The Giants have been linked to New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the last couple of months.
Judge is a free agent and will be testing the market after turning down a $213.5 million extension from the Yankees before the start of the 2022 MLB season. Now the 30-year-old is ready to secure a lucrative contract and possibly with the Giants. ESPN's MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel projected on Wednesday that Judge will receive a contract north of $320 million. "[Judge] turned down a $213.5 million extension before the season started and was probably worth somewhere between that and $250 million at the time, then it became clear during the year that he was likely to clear $300 million, with estimates averaging roughly $320 million from a panel of experts I polled in September," McDaniel wrote. With the projection putting Judge's contract over $300 million, the Giants are in position to decide whether they want to hand out a large sum of money to the America League's all-time single-season home run king and add the marquee player that many in the Bay Area have been waiting for. The Giants have an extensive history of handing out lucrative contract extensions over the course of multiple regimes but have yet to hand out a nine-figure contract with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi leading the way. RELATED: Why Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, free-agent shortstops have Giants' attention Under Zaidi, the Giants spent noticeable money on starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, who recently opted out of his contract after signing a two-year, $44 million contract in March. Nonetheless, a Judge signing will be new territory for Zaidi, so it will be interesting to see if he and the Giants want to spend big as other marquee franchises continue to do.
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11/11/2022 0 Comments How the Cleveland Cavaliers met Donovan Mitchell on his rise to the NBA's eliteOutside the visitors' locker room at TD Garden, the Cleveland Cavaliers' vibes were palpable. They were celebrating an overtime win against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the fifth game of the regular season as if it were the franchise's first playoff victory since LeBron James left in 2018.
If you've been around NBA locker rooms long enough, you can download a team's chemistry pretty quickly. Some young ones take losses too lightly, like they expect them. Some veteran ones are all business, in and out, off to the next win. Some are silently glued to their phones, worn out from failing to meet expectations. Others, well, they are like the Cavaliers. It is early, yet, but they like each other. Kevin Love holds court, the revered veteran at the center of the room. Jarrett Allen jokes about someone grabbing them Bud Lights. Donovan Mitchell, the three-time All-Star, repeatedly defers to 22-year-old backcourt mate Darius Garland as "our lead guard." More than any of that, they believe in each other and their ability to contend together. The subject of this celebration was Caris LeVert, who scored 41 points in the victory, his highest total since Cleveland acquired him for a lottery-protected first-round draft pick and a pair of second-round picks at the February trade deadline. LeVert emerged from the locker room sporting the Junkyard Dog chain, complete with an oversized gold-encrusted Cavaliers logo, given after each win to "the guy who does the dirty work." That's the thing. LeVert didn't just drop 41 points. He got to the line 12 times. He dished seven assists. He grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to help the Cavaliers erase a late four-point deficit. He swiped three steals, including one off Jayson Tatum to seal the deal in overtime. LeVert's position on the wing, between pairs of dynamic guards and rim-protecting bigs, is key to unlocking Cleveland's championship potential this season. The other four spots belong to Mitchell, Garland, Allen and second-year 7-footer Evan Mobley, all of whom are locked into long-term contracts on All-NBA upside. The keys to Cavaliers contention Conventional wisdom figured Mobley's evolution as their ultimate avenue to a title. He has all the tools of a young Kevin Garnett, save for the maniacal intensity. Mobley gets pushed around a bit inside, and he needs to find his role within an offense that also features another non-shooting 7-footer, at least until he finds his range, but his defensive instincts and the length and athleticism to fulfill them make him dangerous already. It is too much to ask Mobley to realize it all over the next five months, but there is room to grow in that time. Mitchell's step into superstardom early this season, when he is averaging career highs of 31.9 points (51/45/86 shooting splits) and 5.8 assists per game, presents another path out of the East. His scoring efficiency is where we imagined it might settle after his debut season for the Utah Jazz, and he genuinely feels the need to recommit to his defensive potential after criticism of his playoff performance on that end. "The biggest thing for me is trying to take that challenge defensively," Mitchell said from the TD Garden podium. "This is probably the hardest I've worked on the defensive end in my career since college, and I've still got a long way to improve. ... I think that's the biggest thing, being able to do it on both sides." That Mitchell's prowess as a scorer and playmaker stagnated in Utah, and he let his defense slip on a perennial 50-win team that desperately needed it on the perimeter, should cause some concern about how he might regress once the sun sets on his honeymoon phase in Cleveland. Garland can fill the creative void, but he carries similar concerns about his defensive ability. It will take time for them to construct a cohesive crunch-time strategy with one ball between the two of them, but the offensive foundation is solid. Only three players have run more pick-and-rolls per game than Mitchell's 11, and only Stephen Curry (1.37) and Luka Doncic (1.22) have netted better than his 1.13 points per possession among those who run seven or more a night. Garland could join him in that neighborhood once his shooting percentages find their level. The issue is just the opposite in the frontcourt, where Allen and Mobley have the paint on lockdown, and anyone who dares challenge them inside of 10 feet gets one shot at it, because the Cavaliers are the best rebounding team in the league. That safety net can mask much of their backcourt's defensive deficiencies. The lane is equally as crowded on the other end, since the two bigs have made 11 of 36 shot attempts (31%) from midrange and beyond in 11 games. The Cavs haven't generated a ton of shots at the rim or from the corners, and their efficiency will suffer when they stop making 44% of their pull-up 3s. They have scored at a rate that would easily lead the NBA with just one of their bigs on the floor, but that figure craters to a bottom-four number (106.5 points per 100 possessions) when both Allen and Mobley are on the court. The playoffs expose those weaknesses further. Still, Cleveland is 8-3, owners of the East's second-best record and ranked third on both sides of the ball, even after consecutive losses on the longest road trip of their season. Their net rating of 8.9 points per 100 possessions is nearly a point better than the conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks. They have had a fairly favorable schedule, but Garland missed six of those games, and they have twice beaten the Celtics in overtime. Cleveland faces its first test against the defending champion 메이저사이트 Golden State Warriors on Friday. "As a group, coming into this new team, they're farther along than I thought," said Mitchell. "I didn't know what to expect, but I'm like, 'Wow.' Evan's getting it, [Allen]'s getting it, and it's a testament to the vets and the guys they had last year. I'm just trying to add my piece to it and not just come in and take over." In the broadest sense, as Yahoo Sports colleague Dan Devine put it, "What if Mitchell's Utah teams had a young Mike Conley and a second, more versatile Rudy Gobert?" That's safely in the category of contention. They were on pace to win 51 games last season without Mitchell, before injuries one by one claimed Mobley for a handful of games, Garland for eight, LeVert for nine and Allen for the final month of the year. Mending Cleveland's wings and making them fly It still might not be enough to win the whole thing. Mitchell's Jazz never found the wing who made it all work, and they hit their ceiling in the second round of the playoffs. The Cavaliers want to reach theirs in the Finals, but the collection of Cedi Osman, Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro leaves plenty to be desired, even if Osman and Wade are shooting a combined 49% on a dozen combined 3-point attempts per game. Their choice on the wing is too often between defense and one-dimensional offense. This is the conundrum that led to speculation last season about LeBron James' second homecoming to Cleveland, and it is the same idea that spurred the LeVert acquisition. It is mostly a wings league, and the Cavaliers are fully aware. So, too, is LeVert. Immediately following Cleveland's disappointing end to last season, he reached out to Los Angeles-based performance coach Mike Guevara, whose strength and mobility work with Jrue Holiday and Spencer Dinwiddie, among other NBA clients, has helped maximize careers plagued early by injuries. LeVert's goal was to play 70 games for the first time since his second season on the Brooklyn Nets, when he was still a reserve. Injuries have plagued him since suffering three Jones fractures in his left foot over a span of 22 months during his tenure at the University of Michigan. Just as his NBA career was taking off in November 2018, he dislocated his right foot. Even when his feet and legs weren't failing LeVert, the Indiana Pacers discovered a cancerous tumor during a routine post-trade physical, and he had his kidney removed. That is behind him now. ("No problems since then," he told Yahoo Sports.) So, too, is a minor shoulder procedure, which only slightly delayed his work with Guevara and skills coach Alex Bazzell this summer. Guevara "started from square one" with LeVert, "reverting back to rudimentary, fundamental movement skill that I would teach someone who's brand new to training." Together, they mastered his movement, regained his mobility and reprogrammed his central nervous system's hypersensitive "emotional attachment to pain." "He committed," said Guevara, who, with his wife during the pandemic, developed an app, GBG (Greatness Breeds Greatness) Hoops, which helps athletes develop strength and pliability, in coordination with their skills, as preventative measures against injury. "Every day, on time, never missed a single day, never called in sick, never said, 'Ah, I can't make it,' and the freakin' dude is leading the team in minutes." "It's super intense," LeVert told Yahoo Sports of his first summer working with Guevara. "It was something I've never really done before, as far as training. It was really based on keeping my quickness throughout the full season and just staying healthy, because for me I've been hurt a lot in my career. Injuries have kind of derailed me a little bit, so a lot of it was just based on being able to take the physicality of a full NBA season. It's paying off right now. We're still working as the season goes. It's a journey game by game." The trade for Mitchell energized LeVert when it might have discouraged another player who is eligible for a contract extension, only to become the subject of discussion about who should even start at small forward. "This is my position," LeVert told Guevara. "This is my job. There is no debate." "That was his reaction," Guevara said of when the Cavaliers dealt for Mitchell. "He didn't say anything self-serving at all. He said, 'We're going to be an amazing team.' Obviously, if you look at them, he was right." Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff called LeVert their best player in training camp, which is saying something on a team that entered the season with four players who realistically hoped for an All-Star berth. LeVert is playing the hardest defense of his career and averaging 14 points, six assists and five rebounds in 36 minutes per game so far this season. If his anomalistic 2-point field-goal percentage (35%) can rise without his 3-point accuracy (43%) dipping too far in the opposite direction, he is exactly the player they need. "I played against Caris in Brooklyn, and nothing against him last year — he obviously had injuries — but I think this is the Caris we all know," Mitchell added after LeVert's 41-point outburst in Boston. "He looks healthy, he looks different. When you're playing with injuries for a year and a half, or whatever it was, your intensity level, your passion for basketball rises, because you realize how much it sucks being out. "Every single drill, every single shootaround, every single play, he's consistently going the hardest and making hard cuts to the point that I'm like, 'Bro, relax, we've got a game tonight.' You see the work he continuously puts in, and he was due. This is the Caris we all know, and if we can get this, his comeback will be huge. He's been an animal for us on defense, on offense. He led by example, and we followed suit." It is that commitment from the fifth man in the starting lineup that can lift the rest of the roster to meet Mitchell on his climb to the NBA mountaintop, even before Mobley makes his leap. If the Cavaliers still felt one piece away from the outside looking in, chemistry is bonding their existing pieces into a contender. 10/20/2022 0 Comments MLS awards 2022: Andre Blake wins Goalkeeper of the Year; Jakob Glesnes wins Defender of the YearWith the MLS Cup Playoffs underway, it's also award season as members of the league are rewarded for their accomplishments during the season. Hany Mukhtar has already won the Golden Boot as his 23 goals helped power Nashville SC into the playoffs. While they fell in the first round, Mukhtar is also one of the finalists for the league MVP award along with Andre Blake, Sebastian Driussi, Javier Hernandez, and Cristian Arango. One of them will go on to hoist the trophy but there are other awards at play too. 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Here's a look at the awards that have been given out and which are yet to come. On Tuesday, the Young Player of the Year Award was given out with Jesus Ferreira winning the award while Wednesday saw the Philadephia Union duo of Andre Blake and Jakob Glesnes honored: Goalkeeper of the Year: Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union) Following a dominant season that also sees Balke as one of the MVP finalists, he has now captured his third goalkeeper of the year award while leading the Philadelphia Union to the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Jamaican has become the first MLS player ever to win the award three times in their career and has now won twice in the past three years. Blake played every minute for the Union this season while also capturing 15 clean sheets and allowing the fewest goals of any regular starting keeper with 26. Defender of the Year: Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union) Odds were that a member of the Union would win this award after a season that saw them allow only 26 goals saw both Glesnes and left back Kai Wagner in the running for defender of the year but it was the ever present center back who went on to win. Glesnes has been a rock at the heart of the Union defense playing every minute of the season while having consistent performances weekly. By Glesnes' standards, he had a down offensive season but was also able to chip on with three assists while providing an attacking threat carrying the ball forward. With 15 clean sheets, he also helped the union improve from the 2021 season where he also played every minute helping the team to 12 clean sheets. Young Player of the Year: Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas) To cap off an impressive season for club and country, FC Dallas star Jesus Ferreira has captured the award, following former FC Dallas striker Ricardo Pepi. Ferreira also tied the club record for goals in a season with 18 without being on penalty duties for the team. He also had six assists showing his playmaking ability. His partnership with Paul Arriola helped Dallas capture the third seed in the playoffs after missing entirely last season. Landon Donovan MVP finalists
10/20/2022 0 Comments 2022 FIFA World Cup kits: The 10 best jerseys ahead of Qatar, with USMNT definitely missing the markIt might just be an overpriced t-shirt in reality but how many formative memories of footballing history are wrapped up in the shirts that the great teams were wearing? Famously, Brazil captured a generation of supporters in 1970 with those yellow shirts that shone all the brighter on new fangled color televisions. (메이저사이트) There are few artifacts that represent the revival of English youth culture in the 1990s quite like the third kit they took to the World Cup in Italy last year. Nigeria's 2018 jersey drop was a crowning moment in sportswear's infiltration of fashion.
Sadly, most of the kits that will be on display in Qatar do not live up to those lofty heights. From Puma's underwhelming hodge-podge of away shirts to whatever that is Nike have done with their ticks on the USMNT jerseys. Still, amid the morass some stand out for the right reason. Here they are: Most definitely not on the list... USMNT Did Nike hit up T.J. Maxx with $10 left in their kit budget and a whole load of iron on USA badges? These are so aggressively mid (look it up grandad) as to vanish from your memory, even as you lay your eyes upon them. Perhaps that is all part of Gregg Berhalter's cunning plan to guide his squad to World Cup glory. Look on these shirts, ye Mighty, and despair! 10. South Korea, away It's somewhat of a struggle to entirely shake the sense that this kit has been designed with one eye on rankings like these, that it is the sort Nike envisage flying off the shelves in Peckham, Kreuzberg and Willamsburg ahead of Christmas. Whether you view it through a cynical lens or otherwise, though, you have to conclude it is a very stylish shirt indeed. The blue and red streaks across the shirt pay tribute to the Taegeuk, the supreme ultimate that adorns the South Korean flag. The yellow is quite pleasant too and I'm sure there's some marketing guff out there that can explain why it was a necessary addition. 9. Croatia, home No one is ever going to change the Apple logo, the shape of a Porsche 911 or the scheduling of the World Cup in the northern hemisphere's summer. In a world of turbulence these are fixed points, we can go to sleep at night feeling a little safer knowing that these always will be as they are now, just like the Croatia home kit. You know what you're getting here. You know it's going to be that spectacular checkerboard of red and white where even a "remix" is basically just making room on the front of the kit for the player numbers. Some things in life, you can just rely on. 8. Denmark, away The Danish FA and kit manufacturers Hummel made headlines last month when they announced that they would tone down their logos on the World Cup kits as they "don't wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives". It was as powerful a message as any of the tournament participants have yet put out and makes these shirts something that Danish players and supporters can wear with pride. 7. Germany, home Can a t-shirt have the swaggering sense of certitude and superiority that the best German teams carry into major tournaments? Yes. Yes it can. 6. England, away Gareth Southgate's men, here, serving you some of the early 90s realness. Honestly all this needs is a bucket hat and we've gone full Madchester. If England manage to achieve in Qatar anything like what they did at the last World Cup or the European Championships (an extremely open question at this moment) then we can be sure that in 20-30 years time this particular design will be reinterpreted, remixed and reimagined. 5. Senegal, home For the most part Puma have rather dropped the ball with their identikit approach, foisting on all their representatives in Qatar a baffling away template that is as if someone found Nike's T90 template and hit the downgrade button. However, the Lions of Teranga have been handed quite the gem with their home jersey, the triple chevron theme carrying over elegantly from the chest to the collar. 4. Netherlands, home This might just be the most contentious kit in our rankings, one certain to generate the same outcry as our placing of Southampton's away kit did when we rated and slated the Premier League's jersey. And to those critics I will say, who's the one with the column for one of the most august institutions in global broadcasting. As for the kit, it has a magnificent velvet look that is only going to make Virgil van Dijk look more imperious when he turns on the afterburners to get himself out of trouble. 3. Japan, home Here we find the masters of international kits. As the proud owner of their 2020 home kit I am disappointed to see that this might even be a step up on the "cloud camouflage" print that Adidas went for then. This time the manufacturers have taken their inspiration from anime for a kinetic shirt that looks as good in person as it does in stylised format. Perhaps that's why the USMNT were so awful against Hajime Moriyasu's side, they were simply taken aback by how good their opponents looked. And yes, I have rehashed this joke like Puma rehashed their away kits. 2. Tunisia, third Whether Tunisia are actually going to need to wear three kits at a World Cup where they are probably only going to play that many games is an open question. It would be a travesty if this bit of fried gold did not get to an airing in Qatar. The underlaid graphic takes its inspiration from the shield of Carthaginian general Hannibal, the color scheme from the nation's olive industry. Kappa tend to deliver when it comes to shirts (see the emergence of Venezia as the cult-est of cult kit creators) but even by their standards, this is a towering achievement. 1. Mexico, away It simply had to be. Mexico don't do bad kits but this is a whole other level of greatness, transcending the limitations of a t-shirt to reach greater heights. This will be the bar against which all future World Cup kits are measured, the Brazil 1970 of shirts, Diego Maradona's 1986 tournament in jersey form. 10/20/2022 0 Comments 2022 FIFA World Cup: USMNT panic meter with Chris Richards barely being used; Christian Pulisic's limited timeWhen the World Cup in Qatar was moved to November to avoid the summer heat, one of the benefits was supposed to be that players would be in midseason form. But for the United States men's national team, that late start could be a weakness. While some members of the team such as Tyler Adams are in the midst of good runs for their clubs, others like Chrisitan Pulisic are struggling for regular playing time.
For those who aren't playing regularly but will likely be on the plane to Qatar, it's good to take a look at how concerned Gregg Berhalter should be about core members of the team who have played in less than half of the available minutes for their respective teams this season. Some players are trending up to be strong contributors for the World Cup but others may be making it hard to take them to Qatar. Let's take a look at the players in our USMNT panic meter: Center back Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) Missing every crucial window to state his case for the World Cup, Richards is a member of this list who may not make it when the final roster is released, but for the Crystal Palace defender, he could have the most upside of anyone in the center back pool. With Aaron Long expected to start when things kick off against Wales, Richards may be needed if things don't go well. The move to Palace was seen as a promising one for Richards but it may take more than a year for it to begin bearing fruit. Like Luca de la Torre at Celta Vigo, this may be a move that's better for the 2026 World Cup than the 2022 edition which would be disappointing for such a talented defender. Panic level: 7 Winger Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) One of the leaders of the national team, Pulisic has had a tough season at Chelsea. While he reportedly wanted to leave the Blues during the summer due to lack of playing time, Graham Potter has utilized Pulisic more than Thomas Tuchel did, but playing fewer than 300 minutes across 11 appearances isn't enough for the most important player for the USMNT to have a successful World Cup. Pulisic has to be decisive in his decision making and that hasn't consistently been there for Chelsea in these limited minutes, causing concern to grow that he'll be able to be marked out of games for the national team. If that happens, there aren't many players who have the quality to score past a team like England which could lead to the United States crashing out in the group stage. Panic level: 5 Right-back Sergino Dest (AC Milan) Frozen out at Barcelona, Dest was handed a lifeline with a loan move to AC Milan. But so far in Serie A, Dest has shown that Xavi made the right decision freezing him out. Suspect defensively and only average going forward, Dest will need to clean up his game to earn more minutes in Italy, but if he can't, he could be at risk of losing his starting spot with the national team. With a veteran like DeAndre Yedin behind him, Berhalter may opt to go in a different direction where he knows what he will get. Reggie Cannon is also on the fringe of the squad as right-back is one of the deeper positions on the team. Panic level: 7 Paramount+ is the only place to watch every minute of every UCL match this season in addition to Serie A, NWSL, Europa League and more. Sign up now with code UEFA22 for one month free for new users and don't miss any of the action. A subscription not only gives you access to all the soccer you could want but also the NFL on CBS, and countless movies, shows and original content. Winger Tim Weah (Lille) One of the few players on this list where lack of playing time may be a help, now that Weah is back for Lille, he will enter the World Cup with relatively fresh legs compared to his competition. Weah didn't make his season debut for the French club until October 9th against Lens before following that up with a two-assist performance against Strasbourg. Weah will likely start on the right wing for the national team as no one has his ability to get in behind a defense on the counter. Able to cut inside and shoot or play his teammates into good positions, Weah's role will be important to provide balance to the front line so finding form at the right time is critical. Panic level: 0 Midfielder Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo) While de la Torre needed a move after Heracles Almelo were relegated from the Eredivisie, Celta Vigo may not have been the best move for this World Cup cycle as the Spanish side have a well-established midfield already. As a long-term move, it's a great place for de la Torre to learn but in the short term, only logging 38 minutes this season won't put him in a good position to retain his role as the first midfielder off the bench for the national team. (안전놀이터) Like Pulisic, decision-making is critical to de la Torre's game as he has to know when to dribble and know when to pass the ball to other attackers to drive the team forward, but there isn't a chance for him to shake off rust with the national team when he's already coming in without minutes. Panic level: 8 Winger -- Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) Borussia Dortmund have been taking things slow with Reya as he has missed so much time with injuries over the past few years. With how he has been eased into things, Reyna may not be able to start for the national team in Qatar, but since they had to get through World Cup Qualifying without him, his inclusion will be a boost from the bench. Reyna has two assists for Dortmund coming off the bench this season and his direct style can play well against tired legs at the World Cup. While it would've been great for Reyna to be in a position where he'd be a surefire starter for the team, the right-wing is a position of depth with Brenden Aaronson and Tim Weah in the fold. Panic level: 2 Keeper -- Matt Turner (Arsenal) Turner should arguably be the starter after his performances were the only reason that the matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia weren't more lopsided during the September international window. While Berhalter will likely run with Zack Steffen in goal as he's back between the sticks for Middlesbrough, Steffen's performances could play him out of the starting role. With Turner getting regular reps in Europa League for Arsenal, he should be ready to step in if needed. Panic level: 0 10/20/2022 0 Comments Manchester United suspend Cristiano Ronaldo: Portuguese star to miss huge Chelsea game after late-game walkoutManchester United defeated Tottenham 2-0 Wednesday to keep their push for a top-four place going, but instead of being asked just about the performance of players on the pitch, manager Erik ten Hag had to field questions about striker Cristiano Ronaldo. An unused substitute, Ronaldo left the substitutes bench to go down the tunnel at Old Trafford in the 89th minute.
A day later, the club announced that he won't be part of the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday in what appears to be disciplinary action. He also won't be training with the senior squad, according to reports. The statement read: "Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture." Ten Hag had said after the game that he would "deal with that." "I have seen him [leave the pitch], but I didn't speak to him after. I will deal with that tomorrow," ten Hag told Amazon Prime Video Sport. "Today, we're celebrating this victory and now we have to recover from this [and look forward to] Saturday." Ronaldo's attempts to leave Manchester United were quite public in the summer as meetings were held between his agent Jorge Mendes and Chelsea's owner Todd Boehly. While a move didn't materialize, Ronaldo's discontent has shown at Manchester United this season. Due to the form of Marcus Rashford, Ronaldo has had to settle for a bench role with the Red Devils under their Dutch manager, something that he hasn't experienced since the beginning of his career. Since his second season at Manchester United at only 19, Ronaldo has been an unquestioned starter everywhere he's gone spanning his illustrious career until now, even after scoring 18 Premier League goals during the 2021-22 season. With United only one point behind Chelsea for a place in the top four, it's tough to argue against ten Hag's decision as Ronaldo's scoring has taken a step back this season and his ability to pressure and defend isn't a strength of his. In all competitions, (메이저사이트) Ronaldo has two goals and one assist while playing almost 700 minutes across 12 appearances, putting him on track for one of the worst attacking seasons of his career. With this step back, it's a situation that needs to be managed carefully by Ronaldo and ten Hag as the team have their goals but Ronaldo has his as well. While his wages were an issue with moving during the summer window, there's a chance that during the winter window Ronaldo and Manchester United can part ways before the rift grows. The first realisation of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United came on Wednesday night at Old Trafford.
His players worked in whirring synchronicity to totally dominate Tottenham Hotspur and hint at the potential to come. United defended and attacked as a collective, pushing up at the back, pressing high at the front, and thriving off the atmosphere in the crowd. Each major moment on the pitch triggered a piercing response in the stands and that energy seemed to travel as if by osmosis to the leg muscles of Ten Hag’s team. In the 91st minute, Luke Shaw bulldozed into a 50-50 challenge with Lucas Moura, won the ball, and dribbled up the touchline. Moura had come on nine minutes earlier but looked the more fatigued of the two men. Antonio Conte has overseen Spurs’ best-ever start to a Premier League season but United’s performance last night drained their purpose. “We have to be honest; United decided to win,” said Conte rather neatly. (메이저사이트) United seized their role as protagonists. Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham: Player statistics, formations, xG “I said to the lads in the dressing room, it was so enjoyable to watch it,” Ten Hag said. There was much to admire, but here are the aspects of a stirring display that most caught the eye. Attacking intent United had 19 shots in the opening 45 minutes, the most by any Premier League side this season. Fourteen of them were from outside the box, the highest first-half total since Opta began keeping records in 2003-04. By the end of the game, they had taken 28 shots, also the most by any team in the Premier League this season. United’s previous highest was 17, against Brighton. They had reached that total after half an hour against Spurs. Five United players had more shots than Harry Kane’s Spurs-leading three. Bruno Fernandes, Fred (both six), Antony, Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford (all four). Rashford had the best conversion rate, with three of his shots on target and forcing very good saves from Hugo Lloris. Thierry Henry advocated for finessed finishing over Rashford’s choice of power, and that is something for the United forward to consider. The general volume of shots maintained pressure on Spurs, forcing corners and keeping Lloris and his back line thinking about defending rather than starting attacks. Brazil bromance This was the match to confirm that, against certain opponents, compatriots Fred and Casemiro can form a formidable midfield double act. Fred was the surprise figure to keep his place from the weekend’s stalemate with Newcastle with Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen back, but Ten Hag’s faith was rewarded with quite possibly his best game in his four-plus years at United. As shown on the pitch map below, which details player average positions on the night, Fred (No 17) operated almost alongside Fernandes (No 8) as an advanced destroyer, causing chaos as Spurs tried to build. Casemiro, meanwhile, produced a near-faultless display in the sitting role. He showed his physicality, sensed danger, and maintained possession astutely. His punchy first-time pass out to Antony turned defence into attack for Fernandes’ goal that doubled the lead. The standing ovation he received when coming off for Eriksen in the 87th minute felt like a significant moment. Bruno’s back Fernandes has been under scrutiny for his performances recently but Ten Hag launched a firm defence of his captain in the pre-match press conference. “He is playing a massive role in a lot of moments for us in building up, creativity and movement, but also transition; both sides,” the United manager said. This was a display to affirm Ten Hag’s appraisal. Fernandes created nine chances, the most in a match by a Premier League player since September last year, and despite his risk-taking, had a 92.65 per cent passing success rate: much higher than is typical for him. He scored a wonderful goal, of course, but his assistance with the ugly side of the game was equally as important. For Fred’s opener, Fernandes sprinted to track back Son Heung-min after Lisandro Martinez’s loose pass and later in the same passage of play, intercepted Eric Dier’s ball ahead of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to help set up the chance. Fernandes took responsibility. Defensive solidity This was the fifth clean sheet in eight games for Martinez and Raphael Varane, with six wins coming in that period. They dovetail nicely. Varane followed Kane all the way to the Tottenham defensive third at one stage of the game, so comfortable was he that Martinez would be covering. The Argentinian kept a close eye on the England captain at mid-range, jumping in to claim the ball on halfway right before the interval as Kane tried to turn. The full-backs brought protection on either side. Both Shaw and Dalot were excellent. Shaw won seven and lost three duels, Dalot’s numbers were five and two — only Martinez (also five and two) could rival those ratios among the match’s defenders. Shaw and Dalot were also much more involved with each other than previously, as shown by the below pass maps: one from the game against Newcastle (left) and one from Tottenham (right). Shaw’s passes to Dalot are shown in blue, while the latter’s passes to his colleague at left-back are in red. Last night, Dalot hit three long passes to Shaw at different times when Spurs had tried to press down the right, easing the situation instantly. Another cross to Shaw inside the area nearly brought a fabulous goal. Those links from right to left and vice versa demonstrate a general team cohesion. Behind the back line, David de Gea came out of his area to better effect than previously. When Fernandes scored, Martinez leapt into the arms of Shaw and the pair then embraced Varane and Casemiro. The spirit was evident. No Ronaldo Ten Hag said he would deal “tomorrow” with Cristiano Ronaldo, an unused substitute, walking up the tunnel before 90 minutes showed on the clock, then leaving the stadium with the game still going on. The manager’s focus being on those who did play last night makes sense. It did, though, feel like he was making a point by not bringing on Ronaldo. Ten Hag showed he can win comfortably, better even, without the man who was United’s top scorer last season with 18 of their 57 Premier League goals. Ten Hag’s answer on Rashford was telling: “Against Tottenham, you need good pressing because from there, you can create chances. Offensive-wise, you need dynamic. That is what Marcus brings. You saw that against Newcastle in the last 20 minutes; more space.” He added: “Eleven players who defend, 11 players who attack. I am pleased with that. “I will not say I am totally satisfied. Good is not good enough. That has to be the standard here.” |
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