Liverpool convincingly beat Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie at Anfield yesterday.
Goals from Mo Salah, Saido Mane and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin have put Liverpool in a convincing position before the second leg.
City disappointed for most the game, with no shots on goal. The game was marred due in the pre-match lead up when Liverpool fans attacked the Manchester City team bus.
When driving up to the ground, City were greeted with a hostile reception, with fans loudly chanting and releasing flares.
Small groups of fans took things too far, throwing projectiles at the team bus. The damage was so bad that the bus was undriveable and a replacement needed to be sent.
Fans reacted on Twitter, a section of this reaction can be seen below…
David Moyes will never go down in history as an ally to Liverpool due to his managerial background.The Scotsman spent over a decade being in charge of the Reds’ Merseyside rivals Everton, and when he left in 2013, he embarked on a career at Manchester United.Moyes managed to earn a decent reputation while Everton manager, but his stint at Old Trafford diminished his image as he lasted less than a year.From a Liverpool fan’s perspective, the Scotsman was never going to be a much-loved figure on the red half of Merseyside.[ad_pod ]However, he has become somewhat of a joke for rival fans over the last few years due to failed stints at United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland.Now, Moyes is at the helm of West Ham United, and on Sunday his team did Liverpool a favour by restricting Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.The result gives the Reds a 10-point lead above fifth-placed Chelsea with five games left to play.Liverpool fans on Twitter and Reddit were quick to thank Moyes.
Comment from discussion Huge West Ham draw against Chelski- keeps 10 point gap between us and Chelski.Comment from discussion Huge West Ham draw against Chelski- keeps 10 point gap between us and Chelski.Comment from discussion Huge West Ham draw against Chelski- keeps 10 point gap between us and Chelski.
Manchester United defender Eric Bailly should be available to face Arsenal on Sunday after being totally omitted from the squad to face their North London rivals Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, according to the Manchester Evening News.
He is United’s best centre-half and will hope to dislodge either Phil Jones or Chris Smalling, despite the England pair performing impressively in that Wembley victory over Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
What’s the story, then?
The report states that the only reason that Bailly missed out at Wembley was through illness, with Jose Mourinho unwilling to risk the Ivorian, but he should be ready to return against the Gunners.
It goes on to say that the bug had been persisting since before the debacle against West Bromwich Albion and he was not 100 per cent well for the trip to Bournemouth, despite being named on the bench.
That news will be a relief to United fans who might have feared that he had suffered a recurrence of the injury problems that have blighted his Old Trafford career so far, having started just one of their last five games.
Why is it such a huge boost?
Bailly is so vital to United. He is their best centre-half and has the pace and athleticism that their other options lack.
Smalling and Jones will not be able to handle the pace of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jose Mourinho will be desperate to get him involved in the match that could all but secure second place for United, with Liverpool occupied with Champions League commitments.
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Also, getting Bailly back into contention before next month’s FA Cup final, United’s biggest game of the season, would be a boost for Mourinho, who has missed the Ivorian desperately this term.
Dele Alli and Harry Kane scored the goals as Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 2-0 win over Watford in Monday night’s Premier League clash at Wembley.
It was important for Spurs to bounce back following their FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United last time out, and it proved to be a comfortable night for the London club.
Moussa Sissoko has struggled for starts this season, and the French midfielder was again named on the bench against the Hornets on Monday night.
The 28-year-old did come on for the final 15 minutes, however, and had a really good chance to score a third for Tottenham in the latter stages.
Sissoko missed the crossbar with his attempt, which led to a host of criticism from the Tottenham fans on social media, and not for the first time this season.
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Spurs paid Newcastle United the best part of £30m to sign Sissoko in the summer of 2016, but the 53-time France international has struggled to make his mark with Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:
Former Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell has suggested that the agent of Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has played a hand in rumours linking the coach to Chelsea.
A recent report by Sky Sports has claimed that the Blues are keeping tabs on the Argentine, with the aim of potentially replacing Antonio Conte this summer.
The Italian coach had a stellar first season at Stamford Bridge as he guided the team to the Premier league title, but the 2017-18 campaign was a different story.
In the end, Chelsea finished fifth in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
There has been no official word from Chelsea with regards to Conte’s future but according to Sky Sports, the former Juventus boss is likely to leave after the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Pochettino is yet to win silverware as Tottenham manager, but he has secured Champions League football for the club in the past three seasons.
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Chelsea fans have had their say on the reports and now one of their former midfielders has given his take on the situation.
While speaking to TalkSPORT, Sidwell suggested that Pochettino’s agent may have leaked the story to convince Tottenham to up theiR negotiations over a new deal.
“There’s no smoke without fire so there’s probably an element of truth in there, and you look at it the other way where he [Pochettino] is looking for contract renewals – or maybe his agent has put the idea in there – to buck Spurs’ ideas up.”
Only two officials have refereed more Premier League games than Martin Atkinson this season, which tells all about the high esteem he’s held in by the PGMOB – who appoint the referees for every Premier League game.
There’s no questioning Atkinson’s experience, having worked in the English top flight for some 13 years now, but if there’s one flaw to what the Yorkshireman brings to his trade, it’s the bizarre contradiction between what happens inside and outside the box during his matches.
Indeed, while Atkinson ranks eighth for fouls per game and third for yellow cards per game throughout the 20 referees to work in the top flight this season, his ranking for penalties is comparatively much lower – with just three referees averaging less penalties per match this term.
And there are two ways of looking at that return. One is that Atkinson doesn’t ruin games by giving away needless spot kicks; the other is that he’s reluctant to make big decisions, even when they’re the right ones. Perhaps the biggest example of that was in the last Manchester derby, when Atkinson didn’t award a penalty despite Ashley Young obviously fouling Sergio Aguero with a lunge inside the box.
With Atkinson taking charge of Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle this weekend, that could prove to be a real point of frustration for the Blues. They desperately need a win to stand any chance of qualifying for the Champions League and only three players throughout the entire of the top flight have won more fouls than Eden Hazard this term, but it appears they’ll need a stonewall penalty for Atkinson to award one in the box this weekend.
Perhaps more worryingly for the Blues, both of their games with Atkinson officiating this season have ended in defeat, but the 47-year-old does provide one huge Chelsea boost heading into the visit to Tyneside; 41% of the Premier League games Atkinson has officiated this season have ended in away wins, which is actually the second-highest bias of any referee to oversee more than one top flight game in 2017/18.
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At a ground where Chelsea haven’t won in the Premier League during their last four attempts, Atkinson’s away win bias might just balance out their bad luck.
Rafael Benitez and Newcastle are absolutely desperate for a new number nine this summer, so should they take a punt on Salomon Rondon?
Newcastle made three loan moves in January to save their season, and two of the three deals had a massive impact on not just keeping the Magpies up, but moving them into the top ten.
Kenedy and Martin Dubravka are both wanted back permanently on Tyneside, but the same cannot be said for Islam Slimani, who was already injured when he joined on loan from Leicester.
The Algerian striker is clearly not the answer to the Magpies’ goalscoring woes, but could it be worth taking a punt on another striker of that mould?
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Rondon was relegated with West Brom, but found his form under new manager Darren Moore, grabbing three goals and two assists in a run of six games near the end of the season.
The Venezuelan international had a lengthy goal drought before finding his form again, but his pace and power could certainly aid the Magpies’ attack.
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Rondon is far from the world class goalscorer fans are crying out for, but he could be a much cheaper and more realistic option.
So, Newcastle fans, would you be happy with a bargain move for Salomon Rondon? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
Arsenal fans have been busy discussing who their club could sign this summer following the appointment of Unai Emery as Arsene Wenger’s successor last month, and they were quick to deliver their verdict via social media when the @ArsenalFanTV Twitter account suggested Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, rated at £63m by Transfermarkt, as a potential target.
It seems likely that the new Gunners manager will look to bring in a new midfielder following the departure of Santi Cazorla, with the club being heavily linked with Nice’s Jean Michael Seri and AS Roma’s Lorezno Pellegrini, and Verratti could be another option.
It will certainly be difficult for the north London outfit to prise the Italy international away from the Ligue 1 giants seeing as he is a key first-team player for them, as well as the fact he still has three years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes.
We asked Arsenal supporters to vote on our poll to see whether their club should try and sign Verratti or not this summer, and a whopping 90% of them said the Gunners should attempt to bring the 25-year-old to the English capital.
With Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere both offered new deals and with Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny – as well as number of youngsters – already to choose from in the middle of the park, Emery certainly has a lot to consider before he brings a new midfielder to the Emirates.
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According to Sky Sports, Manchester City are lining up a move for Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina, rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, if they miss out on Napoli’s Jorginho, and their arch-rivals Manchester United, whose fans don’t want Jose Mourinho to complete a big £40m deal this summer, should be watching developments closely.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Sky Sports says that City manager Pep Guardiola has lined up alternative targets for the Italy international even though the Premier League champions remain in advanced talks to bring the 26-year-old to the Etihad Stadium.
Lemina and Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic are both on the Spaniard’s shortlist, although any interest will depend on the Citizens giving up on a player who was their top summer transfer target, as per Sky Sports.
Should they fail to get Jorginho and they do prise Lemina away from Saints, the Gabon international would be fighting the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan for a midfield spot.
Why should Man United be monitoring the situation?
Well, Jose Mourinho may have already strengthened his midfield with the addition of Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, but further links to a move for £100m-rated Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti suggest he isn’t yet satisfied with his options in the centre of the park.
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With Michael Carrick retiring and Marouane Fellaini seemingly leaving when his contract expires at the end of the month, the Portuguese boss may well want another body in there – especially with club-record signing Paul Pogba still often flattering to deceive.
While Lemina was involved in a relegation battle with Southampton during the 2017/18 campaign, he often showed the ability that he has in his locker in terms of keeping possession, bringing the ball forward and taking on opponents – he also enhanced his reputation of being a dribbling king by successfully completing 55 of the 62 dribbles he attempted in 25 Premier League appearances, as per WhoScored.com.
In terms of strengthening, Liverpool’s attack is not an area that is in desperate need of attention.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane set the Premier League alight last season by terrorising defences with their pace and clinical touch.
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However, if the Reds want to take that next step and become consistent title and trophy challengers, then they need strength in depth in all sections of the pitch.
Fatigue and injuries are a major reason why a squad needs bodies to bring in if needed.
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RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner had an impressive season in the 2017-18 campaign, scoring 21 goals and creating nine assists in all competitions.
Despite being just 22 years of age, the forward has been selected to lead the line for Germany at the World Cup in Russia.
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His first outing was on Sunday in the reigning world champions’ Group F opener against Mexico, but it was a disappointing afternoon as Joachim Low’s team were beaten 1-0.
If Werner thrives during the tournament, plenty of suitors will probably have their eye on the forward, so we asked you if Liverpool should make a move, and the overwhelming majority are keen on the idea.