Basel 1, Arsenal 4: Lucas Perez hat-trick fires Gunners to top spot in Champions League after Paris Saint-Germain slip December 7, 2016 Basel 1, Arsenal 4 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger savoured a clear conscience after his team gave themselves the best chance of avoiding another horror last-16 draw by snatching top spot in their Champions League group on Tuesday night. The Gunners’ comfortable victory over Basel in Switzerland, secured by a Lucas Perez hat-trick and Alex Iwobi’s [...]
Manchester City 1, Celtic 1: On-loan City winger Patrick Roberts embarrasses parent club but Sergio Aguero stand-in Kelechi Iheanacho spares hosts blushes December 6, 2016 Manchester City 1, Celtic 1 Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho showed that he is ready to fill the gap left by suspended top scorer Sergio Aguero by netting his fifth goal of the campaign on Tuesday night. The 20-year-old Nigeria hotshot equalised as City drew their final Champions League group fixture with Celtic, after the [...]
Thomas Bjorn and the Captain myth: How much influence do leaders in sport really have? December 6, 2016 Thomas Bjorn has been anointed as the new European Ryder Cup captain, a role that has grown from coat carrying irrelevance to the most lucrative unpaid job in world sport. "This is not just a job, it’s a f***ing metaphor," one prominent sports agent told me while I was researching my book, The Captain Myth. [...]
Fernando Alonso could reignite fierce rivalry with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, team chiefs confirm December 6, 2016 Mercedes could be set to reignite one of motorsport’s most combustible rivalries after team bosses admitted that McLaren’s Fernando Alonso is on their shortlist to replace departing world champion Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes’ other driver, and Alonso endured such a fraught relationship while team-mates at McLaren in 2007 that the Spaniard quit the Woking-based [...]
Mauricio Pochettino: Europa League games could help Tottenham get over Wembley hoodoo December 6, 2016 Mauricio Pochettino believes the Europa League could give his Tottenham team the chance to acclimatise to Wembley following their failed Champions League campaign. Spurs lost their first two games at Wembley before being dumped out of the Champions League last month, but they can salvage a spot in Uefa's secondary competition by avoiding defeat to CSKA Moscow under the [...]
Slaven Bilic must go back to basics to steer West Ham out of a relegation battle and save his job December 6, 2016 One point above the relegation zone, reeling from a thrashing at home to Arsenal on Saturday, and now uncertainty over the future of Slaven Bilic. It is hard to work out how it has gone so wrong so quickly for West Ham and their manager. Firstly, while it is no excuse, the stadium factor can’t [...]
Thomas Bjorn: Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain says young talent will fuel team growth December 6, 2016 Thomas Bjorn has praised the breadth of Europe's young talent after being named captain for the 2018 Ryder Cup. The 45-year-old Dane, only the fourth man from outside the British Isles to lead the team, said a crop of rising stars could reclaim the Ryder Cup after Europe fell to their first defeat since 2008 this [...]
Aladdin at Lyric Hammersmith is the playful reinvention that combines flying carpets with Brexit jokes December 6, 2016 Some pantomimes rely on hiring former celebrities to lure in the crowds – “Where are the best years of my career?” “Behind you!” This production has no need for such gimmicks, having instead a tight script that playfully reinvents a classic, high-energy dancing, inventive use of pop songs, engaging performances, and lots of audience participation. It [...]
Ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton targets sophisticated investors for new sports venture December 6, 2016 Sophisticated investors in the UK are being encouraged to back sport businesses using a new online platform that puts them in front of a range of unquoted companies in the sector. Sports Investment Partners (SIP), the private equity firm founded by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, has teamed up with corporate finance adviser Envestors to launch [...]
Edinburgh: a city of lights offering a box of delights December 6, 2016 | City Talk The festive season is a magical time. Comforting childhood memories of twinkling city centre lights, carol singers and sipping hot chocolate mingle with familiar festive music and echoes of the butterflies once felt before meeting Santa in the local department store. Today, the hot chocolate might have been supplanted by a mug of warming mulled [...]