FOOTBALL

How wingers became goal scorers in modern football

Published

3 years ago

September 12, 2021

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Back in the late ‘90s and early ‘2000s, teams were heavily reliant on strikers for goals.

But over the last 10/15 years, there has been a paradigm shift.

Nowadays, you would see many teams which are reliant on their wingers rather than strikers for goals.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been scoring goals for fun for more than a decade.

Interestingly, none of them are pure number nines either.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Serge Gnabry, Son Heung-Min-the list of high-scoring wingers goes on!

So, why are wingers scoring more goals lately?

Before the late 2000s, a two-striker model was the most popular choice for managers.

The role of wingers back then was mostly limited to receive the ball from the deep, play it to the playmaker or the striker, or put in crosses for the strikers to attack.

In modern times, teams have become more aware of their midfield presence.

Wider wingers make the midfield susceptible to opposition overload.

So, managers started to bring the wingers closer rather than making them hugging the touchline.

Roberto Mancini implemented this philosophy in the classic 4-4-2 formation during Manchester City’s first Premier League title-winning season.

Samir Nasri and David Silva moved in closer to form a more condensed midfield.

And the full-backs pushed forward during attacking transitions to provide width support.

The role of fullbacks has been one of the most influential factors in the evolution of modern wingers.

In vintage football, defenders barely had to do much other than defending.

The attacking qualities of a defender were not important. But, that’s not the case anymore.

Now, full-backs or wingbacks fly forward to provide width as wingers take up more central positions.

Now, the wingers can exploit the overlapping runs of the fullbacks, receive the ball from them, and pass it to the striker.

Or, they can rush inside the box and be on the receiving end of the cross coming from the fullback.

Inverted wingers or Inside forwards

In modern football, the popular practice is to use wingers as either inside forwards or inverted wingers.

While both types of wingers operate closer to the goal, there are fundamental differences between the two roles.

An inverted winger is a winger who is playing on his weaker foot and is looking to create more space more the overlapping fullback to run into.

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery executed their duties as inverted wingers to perfection under Jupp Heynckes and lead Bayern Munich to a treble haul in the 2012/13 season.

While inverted forwards infiltrate the d-box with the ball, inside forwards cut in without the ball and occupy more dangerous positions inside the box, which substantially increases their scoring chances.

The striker in an inside forward model is expected to drop deep, draw away the defender, and allow the wingers to run into space.

With inverted wingers, the striker operates as a part of a cohesive front three. In both cases, the wingers can expect to score more goals than they would have scored playing as classic wingers.

From a tactical perspective, football has gone through a lot of changes over the years.

The decline in striker dependency for goals is one of the many ways football has reshaped.

Of course, there are still definitive strikers like Harry Kane and Erling Halaand, who are scoring a lot of goals for their teams.

But, more and more managers are continuing to keep their faith on inside forwards and inverted wingers as their primary goal-scoring source.

FOOTBALL

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.