Two-year-old son of Manchester City captain, Vincent Kompany took over his dad’s Twitter account on Wednesday, December 30. Fans of the Belgium international were surprised to see nursery rhymes and links to nursery rhyme videos on his timeline before he came on to reveal that his son, Kai tweeted them. “Just realised that my 2y old son has been tweeting his favourite videos.,” Kompany said on Twitter. “I’ll just leave the links on for other parents out there.” Kompany married his Mancunian girlfriend, Carla Higgs, a lifelong Manchester City supporter on 11 June 2011 and together they have a daughter,…
Author: David F.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has vowed to score even more goals after the winter break following a stunning first half of the season. Lewandowski has netted 23 times in 26 club appearances so far this term, but feels he can still improve. “It’s definitely been my best half-season at Bayern to date. I’ve scored lots of goals in the Bundesliga and the Champions League,” Lewandowski told Bayern’s official website. “In the past few years I’ve usually done better after the winter break than before. I don’t mind if that happens again this time. “I’ll definitely do everything I can…
Luis Suarez struck twice and Lionel Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona who set a new Spanish record of goals in a calendar year with a 4-0 win over Real Betis that lifted them top of La Liga on Wednesday. Late strikes from Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann gave Atletico a 2-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano while Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and missed another as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 3-1. Barcelona and Atletico have 38 points with the Catalan side having played a game fewer, two more than third-placed Real. Messi slid home his 425th goal…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone lauded his team’s character after a hard-fought 2-0 win at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. The Liga giants were made to wait until late on to secure their win as Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann struck in the final three minutes to see them return to winning ways following a 1-0 loss to Malaga prior to the short mid-season break. Simeone said the goals in the dying stages were a credit to Atletico’s will and desire in their final game of the year. “In the first half, both teams played in two different ways, each respecting…
Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola has dismissed speculation that Barcelona are leading the race to sign the Juventus midfielder at the end of the season. The France star has a contract with Juve until June 2019, but clubs such as Barca, Manchester City and Chelsea are all believed to be interested in signing him. Spanish and European champions Barca were thought to be in pole position for Pogba, but Raiola claims that is not necessarily the case. “The big clubs will come knocking for Paul again at the end of the season. I don’t know how much chance Juventus have…
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has stated that the game against Watford at Vicarage Road will be a difficult one. Watford, led by Nigeria forward Odion Ighalo who has scored in each of his last six matches, have been one of the form teams of the season so far, after posting some decent results. Speaking ahead of the match in his press conference on Thursday, Pellegrini said Watford’s displays doesn’t surprise him. “I’m not surprised Watford are doing so well. They have a very good coach and a good squad. It will be a difficult game,” Pellegrini said. The Chilean…
Valencia boss Gary Neville says he is “committed” to the Spanish club and is not using them as a stepping stone to the Manchester United or England roles. The 40-year-old, who was appointed at the Mestalla on 2 December, is also assistant to England coach Roy Hodgson, and played 602 games for United. “Me being England or Manchester United manager in six months – I can assure you it’s not going to happen,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s nonsense. Honestly, nonsense.” Neville has overseen five matches as Valencia boss, beating third-tier Barakaldo in the Copa del Rey, securing draws…
Chelsea are set to recall Christian Atsu from his loan spell at Bournemouth, sources have told Theinfostride. Atsu is poised to become the second Chelsea player to return to the club after a disappointing loan stint away from Stamford Bridge, with Patrick Bamford also due to cut short his spell with Crystal Palace. Ghana international Atsu joined Bournemouth on a season-long loan in the summer and the winger was expected to play a big role in Bournemouth’s first ever campaign in the top flight, but he has not featured in the Premier League this season. The 23-year-old made just two…
As the figurehead of the team that won pretty much everything in 2015, it was always going to take something special to eclipse Lionel Messi. You may disagree, but I say step forward, Loretta Lynch. Decades of newspaper exposes shook FIFA but never toppled it. Internal investigations drew predictably benign conclusions and kept the details of their findings to themselves. But FIFA had no answer to the U.S. attorney general. “They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest,” she said as she threw down scores of criminal charges. “Instead they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed Mesut Ozil as the “complete athlete” and praised the German’s new-found leadership qualities. Ozil’s outstanding form has been the catalyst to the Gunners’ climb to the top of the Premier League table heading into 2016 as they go in search of a first title in 12 years. The 27-year-old club-record signing has been immaculate in recent weeks and has already notched up 16 assists in the league this season. The latest came in Monday’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth, with Ozil then adding the second goal himself after neat interplay with Olivier Giroud. With the…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit back at Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce, who called him “a soft German” after the Merseysiders’ 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light. Klopp believed Sunderland’s Jeremain Lens should have been sent off rather than booked for a wild challenge on Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho. And he told a news conference ahead of his side’s visit to West Ham: “The Hammers: maybe it’s more my second name than ‘soft’. “It’s absolutely not a problem. A lot of people have said worse things about me, so it’s not a problem. ‘Soft German’ — I think that’s…
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo said that he isn’t bothered by those who criticise him for being overconfident. “There are people who hate me, who say I’m vain, or arrogant, or this or that,” Ronaldo said in an interview to be published in Sunday’s El Mundo newspaper in Spain. “That’s part of my success. I was born to be the best. That’s the way I am, and if all my achievements in football are down to that, then I wouldn’t change a thing. I go to bed every night with a clear conscience and sleep perfectly well.” Ronaldo on Wednesday…
Manuel Pellegrini suggested Manchester City will not make any signings in the January transfer window as he declared they already have a “complete squad.” Pellegrini shrugged off speculation that City will move for Real Madrid midfielder Isco, a player he managed at Malaga and tried to sign when he was appointed at the Etihad Stadium in 2013. Although City were active in the last January transfer window, bringing in striker Wilfried Bony at the start of 2015, his club were English football’s biggest spenders last summer, paying out more than £150 million as Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph…
Louis van Gaal has praised his Manchester United players for a “fantastic” response under intense pressure during their 0-0 draw with Chelsea. And the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager believes the former Premier League champions’ fans are the best at any club he has coached — despite polls showing the vast majority wanted him to be sacked. While there were banners calling for Van Gaal’s removal at Old Trafford on Monday, the crowd got behind his team as they ended a four-game losing run with a committed performance against the defending champions, which reduced calls for his own…
Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United had a very good 2015 until December, and is targeting the Premier League title in 2016. After a run of four defeats in five games, United are sixth in the Premier League and have been knocked out of the Champions League. But Van Gaal believes much of the calendar year has been a success, with United achieving his first target by finishing fourth last season to secure a return to the Champions League. He was happy with their start to the current campaign before a run of eight games without a win left them…
Lionel Messi scored on his 500th Barcelona appearance as the European champions moved back to the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Real Betis as La Liga returned from a curtailed winter break on Wednesday. Atletico Madrid remain level on points with Barca thanks to two goals in the final two minutes from Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann to emerge 2-0 victors at Rayo Vallecano. And Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and missed a penalty as Real Madrid eased the pressure on under-fire coach Rafael Benitez with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad to stay two points behind…
There will be a few ‘hiccups’ as Arsenal bid to lift the Premier League title for the first time since 2004 but the squad is strong enough to pull through any situation, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has said. The Gunners were quick to respond to Saturday’s embarrassing 4-0 league loss to Southampton by easily dispatching relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Monday, thanks to goals from Gabriel and in-form Mesut Ozil. The win meant Arsene Wenger’s men moved to the top of the table, a point ahead of Leicester City, who host fourth-placed Manchester City on Tuesday. “We’re in a strong position now, it’s…
Manager Arsene Wenger has rejected doubts about Arsenal’s title credentials, saying statistics back him up about the Premier League leaders on New Year’s day. Monday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Bournemouth ensured the Gunners end the year on top of the table, above Leicester City on goal difference. Arsenal have ended the year on top of the Premier League table on three previous occasions in the last 14 years but they could not go on to win the title in any of those seasons. “It shows you that we have a good chance as the statistics show you that eight of…
Southampton could be in the market for a striker in the January transfer window if injuries persist but are unlikely to bring in any other reinforcements, manager Ronald Koeman said on Thursday. “I’m not a manager that I’m in a panic because we have now the 12th position in the table,” Koeman, whose side beat leaders Arsenal 4-0 last Saturday and then lost 2-1 at West Ham United on Monday, said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Norwich City. “We know our players, we know our qualities and if there is something to do in business it’s about how recovered (Graziano)…
Four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has warned Barcelona’s rivals that the European champions are determined to match their five-trophy haul from 2015 in the coming year. Messi scored on his 500th appearance for the club as Barca rounded off the year in style with a 4-0 win over Real Betis to move back to the top of La Liga on Wednesday. The Catalans lead Atletico Madrid on goal difference and Real Madrid by two points as well as having a game in hand on their rivals from the Spanish capital. And having won the Champions League, La…