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New York Times
03-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The most annoying foul in football
It takes a lot to make Bukayo Saka angry, but a sense of injustice tipped the England international over the edge during Arsenal's Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. The PSG left-back Nuno Mendes was in possession, facing his goal, deep inside his half and up against the touchline, when he fell to the ground in stages as Saka closed him down from behind. Saka emerged with the ball — a ball that he kicked away in fury at the sound of referee Slavko Vincic's whistle after he was penalised for a foul. Cue a yellow card for Saka and the sight of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta doing his latest Basil Fawlty impression on the touchline. Was this the right call against Bukayo Saka? 👀#UCLonPrime — Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025 To be clear, this isn't an Arsenal or a Mendes story. Instead, it is a story about one of the most frustrating fouls in football. At this point in proceedings, it would be nice to welcome Luke Ayling to the stage to ask him to break down the art of how to buy a free kick with an opponent behind you, taking in everything from deliberately applying the brakes late, like a car driver trying to engineer a collision and a compensation claim, right through to the theatrical tumble over the ball at the end of it all, complete with raised arms and a look of dismay. Ayling was so good at winning free kicks in that way that the Leeds supporters gave his go-to move a name: 'The Ayling Flop'. A beauuuuty of an Ayling flop, right in front of Hassenhuttl. Southampton manager goes mad and gets a big grin. #lufc — Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) April 2, 2022 The images below show that moment against Southampton in all its glory. Essentially, we are talking about an act of relatively low-grade s***housery. In Ayling's case, it was remarkably successful, too. After making his debut for Leeds in 2016, Ayling won more fouls than any other defender who played in the top two tiers of English football during that period of time (thanks to Opta's Jonny Cooper for that stat). Advertisement Playing to the gallery, Ayling even posted a clip on social media of his young daughter performing the move in his back garden, accompanied by the words, 'I think she's mastered it.' Others have, too. A quick straw poll among my colleagues at The Athletic reveals that Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, Nottingham Forest's Ryan Yates, Brighton & Hove Albion's Joel Veltman, Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes, and Chelsea's Marc Cucurella all deserve an honorary mention for being clever at winning fouls in a similar fashion. Konsa, in the eyes of many, was fortunate on Saturday when referee Anthony Taylor awarded a free kick in his favour following a duel with Jean-Philippe Mateta during Villa's FA Cup semi-final defeat against Crystal Palace. Mateta ran through and scored, but the goal was disallowed. Jason Pearce, Konsa's captain at Charlton Athletic, quickly picked up on just how streetwise his young defensive partner was when he first broke through. 'He was composed in possession and used his body well for his age,' Pearce told The Athletic last year. 'He was very clever, buying a lot of free kicks.' You can probably think of a player at your club who fits that description, too, judging by the fact that the names keep coming in: Grant Hanley, the Scotland international and former Norwich City defender, and Southampton's Ryan Manning the latest. Speaking as a regular observer of Swansea City, I can confirm that Harry Darling is following in Ayling's flop-steps. There's no suggestion that Mendes, who was outstanding on Tuesday, is a serial offender. It is more that the incident with Saka highlighted a general trend of free kicks almost routinely being given in that scenario. It's a get out of jail free card for a defender who is in possession and feeling an opponent breathing down their neck. Concede a throw-in? Try to turn away from trouble? Go back to the goalkeeper? Or take a tumble? Advertisement 'You can understand the frustration from the Arsenal fans because Mendes is just trying to protect the ball and Saka has got every right to try and get to it, which he did, and I didn't think it was a foul,' said the former England international Alan Shearer in his role as co-commentator for the broadcaster Amazon Prime. 'Mendes doesn't know he's that side and then he (Saka) has this little touch of him, and that is not enough for him to go down.' 'That's a great tackle,' chipped in Mark Clattenburg, the former FIFA referee. So why does the foul get given so often? Quite simply, it's much easier for a referee and/or an assistant referee (as was the case with the Mendes-Saka incident) to award, or signal for, a free kick and deal with the short-lived anger that follows, rather than waving play on and risk all hell breaking loose if a goal is scored. 'But isn't that what VAR is for?' I hear you say — and that is a point that Clattenburg made at the time. Ultimately, the player in possession knows — and top officials will talk about this kind of thing privately — that it's a low-risk foul to give in that area of the pitch. In short, if you're not sure as a referee, err on the side of caution and award the free kick to the defensive side. That doesn't make it right, but it gives an insight into the thought process. Occasionally, and it is only occasionally, a referee will go rogue. That was the case in the Liverpool-Nottingham Forest game at Anfield in September, when Yates was being chased down by Luis Diaz. Interestingly, Yates had been awarded a foul little more than a minute earlier following a bizarre tangle with Alexis Mac Allister that saw him go to ground twice. Believe it or not, the ball was still 'in play' in the picture below. But a foul was given seconds later, after Yates got to his feet and tumbled again. Perhaps all of that was in the referee's mind when Yates appealed, in vain, for a free kick as he tried to shepherd the ball out of play during Liverpool's next attack. Diaz broke clear and ended up hitting the post. Unfortunately for Arsenal and Saka, the outcome in the PSG game was much more predictable.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge clash after one Arsenal player blamed for PSG defeat
Former England stars Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge disagreed on who was to blame for Ousmane Dembele's goal against Arsenal. After sending defending champions Real Madrid packing in the quarter-final, Arsenal arrived at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night looking to gain an advantage on Paris Saint Germain. However, the first leg was won by the French giants after Dembele converted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's cut back in the fourth minute to seal a 1-0 victory for Luis Enrique's men. As a result, Mikel Arteta's side will have to score at least once at the Parc des Princes next week if they are to reach the final of the Champions League. Speaking after the match, Rooney, who was a pundit on Amazon Prime's coverage of the clash, pointed the finger at Declan Rice when analysing Dembele's winning goal. He explained: "This is a really good pass, breaks the lines and then Dembele gets the ball, gets driving at the Arsenal defence and then plays it out wide. "Now Arsenal have enough time to recover and Declan Rice just makes the wrong decision. He comes in, he thinks he is trying to cover his teammate but by leaving that space at the edge of the box, that's where the danger is, that's where Dembele is." Rooney continued: "It's in the quarter-final, semi-final, final of the Champions League, the details of what you're talking about, that's what wins or loses you the competition and today Arsenal just didn't get a lot of the details right and that's what cost them the game." WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE 💥PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman's goal#UCLonPrime — Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025 However, fellow pundit Sturridge opted to place the blame on Mikel Merino instead. The former Liverpool man said: "I don't look at that goal and say it's Declan Rice's fault. "On the other side, Merino makes a defensive run back, he ran into a position, he doesn't run towards the ball. He makes the run back, if you look where Dembele is now…Merino is tracking back to the penalty spot, he's not gone towards the ball to effect what's going to happen. The cut-back is there." Sturridge added: "Rice is going over to help, so if my mate is going over to help in the other position, he's (Merino) just worried about getting back into position, he's not worried about where the ball can be played."
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Arsene Wenger makes rare Emirates return to watch Arsenal's Champions League semi-final showdown with PSG
Arsenal 's legendary former manager Arsene Wenger had made a rare appearance to the Emirates to support his old club ahead of their crunch Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Arsène Wenger is in the building 🤩 #UCLonPrime — Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Declan Rice's defiant eight-word rallying cry to Arsenal team-mates in pre-match huddle ahead of PSG showdown
Declan Rice issued an eight-word rally cry to his Arsenal team-mates ahead of their crunch Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners went into what was one of the biggest games in their recent history on the back of a stunning victory over holders Real Madrid, after winning 5-1 on aggregate to allow their fans to start believing. Mikel Arteta had issued his own rallying cry to fans before the game, asking them to create a stellar atmosphere inside the ground as they looked to take an advantage into the second leg next week. And it appeared that message translated to his team too, and the Amazon Prime Video cameras caught Rice's message in the huddle before the game. Rice has been a focus of Arsenal's Champions League run, with the England star netting two stunning free-kicks three weeks ago to put his side on course to beat Madrid. And it was he who took centre stage in the huddle, with captain Martin Odegaard allowing Rice to tell his team-mates: 'If we don't have the ball, we die.' A clear message 👀 #UCLonPrime — Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025 It was a slow start for the Gunners, though. Ousmane Dembele netted the opener in the fourth minute, silencing a loud Emirates in north London. Wayne Rooney, meanwhile, who was working on punditry for the game, was full of praise for his countryman before kick-off. 'I think he has been getting up to world class,' Rooney said. 'He has changed his position slightly of late and it suits him. 'I would have liked him further forward today. Vitinha for PSG is important, but, in terms of the midfield three for both teams, it's important to get the balance right of when they go forward and who is controlling the defence and organising.'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Real Madrid vs Arsenal: Prediction, kick-off time, team news, TV, live stream, h2h results, odds today
Arsenal have a three-goal lead to defend in tonight's Champions League quarter-final second leg showdown with Real Madrid. Two outstanding free-kicks from Declan Rice and another goal from emergency striker Mikel Merino completed a memorable night for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium last task now facing Mikel Arteta's side is to get the job done against a Real Madrid side that are expected to give a better account for themselves in front of their own supporters. Kylian Mbappe has refused to give up on progression and Jude Bellingham has warned the north London outfit that 'crazy' things can happen on a Champions League night at the Santiago Bernabeu. MIKEL MERINO MAKES IT THREE 😱Arsenal are living the dream at the Emirates#UCLonPrime — Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 8, 2025 Here's everything you need to know about the game… Real Madrid vs Arsenal is scheduled for a 8pm BST kick-off tonight, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The match will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid. TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports. Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website. Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport's live blog, with expert analysis from Simon Collings at the ground! Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Alaba; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe, Rodrygo Subs: Fran Gonzalez, Sergio Mestre, Modric, Ardu Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Brahim Arsenal are set to be without Jorginho after the experienced midfielder limped off during the 1-1 draw with Brentford. Mikel Arteta is, though, boosted by the availability of Thomas Partey and Ben White after both trained on Tuesday despite recent injury scares. Raheem Sterling is in contention again after missing the first leg through suspension. If there is any team capable of overturning a three-goal deficit in the Champions League, it's the 15-time winners of the competition. In recent seasons, Real Madrid have staged some memorable comebacks inside the Santiago Bernabeu, so Arsenal having been warned. With that said, the Gunners are strong defensively and it seems unlikely they will concede four goals on the night. Furthermore, they showed enough in the first leg to suggest they can breach this uncertain Los Blancos defence to score at least one to take them through. 1-1 draw Real Madrid wins: 0 Draws: 1 Arsenal wins: 2 Real Madrid to qualify: 11/2 Arsenal to qualify: 1/10 Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
