Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge will spend Christmas in Boston in a bid to speed up his return from injury. . The 25-year-old has already spent time in Los Angeles working on his thigh injury and will now link up with medical specialists at baseball team Boston Red Sox. . He has played only three league games this season and is not expected to return to action for several weeks yet. . Liverpool owner John W Henry is also the owner of the Red Sox.
Author: David F.
The Spain stopper has been in sparkling form this season and there have been growing concerns at United that he could depart the club next summer with Real Madrid leading the chase for his signature. . But, according to The Sun, De Gea will spurn Madrid’s advances and has even indicated that he is ready to pen fresh terms at United. . With rumours over a move back to his native Spain refusing to go away, the 24-year-old has assured his United team-mates his intention is to stay at the Theatre of Dreams. . David De Gea is ready to…
Barcelona midfielder Xavi says he would relish the chance to follow the example of Pep Guardiola and coach the club one day. . Xavi replaced Guardiola on the pitch as the midfield playmaker having been promoted to the first team by then coach Louis van Gaal and now with his playing days coming to an end he would jump at the opportunity to coach the Catalan club. . “Hopefully I can (follow Guardiola) and even more so in my home here,” Xavi told El Pais. . Bayern Munich coach Guardiola took over the reigns at Barcelona in 2008 and won…
Premier League leaders Chelsea beat second-tier Derby County 3-1 to reach the League Cup semifinals on Tuesday, but at the cost of injuries to Kurt Zouma and Didier Drogba. . Eden Hazard and Filipe Luis, with his first goal for the club, put Chelsea in control on a rain-soaked night at the iPro Stadium, before Craig Bryson replied for Derby in the 71st minute. . But the hosts’ hopes of a comeback were extinguished when centre-back Jake Buxton was sent off for impeding substitute Loic Remy and Andre Schuerrle made the game safe with eight minutes to play. . Remy…
In-form Arjen Robben scored his 100th goal for Bayern Munich as the runaway Bundesliga leaders cruised to a 2-0 victory over lowly Freiburg on Tuesday. . Robben headed the milestone goal in the 41st minute before Thomas Mueller made it 2-0 three minutes after the restart. . The Dutch winger Robben joined Munich in 2009 from Real Madrid and his 100th goal in all competitions came in his 184th match for the two-time reigning German champions. . “My goals are not the most important. I don’t head many goals, but what counts are the three points,” Robben told Sky TV.…
David Moyes has seen signs of progress at Real Sociedad since he took over last month but believes there is still a lot of room for improvement. . Moyes was denied victory in his first Basque derby on Sunday when Sociedad let slip an early lead and drew 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. . The Scot said he was pleased with his team’s first-half performance but was concerned by a drop in energy levels in the second period. . Bilbao were reduced to 10 men when Aymeric Laporte was sent off 10 minutes from time but…
Moroccan international Adel Taarabt has added to Mario Balotelli’s woes after dismissing suggestions the misfiring Liverpool striker was a world class player. . Queens Park Rangers striker Taarabt spent half a season on loan at AC Milan, where he played alongside Balotelli before the Italy international signed for Liverpool at the start of the season. . Taarabt also returned to England in time for the new season but has been training on his own recently amid a spat with QPR manager Harry Redknapp. . Taarabt confirmed recent reports in Italy when he admitted he was looking to return to Serie…
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera declared that his conscience was “totally clear” on Tuesday after he was one of 41 people named in a Spanish match-fixing probe. . Spanish prosecutors allege that Herrera was one of 18 Real Zaragoza players who gave hundreds of thousands of euros in cash to Levante players to let them win a May 2011 league game they needed to win to avoid relegation. . Herrera, 25, played in the match in question, which Zaragoza won 2-1. He moved to Athletic Bilbao later that year before joining United last June in a £28.8 million transfer. .…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers rejected reports of dressing room unrest after his side’s poor start to the season, saying spirits are high for Wednesday’s League Cup quarterfinal at second-tier Bournemouth. . Rodgers led Liverpool to an unexpected runners-up finish in the Premier League last season but a failure to rediscover that form has seen the Reds slip to 11th in the table and suffer an early Champions League exit. . A mistake-laden 3-0 defeat at bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday prompted media reports that the Liverpool manager had lost the confidence of his players. . “I hear one or…
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew says there will be no fear factor when his side visit Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday having won their last two games at White Hart Lane. . Newcastle play Tottenham before a Premier League derby against bitter rivals Sunderland on Sunday and Pardew feels his team may have a psychological edge heading into the quarterfinal cup clash. . Pardew’s men won 2-1 in the league at the end of October and also triumphed 1-0 in the same fixture last season. . “There won’t be that kind of fear element that sometimes…
Japan coach Javier Aguirre, Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, Atletico Madrid captain Gabi and a host of others were named on Monday in an alleged case of matchfixing involving a La Liga match in the 2010-11 season. . Aguirre was coach of Real Zaragoza at the time of the suspect match, which was at Levante on the final day of the campaign, while Herrera and Gabi were both playing for Zaragoza. . Zaragoza won the match 2-1, avoiding relegation to the second division, and the Spanish prosecutor’s office filed charges with a Valencia court on Monday alleging the Levante players…
Wayne Rooney has warned Premier League leaders Chelsea that Manchester United are capable of winning the title this season. . United stretched their winning run to six matches on Sunday with an emphatic 3-0 victory over bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. . Despite struggling in the opening stages of what was expected to be a season of transition under new manager Louis van Gaal, United have risen to third in the table and they are only eight points adrift of Chelsea heading into the hectic Christmas programme. . So far this season Chelsea have looked the class of the…
Jose Mourinho will select a strong Chelsea side out of respect to high-flying Championship team Derby County when they meet in the quarterfinals of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday. . Only rested England defender Gary Cahill will not be considered for selection at Derby while playmaking maestro Cesc Fabregas is expected to return from the one-game suspension that saw him miss Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Hull City. . “We don’t have problems. The players are fit, the players are not tired, the players are in good condition so no special reason not to go with a strong…
European champions Real Madrid will face Schalke 04, Barcelona will play Manchester City and Chelsea will play Paris St Germain in three ties repeated from last season following the draw for the Champions league last 16 made on Monday. . Real Madrid knocked Schalke out of the last 16 last season 9-2 on aggregate, Barcelona beat Manchester City 4-1 while Chelsea beat PSG on away goals in the quarterfinals. . Last week Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he would welcome being drawn against PSG “because it will be easy for our fans to travel to Paris” — and he got…
Barcelona forward Neymar has failed to recover from a minor ankle problem and will not be available for Tuesday’s King’s Cup last-32, second leg at home to third-tier Huesca, coach Luis Enrique said on Monday. . Neymar missed Barca’s 0-0 La Liga draw at Getafe on Saturday and has been joined on the sidelines by Brazil teammate Dani Alves, who has a hamstring strain. . Barca struggled against a defence-minded Getafe in driving rain in the Madrid suburbs but should have little trouble progressing to the last 16 of the Cup having won 4-0 at Huesca in the first leg.…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal felt that his side’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Liverpool proved that his methods are beginning to take effect at Old Trafford. . Sunday’s win, secured by goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie, was United’s sixth in a row and galvanised their grip on third place in the table, but there were rough edges to the hosts’ display. . Liverpool created a host of chances, with David de Gea earning the man-of-the-match award for a series of spectacular saves, while Mata’s goal should have been ruled out for offside. .…
Manuel Pellegrini has set his sights on keeping Frank Lampard at Manchester City beyond his current loan spell with the Premier League champions. . Pellegrini’s side overcame bottom club Leicester thanks to Lampard’s 175th Premier League goal five minutes before half-time in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Leicester. . The former Chelsea midfielder has now scored six goals since joining City on loan from New York City in pre-season and Pellegrini would dearly love to keep the influential 36-year-old at Eastlands for a larger portion of the season. . But, with his loan due to expire in January, there has been…
Nigeria international, Victor Moses, could make a return to action for Stoke City in about three weeks. . According to the Stoke Sentinel, the Potters manager, Mark Hughes, expressed optimism that the winger looks set to make a return before or after the New Year since he turned up at the club’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday. . Hughes is encouraged by the 24-year-old’s recovery from the thigh injury that has sidelined him since late last month. . Moses had been projected to be out for at least six to eight weeks, but Hughes now appears optimistic that…
Manchester United and Liverpool will remind themselves what top billing in the Premier League feels like when they lock horns for the 191st time at Old Trafford on Sunday. . Chelsea and Manchester City seem destined to duke it out for this season’s title, but contests between United and Liverpool often serve to show why it is their rivalry that remains the most enduring in English football. . United’s run of five consecutive wins has seen them climb to third place in the table, eight points behind league leaders Chelsea and five points below defending champions City. . But although…
Chelsea and Manchester City tightened their stranglehold on the Premier League title race on Saturday, recording victories over struggling clubs to stretch further clear of their increasingly forlorn pursuers. . Normal service was resumed at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea maintained their three-point lead over City at the top with goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa sinking 10-man Hull City 2-0. . Champions City maintained their ever more convincing chase, sealing their fifth successive league win at bottom club Leicester City 1-0 courtesy of a 40th-minute goal from the evergreen Frank Lampard. . City’s delight, though, was tempered by the…