Month: April 2019

Gabriel Jesus' early header proved the difference as quadruple-chasing Manchester City claimed a place in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Brighton.The Brazilian headed home a brilliant cross from Kevin De Bruyne after just four minutes at Wembley.Controversy erupted when City's Kyle Walker escaped a red card after a VAR review of a coming together with Alireza Jahanbakhsh but, despite resisting further damage, Brighton could not find a way back.Chris Hughton's men applied plenty of pressure in the second half, with Aymeric Laporte producing a fine clearance to deny Glenn Murray but City managed the game well.Raheem Sterling also had three good chances to make the game safe.City made a confident start, and while Brighton may have been pleased to see that Sergio Aguero had failed to sha...

Liverpool scored two goals in the final ten minute to deny Southampton a point at St Mary's.Shane Long became the first Southampton player to score against Liverpool since the striker netted the winner in the League Cup semi-final at Anfield in January 2017 to give his team a shock early lead. Southampton conceded before half time to Naby Keita but were highly competitive throughout the game. However, they ended up on the end of a harsh 3-1 defeat as Mo Salah and Jordan Henderson scored in the closing stages to send the Reds back to the top of the Premier League table. Hasenhuttl ditched the 4-2-2-2 formation that served Southampton well at Brighton to change to five at the back and it was doing a good containing job in the opening stages.Southampton looked really well ...

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez existing deal is due to expire at the end of the season and while he wants to stay and the Magpies want to keep him, no agreement has yet been reached.However, it is understood significant talks have taken place in recent weeks and Benitez has now confirmed that he is awaiting an answer from the club on his proposals for the way forward.He said: "They were coming with something, we are coming with something, that's it. The ball is in their court."It was (managing director)Lee Charnley with my people. I will not talk too much about that. You have the clarification. The ball is in their court."Benitez's comments came after a report from France suggested he had engaged an agency to help him find a Ligue 1 club with his future on Tyneside unresolved.However, he in...

Sergio Aguero and injured left back Zinchenko are both part of Manchester City's travelling squad for the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton this weekend.Man City travelled down to London by train on Friday afternoon and Guardiola has taken his entire squad as they plan to stay down in the capital after the game against Brighton at Wembley on Saturday evening. The Blues face Spurs in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final on Tuesday and the club have decided it would be more beneficial to stay in the capital than returning back to Manchester. Asked about his decision to do that Guardiola replied: "It is to avoid trains, planes, bus, as much as possible in just three days, it’s not a bad city to stay in."The fact City are staying there for a few days could explain why inju...

The 27-year-old has been a revelation while on a season-long loan from Benfica, with his 15 goals in all competitions making him Nuno Espirito Santo's top scorer.It is thought Wolves will be paying the Portuguese side a sum in the region of £30million for the Mexican. Jimenez has struck up a potent partnership with Diogo Jota in recent months that has been instrumental in the club's rise to seventh in the Premier League, and their journey to the FA Cup semi-finals, in which they face Watford at Wembley on Sunday.Wolves had an exclusive option to make his temporary stay a permanent thing  an option they have now exercised. It is expected he will be tied down to a long-term deal that should see him enjoy his peak years at Molineux. Jimenez said recently: "I'm enjoying it. I love being h...

Manchester United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Paul Pogba has assured him that he will not be leaving the club, amid recent rumors linking the French midfielder with a summer switch to Real Madrid.Last week, Pogba described Madrid as a "dream club for every player".Speculation about Pogba's future intensified over the weekend, when Real coach Zinedine Zidane admitted that the club would welcome Pogba if and when he decides to move on from United. It is expected that Zidane will have a big transfer budget to spend this summer, as Madrid seek to rebuild after disappointing performances in this season's La Liga and Champions League.Madrid have previously signed David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo from United in big-money deals, but Solskjaer says he not worried about Pogba's situatio...

Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday and lifted them to third place in the Premier League above rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.Ramsey found his way through a packed defence on the half hour to score with a low shot before Frenchman Lacazette put the game to bed in the 83rd minute with a chip over the keeper. The result put Arsenal on 63 points with seven games left, two above Spurs and Manchester United, with Chelsea a further point behind, as Unai Emery’s side boosted their hopes of a top-four finish and Champions League football next season. Five of Arsenal’s remaining seven fixtures are away, where they have picked up fewer than half of their points this season, a fact Emery was quick to pick up on after t...

Pep Guardiola believes the pressure of needing to win every remaining Premier League match can boost Manchester City’s quadruple bid.City boss Guardiola hailed his players’ mental strength, tipping them to “go like a machine” in the chase for an unprecedented clean sweep of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup this term.His side coasted past hapless Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday, with Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero on target and Guardiola predicting only seven wins from their remaining seven matches will allow them to retain the league title.City will face Tottenham in the Champions League quarter-finals and Brighton in the FA Cup’s last four, with Guardiola relishing the clogged schedule and the pressure.“For the semi-final and for the Champions League, be...