Trevor Steven: Paul Pogba should be Manchester United’s Kevin De Bruyne but has failed to adapt to the Premier League February 20, 2018 When Paul Pogba left Manchester United in 2012 it was in large part down to Sir Alex Ferguson’s hesitation to give him the first-team action that he felt ready for, perhaps due to doubts about whether the 19-year-old could adapt his game to be successful in the Premier League. Pogba went to Juventus and thrived [...]
Chelsea v Barcelona preview: Antonio Conte admits to having sleepless nights over prospect of facing Barca February 19, 2018 Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admits the prospect of facing Barcelona has given him sleepless nights but insists his side are ready to embrace the tag of underdogs and topple their fearsome rivals in the Champions League last 16. While they are unbeaten in their last seven matches against Barcelona, the Blues head into Tuesday’s first [...]
Barcelona star Lionel Messi backed to overcome Chelsea hoodoo in Champions League last 16 tie February 19, 2018 Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has played down the significance of Lionel Messi’s failure to score in previous matches with Chelsea ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash between the teams. Barca’s No10 has scored 97 goals in the competition yet has drawn a blank in eight appearances against the Blues, even missing a penalty in the [...]
Arsenal scores record £200m shirt sponsorship deal February 19, 2018 Arsenal today signed record-breaking five-year shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates. The extension to Arsenal’s current partnership with Emirates is understood to be worth in excess of £200m, the largest sponsorship deal ever agreed by the Premier League club. Emirates branding will feature across the North London club’s shirts and training kit until the end of [...]
Chelsea v Barcelona: Champions League tie gives Eden Hazard the chance to finally step up to the European elite February 18, 2018 It was the Champions League that persuaded Eden Hazard to join Chelsea in the first place. Early in the summer of 2012, when the Belgian had the pick of Europe’s leading clubs, it was Chelsea’s triumph in Europe’s top club competition that tipped the balance in their favour. “When they won the Champions League, I [...]
Ostersunds FK 0, Arsenal 3: Arsene Wenger and Henrikh Mkhitaryan talk up chances of Gunners’ success in Europa League February 15, 2018 Arsenal playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined his manager Arsene Wenger in trumpeting the message that the Gunners are increasingly committed to winning this season’s Europa League after Thursday’s stroll against Ostersunds FK. The north Londoners breezed through their last-32 first-leg showdown on the Swedish minnows’s potentially troublesome 3G pitch courtesy of strikes from Nacho Monreal and [...]
Leicester manager Claude Puel accuses Manchester City of a lack of respect over pursuit of Riyad Mahrez February 15, 2018 Leicester boss Claude Puel has slammed Manchester City for showing a lack of respect by making a bid to sign wantaway forward Riyad Mahrez in the dying embers of the January transfer window. Mahrez returned to the Foxes squad on Saturday against City at the Etihad Stadium following a self-imposed exile after a transfer to [...]
George Groves v Eubank Jr: Kalle Sauerland on how the World Boxing Super Series can break the sport’s boom and bust model February 15, 2018 George Groves fights Chris Eubank Jr in Manchester this weekend in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series. For the tournament’s organisers, the second half of that sentence will soon be enough to ensure the sport’s fans tune in, regardless of the names mentioned in the first. Groves vs Eubank Jr — a hotly-anticipated [...]
Sky share price rises above takeover offer: English Premier League victory could see Rupert Murdoch bowing out just at the right time February 15, 2018 Investors were clearly happy with Sky’s Tuesday night Premier League result, pushing the company’s shares to nearly £11 a pop during yesterday’s trading. The broadcasting giant’s stock eventually ended the day 7p higher than the £10.75 a share tabled by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. With the majority of Premier League TV rights decided, Sky [...]
Chris Tremlett: England should not rush Ben Stokes back into the team February 14, 2018 He doesn’t always have the best brain off the field but on it, more often than not, it’s a different story and having Ben Stokes back in the England squad will be a major boost for all concerned. Ever since his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm in September, Stokes’s situation has been [...]