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BBC News
03-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
January business 'the perfect advert' for Aston Villa
Aston Villa's second-half goals against Brighton all came from players who arrived at the club in January, the perfect advert for a fiercely ambitious manager in Emery and the progressive thinking of co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes was undoubtedly an element of gamble about Villa's work in January, but it is paying off as their season moves towards a potentially glorious conclusion fuelled by their work in this is a strategy reflected in results, with Villa's latest win putting them just three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City in the table with eight games Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio made their league debuts, Villa had played 24 games, winning 10, drawing seven and losing seven with a points-per-game ratio of the league games since, they have played six, won three, drawn two and lost one at 1.83 points per game - with both players making crucial contributions in the FA Cup and Champions remains to be seen if Villa can persuade - or indeed want - Asensio and Rashford to extend their stays, but the results in the short term are bringing rich a January window often characterised by panic buys and a desire to correct errors from the summer window, Villa have played it smart and can move towards the season's conclusion with huge optimism and Phil's piece in full here
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Sutton's predictions: Nottingham Forest v Man Utd
I am concerned how Nottingham Forest will cope without Chris Wood up front if he is out injured. At the moment, it is not clear how serious his problem made quite a few changes against Brighton in the FA Cup over the weekend, and still got through without 'the Wood-chopper', but they really need him back as soon as as a Forest fan, it is especially annoying that he has picked up this injury while on international Zealand have got an excellent cricket and rugby union team and I wish them every success at football, but do they really need Wood to get through their World Cup qualification campaign against the likes of Fiji and New Caledonia?I'd argue they don't need him, and that Wood is better than that. If I was from New Zealand, I'd probably have won about 700 caps, and there are greater priorities for Wood, which are to win the FA Cup and get Forest into next season's Champions will be harder for Forest without him, but I still think they can repeat their win at Old Trafford in FA Cup win over Brighton was not exactly a thriller, but as we have seen plenty of times from Forest already this season, they are not here to entertain - they are here to get the job for Manchester United, it is a big end to the season for their boss Ruben Fernandes has carried them a bit recently in the league, and he is their best hope of getting a positive result here.I am not sure either side will be too bothered about having the ball, but Forest fans are happy for them to sit deep and play on the counter, even when they are at home, and they are really good at prediction: 1-0Read the full predictions and have your say here
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Last shot at glory for 'legends'? Guardiola still burning with desire
Pep Guardiola's frantic body language released every frustration suffered in a season of mediocrity as the clouds lifted and the sun finally shone on Manchester City at has cut a tortured, agonised figure for most of a campaign in which the form of his Manchester City side fell off a cliff after claiming a historic four successive Premier League left the FA Cup as the only target left to stop Guardiola suffering the rare ignominy of finishing a season empty-handed for the first time since his opening one at City in 2016-17 - which was the only campaign he has not won a trophy as a watching Guardiola at close quarters at Vitality Stadium as City came from behind to win 2-1 made a mockery of Guardiola's own assertion that not even winning the FA Cup could make up for failing to make a dent in the Premier League and Champions was pure theatre watching the man so used to glory, who lives for success, exude relief, celebration and then uncontained joy when City deservedly got over the was Guardiola publicly savouring the sweet taste of victory after so often failing to find solutions to the crisis, certainly by their own standards, that has dragged City down this said City came to the Vitality "with flip-flops" when they suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season in November. This was strictly business."In November, we came here for a holiday against a team that competes," he only thing that smacked of a holiday here was the glorious south-coast weather as British Summer Time arrived - and City had to survive a storm of their own making before securing the the first minute, Guardiola burned with desire for victory, a livewire in the technical area throughout and at the final whistle after a win that sealed a remarkable seventh successive FA Cup semi-final appearance, this time against Nottingham Forest at as all the great managers do, Guardiola still kept his analytical mind ice-cold throughout the fiery touchline behaviour to make the change that turned the tide of this FA Cup quarter-final when City trailed to Evanilson's scrambled goal at the removed the struggling central defender Abdukodir Khusanov, switching Josko Gvardiol into the middle and introducing talented 20-year-old Nico O'Reilly at left-back.O'Reilly's natural position, as Guardiola confirmed, is a number 10, but here he did damage on the flanks, setting up an equaliser for Erling Haaland, who had missed a first-half penalty, then played in substitute Omar Marmoush for the winner. Last shot at glory for some City legends? At the heart of it all was Guardiola - excitable, animated and showing with every action just how important the FA Cup is to him and Manchester by his own standards, Guardiola has rarely looked as engaged and involved as has a huge rebuild on his hands, and some cracks were still visible here, with an ageing squad containing the players he described as "legendary" called into action such as Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de might be the last shot at glory as Manchester City players for the use of Matheus Nunes at right-back, a position even his greatest admirers would never suggest he has the qualities for, showed how Guardiola has had an air of desperation about some resources he has juggled this was, however, about the here and now - not the future. The old trophy-winning muscle memory of Guardiola and his players kicked in when it the FA Cup really is struggling to count as a consolation prize for Guardiola and City this season, you could have fooled everyone inside Vitality Stadium who watched the FA Cup would not disguise the scale of the renewal Guardiola must oversee to restore City to their former eminence, but the great old prize will certainly be something to be going on club also expects to learn the outcome of the hearing into 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches fist-pumping reaction to Haaland's equaliser was a wild outpouring of joy, as was his reaction to Marmoush's winner. The manager even picked up a booking for an altercation with the looked like it was all Guardiola could do to stop himself entering the action at some points, mixing applause for his players with furious expressions of discontent at moments of at the final whistle Guardiola's FA Cup elation overflowed in front of City fans basking in the glorious marched at pace around every player, wrapping them in fierce bearhugs and even planting kisses on some. O'Reilly emerging as Man City's FA Cup talisman Guardiola then joined the celebrations with the travelling supporters, conducting their "We've got Guardiola" anthem along with other songs before grabbing the young hero O'Reilly, shoving him towards the stands to take the acclaim his match-winning turn who can blame Guardiola, as O'Reilly is emerging as City's FA Cup talisman?He has been directly involved in five goals in four FA Cup appearances this season, with three goals and two assists. O'Reilly is also the first City substitute to assist two goals in a game since Gundogan against Leeds United in December said: "Nico is a number 10. He possesses such quality in the final third and has so much vision. We thought he could do it for us on the left as well, and he did."If Guardiola is looking for vital signs of a brighter future, the composure and class of O'Reilly certainly provides Spaniard added: "We played an outstanding game and had incredible chances, missed a penalty. We conceded with one chance we gave away. Our approach was magnificent."Seven times in a row into the semi-final of the FA Cup. No team has done it and it will be difficult for any other to do what these legendary players, the new ones and the old ones, will have done."And as City move within sight of another trophy, Guardiola proved once more that even amid unaccustomed struggles, old trophy-winning habits die hard for great managers and players.
BBC News
11-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
How long before we should fear missing out on Champions League?
There is no other way of saying it: Saturday's loss at Nottingham Forest was a huge blow. Not only does it once again bring the squad back down in terms of confidence, but it also damages hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions was the same flaws in performance that have hurt the club throughout the campaign, albeit this time there was an element of defensive strength, perhaps largely thanks to the added impetus of Abdukodir City found themselves severely lackingcreativity in central areas and struggled to provide service to Erling Haaland, with the Norway striker isolated for the most is no coincidence that Bernardo Silva's inclusion in the starting line-up has caused problems too. Once an engine with relentless energy, the 30-year-old is now slow in recycling possession, moving the ball high up the pitch or getting it out to wide men, all while offering little to nothing in an attacking also need to be raised around Phil Foden. Last season's Premier League player of the season is light years away from his best. At a time when Pep Guardiola and his colleagues will be eyeing long-term replacements for Kevin de Bruyne, now is exactly the time a player of his experience and ability must step after another defeat in the Premier League, this time at the hands of a direct top-four rival, how long before City fans should start getting concerned over the chances of the club qualifying for Europe's premier club competition?On paper, a largely favourable fixture list awaits after the international break but, given the uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding Manchester City at the moment, no game is a needs to start getting results - and fast. But he knows that and nobody will be working harder to get the best out of those available to more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external
BBC News
13-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
What are semi-automated offsides, and how do they work?
Semi-automated offside technology is about to be implemented in English been delayed from its original planned introduction date in autumn, the system will now be adopted during the FA Cup fifth technology was first used in elite-level football at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and has since been used in leagues including Serie A and La Liga, as well as the Champions is designed to make the judgement of tight offside calls easier for officials by rendering key parts of the process how exactly does it work? Semi-automated offside technology explained The system aims to remove some elements of human subjectivity by replacing decisions made by officials with automated ones taken by things stand, when a player scores after a borderline offside situation, officials in the video assistant referee (VAR) room must decide on three key things - when the ball was kicked, where and at what angle the defender's body was when the ball was kicked, and where and what angle the attacker's body three of those decisions will now be automatically taken by the cameras will monitor a variety of key elements involved in any tight offside decision have been installed beneath the roof at all 20 Premier League cameras will track the exact movement of the ball as well as 29 distinct points on the bodies of all 22 players, meaning it can be automatically determined whether or not the attacker's body was beyond the last defender's at the exact point the ball was intelligence manages the process, monitoring ball and player movement, before coming up with a decision as to whether the player was onside or officials check the system has correctly determined the three key points it measures before confirming the decision. The on-field officials then inform the players.A 3D animation of the decision produced by the artificial intelligence will then be played on television for viewers at home and on big screens in the stadium. What will change for fans? In theory, the introduction of semi-automated offsides should mean shorter waits for decisions about whether or not a goal was offside, as automating the subjective, fiddly decisions officials used to make should be there will still be subjective decision-making involved in offside calls. The technology cannot determine if an attacking player was interfering with play, for example, or if a goalkeeper's vision was will still be allowed to continue by assistant referees after narrow offside calls, as has been the case since VAR was introduced in the Premier League in 2019, meaning delayed flags won't be coming to an end. More questions answered... What is the 'Trump dance'?Why are there so many international breaks?What is an F1 race director? And who is Rui Marques?How does the BBC report on big stories about itself?
