premier league
Breaking: Frank Lampard confirmed as new Chelsea boss
Lampard, one of the greatest players in our history during his long and illustrious career returns to Stamford Bridge having signed a three-year contract. The 41-year-old said: ‘I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach. Everyone knows my love for this club and the history we have shared, however, my sole focus is on the job in hand and preparing for the season ahead. I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started.’ Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia (pictured above right) added: ‘It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank back to Chelsea as head coach. Frank possesses fantastic knowledge and understanding of the club and last season, he demonstrated he is one of the most talented young coaches in the game. ‘After 13 years w...
Maurizio Sarri is the new Juventus coach
After an excellent season on the Blues bench, in which Sarri led the club to a third-place finish in the Premier League and reach the EFL Cup final. The ultimate high during his tenure in London was when he led Chelsea to the Europa League final, before going on to being crowned champions in his final game on the Blues bench. Now, Maurizio Sarri has returned to Italy, where he has coached for the majority of his career. And from today, he will take over the reins at Juventus with a contract until June 30, 2022. Now at 60 years old, Sarri was born in Naples and spent many years living in Tuscany. In 2001, after spending several years in the world of football, Sarri began his career as a full-time coach. Thus, began an adventure that, since 2005, has taken him to the Serie B championship, l...
2019 Europa League Final. What You Need To Know
Part one of «the Premier League conquerors Europe» takes place on Wednesday when Chelsea and Arsenal meet in the Europa League final. The other all-Premier League final is set for Saturday, in Madrid, with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur vying for the Champions League title. At stake for Chelsea is another European trophy to add to the other five won since 1971. For Arsenal, making it a hattrick of European trophies is very much secondary to the automatic qualifying spot to the 2019/20 Champions League group stage that goes with winning the Europa League. The Arsenal squad needs new blood but who might move on is simply conjecture at the moment. Chelsea has no such pressure having finished 3rd in the Premier League, Arsenal was 5th, two points fewer than Chelsea. It could be the las...
Tottenham reach Champions League final
A single minute remained, maybe less. Maybe just a few seconds separated Ajax from the Champions League final. Somehow, even as the energy drained from their legs and the tension gripped their minds, this team that glimpses the future and echoes the past, had clung on. And now the clock ticked down through five minutes of injury time, each somehow slower, more agonizing than the last. Tottenham poured forward, pummeling Ajax. Hugo Lloris, the Spurs goalkeeper, trotted upfield for a corner. It came to nothing. That is, traditionally, the final roll of the dice, the last act. Once that has failed, it is over. Eyes drifted to Felix Brych, the German referee, the man who could bring the torture to an end. Ajax had the ball, deep in Tottenham territory. The wait was almost over. Ten months’ wor...
Greatest European night for Liverpool in Anfield’s history
Liverpool pull off epic comeback against Barcelona to book place in Champions League final. Jurgen Klopp hinted that he didn’t believe Liverpool could pull off a Champions League miracle against Barcelona, admitting Monday that «beautiful failure» was perhaps the best his team could hope for against the Spanish champions. Come on, Jurgen, you need to have more faith. Your players have shown they are capable of anything, but nothing can match this: a 4-0 rout of Barcelona when every odd was stacked against them. They were supposed to have learned their lessons from last season’s quarterfinal meltdown in Rome, when a 3-0 defeat saw them crash out in the Stadio Olimpico, but this was worse. Barca collapsed. Perhaps they started the game believing it was won — too complacent,...
Arsenal wins 3-1, and already looks at the final.
London and the Emirates stadium were ready for a European night of football, and Arsenal and Valencia did not want to disappoint the fans. Both teams offered a great show, with direct and vibrant football during the 90 plus minutes. The game started really well for Valencia. Valencia’s coach Marcelino surprised everybody with the 6 defenders he put on the field at the beginning of the game. Arsenal’s squad did not know how to react and Valencia looked very confortable, stealing the ball with ease and creating chances with counterattacks. In the 9th minute Diakhaby jumped over the defenders to put the ball inside the net for the 0-1. The initiative of the game did not change until Lacazette’s goal in the 18th minute. This goal gave Arsenal courage to start moving the ball ...
Virgil van Dijk wins the PFA Player of the Year award
Dutch duo Virgil van Dijk and Vivianne Miedema have won the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year awards for 2018-19. The centre-back becomes the second Liverpool player in as many years to take the award, beating out a host of Manchester City stars. Liverpool defender Van Dijk, 27, beat Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Sadio Mane and Eden Hazard in the vote by his fellow players. Van Dijk succeeds Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah, who won in 2017-18, and is the first defender to take the award since Chelsea centre-back John Terry in 2004-05. Miedema, who helped Arsenal clinch their first Women’s Super League title since 2012 earlier on Sunday, follows Chelsea and England striker Fran Kirby. Netherlands international Miedema is the top scorer ...