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Real Madrid thrashed Leganes 5-0 in La Liga last night, retaining pressure on current leaders Barcelona, who sit just a point above them following their 5-1 victory over Valladolid on Tuesday evening.

There were goals for summer signing Rodrygo Goes, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema, though one player who did manage to finally get his name on the scoresheet was Luka Jovic.

The Serbian forward, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, has found it difficult to adapt to his new surroundings in the Spanish capital and had not scored prior to last night’s injury-time finish.

Jovic has seen consistent game-time difficult to come by due to the promising form of serial goalscorer Karim Benzema, who has led the line for Los Blancos during the most-part of the campaign, scoring seven times for the club in La Liga (per Transfermarkt).

However, the 21-year-old will now be relieved to have gotten off the mark for his new employers having found the net after being introduced from the substitutes’ bench at the Bernabeu.

These Madrid fans were certainly delighted for the Serbia international, too:

Madrid fans, do you think Jovic will kick on and score more goals after his finish last night? Comment below!

Giovani Lo Celso scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday night’s 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

A hip injury saw the summer arrival miss a lot of football earlier this season, but he has now featured in Tottenham’s last two Premier League matches and was given the nod from the start against Red Star.

Lo Celso made the breakthrough in the 34th minute of the match before a double from Son Heung-min and late Christian Eriksen strike saw Spurs record a four-goal success.

And it would be fair to say that the Tottenham fans were absolutely delighted with what they saw from the versatile attacker during his 86 minutes on the field.

According to WhoScored, the 23-year-old made five tackles, had three shots and boasted a pass success rate of 90% before being replaced by Oliver Skipp in the latter stages.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to his performance can be seen below:

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…

Keeping feet on the ground and heads out of the clouds.

That was the message that Pep Clotet presumably wanted to get across after getting back to winning ways.

Speaking after the victory over Blackburn Rovers, Clotet was asked about whether or not it was possible that the Blues could reach the top six in the Championship:

“I don’t know if we are what is required to be in the play-offs but what I know is if something can be done better, we recognise, we grow it and improve it. We go game by game.”

So it looks as if he is relatively cautious when it comes to their chances, which is somewhat admirable.

You don’t want to set expectations too high only to end up disappointed. Plus, given that Birmingham doesn’t exactly have the resources to compete with the big boys in the division, at least he’s being realistic and not getting delusions of grandeur.

However, it does come into direct opposition with some of his players, and that’s where things might get tricky.

As we have discussed previously on FFC, both Ivan Sunjic and Fran Villalba both have ambitions to play in the Premier League and that Birmingham need to get there at some stage or risk losing out on two of their bigger-name players, preferably sooner rather than later.

Whilst Birmingham may not have had the highest of expectations from outsiders at the beginning of the campaign, they are exceeding them for the time being.

However, there has to come a time where eventually he is going to have to meet the ambitions of the players and to a lesser extent the board.

It just speaks that although things might be going well off the pitch, there is still a little bit of disharmony off of it.

If not everyone is on the same page then it will just sow the seeds for problems down the road.

Eventually there is going to have to come to a point where Clotet admits that he wants the club to take a step forward. After all, some of his players are showing huge signs of ambition. He must match them.

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

Just who starts upfront in this Leeds side has proven to be somewhat controversial at times this term.

Patrick Bamford has failed to score for six games in a row but has still started every single Championship outing this season.

It’s remarkable, therefore, that he and Eddie Nketiah have scored the same number of goals as each other in all competitions.

Leeds fans have called for Nketiah to start in recent weeks but the Arsenal loanee continues to be neglected.

Given the Gunners’ option to recall the forward in January and the fact Bristol City are still sniffing around him, they must be careful.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

Leeds have struggled to put away their chances this season and from a tally of 16.6 shots per match, they only sit joint-tenth for goals scored.

If they do want to achieve promotion this term, it’s a record that will have to improve.

Whether that involves instating Nketiah to the side remains to be seen, but judging by the recent displays of Helder Costa, perhaps more patience is required.

Bielsa’s tactics have been questioned but for those who were calling for Costa to start, the cries are yet to be vindicated.

Since the Portuguese came into the team he’s failed to be involved in a single goal and his display against Charlton was particularly disappointing.

He was then lumped off at half-time versus Millwall too.

Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…

YEP’s Graham Smyth revealed how the Argentine was visibly angry with Costa a number of weeks ago and perhaps it was his inability to adapt to instructions in training and when he arrived that meant he started on the bench so regularly.

The 25-year-old wasn’t trusted and after completing just one key pass and two dribbles in his last three outings, it’s not too much of a surprise.

So perhaps this is why Nketiah hasn’t been playing either. The 20-year-old clearly isn’t doing something right and for Bamford to continue to start is rather damning on his part.

If anything, this is a ‘careful what you wish for scenario’. Costa has been underwhelming since coming into the starting XI so who’s to say his fellow loanee wouldn’t also struggle. After all, Bielsa is the one who gets to see his players every day.

It could go one of two ways but quite possibly, Bielsa’s caution is understandable. Patience will undoubtedly be required with Nketiah.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Arsenal striker John Hartson says he is confused with Dele Alli’s situation at Tottenham Hotspur this season.

The England international used to regularly hit double figures for goals and assists in a season for Spurs, but it was a different story last term as he scored seven times and set up eight more – albeit injury did affect him.

That was something that also kept him out at the very beginning of the current campaign, although he has found first-team minutes – especially in the Premier League – hard to come by on his return, playing just 30 – all of which came against Arsenal – so far in 2019/20.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Hartson believes the summer arrival of Tanguy Ndombele has had an effect too, with Mauricio Pochettino sometimes selecting the Frenchman alongside Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko in a central midfield three or a diamond.

The Welshman said: “Dele Alli’s on the bench. He’s one of Spurs’ best players. I know he’s been out injured but you look at him sitting on the bench at the weekend and he looked sick as a parrot and thinking ‘what am I doing on the bench here?'”

While it wasn’t exactly surprising to see the 23-year-old dropped to the bench at the Amex after he started in the humiliating 7-2 defeat against Bayern Munich, to not even come on to try and change the game in the 3-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday must have raised a few eyebrows.

The Mirror reported this week that he has hired a nutritionist and scaled back his commercial work in order to get in the right physical condition having suffered four hamstring problems in the previous 18 months.

That is exactly what the former MK Dons man needed to do, and he will hope that it leads to him regaining his spot in the starting XI on a regular basis, and firing consistently again.

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

Sheffield Wednesday left it incredibly late on Saturday afternoon as a last gasp goal ensured Garry Monk’s tenure continued to go unbeaten.

The former Swansea boss started life with a win over Huddersfield last weekend but ensured his side drew with an impressive Fulham team 1-1 at Hillsborough in his second match.

The Owls went 1-0 down courtesy of a strike from Tom Cairney but a rescue act from Atdhe Nuhui meant it finished all square.

However, Monk’s comments over a certain individual in his side backfired during the game.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

Earlier last week, the new Wednesday boss made a revelation about Adam Reach, detailing where his best position may lie.

He said: “I have already spoken with Adam. He will primarily be a wide player for us and it is where he is most effective.”

Yet after his performance and the early withdrawal of the 26-year-old against the Cottagers, it doesn’t appear as though that may be the case, particularly at the moment.

Having started on the right, he was dragged off after 59 minutes for Jacob Murphy, a player who isn’t in particularly good form himself.

Murphy has managed just one goal this term so it was perhaps rather damning that he was the man introduced in Reach’s favour, particularly with the hosts behind in the game.

Find out a how a world-record-holding freestyler got on with the worst football in the world in the video below…

But Reach was poor and his inability to pass lead to a pretty average display.

Per WhoScored, he created two chances but left the pitch with a pass success rate of just 71%, providing three crosses which failed to result in too much end product.

If you’re going to play on the wing that needs to be considerably better and it shows that Monk’s comments have backfired on his best position.

If we assess WhoScored’s average ratings for Reach this season he has played in a variety of roles but his best performances have come in attacking midfield, achieving a rating of over 7 in two outings.

On the right, however, that falls closer to a rating of 6.5.

Bearing that and his performance against Fulham in mind, Monk is wrong.

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Aston Villa fans have shown their concern about the current state of affairs after their side once again squandered points at home to draw with Burnley on Saturday.

Anwar El Ghazi gave Villa the lead at home in the first-half but Jay Rodriguez equalised in the 68th minute.

A flurry of action followed, with John McGinn scoring two minutes before Villa were pegged back again by Chris Wood.

Smith’s men have won just once in the league in 2018/19, beating Everton 2-0 in August, but have lost to Tottenham Hotspur, AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Arsenal, while also drawing with West Ham United and Villa.

Fans, perhaps understandably, are growing worried about the club’s results, and they face an important run of fixtures in October; they will play fellow promoted team Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and reigning champions Manchester City.

And supporters have been quick to express their disillusionment and concern at their current predicament.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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

One of the hallmarks of the early Premier League era, the use of two out-and-out centre-forwards has completely died out as an art. No strike partnerships, no big man-little man combinations. Just a whole load of 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.

The desire to win the midfield battle is understandable. It’s arguably the most crucial contest on the pitch, and it invariably decides who comes out on top at the end of the game. But what’s the point of that, if you haven’t got anyone to convert your dominance into goals? And that’s the exact problem Manchester United are currently facing.

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

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may proudly puff out his chest and point to his side’s 55.5% average possession in the Premier League as a sign of how well they may have performed this season. But the truth is, it’s been sterile. Not really going anywhere, and lacking any incision in the final third. As per Whoscored, the side have taken 13.8 shots per game, the fifth-highest in the division. Their total of nine goals however? That’s only good enough for 13th.

What the Red Devils desperately need, is a greater threat from inside the penalty area. Taking long-range efforts just boosts up the shot counter, and doesn’t increase the chances of scoring a goal than if you were much closer in. One way United can potentially rectify that, is by switching to a two-striker formation like yesteryear.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

All the talk surrounding the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial has been whether the duo are natural strikers, or more suited to playing from the left. Often when they do play together, one of them gets shunted out wide. But if Solskjaer does move to a 4-4-2, then he can afford to play the duo as a strike partnership.

Speaking earlier this year in February, the United boss even talked up the prospect of the two forging an on-pitch relationship.

“They’ll play many, many years together. The relationship of, if one of them plays centrally, then the other one has to have opposite movements, because they go out-to-in sometimes. When they play central, they go in-to-out on those runs, so I think, in the coming years, we’ll see loads of combinations between those two.”

Having Rashford and Martial terrorise opposition defences as a tandem could go a long way in solving their goal-scoring woes. The latter’s return from injury cannot come soon enough for the Red Devils.

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

Crystal Palace take on Wolves this Sunday, where they will be looking to continue their fine record at Selhurst Park so far this season.

Having had one of the worst home records in the Premier League last term – only relegated Huddersfield picked up fewer points at home – the Eagles have a win and a draw from their two league matches in SE25 this term.

A key aspect of Roy Hodgson’s side getting a result against Wolves – who are yet to win in the league – will be the form of Wilfried Zaha, who hasn’t scored a goal or registered an assist yet this season.

However, he could have some fun this Sunday if the Eagles move him over to the left – he has appeared twice at centre-forward and three times on the right this season.

Who would he be up against?

With Matt Doherty starting Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Braga, we presume that Adama Traore will begin this Sunday’s match in the right wing-back role.

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has often played Traore on the right ahead of a three-man defensive duo, allowing him to both sprint back and charge forward, and he did so against both Everton and Chelsea.

Why might Zaha have some fun?

Traore is a much weaker defensive option to Doherty, if not a striking contrast to the Irishman in terms of athleticism.

While the former loves to attack – shown in his 2.5 dribbles completed per game this term – he can often lack the defensive nous required for such a role. Traore averages just 0.3 interceptions, 0.5 tackles and 0.3 blocks per game in the league.

In Zaha’s case, the Ivorian is arguably one of the trickiest players in the league, completing 3.4 dribbles per game and attracting plenty of interest from frustrated opponents – he gets fouled 3.6 times per game.

Traore’s lack of defensive composure, coupled with Zaha’s tricky nature, should see the Eagles talisman enjoy his time down the left-flank this Sunday if Palace switch him to the opposite wing.

Everyone has those moments of football commentary that stick in their mind forever.For Manchester City fans, it’s Martin Tyler screeching Sergio Aguero’s name as the Argentine wheeled away from QPR’s goal swinging his shirt around like a lunatic.For Liverpool fans, it’s club commentator Steve Hunter’s depiction of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s genius corner that set up Divock Origi’s winning goal in last year’s Champions League semi-final.And Rangers fans have got plenty of those moments to reflect on too, but this latest one might just take the cake.

Tom Miller and Andy Little’s reaction to Alfredo Morelos’ dramatic stoppage-time winner against Legia Warsaw is sure to stir the emotions of every Ger on the planet.

No sooner had Miller uttered the first syllable of the Colombian’s name was Little screaming at the top of his lungs over his co-commentator.

Little then proceeded to belt out a series of bizarre celebratory noises as Miller tried his utmost best to remain professional and describe the goal, and we don’t think anyone who was watching Rangers TV on Thursday night will forget this one in a hurry.

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