Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is the odds-on favourite to win the Fifa Ballon d’Or on Monday. . The Portugal captain, 28, is named on a three-man shortlist for the prize, along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich. . The trio were chosen from a 23-man long list, with the world player of the year to be crowned at a ceremony in Zurich. . Winners of seven other awards, plus the Fifpro World XI team of the year, will also be announced. Nadine Angerer (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Abby Wambach (USA) are in the running for…
Author: David F.
Barcelona said Andres Iniesta’s left-knee injury picked up during Saturday’s scoreless draw at Atletico Madrid is not serious. . The Spanish champions said the speed of Iniesta’s recovery “will determine his availability for upcoming games.” . Iniesta was tackled in the 22nd minute of the match at Vicente Calderon Stadium. He was replaced at halftime by Lionel Messi. . Barcelona visit Getafe on Thursday in the Copa del Rey after winning the first leg of their round-of-16 tie 4-0. They then visit Levante on Sunday in the Spanish league.
Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s Uganda Cranes team started with a 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso in a Group B tie of the on-going CAF African Nation Championship (CHAN) at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday. . Youngster Junior Yunus Sentamu scored a goal in each half to silence the Burkina Faso team. He netted early in the 15th minute after a defensive lapse gave him room to round the goalkeeper and slot in an empty net. . The SC Vipers striker was on target again in the 72nd minute after finishing off a well taken cross by substitute…
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri suffered a “serious” knee injury after being scythed down by Newcastle United defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa late in their 2-0 win at St James’ Park on Sunday. . “It should have been a red card for the tackle by Yanga-Mbiwa on Samir Nasri,” City manager Pellegrini told reporters. “A direct red card – we didn’t have any extra help from the referee today. . “Nasri has a serious injury with his knee – it was directly a red card. Maybe it’s medial ligaments. We’ll see tomorrow what happens with him.” . The 26-year-old French international, who…
Real Madrid closed to within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid when a Pepe header secured a laboured 1-0 win at mid-table Espanyol on Sunday. . Barca and Atletico drew 0-0 in Saturday’s top-of-the- table clash at the Calderon and Real took full advantage to end the first half of the season on 47 points from 19 matches, with the leaders on 50 and Barca top on goal difference. . It was hardly a vintage performance from Real at Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat stadium in Barcelona, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema…
Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra is set to leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in the summer, according to the Guardian. . The France international, who turns 33 in May, has yet to receive a contract extension offer from the Red Devils – and is subsequently expected to leave the club at the end of the season. . Evra could return to former club AS Monaco, who are currently fighting for the Ligue 1 title and should be competing in the Champions League next season. . The full-back played for the club between 2002 and 2006 before joining Premier…
After spending the majority of the last two campaigns on the sidelines at Manchester United due to an illness, Darren Fletcher returned to Premier League action last December as a substitute in the 3–0 win against Aston Villa. . With the absence of a composed central midfielder at Old Trafford still a looming issue in David Moyes’s agenda, many expected the United boss to splash the cash on the likes of Claudio Marchisio or Ilkay Gundogan over the course of the January transfer window. . But with Moyes claiming it unlikely new signings will arrive due to the unavailability of…
After three consecutive losses, Manchester United have finally managed to snatch a win to lift the spirits of David Moyes and the fans. . The roars are still rumbling at Old Trafford. . There were deep concerns ahead of the game, United having lost to Swansea just last weekend, sending them out of the FA Cup with their heads held low. . It was speculated that Swansea would be able to defeat David Moyes’ side once again. . Well, Swansea City defended well for the first half, holding Manchester United to a 0-0 draw going into the locker room at…
Republic of Ireland international winger Aiden McGeady, yesterday, completed his move to Everton on a four-year contract. . The former Celtic and Spartak Moscow winger has been eager to leave the Lokomotiv Stadium, following a series of falling-outs with manager Valery Karpin. . Upon signing for the Toffees, McGeady was introduced to the Everton faithful before Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Norwich City. . McGeady, 27, will link up with a number of fellow internationals at the club; Seamus Coleman Darren Gibson and James McCarthy have regularly featured this season for Everton. . The Republic of Ireland international’s CV makes for…
Arsenal have been handed a clear pathway to sign Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons in the summer, after the Ligue 1 club rejected a £14million bid from Napoli. . Rafa Benitez wanted to bring the France international to Stadio San Paolo, but has failed in his attempt to sign him during the January transfer window. . Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is a long-term admirer of Gonalons, and will now be hopeful of securing the player’s signature at the end of the season. . A mid-season transfer to the Emirates Stadium appears highly unlikely, particularly given Arsenal’s wealth of midfield options at…
Everton and England midfielder Ross Barkley could be ruled out for several weeks with a suspected broken toe. . Barkley, 20, has suceeded for the club this season, but missed Saturday’s 2-0 win over Norwich with the problem. . “We are going to assess him and it seems he is going to be out for a while, it could be broken,” said Everton manager Roberto Martinez. . If the injury is as bad as feared, Barkley will miss the Merseyside derby at Liverpool’s stadium on 28 January. . Everton defender Leighton Baines fractured his toe when Everton met Liverpool at…
Manchester United boss David Moyes hopes his side can build on their 2-0 home win over Swansea, which ended a three-game losing streak in 2014. . Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck scored second-half goals as United moved to within four points of fourth-placed Everton in the Premier League. . “I hope a long way better is to come. I would like to think it would improve an awful lot,” Moyes said. . “But you have to start somewhere and I think today was more like it.” . Victory came after a difficult week for Moyes in which his side lost…
Sunderland can beat the odds and stay up despite being bottom of the Premier League at Christmas, manager Gus Poyet said after an emphatic 4-1 win at fellow strugglers Fulham on Saturday. . Propping up the table on December 25 almost always leads to relegation, with only West Bromwich Albion making a great escape in 2005, but after Adam Johnson’s hat-trick on Saturday hoisted Sunderland off the bottom, Poyet said they are up for the fight. . “It was an outstanding performance,” the Uruguayan told the BBC. “If we can retain that level then we can stay up. We needed…
England striker Jermain Defoe began his long goodbye from Tottenham Hotspur with his first Premier League goal of the season as the home side recovered from a poor first half to beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Saturday. . Defoe, Spurs’ fifth highest all-time scorer with 143 goals, will be joining MLS side Toronto FC in March in a £6 million deal and scored in the 72nd minute to guarantee all three points at White Hart Lane. . Tottenham are unbeaten in five league matches since Tim Sherwood became manager last month after the sacking of Andre-Villas Boas and the win…
Mali started their 2014 African Nations Championship campaign on a winning note when they defeated West African rivals Nigeria 2-1 in their Group A encounter at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night. . Abdoulaye Sissoko opened the scoring in the first half and Adama Traore added the second soon after the break, while substitute Gbolahan Salami scored the only goal for the Super Eagles. . It was the Eagles who threatened first in the 7th minute when Chigozia Agbim punched Sissoko’s corner straight into the path of Lassana Diarra, but his goalbound shot was cleared by Azubuike Egwuekwe. .…
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has insisted that rumours he wants a summer switch to Paris Saint-Germain have no foundation, focusing on maintaining his fine start to the campaign and doing enough to remain a long-term feature of Jose Mourinho’s plans at Stamford Bridge. . Hazard was quoted by Le Parisien earlier this week as telling a team-mate he will “certainly be joining Paris next summer”, despite Mourinho’s insistence that the Belgian playmaker is going nowhere. . The wing wizard starred in Chelsea’s return to the top of the Premier League earlier today, breaking the deadlock in a 2-0 win at…
Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to raid his former club and take Brazilian flop Fabio to Cardiff City. . According to the Daily Mail, the new Cardiff boss is keen to bolster his full-back department and feels Fabio could help him keep the Bluebirds up this season. . The former Fluminense youngster, who joined Manchester United with his twin brother Rafael in 2008, looks set to leave Old Trafford without making any real impact in six years at the Premier League champions. . Solskjaer is famous for being Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘Supersub’ for a number of years, most…
Former Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has admitted that he would jump at the chance to re-sign for the club. . The Croatian international originally signed for the Gunners in 2007 following a prolific spell for Dinamo Zagreb. . Eduardo started his Arsenal career off in a positive manner and looked to be flourishing before he unfortunately suffered a horrific leg break at the feet of Martin Taylor. . Having never recovered his form, Eduardo was sold to Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010. . But the striker has been very much a bit-part player for the club, starting just…
Having seen Chelsea’s consummate and confident performance against Hull City this afternoon, there will undoubtedly be some alarm bells ringing in Manchester and North London. . Chelsea dispatched Hulls with relative ease, putting on an efficient show of organised defending and lethal counter-attacking. Goals from the in form Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres secured a 2-0 win for the Blues and Mourinho praised their ‘solid’ performance. . This makes it five wins on the trot for the special one’s side and they now sit top the Premier League for the first time since September. . Admittedly, Manchester City and Arsenal…
Lionel Messi will have to wait for his first start of 2014 after being named on the bench by Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino for Saturday’s crunch top of the table clash away to Atletico Madrid. . Brazilian forward Neymar is also surprisingly left out of the starting line-up as Martino keeps faith with Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez in attack. . Messi made a sensational return to action after two months out with a hamstring tear on Wednesday as he scored twice as a second-half substitute in Barca’s 4-0 Copa del Rey last 16, first-leg win over Getafe.…