Feyenoord 1, Manchester United 0: Jose Mourinho suffers consecutive defeats as controversial winning goal sinks his £300m second string September 15, 2016 Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho blamed bad luck and an offside goal after Feyenoord inflicted the club’s second defeat in less than a week in the Europa League on Thursday night. A 79th-minute strike from midfielder Tonny Vilhena punished a lacklustre display from a United side that was much-changed but still contained almost £300m worth [...]
Return of £34m maverick David Luiz can shore up Chelsea defence against Liverpool, says Antonio Conte September 15, 2016 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has backed a retrained David Luiz to cope with Liverpool’s in-form strikeforce when the Brazil defender makes his second Blues debut on Friday night. The Reds visit Stamford Bridge six days after they hit four past Premier League champions Leicester and having done the same on their last visit to London [...]
Betting: Boro have been sweet so far but Toffees should chew them up September 15, 2016 Everton have enjoyed an impressive opening to the season. They’re one of only four unbeaten teams in the league, sit just two points off the top of the table, and also smashed Yeovil in the cup. Tomorrow teatime they face Middlesbrough, who should be similarly pleased with their encouraging start. Draws against Stoke and West Brom, alongside a Tees-Wear derby victory against Sunderland, have [...]
Betting: No Euro Blues for Chelsea who look good for a win at the Bridge September 15, 2016 Big nights under the lights tend to come midweek when Chelsea meet Liverpool. Between 2004 and 2009, the pair met 10 times in the Champions League, seeing out some classic encounters. This season, however, it’s a Friday night where Blues meet Reds, with neither side involved in Europe for the first time since the 1993/94 campaign. [...]
Manchester City 4, Borussia Monchengladbach 0: Sergio Aguero hat-trick leaves Pep Guardiola purring September 15, 2016 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed the majesty of prolific marksman Sergio Aguero after the Argentine’s hat-trick stoked his side’s Champions League hammering of Borussia Monchengladbach. Aguero struck his second treble of the season as substitute Kelechi Iheanacho completed the scoring in stoppage time in front of just 32,000 fans – a figure hit by [...]
Club Brugge 0, Leicester City 3: Claudio Ranieri on song as Foxes begin Champions League adventure with stunning victory September 14, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri admits that he urged his side to savour and be inspired by the pre-match Champions League anthem as the Foxes began their European adventure with a crushing victory over Club Brugge. There was little evidence of first night nerves as winger Marc Albrighton opened the scoring within the opening minutes before [...]
Tottenham Hotspur 1, Monaco 2: Spurs’ Champions League return and record crowd spoiled by first defeat of the season September 14, 2016 Tottenham Hotspur 1, Monaco 2 Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino accused his team of lacking passion and refused to blame a temporary switch to Wembley after their return to the Champions League following a five-year absence ended in defeat on Wednesday night. First-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar earned French league leaders Monaco a surprise win in [...]
New Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin issues immediate warning to big clubs over Champions League reform and Financial Fair Play September 14, 2016 New Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has vowed that European football's governing body will take the fight to big clubs over the allocation of Champions League places and beef up financial fair play (FFP) rules. Ceferin, the little-known head of Slovenian football, comprehensively defeated Dutchman Michael van Praag 42-13 in Wednesday's vote to decide who would replace the disgraced [...]
Aleksander Ceferin elected new Uefa president — here’s where he stands on the key issues facing European football September 14, 2016 Uefa has elected slovenian lawyer Aleksander Ceferin as its new president to replace the disgraced Michel Platini. The 48-year-old will take control of European football's governing body until 2019, after routing rival Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13 at the election in Athens. Read more: Uefa urged to consider alternative format to liven up low-scoring European [...]
Manchester United: Are the football finance kings in danger of becoming a busted flush with an ageing business model? September 14, 2016 Earlier this week, Manchester United announced a staggering £515m in revenues. I tip my hat to their commercial team, because whilst the TV money flowing through from the Premier League represents a significant chunk of this you have to admire how they have built competitive advantage on others. When you consider that their EBITDA figure is [...]
