Injuries have forced Ferguson to go back to basics November 21, 2011 MANCHESTER UNITED vs BENFICA MANCHESTER UNITED manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he has been forced to abandon the cavalier style that characterised his side’s early season form as a result of an unprecedented injury crisis. United have responded to their 6-1 derby-day defeat against Manchester City by rattling off five consecutive wins without having conceded [...]
De Jong wary as City aim to reach last 16 November 21, 2011 NAPOLI vs MANCHESTER CITY MANCHESTER CITY midfielder Nigel de Jong has warned his team-mates to be prepared for an onslaught tonight from a Napoli side fighting to extend their own Champions League debut. City, making their first appearance in Europe’s top club competition, have recovered from a jittery start to their Group A campaign and [...]
Novak’s back from the brink November 21, 2011 WORLD No1 Novak Djokovic produced a typically tenacious display to ensure a winning start to his ATP World Tour Finals campaign at the expense of Tomas Berdych. The Serb, whose fitness has been of concern ever since he captured his third grand slam title of the year at the US Open in September, took until [...]
Cipriani: I’ll be England’s fly-half at 2015 World Cup November 21, 2011 ENGLAND outcast Danny Cipriani believes he is capable of spearheading the Red Rose’s challenge to win the World Cup on home soil in 2015. The 24-year-old fly-half returns to Twickenham for the first time since winning the last of his seven caps in November 2008 when the Barbarians face Australia on Saturday. The former Wasps [...]
Beckham signs off on a high November 21, 2011 FORMER England captain David Beckham has turned his attention to resolving his future after fulfilling his ambition of leading LA Galaxy to the Major League Soccer title. Beckham (right), who helped set up the only goal as Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final late on Sunday night, is at a crossroads having [...]
Magnificent seven for Henderson November 21, 2011 HORSE RACING: Mossley impressed on his chasing debut at Kempton to hand trainer Nicky Henderson a landmark seven winners from as many races yesterday. The five-year-old, ridden by Barry Geraghty, three more wins on the same card and three elsewhere. Henderson said: “I remember having six one Boxing Day or the day after, but we [...]
Aussies earn dramatic series draw November 21, 2011 CRICKET: Australia pulled off the highest successful run chase at the Wanderers to beat South Africa by two wickets and win the second and final Test. Debutant Pat Cummins hit the winning runs, while Mitchell Johnson was 40 not out as the tourists reached their target of 310 late on day five. Vernon Philander took [...]
Roman won’t sack me, insists Chelsea boss November 20, 2011 CHELSEA (1) vs LIVERPOOL (2) Chelsea 12 points off the top after Liverpool snatch a late win at Stamford Bridge, but Villas-Boas claims his job is not under threat CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas last night emphatically rejected suggestions the club’s owner Roman Abramovich has already lost faith in his methods after watching Liverpool inflict a [...]
Villas-Boas backed by Dalglish November 20, 2011 LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish leapt to the defence of Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas after condemning them to a third defeat in four Premier League games. Villas-Boas is facing the first troubled patch of his brief tenure at Stamford Bridge, where under-performing managers do not tend to linger. But Dalglish insists the young Portuguese coach retains [...]
MATCH ANALYSIS November 20, 2011 KEY MOMENT Instead of the story centering on Chelsea suffering back-to-back defeats in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2002, it may well have been all about the merits of a spirited second half revival were it not for the reactions and agility of Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Less than [...]