Blog (Page 57)

Barcelona have been handed a major boost in their hopes of beating charges of ‘continuous sporting corruption’. Spanish prosecutors filed charges against the club and two former presidents – Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu – in relation to the Negreira scandal. Barça are alleged to have paid €8m to former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, from 2001 to 2018 in exchange for detailed information and analysis on match officials, hoping to gain an extra advantage. When charges were officially levelled at Barcelona, it was further hinted that the club tried to influence decisions in games and in the appointments ofRead More →

The BBC’s coverage of the top of the table clash between Chelsea and Manchester United in the WSL is set to be significantly reduced as the row over Gary Lineker’s suspension from Match of the Day remains unresolved. Lineker was told to step back from his role as Match of the Day host in the wake of his tweet last week in response to the UK government’s new plans regarding illegal immigration. That prompted the likes of Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Alex Scott, Micah Richards and various other on-air talent to also step back from the corporation’s football coverage on Saturday. There was no BBCRead More →

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has revealed why he decided to withdraw Joao Felix at half-time of Saturday’s 3-1 win at Leicester City. The Blues recorded their third win in seven days at the end of a week that has breathed fresh life into a largely disappointing season. An opening goal from former Fox Ben Chilwell was cancelled out by a thumping strike from Patson Daka. A delicate dink from Kai Havertz put Chelsea back in front in first-half stoppage time, before Mateo Kovacic iced the game with 15 minutes remaining. But there was a lot of attention around the decision to replace star forwardRead More →

Paris Saint-Germain nearly suffered a European hangover as they needed a 91st-minute strike from Kylian Mbappe to steer them to a 2-1 victory over Brest on Saturday. Christophe Galtier’s side were well below par and saw Carlos Soler’s opener cancelled out by Franck Honorat before half-time, and they made incredibly hard work of the second half before Mbappe popped up to save the day. Mbappe saw an early shot blocked before Soler’s thumping strike from towards the edge of the box was excellently tipped onto the post by Brest stopper Marco Bizot. Predictably, the visitors quickly flexed their dominance and began dominating proceedings, although BrestRead More →

Pep Guardiola emitted a deep exhale after the realisation that his team would be treated to a rare free week before travelling to Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park. The rest ultimately served Guardiola’s side well as City returned to action with a 1-0 victory in south London. However, the reigning champions had to rely upon a second-half penalty from Erling Haaland to get over the line and shrink the gap up to Arsenal at the Premier League summit. Any future free weeks depend on City’s success in the Champions League and FA Cup. However, here’s what lies ahead for Guardiola’s side as things stand. Manchester CityRead More →

Chelsea banished memories of poor performances and results to earn their third victory in a row at Leicester on Saturday afternoon. Having edged past Leeds before beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, the Blues gave a much more convincing display at the King Power Stadium as Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic all netted in a 3-1 win. Chelsea remain tenth and have games against teams both above and below them coming up. Jorginho’s penalty was enough to beat Everton on the opening day / Visionhaus/GettyImages Everton managed to lift themselves out of the relegation zone by beating Brentford, a much-needed boost aheadRead More →

Tottenham eventually saw off Nottingham Forest to win 3-1 on Saturday afternoon and strengthen their grip on fourth spot. Spurs came into proceedings off the back of FA Cup and Champions League exits as well as a defeat to Wolves, but first-half goals from Harry Kane put them 2-0 up before Son Heung-min added a third just after the hour mark. Joe Worrall did pull one back for Forest and Andre Ayew had a late penalty saved, but Spurs’ win takes them within a point of Manchester United albeit having played two more games. Here are the next next six fixtures for Antonio Conte’s sideRead More →

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confessed his side did not look up for the challenge of breaking down a stubborn Bournemouth defence on Saturday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat. Just six days after putting seven unanswered goals past Manchester United, Klopp’s side slumped to a shock defeat against a Bournemouth side who began the day bottom of the Premier League, with Philip Billing’s first-half goal getting the job done. Mohamed Salah missed a penalty after the break, summing up his struggles on what was an uncomfortable day for Liverpool. “Absolutely [disappointed], absolutely,” Klopp told BT Sport after the game. “What can I say?Read More →

Match of the Day as we know it won’t air on Saturday night, but there are plenty of other places where you can watch Premier League highlights. First airing in 1964, the BBC show has long been the go-to source for highlights of top-flight matches in the United Kingdom. But with presenter Gary Lineker and pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer out of the picture due to the BBC’s impartiality stance, fans are looking elsewhere for their highlight fix. Here are the alternatives to MOTD. Match of the Day will be aired on Saturday night but it won’t feature any studio punditry, the usual commentatorsRead More →

Real Madrid have officially commented on rivals Barcelona being levelled with charges of corruption. Spanish prosecutors filed charges against Barcelona, as well as former club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, on Friday afternoon. The charges relate to the now infamous Negreira scandal, in which Barça are alleged to have paid the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, for information and analysis on match officials in La Liga, with it now alleged that the club were hoping to receive favourable calls. Reports in Spain claim Barcelona could be barred from entering the UEFA Champions League due to this indictment, thoughRead More →