Barcelona eased into their fourth Copa del Rey final in five years as they completed a 6-2 aggregate win over Villarreal with a 3-1 win at El Madrigal on Wednesday. . Neymar had missed a penalty in Barca’s 3-1 first leg win three weeks ago, but made amends after just three minutes when he turned home Lionel Messi’s cross. . Jonathan dos Santos gave the hosts hope with an equaliser on the night against his old club, but Villarreal’s chances of a famous comeback faded when Tomas Pina was shown a straight red card for a heavy challenge on Neymar.…
Author: David F.
Premier League leaders Chelsea chalked up another three points with a 1-0 victory at West Ham United on Wednesday to protect their five-point lead over champions Manchester City. . City, who laboured to a 2-0 win over bottom club Leicester City, might have hoped Chelsea would suffer a hangover from their League Cup final win over Tottenham Hotspur but Chelsea are made of sterner stuff and Eden Hazard’s header decided matters at Upton Park. . David Silva’s goal and a late effort from James Milner enabled City to stay in touch, although Manuel Pellegrini’s side were unimpressive at The Etihad…
Charlie Austin believes Queens Park Rangers are ready to kick-start their fight for Barclays Premier League survival when they return to action against Arsenal on Wednesday. . QPR did not play last weekend due to Tottenham Hotspur’s involvement in the Capital One Cup final and they watched from Dubai as Sunderland, Burnley and Aston Villa, who are also fighting relegation, all lost. . Chris Ramsey’s side are out of the bottom three on goal difference only, but have a match in hand on all of the teams around them, with the exception of bottom-club Leicester City. Austin, QPR’s top scorer…
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti complained his players had lacked zip and shooting accuracy after the La Liga leaders let slip a one-goal advantage and were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal on Sunday. . The stalemate at the Bernabeu, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s 52nd-minute penalty was cancelled out by a fine Gerard Moreno strike in the 64th, left Real two points clear of second-placed Barcelona, who host their great rivals in three weeks, with 13 games left. . It was the first game the European champions have failed to win at home in La Liga since they…
Real Madrid’s draw at home to Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday not only cut their lead over second-placed Barcelona to two points but also means the ‘Clasico’ in three weeks time is likely to have added piquancy. . Real and Barca each have two more domestic league games before the clash at the Nou Camp, the European champions playing at Athletic Bilbao and at home to Levante and the Catalans hosting Rayo Vallecano and travelling to Eibar. . If the gap stays the same, as is likely, a win for Real in the lair of their arch army would…
Relegation-threatened Elche scored a penalty two minutes from time to secure a 1-1 draw away to Celta Vigo in the Spanish league on Monday. . Midfielder Victor Rodriguez made the most of a brush against Celta Vigo left-winger Michael Krohn-Dehli to earn a penalty that defender David Lomban converted in the 88th minute. . Krohn-Dehli had given Celta the lead in the 61st minute when he tapped-in Jonathan Castro’s perfect cross after the defender had timed his run forward to beat the Elche defenders’ offside trap. . Celta stay eighth place on 32 points after 25 rounds while Elche are…
John Terry earned the 13th major winner’s medal of his 20-year Chelsea career on Sunday with a commanding defensive performance and his first Cup goal, then urged his young team mates to use the win over Tottenham as a springboard to more success. The 34-year-old central defender lifted the League Cup — his 12th trophy as captain — after scoring just before halftime in a 2-0 Wembley win. “That could be the start of something very good but we have to kick on and we have the league to focus on,” said Terry, who earned the man-of-the-match award. Terry’s towering…
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he felt “like a kid” after claiming the first trophy of his second Stamford Bridge tenure with a League Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur. . A deflected John Terry strike and a Kyle Walker own goal gave Chelsea a 2-0 win at a rain-soaked Wembley on Sunday and earned Mourinho his third success in the competition after two triumphs during his first spell as the west London club’s manager. . It ended a 914-day wait for silverware for the 52-year-old Portuguese — the longest of his managerial career — and he expressed hope that…
Jose Mourinho clearly saw Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen as Tottenham Hotspur’s two chief League Cup final weapons and the way the pair were subdued played a key role in Chelsea’s 2-0 Wembley triumph. Chelsea fans looked at each other in bewilderment when the teams were announced before kickoff on Sunday, barely able to believe Mourinho had opted to replace the suspended Nemanja Matic in midfield with rookie central defender Kurt Zouma. The inexperienced Frenchman had only made the starting line-up 13 times previously but his manager did not want a repeat of the 5-3 Premier League defeat inflicted by…
Jose Mourinho clearly saw Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen as Tottenham Hotspur’s two chief League Cup final weapons and the way the pair were subdued played a key role in Chelsea’s 2-0 Wembley triumph. Chelsea fans looked at each other in bewilderment when the teams were announced before kickoff on Sunday, barely able to believe Mourinho had opted to replace the suspended Nemanja Matic in midfield with rookie central defender Kurt Zouma. The inexperienced Frenchman had only made the starting line-up 13 times previously but his manager did not want a repeat of the 5-3 Premier League defeat inflicted by…
Jose Mourinho has assured Chelsea fans that John Terry, subject of a ‘captain, leader, legend’ banner that is on permanent display at Stamford Bridge, will be at the club next season. . The 34-year-old centre half, who scored the opening goal in Sunday’s 2-0 League Cup final victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, has a one-year contract that expires at the end of the season. . “I know what my board tells me and the player tells me and there’s no doubt he is going to get his (new) contract before the end of the season,” manager Mourinho…
Australia midfielder Mile Jedinak has accepted the violent conduct charge handed out to him by the FA, his club Crystal Palace said in a statement on Tuesday. . He was charged for an apparent elbow to the head of West Ham United’s Diafra Sakho in the second half of Palace’s 3-1 victory in the Premier League on Saturday. . The incident was not seen by the match officials but West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said Jedinak deserved to be sent off. . Palace, who are 12th in the table, visit sixth-placed Southampton later on Tuesday.
Sunderland and England midfielder Adam Johnson has been bailed until March 18 after being arrested on Monday on suspicion of having sex with an under-age girl, the BBC reported on Tuesday. . Sunderland have suspended Johnson while police investigations are ongoing. . The 27-year-old, who has won 12 England caps, played for Manchester City for two years from 2010-12 before joining Sunderland, his hometown club.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique refused to be drawn on Tuesday over Luis Suarez’s petulant reaction to being substituted in the weekend win over Granada. . Suarez, who scored one goal and was involved in the other two in a 3-1 victory over the Andalusian side, was clearly not happy as he walked off the pitch to be replaced by Pedro Rodriguez in the closing stages. . But ahead of the King’s Cup semifinal second leg against Villarreal, Luis Enrique said it was not a worry for Suarez to be substituted late in a game. . “I’m not looking at what…
British police said on Monday they had launched an investigation into reports of racist behaviour by Chelsea fans, weeks after their supporters were filmed blocking a black man from boarding a Paris Metro train. . British Transport Police were called to deal with claims that fans were behaving in a racist and abusive manner on a train from London to Manchester, northwest England. . Officers boarded the train in Stoke, central England, and asked four men to leave, according to a police spokesman. Four more fans left voluntarily. . “Shortly after 10.30pm on Sunday, 1 March, officers were called to…
Head coach of Nigeria’s Under-20 team Manu Garba has stressed that the Flying Eagles are going to Senegal with the intention of winning the title at the 2015 Africa Under-20 championship. . The Flying Eagles will kick off their campaign on March 8 against hosts Senegal in the opening game of Group A at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor. . Manu has now thrown down the gauntlet as the Flying Eagles begin their assault for glory in a potentially tricky preliminary group that also includes Congo and the Ivory Coast. . “We are going there (Senegal) to win the trophy,…
Head coach of Nigeria’s Under-20 team Manu Garba has stressed that the Flying Eagles are going to Senegal with the intention of winning the title at the 2015 Africa Under-20 championship. . The Flying Eagles will kick off their campaign on March 8 against hosts Senegal in the opening game of Group A at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor. . Manu has now thrown down the gauntlet as the Flying Eagles begin their assault for glory in a potentially tricky preliminary group that also includes Congo and the Ivory Coast. . “We are going there (Senegal) to win the trophy,…
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says he is under no pressure from the club’s owners despite a recent slump that threatens to leave them without a trophy this season. . The Premier League champions are struggling to keep pace with leaders Chelsea and face an uphill battle to stay in the Champions League after last week’s chastening 2-1 home defeat by Barcelona in the last 16 first leg. . Having lost in the FA Cup to second tier Middlesbrough, the Chilean’s hopes of backing up last season’s title and League Cup with more trophies look slim, leading to inevitable speculation…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says British record signing Angel Di Maria should be given more time to justify his price tag and be judged on his success at Old Trafford. . Di Maria joined United for £59.7m from Real Madrid last summer as part of United’s re-building plans under Van Gaal. . But after an encouraging start to his career in British football, the Argentina international, 27, has struggled to find his best form in a United side, which despite occupying a top-four place in the Premier League has also stuttered at times. . Di Maria was substituted…
The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations will be moved to accommodate plans for the Qatar World Cup to be played in the winter. . A FIFA task force yesterday recommended that the Qatar tournament be played in November and December to avoid the roasting summer temperatures. . This would disrupt clubs and leagues throughout Europe, but also the AFCON which was expected to be held in Guinea in January 2023. . FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke confirmed at a press conference in Doha on Wednesday that the tournament would instead take place in June of the same year. . Ivory…