Manchester City 1-0 Leicester City: Vincent Kompany’s wonder strike punctures nervy Etihad atmosphere to put City one win away May 6, 2019 Manchester City can beat you in so many ways, but a Vincent Kompany outside-of-the-foot, long-range screamer? That is not something you expect to happen. Pep Guardiola’s side are team built on the foundations of rigorous drilling on the training field. Their manager is a football obsessive who has built his reputation on a distinctive style: [...]
Arsenal 3-1 Valencia: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette combine once again to spare defence’s blushes May 2, 2019 Arsenal are a team of contrasts. They’re flawed but entertaining, in one breath exasperating, the next exhilarating, and all of those aspects were on show against Valencia in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final. After shaking off an appalling start, eventually the Gunners’ attacking qualities won the day to turn an uncertain 2-1 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: The race nobody wants to win, De Gea’s errors mounting and Blues’ over-reliance on Hazard April 28, 2019 It’s the race nobody seems to want to win. With Manchester City and Liverpool streaking away at top speed in the Premier League, the efforts of those below them to finish in the Champions League spots is one being defined by the bad, rather than the good. While Chelsea looked more than happy to take [...]
Relentless excellence of Manchester City and Liverpool makes this the best ever Premier League title race April 25, 2019 This is by no means the first close title race of the Premier League era. Blackburn set an early benchmark when they pipped Manchester United by a solitary point in 1995, and Arsenal, United – twice – and Chelsea have all done the same since, while nothing has yet matched the drama of Sergio Aguero’s [...]