Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo has denied the reports that he is injured ahead of the double header with Egypt later in the month. Ighalo is a major part of the Super Eagles that will face Egypt in a two-leg clash for the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers. The inform striker netted for Watford in their 2-1 win at Arsenal as they shocked the Gunners to qualify for the semi-final of the FA Cup. After the game, reports emerged that the striker was injured during the game, but the 26-year-old has denied it. “It’s not true that I was…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has praised goalkeeper David De Gea for a superb display which prevented a 2-0 Europa League last-16 defeat at Liverpool from turning into a rout. “David was very good as always and that’s not a very good sign for us because it means they had even more chances to score,” Mata told the club’s television channel (MUTV) after their shambolic performance at Anfield on Thursday. “We need to move on and come back next week stronger. It was not a good performnace and not a good result, obviously.” United are at home to West Ham…
Manchester United’s failure to score an away goal against bitter rivals Liverpool has left them with a handful to do in the second leg next week, defender Chris Smalling said after Thursday’s 2-0 last-16 Europa League defeat at Anfield. Winning Europe’s second-tier club tournament appears to be United’s best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season but goals from Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino either side of halftime has severely dented their hopes. “We’re disappointed. I think we could have done with getting an away goal – we know we’ve got a difficult job on our hands,” Smalling…
Chelsea’s controversial striker Diego Costa was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Monday for the angry reaction to his red card in Saturday’s FA Cup loss to Everton. Costa was sent off by referee Michael Oliver in Chelsea’s 2-0 quarterfinal defeat at Goodison Park. Television replays showed Costa nuzzling his mouth into Gareth Barry’s neck in what initially looked like an attempted bite by the temperamental Spain forward. Everton midfielder Barry insisted Costa had not bitten him and the FA charge does not mention the incident, but the Chelsea star is still in trouble for his aggressive…
Valencia coach Gary Neville labelled his side’s performance as “indefensible” and questioned his players commitment after a 1-0 defeat to local rivals Levante on Sunday. “I’m not defending that. I’ve got to look at myself first and foremost, said Neville. “I take responsibility for the defeat, but that was an indefensible performance, unacceptable and not good enough. “I apologise to the fans of Valencia because the very basic premise of a football match is that you run, fight and tackle as hard as the opposition.” Neville has now won just three of 15 La Liga games in charge to leave…
Bayern Munich take on Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League last 16 return-leg clash eager to cut out mistakes and prevent a repeat of the Italians’ first-leg fightback. Bayern host the Italian champions at the Allianz Arena looking to seal their fifth consecutive quarterfinal appearance in the Champions League. The Germans were steaming towards the last eight when Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben put them 2-0 up in Turin before Juventus pounced on mistakes in Munich’s ranks with goals by Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro. “We played well for the first 60 minutes, went 2-0 up and suddenly it…
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is loving his duel with Leicester City forward and England team mate Jamie Vardy for the Premier League golden boot this season. Kane, who finished runner-up in the scoring charts last season with 21, netted twice in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa to take his tally to 19 goals, level with top scorer Vardy and just ahead of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku (18) and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (16). “It’s good fun. It’s good competition, to be up there and fighting for the golden boot. There’s a few people going for it during the run-in,”…
Manchester United no longer lord it over their Premier League rivals but are still a club the world’s top players dream of joining, according to former Reds defender Gary Pallister. The Old Trafford outfit’s fall from grace since the retirement of manager Alex Ferguson in 2013 has been painful, with England’s most successful team now involved in an unedifying scrap simply to finish the season in the top four. With an income stream the envy of almost every club in the world United have always signed marquee names, and even a second season in three without any Champions League involvement,…
Sadio Mane’s red card for serious foul play in Southampton’s Premier League game against Stoke City on Saturday has been overturned, the Football Association said on Tuesday. Mane was sent off by referee Lee Mason in the dying minutes of the match, which Southampton won 2-1, after clashing with Stoke’s Erik Pieters. Southampton appealed against the decision and an independent commission upheld the challenge, the FA said on its website. The Senegal striker will not now have to serve any suspension and is available for Southampton’s next match, at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
Ryan Giggs is ready to become Manchester United’s next manager if Louis van Gaal is shown the door a year early at the end of this season, former club captain Bryan Robson told Reuters. Out of work former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been tipped to takeover at Old Trafford but Robson says United great Giggs, who has been assistant to Van Gaal, would be a perfect choice. “The thing for me is that Van Gaal was always going to be a three-year contract with Ryan working under him so that they could see whether he was ready to step…
Watford’s reward for knocking out FA Cup holders Arsenal is a semifinal date with Crystal Palace, while Everton will take on Manchester United or West Ham in the other tie at Wembley. After handing Arsenal their first FA Cup defeat since February 2013 with a surprise 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals at the Emirates Stadium, Monday’s semifinal draw pitted Watford against fellow Premier League side Palace. The Hornets, bidding to reach the final for the first time since losing to Everton in the 1984 showpiece, won 2-1 at Palace in February, but lost at home to the Eagles in September.…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side face an almost impossible task when they travel to face a red-hot Barcelona on Wednesday looking to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in six years. As so often in the second half of Wenger’s 20-year reign, Arsenal will travel to the Camp Nou with a sense of what might have been. They had their chances to lead at the Emirates three weeks ago before Barca’s brilliant forward triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez cut through them with an unerring ease they…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger labelled the intense criticism he and his players are under a ‘farce’ as supporter anger rose following their 2-1 defeat at home to Watford in the FA Cup on Sunday. Arsenal have managed only one win in their last seven games in all competitions to fall eight points behind Leicester City in the Premier League, with some fans unveiling a banner at Hull City last week calling for Wenger to leave. With their bid to become the first club since Blackburn Rovers in the 1880s to win three successive FA Cups over, Arsenal now face holders…
Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes has labelled Arsenal a “small team” and played down the north London side’s Premier League title chances after the Hornets ended their FA Cup campaign on Sunday. Goals from Odion Ighalo and Adlene Guedioura dashed the Gunners’ hopes of becoming the first club since Blackburn Rovers in the 1880s to win the competition three years in a row. Arsenal suffered their 13th defeat in all competitions this season, three more than last campaign, with at least 10 games left to play. “It is the best time to play Arsenal and we came to the match very…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that he felt “sad” after seeing his side’s two-year reign as FA Cup holders ended by a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Watford on Sunday. FA Cup winners in 2014 and 2015, Arsenal were bidding to become the first team to win the competition for three consecutive years since Blackburn Rovers between 1884 and 1886. But their hopes of a record-extending 13th FA Cup triumph were shattered at the Emirates Stadium as Watford prevailed courtesy of second-half goals from Odion Ighalo and Adlene Guedioura. “Our fantastic run has come to an end on a day where…
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique admitted his side couldn’t be in better form heading into the second-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Arsenal after sweeping aside Getafe 6-0 on Saturday. The European champions already hold a 2-0 lead from the first-leg and look destined to make the quarterfinals for the ninth straight year as they haven’t been beaten in 37 games in all competitions stretching back to October. “This is a unique team, different to the rest and which does things that make it seem like there is nothing the opponent can do,” said Enrique. “It is a great…
Defender Thomas Vermaelen has urged his Barcelona teammates not to underestimate how dangerous Arsenal will be in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. Vermaelen, who left the Londoners for the Catalan giants in 2014, said his old club must still be regarded as a serious threat even though they lost the first leg 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium last month. “Of course we will be the favourites but I know Arsenal and I know it’s not going to be easy,” he said on the eve of the match. “You can never…
Centre-backs Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi were forced off by injury inside 23 minutes as Manchester City made a calamitous start to Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Dynamo Kiev. Captain Kompany, who has been dogged by recurring calf problems, was forced off in the seventh minute after hurting himself when he slipped in a tussle for possession with Dynamo midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskiy. Otamendi was injured in a heavy collision with Buyalskiy moments later and after initially trying to play on, he signalled to the bench that he would not be able to continue. The departures of Kompany and Otamendi left…
Manchester City kept a lifeless Dynamo Kiev in check to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time on Tuesday with a 0-0 draw that came at an injury cost for Manuel Pellegrini’s men. City captain Vincent Kompany limped off after five minutes with a muscle problem and fellow defender Nicolas Otamendi followed soon after as the hosts moved into the last eight with a 3-1 aggregate success that was entirely due to their first-leg victory. There was little in terms of goalmouth action throughout the return leg at the Etihad Stadium, with City having the game’s…
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said he was still refusing to look at the Premier League table despite his team re-establishing a five-point lead by beating Newcastle United 1-0. Shinji Okazaki’s stunning 25th-minute overhead bicycle kick gave Leicester a hard-earned 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Monday and left them needing 20 points from their final eight games to complete one of the most improbable title triumphs in the history of European football. But while teams like Arsenal and Manchester City continue to flounder in their slipstream, Ranieri was insistent that neither he nor his players are allowing…