West Ham 1-3 Arsenal: Gunners’ nine-minute burst enough to give Ljungberg a first victory and end nine-game winless run December 9, 2019 In the end all it took was one morsel of confidence to build on. For successful teams winning becomes a habit; over the last nine games Arsenal had forgotten how to do it. Booed off after 45 minutes in the London Stadium tonight it looked like the Gunners were set for another dispiriting night on [...]
Patrick Reed controversy and Tiger Woods’ dual role could help the international team win the Presidents Cup December 9, 2019 One of golf’s simplest rules is that you cannot do anything to improve the lie of your ball, so I was astonished to see what Patrick Reed did on the weekend. The American was handed a two-shot penalty at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas after twice flattening the sand behind his ball with [...]
Champions League permutations: What results Liverpool and Chelsea need to reach the last 16 December 9, 2019 Manchester City and Tottenham may have already sealed their place in the Champions League knockout round, but for many clubs a place in February’s round of 16 is still to play for. City are guaranteed top spot regardless of Wednesday night’s result against Dinamo Zagreb, while Jose Mourinho’s Spurs face a trip to Bayern Munich [...]
Six months after their treble, where has it all gone wrong for Manchester City? December 8, 2019 If Manchester City’s relentless brilliance created an impenetrable sky blue wall around the Premier League trophy last season, this term they are rolling out the red carpet. Saturday’s surprise 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United means they now trail runaway leaders Liverpool by 14 points, a chasm that manager Pep Guardiola called “not realistic” as [...]
Liverpool 5-2 Everton: Jurgen Klopp’s gamble pays off as Reds rest, rotate and roll on undeterred in Merseyside derby December 4, 2019 Some might have questioned Jurgen Klopp’s wisdom when they saw the Liverpool teamsheet he turned in to face Everton in the Merseyside derby. With a daunting and draining festive fixture list lying ahead, Klopp has decided rotation is his only option. The clash with their rivals from across Stanley Park represented the fourth of 12 [...]
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua has changed his mindset for Ruiz rematch and defends decision to hold fight in Saudi Arabia December 4, 2019 Boxing has a tendency to over-promote the significance of its fights but for Anthony Joshua the magnitude of Saturday’s bout in Saudi Arabia can truly be described as career-defining. The Briton will step into the ring to face Andy Ruiz Jr knowing that defeat will likely end his hopes of unifying the heavyweight division and [...]
England remain stuck at square one in pursuit of a workable formula to win Test matches away from home December 3, 2019 Joe Denly’s dropped catch did not cost England the chance of levelling their Test series on the final day against New Zealand – the docile wicket and incoming rain had already put paid to that scenario. Beyond rewarding Jofra Archer’s skilful knuckle ball and hard graft, and stopping Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson short of [...]
Forget Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino, Arsenal should make Patrick Vieira their Frank Lampard December 3, 2019 Mid-season can be a difficult time for clubs to recruit a new manager, with big moves tending to happen in the close season and next summer in particular looking like being one of major appointments. So Arsenal need to be realistic as they seek a successor for Unai Emery and in my eyes there is [...]
Pablo Larrazabal’s comeback win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship was a triumph for doggedness and passion December 2, 2019 It all looked to have gone wrong for Pablo Larrazabal during the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Sunday. The Spaniard had led from the end of the second round in South Africa, but struggling with blisters, he shot a horrible first nine which looked to have ruled him out of a first [...]
Amazon steps into Premier League broadcasting for the first time with big ambitions December 2, 2019 December is an important month for the future of the Premier League. On the pitch, the focus will be on whether Liverpool can sustain their charge at the top of the table, if Jose Mourinho can turn around Tottenham’s fortunes in the long term and which sides are sliding towards relegation. But off it eyes [...]