Sport

Manchester rivals set to slug it out for Premier League title

Manchester City took a huge step towards regaining the English Premier League crown with a stunning win over Liverpool at Anfield.

The Manc The Manc - 11th February 2021

Manchester City took a huge step towards regaining the English Premier League crown with a stunning win over Liverpool at Anfield.

Pep Guardiola’s men visited the home of last season’s champions and put on a show, strolling to a 4-1 victory. That result stretched the Cityzens’ stats for the campaign to 15 wins and five draws against just two defeats. They currently enjoy a five-point cushion over nearest challengers and city rivals Manchester United in second.

That show of strength on Merseyside helped win over any remaining doubters, including traders at the best betting sites for football who moved quickly to slash their odds on Man City to win their seventh English top-flight title and first since 2019.

Persistence pays off

Entering Sunday’s match as the form team of the two, Manchester City were held and frustrated by Liverpool in the opening 45 minutes. But their persistence was to pay off early in the second half. Ilkay Gundogan bagged the opening goal and first of two for the German midfielder when finding the net soon after the restart, making amends for an earlier penalty miss.

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Liverpool got themselves level from the penalty spot when star striker Mo Salah kept his cool but a quickfire double from Gundogan and Raheem Sterling put the Cityzens back in control. By the time Stockport 20-year-old Phil Foden slammed home his team’s fourth to cap a man of the match performance the game was over as a contest.

The stats now show Man City remain unbeaten against Liverpool in three games, a run stretching back to November 2019 when the Reds won 3-1 at Anfield on route to banking the Premier League title. With their team sitting proudly atop the table and boasting a strong unbeaten run of form versus the champions, not to mention a winning streak in the league, are we about to see the league trophy packed up and returned to sender?

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Man Utd provide a credible challenge

Followers of City dream of seeing their club back at the head of English football but there’s still plenty of football to be played this season. If the Sky Blues are to lift the famous silverware in spring, they must maintain their form to see off an all too familiar opponent.

The resurgence of the team across the city means the title race is likely to go right down to the wire. Manchester United appear to have found their form following years in the wilderness and look every inch a credible challenger at this stage. Under the guidance of former striker and fans favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United sit second in the list and are showing no signs of letting up.

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The Red Devils won 13 and drew six of their opening 23 games to move ahead of Leicester City and Liverpool into the silver medal position. They lack the consistency shown by their derby rivals this winter but are proving difficult to beat and put together a three-match unbeaten run including a jaw-dropping 9-0 home win achieved over a talented and capable Southampton side in February. United found the net a dozen times in their opening two games of the month, ensuring critics gave their challenge the credit it deserves.

All will be clear when the derby returns

Could we see the old rivals of Manchester City and Manchester United going toe-to-toe and slug it out for the Premier League title? The form of both in the early exchanges of 2021 suggests that’s a strong possibility and the race to the line is sure to provide followers of the beautiful game with a gripping grandstand finish.

We’ll know more about the destination of this season’s title at the conclusion of play on Saturday 6 March with the 184th Manchester Derby set to take place. Etihad Stadium plays host to that one and with the clash beamed around the world courtesy of live television coverage, followers are expecting a thrilling 90 minutes of play.

The current head-to-head stats have Man Utd on 75 wins against the 55 of Man City and 53 draws. Will the dominance of red continue or will fans be singing the blues?

Sport

Rúben Amorim outlines the three key things Manchester United need to work on

Danny Jones Danny Jones Ruben Amorim first pre-match press conference Man United

Rúben Amorim has conducted his first full press conference as Manchester United manager and has outlined the three key things he wants to address when it comes to his new team.

Amorim officially joined Man United on Monday, 11 November after being given a ‘now or never’ which meant he had to leave his former club Sporting CP in the middle of the season.

Replacing Erik ten Hag, who was sacked less than 24 hours after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham and had overseen a run of bad results, the contract extension he was given in the summer ultimately proved obsolete and now the Portuguese head coach must lift his new side from a measly 13th in the table.

That being said, speaking to the media in his first full pre-match presser ahead of his maiden Premier League outing against Ipswich Town this weekend, Amorim has already highlighted three key areas in which he wants United to improve as a matter of priority.

What did Amorim say in his first full Man United press conference?

Although the 39-year-old coach – who is only three years older than resurgent centre-back Johnny Evans – started off by assuring that his main focus at its core is to win the next match (and the one after that, as the football cliché goes), he boiled the current squad issues down to a troublesome trio.

In his eyes, a lot of it just comes down to pure physical effort.

Improve possession

First and foremost, Amorim was quick to point out that United “lose the ball too often” and simply have to retain it more throughout the 90 minutes.

Although they have enjoyed spells of greater control in games, their average possessions stats in the Premier League not only under ten Hag but Ole Gunnar Solskjær and even short-lived interim boss Ralf Rangnick never flirted too far above 50-53%.

While that might sound like the signs of nothing more than a well-contested game, the club need to be looking at much higher numbers if they want to start being a dominant force again.

Track back more

The second area he said that the team desperately needs to improve in is the distances covered per match, especially when it comes to running back towards their own goal and tracking back during defensive phases.

Addressing it in a rather matter-of-fact manner, he told reporters: “We have to be better at running back, I think that is clear for everybody [to see].” He told Gary Neville something very similar in his other recent interview with Sky Sports.

He said it with a smile on his face but it’s clear that he knows there is a narrative surrounding United in recent years that they just don’t work hard enough, both on and off the ball. Having played mainly in the middle of the park for Belenenses, Benfica and SC Braga, running is a non-negotiable.

Focus on the ‘details’ first

Lastly, Amorim said he believes one of the big things he can do for these players is to help them fine-tune the small things. He added that although there is a feeling that fans want there to be “a lot of change” and pressure to make “big” decisions, he reiterated that “it’s the small things.”

The former utility player knows a thing or two about playing in lots of positions and going back to the opening point of his press conference in which he discussed getting the team to believe in “one thing”, he believes that the minute differences can contribute to changing how they approach the game.

There is understandably lots of talk surrounding his trademark 3-4-3 formation and whether these details refer to tactical tweaks, we will see, but he insists that so long as they put in the effort and pay attention to the little stuff, those on the pitch will start to play in the same way that he wants them to.

You can watch his press conference ahead of the Ipswich away this Sunday in full down below:

Amorim was also happy to casually call out those who ‘don’t believe in’ his new players in his first press conference as Man United coach.

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Featured Images — BeanymanSports (via YouTube screenshot)

Sport

Inside Manchester’s pro-am padel tournament where the sport shone bigger than the celebs

Harry Quick Harry Quick Manchester hosts final round of pro-am padel tournament

We jumped on the court with Olympians, Footballers and TV celebrities to play the racquet sport that is sweeping the globe: let’s take a look inside the first pro-am padel tournament to ever take place in Manchester.

A host of famous faces gathered at Manchester’s newest state-of-the-art padel club, Pure Padel Manchester, for the fourth and final leg of the Pro-Am Padel Tour.

Whether it’s on social media, your mates in the office or your dad finding something as a substitute for the golf course, it seems like everywhere you look someone is telling you about the game of padel they have just had.

Countless sports personalities are getting involved which only highlights its ever-growing popularity and let me tell you, it’s clear to see why.

Household names from the world of sport and entertainment, including Olympic gold medal swimmer Adam Peaty and ex-footballers Phil Jones and Jill Scott were partnered up with top-level professionals to compete in a round-robin style tournament.

It’s fair to say even multiple gold medalists and Premier League winners had their competitive streak unleashed with this one and I’m going to say it… Peaty is definitely better in the water!

From the world of sport, we also saw former England and Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott, Olympic swimmer Matt Richards and Man United great Katie Zelem – who achieved MVP on the day despite having only played once or twice before. Well in Katie!

Taking to the court from the screen we had Coronation Street star Adam Thomas, actor and I’m a Celeb runner-up Owen Warner and Sky Sports presenter Kyle Walker.

If you are not familiar with the sport or you have been living under a rock for the past 12 months, Padel is essentially a combination of tennis and squash – but a lot easier to pick up for a first-timer.

pro-am padel tour manchester
phil jones
Brushing shoulders – and racquets – with some stars at the first-ever pro-am padel event in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Group)

It is widely considered the world’s fastest-growing sport with 30 million players enjoying the technical and social game from more than 100 countries, and is on a fast upward trajectory in the UK.

Although originating in Acapulco, Mexico in the late 60’s, it swiftly made its way over the Atlantic when Prince Alfonso of Spain built two padel courts in Marbella and the Spaniards took to it like a fish to water.

With over 4 million players from Spain, the Iberian Peninsula is considered the home of the sport but with facilities like this popping up in town, Great Britain is becoming a padel force to be reckoned with.

Pure Padel‘s indoor arena protected us from the wintery Manchester conditions for a full afternoon of non-stop action alongside a DJ throughout and some quality street food to help refuel.

One main takeaway from the day is that this is a sport that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age or ability. Yes, there is no denying that the professionals are different gravy and I’m sure I saw some of them give the celebs the runaround with one hand in their pocket.

harry playing
pure padel manchester
Pure Padel Manchester is a great facility, by the way – no wonder the Pro-Am Tour chose it. (Credit: The Manc Group)

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A few were trying the game for the very first time, so a few misplaced drop shots, nervy second serves and ‘name in the headlines’ smashes were always to be expected. As the day progressed, you could see the development in each one of the celebrities thanks to their professional partners.

Jill Scott said “It was an honour to take to the court with the pros but it’s made me realise I need a lot more practice. If you practice, you will see a big improvement quickly. It’s easy to get the bug for it.”

Whilst three-time gold medalist Adam Peaty added, “I enjoy how Padel brings out my frustration. It’s a very technical sport but it’s always fun. I’m still learning but really enjoying it.”

Although practice makes perfect, I’m not sure he’ll be swapping the goggles for a racquet any time soon. To sum it all up, the biggest takeaway from the entire experience was that it wasn’t the collective celeb presence that shone: it was was the sport itself and how big a boom it is truly enjoying.

If you fancy giving it a go for yourselves, Pure Padel Manchester over on Cheetham Hill is open to the public right now – you can find out how to book yourself HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

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