Olympiacos v Arsenal: Europe League tie offers escape from Greek football’s latest crisis February 19, 2020 When Arsenal arrive at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens on Thursday evening, it will represent the biggest game of the season for their opponents, Olympiacos. The knockout stages of the Europa League are always a huge occasion for the Greek club. But considering what is going on in their domestic competition, the fixture also acts [...]
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool: Simeone works his defensive magic as Klopp’s side draw a blank in the Champions League February 18, 2020 It took five months, but tonight Liverpool finally met their match. Before the return to the Wanda Metropolitano – the scene of last season’s Champions League final triumph – Jurgen Klopp had talked up his opponents. Atletico Madrid were painted as a tough nut to crack. The Liverpool manager’s prediction turned out to be spot [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Mr Croissant can help punters get their hands on the dough February 18, 2020 DOUGLAS Whyte’s impressive form has been one of the highlights of the season so far in Hong Kong. The former 13-time champion jockey turned trainer already has 24 winners to his name, with more to come. With a stable of 60 horses, Whyte has proved adept at producing either newcomers or lightly-raced gallopers to the [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Iron King set to rule on the dirt at Sha Tin February 18, 2020 SHA TIN hosts an eight-race card on the all-weather today and like so often in Hong Kong, ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira is the jockey to follow. Moreira has been in a league of his own on the dirt surface this season having ridden 11 winners compared to his nearest rivals’ five, as well as 12 [...]
How RB Leipzig’s business model and recruitment strategy drove the club to the Champions League last-16 and bred hatred February 18, 2020 RB Leipzig’s methods may be controversial, but they are certainly effective. Leipzig are widely considered the most hated club in Germany. Founded in 2009 by Austrian energy drink manufacturer Red Bull as a marketing ploy, the club have been allowed to circumvent the country’s 50+1 ownership rule which stipulates that 50 per cent of the [...]
Jose Mourinho gives Tottenham the edge over Chelsea and Manchester United in race for Champions League places February 18, 2020 Manchester United’s win at Chelsea on Monday has only cranked up the pressure in one of the most keenly contested races for Champions League qualification in recent years. Just seven points separate Chelsea, in fourth, and Burnley, in 11th, because – Liverpool aside – there is very little consistency and everyone is beating everyone else. [...]
Chelsea 0-2 Manchester United: Blues can’t hide behind VAR excuses after blunt performance in front of goal February 17, 2020 As a Chelsea fan there are two ways you can look at tonight’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Firstly, viewed emotionally, it was a night of pure frustration. A night on which N’Golo Kante and Andreas Christensen were forced off injured. A night on which the opposition’s captain and goalscorer got away [...]
Four years without a win and now two in a row: king of the swingers Adam Scott is back at the top of the game February 17, 2020 You will never watch Adam Scott play golf on television without the commentators gushing about how good his swing is. When you think about the great ball-strikers, the Australian is one of the first names that comes to mind. For me, he is up there in the top 10 of all time, along with Tiger [...]
England right to be excited about the Twenty20 World Cup after flexing their muscles in 2-1 South Africa series win February 16, 2020 England came into their Twenty20 International series with South Africa out of practice in the format, confident, but not entirely sure about the specifics of their route to this year’s World Cup. Through their mastery of the 50-over format over the last four years they knew they had the players and attributes required to be [...]
Chelsea v Manchester United: Blues’ poor home form under threat from big-match specialists in top-four showdown February 16, 2020 While this season’s Premier League title race is now non-existent, the battle to finish in the top four is still very much on. Everyone from Chelsea in fourth to Arsenal in 10th will have aspirations of finishing in the final Champions League spot, while Manchester City’s prospective European ban has given even more teams hope. [...]