Andre Villas-Boas has described the sacking of Jose Mourino as Chelsea manager as quite incredible .
Mourinho lost his job at Stamford Bridge last month following a miserable first half to the 2015-16 Premier League campaign, being sacked by chairman Roman Abramovich for a second time.
And countryman Villas-Boas, who was fired by the Russian in 2012 and is now in charge of Zenit, appeared surprised by the abrupt end to the reign of the man he called Chelsea’s dearest coach .
Villas-Boas told beIN Sports: It’s been quite incredible to see that it [being sacked] was applied to everybody. It was applied to probably their dearest coach, their most successful coach, so in the end we have seen nothing different.
Roman has sacked basically every coach that …
Tottenham s 4-1 victory over Colchester United on Saturday was fully deserved, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Premier League visitors dominated the early stages of the FA Cup fourth-round clash at Colchester Community Stadium and took the lead though Nacer Chadli on 27 minutes, though they spurned a number of chances to double their advantage before the break.
The League One side put in a much-improved display in the second half but a deflected Eric Dier strike and a second for Chadli settled the encounter, shortly before Tom Carroll rounded off the win after a Ben Davies own goal.
And Pochettino insisted his side were good value for their emphatic win, telling BT Sport: I don t know if it was flattering. I think this competition is magic.
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Paul Pogba has returned to Manchester United training after recovering from coronavirus but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is unsure if the midfielder will be fit for the team s Premier League opener.
The 27-year-old was forced to pull out of France s Nations League double-header with Sweden and Croatia over the past week following a positive test for COVID-19.
However, after a period of self-isolation, he has now been cleared to link up with his United team-mates ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace on September 19.
Pogba has not played since the 2-1 Europa League semi-final defeat to Sevilla on August 16, though manager Solskjaer is hopeful the former Juventus man can quickly rebuild his fitness.
Paul s had a couple of training sessions so he s lost out on a fe…
Jurgen Klopp says there is an immense desire to win trophies in a Liverpool squad boosted by key signings and the experience of having come so close before.
The Reds won the Champions League in June, 12 months on from a final defeat to Real Madrid, and they are on course to claim the Premier League title for the first time, having been edged out by Manchester City in 2018-19.
Klopp s side have also picked up the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup along the way, with Liverpool s seven-year trophy drought at the start of the calendar year now long forgotten.
Is it greed? I m not sure. It s like this desire you want to have trophies, Klopp told ESPN, with Liverpool 13 points clear in the Premier League with a game in hand. I don t think it s real greed.
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Jurgen Klopp bemoaned injury problems for hampering Liverpool s consistency as the Reds manager confirmed Thiago Alcantara will miss Wednesday s visit to Ajax.
Liverpool have underwhelmed this season thus far, sitting eighth in the Premier League and 12 points behind leaders Arsenal after falling to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
However, despite a 4-1 hammering at Napoli on matchday one in the Champions League, the Reds could still progress to the knockout stages with a game to spare if they avoid defeat at Ajax.
Liverpool will head to Amsterdam without Thiago to call upon, though, as injury issues continue to frustrate Klopp.
Thiago is still out, I don t know if he will be fit for the weekend. [Ibrahima] Konate is here and ready to pl…
With the EFL Cup really taking center stage once again in midweek, we are offered a lively Wednesday night from up and down the country. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek acca, we have found you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Wednesday 23rd September
BST 19:00 Preston vs Brighton
Starting with Wednesday s guests, while Brighton might have opened the new campaign with a 3-1 loss against Champions League outfit Chelsea earlier in the month, the Seagulls did create a string of chances and the mood in their camp appears to be at a real high. Although Graham Potter s men might have just about hung onto their Premier League status after returning from football s enforced break back in June, the South…
Arsenal have completed the signing of yet another young talented midfield starlet, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Chamberlain has joined Arsenal from Southampton for a reported fee of 12 million pounds, but the fee could be as high as 15 million depending on the Englishman s success at the Emirates. The 17-year-old midfield maestro enjoyed a brilliant season in 2010-11. In 41 games for Southampton last season, Chamberlain scored ten goals and led the Saints to promotion from League One to the Championship. Chamberlain was named to the 2010–11 League One PFA Team of the Year at the ripe age of 17.
Wenger on Chamberlain
Shortly after Arsenal s official website confirmed the signing of Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Arsene Wenger said the following regarding …
Harry Wilson admits Robert Lewandowski’s hunger for goals represents the biggest threat to Wales reaching Euro 2024.
Wales host Poland in a Euro 2024 play-off final at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday with a place in Germany this summer at stake.
Only one place separates the two nations in the FIFA world rankings – Wales are 29th, Poland 30th – but the visitors possess one of football’s greatest-ever goalscorers in their ranks.
Lewandowski has scored 82 goals for Poland and the 35-year-old Barcelona striker is the fourth overall men’s international goalscorer in Europe behind Romelu Lukaku (83), Ferenc Puskas (84) and Cristiano Ronaldo (128).
“Everyone knows how dangerous he is,” said Fulham forward Wilson.
“His hunger to score …
Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama warned his team they cannot afford to focus solely on Argentina star Lionel Messi on Wednesday.
Messi has already produced two memorable moments at the FIFA World Cup, scoring a fine goal in his team s 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Estadio do Maracana and curling in a long-range winner to see Argentina past Iran 1-0.
But Enyeama is unwilling to focus only on Messi, pointing out the all-round strength Alejandro Sabella s men have in attack.
When the teams met at the 2010 World Cup, Enyeama starred with multiple saves as Nigeria were beaten 1-0 in Johannesburg.
He (Messi) is one of the best players in the world and everybody knows it and he has really made a lot of progress from when we last played each other, En…
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa opted to focus on the positives after the North American country bowed out of the FIFA World Cup.
Miguel Herrera s men were sent packing from the tournament after conceding two late goals to lose 2-1 to the Netherlands in their round-of-16 clash in Fortaleza on Sunday.
Mexico were on track to reach the quarter-finals at a World Cup for the first time since 1986 when Giovani dos Santos scored three minutes into the second half.
But their hopes came crashing down during the closing stages after Wesley Sneijder equalised in the 88th minute, before substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar converted a controversy penalty in the fourth minute of injury-time, with replays suggesting Arjen Robben had made the most of minimal contact to earn the sp…