Eden Hazard and Mateo Kovacic could make their first Chelsea starts against Newcastle on Sunday, head coach Maurizio Sarri confirmed. Asked if Hazard will start against Newcastle, Sarri said: “I don’t know. I think that Eden is ready for 50-60 minutes. I don’t know for 90 minutes, but he can start. “I am happy with him. He wants to play. I think it’s the right way to think for him. But I have to think for everybody. “I think Mateo and Eden played very well in the last 30 minutes, but I think also that, in that moment, the intensity…
Author: David Folami
Maurizio Sarri has insisted that his time in charge of Napoli was a success after chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis criticised him for not winning a trophy in his three seasons at San Paolo. Sarri finished in Serie A’s top three in each of his three seasons at Napoli, implementing a thrilling style of football that earned admirers across the football world, including Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. In the 2017-18 campaign, his team finished second to Juventus with 91 points, the most any team had amassed without winning a Serie A title. Asked if he felt De Laurentiis’ criticism is…
Leroy Sane is yet to start a game for Manchester City this season but Pep Guardiola insists the Germany international is ready if he needs him. Sane started just one of City’s six opening matches last season, with Guardiola saying he didn’t have a good preseason. However, the City boss says he is in good shape now. “In the past two weeks in training I’ve seen the Leroy that I know and we know. I am delighted about that,” Guardiola told a news conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at Wolves. “You know about his performances in preseason. He…
Unai Emery is confident that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s scoring form will return quickly as long as his teammates continue creating chances. “I am sure they are going to score if we create a lot of chances in the game,” Emery said at a news conference on Thursday. “Maybe the players cannot score three good chances in one match and on another day, I am sure they are going to do maybe the same chances in one match and score three. Aubameyang is a player who, in his career, has scored a lot and he is going to do that here also.”…
Ernesto Valverde warned Barcelona against selling Ivan Rakitic in the final week of the transfer window amid reports Paris Saint-Germain will offer €90 million for the midfielder. However, Diario Sport have claimed the Croatia international is considering a double-your-wages offer from PSG, adding that Barca could be tempted to cash in given the money on offer. “Ivan is a fundamental player for our team and I am counting on him,” Valverde said in a news conference on Friday, when asked if Rakitic could leave Camp Nou. “His statistics are there for everyone to see. Look at the importance he had…
Hugo Lloris was arrested in central London on Friday morning and charged with drunken driving after failing a roadside breathalyser test, police said. Lloris, who is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Sept. 11, apologised for the incident in a statement released on Friday evening. “I wish to apologise wholeheartedly to my family, the club, my teammates, the manager and all of the supporters,” he said. “Drink driving is completely unacceptable, I take full responsibility for my actions and it is not the example I wish to set.” Lloris joined Tottenham in 2012 and has started both of…
Jose Mourinho has insisted he has no problem with Ed Woodward during a spiky news conference at Carrington on Friday. But during a terse meeting with the media that started a half-hour early and lasted only four and a half minutes, the Portuguese coach denied a rift. Asked whether the relationship with Woodward is fine, the 55-year-old replied: “Of course.” Pushed about any problem between the pair, he replied: “No.” Speaking ahead of the game against Tottenham at Old Trafford on Monday, Mourinho also refused to answer a question about centre-backs Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof after the pair were…
Unai Emery has told Aaron Ramsey to forget about his contract situation and focus on his performances after he was dropped for the defeat at Chelsea. The Wales international has entered the final year of his Arsenal deal without signing an extension. “I spoke with him last week. I said: ‘I want you focused only on training and only on the match, you show us the capacity to help the team,'” Emery, whose team face West Ham on Saturday, said. “The contract is another thing for his agent and the club, but we want and I need his focus only…
Aurelio De Laurentiis has issued a harsh criticism of Maurizio Sarri over a lack of trophies the coach won at the club before joining Chelsea this season. Sarri left Napoli this summer after being replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, and has been the subject of various verbal attacks by De Laurentiis, who issued his latest swipe in an interview with L’Equipe published on Friday. “There remains the pleasure of having played well but also the bitterness of not having won anything,” De Luarentiis said. “We gave Sarri everything and in three years we didn’t win anything. Sarri enjoyed a rise from…
Gernot Rohr is hoping that the chance to win a second Africa Cup of Nations title could convince Victor Moses to reconsider his decision to retire from the international football. “We spoke already and I hope that his decision is not definitive,” the German said. “I think it depends on his motivation. If he really wants to commit himself again, he is welcome. “Maybe the chance to win the Afcon is motivation. We will see.” Moses was a key member of the Super Eagles team that won a third African title for Nigeria in 2013, and the World Cup in…
John Obi Mikel has withdrawn his name from contention for the Super Eagles' squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles next month. Mikel, who captained the side at the World Cup in Russia earlier this year, will not travel to the island nation from his base in China, where he plays for Tianjin TEDA and only recently returned from injury. Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr confirmed that Mikel had called him to withdraw his name: "We spoke together. He is just coming back from injury and he needs to push his club commitments to get back in shape.…
Javier Tebas has defended plans to stage a regular-season game in the United States starting this season but insists the Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona will not be the one selected. Tebas signed a 15-year agreement with Relevent, the organisers of the International Champions Cup, to promote the sport in North America and expand La Liga’s brand. As part of the deal, a league game will be played in the United States but no further information regarding date, location or which teams will be involved, has been announced. “No,” Tebas told El Mundo when asked if a Clasico could…
Jurgen Klopp has said that he “did not have the right words” for Loris Karius in the immediate aftermath of the Champions League final. Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg was among the first to console the 25-year-old at the end of the game, with Klopp now revealing he saved his debrief for a later date. “I am a strong supporter of the idea of just shutting up if you don’t have the right words,” Klopp said. “And other than a few comforting words I did not have the right words. I did not have a clue what you could say.…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of the best Manchester United signings ever. Acquired as a little known youngster from Molde for just £1.5 million in the summer of 1996, he went on to become a hugely influential forward — especially when coming off the bench — scoring 126 goals for the club. Thus it is only logical that a new striker from Molde should attract the interest of the Red Devils, especially when one takes into account that he is coached by Solskjaer himself. That is why Manchester United sent a scout to watch Erling Haaland in action with Molde…
Unai Emery is confident that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s scoring form will return quickly as long as his teammates continue creating chances. “I am sure they are going to score if we create a lot of chances in the game,” Emery said at a news conference on Thursday. “Maybe the players cannot score three good chances in one match and on another day, I am sure they are going to do maybe the same chances in one match and score three. Aubameyang is a player who, in his career, has scored a lot and he is going to do that here also.”…
Patrick Vieira believes former France and Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry will do well should he begin his managerial career at Bordeaux. Henry is reportedly close to accepting the job after Gus Poyet was suspended by the club last week for a dispute over the sale of forward Gaetan Laborde to Montpellier. “It would be very good for Bordeaux,” Vieira said at a news conference. “It would be very good for him. It would be very good for Ligue 1 because of his notoriety. I know he’s someone who really wants to be a coach and he has the means to…
A banner calling for the exit of Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will be flown over Turf Moor next month, according to multiple reports. Man United fans have reportedly hired a plane to fly the banner reading “Ed Out – LUHG” (Love United, Hate Glazer) on Sept. 2 before their match against Burnley in protest of Woodward’s leadership and of the club’s owners the Glazer family. Supporters had planned to have the banner flown over Old Trafford for Monday’s match against Tottenham, according to the reports, but that idea was scrapped because of light restrictions for the 8 p.m.…
Jose Mourinho broke down in tears. Manchester United had overlooked one of the greatest managers in history to appoint one who had never won a trophy. It is, according to Spanish journalist Diego Torres, what happened when the then-Real Madrid manager discovered United had opted for David Moyes in 2013. But it could have been a scene from the more recent past: Mauricio Pochettino was on United’s radar in 2016. The choice boiled down to four men: persisting with Louis van Gaal offered continuity but baffling sterility; promoting Ryan Giggs promised unparalleled experience of life inside Old Trafford but with…
Bukola Saraki has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PD) will win the 2019 presidential elections. The Senate President also said that the PDP’s future is bright. Saraki said “If we emerge victorious at the federal level, all of us will be the beneficiaries. In the state, with your support we will win the state for PDP. “All of you here are the key players in Kwara politics. With unity of purpose, no party can contest with you. “We are here to unite all of us under the party we belong to today. I am assuring all members that there…
Mrs Aisha Buhari on Wednesday donated nutritional food items to patients of Aisha Buhari Maternal Clinic in Daura. The wife of the President who inaugurated Daura office for grassroots women initiatives also donated groundnuts grinding machines to the women. She said that the centre would be used as an avenue to reach the women in the grassroots where they would be economically self-reliant. Mrs Buhari explained that President Muhammadu Buhari is focus in the fight against corruption even if it involved his family relations who used their position to abuse public trust. While urging women to be ambassadors of peace,…