Sergio Aguero’s electrifying form has dragged Manchester City out of their early-season slumber and they are ready to start chasing down Premier League title rivals Chelsea, according to fellow Argentine Pablo Zabaleta. . Aguero’s hat-trick in a 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich last month threw City a Champions League lifeline and he scored twice more in a 4-1 thrashing of Sunderland on Wednesday that kept Manuel Pellegrini’s side six points behind Chelsea. . “For the team to have him playing at this level is a massive plus for us all because when we haven’t been at our best, his goals…
Author: David F.
Bayern Munich enter December seven points clear in the Bundesliga and seemingly certain of another German title despite another six months left in the season. . It may seem simplistic to suggest Bayern already have their 25th German league title in the bag with November barely over. . But Pep Guardiola’s Bavarian giants are on course to beat last season’s record of winning the title with seven games to spare and it will take an exceptional performance by one of their rivals to bridge the gap. . At the same stage last year, Bayern had a four-point lead, compared to…
Majeed Waris wants the Black Stars to use the 2015 Afcon to wipe the shame from Brazil. . The fiasco of the nation at the global showpiece was well documented and Ghanaians are still embarrassed by it. . Majeed Waris wants the Black Stars to use the 2015 Afcon to wipe the shame from Brazil. . The fiasco of the nation at the global showpiece was well documented and Ghanaians are still embarrassed by it. . The diminutive striker who broke his 13-month goal duck with the opener for Ghana in the 3-1 win over Togo last Wednesday would be…
Borussia Dortmund are last in the Bundesliga after their latest defeat on Sunday and the champions in 2011 and 2012 will hope that having finally hit the bottom, they can only go up from their current position. . Borussia Dortmund may sit top of Champions League Group D but Sunday’s latest domestic loss has left them bottom of the Bundesliga. . “The middle of the relegation battle,” was how sport director Michael Zorc chose to describe Dortmund’s situation following the 2-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. . The Dortmund homepage, cataloguing their misery, pointed out that never before had the side…
Valencia will hand out a life ban when they identify the fan who hit Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on the head with a plastic bottle, the club said on Monday. . Messi was celebrating Barca’s 94th-minute winner with his teammates near the corner flag at the Mestalla stadium on Sunday when someone threw the bottle from the stands. . To add insult to injury the Argentina captain was then booked for time wasting. . Messi was examined by a member of Barca’s medical staff after the final whistle and did not appear to be hurt, giving the thumbs-up as he…
It would take an “astronomical fee” for Swansea City to part with in-form Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony, manager Gary Monk said on Monday. . The 25-year-old has scored 18 Premier League goals in 2014, two more than his nearest rivalSergio Aguero, and has helped the Welsh team climb to eighth in the table with six goals in his last seven appearances. . According to media reports, Bony was a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurduring the close-season but he remained at the Liberty Stadium and last month signed a one-year contract extension that ties him to the club…
Manchester City star Yaya Toure has insisted criticism of his performances won’t distract him from concentrating on helping the champions overhaul leaders Chelsea in the Premier League title race. . Ivory Coast midfielder Toure scored the opening goal with a typical 20-yard strike as City leapfrogged Southampton into second place with a 3-0 win at the Saints’ St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. . City are now six points adrift of Chelsea heading into their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday. . The 31-year-old Toure has had a difficult few months, including having to cope with the death of his brother, but…
Manchester City star Yaya Toure has insisted criticism of his performances won’t distract him from concentrating on helping the champions overhaul leaders Chelsea in the Premier League title race. . Ivory Coast midfielder Toure scored the opening goal with a typical 20-yard strike as City leapfrogged Southampton into second place with a 3-0 win at the Saints’ St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. . City are now six points adrift of Chelsea heading into their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday. . The 31-year-old Toure has had a difficult few months, including having to cope with the death of his brother, but…
Neymar’s dad and agent told a Spanish court investigating alleged tax fraud in his son’s signing by Barcelona that the player rejected a much higher offer from Real Madrid of €150 million. . Barcelona initially said the signing of the 22-year-old player from Brazilian side Santos in May 2012 cost them €57.1 million. . But after questions were raised about the deal by a Barcelona club member, the club in January revealed the deal was worth €86.2 million when including the player’s signing bonus, commission, marketing deals and other agreements. . The club member, Jordi Cases, accused former Barcelona president…
Lionel Messi is not thinking about breaking Telmo Zarra’s La Liga scoring record of 251 goals despite having closed to within three of the former Athletic Bilbao and Spain forward. . Four-times World Player of the Year Messi has scored five times in Spain’s top flight this season, including two against Granada last weekend, taking his overall tally to 248, and has a chance to add to his haul in Saturday’s match at Rayo Vallecano. . “Right now I am not thinking about the record,” Messi said at a promotional event in Barcelona on Thursday. . “But it is nice…