Boxing Day Roundup: Man City, Arsenal, Man Utd, keep rolling as strugglers also shine

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This ‘Christmas Cracker’ just kept on giving more delight on Thursday, as a Boxing Day Bonanza ensued in the Premier League.

Massive wins for Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle saw the chasing pack stay together at the top.

However, the little guys also plucked up some courage and dug deep to grab three points, as Sunderland, Fulham and Crystal Palace all prevailed away from home to boost their survival hopes.

City downed Liverpool on Boxing Day at the Etihad as Manuel Pellegrini’s men sent out a message with two-straight home wins against league leaders Arsenal and now Liverpool. Will the Citizens now reach the summit? They’re only one point behind the Gunners and always looks so dangerous in every game they play.

(MORE: Latest Premier League Standings)

This year Boxing Day marked the first time in over five years that 10 PL matches were all played on the same day (excluding the final day of every campaign) and we had bucket loads of controversy, stunning goals and talking points to chew on as our Christmas dinner was still being digested.

What a magnificent day of action it was, let’s roundup all the action with recaps, analysis, video highlights and much more from every single game that place on another famous Boxing Day slate of matches.

Let’s get to it.

Man City 2-1 Liverpool

Another stirring comeback saw Manuel Pellegrini’s side make it nine wins from nine at home. Liverpool went ahead early on as Philippe Coutinho finished off a lovely move, but City hit back through Vincent Kompany and Alvaro Negredo to lead 2-1 at the break. That was how it would remain after Raheem Sterling spurned a great chance to level from close range, in a truly encapsulating game between two sides that will be scraping it out at the end of the season.

Hull City 2-3 Man United

Hull were 2-0 up at home against United within the first 15 minutes as goals from James Chester and David Meyler put the Tigers in dreamland. However Untied came roaring back as Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney leveled things before the break, and Chester went from hero to villain as his own goal handed United all three points. Superb comeback from the Red Devils.

West Ham 1-3 Arsenal

After a slight scare at the start of the second half when Carlton Cole put the Hammers ahead, Arsenal got their heads down and ground out a vital win away at Upton Park. Two strikes from Theo Walcott put them ahead, before German international Lukas Podolski came off the bench to seal the three points and put Arsenal top of the league.

Aston Villa 0-1 Crystal Palace

A marvelous stoppage time strike from Dwight Gayle handed Crystal Palace all three points as the Eagles climbed out of the drop zone. Villa were poor and Paul Lambert’s time is running out, but Tony Pulis’ is orchestrating Palace’s great escape expertly.

Cardiff 0-3 Southampton

Three goals in 13 first half minutes saw the Saints tear apart Cardiff in a rampant first half display. A Jay Rodriguez double and a strike from Rickie Lambert gave the Saints their first win in seven games, as Malky Mackay’s problems worsen on and off the pitch.

Chelsea 1-0 Swansea

The Blues made hard work of this, but Jose Mourinho’s men dominated for large spells and really should have won by a wider margin. Eden Hazard’s strike turned out to be the game winner, as Chelsea keep up the chase on those above them.

Everton 0-1 Sunderland

One incident changed the entire complexion of this match, as USMNT ‘keeper Tim Howard was sent off in the 23rd minute for taking down Sunderland’s Ki following a defensive mix up. The Black Cats South Korean midfielder then got up and slotted home the PK, which turned out to be the game-winner despite 10-man Everton’s constant barrage of efforts that Vito Mannone heroically stopped. Massive win for Gus Poyet’s Sunderland.

Newcastle 5-1 Stoke

The Potters lost the plot at St. James’ Park, as Oussama Assaidi’s opener gave Stoke the lead but two quick-fire red cards and manager Mark Hughes being sent to the stand by Martin Atkinson changed the entire game. Loic Remy missed a penalty, but then scored the equalizer before half time. Newcastle accelerated away against the brave 9-men of Stoke in the second half, as Remy added another, before Yohan Cabaye, Yoan Gouffran and Papiss Demba Cisse rounded things off.

Norwich 1-2 Fulham

Massive win for the Cottagers, as Scott Parker’s late stunner gave them a vital win away at Carrow Road. Norwich went ahead through Gary Hooper’s deflected effort, but Pajtim Kasami’s free kick made it 1-1 at the break. Parker’s late strike sent Fulham wild as they close the gap on everyone around them at the bottom.

Tottenham 1-1 West Brom

Spurs struggled against a plucky West Brom side at White Hart Lane as Christian Eriksen’s sublime free kick was cancelled out a minute later by Jonas Olsson in the first half. Tim Sherwood’s first game as new head coach ended in a draw, and he’ll be disappointed his side didn’t take all three but relieved they didn’t throw it away.

Reports: Tottenham Hotspur to hire Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as next manager

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Multiple reports say that Ange Postecoglou will be leaving Celtic to become the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

Celtic had reportedly granted permission for Spurs to speak with their trophy-collecting boss, and things apparently progressed quickly as the 57-year-old looks set to oversee the club’s big rebuild.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

Spurs suffered through an inconsistent 2022-23 season with Antonio Conte at the helm, followed by Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason in interim stints.

Tottenham will not have European football this season and is at risk of losing legendary center forward Harry Kane. The club has eight players including Kane going into the final year of their contracts, including Ivan Perisic, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, and Hugo Lloris.

Spurs finished eighth last season, 15 points off the top four despite spending much of the season inside of it. The club’s finished fourth just once in the past four seasons despite qualifying for the Champions League the previous four seasons.

Ironically, Celtic is being linked with pursuit of Brendan Rodgers and Jesse Marsch if Postecoglou departs this week.

Who is Ange Postecoglou?

Postecoglou, 57, was born in Greece and moved to Australia at a young age, starring for South Melbourne as a player and earning for caps for the Socceroos.

He is coming off a domestic treble with Celtic and won five of six trophies available to him in his two seasons with the Bhoys.

At Celtic, Postecoglou played with a 4-3-3 for much of the first half of his tenure but played a lot of this campaign in a 4-2-3-1.

Postecoglou won trophies as a manager with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, and Yokohama F. Marinos, claiming the Asian Cup during his stint as Australia national team coach.

He said he expects tricky early times wherever he goes.

“Wherever I’ve been, the initial part is always rocky, because my ideas are… well they’re not extreme to me but I can see how they can be seen as extreme from the outside. It takes a while. Usually it can take me six months, it can take me a year to really bed them in, depending on how many opportunities I have to change the playing squad and the staff and all those kinds of things.”

Five players to watch in the Premier League’s summer transfer window

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There’s going to be turnover in the Premier League this offseason, and it seems likely the big boys will again be looking to the top young talents in other leagues to get in when the getting is good.

There will be big price tags attached to some players this summer, but in the case of the players below we may be talking about players just a window away from having unattainably high price tags for most clubs.

[ TRANSFER NEWS: Arsenal | Liverpool | Chelsea | Tottenham | Man City | Man United ] 

Most of these names have danced through ProSoccerTalk‘s transfer rumor mill at least once during the past season or two, and in one case have been on the radar for a half-decade or so.

Here’s a look at five players who may well find their way to the Premier League in the very near future, and could move somewhere this summer.

Xavi Simons, PSV Eindhoven

At times the teen hype around Xavi Simons coming out of Barcelona’s academy was akin to the recruitment of Martin Odegaard out of Norway so many years ago. But Simons couldn’t break through at Barca and his move to Paris Saint-Germain didn’t take off as expected. So Simons, who just turned 20 in April, landed at PSV Eindhoven. All he did was lead the Eredivisie in goals. PSG has a buyback clause but Simons would have to want to go there… and there are plenty of rumored suitors for the playmaker. Simons chipped in eight assists and was Fotmob’s highest-rated Eredivisie player.

Possible fits: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool

Jurrien Timber, Ajax

Still 21 for a couple more weeks, Timber got Mancunian tongues wagging when he attended the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City. The star center back played under United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax and now has 15 caps for the Netherlands senior team. He has a ridiculous passing and ball progression profile for his position, and has showed enough attacking acumen to get any team excited about him.

Possible fits: Manchester United, Manchester City

Randal Kolo Muani, Eintracht Frankfurt

The 24-year-old has acknowledged dreams of playing in the Premier League following a blockbuster first season at Eintracht, where he scored 23 goals with 17 assists amongst all competitions. Moving to a new country did not slow him at all after his time at Nantes, and he was linked with a number of PL sides even before he admitted his interest in the league.

Possible fits: Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United

Sepe Elye Wahi, Montpellier

The 20-year-old nearly scored as many goals as his age in his third season with Montpellier’s first team, and has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Chelsea amongst others. Wahi is still very raw when it comes to passing the ball but part of his statistical deficiencies could have to do with his club’s relative struggles. A eager presser, his best traits are finishing and that’s the stat that drives the bus for him.

Possible fits: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal

Gabriel Veiga, Celta Vigo

Here’s another playmaker linked with Arsenal, but you can see why he could fit in Mikel Arteta’s system. His 11 goals were 13th in La Liga this season and his four assists means he had a goal contribution on 15 of Celta’s 43 league goals. An eager dribbler, he delivered 80 shot creating actions this season and ranked in the 99th percentile for midfielders when it came to non-penalty goals.

Possible fits: Newcastle, Arsenal, Man CIty

How many times has a team won the treble? Man City goes for history

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There’s been a lot of treble talk these days, talk that’s found a new level of buzz since Manchester City moved within one win of joining the club.

It’s an elite club, by the way, of teams that have won their domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Nine times in history has a team won the treble, and only once has it been done by a Premier League club.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

That’s why Man City’s defeat of Manchester United earlier this month in the FA Cup Final rings so true for the Citizens; The blue side of Manchester would join the red side as treble supporters, as United won the treble in 1998-99.

Man City goes for the third jewel of its treble crown on Saturday versus Inter Milan in Istanbul when it kicks off the UEFA Champions League Final.

For more treble trivia, head below the jump.

How many times has the treble been won?

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)

Manchester City vs Inter Milan: How to watch Champions League Final, odds, predictions

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Manchester City is on the chase for a historic treble and standing in the way is Inter Milan, one of Europe’s precious few clubs to claim such an honor.

[ LIVE: Manchester City vs Inter Milan ]

The Premier League winners three times running have an FA Cup under their belt after beating Manchester United on June 3 and the final jewel in their treble crown awaits with a win in Istanbul on June 10.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Pep Guardiola could lead a second club to a treble after he did it with Barcelona in 2008-09, and they would give heated rivals United domestic company on the treble stage right down the road.

Guardiola says it’s now okay to talk about the treble. We agree, and we’ve laid out why the achievement is so special after the jump.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City vs Inter Milan.


How to watch Manchester City vs Inter Milan live, stream link and start time

Dates: 3pm ET June 10, 2023
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: TUDN, Paramount+


What Premier League clubs have won the treble?

Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in 1998-99.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils are the lone Premier League club to win it.

That’s it. For now.


How many times has the treble been won?

Nine times in history has a team won its domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)


Champions League Final odds (Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM )

BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links. 

Man City (-250) vs Inter Milan (+625) | Draw over 120 mins (+380)

Over 2.5 goals (-160). Under 2.5 goals (+110)


Champions League Final predictions

Joe Prince-Wright: Man City 2-1 Inter Milan
Andy Edwards: Man City 3-1 Inter Milan
Nick Mendola: Man City 2-0 Inter Milan


Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: None

Inter Milan team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Joaquin Correa. OUT: Dalbert.