Premier League: Arsenal close in on Champions League place April 28, 2014 AT EMIRATES STADIUM ARSENAL 3 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has urged his team to clinch a Champions League spot for the 17th consecutive season against West Brom on Sunday after the Gunners last night tightened their grip on a top-four finish. Fit-again record signing Mesut Ozil inspired Wenger’s men to a routine [...]
Premier League: Rodgers hits out after title race is blown open by Blues April 27, 2014 LIVERPOOL 0 CHELSEA 2 LIVERPOOL manager Brendan Rodgers launched a stinging attack on the tactics deployed by his former mentor Jose Mourinho at Anfield yesterday, after a defensive Chelsea team thwarted the Premier League’s top scorers. Despite having nearly three-quarters of the game’s possession, the league leaders could not find a way through Chelsea’s stubborn [...]
Premier League: Three wins and City will be champions, says Pellegrini after professional victory at Palace April 27, 2014 AT SELHURST PARK CRYSTAL PALACE 0 MANCHESTER CITY 2 MANCHESTER City manager Manuel Pellegrini was delighted his team held their nerve yesterday to ensure the Premier League pendulum swung back in their favour. Following Chelsea’s 2-0 victory at Liverpool earlier in the day, buoyant City triumphed with first-half goals from Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure [...]
Premier League: Black Cats escape the drop zone April 27, 2014 SUNDERLAND 4 CARDIFF CITY 0 SUNDERLAND manager Gus Poyet believes his side has a chance of pulling off a Premier League survival “miracle” after the Black Cats leaped off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone with a comprehensive trouncing of Cardiff City. The north-eastern club were propping up the division [...]
Sport Comment: Football season’s climax satisfies our irrational biases April 27, 2014 THERE are few things more capable of provoking utterly ludicrous mood swings than an idle Sunday morning studying the football league tables. With the exception of Crawley, about which I find it hard to form any opinion, it’s difficult to be ambivalent about a single team in the entire top four divisions, as one single [...]
Wenger: We’re ready to battle with Newcastle April 27, 2014 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger believes his team could be in for a tough time at the Emirates Stadium tonight, despite facing a Newcastle side that have lost five Premier League games on the trot. Everton’s slip-up on the weekend, when the Toffees went down 2-0 at Southampton, means an Arsenal victory will extend the gap [...]
Hangeland targeting six points to save Fulham from relegation April 27, 2014 FULHAM defender Brede Hangeland has admitted that the west Londoners need to win their remaining two Premier League fixtures if they are to avoid relegation. The Cottagers travel to Stoke this weekend before hosting Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on the final day of the season. Saturday’s heartbreaking draw at home to Hull, which saw [...]
Blow for Chelsea as Ramires hit with suspension into next season April 24, 2014 CHELSEA will be without midfielder Ramires for the remainder of the Premier League season, after the Brazilian accepted a Football Association charge of violent conduct and received a four-match ban. Ramires was accused of elbowing Sunderland midfielder Seb Larsson during last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, an incident missed by referee Mike Dean and [...]
Champions-elect to edge closer to title April 24, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON AND BILL ESDAILE PREVIEW THE BEST OF THE WEEKEND’S FOOTBALL AND RACING ACTION LIVERPOOL are now as short as 1/5 with Star Sports to lift their first Premier League trophy but defeat against Chelsea on Sunday would blow the title chase wide open. The Blues, 33/1-shots, would still need snookers after a win [...]
United’s next boss may face restriction on spending plans April 23, 2014 MANCHESTER United’s next manager could face immediate restrictions on his transfer plans as the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League threatens to restrict their ability to increase the wage bill. New Premier League financial fair play (FFP) rules state that clubs may only increase their salary costs by £4m per season, plus an [...]