Manchester City: How Pep Guardiola’s side compare against Fergie’s Manchester United Fledglings, Wenger’s Arsenal Invincibles, Mourinho’s Chelsea April 5, 2018 Manchester City’s Champions League hopes may have been severely dented by a heavy loss at Liverpool this week but with attention returning to the Premier League, they need not have such worries. City host fierce local rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, when a win would see them clinch the Premier League [...]
Liverpool 3, Manchester City 0: Reds stun City with first-half blitz but Jurgen Klopp rues failure to go for jugular April 4, 2018 Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp felt his side missed an opportunity to floor a dazed Manchester City despite the Reds seizing control of their Champions League quarter-final clash with a swashbuckling first-half showing. Five-time conquerors of Europe Liverpool stunned the Premier League champions-in-waiting thanks to 19-minute blitz which saw the Merseysiders strike through Mohamed Salah, Alex [...]
Fifa gives Iraq blessing for return to home football for first time in three decades March 17, 2018 Iraq’s Prime Minister today hailed a decision by Fifa to lift a home ban on competitive international football matches. The country’s national side last played an official home game in 1990. Gianni Infantino, the president of football’s world governing body Fifa, yesterday announced the lifting of a ban on stadiums in Basra, Karbala and Erbil [...]
Relegation-threatened Southampton sack manager Mauricio Pellegrino March 12, 2018 Southampton have moved to ignite their Premier League survival bid by sacking manager Mauricio Pellegrino after just nine months in charge at St Mary’s Stadium. Pellegrino was only appointed last summer following the axing of his predecessor, and now Leicester manager, Claude Puel, who himself only lasted a season in the Saints hotseat despite finishing [...]
Sir Trevor Brooking warns of Premier League relegation should toxic London Stadium atmosphere return in remaining West Ham home matches March 11, 2018 Former West Ham midfielder Sir Trevor Brooking insists the Hammers will be relegated should the toxic climate witnessed during their Premier League defeat to Burnley on Saturday reappear during their final five home games of the season. Brooking condemned the actions of supporters who invaded the pitch and stampeded the area in front of the [...]
Arsene Wenger tells Arsenal players to remember how good they are as AC Milan lie in wait March 7, 2018 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged his players to remember how good they are as they prepare for their season-saving Europa League clash with AC Milan on Thursday. The Gunners head into their last-16 first leg showdown at a sold-out San Siro in disastrous form, having lost four successive matches and eight from 13 all [...]
Premier League TV rights packages booted into long grass amid “cut-price” concerns March 7, 2018 The Premier League has booted a decision on unsold TV rights packages into next month, as it faces being forced to accept a “cut-price deal” for the remaining 40 games. Sky and BT Sport snapped up five of seven packages on offer for a total of £4.5bn in mid-February. But the remaining two sets of [...]
Liverpool 0, Porto 0 (agg: 5-0): Jurgen Klopp revels in Reds reaching Champions League quarter-finals for first time since 2009 March 6, 2018 Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp declared himself satisfied after his side cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals following an uninspiring stalemate against a wounded Porto outfit. The damage had already been done in the first leg, from which the Reds emerged with an all but unassailable 5-0 lead, and there was little chance of even the [...]
Paris Saint-Germain’s Financial Fair Play gamble? Possible repercussions of an early Champions League exit for Europe’s big spenders March 5, 2018 When football’s most expensive player Neymar was debuted in front of the world’s media at Paris Saint-Germain this summer following his world record £200m move to France from Barcelona, there was only one competition up for discussion. Neymar’s arrival was seen as the Qatari-owned club’s big play in their search for the one major trophy [...]
Manchester City 1, Chelsea 0: Antonio Conte hits out at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp over game-plan slur March 4, 2018 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hit back at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp, branding them “stupid”, after they were critical of his side’s game-plan during Sunday’s Premier League defeat to runaway leaders Manchester City. Conte adopted ultra-defensive tactics which resulted in Chelsea having just 29 per cent possession and failing to register a shot [...]