Kyle Walker pinpoints Manchester United threat in derby
Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has warned that his England team-mate Marcus Rashford remains an opponent to be feared. The Manchester United striker has been in poor form this season and has scored just one goal for the club heading into Sunday’s derby against City at Old Trafford. It is a far cry from last term when the 25-year-old netted 30 goals in all competitions, including the winner in the corresponding Premier League fixture against City. Walker said: “I think Marcus has shown over the years that he’s the sort of player who can create problems for any side if they don’t match him. “He’s been important for both United and England since he was a teenager because of the threat he offers to any team he’s in. He’s got a lot of different qualities and we know he can be dangerous at the weekend.” Rashford’s decisive 82nd-minute strike on City’s last trip across town in January capped a controversial fightback by the home side. United had cancelled out Jack Grealish’s opener just four minutes earlier through Bruno Fernandes despite Rashford having been in an offside position during the build-up. After bouncing back spectacularly by winning the treble – and beating United in the FA Cup final – Walker insists City are not motivated by revenge. “I don’t think we think like that,” said the right-back. “Last season is done, we lost at Old Trafford and went on to win the treble. Ultimately that’s what matters. “Of course this game means a lot but it’s part of a bigger picture and, OK we lost last season and the luck didn’t go in our favour, but we bounced back from that and did what we did. “We want to win the game because of what it means and because ultimately it will help us in trying to win the Premier League again. We don’t need to think beyond that. “We’ve had some great games against them in recent years and our focus is on giving the fans something to enjoy again on Sunday.” City are in a strong position despite a blip before the recent international break, when they lost to Wolves and Arsenal, and lacking the intensity they showed at the end of last season. If it was hard to get motivated then we wouldn’t have won three Premier League in a row Kyle Walker Walker said: “People keep saying how hard it must be to get motivated because of what we achieved last season but we’re all competitors who want to win. We’ve shown that year after year. “If it was hard to get motivated then we wouldn’t have won three Premier Leagues in a row. “We go into every game wanting to win, for ourselves, for this club and it’s the reason we’ve been so successful. That doesn’t go away just because we did something special last season.” Read More Kyle Walker eyes ‘little bit of payback’ as England host Italy Is Chelsea v Brentford on TV? Channel, time and how to watch Premier League Postecoglou sends message to Spurs fans after passing latest ‘exam’ Is Chelsea v Brentford on TV? Channel, time and how to watch Premier League Postecoglou sends message to Spurs fans after passing latest ‘exam’ Pep Guardiola gives verdict on Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana after penalty save
1970-01-01 08:00
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1970-01-01 08:00
Ange Postecoglou sends message to Tottenham fans after passing latest ‘exam’
Ange Postecoglou was pleased Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur passed their latest exam with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and was in no mood to stop fans dreaming of a title challenge. Spurs moved five points clear at the summit after they recovered from a sluggish first half at Selhurst Park to score twice in 13 second-half minutes. An own-goal from Joel Ward broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when he deflected James Maddison’s cross beyond Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and it was 2-0 soon after when Tottenham captain Son Heung-min steered home after Brennan Johnson’s assist. Jordan Ayew reduced the deficit for Palace in the fourth minute of stoppage-time, but Spurs held on to extend their unbeaten top-flight run to 10 matches and move five clear of Manchester City and Arsenal, who play Manchester United and Sheffield United respectively across the weekend. “Let them dream. That’s what being a football supporter is all about. It’s fair to say this lot have suffered a fair bit, so I’m certainly not going to dampen that,” Postecoglou said. “Top of the table is great and the results are great but it’s more in the manner we’re doing it. Pretty much from the first game we’ve had all sorts of different challenges we’ve had to overcome. “Every time there has been a real focus and clear-headedness about the group collectively to deal with that. We prep them for their exam at the weekend, but we don't know what the questions are going to be. They've got to work them out themselves Ange Postecoglou “That has been a really pleasing thing and because they’re getting rewards from that, then that gives us the opportunity to accelerate the growth of giving them more tools out there to help them for whatever we need to overcome. “I thought tonight was going to be a real difficult game for us. Coming here, Palace’s result last week, it’s a tight ground, they’d only conceded three goals in the four games so far and how were the lads going to cope with the fact we weren’t going to create as many chances as we had been? “I really liked the way we worked through that as a group.” After returning to the Premier League summit with a 2-0 win over Fulham on Monday, Spurs struggled in the first half at Selhurst Park and were indebted to fine early saves from Guglielmo Vicario to deny Ayew and Odsonne Edouard. Postecoglou, who had lambasted his side for their second-half showing earlier in the week, introduced Emerson Royal for Ben Davies at the break and watched Ward put into his own net from Maddison’s cross to open the scoring. It was 2-0 when Son fired home for his eighth goal of the campaign following Johnson’s smart pass, his first assist since a £45million deadline-day transfer from Nottingham Forest. While Ayew managed to reduce the deficit – in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a lengthy VAR check – Tottenham stood firm to claim a fourth-straight win and show another side with a dogged defensively display, despite enjoying more than 70 per cent possession. Postecoglou added: “I have always felt that matchdays are about the players. What we try to do on a daily basis is give them the tools to find the solutions. “We prep them for their exam at the weekend, but we don’t know what the questions are going to be. They’ve got to work them out themselves. “In an exam you are not asking anybody for help. You have to work it out yourself and hopefully what we’ve given them is the tools.” Palace boss Roy Hodgson was disappointed to suffer a second-consecutive defeat and admitted his substitutes weakened his team. “I thought it was an aggressive and quite-controlled first half from our side, but of course the first goal then produces a second,” he said. “That is when we start putting players on the field, players who have not really played with the first team, Jes (Rak-Sakyi), (Naouirou) Ahamada, (Matheus) Franca and we lost the intensity we were able to do in the first half. “In the end it became easy for them (Tottenham) to see the game through.” Read More Tottenham overcome a ‘different challenge’ on way to extending Premier League lead Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham not a better team without Harry Kane, just different Ange Postecoglou: Spurs a big club who should challenge for trophies every year ‘Really disappointed’: Ange Postecoglou’s surprise response as Tottenham go top Ange Postecoglou’s four new signings breathe fresh life into different Tottenham Ange Postecoglou hopes Tottenham can offer fans ‘escape’ from Israel-Hamas conflict
1970-01-01 08:00
Italian skier Brignone leads season-opening GS after 1st run; US star Shiffrin looming in 5th
Italian skier Federica Brignone has dominated the first run of the season-opening women’s World Cup giant slalom
1970-01-01 08:00
'Anxiety' racks Israeli hostage families as army assaults Gaza
The families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been racked with worry for
1970-01-01 08:00
Mauricio Pochettino offers cryptic 'marriage' update on Conor Gallagher contract
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has provided a cryptic update on contract negotiations with Conor Gallagher, whose current deal expires in 2025 and is being monitored by Tottenham Hotspur.
1970-01-01 08:00
Charting the Global Economy: Inflation Picks Up in US, Tokyo
US underlying inflation picked up along with consumer spending as the third quarter drew to a close, government
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10 terrifying religious horror movies you can stream right now
Some of the all-time creepiest films (hello The Exorcist) fall under the category of religious
1970-01-01 08:00
Erik ten Hag sets challenge for Andre Onana over Man Utd form
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed the messages of encouragement he has offered to Andre Onana following his shaky start to life in England. Onana has begun poorly at Old Trafford but saved a 97th-minute penalty against Kobenhavn.
1970-01-01 08:00
Jude Bellingham sends confident message to Barcelona ahead of first El Clasico
Jude Bellingham admits he's relishing the chance to take on Barcelona in the first El Clasico since he became a Real Madrid player.
1970-01-01 08:00
Comedian Jim Gaffigan gets candid about challenges of raising teens on ‘Today’ with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager
Comedian Jim Gaffigan left the audience in splits as he made jokes while discussing his experience raising teens
1970-01-01 08:00
Telecom Italia Investor Seeks to Oust CEO, Halt Network Sale
A London-based investment firm led by former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Alessandro Barnaba unveiled a surprise plan
1970-01-01 08:00
