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Departed Paul Pogba speaks on why Manchester  United failed

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Paul Pogba

French midfielder Paul Pogba conceded the volume of different coaches he played under at Manchester United hindered his chances of success in England, while he also insisted he is pleased to be “home” at Juventus.

Pogba left Juventus to rejoin United, who he played for as a youngster, for a world record fee in 2016, but after six years where he flattered to deceive in England, the 29-year-old is back in Turin following his departure from United at the end of last season.


July 12 (Reuters) – French midfielder Paul Pogba conceded the volume of different coaches he played under at Manchester United hindered his chances of success in England, while he also insisted he is pleased to be “home” at Juventus.

Pogba left Juventus to rejoin United, who he played for as a youngster, for a world record fee in 2016, but after six years where he flattered to deceive in England, the 29-year-old is back in Turin following his departure from United at the end of last season.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he outlined the reasons why after leaving Italy having won four Serie A titles with Juventus, he is back with only two further trophies to his name from his time at United, where he played under three coaches, including interims.

“I’m happy with the choices I’ve made in my life,” he said. “Sometimes you make choices that don’t go your way but I’m happy with the years in Manchester. I grew up, I learned, I became a man.

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“Changing (United) coach every year is hard – this was a difficult aspect for me. Then there were a few injuries, but I think it was also a mental thing – playing and not playing makes you lose pace. There is a bit of everything: coach, team, position. All this has blocked me a bit.

“Now, however, I have left and you will see another Paul. I can do better than in recent years.”

Pogba has signed a four-year contract at Juventus, where he hopes to steer the underperforming Serie A giants to their first Scudetto in three seasons.


July 12 (Reuters) – French midfielder Paul Pogba conceded the volume of different coaches he played under at Manchester United hindered his chances of success in England, while he also insisted he is pleased to be “home” at Juventus.

Pogba left Juventus to rejoin United, who he played for as a youngster, for a world record fee in 2016, but after six years where he flattered to deceive in England, the 29-year-old is back

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Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he outlined the reasons why after leaving Italy having won four Serie A titles with Juventus, he is back with only two further trophies to his name from his time at United, where he played under three coaches, including interims.

“I’m happy with the choices I’ve made in my life,” he said. “Sometimes you make choices that don’t go your way but I’m happy with the years in Manchester. I grew up, I learned, I became a man.

“Changing (United) coach every year is hard – this was a difficult aspect for me. Then there were a few injuries, but I think it was also a mental thing – playing and not playing makes you lose pace. There is a bit of everything: coach, team, position. All this has blocked me a bit.

“Now, however, I have left and you will see another Paul. I can do better than in recent years.”

Pogba has signed a four-year contract at Juventus, where he hopes to steer the underperforming Serie A giants to their first Scudetto in three seasons.

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“I am happy to go home, this is how I feel here,” he added. “This is something more than a dream. I am very happy.

“There were other teams interested, but my heart chose Juventus. I was fine here before and I’m fine now, I just want to do well. I can’t wait to start and help the team. I hope to do better than last time.”

-Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Arsenal defeat ‘accident waiting to happen’ after card – Arteta

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Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season against Bournemouth. Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday was “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba was sent off in the first half.

Bournemouth won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after Saliba was shown a red card for a challenge on Evanilson after 30 minutes as Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the campaign.

It is the third time this season Arsenal have been forced to finish a match with 10 players, leaving Arteta frustrated that his side’s lack of discipline cost them points.

“We are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we have to play again in that context,” he said. “This time was even more difficult than the previous two we faced this season.

“Playing for 65 or 68 minutes with 10 men at this level is just an impossible task. It’s an accident waiting to happen, not to get the points.

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“I cannot fault the team for their effort, their commitment, how intelligent they are to play in the way that we have to do it.”

Declan Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton earlier in the season, while Leandro Trossard was also shown red in the 2-2 draw against title rivals Manchester City.

Arsenal host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.

-ESPN

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Joe Aribo’s goal not enough to Southampton’s suffering

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Premier League - Southampton v Leicester City - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - October 19, 2024 Southampton's Joe Aribo in action with Leicester City's Stephy Mavididi Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley

Joe Aribo scored a goal for Southampton on Saturday,but it was not enough to curb the club’s miserable run as they succumbed to a last-minute defeat by Leicester who snatched victory by 3-2.

Leicester scored three second-half goals to come from behind and stun 10-player Southampton, denying them a first Premier League win of the season.

The result means Saints have set a club record for the longest winless run in their entire top-flight history, having failed to emerge victorious from any of their last 21 Premier League encounters.

Inside five minutes, Joe Aribo had crashed a header onto the crossbar and inside seven minutes, the hosts had taken the lead. Kyle Walker-Peters led the charge after a quick free-kick and dropped the ball off to Ryan Manning, who squared for Cameron Archer to coolly slot in and send a wave of both relief and belief around St Mary’s.

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Leicester fight back to clinch 3-2 win and extend Southampton’s suffering

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Jordan Ayew scored in the 98th minute as Leicester staged a second-half comeback to earn a 3-2 win at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, with the 10-man hosts setting a club record of 21 matches without victory in the English top-flight.

Leicester moved up to 13th in the standings with nine points from eight matches, while Southampton fell to 20th – level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who face champions Manchester City on Sunday

“It’s just unbelievable, that’s why we play football. We didn’t have a good first half,” Ayew told Sky Sports.

“Second half we got ourselves back together and attacked the game properly. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.

“It’s a good step forward to move up the table. We’re going to continue fighting and it’s not going to be easy so well done the lads and everyone.”

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Having failed to win in their last 13 matches in the 2022-23 season when they were relegated, Southampton are without a win in the Premier League since they beat Leicester in the same fixture in March 2023.

Southampton shot out of the blocks and took the lead in the eighth minute when Ryan Manning squared for Cameron Archer to finish a sweeping counter-attack, before midfielder Joe Aribo added to their tally with a side-footed effort.

Leicester defender Wout Faes nearly scored a spectacular own-goal five minutes into the second half by sending a diving header straight at his own keeper Mads Hermansen, who spared the Belgian’s blushes with a deft save.

The visitors grew into the contest in the second half and created some half-chances before pulling one back in the 64th minute.

Buonanotte turned in a cross after a driving run from substitute Abdul Fatawu and the goal signalled the beginning of Southampton’s unravelling.

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Minutes later, Vardy was denied on the line by an excellent Aaron Ramsdale save, but Leicester were awarded a penalty after a VAR review found that the forward was held back by Ryan Fraser.

Fraser was sent off and Vardy stepped up, blasting his effort past Ramsdale to equalise.

Leicester smelled blood and pushed forward in their quest for a winner, which came deep into stoppage time when Ayew’s low shot went through a sea of bodies and crept into the bottom corner, breaking the hearts of home fans at St Mary’s Stadium.

-Reuters

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