Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was in no mood to concede his team’s Premier League title challenge was over after watching them dominate possession but lose 1-0 at Burnley on Saturday. . The result was a major blow for the champions who are chasing a third title in four seasons but remain second behind Chelsea on 58 points with nine matches to play. . The full repercussions of Saturday’s defeat may not be felt until Sunday when Chelsea, who have 63 points and two matches in hand, play Southampton at Stamford Bridge. . “When you have a mathematical chance you…
Author: David F.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his side to be on the front foot against Swansea as they continue their battle to finish in the Premier League top four. . The Reds travel to the Liberty Stadium on Monday in striking distance of a Champions League place with 10 matches of the campaign remaining. . Rodgers’ team are the league’s form team with an undefeated record in 2015 and have been victorious in seven out of their last eight matches. . But he does not want them to lose sight of the challenges ahead and urged them to set the…
Diego Costa ended his seven-game drought but the Chelsea striker’s 18th Premier League goal of the season was not enough to secure victory as the leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. . Jose Mourinho’s side were desperate to bounce back from their midweek Champions League exit against Paris Saint Germain and take advantage of Manchester City’s surprise defeat against Burnley on Saturday. . But Dusan Tadic’s 19th penalty cancelled out Costa’s 11th minute opener and denied the Blues the chance to establish an even more commanding lead over the chasing pack. .…
Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster can look forward to an England call up next week with the praise of club coach Ronald Koeman ringing in his ears after an outstanding performance in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea. . But Forster, who saved attempts by Oscar, Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta and Loic Remy as Chelsea peppered his goal in the second half, was not the only Saints player whose showing gives them hope of a run-out against Lithuania and Italy this month. . London-born full backs Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand returned to the capital with outstanding performances against the Premier League…
Wayne Rooney cheekily poked fun at claims he had come off badly in a boxing bout in his own kitchen by miming a knockout blow after scoring against Tottenham on Sunday. . Rooney’s day began badly when video footage emerged of the United and England striker being apparently knocked out in his kitchen by former teammate Phil Bardsley during a supposedly friendly sparring session. . The Sun newspaper reported the footage was shot in Rooney’s kitchen on February 22. . In the video, the pair pull on boxing gloves and trade blows as they spar in Rooney’s Cheshire mansion. .…
Chelsea’s disappointing 1-1 home draw with Southampton on Sunday could mean the Premier League title battle is no longer a two-horse race, according to manager Jose Mourinho. . It has appeared for months that the championship crown would go to leaders Chelsea or second-placed Manchester City but Mourinho believes it would be unwise to rule out teams like Arsenal and Manchester United. . “I agree that Chelsea not winning at home is not a good result but we had a five-point lead before the match and afterwards we have a six-point lead,” the Portuguese told reporters at Stamford Bridge. .…
The race for this season’s regular-season MVP award remains tighter than ever, with five candidates showing why it won’t be an easy choice to make. . Looking back at the candidates’ performances in games played from 9 to 16 March, LeBron James’s showings are undeniable, while Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook can’t be ruled out. . Four-time MVP James, who averaged 26 points in that timescale, sparked the Cavaliers (43-26) to the top-2 in the Eastern Conference thanks to their 3-1 record. . The Cavaliers are no longer the struggling team that faced an…
Lionel Messi was in the unusual position of having to laud one of his opponents for once as Joe Hart produced a sensational performance, albeit to no avail, as Barcelona eliminated Manchester City from the Champions League on Wednesday. . Hart made 10 saves on the night to restrict Barca to a 1-0 victory thanks to Ivan Rakitic’s solitary strike on the half-hour mark which sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph. . Messi teed up the Croatian with a wonderful assist, but his quest to move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history was frustrated…
Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels insists his side would soon return to the Champions League after exiting Europe with an emphatic 3-0 defeat at home to Juventus. . A brace from Carlos Tevez and an Alvaro Morata tap-in at Dortmund on Wednesday put Juve into the quarterfinals and sealed a 5-1 win on aggregate in the last 16 tie. . Tevez blasted home a third-minute thunderbolt when he was left unmarked on the edge of the area which gave Dortmund a mountain to climb virtually from the kick-off. . With Dortmund currently 10th in the league, they also face an uphill…
Goal-scorer Alvaro Morata insists Juventus fear no-one in the draw for the Champions League’s quarterfinals after their emphatic 3-0 win at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. . Carlos Tevez scored twice as Juventus sealed a 5-1 win on aggregate in the last 16 tie as he and Morata, who had each scored in the 2-1 first-leg win, again did the damage in Dortmund. . Just as he had done in Turin, Tevez gave his side an early lead with a breath-taking strike to catch out the Dortmund defence. . After setting up Morata for a tap-in on 70 minutes, Tevez added…
Bayern Munich put the finishing touches on a perfect week’s work as they defeated Werder Bremen 4-0 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 14 points. Pep Guardiola’s side made it three wins in seven days, scoring 14 goals and conceding just one, as they not only padded their lead in the domestic flight but also qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals. . German international striker Thomas Mueller grabbed his fifth goal in a week with a left foot shot past Raphael Wolf to put the champions 1-0 in front on 24 minutes at…
Kevin De Bruyne set VfL Wolfsburg on the way to an easy 3-0 Bundesliga win over lowly Freiburg on Sunday that moved them closer to a place in the Champions League next season. . The Wolves strengthened their grip on second spot with 53 points from 25 games, nine clear of Borussia Moenchengladbach who went back into third place with an equally straightforward 2-0 victory over Hanover 96 in Sunday’s other game. . Wolfsburg remained 11 points behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich who thumped Werder Bremen 4-0 on Saturday. . The Wolves showed no signs of fatigue following their Europa…
Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann is back in training and could return between the posts for Saturday’s important Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen. . Faehrmann had his first full training session on Tuesday since partially tearing a cruciate knee ligament two months ago. . No 2 Fabian Giefer is still nursing a groin problem and third-choice teenager Timon Wellenreuther has been inconsistent in his appearances over the past weeks. . Schalke are fifth in the standings, one place and three points below Leverkusen and five points behind Moenchengladbach in the fight for Champions League berths. The top three gain direct entry…
Super Falcons head coach, Edwin Okon has named his final 18-man squad for the All Africa Games (AAG) qualifying match against mali on Saturday at the Stade Modibbo Keita in Bamako. . The winners of the two-legged encounter will automatically qualify for the football event of the upcoming quadrennial multiple sports fiesta in Congo Brazzaville. . Falcons captain, Evelyn Nwabuoku, Francisca Ordega, Osinachi Ohale, Ini Umotong, Ibubeleye Whyte, Chinwendu Ihezuo, among others made the final cut. . Okon said the players were chosen on their merit and will certainly deliver the goods against the West African foes. . “Fitness level…
Smouha coach Helmy Toulan insists Sunday’s 0-1 loss to Enyimba is not a bad result. . The “Blue Wave” lost narrowly to the People’s Elephants who struck via Raphael Boumsong in the 56th minute of the first leg, first round Caf Champions League contest. . Toulan said he prosecuted Sunday’s game with reserve players as he was forced to make do without the services of no less than ten of his first team players. . “I am satisfied because I did not play this game with ten of my first team players. . “I am talking about extremely outstanding players…
Brown Ideye and Anthony Ujah have been recalled to the Nigerian men’s national team, the Super Eagles, for two international friendly matches after recent snubs by the selectors. . The two strikers were part of the Nigerian squad to the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup in Brazil but were excluded from the team to the 2014 World Cup in which the Super Eagles were eliminated in the second round by France. . Ideye last featured in an international for Nigeria in the 2-2 draw against Italy in November 2013 when he came on as substitute for Victor Moses. . But his…
Super Eagles goalkeeper and captain Vincent Enyeama will most likely win his 100th senior cap for Nigeria with his inclusion in the 28-man squad for the friendly ties against Bolivia and South Africa. . The three-time Fifa World Cup star presently on 99 caps heads a list that also includes Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi and Ahmed Musa. . In-form England-based duo Odion Ighalo and Brown Ideye, Germany-based Anthony Ujah and Leon Balogun as well as China-based Aaron Samuel, who scored two goals in the futile campaign for a place at the 30th Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial…
El-Kanemi Warriors captain Bamai Bukar is confident his side will improve as the 2014/15 season progresses. . Bukar was busy in the midfield when his side travelled to Kwara United, but ended on the losing side. . “We have new players in the team and we’re working to play as a team. The team will make progress,” he told supersport.com. . Mustapha Ibrahim reduced the tally with a beautiful goal from outside the box after Kwara United led 2-0 during the break. . Top stars like Reuben Ogbonnaya, Emmanuel Ajia, Obioma Arinze and Joel Djondang, among others, left El-Kanemi for…
Carlos Tevez scored twice and set up another as Juventus crushed Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on Wednesday to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals for only the second time since 2006 with a 5-1 aggregate victory. . The Argentine forward drilled in from distance after three minutes and then set up Alvaro Moratafor their second goal 20 minutes from time. Tevez added his second late in the game with the Germans well beaten. . Serie A leaders Juventus, unbeaten in their last 12 matches away from home in all competitions, were never threatened by toothless Dortmund who had high hopes of…
A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona completely outclassed Manchester City as an Ivan Rakitic strike secured a 1-0 win on Wednesday that sent the Spanish giants into the Champions League quarterfinals 3-1 on aggregate. . Messi has been in blistering form for the Catalan side and he delighted the home fans in a packed Nou Camp as he relentlessly teased the City players with his party tricks. . Holding the advantage from the first leg, Barca could afford to sit back and hit the Premier League side on the break. . City struggled badly in defence against Barca’s pace and movement, with…