Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal feels his side “must deliver” in their Europa League last-16 second leg tie against Liverpool on Thursday. A desperately poor performance from the Red Devils saw them lose 2-0 in the first leg at Anfield last week. United have failed to win in their last three matches in all competitions. “It starts with the players, of course, but it starts also with the fans. They have a lot of impact on the pitch,” said Dutchman Van Gaal. The meeting against rivals Liverpool comes a week before the 32nd anniversary of one of their greatest…
Author: David Folami
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes up to eight of his players could be named in England’s next squad. Second-placed Spurs are five points behind Premier League leaders Leicester but the Argentine said the national side would not damage the title push. England boss Roy Hodgson will name his squad on Thursday for friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands. “Maybe we have a big group called up – seven, six, eight. We’ve trust in the national team,” Pochettino said. Leicester are favourites to secure what would be their first Premier League title, but with eight games remaining Spurs still have a…
Barcelona’s dynamic attacking trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi were too strong for Arsenal as all three scored in a 3-1 victory in Barcelona on Wednesday that sent the Spanish side into the Champions League quarterfinals 5-1 on aggregate. Brazil’s Neymar opened the scoring in the first half as the home side dominated the early play, but Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny curled in an excellent finish to spark life into the visitors after the break. Suarez, however, launched himself into the air to meet a Dani Alves cross and send a superb volley into the top corner to suppress…
Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres says Champions League glory is their top priority this season. Diego Simeone’s side, who sit second in La Liga, but trail a relentless Barcelona by eight points with just nine games to play, booked their place in the Champions League quarter-final berth for the third season in a row by edging PSV on penalties on Tuesday. Atleti have never won European club football’s premier competition, Torres is determined to help his boyhood club go one better than their 2013-14 final defeat to Real Madrid this term. “This [winning the Champions League] is the dream since…
Massimiliano Allegri has backed Antonio Conte to be a success in the Premier League should he become the next Chelsea manager. Conte announced his intention to leave his role as Italy head coach after Euro 2016 on Tuesday, fuelling speculation he will move to Stamford Bridge next season. Guus Hiddink replaced Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December, but Chelsea remain on the hunt for the Portuguese’s permanent successor. And Allegri who replaced Conte at Juventus in 2014 believes his compatriot has what it takes to win trophies in England. “Italian coaches are very good,” Allegri told a media…
After their stellar season, Premier League leaders, Leicester City are set for a summer tour of the United States. Claudio Ranieri’s men are currently five points on top of the league and might head into the summer as champions of England. Their new status will see them play some of Europe’s biggest club sides in a pre-season tour of America. According to Sun, they have been invited to play in the International Champions Cup. The pre-season tournament last year featured the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Roma, AC Milan, Inter MIlan, Fiorentina, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica,…
While preparing for their Champions League second leg clash with Arsenal at the Nou Camp, Barcelona players welcomed some kids with wide arms after they gate crashed training. The kids-about three in number-stormed training first meeting Dani Alves who lifted one of them up to play with him. Gerard Piqué then directed the autograph hungry kids to Lionel Messi before the whole squad came together to play with the kids. They had a kick about with the kids and took some photos with them before they turned their attention to training. Barcelona have a 2-0 lead over Arsenal after two…
Ashley Young and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have handed Manchester United a timely fitness boost after returning to training on Wednesday. Young has not featured since United’s Premier League win over Liverpool in January with a groin injury, while Borthwick-Jackson has been sidelined with a knock. The 19-year-old defender – who has impressed since breaking into the first team at Old Trafford this season – has been unavailable for Louis van Gaal since the 3-0 FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town on February 22. It remains to be seen if the duo will be risked for Thursday’s Europa League second-leg clash against…
After making Tottenham a proper Premier League challenger this season, Mauricio Pochettino is set for a new contract. Tottenham are second, just five points off leaders, Leicester City with nine games to go and the club is impressed with what Pochettino has done. The Argentine coach is expected to finalise a new £3.5million-per-year Tottenham contract at the end of the season as talks are going on smoothly. The proposed contract will see Pochettino get a significant raise on his current £2million-per-season deal. Though he still has three years to run on his existing deal, club chairman Daniel Levy is making…
The purists won’t be happy; the fans who have paid £40 for a ticket will be even less so. But the figures don’t lie and what the figures say is that Spurs’ manager Mauricio Pochettino would be better off fielding an even weaker side for the return leg against Dortmund than he had sent out for the first. Go the whole hog and give Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Christian Eriksen the night off along with the rest of the first team. We all like to dream about European glory nights at White Hart Lane. The Spurs’ message boards are…
Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says he has taken inspiration from fellow African Footballer of the Year award winners Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o. Aubameyang, 26, picked up the honour for the first time last month after finding the net over 40 times for Dortmund and Gabon in 2015. The former St Etienne player, meanwhile, scored his 20th Bundesliga goal of the season in Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Ingolstadt at the weekend. That prompted him to set his sights on matching Germany legend Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga record of 40 goals in a single campaign. Speaking to RMC on Monday, Aubameyang…
Paris Saint-Germain’s 9-0 win away at ESTAC Troyes last Sunday confirmed Les Parisiens’ fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title and sixth French crown in total. However, none of those previous five successes have come as early as this one and Laurent Blanc’s men not only set a domestic record in securing the title so early in the season – with eight matches remaining — they also beat Bayern Munich’s former European benchmark as well. PSG’s devastating attacking display in Troyes capped a fantastic week for the capital club. Their season hung in the balance away at Chelsea in the second leg…
Former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes will be among the names expected to honour former Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo at his testimonial game on May. 27. Yobo announced at a news conference in Lagos on Tuesday that the game will be played in his home city of Port Harcourt. “It has been an absolute honour for me to have represented my country, and played at the highest level for over 13 years, and I am humbled to see so many great people turn out here,” he said. “I was David Moyes’ first signing at Everton, and he has…
The Premier League will keep four Champions League places for the 2017-18 season following the elimination of Juventus from the competition. Italy had been hoping to move above England into third in UEFA’s coefficient ranking this season, thus claiming a Champions League berth at England’s expense. But Juve’s exit at the hands of Bayern Munich leaves Serie A with just one club in European competition. Lazio can add a maximum of 2.5 coefficient points to Italy’s score by winning the Europa League, but England is 3.97 points in front — an unassailable lead. Despite England failing to have more than…
Bayern Munich overcame a 2-0 deficit to book a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 4-2 defeat of Juventus in extra time at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The fightback win in Germany followed their 2-2 draw in Turin two weeks prior, and handed the Bundesliga leaders 6-4 passage on aggregate. Juventus, who were without regulars Paulo Dybala, Claudio Marchisio and Giorgio Chiellini didn’t waste time finding their opener in Germany. And it was star midfielder Paul Pogba who put them ahead just five minutes in. A misplay between Bayern’s David Alaba and Manuel Neuer near the edge…
Manchester United’s task on Thursday night at Old Trafford is to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Liverpool in the Europa League. If Louis van Gaal’s side upset the odds, they will be through to the quarterfinals of the competition — they also have an FA Cup quarterfinal replay against West Ham United on the schedule — and progression in the Europa League would keep alive their hopes of a place in the Champions League next season. Amid the doom and gloom among some supporters, history offers some positive omens. Here are the occasions when United lost a European first…
It’s often said that defence is the best form of attack, but to win football games, a team needs to score more goals than it concedes. That Chelsea excelled in this area in winning the Premier League last season was largely attributable to the form and function of two key players, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. In 2014-15, midfielder Hazard scored 14 Premier League goals and assisted on nine more, and striker Costa scored 20 goals and assisted on a further three. By comparison, in the top flight this season to date, Hazard had failed to score and recorded four…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa will not face any action over the gesture he made to Everton supporters during Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at Goodison Park. The Football Association had given Spain striker Costa until 6 p.m. on Wednesday to explain the gesture at half-time in the match, which Chelsea lost 2-0. A charge, and a one-match ban, could have followed, but the FA tweeted a statement that read: “Having considered the evidence and Diego Costa’s observations in relation to a gesture made towards Everton supporters, the FA is satisfied no further action is required.” Costa has until 6 p.m. on…
Ryan Giggs says Manchester United’s players should be relishing the high-pressure games against Liverpool and Manchester City this week. United have the daunting task of overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit when they host Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday, and then they must aim to close the gap on the Premier League’s top four when they travel to Manchester City on Sunday. Giggs, currently working as Louis van Gaal’s assistant, told BBC Radio Manchester that he would have relished those matches during his long and distinguished playing career with the club. The Welshman said: “If I was playing, I’d…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that his side can handle the atmosphere at Old Trafford, when facing Manchester United away in the Europa League on Thursday, and can control it with their performance. The German added that he is “not scared” and that training at the venue on Wednesday night — which Uefa rules allow them to do – will be a help. Klopp’s men are 2-0 ahead on aggregate after the first leg at Anfield in the last 16 clash against Louis van Gaal’s men. Klopp said: “It’s one of the best things in football you can do, to…