Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed his relief at finally being fit enough to become a regular starter for Chelsea and has admitted it would mean the world to him if he makes a late run into England’s squad for Qatar. The Chelsea midfielder has taken a while to regain his form after sustaining a serious achilles injury in 2019 and he has needed mental toughness to overcome some challenging periods...
Pep Guardiola has called the Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham the “whole package” but suggested the player’s development might have been stifled if he had stayed in England. The 19-year-old scored against Manchester City in their past two meetings with Dortmund, albeit in losing causes, and will be out to cause more problems in their Champions League game on Tuesday. Bellingham...
Simone Inzaghi never did fear the madhouse. His predecessor at Internazionale, Antonio Conte, made it a mission to end the club’s reputation as “Pazza Inter” – Crazy Inter – insisting they should instead be “regular and strong”. That goal was achieved as they marched to the 2020-21 Scudetto. Once they claimed top spot, they never let go: 11 clean sheets in the final 21 games ensuring their rivals...
In the beginning, there was a typewriter and José Manuel Llaneza. And that, Villarreal president and owner Fernando Roig is fond of saying, was that. It is not entirely true – Roig’s son recalls a guy called Gumbau and a man named Parra – but it’s not a long way off and it is an effective way of expressing just how far the club has come and how they did it. Who did it too. Another came from Manu...
If West Ham are gradually moving on up then Bournemouth may be regressing to their mean. Gary O’Neil ended the game wagging his fingers in the direction of the referee, David Coote, and repeatedly railed against the decisions of VAR Mike Dean but the greater Premier League experience and squad depth had told. The VAR controversy this time was over Thilo Kehrer’s handball in the buildup to Kurt...
Soon after Micah Richards bursts into the room, with booming laughter, the former England footballer shows a different side to his character. His sadness after his soaring career faded, then ended when he was 31, is accompanied by acceptance. “I can hardly walk now because of my knee but I wouldn’t change it,” Richards says of the injury that ruined his life as a footballer. It began with giddy...
Michael Carrick has returned to the club where he cut his teeth as a footballer, to launch his managerial career as the Middlesbrough head coach. The Tyneside-born former Manchester United and England midfielder was on the books at Boro as a nine-year-old, although he made his name at West Ham and Tottenham before a trophy-laden 12-year stay at Old Trafford which brought him five Premier League...
There was another Erling Haaland Moment at the weekend. If you didn’t see what happened, I’m afraid I’m going to spoil the ending for you: he scores. The moment came about 20 minutes into Manchester City’s game at Brighton when Ederson sent forward a long goal-kick. Haaland chased it. Robert Sánchez, Brighton’s goalkeeper, came and missed it. All that remained was Haaland and the Brighton...
Pep Guardiola has called the Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham the “whole package” but suggested the player’s development might have been stifled if he had stayed in England. The 19-year-old scored against Manchester City in their past two meetings with Dortmund, albeit in losing causes, and will be out to cause more problems in their Champions League game on Tuesday. Bellingham...
As his proud father, Alfie, watched on, Erling Haaland ended yet again as Manchester City’s hero. His double claimed victory against Brighton and, before the clocks go back, he has a staggering 17 Premier League goals. The Norwegian’s count is 22 in all competitions. The latest plunder consisted of a sweet route-one strike and a penalty that was given following a lengthy VAR review of a foul on...