Roberto Martinez wishes Everton were not Britain’s last remaining cub in the Europa League but is still looking forward to Friday’s last-16 draw. . Everton beat Young Boys 3-1 at Goodison Park on Thursday night to secure a comfortable 7-2 win on aggregate. . “It is a shame there is no more British representation but we’re looking forward to the draw,” Martinez said. . The Merseysiders are flying the flag after Liverpool, Tottenham and Celtic all exited the competition on Thursday. . Everton striker Romelu Lukaku followed up his hat- trick in the 4-1 win in Switzerland with a brace…
Author: David F.
Arsene Wenger needs to change his style and be more confrontational if he is to have more success, says former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre. . The Gunners boss was criticised after his side’s shock 3-1 defeat at home to Monaco in the Champions League. . Silvestre, 37, who won the Champions League with Manchester United, believes Wenger is too relaxed with his players. . “It brings confusion because they don’t take responsibility,” he told BBC Radio 5 live. . “They have let the manager down and let themselves down. Sometimes it’s better to tell things straight away. . “He will…
Celtic battled stoically in the San Siro before succumbing to a stunning late strike from Inter’s Fredy Guarin. . Any chance the Scottish champions had of progressing looked to have been extinguished when Virgil van Dijk was shown a first-half red card. But Celtic did not crumble and remained in the tie until Guarin’s fine finish. . Despite the disappointment of their exit, Ronny Deila can take comfort from his side’s ability to compete with the Milanese over two legs. . Celtic’s Jason Denayer and Nir Bitton were defensively outstanding as Celtic spent most of the second half camped around…
Tottenham must recover quickly from their Europa League loss to Fiorentina before Sunday’s League Cup final against Chelsea, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino. . Spurs lost 2-0 after an error-strewn display in Florence and were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate in the round of 32. . “We need to recover quickly, because on Sunday we have another game,” the Argentine said. . “This one was the first final for us but we need to look forwards.” . Pochettino said a glaring first-half miss by striker Roberto Soldado was a decisive moment in the tie. . “It is true that it was…
Romelu Lukaku scored two goals to reach a total of five in the tie as Everton cruised past Young Boys to progress to the Europa League last 16. . The Belgian striker followed up his hat-trick in the 4-1 win in Switzerland with two more after Sekou Sanogo had given the visitors the lead. . Kevin Mirallas then made it 3-1 before the break as Everton ensured a safe passage into Friday’s last-16 draw. .They are now the only British side remaining in the Europa League. . The Merseysiders are flying the flag after Liverpool, Tottenham and Celtic all exited…
Tottenham exited the Europa League after an error-strewn 2-0 defeat by Fiorentina gave the Italian side a 3-1 aggregate win. . Mario Gomez raced clear after a second-half mistake by Federico Fazio and slid the ball under Hugo Lloris. Chelsea loanee Mohamed Salah sealed the win after a blunder by Jan Vertonghen. . Spurs needed to score in Florence, but were unable to make a breakthrough, with striker Roberto Soldado wasting a golden first-half opportunity. . The Spanish striker was played clean through by Erik Lamela’s swept pass after Spurs broke quickly from a corner, but he scuffed his attempt…
European champions Real Madrid will be aiming to maintain their recent winning form when they host high-flying Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. . Barca’s shock 1-0 defeat to Malaga last weekend allowed Madrid to open up a healthy advantage thanks to their best La Liga performance in some time in a 2-0 win over Elche. . World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo scored his side’s second at the Martinez Valero to end a three-game La Liga goal drought and open up a three-goal lead over Lionel Messi in their personal dual for the Pichichi top goalscorer award.…
Cologne’s Peter Stoeger admits they may need a miracle at Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Friday with the Bavarian giants scoring 16 goals without reply in recent league games. . Bayern have not conceded a goal in any of their last three league matches, their 8-0 hammering of Hamburg and last Saturday’s 6-0 pounding of Paderborn leaving Pep Guardiola’s side eight points clear. . With second-placed Wolfsburg at resurgent Werder Bremen on Sunday, with both sides unbeaten in their first five games of 2015, Bayern could well extend their lead unless mid-table Cologne pull off a shock. . That will…
Getafe coach Quique Sanchez Flores unexpectedly quit the La Liga club on Thursday citing ‘personal reasons’ about which he did not elaborate. . “I want to communicate to you my decision today to stand down as Getafe coach,” Sanchez Flores was quoted as saying in Spanish media. . “It is a personal decision, the product of deep reflection which will allow me to avoid situations which at the time did not make me happy,” he added. . Getafe are 13th in La Liga, four points above the relegation zone.
The Premier League can attract mega riches from global broadcasters but first Manchester City and now Arsenal have proved to be poor ambassadors for the self-proclaimed best league in the world in the Champions League this week. . Richard Scudamore, the league’s chief executive, complained the loudest when plans for a winter World Cup in Qatar in 2022 were announced on Tuesday claiming the ‘integrity’ of his competition would be harmed by a mid-season break. . But City and Arsenal jointly combined to undermine his claims of grandeur with damaging defeats in the first legs of the knockout stage of…
Manchester United’s 20-year-old defender Tyler Blackett has signed a two-year contract extension, the Premier League giants announced on Thursday. . Blackett, a product of United’s youth academy, was handed his debut against Swansea City on the opening day of the season and has since gone on to make a further nine appearances for the club. . “I am delighted that Tyler has signed a new contract,” said United manager Louis van Gaal on the club website. “He is another young player that has risen through the academy system to break into the first-team squad this season.” . Blackett added: “I…
Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez could make his first Premier League appearance after recovering from testicular cancer against Aston Villa on Saturday, manager John Carver said. . The 31-year-old had surgery in his native Argentina in September to remove his left testicle after the discovery of a tumour and received chemotherapy treatment. . Gutierrez, who has scored 10 goals in 177 league appearances for Newcastle since joining the club in 2008, last made a first-team appearance while on loan at Norwich City in April. . “I’m going to bring Jonas Gutierrez into the squad, and there’s a possibility he could…
Aston Villa need six wins from their remaining 12 games to avoid relegation from the Premier League for the first time in their history, manager Tim Sherwood said on Thursday. . Sherwood, who replaced Paul Lambert as manager earlier this month, tasted defeat in his first game in charge last weekend as an injury-time penalty gave Stoke City a 2-1 victory at Villa Park. . Villa have lost six successive league matches and with 12 games remaining sit in the drop zone with only Leicester City below. . “Is it a bigger challenge than I thought? No,” Sherwood told a…
Arsene Wenger slammed his Arsenal flops as naive and suicidal after their defensive meltdown allowed Monaco to clinch a stunning 3-1 win in the Champions League last 16 first leg. . Wenger’s side were widely expected to see off the French club and advance to the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2010. . But instead they are on the verge of a fifth consecutive last 16 exit following an incredible meltdown at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. . Geoffrey Kondogbia’s first half strike was followed by a cool finish from former Tottenham forward Dimitar…
Diego Simeone insists his Atletico Madrid can turn things around for their Champions League last 16 return-leg clash in Spain after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen. . The Germans have one foot in the quarterfinals for the first time since reaching the 2002 Champions League final after Hakan Calhanoglu’s superb second-half goal gives them a slender advantage. . Atletico finished with ten men at Leverkusen’s BayArena. . Defensive midfielder Tiago was sent off for the final quarter of an hour for a second booking while centre-back Diego Godin is also suspended for the return leg after a…
Chelsea have signed their “largest ever commercial deal” with the Yokohama Rubber Company that will see the name of the Japanese tyre manufacturer on their shirts for five years starting next season. . Financial details were undisclosed but the agreement ends the Stamford Bridge club’s 10-year partnership with Samsung Electronics. . “We believe Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US where they have operated with distinction for many years,” club chairman Bruce Buck said in a news release. . “Also, of course, Chelsea having such an esteemed…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers on Thursday acknowledged he was disappointed the club had gone out of the Europa League to Besiktas on penalties but said they would now focus on the Premier League and FA Cup. . “We are disappointed of course to go out in the manner we did,” Rodgers said after the away tie in Istanbul which saw Besiktas level the aggregate score 1-1 and then win 5-4 on penalties in the Round of 32. . “We created opportunities in the first half to make it difficult for them,” he told reporters, regretting the errors that led to…
Bayer Leverkusen let Atletico Madrid off the hook by failing to secure a bigger advantage than their 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 match on Wednesday, said the Spanish side’s coach Diego Simeone. . After falling behind to Hakan Calhanoglu’s 57th-minute strike, Atletico then had to play the final quarter of an hour at the BayArena with 10 men after midfielder Tiago picked up a second yellow card. . Simeone had also used his three substitutions following first-half injuries to fullback Guilherme Siqueira and midfielder Saul Niguez, and the introduction of forward Fernando Torres,…
Liverpool walked away as Uefa Champions League winners the last time they played at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium – their task this time around is to see off Besiktas and qualify for the Uefa Europa League round of 16. . Liverpool won the first leg at Anfield thanks to Mario Balotelli’s 85th-minute penalty. . The sides also met in the 2007/08 Uefa Champions League group stage, with Ertugrul Saglam’s Besiktas beating the Reds 2-1 in Istanbul before crashing 8-0 to Rafael Benítez’s men at Anfield; it remains Besiktas’s heaviest European defeat, and indeed the heaviest loss suffered by any club…
Arsenal supporters accustomed to seeing their team qualify for the Champions League year after year are beginning to adjust to a new routine: wretched elimination in the competition’s last 16. . Wednesday’s crushing 3-1 home defeat by Monaco left Arsenal on the brink of a fifth successive last-16 exit, after previous humblings at the hands of Barcelona, AC Milan and, in the previous two seasons, Bayern Munich. . Against Monaco, things were supposed to be different. The Ligue 1 club were appearing in the knockout phase for the first time in 10 years, had scored only four goals in the…