woensdag 23 april 2014

Cristiano Ronaldo to have late fitness test on Wednesday before Bayern tie

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday morning to decide if he can take part in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu.
The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said he was "confident" that the competition's top scorer would be available but insisted that they will not take any risks with his fitness. Gareth Bale is doubtful after having suffered with a bout of flu.
Ronaldo has missed the last four games, including the final of the Copa del Rey, through injury. The Portuguese had suffered a knee injury and then had hamstring problems. The club had been cautious about his prognosis, saying little publicly, and Ronaldo had also

Sir Alex Ferguson will help to choose David Moyes's successor

Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson will be asked to take a prominent role in deciding Manchester United's next manager despite an acknowledgement within the club that he was responsible for choosing the wrong man last time.
United are deliberating between Louis van Gaal and Carlo Ancelotti to replace David Moyes after the former Everton manager was sacked in a 7.40am meeting with the club's chief executive, Ed Woodward. Diego Simeone, the Atlético Madrid coach, is also being considered but United are leaning towards a more experienced candidate and their initial discussions, involving Ferguson, have concluded that the job has come too early for Ryan Giggs, even if he exceeds expectations in his four games as interim manager.
Laurent Blanc has also been ruled out, despite Ferguson's close ties with the Paris Saint-Germain coach, and it has been made clear that the

Mourinho threatens to play weakened Chelsea team against Liverpool

Club Atletico de Madrid v Chelsea - UEFA Champions League Semi Final
José Mourinho is threatening to rest virtually his entire Chelsea team and potentially hand Liverpool the Premier League title after revealing he will seek permission from Roman Abramovich to pick a deliberately weakened side in protest at being made to play the game on Sunday.
Mourinho's plan is likely to infuriate the Premier League and also has serious ramifications for Manchester City, who are relying on Chelsea to beat

dinsdag 22 april 2014

David Moyes sacked by Manchester United and replaced by Ryan Giggs

David Moyes
David Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United after just 10 months in charge and replaced by Ryan Giggs. The club are believed to be interested in putting Giggs in charge temporarily until the end of the season.
Giggs, 40, has been combining playing with studying for his Pro-Licence, learning at the feet of the manager for the majority of his career at United, Sir Alex Fergsuon.
United released a

zondag 20 april 2014

Chelsea beware: Diego Costa is Atlético Madrid's warrior

Diego Costa of Atlético Madrid v Elche
Diego Costa hit the post against Getafe. Painfully so. There were six minutes remaining and it was 1-0 to Atlético Madrid when Adrián laid the ball across the face of goal from the right; it was escaping the striker but he was not going to let it go, so he flew at it, launching himself. The ball hit the back of the net and Costa hit the post. Hard. The goal secured a vital victory that kept Atlético top of the table, but Costa was down. The full-back Filipe Luís approached him and immediately signalled to the bench. As he turned away he looked to

Tottenham's Younès Kaboul seals win to leave Fulham in relegation zone

Tottenham Hotspur's Younes Kaboul scores the third goal against Fulham in the Premier League
Nowhere in the survival manual is there the provision for unmarked opponents on set-pieces two or three yards from goal. As Fulham passed up another shot at salvation, they could reflect upon not one, but two glaring defensive oversights.
You need not look very far to see why Fulham are living in fear. Seventy-seven goals conceded tells a grisly tale and the devil here was in the detail. From two whipped Christian Eriksen free-kicks, Fulham singularly failed to pick up first Paulinho and later

Everton make light of Manchester United on David Moyes' return

Leighton Baines
This dismal Manchester United display will not quite go down as the poorest of a terrible season, which says it all about David Moyes's first term in charge.
A 2-0 Champions League defeat at Olympiakos may end with that dubious honour, though there are still four matches remaining and nothing would surprise.
Yet if the United board want a barometer of whether this group of players are performing for Moyes, then folding in such insipid fashion on the Scot's return to