Seamus Coleman called on Everton to use their long-awaited Merseyside derby win to propel themselves in the challenge for Europe after Carlo Ancelotti s team claimed a 2-0 victory at Anfield.
Premier League champions Liverpool suffered their first home defeat to their city rivals since September 1999 as Richarlison s early strike and Gylfi Sigurdsson s late penalty secured all three points for the Toffees.
It also ended a decade-long wait for a win over their neighbours in any competition home or away for Everton, while they have won eight of their 12 away league games this season (D2 L2) – only in 2008-09 have they won more on the road in a Premier League campaign (nine).
Liverpool on the other hand have lost their last four home games in the league, and thei…
Real Betis and Besiktas have both made contact with Aston Villa to ask about a potential transfer of Philippe Coutinho, according to Fabrizio Romano. Villa are believed to be open to selling the Brazilian attacking midfielder, as long as it is on their terms. As things stand at the moment, it seems it s up to the player himself to make a decision on his future.
Coutinho was arguably the biggest star at Liverpool at the time of his departure to Barcelona in January 2018. The Merseysiders resisted his intentions and Barcelona s offers for several months, but in the end, they accepted a bid that could ve risen to €160 million, which would ve made him the third most expensive player in the history at the time.
Coutinho obviously got his wish, but things didn t work out to…
Nicolas Jackson appeared to question Chelsea s decision to part company with Mauricio Pochettino as Cole Palmer paid thanks to the Argentine.
On Tuesday, Chelsea announced Pochettino had left the club by mutual consent after just one season in charge, which ended in a sixth-place Premier League finish.
Several pundits expressed shock at the decision, after an upturn saw Chelsea recover from a poor start to the season to clinch European qualification.
Only four teams – Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Newcastle United – had a better expected goals (xG) figure than Chelsea (75.3) in the Premier League in 2023-24, while only three – City, Liverpool and Arsenal – had more shots on target than the Blues (215).
From March 11 onwards, Chelsea s r…
With all eyes falling on Buenos Aires in the early hours of Friday, Argentina opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with a gritty 1-0 victory at home against Ecuador.
Making their first competitive appearance since being crowned world champions for the first time since 1986 last winter, it was unsurprisingly La Albiceleste’s record-breaking icon who dragged them over the finish line.
Producing a trademark moment of magic just 12 minutes before the final whistle as Lionel Messi whipped his free-kick into the top corner, Lionel Scaloni’s side would have simply been relieved to open their qualifying adventure with a rugged victory on home soil.
Eventually breaking down what was a gritty Ecuador side here and extending on their remarkable purple patch, La T…
The cash-strapped French city of Strasbourg announced on Thursday they have withdrawn their bid to host matches in the 2016 European football championship.
City officials estimated that the financial burden of renovating the Meinau stadium was too heavy and would cost 160 million euros of which 130 million would be paid for by the city.
Strasbourg major Roland Ries said the decision was taken as a result of the unusual situation of Strasbourg, the only one of the bidding cities to have their club, Racing Strasbourg, playing in the third division.
France were unveiled as Euro 2016 hosts in May by UEFA president Michel Platini, beating off strong opposition from Turkey and Italy.
Eleven bidders remain to host games Paris (Stade de France), Paris (Parc des …
Best odds: 14/25
Bookmaker:
The Netherlands continue their final preparations for the upcoming Euros with a friendly game against Canada on Thursday evening at the De Kuip in Rotterdam.
Oranje will be seeking a morale-boosting win against the 2022 World Cup participants, especially after ending the March international break in a disappointing fashion.
Netherlands
Ronald Koeman is set to lead the Netherlands into another tournament, aiming to end their 36-year drought for a major trophy. The Dutch squad had enjoyed a four-match winning streak around the turn of the year, netting 12 goals against Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar, and Scotland without conceding any.
However, a 2-1 defeat to Germany disrupted their momentum, indicating the…
Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris says he is considering legal action against the Premier League over its Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Sawiris, Egypt s richest man, claims the rules, which place a limit on the amount clubs are able to lose across a three-year period, do not make sense .
At the Premier League s annual general meeting last Thursday, Villa had a proposal to raise the maximum permitted losses from £105million to £135million rejected.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Sawiris claimed he was seeking advice over the prospect of taking legal action against them.
He said: Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport.
The rules do…
Richarlison believes God recognised his effort to get to the World Cup, as the Brazil forward turned his focus to Monday s clash with Switzerland.
Tottenham attacker Richarlison scored both of the Selecao s goals in their opening 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday.
After bundling in a rebound, Richarlison scored the goal of the tournament so far to double Brazil s tally, sending an acrobatic attempt into the left-hand corner.
Richarlison has scored nine goals in his last seven appearances for Brazil in all competitions, becoming the eighth Brazilian to score a brace on his World Cup debut, and first since Neymar in 2014.
Since his debut for the national side in September 2018, Richarlison has scored more goals in all competitions for Brazil than any other pl…
Neymar merely needs to find his rhythm to rediscover his best form, so says Mauricio Pochettino.
Brazil star Neymar has endured another injury hit campaign for Paris Saint-Germain, with the 30-year-old having made just 22 appearances across all competitions.
That is 16 fewer than Kylian Mbappe, who has arguably outshone the former Barcelona forward since they both arrived in Paris in 2017.
Neymar served up a reminder of his qualities with two fine goals in PSG s 5-1 thrashing of Lorient last time out, though it was again Mbappe who stole the show with a pair of superb strikes and three assists, with the final star of Pochettino s attacking trio, Lionel Messi, also netting.
It was not for a lack of trying from a creative standpoint for Neymar, though, as…
Best odds: 5/6
Bookmaker:
The last round of the group stage at the World Cup is well underway, and in Group E on Thursday, Costa Rica and Germany will face each other at the Al Bayt Stadium with one aim set for both sides to do their best to book a place in the round of 16. In the other match of the group, Spain face Japan.
Costa Rica
If anyone had called it before the start of the tournament, or after the opening round, they would probably have been laughed at, but at this crucial point in the race, Costa Rica appear much closer to achieving that goal than Germany. Sitting third in the group with three points, a win over Germany, as unlikely as it seems, would guarantee them a place in the next stage. It could even see them finish top of the group, providing S…