Author: Oluwatosin Ologun

Chelsea football club head coach Enzo Maresca said goalkeeper Robert Sanchez cannot “make a mistake every game” and expect to keep his place as he hinted he could turn to understudy Filip Jorgensen for Monday’s home game against West Ham. The former Brighton ‘keeper has made five mistakes leading directly to goals this season, most recently in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend when he was caught badly out of position, allowing Erling Haaland to give City the lead. Maresca has until now backed him unconditionally, insisting that Sanchez is the club’s No 1. The head coach was asked whether Sanchez, who lost his place…

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League, Road to Bibao, knockout phase play-off draw held on Friday at the House of European Football, Nyon, Switzerland, after the play-off draw of the UEFA Champions League. The draw for the UEFA Europa League knockout playoffs paired Porto with Roma as teams prepare to put it all on the line in pursuit of a place in the Round of 16. Four-time Champions League winners Ajax, who also lifted this trophy back in 1991/92, travel to neighbouring Belgium to take on Union Saint-Gilloise in the first game of a two-legged tie. There will be a couple of visits from Istanbul to the Lowlands as Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce take on Anderlecht and Galatasaray face AZ…

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw took place on Friday at the House of European Football, Nyon, Switzerland. Former Liverpool player and two-time Champions League winner, Thiago Alcantara, was the special guest at the Champions League knockout phase play-offs to pick teams from the seeded and unseeded pots. After grabbing 11 points from eight matches, Manchester City will face the defending champion, Real Madrid in the knockout phase play-off. What are the Champions League knockout phase play-offs? The knockout phase play-offs are new to the competition in 2024/25. While the top eight sides in the league phase qualify automatically for the…

Manchester City scaled through to the play-off phase of the Champions League after coming from behind to beat Club Brugge 3-1 and finish 22nd of the 24 qualified teams to secure progress. Man City will face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in February’s play-offs – the price to pay for such a flawed campaign. City’s night had started in worrying fashion when a merchandise kiosk outside the stadium caught fire and it took a stirring second-half revival to ensure their European hopes were not also up in flames. Pep Guardiola called for “something special” ahead of the game and what…

Manchester United secured the second win in a row in the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Fulham on Sunday night. Man Utd continued their goal-shy ways in the first half, finishing without a single shot on target but at least restricted Fulham too, going in goalless at half-time. Despite the fact that the game lacked quality, the Red Devils made it two wins in a row Premier League as they continued to prefer life away from Old Trafford. After an underwhelming first-half at Craven Cottage, Martinez popped up in the 78th minute to secure all three points for…

Liverpool defeated Ipswich Town 4 – 1 on Saturday at Anfield to remain top of the Premier League table. Arne Slot’s side have picked 53 points from 22 games, with 16 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss. Head coach Arne Slot was impressed with the “almost perfect” performance in the 4-1 win over Ipswich, which maintained their six-point lead at the top. Cody Gakpo scored twice after Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah, with his 100th Premier League goal for the club at Anfield, scored in front of a new record league attendance of 60,420. They were 3-0 up at half-time and…

Erling Haaland was on target as Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League, giving Pep Guardiola two wins from two this season against his former assistant Enzo Maresca. Chelsea winger, Noni Madueke opened the scoring for Chelsea in the third minute after an error from Man City debutant Abdukodir Khusanov. Josko Gvardiol responded for the hosts in the 42nd minute, sliding home a rebound after Robert Sanchez denied Matheus Nunes. Erling Haaland scored his 18th goal in the Premier League to give City their first lead of the match in the 68th minute, lifting a simple finish over…

Chelsea beat Wolves to end their five-game winless run in the Premier League and move into the top four, after a dominant second-half display in the Sunday encounter at the Stamford Bridge, in London. In the first-half of the match, Tosin Adarabioyo’s opener was cancelled out by Matt Doherty. However, two goals in five second-half minutes from Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke carried the hosts to victory at Stamford Bridge. Cucurella, making his 100th Premier League appearance, forced home from close range after Madueke’s cross was flicked on by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Madueke then nodded home after Trevoh Chalobah, playing after…

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola experienced the worst form of his managerial career towards the end of 2024 football season. The decorated coach would often look agitated and stressed, especially on days when other teams are defeating his glorious City side. However, Manchester City on Sunday thrashed Ipswich Town 6-0 and Guardiola alongside his team seems to be back to their best form. “We are back to doing things that define this team for the last 10 years,” Guardiola told Sky Sports afterwards. “I’m really pleased for the players, they deserve it. They suffer a lot in this time, but…

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has described his team as “maybe the worst” in the 147-year history of the club. The 39-year-old admitted the poor form of his team after a 3-1 loss to Brighton. The defeat by Brighton was the fourth loss in their past five home Premier League games. They have collected 11 points in 11 league games since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November. United are 13th in the table – 10 points clear of the relegation zone but seven behind 10th-placed Fulham. “In [the past] 10 games in Premier League, we won two,” said…