eveningstandard--2019-02-14--Malmo vs Chelsea LIVE Europa League football as it happened

Malmo vs Chelsea LIVE: Europa League football as it happened

The Europa League might not have been a priority for Chelsea at the start of the season but they are now hoping it can be the catalyst to turn their campaign around — just like six years ago.  The humiliation of Manchester City’s 6-0 victory over them on Sunday, which was their fourth successive away defeat in 2019 without scoring a goal, is fresh in everyone’s minds as they take on Malmo in Sweden.  This is not the first time Chelsea have entered the knock-out phase of the much-maligned tournament on Valentine’s Day with a manager under pressure after a string of disappointing results. There are a number of similarities between what Maurizio Sarri is going through now and Rafael Benitez’s situation in 2013.  Granted, Benitez was only an interim coach and Chelsea had dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in the Champions League group stage but the feelings of angst around the club were just as prevalent.  The former Liverpool boss was not popular with many fans, there were strong suggestions he would not see the season out and the club were struggling to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition via a top-four finish in the Premier League. Spot the difference?  Back then, Chelsea arrived in Prague to take on Sparta after a miserable run of just four wins in their previous 11 games. Confidence was at a low, having been knocked out of the League Cup semi-finals by Swansea as well as losing to QPR at home and Newcastle away in the League. Benitez’s men even struggled to secure a 2-2 draw against Brentford, who were a League One outfit at the time, in the FA Cup.  But form and confidence gradually started to return and it appeared to coincide with Chelsea starting their bid to win the Europa League. Few remember the scrappy 1-0 triumph secured by substitute Oscar against Sparta Prague with just eight minutes to go. In the team that night were two key members of the present squad — Cesar Azpilicueta and Eden Hazard — while David Luiz became more involved in the latter rounds. Lifting the Europa League in 2013 did not have the added bonus of a Champions League spot as it does now but progressing to the final — where they beat Benfica — did seem to have a knock-on effect and they finished third in the Premier League. How Sarri could do with history repeating itself, although with one significant difference — Benitez did not get to carry on in the post, with Chelsea deciding to appoint Jose Mourinho.


eveningstandard--2019-02-18--Chelsea vs Man Utd channel How to watch FA Cup football for free live on TV and online tonight

Chelsea vs Man Utd channel: How to watch FA Cup football for free live on TV and online tonight

Paul Pogba delivered a man-of-the-match performance to help Manchester United seal a 2-0 win over Chelsea and book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.  Despite Chelsea's vastly improved showing at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, it was United who made the most of their chances - with Pogba the architect of both goals.  The Frenchman first delivered a superb ball into Ander Herrera, who headed in the opener in the 31st minute before Pogba started and finished off the move that saw United double their lead seconds before the break.  It was a positive performance from United, off the back of their Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, while the defeat heaps yet more pressure on Maurizio Sarri - who faces a crucial two weeks that could determine his future at Chelsea.  Yet it wasn't just Sarri who found himself under pressure ahead of the fifth-round tie in west London as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also under scrutiny, though of a different kind, after United's 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions under his management came to an end in their 2-0 loss to PSG on Tuesday night.  Sarri, meanwhile, may have elicited a response from his side in their 2-1 win over Malmo in the Europa League on Thursday night, but Chelsea's 6-0 loss away to Manchester City prior to that would still have been a sore point for his players.  But against United on Monday, Chelsea displayed a much-improved performance as they quickly went about pressurising the visitors and creating chances.  Only a superb double save by Sergio Romero could keep out David Luiz's free-kick and then Pedro's effort on the rebound while Eden Hazard came close to scoring only to drive wide from Marcos Alonso's lay-off before Gonzalo Higuain headed wide.  Chelsea, at this point, appeared firmly in control.  And, yet, the hosts were made to rue their several missed chances when Pogba delivered a pinpoint cross from the left to Herrera on the right in the 31st minute.  The Spaniard got past his marker Alonso all too easily and headed in the opener to spark jubilant celebrations from Solskjaer and the United backroom staff.  Sarri's side seemed to recover well from the disappointment of conceding first but, things took another turn for the worse just before the break, when Pogba won the ball in midfield before passing to Rashford out on the right.  The 21-year-old proceeded to race forward before sending in a ball that Pogba headed past Kepa Arrizabalaga to double United's advantage.  The Red Devils could have put the game out of reach for Chelsea after the re-start when Rashford managed to run down the entire length of the pitch only to see his cross intended for Lukaku cleared by Luiz and a penalty shout for handball on Cesar Azpilicueta turned down.  But Chelsea had grievances of their own when former Blues midfielder Nemanja Matic escaped a sending off for fouling N'Golo Kante, having picked up a yellow card in the first half, and Antonio Rudiger was not awarded a penalty when Chris Smalling appeared to haul him down from behind in the box.  Yet the Chelsea fans were not in a forgiving mood as they booed Sarri's decision to take off Mateo Kovacic and, later, send on Davide Zappacosta while a cry of "What are you doing" could be heard from one disgruntled Chelsea fan.  Sarri will really fear for his long-term future after yet another loss, and one to a top-four rival while, in contrast, Solskjaer will feel he has responded well to his first defeat at United and shown the board once again why he is a serious contender for the permanent managerial spot at Old Trafford.


eveningstandard--2019-03-14--Arsenal vs Rennes TV channel How to watch Europa League football today via live stream online and o

Arsenal vs Rennes TV channel: How to watch Europa League football today via live stream online and on TV

Arsenal beat Rennes 3-0 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and in doing so became only the second side in the competition’s history to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg.  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck either side of Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ first goal at the Emirates as the Gunners progressed 4-3 on aggregate.  Only a week ago that seemed unlikely when Arsenal lost 3-1 in Rennes, but they wiped out that deficit in the first 15 minutes of this match.  In truth they should have put the game to bed in the first half, but it was not until Aubameyang’s second goal 18 minutes from time that they could breathe easy.  It completed an impressive comeback from Arsenal and indeed they are only the second side in Europa League history to achieve such a feat, with Fulham doing the same against Juventus back in 2010.  Despite the first-leg deficit facing Arsenal, there was no shortage of optimism at the Emirates before kick-off given the Gunners had beaten Manchester United 2-0 at the weekend.  Off the back of that win, Unai Emery made just two changes for the visit of Rennes as Petr Cech replaced Bernd Leno in goal and Shkodran Mustafi came in at centre-back for the suspended Sokratis.  The Greece international had been sent off in the first leg as Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat in France. However, there was no sense of a hangover from that loss here as the Gunners started this match at a blistering pace.  They were all over Rennes from the off and after five minutes they had their first goal of the night through Aubameyang.  Maitland-Niles did well down the right and found Aaron Ramsey, who slid the ball across goal for Aubameyang to tap home.  Spurred on by that, Arsenal refused to take their foot off the gas and 10 minutes later they duly had their second goal, which cancelled out Rennes’ first-leg lead.  This time it was Maitland-Niles getting on the scoresheet as the wing-back headed home Aubameyang’s cross, although it looked as though the Gabon international was offside from Ramsey’s pass in the build-up.  After racing into a two-goal lead, you expected Arsenal to go on and kill the tie but Rennes held firm and got through to half-time unscathed.  That allowed them to regroup and they almost took the lead right at the start of the second half, but striker M’Baye Niang saw his effort crash against the post.  Indeed, Rennes looked a much better side after the interval and Arsenal had to hold firm to keep them at bay.  But, just when it looked as though the French side may stage a comeback of their own, Arsenal got the killer third goal in the 72nd minute.  This time they found joy down the left flank and Sead Kolasinac expertly picked out Aubameyang with his cross to allow the striker to grab his second of the night.  He could have added to his tally twice more before full-time, but on both occasions he fluffed his lines.  Follow Arsenal vs Rennes LIVE reaction from the Emirates!  Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.


eveningstandard--2019-03-14--Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea TV channel How to watch Europa League football today via live stream online

Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea TV channel: How to watch Europa League football today via live stream online and on TV

Olivier Giroud starred for Chelsea in the Europa League yet again as his first hat-trick for the club helped them cruise into the quarter-finals.  Chelsea made a mockery of Maurizio Sarri's complaints of a ‘dangerous pitch’ to sweep their bewildered hosts aside and can look forward to Friday's draw with confidence.  Dynamo Kiev weren’t expected to overcome the 3-0 deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge, but with over 64,000 fans in attendance, there was the potential at least for a more difficult contest.  But Giroud silenced the expectant crowd in the fifth minute by doing what he’s done for the past four months in this competition - finding the net.  It was all too easy as Willian’s cross was flicked on by Ruben Loftus-Cheek at the near post and the France international converted from close range.  Giroud spent the first three months of the season without a goal for Chelsea, but that all changed when he scored the winner at BATE Borisov.  Now he can’t stop making the difference in Europe as just after the half-hour mark, he made it a fine brace.  It was a lovely move too, Loftus-Cheek rolled his man, Marcos Alonso delivered a sublime cross and Giroud did the rest.  With that effort, it not only meant his tally read an impressive eight in his last seven Europa League appearances, it also made him the top scorer in the competition.  Sarri made seven changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Wolves on Sunday, leaving the likes of Eden Hazard, Jorginho and David Luiz on the bench.  But the Italian still chose a strong line-up packed full of experience as was shown by N’Golo Kante’s presence on the field.  Sarri was wary ahead of the game over the possibility of Dynamo staging a comeback and his line-up reflected that.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the Ukrainian side didn’t offer much of a threat in the first encounter at Stamford Bridge – they didn’t even have a shot on target.  It was more of the same here and in truth, Sarri’s decision not to have youngster Ethan Ampadu on the bench seemed a wasted opportunity.  In fairness, he at least started Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, although the latter took a while to show his quality.  But when it came it was worth the wait. A lovely one-two with Giroud played the teenager in and Alonso had a simple finish from the ensuing cross to put Chelsea 3-0 up on the night just before the half-time whistle.  It seemed like a case of how many Sarri’s side would get after the interval, but to their credit Dynamo went in pursuit of a consolation.  They almost got it too. Serhiy Sydorchuk was denied from close range by Kepa Arrizabalaga and then saw a follow-up hit the post.  But inevitably it was that man Giroud who added another to the scoreline, heading home Willian’s free kick to make it a memorable personal outing for him.  The 32-year-old wasn’t finished there either, rolling a sublime pass for Hudson-Odoi to break clear and finish the rout. It was the 18-year-old’s fourth Europa League goal.  Chelsea will surely be made to work a lot harder to win the competition from here on out, but no-one can fault their approach to the tournament so far.  Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.


eveningstandard--2019-03-17--Everton vs Chelsea TV channel How to watch Premier League football today via live stream online and

Everton vs Chelsea TV channel: How to watch Premier League football today via live stream online and on TV

Chelsea head to Everton this afternoon aiming to close the gap to the top four.  The Blues sit three points outside the Champions League places but a significantly inferior goal difference means it is unlikely they will leapfrog fourth-place Arsenal this afternoon.  Head coach Maurizio Sarri feels his team have tightened up defensively during a five-match unbeaten run in all competitions which has dragged him back from the brink of dismissal.  But the Blues remain the lowest scoring of the Premier League's top six clubs with 50 goals in 29 matches.  Meanwhile, wins for West Ham and Leciester on Saturday left Everton needing victory to keep the heat on in the race to finish seventh.  The Toffees are seven points behind Wolves, while wins for Leicester and West Ham on Saturday saw Marco Silva's men lose more ground in the battle at the bottom of the top half.  Here's how you can follow all the action...  The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Premier League and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £8.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.  You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.


eveningstandard--2019-04-09--Liverpool vs Porto LIVE stream and channel How to watch todayaposs Champions League football on T

Liverpool vs Porto LIVE stream and channel: How to watch today's Champions League football on TV and online

Liverpool put themselves within touching distance of a second successive Champions League semi-final with a 2-0 victory over FC Porto in their last-eight clash at Anfield.  First-half goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino secured an all-important first-leg lead, and though Jurgen Klopp’s side had chances to put the tie out of sight, they will be strong favourites to set up a mouth-watering meeting with either Manchester United or Barcelona.  Klopp sprung a surprise by giving Dejan Lovren his first start since January at the heart of the defence, with James Milner deputising for the suspended Andy Robertson at left-back and Joe Gomez back in the matchday squad for the first time since his return from a broken leg.  Porto arrived with suspension issues of their own, robbed of skipper Hector Herrera and their most experienced defender in Pepe, and within five minutes the latter’s absence was keenly felt.  It was deputy full-back Milner who started the move with a sweeping pass out to Sadio Mane, who in turn fed Firmino.  Milner’s shift to the backline ensured a start for Keita in midfield, and it was the number eight who arrived onto Firmino’s typically unselfish lay-off to fire past Iker Casillas with the help of a sizeable deflection, and net his second goal for the club less than a week after his first.  Liverpool were purring, with Mohamed Salah, like Keita, looking revitalised after ending a scoring drought of his own against Southampton on Friday night. The Egyptian should have made it two, pouncing on a woeful back-pass to stride clean through on goal, only to slide past the far post.  Before half hour was on the clock, though, the Reds had their second after a wonderfully worked move, which saw Jordan Henderson again demonstrate his oft-questioned attacking capabilities with a peach of a pass inside the full-back for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who rolled across goal for Firmino to tuck home.  The warning signs were there at the other end, in particular from Moussa Marega, looking to score in a seventh successive Champions League game, and he forced a good stop from the feet of Alisson.  There was a heart-in-mouth moment for the Anfield faithful when Alisson slapped the ball onto the arm of Alexander-Arnold from close range, and given the precedent set by Uefa elsewhere this season, you feared that the harshest of spot-kicks might be inevitable. Thankfully, though not entirely consistently, common sense prevailed.  Henderson almost teed up a third on two occasions, one either side of half-time, first crossing for Firmino to blaze into the Kop and then seeing Mane find the back of the net from his ball, only for the most marginal of offside calls to deny the hosts.  With the second leg falling between two crucial games in the Premier League title run-in, you sensed the Reds saw an opportunity to get the tie sealed on the night. Salah twice saw shots at goal blocked by his own team-mates, though not quite in the fashion of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.  The Portuguese side had scored in every European road game this season, and surely knew the value of an away goal to take back to the Estadio do Dragao. However, as the game ticked into its final quarter of an hour, they seemed to place more emphasis on not conceding a third.  That this competition represents only part of Liverpool’s ambitions in the final weeks of this season was emphasised when Klopp took the chance to give Mane and Firmino breathers late on, and the Reds now prepare to host Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday with dreams of a historic double still alive.  Relive all the action with Standard Sport!  Can't see the live blog? Click here for the desktop version.


eveningstandard--2019-04-18--Chelsea vs Slavia Prague LIVE stream and channel How to watch tonightaposs Europa League football

Chelsea vs Slavia Prague LIVE stream and channel: How to watch tonight's Europa League football on TV and online

Pedro scored twice and created another to fire Chelsea into the Europa League semi-finals following a thrilling 4-3 (5-3 aggregate) win over Slavia Prague on Thursday night.  The Spaniard saw his delightful chipped effort open the scoring in just the fifth minute before he struck the post but saw the ball rebound off Simon Deli's face and into the net five minutes later.  Olivier Giroud then netted his 10th Europa League goal of the season from Pedro's pass before Slavia Prague captain Tomas Soucek handed the visitors hope with a fierce effort from a corner kick.  Despite Pedro's 27th-minute goal seemingly taking the game out of reach for Slavia Prague, Petr Sevcik's stunning second-half brace highlighted once again the startling difference in performances for Chelsea in the first and second halves of many matches this season.  However, Maurizio Sarri's side survived a second-half scare to progress to the Europa League last four where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt.  Despite the fact that Chelsea came into the second-leg clash with Slavia Prague leading the tie 1-0, Sarri decided to field a strong side for fear of seeing the visitors, who created several chances and remained relatively organised in defence last week, stunning the Blues.  But any fears Sarri may have had about Slavia Prague beginning the game strongly were quashed within just five minutes when Pedro - back in the starting line-up along with four other changes to the side that lost 2-0 away to Liverpool on Sunday - opened the scoring.  Following some lovely collective build-up play by the Blues, Giroud played the key, one-touch pass into Pedro who chipped the ball over goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar.  It then took just four minutes for Chelsea to score another, this time Pedro's near-post effort from Eden Hazard's cross crashed off the post only to hit Simon Deli in the face and fly into the back of his own net.  The Spaniard was clearly enjoying his time on the pitch, but so too was Giroud - the Europa League's top scorer this season - who did not just create the opener but also played a role in Chelsea's second.  A goal was all that was missing from the striker's performance on Thursday night, and the 32-year-old got it in the 17th minute when he coolly drove in Pedro's cross from the right.  Chelsea were dominant in the first half of the contest, but the Blues didn't have it all their own way. Indeed, Kepa Arrizabalaga was forced to save Deli's header from a free-kick, which led to a corner kick from which Tomas Soucek scored from.  But if the visitors thought they had hauled themselves back into the tie, they suffered a sucker-punch just a minute later when Pedro netted to make it 4-1.  Perhaps Slavia Prague had watched replays of Chelsea's two recent away losses to Everton and Liverpool - in which the Blues had two differing first and second halves - because they emerged from the break in blistering fashion and were rewarded with two goals in the space of four minutes.  Sevcik was the goalscorer on both occasions, with two almost identical goals - the first, a long-range effort that Kepa will feel he should have saved at his near post and the second, a stunner that flew into the top corner of the left-hand side of the net.  Sarri sent on Jorginho and Willian in a bid to steady the ship, and that they did. There was one last nervy moment for Chelsea, however, when David Luiz gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position after handling the ball.  But Miroslav Sotch hit the wall as Chelsea nervously advanced to the semi-finals of a competition they are aiming to win because of how tight the top-four race has become in the Premier League.  Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.


eveningstandard--2019-04-23--Tottenham vs Brighton LIVE stream and channel How to watch Premier League football on TV and online

Tottenham vs Brighton LIVE stream and channel: How to watch Premier League football on TV and online

Tottenham took a significant step forward in the battle for the Premier League’s top four thanks to an 88th-minute winner against a dogged, defensive and determined Brighton.  After their top-four rivals had all faltered over the Easter weekend, Mauricio Pochettino’s side had the chance to move clear of those in the chasing pack against a team without a win in six matches who had not scored a goal in 570 minutes of top-flight football.  Having ended a five-matching losing run at Wolves over the weekend, Brighton put on another unrelenting defensive performance before Christian Eriksen finally sent Spurs clear in the race for the top four with his late strike from range.  The south coast side, with just three points keeping them from the final relegation spot, sat deep and invited Spurs to break them down, Fernando Llorente left to battle Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk in the middle with both Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura stretching from either flank.  Back-to-back Brighton corners aside, after Victor Wanyama lashed the ball over, Tottenham were well in control, but had to wait until the 20th minute for a first clear-cut chance as Dunk threw himself in front of Jan Vertonghen’s close-range effort in the scramble after Eriksen’s low free-kick was hooked clear.  Chris Hughton’s side were sinking deeper with every minute that passed and Spurs were struggling to find clear passage, Vertonghen often found floating on the edge of the Brighton area.  They finally began to create some openings after Lucas made his way over to the left flank, the Brazilian causing relentless problems for Martin Montoya and fizzing an effort under Mat Ryan which Dunk was forced to clear just yards from goal, though it was perhaps destined to sneak just past the far post.  Danny Rose and Dele Alli too found spaces beyond the Brighton right-back and an opener seemed inevitable. It almost came at the other end, however.  Florin Andone, leading the line for Brighton and just booked for a challenge on Rose midway inside the visitors' half, found the space to break and charged towards Hugo Lloris, only to see roles reversed as Rose flew in to win the ball and earn raucous applause from the home support.  Andone was arguably lucky not to receive a second yellow card moments later following a trip on Son back in his own half.  He stayed put, however, and continued to sit at the front of Brighton’s green bus, again defiant when Kieran Trippier’s looping ball was majestically brought under control by Alli before Ryan got a hand to his poked effort allowing time for Duffy to clear on the line.  Tottenham had not played out a goalless draw in 67 previous games, and Pochettino’s side ramped things up a little after the restart. Passes were shorter and quicker but still Brighton held on, Eriksen restricted to sending an effort over the bar and into the looming 17,500-seat South Stand.  Rose had found himself in space down the left on a couple of occasions but could not bring the ball under control. At the third attempt, the England full-back cut inside and whipped a wicked right-footed effort towards Ryan who reacted sharply to beat the strike clear.  Spurs inched closer and closer, all 11 Brighton shirts crammed into their own defensive third before Toby Alderweireld thought he had found the breakthrough. The Belgian swivelled and sent a low effort onto the foot of the right-hand post only to watch as it agonisingly rebounded across the face of the goal and past the other upright. Still no way through.  Hughton sent on Glenn Murray and Solly March, offering little more than an illusion that Brighton were going to look for a goal, though Pochettino had limited options on the bench.  Vincent Janssen’s half-hearted warm-ups suggested that perhaps even the Dutchman doubted that he would get a chance, but as the only attacking option at his manager’s disposal, on he went, a first Tottenham appearance since August 2017, their maiden Premier League game at Wembley.  It was almost a dream return. Eriksen cracked a low effort through the Brighton defence, Ryan parried to the feet of Janssen before it was clipped away at the last second.  Tottenham could still find no way through and were restricted to further efforts from range. The hosts had racked up 20 shots from outside the box, their most in just over four years, before, finally, the 21st shattered the nerves and frustration inside Spurs’ new home.  Eriksen found himself again in the spot which had almost offered Janssen a chance, and again with no other option but to shoot through a gaggle of Brighton bodies.  He whipped another strike low and to Ryan’s left, but this time the Australian could not get down to it and the Dane wheeled away, Tottenham a step closer to a fourth consecutive season in Europe’s premier club competition.  They will now relish a London derby with West Ham to keep their 100 per cent record at the new stadium intact.  Relive all the action with Standard Sport!  Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.


eveningstandard--2019-05-02--Liverpool shown the power of elite footballaposs fine margins as brutal Barcelona get the job done

Liverpool shown the power of elite football's fine margins as brutal Barcelona get the job done

It is testament to Jurgen Klopp’s sunny disposition that he could so quickly identify the positives from Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Barcelona.  The Reds had been beaten by a scoreline convincing enough to suggest that their Champions League hopes had died in Catalonia, as well as their bid to avoid a seventh consecutive trophyless campaign.  And yet Klopp spent his post-match press conference hailing what he viewed as his team’s best away performance in Europe this season.  He said: “From my point of view my boys gained a lot of respect for the way they played, and I am so happy with how they developed.  “I had so much fun out of that game but in the end we lost it, which is not funny really. I am long enough in the business that I have learned to accept it.  “Whatever happens, these boys, I couldn’t be more proud of them. People who haven’t seen the game will see the result and say strange things about it, but they always strike back in these kind of games.  “How brave they are, I just like it. And in the end it is still 3-0, it will not change.  “There will be a moment when I can convince the boys again how important this game was for our development because I really think this was our best Champions League away performance.  “That is another important message for us not the world outside because they look at the result.”  In fairness to Klopp, he was completely right.  Liverpool outshot and outpassed their hosts over the course of 90 minutes - not something Camp Nou regulars are used to seeing.  Unfortunately, they did not outfinish Barcelona and, as ever, that was all that mattered when the final whistle blew.  These are the cruel fine margins at the elite end of the sporting spectrum, where the biggest competitions are decided by the big moments.  It is something a decorated player such as James Milner knows all too well, a fact that meant he was no mood to praise the Reds’ performance at full-time.  "I think at this stage of the competition the result is the only thing that matters really," he told beIN Sports.  "Maybe we can take heart that we created chances in the game and we should have probably taken a couple of those, but it didn't happen and they are a top team who are always going to create chances and they took them.  "We can be proud of our play, but at this stage of the competition you need to get the result."  It is not difficult to make the case that, for Liverpool, injuries have tended to play a part in their inability to come down on the right side of those fine margins, particularly under Klopp.  The absence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and early loss of Mohamed Salah in Kiev certainly played a part in last season’s European run coming to an unsatisfactory conclusion.  And here, the Reds were already without Roberto Firmino before the increasingly influential Naby Keita was forced out of the game with 20 minutes gone.  But that is an issue for the manager to ponder over the summer; now, he must focus fully on the seemingly impossible job that awaits at Anfield next week.  Of course, in true Klopp fashion, he still believes it is possible.  He said: “Because it is football, yes, but before this game we had a bigger chance, let me say it like this. It is difficult.  “It is Barcelona and they can play for counter attacks, which doesn’t help us a lot. Because it is football, we should still try but it didn’t make our life easier.  “It is not the night to be mouthy and saying it was exactly what we wanted, if we score an early goal and all that s***. It will be another really difficult game.”  Perhaps the truest test of the German’s always-positive outlook will come in June, when Liverpool will finally know whether it is their turn to pick up the winners’ medals.


eveningstandard--2019-05-29--No Champions League football for Arsenal next season as Chelsea consign Gunners to Europa League

Arsenal will be playing Europa League football again next season after defeat against Chelsea in Baku saw the Gunners miss out on potential Champions League qualification.  The Gunners headed into Wednesday night's Europa League Final knowing that only a win would see them qualify for the 2019-20 Champions League.  Unai Emery's side had looked odds-on to qualify for Europe's elite club competition via a top-four finish during the Premier League run-in, but a disastrous string of results saw them finish fifth in the table.  That left winning the Europa League as their final chance of reaching the Champions League next term, but Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku to extinguish those hopes.  Arsenal's failure to qualify for the Champions League is also set to have a knock-on effect for their summer transfer plans, with Emery set to have a smaller budget as a result.  The Gunners join Manchester United in the Europa League next season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Red Devils missing out after finishing sixth in the table.


eveningstandard--2019-07-02--England vs USA time and TV channel How to watch football World Cup semi-final as Lionesses take on

England vs USA time and TV channel: How to watch football World Cup semi-final as Lionesses take on the USWNT

England's Lionesses will face a tough challenge as they take on the tournament favourites USA in tonight's World Cup semi-final.  Phil Neville's side are now just two games away from World Cup glory, but standing in between them is a USA side who are heading into the match off the back of an impressive win over holders France.  But the Lionesses will be no pushover either, and after winning a feisty last-16 encounter against Cameroon they put in a ruthlessly professional performance to dismantle Norway 3-0 in the quarter-finals.  So how can you watch England vs USA in the World Cup semi-final?  Here's how to keep up to date with all the action.  The World Cup semi-final kicks off on Tuesday July 2, at 8pm BST or 3pm ET.  England and the USA both met back in March during the She Belives Cup, with the score tied at 2-2.  BBC Sport has live coverage of every match on television, via the red button and through the BBC Sport website.  The competition’s opener will be broadcast live on BBC One with live coverage beginning from 7:30pm, and streamed online via the BBC iPlayer.  Standard Sport will have full coverage of the match via our LIVE blog.  The final will be held at 4pm on Sunday, July 7 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France.


eveningstandard--2019-08-25--Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis LIVE La Liga 2019-20 football as it happened - Griezmann nets brace in rou

Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis LIVE: La Liga 2019-20 football as it happened - Griezmann nets brace in rout

Antoine Griezmann hit his first goals for Barcelona as the champions came from behind to thrash Real Betis 5-2 at Camp Nou on Sunday.  Ernesto Valverde’s side had lost their LaLiga opener to Athletic Club nine days ago and were without Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele for this one because of injuries.  They had lost this fixture 4-3 to Betis last season and despite dominating the first half, they found themselves behind against the run of play when Loren Moron spotted a run from Nabil Fekir and the France midfielder slotted a fine finish into the corner from an angle.  Barca dipped slightly after that, but backed by their vocal fans, the Catalans continued to attack and Griezmann levelled four minutes before the break as he latched onto a fine ball by Sergi Roberto and hit a volley past Dani Martin, who perhaps should have done better.  Griezmann then fired Barca ahead in spectacular style early in the second half when he bent a brilliant curler past Martin with his left foot from the corner of the area and celebrated with his arms aloft in front of the home fans.  Young striker Carles Perez then picked his spot to send a low shot past Martin from the edge of the box after 56 minutes and the match effectively ended as a contest as Jordi Alba made it 4-1 on the hour when he ran onto a Busquets pass and hit a low effort inside the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.  Substitute Arturo Vidal thumped in a fifth with 12 minutes left and although Loren pulled one back with a fierce drive from outside the box at the other end, Valverde’s side were in full control.  There was also a debut for 16-year-old Guinea-Bissau-born forward Ansu Fati and he showed glimpses of his talent in the final minutes as Barca impressed in the absence of Messi and Suarez to show that they remain the team to beat in La Liga this season.  Scroll down to see the game as it happened with our LIVE coverage below...  Can’t see the Barcelona vs Real Betis LIVE: La Liga commentary stream blog? Click here to access our desktop page.  Fans of LaLiga in the UK and Ireland will be able to watch the competition after all as ITV announced plans to show one game per week.  There was no buyer when rights for LaLiga were auctioned in July, but ITV confirmed one day before the season started that they would show one live game in each of the first three matchdays.  The match will be screened live for free on ITV4, and can be streamed online via the ITV Hub.


eveningstandard--2019-09-07--FA WSL LIVE Womenaposs football commentary from Man City v Man Utd as Womenaposs Super League 2

FA WSL LIVE! Women's football commentary from Man City v Man Utd as Women's Super League 2019-20 begins

Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage of the opening weekend of the FA Women's Super League.  The campaign kicks off today with an expanded 12-team roster, with Manchester United - founded in May 2018 - and Tottenham gaining promotion from the championship last term.  Today's action sees Manchester City host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium with James Robson in attendance, while Bristol City and Brighton face off at Ashton Gate.  Follow all the FA WSL action with Standard Sport this weekend!  Can't see the FA WSL LIVE! Women’s football commentary from Man City vs Man Utd as Women’s Super League 2019-20 begins blog? Click here for the desktop version.  The Football Association has seized the opportunity of the men's international break to kick off the season with two derby matches to be held at Premier League grounds.  Click here for the FA's website for a full run-down of the 2019-20 fixture list and calendar.  Click here for the FA's website for more information on how to buy tickets for every WSL and Women's Championship club.  The WSL will be broadcast overseas for the first time during the 2019-20 season.  A new three-year media rights deal has been struck with Sky Mexico and Scandinavian broadcaster NENT which will see the competition shown live to viewers in Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.  Monday also marked the launch of The FA Player - a new global streaming service - which will provide free access to over 150 games along with selected match highlights from the Women's FA Cup, Lionesses games and the FA Women's Continental League Cup, starting from September 7.  The six-figure revenue from the deals is set to be reinvested into further broadcasting of women's football, including the development of The FA Player.


powerlineblog--2019-03-15--English teams dominate in European football

The English Premier League (EPL) has been presenting outstanding soccer for many years. However, its excellence hasn’t fully been reflected in European club competitions.  English clubs have won the top European competition — the Champions League — only three times this century (Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea once each). By contrast, the two top Spanish clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have won it a combined nine times.  This is a far cry from my early years of soccer fandom when English teams won six straight European championships (Liverpool 3, Nottingham Forest 2, and Aston Villa 1).  This year, however, English clubs are ascendant. All four clubs that competed in the Champions League have made it to the quarterfinals. Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United join Barcelona, Juventus (Italy), Ajax (Holland), and Porto (Portugal) in the last eight.  German soccer is the loser. The Bundesliga, often the EPL’s rival for best of the rest after La Liga, suffered the humiliation of seeing three teams lose to English sides in the round of 16.  Bayern Munich, the best of the lot, lost to Liverpool, the second place EPL team. Over the two matches, Liverpool prevailed by a combined score of 3-1. The fabled Bavarian side was clearly second best.  Tottenham, currently in third place, handily bested Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate. Dortmund is currently in second place, just behind Bayern Munich.  Manchester United faced French opposition — namely Paris St. Germain a powerhouse built on Middle Eastern wealth. Man U is only in fifth place in the EPL, while PSG is miles ahead of the pack in the French top division.  Nonetheless, Man U prevailed on a penalty kick (dubiously awarded) in the dying seconds of the second match. United was a bit lucky in my view, but its grit in coming from two goals behind cannot be denied.  Two English teams also have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Europa League, Europe’s competition for also-rans. Chelsea crushed Dynamo Kiev, a perennial power in Europe, 8-0 on aggregate. Arsenal squeaked past French overachievers Rennes by a 4-3 margin.  I suppose the EPL won’t be able to declare victory unless it wins at least one of these competitions this year, preferably the Champions League. It won’t be easy. Barcelona and Juventus are arguably the favorites, followed closely by Man City and Liverpool. We’ll have a better fix on the odds when quarterfinal pairings are announced.  In the other competition, Arsenal and Chelsea should be among the favorites. (The latter club seems to have gotten through the crisis that arose from its goalkeeper’s insubordination in a recent domestic Cup Final). Both sides were probably happy to see Sevilla, which has won this tournament three times in the past five years, eliminated on penalty kicks by upstarts Slavia Prague.  However Benfica (Portugal) and Napoli must be rated as at least the equals of Arsenal and Chelsea among the final eight.  One problem with the EPL is its top-heaviness. There are no truly good teams after the top six.  However, all of the major European Leagues are top-heavy. In fact, there are few that even go six deep.  The Championship League resumes on April 9. I’ll be rooting for Tottenham.  UPDATE: The draw for the Champions League quarterfinals is in. The matchups are:  In the Europa League, Arsenal drew Napoli while Chelsea drew Slavia Prague.


france24--2019-03-16--Le Classique French footballs fallen icon

'Le Classique', French football's fallen icon

Boris Horvat, AFP | Supporters cheer during the French L1 football match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Velodrome stadium, in Marseille, on October 28, 2018.  Le Classique, the match between PSG and Marseille, was once a clash of two strong forces, akin to Spain’s Clasico pitting Real Madrid against Barcelona. But in light of PSG’s hegemony over Ligue 1, Sunday’s game is expected to be one-sided.  The Paris Saint-Germain v. Olympique de Marseille fixture transcends football. Many in France see it as a battle between the north and the south, the country’s first city against its second city, the seat of the French establishment against the often restive port city on the Mediterranean coast.  However, only a brave pundit would predict anything other than a PSG victory in Sunday’s clash at the Parc des Princes.  Since Marseille’s most recent Classique triumph in November 2011 – just before PSG started reaping the rewards of the gargantuan quantities of petrodollars pumped in by their new owner, Oryx Qatar Sports Investments – the Parisian club have won a whopping 15 of the 18 Classiques. The other three were draws.  Since 2013, PSG have won Ligue 1 every season except 2016-17, when Monaco claimed the title. Marseille, by contrast, have failed to finish in the top three since 2012-2013 (when they came second to PSG). This season, the Parisian club are perched firmly at the top of Ligue 1, 17 points ahead of Lille in second place, and 27 points in front of fourth-placed Marseille.  Despite their March 6 Champions League defeat at the hands of a resurgent Manchester United – which sent them crashing out of Europe’s top competition – PSG’s squad contains more than enough quality for them to dominate the French league, with superstars Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani up front and the world-class playmaker Marco Verratti in midfield.  That’s while Marseille currently have little in the way of renowned talent – their only player to command major international name-recognition is the erratic but gifted striker Mario Balotelli, who has scored five goals in since games since joining the club in January.  Fierce clashes of the ’80s and ’90s  Today’s state of affairs is a far cry from the epic PSG-Marseille encounters of the late '80s and '90s, from which their burning rivalry emerged. Set up in 1899, Marseille were a significant force in the French game throughout most of the twentieth century. PSG were only founded in 1970 – before innovative manager Gérard Houllier steered them to their first Ligue 1 title in 1986.  But unfortunately for the Parisian side, this was while Les Phocéens – as their southern adversaries are nicknamed – were just entering their golden age.  French businessman and politician Bernard Tapie bought Marseille in 1986. He poured forth money to recruit top talent such as Ghanaian attacking midfielder Abedi Pelé, French defender Basile Boli and English winger Chris Waddle. Outstanding young players were also cultivated – most notably Eric Cantona, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly, who all went on to become French footballing icons.  In the Tapie era, Les Phocéens won three successive Ligue 1 titles from 1989 to 1992, came second in the 1991 European Cup, then won that tournament in its first incarnation as the Champions League, in 1993. The Marseille of that era were arguably the greatest team in the history of French football.  Yet their Parisian adversaries were still good enough to provide tough competition. Most notably, towards the end of the 1989-90 season, when Marseille were swaggering along to their inevitable capture of the Ligue 1 title, PSG managed to rain on their parade with a 2-1 victory, gifted by a late, great header from Croatian striker Zlatko Vujovic.  Then, in 1991, PSG got their own sugar daddy – or, rather, sugar corporation. Canal +, France’s biggest pay TV network, bought the Parisian club and injected the necessary funds to buy gifted players such as Liberian striker George Weah – widely regarded as the greatest African footballer of all time – and iconic French midfielder David Ginola.  It became clear just how much PSG had upped their game in a famous match in May 1993, which would decide that season’s Ligue 1 title. At the apex of their glory days, Marseille had just returned to France after winning the Champions League. Flagging after their European victory and celebrations, Les Phocéens initially proffered little opposition against a fiercely determined PSG side that went 1-0 up in the 8th minute and were unlucky not to have made it into a rout. Nevertheless, Marseille soon burst into life, turning the game around with three goals, including an astonishing ensemble effort consummated by a Basile Boli header.  Dwindling fortunes but lively matches in the 2000s  Both clubs’ fortunes dwindled in the ’90s. Tapie was jailed in a 1994 match-fixing scandal, in which Marseille were punished with relegation to Ligue 2. Although Les Phocéens soon bounced back into the top flight, their new owner was not so keen to splurge in the transfer market. Likewise, Canal +’s money taps dried up for PSG in the mid-'90s.  But, for a long while, Le Classique remained just as lively. For example, in 1999, Marseille were locked in a title battle with Bordeaux, only to be overcome in a 2-1 victory for otherwise floundering PSG side. Les Phocéens ended up second in the league, one point behind Bordeaux – deprived of the title by their Parisian arch-rivals.  Similarly, PSG and Marseille squared off against each other as relative equals in the 2000s. The presence of such luminaries as Brazilians Ronaldinho and Pauleta belied the Parisians’ often disappointing Ligue 1 results; their southern rivals were much more frequent, if erratic, title contenders. Nevertheless, PSG tended to come good against their bitterest rivals. Most memorably, despite coming six places behind Marseilles in the 2005-06 Ligue 1, they eked out a 2-1 victory over Les Phocéens in that year’s French Cup final.  However, the most recent Marseille victory – their 3-0 victory at home in November 2011 – constituted the final act of a 25-year rivalry of relative equals.  The subsequent asymmetry between the two clubs is a direct product of the asymmetry between their two balance sheets. In 2016, Les Phocéens’ new owner, American businessman Frank McCourt, pledged to spend €200 million over four years to bolster the team’s chances. The following summer, PSG’s owners forked out €222 million just to sign Neymar.  That said, recent Champions League results show that money isn’t everything in football. PSG’s financial largesse did little to help them in the face of Manchester United’s lacerating counter-attacks on March 6. The previous night, Real Madrid’s status as the richest club in the world was no defence against a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Ajax.  Meanwhile, the Parisians are somewhat weakened due to injuries to Neymar, Cavani and winger Julian Draxler.  In this context – and with an in-form Balotelli likely to pose a fierce threat up front – Marseille fans could be forgiven for hoping that Sunday will be their night.


france24--2019-07-02--Womens Football World Cup set for semi-final clashes in Lyon

Women’s Football World Cup set for semi-final clashes in Lyon

Three European sides feature in the final four as the Women’s Football World Cup moves to Lyon for both semi-finals: England meets the USA on Tuesday in what could well have been a final while Sweden seeks revenge over The Netherlands on Wednesday.  Of the two semi-finals, the England-USA match-up is surely the most tantalising. The two nations have met only once before in a World Cup – in 2007, when the United States eliminated England in a 3-0 quarter-final blowout. But 12 years on, the gap between the two squads has narrowed. The Three Lionesses have made enormous progress in recent years, to the point of counting among the favourites for this World Cup in France. Semi-finalists four years ago before a 2-1 ouster at the hands of Japan, England is looking to power through to the final this time. From the start of this competition, the English have made good on their offensive talent, with five wins to their credit, including two 3-0 victories over Cameroon and Norway.  Playing the defending champion USA is a whole different story, but England held their own during the pair’s most recent meeting. Back in March, at the SheBelieves Cup, England managed a 2-2 tie with the Americans before going on to win the tournament.  USA coach Jill Ellis’s squad, meanwhile, showed during their Round of 16 win against Spain and again in the quarter-final against hosts France that they can be caught off balance and betrayed defensive weaknesses apt to be exploited by their European counterparts on Tuesday. The duel is poised to be very interesting to watch on offense. On the one hand, Americans Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have scored five goals each in this World Cup. On the other, England’s Ellen White has also netted five. Lucy Bronze, the English defender who plies her trade locally for French powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais (OL), will be looking for success in front of her fans at her home away from home. But OL alumni Morgan and Rapinoe, too, are no strangers to winning football in Lyon.  Reigning European champions, the Dutch, will play their first-ever World Cup semi-final on Wednesday after beating Italy for the privilege. After making their first World Cup appearance in 2015, The Netherlands have gone from strength to strength. Now eighth in FIFA’s rankings, they must get past ninth-placed Sweden for a coveted place in Sunday’s final.  The Scandinavians, for their part, are veterans of this sort of meeting; Sweden made the World Cup semis in 1991 and 2011 and the finals in 2003. After a dip in form in recent years, the Swedes are looking to rekindle past glory. On that score, they are off to a good start, after upsetting favourites Germany in the quarters. But two years ago, at Euro 2017, it was the Dutch that got the better of Sweden in the quarterfinals in a 2-0 victory on the way to winning that tournament.  Wednesday’s game looks set to be wide open. On the attack, The Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema has scored three times in this World Cup while Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius, with two goals each so far, are the Swedish scoring threats to keep a particularly close eye on.  This article has been adapted from the original in French.


powerlineblog--2019-03-15--English teams dominate in European football UPDATED

English teams dominate in European football [UPDATED]


sputnik--2019-08-09--The Sputnik Intelligent Punters Guide to the 201920 Football Season Part Two - The Premiership

The Sputnik Intelligent Punter’s Guide to the 2019/20 Football Season: Part Two - The Premiership

How will the division pan out this year - and what are the best bets?  A few key stats are worth bearing in mind before placing ante-post bets. Unlike in the Championship (previewed by me here last week) market leaders have an excellent record.  Only once this century (Chelsea in 2015/6), has the favourite failed to finish in the first three. The favourite or the second favourite has won the Premiership in 13 of the last 15 seasons.  The most spectacular exception was, of course, Leicester City's fabulous 5000-1 win in 2015/6. While it pays to focus on the top two on the betting for 'win' purposes, there is sometimes good each-way value about placed teams.  Turning our attention to relegation, in 21 of the last 24 seasons at least one of the relegated teams had been promoted the previous season. Last year two promoted sides (Cardiff and Fulham) went straight back down, so in your relegation portfolio, it makes sense to include at least one promoted side. Teams that only narrowly avoided relegation in May have a relatively high chance of being relegated the following season, with Huddersfield, 16th in 2017/8, and then bottom in 2018/9, being the latest example of this trend.  It's also worth looking at whether a team is on a downward trajectory, standing still, or has forward momentum. A number of relegated teams ended the previous year in poor form, West Brom in 2018/9, a good example.  Now let's take a closer look at the 20 Premiership teams and their prospects, in alphabetical order.  Improved their points tally by seven last year to finish fifth (just two points off third), and with further modest improvement likely given squad additions the Gunners are a tempting each-way bet at currents odds to finish third, especially as there’s question marks about their rivals for a top-four berth.  Promoted last year via the play-offs; the stats tell us that teams that go up by that route are in special danger of being relegated the season afterwards. However, the last two times the Villains were promoted to the top flight (in 1975 and 1988), they stayed around for 12 years and 28 years respectively and while it should be close, history suggests they may just be able to survive.  Eddie Howe's men started last season very brightly but had a poor second half of the season, and that gives real grounds for concern for this campaign. That said Howe has strengthened the defence and with a bit more solidity they’ll probably gain enough points to stay up.  Although they reached the FA Cup semi-finals, their League form slumped alarmingly from the turn of the year and they ended up avoiding relegation by just two points. Graham Potter replaces Chris Hughton in the dug-out, but without major squad strengthening he faces a tough job in keeping the Seagulls up.  If anything, the way manager Sean Dyche turned things around last season, after a terrible start, was as impressive as the work he did to take Burnley to 7th place in 2017/8. There are no Europa League distractions this time around and with a strengthened squad, mid-table security should be achieved.  The club’s taken quite a risk appointing the relatively inexperienced Frank Lampard as manager and there’s also the departure of influential Eden Hazard- and the transfer embargo to factor in. It looks like a season of transition is on the cards at Stamford Bridge, where Cup success and maintaining a top-four position would probably please most fans.  Zaha stays- at least for the time being, which is important, but Palace, who are excellent away,  need to improve their home form (only five wins last year), if they are to kick on and leave relegation worries far behind them.  After a poor mid-season the Toffees finished 2018/9 quite strongly, particularly at home. That gives grounds for optimism that Marco Silva’s men will be able to challenge for a top six-position.  Maguire has gone to Man Utd, which is a blow, but Brendan Rodgers started well at the Foxes last season and with plenty of bite in the final third they should be able to maintain a mid-table or upper mid-table position quite comfortably.  Despite losing just one match they narrowly failed to take the title last year, but improved their points haul by 22 points, and so the momentum is very much with them. Another very close tussle with Man City looks on the cards, but this time, the Reds may just have the edge.  Winner for the past two seasons, acquiring an aggregate total of 198 points, it’s hard to back against them, but winning the title for third year running won’t be easy and the focus on landing the Champions League for the very first time may just impact on League results in the final part of the season.  Results improved at first under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Mourinho exited but then there was another demoralising slump at the finish, which doesn’t bode well for this campaign. James, Maguire and Wan-Bissaka have been brought in but other transfer targets missed and overall the squad doesn’t look strong enough to compete for the title.  Losing the brilliant Benitez is a big blow and new gaffer Steve Bruce will face a big challenge matching last season’s 13th place finish. Another battle with relegation looks likely, but one suspects they’ll just have enough about them to stay up.  The Canaries scored for fun when winning the Championship last season and fans will be hoping they’ll be the new Bournemouth, and not the new Blackpool, as they return to the top flight after a three-year absence.  They’re likely to be involved in some high-scoring matches, and while it’s likely to be a hard campaign, they might just have enough about them to avoid relegation.  Chris Wilder worked wonders getting the Blades promoted last season- just two years after being in League One, but it will be an even greater feat keeping them up, bearing in mind the last time they were promoted, in 2005/6 they went straight back down. They’re capable of causing some surprises particularly in the early stages of the season, and while you can’t rule out them doing better than expected, the trends suggest they’re likely to go down.  The Saints have finished 17th and 16th the last two seasons, and although they did look a lot brighter after Ralph Hasenhuttl took over in December the danger signs are most definitely there. It could be nip and tuck, but there are goals in this side and that may help keep them afloat once again.  Reaching the final of the Champions League was a terrific achievement but their exploits in that competition may have contributed to a gradual falling away in their league form in the second half of the season. Playing in their new stadium is a boost though and while matching last year’s third position could be hard, they should still keep a top-four berth.  The Hornets attained their highest finishing position (11th) since 1987 but their league form did tail off towards the closing weeks of the campaign and this year could be tougher. While a season of struggle and even a flirt with relegation can’t be ruled out they are most likely to finish in lower mid-table.  The Hammers finished strongly and they’ve made some decent additions to the squad, so there are genuine grounds for believing that a good season could be on the cards. At best, Manuel Pellegrini’s men could be surprising challengers in the top six, (or even the top four), more likely they’ll be around eighth or ninth.  Had a great first season back up in the top flight last year but with the added distraction of Europa League football this year, which will place extra pressures on the squad, improving on 9th place could be tricky. They have far too much quality to struggle, but they may slip back a few places in the league.  Last year Man City won the title and Liverpool the Champions League, but there are reasons for believing it could be the other way round in 2019/20. There’s nothing Liverpool fans would love more than for the club to win its first league title for 30 years, and there’s nothing City fans (and its owners) would love more than to finally win the Champions League In the closing weeks of the campaign, where the main focus of the clubs lie could prove decisive.  Elsewhere, the battle for the other top four places is likely to be tight again, with marginal preference for improving Arsenal at 50-1 making it into third. The battle for relegation could involve several clubs, with Sheffield Utd and Brighton looking in particular danger.  The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.


sputnik--2019-08-30--UEFA Europa League 201920 Draw Red Carpet Association Football Arrivals in Monte Carlo - Video

UEFA Europa League 2019/20 Draw:  Red Carpet Association Football Arrivals in Monte Carlo - Video

VIPs from the footballing world will join the ceremony, where the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Roma, CSKA Moscow and Porto will be pitted against teams from around Europe in the continent’s secondary competition.  During the ceremony, awards will be presented to the best player of the Europa League last season.  In the group stage of the Europa League, the teams will play in two rounds, the matches are scheduled for 19 September, 3 and 24 October, 7 and 28 November, as well as 12 December.  The Europa League is a football tournament for European clubs which is considered second in importance after the Champions League.


tass--2019-06-03--Russia football squad to take on San Marino Cyprus in front of sold-out crowd

Russia football squad to take on San Marino, Cyprus in front of sold-out crowd

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. The organizers of Russia’s football matches against the San Marino and Cypriot teams, as part of the qualifying competition for the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, expect the stadiums to be sold- out, head of the Commercial Department of the Russian Football Union Vladimir Karpovich told TASS in a phone interview on Monday.  Russia will play against San Marino on June 8 in Saransk at the Mordovia Arena, which can accommodate over 44,000 spectators. On June 11, Russia will take on Cyprus at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, which has up to 45,000 seats. Both arenas hosted matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.  "There are 2,000 to 3,000 tickets still on sale for each match at the stadiums. We expect the stadiums to be sold-out for the Russia team’s next matches, but that is just a prediction. I think that the information about the precise number of tickets sold will appear during the days of the matches," Karpovich said.  After two stages of the qualifying competition, Belgium (six points) leads in Group I, while Russia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus and Scotland secured three points each, and San Marino has zero points.  In other media


tass--2019-12-23--UEFA lists four Russian football clubs among Champions League’s All-Time Top-100

Spartak Moscow FC became the best among the football clubs from Russia in the Top-100 as it has been ranked 34th with 111 points. CSKA Moscow FC is 45th with 92 points, Zenit St. Petersburg 57th with 70 points and Lokomotiv Moscow FC is ranked as 97th with 36 points.  According to the statement from UEFA’s press service, the Top-100 ranking of the European clubs between 1955 and 2019 was based "on theoretical points total — two points win, one point draw, results after extra time count, all matches that went to penalties count as draw."  MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has listed four Russian football clubs among the Top-100 of all-time best clubs of the Champions League, UEFA’s press service said in a statement on Monday.  Throughout its almost one century-long history, Spartak Moscow FC was 12-time USSR champion, ten-time Russia champion and winner of other numerous awards and trophies.  Spain’s Real Madrid FC tops the list of UEFA’s all-time Champions League Top-100 with an impressive score of 600 points.  "When it comes to Europe's top club competition, Real Madrid are some way out in front: as well as having won the most trophies, they have played, won, drawn and lost more games than any other side, as well as scoring and conceding more goals," the statement from UEFA reads.  "They [Real Madrid] have played in 50 editions of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League in total - 11 more than their closest rivals Benfica - and their total of 437 games in the elite competition is fully 90 more than the second-ranked team, Bayern Munich," the statement added.  Germany’s FC Bayern Munich is ranked second with 474 points after Real Madrid and another Spanish club, FC Barcelona, is ranked third with 446 points.  The rest of the Top-10 after the leading trio are: England’s Manchester United (4th with 374 points); Italy’s Juventus (5th with 349 points); Italy’s AC Milan (6th with 314 points); England’s Liverpool (7th with 289 points); Portugal’s Benfica (8th with 287 points); Portugal’s Porto (9th with 277 points); and Dutch football club Ajax in 10th place with 266 points.


theguardianuk--2019-01-28--FA Cup giantkilling Tottenham troubles and Big Alan Football Weekly

FA Cup giantkilling, Tottenham troubles and 'Big Alan' – Football Weekly

Max Rushden , Barry Glendenning , Sam Diss and Lars Sivertsen discuss FA Cup giantkillings, Spurs limping out of a second cup competition in a week, VAR and the absence of VAR – Schrödinger’s VAR and Notts County  Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.  We look back at the weekend of football just gone, starting with Millwall and AFC Wimbledon booting out Premier League opposition in front of rapturous support.  Spurs lost at Crystal Palace to take a second cup competition out of their schedule in the space of four days, while Chelsea were the only Premier League side who managed to negotiate their way past lower-league opposition at the first time of asking.  We cover the Football League, where the big story came via a misjudged screenshot, football north of the border, and then to the continent where Paolo Bandini and Archie Rhind-Tutt fill us in on the weekend’s action across the biggest leagues in Europe.  Back on Thursday, as will – hopefully – comments.  PS: we have a new show at EartH in east London – Max, Barry plus two – more information and tickets can be found here.

Produced by Jonathan Fisher and presented by Max Rushden; with Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Sam Diss


theguardianuk--2019-03-19--Wanda Metropolitanos record crowd shows English football the way Suzanne Wrack

Wanda Metropolitano’s record crowd shows English football the way | Suzanne Wrack

When 60,739 fans filed into the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday to watch Atlético Madrid take on their title rivals Barcelona, a 99-year record was broken. On 26 December 1920, and just under a year before the Football Association banned women’s football – a ban that lasted 50 years – 53,000 people filled Goodison Park, with a further 14,000 reportedly turned away, to watch [the famous Dick, Kerr Ladies](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/sep/10/england-womens- football-team) beat St Helens 4-0.  The attendance in Madrid was the first to topple that historic number for a club game. Others have come close. On 30 January, Athletic Club welcomed 48,212 to Bilbao for their 2-0 defeat by Atlético. In May last year, in the Liga MX final in Mexico, 51,211 watched Tigres beat Monterrey to the title on penalties and 45,423 watched Chelsea defeat Arsenal 3-1 at Wembley [in the FA Cup final](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/05/arsenal-chelsea- womens-fa-cup-final-match-report).  In addition to those in situ in Madrid at the weekend 330,000 watched the match on the free-to-air channel Gol TV, peaking at 413,000. That figure was 4.27% of the total audience share and the biggest viewing figure on Gol that week. Slowly the more healthy international attendances (the biggest of which was the 90,185 who watched USA’s victory against China in the 1999 World Cup final on home soil at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena) are filtering into some domestic leagues.  These may be one-off showpiece games, picked for their marketability, but they do suggest an “if you build it, they will come” mentality is starting to develop. Accessible grounds, the chance to attend big stadiums cheaply, and top-level football are ripe conditions for any marketing team to be working with. But they need to go beyond marketing; they need to be campaigning for the crowds.  The signs were good for Atlético. Their Copa de la Reina semi-final against Barcelona last month was set to take place at the Wanda but the scheduling would not work. So instead they had a sold-out crowd of 3,800 at their training ground and usual home, the Mini Estadio Cerro del Espino.  Bea Redondo, a women’s football journalist who was in the crowd on Sunday, told the Guardian there are two main reasons for the ability of clubs to pull in big numbers for big games. “First of all, there’s an increase in media exposure generally, which generates an increase of interest in people that wouldn’t usually follow the women’s game,” she said. “Then the teams carefully pick which games are going to be played at men’s stadiums [generally one a year but some such as Athletic Bilbao or Real Sociedad are doing two in a couple of months] and do big promotional campaigns to get people to the matches.  The English forward Toni Duggan wheels away after scoring the second Barcelona goal in their 2-0 victory. Photograph: Kiko Huesca/EPA  “For this one Atleti had buses circulating round Madrid with the women’s faces on it, had the players signing at the club’s store ahead of the game, and did a big reveal of three commemorative nameplates of players who have reached 100 caps a few days before. It’s about getting people to know about it, and getting people excited, beyond the usual social media push.”  The majority of the record attendances of recent years were helped by promotions, such as free tickets for kids and season-ticket holders, while offers to local clubs and schools are the norm. At the Wanda it was no different, though of that record attendance, 26,912 – 44% – bought a ticket at €5-€10.  In England there is not quite the same scale of promotion and Redondo noticed the difference, having watched both leagues. “I have been to games in England and I think the only ones that felt similar, in terms of the levels of promotion and general marketing, were the FA Cup finals at Wembley,” she says.  “I’ve been to matches where teams have done cool stuff, like a Chelsea v Liverpool game where they gave away jerseys to everyone in attendance, but I remember I found out about that one only because I knew where to look for the information. I think it’s all about investing the money to get the message out there and in front of those that wouldn’t usually go looking for it.”  The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.  Goals from Asisat Oshoala and England forward Toni Duggan ensured victory for Barcelona, who closed the gap on Atlético to three points. And the atmosphere was “amazing”, Redondo says. “It was quite surreal, too, how natural it felt. At points I was questioning whether it was really happening and then at other points, when we were all excited about whatever was happening on the pitch, I forgot it was even a big thing. The usual crowd and supporter groups were there, with the same chants and singing.”  One day on from the best-attended domestic game in world history, the FA announced the first stop on its Road to France Series – against Canada at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium – has sold out. But, given the context, it is hard to be buoyed by the sale of 7,000 tickets.  England have returned from the US [with the SheBelieves Cup](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/mar/06/japan-england-women- shebelieves-cup-match-report), wins against two top-10 nations and a credible draw with the reigning world champions, USA. We are two months from a World Cup with a side capable of doing big things and, it should be noted, almost 10,000 watched the side play Sweden at Rotherham last year in less favourable conditions.  When England play in front of 7,000 fans on 7 April, across the bridge the 55,000-seat Etihad Stadium will sit idle. When will the women’s game in this country think big?  ## Talking points  • Manchester City have been drawn against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final – their seventh cup last-four meeting in six years. The holders travel north having won all three of their previous semi-finals in the competition, while City have beaten the London team in their three Continental League Cup semi- finals. Reading welcome WSL newcomers West Ham in the other game. The matches will be played on the 14 April.  Ji So-yun in action for Chelsea in their win at Durham. Photograph: Richard Lee/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock  • The Fifa Council voted on Friday to approve the use of VAR at the Women’s World Cup. It will be the first time the system will have been used in any women’s competition.  • Wolfsburg stayed ahead of Bayern Munich on goal difference at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga having come from behind at Freiburg. The hosts took the lead in the sixth minute before goals from Pernille Harder, Pia Wolter and Ewa Pajor gave the title holders the win. Bayern put five past Turbine Potsdam to keep themselves neck and neck.  • Brighton have confirmed the departure of Jenna Legg. The 21-year-old midfielder joined the Seagulls from Chelsea in 2017 and helped the side to secure a second-place finish in the second division. Legg has made eight appearances for the club this season.  • West Ham’s Leanne Kiernan has been named Senior Player of the Year by the Irish Football Association. Meanwhile, the former Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne became the first women’s player inducted into the FAI Hall of Fame.


theguardianuk--2019-04-10--Manchester United defence proves no match for Messis footballing third eye Barney Ronay

Manchester United defence proves no match for Messi’s footballing third eye | Barney Ronay

It is the sign of an undeniably great player. Even when you take away his space, push him to the fringes for 80 minutes, make him look a shadow of his true universe-boss self; he still somehow ends up winning the day.  There was a degree of amusement before this [Champions League](https://www.theguardian.com/football/championsleague) quarter-final when Chris Smalling suggested he was looking forward to facing Lionel Messi, that the greatest club footballer ever should come and “bring it on”. Oh, Chris. Don’t. Please. No. Chris. Stop it.  But what else was Smalling supposed to say? Messi doesn’t operate to the usual rules. When the hour strikes Messi o’clock there is no sensible form of virtualisation, no tactical prep that can lessen his impact. You are simply an extra in his game, a prop, another zombie in his shoot-em-up. May as well enjoy it if you can.  In the event United did bring it on, making Messi look like a regular human in a competition where he so often seems to be breathing a lighter air than everyone else. In the process Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team were rewarded with arguably Messi’s most ineffective performance in England since he was a pup being kicked by Chelsea.  If this is an achievement in itself, it is another sporting paradox that United could still lose a game 1-0 where Scott McTominay and Fred dominated midfield against one of the great club sides of the modern age; and that they could still be undone by a single breath of that Messi genius, the whole tie skewed one way with 12 minutes gone.  Old Trafford had been a boisterous place as [Barcelona](https://www.theguardian.com/football/barcelona) kicked off, those huge clanky corrugated stands gusting with cheers and songs. The goal came from a moment of La Masia gold. But it was the period of possession before that was vital, a nerve-stretching passage where the ball was shuttled in front of United’s defence, all jabs and feints and flickers, before dissolving into a perfectly-timed change of pace.  Messi had been lingering in an inside right position. Seeing Sergio Busquets take the ball he set off on a diagonal run, a vicious little thing like a knife jabbed into the guts, finding a sliver of space.  ![](https://media.guim.co.uk/4c8d8898129f62b5a9a650a25ea935655bb9a0e0/0_304_5184_3110/140.jpg)  Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images Europe  The pass from Busquets was wonderful, flighted into that scurrying stride. Messi took the ball the way he does, hoovering it up into his feet by some as- yet unidentified process of adhesive magic, then sent it back the other way, to the yellow shirt his footballing third eye had seen lurking at the far post.  It was a lovely cross, looped up high over the defenders, then dipping down to the unmarked Luis Suárez, who nodded the ball into the corner of the net off Luke Shaw.  VAR intervened with great success, overruling a duff offside flag and leaving Suárez leaping about weirdly on his own in front of the Stretford end as the referee conjured a goal from his earpiece.  Solskjær: PSG result gives Manchester United hope after home loss to Barça – video  After which United pressed and got close at times, all the while never quite getting close enough. In the middle of which Smalling did bring it on, with a moment of arm-flailing aggression that did seem to change the flow.  It wasn’t a foul, but it was a little gruesome. Messi was waiting under a high ball. From behind him Smalling came through with great force, won the ball, then caught Messi with an arm to the nose that left a gush of that precious DNA leaking on to the Old Trafford turf. Messi sat and gathered his thoughts, then got up with his eye still dripping blood.  Looking at his baffled expression – a victim of ambient force, generalised aggression – the thought occurred that this is one reason why Messi won’t ever play in England. He’d still tear up the league and score 30 goals. But you can bet something similar would happen three times a game.  This place puts years on you, takes out chunks, demands a degree of pain and additional muscle. Messi is, lest we forget, 5ft 6in and blessed with skills that bring him into constant physical contact. Everything he has achieved has been a triumph in the face of this.  The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.  For long periods Diogo Dalot and Shaw mustered up a loose double-team on him, passing the No 10 shirt between them. In one little spell McTominay kicked at Messi three times, daring him to snap back in the way Harry Kane had the night before against Manchester City. Messi didn’t flicker. He has, dear boy, been here before.  By now the red-shirted press was working, let down only by a lack of precision. This is not a Barcelona team full of peak-career gun players. Take Messi out of that lineup and it looks human, something that can be managed and reeled in. The only problem being, nobody has taken Messi out. He’s still here, a walking, talking away goal, a 1-0 head start made flesh.  That away goal leaves Barcelona overwhelming favourites to go through. But United will be proud of their performance and will retain the certainty that they can chase this team down; even if Messi, on perhaps his poorest night in England, remains impossible to tame completely.


theguardianuk--2019-04-29--Tottenhams story wont be repeated in football says Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham’s story won’t be repeated in football, says Mauricio Pochettino

[Mauricio Pochettino](https://www.theguardian.com/football/mauricio- pochettino) says he is living his dream as he prepares to lead Tottenham into the Champions League semi-final against Ajax and he believes the club’s progress owes everything to the power of positive thinking.  Spurs entertain [Ajax](https://www.theguardian.com/football/ajax) in Tuesday night’s first-leg at their £1bn stadium and it will be only the second time in their history they have competed in the last four of Europe’s elite competition. The first was in 1962 when they lost to Benfica 4-3 on aggregate.  Pochettino is proud of the work he has done during his five seasons as the Spurs manager, making the team more competitive while money has been poured into improving the club’s facilities. “Not in the history of football can another story like Tottenham’s be repeated,” he said.  But Pochettino has always been a person to dream big; he borrowed a line from the Disney cartoon hero Buzz Lightyear when he said that “you need to settle your dreams in the infinity and beyond” – which drew a few smiles. It was plain that Pochettino intended to keep on reaching for the stars.  Erik ten Hag on Ajax's 'unfair advantage' in Champions match at Spurs – video  “I am already living my dream,” Pochettino said. “To be in the semi-final with Tottenham was a dream five years ago and we are living the dream. But you must always dream with the moon if you want to get to the sky. When you are ambitious and you want to achieve big things, you need to set your dream.  “I was always a dreamer. When I was very young, I dreamed in my home town of Murphy that one day I would be a football player and I achieved that. It was tough to achieve all that I dreamed but I always believe there is some energy, the power in your mind, and when you are determined to achieve the things that you dream, it’s only about waiting and working hard to try to get them. When you achieve things in life, it’s because first of all you’ve dreamed them and put them in your mind.”  Pochettino reflected on a journey at Spurs that began when he attended a meeting with Daniel Levy at the chairman’s house. “He was without shoes, dressed in pyjamas, but it was the afternoon, not the night – it’s the truth,” the manager said. “We talked first of all about the squad and they showed me it was 34 or 35 players. I said: ‘It’s an NFL squad. How are you going to handle that?’  “The principle objective was to help the club to build – to finish the training ground, to build the new stadium and to be competitive at the same time. We have done that and, after five years, we must congratulate everyone here. Maybe we still haven’t won a trophy but what we are doing now is more than just a trophy.”  ![](https://media.guim.co.uk/4c8d8898129f62b5a9a650a25ea935655bb9a0e0/0_304_5184_3110/140.jpg)  Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images Europe  Pochettino has selection problems. Son Heung-min is suspended, Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Érik Lamela and Serge Aurier are injured, and Moussa Sissoko is doubtful with a groin problem. Winks has undergone groin surgery and he will miss the remainder of the domestic season, though he could return for the [Champions League](https://www.theguardian.com/football/championsleague) final on 1 June if Spurs were to beat Ajax.  Sissoko, who suffered his injury in the second leg of the quarter-final at Manchester City on 17 April, was able to train on Monday, together with Jan Vertonghen, [who sat out Saturday’s Premier League defeat against West Ham](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/27/tottenham-hotspur-west- ham-united-premier-league-match-report) as a precaution, having felt muscle fatigue.  Pochettino’s resources have been stretched at the least opportune moment – “We are very limited,” he admitted – while his players looked tired in the second half against West Ham. Ajax, by contrast, were granted the weekend off by the Dutch Football Association. Pochettino said “stress and fatigue” had been a factor after the West Ham game but he had changed his tune on Monday.  “We ran four kilometres more than West Ham – 114kms to 110kms,” Pochettino said. “When you lose it’s easy to say ‘tired’ but it’s wrong. The problem we had was they were clinical and we were not. This semi-final is a game where it’s impossible to be tired. It’s all mental. And the energy is going to be there.  “We are not worried [about the absentees] because we are competitive like a team. Our strength is that we think like this. To play a semi-final in our new stadium is something nobody could think about a few months ago and we feel a responsibility now we are here. But the excitement, motivation and happiness are bigger than any responsibility.”  The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.  Pochettino repeated his contention that Ajax’s greater preparation time is an unfair advantage, although he said he would not use it as an excuse. Erik ten Hag, the Amsterdam club’s manager, gave the talking point short shrift.  “We play in the Eredivisie and we get 10 million euros from TV and Tottenham gets much more,” Ten Hag said. “Is that unfair for us? Those are the circumstances. You just have to deal with them.”  Ajax opened their pre-match training session at Spurs’ stadium to the public, which seemed to reflect their confidence. Most clubs practise behind closed doors – apart from the 15-minute window they have to grant to the media – and around 100 Ajax supporters turned up to watch. “It’s become a tradition for us,” Ten Hag added. “It gives you a good vibe with your fans.”


theguardianuk--2019-05-14--Vatican launches womens football team with popes blessing

Vatican launches women's football team with pope's blessing

The Vatican has launched its first women’s football team, with a debut challenge against AS Roma’s Serie A women’s squad on 26 May.  More than half of the team is made up of staff working within the Vatican, as well as employees’ wives and daughters.  “Pope Francis has given considerable impulse to women within the Vatican, therefore this initiative is an extension of that,” Danilo Zennaro, a representative of Sport in Vaticano, an association that organises the Vatican’s football activities, told the Guardian.  “We’ve had a men’s team for 48 years so it was only right to offer the possibility to women who work within the Vatican to practise the sport.”  Most of the players are at amateur level, although three have played football at a high level in the past, including the captain and striker Eugene Tcheugoue, from Cameroon. The team is being managed by Susan Volpini, the secretary of the Women in the Vatican Association.  The players are training for their friendly against AS Roma, which will be followed by an international match in Vienna in June, by taking part in a tournament organised by the Vatican’s children’s hospital, Bambino Gesù.  “This will allow them to reach their best fitness and practise tactical solutions,” Volpini said.  The game against AS Roma, who came fourth in its first season in the Serie A women’s league, will be tough, but Zennaro said it was not just about winning.  “Even if they lose 30-0, this doesn’t matter,” he said. “What matters is that these women get the opportunity to know professional players. Win or lose, it’s also about creating connections and friendships.”  The Vatican launched an athletics team in January, with the aim of competing in international competitions, including the Olympics. Swiss Guards, priests, nuns and pharmacists were among the first to sign up.