Chelsea struggles to Villa bench - Garnacho faces defining season

Alejandro Garnacho cost Chelsea £40m from Manchester United last year

Just like last season, questions are being asked about Alejandro Garnacho.

Two months after joining from Chelsea on an initial loan, the winger has yet to convince Aston Villa boss Unai Emery of his worth.

The Argentina forward has played just 31 minutes for Villa, spread across three substitute appearances.

A 15-minute outing against Hull is the most time he has spent on the pitch in a game.

Garnacho has been an unused substitute for Villa’s past four matches, watching from the bench again as they won 3-2 at Tottenham on Saturday.

One goal and four assists in 24 Premier League games for Chelsea last term fell below what the Blues expected from their £40m recruit from Manchester United, so he was allowed to move on.

This campaign is only a month old, but 22-year-old Garnacho could be at a crossroads at Villa Park already.

Emery likes to ease new players into his teams.

Youri Tielemans did not start a Premier League game until November 2023 after joining in the summer, but became an integral part of Emery’s machine.

Only Joao Gomes, out of 10 new summer signings, started Villa’s opening Premier League game. Just two - Zion Suzuki and Nicolas Jackson - started the next.

Garnacho’s situation feels extreme though, having been left on the bench for the Carabao Cup win at Coventry when Emery made seven changes.

Academy product George Hemmings, who joined Villa from Forest as a teenager, has started the season well to earn Emery’s full trust and start ahead of Garnacho.

Ibrahim Mbaye, a £47m arrival from Paris St-Germain, made his first Villa start in the 3-1 victory at Coventry and is also preferred to Garnacho for now.

A facial injury in early August hampered Garnacho’s pre-season and meant he missed the Super Cup defeat by Paris St-Germain, adding to the complications.

Emery needs his players to understand their roles and his methods before having full faith in them and he expects Garnacho to catch up.

“Continue working. Work, work, train, work,” Emery said when asked about Garnacho’s absence from the pitch.

“When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now.

“George is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. [Ibrahim] Mbaye also responded well.

“We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have. Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs.”

Garnacho, who first made his name as a livewire teenager, has shown in the past he can torment defences at Premier League level.

He spoke about needing time to adapt to a “different club and a different place” at Chelsea.

A further season of struggle would be a significant setback.

Emery is clearly yet to be convinced by what he sees in training, despite being a long-term Garnacho admirer.

Villa wanted more pace in their side and Crysencio Summerville was considered before he moved to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal.

Chelsea’s £117m signing of Morgan Rogers from Villa left a gap for Emery to fill and Garnacho was available. A positive relationship between the clubs allowed for easy discussions.

Striker Jackson also joined from Chelsea for a Villa club record £65m and there have been eight deals between the clubs in the past four years.

Alejandro Garnacho suffered a facial injury against BG Pathum on Aston Villa’s pre-season tour in Thailand

Garnacho did not train with Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea squad before leaving for Villa Park in July.

Roma were interested in the winger, but their loan offer did not suit Chelsea. Instead, Villa’s deal gives the Blues the chance to make their money back after last year’s outlay.

There is an obligation to buy tied into the loan that is believed to relate to appearances, and it is expected to be achievable - but that does not guarantee anything.

For instance, Harvey Elliott would have triggered a move worth £35m if he made just 10 Premier League appearances last season. As it turned out, the Liverpool loanee - now at Valencia - was used just four times by Villa in the top flight.

Emery did not feel the 23-year-old was good enough and made up his mind not to sign Elliott permanently just a couple of months into the season.

It raised the question for some within the game about whether a loan at Villa should be viewed with caution, and whether other players’ careers could be derailed in the way Elliott experienced.

It was accepted that Elliott’s options this summer were not as extensive following his season at Villa Park.

Time will tell whether Garnacho faces the same struggles, having experienced his career stalling over the past two years.

He made his Manchester United debut aged 17 and was part of Argentina’s Copa America-winning squad in 2024, but has not added to his eight international caps since November of that year.

The Madrid-born attacker also won the Premier League’s goal of the season award in 2023-24 for his overhead kick against Everton while playing for United, but his output for Chelsea was disappointing.

Emery is waiting to see Garnacho fulfil his full potential at Villa, but the winger will have to wait until he gains the coach’s trust, and then take his chance.

I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe has revealed how “close” he came to joining Liverpool in 2016, saying he went against the advice of his mother who “fell in love” with Anfield.

The France and Real Madrid striker said the Reds tried to sign him at 18, while he was playing for Monaco in Ligue 1.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the club laid on a private jet and food for Mbappe and his family in an attempt to sign him, before he eventually joined Paris St-Germain.

Speaking to the Athletic, Mbappe said his mum was a “big fan” of Klopp and wanted her son to move to Merseyside.

“I was close to [joining] Liverpool. The favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there,” he said.

“I didn’t listen because I wanted to play in my city, Paris. I didn’t want to leave my country before I was someone.

“But yes, my mum was always saying, ‘Liverpool - you’re going to be there, playing at Anfield, it’s going to be insane for you’.”

Mbappe, now 27, said his mother went out to Liverpool for the “first step” of the negotiation.

“She went to the city, the stadium, she met the people. She was like, ‘it’s a wonderful club, everybody’s so kind, it’s a family club, a big club’,” said Mbappe.

“She went to Anfield and fell in love with it. She watched a few games alone, to feel the atmosphere, because she wanted to imagine me in this stadium.”

Klopp, who spoke about the possible move on Magenta TV as a pundit at the 2026 World Cup, explained how a flight was taken from Blackpool to Nice in France, where “the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something”.

“We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food,” Klopp said.

He said they had not wanted to be seen having talks - but the meeting proved fruitless.

“We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris,” Klopp added.

“It’s a funny story,” said Mbappe.

“But in the end, I took the decision to go to PSG because for me, born and raised in Paris, there was no better feeling than to show I could be a star in my hometown.”

Mbappe later joined PSG on loan, in a deal including an option for the move to become permanent for 180m euros (£165.7m). He went on to spend seven years in Paris, becoming the club’s record scorer before leaving for Real Madrid in 2024.

La Liga chief dismisses Real's ref conspiracy claims

La Liga president Javier Tebas says claiming there is a refereeing conspiracy against Real Madrid is like “living in another galaxy”.

Real manager Jose Mourinho accused officials of making key errors after his side were beaten 2-1 by rivals Atletico Madrid last week.

Mourinho brought printouts of screenshots to the post-match news conference, claiming Atletico should have been given two red cards in the first half.

Writing in response to an article in the Spanish media which claimed there is a “conspiracy” against Real, Tebas dismissed the allegations.

“Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy,” Tebas said on social media.

“That narrative serves as an excuse to cover up other shortcomings that are plain to see in these first matches of the season.

“It’s more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what’s happening on the pitch.”

Real said in a statement that it was “intolerable” for Tebas to use his position to keep attacking the club and that his comments were “particularly serious and incomprehensible”.

“It is utterly surprising that the president of La Liga dedicates his time and personal platforms to constantly trying to publicly discredit Real Madrid,” said the club.

“By doing so, he continues to damage the image of our competition and Spanish football worldwide.”

Real said that given Tebas’ “inappropriate behavior” professional football in the country needs a “leader capable of managing it and developing its full potential” as well as having a “fundamental duty of neutrality”.

“The president of La Liga is not the owner of the competition but a manager serving the clubs that comprise it and entrust him with its direction,” added the statement.

“The clubs need someone who serves this mission with honesty.”

Real are fourth in La Liga, six points behind Barcelona who top the table on 21 points after winning all seven of their league games this season.

After defeat by Atletico, where Real went down to 10 men in a feisty encounter after defender Dean Huijsen was sent off, Mourinho blamed the officiating.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said as he showed media the printed images.

“Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.”

Tebas has been critical of Real and its president Florentino Perez in previous years after disagreeing with their plans to join a European Super League in 2021.

In 2025 he said Real had “lost their head” after the club sent a formal letter of complaint to the Spanish FA about officiating in the league.

Atletico hit back at Mourinho over referee complaints

Atletico Madrid have hit back at Jose Mourinho after the Real Madrid boss arrived at his post-Madrid derby news conference on Sunday carrying printouts of screenshots displaying two incidents he believed should have resulted in red cards for Atletico.

Mourinho accused the officials of making key errors after Real were beaten 2-1 by Atletico, claiming the hosts should have been handed two red cards in the first half.

On Monday, Atletico posted twice on their X account, the first being a video showing a sheet of paper coming out of a printer with the words #StopAcosoArbitralYA, meaning “stop referee harassment now”.

A second post showed a picture of Mourinho at the news conference with the same message.

The response from Atletico received two million views on X within two hours of it being posted.

Diego Simeone’s team often use their social media accounts to respond to their rivals, repeatedly posting on X this summer to ridicule Barcelona over their pursuit of Atletico’s talisman Julian Alvarez.

Alongside Mourinho’s post-match claims, the match report published on Real’s website said that the derby loss was decided because of “dreadful refereeing” of Ortiz Arias.

It was Real’s second defeat of the season, having lost 1-0 to Real Betis earlier in September.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said as he showed media the printed images on sheets of A4 paper on Sunday.

“Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.

“So I’ll just have to limit myself to hugging my players, who gave it their all and played a first half, showed great class and character, setting us up perfectly to win the second half.”

Simeone, when asked to respond to Mourinho’s refereeing rant, said he was always respectful of everyone else’s opinions.

“I understand that we’re in a privileged position with a lot of public scrutiny, as coaches, and whether it’s Mourinho, [Barcelona manager Hansi] Flick, [Real Betis boss Manuel] Pellegrini, me, or anyone else, we need to be careful about what we say,” he said.

“We have to know how to respect others, the referees, our colleagues. And when someone crosses that line of respect, it’s not right - you can’t cross that line.”

Was Neville right to call out Man Utd for a 'lack of effort'?

Gary Neville started for Sky Sports as a pundit and co-commentator in 2011

“I’ve watched Manchester United since the age of five and that’s the worst 15 minutes I’ve ever seen. Absolutely pathetic.”

Gary Neville did not hold back in his criticism of Manchester United’s performance during Sky Sports’ coverage of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham.

The players had just laboured through the opening stages of the second half, culminating in a Lisandro Martinez own goal gifting the home side the lead.

“I’ve never seen such a lack of effort,” Neville added. “What must Michael Carrick be thinking?”

Neville played 602 games for United over a 19-year career, winning everything the club game had to offer. So his criticism comes from a qualified position.

This season’s out-of-possession stats would appear to back it up too, with the Red Devils ranking 16th for distance covered, and 17th for total number of sprints.

But does that tell the whole story?

United’s dismal running and sprinting stats made for stark reading in the wake of Neville’s criticism.

After all, the former right-back had directly questioned a lack of effort, and referred to the players as “mannequins”.

He said United - and Fulham - were walking too much during the game.

In the Premier League this season only four teams have covered less distance than the Red Devils, and just three teams have produced fewer sprints.

It comes alongside United’s joint-worst start to a Premier League season, with four points from five games.

So is this down to the running and the effort?

Let’s take a look at the second half of last season, after Carrick had been appointed as manager.

Between 17 January and the end of the season, United picked up more points than any other team - 39 points from 17 games.

Yet only four teams ran less than United, and only two clubs had fewer sprints.

There is no material difference in the running stats, but United were returning 2.29 points per game compared to the 0.8 this season.

Something is clearly different, but it does not appear to be linked to this particular stat because barely anything has changed - apart from the results. Maybe this United squad simply does not have runners.

Then there is the comparison to rival teams.

Manchester City have won all five Premier League matches but have covered less distance than United. Enzo Maresca’s squad have also recorded the lowest number of sprints in the division.

Brighton, one of the most exciting teams in the league this season and the top goalscorers, are one place above United for sprints.

Maybe United’s problem is tactical rather than a simple case of not running enough?

Neville setting the media agenda when it comes to United is not a new thing.

The former England international has called out the team’s shortcomings on many occasions.

Look back to December 2021, and a poor first-half performance against a struggling Newcastle side when Ralf Rangnick’s side trailed 1-0 at the break.

“They’re a bunch of whinge-bags,” Neville said at half-time on Sky Sports. “I’ll not go into names but they’re whinging at each other, arms up in the air complaining about everything. There’s no pressing, no urgency, the basics of the game.”

Edinson Cavani rescued a point at St James’ Park, but Neville’s comments had already made the headlines.

You only need to look at how the post-match coverage went after the Fulham draw.

Neville’s remarks were put to Carrick at full-time. The United manager said fitness levels of his players were not an issue.

But the die was cast.

“Neville: That was the worst ever”, read the back page of Monday’s Daily Telegraph.

“15 minutes of shame”, was the lead for the sports section of the Daily Star.

“United boss keeps calm after Neville Ful blast,” said the Daily Express.

It was picked up across online media, and discussed at length on radio talk shows.

When Neville criticises his former club, it carries weight.

In January, with Ruben Amorim under pressure for poor results, the Portuguese head coach said that “if people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club”.

Amorim was dismissed the following day.

There always seems to be a strong influence in the media related to the dominant team of a previous era.

For example, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, former Liverpool stars such as Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson and Phil Thompson dominated a lot of the conversation.

It stands to reason that now members of the all-conquering United squad will have a leading role in the media.

But for Neville, it is bigger than anyone apart from Gary Lineker and his Goalhanger production company.

“When does Sky wonder if they are paying a lot of money in wages to train their next competitor?” It is a question posed by Richard Gillis, who hosts the Unofficial Partner sports business podcast.

While Neville started out in the media as a pundit with Sky Sports, the 51-year-old is now one of the biggest players in a rapidly changing industry.

After co-founding the sports entertainment production company Buzz16 in 2016, Neville launched YouTube platform The Overlap in 2021.

The Overlap produces Stick to Football - one of the UK’s most popular football content channels with 2.2 billion views across all platforms in 2025.

Earlier this year it entered into a strategic partnership with radio giants Global, with the aim to create a multi-format sports media network.

Neville this summer exited Buzz16, focusing his attention on The Overlap, which has branched out into cricket and rugby, and secured live Bundesliga rights.

The YouTube channels of United influencer Mark Goldbridge were recently acquired, a further sign of the influence Neville now wields in football’s media industry.

Goldbridge made his name with expletive-laden rants during streamed ‘watchalongs’ of United matches, and his channels have about four million subscribers.

Gillis points out that Neville was attracted to the Goldbridge brand, and his United Stand podcast, because it creates noise when there is no football.

“Noise is valuable,” Gillis told BBC Sport. “Man Utd generate more of it than any other club in the Premier League. Anger creates engagement. And from the Sky commentary box, Neville is well placed to create anger.”

In a bid to ramp up its content, The Overlap is believed to have targeted national newspaper journalists to come on board and cover United.

“It poses questions,” Gillis says of this development. “Currently, Neville is the story. He says something, the media reports it, the fans respond to it. A valuable loop. At what point does The Overlap and the United Stand become the rivals of the media? What is the United Stand now? A noise merchant, or a news organisation?”

To many, it probably does not matter whether Neville’s comments about United’s running are valid or not.

They create headlines, column inches and legitimate talking points under the Sky Sports name.

Yet Neville is himself a media mogul who also works within another organisation.

And at present, when measured by media coverage and impact, all parties are winners.