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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

When Barcelona and Sevilla meet, excitement is guaranteed and their latest clash at the weekend was no exception to that rule.

The Catalan giants dismantled the Andalusians and eased to a 4-0 victory on the night.

But as dominant and impressive as that triumph may seem at first, it is actually far from the real picture. Sevilla were not as helpless and as submissive as the result may indicate at first – seeing how they tallied more shots than their hosts – but their opponents were simply far more clinical in front of goal.

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Still, despite hiccups here and there, Ernesto Valverde should be happy with the win and with a couple of exceptional performances from some of his players.

One such ace who was in top form last Sunday is definitely Nelson Semedo, the 25-year-old right-back.

But interestingly enough, with the absence of both Jordi Alba and Junior Firpo in the lineup, Semedo was actually deployed as the team’s left-back on the night, and despite venturing into uncharted territory, the Portuguese mustered a brilliant display.

Not only did Semedo assist Luis Suarez’s opener but he also tallied one key pass, 89.8% passing accuracy and two accurate crosses to his name in the process.

And despite playing on the opposite side of the pitch, he didn’t allow any defensive blips either.

The 25-year-old recorded four tackles, the second-highest in the team, and two clearances, dealing with any and all threats coming down Sevilla’s right flank.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

By all accounts, Semedo was an influential presence going both ways and that achievement is amplified even further with the fact that he was deployed in a position that’s largely unknown to him.

And the best thing is, he tallied a similarly impressive display at left-back just days prior to the Sevilla clash when Barcelona welcomed Inter Milan to the Camp Nou.

That night, Semedo had a similar effect with two shots, one key pass and two tackles to his name.

Valverde put some trust in him in the absence of some of his key players and the young Portuguese returned the favour.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Who’d have thought it?

As we head into the second international break of the campaign, Charlton sit 10th in the Championship and are just four points off the top.

Lee Bowyer, the man who navigated his side into the Championship via the League One playoffs last year, has done a fantastic job so far, performing above expectations to have his team sat where they currently are.

A number of players have performed well, such as five-goal Lyle Taylor, but that was to be expected after his 21-goal campaign last term.

Let’s take a look at two players who have surprisingly shone for the south Londoners…

Conor Gallagher

Having signed on a season-long loan from Chelsea back in the summer, 19-year-old Conor Gallagher could potentially have been deemed as an unknown quantity by The Valley faithful.

While he would’ve been forgiven for taking a while to find his stride in what is his first taste of consistent senior football, the teenager has instead thrived for the Addicks.

Gallagher has already scored four goals this season, while also being named as the EFL Young Player of the Month for August – Bowyer will surely be hoping the youngster maintains his good form.

Tom Lockyer

Another summer signing in Tom Lockyer has been a key cog in Charlton’s season so far.

The 6-cap Wales international has been a colossus at the back, registering 3.7 clearances per game in the Championship while also appearing to net his first goal for the club in the 1-0 win over Leeds, although it was later awarded to Macauley Bonne.

He has helped Charlton keep three clean sheets in his 11 league appearances so far, and some fans on Twitter heaped praise on the 24-year-old after his performance against Leeds.

Lockyer has definitely been one of the standout stars of the current campaign, and a surprising one given the fact he is still a relatively new face at The Valley.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Tottenham are interested in Real Madrid’s Isco, according to Spanish outlet El Desmarque.

What’s the story?

Spurs have been linked with several creative midfielders in the last few weeks, such as Paulo Dybala and Bruno Fernandes, and now it appears they have set their sights on the Spanish midfielder.

When fit, the 27-year-old has often been an important player for Los Blancos, evidenced by his best return of 10 goals and eight assists in the 2016/17 La Liga season, having signed for the club for £23m in 2013.

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With Christian Eriksen setting his sights elsewhere, it is a deal which could make sense for both clubs, although Real Madrid hold all the cards considering the Dane’s contract situation.

Bayern Munich are also believed to be interested in Isco, and that could make things more complicated for Tottenham, though it is a deal which may not work out too well anyway.

Repeating past mistakes

Whilst the Spain international has improved his quality in a Real Madrid shirt, with 48 goals and 52 assists in 280 appearances for the club, his time in the capital has often been blighted by injury, and that should be a big concern for Spurs.

Considering their budget constraints in comparison to the rest of the top-six, and their much lower wage bill, they simply can’t afford for their highest-paid players to be sidelined too often, and Isco would fit into that category.

In Erik Lamela they have a similarly gifted, technical midfielder, but a player who has spent far too much time on the treatment table in recent years.

The Argentine has suffered with hip problems regularly since the 2016/17 campaign, first ruling him out for 57 matches before other niggles meant he only started 14 games last year.

Isco has similar problems, often picking up minor injuries which have a worrying long-term impact on his side, as he takes time to recover his fitness and match sharpness each time he makes a comeback. That in turn limits his influence, with six goals and one assist since the start of last season.

He has already missed a month of this term, and made only 17 starts in 2018/19, and therefore he cannot be relied upon to act as a replacement for Eriksen on a consistent basis – much like Lamela.

Patrick Vieira has recently said how it is his “dream” to coach Arsenal fans one day – and these supporters want it to happen sooner rather than later.

Arsenal fan accounts @WorldwideAFC and @AFTV both tweeted quotes from the Invincibles skipper, saying that he wants to touch a “very high level” with either Arsenal or France, to which many Arsenal fans responded with positive messages.

He said to RMC (via Tribal Football):

“If it’s my dream to coach Arsenal or Team France? Yes, like any player, when we do this job we want to touch the very high level.

“But the very high level – I can very well touch with OGC Nice from the moment we give ourselves the means to succeed and from the moment the way with which we work is quite consistent. But we do this job and I do this job for one day to be the coach of a team that participates in the Champions League.”

The 43-year-old is currently in his second role as a full-time manager. He started off his coaching career while at Manchester City – after finishing his playing career there – coaching their extremely talented U21 team. From there, he moved but stayed within the City Football Group, taking charge of New York City FC – a team also owned by the Abu Dhabi owners of Manchester City.

During his time in New York, he improved his position with each season that went by, starting by finishing fourth in 2016 to then second in 2017.

Vieira took the reins at Nice for the 2018-2019 season, taking over from the impressive Lucien Favre, who managed to take them to the Champions League before finishing eighth and moving to Borussia Dortmund. He was able to take Nice one spot higher last campaign by finishing seventh.

Many Arsenal fans responded happily to the quotes, saying that they want him in the hot seat one day in a post-Unai Emery era.

Here are some of the replies below…

Lee Camp. Where does one even begin? The experienced goalkeeper has had a bit of a messy season and that’s putting it lightly.

Errors seem to follow him all over the place and that was seen in rather embarrassing circumstances against Wigan at the start of the month.

Despite the international break giving him time to reflect it doesn’t appear as though his confidence has been boosted.

The goalkeeper was again at fault versus Leeds. Kalvin Phillips’ goalbound shot managed to squirm underneath him and as a result, Birmingham lost.

Blues fans were particularly disappointed with his display with many leaving rather angry comments on Twitter.

One called him a clown, saying he needed to get out of the club while another urged him to quit entirely.

The 35-year-old was branded a liability as a further supporter said he had popadom hands.

Camp has played in all 12 games this term but whether that streak continues remains to be seen.

He is costing his side points and surely there is only so long Pep Clotet can remain with him between the sticks.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

Back in 2013, it was a case of needs must for Harry Redknapp and Queens Park Rangers. Heading into the business end of the season at the bottom of the Premier League table, the former Spurs and Portsmouth boss turned to the transfer market in a last-ditch attempt to buy the Hoops a way out of trouble.

Backed by the financial might that came with relatively new owner Tony Fernandes, Redknapp proceeded to break the club’s transfer record twice in a matter of weeks, by following up their £8m outlay on Loic Remy with a £12.5m splash on former Blackburn defender Christopher Samba.

It may have looked like a deal that made sense – Samba was a vastly experienced Premier League defender having spent six seasons at Blackburn – notching 18 times from the back in all competitions before leaving upon their relegation from the top flight.

Back in England to try and prevent QPR from suffering the same fate, Samba could not find the touch that had served his team so well in Lancashire – and it quickly became apparent that his hefty transfer fee and £100,000-a-week wages were going to waste.

Not that Samba was solely responsible for QPR’s eventual failures that year, but after collecting just Reading that ensured the team would be in the second tier the following season.

Things had arguably come to a head nearly a month earlier, when Samba delivered a poor performance against Fulham, following which he told his own fans to ‘get over’ the size of his wages after gifting their London rivals two goals, as a double from Dimitar Berbatov – recipient on both occasions – plunged the team deeper into the relegation mire.

And in a flash, he was gone. Less than three months into his career at Loftus Road, Samba had pulled on a QPR shirt for the last time, bowing out in a 2-0 defeat at home to Stoke City in April 2013.

After just last-place finish, it was over for Samba. Safe to say, it was not the wisest investment of Redknapp’s career, as his straw-clutching attempt to preserve QPR’s top-flight status turned out to be a rather expensive mistake.

QPR fans, was Samba’s transfer ever going to work out? Were you already doomed before his arrival? Join the discussion by commenting below!

Barcelona are slowly but surely gearing up for their mid-week La Liga clash against Real Valladolid.

The Catalans will welcome their opposition to the Camp Nou tonight and there were some squad updates before the clash.

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It seems that Sergi Roberto, Blaugrana’s 27-year-old right-back-cum-midfielder is back in the squad after recovering from a minor injury he sustained in one of their recent outings.

But even though a player recovering from an injury is mostly a good thing, many Barcelona fans didn’t really take it as such.

In fact, they were quick to swarm social media and Twitter with their negative comments, stating that Roberto’s return can only give an advantage to their opposition tonight and they were quick to classify it as “bad news”.

It seems that they don’t think the Spaniard should be in the lineup tonight at the Camp Nou.

You can see some of their reactions and replies down in the tweets below.

Check them out…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Sadio Mane has told France Football that Mohamed Salah is an “exceptional player” and, even though they have had their differences, it is a “pleasure” to play alongside him for Liverpool.

What’s the story?

Many Reds fans will remember the Senegal international’s frustration when he wasn’t passed the ball by Salah against Burnley in August.

Watch the moment Adam Lallana broke United hearts at Old Trafford in the video below…

Speaking to France Football, the former Southampton man has admitted that although the two have not always seen eye-to-eye, he still enjoys playing alongside the Egypt international. He said of his teammate: “A crazy goalscorer. And an exceptional player who knows how to do everything. We have had our differences, but it remains a great pleasure to evolve with him because I have the feeling that we speak the same football.”

They bring the best out of each other

27-year-old Salah will have known that he should have squared the ball for what would have been an easy tap-in at Turf Moor, but in the end, it didn’t effect the final result as the Anfield outfit prevailed 3-0.

Mane did score that day, whilst the former Chelsea man was unable to get himself on the scoresheet.

The 61-cap star was visibly frustrated by Salah’s perceived selfishness, but in the long run it will do the pair a huge favour in their quest to become the best they can possibly be.

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The incident showed one thing in particular: both players are desperate to score as much as humanly possible. This season, it is Mane who leads the way, with 1o goals in all competitions, but his fellow winger is just two behind with eight. Last season, they were joint-winners of the Premier League’s Golden Boot along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, ending the season with 22 strikes apiece.

Manchester City have a similar situation, with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero fighting for a starting spot at the Etihad Stadium. The former has even said that the rivalry between the two has made him a better player. And although they weren’t playing for the same team, Cristiano Ronaldo recently said that his rivalry with Lionel Messi during his time at Real Madrid made both of them better.

The two Liverpool stars are in the same boat. Since they started playing together, they have been amongst the top marksmen in England’s top-tier.

The competition and desire for goals is pushing them to new heights and, although there will be moments of frustration as one looks to out-do the other, it shows they have the fire and desire to be the best.

Above all, the big winners are Liverpool, as the Premier League table currently shows.

It ended up being a bitterly disappointing Sunday for Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, it looked as though they would be leaving Merseyside with all three points thanks to Dele Alli’s opener. However, things started to go wrong when Son Heung-Min was sent off following his challenge on the Toffees’ Andre Gomes.

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And then, in injury time, Marco Silva’s side leveled proceedings through Turkey international Cenk Tosun. The game therefore ended 1-1, meaning that Spurs are now without a win in their last four Premier League games.

As such, it was not the best atmosphere for Ryan Sessegnon to make his debut for the Lilywhites, but Mauricio Pochettino decided to throw on the 19-year-old as he desperately looked for a winner. He signed for Tottenham in the summer, but the £31.5m-valued former Fulham teenager – as per Transfermarkt – has not yet been able to play due to injury.

It is fair to say that the north London outfit’s supporters were perplexed by the Argentinian’s decision to throw him on so late into the game.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Giovani Lo Celso retained his place in the Tottenham Hotspur starting line-up on Saturday but endured a quiet performance as Spurs drew 1-1 with Sheffield United.

On the chalkboard

The Argentine enjoyed an excellent performance as Spurs thumped Red Star Belgrade 4-0 in Serbia on Wednesday.

But, on Saturday, the midfielder was withdrawn in a poor performance from the hosts against Chris Wilder’s well-organised Blades.

Played on the right-hand side of the trio behind Harry Kane, along with Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min, Lo Celso had a total of 84 touches, per WhoScored, the third-highest on the pitch.

He had two shots on goal, though neither were on target and attempted 63 passes, with an accuracy of 83%.

Two of those were key passes, while Lo Celso also completed two dribbles, though he was dispossessed twice too.

Against Red Star, the Argentine won five of his five attempted tackles but against the Blades, he was dribbled past on four occasions and had a tackle success rate of just 33%.

Asked to do too much

One has to wonder if Lo Celso was merely being asked to do too much.

The former Real Betis star is a tricky dribbler, a flair player, but he can also muck in when needed.

The problem, however, comes when the latter is prioritised over the former.

Of course, Mauricio Pochettino wants his players to be multifunctional and to help the team in every phase.

However, Lo Celso’s performance against the Blades could be a worry.

He cannot allow his attacking influence – he scored 16 goals in all competitions last season while registering six assists – to be muzzled by his defensive contributions.

The key, then, is for manager Pochettino to find a way to pair Lo Celso’s brilliant attacking ability with his defensive diligence. Something he failed to do at the weekend.