PREMIER LEAGUE - ENGLAND

 

WATCH: Man United star Angel Di Maria scores STUNNING Rabona corner in training

THIS is proof that Angel Di Maria WAS worth £60m - because he can score Rabona goals from corners!

his video was released by Di Maria's sponsors adidas yesterday ahead of the Manchester derby.

The former Real Madrid star pulls off the stunning skill before turning to the camera to celebrate before the ball has hit the back of the net.

adidas posted the clip with the text: "There's always some magic on derby day."

All well and good, except Di Maria was benched and only played nine minutes!

Juan Mata: Why I am so excited to play against Chelsea

JUAN MATA is eagerly anticipating his long-awaited return to Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United travel south to Chelsea on Saturday hoping to close the gap to the Premier League leaders in what will be Mata's first game back in SW6 since departing for Old Trafford in 2014.

Mata scored in the convincing derby win over Manchester City, which has put United in a good position to qualify for next season's Champions League, and victory over Jose Mourinho's men would bring them to within five points of the title-chasing Blues.

The Spanish international is focused on winning the "special" game but he is relishing the chance to see friends and fans at his old club.

Mata wrote on his weekly blog: "From this Monday we are already thinking about our next 'final', a visit to the leader of the Premiership. Needless to say that it's going to be a very special game for me.

“Needless to say that it's going to be a very special game for me”

Juan Mata

"I already played against Chelsea in the first half of the championship, but going back to Stamford Bridge for the first time will bring me plenty of good memories, for sure.

"The day I arrived to this great club I wrote: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart". And I keep thinking the same. At that time I had the chance to thank everybody who helped me in London during those two and a half years, and next Saturday it will be nice to meet former team-mates, fans and friends. I keep good memories of them and I wish them the best.

"Obviously, our intention is to get the three points again and we will try from the kick-off until the final whistle.

"The best thing is that we get to this game in a very good moment, with confidence, but we are aware that we must perform at our best level if we want to beat Chelsea."

Man United legend Gary Neville SLAMS Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal target Yaya Toure

GARY NEVILLE singled out Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure for fierce criticism following his side's comprehensive 4-2 derby defeat at Old Trafford.

Toure was in a City midfield which was overrun by United, with the likes of Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini dominating the Ivorian and his team-mates.

Toure's powerful displays have been key to City's success in recent seasons, but Neville said the 31-year-old had become a liability against top sides.

He said: "He can't play in a two in midfield against any team of quality.

midfield against any team of quality”

Gary Neville

He added: "Before the game, I asked, 'Is Yaya Toure able to match Fellaini in that pocket?' He didn't. He paid no attention to him at all. It was a complete dereliction of duty.

"Vincent Kompany nearly got sent off when he came out into that space and they gave the third goal away (to Juan Mata) with Martin Demichelis stepping into that space, leaving a gap between Pablo Zabaleta and Eliaquim Mangala.

"There is too much evidence he cannot do his job in the big matches."

Ashley Young reborn as derby hero heaps the pressure on Manuel Pellegrini

EASTER has come and gone but there was a belated resurrection at Old Trafford yesterday and it had nothing to do with Jesus being on the pitch.

Jesus Navas could have stolen the headlines had he converted a wonderful chance to fire Manchester City ahead in the opening minutes.

He missed and instead, it was another winger who lit-up a thrilling derby dust-up in the shape of Ashley Young.

Young has been a much-maligned figure since joining United from Aston Villa in 2011 for £18m.

He struggled to adapt and fit in and sometimes resembled someone who had been invited to a party but didn't know anyone else in the room.

When Sir Alex Ferguson retired and David Moyes succeeded him it was no secret the two failed to get along.

His future looked bleak, not least because he had justifiably earned himself a reputation for diving.

Fergie didn't do him any favours when he revealed how Young had been signed to replace Ryan Giggs. Good luck with that, Ashley.

But under the guidance of current boss Louis van Gaal, Young has picked himself up to find his feet in more ways than one.

In the space of less than 12 months he has gone from being a falling star to one of the brightest on show at one of the biggest clubs in world football.

His stock has risen so much that he is now an integral part of United's side, to such an extent that he is keeping the most expensive player in British football, £60m man Angel Di Maria, on the bench.

His redemption was complete here as Young scored one then set-up two more for Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling to inspire United to a thumping win.

On the biggest stage, in one of the most important games in the footballing calendar, Young stood tall in what was his seventh straight start.

It was just a shame England boss Roy Hodgson wasn't around to witness the second coming of someone who deserves to be handed another chance on the international stage.

There were no histrionics from him here. In fact, the only thing taking a nosedive was the future of City boss Manuel Pellegrini and some of his highly-paid flops.

The defending champions have imploded and there is so much wrong with the team at the moment that owner Sheikh Mansour must feel like jetting in from Abu Dhabi to sort out the sorry mess himself.

On this evidence it seems Pellegrini is keeping some bad company, and I don't just mean his under-performing captain.

Vincent Kompany was lucky to avoid a red card for his crude lunge at Daley Blind, but failed to re-appear for the second half anyway after picking up yet another injury.

His form this season has been dismal, while the attitude and application of Yaya Toure is also a huge concern.

These ingredients mixed together are cooking up something that is about to leave a sour taste in the mouths of City bosses.

According to TS Eliot, 'April is the cruellest month' and Pellegrini is now discovering this to his cost following another grim chapter in the story of his slow and painful demise as City boss.

Statistics don't lie and the ones relating to City are now damning, but the brutal truth is the billionaires have gone backwards this season.

Pellegrini's failures sunk to new depths on a miserable afternoon, when someone called Young made the Chilean feel very, very old.

Mauricio Pochettino planning summer overhaul after Aston Villa defeat

MAURICIO POCHETTINO admits he is already planning for next season at Tottenham.

That could be bad news for some of the flops in his Spurs squad after any lingering hope of a top-four finish evaporated here.

Ten-man Aston Villa were good value for only their third win in 18 league games and should have won by more than just Christian Benteke's solitary 35th-minute strike.

Gabby Agbonlahor hit the post and Fabian Delph wasted a glorious a chance to kill them off late on as Spurs suffered another setback after their goalless draw at Burnley.

The Champions League looks further away than ever for Spurs, and Pochettino confirmed his squad will need a big shake-up this summer.

Asked whether he already knew who would be leaving and who he wanted to bring in, the Tottenham boss said: "Always you have in your head some idea, yes.

"We need to analyse. But always you can improve your squad. Always this is our idea."

“We need to analyse. But always you can improve your squad. Always this is our idea”

Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino also admitted for the first time how big a physical and mental toll the Europa League has taken on his team this season.

But he wants to build a squad that can cope with it next season should Spurs finish high enough to qualify again.

He said: "It's difficult. It was a very long season. When you do a whole season playing Thursday Sunday maybe you arrive at the end at a very difficult level.

"It's not easy. When you are a young squad and you make the biggest effort during the season maybe you arrive, not physically, but mentally in a very difficult moment at the end of the season.

"How will we deal with it if we are in the Europa League again? We need to analyse that and we need to design a squad to arrive in a different level.

"A bigger squad? No. Not bigger. Maybe different."

Spurs listened to offers for Paulinho, Mousa Dembele, Aaron Lennon, Roberto Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor and Etienne Capoue in the last transfer window.

So it seems a surefire bet not all of them will be back next season.

Benteke looks certain to be back with Villa though, after digging them out of a hole since boss Tim Sherwood arrived at Villa Park, scoring eight goals in his last six games.

So does the big Belgian think he is back to his best after injury and loss of form?

"I would say almost," he said.

"I have a big faith. In life you have some bad times and some good times and maybe now it's my good time and I just try to enjoy it.

"You know the expectations, it is high. But when I came back I knew it was going to be hard. But I didn't put pressure on myself. I knew my time would come and I would get my old level."

Benteke's revival has fired Villa clear of the chasing pack at the foot of the table and sends them into Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Liverpool with some momentum.

This win was all the sweeter too for former Spurs boss Sherwood, whose name was not even read out by the White Hart Lane announcer before kick-off.

He said: "No, I wasn't surprised by that. I didn't even get a picture in the programme.

"Listen, these fans have been good to me and the club's been very good to me. It wasn't the welcome I was looking for, it was the three points, and I'm happy."

But he admits he'll have to make changes at Wembley after Carlos Sanchez foolishly got himself suspended with a red card for two bookable offences.

He said: "We might have to tweak the way we play. I'm not going to tweak the way we play to suit Liverpool, but with the personnel we've got, we're going to tweak the way we play."

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vorm 6; Chiriches 4 (Yedlin 80), Dier 6, Fazio 5, ROSE 7; Mason 6, Bentaleb 5; Townsend 5 (Lamela 79), Eriksen 6, Chadli 5 (Soldado 62, 6); Kane 6. Subs: Friedel, Paulinho, Stambouli, Davies.

UP NEXT: Newcastle (a) Premier League, Sunday

Aston Villa (4-3-1-2): Guzan 6; Bacuna 6, Vlaar 6, Clark 6 (Baker 18, 6), Richardson 6; Delph 7, Cleverley 6, Sanchez 6; Grealish 5 (Weimann 63, 6); BENTEKE 8, Agbonlahor 6 (Cole 70, 6). Subs: Given, Okore, N'Zogbia, Lowton. UP NEXT: Liverpool, FA Cup, Sunday

REFEREE: Lee Probert 6

STAR MAN: Christian Benteke - Can't stop scoring

STAR SHOCKER: Vlad Chiriches - Cheers when he was subbed

MATCH: 3