It has been a strange and very difficult season for Liverpool, who are still officially the Premier League title holders following the postponement of their clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Had that game been played and second-place United failed to win, Manchester City would have been mathematically confirmed as the new champions. As it is, City will need to beat Chelsea on Saturday to be certain of the trophy belonging to them.
With that in mind, the postponement of the United clash looks as a potential blessing in disguise for Liverpool, who need City to to their best to beat the Londoners Chelsea are a direct rival in the top-four race, the outcome of which is likely to affect the transfer budgets of all clubs involved for the upcoming summer.
De…
The takeover of Charlton Athletic by East Street Investments has been completed, ending Roland Duchatelet s reign at The Valley.
Duchatelet took control of Charlton in 2014 and much of his tenure was defined by friction with supporters.
The sale of the Addicks, which the Belgian had been seeking since 2017, was agreed in November and it was confirmed on Thursday the deal had been finalised.
It was vital for the long-term health of Charlton Athletic that this deal was completed at the very start of the January transfer window, said Duchatelet in a club statement.
It allows the new owners to commit resources to the football side in order to bring in new players who will help secure the club s position in the Championship.
This is a hugely excitin…
Barcelona president Joan Laporta reiterated keeping Lionel Messi at the club in 2021 was impossible because the club was in ruins financially.
Having come through Barca s academy, Messi s departure ended a 21-year association and highlighted the seriousness of the club s economic issues.
Messi s contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season, and although he technically became a free agent, it was widely assumed Barca would re-sign him to a new deal once room was made in the budget.
But Barca – whose debts were at €1.35billion in August 2021 – had their LaLiga salary cap slashed by €280million ahead of the 2021-22 campaign as a result of their financial problems.
As such, even with a 50 per cent wage reduction reportedly agreed, Barca still cou…
Christian Eriksen feels victory over Liverpool on Monday would represent a stepping stone for Manchester United following their poor start to the season.
United host Liverpool at Old Trafford seeking their first points of the season after following up a 2-1 home defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion with a 4-0 loss at Brentford.
It is the first time since the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992-93 that United have started a season with successive losses, placing them bottom of the embryonic table.
Erik ten Hag s task does not get any easier as United have won just one of their past 12 league meetings with Liverpool and are winless in eight since a 2-1 victory in March 2018.
However, Denmark international Eriksen believes a home clash with Unit…
Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo said expectations are high after replacing Maurizio Sarri as the Serie A champions eye a 10th consecutive Scudetto and Champions League final berth with great desire .
Juve surprisingly turned to first-time coach and club great Pirlo last month following the dismissal of Sarri, who led the Italian giants to a ninth successive Serie A title in 2019-20.
While Sarri helped maintain Juve s dominance in Serie A, albeit by only a point ahead of Inter, a shock Champions League last-16 exit to Lyon proved the final straw for the club s hierarchy.
With Pirlo – who was promoted from his position as Under-23 coach following just a week in charge – now at the helm, the former Italy midfielder provided an assessment of his squad ahead of t…
Motherwell wing-back Stephen O’Donnell feels trust and clarity has been a major part of their success under Stuart Kettlewell.
O’Donnell is enjoying a new lease of life under Kettlewell having regained his place in the team towards the end of last season.
The Scotland international, capped 26 times by his country, went from being club captain under Graham Alexander to being ostracised by the same manager.
The signing of Paul McGinn and then emergence of Max Johnston ensured his spell on the sidelines continued beyond Alexander’s exit two games into last season, although he did make 28 appearances, 15 of them from the start.
But he has been ever-present this season and the team have only lost to St Mirren so far.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s …
Senegal defender Abdou Diallo has confirmed his exit from Paris Saint-Germain to join Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.
The African Cup of Nations winner has moved to Germany on loan for the forthcoming season, with Leipzig having an option to make a permanent move for a fee reported to stand at €20m.
Taking to social media, the defender wrote to PSG: I wish you the best for this season. Dream, achieve and celebrate because you deserve it.
In a separate post, he added: Come on RB Leipzig.
Diallo previously played for Borussia Dortmund, the 27-year-old joining PSG in 2019, and is expected to feature in the heart of defence alongside Josko Gvardiol, who has penned a contract extension.
PSG have seen a wealth of departures ahead of the 2022 season,…
Pep Guardiola felt Manchester City were simply not good enough to beat Southampton in a controversial goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium.
The champions could only muster one attempt on target from Phil Foden in the 90th minute in a frustrating stalemate, their lowest tally in a Premier League match since March 2017.
City were relieved when a second-half penalty awarded against Kyle Walker was overturned, ensuring the England defender stayed on the field after being shown a red card.
Raheem Sterling had a late goal disallowed for offside as City slipped up, after Guardiola had called for a big turnout from fans following a 6-3 Champions League thrashing of RB Leipzig in midweek.
The City boss made it clear his side did not do enough to secure all three…
Junior Stanislas has signed an extension of his previous deal that was supposed to last until next summer, AFC Bournemouth have . The extension should see him remain with the Cherries until 2021.
The winger started his career with West Ham in 2008 and spent half a season on loan with Southend United. At the start of 2011/12 he joined Burnley and moved to Bournemouth three years later. Due to various injury issues, the 28-year-old never played more than 25 games in a season for Bournemouth and his total tally for the club is 86 appearances over four seasons, which far from an impressive number. In that time he was on target 19 times.
However, Stanislas is a highly talented player that can cause problems for any team on his day, and his skill in dead-ball situations is e…
Despite recent reports crediting Chelsea with interest in Aaron Ramsdale in light of the injury suffered by Robert Sanchez, according to Fabrizio Romano, the Blues have no intention of making a move for Arsenal s backup goalkeeper in January. They are apparently happy with Djordje Petrovic stepping into the breach, especially after the 24-year-old Serbian saved a penalty by Newcastle s Matt Ritchie to send his team through to the semifinals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Ramsdale has also been linked with Newcastle, whose No. 1 Nick Pope is also injured. However, the situation at St James Park is similar to the one at Stamford Bridge, with Martin Dubravka enjoying the trust of manager Eddie Howe and doing well between the posts.
For the time being, it seems there s litt…