England manager Sarina Wiegman said “sometimes it doesn’t look beautiful” after England did enough to beat Scotland and pick up their first points in the Women’s Nations League.

Goals from Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp helped them to a 2-1 win, but they were tested by Pedro Martinez Losa’s side.

“Sometimes you just have to get through,” added Wiegman.

The Women’s Super League (WSL) season is yet to start and it is just over a month since England returned from Australia following their 1-0 defeat in the final by Spain.

A tight turnaround and numerous players still being in the midst of pre-season training will have impacted England’s fluidity, but Wiegman said they “don’t want to use that as an excuse”.

The hosts had started brightly at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, but a goal from Kirsty Hanson in first-half stoppage-time led to a nervy ending as England clung on to their lead.

Hanson later hit the crossbar and England goalkeeper Mary Earps was forced into several saves – though England did have a goal disallowed either side of the break.

“After the first half we said we needed to be a little better connected in the final third, then our decision-making needed to be better. But I’m not sure that was just about getting the connections right,” said Wiegman.

“Yes, it is a short turnaround, that’s what we know. We also know that even though sometimes it doesn’t look beautiful, you can still win the game.

“I’m very happy with three very important points. The Nations League started and you can see how competitive it is with the other results we have seen.

“Overall we kept the win and that’s the most important thing. It was off the back of a World Cup, a very short turnaround and the players haven’t played any competitive games yet – so I’m very happy.”

‘Really tough to recover from World Cup’

There were just three changes to the England side who started the World Cup final in Sydney on 20 August as midfielder Keira Walsh was ruled out through injury and striker Alessia Russo was rested.

Chelsea defender Jess Carter said it was “really tough” to reset having had little time off since their return from Australia.

“Scotland definitely proved to be a tough opponent today. Personally, I wasn’t so happy with the performance from myself. On the ball, I definitely could have been better at times,” added Carter.

“As a team we maybe got a bit sloppy and got a bit complacent, but obviously the three points were the most important thing and it’s something to build on.

“Everyone has come back at different stages from the World Cup. Obviously it’s [about] a bit of sharpness as well, but I think we can just do a lot better on the ball, regardless of where we are in the season.

“It’s definitely really tough to recover from a tournament like that – a tournament of that intensity – and to be ready to go again.

“The tournament was mentally and physically exhausting. It’s really tough to reset and get ready to go again in that time, and everyone is just doing the best they can to get back to a top level.”

Après une saison 2022-2023 historique (championnat, coupe et Ligue des Champions), Manchester City est attendu au tournant à l’aube de cette saison 2023-2024. N’hésitez pas à parier sur les matchs des Skyblues avec le code promo Unibet.

Un effectif peu chamboulé

Après avoir tout raflé la saison dernière, Manchester City a dû faire face à quelques départs importants. Riyad Mahrez et Aymeric Laporte ont filé en Arabie Saoudite, tandis qu’Ilkay Gündogan a rejoint le FC Barcelone.

Toutefois, les Citizens ont compensé ces départs avec les arrivées des milieux Mateo Kovacic et Matheus Nunes, du défenseur Josko Gvardiol et de l’attaquant Jérémy Doku. Les départs estivaux ont donc été remplacés numériquement. Les Mancuniens ont également su retenir Bernardo Silva. Le meneur de jeu portugais était convoité par le PSG et le FC Barcelone. Le club parisien avait même fait du Lusitanien sa priorité du mercato. Finalement, l’ancien Monégasque a choisi de continuer avec Manchester City, une excellente nouvelle pour les hommes de Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City peut donc miser sur la stabilité avec cet effectif extrêmement solide et compétent.

Une concurrence moins rude ?

La Ligue des Champions réserve toujours de grandes surprises. Toutefois, si on doit comparer Manchester City à ses autres concurrents européens, les Mancuniens sont clairement au-dessus. Le Real Madrid semble entrer dans un nouveau cycle avec sa jeunesse incarnée par Vinícius Junior, Rodrygo, Camavinga et enfin Bellingham qui est arrivé cet été.

Le FC Barcelone se reconstruit petit à petit mais semble encore trop léger pour tutoyer les sommets européens.

Le Bayern Munich a réalisé l’un des grands coups du mercato en signant le buteur anglais Harry Kane, mais les Bavarois sont encore à la recherche de certitudes.

Le PSG a réalisé un joli mercato mais doit encore prouver dans les grands matchs même si la première victoire, 2-0, face à Dortmund est encourageante. A voir pour l’équipe parisienne si la solidité va durer après les poules en cas de qualification, le sujet du contrat de Kylian Mbappé risquant de revenir au premier plan en même temps que la deuxième phase de la ligue des champions.

Manchester City semble donc être le mieux armé pour se succéder. Son premier match remporté face au Young Boys l’atteste. Son style de jeu est imprégné depuis plusieurs saisons maintenant, l’effectif est stable et de grande qualité. Et la « culture Europe » semble enfin habiter le club.

Vouloir se remotiver

En 2012, Pep Guardiola avait confié qu’il avait quitté le FC Barcelone car il « ne parvenait plus à motiver ses joueurs », avait-il dit lors de l’Audi Annual Report. Attention donc à la démotivation. Après avoir tout gagné, le risque est donc de voir une certaine lassitude gagner le vestiaire. Avec un risque malgré tout, celui de ne plus avoir aussi faim de titres et de grandes victoires.

Ce sera là le travail le plus important du coach espagnol auprès de ses joueurs cette saison : les garder motivés pour aller chercher d’autres trophées.

La Premier League, un frein ?

Depuis quelques saisons, Manchester City avait pris l’habitude de survoler la Premier League. La saison dernière, les Skyblues avaient été concurrencés par Arsenal mais avaient quasiment éteint les chances de titre des Londoniens dès le mois d’avril.

Cette saison, la Premier League semble être plus forte que jamais. Hormis Manchester City, Arsenal qui vient de voir Odegaard prolonger son contrat pourrait à nouveau prétendre au titre, Manchester United s’est renforcé cet été même si leur début de saison est plutôt compliqué.

Liverpool, qui fut un concurrent féroce pour Manchester City quelques saisons auparavant, entre dans une nouvelle phase de l’ère Jurgen Klopp.

Newcastle, 4ème l’an passé, souhaite se maintenir dans les sommets de la Premier League et fera du championnat sa priorité. Tottenham et Chelsea veulent se rattraper après une saison dernière décevante. Sans oublier, la remarquable équipe de Brighton et Aston Villa qui visent le top 5.

En clair, la Premier League n’a jamais semblé aussi forte et puissante et Manchester City pourrait bien plus souffrir en championnat que les années précédentes. Et forcément, si les pensionnaires de l’Etihad Stadium laissent plus de plumes en championnat, ils pourraient être moins performants en Ligue des Champions.

Birmingham City were held to a draw for the second successive home game as lowly Queens Park Rangers battled hard to maintain this season’s improved away form.

But they could not find a way past QPR keeper Asmir Begovic, while Birmingham stopper John Ruddy was in equally good form.

The real standout moment of the night, however, was former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Sam Field’s astonishing acrobatic clearance to prevent his team-mate Steve Cook from scoring an embarrassing first-half own goal.

Football Focus’ Alex Scott sits down with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard to discuss his new contract as he looks ahead to their Premier League derby with rivals Tottenham.

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“Not the perfect goalkeeper but good enough for Manchester United.”

United signed the 27-year-old Cameroon goalkeeper from Inter Milan for an initial £43.8m after David de Gea left when his contract expired after 12 years at the club.

The pressure was immediately on Onana, who has become only United’s third clear number one goalkeeper since 2005.

Either Edwin van der Sar (2005-2011) or De Gea (2011-2023) played 88% of United’s games over the past 18 seasons.

But United’s start to this season has not been great, and neither has Onana’s. They have conceded 10 goals in five Premier League games, more than winless trio Sheffield United, Everton and Bournemouth.

He also let a soft Leroy Sane shot squirm past his body to give Bayern Munich the lead on their way to a 4-3 win over United in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“It’s all been focused – as it happens very often – on one incident: the mistake of Onana,” said journalist Guillem Balague on the BBC Radio 5 Live Euro Leagues podcast.

“It was 19 shots from Bayern, nine from Man United. That tells the story. The focus has been on one mistake.

“The big picture is a team that don’t defend very well. Man United don’t have a clear idea of how they want to defend.”

When Onana replaced De Gea this summer it was largely seen as Erik ten Hag, Onana’s former manager at Ajax, wanting a goalkeeper who was better with the ball at his feet.

Last season Onana only conceded 36 goals in 41 games, keeping eight clean sheets in Inter’s 13-match Champions League run, which culminated in them losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the final.

He conceded 10 goals in Europe’s top competition from shots that came with an expected goal tally of 17.8. The 7.8 goals he effectively prevented was the highest total in last season’s competition.

“He’s presented as this playmaker in gloves, but there’s more to him than that,” said reporter James Horncastle.

“I don’t think he’s been signed exclusively for line-breaking passes and helping United beat the press. They want a shot-stopper as well instead.

“He kept Inter in games last season with his hands, not his feet. In time we’ll see the true value of Onana.

“But right now, as with everything at Manchester United, it’s a club that doesn’t have a stable environment, everything is highly pressurised. It’s not an easy environment to come into.”

Among the 23 goalkeepers to play in the Premier League this season, Onana is joint sixth for saves (20) but only joint 13th for percentage of shots saved (67%).

He is fourth for passes (174) but only seventh for successful passes (129). His passing accuracy of 74% sees him 14th – and he ranks bottom for passing accuracy to the opposition half, with only 15%.

United have conceded three or more goals in three consecutive games for the first time since December 1978.

After the error at Munich’s Allianz Arena, Onana came out to speak to TV to say he “let the team down” and they lost “because of me”.

Horncastle said: “He’s a big character. He showed mettle in coming out and claiming responsibility even though he wasn’t responsible for the entire defeat. A midfield that goes missing is also culpable.”

Balague said: “I’ve asked three Premier League goalkeepers about what he did wrong and they all said the same thing – to dive on the left side to get the ball you have to take a step to your right first which he doesn’t fully do.

“From that moment everything was wrong, he was late going down, he didn’t know whether to push the ball away or hold it and made a technical mistake.

“Because he’s not the smoothest technically he makes little mistakes that sometimes cause goals. He’s fantastic with his feet. Sometimes he does saves for the gallery but he does save impossible balls too.

“He’s not the perfect goalkeeper but good enough for Man Utd.”

However, that technique – which three English top-flight goalkeepers criticised – has changed the way Ajax’s young goalkeepers are coached.

“Ajax’s sporting science and analytics department looked at his technique when it came to diving and realised it was unorthodox,” said Horncastle.

“He said it’s ‘because I think I can get to the ball quicker this way’. They wired him up to see if it was the case and they found out he was right.

“With his technique he could get down quicker than the technique they were teaching in their academy.

“So Ajax began teaching their young goalkeepers Onana’s technique as an optional extra because he’d proven to them it works.

“We can all focus on what happened in Munich, but over the course of his career that technique is one of the reasons he is where he is.

“I thought United underpaid for him when you see the price of Kepa, Alisson and Ederson.”

Onana’s £43.8m move made him the third most expensive goalkeeper ever – although well behind the world-record £71m Chelsea paid for Athletic Bilbao’s Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018.

Alisson’s £66.8m move to Liverpool from Roma the same summer ranks second. Ederson’s move from Benfica to Manchester City in 2017 for £35m is next, after Onana.

Some fans mischievously pointed out on Wednesday that De Gea – who won a joint record four Manchester United player of the season awards (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018) – is still available.

He had been linked with Bayern and Real Madrid during the summer – to cover the injured Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois respectively – but moves never materialised.

The 32-year-old remains a free agent about six weeks into the season, and can join a team outside of the transfer window – with Real Betis reportedly interested.

Sweden and Spain players stood together in solidarity before their Uefa Women’s Nations League match on Friday following the scandal which has engulfed Spanish football.

The banner also read “our fight is the global fight”, and the Spanish players were applauded onto the field for their warm-ups by the home fans in Gothenburg.

The Spanish players also wore wristbands with “se acabo” written on them, for what is a rematch of the World Cup semi-final which Spain won 2-1 in Auckland in August.

This game is the first for the Spain women’s national team since beating England 1-0 in the final at Stadium Australia.

Following the final, former president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation ceremony. Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual, setting off a remarkable chain of events.

Both Rubiales and World Cup-winning manager Jorge Vilda were eventually sacked, while the Spanish players threatened a boycott of the game against Sweden.

The boycott was only called off after reaching an agreement with the RFEF on Wednesday, which said it had committed to “immediate and profound changes.”

Rubiales has been banned from going within 200 metres of Hermoso after she filed a legal complaint. Appearing in court for the first time last Friday, Rubiales denied sexually assaulting Hermoso.

Adrien Rabiot est l’une des alternatives envisagées par l’Atlético de Madrid pour renforcer son milieu de terrain la saison prochaine. Alors que Ndidi semblait être la priorité pour ce poste, Andrea Berta aurait une idée différente à ce sujet.

Le dirigeant italien préfère l’option du milieu de terrain international français, qu’il courtise depuis plusieurs saisons. Maintenant qu’il arrive en fin de contrat, c’est sans aucun doute une opportunité unique pour mener à bien cette opération, d’autant plus que tout indique qu’il ne prolongera pas son séjour à Turin.

Selon TDF, l’Atlético de Madrid aurait déjà eu des contacts avec son agent et bien que la proposition des Colchoneros soit attrayante sur le plan sportif, il aurait une offre d’Arabie saoudite bien supérieure sur le plan économique.

Quoi qu’il en soit, l’Atlético de Madrid n’a pas reçu de réponse négative, car Rabiot ne prendra pas de décision sur son avenir avant la fin du marché hivernal.

Cependant, il est important de noter que le club madrilène doit faire face à une concurrence financière importante pour s’attacher les services de Rabiot. L’offre supérieure provenant d’Arabie saoudite pourrait être un facteur déterminant dans la prise de décision du joueur.

Malgré cette concurrence, l’Atlético de Madrid a su montrer son intérêt pour Rabiot en établissant des contacts avec son agent. Cela démontre la volonté du club de renforcer son milieu de terrain avec un joueur de qualité et d’expérience.

Adrien Rabiot, qui a déjà été courtisé par l’Atlético de Madrid par le passé, pourrait donc rejoindre les rangs des Colchoneros lors du prochain mercato estival. Son profil technique et sa vision du jeu en font un joueur idéal pour compléter l’effectif déjà talentueux de l’équipe madrilène.

Cependant, il convient de souligner que Rabiot ne prendra pas de décision hâtive quant à son avenir. Il souhaite probablement évaluer toutes les options qui s’offrent à lui avant de faire un choix définitif.

L’Atlético de Madrid envisage sérieusement de recruter Adrien Rabiot pour renforcer son milieu de terrain. Malgré la concurrence d’une offre financièrement supérieure en provenance d’Arabie saoudite, le club madrilène reste en contact avec l’agent du joueur et espère pouvoir conclure cette opération lors du prochain mercato estival. Affaire à suivre…

Luton Town striker Carlton Morris takes Football Focus reporter Liam Loftus on a guided tour of the Hatters’ Kenilworth Road stadium, affectionately known as “The Kenny”.

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