FA Cup
‘I think the situation is clear’: Lampard dismisses out-of-favour Chelsea star’s hopes of a recall
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has refused to offer Kepa Arrizabalaga any assurances over his future at Stamford Bridge. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Blues’ FA Cup third round tie against Morecambe, Lampard made it clear that Edouard Mendy is his number one goalkeeper. Arrizabalaga has failed to live up to his £71.6 million price tag since joining the club from Athletic Bilbao, forcing Lampard to find a replacement he could rely on. While the Spaniard may be handed a rare start against the League 2 minnows, Lampard has hinted that his long-term future at the club isn’t promising. “Well, at the moment he’s our player, and I think the situation is clear,” he said. “Edou’s come in – he’s been playing regularly as the number one for us. “And when Kepa has come in he did well, a...
Steve Bruce claims it is ‘morally wrong’ to continue playing amid COVID-19 outbreaks
Newcastle United manager, Steve Bruce, has said that it is ‘morally wrong’ to continue playing football amid COVID-19 outbreaks. More than 60 games in England this season have been called off because of the pandemic. Newcastle were the first team to have a Premier League match postponed this season. Outbreaks at Derby County and Aston Villa mean that both sides will have to field U23 sides in the FA Cup. This week the EFL has recorded an astonishing 112 COVID cases – a new record. Villa, who host Liverpool tonight, have had to shut their training ground down after 14 COVID cases. Derby will also be without all of their first-team squad and manager, Wayne Rooney. Steve Bruce still has Jamal Lascelles and Allan Saint-Maximan recovering from a COVID-19 outbreak, six weeks ago. “Financially it...
Manchester United winger tests positive for coronavirus ahead of FA Cup clash with Watford
Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri has tested positive for Covid-19, ruling him out of making his senior debut against Watford on Saturday. The 19-year-old, who signed in the summer transfer window, has not been displaying symptoms but returned a positive test, his agency confirmed. He must now follow the Government guidelines and isolate for 10 days. “I think we’ve done well to follow the protocols as we have, we’ve had the odd case and Facundo Pellistri got a positive, so he reported that on his Twitter, we don’t normally comment on who they are but Facundo is well and hopefully he’ll be back with us soon,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been with the reserves and under-23s and he wasn’t really in our group over Christmas. Apart from th...
The Best Late Goals in Football
Scoring a late goal is undoubtedly one of the most thrilling parts of football – unless you happen to be on the receiving end! The sport’s history is littered with late goals that have helped teams win trophies, clinch promotion, avoid relegation or get one over their closest rivals. As none of the Sportslens team can remember much further back than the 1970s, we take a look at some of the best late goals of the past five decades. Michael Thomas vs Arsenal (1989) Arsenal travelled to Liverpool on the final day of the 1988/89 season needing to win by two clear goals to pip the Merseyside outfit to the title. Leading 1-0 with just seconds to play, Michael Thomas broke free of Liverpool’s defence to fire home and secure top spot for the Gunners. The look of abject horror in the home ranks mer...
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal transfer European form into Premier League
Mikel Arteta has demanded Arsenal transfer their Europa League form into the Premier League, where he says his side need to start winning matches “immediately”. Goals from Eddie Nketiah, Mohamed Elneny, Joe Willock and Folarin Balogun helped the Gunners ease past Irish side Dundalk 4-2 in Dublin on Thursday to finish top of Group B with a 100 per cent record – the first time they have won six successive European matches since 2005. That fine European form is in sharp contrast to their domestic struggles, where the club have lost six out of their last nine matches to slump to 15th in the table. With the Europa League now finished with until February, Arsenal can focus all their attention on domestic competition, with Arteta stressing the urgent need to pick up positive results, starting wit...
FA Cup third-round draw: Dates, Tv info as Liverpool, Arsenal face all PL tie
The FA Cup will resume next month when the third round of club football’s oldest competition is contested, and you can watch all FA Cup games live online. FA Cup Third-Round Draw Dates: All the games will be played between January 8 and January 11 There will be no replays this season, and any ties that are level after 90 minutes will go to extra-time and, if necessary, penalties. Time: 7.10 BST Tv info: BT Sport/ BT Sport YouTube 3rd-Round Fixtures: Huddersfield v Plymouth Southampton v Shrewsbury Chorley v Derby County Marine v Tottenham Wolves v Crystal Palace Stockport County v West Ham Oldham Athletic v Bournemouth Manchester United v Watford Stevenage v Swansea Everton v Rotherham Nottingham Forest v Cardiff Arsenal v Newcastle Barnsley v Tranmere Rove...
Harry Redknapp ‘lucky’ to have managed ‘special’ Papa Bouba Diop
Harry Redknapp has expressed his delight to have managed “special talent” Papa Bouba Diop during his time at Portsmouth. The former Senegal international spent three years with Pompey after teaming up with the club from Fulham in 2007. Diop played a key role for Redknapp’s side as they clinched the FA Cup in 2008 and featured in more than 50 games for the club under the English tactician before leaving for AEK Athens. The midfielder passed away on Sunday at the age of 42 after a long illness and Redknapp has expressed his sadness for his demise, while eulogizing him for his contributions during his playing years. “I was very lucky to have managed such a fantastic boy – he was special. He did a great job for me at Portsmouth and I think the Portsmouth fans loved him,” Redknapp told BBC Spor...
Manchester United in buoyant mood ahead of clash with Chelsea
Manchester United will approach Saturday’s home English Premier League (EPL) clash with Chelsea in buoyant mood rather than in trepidation. This is after a week which has gone some way to banishing the gloom that was descending on Old Trafford. After going into this month’s international break with a 6-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, they have emerged from it with a couple of victories which have kick-started their campaign. Last weekend’s 4-1 win at Newcastle United was followed by a 2-1 victory away to Paris St-Germain (PSG) in the UEFA Champions League. For now at least, the critics have been silenced. Chelsea’s visit, however, presents a test of Manchester United’s upswing as they seek their first home league points of the season. This is in the wake of defeats by Crystal Palce and...
Manchester United set new club record after another Champions League win vs Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester United’s victory against PSG in the Champions League has seen the club win 10 consecutive away games for the first time in their history. A late winner from Marcus Rashford saw the Red Devils win 2-1 against the Parisians at the Parc des Princes – the scene of their famous Champions League win versus PSG in 2019. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have now won their last 10 matches on the road, dating back to the 2-1 extra-time win against Norwich City in the FA Cup on June 27. Since Harry Maguire’s 118th minute to sink the Canaries, United have beaten Brighton (three times), Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Luton Town, Newcastle United and now PSG. The victory against PSG was arguably the best performance of the Red Devils’ streak, with United having more shots on target t...
Alexandre Lacazette pledges future to Arsenal amid Juventus links
Alexandre Lacazette has said that he has no intention of departing Arsenal while the club has an exciting future under boss Mikel Arteta. After taking over from Unai Emery midway through the 2019-20 campaign, Pep Guardiola’s former assistant at Manchester City has led the Gunners to FA Cup and Community Shield glory. While there has previously been speculation about the future of their France international forward, he has been happy to decisively push that to one side. “I’m at Arsenal. I signed a five-year contract to improve and win titles. I’ve got two years left and I’m determined to stay,” he said to L’Equipe. When asked if that is his final decision, he replied: “From me, yes.” Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has insisted that he knows nothing about links to the likes of Juventus and Atlet...
Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to lift FA Community Shield
Arsenal beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties on Saturday to lift the Community Shield, the curtain-raiser for the English domestic season, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw on a chilly afternoon at Wembley. Gunners captain and match goal-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blasted home the final penalty of the afternoon to complete the north London side’s second win over the league champions in the space of six weeks following a shortened summer break. “We are improving. There is still work to do but I’m really happy and it’s an exciting time to be an Arsenal player,” Aubameyang told BT Sport after the match. It was the Gunners’ second trophy within a month following the side’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Aug. 1. The game was a very even and at times rather slow affair, with Liverpool...
Premier League rocked by 14 mystery coronavirus cases at 12 pre-season camps
Premier League has been hit by 14 new cases of coronavirus since teams returned to training, reports claim. According to The Telegraph, the new cases have been recorded at 12 clubs who began preparations for next season last weekend. The figures are unofficial, but the Premier League are only expected to regularly publish test results when the new season starts on September 12. Club officials are said to be concerned cases could continue to rise after players were pictured partying on holiday with pals from rival clubs over the past few weeks. Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was snapped with James Maddison and Jack Grealish in Ibiza. And Chelsea transfer target Declan Rice holidayed with life-long friend Mason Mount on the Greek island of Mykonos, where Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Chri...
