Month: October 2019

A report claims Frank Lampard’s reaction to back-to-back defeats earlier in the season has led Chelsea on their current winning streak.

Since losing at home to Valencia and Liverpool in consecutive matches, the Blues have won four matches in a row against Grimsby Town, Brighton, Lille and Southampton.

And the Daily Mail claims Lampard and his assistant Jody Morris ‘strategically put pressure on their senior players’ after the loss to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Senior pros, including Pedro and Willian, were reportedly told ‘to step up and stop leaving it to the youngsters to secure wins.’

Willian, Pedro, Michy Batshuayi and Ross Barkley have all bagged since that chat with the Blues scoring 15 goals and conceding three in the run of four victories.

The likes of Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount have been showing the older lads how it’s done this campaign and the report adds: ‘the Blues bosses feel they cannot rely on their young guns alone if they are to finish inside the top four’.

The former ‘Invicible’ believes Arsenal currently have some exceptional talents on their books

Robert Pires says he has been impressed by three of Arsenal’s young midfielders this season; Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Matteo Guendouzi.

In particular, the 45-year-old highlighted Nelson’s outstanding performances at Hoffenheim and hopes the youngster can put his experience into practise next season at the Emirates, when he returns from his loan spell.

Nelson joined Hoffenheim on a short-term basis at the beginning of the season and has impressed so far, with six goals from 10 games in the Bundesliga.

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“I think he’s doing well, I follow him at Hoffenheim,” Pires told iNews . 

“He’s a very good player, he’s on loan and I think he needed to play, he needed to prove [himself]. Of course he will come back to Arsenal because he is a great player, because he has a lot of potential and a good future, I hope with Arsenal. But I repeat: for him, the most important [thing] is to play every game.

“He’s a very talented player. You know when you play for Arsenal, if you want to play for Arsenal, you need to be very, very good. Reiss is young, he needs to learn, he knows that’s why he’s on loan in the German league. He needs to play every game but I think he’s on a good road.”

Pires also believes that Arsenal may have found another future superstar in Emile Smith Rowe . 

“Smith Rowe is one of the best young players Arsenal have, because he can play on the right, on the left, good technique, good vision,” said the former Arsenal winger. 

“The last game in the Europa League he scored. So I think Emile is one of the best. He’s very relaxed when he plays and it’s good for him.”

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a superb start to life as a senior Arsenal player, and in six appearances for the first team has registered three goals.

During Pires’ heyday, the Gunners’ squad boasted the likes of Tony Adams, Ray Parlour and Ashley Cole, who had emerged through the club’s youth system, but they were supplemented with the foreign talents such as Patrick Vieria, Thierry Henry and, of course, Pires himself.

The current Arsenal team shares some similarities with Arsene Wenger’s sides of the early 2000s and the signing of Guendouzi last summer highlighted that French connection is still present at the Emirates.

“For Arsenal it’s very important to have a player like Matteo Guendouzi,” said Pires. “He’s a good player and I think he can make a success with Arsenal. I hope so.

“He’s a great player, he’s very talented and he’s very confident.”

The forward says RB Leipzig remain in the frame for next season, but says only one club in Germany is a long-term option

Timo Werner appeared to drop the biggest hint yet that he wants a move to Bayern Munich next season.

The RB Leipzig forward was not able to make much of an impact as the two sides faced off on Wednesday. 

Franck Ribery scored the game’s only goal as Bayern took a 1-0 win in the midweek contest to close the gap on league leaders Borussia Dortmund to just six points and to open up a five-point lead on fourth-placed Leipzig. 

Reports have surfaced in recent days that Werner is pushing for a move to Bayern, with German outlet Bild having claimed that the German giants now view the 22-year-old as a realistic option having seen his development over the last year. 

And Werner has now dropped a rather sizable hint that he sees Bayern as potential landing spot. 

“I’ve had a nice two and a half years at Leipzig, so they are in the picture [for next season],” he told Sky Sports Germany.

“There are other clubs in the picture. If you play in Germany and want to stay in Germany, there is only one club in question.”

Werner has notched 10 goals and two assists in the Bundesliga in this season, matching the goal total of Bayern’s leading scorer Robert Lewandowski.

Bayern boss Niko Kovac also hailed the forward’s skills ahead of their meeting on Wednesday, while attempting to downplay talk of a move being in the works. 

“Timo Werner is a great player with great skills,” Kovac told Kicker. “What happens in the winter or next summer, we’ll leave that alone.”

Werner’s deal with Leipzig runs through the 2020 season, leaving him primed to either sign a new deal or make a move either during the winter window or next summer. 

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Leipzig will close out the first half of their season on Saturday with a clash against Werder Bremen ahead of the winter break.

The club will then be out of action until January 19, when they will take on league leaders Borussia Dortmund. 

Bayern also have one fixture remaining in 2018 as they take on Eintracht Frankfurt as part of Saturday’s slate of games.

A title rematch takes place in Jornada 14, with Jornada 7 giving fans a pair of rivalry matches to watch out for

Liga MX announced its calendar for this spring’s Clausura on Wednesday, with the ball rolling once again on Friday, January 4, in a contest between Monarcas Morelia and Toluca.

Later that night, runner-up Cruz Azul will return to action, traveling to face Puebla just 19 days after the close of its Apertura campaign.

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Cruz Azul will be much better rested for its chance at revenge on Club America with the final rematch between the clubs slated for Jornada 14, with Club America hosting a special Sunday night matchup between the two. They won’t have to wait that long for the first meeting of the year between two ‘grandes,’ the league’s traditional four biggest clubs. Cruz Azul hosts Chivas in the second week of play, 

Jornada 2 also is when the current champion, America, will get back into play. After the club requested and was granted a postponement for its week one match against Necaxa, which now will take place Tuesday, March 5, Las Aguilas will open their Clausura campaign January 11 on the road against Atlas.

Jornada 7 will offer fans a pair of Clasicos, with Chivas hosting Guadalajara rival Atlas in the Clasico Tapatio on February 16 and America traveling just a few miles north to take on Pumas in the Clasico Capitalino. Chivas fans also will have to look out for a home match on a Monday, with their side hosting Veracruz on the night of February 4.

The country’s most important Clasico, the Clasico Nacional between America and Chivas, is slated for March 16 at the Estadio Chivas. The Clasico Regio, between Monterrey’s two clubs Rayados and Tigres, takes place in Jornada 9, with Tigres hosting their rivals in El Volcan on March 2. 

Oscar Pareja, the new coach of Tijuana, makes his Xolos debut against Chivas on January 5 before his home debut arrives January 12 with a contest against Tigres on the turf of the Estadio Caliente.

The league will break for the March FIFA window, playing games March 15-17 and not picking up play again until March 29-31.

Click here for the link to the full calendar.

The Croatian midfielder saw a talismanic team-mate head to Juventus over the summer, but he intends to honour his contract in the Spanish capital

Luka Modric has no issue with Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid after nine “significant” years, but claims he will not be making an imminent move of his own.

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The Blancos saw one talismanic figure head for the exits over the summer, with a five-time Ballon d’Or winner opting to take on a new challenge in Italy with Juventus.

Like Ronaldo, Modric sparked plenty of transfer talk during the last window, with Inter keen on taking him to Serie A.

He was, however, to stay put and add the 2018 Golden Ball to his FIFA Best Award.

Modric is happy with his decision and that of Ronaldo, with Madrid having to move on and address the difficulties they have endured without a record-breaking frontman leading the line.

The Croatian midfielder told Sportske Novosti: “I shared six beautiful seasons with Ronaldo, probably the best years of my career, and we’ve done so much together.

“My personal view is that staying for nine years at Real is significant in terms of how he felt at this fantastic club. Among other things, he won four Ballons d’Or. You can’t achieve this if you are not at peace in the environment.

“I’ve been here for six-and-a-half years and I can say with certainty that we are a good group, with mature people and quality players, good relationships and an excellent atmosphere.

“Of course, there are better and worse days, but the core strength of the group can’t be questioned. If it were, we would not win all of these trophies, either team or individual ones.”

Modric continues to see his own future at Real called into question, but he insists he is going nowhere.

He is tied to a contract until 2020 and has been made aware by Blancos president Florentio Perez that he will not be allowed to break that agreement.

Modric added: “The only thing certain for now is that I’ll be with Madrid until the end of my contract.

“Perez told me straight away in the summer – get it out of your head that you’re leaving Real, we have no theory to let you go.”

Modric has taken in 20 appearances for Madrid this season.

He has contributed three assists across La Liga and Champions League competition, but is still waiting on a first goal of the 2018-19 campaign.

The former Red Devils captain is not impressed with the France international midfielder’s attitude

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has criticised Paul Pogba, accusing the France international of letting his manager and the club down.

Pogba has found himself on the bench in recent weeks, with manager Jose Mourinho becoming increasingly exasperated with the player’s form.

That followed a much-publicised falling out with Mourinho earlier in the season, resulting in the 25-year-old being stripped of the vice-captaincy.

Mourinho even went as far to say that Pogba would never wear the captain’s armband again while he remained in charge at Old Trafford.

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That has inevitably led to almost daily speculation about the midfielder’s future, with some reports suggesting he could move on as early as next month.

Keane admits he is an admirer of Pogba’s abilities but the former Red Devils skipper launched a withering attack on the player’s attitude, questioning his commitment to the club.

“I would [play Pogba], he’s clearly a talented player. Whatever’s going on his head… he seems to be letting the manager down,” Keane, speaking ahead of United’s game at Liverpool on Sunday, told Sky Sports .

“The manager’s brought him to the club, made him captain earlier in the season. Now we don’t see what Pogba’s like on the training pitch or when they’re travelling to matches, but if the guy’s not pulling his weight it doesn’t matter who you are, he deserves to be left out.

“So, I think Mourinho has got to be brave on that side of it, which he is. We go back to characters – if you play for a big club like Manchester United or Liverpool and you’re not in great form then you roll your sleeves up and you become a really good team player.

“[Making him captain] might be Mourinho trying to get him onside – people say he doesn’t do enough to get players onside, but maybe that was a nice touch to say ‘listen, there’s obviously something amiss here, I’m going to make you captain’ and obviously Pogba’s thrown it back in his face.

“He’s obviously done something to really upset him and it must have been really bad because when he’s taken it back off him he’s probably lost the player there with that decision.”

Elsewhere, reigning champions Real Madrid will take on Ajax, Manchester City must tackle Schalke and Tottenham will battle with Borussia Dortmund

Manchester United will face Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp must tackle German opposition in the form of Bayern Munich.

Manchester City take on Schalke, Tottenham battle Borussia Dortmund and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus meet Atletico Madrid.

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Elsewhere, Lyon have been handed the unenviable task of trying to shackle Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Roma have been paired with Porto and Ajax with reigning champions Real Madrid.

The biggest tie of the round will see Jose Mourinho’s out-of-sorts Manchester United side lock horns with Ligue 1 title holders PSG.

The French giants boast the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani on their books and have made no secret of their desire to complement domestic dominance with European glory.

United have endured a testing 2018-19 campaign to date, but continental competition could offer welcome relief as they ready themselves for the biggest of tests.

Liverpool, who reached the final of last season’s competition, are also going to have to do things the hard way if they are to prolong another challenge for the most prestigious of prizes.

Bayern have not been at their best this season, with a humbling tumble from the Bundesliga summit having been endured, but they boast enough experience and quality within their ranks to trouble the Reds.

Klopp’s side are flying, though, in the Premier League and will fancy their chances against anybody, particularly on memorable European nights at Anfield.

Real Madrid were the side to deny Liverpool a place on the top of the podium in 2017-18, as they captured a third successive crown.

Santiago Solari has been charged with the task of replicating the success enjoyed by Zinedine Zidane and can now prepare his side – who are heading to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup – for a heavyweight encounter with Ajax.

The Blancos’ arch-rivals Barcelona will hope to have too much for French opponents Lyon, with club talisman Messi having returned to devastating form over recent weeks in the wake of his Ballon d’Or snub.

The Argentine’s eternal rival, Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, also missed out on another Golden Ball, but is eyeing up a fourth Champions League triumph in as many years and a sixth of his remarkable career.

He is now with Juventus and will find himself back in the familiar surroundings of the Spanish capital in 2019 when the Bianconeri take on Atletico Madrid.

Manchester City will be looking for Pep Guardiola to mastermind a deep run into the competition, with the Premier League champions still pursuing a first Champions League success.

Schalke stand in their way at the next stage, with that contest set to see Leroy Sane reunited with his former club.

Tottenham are also set to face German opponents, with Mauricio Pochettino having seen his side sneak through a testing group to land a second round clash with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund – who will have Jadon Sancho lining up against England team-mates such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

The final game of the last 16 will see Roma, who made it to the semi-finals last season, taking on Porto.

The first legs of the eagerly-anticipated fixtures mentioned above will take place on February 12/13 and 19/20, with the return dates pencilled in for two weeks later.

Despite emerging as one of the most consistent defenders in Europe over recent years, the Man City centre-back is yet to receive a senior French cap

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has admitted he is frustrated by his continuous omission from the French squad.

The 24-year-old has been capped by the national team throughout the various youth levels but has yet to receive a call-up to the senior side.

Alongside John Stones, Laporte has emerged as Pep Guardiola’s first choice centre-back at Manchester City, ahead of the experienced duo Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany.

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Yet, the defender has still not been selected to represent France by manager Didier Deschamps, leading to Laporte’s suggestions that he has been overlooked for personal reasons, rather than due to his footballing ability.

When asked about his repeated absence from the squad by EiTB, a media outlet from the Basque region in France, Laporte said: “That question only has one answer: there is a coach and he doesn’t call me, so I need to wait, to keep working and that’s it.

“Of course I don’t think it’s because of a sporting issue, you’d have to ask him personally, I don’t have anything personal against him, but if someone has a problem it’s him and not me.

“I could be a world champion… but these are the decisions of the coach, who is not calling me for, I think, personal reasons, and I have to respect him.

“I’m not going to call him. Why? To slam him? No, obviously not. I’m still working in the club, playing at the highest level for this kind of thing [an international call-up]… the only person who can solve this is the coach,” he added.

Laporte had previously been called up to the French squad for a double-header of World Cup qualifiers in 2016 but did not play a single minute for Deschamps’ side.

The centre-back is eligible to represent Spain, and in the past, the former Athletic Bilbao man has suggested he would consider swapping his national allegiances if he was continually neglected by Deschamps. However, Laporte now seems to have ruled out that possibility.

“Play with Spain?” he said when asked about representing Luis Enrique’s side. “I think that’s already closed, but even so I opt for France because I’m French, I don’t have dual citizenship and I’m not going to ask for it. I don’t know if playing with Spain is possible.”

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge thinks Niko Kovac has turned things around at Bayern Munich because of private talks with some of his players

Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac has his players back on side after having “discussions” with some of the squad following a difficult start to the season, according to club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Kovac’s men cruised to a 3-0 win over the Croatian’s former club Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, as Franck Ribery netted twice and Rafinha rounded things off late on.

The victory was Bayern’s fifth in a row in the Bundesliga, suggesting the underwhelming start to the campaign – which saw them drop points six times in 12 matches – is well and truly over.

They head into the mid-season break six points behind Borussia Dortmund and look certain to push Lucien Favre’s men all the way.

Rummenigge is convinced talks with certain players have helped Kovac turn things around, having previously looked close to losing his job.

“Niko and the team are one again,” he told Sky after the win in Frankfurt.

“There have been discussions with Niko and some players, which has led a bit to the team re-joining with the coach.

“It was important that we reacted well, which has made the team very well with the coach.”

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Kovac was particularly impressed with the way Bayern raised their game after a tricky opening, accepting they made errors in the first 20 minutes.

“It was a really good game of our team after the first 20 minutes, because we did not manage to stop the counter-attack or we made one or the other mistakes [early on],” Kovac told reporters.

“After that, we raised what we wanted. We ran the ball fast with few touches, so the opponent did not get into the pressing. The last games were very good, that’s what makes Bayern the winner.”

Bayern now have the winter break to regroup ahead of the second half of the season.  

The club don’t return to the pitch until January 18 when they take on Hoffenheim.