Chelsea continued their relentless march towards the Premier League title with a controlled 2-1 win over West Ham at London Stadium.
A much-changed Blues XI were knocked out of the EFL Cup at the same ground in October but Antonio Conte s men were all business this time around.
They absorbed early pressure without coughing up chances and Eden Hazard displayed the devastating, clinical edge West Ham lacked as he scythed through them for a counter-attacking opener.
Conte s side carried menace on the break throughout, although their second came courtesy of poor set-piece defending from Slaven Bilic s side, with Diego Costa needing no second invitation to collect his 18th goal of the season after 50 minutes.
Manuel Lanzini grabbed a late consolation for the …
Adnan Januzaj admits he is uncertain over his long-term future following a difficult time on loan at Sunderland from Manchester United.
The Belgium international moved to the Stadium of Light in August to link up with former United boss David Moyes, under whom he enjoyed a superb breakthrough campaign in 2013-14.
Januzaj has struggled to hit the heights of those performances since then and has yet to score in 19 Premier League appearances this season, having spent a similarly frustrating loan spell at Borussia Dortmund last term.
The 22-year-old insists he will be stronger for the experience of playing his part in a relegation battle, but is unclear where he will be playing next term.
It has been very difficult because it is not easy to go from Man Unit…
Barcelona-bound midfielder Arthur joked he would be able to confirm whether Lionel Messi was from this planet when he joins the LaLiga giants.
Arthur, 21, is set for a move to Barca after his club, Gremio, reached an agreement with the LaLiga side, who are set to purchase the midfielder for a reported €40million.
The Brazil youth international is excited to play, and train, alongside five-time Ballon d Or winner Messi.
When I started, it was a dream to play alongside players as big as Messi, Arthur told El Larguero.
Now, it turns out that I will be able to work with him every day.
Also, I will be able to check if he is from this planet or not because he s an outstanding player.
Arthur made his senior debut for Gremio in 2015 and has …
Mark Hughes first win as Southampton manager ended the club s 15-year wait for an FA Cup semi-final appearance as they beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 at the DW Stadium.
The Premier League strugglers scored twice in the last half hour to give the newly installed Saints boss victory in his first game in charge but he won t have enjoyed the hour leading up to their first goal, in which his side were second best against League One opposition.
Paul Cook s well-drilled Wigan side pressed throughout the first half and prevented Southampton from taking a shot on target, but Hughes half-time team-talk seemed to instil the visitors with the belief they needed to break the home side down.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg s goal after 62 minutes was his first for the club in his 54th appe…
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Inter Milan will welcome Lazio to the San Siro stadium on Sunday in what will be a match of the 22nd round of the 2020-21 Serie A campaign. Both teams will want the three points badly in their bid to finish as high as possible at the end of the season, and it should be said that both teams are in with a chance, perhaps one more than the other, to win the title.
Inter Milan
Having finished 2019-20 in second place, Antonio Conte s team find themselves in the same spot at the moment, this time two points behind city rivals AC Milan who lead the way with 49. Defending champions Juventus are now below with 42 and a game in hand, which means Inter have to be looking over their shoulders as well as ahead.
The Nerazurri owe their adv…
Mikel Arteta believes a lack of confidence is the hurdle his shot-shy Arsenal side cannot clear as they continue to slide down the Premier League table.
The 13-time English champions are 15th in the table, just four points clear of the bottom three, and winless in seven league games after their latest defeat to Everton.
Arteta believes Arsenal have the fighters to turn their season around, but some of them can doubt in any moment .
The lack of a goal threat has been of particular concern, with the Gunners dominating matches but struggling to create or convert chances.
Arsenal have netted just 12 times in the league of which two have been penalties and rank 17th for goals scored.
They have forged a relatively modest 21 big chances, from which they …
Central Coast captain John Hutchinson says his side want to bury the ghosts of grand finals past when they take on the Western Sydney on Sunday.
The 2012/13 grand final will be the Mariners fourth a competition record since the inception of the A-League in 2005, but the club is yet to add a championship trophy to the cabinet at Gosford.
Hutchinson knows about the Mariners disappointments more than most, having featured in both the 2008 and 2011 defeats, to Newcastle and Brisbane respectively, and he is desperate to avoid that feeling again.
It s a motivation. Those grand finals are gone now and it s out of our hands, but we look forward to this one, he said at the A-League pre-grand final press conference on Saturday.
We can control our destiny. The boy…
Al Hilal secured their fourth straight Saudi Pro League title after Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in Saturday s 4-1 thrashing of bottom side Al Hazm.
Faiz Selemani restored parity after Mitrovic s 15th-minute opener at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, only for Jorge Jesus hosts to roar back and be crowned champions with three games remaining.
Ahmed Al Juwaid s own goal handed the initiative back to the dominant Al Hilal, who led 4-1 at the break after Mitrovic added another to his tally and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was on target.
The second of Mitrovic s strikes took him to a team-leading 26 league goals this term as Al Hilal breezed to another title, moving an unassailable 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo s Al Nassr.
is the CHAMPION of Roshn Saudi Leagu…
Paul Pogba’s older brother, Florentin, is entering the final year of his contract with St Etienne and is already started thinking about his future.
Two years Paul’s senior has told that he is yet to receive any offers for now, but has moved on to reveal he would love to join his little brother in the Premier League.
“I have not had anything concrete put on the table”, he said.
The 26-year-old defender has been linked with Arsenal this season and with Aston Villa in the past, and claims he would relish the chance to test his luck in English football.
“I wouldn’t say no to setting foot there”, he commented.
Florentin Pogba played against his brother Paul Pogba this season when St Etienne faced Manchester United in earlier stages of t…
Thomas Sorensen doubts former Denmark international team-mate Christian Eriksen will leave White Hart Lane if Tottenham fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.
Tottenham are flying high this term, with Eriksen s performances helping the club to fourth in the Premier League after 17 matches heading into the busy Christmas period.
Eriksen, who arrived from Dutch giants Ajax in 2013, has six league assists to his name as Tottenham occupy the final Champions League spot, which would require a play-off to qualify for the competition proper.
But should Eriksen and Spurs who have reached the last 32 of the Europa League finish outside the top four for a fourth consecutive season, Sorensen does not believe it will spell the end of the 23-year-old s time…