It has become impossible to watch an Arsenal game this season without hearing of Mesut Ozil’s assist record. It’s now 13 in the 2015-16 Premier League season alone, a staggering figure that matches the best-ever assist haul of Dennis Bergkamp for an entire league campaign. Amazingly, it’s six more than any other Premier League player this season, and four more than anyone else in Europe’s major five leagues. It’s better than anyone could have imagined when Arsenal broke their club record transfer fee — three times over — to sign him in summer 2013. Yet in a way, it doesn’t…
Author: David Folami
The trip to Wolfsburg wasn’t a complete disaster for Manchester United. Although the first team were eliminated from the Champions League after a 3-2 defeat, their U-19 side beat Wolfsburg 2-0. Unfortunately, the convincing victory didn’t stop their elimination from the UEFA Youth League. Nicky Butt, who coaches United’s U-19s, has had to scrape together teams this season to play in the competition. United have players on loan to get more football than they’d get playing in the junior teams at Old Trafford. U-19 football is not as recognised in English football as it is on the continent, where considerable…
Steven Gerrard has hailed Jurgen Klopp’s impact at Liverpool and wishes he had the chance to play for the German. Gerrard is back training at Melwood during the Major League Soccer off-season before returning to LA Galaxy next month. And the former captain has felt the effects of Klopp’s positive influence around the club. Recalling a meeting with the German last month, Gerrard told the Evening Standard: “I had coffee with him and when I came out of the room I just felt happy. I felt taller. And I am not one of the players so I can only imagine…
Arsene Wenger has said Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez might be ready to return in Monday’s home clash with Manchester City. Sanchez has been out with a hamstring problem since the 1-1 draw with Norwich at the end of last month, but Wenger said he might be available for the clash at the Emirates Stadium. “Everybody who played against Villa is available for Monday,” he told a news conference. “Maybe there is a slight chance for Alexis to be in the squad again, but it is too early to be sure about it. He is running, but not participating in full…
Manchester United made a failed bid for Turkey captain Arda Turan last season, according to the Barcelona midfielder’s agent. Turan, 28, joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid for €34 million in July, although he is still not able to play for the Champions League winners until January because of their transfer ban. But, while Chelsea were also linked with the playmaker, Ahmet Bulut claimed that United also attempted to sign his client from Atletico. “Last season Manchester United made a bid for Arda but Atletico Madrid did not want him to leave,” Bulut told AMK. “I was in talks with Barcelona…
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo has told Portuguese magazine Visao that he prefers the Spanish capital to Paris, but has not said he will never move to Paris Saint-Germain. Ronaldo, 30, has been linked with a move away from Madrid next summer, with former club Manchester United and French champions PSG reportedly interested in the Portugal captain. Reports in the Spanish media have repeatedly suggested that Ronaldo is unhappy with current Madrid boss Rafa Benitez, and the forward said last week that he misses former Los Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti and would love to work with the Italian again. Ronaldo…
Barcelona strolled into Sunday’s Club World Cup final as Luis Suarez scored a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Guangzhou Evergrande. Barca saw Lionel Messi ruled out shortly before the match with renal colic while Neymar, who has just recovered from a groin injury, also played no part, but Luis Enrique’s European champions enjoyed a comfortable win. “Suarez was spectacular,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “He is very talented in difficult situations and knows what to do in those situations. We had some injuries to deal with so we had to adjust and he stepped up.” Suarez put Barcelona…
Eden Hazard’s dad has rebuffed any suggestion his son faked the injury that contributed to his substitution in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Leicester City on Monday. Hazard was taken out for Pedro Rodriguez on 31 minutes after a late challenge by Jamie Vardy during the loss at the King Power Stadium, which left Chelsea just one point clear of the relegation zone. Mourinho said after the match that he did know the nature of the injury, adding: “The only thing I know is in 10 seconds he made the decision himself. It must be a serious injury because he just…
Pep Guardiola has let the cat out of the bag as regards whether he will be staying at Bayern after the end of this season or not. He has announced he won’t. The Spaniard’s three-year contract expires next June and Bayern’s head coach has said he will announce “before Christmas” whether he will extend his stay or leave, with Manchester City among the English sides keen to secure his services. According to German daily Bild, Guardiola gave his decision to Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge “last week”. “Everything points to his leaving,” the paper added. Kicker suggested his departure was “an…
A first Champions League appearance in 19 years followed Juventus’s first league and Cup double in two decades, but as 2015 comes to a close the reigning kings of Italian football are battling a Serie A backlash. The Old Lady of Turin won a treble of trophies by the end of last summer with a 31st league title, a 10th Italian Cup and their seventh Italian Super Cup after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Shanghai. Juve’s bid for a first European crown since 1996, however, was halted in spectacular fashion as Barcelona handed Massimiliano Allegri’s men a footballing masterclass…
Gary Neville got the highly anticipated victory everyone expected of him against lower league Barakaldo on Wednesday and sealed a place in the King’s Cup last 16 5-1 on aggregate. Santi Mina’s header put Valencia ahead after eight minutes and Alvaro Negredo slotted home having been played in by Andre Gomes after 31 minutes. Former England defender Neville, in his third match in charge of the Spanish team, decided against making too many changes despite a 3-1 lead from the first leg against the third-tier side. Eibar overturned a 3-0 first-leg loss as a Mikel Arruabarrena penalty completed a 4-0…
After the shock Jose Mourinho’s sack as Chelsea manager on Thursday, We ave decided to list five of the most memorable quotes from his two spells at Stamford Bridge: “I have top players and I’m sorry, we have a top manager. Please do not call me arrogant because what I say is true. I’m European champion. I’m not one out of the bottle. I think I’m a special one.” – Right in his introductory press conference after arriving from Porto in 2014, Mourinho earns himself the nickname ‘The Special One’ “It is like having a blanket that is too small…
Cesc Fabregas has done his bit to lighten Mourinho’s mood by telling him himself and the rest of the players wil definately miss him. “Thank you for all you have done for me,” Fabregas wrote on Twitter, alongside a picture of the pair celebrating Chelsea’s league title success last May. “I owe you a lot and we will all miss you. Good luck in the future.” Fabregas is one of many players whose performance level has dropped this season as Chelsea have lost nine of their 16 league games, leaving them a point above the relegation zone. Chelsea’s players publicly…
Ligue 1 veteran, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has said he wants Jose Mourinho to still be in charge of Chelsea when his team faces them in the Uefa champions league soon. Of course his wish won’t come true as Mourinho was confirmed sacked today. The Swede added that he was surprised at seeing his former coach in such trouble — Chelsea have lost nine games, are 16th in the Premier League and there is speculation Mourinho is about to be sacked — but insisted that would not make PSG favourites when the two sides meet next February and March. “To play against…
Real Madrid’s attacking BBC have got much potential but under-pressure coach Rafa Benitez must utilize them more effectively with his team hosting Rayo Vallecano on Sunday having dropped five points off the pace in La Liga. Defeat last weekend by Villarreal cranked up the pressure on Benitez and, apart from a fortunate victory over Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League, they have been unable to come out on top against any of the leading sides. Real failed to take advantage of a surprise draw by table-topping Barcelona against Deportivo La Coruna and, with Gareth Bale returning alongside Cristiano Ronaldo…
At last. Chelsea has sacked under fire manager Jose Mourinho. A well deserved sack in many people’s opinion but also shocking in the sense that some felt he would be given all the time he wanted. Several outlets, including the BBC, reported that the 52-year-old Portuguese had been dismissed by the club for the second time, having been sacked at the end of his previous spell in 2007. A Chelsea spokesperson could not be reached for confirmation. Mourinho led Chelsea to a Premier League and League Cup double last season, after returning to the club in 2013, but they are…
Music singer Christina Milian has shockingly revealed the position she enjoys sex the most. During an interview with Power 106, the singer/actress was asked about her favourite sex position with her ex Lil Wayne. Christina Milian didn’t hold back as she said that she enjoyed the doggy position with Lil Wayne. “I’ll keep it one hundred. Face down, ass up!” said the singer. She answered the question in order to avoid paying $100. When asked about the current status of her relationship with Lil Wayne she said it is complicated. “It’s a real tough balance doing these interviews because I…
Khloe Kardashian waged a word war on the people who are criticizing her recent picture posts in twitter. The 31-year old beauty shared her backstage snap shot in twitter in which she was looking smoking hot. Pulling her best lip-glossed pout, the blonde bombshell stares seductively into camera in the sizzling snap, dressed in a pale pink body suit, fitness fanatic Khloe was showing off plenty of toned flesh. ‘On set,’ she captioned it. US magazine reports, Many people criticized the picture and after sometime suddenly Khloe started replying by calling them petty people and then began using harsh and…
Doctors have warned Kanye west and Kim Kardashian couple that trying for another baby could be dangerous given the medical complications kim has. Even at the time of giving birth to her first daughter North, Kim had gone under severe trauma and suffered from preeclampsia and placenta accrete. According to People magazine, Kim was worried that she would get preeclampsia and placenta accrete again and suffered from “intense anxiety” ahead of her son’s birth. “She had some pretty intense anxiety the last couple of days [of pregnancy] and especially just before the baby came,” an insider said. “She was scared…
Things got a little wild for Justin Bieber on Monday (December 7, 2015) morning in London, when a woman he brought back to his room created some scene which ended with the entry of police. Hours after Justin Bieber’s Jingle Bell Ball performance in London on December 6, 2015 the 21-year-old brought some ladies back to his hotel room to party, but after several hours, one just couldn’t handle it anymore and reportedly made a total scene that led to the cops being called! However, Beiber’s spokesman condemned all this news as false and just did not happened. According to…