Mauricio Pochettino must balance Tottenham’s Champions League dreams with importance of securing Premier League top four May 2, 2019 Tottenham could be forgiven for looking past this weekend's trip to Bournemouth to the all more attractive proposition of facing Ajax in Amsterdam next week for a place in the Champions League final. The reality is, however, that Saturday's early kick-off presents Spurs with the chance to seal their position in the top four and a [...]
Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool: Magic Messi, Same old Suarez and Klopp’s gung-ho tactics help make Champions League classic May 1, 2019 There is such a thing in football as scoring at the right time. After 74 minutes Liverpool were cursing their luck but content with a 1-0 score line they could take back to Anfield. Eight minutes later they were heading home with their tails between their legs. The architect of such a demise was, not [...]
Chris Tremlett: Alex Hales only has himself to blame – England were right to drop him over drugs breach May 1, 2019 I don’t have a lot of sympathy for Alex Hales. The batsman was this week dropped from England’s World Cup squad after failing a recreational drugs test and I think director of cricket Ashley Giles has made the right decision. It’s not the first time he’s been in the spotlight for his actions away from [...]
Arsenal and Chelsea look for salvation in the Europa League with Premier League top four hopes in the balance May 1, 2019 Arsenal and Chelsea face different opponents in their Europa League semi-finals tomorrow evening. Valencia and Eintracht Frankfurt are different propositions and will pose different questions, but in many ways the London rivals are in the same boat. Like so many seasons before, their respective campaigns have boiled down to one major objective: qualification for the Champions [...]
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax: Depleted Spurs playing catch up after classy visitors claim vital away goal April 30, 2019 It was Tottenham’s first European Cup semi-final since their debut season in the competition back in 1962, but despite the rarity of the occasion, they produced a lacklustre performance that will leave them wondering what could have been. Spurs came into the game on the back of their first defeat at the new Tottenham Hotspur [...]
Trevor Steven: Klopp’s decision on how to deal with Messi will prove decisive for Liverpool in Barcelona Champions League clash April 30, 2019 Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona tomorrow night comes at the perfect time. The Reds in form, have momentum after a 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield on Friday and, following Roberto Firmino’s return to training, have all their major players fit. If this game had come around one year ago I definitely would have preferred Barca [...]
Eoin Morgan interview: England captain on World Cup preparation, reaching world No1 and squad make-up April 30, 2019 With the Cricket World Cup just around the corner you could forgive the captain of the hosts and favourites for displaying some signs of nerves. After all, the events between 30 May and 14 July will define Eoin Morgan’s four years of hard work. Alongside coach Trevor Bayliss, Morgan has been instrumental in turning England [...]
Sam Torrance: Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer’s Zurich Classic triumph a heartwarming tale for golf April 29, 2019 Jon Rahm continued his rise at the weekend by winning the Zurich Classic and the heartwarming nature of his victory made it even better. The Zurich Classic has been a team event since 2017 and the format makes it all the more enjoyable, with Rahm winning alongside partner Ryan Palmer in New Orleans. The Spaniard [...]
Tottenham and Ajax’s Champions League success serves as a reminder that there is more to football than money April 29, 2019 It is the semi-final that no one saw coming. Two teams with limited financial resources who were supposed to struggle to make it out of their Champions League group. Instead, Tottenham and Ajax have claimed some of Europe's biggest scalps on their path to a final-four clash that will see two of the competition's surprise [...]
Day in the life: Ultra-runner and Marathon des Sables champion Ragna Debats on juggling family life with a training regime April 29, 2019 I started trail running by coincidence. I stopped training horses and two years later started running because, just like riding horses, I liked the feeling of freedom it gave me. I love the mountains and forest around where I live in Terrassa, near Barcelona, and in three minutes from my house I can be off-road [...]