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Newcastle United won their third consecutive match in the Premier League on Monday night when they beat Burnley at Turf Moor.

And while the whole team and club as a setup have to be credited and admired for the way they have turned their season around, defender Federico Fernandez has emerged as a somewhat unsung hero in the team’s turn of results.

After losing their first ten matches, Rafa Benitez’s charges began to get things together with a win over Watford at the beginning of October, which was followed by another inspiring performance over Eddie Howe’s high-flying Bournemouth.

But the away win over the Clarets on Monday emphasised the desire and determination the team has and more notably Fernandez.

In a recent interview with the Chronicle, following the win over Sean Dyche’s team, the centre-back portrayed the ambitions he has with the Magpies. Fernandez had a big hand in Newcastle opening the scoring in the 4th minute when his right-footed shot deflected off Ben Mee to sail past Joe Hart into the back of the Burnley net.

In the interview, Fernandez rubbished the question if he would claim the goal by saying, ‘The main thing is we scored early in the game,’ emphasising the importance to just get the job done and build on their form.

In the earlier victories over the Watford and Bournemouth, it was also the Argentinian international who looked the most composed and calm when Newcastle looked as if they might fall apart.

Despite only arriving at the North East club in August, Fernandez immediately impressed when he made his debut against Chelsea. Benitez’s trust in him as a core part of the back-four could also stretch back to when they were both still at Italian club Napoli.

Fernandez has clearly shown to be just the player Newcastle need if they were to push on with their current run and move further away from a relegation spot.

Becoming a cult-hero already, Fernandez’s popularity on Tyneside is heart-warming after such a miserable summer at the hands of Mike Ashley. Try as he might, the Sports Direct mogul cannot dampen the Toon crowd, and the old-fashioned romance that goes along with the Toon Army.

Arsenal struggled to find their feet in the opening weeks of the Premier League season, losing to Manchester City and Chelsea, but a major corner was turned last week with a win over West Ham.

The Gunners are now looking to secure back-to-back victories to carry into the international break as they travel to face Cardiff City this weekend, who are yet to score a goal since earning promotion to the Premier League.

Unai Emery has a number of selection dilemmas ahead of the match and big decisions need to be made in midfield, where the Gunners have Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira to choose from.

Although not the most popular figure at the club, Xhaka has been a regular feature for Arsenal this season and gave his chances of starting this weekend a huge boost by scoring a superb free-kick in training that the club shared on social media.

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Fans quickly gave their reactions to the goal and we have gathered some of the best below.

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According to ESPN FC, Aston Villa target Michael Carrick has no plans to leave Manchester United despite increased speculation over his future.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror reported over the weekend that Villa – along with Premier League duo West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa – have made enquiries about signing the 36-year-old following a lack of first-team action for the Red Devils this season.

However, ESPN FC says that despite his lack of game time and problems with injury and illness, he plans to remain at Old Trafford until his contract expires next summer, with United boss Jose Mourinho happy for him to stay because of his experience and leadership qualities.

How has Carrick done this term?

It’s not been a great season for the midfielder.

After signing a one-year extension to his contract at the end of the previous campaign, the 36-year-old would have hoped to try and match or get close to the 38 appearances he made in all competitions for the Red Devils last term.

However, he has made just one outing – against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup – because of injury and a mystery illness, which means that he is currently behind Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini in the central midfield pecking order.

Why do Villa want him?

While he may not be the first name on the team-sheet now, Mourinho is certainly right if he believes that Carrick bring experience and leadership to his team.

That is something that Steve Bruce would love to add to his team in the second half of the campaign as they look to seal a return to the Premier League at the second time of asking, while the 36-year-old would also be calm in possession and provide a shield in front of the defence.

Could he leave in January?

While it seems as though he is happy to stay until the expiry of his contract, it could come down to how bothered Carrick is about playing regularly at this stage of his career.

The fact that he is probably fifth-choice in central midfield means that his minutes will be limited even when he does get back to full fitness, and he may decide that he wants to go and have one more challenge before he retires – leading Villa back to the Premier League from a tough Championship would certainly be that.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has hinted that young defender Axel Tuanzebe could play a key role for the Red Devils from now until the end of the season.

Man United currently have an injury crisis at centre-back, with Marcos Rojo joining Phil Jones and Chris Smalling on the sidelines during the club’s busiest period of the 2016-17 campaign.

Tuanzebe, 19, is yet to make his full debut for the Red Devils, although the highly-rated centre-back made his first-team bow as a substitute against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup earlier this season.

The teenager had been due to represent England in the Under-20 World Cup in Korea next month, but Mourinho has revealed that he is considering pulling Tuanzebe out of the competition as he is needed at Old Trafford.

He told Man United’s official website:

“Now we need absolutely everyone and I don’t have to think about Axel Tuanzebe going to the Under-20 World Cup in Korea because maybe Axel has to come now. We need everybody.”

Daley Blind played at centre-back after replacing the injured Rojo against Anderlecht, although it is thought that Mourinho is not considering the Netherlands international as a central defender for the remainder of the season.

As a result, Eric Bailly is Man United’s only fit senior centre-back entering the final weeks of the campaign.

It’s Manchester United against Leicester City this weekend as the Red Devils look to get their faltering title challenge back on track.

The Old Trafford club have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, a win against Northampton Town the only shining light in a rather dreary looking last couple of weeks.

Plenty of criticism has been fired at United and Jose Mourinho as only a club the size of the Red Devils would attract and whilst some has been warranted some has been over the top.

Things are far from dreadful at the club despite this blip and if they can beat the Foxes on Saturday lunch time this will be forgotten quickly.

Even so, they still have to win. Luckily for them, here at Football FanCast we think they just need to follow these three things to take victory. Simple….

Play Paul Pogba further forward

If you’ve seen any of the Frenchman’s performances it’s pretty obvious to note that he clearly can’t play in the role Jose Mourinho has asked him to so far. He needs to play further forward where his attacking ability can come into play properly whilst also allowing Marouane Fellaini and someone else to defend in the two holding roles. Where this leaves Wayne Rooney is up for debate but more than likely on the bench.

Avoid the counter

Leicester won the title on the counter attack last year and whilst it would be crude to suggest that’s all they had, it was a lot of their game plan. United need stop the Foxes from breaking out early as for all their big names, they really do lack pace and if Jamie Vardy et al. can stand the United defence up and get running at them it could be curtains for the men in red.

Start quickly

Old Trafford should be a pretty loud place come Saturday lunch time, but if the Red Devils don’t get going quickly that could soon fizzle out and Leicester will grow in confidence. United’s fans need to be reassured that what’s gone on over the last fortnight is nothing but a brief blip, but without getting them out of their seats early in this game, it could make for a pretty dull affair.

Wrexham have been handed a timely injury boost, with Phil Parkinson saying that George Evans and James Jones are expected to “play again this season”.

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• Evans & Jones have picked up knocks
• Set to undergo further scans
• Will rejoin top-three push at some stage

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Evans picked up a glute problem in the Red Dragons’ 2-1 win over Sutton United, while Jones limped out of a 1-0 victory against Notts County with a hamstring complaint. Both issues are more serious than first thought, with spells on the treatment table needing to be taken in.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  No timescale is being put on the recovery of either midfielder, despite the lack of numbers that Parkinson now boasts in his engine room. They will not be rushed back into action, but the hope is that neither has been seen for the last time in 2023-24.

• WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Parkinson has said when delivering a fitness update on Evans and Jones ahead of Wrexham’s midweek trip to Forest Green Rovers: "I expect them to play again this season but they are facing longer term injuries than we first thought. We will get them both rescanned and we will know clearer when we have got those second scans."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham have 13 games left to take in this season, meaning that the clock is ticking for all of those currently stuck on the sidelines. Parkinson intends to make the most of those still at his disposal, with the plan being to line up another automatic promotion party for co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Ryan Reynolds felt like he was going to "throw up" after finding out how much money he and co-owner Rob McElhenney have lost since purchasing Wrexham.

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Owners told how much they've lostReynolds thought he'd "throw up"Welsh club expected to keep growingWHAT HAPPENED?

The club owners found out that they have lost $12 million (£10m) since they took over the Welsh club two years ago.

The Hollywood stars bought Wrexham for an estimated £2m but have since seen the team promoted from the National League to League Two amid an incredible rise in popularity around the world.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Despite a massive increase in ticket and shirt sales and developing a huge social media presence, the owners are still losing money, it was revealed in the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.

WHAT THEY SAID

When told that they have lost around $12m since buying the club, Reynolds said on the series: "I'm going to throw up."

When McElhenney asked when he can expect to make money from Wrexham, advisor Shaun Harvey said: "The value that's coming from the global appeal we've been able to create is going to offset those additional costs that we've created. The biggest thing that will change on promotion [is that] people can see the value of Welcome to Wrexham. They can see the value of the profile that's being built. That's when the additional sponsorship revenue can be generated."

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GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Wrexham will visit Mansfield in the FA Cup on Saturday. The match sees the League Two teams go head-to-head, with Wrexham sitting third in the league and Mansfield a point behind them in fourth.

The World Cup of shocks continued on Friday as wily Croatia dumped favourites Brazil out on penalties.

It felt cruel. In the moments after Friday night's penalty shootout between Brazil and Croatia, an advertisement echoed through the stadium.

"Neymar's there!", the advertisement yelled out. And there he was, still on the field several minutes after it all ended, with his head in his hands and tears streaming down his face.

Brazil are gone, out of the World Cup that they always seemed so likely to win. They were favourites in this game and likely would have been in all of the ones to come. That didn't matter to Croatia.

If this were David and Goliath, and make no mistake, Brazil are a Goliath, then a penalty shootout is seemingly Croatia's rock, the great equaliser. They pushed the mighty Selecao to penalties and took over from there, with Rodrygo's miss setting the tone for his side's collapse.

And that's what it will feel like: a collapse. They seemingly had this settled thanks to Neymar himself, who had scored a career-defining goal in extra time to all but win it. All but, indeed.

Bruno Petkovic scored in the 116th minute and, from there, it all unraveled for Brazil, both the game and the World Cup.

Croatia are through. They've done it again. Argentina or the Netherlands await a team that just knows how to win games like this better than anyone else on the planet. They wait and wait and then strike, taking teams to extra time before, ultimately, taking them out of the competition.

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  The Winners

  Luka Modric:

  Special, just special.

  If this is his last World Cup and, let's be honest, it probably is, what a run it's been.

  Not that he looked like a man enjoying his swansong at the Education City Stadium. Modric is still Modric. What a player.

  He absolutely controlled this game, starting and stopping it as he pleased. His ability to manipulate tight spaces is almost otherworldly. Even at 37-years-old, Modric can simply do whatever he wants.

  He did that for large stretches of this match, completely dictating how the game was played. He's been doing it for so long now that it's no longer a surprise, even if most other humans would have surely slowed down by now.

  Not Modric. There's a reason he's one of the greats, after all.

  Dominik Livakovic:

  Who would have picked him as a World Cup hero? But here he is, writing quite a legacy.

  It began in the round of 16 against Japan as he stopped three of the four penalties he faced. And it continued on Friday against Brazil as the Dinamo Zagreb man continues to seal his place in World Cup history.

  He made 11 saves throughout the 120 minutes as part of an absolutely inhuman performance. As Brazil turned up the pressure, Livakovic was always there to turn things right back down and give Croatia a bit of momentum.

  Brazil did eventually score, though, with Livakovic raising his hand as if to say he was partially at fault. No one could blame him though, and if they were foolish enough to, he won them right back in the shootout.

  What a stop he made for Rodrygo's first penalty, although it wasn't the best spot kick. It set the tone and sent the Brazilian nerves spiraling and, ultimately, they never recovered.

  The world loves unlikely heroes and few are as unlikely Livakovic, who will even get another chance to build on an already historic tournament when Croatia play in the semis.

  Bruno Petkovic:

  Can you score a bigger goal?

  Extra time, World Cup knockout game against Brazil, your team trailing and in need of something, anything, to keep the game alive.

  It's no doubt the biggest goal of Bruno Petkovic's life, a strike that no one could have possibly seen coming.

  Brazil were cruising. They were in the lead, marching towards an inevitable victory that, ultimately, wasn't so inevitable. But then they fell asleep at the wheel and Petkovic pounced.

  It didn't put Croatia through, they still needed penalties for that, but it effectively sealed the game. Brazil never recovered.

  Petkovic earned his moment, holding up the ball and showing bravery in the limited moments he had to go forward. For 116 minutes though, it felt like a goal would never come but, when it did, wow.

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  The Losers

  Neymar:

  This isn't about his performance; this is about his legacy.

  For a few minutes, it seemed as if he'd finally had that career-defining goal at the World Cup. Until this point, his most memorable moment at the competition was him in tears in 2014 as everything crashed down around him.

  And then it happened again. How cruel can football be?

  He never even got to take a penalty thanks to misses from Marquinhos and Rodrygo. He could only watch on as it all ended in heartbreak again.

  It seemed like a game that would define his international career, another step towards an inevitable coronation and elevation among the Brazilian greats. Instead, it was more of the same: more heratbreak and more failure under the brightest lights for a player that deserved so much better.

  Tite:

  Brazil's manager will face plenty of questions in this one.

  From substitutes to penalty selection, it just felt like Tite got it all wrong.

  With their starting lineup, Brazil were willing to concede control of the midfield to bring in pure attacking numbers. It didn't work. Brazil's two-man pivot struggled to overcome Croatia's three, as most would. The attack, therefore, was left disjointed as the ball never really got going from back to front.

  Tite never adjusted. Instead, he threw attacker after attacker at the problem only for them to meet the same fate. Antony, Rodrygo, Richarlison, Pedro, Raphinha, Vinicius, all were ineffective.

  Neymar seemingly bailed his coach out with his late goal only for it to all fall apart as Brazil failed to bunker. And then came the penalties, which started with 21-year-old Rodrygo and ended with Neymar never getting a chance.

  There were ways to avoid this fate, but Tite never found him, and he'll have to explain why.

  Rodrygo and Marquinhos:

  Both will come back from this. It'll be hard to see it in the moment, but each will have their moments to atone.

  This will hurt though, and rightfully so.

  Rodrygo's penalty wasn't good enough, even if you have to admire the 21-year-old Real Madrid starlet for trying. It was brave to take one, although it may have been a bit foolish to put him first.

  Marquinhos, meanwhile, will be left to wonder why his shot couldn't have been a few inches to the side. Denied by the post in a penalty shootout… is there anything crueler?

  The pair will be big parts of the next cycle, and both were quickly consoled by teammates after it ended. In penalty shootouts, someone gets to be the hero and someone gets left heartbroken. On this night, it was the two Brazilians.

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  Brazil Ratings: Defence

  Alisson (6/10):

  Had almost nothing to do all game. Deflected shot beat him, so no harm there. Wasn't able to get to a penalty with the tournament on the line.

  Danilo (6/10):

  Did Brazil miss Alex Sandro or what? Just couldn't add anything to the attack out wide in a game that was dying for it.

  Marquinhos (5/10):

  Was good until it all went wrong. Ball deflected off of him for the goal before his shot struck the post in the shootout. A night to forget, but that'll be impossible

  Thiago Silva (8/10):

  120 minutes out of those old legs? Silva was fantastic on and off the ball.

  Eder Militao (7/10):

  Pretty good as an unnatural right back, even if his attacking skill was never up to par. Prime Dani Alves he is not.

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  Midfield

  Lucas Paqueta (5/10):

  Active and did set up Neymar's goal. In a midfield already down a man, was nowhere near crisp enough and he missed a few chances in the first 90 minutes.

  Casemiro (7/10):

  Had a few dicey moments early and collected a yellow but he's Casemiro. You know what you're getting here: a solid defensive presence.

MatériaMais Notícias

Se ainda havia alguma dúvida sobre a posição que Daniel Alves deveria exercer no São Paulo, a temporada 2020 tem sacramentado a resposta de forma definitiva: ele é meio-campista. Com mais dois gols marcados, o camisa 10 dispara na artilharia do time no ano e mostra que sua qualidade técnica acima da média pode fazer a diferença em momentos que precisa desequilibrar.

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> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão clicando aqui

O capitão da Seleção Brasileira é, com larga vantagem, o jogador do Paulistão que mais acerta passes após sete rodadas completadas. São, ao todo, 563 acertos em sete jogos, média de 80,4 por partida, ou seja, o jogo do Tricolor passa pelos pés do craque, que também procura estar em todas as partes do gramado, mesmo que seu setor seja o meio-campo.

– Eu acho que ele está consolidado dentro do time, eu posso usá-lo em outras posições, como ele terminou na lateral, mas ele se encontra muito bem na posição que ele está jogando, ele foi ganhando a consciência tática daquilo que eu pretendo, ele é o cara que mais pega na bola no time, provavelmente é o cara que mais pega na bola no campeonato, então é um jogador muito criativo- declarou o técnico Fernando Diniz em coletiva.

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Como jogador decisivo e mais perto do gol adversário, ele passou a ter também uma faceta goleadora. Até aqui são quatro tentos no Paulistão, os dois últimos diante do Oeste, na goleada por 4 a 0, no último sábado. Foi apenas a segunda vez em sua carreira que conseguiu balançar a rede duas vezes na mesma partida. A primeira foi em 2006, ainda pelo Sevilla, quando ajudou na goleada por 4 a 0 sobre o Grasshoppers-SUI, pela Liga Europa, há mais de 13 anos.

E não é só a liderança na artilheira do elenco em 2020 que dá importância a Dani Alves, ele também exerce a função de líder em outros quesitos, com seu espírito vencedor, sua entrega em treinamentos e jogos, e na contribuição com o dia a dia dos companheiros de equipe, como disse Diniz após a goleada na Arena Barueri. Para o treinador, o São Paulo ganhou demais com o camisa 10.

– Mais do que isso (importância dentro de campo), é nossa principal liderança, o que esse cara ajuda, que vocês não tem conhecimento, é uma enormidade, sempre falei isso. Então é um grande acerto a vinda do Daniel para o São Paulo – concluiu o comandante são-paulino no último sábado.

Como se não bastasse ser o jogador que mais toca na bola no campeonato, um dos que mais cria chances para os companheiros, ele também é o segundo que mais acerta desarmes na competição. Até aqui são 23 em 23 tentado, ou seja, 100% de aproveitamento. Apenas dois atrás de Alison, do Santos, líder no quesito. Como disse Diniz, Daniel está consolidado no time, em todos os setores, jogando no meio, mas participando de todo o jogo.

O São Paulo folga neste domingo e na próxima segunda, e se reapresenta na terça-feira, no período da tarde, para iniciar a preparação para enfrentar a Ponte Preta, no próximo domingo, às 16h, no Morumbi, pela oitava rodada da fase de grupos do Paulistão-2020. O Tricolor agora é líder do Grupo C da competição com 12 pontos, dois à frente do Mirassol, segundo colocado.

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo apresentou duas versões de si mesmo no empate por 1 a 1 com o Santos, neste sábado, na Vila Belmiro. O time de Fernando Diniz esteve desconcentrado e desorganizado no primeiro tempo, mas foi corajoso e intenso no segundo.

Daniel Alves simboliza essa antítese. A etapa inicial do camisa 10, embora não tenha sido ruim, ficou marcada pelo lance em que ele ofereceu um contra-ataque para o Santos ao tentar dar um chapéu para trás em vez de fazer o passe óbvio para Vitor Bueno. A jogada terminou com Carlos Sánchez aproveitando um corte desastrado de Tiago Volpi para chutar do meio de campo e quase fazer 2 a 0.

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Como já aconteceu em outros clássicos, o São Paulo parecia jogar em uma voltagem menor que a do adversário. Eram pouco mais de cinco minutos quando Jucilei vacilou duas vezes seguidas no meio de campo e Arboleda deu um carrinho desnecessário que obviamente resultaria em pênalti para tentar desarmar Evandro. Sánchez converteu a cobrança.

A partida mudou de mãos depois do intervalo. Uma das razões fundamentais foi a entrada de Liziero, que jogou muito bem, no lugar de Jucilei, pesado demais para um jogo contra o levíssimo time do Santos. Tchê Tchê, Liziero e até Daniel Alves melhoraram demais a saída de bola tricolor e fizeram o time evoluir com inteligência para o campo de ataque, a ponto de sufocar o dono da casa em alguns momentos.

A postura também mudou. O São Paulo esteve mais concentrado, mais corajoso, mais sério. E aí entra novamente a figura de Daniel Alves. Ele foi o grande protagonista do gol de empate: desarmou Vitor Ferraz, deu belo lançamento para Vitor Bueno ganhar um raro (até ali) duelo de um contra um pela esquerda e correu para a área para finalizar sem firula e balançar a rede.

Ao lado de Liziero, Daniel foi o melhor jogador em campo na etapa final. Mostrou que, quanto mais objetivo for, mais poderá colaborar. Chapéus e canetas vão ajudar menos a melhorar o jogo dos companheiros – tecla em que ele sempre bate – do que passes de primeira e movimentação inteligente, algo que se viu na Vila Belmiro e que, indiscutivelmente, o jogador tem capacidade para fazer.

Com Juanfran na direita, Daniel Alves foi escalado como um armador livre para se movimentar por todo o campo. Um acerto de Fernando Diniz na ausência de Antony, que estava suspenso e ainda tem uma lesão muscular na coxa esquerda para curar. A estratégia deve ser mantida nos próximos jogos.

O resultado e o desempenho do segundo tempo vêm para aumentar a confiança de um time que havia jogado muito mal e perdido as duas últimas partidas, ambas em casa. De negativo, fica o jejum em clássicos como visitante, que completou 1.004 dias neste sábado: são 18 jogos, com 13 derrotas e agora 5 empates desde a última vitória, que foi contra o Santos, na mesma Vila, pelo Paulistão de 2017 (3 a 1).