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Plenty of Aston Villa supporters have been reacting to footage shared on social media regarding Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins.

The pair both featured for the Three Lions on Thursday evening, with Watkins grabbing the final goal in a 5-0 win at Wembley.

Watkins, who had never featured for England at any level prior to his debut, received the ball on the edge of the area before firing through a defender’s legs and into the far corner.

Numerous Villa supporters took to social media to praise the 25-year-old following his interview after the game, and many more have done so towards the forward and centre-back Mings.

Villa shared slow-motion footage from England on their official Twitter page of Watkins’ goal and subsequent celebrations.

One of the first players to celebrate with Watkins was Mings, along with Manchester City’s Phil Foden.

Villa fans react

Villa heaped praise on Mings in the caption and these Villa fans followed suit in showing their love for the towering defender, with one describing the footage as ‘magic’.

“Magic – he’s a major reason behind the dressing room improving at Villa Park”

Credit: @Shy_Rhy

“Wonderful scenes did us proud”

Credit: @UTViIIa

“Love this”

Credit: @danfereday

“Class this is! Gives me Goosebumps man… UTV”

Credit: @AstonVilla_info

“Brilliant!!”

Credit: @clukk74

“Love it two of the best signings we’ve made”

Credit: @GV18271

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to Vila-linked star’s social media activity, find out more here.  

Sheffield Wednesday slipped to their fifth successive defeat in the Championship on Wednesday night, going down 2-1 to ten-man Rotherham at Hillsborough.Darren Moore’s side thought they had earned a point after an own goal in the last ten minutes of the 90, before Freddie Ladapo scored a heart-breaking winner for the away side deep into stoppage time.One man who let his new manager down massively was Matt Penney.As per Sofascore, he lost possession a whopping 22 times over the course of the game, which was the joint-most of any Owls players on the pitch, and comfortably higher than his season average of 15.2.Not only was he sloppy with the ball at his feet, but he also looked defensively suspect, being dribbled past twice (the second-most of any Sheffield Wednesday player), and made no interceptions whatsoever – that’s a far cry from the more impressive 1.3 that he’s made per game this season.Writing in his post-match player ratings, journalist Dom Howson said: “Given a tough time at left-back. Rotherham got plenty of joy down his side, particularly in the first period.” Stuart Rayner of The Yorkshire Post, meanwhile, simply described Penney as having an “uncomfortable night”.The 23-year-old was a liability down Wednesday’s left-hand side, and given he’s mostly played further forward this season as a left-midfielder, it was no surprise that defensively, he seemed to struggle with Rotherham’s attackers.It was something that was called out by a few of the club’s supporters on Twitter.

All in all, it was an awful display from the full-back, and one that let his new manager down badly.

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting in delighted fashion to the Champions League quarter-final and semi-final draws.

The Reds progressed from the last-16 earlier this month, getting the better of RB Leipzig over two legs and winning 4-0 on aggregate.

It was an impressive showing from a Liverpool side who have had a season to forget in the Premier League, as they outlined the quality they still possess.

The only way Jurgen Klopp’s men can turn this campaign in a memorable one is if they go all the way in the Champions League, winning it for a second time in three seasons in the process.

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On Friday, Liverpool discovered who they will face in the quarters, with a mouthwatering tie against Real Madrid to look forward to and revenge in the air after the 2018 final in Kiev.

If the Reds get through, they will then play the winner of Chelsea’s clash with Porto, with the final in Istanbul within touching distance at that point.

Liverpool fans react to Champions League draw

Here’s how some Liverpool fans reacted to the draw on Twitter.

“This could come back to haunt me but I’m delighted with that draw. We owe Madrid one. Up the Reds!”

Credit: @JamieHolme

“That’s some draw, UCL is now officially at the business end of the competition”Credit: @Chris78Williams”What. A. Draw. That. Was.”Credit: @em_sandy”Good draw! Happy to face Real Madrid! Revenge time. Porto or Dortmund would’ve been maybe easier but I wanted to avoid City, Bayern or PSG too early. If we get through then we face either Porto or Chelsea, which is the easier side of the draw!”Credit: @TaintlessRed”Yes lovely draw”Credit: @DHardayal”Chelsea in the semi-final? Party like it’s 2005.”Credit: @BassTunedToRed”Yesssss! Bring it, Madrid”Credit: @BenWebbLFC”‘Number 7’ is trending”Credit: @LFCTransferRoom”Pretty happy with that. Phillips vs Benzema will be tasty.”Credit: @paul_grechIn other news, Liverpool fans have been reacting to claims the Reds could move for a Premier League midfielder. Read about it here.

As Leeds search for reinforcements in this January transfer window, one player who may be looking over his shoulder, is Pascal Struijk.

Hailed as “very influential” by Marcelo Bielsa, who handed him his senior debut for the club in the Championship last season, Struijk has grown into a regular in Leeds’ first-team squad over the past twelve months.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds ace Noel Whelan said earlier this month: “You can see what a great player he will be, he likes that aggression side, he’s very competitive in the air, he’s got that little bit of a nasty streak but he’s also very good on the ball.

“His ball distribution, his choices of passes but I think his overall intelligence of playing that centre position, he looks a lot more comfortable. Again, I was impressed with lots of people but to see him back in that position where he’s natural, you really can see a player in him.”

But with Erick Pulgar’s potential arrival at Elland Road, Struijk is likely to see game-time harder to come by in that holding midfield role, with talisman Kalvin Phillips already ahead of him in the pecking order.

And then when you consider that both club captain Liam Cooper, and summer signing Diego Llorente, have returned to fitness in the past couple of weeks, it becomes that much more difficult to see where Struijk really fits into this Leeds set-up unless injuries or suspensions occur.

After making 11 appearances this season in all competitions, and starting and completing the full 90 minutes in the past four Premier League games too, the 21-year-old is in real danger of being dropped from the line-up and going back to a place on the bench.

Bielsa described him as someone who “gives everything and asks for nothing in return”. But unless he really steps up his performances, that effort may not mean much given Pulgar’s potential signing and the return to fitness of the likes of Cooper and Llorente.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this starlet in the Premier League…

Celtic were unable to keep their unbeaten winning streak going yesterday as they lost in a rather weak manner.

The Hoops fell at the hands of a plucky Ross County having arrived at Victoria Park off the back of a strong five games prior, scoring 13 goals in that time and conceding just two. However, they wouldn’t be celebrating their sixth victory.

Just the one goal was scored last night, coming in the 71st minute as Jordan White managed to find the back of the net and snatch the points away from a wounded Celtic.

The reigning league champions will be disappointed with an overall lacklustre performance. Jonjoe Kenny, in particular, was off his game, but there was one man who managed to shine, despite the poor result.

Callum McGregor vs Ross County

Callum McGregor has been an integral part of Neil Lennon’s squad this season. Talks have emerged about the idea of him taking the captain’s armband from Scott Brown, who is out of contract in the summer.

With big boots to potentially fill down the line, the midfielder has been solid in the engine room this campaign and he was one of the few positive takeaways against Ross County.

According to Sofascore, he took a mammoth 124 touches of the ball, which was more than any other player on the pitch. This just goes to show how much of a feeder player he operates as in midfield – he is always giving and receiving the ball to try and make some magic happen.

McGregor also made an impressive 101 accurate passes, completing 90% of those attempted, as well as putting in 11 accurate long balls and making one key pass.

Neil Lennon is also a huge fan of McGregor’s and recently waxed lyrical about his influence. The boss described him as a “metronome” in the middle of the park, which is a huge compliment for someone awaiting to take charge of his club as future captain.

Celtic did lose the game, but captain-in-waiting McGregor can still be proud of his performance.

In other news, Celtic must keep starting Ryan Christie this season…

Liverpool face a tough trip to St Mary’s on Monday evening to face Southampton and whilst a lot of eyes will be on Danny Ings and the threat he poses against his old team, Jurgen Klopp’s side must be wary of James Ward-Prowse.

The Southampton captain has been in superb form so far this season for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, contributing four goals and three assists in 16 top-flight appearances, which has earned him an excellent 7.3 average rating.

This is enough to rank the Englishman as the Saints’ best performer in the top-flight so far this season, which emphasises how important he is for the South Coast club.

Perhaps most impressively, three of Ward-Prowse’s goals have come from direct free-kicks, including two superb efforts in the same game in their 4-3 win against Aston Villa earlier in the season.

Therefore, Klopp’s side must be extremely wary of giving away free-kicks in dangerous positions at St Mary’s on Monday, as the 26-year-old certainly has the quality to punish the Reds.

After Manchester City’s 1-0 win against the Saints last month, Pep Guardiola lauded the Southampton ace, who earns £45k per week at the South Coast club, saying:

“They have the best free-kick taker I have seen in my life in Ward-Prowse.”

It is not just the Southampton man’s free-kicks that are dangerous, however, as his corners have also proved to an extremely dangerous weapon for Hasenhuttl’s side this season, with the South Coast club having scored eight times from set-pieces this season, the joint-most in the league.

Without the aerial threat of Virgil van Dijk, Klopp’s side could certainly be vulnerable from set-pieces, as we saw with Semi Ajayi’s equalising goal for West Brom in the 1-1 draw recently, so this could be another area which Southampton look to exploit against the Reds on Monday evening.

Therefore, although the likes of Ings and Che Adams are likely to cause problems for Liverpool’s defence at St Mary’s, Klopp should be wary of the influence Ward-Prowse has in this Southampton side.

And, in other news… Shades of Lovren: Edwards must steer LFC clear of error-prone £22.5m-rated disaster

David Sullivan should re-think Felipe Anderson’s situation before accepting FC Porto’s rumoured decision to retain the West Ham United flop on loan for the remainder of the season.

What’s the word?

According to Record, Anderson will no longer be leaving the Estadio do Dragao after Porto chiefs decided against terminating the Brazilian’s one-season loan spell at the Liga NOS giants.

The Dragoes had been expected to part ways with Anderson this month, with confirmation of his return to east London said to be imminent after seeing the two-time international fail to establish himself under manager Sergio Conceicao.

Anderson has featured in just five fixtures across all competitions after failing to come off the bench during Porto’s 1-1 draw with rivals SL Benfica last Friday, as his wait for a first league outing since October continues.

West Ham were also rumoured to be looking into ending Anderson’s time in Portugal early in order to protect his market value, with a half-season loan move elsewhere seen to be the Hammers’ best route to securing a more lucrative sum in a permanent exit this summer.

But the picture may soon change, as Porto are understood to be struggling to get a deal for Gremio forward Pepe over the line and have been struck by a series of coronavirus cases.

The developments are thought to be offering Anderson a route back into Conceicao’s plans, despite the 27-year-old being remembered at the Estadio do Dragao for the mistakes he made during his early appearances this term.

U-turn needed

Sullivan risks West Ham’s worst nightmare coming true if Anderson does stay in the Liga NOS for the remainder of the season, as Conceicao cannot be trusted to field the 27-year-old any more than he has already despite how the January transfer window is unfolding for Porto.

Anderson is clearly not a valued member of Porto’s squad, having played just 61 minutes against third-tier GD Fabril Barreiro, 45 minutes against FC Pacos de Ferreira and 63 minutes against Olympiacos since last taking to the field for a top-flight game.

He has also been omitted from nine matchday squads across all competitions, to see his Transfermarkt valuation remain at £22.5m – the lowest figure touted since December 2017 – to round out what was a miserable year for Anderson – who was valued at £40.5m just 12-months ago.

Anderson living the remainder of the campaign in the wilderness at Porto will only see West Ham forced to accept a mammoth loss to the former club-record £36m paid to SS Lazio in 2018, like Sullivan was forced to allow with Sebastien Haller who departed for a £25m hit earlier this month.

If West Ham are to avoid that, they should re-consider recalling the forward and sending him out on loan to a side where first-team football will be far easier to secure. That way, Anderson will have a far better chance of rediscovering the form that saw him offer 10 goals and five assists in his maiden year at the London Stadium.

AND in other news, West Ham can secure David Moyes’ dream Mark Noble heir in a £25m January target…

Leeds United were unable to continue their encouraging run of form as they were stopped in their tracks by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Marcelo Bielsa and Frank Lampard went head-to-head for the fifth time and it didn’t disappoint with both Premier League teams firing over 30 shots between them in west London.

But it was the home side that ran out victors, defeating the Yorkshiremen 3-1, though it was no more than what they deserved.

Former Blues striker Patrick Bamford gave United an early lead, but goals from Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic mounted heaps of misery on the Argentine by the full-time whistle.

There were several disappointing individual displays across the pitch for the top-flight newcomers but Chelsea’s shut-down of Jack Harrison may have proven to be the major difference.

The 24-year-old, who briefly played with Lampard at New York City in 2016, was lightweight and wasteful, so perhaps it was hardly a surprise to see him hooked by the hour mark.

In the end, even goalkeeper Illan Meslier managed more touches and passes than Harrison.

The Man City loan star also won just 44% of his nine duels, both aerially and on the ground, and failed to deliver a cross from three attempts. From his 39 touches, Harrison even lost possession 11 times and failed to get a shot on target, via SofaScore.

It was a shocking performance all round and undoubtedly, he let Bielsa down as his first-choice and usually dependant winger.

LeedsLive’s chief reporter Beren Cross graded the £45k-per-week star’s performance a five out of ten, and claimed: “Quiet all evening. Much of United’s best stuff came down the right flank and Harrison looked away from the main thrust of the game.”

That merely reinforces the fact that it was an off-night for the anonymous Harrison.

The €15m-rated (£13.5m) dynamo will have to do a lot better with fixtures against the three United’s, West Ham, Newcastle and Manchester, before Christmas.

AND in other news, Leeds may have unearthed their next Harte in “very good” Thorp Arch sensation…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, former footballer and current pundit Carlton Palmer has been discussing the latest injury blow at Liverpool.

The Reds have endured an injury-hit season thus far, with first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez both currently sidelined, whilst the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Joel Matip and Fabinho have all missed a lot of games.

Despite this, Jurgen Klopp’s side are still challenging at the top of the table, and have the chance to go top if they can beat current leaders Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, the Merseyside club will be without Diogo Jota, after the Portuguese forward picked up an injury in the recent 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland. Klopp confirmed on Sunday that the summer addition will be out for 6-8 weeks, which is undoubtedly a blow when you consider how impressive he has been since joining in the summer, with nine Liverpool goals to his name already.

Here’s what Palmer had to say about the latest injury setback when speaking exclusively to Football FanCast…

“It’s a massive blow. I mean, they’ve got six or seven key players out with long-term injuries and that’s a problem. You know you’re going to pick up injuries and you know players are going to be out for a certain amount of time but they’ve got key players out with long-term injuries which is a massive problem.

“They’ve spent heavily on Jota, they’ve spent £45 million on him, so that is a blow in itself for them.”

Palmer certainly seems to think that the injury to Jota is a big blow for Klopp’s side, especially when you consider the number of first-team players currently out injured.

Fortunately for the Reds, they still have a world-class attacking trio in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, so they will definitely still be able to cause Jose Mourinho’s side problems on Wednesday, despite Jota being missing.

It has been suggested that the former Wolves man could be out until February, so considering the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino have struggled to perform at times this season, perhaps we will see the Merseyside club bring in a replacement for Jota during the upcoming January transfer window.

And, in other news… LFC handed huge transfer blow in pursuit of 20 y/o “gem” likened to Kai Havertz…

No matter how you slice it, football is the biggest sport in the world. It has the largest audience (a ridiculous 4 billion followers), pays the most money in terms of bonuses and prizes (the winner of the Champions League gets over 80 million Euros), has the highest-paid athletes, the richest teams, you get the gist of it.

So it’s no surprise that this behemoth of a sport has had an effect on the gaming industry. And that influence goes beyond football games. Football has driven some of the most important developments in the gaming industry as a whole.

Football Manager = Template for Other Sports 

Football has always attracted the armchair manager. You know, the lad at the pub who reckons he’s a combination of Mourinho and Alex Ferguson. Or, your dad, telling you he was the one who originally discovered the famous Tonton Zola Moukoko.

The way that fans approach football led to the invention of Championship Manager in 1992, arguably (no, definitely) the best management game series ever made. Its success still reverberates throughout the industry, with many copycats across a number of sports:

Football Manager. The heir of the original, Football Manager is now the gold standard of management games. Front Office Football (FOF). No, not soccer, we’re talking American football with this one. It’s a text-based simulation game and very popular amongst NFL stat geeks. Out of the Park Baseball. Baseball is heaven for someone designing a management game. The game is just pure stats, with everything measured and recorded. Licensed by the MLB, Out of the Park is your go-to option for baseball. Total Extreme Wrestling. Yes, you can also manage wrestlers. This game is a fun take on the management style experience, and we highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the sport.

Bookies and iGaming 

Football and gambling go together like a horse and carriage, or something like that. Placing a cheeky punt on the FA Cup underdog is part and parcel of the football experience, and there’s no question that football has influenced the development of the online gambling industry.

For example, the sheer number of markets all started with football. First goalscorer, minute of the first goal, whether Piers Morgan will replace Arsene Wenger as manager (didn’t happen), or how about taking a punt on David Cameron becoming the next Villa manager? Yeah, those crazy betting options all started with bookies trying to offer football fans something new and exciting.

Football is such a big business that it also drives gameplay innovation at the bookies. For instance, recent iterations of new offerings involve football-themed online slots, including Football: Champions Cup, Championship Manager or the classic Top Trumps. Football has driven the development of more immersive and advanced gameplay; gone are the days of the simple fruit machine.

Yearly Franchise Releases for ALL Sports

In the 90s, football teams started releasing new kits every single season. The gaming industry took notice and copied the process, realizing that footie fans will buy anything to do with the beautiful game. Especially if that includes new features, the latest kits, players who have moved to new clubs, and an exciting new trick or two.

The biggest franchise is FIFA, there’s no question about it. It’s the 27th edition of the game, and we don’t expect the format to change anytime soon. But there are others: Pro Evolution Soccer is an old school favorite, with many gamers preferring it to FIFA.

EA Sports was buoyed by its football success and now releases several sports game series: there’s Madden for football, NBA Life for Basketball, and UFC for MMA. It is undoubtedly true that without the popularity of football to drive the development of sports games, we wouldn’t have the sheer number of options we have available today.

The Rise of eSports 

Football has taken a leading role when it comes to eSports. Manchester City, for example, signed an eSports player to its book. Yes, someone who plays video games for a living can now call himself a Man City player.

Premier League players are also getting in on the action. Leicester’s Christian Fuchs, for example, started up his very own FIFA team. The name of the franchise is legendary: NoFuchsGiven.

Football is seeing the potential of eSports. And rather than seeing it as a challenger to the established order, traditional football stalwarts are investing and propelling the industry forward.

But What About the Influence of Gaming on Football? 

We’ll leave you with another idea, turning the concepts we’ve explored in this article in the opposite direction. Football has had a big effect on the gaming industry, yes, but it works both ways.

Games like Championship Manager have helped football managers to analyze football from a data perspective. André Villas-Boas, the former Chelsea and Spurs manager, has admitted to using it to guide transfer policy, for example. And Sam Allardyce uses FIFA and Football Manager to teach his grandson about football management.

Football fans also now approach the game with pretty sophisticated knowledge of how the business works. Many look at football in this way because of their gaming experience; they wouldn’t know anything about scouting and the youth system setup without Championship Manager, for example.

In short, football and gaming are intricately connected. And with that point as a final send-off, we think we’ll turn on the PS4 for a little spot of FIFA (bagsy Barcelona!).