Month: April 2021

David Moyes hopes West Ham can continue to challenge the Premier League’s “established order” both this season and beyond.

With eight games of their league season remaining, West Ham are sixth in the Premier League table, flying towards the promised land and in the midst of a fight for European qualification.

Chelsea are fourth on 54 points, with both Liverpool and the Hammers on 52, ahead of Tottenham (49) and Everton (47).

It is not the first time Moyes has launched an assault on what he describes as the “established order” in the top flight, having guided Everton to fourth in the 2004/05 season.

But when asked whether he might consider Champions League qualification with West Ham to be his greatest managerial achievement, Moyes told Sky Sports: “I think it would be.

“I’d been at Everton for three years by then so that would mean it would be a bigger achievement given we’re already competing. But the main issue is you want to be a club that is in contention for European football regularly.

“It’s the sign of a big club if you have got European football but we’re still a long way away from that. If we can scrape into one of the competitions this year, it would be a start and another building position. The goal would then be to try to make it more regular in order to return the club to the level it’s been at many years ago.

“It would not be something new for the club, but it would be new in the modern era of West Ham. I still feel the Premier League has an established order.

“There’s a lot of teams knocking at the door to see if they can get in, and I think there’s a few of the big teams worried about it because we see that in other situations and other developments with talk of a new [breakaway] league, but here at West Ham we are just starting the process to try and challenge.

“We are having a really good season at the moment, we are trying to stick with it and we are not hiding from the fact we believe we are outsiders. But we also believe we have got a great opportunity so why do not we try to attack it full on?

“I feel the big teams will remain the big teams because their finances will always help them. The other teams will try and challenge but Leicester were a great example as nobody thought they could win the Premier League.

“I think most people will not expect us to make Champions League, so I hope we can try to do something very similar to what Leicester did when they went on to win the league.”

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Marouane Fellaini could make a sensational return to the Premier League this summer with Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said to be keen on a reunion with the former Manchester United midfielder.

Fellaini was a regular starter in his first season under Mourinho before the following campaign was disrupted by a number of injuries.

He often split opinion during his time at Old Trafford but he did win two trophies under Mourinho – the Europa League and the League Cup – as well as the FA Cup under Louis van Gaal.

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MAILBOX: Solskjaer’s no-win Man Utd situation; Kane the tryhard

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The 33-year-old is currently plying his trade in China having moved on from United in 2009 for £7million, and is under contract at Shandong Luneng until December.

The Belgian has notched 20 goals and five assists for the Chinese side but is reportedly keen on a return to the Premier League.

And Voetbal 24 claim Fellaini is high on Mourinho’s list of priorities ahead of the summer transfer window.

His transfer to Spurs will depend on whether Mourinho remains in the job in north London, with the 58-year-old under pressure following Spurs’ embarrassing exit in the last 16 of the Europa League and their faltering Premier League form.

But Mourinho is still planning ahead for next season with Fulham defender Joachim Andersen another player on his list of potential targets.

Tottenham host Manchester United on Sunday, with the reverse fixture seeing Spurs claim a memorable 6-1 win at Old Trafford.

But Mourinho insists the scoreline that day does not “reflect the reality”.

“I believe that 6-1 doesn’t reflect the reality. It can happen. Of course it can happen, between two greats, the results they can happen in an isolated way,” Mourinho said.

“I go much more in the direction of the other two previous matches between us and United. We lost 2-1 at Old Trafford, with the penalty, and we draw 1-1 at home last season, also with a penalty. I think this is more the reality.

“We are not far from each other so I think it is going to be a difficult match for both.

“If Solskjaer is going to use that result I don’t know. If it was the opposite. If it was my team losing 6-1 to them I would just say to my guys that it happened once and it’s not going to happen twice. This doesn’t reflect the reality.

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“The game is going to be tight and we can win, but I don’t know, maybe Solskjaer has different things.”

Real Madrid clung on for a 2-1 victory over Barcelona that sent them to the summit of LaLiga as Lionel Messi’s Clasico goal drought went on.

First-half goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos put Zinedine Zidane’s side in control, and though Oscar Mingueza pulled one back on the hour mark, there was no goal for Messi – the top scorer in the history of El Clasico but now without a goal in his last seven matches against Real.

The Argentinian was not the only Barca man struggling in front of goal as the visitors bossed possession – enjoying 69 per cent – but failed to make it count while Madrid looked a constant threat on the break in horrendous weather.

It means just one point separates the top three in the title fight as the season heads for a thrilling conclusion.

Real had started the night in third, behind Barca, but victory put them top of the table on goal difference ahead of local rivals Atletico, who face Real Betis on Sunday evening.

Madrid have won 15 of their last 20 games in all competitions, and have won three in a row against their main rivals for the first time since 1978.

Before the match all eyes were on Messi as he matched the injured Sergio Ramos’ record with his 45th Clasico appearance, though it remains to be seen if either or both men have now made their last.

The 33-year-old was soon involved in some encouraging moves as Barca dominated the early exchanges, but they did not manage to test Thibaut Courtois before Benzema struck with 13 minutes gone.

Lucas Vazquez sent in a low cross from the right and Benzema got in front of Ronald Araujo to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post with a backheeled finish.

Barca responded brightly, but Messi’s cross was too high for Ousmane Dembele and again Courtois’ goal was not seriously threatened before the second goal came.

Vinicius Junior, instrumental in the midweek win over Liverpool, was brought down on the edge of the area to present Kroos with the opportunity from the set-piece.

The Germany international struck his free-kick well enough but it would go in with the help of a deflection off Sergino Dest, with Jordi Alba unable to adjust on the line as he could only help the ball into the net.

Barca were reeling and moments later Federico Valverde turned Vinicius’ cross on to the post before Lucas Vazquez shot straight at Ter Stegen on the follow-up.

After Dembele’s claims for a penalty were waved away, it was Messi’s turn to strike a post as his corner beat Courtois, but Barca would go in 2-0 down at the break.

Antoine Griezmann replaced Dest at the break, with Mingueza moving to right back, and the move would pay off as Griezmann added attacking impetus and then, on the hour, the former found the net.

As torrential rain lashed down, it was a goal to match the conditions with the full-back failing to make a clean connection after both Griezmann and Frenkie De Jong missed Alba’s cross, though he did enough to bundle it home.

Madrid responded to the setback by striking the post through Vinicius as the game opened up.

Barca had another penalty shout with nine minutes left when substitute Martin Braithwaite went down while challenging Ferland Mendy for the ball but despite their furious protests, nothing was given.

There was one more late twist when Casemiro was sent off in the last minute, earning a second booking for fouling Messi, but it did nothing to change the result as Barca’s frustration was summed up by a stoppage-time effort from Ilaix Moriba which struck the crossbar.

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Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic starred to help Chelsea get their top-four hopes back on track with a comfortable 4-1 win at Crystal Palace.

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The Germany international ended his long drought in the Premier League with an early strike, while Pulisic grabbed a brace either side of half time.

Kurt Zouma was also on target for Thomas Tuchel’s men, who moved up to fourth with this routine victory in south London.

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Play got under way at Selhurst Park after a two-minute period of silence following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip on Friday.

Once the action started it was the number two at this Palace who took centre stage, with the booming voice of Roy Hodgson’s assistant Ray Lewington heard prominently during the first five minutes.

It had been a regular feature of football behind closed doors, but an anomaly happened with eight minutes played when Havertz grabbed only his second Premier League goal since a £71million summer switch.

Vicente Guaita made a fine save to deny Christian Pulisic moments earlier before Ebere Eze was dispossessed deep inside his own half and it proved costly.

Havertz won the ball back and was found by Callum Hudson-Odoi in the penalty area where he produced a fine curled left-footed strike from eight yards to open the scoring.

The composure for the finish had been lacking by the German in previous appearances, with this his second goal from his last 28 club outings after an initial bright start to life at Stamford Bridge.

Former Bayer Leverkusen attacker Havertz was not finished there and within 120 seconds, he had assisted Pulisic to make it 2-0 with a cutback as the winger smashed into the roof of the net from close range.

Both had struggled for goals this term, but it was the American’s second in as many starts. Tuchel saw his players again respond to last weekend’s shock loss to West Brom having beaten Porto in midweek.

Havertz almost had a goal of the season contender in the 22nd minute but his volley after a wonderful flick over Patrick Van Aanholt was saved.

It was 3-0 with 30 minutes played, though, when Kurt Zouma headed home a Mason Mount free-kick to ensure Chelsea would finish the night in the top four.

Antonio Rudiger nearly joined his fellow centre-back on the scoresheet prior to half-time, but Van Aanholt cleared his goalbound effort to ensure the damage for the hosts was limited to three at the break.

Ben Chilwell was the next Blues defender to be presented with an opportunity and Tuchel’s high standards were on display when the German threw his hands up in the air following the missed effort by the full-back early into the second period.

With Porto up next on Tuesday, the Chelsea manager was able to withdraw Jorginho after an hour but Palace added some tension to the occasion by pulling a goal back in the 63rd minute.

Jeffrey Schlupp made an immediate impact from the bench and crossed in for Benteke to grab his sixth goal of the campaign with a smart header in what was the Eagles’ first effort of the match.

Normal service was quickly resumed when Gary Cahill made a last-ditch block against his old club to deny Mount, but a fourth goal arrived with 78 minutes played.

Substitute Reece James was afforded too much space on the right by a weary home defence and Pulisic finished off his delivery at the back post to wrap up the scoring.

 

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Dean Ashton says the impressive form of Jarrod Bowen highlights the great strides West Ham have made in their recruitment policy.

Bowen scored in the 3-3 home draw with Arsenal and again in Monday’s 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to fire the Irons into the Premier League’s top four.

The 24-year-old has scored eight times since his £25million move from Hull City in 2020 and chipped in with seven assists, allaying fears he would follow in the footsteps of high-profile flops including Benni McCarthy, Jordan Hugill, Albian Ajeti and Sebastien Haller.

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However, Ashton said despite his impressive stats, it is the former Hereford youngster’s work-rate and commitment to the cause which marks him out as a successful addition. And he also picked out Craig Dawson, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal as proof the Hammers have moved on from expensive mistakes of the past.

Speaking to 888 Sport (as quoted by Football London), Ashton said: “Recruitment has been pretty diabolical if I’m honest for the last 15 years. There have been so many signings that haven’t come off and didn’t really suit West Ham as a football club and what the fans expect from their players.

“But the recruitment has been excellent in recent times. You look at the likes of Jarrod Bowen who is the kind of West Ham player you like to see with his work-rate and how he delivers.

“Then there’s Craig Dawson, Soucek and Coufal: these are players who, even if they’re not playing well, give absolutely everything, which is the minimum that’s required as a West Ham player. On top of that, they have shown the quality and consistency to be taken seriously in this top four race.”

The Hammers were dealt a blow when Declan Rice was ruled out with knee ligament damage following international duty.

Nevertheless, Ashton believes David Moyes’ side have still got enough talent within the squad to shrug off the midfielder’s loss and secure a Champions League berth.

He added: “I think the injury to Declan Rice is a badly timed one but of all those competing for the top four they have been the most consistent. So there’s no reason to think why they shouldn’t have every opportunity to make the top four.”

 

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Harry Maguire is “ready for battle” with England team-mate Harry Kane as Manchester United look to exact revenge on Tottenham.

While Manchester City’s eye-watering lead means the Premier League title already looks beyond them, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side start the weekend in second spot and well placed to secure Champions League qualification.

United have 60 points to their name and on Sunday head to sixth-placed Spurs, who only have 49 points after a stuttering second half of the campaign under Jose Mourinho.

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It is quite the turnaround in fortunes from October, when the former United boss led Tottenham to a remarkable 6-1 win against the 10-man hosts at Old Trafford.

“It’s a great game to be involved in,” United captain Maguire said ahead of Sunday’s clash in north London.

“Really pleased that we’re going into it on the back of three points against Brighton (last weekend). Take that little bit of momentum into the game.

“It’s always a tough game after the international break and I always feel like the points are the big thing – you don’t really look at the performance.

“Spurs is going to be a big one. It’s one that we’re looking forward to. We had a bad result against them at Old Trafford this season, so we’ll be looking to get one back.”

Maguire believes United “have more than enough to go there and get the three points”, although he knows better than most the threat posed by Kane.

The 27-year-old is top of the Premier League’s scoring charts with 19 goals and has provided a league-high 13 assists, including scoring two and providing another in October’s 6-1 mauling.

“I want to play in the biggest games possible against the best players – that’s why I joined this club,” Maguire said.

“Harry is one of those (players). I know him from England really well. He’s a top striker, one of the best in the world and he does it season after season, scores goals after goals.

“He’ll be ready for battle and I’ll be ready for battle. May the best man win.

 

“It’s not just individuals, it’s a team effort. As a defensive unit we’ve got to be strong, go there and get a clean sheet and give the team the best opportunity to win the game.”

United head into the match off the back of Thursday’s 2-0 win at Granada, which put them in the driving seat of their Europa League quarter-final ahead of this week’s return fixture.

Maguire is suspended for the second leg at Old Trafford but that is unlikely to hamper progress to the semi-finals of a competition that offers them the chance to finish off a promising season with silverware.

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“I think the improvement will be shown from this year to last year,” he told MUTV.

“That was the main aim: to improve on last year. We need to beat the points tally and if we finish above third then obviously that’s even better.

“At this club, we want to be winning the Premier League, but we also know that we’ve got a lot of improvement to be made to enable that.

“That’s what we’re striving to do. We need to kick on for the remaining games. I’m definitely excited. It’s a major part of the season and it’s where you make the memories and the big moments whether it’s in the cup or the league.

“I’m pretty sure when you look back on your career and you look at the (big) games, the majority of them come at the end of the season.”

 

Tottenham have added Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels to their “shortlist” to replace Hugo Lloris, according to BILD journalist Christian Falk.

Lloris has come under criticism this season, not least for his “embarrassing” performance in Spurs’ thrilling nine-goal FA Cup fifth round defeat to Everton.

That led to reports that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy could seek out a summer replacement for the Frenchman, with his deal up in the summer of 2022.

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THE TREBLE: Liverpool revenge, lifeless Spurs and West Brom miracle

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And Falk now claims that Belgium international Casteels is being watched by the Premier League outfit ahead of a possible move.

The 28-year-old has played his whole career in the Bundesliga for former club Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg but he now wants to break into the Belgium starting XI before they head to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“Tottenham have been looking at the goalkeeper position. Hugo Lloris is 34, and his contract ends in 2022,” Falk told BILD (via Sport Witness).

“He is not in dispute, but of course, you have to look at it; it could become a focus of attention.

“They (Tottenham) are watching (Casteels), and we know he would like to go to a top club as he would like to recommend himself to have a chance of going to Qatar with the national team.

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“Whether a change comes is questionable because he is still tied until 2024, which means he costs a bit of money, but he is, at least, on the shortlist.”

 

Speaking in February, Danny Mills urged Tottenham to bring in a world-class goalkeeper to replace Lloris.

Mills said: “I know he’s won the World Cup and has been a very, very good goalkeeper but I never thought he was world-class.

“If you want to start winning the Champions League or getting in the top four you need a world-class goalkeeper.

“There are very few teams that have won the Premier League or Champions League without a very good goalkeeper and I’m talking exceptional.

“His mistakes aren’t howlers, they’re not glaring errors but you look at it and go ‘I think he could have done better in that scenario’.

“That’s what it is. When you haven’t got an incredible defence in front of you it just puts everybody on edge.

“The goalkeeper is thinking ‘I can’t trust the defenders’ and the defenders are thinking ‘I cannot trust the goalkeeper’. All of a sudden it causes a little bit of indecisiveness.”

 

Harry Kane will ask to leave Spurs in the summer transfer window if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League, according to a report.

Tottenham currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League standings, three points off fourth-placed West Ham, as they look to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Spurs – who play Manchester United on Sunday – also have the Carabao Cup final coming up later this month as the club looks to secure their first silverware for 13 years, when they won the 2008 League Cup under Juande Ramos.

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However, Tottenham have gone backwards in recent seasons after reaching the Champions League final in 2019 under Mauricio Pochettino.

And Kane, who has provided 19 goals and 13 assists in 28 Premier League appearances this campaign, is preparing to leave in the summer, according to a report in The Athletic.

It is said that he is ‘running out of patience’ with Tottenham over their lack of progress towards winning major honours and that Kane ‘will push for a transfer this summer if they fail to secure Champions League qualification’.

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The Athletic adds:

‘Frustrated by a lack of trophies and concerned by the threat of a second successive season without Champions League football, Kane is prepared to tell the Tottenham hierarchy he wants a new challenge. At this stage, Manchester City and Manchester United are the clubs most likely to offer him that possibility, but a move abroad cannot be discounted. Getting out of Spurs though will not be easy or perhaps at all possible.’

Meanwhile, Football Insider also bring us an update on Kane, with the England international apparently telling close friends that ‘Spurs are going nowhere’.

The report adds that ‘Kane has privately dismissed the club’s hopes of challenging for the major trophies in the coming seasons’ but that Kane is blaming the Spurs board and not Jose Mourinho for the club’s failings.

Despite recent criticism of Mourinho’s methods, Kane has ‘no issues with the Tottenham style of play under the Portugese’ but has been ‘unimpressed with the ambition shown by those at the top of the club’.

 

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he “explained” his decision to Naby Keita after substituting the player early on against Real Madrid.

The Guinea international was subbed off in the first half after the Reds found themselves 2-0 down against the Spanish side in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

It was Keita’s second European start of the season but the gamble backfired as he was replaced by Thiago Alcantara with Liverpool’s midfield in disarray.

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THE TREBLE: Liverpool revenge, lifeless Spurs and West Brom miracle

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Klopp, though, has said that Keita has accepted the situation after the Liverpool boss had a chat with him after the match.

Klopp told a pre-match press conference ahead of their clash with Aston Villa: “Naby showed [his best], I’m not sure how often to the full extent, but he showed it.

“He played important games for us, great games for us, scored important goals for us, that’s all the truth.

“But you ask probably because of the early substitution in the last game and it was just a decision I made in that moment.

“We had to sort the game for us and it was difficult to do that without making a change.

“Yesterday we spoke and everything is okay, I explained the decision and he accepted it obviously. So now we carry on.”

Following the match against Real Madrid, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claimed Keita got “nowhere near” their midfielders.

“That first-half performance I think is one of the worst I have seen under Jurgen Klopp in six years,” Carragher told CBS Sports. “There was nothing there going forward. No intensity. Given chances up. Lucky it was only 2-0.

“What I saw in the second half is what I thought I would see for 90 minutes where it was almost a 50-50 game. Real Madrid were still good in the second half. But Liverpool made a game of it.

“The first half was not acceptable. It was nowhere near good enough. They were miles off it. We talk about the team and the midfield that he picked.

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“Naby Keita went into midfield to put pressure on Kroos and Modric and he was nowhere near them. And ends up getting brought off just before half-time.”

 

Roy Hodgson hasn’t felt the need to speak to Michy Batshuayi about his claims the Crystal Palace manager does not trust him.

The on-loan Chelsea striker came off the bench to score Palace’s equaliser in their draw at Everton on Monday, backing up a goal for Belgium in their 8-0 romp against Belarus.

The goal at Goodison came hot on the heels of comments the 27-year-old made about his club football while away on international duty.

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Batshuayi had scored just one goal for Palace all season before the trip to Merseyside and said he was finding it “very hard” at Selhurst Park.

“I get a breath of renewed energy when I come into the national team, because it’s very hard for me at my club,” Batshuayi said.

“The club and the national team are different. The coach, the team members and the system are different from that at Palace.

“With the Red Devils, I feel a lot of trust from the coach; trust that I do not get there [at Palace].”

Hopes had been high after the Chelsea striker sealed a second loan move to Selhurst Park, but the Belgium international has featured sparingly with Wilfried Zaha lining up in attack alongside a rotating cast of Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew.

The arrival of Jean-Philippe Mateta has further restricted Batshuayi’s time on the pitch, with the 27-year-old starting just seven Premier League games this season.

Those frustrations boiled over in his interview with the Belgian media but Hodgson said he was more concerned with Batshuayi’s attitude on the pitch.

“Haven’t spoken to him about anything other than football, really,” said Hodgson.

“In training he’s been like he has been all the way through, so I haven’t felt the need to talk to him about anything else. Unfortunately any time you open your mouth to a journalist, what you say is going to be quoted.”

Batshuayi will again be on the sidelines when Crystal Palace face Chelsea on Saturday, with the Belgium international ineligible to face his parent club.

However, Hodgson said he will be more than happy to call on the outspoken striker’s services for the run-in.

“Yeah, it’s always nice to have all your players available. He’d have been hoping to get a chance.

“But if we’re going to do well over the next seven, we’re going to need players playing well and scoring goals. Michy can fulfil that role for us.

 

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