Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said his team is going through a rebuilding phase and the best is yet to come despite reaching the FA Cup final and leading the Premier League title race in his first season at the club. Chelsea last secured a league and FA Cup double in 2010 under Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti’s first season at the club, although Conte dismissed comparisons, saying he had inherited a squad in a difficult period, having finished 10th in the league last season. With defender Branislav Ivanovic and midfielder John Obi Mikel leaving Stamford Bridge earlier this year and…
Author: David Folami
Real Madrid, still crowing from reaching a third Champions League final in four years, will turn their focus to winning their first La Liga title since 2012 when they play Sevilla in their final home game of the season on Sunday. Real’s Champions League triumphs in 2014 and 2016 have distracted from rivals Barcelona’s creeping domination in the domestic league, with the Catalans winning five of the last seven titles. Even Atletico Madrid, who Zinedine Zidane’s side saw off for the fourth consecutive year on the European stage on Wednesday with a 4-2 aggregate victory, have won the title more…
Arsenal know they need a big slice of luck to finish in the Premier League top four but midfielder Granit Xhaka says the London club have not given up the chase. Arsenal, who beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday, will need fourth-placed Manchester City (69 points, 35 games) or third-placed Liverpool (70 points, 36 games) to slip up in their remaining games if they are to secure a Champions League spot for next season. They are currently sixth with 63 points from 34 games and can close the gap with a win at Southampton on Wednesday. Xhaka, who scored the…
How quickly affections can switch in soccer. Where once they would serenade coach Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge with an operatic flourish, now Chelsea fans have fallen headlong for another man driving them inexorably to the Premier League title. To the Bridge faithful, Mourinho’s “not special any more” now he’s pitched up at Manchester United but their embrace for coach Antonio Conte will be suffocating if he guides the Blues to a title-clinching victory at West Bromwich Albion on Friday. As the arty canvas held by his daughter at Monday’s home victory over Middlesbrough put it, the Italian is now…
Defender Gary Cahill admits there was a party atmosphere at Chelsea this week with the Premier League leaders 90 minutes away from clinching a second title in three years. A “buzzing” Chelsea head to The Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion on Friday knowing victory will deliver the championship in coach Antonio Conte’s first season in charge. The fiercely demanding Italian has revived the fortunes of a side who ended last season 10th and is expected to be rewarded with an improved contract and assurances about the club’s spending plans during the coming transfer window. But the immediate priority is…
Aaron Ramsey wants Arsenal to win the FA Cup for manager Arsene Wenger as the Gunners try to end a turbulent season with some silverware. Arsenal will play London rivals Chelsea in next month’s Wembley final after coming from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 in a controversial last-four clash at the national stadium on Sunday. Victory, sealed by Alexis Sanchez’s extra-time winner, was a much-needed boost for all connected with Arsenal in a season that could yet end with the club missing out on a top four Premier League place, which brings with it the prize of Champions League…
Despite a brave performance and a 2-1 second leg victory, Atletico Madrid’s attempt to overturn a 3-0 first leg deficit from their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid fell short. It is the fourth straight season Atletico have been knocked out of the competition by their local rivals. Here, we look at five key issues facing Atletico if they are to compete once more for their first ever Champions League next season. Wednesday’s win was inspired by a phenomenal atmosphere for Atletico’s last ever European game at the Vicente Calderon. After 50 years Atletico will swap their home by Madrid’s…
“This could be another big, big step for me,” Conte said. “In my career I enjoy to have this type of big challenge. I need to have this type of situation where you arrive and you have to work a lot and also to transform the situation in the right way. “At the start of the season it wasn’t easy. We faced a lot of problems and we had to solve a lot of problems. “When you finish 10th in the league it means that the problem is not only one, but there are a lot of problems. The problem…
Jose Mourinho admitted it will be “really hard” for veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to recover from his season-ending knee ligament injury. “Everyone is very sad. We were thinking about them. They have to be strong,” said Mourinho. “Unfortunately they won’t be the first or last players to get an important injury. “No player deserves to be injured but I think in this case it’s even more sad because Zlatan, in this stage of his career it’s really, really hard. “And Marcos probably at this moment in his career is playing very well for us and also finally getting a position…
Celta Vigo will draw inspiration from Athletic Bilbao’s 2012 victory over Manchester United when they face Jose Mourinho’s side in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday, says coach Eduardo Berizzo. A Bilbao side coached by Marcelo Bielsa defeated a United team who had reached the Champions League final the season before 5-3 on aggregate in the Europa League last 16 before losing to Atletico Madrid in the final. United have the upper hand ahead of Thursday’s second leg, having won last week’s first leg 1-0, but Berizzo said they would approach the game with the same fearlessness as his countryman…
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte dismissed persistent rumours linking him with a move to Inter Milan as his side prepared for a match at West Bromwich Albion on Friday that could give the Blues the Premier League title. Victory at The Hawthorns will see Chelsea crowned champions in former Italy manager Conte’s first season in charge of the London club and leave them halfway to a domestic ‘Double’ ahead of their FA Cup final against capital rivals Arsenal. Chelsea are seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, another London club, and need just three points from their final three league games…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho defended his decision to prioritise the Europa League ahead of the semifinal second leg against Celta Vigo on Thursday. Mourinho rested first-choice players in Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat by Arsenal and United’s hopes of finishing in the top four are fading. They lead Celta 1-0 from the first leg in Spain and victory in the final against Ajax Amsterdam or Olympique Lyonnais would seal a place in next season’s Champions League. “The situation is simple – 17 matches in seven weeks with 16 players is impossible. It was not a gamble, it was a…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will continue playing for “many years”, the surgeon who operated on the 35-year-old Manchester United striker’s knee has said. Swede Ibrahimovic underwent surgery last week in the United States after suffering major knee ligament damage. “Fixed, done and stronger”, he declared after the operation carried out by Hong Kong-born Freddie Fu and Volker Musahl. And Fu, in an interview with Thursday’s South China Morning Post, gave his football A-list patient a glowing assessment. “He’s so healthy, so strong, biologically, bone morphology, everything, is absolutely very healthy. “He can still play for many years.” Fu, chairman of the department…
English football’s top administrator has defended the world record transfer of Paul Pogba to Manchester United that is now the subject of an investigation by Fifa, the global game’s governing body. The France midfielder’s £89.3 million from Italian club Juventus to the English giants in August 2016 has come under particular scrutiny amid reports the player’s agent will earn some £41 million from the deal. There has long been concern about how football agents, rather than just being paid by their client as is standard practice in other industries, can also earn money from clubs when conducting transfer deals amid…
It looks like The Game is supporting his fellow West Coast neighbor Lonzo Ball & his controversial $495 shoes. On Wednesday, the Compton rapper took to Instagram to reveal his $2,000 receipt for copping a few pairs of Lonzo ZO2’s shoe for his son & friends. The Game went on to explain his reasoning for supporting the Ball family in a lengthy IG caption, saying why not help a family trying make a name for themselves, rather than supporting MJ, who hasn’t done anything but tax the black community. “Just bought my son @hvrlemtaylor & a few of his friends…
“I had to get out of Hollywood, get back to the trenches. They said they need me,” says Meek Mill at the top of his new video for “Left Hollywood.” In the Will Ngo-directed clip, the Philadelphia MC returns to the ‘hood with his Dreamchasers squad as he spits on the stoop, and from inside a humble home. Meek Mill followed up his 2016 DC4 project with a 30th birthday celebration offering #Meekend Music, which hosted “Left Hollywood” and the two other loosies “$lay” and “Backboard.” The MMG signee is also headed on the joint Against All Odds tour with…
American Hip Hop recording artist and producer Swizz Beatz shows love for Burna Boy at the kick-off of his “Outside” album US Tour in New York. The American Hip Hop recording artist and producer had some kind words to say about Africa and the music coming out from the black continent. “I just came to show some love because I love the culture so much, and I’m very proud of how the movement of Africa is going global now, people are understanding that the motherland is the motherf*cking shit,” Swizz remarked. He then goes on to usher in Burna Boy…
Morihanfen Oluwaseun Oluwabamidele a.k.a Sean Tizzle has joined the league of singers who are expecting babies. The Sholee singer is expecting a baby with his U.S-based Kenyan girlfriend, Maina. The Baby Daddy Syndrome{BDS} is fast becoming a norm in the Nigerian entertainment industry and fans are not happy with it. Sean Tizzle’s fans have taken to their social media handles to condemn him. A certain Gagaflicks put it this way:” Hmmm everybody wants to have a baby-mama or be a baby-mama. Whatever happened to marriage first?” Another adds: “What is it with artistes and baby-mamas?” Suzan emphasizes:” Imagine going through…
Following on the success of ‘Living Things’ video, Abolore Akande popularly known as 9ice has blessed fans with a hot new video entitled Glass House. It is officially released today Tuesday, April 25. It was directed and photographed by award-winning director, Unlimited L.A. The compelling visual for Glass House is a cinematic eye-candy that flirts with artistic themes and exotic contemporary dance. 9ice has definitely raised his game since lining up with a new team, Temple Management Company.
Koko master D’banj is living the life! The music star who is currently in the Bahamas was spotted with American model Bernice Burgos. The crooner shared a shot of himself and Bernice on Instagram today, April 28, 2017. He wrote, “it has been lovely working with this amazing team. Also, special one to my amazing Kokolet @realberniceburgos was really nice having you around, welcome to the LEE Temple. See you soon as we start an amazing Summer with #Bewithyou.” Seems like the ‘Emergency’ star is working on a ‘new project’ and it involves Bernice Burgos.