Breaking: Man Utd fans react as Markus Rashford picks up late injury during training, might miss Man City clash on Sunday
Manchester City will test the strength of Manchester United’s latest comeback at Old Trafford this weekend as league leaders Tottenham look for an eighth win in 10 matches. New24 reported.
Pep Guardiola’s champions have put their minor collapse behind them and go into Sunday’s match against local rivals favorites to win the title.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham could move five points clear of their rivals, at least temporarily, if they beat Crystal Palace on Friday.
Marcus Rashford scored the decisive goal at Old Trafford last year as Manchester United came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 – the ninth time in a row he has scored at home.
But the story is different this season, with Rashford stuck to one goal in a team struggling to find fluency and progress.
Eighth-placed United have scored just 11 goals in the Premier League this season, twice as many as Manchester City striker Erling Haaland himself.
Mike Dean has named the toughest Premier League player he officiated during his career as a referee.
Dean made his way through the non-league and Football League ranks before being appointed to the Select Group, therefore becoming a Premier League referee, in 2000.
He was also a part of the FIFA international list between 2003 and 2013. Dean officially retired from on-field refereeing last year, although worked as a VAR official for a single season.
During his 22-year stint in the top flight of English football, the Wirral-born referee had to officiate some of football’s toughest competitors – both players and managers.
Speaking to The Athletic earlier this year, Dean revealed that legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was the toughest manager he had to deal with – because he always complained about him if the Gunners lost.
But who was the toughest player he had to deal with? The answer is former Liverpool, Manchester City and Wales forward Craig Bellamy.
During an interview with SPORTbible, after being appointed as head of BAR (Bingo Assistant Referee) at Mecca Bingo, Dean said: “Craig Bellamy was tough. The likes of Robbie Savage and Joey Barton, I got well with them. He [Bellamy] is probably the toughest one I’ve refereed.
“A lot of players can be like that, but I just found him a little bit harder than the rest of them to be honest.”
Since retiring, Dean has taken up a new role as the referee correspondent on Soccer Saturday.
That means he is still keeping a close eye on developments in relation to refereeing – and has two ideas that he believes will make a huge difference in the English game.
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