Yaya faces big no-no
CLUB LEGEND UNLIKELY TO FEATURE AT WEMBLEY
YAYA Toure could be denied a Wembley farewell when City take on Arsenal in Sunday’s league cup final.
The veteran midfielder has been the go-to gamechanger for the Blues at the home of football.
From his goals against United and Stoke in the 2011 FA Cup, to the stunning equaliser in the 2014 league cup final – and the winning penalty in 2016 – Toure has led the team to three trophies at the ground.
But the chances of the Ivorian contributing to a fourth look extremely remote. He has not featured in the first team for nine games, last appearing in the first leg of the league cup semi-final against Bristol City.
While has he played in all but one matches in the competition, the 34-year-old looks out of favour with Pep Guardiola.
The club legend has trained with the group this week and will travel down to Wembley, but it would be a surprise were he to force his way into the squad. He overcame an exile last season to earn a one-year deal at the Etihad and has spoken of wanting to say a ‘proper goodbye’ to fans.
ROY Keane admitted Mark Bosnich annoyed him from the start of his short second spell at United - but he was indebted to the Australian goalkeeper in April 2000.
The impregnable Bosnich denied Real Madrid in the Bernabeu and Champions League holders United were expected to breeze past a side which would eventually finish sixth in La Liga.
Keane fronted up in the Bernabeu mixed zone and was immediately asked: “Are you happy with a 0-0 draw?”
“No, no. Quite disappointed,” he stressed. “We wanted to win, we wanted to score an away goal, but it wasn’t to be.”
It really wasn’t to be. Keane’s sliced clearance into Raimond van der Gouw’s net gifted Real the away goal at Old Trafford a week later. The rampant Raul extended the advantage before Fernando Redondo ensured future YouTube fame awaited for the nutmegged Henning Berg.
Keane had standards. The injured Irishman had watched from the sofa as United counted the cost of a goalless first leg in Monaco two years earlier, one of the standout pragmatic performances under Sir Alex Ferguson in Europe. That was mildly more watchable than the 2011 tedium of United’s last 16 first leg at Marseille, a genuinely forgettable European night following United. Marseille were overcome. Jose Mourinho shrugged at the suggestion he may have been ‘relieved’ to emerge from the ear-splitting Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium with a goalless draw. “I think the only moment where we felt relieved was in the last couple of minutes in the first half,” Mourinho explained. “Whereby a couple of our mistakes in possession then they had a couple of good situations with David [making] great saves and that gave this fantastic stadium the emotion that normally they have for 90 minutes. Apart from that I was never relieved.” It is a misconception to regard a goalless first leg away from home as a positive result. Mourinho opined the result ‘is not good, is not bad’ and, as illogical as it sounds, there is logic in settling for a 2-1 defeat over a goalless draw in an away European knockout first leg.
The psychological impact of an away goal lingers favourably and conceding at home does not dramatically alter the hosts’ aggregate objective. Ten-man United’s 2-1 defeat at Roma in 2007 is the standout example from Ferguson’s tenure. Rome needed a rebuild following that 7-1 destruction.
It would be churlish to depict United’s Spanish stalemate as a positive. Sevilla are the lowest-scoring side in the top half of La Liga, have shipped five goals on four occasions this term and their January transfer business consisted of loaning Sandro Ramirez from Everton, where he managed one goal in 17. Which was in a 5-1 defeat.
What reflected terribly on Mourinho was that 27 goals were plundered in the eight Champions League knockout ties and the sole goalless leg was United’s. Ten-man Besiktas were the only other side not to net an away goal at Bayern Munich, who battered them 5-0.
De Gea is currently the most entertaining aspect about this inane United side and supporters should cherish his contribution as long as he remains in Manchester rather than Madrid. Even if it is a regression to the Louis van Gaal era. For United have never aspired to be synonymous with clean sheets. They were at their most purposeful in Seville after Mourinho brought Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on for the last 15 and some Sevilla fans outside the ground at full-time were baffled that both began the tie on the bench. Alexis Sanchez was visibly disgruntled throughout, rounding on Nemanja Matic.
After Tottenham, City and Liverpool scored a combined 11 away goals last week it was demoralising to witness United approach their own encounter so reticently.
They had a couple of good situations with David [making] great saves Jose Mourinho