Новости за 17.10.2017

Al Hilal booked their place in the AFC Champions League final as Omar Kharbin scored twice in a 2-2 draw away to Persepolis that secured a 6-2 aggregate triumph. After bagging a hat-trick in the first leg of the semi-final, Kharbin proved the scourge of Persepolis once again, his brace ruining the home side's unlikely comeback attempts as they looked to overturn a 4-0 loss in the previous meeting. Godwin Mensha found the net twice for the Persian Gulf Pro League side, who were appearing in the... Читать дальше...

Monaco are without Rachid Ghezzal and Stevan Jovetic for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Besiktas. Last year's semi-finalists have started their Group G campaign by taking just one point from two matches, and the absence of the key duo is a blow ahead of the visit of pool leaders Besiktas. Ghezzal was rested for Friday's defeat to former club Lyon having returned from international duty with Algeria, and he has again not been included in Monaco's squad for this game. Jovetic suffered a thigh... Читать дальше...

Kevin De Bruyne's agent claims he will use Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as benchmarks when negotiating a new contract for the Manchester City midfielder. De Bruyne has been in superb form for Pep Guardiola's side over recent weeks, scoring the winning goal against Premier League champions Chelsea at the end of last month before turning in a virtuoso display during Saturday's 7-2 demolition of Stoke City. The 26-year-old Belgium international told reporters in September that he expected talks to take... Читать дальше...

Per Mertesacker has said he paid no attention to Troy Deeney’s comment that Arsenal lack "cojones" following their 2-1 defeat to Watford, but admits his side must be mentally tougher. Deeney accused Arsenal of a lack of fight after Watford came from a goal down to beat the Gunners 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Saturday in the Premier League. Mertesacker had earlier opened the scoring for the Gunners and says his team need to learn from a defeat that leaves them nine points behind leaders Manchester City. Читать дальше...

Leicester City have dismissed manager Craig Shakespeare after winning just one of their opening eight Premier League games this term. Shakespeare took charge of first-team operations in February when Claudio Ranieri was sacked and initially proved a great success, beating Liverpool 3-1 in his first game before then guiding Leicester past Sevilla in the Champions League to book a quarter-final spot. Three successive victories across all competitions at the start of his reign effectively secured Shakespeare the job until the end of the season. Читать дальше...

Paulinho says he feels privileged to have played with both Lionel Messi and Neymar, but the Barcelona star remains the best player in the world in his eyes. While the former Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder is an international team-mate of Neymar's, a recent move to Camp Nou has given him the opportunity to play alongside Messi too. And Paulinho considers the Argentina forward the superior player - even if he acknowledges that Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar has the quality to one day be the world's best. Читать дальше...

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde will put personal feelings to one side on Wednesday as he plots the downfall of former employees Olympiacos in the Champions League. Valverde enjoyed two successful spells in charge of the Greek club, sandwiched in between a brief stint with Villarreal, winning the Greek title three times and also adding the cup in two of his three seasons at the helm. Now with Barcelona, the group draw has provided the experienced Spaniard with the chance to go head-to-head against a club that is still close to his heart. Читать дальше...

Ashley Young says Manchester United are expecting a tough game against Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Red Devils head to Portugal top of Group A after winning both of their opening games, while Benfica are bottom of the pile and yet to score a point. The Portuguese champions were beaten 2-1 at home by CKSA Moscow in the opening round of fixtures, before being thrashed 5-0 by Basel last time out, but Young feels they are still quality opponents. "Benfica haven't won the Portugese... Читать дальше...

Rafinha has no interest in leaving Barcelona, according to his father Mazinho. The Brazil international has been out with a knee injury since April, undergoing surgery for the second time earlier this month, but was linked with a move away from Camp Nou in the recent transfer window. Mazinho - himself a former Brazil star - insists he and his son retain a good relationship with Barca, though, with any move difficult anyway due to Rafinha's fitness concerns. "The important thing is that [Rafinha] is feeling better," Mazinho told Radio Marca. Читать дальше...

Jose Mourinho says Manchester United would be happy with a point from Wednesday's Champions League trip to Benfica. United were criticised for their approach to a Premier League clash with Liverpool on Saturday, in which they were accused of playing deliberately for the 0-0 draw. Mourinho's side head into the meeting at Estadio da Luz with two wins from two group games against Basel and CSKA Moscow, and another victory would put them in a commanding position to reach the last 16. However, the... Читать дальше...

The BBC wanted to showHaringey's FA Cup fourth-round qualifying match against Heybridge Swifts at the weekend on the red button, but their proposal wasrejected by the Isthmian League side.So why did north Londonersturndown an offer that would have provided them with a significant financial boost? Well:work commitments and the club's weeklycar boot sale, of course."Yes, the extra money would have been nice, but they gave us only a few days' notice and wanted the match to kick off at 12:30,"Haringey... Читать дальше...

Timothy Weah scored three of USA's five goals in their comprehensive 5-0 victory over Paraguay,in front of a35,000-strong New Delhicrowdon Monday evening.The 17-year-old New York-born youngster, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in July,put the USA a goal up in the 19th minute.But it was his second strike shortly after half-time which really caught the eye.Weah picked the ball up on the left flank and effortlessly jinked past Paraguay full-back Jesus Rolon, before arrowing a fine effort into the top... Читать дальше...

Watford can follow up their last-gasp heroics against Arsenal with another shock win over Chelsea on Saturday, according to Tom Cleverley. The former Manchester United midfielder scored in the second minute of stoppage time after Troy Deeney had cancelled out a Per Mertesacker header to condemn the Gunners to another away defeat last weekend. The 2-1 victory lifted Watford to fourth in the Premier League table as they continue their promising start under new manager Marco Silva. Champions Chelsea... Читать дальше...

Massimiliano Allegri insists Juventus "are not in any kind of crisis" despite their rare home Serie A defeat at the hands of Lazio. Juve face Sporting CP, who sit ahead of them on goal difference in Champions League Group D, in a crucial contest in Turin on Wednesday. The Italian champions go into the game after a shock 2-1 reverse to Lazio, a result which ended an astonishing 57-match unbeaten run in front of their own fans. That result was preceded by an away draw against Atalanta, meaning Juve... Читать дальше...

In the two years since Jurgen Klopp’s first game in charge of Liverpool – a 0-0 draw at Tottenham on October 17, 2015 – the German has overseen significant improvements overall at Anfield. But with the Reds continuing to be undermined by defensive issues, and currently on a run of one win in eight games in all competitions, there areclearly still issues Klopp has yet to resolve at Anfield.Namely...1. The defenceLiverpool conceded 42 goals last season, their best goals against record since Rafa Benitez’s final season in charge of 2009/10. Читать дальше...

Big spending has had almost nothing to do with Manchester City’s form this season. The results are down to the genius of Pep Guardiola.City forked out £220m on new players this summer, the most in the league. That would seem to justify those who see Guardiola as a ‘fraud’, elevated by dazzling squads at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. They will say his mediocrity got exposed at City last season. Now he needs to splurge £125m on full-backs in order to succeed.And in a sense, Guardiola did first appear to be in a no-win situation. Читать дальше...

FIFA’s Career Mode lasts for 15 whole seasons, and if you’re hoping to achieve long-termsuccess then you’ll need to build for the future. Of course, there are so many options at your disposal thatit can prove tough to know who to spend your precious cash on.That’s where FFT comesin. We’ve identified every FIFA 18 wonderkid who begins Career Mode with a potential of 90 or higher (at time of writing). If you train them well, pay them handsomely and offer plenty of valuable game time, then you’ll soon... Читать дальше...

Ancelotti, who was sacked as Bayern Munich's head coach theday after their 3-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last month,has left the manufacturers of the Bundesliga club's official advent calendars red-faced.The 58-year-old Italian can be seen tucking into a turkey with David Alaba on a picnic table, very muchfront and centre of the cosy Christmas scene.Bayern are rectifying the problem by releasing stickers to replace him withJupp Heynckes, whobegan his fourth spell by mastermindinga... Читать дальше...

Gylfi Sigurdsson admits his Everton performances are falling short of what he hoped for after signing in a big-money move from Swansea City. Despite joining for a reported £45million in August, the Iceland international is yet to register either a goal or assist from seven Premier League appearances. That comes as Everton, who were tipped to challenge for a top-four finish at the start of the season, sit 16th with eight points from as many games after Wayne Rooney's late penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. Читать дальше...

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has described Cristiano Ronaldo as "an inspiration for the new generation" as he prepares to face the Real Madrid attacker. Lloris will be charged with the unenviable task of trying to prevent the Portugal star and his team-mates from hitting the back of the net when Spurs take on the Champions League holders at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo has helped Madrid to win the competition in three of the last four seasons, breaking scoring records and earning individual... Читать дальше...

Jurgen Klopp has hailed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's promising cameo against Manchester United but does not intend to use him in a central midfield role for some time yet. Oxlade-Chamberlain left Arsenal and turned down a potential move to Chelsea as he seeks to secure a regular berth at the heart of a top-level side. The 24-year-old was convinced by Klopp's enthusiasm and passion to commit his future to Anfield. But the Southampton academy product is still getting to grips with life on Merseyside... Читать дальше...

The list of Tottenham’s all-time top European scorers is replete with legendary Spurs names such as Jimmy Greaves, Martin Chivers, Martin Peters... and shall we say Garth Crooks too? (Nods head vigorously).Yet they’re all absent from the below,because we’re testing your modern Tottenham knowledge. Through the '90s and early 2000s, the Lilywhites were a raresight in Europe, but the last decade has changed that as they’ve qualified pretty much every season and reached a Champions League quarter-final under Harry Redknapp. Читать дальше...

Harry Redknapp has indicated he is unlikely to return to club management following his departure from Birmingham City last month. The 70-year-old took over at St Andrew's in April and succeeded in keeping the relegation-threatened Blues in the Championship.  He signed a one-year deal to stay on in May, but was dismissed following a run of six successive defeats in all competitions early this season. The former West Ham and Tottenham boss suggested shortly after his departure that he could retire... Читать дальше...

Omonia lost 2-1 to minnowsErmis Aradippou on Sunday in a game they really should have won – and it was theirtop goalscorer Derbyshirewho had the opportunity to turn the game on its head with half an hour remaining.With the scores at 1-1 in the 61st minute, the former England U21 internationalburst through on goal and hurdledthe Ermis goalkeeper to face the simple task of slotting home into an empty net.But Derbyshire infuriatedthe home support by dallying on the ball for toolong and somehow ended... Читать дальше...

Isco has reached his full potential at Real Madrid and is now one of the best players in the world, according to Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs face Champions League holders Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday in a match that could go some way to determining which of the two teams finishes top of Group H.  Former Valencia and Malaga player Isco has blossomed into a genuine Blancos star under Zinedine Zidane. And Pochettino, who coached against the attacking midfielder during his time in charge of Espanyol... Читать дальше...