Sports

The João Pedro-Delap Collaboration João Pedro and Liam Delap have not had much time to form an understanding. They started together when Chelsea visited West Ham in their second game of the season but the partnership was disrupted when Delap injured a hamstring against Fulham a week later. The striker was out for two months and then foolhardy when he returned to action, stupidly getting himself sent off when Chelsea won at Molineux in the Carabao Cup last week. However, Enzo Maresca has both forwards available for his side’s league game against Wolves on Saturday. Delap came off the bench…

*Barca Hold Club Brugge In 6-Goal Thriller *Foden Helps Man City Destroy Dortmund Chelsea’s precision is nowhere to be seen when Enzo Maresca rings the changes. Chaos tends to set in whenever the Italian tries to freshen things up by making use of a deep but raw squad and he is unlikely to be in a rush to rotate again in the Champions League after seeing a weakened team fail to douse Qarabag’s skill and spirit on a raucous Wednesday night in Baku. There was no doubt Qarabag were the happier team at the conclusion of this absorbing 2-2 draw.…

By David Hytner Destiny Udogie has been named as the English Premier League (EPL) footballer who was allegedly threatened at gunpoint by an agent on a north London street. The Tottenham defender was out with a friend on the night of Saturday, 6 September, when the alleged incident occurred. Police were called and the agent was detained on suspicion of brandishing the weapon with intent to cause fear of violence. The suspect was also investigated for allegedly blackmailing and making threats against Udogie’s friend. He has not been charged with any offence. There is no suggestion that the agent concerned…

Ultimately it was not about who was back at Anfield but what was back, on Tuesday night, 4 November. The Liverpool of Arne Slot’s title-winning debut season was the answer and, for the second November in succession, Real Madrid did not have one of their own. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in last season’s 2-0 defeat of the Spanish giants – though giant is not an accurate description of their latest performance on Merseyside – and settled the reunion of the European heavyweights as Liverpool, all controlled aggression and clear intent, ignited their Champions League campaign and quite possibly…

On Friday Pep Guardiola suggested Erling Haaland’s teammates should support the Norwegian in the ­goalscoring stakes. Cut to 48 hours later and guess who did the business yet again – twice – for Manchester City to take them into a 2-1 half-time lead that proved unassailable? Step forward the phenomenon who now has 13 Premier League goals this season and a seismic total of 98 in 107 appearances in England’s top flight. After him, this year, Burnley’s ­Maxime Estève – via two own goals – is City’s highest league ­contributor; Phil Foden, Tijjani ­Reijnders, Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki and Nico…

Real Madrid extended their lead over Villarreal at the top to seven points with a 4-0 win over Valencia on Saturday. Three first-half goals, which included a brace from Kylian Mbappe and a Jude Bellingham strike gave Madrid a clear lead. Álvaro Carreras added a fourth late on with the goal of the game. It allowed Xabi Alonso to rest players in the second half, with Valencia offering nothing going forward, and they were looking to just leave without being embarrassed. Valencia came to defend and try to catch the home team on the counterattack. However, that play was scuppered…

By Jacob Steinberg A few managers were in the running when Chelsea were looking for a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino in May 2024. It was an extensive process and involved the club talking to Thomas Frank before they settled on Enzo Maresca. The feeling was that Maresca’s positional game and focus on possession made him most suited to Chelsea’s squad of technicians. Frank, who had performed brilliantly at Brentford, had to wait for his next opportunity. Overlooked by Manchester United after they fired Erik ten Hag, it arrived when Tottenham hired the Dane after sacking Ange Postecoglou last summer. Now…

Arne Slot has said the Liverpool hierarchy share his views on the reasons for the team’s slump and he will not abandon an attacking style in search of a way out. The head coach admitted that six defeats in seven games was unacceptable before Aston Villa’s visit today (Saturday, 1 November) and denied making excuses for Liverpool’s worst domestic run in 72 years. Slot accepted the pressure was on before his makeshift team exited the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace on Wednesday. That pressure to arrest the slide, however, is not, he insisted, coming from Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group,…

By Sam Tyav, Makurdi Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has appointed an Interim Management Committee for Lobi Stars Football Club. A statement signed by Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Tersoo Kula, said the interim management team would take over the club's affairs pending a proper restructuring of the club. Members of the interim management committee, according to the statement, include Terver Ikya, Chairman; Media Director, Uja Emmanuel; Technical Director, Harry Yachi; Admin./Board Secretary (Ministry of Sports), Terzungwe Chugh; while Barrister Owocho Adejoh Ogiri is to serve as member. Kula stated that the committee has been directed to…

*Chelsea Pummeled By Jonathan Wilson, at Gtech Community Stadium & Jamie Jackson,at Old Trafford Victory in Frankfurt on Wednesday, it turns out, was only temporary respite. Liverpool didn’t just slip to a fourth league defeat in a row for the first time since February 2021, but were thoroughly outplayed and outfought by hosts Brentford today, 25 October. The anxious period of stoppage time the home side endured was out of keeping with everything that had gone before. Brentford tend naturally to a direct approach anyway, but Arne Slot’s grumbling last week about Manchester United’s long balls was an open invitation.…