Chelsea recorded a 4-2 friendly win over Werder Bremen in Gothenburg, Sweden. Eden Hazard opened the scoring on seven minutes, firing home following a short corner, and the Belgian was involved in the build-up when Oscar added a second two minutes later. Bremen’s veteran striker Claudio Pizarro scored against his former club from the penalty spot on 33 minutes after Nemanja Matic had fouled Zlatko Junuzovic. Diego Costa made it 3-1 just before the half-time break after superb work from Hazard, but the Bundesliga side again reduced the deficit through substitute Lennart Thy’s low drive in the second half. Pedro…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says his team still needs to adapt to get the best out of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic, 34, scored United’s late winner against Leicester City as the Red Devils beat the Premier League champions 2-1 in the Community Shield at Wembley. Mourinho believes there is still a lot of improvement in his side ahead of their opening league fixture at Bournemouth on Sunday. “The first half performance was much better than the second. The team isn’t fit enough yet,” Mourinho told BT Sport. “When Leicester increased the pace, they had three quick players and changed the…
Jose Mourinho said that it is “amazing” that Paul Pogba is set to return to Manchester United, but added that the midfielder needs to work hard to come into the team. The France midfielder’s current club Juventus confirmed on Sunday that Pogba had been given permission to have a medical at United and the Premier League club then confirmed that news two hours later. United were preparing to face Leicester City, who they went on to defeat 2-1 at Wembley and lift the Community Shield. When asked about the Pogba move being finally done after the Leicester game, Mourinho told…
Ex-Germany coach Rudi Voeller has backed Bastian Schweinsteiger to play at least two more years of top-level football, despite having been frozen out at Manchester United by manager Jose Mourinho. “Regardless of where his future lies, Bastian will keep playing at the highest level for at least two more years,” Voeller, sporting director at Bayer Leverkusen, told German daily Bild on Sunday. Just a year after joining United, Schweinsteiger, 32, has fallen from favour and was banished to United’s reserves by new manager Mourinho, who has made it clear the German has no future at Old Trafford. The Red Devils…
Mats Hummels expects to run a gauntlet of boos and whistles next Sunday on his first game back in the Bayern Munich shirt – away to his ex-club Borussia Dortmund. The 27-year-old Germany defender, a product of the Bayern academy, signed for Dortmund in 2008, but has rejoined the Munich giants after eight years at their Bundesliga rivals. Now his first competitive appearance back in the Bayern shirt will be at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park stadium on August 14 for the German Super Cup. Having made his Germany debut, won the 2014 World Cup and back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011…
United confirmed the news with a short statement on their club website saying the medical would enable Pogba to “finalise his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United”. Pogba, who was part of the France side that lost to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final last month, tweeted enigmatically: “When too many people talk nobody understands – talk very soon.” Early signs that a deal was imminent came when Pogba did not travel with the Juventus squad to London for their 3-2 friendly win over West Ham United on Sunday. Media reports said he had already arrived in Manchester. Pogba, who…
Paul Pogba can fulfil his dream of becoming the world’s best player by returning to his former club Manchester United, his manager-in-waiting Jose Mourinho declared on Sunday. Pogba, 23, is close to returning to Old Trafford for a reported world-record fee of £89 million after United and Juventus confirmed he was due to undergo a medical. The France midfielder makes no secret of his desire to usurp Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s foremost player and Mourinho believes he will achieve that ambition at United. “I think United is the perfect club to bring him to the level…
Paul Pogba may be playful off the field but when it comes to the ruthless world of professional football, the France star is as shrewd as they come. And business is usually a family affair. “His mother is the only person Paul listens to all the time,” a close family friend told AFP during an interview with Pogba’s mother, Yeo Moriba, prior to Euro 2016. Only 23 years old, Pogba’s return to Manchester United after four successful seasons with Juventus is set to make him the most expensive player in history at £89 million. The contracts will be signed by…
Arsenal’s Brazilian central defender Gabriel was carried off on a stretcher after damaging ankle ligaments during their 3-2 pre-season win over Manchester City in Gothenburg on Sunday. “He’s in pain. Let’s hope the pain isn’t a sign of bad news,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told a news conference. “It’s an ankle sprain.” Arsenal have already lost Per Mertesacker for several months with a knee problem leaving Calum Chambers and Laurent Koscielny as their only experienced centre backs with a tough opening Premier League match looming at home to Liverpool next Sunday. Wenger did not rule out bringing in another defender…
It may be the costliest round trip in football history — on Paul Pogba, Manchester United are set to spend a reported world-record fee of £89 million ($116.4 million, 105 million euros). That is for a player who left Old Trafford for just £1.5 million four years ago. The story of how the France international slipped from United’s grasp so cheaply is one of the less glorious chapters of Alex Ferguson’s final years as the club’s manager. Ferguson got it right far more often than he got it wrong in his 26-and-a-half years at Old Trafford, winning 38 trophies while…
Mourinho deployed his new-look strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Ibrahimovic and both players made their presence felt in Leicester’s penalty area early on. Rooney headed straight at Kasper Schmeichel from Luke Shaw’s cross and the Leicester goalkeeper was also obliged to field a hooked Fellaini shot after Ibrahimovic had leapt to win a high ball. Leicester attacked the game with the intensity that characterised last season’s title triumph and procured several chances of their own. Vardy drew last-ditch tackles from Daley Blind and impressive United new boy Eric Bailly with trademark darting runs, while Shinji Okazaki glanced a header…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his arrival in English football with an 83rd-minute winner as Manchester United edged Leicester City 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday to win the Community Shield. The former Paris Saint-Germain striker had a quiet game, but he outjumped Wes Morgan to head home Antonio Valencia’s cross and earn Jose Mourinho his first piece of silverware as United manager. Leicester talisman Jamie Vardy had earlier punished an error by Marouane Fellaini to cancel out FA Cup match-winner Jesse Lingard’s first-half solo goal for United, who claimed a record-extending 21st Community Shield. “It’s an important victory, but we have lots…
Patoranking delayed the release of his debut album because he was unsure of himself and his level of penetration in Nigeria. In a press parley conducted by his PR team, Patoranking spoke about the new album, the circumstances surrounding the release of the project, and the various backstories which led to the creation of the album. The singer had on August 1, 2016, dropped his debut album “God Over Everything”, two years after he broke through with his single ‘Alubarika’. He talked of the concept guiding the album creation, tying it into his origin and more. On his delay, Patoranking…
A failure to sign Paul Pogba could lead to an unhappy dressing room at Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand has warned. Jose Mourinho’s side are reportedly willing to pay Juventus €120 million to lure the France international back to Old Trafford, but the Serie A club have dug their heels in over the deal’s value. United were thought to be keen on striking a deal before Sunday’s Community Shield against Leicester City, but they are yet to make a breakthrough. And Ferdinand is concerned that United players who have been expecting to line up alongside Pogba could become disillusioned if the…
Former Liverpool star Luis Suarez is confident Jurgen Klopp can lead the Anfield side back into the Champions League in the upcoming Premier League season. Liverpool last featured in European club football’s elite competition in 2014-15, when they failed to qualify for the knockout stages from a group with Real Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets. They had to settle for eighth place in the table last term as they missed out on European football altogether, but Suarez feels his former team will soon be back at the highest level. “The last few months, everybody saw a really good performance from Liverpool,”…
Enrique Cerezo has dismissed suggestions Atletico Madrid are keen to re-sign Chelsea striker Diego Costa ahead of the 2016-17 campaign. The Spain international, 27, departed the Vicente Calderon in 2014 and helped Chelsea to a Premier League and League Cup double in his first season. Costa struggled for form and fitness as Chelsea’s title defence fell apart last season, though, and he has been heavily linked with an Atleti return throughout the close season. However, president Cerezo says Atleti – who reinforced their forward options with the signing of Kevin Gameiro from Sevilla in this window – are not planning…
Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham thrashed Inter 6-1 in Oslo to end their pre-season campaign in stunning style. Spurs striker Kane’s first goal – a controversial penalty – was levelled by Ivan Perisic, but a brilliant long-range effort from Erik Lamela had Mauricio Pochettino’s men ahead at the break. Dele Alli and Kane increased Spurs’ advantage and the game was long over as a contest before substitute Vincent Janssen struck on 65 minutes and youngster Shayon Harrison put the icing on the cake late on. Spurs had lost their two previous pre-season games, but can now take momentum into…
After a hefty tackle by Danny Drinkwater, Luis Suarez was up and in the Leicester midfielder’s face. It might have been just a preseason friendly but the Uruguayan ran through his juiciest English vocabulary as he showed the midfielder just what he thought of the challenge. In two seasons with Barcelona, that side of Suarez has rarely reared its head. With one or two exceptions, he has seemed content and at peace in Catalonia. He has finally found a home that fits him and is no longer fighting to make it to the top because he’s made it. The Drinkwater…
Argentina president Mauricio Macri said he is certain that Lionel Messi will return to the Albiceleste before the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Messi made the shock decision to retire from international football following the penalty shootout loss to Chile in this summer’s Copa America final, Argentina’s third successive defeat in a major tournament final. New national coach Edgardo Bauza said this week it was his immediate priority to convince the five time Ballon d’Or winner to reverse this decision. He plans to travel to Europe soon to convince Messi to come back for September’s World Cup 2018 qualifiers against…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said “every trophy is very serious” as Manchester United prepare to face Leicester City in the Community Shield on Sunday. The clash between Premier League champions Leicester and FA Cup winners United at Wembley offers Jose Mourinho the chance to win his first silverware as Old Trafford manager. And Ibrahimovic told MUTV: “That is the first trophy game — and that is the first trophy we will bring home. “For me, every trophy is very serious. I have collected 30 trophies, and I want to collect more of them. I’m not satisfied until I collect everything. That’s…