Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leads youthful side to Champions League history March 7, 2019 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do no wrong. The man with the golden touch has turned his gift to just about everything since taking over in December, but even by his standards this was special. When he said “it’s never mission impossible” before the game you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just bluster. But he [...]
Coventry City facing expulsion from the Football League over long-running and bitter Ricoh Arena dispute March 5, 2019 The clock is ticking for Coventry City. Crunch time has been sneaking ever closer for some time, but the lingering uncertainty around the Sky Blues has now turned into a pressing sense of urgency. On the pitch the past few years have been successful. Coventry were promoted last season for the first time in 51 [...]
Only one of Southampton and Cardiff will survive in Premier League relegation scrap March 5, 2019 It's turning into a two-way relegation fight between Cardiff and Southampton to fill the final place in the Premier League's bottom three. For Huddersfield and Fulham it is already too late. The former are long gone and will already be preparing for next season in the Championship, while the Cottagers have got every decision wrong [...]
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given Manchester United a new-found resolve ahead of Paris Saint-Germain clash March 5, 2019 When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered his first – and so far only – defeat as Manchester United caretaker manager against Paris Saint-Germain last month, it prompted doubts as to whether the rich vein of form his side had discovered was about to unravel. A lacklustre performance in the first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie [...]
Premier League scheduling does not favour English clubs in Europe, but whose fault is it? March 5, 2019 It is just as well that Tottenham take a three-goal advantage into tonight’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, given their testing week in the lead-up to the last 16 second-leg match. While Spurs battle fatigue following hard-fought games against Burnley, Chelsea and Arsenal, Dortmund come into the fixture having had four days’ recovery. Such is [...]
Jurgen Klopp blames windy conditions after Liverpool blow chance to regain Premier League lead March 3, 2019 A prickly Jurgen Klopp preferred to focus on the blustery conditions inside Goodison Park after his team drew 0-0 with Everton on Sunday but there is no escaping the conclusion that the Premier League title that Liverpool so crave is slipping from their grasp. Having fuelled hope of a first top-flight crown since 1990 by [...]
Roy Hodgson’s career enjoying late bloom at boyhood club Crystal Palace after England’s Iceland debarcle February 28, 2019 England’s infamous 2-1 defeat by Iceland at the 2016 European Championships could easily have been the end of Roy Hodgson’s management career. Embarrassed by one of the national team’s biggest ever shocks, Hodgson resigned immediately and was heavily criticised for his side’s dreadful performance, negative tactics and team selection. Aged 68 and with 40 years [...]
Brendan’s second coming: Rodgers to resurrect Premier League career with Leicester February 28, 2019 “My biggest mentor is myself,” was just one of the memorable utterances to emerge from Brendan Rodgers during his first stint in the Premier League, but more than three years after his sacking by Liverpool he has returned to England in the latest step in his bid to rebuild credibility. The Northern Irish manager has [...]
Improving Arsenal aiming to repeat finest hour of Unai Emery’s reign against stuttering Tottenham February 28, 2019 This was more like it. After a sticky opening double header, Unai Emery had crowned a 19-game unbeaten run with a watershed 4-2 triumph over Tottenham that suggested not only a challenge to Spurs’ new-found superiority in north London but also a successful transition to the post-Wenger era at Arsenal. It wasn’t just the result, [...]
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Spurs’s Stamford Bridge curse continues as Blues begin to click into gear after Kepa saga February 27, 2019 As Tottenham slipped to a disappointing defeat tonight they knew their Stamford Bridge curse had not been broken. Spurs have now won just once in the last 33 attempts away to their London rivals while the result also gave them the unwanted fact of four consecutive defeats away from home for the first time in 10 years. [...]