LIVERPOOL, England — If it’s true that this year’s battle for the Premier League title has been a one-horse race for some time, then this was the day Arsenal all but surrendered their hopes of pipping Liverpool at the finishing post. With one of the world’s most famous sporting fixtures, horse racing’s Grand National, taking place just 3½ miles away at Aintree, Arsenal failed to clear yet another hurdle as…
Ange Postecoglou has said he is “falling out of love with football” after admitting he made a mistake in celebrating Pape Matar Sarr’s disallowed goal against Tottenham, but not because he risked a fan backlash. Spurs lost 1-0 at Chelsea on Thursday but Sarr had a second-half strike ruled out by VAR. Postecoglou’s decision to bring on Sarr for Lucas Bergvall was booed by some travelling Tottenham supporters who also…
Fenerbahce have come out in defence of their coach Jose Mourinho, claiming he was provoked by his Galatasaray counterpart Okan Buruk following Wednesday’s Turkish Cup game between the sides. Mourinho, whose team lost 2-1 in the quarterfinal, was seen grabbing the nose of Buruk following a scuffle that broke out between the players on the pitch after the final whistle. “Okan Buruk came towards our technical director Jose Mourinho, who…
Harry Kane is a man on a mission. Not just for Bayern Munich but also for himself. It’s simple: the England captain finally wants to win silverware of note. Despite winning goal-scoring trophies and featuring in five finals, Kane has never tasted victory in a major competition, a run of futility that has even made some question whether Kane, regardless of all his goals, is made for the biggest stage.…
LONDON — Ange Postecoglou is no stranger to risk, but on Thursday, he played his most dangerous game yet. Tottenham Hotspur were midway through another insipid Premier League performance when his 64th-minute double change — introducing Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson for Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert — elicited a brief but audible chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing” from fans at the away end. Moments later,…
Manchester City fans boycotted the opening of their Premier League fixture against Leicester City on Wednesday in protest at ticketing issues at the Etihad Stadium. Supporters gathered outside the stadium an hour before kick-off with a banner which read: “MCFC – For the love not the money.” Hundreds of fans also remained in the concourses for the first nine minutes of the game. The ones who stayed away missed Jack…
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a Spanish court on Wednesday that he “never thought about committing fraud” as he gave evidence in a trial in which he’s accused of failing to pay over €1 million ($1.08m) in taxes. Prosecutors have accused the veteran coach of evading paying tax on his image rights income during his first spell at the club, in 2014 and 2015. “For me, everything was in…
NOTTINGHAM, England — Anthony Elanga chose a muted celebration after his wonderful solo goal against Manchester United, but the smile that crept over his face gave away the quiet satisfaction of scoring against his former club. Who could blame him? Man United decided Elanga wasn’t good enough when he was allowed to move to Nottingham Forest. A key part of manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s revolution at the City Ground, he’ll…
Hansi Flick has said there is no luck to Barcelona success this season but he knows it is trophies that matter as he prepares for Wednesday’s “final before the final” against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Barça and Atlético drew 4-4 in the first leg of their Copa semifinal in February and finally meet in the return game at the Metropolitano this week, with the winners facing either…
Real Betis midfielder Isco has joked that crowdfunding will be needed to keep Manchester United’s loanee Antony at the club for at least next season. Antony has been a big hit in Spain since joining on loan from United after a difficult first half of the campaign at Old Trafford. However, the loan deal which took the Brazilian winger to Betis did not include an option for the Spanish club…