Football (Soccer) News
A draw that had huge ramifications at both ends of the Premier League
Manchester City get the ball rolling. A fine Saturday-evening-pints atmosphere!
The teams are out! Pretty bubbles in the air. West Ham in claret and blue, Manchester City in second-choice black. Not sure that’s the best combo for colour-blind fans, but that particular consideration seems to have fallen by the wayside pretty much across the board this season. We’ll be off in a minute.
Continue reading...Humbled English clubs must realise that what works against the very good turns out to be inadequate against the best
If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. If the only tool you have is a set play, the solution to everything starts to look like a pre-programmed move based on blocking runs. And perhaps that’s especially true if you’re worn out, knackered by the attrition of a persistent schedule of two games a week against teams who are frustratingly well organised and physically imposing. Think? Dribble? Make a surprising run? Who has the bandwidth for that? Just sling it to the back post and get in the way of the keeper.
Arne Slot had spoken in the buildup to Liverpool’s defeat by Galatasaray on Tuesday of how difficult it is to create chances in modern football, and how set pieces are a way to circumvent the sophisticated defensive setups of most Premier League teams. He is certainly not alone in taking that approach in the Premier League. But the Champions League is not like the Premier League. The crowding of the six-yard box, the full bearhug grappling, the meat wall to block the goalkeeper … it turns out all of those are penalised by European referees, and that is a problem for Premier League teams.
Continue reading...Burnley and Bournemouth played out a tepid goalless draw that does little to help either team’s Premier League ambitions. The Clarets managed just a fourth clean sheet in the league this season, but remain eight points adrift of safety with eight games left, while Bournemouth are now unbeaten in 10 matches but really needed three points to boost their European hopes.
Both teams hit the woodwork while Evanilson had a very early shot cleared off the line but neither did enough to merit victory.
Continue reading...Harry Kane has goal disallowed on return
Guler scores from own half in Real Madrid victory
Bayern Munich came from behind and finished the match with nine players in a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, allowing Borussia Dortmund to close to within nine points of the Bundesliga leaders. Luis Díaz, who scored the equaliser after Aleix García’s opener, was sent off in the 84th minute for a second yellow card. Nicolas Jackson had received a red card in the 42nd minute.
Leverkusen took the lead in the sixth minute after Montrell Culbreath stole the ball off Díaz and fed it to Patrik Schick, who set up García on the edge of the box. The midfielder slotted home with a deflected shot. The hosts defended well to contain Bayern, and frustration showed when Jackson was sent off before half-time for a late challenge on Martin Terrier.
Continue reading...No one could find the net as Burnley and Bournemouth, while Brighton were fortunate to win at Sunderland
Wolves might have their four Gomeses but Sunderland are fighting back with a trio of Joneses.
Sunderland: Ellborg; Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume; Xhaka, Sadiki; Diarra, Rigg, Talbi; Brobbey
Continue reading...Max Dowman came on to rescue the Gunners and become the youngest scorer in Premier League history
The players are out there. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s stand-in captain, leads his team as they hand-slap their way along the Everton line. Mikel Arteta greets David Moyes with the obligatory hug, plus a broad smile. The crowd sing North London Forever and give themselves a round of applause.
“Bayern have just drawn 1-1 at Leverkusen too,” says Lenny Peters. “So it’s clearly a tough place to go.”
Continue reading...Coventry 1-2 Southampton
Bristol City equalise in sixth minute of added time at Boro
In-form Southampton ended Coventry’s six-match winning run with a 2-1 victory at the CBS Arena. Flynn Downes pounced on a rebound to open the scoring shortly after half-time before Kuryu Matsuki doubled Southampton’s lead with five minutes remaining.
Victor Torp’s stoppage-time penalty gave the leaders hope but they fell to their second home defeat of the season and Southampton extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12.
Continue reading...| (All times Pacific) |
|---|
| Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts |
| Saturday, March 14 |
| SOCCER (MEN'S) |
| 8:30 p.m. |
MLS: Portland Timbers vs. Houston Dynamo — Apple TV
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV.
Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds called the game in the commentary box as their team called the shots on the pitch
Wrexham get the ball rolling. “There’s going to be a lot of goals,” says Rob Mac. The first rule of football commentary, Do Not Tempt Fate, recklessly kicked to touch from the get-go.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac take to the mic on Sky Sports Football. They’ve got regular presenter David Prutton alongside them during the build-up, which seems a bit of a cop out, but presumably he’ll be taking a back seat soon enough. Meanwhile, the teams are out! Wrexham in red, Swansea in white. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. “I wish Snoop Dogg all the best in his investment in Swansea City,” begins Peter Oh. “I hope he’ll simply appreciate the beauty and atmosphere of the game rather than get caught up in statistics and metrics. Nuthin’ but an xG Thang just wouldn’t be as good as the original.”
Continue reading...With nine games to go, we assess the Premier League teams behind Arsenal and Manchester City who are most likely to fill the remaining berths
Reasons for optimism: Michael Carrick recently professed himself as “definitely a glass half-full” manager so the interim surely looks at the final nine games and sees a huge opportunity. Particularly positive here are the fixtures with Aston Villa (Sunday), Chelsea (18 April) and Liverpool (2 May): three chances for Manchester United to seriously damage the Champions League qualification prospects of the three teams currently directly below them and enhance their own. Carrick’s men are third but only three points above Liverpool in sixth and, with fifth probably enough for a Champions League berth, beating even one of the three would be a big boost to hopes – provided results are rosy in United’s other fixtures.
Continue reading...Leaders Arsenal host Everton on Saturday while struggling Tottenham head to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday
Saturday 3pm Venue Turf Moor
Continue reading...Bukayo Saka could switch to No 10, Brentford’s Igor Thiago sets sights on 20-goal mark and a key selection dilemma looms for Chelsea
In the summer, Burnley signed two new goalkeepers. Martin Dubravka agreed a one-year deal after leaving Newcastle, and has been one of the successes from a questionable round of recruitment. At 37, however, and with a need to cut costs should relegation be confirmed, it feels unlikely the veteran would be kept on at Turf Moor in the Championship. On the bench throughout the Premier League season has been Max Weiss, 16 years Dubravka’s junior. The German has featured in cup competitions but is awaiting his league debut and it feels as if Scott Parker should give him one soon as part of planning for next season. The head coach needs to look beyond the next nine games and to the future, which is more likely to include Weiss, who has another three years remaining on his contract, than Dubravka. Will Unwin
Burnley v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)
Sunderland v Brighton, Saturday 3pm
Arsenal v Everton, Saturday 5.30pm
Chelsea v Newcastle, Saturday 5.30pm
West Ham v Manchester City, Saturday 8pm
Crystal Palace v Leeds, Sunday 2pm
Continue reading...Of six teams in the last 16, only two – Arsenal and Liverpool – look more likely than not to get to the quarter-finals. But does it matter?
The coefficient is safe. The coefficient is yours. You’re going home with the coefficient. But perhaps not, on this evidence, with the microwave, the washing machine or the Jet Ski.
England’s soccer shame. Premier League in EURO MELTDOWN. Robot-ball crisis: how Arteta’s Arsenal destroyed all that is good and true, including the ploughman’s lunch and probably Woolworths. This kind of stuff has begun to do the rounds after this week’s Champions League last-16 matches.
Continue reading...A second-half header from Ollie Watkins gave Villa a one-goal lead going into next week’s second leg
So where is the game? Well, Villa will look to get Rogers on the ball, coming inside off the left. He won’t keep the width in attack, which’ll be supplied by Lucas Digne; rather, he’ll wander about in the inside-left half-space looking to get shots off. Otherwise, Buendia will slip balls down the sides of the centre-backs for Ollie Watkins, while Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz look to bottle up the middle of the pitch in front of the defence.
Tangentially, the kit Keown wore when he started at Villa is an absolute jazzer.
Continue reading...Uefa: ‘Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated’
Portuguese player had apologised for push after game
Pedro Neto is at risk of being banned after Uefa opened an investigation into the winger pushing a ballboy during Chelsea’s 5-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Neto apologised for the incident and gave his shirt to the ballboy after the game but that has not been enough to avert the possibility of disciplinary action. Uefa said it was investigating the Portugal international for “unsporting behaviour” and that its “disciplinary bodies will take a decision on this case in due course”.
Continue reading...