Valencia 2-2 Chelsea: Blues’ attacking mentality produces wide-open entertaining draw November 27, 2019 Their unique style may be ageing Blues supporters with every game, but Chelsea are quickly establishing themselves as the most watchable side in Europe. Four months into Frank Lampard’s reign as manager we have been given a crash course in wide-open, front-foot, relentlessly attack-minded football and yet, even knowing what we knew from previous matches, [...]
There are no alternatives – Joe Root should keep the captaincy as England build towards a new era November 27, 2019 England begin the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton tomorrow and there is one man in particular who could do with a positive performance. Joe Root is enduring a difficult time at the moment, with his position as captain coming under fresh scrutiny after he managed just 13 runs in the defeat by an [...]
Silver Lake pours $500m into Man City owner to break sports group valuation record November 27, 2019 Private equity giant Silver Lake has made a $500m (£389m) investment into Manchester City Football Club’s owners. The cash influx means Abu Dhabi’s City Football Group is now worth $4.8bn, the firms said today, breaking the valuation record for a sports organisation. Read more: Mourinho’s changes spark Spurs comeback to seal last 16 The deal [...]
Tottenham 4-2 Olympiacos: Mourinho’s changes spark Spurs comeback to seal last 16 qualification November 26, 2019 It was far from perfect, but once again Jose Mourinho brought his fabled winning touch to Tottenham. Right from kick-off, against an Olympiacos side who were winless in 12 Champions League games, all the home team’s flaws were there: nerves, disorganisation, individual errors, confidence visibly disappearing. Then followed the drama, the roaring comeback and, ultimately, [...]
Chelsea look an ideal destination if Jadon Sancho quits Borussia Dortmund and comes home next year November 26, 2019 Jadon Sancho is an exceptional talent and that’s why he will be courted by the very biggest clubs in Europe if, as seems increasingly likely, he looks to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer. At the age of 17 he quit Manchester City and moved to Germany in an attempt to accelerate his development. It worked: [...]
Valencia v Chelsea preview: Frank Lampard’s side have come a long way since their opening Champions League defeat November 26, 2019 Chelsea were in a very different place last time they took on Valencia. The Blues were just six competitive games into Frank Lampard’s tenure as manager when they kicked off their Champions League campaign against the Spanish side on 17 September. After an exciting but inconsistent start to the season, Chelsea ran into frustration at [...]
New Zealand thrashing shows England’s age-old problems are holding back their desired old-school approach November 25, 2019 This match was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era for England. It proved to be more of the same. Before the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui, new head coach Chris Silverwood spoke a good game. An old-school mentality was trumpeted. Finding “the method of batting for a long time” [...]
Race To Dubai winner Jon Rahm gets better each year – his first Major is a matter of when not if November 25, 2019 Many a man would have buckled in the situation Jon Rahm found himself on Sunday afternoon at the European Tour’s season finale, the DP World Tour Championship. Chasing a victory that would also earn him the Race To Dubai title and a combined windfall of £4m, the Spaniard made the perfect start, holing five birdies [...]
Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United: Youthful exuberance and tactical naivety cancel each other out for Solskjaer November 24, 2019 At the end of a Premier League weekend which was defined by damaging results for under-pressure managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went through the wringer in an unpredictable, see-sawing classic at Bramall Lane today. The Manchester United manager veered from joining the pending P45 crew of Marco Silva, Unai Emery and Manuel Pellegrini at 2-0 down, [...]
Manchester City stay in the title race – just – and wait for Liverpool’s luck to run out November 24, 2019 When the final whistle sounded on Saturday evening, bringing to a close almost two hours of breathless and unpredictable football in the teeming Manchester rain, Pep Guardiola could afford himself a sigh of relief. Despite seeing Raheem Sterling’s late goal ruled out for offside in controversial circumstances, Guardiola’s Manchester City had done enough – just [...]