Category: Football (Soccer)

Football (Soccer) News

Posted on

Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

Bruno Fernandes created the only goal for Matheus Cunha as Man Utd held firm to move 10 points clear of Chelsea

2 min “After more than 40 days without internet here in Iran; I finally managed to get online,” writes Karen Asad. “You can’t imagine how difficult that is! anyway I’m looking forward to my first live blog in almost two months. I can testify that football is a great distraction from the raging war surrounding us. Here’s hoping a United win!”

1 min Man Utd kick off from left to right as we watch.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Brighton: Premier League – as it happened

Tottenham led twice but conceded in both first- and second-half stoppage time and remain in the bottom three

5 mins: A big punt forward from Kinsky towards Solanke, who seems to pretty deliberately take out van Hecke. They both go down and the ball bounces forward, with Simons haring after it. He’s not far away from getting it, either, but Verbruggen comes out to huff it away in the nick of time. Again, the referee lets play continue.

3 mins: Lots of people running around as the game starts with a high tempo. But then Danso stops Minteh completing a one-two and thereby concedes a free-kick on halfway.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Bournemouth turn up heat on Howe with dramatic late win at Newcastle

Is this the moment a rough patch turns into a full blown crisis for Eddie Howe? As Alex Scott shone in Bournemouth’s midfield and Adrien Truffert’s late winner prompted wild visiting celebrations, it certainly looked that way.

Newcastle’s manager has now presided over four straight defeats and, with his team stuck in 14th, any vision of European qualification seems a fast receding speck in the distance.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Championship roundup: Leicester deeper in trouble as Bowat lifts Portsmouth

  • Foxes plunge closer to League One with latest defeat

  • Millwall go second; Southampton win maintains surge

Ibane Bowat’s second-half goal was enough to give Portsmouth a crucial 1-0 win at home to their relegation rivals Leicester as the Foxes plunged a huge step closer to League One. Bowat’s scruffy 63rd-minute strike from a corner earned Pompey a third straight win, leaving them one victory from staying up.

It is now one win in 17 for Leicester, whose demotion to the third tier 10 years after winning the Premier League could be confirmed as soon as Tuesday night, when they host Hull.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Brentford v Fulham: Premier League – as it happened

Bernd Leno saves the day for Fulham to secure draw that dents Brentford’s European ambitions

1 min Brentford kick off, lump the ball forward and Igor Thiago wins a corner!

“Given today’s match between two solid London sides,” says Peter O’Connor, “a poser. If there were an independent state of London, where would its football league figure among the Big Five European leagues?”

Continue reading...
Posted on

Premier League shootout arrives with odd twist for feelings guy Guardiola

Manchester City v Arsenal is a rare late-season title decider and comes with a set of surprising plotlines

OK, so it was all building to this, then. The slow‑burn plotlines. The room‑temperature action sequences. The winter afternoons on the sofa watching men wrestle unhappily, staring out of the window as the frigid wind tousles the clouds, wondering about the death of all things, and also why referees not only have to speak now but speak in the same awkward Yorkshire bingo‑caller voice.

All of this. It’s all actually fine. Because it turns out this was just delayed resolution, cinematic build, the sporting equivalent of a really long closeup of a man in a wide-brimmed Mexican hat narrowing his eyes and chewing a cigar. And now we get the payoff. The Etihad on Sunday afternoon. The clink of spurs. The tick of the clocktower. Townsfolk huddled at the saloon-bar shutters. Get ready for an old-school shootout.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Arsenal will not play for a draw in Manchester City face-off, insists Arteta

  • Arsenal coach sees trip to Etihad as ‘a big opportunity’

  • Bukayo Saka still unavailable with an achilles problem

Mikel Arteta will go all out for victory in Sunday’s Premier League title showdown at Manchester City and has not thought for “one second” about setting up for a draw.

Arsenal are six points clear of City, albeit they have played an extra game, and a stalemate could move them decisively towards the trophy they crave. According to Opta’s projections, Arsenal would have an 89% probability of winning the title if it finished all square at the Etihad Stadium.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Coventry City promoted to Premier League after 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers – as it happened

Bobby Thomas’s header guided Coventry to the promised land and denied a spirited Rovers

The teams take to the field at Ewood Park. It’s all Coventry, the Jolly Boating song ringing out. It’s a bit more sparse in the home end, despite efforts from those in Warwickshire to get hold of tickets. The hill behind the Darwen End may well be full of Sky Blue, too.

Frank Lampard’s advice to his players: “Stay calm in your heads but not in your legs.”

Continue reading...
Posted on

Pep Guardiola believes ‘mental aspect’ could be key in showdown with Arsenal

  • ‘Twenty-two years without title … if they win it’s over’

  • City manager enjoys watching rivals despite criticism

Pep Guardiola believes if Manchester City replicate their second-half Carabao Cup final display against Arsenal “for 95 minutes” in Sunday’s pivotal title meeting with Mikel Arteta’s side they will win, though the manager expects his opposite number to make adjustments for this key clash.

Arsenal dominated initially when the teams met last month at Wembley before City gradually became ascendant, Guardiola’s side in control after the break as two goals from Nico O’Reilly claimed the trophy. Guardiola was asked if City would prevail again at the Etihad Stadium if they perform as they did at Wembley. “If we play like the second half during 95 minutes and they play like the second half during 95 minutes, we are going to win,” said the manager.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Ipswich in promotion driving seat but little is ever as it seems with Championship

Kieran McKenna’s team face a crunch clash with Middlesbrough but charging Southampton loom large

At the end of July, Ipswich and Middlesbrough reached an agreement. If the Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney agreed personal terms he could join the Suffolk club, freshly relegated and awash with ready funds, for a Championship record fee of around £20m. Kieran McKenna knew he would be getting the best schemer in the division if his target said yes; a player who could make the difference in a 46-game grind. Perhaps with half an eye on Premier League interest, Hackney heard Ipswich out but turned the transfer down. He would end up staying on Teesside and propelling an often exhilarating promotion chase.

There is little chance of a mutually beneficial outcome when the sides meet at Portman Road on Sunday. Hackney has missed the past four games with a calf injury and it is unclear whether he will be ready in time for a game of potentially seismic consequence.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

A seismic clash between City and Arsenal, Tottenham need leadership, and could Eddie Howe recall Yoane Wissa?

Josh King learned of the difficulties that come with being a Premier League player at Liverpool on Sunday. The 19-year-old was withdrawn at the break after a tough first half at Anfield as Marco Silva wanted to change things when two goals down. It will be interesting to see how King reacts to the half-time hook when he is next called upon, whether he uses it as inspirational fuel or sees it as an undeserved irritation because he was not solely to blame for Fulham being behind. Silva will have a quandary over whether to start the youngster again or leave him stewing on the bench, offering a further reminder of what is required at the top level. King has impressed over the season and, sometimes, at this stage of a player’s development, it is a good idea to see what lessons are learned from a challenging moment. Will Unwin

Brentford v Fulham, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Leeds v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

Tottenham v Brighton, Saturday 5.30pm

Chelsea v Manchester United, Saturday 8pm

Continue reading...
Posted on

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Porto (agg 2-1): Europa League quarter-final, second leg – as it happened

Morgan Gibbs-White scored the only goal against a resilient ten-man Porto, as Forest reached their first European semi-final for 42 years

4 min: Sangare releases Gibbs-White down the right. Promising for Forest … until the whistle goes, Sangare having come through the back of Alberto Costa on the touchline. The correct decision, if annoyingly belated from a Forest point of view, everyone all excited for a second.

2 min: It’s an absolutely belting atmosphere, both sets of fans giving it plenty. But Porto nearly quieten the home fans in short order, Moffi latching onto a prod down the inside-right channel and attempting to flick past Ortega. The Forest keeper swipes away. The rebound falls to William Gomes, who blazes over. Yikes.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Champions League review: cunning Kane, PSG click into form and a bloodied pundit

The semi-finals are set after a dazzling meeting between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. But there was plenty more to talk about in the last eight

Bayern Munich’s thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday, which gave them a 6-4 victory on aggregate and set up a semi-final meeting with PSG, was a stone-cold classic. If either of the semis is as good as Real and Bayern’s quarter-final, this season will have been blessed. Arda Güler showed off his brilliance on Wednesday, first with his presence of mind after Manuel Neuer’s mistake led to the opening goal and again from a free-kick in the 29th minute. Güler’s goals gave Madrid hope, but Harry Kane made another difficult finish look routine before Luis Díaz and Michael Olise’s late goals settled the tie. Bayern’s wing wizards were crucial in defeating the 15-time champions. This game had it all. That includes controversy, with a post-match scuffle set off by Madrid players enraged by Eduardo Camavinga’s dismissal for two quickfire yellow cards. Neuer, the hero of the first leg, had his blushes saved by his Bayern teammates, though one save from Kylian Mbappé was him at his best, combining reflexes with brute strength. Fine margins decided a battle of the giants.

Continue reading...