There is a lot of expectation on a wonderful goalkeeper who is one of the best in world football. There was talk that this might be City looking beyond Pep Guardiola, but the save he made from Bryan Mbeumo was who he is - a world-class save to keep United at nil and he just gets up like 'that's what my job is'.
In the global footballing landscape, there's no denying the fact that the English Premier League as a far more powerful financial giant than the Bundesliga. To add to that, a lot of the other European clubs that are state-owned and/or sponsored arguably draw more attention than German football as a whole, especially when it comes to the UEFA Champions League. Of course, there have been steps in reducing the polarity that exists between English and German football like Harry Kane leaving Tottenham for Bayern Munich, but the semi-baseless "farmer's league" ideology still has not completely fizzled out.
A record-breaking nine English sides will play European football in 2025-26 - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham in the Champions League; Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in the Europa League; and Crystal Palace in the Conference League. But will those clubs who are not in Europe be able to capitalise on having a less hectic fixture schedule and more rest between matches? When Leicester City shocked the footballing world to win the Premier League in 2015-16, they only played 43 games in all competitions, with no European distractions.
The pressure is on Graham Potter at West Ham, and it increased tenfold over the weekend after the 3-0 loss to London rivals Tottenham. The former Brighton and Chelsea manager continues to be linked with losing his job, which could happen sooner rather than later. West Ham are reported to have already selected a replacement for Potter, so it could now be the beginning of the end for him at the London Stadium.
West Ham are considering a move for Nuno Espirito Santo should they sack manager Graham Potter. (Alan Nixon), external Arsenal, Barcelona and Napoli are interested in Palmeiras' 19-year-old Brazilian centre-back Luiz Gustavo Benedetti. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external Manchester United are interested in Nottingham Forest's 70m-rated midfielder Elliot Anderson, but the England international, 22, is happy at the City Ground and has no plans to leave. (Football Insider), external
It took a 95th-minute penalty from Mohamed Salah to ensure Liverpool returned to the Premier League's summit as they secured a last-gasp 1-0 win against 10-man Burnley at Turf Moor. A stubborn Burnley rearguard looked set to hold out for a point against the Premier League champions on Sunday, even when Lesley Ugochukwu received his marching orders. Arne Slot left British record signing Alexander Isak out of his matchday squad.
Jamie Carragher called Liverpool defender Milos Kerkez's play-acting "ridiculous" after the 21-year-old collected a yellow card at Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday. Left-back Kerkez, who joined the Reds for £40 million from Bournemouth in July, went down in theatrical fashion as Clarets midfielder Josh Laurent pursued him inside the box. "It was a dive," former Liverpool defender Carragher told Sky Sports, praising referee Michael Oliver for spotting the simulation. "There are no doubts about it. That is absolutely stupid."
It's weirdly difficult [to defend long throws]. The day before a game you practise defending corners and free-kicks but not long throws. Because it's coming in from a different angle, it creates chaos. It's something teams should work on more.
"It's always been a dream of mine to play on the biggest stage in the best league in the world, and I'm with a magnificent team. Even teams who are struggling in the table have top players. Even [West Ham] today have top players. I'm trying to adapt as quickly as possible."
The Premier League is back after the international break and there were plenty of goals flying in around the grounds on Saturday afternoon. Arsenal continued their fine start to the season with a win over Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest in the early kick-off, but there were five more games in the 3pm slot. Newcastle faced Wolves in a must-win match for the Magpies, a new era without Alexander Isak in their squad, while Bournemouth looked to pick up three more points after beating Tottenham before the international break.
"It is no secret it has been a very disruptive week for the players," Postecoglou said. "Seven days ago their world was totally different from what it is today and you've got to understand that, I certainly do. "I can't fault the players endeavour and effort. I thought we hung in there, we never really had control of the game at any point but we worked really hard in the first half and there were small seeds towards the end of the first half of us maybe being able to cause them some problems but the second goal straight after half-time killed the game."
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