Category Archives: Premier League

Man City 6-0 Chelsea | Blues hammered at the Etihad

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Man City laid down a statement of intent on Sunday afternoon as they demolished rivals Chelsea 6-0, thereby inflicting upon the Blues their worst defeat since 1991. Sergio Aguero was the star at the Etihad with a hat trick, his 9th at the stadium and 11th overall in the Premier League, equalling the legendary Alan Shearer’s record.

Chelsea’s defending was shambolic- only strugglers Fulham have conceded more than them in the league this year, and City turned in another dazzling attacking display to raise more doubts over the future of Blues boss Maurizio Sarri. Continue reading →

Shandong Luneng sign Fellaini

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Marouane Fellaini has opted to continue his career in China after moving to CSL outfit Shandong Luneng. The Belgian midfielder joined Manchester United from Everton in 2013, and scored 22 times in 177 appearances for the Red Devils. He was brought to the club by David Moyes, his former manager at Goodison Park.

Fellaini was a key figure under Jose Mourinho, and to many fans, was a symbol of the unattractive, laboured football that United used to play under the Special One. He’s however scored some key goals for the club- Juventus in the Champions League in Turin being a classic example.

While Mourinho liked Fellaini, his replacement, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, did not appear to regard the Belgian as a vital part of his plans, featuring only once in seven Premiership games under the Norwegian.

At United, Fellaini won two titles- the 2016 FA Cup and the 2017 Europa League.

Marouane China

Batshuayi moves to Palace on loan

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Crystal Palace have completed the loan signing of Mitchy Batshuayi from Chelsea till the end of the season. The Belgian had been linked with a variety of clubs on transfer deadline day, with potential moves to West Ham, Real Betis, Everton and even Tottenham Hotspur being touted in the press, but eventually opted to move to Selhurst Park.

Palace, managed by Roy Hodgson, are currently 15th in the table and will take on Fulham this weekend. Batshuayi should make his debut against the Cottagers and will be key to their chances of winning, especially in the absence of Wilfried Zaha, who is suspended for this clash after his red card in their 1-1 draw against Southampton.

Batshu

(via Twitter)

The Palace loan spell is the 25 year old Belgian’s third since joining Chelsea from Marseille in 2016- the previous two being with Dortmund in Germany and Valencia in Spain. The BVB spell was a successful one; the VCF one not so much, and Palace fans will be hoping that it is the Dortmund version of Batshuayi who turns up for them.

Magpies complete double swoop; break transfer record by signing Almiron

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Newcastle have completed the signing of Miguel Almiron from MLS outfit Atalanta United for a club record £20m. The fee is the highest the Magpies have paid for a player, eclipsing Michael Owen’s long standing £16m record, set in 2005 when they acquired the England striker from Real Madrid.

In another deadline day swoop, the Magpies also completed the signing of Antonio Barreca on loan from AS Monaco till the end of the season.

Mike Ashley has often been criticised in the past for not making enough funds available to purchase new players, with many long suffering fans often wishing for better support for Rafa Benitez. The Magpies stunned Man City 2-1 at home a few days ago, leading many to say that they would be challenging for an European spot if Benitez had the same level of backing as some of the other teams in the bottom half of the table.

Newcastle are 14th in the league currently and will square off against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

Almiron

Atletico Madrid sign Alvaro Morata on 18 month loan

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La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid have officially confirmed the signing of Alvaro Morata on loan from Premier League outfit Chelsea. The Spanish striker will be at the Wanda Metropolitano till the end of the 2019/20 season, thus making it an eighteen month loan stint for the 26 year old.

Morata joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in the summer of 2017, but has never quite had the impact he was expected to. Most of Chelsea’s signings that summer excepting Antonio Rudiger- the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Davide Zappacosta and Tiemoue Bakayoko and Morata have failed to establish themselves at the Bridge. It probably represents one of the worst transfer windows in recent history for the club, given the money that was splurged on these players. The quartet mentioned above cost the Blues well over £150m, and the London outfit, in all probability, will have to take a hit on these players when they permanently leave the club.

The Morata switch comes after Chelsea signed Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus till the end of the season (with an option to buy)

Morata scored 24 goals in 72 games across all competitions for Chelsea. The Blues are fourth in the league table at the time of this transfer, while Atleti are second in La Liga.