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Roy Keane joins Sky Sports as a pundit

By Joe Prince-WrightSep 21, 2019, 9:02 AM EDT
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Grab your popcorn. Roy Keane is back as a regular Premier League pundit.

[ STREAM: Every PL match live ] 

The legendary Manchester United midfielder, who won seven PL titles with the Red Devils, has been announced as Sky Sports’ latest new pundit, joining Jose Mourinho, Gary Neville, Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher among others.

In a statement released on Saturday, our partners as Sky say Keane will be with them ‘throughout the season’ and his first game in the studio will be at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea v. Liverpool this Sunday (Watch live, 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).

“I’ve worked with Sky Sports quite a few times over the years and it’s always been an experience I’ve enjoyed, so this makes absolute sense,” Keane said. “While I’m not coaching I still want to be involved in the game and in some ways, this is the next best thing.

“It’s a game of opinions, I’ve never shied away from giving mine and that’s only going to continue this season. Sky Sports has always been famous for the heated debates – I look forward to starting a few more.”

Keane will be appointment viewing, and just like in his playing days, he is never scared to tell it how it is. And then some. He has been working as a pundit for ITV covering England games and international tournaments, while he has also been the assistant coach for the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in recent seasons.

After being a head coach at Sunderland and Ipswich Town in the past, he now appears to be focusing more on punditry.

Expect plenty of heated debates between Mourinho and Keane in the Sky Sports studio this season.

Berbatov’s greatest Premier League hits

By Daniel KarellSep 20, 2019, 11:23 AM EDT
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Dimitar Berbatov announced his retirement on Thursday, closing out a two-decade professional career.

The Bulgarian striker never flashed much pace in the helter skelter Premier League. But it didn’t matter. Over his eight seasons in the Premier League, Berbatov may go down in history for the greatest technical player in the Premier League era. I mean, just look at this first touch!

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

Look at how nonchalantly Berbatov brought down that 50-yard bomb from across the field, controlling it as if he was just juggling the ball three feet in the air to himself. That slow, methodical play was evident for Berbatov across his time with Tottenham, Manchester United and Fulham, but it didn’t matter, because he always ended up in the right place in the box to score, or he could pick out a pass to set up a teammate. He even had a few dribbling tricks.

Berbatov finished his Premier League career with 94 goals and 40 assists in 229 games. He joined Tottenham after a stellar five-year run with Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 and immediately became a fan favorite. In 2008, he made a then-Man United record transfer to Old Trafford for around a reported $38 million. After four seasons and 48 league goals, Berbatov moved to Fulham for another couple of years before heading back abroad.

During his time in England, Berbatov left crowds stunned with stupendous goals, flicks and tricks. Here’s a collection of some of his best highlights.

Pogba, Shaw, Martial remain sidelined

By Daniel KarellSep 20, 2019, 9:18 AM EDT
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Paul Pogba will miss a second straight Premier League match as he continues to overcome a persistent ankle injury.

Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, ahead of his side’s league matchup at West Ham United on Sunday, confirmed that Pogba, along with left back Luke Shaw and forward Anthony Martial will all miss out on the match-up. Pogba hasn’t played since suffering an ankle injury in Man United’s 1-1 draw with Southampton before the international break.

Pogba missed a chance to join up with the France National Team for Euro 2020 qualifiers and according to Solskjaer, via the Manchester Evening News, Pogba hasn’t returned to full training. At the same time, Wales international and rising star Daniel James could also miss the match with an undisclosed injury. James reportedly suffered the injury during Man United’s 1-0 win over Leicester City.

The quartet of players all missed out on Man United’s 1-0 win over Astana in the UEFA Europa League group stage opener. Man United is now 2-0 since losing Pogba, with the wins over Leicester City and Astana. It will be fascinating to see whether Nemanja Matic retains his place alongside Scott McTominay, and whether that gives Man United a little more defensive balance.

Pogba so far has played four matches for Man United this season. Both Shaw and Martial have just played three times, though Martial already has two goals on the season.

The 2 Robbies podcast: Champions League, Europa League return

Photo by Visionhaus
By Andy EdwardsSep 19, 2019, 6:59 PM EDT
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Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle reflect on the opening round of UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixtures.

Manchester City bounced back from their defeat at Norwich. Who is ready to step up and lead Tottenham (8:00)? Liverpool slipped up at Napoli (19:00). There was penalty drama at Chelsea (30:00). The Robbies look ahead to the weekend’s marquee matchup: Chelsea v. Liverpool (37:00), before wrapping up with Arsenal (41:00), Manchester United (45:00), and Wolves’ opening Europa League matches (51:30).

To listen to more lively conversations and passionate debate from Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe, subscribe to The 2 Robbies Podcast on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

[ Click here for The 2 Robbies archive ]

Follow them on Twitter @The2Robbies

UEL roundup: Man Utd survive Astana scare; Arsenal cruise in Germany

AP Photo/Dave Thompson
By Andy EdwardsSep 19, 2019, 5:26 PM EDT
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A roundup of all of Thursday’s action in the Europa League group stage…

[ MORE: Top Premier League storylines: Week 6 ]

Manchester United 1-0 Astana

Most of Man United: bad. Mason Greenwood: good.

When the likes of Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata and Jess Lingard failed to create and finish a decisive moment against Kazakh side Astana, it was the 17-year-old who not only scored the game’s only goal in the 73rd minute, but appeared a cut above the rest in his first start of the season. Greenwood was the most active and accurate of United’s attacking quartet and a rare bright spot for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s side.

Despite out-shooting Astana by a margin of 20-3 (7-0 on target), United appeared headed for an embarrassing draw until late in the second half. Greenwood’s goal made him United’s youngest-ever goalscorer in European competition.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Braga

Elsewhere in England, Wolves were equally disappointing in suffering a home defeat to Portuguese side Braga. Ricardo Horta scored the game’s only goal in the 71st minute, punishing Wolves on the counter-attack with a simple finish past Rui Patricio.

Wolves enjoyed the lion’s share of possession (60 percent), but created very few chances of merit. Braga sat deeper and offered Wolves precious little space to play into in the final third, and it wasn’t until Diogo Jota came on in the 75th minute, already down a goal, before Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side came to life and looked likely to score a goal.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal — FULL RECAP

Joe Willock opened the scoring, followed by a goal from 18-year-old Bukayo Saka and a late insurance tally from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and that was the recipe for Arsenal’s simple success away to last season’s UEL semifinalists.

Arsenal finished the game up a man after Dominik Kohr saw yellow for the second time in the 79th minute. The points were hardly in the bag at that point, as goals no. 2 and 3 came after Kohr’s dismissal.

Other notable Europa League results

Roma 4-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
CFR Cluj 2-1 Lazio
Wolfsburg 3-1 Olexandria
Borussia Monchengladbach 0-4 Wolfsberger
Qarabag 0-3 Sevilla
Getafe 1-0 Trabzonspor
Espanyol 1-1 Ferencvaros
PSV Eindhoven 3-2 Sporting CP
Porto 2-1 BSC Young Boys
Gent 3-2 Saint-Etienne
Rennes 1-1 Celtic
Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord