How Aubameyang regained his form at Barcelona

Published

3 years ago

March 24, 2022

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is loving life in Barcelona.

Since he arrived at the club towards the end of the January transfer window, the Gabon international has found the net nine times for his new team in 11 appearances across all competitions.

The 32-year-old has already won the hearts of the Camp Nou faithful, scoring a hattrick against Valencia and an El Clasico brace in Barcelona’s 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid.

But, Barcelona fans were not that enthusiastic when Barcelona announced his signing.

A history of indiscipline

His previous club, Arsenal, were desperate to offload him in January because Gunners boss Mikel Arteta banished him from the squad for disciplinary breach.

He didn’t play for Arsenal since December 6, when he had a five-minute cameo from the bench against Everton.

Disciplinary issues have been recurrent throughout Aubameyang’s career, but rarely did he let it reflect on his performance.

Prolific at all times

He emerged as one of the world’s most lethal strikers playing for Borussia Dortmund, and he kept up his goal-scoring prowess when he made a £56 million move to Arsenal in 2018.

He has scored 92 goals for Arsenal and was instrumental in their FA Cup win in 2020.

But, his goals began to dry up after penning a new Arsenal contract, which gave him a weekly paycheck of £350,000.

He only scored 22 goals in 54 appearances for Arsenal after signing the new deal, which is relatively poor given the astronomical standards he had set for himself.

Arteta’s demands affected his form

From the start of 2021/22, Mikel Arteta demanded more link-up duties from Aubameyang.

He wanted him to drop to deeper spaces and track back opposition attackers.

Aubameyang had some of his best performances for Arsenal playing on the left, but Arteta wanted someone with better dribbling and movement abilities to play as a winger.

So, Aubameyang shifted to the centre and started to lead the line.

Arteta wanted Aubameyang to create space for the wide players and run into the gaps opening up in the opposition defence.

This is a complex responsibility and Aubameyang wasn’t pretty good at it.

He specialized in running behind the line and put the ball into the net. It wasn’t that simple for him anymore.

After Aubameyang’s exclusion from the team, Arsenal have been more fluid in attack and have experienced a significant improvement in form.

Alexandre Lacazette now leads the line, and even though he hasn’t been much prolific, he has been able to facilitate the wingers.

Xavi using Auba’s strengths

At Barcelona, head coach Xavi Hernandez is using Aubameyang in a way that suits him better.

He intends to create attacking overloads with the front three and two free 8s surging forward from midfield.

Since there are two central midfielders in advanced positions to supply the ball forward, there is no need for Aubameyang to fall back and recycle the ball.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has proved that he is still a world-class striker under the right circumstances.

Barcelona would be happy to bring in a goal machine for free, while Arsenal would be relieved to chalk off Aubameyang’s huge wages from their books.

It was a win-win transfer for both parties involved.

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

FOOTBALL

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

FOOTBALL

PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

9 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.