Manuel Pellegrini made his strongest suggestion yet that Manchester City s mid-season announcement of Pep Guardiola as his successor was a key factor in derailing the club s Premier League title bid.
City played out a concluding 1-1 draw at Swansea City on Sunday to secure the point they required for a top-four finish at the expense of Manchester United, whose match against AFC Bournemouth must be rescheduled after the discovery of a suspicious package forced an abandonment at Old Trafford.
Pellegrini closes his three seasons in charge as a 2013-14 Premier League champion and two-time League Cup winner, but his side finished 15 points shy of surprise winners Leicester City this time around.
The Chilean saw his team beaten 3-1 by Leicester in February at the end…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insists he is 100 per cent committed to Arsenal following reports he wanted to leave the club.
English newspaper The Times claimed this week Aubameyang had informed Arsenal of his desire for a close-season transfer to a team capable of challenging for trophies.
Inter and Barcelona have been credited with an interest in the 30-year-old forward, who has scored 15 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners this season.
Aubameyang was asked about his future following Arsenal s 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday – their first win since Mikel Arteta took over as head coach.
The English press like to talk a lot. For now, I m here. I m here 100 per cent, he said in quotes reported by RMC Sport.
It…
Former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez will sign for West Ham from Bayer Leverkusen subject to a medical, the two clubs have announced.
The 29-year-old Mexico international moved to Leverkusen from Old Trafford, following a season on loan at Real Madrid, in August 2015.
He scored 39 goals in 76 competitive games for the Bundesliga side and will bolster Slaven Bilic s attacking options, with the West Ham boss having already signed Joe Hart on a season-long loan along with the England goalkeeper s former Manchester City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta.
West Ham are said to be paying a fee in the region of £13million for Hernandez s services.
A statement on West Ham s official website read: West Ham United and Bayer Leverkusen have agreed terms for the …
Denmark remarkably booked their place in the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a stirring 4-1 win over Russia in Copenhagen on Monday.
After losing 1-0 to Finland – a game overshadowed by the cardiac arrest suffered by Christian Eriksen – and 2-1 to Belgium, Denmark s hopes of making the knockout stages were slim before the clash at the Parken Stadium.
Kasper Hjulmand s side delivered a sensational display, though, to claim a first win of the tournament – and seal second spot in Group B courtesy of Finland s defeat to Belgium – Mikkel Damsgaard and Yussuf Poulsen putting them 2-0 up before the hour mark.
Artem Dzyuba pulled one back for Russia from the penalty spot, but Denmark secured a thrilling victory late on thanks to goals from Andreas Christensen and…
Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has been ruled out of the DFL-Supercup match against Borussia Dortmund with a knee injury.
Sane sustained the problem in Sunday s shock 4-1 away defeat to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
He will subsequently be missing for Wednesday s Klassiker contest with Dortmund, while David Alaba is a doubt and will be checked closer to kick-off due to a muscular injury.
Sane, who scored on his debut for the club against Schalke this month after signing from Manchester City, will also be out for Bayern s weekend league meeting with Hertha Berlin, their last game before the international break.
David has muscular problems, so we have to wait and see how that develops, explained head coach Hansi Flick at his pre-match news conference.<…
Anthony Gordon is raring to go for England’s friendly against Belgium as the Newcastle forward looks to build on his senior international debut.
The 23-year-old was a rare bright spark for England as they lost 1-0 to Brazil on Saturday night in the first of two final friendlies before Gareth Southgate names his squad for Euro 2024.
Gordon, who was named player of the tournament as England won the Under-21 European Championship last year, impressed off the left at Wembley – where Endrick’s late goal secured a narrow victory for the away side.
Southgate’s squad has been ravaged with injury before and during the current camp and, with the domestic campaign ramping up, several players who started against Brazil are expected to be rotated for the visit of Belg…
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Looking to mark their return from March’s international break with a statement at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will welcome Burnley to west London on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea
Starting with the hosts, while Chelsea might have suffered EFL Cup final heartbreak at the hands of Liverpool on February 25th, the Blues do appear to have turned a recent corner. Although Mauricio Pochettino might have found increasing scrutiny over his long-term future at Stamford Bridge, the former Premier League champions do have their sights firmly set on mounting a late European charge. Last seen extending on their FA Cup adventure as they secured an action-packed 4-2 victory against Leicester, Chelsea have lost just one of their previous eight appearance…
Liverpool face Rangers on Tuesday in a friendly which sees Charlie Adam face his former club for the first time since he left Ibrox in 2009.
The midfielder endured a mixed career in Glasgow, playing in Europe and clashes against Celtic while remaining on the sidelines for smaller fixtures.
But the Scotland international is hoping the Reds can use the game to build up momentum and confidence ahead of their next Premier League match.
There were ups and downs really. I had some great times there but also some hard times and that was with not playing, which was a difficult period, Adam told Sky Sports.
But since moving south, the midfielder insists he still follows the progress of his former club as admits that the match is one he is eager to feature in.
Inter Milan striker Diego Milito says his side are on the way back to their best ahead of Wednesday s Champions League match at home against Lille.
It has been a tough start to the season for the 2009/10 European champions, with coach Gian Piero Gasperini sacked just three league games into the campaign after some indifferent performances.
The club brought in former Chelsea and Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri as his replacement, and although they were beaten 2-1 by Juve on Saturday their form has been steadily improving.
Inter posted a 1-0 win in the first match of their Group B double-header with the French champions on October 18, and Milito believes it is only a matter of time before the club hits top form once again.
I m sure that on Wednesday we ll h…
Watford have completed the club-record signing of striker Andre Gray from Burnley in a deal that could reportedly reach a value of £18.5million.
Gray, 26, has signed a five-year contract at Vicarage Road after the two clubs confirmed the switch on Wednesday.
Watford have completed the club-record signing of striker Andre Gray from Burnley in a deal that could reportedly reach a value of £18.5million.
Gray has signed a five-year contract at Vicarage Road after the two Premier League clubs confirmed the switch on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old scored 32 league goals over two seasons with Burnley and his arrival continues a busy transfer window for Watford, who brought in another forward, Richarlison, on Tuesday.
| have completed the signing of fro…