Новости за 28.12.2019

Leicester returned to winning ways tocut the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to 10 points and pile thepressure on West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini.Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray were on target either side of Pablo Fornals leveller on the stroke of half-time, handing Leicester victory after successive defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.Gray saw his 11th-minute spot-kick saved by the fit-again Lukasz Fabianski after Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers had made nine changes from the side... Читать дальше...

Demarai Gray missed a first-half penalty but scored a second-half winner as Leicester piled more pressure on West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini with a 2-1 victory.Gray, one of nine new faces in a much-changed Foxes line-up, fluffed the opportunity to open his Premier League goal account for the season from the spot after only 12 minutes.But the winger made amends after the interval to fire second-placed Leicester to a first league win in four games whileinflicting a fourth straight home defeat on woeful West Ham... Читать дальше...

Tottenham needed a late penalty from Harry Kane to salvage a 2-2 draw at Norwich, who were the latest team to suffer from VARs interpretation of the offside law.Kane struck from the spot in the 83rd minute to deny the Canaries a first Premier League home win since beating Manchester City in September after they led through Mario Vrancics opener and Serge Auriers own goal.It might have been a completely different story had Teemu Pukkis goal not been marginally ruled out by the perpendicular lines of VAR with Norwich leading 1-0... Читать дальше...

Roy Hodgson claimed the VAR God favoured Southampton but had no complaints after Crystal Palace surrendered the lead to draw 1-1 at St Marys.Palace midfielder Max Meyer had a 15th-minute strike chalked off on a review due to a marginal offside call against Wilfried Zaha in the build up.The mid-table visitors later went ahead through a James Tomkins header but were forced to settle for a point after Martin Kellys calamitous backwards pass allowed in-form Saints striker Danny Ings to level 16 minutes from time.Eagles boss Hodgson... Читать дальше...

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith questioned the commitment of his players and revealed his bemusement with referee Simon Hooper failing to use the pitchside monitors during Saturdays 3-0 loss at 10-man Watford.Birmingham-fan Troy Deeney struck a brace at Vicarage Road to hand the Hornets a vital win in their bid to pull off a Premier League great escape this season.Watfords captain grabbed his second after Douglas Luiz was adjudged to have brought him down inside the area and he was involved in the... Читать дальше...

Carlo Ancelotti believes Dominic Calvert-Lewin can become one of the top strikers in Europe after seeing him score twice in Evertons 2-1 win over Newcastle at St James Park.After getting Ancelottis Goodison Park reign off to a flying start with a Boxing Day winner against Burnley, Calvert-Lewins brace sandwiched a Fabian Schar equaliser to hand the Toffees three more points.Ancelotti said: He is a fantastic striker in my opinion fantastic with the head, clever in the box, and sharp.But hes young and for this reason he has to improve. Читать дальше...

Arsenal broke their transfer record in the summer to sign Nicolas Pepe for £72m, but it's fair to say the Ivorian has had a difficult start to life in North London.The winger, who tore up Ligue 1 for Lille last season, has only scored once from open play in the Premier League so far.However, in The Metro new Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke this week about the potential Pepe has, and explained why he thinks he has struggled to adapt thus far."I think it is a mixture of things."It was obviously a big change from France to come here. Читать дальше...

Brighton recorded their first home win since November 2 with a convincing 2-0 victory over a lacklustre Bournemouth side at the Amex Stadium.The Seagulls suffered their biggest home defeat in the Premier League in this fixture last season but got off to a dream start this time around, when Alireza Jahanbakhsh hit his first goal for the club.The game was not without controversy, with VAR overruling a second-half goal from Dan Burn after the left-back was judged to be offside.Brighton did not have to wait too long for their second goal... Читать дальше...

The Chinese Super League may be facing an exodus of foreign stars following the introduction of a new salary cap of £2m-a-year - approximately £42k-per-week.The Chinese Super League was founded in 2004, but it's only in the past few years that it has come to international prominence after a succession of high profile, big moneytransfers.In 2017, players like Carlos Tevez, Oscar, John Obi Mikel and Ricardo Carvalho all moved to China. Since then, the league has welcomed the likes of Marouane Fellaini... Читать дальше...

Captain Liam Cooper insists Leeds are ready to match the standards and expectations placed on them as they look to get back to winning ways in their Sky Bet Championship promotion push.Marcelo Bielsas side head to Birmingham on Sunday having failed to secure victory in their last three games, including a 1-1 home draw with Preston on Boxing Day.They sit three points adrift of leaders West Brom, with the top two meeting at the Hawthorns on New Years Day.The Blues are first up, however, with Cooper... Читать дальше...

Sheffield United have been a revelation in the Premier League this season. While many predicted they'd be in for a relegation fight, they currently sit 3 points off Chelsea in 4th.The form of three of their players in particular is due to be rewarded by manager Chris Wilder, as he hopes to ward off interest from other Premier League clubs - John Egan, Enda Stevens, and John Lundstram.According to The Sheffield Star, Wilder has instructed the board to offer improved contracts to all three, after noting... Читать дальше...

Olivier Giroud looks likely to leave Chelsea in the January transfer window, and he could be in line for a reunion with Maurizio Sarri.Giroud has found game time hard to come by under Frank Lampard this season, owing to the excellent form of Tammy Abraham, but with Euro 2020 on the horizon he knows that first team football is necessary if he wants to secure his place in the France squad.Juventus has recently confirmed the departure of Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic to Qatari side Al Duhail, meaning... Читать дальше...

Raul Jimenez has backed Wolves to end Liverpools unbeaten run.The striker will head to Anfield with confidence on Sunday after Fridays stunning 3-2 comeback win over Manchester City.Nuno Espirito Santos side left Citys title hopes in tatters after recovering from going 2-0 down to their 10-man visitors early in the second half.Matt Doherty scored Wolves winner (Nick Potts/PA)Jimenez scored the equaliser before Matt Dohertys late winner and, ahead of the trip to the unbeaten Premier League leaders... Читать дальше...

As Pedro prepares to enter the last six months of his contract at Chelsea, he looks to be pushing for a return to his former club in Spain.According to Goal, Pedro has said he would "drop everything" if Barcelona were to call him and offer him another spell at the club.He has also revealed that he could have returned in the summer, but the move was swiftly called off:"There was a moment in pre-season when we played against Barca that, after talking with the coach, I saw a chance, but the door closed quickly."At this point... Читать дальше...

Chris Wilder believes Sheffield Uniteds record against the top clubs this season offers his team encouragement as they prepare to face reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.Pep Guardiolas side are the only one the Blades have yet to play in what is their first top-flight campaign for 12 years.Wilders men have fared well against the other big teams, beating Arsenal and drawing with Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United, while only suffering narrow one-goal defeats to Leicester and Liverpool.It... Читать дальше...

Ali McCann wants to round off a positive year by helping St Johnstone to a win against Ross County on Sunday.The midfielder grabbed his first Saints goal on Boxing Day to seal a 1-0 win over Hamilton which extended the Perth sides unbeaten run to four games and took them to ninth in the Ladbrokes Premiership table.It was another step in the right direction for McCann who, after a loan spell at Stranraer earlier in the year, broke into Tommy Wrights side while also becoming part of the Northern Ireland under-21 set-up.Earlier in the month... Читать дальше...

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair spent the early part of his career driving Martin Boyle about but the Livingston defender will be looking to put the brakes on the Hibernian flyer this weekend.Taylor-Sinclair was on Montroses books when the fresh-faced Boyle broke through into the Gable Endies first-team.He has since been steered onto the flanks but has not lost his nose for a goal, which he displayed as he fired both goals in his sides 2-0 Edinburgh derby win on Boxing Day.But Livi left-back Taylor-Sinclair... Читать дальше...

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claims he always knew Wolves winger Adama Traore would become a star once he found the right manager to nurse his burgeoning career.After starting out at Barcelona, a failed 7million move to Aston Villa followed in 2015 as he made just 12 appearances in his one and only season with the club before a switch to Middlesbrough a year later.Two relatively successful seasons followed on Teesside during which time he caught the eye of Nuno Espirito Santo, with Wolves shelling... Читать дальше...

If youre looking for an edge over your mini-league rivals, there are worse places to look for inspiration than the squads of the Fantasy Premier Leagues most successful managers.We have identified over 250 bosses who each have at least five top-10,000 finishes and sent our spies to their training grounds in search of tips.So which players are the established elite deploying who us mere mortals are disregarding?Dont be afraid to jump on the bandwagon(Bradley Collyer/PA)A squad of the players who are... Читать дальше...

Boss Pep Guardiola called on Manchester City to remain mentally strong after their collapse at Wolves dealt a hammer blow to their fading Premier League title hopes.The defending champions lost a 2-0 lead to slump to a 3-2 defeat on Friday after playing almost 80 minutes with 10 men following Edersons red card.Matt Dohertys 89th-minute strike capped Wolves comeback after Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez had hauled the hosts level.PEP We can not give up otherwise we wont be in Europe. There's less than 40 hours until we play. Читать дальше...

The winner of one of the UKs biggest Euromillions jackpots has died after a short illness.Colin Weir and wife Chris, from Largs in North Ayrshire, claimed the 161 million prize in July 2011.Earlier this year the pair confirmed they would divorce after 38 years of marriage. A spokeswoman for his personal lawyers told the PA news agency: It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Colin Weir early today after a short illness.We would ask for privacy for his family and friends... Читать дальше...

Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City run the risk of missing out on the top four if they give up on the league after a thrilling 3-2 Premier League defeat at Wolves.Matt Dohertys 89th-minute winner settled a chaotic game which saw 10-man City lose a 2-0 lead.Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez levelled after Raheem Sterlings double, his first coming from a rebound following atwice-taken penalty awarded by VAR which Rui Patricio saved both times.City goalkeeper Ederson was dismissed after just 12 minutes... Читать дальше...

Norwich boss Daniel Farke insists they would be stupid to cash in on Max Aarons next month despite their fading survival hopes.The Canaries are determined to hold onto the England Under-21 right-back in January.Saturdays visitors Tottenham have been linked to the defender while Crystal Palace have considered a bid in the past.Norwich are bottom of the Premier League, seven points from safety, after Boxing Days 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa but Farke is adamant Aarons will stay beyond January.He said... Читать дальше...

Watford head coach Nigel Pearson is wary of Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish ahead of Saturdays meeting between the two relegation-threatened sides.The playmaker helped Dean Smiths men to a vital 1-0 victory over Norwich on Boxing Day and has impressed since promotion to the Premier League.Grealish has scored seven times for Villa this season and if Watford are to make it three games without a defeat, they will have to find a way of stopping the 24-year-old.Jack is a player who has been there a... Читать дальше...

Boss Dean Smith is revelling in Aston Villas relegation dogfight.Villa travel to Watford on Saturday for the third of their crucial Christmas fixtures.Boxing Days 1-0 win over rock bottom Norwich just Villas second in 10 Premier League games moved them to within a point of safety.Hosts Watford are five points behind third bottom Villa and Smith is savouring the battle at the bottom.He said: I, perversely, quite enjoy it. Id rather be fourth in the league and have that pressure but, being third bottom... Читать дальше...