FOOTBALL
Will Ronaldo’s arrival impact Bruno Fernandes at Man United?
The prodigal son has returned to Manchester! 12 years after leaving Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the club that brought him international stardom.
Despite being 36 years old, Ronaldo didn’t join the Red Devils for making up numbers.
He comes off a 36-goal season at Juventus and also bagged the Euro 2020 Golden Boot with 5 goals in 4 matches for Portugal.
Undoubtedly, Ronaldo’s transfer has been a massive boost for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, who seem set to mount a formidable title challenge rivaling Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
But, what does this transfer mean for their other Portuguese talisman – Bruno Fernandes?
The Bruno effect
Since his midseason arrival at the club in 2020, Fernandes has been excellent for the Mancunians.
He hit 43 goals and assisted 25 more in only 82 appearances.
The former Sporting Lisbon midfielder was instrumental in securing Champions League qualification for the Reds.
He has been central to the substantial progress Man United have made under Solskjaer over the last one and a half seasons.
But will he have the same lethal edge with Ronaldo back into the fold?
Will Bruno combine well with Ronaldo?
Fernandes’s national team numbers could give us an insight.
Bruno Fernandes has earned 33 caps for his national team so far, but he has managed to score only 4 goals in them.
Without taking a deeper look, the stark contrast between Fernandes’s club and national team record implies that Bruno Fernandes is not as effective for his country as he is for his club.
Is that actually the case?
In the recently concluded European Championships, Fernandes was one of the biggest disappointments of the competition.
He started the first two matches as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but he failed to have a meaningful impact in both games.
For the third match, Portugal boss Fernando Santos chose to keep him out of the eleven as Portugal shuffled to a 4-3-3.
At Manchester United and Sporting, Bruno Fernandes played his best football as a pseudo-striker.
He starts high up the pitch, but often you would find him dropping deep to collect the ball, play an in-field pass, and receive it back inside the d-box to launch a goal attempt.
Ronaldo would make this problematic in theory since he likes to drop deep as well and play the link-up role between the midfield and forwards.
He would occupy the spaces that Fernandes loves to target.
Not to mention, Ronaldo might take over the penalty duties as well. So, we don’t expect Fernandes to be as prolific as he has been till now at United.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Fernandes will not be an important part of the United setup anymore.
He might be scoring fewer goals, but he can still be the creative engine to feed the exhilarating United frontline.
Since United has better runners in the forms of Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood, and Marcus Rashford, Fernandes can play behind-the-line balls for dangerously exposing the opposition defense.
A switch to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 might be uncomfortable for Fernandes since these systems don’t require a defined playmaker.
In such scenarios, Fernandes will have to fall deeper into the midfield and take upon more defensive burden.
So, we would have to wait and see how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plans on pairing up his Portuguese stars.
FOOTBALL
WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football
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
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
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 – 3rd 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.
MCFC vs MUFC – Likely XI
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Alvarez, Haaland, Foden
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Amrabat, Casemiro, Manioo, McTominay, Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho
MCFC vs MUFC – Fantasy XI
Grand League Team
Goal Keeper – E Moraes
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, H Maguire
Mid Fielders – Kevin De Bruyne, B Fernandes, R Hernandez, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland (VC), J Alvarez, M Rashford (C)
Head-to-Head Team
Goal Keeper – S Ortega
Defenders – M Akanji, K Walker, R Varane
Mid Fielders – K De Bruyne (C), B Fernandes (VC), B Silva, Casemiro
Forwards – E Haaland, J Alvarez, M Rashford
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