Napoli made good on their promise of destroying English football as they put one foot in the quarter finals thanks to a 3-1 over Chelsea at the Stadio San Paolo last night. In light of this, Villas-Boas has admitted that though it will be hard in overturning the result at Stamford bridge, it’s not impossible.
“If it had been a one-goal advantage [for Napoli] at home, it would have been better, but the third one is more difficult to recover – not impossible, of course, because of the amount of chances that we get and the environment that we must get at the Bridge to turn this tie around and to go through. Read more... (309 words, 1 image, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)
Real Madrid were coasting to a sensational victory that would match arch rivals Barcelona‘s 7 match winning streak in the tournament until Pontus Wembloom’s 93rd minute strike changed their fortunes. The draw means that both teams head into the second leg with an equal chance of moving onto the quarters although Madrid have a slight away goal advantage.
Of course, no one expects Madrid to lose at home, however, should that happen, the ‘special one’ could set himself up for a spectacular return to Chelsea especially considering the crisis at the club. Read more... (406 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)
Russia is one of the coldest countries in the world and Jose Mourinho is taking nothing for granted as his team prepares to face CSKA Moscow tonight in adverse weather temperatures for their first leg Champions League knockout stage fixture.
In his pre-match press conference with reporters yesterday, the Portuguese tactician singled out the artificial turf and the -10 degree Celcius temperature as the factors that could give his team a hard time.
“We will have to be stronger than the conditions, which are difficult and different,” Mourinho said. Read more... (376 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
With the Blues current performances in the league, many are writing them off in tonight’s Champions League knockout stage first leg fixture against Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo.
Truth be said, Chelsea have a mountain to climb in Italy tonight and if reports doing the rounds stating that AVB will start Torres are true, i would urge all Chelsea fans to expect another disappointing outcome.
In fact, Napoli striker Edinson Cavani has issued a warning to the Blues promising to ‘shoot them down’. The Uruguayan international who seems to be holding a grudge with English opposition made himself absolutely clear in an interview with the Daily Star that they are out to eliminate Chelsea. Read more... (404 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)
Champions League knockout stage action continues Tuesday with some very interesting matches on the decks. Tomorrow, Chelsea travel to Naples to take on high flying Napoli while CSKA Moscow will host Real Madrid at the Arena Khimki.
Of course, attention will be on Chelsea as they seek to turn around their dismal performances in their domestic campaigns. I have to admit, looking at Chelsea’s record in the tournament this season, walking away with a win from the Stadio San Paolo will be a huge task for the Blues. Read more... (367 words, 1 image, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)
Lionel Messi starred in Barcelona‘s 5-1 home over Valencia on Sunday as he scored 4 goals to take his tally in the league to 27 just one behind leading scorer and arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite winning, Barca still find themselves 10 points behind Madrid in the La Liga standings and with 15 games left to play, it would take more than a slip up for the Catalans to be crowned champions once again. Read more... (345 words, 1 image, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)
In a shocking turn of events, Liverpool strolled into the FA Cup quarter finals after a 6-1 win over Brighton at Anfield today. Well, Liverpool’s win was not as shocking as Brighton conceding half of the 6 goals through own goals.
Brighton’s Liam Bridcutt was on the Reds score sheet twice, scoring in the 44th minute and the 71st minute to cap off a horrible outing for the championship side. Lewis Carl Dunk was the other Brighton scorer on Liverpool’s score sheet.
Congolese international Kazenga Lualua’s 17th minute strike was the only consolation for Brighton. The win earned Kenny Dalglish’s side a last eight fixture against Stoke City who beat League Two side Crawley. Read more... (272 words, 1 image, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)
Despite readily taking responsibility whenever Chelsea record a negative result and claiming to have unconditional backing from club executives, Villas-Boas is treading on very thin ice.
A 1-1 home draw against Birmingham in FA Cup 5th round fixture yesterday is continuing to fuel reports that AVB could be on his way out of London as early as May.
It was also another unimpressive outing for Fernando Torres who failed to make any meaningful impact on the game forcing AVB to substitute him at half time. Read more... (310 words, 1 image, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)
The Serie A is shaping up to be a 2 horse race between Juventus and defending champions AC Milan especially after the Bianconeri’s 3-1 home win over Catania last night that pushed them back into top spot in the table standings with 49 points, 2 above Milan who could go back on top with a Win at Cesena today.
Former Milan play maker Andrea Pirlo was the man behind Juve‘s 3-1 victory as the he pulled a goal back through an amazing free kick before turning provider for Giorgio Chiellini and Fabio Quagliarella. Read more... (360 words, 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)
Dutch Coach Guus Hiddink has signed an 18 month contract with cash strapped Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Makhachkala are expected to make the official announcement within the next 24 hours however, sources close to the club have revealed that the contract as very ‘lucrative’.
Reports in his native Holland suggest that Hiddink is expected to earn €10 million-a-year (£8.3m) net of tax. However, Hiddink who had earlier insisted that the club put in a youth system as one of his per-requisites, is said to be satisfied after the matter was cleared. Read more... (291 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
This is a preview of
Hiddink Pens Lucrative Contract With Anzhi Makhachkala
.
Read the full post (291 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
