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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…

As the saying goes, it’s a marathon not a sprint. And for Manchester City, that’s exactly the mantra that should be running through their heads day-in and day-out. Liverpool’s flawless start to the current Premier League campaign has been nothing short of outstanding, considering they have played Arsenal and Chelsea already in their first eight games.

Pep Guardiola’s side meanwhile, appearing to be doing their best impression of Jekyll and Hyde. Able to smash Watford 8-0, and then fall 2-0 to a struggling Wolves. Chalk and cheese really. It all means the Citizens already find themselves eight points adrift of Liverpool in the race for the title, and after seeing how neck-and-neck things were last year, it doesn’t bode too well for a comeback.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

But whilst the signs appear to be against them, City do have one thing the Reds do not. Experience. The know-how of grinding your way for the full 38 games, and digging out victories in the most difficult of times. Whilst Jurgen Klopp ended his own personal trophy hoodoo at Anfield by clinching the Champions League last season, their best efforts at winning their first league title in more than a couple of decades has fallen short.

Despite the departure of Vincent Kompany, City boast a squall full of talent who have played major roles in their back-to-back Premier League triumphs. Whether it’s players in the first-team like Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, or less high-profile players like Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Etihad side are brimming with title-winning experience.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It’s an intangible aspect of football that cannot be understated or overlooked. They have been around the proverbial block, and seen everything there is to see. Make no mistake about it, the pressure is truly on Liverpool, not City. Klopp’s men will have to contend with the idea of knowing this is their best shot at ending their Premier League drought, and that could prove to be a major burden on their shoulders.

Football is just as much about the mental aspect of the game, as it is to do with the feet. And City’s recent experiences gives them the upper hand over their rivals. In that age-old fable between the hare and the tortoise, it was the latter that came out on top. Slow and steady wins the race, and Guardiola’s side know that better than anyone else.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Although it was only against Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery will have been happy about the way his Arsenal side put the Championship team to the sword in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

The Gunners were ruthless with their performance against Sabri Lamouchi’s side, and ended up winning 5-0.

English trio Rob Holding, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson were all on the scoresheet, while Brazilian 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli bagged himself a brace.

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The former Ituano man was one of several youngsters who were brought into the side for the game and he took full advantage of the chance that he was gifted.

Despite having just 29 touches throughout the game, he hit the back of the net twice.

Those weren’t his only shots – he had six overall as the Emirates outfit dominated proceedings from start to finish, showing that he was not afraid to take aim.

He was also good with his feet, completing two dribbles, whilst he won the most fouls for his side, with two.

His performance will have been particularly pleasing for Unai Emery.

Other than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the former Sevilla boss has no other natural striker currently available with Alexandre Lacazette out injured. Martinelli showed against Forest that, should he need to be called upon to lead the line, he is capable of doing so.

With Arsenal next in action at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Monday, Aubameyang will surely be restored to the side as the Gunners go in search of another victory.

The young Guarulhos native, though, has given his boss a valuable alternative moving forward.

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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…

West Brom’s summer arrival Romaine Sawyers has lauded teammate Chris Brunt in an interview with the club’s official website.

What’s he said?

Sawyers re-joined the Hawthorns this summer for around £3m from fellow Championship outfit Brentford, returning to the club that handed him his first professional contract in football.

The 27-year-old has played in every minute of their seven Championship matches so far this season as manager Slaven Bilic has guided his side to an unbeaten start.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

No midfielder in the league has been better with the ball than he has, averaging a passing success rate of 92.1%, per WhoScored.

Bilic brought in new faces over the summer but some still remain from the previous regime including Chris Brunt.

He has received a massive compliment from Sawyers despite only featuring for four minutes this league campaign.

He said:

“Sounds ridiculous but just playing alongside him [Brunt] still excites me. I’m in training and he’s still a class act.

“He wants to push you to new boundaries – as does the manager.

“The platform is there for us to take the next step. I need to push myself to be the best I can be and hopefully that resonates with everyone else.”

A big influence

Brunt has been at the Hawthorns since 2007 – that’s a year before Sawyers even earned his first professional contract at the club which really puts it into perspective.

Therefore, it is easy to see why the 5 foot 9 midfielder holds the Northern Irishman in such high regard.

As a young player, he was probably the one player to look up to, and he’s since gone on to make 412 appearances in the blue and white stripes.

In that time Sawyers has left the club and gone on to play permanently for two others in Walsall and Brentford.

At 34 years of age, time is certainly not on Brunt’s side, but it’s clear to see he still plays a huge role in the squad, even if he’s not getting much game time.

Judging by the way Sawyers looks up to Brunt, it’s unsurprising that he was Brentford’s captain for a period of time.

Barcelona drew 0-0 with Borussia Dortmund in their opening Champions League encounter on Tuesday evening.

Of course, with their ambitions and aspirations, the Catalan giants will want to get back to winning ways in Europe’s elite club competition as quickly as possible; they will also play Inter Milan and Slavia Prague in Group F.

Nevertheless, fans have praised Frenkie De Jong for his performance against the German giants.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The young Dutchman was once again a steady and secure presence in Barcelona’s midfield, turning in a fine display in Germany, notching a pass completion rate of 91% from 80 total passes, while also completing one dribble and making four tackles.

Many fans quickly jumped to social media and Twitter in order to shower De Jong with compliments and messages of support.

Some seem to think he’s a true joy to watch and others even claim he’s got Barcelona DNA.

You can see some of their replies in the collection of tweets down below:

Celtic picked up a huge result in the Europa League on Thursday night as they beat Ferencvaros 3-2 away from home.

Kyogo Furuhasi, Liel Abada and Jota scored for the Hoops as they picked up the three points, which leaves them third in the group with two matches left to play and guarantees them some form of European football after Christmas.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are one point behind Real Betis and four points off Bayer Leverkusen, with matches against both of them to come before the turn of the year.

The likes of David Turnbull, Abada, Furuhahsi and Jota may get the acclaim for scoring and setting up the crucial goals, but Celtic’s unsung hero in the match was holding midfielder Nir Bitton.

Celtic needed a solid base from which to build and the Israeli provided that by putting in a sublime performance in the middle of the park. He started in the number six role behind Callum McGregor and Turnbull and was able to perfectly anchor the midfield to allow the forwards to thrive in the final third.

Defensively, he was superb. As per SofaScore, he won nine of his 11 individual duels on the pitch (81.8%) whilst making three tackles and one block throughout the match. This shows that he was strong in his battle against Ferencvaros and did not allow himself to be bullied in midfield, which helped Celtic to control the game and limited the number of attacks that the opposition were able to build.

He also offered value on the ball. As per SofaScore, he completed 88% of his attempted passes, including two of his four longer pass attempts, and only gave possession away five times from 53 touches. He also had a 100% dribble success rate and was fouled three times, highlighting his ability to retain the ball under pressure and force the opposition into giving away a free-kick.

Therefore, Bitton was Postecoglou’s unsung hero against the Hungarian side. He provided the balance in midfield to allow Celtic to be at their best at both ends of the pitch, and the Australian head coach will surely be over the moon with the 30-year-old’s display. The manager will surely be hoping that Bitton can maintain this level of performance throughout the rest of the season, particularly in Europe.

AND in other news, Forget Jota & Kyogo: “Quality” Celtic gem who made five key passes ran the show for Ange…

Romain Saiss, Leander Dendoncker and Adama Traore all struggled in Wolves’ 1-1 draw away to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.

Bruno Lage’s side made the trip to Elland Road in search of a fourth consecutive Premier League, eventually coming agonisingly close to achieving that mission.

Hwang Hee-chan’s early strike looked set to have earned Wolves another big win, only for Rodrigo to equalise from the penalty spot in the dying seconds.

Here are three players who had disappointing days at the office for the Midlanders.

Romain Saiss

Saiss was deemed Wolves’ second-worst player by Sofascore, with his 6.4 rating summing up an average showing.

He completed just 66% of his passes against Leeds and failed to win a single one of his four ground duels, summing up his struggles. The Moroccan was also dribbled past once and lost the ball 13 times.

Leander Dendoncker

The Belgian got the lowest Sofascore rating among Lage’s starting XI (6.0), failing to fully convince in the middle of the park.

The 26-year-old completed 78% of his passes but didn’t win a tackle in the whole game, despite playing in a busy area of the pitch, and he made one error which led to a shot for Leeds. He was also dribbled past twice, lost possession 11 times and won just one of his five duels.

Dendoncker will certainly have better games than his one at Elland Road.

Adama Traore

Traore is always an exciting player to watch, but as is too often the case with him, there wasn’t enough substance to his game at Elland Road.

The Spaniard lost possession 14 times and did not have a single shot or successful dribble. Most alarmingly, he only completed 44% of his passes, highlighting his wastefulness.

In other news, a Wolves transfer could still happen, according to one report. Read more here.

Noel Whelan says he’s been left ‘questioning’ whether Carl Starfelt was ‘a good signing’ for Celtic. 

The former Leeds United, Coventry City and Middlesbrough forward was speaking to Football Insider.

The lowdown

Celtic signed Starfelt from Russian outfit Rubin Kazan for a fee of £4million back in July.

He joined the Hoops on the same day that Kristoffer Ajer left for English Premier League outfit Brentford.

Starfelt wasn’t the only addition to Celtic’s centre-back ranks, with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales arriving from Tottenham Hotspur and Shamrock Rovers respectively.

The Swede struggled in Thursday’s Europa League defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen at Celtic Park.

The Daily Record’s Craig Swan handed him a rating of just 5/10 for his display, saying he was ‘never comfortable on the ball’.

The latest

Whelan says that Starfelt hasn’t had the impact that would have been desired at Celtic Park.

He’s been told he needs to step up if he’s to justify Celtic’s outlay.

“They brought in new players this year, Starfelt being one of them,” he said. “You expect them to turn the tide.

“Now you’re questioning was it a good signing? Is he the right man for it?

“Because performances need to be a lot better from a player of that standard. You can’t hide away when you’re out there on the field, everyone sees it.”

The verdict

Starfelt is effectively playing for his place right now, with Christopher Jullien’s return on the horizon.

When everyone is fit, you’d have to say Carter-Vickers ought to be starting alongside the Frenchman.

It was worrying how cautious Starfelt looked on the ball against Leverkusen. It doesn’t really chime with Postecoglou’s philosophy whatsoever.

In other news, read Kieran Devlin’s worrying line on Postecoglou. 

Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is reportedly pushing to leave the club on loan in January after David de Gea’s return to form.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, the 24-year-old is keen to leave his boyhood club during the winter window after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

It was believed that Henderson was due to be named as the club’s No.1 shot-stopper this season ahead of De Gea until the England international suffered from long Covid, forcing him out of action in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Manchester United fans may be worried

Henderson first rose to prominence during an impressive two-year loan spell at Sheffield United, first helping them win promotion from the Championship in 2018/19 before playing a pivotal part in their ninth-place finish in the Premier League a year later.

His standout performances with the south Yorkshire outfit earned praise from several impressed onlookers, including his former teammate Sander Berge.

“He’s insane. I’ve never been with such a good goalkeeper. One thing in matches, he is almost a defence alone at times, and you feel so secure with him,” the midfielder said in an interview Norwegian outlet VG.

“But people have to see him at training. It’s crazy. He saves balls from one yard. Sometimes I am completely speechless by how good he is. It’s like having two goalkeepers in goal with him. He’s awesome.

“He’s so confident. He knows he is good, and he exploits that too. He is exceptional,” Berge concluded.

Henderson’s magnificent showing saw the ‘keeper return to his parent club last year where he battled De Gea for a place in the starting lineup.

After initially only playing in the cup competitions, the £19.8m-rated gem was awarded his first league start for the Red Devils in March. And Henderson made a good start to life as United’s No.1, keeping three clean sheets in a row.

However, his performance levels began to drop off towards the end of the campaign, and a string over high-profile errors, including mistakes against Liverpool and AC Milan, saw De Gea reinstated as first-choice.

Despite this, it could still be a mistake for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to let the youngsters depart Manchester during the current campaign.

Without genuine competition, De Gea’s performance levels may drop off, and if the Spaniard gets injured, United will be left with an ageing Tom Heaton as a replacement, someone who couldn’t get into Burnely or Aston Villa’s starting lineup in recent years.

It remains to be seen where Henderson’s future lies, both in the short-term and long-term, but the club’s supporters may be worried about this latest revelation as Solskjaer could do with keeping him around until the summer at least, providing United with the best chance of ending the club’s current trophy drought.

And, in other news…Lost possession 15 times: Man Utd liability struggled badly against West Ham 

Everton fans are far from happy with the progress of former player Mohamed-Ali Cho, now of Angers, as detailed in an article by Patrick Boyland.

In recent years, Everton have often relied on imports rather than academy players, especially with the money brought in by Farhad Moshiri. Tom Davies is an example of a player who has worked his way through the ranks, but he is the anomaly at the moment rather than the rule.

Cho was formerly on the books of the Toffees, but has was allowed to leave at the age of just 16, moving to Ligue 1 side Angers.

He is now just 17, but has already managed to make 27 appearances for his new side, scoring once (Transfermarkt). Boyland has now written an article about his rise (The Athletic), which has infuriated the Everton supporters, who have criticised the club’s ability to blood academy starlets into the first team under David Unsworth.

The piece was shared on Twitter by Boyland himself, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Boyland piece below

“David Unsworth needs escorting out of Finch Farm as soon as possible”

Credit: @Flynny1878

“Our youth academy produce so many good players that never get a chance to show what they can do. So poor on so many levels that we allow talent to leave for nothing all the time”

Credit: @craiglawto

“Excellent piece, Paddy. The number of youngsters we’ve had high expectations for since 2000 and failed (multiple reasons) to find a pathway into the first team must now be in double figures? Let’s hope Small is the final prospect to leave in this manner. Lessons must be learned!”

Credit: @Toffeeman_

“It seems to me that there isn’t much attraction in staying at everton. Needs a major overhaul of our academy set up. We don’t NEED to employ ex players for a start”

Credit: @efac1878

“Shock”

Credit: @MrTefc

“Unsworth doing a fine job.”

Credit: @bernieo63

In other news, Everton fans were livid with this injury news.

With Kylian Mbappe set to depart Paris Saint-Germain, Rafael Leao had appeared as a favourite for the club but reports suggest a change in situation.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• PSG were interested in Leao as marquee signing
• Looking to replace outbound Mbappe
• But PSG losing interest in Milan winger

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Leao is no longer PSG's first objective this summer, according to RMC Sport [via ]. Given Mbappe is set to depart, the club is known to value Leao and would be able to pay his €175 million (£150m/$190m) stated release clause. However, the report notes that the Paris team do not want to trade in the departing striker for a left winger as they feel Bradley Barcola can build on his strong displays this term. It is thought that it would be counterproductive to their long-term goals to impede Barcola's development under Luis Enrique.

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• WHAT ENRIQUE SAID

  The PSG boss talked about utilizing his squad to prepare for Mbappe's departure on Monday: "It’s very simple, sooner or later, when it happens we have to get used to playing without Kylian. When I want to play like this, I will, when I don’t, I won’t. It’s very easy, there are competitions and my intention is not to give ‘free’ minutes, I want maximum competitiveness. Every player has to deserve their playing time."

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The club is still interested in Napoli talisman Victor Osimhen but they would need to sell one of their two strikers this summer in order to raise the necessary money, as they have already forked out €170 million (£146m/$184m) on Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos. Neither of the two have lived up to their price tag so far but the club can only hope that, should they fail to sign a striker this summer, that they can get either of them performing in Mbappe's absence.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR LEAO?

  It has been reported earlier that multiple clubs are interested in Leao's services, even if PSG don't sign the winger. He will likely move away from San Siro in the summer, with Premier League side Chelsea long being linked with the Portuguese.