Christian Radnedge
Lyon return empty-handed with prospect of losing key players
Had Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi found the back of the net in the opening 16 minutes against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the Champions League may have had its first ever all-French final. Instead, Paris St Germain will now face the German champions while Lyon return home empty-handed and without the opportunity of righting those wrongs next season after they failed to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition. Ligue 1 was the only top-flight league from the ‘Big Five’ to prematurely end its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Lyon in seventh place on a points-per-game basis — thereby missing out on the Europa League as well. The 3-0 scoreline flatters Bayern as Lyon had their chances but playing in only their second semi-final on the big stage, their ...
Pep Guardiola: Manchester City deserve an apology
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his team deserved an apology, after their two-year UEFA ban from European football was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) — a verdict he called “a good day for football”. Guardiola said the club’s reputation had been damaged by the furore around allegations that they broke Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and fired back at comments from rival managers Jose Mourinho and Juergen Klopp. Mourinho had described the CAS decision to fine City 10 million euros ($11.39 million) for non-cooperation with the investigation as “disgraceful”. “Maybe. The thing about the money, maybe. But Jose and all the managers should know that we were damaged. We should be apologised (to). Because, like I said many times, if we did something wrong, we will...
Another Premier League player tests positive for novel coronavirus
A third first-team player from Brighton & Hove Albion tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, the Premier League club’s chief executive Paul Barber has confirmed. Two Brighton players had contracted the novel coronavirus in March and April and the latest positive result could cast doubts on the Premier League’s plans to resume the season that has been suspended due to the pandemic. Clubs are due to meet on Monday to further discuss “Project Restart” which envisages a return to play in June once given the green light from government, with the remaining 92 matches held behind closed doors at neutral venues. “It is a concern. Unfortunately we’ve had a third player test positive yesterday,” Barber told Sky Sports on Sunday. “So despite all of the measures that we’ve been taking over the ...
