
By JASMINE SANDERS from NYT Style https://nyti.ms/2sYq1os
• Klopp highlights penalty appeal and Harry Maguire foul
• ‘I think everybody agrees there could have been a penalty’
Jürgen Klopp claimed Liverpool were refused a clear penalty and Harry Maguire should not have been on the pitch to deny his Premier League leaders a seven-point advantage in the title race as Leicester secured a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Liverpool extended their lead over Manchester City to five points but missed the opportunity to capitalise fully on the champions’ defeat at Newcastle United as they failed to beat a team outside the top six for the first time this season.
Continue reading...Maurizio Sarri has admitted he may not be equipped to motivate his players after seeing Chelsea suffer the heaviest league defeat of Roman Abramovich’s ownership at Bournemouth.
Sarri, who endured chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” from Chelsea fans, kept his team in the dressing room for around an hour after the final whistle in an effort to understand why a game that had been goalless at half-time had unravelled so spectacularly. The defeat led to Chelsea dropping out of the top four on goal difference and places Sarri’s position under scrutiny six months into a three-year contract.
Continue reading...For Tottenham this was a night of a returning hero and, potentially, a new one. Time was running out, and the home side appeared to be heading for another defeat on the backs of those which had seen them depart two cup competitions in quick succession, when the goals they required for a turnaround arrived. The first was scored by Son Heung-min on his first appearance for Spurs since arriving back from the Asian Cup and then came the winner from someone who has been at the club all the while and finally may feel he belongs.
The mix of relief and joy on Fernando Llorente’s face as he celebrated his goal with three minutes of this contest remaining was as eye-catching as it was understandable. The Spaniard has found it hard going ever since he joined Tottenham from Swansea two summers ago and especially in recent weeks as he has been asked to fill in for the injured Harry Kane. Quite simply, he is not in the England captain’s class, and that has been noticeable, painfully so at times, as was the case here on 52 minutes when he missed an absolute sitter. Cue howls of fury from the majority of the 29,164 people in attendance – Tottenham’s lowest ever crowd for a Premier League fixture at Wembley – yet they were in raptures when the player finally came good.
Continue reading...After all the talk beforehand about this being a possible six-pointer, Southampton and Crystal Palace were forced to settle for one apiece on a night that ended amid acrimony and no little anger as Wilfried Zaha was sent off after being shown two yellow cards in quick succession.
Zaha, who had earlier scored his first goal in more than four months to put Palace ahead, gave Andre Marriner little option but to dismiss him when he sarcastically applauded the referee’s decision to book him, after he had squared up to James Ward-Prowse.
Continue reading...Everton are attempting to sign Michy Batshuayi on a permanent deal from Chelsea, with the Belgium striker expected to cost around £35m.
Batshuayi spent the first half of this season on loan at Valencia but has not made an appearance since the beginning of the month as the Spanish side attempt to cut short his spell. Despite interest from West Ham in taking him on loan, Chelsea have been searching for a permanent option for the 25-year-old and have held talks with Everton over a potential move, with the Londoners demanding more than the £33m they paid to sign him from Marseille in 2016.
Continue reading...Roma were thrashed 7-1 at Fiorentina and had forward Edin Dzeko sent off after apparently spitting at the referee, while the defending champions Juventus also lost in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Federico Chiesa scored his first career hat-trick as Fiorentina raced into a 4-1 lead before Dzeko was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute after arguing with referee Gianluca Manganiello and then appearing to spit at him. The Bosnian could face a lengthy ban if Manganiello confirms he was spat at in his official match report.
Continue reading...Underwater search follows discovery of cushions thought to be from footballer’s aircraft
British military investigators are to carry out an underwater search for the plane that vanished with the Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala on board after his country’s government asked the UK to extend the hunt.
The development came as it emerged that two cushions believed to have come from the missing plane have washed up on the coast of France, about 20 miles from the last known location of the aircraft.
Continue reading...Denis Suárez has completed his loan move from Barcelona to Arsenal for the remainder of the season, the Catalan club have confirmed. Arsenal, who will take on the 25-year-old midfielder’s salary in full, will have an option to make the deal permanent in the summer, although that is non-compulsory.
Related: Transfer window January 2019 – every deal from Europe's top five leagues
Continue reading...Hibernian have confirmed the departure of their manager Neil Lennon, five days after suspending the 47-year-old, but at the same time admitting he is not “guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing”.
Lennon and his assistant, Garry Parker, were suspended by the Hibs chief executive, Leeann Dempster, almost immediately following a meeting between coaches and players on Friday afternoon.
Continue reading...After three years in charge, the Championship’s second longest-serving manager has built a confident and maturing side mounting an unlikely promotion charge
“Are we going to have a party?” Lee Johnson asks, tongue in cheek, on being reminded that next Wednesday marks three years since he returned to Bristol City as manager. “There has got to be something because, in this day and age, to last three years is ridiculous.”
That is depressingly true; 194 managers have left positions across English football’s top four tiers in that time, making the 37-year-old the second-longest serving in the Championship, behind Millwall’s Neil Harris. It has not been plain sailing but it is impossible to ignore the progress of his vibrant, young team – unbeaten in 12 matches having last tasted defeat on 24 November. The Robins are dark horses for promotion.
Continue reading...Pablo Zabaleta has admitted the Marko Arnautovic transfer saga has had a destabilising effect on West Ham and has reminded the striker he must respect his teammates after his dramatic U-turn over a transfer to China.
The full-back made it clear that Arnautovic’s two-game absence before returning in the 3-0 defeat by Wolves had helped a “bad atmosphere” fester among the squad and in order for the club to evolve, the Austrian striker needs to show he is a team player.
Continue reading...Paris Saint-Germain have said that Neymar will be out for around 10 weeks with the metatarsal injury he suffered against Racing Strasbourg on 23 January.
Related: Transfer window January 2019 – every deal from Europe's top five leagues
Continue reading...Eleven Sports, the self-styled “Netflix for Sports” controlled by the Leeds United owner, Andrea Radrizzani, has saved its UK and Ireland operation from closure after reaching deals to offload the rights to Italy’s Serie A and continue coverage of Spain’s La Liga.
In December, it emerged that the service, which launched last summer, was facing the prospect of shutting its streaming operation in the UK and Ireland after being unable to attract enough subscribers. The company attempted to renegotiate rights deals at a much cheaper rate to try and avoid pulling the plug.
Continue reading...• Man, 60, released under investigation by police
• Club reported allegations and has suspended individual
An employee of Sunderland AFC has been arrested on suspicion of the sexual grooming of a boy but released under investigation pending further inquiries.
A spokesman for Northumbria police said: “Police have arrested a 60-year-old man on suspicion of meeting a male under the age of 16 following sexual grooming.”
Continue reading...Sol Bamba has said some of his Cardiff City teammates are scared to fly after the disappearance of Emiliano Sala. The defender laid bare the depth of anguish that has gripped the club and community, describing it as having affected everyone.
Related: Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette seals win on emotional night for Cardiff
Continue reading...• ‘We have to accept challenge,’ he says of catching Liverpool
• Defeat at Newcastle means City cannot match 2018 points tally
Manchester City handed Liverpool the initiative in the title race with an unscheduled defeat here when Newcastle came from behind to record an important victory in their bid to remain in the Premier League.
Related: Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie on the spot to dent Manchester City’s title hopes
Continue reading...Liverpool’s captain impressed early on in defence but struggled up against Demarai Gray and was arguably at fault for Leicester’s equaliser
Getting the job done by any means necessary is a trait of any title winner and it will encourage Liverpool, even after an underwhelming draw against Leicester, how skilled they have been at the art this season. “It’s this mindset of ‘finding a way’ that will be critical for us,” said Jürgen Klopp on what is required in the final four months of a tantalising campaign. For the first time this season the leaders found no way to victory over a team outside the Premier League top six, but it could have been worse.
Klopp has sought a variety of internal solutions to the problematic right-back position that Leicester belatedly exploited at Anfield. On Wednesday it was Jordan Henderson’s turn to fill a role that Nathaniel Clyne, Rafael Camacho, Fabinho and James Milner have all assumed in recent months due to injuries, suspensions and illness. The England man deputised well but at cost to the control and balance of the Liverpool midfield. Klopp must hope positive medical bulletins on Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who may return from knee-ligament trouble for Monday’s trip to West Ham, are accurate and that relief is on the horizon for the run-in.
Continue reading...They set the benchmark for the competition upon joining in 2015, now Melbourne City are eyeing a finals-less season
There’s only room in the W-League championship finals for one Melbourne team, it seems. As Melbourne Victory hope to wrap up their first minor premiership this weekend (and with a single point separating the top four, right now nothing is guaranteed), their noisy neighbours Melbourne City are staring down the barrel of their first final-less campaign.
Since entering the W-League in 2015, undefeated in that inaugural campaign, City have enjoyed an ever-presence in the finals, winning the W-League championship every year (their three-peat a record for both the A-League and the W-League). During this same period the Victory have have endured somewhat less salubrious fortunes, with two wooden spoons and a lower mid-table finish to show for their efforts.
Continue reading...Perhaps the kindest thing to say about Mauricio Pochettino’s honesty in excusing Tottenham’s removal from two cups in four days is that he cannot be accused of self-interest or personal promotion.
If it is true, and it seems widely accepted, that the Spurs manager’s name is on some very short lists for consideration at some of the most select clubs around Europe, there will be people at those clubs pointing out that for all his personable promise Pochettino has won precisely nothing yet, and furthermore his team have regained a reputation for choking when the important tests come along.
Continue reading...Plus: revealing all the countries watching the Premier League and footballers with pets named after other players. Mail us or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU
“Was just chatting to some colleagues in the kitchen at work about why Essex doesn’t have many big football clubs and it got me thinking,” tweets BoxBorn. “If you combined all the points from every league team in the ceremonial counties in England, which county would be on top?”
This week’s badges of honour go to Ian Robson and Robert Hickman, who have crunched the numbers – lots and lots of numbers – so we don’t have to!
Continue reading...Pep Guardiola remains confident that Manchester City are still in the title race despite losing 2-1 to Newcastle United. Newcastle pulled off a shock win to upset the champions, meaning City failed to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool.
Liverpool can now extend their lead at the top to seven points with victory over Leicester on Wednesday, but Guardiola think there's enough time to reduce the gap. He also refused to accept that his players may have underestimated their opponents and that Kevin De Bruyne's performance was to blame for the defeat.
Continue reading...Football Federation Australia board member and vice chair Heather Reid has temporarily stood down, as the fallout from the sacking of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic continues.
Related: Football Federation Australia 'swamped' by applicants for Matildas job
Continue reading...The Football Association has launched an investigation into claims Sol Campbell was subjected to homophobic abuse during Macclesfield’s visit to Cheltenham on Saturday.
It comes after several Cheltenham fans wrote about chants directed towards the away manager on social media after the match, which the home side won 3-2.
Continue reading...Our cartoonist takes a look back at a dramatic weekend in the cup and off the pitch at Notts County
Continue reading...The US midfielder talks about why women are at the forefront of fighting injustices and whether she feared for her football career after taking a knee during the national anthem
“As I’ve grown older I’ve really got to understand how powerful one voice can be, my voice can be, or the team’s voice can be. So to hold that back or not to use that just seems selfish in a way.”
If that is the case, Megan Rapinoe is anything but selfish. A World Cup winner and Olympic champion with the US women’s national team, Rapinoe could easily be satisfied with her lot. But just enjoying the spoils of her success is not enough.
Continue reading...• Fee for Paraguay midfielder believed to be around £20m
• Rafael BenÃtez hopeful Almirón will be first January signing
Newcastle have agreed a deal in principle to sign Miguel Almirón from Atlanta United for a club-record fee believed to be around £20m.
The Paraguay midfielder is keen to move to the Premier League club, despite late interest from Napoli and Internazionale, and is expected to arrive for a medical on Wednesday or Thursday.
Continue reading...Denis Suárez is close to a loan move from Barcelona to Arsenal for the remainder of the season, with his advisers in the final stages of negotiations.
Arsenal are unable to make permanent signings this month because of their high net spend of £63.8m from last summer but they are in discussions over an option to purchase Suárez at the end of the season. The option is the final obstacle to the deal going through. Arsenal want it to be non-compulsory.
Continue reading...Manchester United are in discussions with Shandong Luneng over the potential sale of Marouane Fellaini.
Related: Transfer window January 2019 – every deal from Europe's top five leagues
Continue reading...Qatar defied sandal-throwing local fans to storm into the Asian Cup final for the first time with a 4-0 win over hosts United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, setting up a decider against Japan in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Boualem Khoukhi’s early strike and an eighth goal of the tournament from striker Almoez Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 half-time lead and captain Hassan al-Haydos and Hamid Ismail completed the rout in the last 10 minutes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Hakeem al-Araibi’s wife tells Canada and NZ ‘time running out’ and Scott Morrison writes to Thai prime minister, adding to pressure
The wife of the Bahraini footballer and refugee Hakeem al-Araibi has written to leaders in Canada and New Zealand, telling them “time is running out” and pleading with them to help him return to Australia.
Al-Araibi, an Australian resident, has been detained in Thailand, where he had gone on honeymoon, for more than two months while Bahrain seeks his extradition.
Continue reading...Chelsea are set to hear from Fifa whether they will be banned from the transfer market after being investigated over potential rule breaches with regard to more than 100 foreign players under the age of 18.
The governing body has overseen a long-running case against the club, which was started by the compliance unit of its transfer matching system (TMS). It flagged 25 player cases at the beginning of last year which it thought warranted further scrutiny.
Continue reading...The end of a transfer window can feel like a hopeful time for fans but, as this XI shows, not every signing goes to plan
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored
With the January transfer window closing at 11pm on Thursday, the next couple of days could shape the season for some Premier League clubs. Fulham would probably not be in the division this season were it not for the fact they signed Aleksandar Mitrovic this time last year. However, not all transfers are equal – as Fulham proved in the summer. Wrong moves in the market can be hugely costly as proven by this XI, who cost more than £200m in fees last summer but have not lived up to their promise.
Continue reading...It was Montilivi that watched it, that lived it, and that would have loved a different ending. Montilivi that deserved it, too
“Welcome to Miami,” the sign said. Scribbled in black pen on white cardboard and fixed to the fence by the stadium where long lines of tables were laid out and the atmosphere was building, it greeted them as they arrived – football fans heading to the biggest game of the year. Mostly, they strolled from town, through narrow, old streets, yellow ribbons attached to every lamppost, along the river where the houses overlooking the water are brightly coloured, not pastel, across the bridge and up a gentle hill in the sunshine. There, past concrete police controls was another sign, bigger and more professionally produced, yellow letters on a red backdrop covering the stand. “One team, one fanbase, one city,” it declared.
And that team, those fans, that city, was Girona. Not Miami.
Continue reading...Henry inherited a depleted squad but his negative tactics and immature man-management did not help his case
By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French Football News
Appointing Thierry Henry as manager was always going to be a gamble for Monaco, but there was little to suggest his time in charge would end in such spectacular failure. Henry’s return to his boyhood club was an unmitigated disaster. Henry did oversee the odd decent result – including recent draws with Marseille and Nice in the league and progress to the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue – but ultimately he paid the price for performances on the pitch and his own seeming contradictions.
The sheer number of injuries at the club did not work in his favour. More than a dozen first-team players were unavailable at various times, most notably Rony Lopes, who scored an incredible 14 goals in the second half of last season. However, even with the board’s backing – Monaco signed Naldo, Cesc Fà bregas and Fodé Ballo-Touré this month – the playing staff was not the main issue. Rather, Henry was held back by his own inconsistencies and immature attitude.
Continue reading...Other matches featured seven goals, two penalties and red cards but Atalanta’s comeback against Roma beat the lot
It was one of those days in Serie A. Oh, you know the sort: when the lunchtime kick-off features seven goals, two penalties, and a red card, but turns out not to be the most entertaining game of the afternoon. Next up on Sunday came a pair of three-goal comebacks plus a 4-0 away win for a Frosinone team that had only scored 12 times all season.
There was drama everywhere, from the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi – where Fiorentina blew a two-goal lead, then recovered to beat Chievo with 10 men – to the Tardini – where Spal ended an 11-game winless run after having trailed Parma 2-0 in the 70th minute. At the Renato Dall’Ara, following that drubbing by Frosinone, Pippo Inzaghi was expected to be sacked as Bologna manager.
Continue reading...Even when things are going well with Schalke, you’re only ever half-a-mile away from getting a puncture
Sometimes you start out with the idea of a refreshing weekend away in Berlin – and end up tired and nursing a headache. Schalke may have arrived in the capital for Friday’s weekend opener with Hertha full of “new dynamism and new self-confidence”, according to their coach Domenico Tedesco beforehand, but their aim of snaring a third successive Bundesliga win didn’t go to plan.
Not only that, but the hangover will be felt for most of this week, and perhaps beyond. Tedesco could have few complaints over his side’s efforts, which backed his assessment of an upturn towards the output of his debut season. His newly-attacking Schalke led twice in a busy first half via a super effort from range by Yevhen Konoplyanka – restored to the line-up for the banned Weston McKennie – and one from Mark Uth, but were pegged back twice, with Vedad Ibisevic’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time ultimately earning Pal Dardai’s team a point.
Continue reading...Arsenal and Cardiff City held a pre-match tribute on Tuesday for Emiliano Sala in the Welsh club’s first fixture since the disappearance of the aeroplane carrying the striker. Arsenal hosted the Bluebirds at the Emirates Stadium with captains Mesut Özil and Sol Bamba laying flower wreaths in the centre circle before kick-off. Cardiff City fans displayed a banner that read ‘we never saw you play and we never saw you score but Emiliano our beautiful Bluebird we will love you forever more’
Continue reading...Serie C coach Giancarlo Favarin has been given a five-month ban for violently butting a member of the opposing team’s staff and telling a player to break an opponent’s legs.
Footage of the incident showed the coach of Lucchese butting Gaetano Mancino, assistant coach of rivals Alessandria, during a brawl in injury-time during a 2-2 draw between their teams on Sunday.
Serie C’s disciplinary tribunal said in a statement that Favarin made ‘blasphemous remarks’ during the match and ‘invited his own player to break the legs of an opponent’. Mancino, meanwhile, was given a two-match ban for ‘offensive and provocative behaviour towards the coach of the rival team during the match’
Continue reading...