Six main contenders for the Ballon D’or: Who gets your vote? November 28, 2019 For 10 of the last 11 years, the question of who will win the Ballon d’Or has been simple a one: Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? But their decade of dominance ended last year when Luka Modric picked up the prestigious individual award, which is organised by France Football magazine and voted on by 176 [...]
Euro 2020 draw explained: Everything you need to know and who each country could face November 28, 2019 This Saturday’s draw for football’s European Championships next summer will differ from those typical of major tournaments for several reasons. Firstly, at least one team has already been drawn into each of the six groups because of governing body Uefa’s desire to equally distribute the 12 tournament hosts. Remaining hosts have either been eliminated or [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
Manchester City have never had a better opportunity to win the Champions League November 25, 2019 It took Manchester City just four years to win the Premier League following the club’s acquisition by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, but an assault on the Champions League has proved much more challenging. While City have won four of the last eight league titles and established themselves as the team to beat in England, they [...]
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 [...]
Why the Jose Mourinho appointment plays into the hands of Daniel Levy and Amazon documentary All Or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur November 21, 2019 This week’s abrupt sacking of Mauricio Pochettino and rapid arrival of Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur were not met by universal acclaim from the club’s fans, but there was one party who would have been delighted by the managerial movements in north London. Amazon’s decision to commission a documentary series on Tottenham’s 2019-20 season for [...]