Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini claimed that his team could not have played any worse had they tried following their 4-1 drubbing at home to Liverpool on Saturday. An Eliaquim Mangala own goal and strikes by Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Martin Skrtel condemned City to their heaviest home loss since their move from Maine Road to the Etihad Stadium in 2003. “Today we did it all wrong – the performance, the way we defended, the way we went forward. It was a fake night, a fake game,” Pellegrini said in a television interview. “It is difficult to understand. If…
Author: David F.
The Normal One effect began to really take hold on Saturday as Liverpool destroyed poor Manchester City 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium to provide the Merseysiders’ new coach with his most striking Premier League win yet. Liverpool’s confident German boss hailed the emphatic win as feeling “perfect” before insisting that he felt there was a lot more improvement to come from his confident side. Klopp’s men had defeated struggling champions Chelsea 3-1 last month but an own goal from Eliaquim Mangala and two beautifully worked strikes by Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, all in the first 32 minutes, put them…
Louis van Gaal agreed Manchester United are far from pretty to watch after they ground out a 2-1 victory at Watford thanks to Troy Deeney’s late own goal. Van Gaal’s side have been criticised for their conservative style of play under the Dutchman this season, but their latest defensive display brought result at Vicarage Road on Saturday. They had taken an 11th minute lead through Memphis Depay and, although Deeney’s 87th minute penalty ended a run without conceding of 10 hours, United snatched the points at the death when Deeney turned Bastian Schweinsteiger’s effort into his own net in stoppage-time.…
Chelsea captain John Terry expressed his relief after the West Londoners chalked up only their fourth league win of the Premier League campaign on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. Diego Costa’s second half strike was enough to defeat Norwich 1-0 as the defending champions finally had something to celebrate after an appalling start to the season. Terry, who had a strong game at the heart of the Chelsea back-four, says the win was a welcome boost to the squad who still lie a distant 14 points behind surprise leaders Leicester down in 15th position. “We’re delighted to win,” Terry told Chelsea…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hopes that his side’s brilliant 4-1 dismantling of former Premier League leaders Manchester City will convince his players that they can overcome any obstacle. Roberto Firmino scored his first Liverpool goal and set up two more as the visitors surged to a 3-0 lead inside the first 32 minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Martin Skrtel classic goal to seal the victory late on after Sergio Aguero had reduced the deficit shortly before half-time. Liverpool have now beaten champions Chelsea and City in successive away games and while they lie six points off the…
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino reduced his side’s title chances after they closed to within four points of the Premier League summit by crushing West Ham United 4-1. Harry Kane scored twice, his seventh and eighth goals in five games, and defenders Toby Alderweireld and Kyle Walker were also on point at White Hart Lane on Sunday as Pochettino’s enterprising young team equalled the club record of 12 consecutive Premier League games without defeat. With leaders Leicester City untested and Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United showing signs of vulnerability – not to mention floundering Chelsea – Spurs currently look…
Eden Hazard has been criticized for some weak performances and was benched by Jose Mourinho during Chelsea’s awful start to the campaign, but the Belgian says there is no problem with his manager and backed him to turn things around. Chelsea, who raced to the title with an eight-point margin last season, are currently 15th in the Premier League with 13 games played, 14 points adrift of leaders Leicester City as at last week. Mourinho has also come in for his share of criticism, and speculation about his future swirled with each poor result, but Hazard hopes Chelsea have turned…
Manchester United winger Memphis Depay appreciated assistant manager Ryan Giggs with helping him rediscover his form after scoring his first goal since late September in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Watford. Memphis joined United in June from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven after ending the season as the Dutch league’s top scorer with 22 goals. He made a promising start at Old Trafford, making 13 appearances in a row but he suffered a dip in form. Memphis made his first league appearance on Saturday after being substituted at halftime during the 3-0 loss to Arsenal on Oct. 4. The 21-year-old,…
Javi Martinez scored his first goal for Bayern Munich for two years on Saturday in his side’s 3-1 win at Schalke 04 which opened an eight-point gap between them and the next team. After second-placed Borussia Dortmund’s shock 3-1 defeat at Hamburg on Friday, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern took their chance to extend their lead. David Alaba’s early goal was cancelled out by Schalke’s Max Meyer before Martinez, then Thomas Mueller found the back of the net for Bayern. They took a fortuitous lead in Gelsenkirchen when Alaba’s long-range shot clipped Leon Goretzka’s heel and flew into the Schalke net with…
Bayern Munich will find a “great coach” to replace Pep Guardiola, should the Spaniard not renew his contract which expires next June, says captain Philipp Lahm. “If Guardiola leaves one day, for sure another excellent coach will come along, but first we have to see what happens,” Lahm told German magazine Kicker. Guardiola, 44, is in his final year of his current contract and has said he will announce his future plans before Christmas with the Bundesliga set to start the winter break on December 20. The Spaniard has won 19 titles as coach of either Bayern or Barcelona and…
French legend and Real Madrid reserve team coach Zinedine Zidane has reacted negatively to suggestions he could be set to replace the under-pressure Rafael Benitez in the top job at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid were disgraced 4-0 at home by Barcelona on Saturday to increase the pressure on Benitez after just 16 games in charge. Zidane has been coaching Real Madrid Castilla for the last 18 months, but was deemed not ready for the step up after a disappointing first season in charge. “I am coach of Castilla and Benitez of the first team. Things are fine at the moment.…
Far from having a big ego after his team’s 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique warned on Monday that “flattery weakens” and said the club still had not won jack this season. “Flattery weakens. We are in a phase of flattery but the team is intelligent enough and the players know that playing football and achieving objectives is difficult,” he told reporters. The reigning European champions are targetting to confirm their place in the last 16 of the Champions League when Roma visit the Camp Nou on Tuesday. And they are in a good place – not…
Real Madrid key defenders Marcelo and Sergio Ramos will not play in Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine due to injury, the club said on Monday. After undergoing a series of tests, Brazil left-back Marcelo was diagnosed with a thigh injury, said the club, still recovering from a 4-0 defeat to arch rivals Barcelona in Saturday’s Clasico. Ramos, meanwhile, is still suffering from a dislocated left shoulder that forced him to play with a painkilling injection on Saturday. Real Madrid are already through to the last 16 of the Champions League, although a victory against Shakhtar in…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has ordered Uefa change their rules on doping because he claims the current regulations don’t do enough to cancel out drug cheats. Wenger has been vocal against doping and questioned why Uefa rulings means there is no way of disqualifying a team from continental competition unless more than two players fail a test. His frustration has come to the fore this week as Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Arijan Ademi was handed a four-year ban for failing a drugs test after the Croatian side beat Arsenal in the Champions League in September. Zoran Mamic’s side won 2-1 in…
Jose Mourinho believes Chelsea will start doing their season any good by turning around their troubled season if they can seal qualification for the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday. Mourinho’s side have travelled to Israel to face Maccabi Tel Aviv in their crucial Group G fixture knowing a victory combined with a draw or defeat for Dynamo Kiev against Porto would guarantee their progress to the knockout stages. That would be a significant boost for Mourinho, who has come under fire following Chelsea’s woeful form in the Premier League. Buoyed by Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Norwich on Saturday, the…
Chelsea Football Club incurred a loss of £23.1 million last season, the Premier League champions announced on Monday. The west London club revealed their annual financial results until June 30, 2015 and reported the deficit kept them within Financial Fair Play limits. The Blues, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, announced revenues of £314.3m, marginally down on the 2013-14 high of £319.8m. The figures may lead to some concern, with Chelsea 15th in the Premier League and with an unprecedented run required to secure the riches which accompany Champions League action next term. Chelsea in November 2014 announced a profit…
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez on Monday gave troubled coach Rafael Benitez his full backing, just two days after a horrific 4-0 home defeat to arch rivals Barcelona. “The coach Rafael Benitez has our full support and confidence. He was picked for his professionalism, his achievements, his experience and his ability,” said Perez. Perez, 68, acknowledged “we had a very bad match” against Barcelona, saying he “understood the anger of the fans,” but insisted: “let him (Benitez) work, the victories will come”. Perez said he had spoken with Benitez, 55, immediately after the game and given him his backing, and…
Former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard will wear the famous Reds shirt once again after accepting to play for the club’s ‘Legends’ side in Australia next year. Gerrard is currently on a post-season break from his Los Angeles Galaxy commitments after joining the MLS club from Liverpool earlier this year. The ex-Liverpool captain has spoken with Anfield manager Jurgen Klopp about training at Melwood while he is back on Merseyside. But the 35-year-old midfielder will also be in a Liverpool shirt at the Sydney ANZ on January 7 alongside former teammates including Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and John Arne Riise as…
On wednesday, Nigerian rapper Olamide revealed the artwork and tracklist of his forthcoming 5th studio album titled ‘Eyan Mayweather’. Immediately, the rapper started trending on social media with countless of fans, colleagues sharing and re-posting the album art. Nigerian born American rapper, Wale also joined the party. Wale re-posted the album art on Instagram with the caption, ‘My brother #Baddo on his fifth album, plenty reasons to #behappy . Abi?. All my naija niggas wit me!’. The duo have a yet to be released song together titled ‘Be Happy’, the video for the song has already been shot in Los…
South African rapper, AKA is set to launch his own set of headphones and speakers. The rapper who recently won ‘Best African Collaboration’ award at the just concluded AFRIMA is thinking huge money by taking his brand to a whole new height. AKA announced on his Instagram page that his very own Bluetooth connect headphones and speakers ‘3rd WorldBoss Rocka’ will be released soon and made available to his fans across Africa. Just like Nigerian singer D’banj, who has his own set of customized Beats by Dre headphones, AKA hopes this will be a commercial success and also help promote…