Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne says Jurgen Klopp’s vibrant personality has given his side with the belief they can win the Premier League this season. Klopp’s side are 11 points behind leaders Leicester City in ninth place as they prepare to face Watford at Vicarage Road on Sunday. But England right-back Clyne believes Klopp has already made such a positive impression since replacing Brendan Rodgers as Reds boss in October that a title challenge is still a distinct possibility. Liverpool are without a win in their last three matches in all competitions, yet morale remains high after they recovered to rescue…
Author: David F.
Chelsea continued to keep counsel over Mourinho’s successor on Friday morning, but Australia national team bosses had already seemingly let the cat out of the bag. Former Socceroos coach Hiddink was praised by previous employers Football Federation Australia in a statement that effectively confirmed Hiddink’s temporary role at Chelsea ahead of any official word from the west London club. “Thank you doesn’t seem enough. Sad sad day,” posted Terry on Instagram as the fallout over Mourinho’s exit continued. “Gonna miss you Boss. The very best I have EVER worked with, unbelievable memories together.” Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo cited “palpable…
Making them seem a lot worse is Javier Hernandez. Sold to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, the Mexican striker has scored 15 times in his last 12 games. Now, he’s rubbing salt into the wound of United boss Louis van Gaal. Hernandez has opened up on the reasons behind his transfer to Leverkusen, claiming van Gaal had told him there would only be a “one per cent chance of playing” at Old Trafford. The Dutch manager has since been forced to rely heavily on a host of youngsters up front, including 20-year-old Anthony Martial. Start of sidebar. Skip to end…
Chelsea’s players had no hand in manager Jose Mourinho’s sacking, says technical director Michael Emenalo. The defending champions are one point above the relegation zone after losing nine of their first 16 Premier League matches this season. Emenalo said there was a “palpable discord between manager and players”. Asked about the role of the squad in Mourinho’s exit, he told Chelsea TV: “It’s very easy to make that inference but it is not one the club accepts.” Emenalo said the squad consisted of the same group of players who won the league and League Cup “in style” last season while…
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku says a top four finish place is a “very realistic” target this season. The Toffees are 10th in the Premier League and six points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, who hold the final Champions League qualifying spot. Everton host surprise leaders Leicester on Saturday (15:00 GMT). “We want to do well in the League Cup and FA Cup but the Champions League spot is the main goal,” Lukaku, 22, told BBC Radio 5 live. “It is very realistic when you see the results in the league.” While Leicester top the table, Crystal Palace, West Ham and…
Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro is to continue her legal case against Chelsea and ex-manager Jose Mourinho. Carneiro is suing Chelsea for constructive dismissal and breach of contract, and there is a separate but connected legal claim against Mourinho for alleged discrimination. Ahead of a first hearing on 6 January, Chelsea filed their defence before the midnight deadline on Thursday. Mourinho was sacked by the Premier League champions on Thursday. A date for the full tribunal will be set in the new year, and Mourinho and the Chelsea hierarchy will be compelled to give evidence in person. Carniero’s claim includes…
Manchester City are constantly tortured by the idea that they should be better. This is despite the fact that they haven’t finished below second place since the 2010-11 season and they’ve won two titles in the past four years. And yet, whether it’s lack of accomplishment in the Champions League, or the sheer amount of money at work behind the scenes, or the collection of stars that money has brought, somehow City just seem like they’re underwhelming, even when they keep putting up results. This year they sit third in the Premier League, just three points off Leicester City and…
Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc has called on his players to end the year with a bang by breaking the record for the most points collected in the first half of a Ligue 1 campaign. PSG travel to face Caen on Saturday knowing that a sixteenth win in 19 league matches would take them to 51 points — one more than Lyon managed at the same stage of the 2006-2007 campaign. The defending French champions sit 17 points clear at the summit and they will be out to put further distance between them and one of the surprise teams in…
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Angel Di Maria thinks his club can bring his pal Lionel Messi to the team in the nearest future. The Barcelona talisman’s future is somewhat unclear as his club seek to retain the services of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez amid interest from some of Europe’s top clubs. Di Maria thinks where Messi ultimately ends up is down to money and said that PSG can compete with any club in the world on that front. “I hope that PSG can bring Messi to Paris one day,” Di Maria said to RMC. “Everything is possible. It is all…
Wayne Rooney might make his 500th Manchester United appearance against Norwich on Saturday as Louis van Gaal’s injury problems is reducing. United captain Rooney has missed United’s last two games with the ankle injury he sustained in the 1-1 draw against Leicester. He is in contention to return with Van Gaal telling MUTV: “It is possible that he shall play [against Norwich] but we have to wait and see.” The Dutchman could welcome three players back with both Chris Smalling and Ander Herrera set to be in Saturday’s squad. Defender Smalling suffered a groin problem in the 3-2 defeat to…
Bayern Munich have extended the contracts of Thomas Mueller, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez to 2021 and veteran Xabi Alonso has added a year to his deal, the German champions said on Friday. With speculation swirling around coach Pep Guardiola and his potential move to the Premier League at the end of the season, the contract extensions were a signal of strength for Bayern. Versatile forward Mueller, whose previous contract ran out in 2019, was a top target for almost every major European club for the past seasons. Spain international Martinez, who joined in 2012, signed an extension of his…
Bayern munich coach Pep Guardiola has categorically said his final decision about his future will be made known to the world on Sunday. Speculation exist that the Spaniard will move on to another club when his contract expires, with Manchester City among a number of Premier League sides queueing up for his services. “The club, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and myself have repeated numerous times that we will speak after the last match (of the year) at Hanover. That hasn’t changed. You’ll know the day after tomorrow (Sunday),” Guardiola told a press conference on the eve of his club’s closing Bundesliga outing…
Rafael Benitez could take charge of his last Real Madrid match should the Spanish giants fail to end a ridiculous slump to see off humble city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Madrid have lost three of their last five league games to slip five points behind leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with Benitez rumoured to be one more defeat away from the sack. However, it would take a monumental collapse for Real to fail to add to a run of 14 consecutive wins against Rayo stretching back over 15 years. Barca’s participation in the Club World Cup this weekend does…
Manchester city has boldly he personally will not miss recently sacked chelsea manager Jose Mourinho but admitted it is a big loss to the league itself. The both clashed regularly during their title battles, with Pellegrini accusing Mourinho of wanting to “take credit for everything” when Chelsea won the league last season. Asked about Chelsea’s decision to axe Mouri “It’s not for me to miss him but the Premier Leagunho following nine losses in 16 league games this season, Pellegrini stopped short of a ringing endorsement of the Portuguese who described City’s 3-0 win over the champions this season as…
Jose Mourinho’s sacking by Chelsea has left Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce unsure what to expect from the struggling champions when his team visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Mourinho was sent packing on Thursday after a terrible run of results have left the club only a point above the Premier League relegation zone in 16th place, three points above Sunderland in 19th. Chelsea attributed the dismissal to a “palpable discord” between the Portuguese and the players, and while Allardyce expects a reaction from the team, he is also intrigued by how the reaction from the fans might affect matters on the…
Guus Hiddink is “absolutely perfect” to temporarily serve as Chelsea’s saviour following Jose Mourinho’s sacking, former Blues assistant boss Ray Wilkins said on Friday. The 69-year-old Dutchman has emerged as a leading contender to take over the ailing Premier League champions on an interim basis. Hiddink played a similar role in 2009, appointed after the dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari and delivering Chelsea to FA Cup glory. “As an interim manager, he would love the challenge, I’m sure,” Wilkins, whose most recent stint with Chelsea’s backroom team ended in 2010, told talkSPORT. “He would be the one person I would…
Chelsea owner Roman Abrahamovic face atough task ahead searching for his 10th manager inhis 12-year-long years as the owner of the club. Jose Mourinho, sacked on Thursday, came back to Chelsea in 2013 promising to build a legacy, but he instead brought characteristic short-term success, followed by a staggeringly rapid collapse. He leaves behind a squad full of underperforming big-name players such as Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard and in which highly regarded youngsters like Ruben Loftus-Cheek remain desperately short of top-level experience. Abramovich is a known admirer of Pep Guardiola, who has given youth its head at both Barcelona…
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has ruled out an immediate comeback to the Santiago Bernabeu for Jose Mourinho, despite remembering “good memories” of the special one’s spell in charge of Madrid. Mourinho left Chelsea “by mutual consent” according to the English champions on Thursday, two years after returning to the Premier League from Madrid, where he won one La Liga title in three years in charge. However, just as in his two different time at Chelsea, Mourinho engaged in plenty of controversy in the Spanish capital and left during a dressing room revolt lead by Madrid’s current captain Sergio Ramos,…
Sergio Aguero will be ready for selection for Manchester City against Arsenal in Monday’s vital Premier League match. The Argentina striker’s season has been full of injuries this season and has missed City’s last four games with a heel problem. However, manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed on Friday that the man nicknamed Kun, last season’s Premier League top scorer, has been training normally and is set to return at Arsenal. “Kun is working with the squad without problems. We’ll assess him to see if he’s 100 percent to start the game but I think he’ll be in the squad on Monday,”…
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp ruled out any suggestion of a feud with West Bromwich Albion’s Tony Pulis after being the main target of a funny jibe from his opposite number on Friday. Klopp apologised for not shaking hands after last weekend’s 2-2 Premier League draw, in which his team equalised in the sixth minute of added time, and for “a few words” exchanged with his opposite number during the game. Earlier on Friday Pulis made a sarcastic “apology” of his own for “playing three longer passes in 99 minutes than Liverpool did”. He claimed that Klopp was trying to divert…