Month: September 2019

A fine start to life in the Premier League has turned sour for the Italian boss, whose Blues side courted even more controversy in Sunday’s cup clash

Maurizio Sarri has called on Chelsea fans to give more support to their players and insists that the atmosphere in the camp remains positive, despite doubts over his long-term future and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to leave the field in the Carabao Cup final.

Arrizabalaga has since been fined one week’s wages and apologised after he left Willy Caballero waiting on the touchline, sparking a furious reaction from his manager in the penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.

The Blues boss says he wants to put the incident behind them and spoke to the club’s director Marina Graniskovaia, insisting that the dressing room atmosphere at the club remains positive ahead of another massive game against Tottenham.

“I spoke with Marina this week, before the final, just for good luck. I spoke to Marina after the match about the Kepa situation. My relationship with the club is like before,” Sarri said.

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“The goalkeeper is not a problem. He made a big mistake, but he is really a very nice boy. There is only one difficulty: the results. The atmosphere in the training ground is now very good. The application of the players is better than before.

“I think Willy Caballero is a very good goalkeeper and he’s a great man. He is a point of reference in the dressing room for his personality, for his behaviour, for everything.

“He has the maturity to be ready for anything. The problem now is to have results with consistency. We know the situation. It’s difficult to play every three days with the same mental intensity.

“It’s not easy because, usually, we talk about physical condition, that it is very difficult to play every three days. But the big problem is mental, to play every match with the same level of application and determination is very difficult.

“We have to do it tomorrow because this is a very important match. A very difficult match. Tottenham are playing very well away from home. It’s not easy to play with the same level of application as in the last match because, mentally, we spent a lot in the match on Sunday.”

Chelsea’s match at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday is their first in the Premier League after four consecutive cup games in the Carabao Cup, Europa League and FA Cup.

Sarri reiterated that he thought his side played well against Manchester United in the 2-0 FA Cup defeat despite chants of “f*** Sarriball” that emanated from Stamford Bridge’s Matthew Harding End.

The 60-year-old says those chants have no effect on him but that they do hurt his players, with Jorginho having been booed coming onto the pitch against Malmo in the Europa League.

“I was disappointed with the atmosphere for my players. Only for my players. But I can understand the fans because they are used to winning. I’d like to see more support for my players, not for me.”

Chelsea have also had news from FIFA, who have imposed a two-window transfer ban on incoming players. The club are appealing the decision, and the appeals process is likely to leave them in a position to sign players at least in the summer.

However, it will still ultimately prove a blow to whoever manages Chelsea in the long-term with no room to manoeuvre in the transfer market. Sarri is keeping the issue out of his mind, but also says that he believes the club will be okay to make signings in the summer.

“I don’t know the situation well, but I know the club are working,” he added. “So I think they can solve this problem. Maybe for this summer, maybe not. But they are working. I think that, first of all, we need to improve these players.

“Because we cannot buy 20 players in the market because they aren’t 20 players ready for Chelsea in the market. It’s very difficult to find a player ready immediately for this level, so I think the first target is to improve these players.”

The return of Reds captain Scott Higginbotham headlines a refreshed Queensland starting XV which will line up against the Hurricanes.

Higginbotham will make just his third start of the year having battled injury and suspension in what the Reds skipper admits has been a frustrating season, shifting Angus Scott-Young to blindside flanker.

Adam Korczyk subsequently drops out of the 23 and there are two other personnel changes to the starting XV, with JP Smith and Duncan Paia’aua returning.

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Smith will start at loosehead prop in place of James Slipper, who was not considered for selection due to “welfare reasons”.

Paia’aua resumes his role at inside centre in place of Chris Feauai-Sautia, who is yet to overcome a concussion suffered in the horror loss to the Sunwolves.There are some familiar faces returning to the bench, too, with Andrew Ready and Izaia Perese showing enough in their club rugby with Easts to earn a recall.

One sore point for Reds fans will be the starting halfback gig, with Ben Lucas retaining his spot ahead of the promising Moses Sorovi.

“It’s pleasing to be able to welcome Scott (Higginbotham) back into the side,” Thorn said.

“He’s had a tough run this year, not playing a lot of rugby, but he made his way back from injury with a game for Wests last weekend and he’ll add a lot of experience and leadership to the side.

“It’s a shame to lose Chris (Feauai-Sautia) to injury, but it presents an opportunity for Duncan (Paia’aua).

“He has been working hard on his game. We’re excited to see what he brings to the starting side.

“It also allows us to bring Izaia (Perese) back onto the bench. He was disappointed not to be involved last week, so we expect a big impact from him.

“We’re also welcoming the twins and Andrew (Ready) back into the side.

“Andrew (Ready) has been chipping away and playing club rugby, so he’s excited for another crack. The twins are also keen to get back into the side after missing out last weekend.”

TEAM

Reds team to face the Hurricanes

1. JP Smith – GPS

2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa – Sunnybank

3. Taniela Tupou – Brothers

4. Izack Rodda – Easts

5. Kane Douglas – Norths

6. Angus Scott-Young – University of Queensland

7. George Smith – Brothers

8. Scott Higginbotham (C) – Wests

9. Ben Lucas – Sunnybank

10. Jono Lance – University of Queensland

11. Jordan Petaia – Wests

12. Duncan Paia’aua – Norths

13. Samu Kerevi – Souths

14. Filipo Daugunu – Wests

15. Hamish Stewart – Bond University

Reserves

16. Andrew Ready – Easts

17. Sef Fa’agase – University of Queensland

18. Ruan Smith – GPS

19. Harry Hockings – University of Queensland

20. Liam Wright – Easts

21. Moses Sorovi – Wests

22. Izaia Perese – Easts

23. Aidan Toua – Easts

The Reds face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night, kicking off at 5:35pm AEST, broadcast LIVE on FOX SPORTS.

The Reds crushed Watford in their most recent outing, with their Senegalese forward starring in that contest, and a derby date is next on the agenda

Andrew Robertson has saluted the “unbelievable skill” of Sadio Mane after seeing the Liverpool forward net a stunning backheel against Watford which has helped to raise confidence heading into a derby date with Everton.

The Reds knew they had little margin for error heading into a midweek contest with the Hornets at Anfield.

Victory was imperative in an ongoing Premier League title battle, and Jurgen Klopp’s side preserved their impressive home record against a favoured opponent as they eased to a 5-0 win.

Sane set them on their way to a comprehensive success, with his second of the evening seeing him divert the ball past Ben Foster despite facing towards his own goal.

Robertson said of that flash of brilliance in a fixture with plenty riding on it: “It was a fantastic finish. To have that awareness to take the touch and, with your back to play, back-heel it over the keeper, it was unbelievable skill.

“Him playing through at nine was a bit different for us and probably caught Watford by surprise in the first 10 minutes.

“I thought he did it unbelievably well.”

The pressure is set to be ramped up again for Liverpool after taking four points from testing encounters with Manchester United and Watford.

A short trip to Merseyside rivals Everton is next on the agenda, with Robertson claiming that morale is high heading into another must-win encounter on Sunday.

The Scotland international full-back added: “You play your two biggest rivals, in terms of the fans and things, Manchester United and Everton – then of course it is a big week, with Watford in between.

“Watford are flying just now and we have beaten a good side tonight. We got a point at United and now hopefully go into the Everton game full of confidence.

“We know how hard that game is going to be, especially at Goodison Park. We need to be at our best.

“If we play something like we did tonight, I am sure we will give them a good game.”

As things stand, with 10 games to go, Liverpool hold a one-point lead over defending champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

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Our Fantasy writer looks back on another round of English football and picks out the best performers from Manchester City, Wolves, Watford, and more

Another weekend of Premier League action has come and gone, and it was certainly an interesting one. Frequently, our Team of the Week is filled with players from the top six clubs, but with most of those teams struggling to find the goals this week, it’s other people’s chance to shine.

Of the 11 players to make the cut, seven come from sides not currently in European competition and that may be something worth considering as the season progresses and the fixtures – both domestic and abroad – begin to pile up for the bigger clubs. In the interim, below are the best individual performers from match week 29.

GK: Mat Ryan – Brighton – 1 Game, 4 Saves, 1 Clean Sheet = 9 Points

DEF: Kyle Walker – Manchester City – 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points

While Walker has not been the attacking force in Fantasy that he has been in years past, it does look like he is on track to break his previous clean sheet record of 15. This trend certainly continued against Bournemouth this week as the former Tottenham man failed to supply a single accurate cross for the ninth time in the last 10 matches, but helped City pick up their 14th clean sheet of the season.

Those clean sheets have obviously made sure that Walker has picked up plenty of Fantasy points – ranking in the top 10 at his position – but, considering his price, there are better options out there.

DEF: Angelo Ogbonna – West Ham – 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points

DEF: Virgin Van Dijk – Liverpool – 1 Game, 1 Clean Sheet = 7 Points

MID: Diogo Jota – Wolves – 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points

After a slow start to the season, Jota continues to show the ability that was expected of him in the pre-season. The goal and assist against Cardiff at the weekend means the Portuguese midfielder has now been directly involved in an impressive seven goals over the last six matches.

With his form, an incredibly affordable price tag (£6.2m), and the fact that he’s been playing as a forward for the better part of the past three months, Jota is quickly working his way towards must-own territory.

MID: Andreas Pereira – Manchester United – 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points

MID: Yan Valery – Southampton – 1 Game, 1 Goal = 8 Points

MID: Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace – 1 Game, 1 Goal = 8 Points

FOR: Romelu Lukaku – Manchester United – 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points

With Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba now turned around, interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer next turned his attention to struggling striker Romelu Lukaku, and it certainly seems to be working. The big Belgian had scored just two goals in his previous 10 league matches before Wednesday, but he has now netted four in the two games since.

While certainly good news for Manchester United in real life, this does muddy the waters a bit in Fantasy. Lukaku and Rashford are currently separated by just one point in the Goal game, and with them likely to leech points and  minutes off each other going forward, it may be wise to just avoid this situation altogether.

FOR: Raul Jimenez – Wolves – 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 10 Points

FOR: Troy Deeney – Watford – 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 10 Points

Deeney is rarely elegant, but he does tend to get the job done for Watford. His goal and assist helped ensure his side’s victory against Leicester on Sunday and that is becoming a bit of a trend. In fact, Watford have lost just one match all season in which Deeney has scored.

It is unlikely that the Englishman will ever again reach the heights of his incredible 2015/16 campaign in which he was involved in 22 goals, but Deeney continues to be a decent enough player and Fantasy option.

A derby draw with Merseyside rivals Everton has left the Reds playing catch-up, with the defending champions back at the top of the Premier League

Georginio Wijnaldum admits Liverpool are about to discover whether chasing “suits” them, with a Merseyside derby draw with Everton leaving them behind Manchester City in the title race.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have spent much of the 2018-19 campaign leading the way in the battle for the Premier League crown.

They were as many as 10 points clear at one stage, but are now one adrift of defending champions from the Etihad Stadium.

With there still nine games to go, more twists and turns are expected before the grandest prize in English football is handed out.

Liverpool are, however, going to have to play catch-up if they are to end their 29-year wait for domestic dominance and Wijnaldum is unsure as to how they will respond to finding themselves in that position.

The Dutch midfielder told Sky Sports on the back of a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park which means the Reds have now won just two of their last six in the league: “It’s a difficult one to swallow because everyone wanted to be top of the table. But I don’t want to say that it’s a setback.

“It’s normal that we are disappointed but that’s the situation and we have to deal with it. We are going to train hard and make sure we win the rest of the games. We have to perform and try to win every game because City will do the same.

“I don’t know [whether we prefer to chase them]. We have to see if it suits us better. It’s always difficult to say. I think they are used to the pressure. For us it’s new. We just have to make sure that in the last nine games we give our all, and we’ll see what happens.”

Liverpool will get the chance to get back on track next weekend when they play host to Burnley.

With that contest due to be held on Sunday, and City in action against Watford a day earlier, Klopp’s side could find themselves even further back on the Blues by the time they take to the field at Anfield.

Victory over the Clarets will keep them in the hunt, though, and offer a welcome pick-me-up ahead of a shift in focus to European competition.

After facing Burnley, the Reds will then take in the second leg of a Champions League last-16 encounter with Bayern Munich which is currently locked at 0-0.

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The German ex-midfielder won the Champions League with the Anfield outfit but is backing another of his old sides to put them out of the competition

Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann is backing Bayern Munich to send the Reds crashing out of the Champions League when his two former teams meet on Wednesday.

The first leg of the last-16 clash ended 0-0 and the former Germany international says the resurgent Bundesliga giants hold the upper hand going into the second encounter.

Bayern hammered Wolfsburg 6-0 on Saturday to move top of the German league and, while Liverpool maintained their Premier League challenge with a 4-2 win over Burnley, it is the Allianz Arena side who are on song, according to Hamann.

Bayern struggled for results at the start of the season under manager Niko Kovac but have hit form at the right time.

“Liverpool are definitely running into Bayern at the wrong time with a new belief pulsing through the Bavarian ranks,” Hamann, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, told the Liverpool Echo.

“It has been a tough first season for Munich boss Niko Kovac, but he has kept his cool, even when fans were calling for his head in the autumn. Fast forward a few months and they are looking unbeatable and favourites to retain their title.

“Their confidence will contrast with the mood at Liverpool and I’ll take Bayern in another tight, low-scoring encounter.”

Germany manager Joachim Low unceremoniously dumped Bayern veterans Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller from his national team squad last week.

But Hamann, 45, insists that, despite their age, there is plenty left to come from the Bayern trio.

“They’ve done all this despite Bayern boasting one of the oldest squads in the Bundesliga but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of an era if they go out,” he added.

“Players such as Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller seem to have been around forever and have been axed from the Germany squad by Joachim Low but none of them is more than 30 and they all have a couple of seasons left.

“Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, David Alaba and Kingsley Coman are players you can build a team around, though Kovac will have to be clever in the transfer market.

“Bayern are still a European giant – Liverpool are all too aware of that – and they won’t be disappearing without trace any time soon.”

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The West Ham striker, who previously spent five years on the Red Devils’ books, has welcomed Champions League progress for his former side

Javier Hernandez is “not going to lie” and admits he was thrilled to see former club Manchester United dump Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League.

The Mexico international striker is currently a Premier League rival of the Red Devils having returned to English football at West Ham in 2017.

He does, however, boast strong ties to another United having previously spent five years on the books at Old Trafford between 2010 and 2015.

Chicharito admits that the Red Devils still hold a special place in his heart and he was as pleased as anybody to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side secure a thrilling 3-1 win in France on Wednesday and book their place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.

The 30-year-old frontman told Sky Sports: “Right now I’m in a British league, so I want any club from England to win the Champions League.

“Of course, my old club, Manchester United, that type of comeback was the typical United way.

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“I’m very glad, I’m not going to lie. The West Ham fans know how important that club is for me. They gave me the opportunity.

“I think England is glad when every British team goes through a round in the Champions League.

“I think the most important thing is seeing a very important club like Manchester United getting back to those positions.”

United had headed into the second leg of a heavyweight meeting with PSG trailing 2-0 on aggregate.

They were, however, to turn the tie on its head with a stunning showing at Parc des Princes.

Two goals from Romelu Lukaku offered Solskjaer’s side hope, before a VAR-assisted penalty in stoppage-time allowed Marcus Rashford to complete a remarkable turnaround.

United are now waiting to discover who they will be paired with in the last eight draw on March 15.

Hernandez, meanwhile, is chasing down a top-half finish in the Premier League with West Ham and has a reunion with the Red Devils to look forward to at Old Trafford on April 13.

The goalkeeper refused to come off in extra-time against Man City, and the Blues have won three in a row since the controversial incident

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has claimed Kepa Arrizabalaga’s controversial refusal to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final has been a good thing for the team. 

The goalkeeper refused to come off against Man City late in extra-time, waving off his manager, who was trying to put back-up Willy Caballero in the match. 

Kepa ended up staying on the pitch and took part in a penalty shootout after 120 scoreless minutes, with City emerging victorious. 

Though Sarri was visibly furious on the pitch, he and the goalkeeper tried to calm things down after the game, insisting the incident was only a misunderstanding.

But Sarri did end up suspending the goalkeeper for Chelsea’s next match, which came against Tottenham. 

The Blues won that match 2-0 and have won their two subsequent games, making it four wins from five in all competitions. 

Their lone blemish was the shootout defeat to City, but that came just two weeks after Chelsea were destroyed 6-0 at the hands of City. 

Sarri has hailed his team’s effort in the Carabao Cup final, despite not lifting the trophy. 

“As you know, for me, it was really very important the performance in the final against Manchester City,” Sarri said. 

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“Two weeks before that match we lost 6-0 in Manchester. A fortnight later, the players were able to play at the same level as them, so that was important for our confidence.”

The Italian even went as far as to say that the incident with Kepa, which many saw as evidence Sarri’s players were tuning him out, was a net positive for his team.

“In the end, the Kepa situation was a good thing for our group, too,” Sarri said.

“In the last five matches, we won four matches and drew against Manchester City. In five matches, we conceded only one goal. So we are improving in consistency.

“But we have to be careful. We had a long period of good results in the past and then, suddenly, two weeks of disaster. So we have to be careful.”

Chelsea look to make it four wins in a row when they face Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday. 

The Manchester United boss was anything but sure the young forward would have the nerve to put PSG with a late strike from the spot

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he was unsure if 21-year-old Marcus Rashford would be able to hit from the spot as Manchester United were handed a controversial late penalty in their 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.  

Rashford had never taken a competitive penalty for the club before Wednesday’s match but was asked to step forward with a Champions League last-16 tie on the line against the French giants following Presnel Kimpembe ‘s handball.  

But Rashford left no doubt, hammering home from the spot to hand United an unlikely spot in the Champions League quarter-finals.  

“There’s always doubt about a penalty,” he told BT Sport. “I was in the Champions League with Molde against Basel and my player missed then and we went out.  

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“Rashford is 21 and the pressure on the boy – there are no nerves – he’s fearless. Him and Romelu were fantastic tonight.” 

Despite that, Solskjaer was thrilled with the belief shown by his team in becoming the first team to ever overturn a two-goal first-leg home loss to advance in the knockout stages.  

“That’s the Champions League, it’s what it does,” he said. “Last night with Real and Ajax was our team-talk, it was probably theirs too. Last year it was Real and Juventus, there’s been PSG and Barca too.  

“It’s this club, it’s what we do. That’s Man Utd. 

“There’s always mental doubt. Our boys are young and fresh which gave us more energy when we needed that goal.” 

VAR once again came into play with Kimpembe ‘s hand ball, prompting injured PSG star Neymar to go on a swearing rant about the call, but Solskjaer called it a “clear penalty” when asked about the controversial moment.  

“I had to try and calm everyone down, sit everyone down,” he said. “My staff said the defender made himself bigger so it’s a clear penalty.” 

The 46-year-old also wasn’t ready to speak on his future with the club, with speculation mounting that he will be offered the job on a full-time basis this summer.  

“We don’t chat now, it’s too noisy and there’s a great atmosphere in there,” he continued. “Until the summer, we will see what happens.” 

Following reports that the Brazil international had signed on for one more season, the right-back took to social media to deny the speculation

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Dani Alves has appeared to deny reports he has agreed a new deal with the Ligue 1 champions. 

Reports emerged on Tuesday that Alves had signed on for an additional season with PSG. 

The 35-year-old is in his second season in Paris after rejecting Manchester City to join them from Juventus in 2017, with his current contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Alves reportedly wanted to sign on for two additional seasons, but PSG countered by only offering the Brazil internationa a one-year extension. 

In any case, Alves took to Twitter on Wednesday to deny the speculation, posting a tweet with the report along with several “thinking face” emojis, a “Pinnochio nose” emoji and a laughing emoji. 

Alves has made 20 total appearances for PSG this season, contributing four assists for the runaway Ligue 1 leaders.

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He is not the only veteran to be reportedly close to agreeing a new deal, with rumours also circulating that goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is set to sign a fresh one-year contract with the option of a second extra year.

The former Italy international followed Alves in swapping Juve for PSG last summer, and has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Alves, meanwhile, is currently sidelined with a knee injury.  picked up in PSG’s 3-1 win over Marseille on Sunday.