Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
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The night has only just started in Abidjan.
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Regrettable Signing Varane Gives Manchester United a Major Headache
£340k Weekly Earner and Regrettable Signing Varane Gives Manchester United a Headache.
According to the M.E.N, Raphael Varane has given Manchester United a problem they should have foreseen.
Man Utd have been both blessed and cursed since the arrival of World Cup winner Raphael Varane from Real Madrid last summer.
Manchester United’s defensive woes are showing no signs of disappearing and their issues at the back can be summed up by a problem that has plagued star centre-back Raphael Varane all season.
Rapha has only made 17 appearances in the Premier League this season and has missed 14 games because of four different setbacks since joining the club. It means he has only started 52 per cent of league matches this season and has only played in 53 per cent of the total minutes played by the club.
The Red Devils were smashed 4-1 by Manchester City on Sunday, the fourth time they have conceded four or more goals in the Premier League this campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo has provided big moments on a regular basis, but perhaps the most impressive acquisition has been that of Raphael Varane.
The 28-year-old has been United’s best centre-back this season and has brought much-needed experience to a backline that is well known for its frailties, becoming one of the most important players in the first-team squad. Of United’s 11 defeats this season, only four have come when Varane started the match — and only two of those came when he started alongside club captain Harry Maguire.
These stats are, of course, affected slightly by the fact that he wasn’t eligible for the first match of the season against Leeds, but it is quite clearly a problem when your most important defender is only available just over half the time.
Just last week, Varane suffered a ‘small problem’ in his foot while away on international duty, forcing him to be withdrawn before the hour-mark in Les Bleu’s 2-1 friendly win over Ivory Coast on Friday. Reports over the weekend stated the United defender underwent ‘specific training’ to deal with the problem as he battles to be fit for the match against Leicester on Saturday.
That clash with the Foxes will be crucial in United’s bid to salvage a top-four finish this season, with matches against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all still to come too. If they are to somehow secure Champions League football, then keeping Varane fit will be crucial.
Even beyond this season, carefully managing the fitness of the World Cup winner will be imperative for the next manager, though there doesn’t seem to be any immediate solution to his injury woes.
Varane Suffers Another Catastrophic Injury With France: Man Utd Worried
Varane’s absence is nothing new, with the Frenchman having only been able to feature 16 times in total in the league this season.
Groin, stomach and hamstring injuries have seen Varane miss a total of 10 games in the top-flight this term and only able to feature as a substitute in two others.
Varane has struggled to remain fit this season.
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By contrast, Maguire has only missed two Premier League games through injury problems, though he has struggled to perform at the level expected of him.
The Englishman has looked at his best when paired with Varane, but the latter’s injury problems have meant that United have not been able to enjoy any kind of consistency at the back.
Varane has struggled to feature for more than two games in a row, with United’s backline often looking all at sea without him.
This is not how his time at United was meant to play out, with the 28-year-old being signed to fix the defensive problems that have plagued the Red Devils in recent seasons.
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‘Compelling title race a relief for Premier League’
This weekend will be the 10th time that the Premier League title has been decided on the final day of the season.
But rarely before will those in charge of the competition have been so grateful for a captivating conclusion to the campaign.
Liverpool’s challenge ultimately faded, scuppering their fans’ dreams of a triumphant farewell for departing manager Jurgen Klopp and the prospect of an unprecedented three-way battle going the full distance.
But Manchester City or Arsenal will be crowned champions in the final act of what has been a classic duel.
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Sunday may not provide the unforgettable drama of 2012’s last day, which saw massive fans’ participation at MT online sportsbooks, when Sergio Aguero’s stoppage-time winner sealed a first Premier League title for City. But whether it ends with a record fourth consecutive title for the champions or a first in 20 years for Arsenal, league bosses, broadcasters and neutrals will have the special finale they hoped for.
Off the field, however, these have been troubled times for the top flight.
The points deductions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest this season for breaching financial rules have been hugely contentious, the punishments – and subsequent appeals – leading to uncertainty over the league table, resentment by fans and fears that the relegation battle could be decided by the rulings of commission panels.
While both teams have ultimately stayed up, the controversy surrounding the profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) is not going away.
Newly promoted Leicester City have been charged with breaking spending rules when they were in the top flight (and are now taking legal action against the league), while Chelsea have also been under investigation.
And 16 months after City were charged with more than a hundred rule breaches, a hearing in their case is not thought to be scheduled until the autumn, contributing to the mounting scrutiny of the league’s governance and processes.
While City deny wrongdoing, a sixth league triumph in seven years would only intensify questions over the fairness of how they assembled their squad over several seasons, the time the case has taken, and whether the club’s wealth has distorted the competitiveness of the league, alongside admiration for the team and their coach.
Meanwhile, a split has emerged between clubs over plans to introduce a new spending cap, and the Premier League is facing the threat of more legal action from one of its members over amended rules around associated party transactions.
As if all that was not enough to contend with, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters has also warned of the “unintended consequences” of the forthcoming independent football regulator, amid mounting criticism of the failure by his clubs to agree a new financial settlement with the English Football League (EFL).
The Premier League is also known to be deeply concerned about the increasingly congested calendar, with Masters recently warning of a “tipping point”, after criticism following the scrapping of FA Cup replays. The league has also admitted that the VAR system must improve after a series of controversies.
With the title race going right to the wire, Sunday’s final-day drama will provide a welcome distraction from such matters for Masters and his colleagues – but, one suspects, only a temporary one.
Clock ticking for Commonwealth Games
A few weeks ago in Birmingham, Katie Sadleir, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), told me that any further delay beyond May in announcing a host for the 2026 event would be “very problematic”.
Since then Glasgow has emerged as a possible back-up option if no replacement is found for Victoria in Australia, which pulled out last year, plunging the event into crisis.
But there has still been no official announcement by the CGF.
Insiders claim they remain hopeful a host will be confirmed in the next two weeks, but the clock is ticking.
Super League heading stateside?
The National Rugby League (NRL) season kicked off in the US for the first time in March, with a Premiership double-header staged at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as part of a multi-year deal designed to grow the sport in the US.
So could Super League clubs follow suit?
Talks have taken place over the Club World Challenge being staged in the US, and some Super League bosses are keen on regular season matches being part of the tie-up too.
Wigan and Warrington played each other in Milwaukee 35 years ago, albeit as an exhibition match. And with rugby league currently ‘re-imagining’ itself as part of a 12-year deal with agency IMG intended to boost its appeal, anything seems possible.
Manchester United assessing potential Erik ten Hag replacements 👀 Mark Ogden shares details with SportsFila.
The fact that Southgate is on that list tells how serious you should take it
No manager on earth could do anything with Manchester United until Someone takes responsibility for the club and has a viable plan for the future.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, the club’s new partial owners, are exploring options to assume the role. According to Team Talk, the Red Devils are considering the 41-year-old as a candidate for the manager position.
After achieving success as a player with Barcelona, Inter, and Paris Saint-Germain, winning numerous titles, the two-time Champions League winner transitioned to coaching at the senior level.
Flop Antony and Gabriella Cavallin/ getty Images
ESPN loves ManUtd. As much they say that they hate talking about ManUtd they can’t stop talking about ManUtd 😅😅. They have spend 15 mins speaking on rumours – Hypocrites.
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It’s not Ten Hag fault when players like rashford do not put in all the effort after signing a new contract. Also ten hag had to deal with incredible amount of injuries which ESPN deliberately overlooks. So getting another manager isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s so funny how the English media fails to realize that the structure & the players is the problem at united…..but they trying to sack ETH who is an elite manger under a proper management structure 💯
The best manager that seems to be being overlooked shouod be n1 on the list for bayern utd liverpool is someone inzaghi. Hes done great things with Lazio and inter. Loads of experience and has got to european finals and won domestic leagues.
Manchester City 3-1 win over United in Manchester Derby.
It is very different getting an underdog /dark horse to perform vs going to an environment where the spotlight in on you everyday from day 1. The same thing happened at Bayern with a couple of their coaches…
Afcon 2024 victory is well deserved for Ivory Coast they left no stone unturned and they dominated throughout. If there is a one person who deserved to win the AFCON it was Sebastian Haller. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer but he recovered and he returned to play football in 2023 only to bottle the Bundesliga title on the final matchday to Bayern but here we are in 2024 where he scored the winner in the AFCON final to win Cote d’Ivoire AFCON title so congratulations🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🏆
Brazil Antony fulfill his potential at Manchester United?
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
But Ivory Coast won fair and square. They played better. Congratulations champs.
What Adingra did in the African Cup of Nation was phenomenal. Nigerians will remember him as a nighmare forever. The boy has a great future ahead of him.
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Haller beats cancer, then comes to the AFCON and scores the most important goal in the final, the winning goal what a beautiful story for that man and Ivory coast, congratulations to them👏👏
Congratulations to Ivory Coast from cameroonian👏👏👏you organized and won the most beautiful AFCON in story, unbelievable achievment when we look how things went for you.
One of the best tournaments I’ve seen.
Almost every team demonstrated that they were not afraid of their opponent and played above expectations.
Congratulations to Côte d’Ivoire who never gave up and believed and implemented their progress towards goal as much as possible until the last second in this tournament. Kudos to Nigeria for high yield and quality.
Thank you for making the spectators so emotional and congratulations and best wishes to the Ivory Coast and the Ivorian people.
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
Thanks for your company.
The night has only just started in Abidjan.
Congratulations to Ivory Coast for winning the Africa Cup🏆! The team showed strength and desire to win and to not give up until the end. And the fans were absolutely amazing
P.s Haller deserved it the most, since he suffered a lot.
The story of Côte d’Ivoire’s victory in the African Nations is one of the most beautiful stories in the history of football. We sympathized with this team’s version a lot and we will tell it to our children in the future 🧡
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