Gabon and Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an audacious penalty and set up another goal in a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to keep their Europa League hopes alive. . The Gabon international took over the penalty duties with Marco Reus on the bench and chipped his 24th minute spot kick down the middle of the goal with keeper Kevin Trapp diving early. . He than charged down the wing and cut back for Shinji Kagawa to tap in as Dortmund, last season’s runners-up, moved up to eighth on 39 points, three behind Augsburg in sixth with…
Author: David F.
Neymar and Lionel Messi were on target as Barcelona produced a fantastic first 45 minutes performance to take a huge step towards the La Liga title with a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol on Saturday. . The visitors dominated from the off and two goals in eight minutes sealed the win as Neymar and Messi rounded off excellent team moves. . Barca were reduced to 10 men early in the second period as Jordi Alba was given his marching orders for taking his protestations towards referee Mateu Lahoz too far. . But Luis Enrique’s men held on comfortably and…
Manchester United have tabled a €30-million bid for Borussia Dortmund’s Germany defender Mats Hummels, according to a report in Sport Bild. . Hummels admitted earlier this month he was weighing up his options amid reports United boss Louis van Gaal wants Dortmund’s World Cup winner at the heart of his defence for next season. . After Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp announced last Wednesday that he would leave at the end of the season, Hummels is set to be the next big name star to leave the 2013 Champions League finalists, according to the magazine. . German daily Bild claim United’s…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has dismissed speculation about his job by saying he is the best man to lead the club and that he expects to be in charge next season. . The Northern Irishman came out fighting on Thursday after defeat by Aston Villa in Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal ensured he became the first Liverpool manager since the 1950s not to win silverware in his first three seasons in charge. . The club are currently out of the Champions League qualification places and have developed a reputation for stumbling on the big occasion. . Rodgers has also come in…
Louis van Gaal has said he believes Ryan Giggs will succeed him as Manchester United manager. . Van Gaal, 63, is nearing the end of his first season in charge at Old Trafford and is contracted to the club until 2017. . “I expect that he will be the next manager after I am gone,” he told the club’s MUTV channel about the future of Giggs, the Dutchman’s assistant since he took over last May. . “Now I have the responsibility. He has tasks that he has to perform like the players. What he has to do, for me, he…
Jose Mourinho insists top midfielder Eden Hazard will not be leaving the club he manages for Real Madrid. . The Belgium playmaker was the target of praise from Bernabeu insider Zinedine Zidane, prompting speculation Hazard could be a summer target for the Spanish club. . But Chelsea manager Mourinho is adamant there is no risk of Hazard wanting to leave Stamford Bridge after signing a five-and-a-half year contract to remain at the club earlier this year. . He said: “He has just signed a new contract. We didn’t put a gun against his head. He had lots of time to…
The new challenges Yaya Toure wants so bas can be found at Manchester City and the midfielder does not need to leave the Premier League club if he wants to slug it out for silverware, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Friday. . Toure suggested this week that he might be interested in a new challenge and the Ivorian’s agent has said the 31-year-old would not be short of suitors if he decided to end his five-year spell in Manchester. . But Pellegrini believes the powerful Ivorian wants to stay and has urged the midfielder to play a crucial role in…
Chelsea may be two wins left from regaining the Premier League title, but manager Jose Mourinho insists he is taking nothing for granted – including his fantastic record against Arsenal legend and manager Arsene Wenger. . The London rivals meet on Sunday with Chelsea 10 points clear at the top of the table. Victory at second-placed Arsenal would mean Mourinho’s team can clinch the title by beating Leicester City three days later. . But Mourinho said his unbeaten record in 12 games against Wenger was irrelevant. . “For me, achievement is to win (on Sunday),” he told reporters on Friday.…
Manchester United have suffered yet another defensive injury with right-back Rafael da Silva out for the rest of the season after breaking his ribs. . Manager Louis van Gaal said to MUTV that the Brazilian suffered the injury in an Under-21 match against Leicester this week. . United, who lie in third place, a point behind Arsenal and one ahead of neighbours Manchester City, do have centre-back Jonny Evans available again after a six-match ban for Sunday’s Premier League match at Everton. . But Michael Carrick, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo remain sidelined. . Striker Robin van Persie, who has…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has spoken to fantastic midfielder Marouane Fellaini about keeping his emotions in check when he makes his very first return to former club Everton on Saturday. . Fellaini left Merseyside to join United in a £27 million deal in August 2013 following five years in which he became a talismanic figure at Everton. . The Belgium international struggled for form during his first 12 months at Old Trafford under former Everton manager David Moyes and he was an unused substitute last April when United lost 2-0 at Goodison Park in what was Moyes’s last…
The draw for the semis of the Europa League on Friday made room for the possibility of an all-Italian final as Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina avoided each other. . Rafa Benitez’s Napoli will take on Dnipro of Ukraine while Fiorentina will face holders Sevilla in the semi-finals, with the first legs to be played on Thursday, May 7 and the second legs on Thursday, May 14. . Napoli, who are through to their first European semi-final since the side captained by Diego Maradona won the Uefa Cup in 1989, will be favourites to beat a Dnipro outfit appearing…
Manchester City will look to continue to draw etihad comfort from a poor season with a victory over FA Cup finalists Aston Villa on Saturday which would edge them closer to a top-four finish in the English Premier League. . With City 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea, their focus now is on ensuring they qualify for next season’s Champions League by holding off the challenge from below of Liverpool in fifth and sixth-placed Tottenham, who they play on Sunday week. . The defending champions have struggled to regain last season’s form and focus which saw City win the Premier…
Barcelona will be given the chance to avenge their 2013 humbling by Bayern Munich after being put up against the Germans again in the Champions League semifinal draw on Friday which also pitted holders Real Madrid against Juventus. . Bayern thrashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago before going on to beat Borussia Dortmund to win their fifth European Cup. . Former Barca coach Pep Guardiola was on a year’s sabbatical at the time but will doubtless enjoy the challenge of trying to repeat that achievement on his first return to the Nou Camp since taking over at Bayern.…
Juergen Klopp is being tipped as Manchester City’s next manager after announcing this week that he would be leaving Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season after seven years in charge. . With Manuel Pellegrini’s future at Man City under scrutiny after his side’s feeble defence of the Premier League title and another disappointing Champions League campaign, speculation is rife that Klopp will replace the Chilean. . Pellegrini has one more year left on his contract. . British bookmaker William Hill said Klopp, who captured two Bundesliga titles for Dortmund and reached the Champions League final, was 5-4 favourite…
When Jose Mourinho jumped to weak Louis van Gaal’s defence in February, sympathising that he should be given time to get used to English football, even he might have been surprised at just how quickly and speedily his mentor has since adapted. . At the time, Van Gaal’s Manchester United were pleasing nobody, stodgy and struggling, but a run of six straight, ever more convincing wins sees them march to Mourinho’s Chelsea stadium on Saturday with the master ready to beat his pupil for the very first time. . If Van Gaal could orchestrate Chelsea’s third league defeat of the…
Aaron Lennon has been the reason for Everton’s recent Premier League revival and the on-loan winger’s fantastic work rate is starting to rub off on his teammates, manager Roberto Martinez said on Thursday. . The 28-year-old Lennon, who joined on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in January until the end of the season, has scored twice in his last three games as 12th-placed Everton have gone unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches after a slump that had them hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone. . “The work rate Aaron Lennon has, has been a massive influence, along with…
Chelsea duo Diego Costa and Eden Hazard were named on Thursday on the shortlist for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year award. . The Premier League current leaders are the only club to have two players nominated for the end-of-season accolade. . Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, Manchester United keeper David de Gea, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez are also on the shortlist. . Brazilian-born Spain striker Costa is the league’s top scorer with 19 goals, having joined Jose Mourinho’s side from Atletico Madrid in the close season. . Belgian international Hazard has flourished…
Hopes of a suspense_filled end to the Premier League title race rest this weekend on Manchester United, who take their six-game winning streak to champions-elect Chelsea on Saturday. . Chelsea looked set to drop points at Queens Park Rangers last weekend, only for Cesc Fabregas’s 88th-minute goal to earn a 1-0 win that restored their seven-point lead over second-place Arsenal with a game in hand. . As things stand, Jose Mourinho’s side require only 12 points from their seven remaining matches to secure a first league title since 2010. . While a collapse seems unlikely, victory for United would present…
Four-time World Player of the Year and counting Lionel Messi has admitted that he struggled to overcome injuries in Barcelona’s first trophyless campaign for six years last season. . As well as the disappointment at club level, Messi suffered the devastation of losing the World Cup final with Argentina and saw Cristiano Ronaldo defeat him to win the World Player of the Year for a second consecutive year. . “Last season, I had an inconsistent season. I was out for a long time with injuries and I missed a lot of games,” Messi told Barcelona’s website. . “When I returned…
Barcelona have little or no time to relax after a stunning win over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek as the Catalans continue their quest for a treble continues when Valencia visit the Camp Nou on Saturday. . Luis Enrique’s men all but secured their place in the semifinals of the Champions League with a 3-1 dismantling of the French champions thanks to two wonderful goals from Luis Suarez. . However, a 2-2 draw away to Sevilla last weekend means should Barca suffer one more slip-up between now and the end of the league campaign, the destiny of the title will be…