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Having seen Liverpool pull eight points clear at the top of the table thanks to a dramatic injury-time victory against Leicester, the pressure was on Manchester City to respond in kind.

Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola’s side however, the Citizens suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Wolves on Sunday afternoon, and one man who didn’t cover himself in glory, was Ilkay Gundogan.

The German made just one tackle in the entire game, and had no shots on target from central midfield. After seeing the 28-year-old’s lacklustre performance, City fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

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Many supporters of the Manchester side slammed his below-pair display, and one fan insisted they would have substituted the midfielder at half-time at the Etihad.

Some Citizens fans criticised him for failing to contribute anything going forward, and remarked that he only played backwards passes in the entire match.

Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

“Now we are talking.”

Traore seems to be happy with fact that he’s been upgraded to a rating of 80 rather than his original 74.

There’s a lot for the winger to be happy about with his stats as well. The pace rating of 97 makes him the fastest player in the game.

It seems as if this upgrade will spur the Spaniard on to improve even further, as he says that he will keep working hard to be the best that he can be.

Liverpool have taken to social media to wish Xherdan Shaqiri happy birthday, and many fans have used the occasion to voice their views on the player.

As well as sending well wishes, many have made it clear that they believe he should be starting more often, and have bemoaned the lack of game time he is getting currently.

Since joining the Reds in summer 2018 the Switzerland international has only started 15 games, and this season he has seen his opportunities stifled with only 14 minutes played in 2019/20, excluding the Community Shield.

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On the one hand, his limited time on the pitch is understandable given the form of Liverpool’s front three, but he has proved his quality since joining the club and supporters feel he is not getting a fair crack of the whip.

In a red shirt he averaged a goal or assist every 112 minutes last term, a good return for a player who often comes on late in games, whilst his double at home to Manchester United last season played a big hand in his team leading the table at Christmas.

Here is some of the reaction from the Anfield faithful on Twitter.

90 min report that Manchester United are eyeing a potential move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani in January. 

The Red Devils have struggled this term, winning only two of their opening eight league matches, largely due to their lack of firepower up front.

Indeed, the club’s top scorers are currently Marcus Rashford and Daniel James – both of whom have only found the net three times this term.

By contrast, the likes of Manchester City have Sergio Aguero as their current leading marksman with eight goals, while Chelsea have Tammy Abraham – who has also registered eight – and Arsenal have the prolific Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has one less with seven, per BBC Sport.

Mario Mandzukic’s name is currently being mentioned as a potential target for United, alongside PSG’s Cavani – whose contract at the Parc des Princes is due to expire next summer.

If the Parisians fail to offer the Uruguayan a new deal, or he rejects one offered to him, he will be free to leave the club for nothing at the end of the campaign.

With that in mind, PSG may wish to do business with United in January to obtain some funds for him instead of allowing him to leave for nothing just six months later.

Here’s how United fans reacted to the news linking Cavani with a move to Old Trafford:

United fans, would you like to see Cavani at Old Trafford next year? Let us know below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Leeds United left Deepdale on Tuesday evening with a point, but if it wasn’t for Marcelo Bielsa’s substitutions the Whites may have walked away with nothing against the playoff contenders.

Of course, the big talking point was Eddie Nketiah’s impact off the bench, but there was another player that was brought into proceedings late on that immediately impressed.

Snapshot

Leeds were incredibly flat on Tuesday evening, and that was partly down to the lack of attacking threat coming from the midfield.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

It was an uncharacteristically quiet night for Mateusz Klich as he only got two shots away, neither of which were on target.

With the Whites 1-0 down in the 76th minute, something had to change, so Bielsa looked towards his subs bench.

Off the bench

The manager may have left it late to make his changes, but they made exactly the type of impact he will have wanted.

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Obviously, Nketiah scored, but it was Tyler Roberts’ performance after coming on that should have made an equally big statement to Bielsa.

The Welshman was a constant thorn in the Preston defence’s side as he continuously got into good positions, getting two shots off in his 15-minute cameo – the third most of any Leeds player that evening.

On another day the 21-year-old could have won the game for Leeds as a huge penalty appeal went up in the last minute as he once again found himself inside the box, but it wasn’t to be.

Roberts immediately sparked a new life into the game, and the £3.6m-rated man’s positivity in his 15-minute cameo makes a great case for him starting for the Whites in the near future.

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… 

Eddie Nketiah was presented with a real opportunity on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday as he was handed his joint-longest league outing of the season.

Indeed, he was brought on at half-time rather than his usual late introduction. However, he didn’t grasp this opportunity to prove himself.

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There have been a number of calls for the 20-year-old to start in recent weeks, and an extended appearance against the Owls was a real chance for him to show that he has more to his game than just goals, but his stats from that game show that he didn’t have the required impact.

Of course, scoring goals is a key thing for any striker, and Nketiah failed to find the net against Wednesday.

However, with Bamford unable to score in any of his last nine appearances, a 45-minute barren spell for the Arsenal loanee can be forgiven.

What can’t be forgiven though is his wastefulness on the ball.

Despite only playing the second half against the Owls, the striker was dispossessed the second-highest number of times of any Leeds United player as he lost the ball on three occasions.

On top of that, he had more unsuccessful touches than any other Whites player, and that may be down to his tendency to dribble.

Ever wondered how modern day skills would cope with the world’s oldest football? Find out in the video below…

Indeed, Nketiah completed three dribbles in his appearance against Wednesday – three times more than any other Leeds player – a marginal positive to take from a shoddy cameo.

In comparison, Bamford completes just 0.2 dribbles per game, and while more dribbles may seem like a good thing – losing the ball over and over is the last thing that Bielsa wants from his strikers.

This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

Gareth Bale arrived at White Hart Lane as a 17-year-old left-back from then-Championship side Southampton in 2007, he left in 2013 as the world’s most expensive player, having given Tottenham Hotspur many memorable moments in the time between. Given that his agent – Jonathan Barnett – was recently named as the world’s most powerful agent (per the Daily Mail), now seems as good a time as any to look back on that deal before Barnett helped Bale force a move away from the London club.

The original fee Spurs paid the Saints for the Welshman was £5m, though BBC Sport reported there were also add-ons that eventually saw the price rise to £10m.

His influence at Spurs continuously grew, from making 8 appearances in his first season with the club, to getting a combined 30 league goals and assists in his final one, as per Transfermarkt.

There were plenty of breathtaking performances from the Welshman during that time, including his hat-trick against Internazionale, his derby winning double against West Ham United, the 4 assists he got against Young Boys, and when he scored a hat-trick in 23 second-half minutes against Aston Villa.

Performances such as these were bound to catch the eye of Europe’s giants and in the end, Spurs were given an offer they couldn’t refuse to let him leave and join Real Madrid.

This move saw Bale, then 24-years-old, become the world’s most expensive player at £85.3m, beating the price paid for his new teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, as reported by BBC Sport at the time.

The transformation Bale underwent at Spurs is an incredible one, as he went from a decent left-back to a game-changing winger who was the most expensive player in the world for a time and the club certainly profited from it.

Spurs fans, where does Bale rank among the best players you’ve seen at your club? Join the discussion by commenting below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Well, that was a quick turnaround wasn’t it? Having opened the campaign in miserable fashion, including a truly shocking 2-0 defeat at Newcastle, Manchester United appear to have turned the proverbial corner.

The Red Devils’ sharp revival got kick-started with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Liverpool, before securing three consecutive away wins against Partizan Belgrade, Norwich and Chelsea, in impressive fashion. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are once again on their travels when they take on Bournemouth on Saturday, and judging by the form book, this looks like another banker for a victory.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

Whilst the Manchester side have bounced back in fine fettle, their opposition have floundered in recent weeks. Since beating rivals Southampton 3-1 at St Mary’s, Eddie Howe’s men have suffered a sharp drop in form – and quite significantly, goals. They have failed to hit the back of the net in four out of their last five games, including going scoreless in their previous three.

That despite them boasting the likes of Callum Wilson, Josh King and Dominic Solanke as their forward options. So when United take to the field on Saturday afternoon, they will no doubt be licking their lips of claiming another priceless win in the league. And that is exactly the kind of frame of mind Solskjaer has to absolutely ensure doesn’t creep in.

Confidence is a great thing in small, measured doses. But if it spills over into arrogance, then you’ve got a huge problem. For all their recent run of form, it has only been four games. And that too, only over the space of a week or so. The sense of excitement could quickly be shattered if they fail to maintain their composure and work ethic when they take on Bournemouth.

Make no mistake about it, however bad things get at United, they will always remain a prized scalp for the opposition. And if they get overly complacent against the Cherries on Saturday simply because of both sides’ recent form, then they will get brought back down to Earth with a heavy thud.

Barcelona are making quite a list for the upcoming transfer windows, as it currently stands.

According to Sport, the Catalan giants have seemingly intensified their efforts to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s young prodigy, Kai Havertz, as they were watching him perform against Atletico Madrid.

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Of course, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder is one of the biggest talents in modern football and the same source claims his club could value him at €100m (£86.1m), or even more than that.

Upon seeing this rumour, however, many Barcelona fans were not really sold on the idea of incorporating the young talent into their squad.

Some just don’t think he’s good enough as they compared him to the likes of Andre Gomes and Dele Alli, while others doubt Ernesto Valverde’s ability to make the most out of that potential transfer.

Either way, they don’t seem to think this is a good idea at all.

You can see some of their reactions and replies down in the collection of tweets below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (as quoted by The Manchester Evening News), Alan Shearer has insisted Manchester United will simply have to “accept” inconsistent performances and results this season.

What did he say?

The Red Devils pulled off a comfortable 3-1 victory over Brighton on Sunday afternoon, with the win pushing them into seventh in the Premier League table and nine points off fourth-placed Manchester City.

And, after seeing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men produce one of their better attacking displays of the campaign – they registered 11 shots on target – Shearer revealed their inconsistency is to be expected what with their young squad.

He said: “I thought they were brilliant today. In terms of when they got the ball they are going for the kill, we’re going to hit you right through the middle. Although I thought Brighton played right into their hands at times, they exploited it perfectly. When they won the ball first, they got it forward.

“You have to accept this because of how young they are. I felt it was slightly unfair to put the burden on those (young players) as well with those being so inexperienced and young. That might change in January. You will get performances like last weekend (at Bournemouth) but you also get ones like today. I thought they were excellent.”

Rollercoaster

What a journey United have experienced so far. After getting their season off with a bang with a 4-0 thrashing of rivals Chelsea, the Red Devils fell into a miserable run of form that saw them hover in the bottom half of the table. But since their 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Solskjaer’s side have pulled off five wins in six games across different competitions, and appear to be finding their groove again with their performances.

As Shearer quite rightly points out, when you have a young squad who have been thrust into the spotlight with huge responsibilities on their shoulders, it is likely to cause some teething problems. But in the long-run, it will no doubt be of major benefit to them to have come through such a period, and the Red Devils are beginning to see the rewards of taking such a process.