All eyes were on the Pogba brothers as Florentin’s Saint-Etienne took on Paul’s Manchester United in the Europa League. In the tunnel, they exchanged daps and marveled at the brilliance of each other’s hair.
Apart from eventually winning promotion back to the Premier League, the greatest memory of Newcastle United's 2016-17 season will be selling Moussa Sissoko to Tottenham for £30 million. After acquiring him from Toulouse for next to nothing, Sissoko briefly impressed before playing a massive role in Newcastle’s relegation last season. His lone goal of the campaign didn’t arrive until April, a return of one from 37 matches.
Mark Clattenburg, England's most famous referee, is leaving England to become the head of refereeing for the Saudi Arabian FA, where he will replace his countryman Howard Webb.
Clattenburg will be remembered for being a pretty good referee, England's go-to man for big matches and also UEFA's go-to man, possibly because no English teams seem to play in big European matches anymore (ha ha! I jest). Mostly, though, Clattenburg will be remembered for doing a weird tongue thing while an Atletico Madrid player was writhing on the ground in the 2016 Champions League final.
After spending £6.5 million on Belgian Matz Sels in the offseason but watching him commit a series of high-profile errors to start the campaign, Newcastle United turned to 26-year-old goalkeeper Karl Darlow to steady the ship.
Darlow has since been great in net for the league league leaders, but he undoubtedly suffered the worst moment of his career in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Norwich City on Tuesday.
DeAndre Yedlin put in another brilliant performance for Newcastle United over the weekend, showing his defensive qualities in a 1-0 victory over Derby with a blocked shot, six tackles and 10 clearances, including one off the goal line.
Yedlin with a goal-saving clearance off the line - Darlow in no mans land #NUFC #DCFC
The 2015-16 Premier League season was dominated by two stories: the remarkable rise of Leicester City and the shambolic title defense of Chelsea. This season, the roles have been reversed. As a barometer of the contrasting performances, one needs to look no further than the play of wingers Eden Hazard and Riyad Mahrez.
It may be only the beginning of February, but Chelsea are already looking set to run away with the Premier League title this season.
In the span of four days, Arsenal let slip any hopes they had of overtaking Chelsea for the Premier League title, and in typical Arsenal fashion. Despite being eight points behind Chelsea before the midweek fixtures, Arsenal had a chance to put some pressure on the Blues at the top. The Gunners were taking on mid-table side Watford at the Emirates Stadium while Chelsea traveled to Anfield to face top-four contenders Liverpool.
In the summer of 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson, who had managed the club since 1986, announced his retirement from Manchester United, taking 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League titles with him.
The Red Devils attempted to continue their unmatched level of success with the hiring of David Moyes, who’d managed Everton with aplomb for over 10 years. Moyes’ first and only season at the helm was an unmitigated disaster.