And this new-model side needs to re-establish the credentials that carried it to so much success. This was a pretty good start. Manchester City's cloak of invincibility was torn - not shredded - last season but this is elite sport and, as the watching public is told repeatedly, the margins are fine. Standards need to slip by a few degrees of competency and results can be affected. There is no hiding place, after all. And once the confidence-supreme upon which the club's success was built is slowly eroded, then others will scent blood. That's how it was at Molineux. Initial trepidation among the home support. Fifteen minutes of adhering to a tight shape and then those in the old gold shirts began to chance their luck. Marshall Munetsi had a goal wiped out for offside and the natives smelled blood. They should have known better. This vintage do not possess De Bruyne's magical quality of creating something out of nothing. This painter of pictures, this ammunition-provider, has moved to pastures new to Naples, where the microscope will be equally fierce. Guardiola has had to find someone else to load the gun but no-one yet knows the true pedigree of Tijjani Reijnders, Oscar Bobb or Nico Gonzalez. Are they the real deal, capable of stringing together victory after victory? Of inhabiting the rarefied air at the top of the Premier League and fighting battles on several fronts? It might be over-stating the situation after the evidence of one 90-minute performance but while there were glitches in the system, there was hope of a return to the all-conquering days of the year before last. All that pressure was bound to tell on a group of players that was getting old together. It needed refreshing. It needed looked at again. And the post-season interview from Sheikh Mansour suggested that this was very much the case as a new cluster of players look set to prove themselves worthy of a club that has become conditioned to winning during the past decade. It is still too early to tell from where the next crop of heroes will come but there can be no doubting the quality of some of them. For instance, the outstanding invidivual on show was Reijnders. In the white-hot heat of the engine-room at this level, Rodri has proved himself supreme. Any team on the planet would miss the talent of a man who picked up the Ballon d'Or and his absence is again a source of worry. But not so much now as the £46m AC Milan midfielder looked more than capable of providing a viable alternative. It can be said right now: The prospect of Rodri teaming up with this guy will be one to savour. And what of Nico Gonzalez? He has proved more of a miss than a hit since his arrival at the club but there were the signs of recovery in his play. Rayan Ait-Nouri was a withdrawn soul on this, on his return to his former club, but he did enough to suggest that he will become a favourite and well capable of plugging a gap on the left-hand side defence. It has been an Achilles heel for some time. Maybe no more. It was difficult to pass judgement on keeper James Trafford because the visitors dominated but he was clean, tidy and did what he had to do. The faces from yesteryear will never fade away at the Eithad. They achieved too much. But time waits for no man in football. Guardiola, and his paymasters have recognised that. Ninety minutes is not a decent sample size. But it's fair to say that whatever was broken last season is well on its way to being mended.
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Thomas Frank has perfect start to Tottenham reign as Sunderland batter West Ham
Richarlison netted a brace, including a superb scissor kick, and Brennan Johnson scored as Thomas Frank picked up a first league win in charge of Tottenham with a 3-0 victory over Burnley. Frank was without injured pair James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, but Richarlison's double helped Spurs secure a first league win since April 6. Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League in style after they swept West Ham aside with a 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light. Following an eight-year absence from the league, the Black Cats went ahead just after the hour mark through Eliezer Mayenda before Dan Ballard's header doubled their advantage. Substitute Wilson Isidor came off the bench to wrap up three points in Sunderland's first Premier League appearance since May 2017. Rodrigo Muniz struck deep into stoppage time as Fulham snatched a 1-1 draw at Brighton. Albion had looked on course to make a winning start to the season when Matt O'Riley tucked home a 55th-minute penalty after Sander Berge brought down Georginio Rutter. Newcastle missed the presence of wantaway Alexander Isak as they shared the spoils in a goalless draw with 10-man Aston Villa. The Magpies could have done with their star man as they failed to find a way past Villa, who had Ezri Konsa sent off in the 66th minute.
Scotsman
17 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Premier Sports Cup draw: Quarter-final ties in full as Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and others learn fate
How the last eight line up for the Scottish League Cup Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The draw for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals has been made after Rangers booked their spot with a 4-2 win over Alloa. The Ibrox side joined Celtic, St Mirren, Motherwell, Partick and Aberdeen in the last eight, with two more matches left to conclude the last 16 stage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Holders Celtic ensured they were the first name in the hat after a comfortable 4-1 win over Falkirk at Parkhead on Friday night with goals from Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston, Dane Murray and a Liam Henderson own goal before the Bairns netted a consolation through Keelan Adams. The Premier Sports Cup quarter-final draw has been made. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group St Mirren booked their place on Saturday with a penalty shoot-out win over Hearts following a 1-1 draw in Paisley as Alex Gogic's 34th minute opener was cancelled out by Oison McEntee in the 78th minute. Claudio Braga was the only player who failed to score in the shoot-out as Hearts suffered their first defeat under Derek McInnes. Motherwell required extra-time to claim a 1-0 win at St Johnstone thanks to a goal in the 109th minute from Lukas Fadinger while Aberdeen were comfortable 3-0 winners away to Championship side Greenock Morton with Sivert Heltne Nilson, Kusini Yengi and Leighton Clarkson on target. One lower league side have made it through to the quarter-finals, with Partick Thistle defeating fellow Championship side Ayr United 2-0 at Firhill with first-half goals from Dan O'Reilly and Logan Chalmers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The second round will come to a conclusion on Sunday with Hibs and Dundee United hoping to avoid European hangovers following their midweek Conference League matches when they travel to Livingston and Kilmarnock respectively. The draw for the quarter-finals was made at Ibrox following Rangers' win over Alloa. Kilmarnock or Dundee United were drawn first out of the hat with one of those clubs facing St Mirren at home in the last eight. Partick will face Celtic at Firhill for a place in the semi-finals. Rangers have been handed a home match against Livingston or Hibs while Aberdeen are also at home against Motherwell. The quarter-final ties are due to be played on the weekend of September 20 and 21. Kilmarnock or Dundee United v St Mirren Partick v Celtic Rangers v Livingston or Hibs
