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Former Premier League footballer Alan Shearer believes that Sadio Mane dived to win Liverpool the penalty which eventually secured all three points against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

Leicester had been set to become the first side to take points off Liverpool in the league this season, before Marc Albrighton’s challenge on Mane in the box gifted James Milner the opportunity to snatch victory – and did so by sending Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way from the spot.

However, Shearer questioned the awarding of the penalty, accusing Mane of going down unnecessarily – and conning referee Chris Kavanagh into giving the all-important spot-kick at the death.

He said on BBC’s Match of the Day (via Daily Express): “I don’t think it’s a penalty, I think it’s a dive.

“It’s a contact sport.

“Mane takes a touch against Albrighton and then decides to go down.”

The call was not overturned by VAR as the referee’s decision was upheld, though Shearer’s thoughts were echoed by Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers after the game, following a cruel end to his return to Anfield thanks to Milner’s last-gasp penalty.

It was clearly a debatable call given the split opinion – with Jurgen Klopp backing the referee’s decision along with the video assistants – and the subjective nature of the call means that no definitive conclusion can be drawn from Albrighton’s challenge.

But to accuse Mane of diving – and effectively cheating – is a step further from Shearer.

Of course, if Mane was considered to have dived, he could be subject to a retrospective ban – so Shearer would be vindicated if any decision was to come in the days ahead.

Whether that is likely in the days of VAR and added assistance to refereeing decisions in the first place remains to be seen – but there’s no doubt that the incident was crucial with regards to the outcome of the game as well as Liverpool’s perfect start to the season.

And with the points in the bag, it seems there will be little for Liverpool to worry about as they go in search of a record-equalling Premier League win next week at Old Trafford.

Liverpool fans, did you think it was a penalty? Are Shearer’s comments unfair? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Manchester United have endured a torrid time in the Premier League this season, winning just one game since their opening day victory over Chelsea, whilst picking up a worrying amount of injuries along the way.

However, as told by The Mirror, Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial are expected to be fit and raring to go for United’s biggest game of the season against Liverpool this Sunday.

The club currently sits just two points above the drop zone having scored only eight goals in the eight games played in the league, and have not won in the competition since September 14 against Leicester City.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Of course, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come under much scrutiny for his approach and for the sale of major players in the summer. But in his defence, injuries haven’t exactly been kind to him. Key players such as Pogba, Martial and Shaw have all been out for over a month and each are unquestionably regarded as some of his best assets when fit.

Shaw won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year last season, just as Pogba topped the club’s goalscoring charts for that year, whilst Martial’s 50 goals and 30 assists over the last four seasons cannot be overlooked. With these three back for the Red Devils, United surely have a better chance against their bitter rivals this weekend.

Here’s what the fans have had to say about their returns…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Real Madrid have been wrestling with all sorts of injury problems throughout the season and with both Luka Modric and Toni Kroos looking likely to be out for a while, some other stars might have to step up their game if they wish to deliver results.

On the chalkboard

We’re at the point already when a new injury to Los Blancos is hardly a surprise.

Even before last weekend, Real Madrid had already suffered a total of 13 fitness setbacks since the beginning of the 2019 summer pre-season tour. And that tally might’ve gone up just a bit with some of the recent developments.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On Sunday, Croatia and Wales squared off in one of their Euro 2020 qualifiers and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

But for Real Madrid, it was more bad news as Modric received a hard knock and couldn’t continue. With Kroos already out from a previous injury, that means the Galacticos are without both of their midfield maestros.

It also means someone will have to step up in their absence.

Unlikely heroes

If someone at the beginning of the season had said that Federico Valverde and James Rodriguez might have to play a huge role in the current Real Madrid squad, many would probably have just laughed it off.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

After all, Valverde was just emerging as a Real player and Rodriguez had been an outcast coming back from his loan spell at Bayern Munich.

Now, however, they are already looking like Zinedine Zidane’s unlikely heroes amid Real Madrid’s injury crisis.

A lot has been said about Valverde being the future of this Real Madrid midfield and the 28-year-old Colombian has also impressed with some of his performances at the start of the 2019/20 campaign, scoring in the recent 4-2 win over Granada while also assisting against Levante.

This, however, represents perhaps their best chance to really establish themselves amongst this Real Madrid squad, in the absence of such coveted names.

Will they take it? Only time will tell.

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 to The Daily Mail, former chief managing director of Juventus, Luciano Moggi, has suggested Massimiliano Allegri would win the Premier League within two years at Manchester United.

What did he say?

As speculation continues to mount over the long-term future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, reports in recent weeks had suggested the Red Devils are in touch with Allegri over potentially taking over the reins at Old Trafford.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

Now, Moggi has thrown his backing behind a potential move, and insisted he is quite simply far better than some of the managers the club have previously had at the helm.

He said: “Allegri is the best possible option for United. With all due respect to Moyes and Solskjaer, Allegri is better than both. He will bring United back to winning the championship and competing against Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool.

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“I’m sure that in two years, United would be triumphant in the Premier League with him on the bench.

Don’t be fooled

Much like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Moggi’s comments are designed to act as a tempting lure for a side craving for some success. United are still some way away from competing for the Champions League places this season – they are already seven points behind fourth – and to use one of Paul Merson’s favourite sayings, a ‘million miles’ away from making a Premier League title challenge.

Whether it’s Allegri, or perhaps even Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils are in a difficult transition period that will take years and numerous transfer windows to fix. The much-talked about problems at centre-forward for instance would take some considerable action to solve.

But the way Moggi talks about it, it feels like Allegri would simply come in, wave his magic wand, and get United to where they used to belong. Sadly, football is a bit more pragmatic than that.

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…

Even though it sounds strange to say at this stage in the competition, Real Madrid are truly desperate to stay afloat in the Champions League.

And yes, seeing how they are the single most dominant force in European football – having already bagged 13 trophies to their names and snatching a historic three in the row not that long ago – this statement really does make you think.

But without too much exaggeration, and despite their Tuesday night clash only being their third in the 2019/20 season, they have already reached a “do or die” phase of their Champions League campaign.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

How did it come to that, you may ask.

Well, despite being decent in La Liga, considering they just suffered their very first defeat last Saturday in a huge upset against Mallorca, they were, for the lack of a better term, pretty abysmal in Europe.

And that’s another thing you rarely connect to Real Madrid and especially to Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. After all, it was the Frenchman who orchestrated that historic run of three consecutive Champions League crowns a couple of years ago during his first tenure with the club.

But at the moment, that is their reality.

Los Blancos were humiliated in their Champions League curtain-raiser at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain, losing 3-0 in the process, before Club Brugge added insult to injury, robbing them of a win at the Santiago Bernabeu by snatching a point with a 2-2 draw on the night.

Because of that, the illustrious Galacticos are sitting last in the group and will be hoping to tally their first European triumph on Tuesday night.

But it will be a task easier said than done as they are travelling to Galatasaray away from home.

The Turkish side will no doubt welcome them in a fiery atmosphere and will be looking to take advantage of the recovering giants from the Spanish capital who definitely seem quite shaken at the moment.

Indeed, not all is rosy back in Madrid and, should Zidane fail to win on Tuesday, it could potentially set things into motion that cannot be stopped anymore. But we’ll have to wait and see about that one.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

One thing that we can definitely be sure of, however, is that a certain no.7 in the team will have to take out his shooting boots on Tuesday and finally show his true colours.

Of course, Eden Hazard is no Cristiano Ronaldo and this is not meant as an insult in any shape or form.

The truth is, rarely anyone is like the Portuguese superstar but just by donning that famous number on his back and playing in Ronaldo’s position, Real Madrid just might look to the Belgian to take them out of this slump, just as Ronaldo used to do back in the day before he joined Juventus.

After all, that’s exactly what you would expect from an £89m man who arrived with certain pedigree and reputation from his days spent at Stamford Bridge, wouldn’t you?

By now, we all know that Hazard has been underperforming ever since he joined Real Madrid or rather, he is yet to fully emerge from his cocoon.

So far, he only has one goal and one assist to his name while donning the royal white, which is, by all accounts, not good enough.

And of course, just like any other player who’s making a huge leap from one league to the other, from country to country, he needs time to settle. But the game against Galatasaray has his name stamped all over it.

After all, this is exactly the type of must-win game that Real Madrid brought him in for, is it not?

A game-changer, a player to decide who wins and who loses and the one to turn the tides in Los Blancos’ favour during times when it seems all but impossible. That’s more or less what it should say in the contract he signed back in the summer.

Just as Gotham city light up the bat-signal when they need their Dark Knight to save them in their hour of need, Real Madrid will also look to get the Hazard-signal up and running.

Is the Belgium bomber going to answer the call and be the hero the Madridistas need him to be?

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 to The United Stand, Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has revealed he thinks the side is missing a “creative player”.

What did he say?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have struggled for goals this season, and before their 3-1 victory over Norwich at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon, had not scored more than once in a fixture since the 4-0 thrashing of Chelsea in their opening Premier League game.

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

Whilst he admitted he has been left impressed with the Red Devils’ trio of summer signings in Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire, Giggs acknowledged there is still a key element they are missing in the current make-up of the squad.

He said: “We need to bring quality in. Ole has brought three in who are all doing well. His dealings have been very good so far. Give him the money other managers have had to get Manchester United players. Get another five or six players like that in, we will see a real difference. They are missing that creative player.

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“It is no coincidence, the best performances have been against good teams. The lesser teams are always harder to break down. We are probably just a bit shy of them creative players and I think Ole recognises that.”

Creativity

When you’ve scored just 13 times in your opening ten Premier League games, you know there is a massive issue when it comes to your offensive output. Despite boasting the fifth-highest average of shots per game in the top-flight with 13.8, eight other sides have out-scored them – including Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

As Giggs alludes to, getting a player in who can unlock defences and provide better service to the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James is invaluable. It can be the key to turning frustrating draws into much-needed victories. Unless they can sort out their attacking problems sooner rather than later, their chances of competing for a Champions League place for next season will become that much harder.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Telegraph, Adam Lallana is an emerging target for MLS and Chinese clubs.

What’s the story?

The 31-year-old signed for the Reds from Southampton for £25m in 2014, and has since made 164 appearances for the Anfield outfit.

Watch the moment Adam Lallana broke United hearts at Old Trafford in the video below…

However, his contract is running out in the summer and, although he is set to be offered a new deal, he could depart in January if those aforementioned clubs step up their interest in him.

Versatility makes him valuable

In recent times, the 34-time England international has struggled with injuries. According to Transfermarkt, he has missed 39 games across the past two seasons combined, which does not make for good reading.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, Jurgen Klopp and co should do all they can to keep hold of him beyond January and, indeed, this current campaign. Whilst he will not be a guaranteed starter any time soon, he can prove to be a valuable back-up option moving forward.

The main reason for that is his versatility. Naturally an attacking midfielder, he can play in a number of positions in midfield, as well as further forward. As per Transfermarkt, he has played over 30 matches in attacking midfield, left midfield and on the left wing, whilst a handful of matches have come on the right as well.

Against Aston Villa at the weekend, Lallana even played in defensive midfield, and to great effect too, as he won five tackles and seven ground duels.

One only needs to look at his teammate on Merseyside, James Milner, to see that versatile players can be worth their weight in gold. Since joining the Reds, he has featured at left-midfield, right-midfield, defensive-midfield, right-back and left-back. All in all, he has made 191 appearances, scoring 25 goals and providing 39 assists, and he will leave Anfield with a Champions League medal at the very least.

The former Leeds man has received criticism in the past, just like Lallana, but Milner has had a strong impact on Liverpool, and the former Saint can do the same.

Klopp must do all he can to make sure he remains a part of his squad.

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…

A lot of things can motivate us in life.

But perhaps the biggest motivator of all is the ability to prove to people that they were wrong about you.

That’s the situation that Brendan Rodgers finds himself in at the King Power Stadium, and after the Foxes’ start to the season, it looks like he’s well on his way to doing that.

What’s been said?

Speaking on Sunday Supplement, Mirror journalist John Cross heaped praise on Leicester and was one of the many people that are predicting them to finish in the top four.

More importantly, he stressed how crucial Rodgers has been to them and how the rest of the league will end up kicking themselves for not appointing him:

“I think that a lot of Premier League clubs missed a trick when they basically didn’t go for, and shied away from Brendan Rodgers. If you look at his career, there might have been a couple of ups and downs, I think he’s always got the best out of young players, he plays attractive football, I like the way he gives players a confidence and a belief.”

Check out the best fan reaction from Southampton 0-9 Leicester in the video below…

Chip on his shoulder

That is probably going to be the biggest driving point behind Leicester and whatever heights they end up reaching, the fact that many people still don’t believe that he can cut it when it comes to top-level management.

Just take a look at how he is looked upon by his former employers, Celtic. Their fans unveiled a banner labelling him a fraud following his departure while similar thoughts have been echoed by some Kopites at Liverpool.

At Anfield, it was because he inherited the players that took them so close to winning the title in 2013/14, then at Celtic it was that winning the title in Scotland with the Bhoys is a relatively easy feat given that they had no serious competition, even from Old Firm rivals Rangers.

That kind of label is inevitably going to give someone a little bit of fire in their belly and the desire to prove everybody else wrong.

So whilst we at FFC still have doubts about how high the Foxes can finish, one thing is for sure, if Rodgers can take them into the top four, then he’ll certainly have gone a long way in proving his many doubters wrong, and may just end up shaking off that ‘fraud’ label once and for all.

Luka Modric reveals that prior to his switch to England with Tottenham in 2008, he came extremely close to joining another Premier League juggernaut – Chelsea.

Modric famously sealed a £15.8m move to Spurs 11 years ago and went on to make over 150 appearances for the north London club, before being snapped up by Real Madrid in 2012.

The Croatian has since gone on to win one La Liga title and four Champions League trophies with Los Blancos, steadily becoming one of the world’s best central midfielders in the process – proven when he scooped the coveted Ballon d’Or award in 2018 after reaching the World Cup final last summer.

Before his switch to White Hart Lane, though, Modric admits that he had his heart firmly set on joining Chelsea, only for the proposed transfer to be cancelled at the very last minute.

“During the winter break [of the 2007/2008 season], which I spent in Zadar, I got information that Dinamo and ​Chelsea were practically in agreement,” Modric revealed in his autobiography, as reported by Croatian outlet ​Vercernji List (via 90min).

“Zdravko Mamic [Dinamo’s executive director] flew to London and was convinced that I would be moving to Stamford Bridge in the winter transfer window.

“While I was waiting for a sign with [my wife] Vanja in Zadar, rumours began to emerge that the clubs had failed to agree on the terms of the contract and that the transfer had failed.”

These rumours turned out to be true after Dinamo’s executive director, Zdravko Mamić, confirmed the cancellation of the transfer a few days later.

The midfielder recalls in his book: “After telling the parents the end of the story [of the transfer break down], I left their apartment and in the parking lot in front of the building, while talking to Vanja about it, I broke down. I couldn’t hold back my tears.”

Modric’s heartbreak all those years ago is understandable considering that, at the time, he would have no idea how amazing his career would turn out to be.

Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in world football so to come so close to signing – getting all of your hopes and expectations up – only for them to be shattered in an instance would have hurt even the most hardened of human beings.

Luckily, though, Modric went on to prove himself in the Premier League and continues to display his greatness in a Real Madrid shirt; he will forever be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders this generation has ever witnessed.

Madrid fans, where does Modric rate in terms of the best midfielders to play for your club? Comment below…

According to The Mirror, West Ham United’s director of football Mario Husillos is adamant that Roberto has ‘the quality to be a hit in the Premier League’.

But the London club’s fans have reacted furiously to the suggestion.

Roberto, who joined the Hammers on a free transfer over the summer after leaving Espanyol, has featured in West Ham’s last six Premier League matches.

Indeed, the 33-year-old has been the number one since Lukasz Fabianski picked up an injury during the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the end of September.

The Spaniard has conceded 12 times in his six Premier League outings, though, and dropped a real clanger against Burnley at the weekend when he punched the ball into his own net.

Many West Ham fans slammed the stopper for his performance against the Clarets.

And now a number have reacted furiously to claims that Husillos is backing Roberto despite his struggles – a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: