Didier Drogba seemingly hinted on Friday that he will continue playing football, one day after the Phoenix Rising FC’s defeat in the final of the United Soccer League Cup. Drogba, a player and co-owner at the Phoenix club since 2017, had previously said that he would retire at the end of the season, which has now come to a close with the 1-0 loss to Louisville City FC. Drogba did not address the topic following Thursday’s match, but he posted on Friday a message on Twitter that alluded that his playing days will continue. What the 40-year-old plans to do…
Author: David Folami
Massimiliano Allegri is still annoyed by his side’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Manchester United ahead of a trip to AC Milan this Sunday. Juve threw away a 1-0 lead on Wednesday and Allegri has called on his side to show more intelligence in matches. “We’re not closing games off and when they remain open until the 90th minute then you’re at risk,” he said. “On Wednesday, we didn’t realise when it was time to close up and we let our emotions get the better of us. “At certain times, you just need to be intelligent. If you can’t win…
Jose Mourinho was keen to play down the importance of the Manchester derby when he took over at Manchester United in 2016. He was well aware of the interest it would generate given his history with Pep Guardiola, who took over at Manchester City in the same summer, but he was keen to avoid round two in the Premier League. It was his belief that the rivalry he generated with Guardiola in Spain worked to his advantage. His reasoning was that if he could upset Guardiola and Barcelona, it was likely his Real Madrid team would be the ones to…
Leicester City shared a 0-0 draw with Burnley at the King Power stadium on Saturday when football again took a back seat with emotional tributes to the club’s late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Thousands of supporters walked to the stadium from the city centre before the Premier League game, which was preceded by two minutes silence for the Thai billionaire. Vichai died in a helicopter crash before City’s last home match two weeks ago. With Vichai’s family in attendance, Leicester’s players, who made a 19,000 km round trip to Thailand for the funeral in midweek, wore a special commemorative shirt, while…
Santiago Solari has challenged Gareth Bale to “eat the stage every time he plays” after he starred in their win over Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday. Madrid travel to Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday, looking to continue a revival that has included three wins out of three since Solari took temporary charge. As the team’s form fell away under Julen Lopetegui, so did Bale’s, the winger following up a strong start to the season with just one goal in eight games. An adductor injury contributed to Bale’s dry patch but he was excellent against Plzen in the Champions League,…
Neymar has responded to the latest Football Leaks revelations concerning the “ethical bonuses” the French champions receive as part of their contracts and blasted the journalists as a “bunch of misinformed idiots.” Earlier this week, France 2’s “Envoye Special” looked at those bonuses and claimed that one of the terms involved was applauding the supporters after each match. Reports have surfaced claiming that Neymar earns €375,000 simply by clapping the fans. “I do not know what is worse …” the Brazil international wrote. “The source or those who respond. A bunch of misinformed idiots. “I am tired of the ill-intentioned…
Lionel Messi returned to the La Liga leaders’ squad to play Real Betis on Sunday, getting the all-clear from doctors to play three weeks after breaking his arm, but forward Ousmane Dembele was left out. Messi has been training in the last week and travelled with the team to Tuesday’s Champions League game against Inter Milan but did not make the bench for the 1-1 draw. Barca’s record scorer was injured against Sevilla last month but the Catalans have fared well in his absence, beating Inter at home, thrashing Real Madrid 5-1 and defeating Rayo Vallecano in La Liga and…
Paul Pogba’s performances in his past two games, which ended in late, late wins for Manchester United over Bournemouth and Juventus, are a microcosm of his time at the club. Over the course of those matches, he was pivotal yet peripheral, inspirational yet underwhelming. When United looked to him against Bournemouth, he was often sublime, floating past the challenges of desperate opponents and conjuring an assist for Marcus Rashford’s winning goal. Yet against Juventus, whose supporters raucously applauded him on his return to Turin, he failed to provide much influence. The stage is set for either kind of performance when…
If there’s been one constant throughout Jose Mourinho’s managerial career in England, it’s been his love of bold substitutions. Mourinho, perhaps more than any other manager in the modern game, uses his replacements swiftly, decisively and often unusually. He has made substitutions within the first 25 minutes to completely change formation; he has introduced players primarily tasked with communicating tactical messages to teammates; he’s made a half-time treble substitution; he even once made a change in the dying minutes to introduce a tall player capable of marking the opposition goalkeeper, who Mourinho suspected would go forward for a late corner.…
Manchester City edged closer to qualifying for the last-16 of the Champions League with a comfortable 6-0 victory over Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk. Gabriel Jesus scored a hat trick with two penalties, including a controversial spot kick for City’s second, as they moved three points clear at the top of Group F. Pep Guardiola insists that he doesn’t think City have the know-how yet to win the Champions League but his side easily controlled a match against a highly-experienced European side. Shakhtar gave City all sorts of problems last season despite a 2-0 defeat but, while they are not as…
La Liga has urged UEFA to take action against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain after leaked documents showed the clubs had allegedly breached financial fair play (FFP) regulations. On Friday, German magazine Der Spiegel released a number of stories, based on so-called Football Leaks data, alleging that City and PSG had bent rules to avoid FFP sanctions and the threat of being excluded from European competition. FFP regulations limit the losses a club can have over a certain period of time. Both clubs have denied any wrongdoing, with City boss Pep Guardiola defending his club. In a statement to ESPN…
Mauricio Pochettino has no issues with the Tottenham fans who booed his decision to substitute Lucas Moura during Tuesday’s Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven, and has thanked them for turning out at Wembley again. The home faithful voiced their displeasure when Pochettino withdrew the lively Lucas just after the hour-mark, when the visitors were leading 1-0. But Spurs’ manager says he has no problems with the reaction and has proudly pointed out that his changes — particularly the introduction of Fernando Llorente, who set up Harry Kane’s equaliser — helped his team to battle back and triumph 2-1. “I…
As time ebbed away, it looked as though Cristiano Ronaldo had done precisely what Juventus signed him to do, following the majestic volley with which he put the Italian champions ahead against his former club Manchester United. In a tight Champions League game Wednesday against a formidable rival — by reputation, if not current form — Ronaldo stepped up to net his 121st goal in the competition, making what appeared to a decisive contribution just when it mattered most. A pinpoint 50-yard pass from Leonardo Bonucci dropped over the shoulder of the Portuguese forward, who had run behind United’s central…
Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool “have to do better” after they were beaten 2-0 by Red Star Belgrade in Serbia on Tuesday night. Liverpool missed out on the chance to move within touching distance of qualification from Group C as two first-half goals from Milan Pavkov saw Red Star record a historic victory — their first in the Champions League since 1992. It was Liverpool’s third successive Champions League away defeat — the club’s worst run in 39 years — and Klopp’s side will travel to Paris Saint-Germain later this month before hosting Napoli at Anfield on Dec. 11 in…
Raheem Sterling apologised to the referee after he controversially won a penalty in Manchester City’s 6-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk. The England forward kicked the floor as he raced through on goal tripping himself up, but referee Viktor Kassai bizarrely pointed to the spot. City were already leading through David Silva’s 13th minute strike when Gabriel Jesus converted the penalty for the first of his three goals. “I went to chip the ball and I don’t know what happened next. I ended up on the floor and turned around,” Sterling told BT Sport. “I don’t think I felt contact, it…
Manchester United turned the clock back to 1999 by turning defeat into victory against Juventus with a dramatic late victory in Turin. Juan Mata’s 86th-minute free kick and an Alex Sandro own goal in the final minute gave Jose Mourinho’s team a crucial win against the Italian champions, which could see United qualify for the Champions League knockout stages with a home victory against Young Boys later this month. Nineteen years after Sir Alex Ferguson’s Treble winners overturned a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in Turin, Mourinho’s men showed similar fighting spirit to win this game. It had appeared to…
Robert Lewandowski scored once in each half to give his team a 2-0 victory over AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday that put them two points clear at the top of Group E with two matches left. Lewandowski scored a 31st-minute penalty and added another in the 72nd with a volley at the far post as the Bavarians got a much-needed confidence boost ahead of their Bundesliga match against league leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Bayern, who struggled in the first half against a gutsy AEK, are on 10 points, with Ajax Amsterdam on eight after drawing 1-1…
Real Madrid interim coach Santi Solari said his players deserved all the praise after Wednesday’s 5-0 Champions League Group A win at Viktoria Plzen, with several on the squad saying Solari should be have the job until at least the end of the season. The result keeps the Champions League winners in each of the last three seasons on course to make the last-16 of this year’s competition, while Solari is now the first Madrid manager since the 1950s to win each of his first three games in charge, while keeping three clean sheets. The Argentine was asked at the…
Jose Mourinho has revealed his gesture to Juventus fans after Manchester United’s 2-1 win in Turin was payback for “90 minutes” of insults. Mourinho, who spent two years in charge of Inter Milan, cupped his ear at the final whistle provoking a confrontation on the pitch with Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala. The United manager suggested afterwards the Juventus supporters had brought it on themselves. “In beautiful Italian they insulted me for 90 minutes,” he told BT Sport. “I didn’t insult them. I just made a little thing. I respect Juventus, I respect their players, their manager — I respect…
Simi and Wande Coal are bringing the African flavour to UK this month, with the duo set to hold their debut headline concert on the same day. The festive season is almost here and as such there is usually a rush of concerts, festivals and musical events organized by artistes to cater for their fans who have supported them all year long. For Wande Coal, a headline concert in the UK has been a long time coming. The ‘Iskaba’ singer who has enjoyed a solid run in 2018 announced months ago that he will be holding his ”Wande Coal, Live…