Children between the ages of six and 11 have been banned from heading during practice by the English, Scottish and Irish FAs. The heading ban was announced on Monday following a landmark study into the correlation between footballers and brain disease.
Anthony Martial's not the sort of forward you’d associate with winning the ball back in the attacking third after a demonstration of single-minded counter pressing. He’s not a target man, but he’s also not going to thrive when shunted out wide and asked to perform industriously.
In terms of a 1-0 scoreline, there’s no greater beatdown than the one RB Leipzig just administered to Tottenham in London on Wednesday. The difference on the scoreboard was Timo Werner’s 58th-minute penalty, but the difference on the pitch was an incredible gulf in tempo, build-up play and variation in attack.
It’d be difficult to identify a player that’s had a worse time with injuries over the last three years than Benjamin Mendy. He showed that he could be one of the world’s best left backs during his incredible 2016-17 campaign with Monaco, but after moving to Manchester City for a princely fee of $67.7 million, his personal nightmare began after suffering a devastating knee injury on only his fifth appearance for the Citizens.
No one did a personal redemption story out on the pitch quite like David Beckham. He did it during his final season at Real Madrid, when he went from being dropped by Fabio Capello to proving instrumental in the club’s dramatic LaLiga triumph. He did it with the LA Galaxy when shifting his reputation from disinterred Hollywood celebrity to two-time MLS Cup champion.
Harry Maguire of Manchester United decided to give Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi the boot . . . literally. During the first half of the Red Devils-Blues showdown, Maguire kicked Batshuayi where it hurts most.
What did you make of the Harry Maguire/Michy Batshuayi incident earlier in the match? pic.twitter.com/QYg80N9mCQ
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 17, 2020
After a run of four straight draws, Arsenal finally got back in the win column with a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday. The two clubs somehow entered today’s match level on points, but the gulf in quality between the sides was evident from the off as Newcastle’s beleaguered attack managed only two shots on target while Arsenal dripped quality in the midfield and wide attacking areas.
Dani Ceballos and Mesut Özil looked like the most likely creators for the Gunners as the two combined for seven key passes, but Nicolas Pépé was in inspired form as well.
It’s been an excellent 24 hours for Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations.