This week's English football updates, a key midfielder has been given a significant suspension, a head coach has pointed out a defender's errors to prove an argument, and Pep Guardiola has demanded backline betterment after an erratic win.
Burnley's midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was given a four-match suspension and a ÂŁ15,000 fine for misconduct during October's match against Leeds United. The Football Association confirmed Mejbri faced an independent disciplinary panel after an incident where he spat in the direction of away fans at the 67th mark of a 2-0 victory by Burnley.
An FA statement said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has punished Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for his actions in the top-flight match with Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that he acted against the laws of the game or in an improper way and/or using offensive and/or unacceptable behaviour by spitting at or in the direction of Leeds United fans.”
The statement continued, “Mejbri later admitted the allegation, with the panel handing down a four-game suspension and £15,000 after a hearing. The panel's full explanation for the sanction are to be released at a later date.” The team, now 19th in the Premier League table, visit 12th-place Newcastle on Saturday.
The Blues' manager Enzo Maresca has argued that not having seasoned players is not a problem at team, pointing out that centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not prevent the 28-year-old from playing a bad game in the defeat against Leeds United.
Maresca, who oversees the most youthful team in the division, does not feel that inexperience was a factor in the setback. He made his argument by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's oldest outfield player on the pitch, who produced an error-strewn display in central defence.
“People always talk about experience when we drop points,” Maresca said. “After we beat Barcelona, the draw with Arsenal, nobody was mentioning older players. I understand that if we don’t win, we are always searching for an explanation, but I think why we didn’t win against Leeds was not down to inexperience, it’s because we were not at our best.”
Maresca continued, “Who was the most senior player for us in the match? Who was? Did he play any good? So, it’s not about experience. It’s about those 11 players, they were not up to standard.”
Pep Guardiola has insisted the champions have learnt from their midweek thriller at Fulham with the game is now in the past. The team held on to claim a 5-4 victory in a remarkable clash at Craven Cottage, after leading 5-1 with about 60 minutes played.
This followed they fought off a Leeds comeback and won 3-2 in the prior game, it raised further doubts about whether City possess resilient required to sustain a title challenge to leaders Arsenal. “It’s behind us,” Guardiola commented. “Good lessons, I hope. At this level, at all the clubs, one must learn from both good and bad performances and results and focus on what's next.”
“Naturally I’m concerned,” Guardiola added. “We are trying to understand the cause, so as not to allow so many goals. After conceding three scored by Leeds, and five against Fulham you can see our versions, correct? Therefore, always done many good things. But how many attempts did Leeds ? Three? They scored two. That ratio is bad. How many shots on target for Fulham ? Five, six? So the average of shots conceded we can see too high. We must improve.”
Newcastle United's recently appointed football chief, Ross Wilson, has made contract discussions with important defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his agenda for the club. He joined from Nottingham Forest recently and is reassured that playmaker Sandro Tonali is on a deal extending to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.
That has left Wilson free to focus on negotiations with Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s agreement ending in 2027 and the latter’s a year later, the club's efforts are being treated with a certain importance.
“The initial three or four days in the job is when I discovered that Sandro’s contract situation was significantly more secure than I was expecting,” said Wilson. “But it’s well known that we wishes to renew Tino’s deal and we wants to renew Sven Botman’s as well. Those discussions are underway.”
Manager Eddie Howe will be missing Botman for the match against Burnley on Saturday, and he expected to remain sidelined for at least another week.
West Ham manager Nuno EspĂrito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá is back to start for the side face Brighton this Sunday, having completed his suspension following a red card against Liverpool.
“That incident is in the past,” the manager remarked. “I am confident it will not happen again because he himself acknowledged his mistake. We spoke about it in the dressing room. I believe the matter is closed and will not happen again.”
He also understands the intense pressure facing his team, currently 18th ahead of Saturday's matches. “We cannot avoid it,” he admitted. “It's the situation. We must confront it. We are battling for survival. We cannot hide it.”
Mikel Merino could continue leading the line for Arsenal central striker despite the club's usual frontmen return from injury. Merino has been deployed as an emergency number nine due to injuries for Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
Merino found the net for Arsenal’s opener versus Brentford and set up Bukayo Saka for the second during a 2-0 win that maintained {their|
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