Erik ten Hag did very little to silence rumors about his future at Manchester United as his side failed to score for a third successive league game. The goalless draw at Aston Villa hardly inspires confidence with the club still languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League standings. Bruno Fernandes rattled the crossbar with the game’s biggest chance after the break.&nbsp;



It was believed to be a deciding game for Erik ten Hag’s future at Man United. If they witnessed another negative result, the international break would allow the Red Devil’s higher bosses time to work on a replacement.



After conceding three on Thursday, the underfire coach still made bold choices at the back. Big-money signings Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt dropped for the 36-year-old Jonny Evans and former captain Harry Maguire, who scored the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/cy4dpwpg9jro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">late equalizer</a> at Porto.&nbsp;



The story couldn’t be any different over at Villa Park. In the repeat of the 1982 European Cup final, Unai Emery’s side beat European heavyweight Bayern Munich. Despite another supersub performance, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/chicago-fire-teenager-jumps-to-europe-with-aston-villa-20230116-WST-415813.html/">former Chicago Fire striker</a> Jhon Durrán starts on the bench while Ross Barkley and Jaden Philogene start for the first time in the league this season.



<h2>Injuries slowed down frantic start</h2>



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After Ten Hag surprisingly substituted off at half-time on Thursday citing rotation, Marcus Rashford once again made a quickfire start with the game’s first chance. Morgan Rogers got even closer in the other end inside the first ten minutes.



Despite the end-to-end start, the first half quickly turned into a game of tussle after Ezri Konsa’s injury. Both strikers endured a frustrating half of soccer with the action taking place largely in the middle of the pitch.



Rasmus Højlund, who scored his first league goal in this fixture last December, had little service from the wide players. The same can’t be said about Ollie Watkins, but the English international failed to impose his presence in the opposition’s box.



<h2>Attacking subs failed to spice up the game</h2>



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Martinez was ready to replace Evans after an early knock. Yet, they weren’t involved in ten Hag’s couple of defensive substitutions at half-time. De Ligt and Victor Lindelöf came in place of the struggling Noussair Mazraoui and Maguire. Maguire picked up an injury at the end of the first half.&nbsp;



Rashford once again started the half strongly with Emi Martinez forced to make a big save. André Onana, who had a good month despite Man United’s struggles, also jumped into action when Youri Tielemans fired one from outside the box.



But the game soon resorted back to a lackluster affair with actions few and far between. To the Villa fans’ delight, Durrán introduced as both coaches made attacking changes for the final half hour. Yet it didn’t bring the desired impact as the sides settled for a hard-fought point.&nbsp;



Evans’ spirited performance saw him win “Man of the Match” on his first league start away from home since the 4-0 drubbing by Crystal Palace.



<h2>What’s next for Aston Villa and Manchester United</h2>



Villa will travel to Fulham after the international break in search of a first league win in a month. Emery’s side is only four points off <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/liverpool-tv-schedule/">league leaders Liverpool</a> after seven rounds of games. In the Champions League, Villa Park will welcome debutant Bologna.



It’s not yet certain whether Ten Hag will be in the touchline when Brentford visit Old Trafford on matchday 8. Brentford scored inside the first two minutes in their last four league games, including their 5-3 win over Wolves Saturday. So far, Man United only found the net in three of their seven league encounters.



PHOTOS: IMAGO

United barren run continues despite a point at Villa

Manchester United haven't won in five matches, and their spiral continued with a barren draw to Aston Villa.

United barren run continues despite a point at Villa - World Soccer Talk

It is quite early to discuss next season’s Champions League particularly with the World Cup looming ahead but Inter’s historic treble was much more than a great achievement. It proved once again how difficult it is to repeat as a champion in Europe’s elite club competition. For the Nerazzurri winning the Champions League is the ultimate experience having waited for more than four decades to repeat as champions of Europe.
President Massimo Moratti helped fund the building of the Nerazzurri squad and brought in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho with the specific objective of bringing European glory to Milan considering the current Serie A title holder have not won the Champions League since the 1960s. Previous boss Roberto Mancini succeeded in breaking the dominance of Juventus and Milan since the early 1990s but failed to combine domestic success with an extended run in Europe’s elite competition as he never guided the Nerazzurri to the Final.
Mourinho succeeded in winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League yet he is racing to the exit door leaving the Nerazzurri in a delicate situation following the best season in the club’s history. Players such as Maicon and Diego Milito are now being linked with a move to Real Madrid which is Mourinho’s likely destination. It is only time before Mourinho is confirmed as the boss in Madrid unless he has a change of heart and opts to stay with the Nerazzurri. Other clubs are beginning to assess their chances of luring some of Inter’s key players to leave the peninsula as Arsenal have reportedly shown interest in goalkeeper Julio Cesar while Manchester City are looking to capture midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. These reports might not become reality but all these claims are a major distraction for a club celebrating a historic treble and with some of the star players headed to South Africa 2010.
Assuming Mourinho and some of the players jump ship, the Nerazzurri will be losing some key components while skipper Javier Zanetti is only getting older despite his consistent displays. Zanetti deserves credit for his fighting spirit and for putting in solid performances time and again despite his age. Below is a brief look at some of Inter’s main competitors for next season:
Barcelona: The former holders were ousted by Inter and will be looking to regain their lost title. Barca are one of the most talented teams in the world with Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez leading the charge. Barca have added a star name in the shape of striker David Villa while the Catalans remain in pursuit of Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas. If they do sign Fabregas then the team will likely start the next La Liga season and Champions League campaign as one of the favourites.
Real Madrid: The record winners of the Champions League will welcome with open arms Mourinho who has made it clear he will only leave the Nerazzurri for Madrid. In Madrid he will have greater individual talent to work with yet less of a cohesive unit and a weaker team spirit. Mourinho will be motivated to turn this team of stars into a strong and unified squad. Los Galacticos already have former Milan idol Kaka and world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks but it would not be a surprise if Mourinho asked for Maicon and Diego Milito to be signed from Inter. If they do, then Los Galacticos will be considered as a firm favourite considering they only missed on La Liga title by three points and many forget it does take time for news players to gel together.
Chelsea: Ironically Mourinho was shown the doors at Stamford Bridge because he failed to bring European glory to the London club but he did punish his former&nbsp;employers by eliminating them in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating them twice home and away. Chelsea hired former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian succeeded in leading the Blues to a historic double&nbsp;by winning&nbsp;the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge. Ancelotti made it clear his main objective for next season is to repeat the domestic double and to win in Europe. While Chelsea have a strong squad with experience and talent, the players as individuals are below the talent level of Spanish giants Real and Barca.
Bayern Munich: Bayern proved they are a solid team after a slow start to the season and the final in Madrid was perhaps a small representation of their season as they only began to show their potential after conceding the first goal to Inter’s hero Milito. The Bavarians will have Arjen Robben (despite rumours linking him with Juventus; &nbsp;just unlikely to happen for a number of reasons) and French star Franck Ribery will apparently return after missing the Champions League final due to suspension. The Germans are a solid group but like Chelsea they are not on par with Real and Barca if individuals are compared on a position by position basis.
Manchester United: Manchester have one of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson but he can certainly be stubborn leading him to make the odd mistake here and there, particularly when it comes to offloading certain players or refusing to bring in the appropriate players to replace outgoing stars. The Red Devils did not replace Cristiano Ronaldo and their challenge for Chelsea in the Premiership and before that in the Champions League tie against Bayern&nbsp;&nbsp;faltered once it became clear Wayne Rooney is carrying injury. If Manchester do not sign a couple of solid players, in particular one goal scorer to complement Rooney, then they will likely fall short in the early knockout stages with perhaps a quarter-final spot at best.
There are other less likely contenders but the strongest ones would be Italian duo Roma and Milan yet the two sides have a number of limitations such as their restricted budget for bringing in players and in the case of the Rossoneri an aging squad. Milan will need Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato to stay and will hope a capable coach will take charge at Milanello to promote a few promising players from the youth sector and sign a number of quality players to reinforce the team. As for Roma they have do not have a deep bench and their first team is often riddled with injuries due to the age of some key players such as Francesco Totti. It is unlikely either squad will win the Champions League but they can play the role of a spoiler if their stars remain healthy and fit.
It is quite hard to repeat in the Champions League as shown by the famous Milan side in the 1990s which dismantled Barca 4-0 in an epic encounter only to loss the next year in the final to Ajax Amsterdam who in turn were defeated the following year by Juventus. The Bianconeri would go on to play in two more consecutive finals yet the curse of repeating would also prove to be their downfall despite having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (at his peak).
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What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League?

What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League? - World Soccer Talk

Neptuno square, where Atletico de Madrid fans celebrate all their titles, has been visited again, after eleven years living alone. Winning 1 – 0 there are again playing Champions League. In Spain this is real news because, as you know, Atletico is Spain third team after Real Madrid and Barcelona (in number of supporters). Now their problem is Aguirre, the Manager. He has reached Champions with a not really good football (Aguero and Forlan have done almost all the job), and many colchoneros think he is not the suitable person to drive Atletico over this new adventure.
One day we will dedicate one post just to analyze Atletico´s situation. El pupas (the surname used to describe this team, that literally means “the wounds”) is never happy at all. Even now, when the objective has been reached a lot of Atleticos are against Cerezo, chairman, and Aguirre. Apart from that, they are considering the option of selling Vicente Calderon, changing it for La Peineta (Olympic Game Stadium prepared for Madrid 2016), something that increase the Atleticos edginess. Anyhow, Sunday was a celebration day…
The second important theme this week is Zaragoza and, in general, the four teams that can be relegated on Saturday. Real Madrid, with the title already in their hands, drew against them in La Romareda. Zaragoza, Osasuna, Recreativo and Valladolid are living a nightmare that can finish if they win their matches. It is so curious, but all these teams depend on themselves to stay in Primera Division. That´s because Recre plays against Valladolid, so all of them can avoid relegation winning their matches. Nevertheless, Zaragoza´s situation is incredible if we look the quality of some of their players: Diego Milito, Sergio García, Aimar, Ayala, Zapater…
Finally there is another name used in every newspaper, radio gathering or TV program: Raul. In this moment Spain is divided in two sides. One of them wants Raul in Austria and Switzerland playing with la selección. The other one prefers anyone but him. First side seems to be bigger, but Aragones doesn’t like Raul (after some problems they had in the last World Cup) and after Torres, Villa and Guiza, that will be for sure in his list, he will probably call Bojan as fourth striker. Other options are Sergio García or Tamudo, but if you have to bet, choose Bojan.

Neptuno smiles again

Neptuno smiles again - World Soccer Talk

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United barren run continues despite a point at Villa

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What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League?

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Neptuno smiles again