Новости за 17.03.2018

Wolves moved six points clear at the top of the Championship thanks to a 3-1 victory over lowly Burton Albion. With second-placed Cardiff City travelling to Derby County on Sunday, Nuno Espirito Santo's side seized the opportunity to extend their advantage at the summit. However, the other top-six teams in action on Saturday all failed to win, with Fulham held 2-2 at home by QPR and Middlesbrough having to settle for a 1-1 draw at Brentford. Aston Villa, meanwhile, suffered a second straight loss as they went down 1-0 at Bolton Wanderers... Читать дальше...

Mohamed Salah looks set to threaten Ian Rush's Liverpool record for the most goals in a single season after his haul of four against Watford moved him to within 11 of the club icon. Salah was in inspirational form at Anfield on Saturday, scoring four times and setting up a goal for Roberto Firmino as the Reds won 5-0. After scoring his second of the day, Salah overtook Fernando Torres' record for the most goals netted in a debut season for the Reds, moving on to 34 since his move from Roma. But he was far from done... Читать дальше...

Wilfried Zaha limped off as he was substituted late in Crystal Palace's important 2-0 Premier League win at Huddersfield Town, but manager Roy Hodgson is optimistic the star forward is not seriously hurt. The 25-year-old was typically influential as a James Tomkins goal and Luka Milivojevic's penalty sealed all three points at John Smith's Stadium, Palace moving two points clear of the bottom three and closing to within just one point of Huddersfield in 15th place. Zaha, who has spent two significant... Читать дальше...

Stoke City manager Paul Lambert criticised the decision to award Cenk Tosun's contentious opening goal in Everton's 2-1 win at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday. Tosun looked to be in an offside position as he initially attempted to head home Yannick Bolasie's cross in the 69th minute, before burying the loose ball amid a subsequent goalmouth scramble. Stoke, who had Charlie Adam sent off on the half hour, quickly equalised through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, yet parity only lasted seven minutes as... Читать дальше...

Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba have been named among the substitutes for Manchester United's FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday. Jose Mourinho suggested in an explosive pre-match media conference that key United players need to "grow up" and the manager has left Pogba and Sanchez on the bench for the tie. Pogba was also a substitute for Tuesday's shock Champions League defeat at the hands of Sevilla, the France international making little impact when he came off the bench. Читать дальше...

Jonny Evans' enforced substitution was the key moment in West Brom losing at Bournemouth despite taking the lead, according to Alan Pardew. Jay Rodriguez put West Brom on track for their first away win in the league since August, only for Jordon Ibe and Junior Stanislas to turn the game around after club captain Evans was withdrawn. West Brom are now 10 points adrift of safety with seven games to go and their fate appears to be sealed, but Pardew suggested the Baggies did not deserve to be beaten at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Читать дальше...

Mohamed Salah has fired his way to more Liverpool history by matching Fernando Torres' record of 33 competitive goals for a player in his debut season at Anfield. The prolific Egypt international opened the scoring in the fourth minute against Watford to move level with Spain striker Torres, who enjoyed a prolific first campaign in 2007-08. The well-taken strike was Salah's 25th in England's top flight this term, to go with seven in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup. It also moved him... Читать дальше...

The idea Manchester United lost to a significantly inferior Sevilla side in the Champions League on Tuesday did not sit well with Jose Mourinho, who is adamant "many" of the Spanish club's players would go straight into his starting XI. Although Sevilla – fifth in LaLiga – have been erratic this season, they left Old Trafford with a 2-1 win thanks to Wissam Ben Yedder's heroics off the bench – the French striker scoring a brace within six minutes of his introduction. During a fractious news conference on Friday... Читать дальше...

In-form striker Mario Gomez has no intention of begging for a place in Germany's World Cup squad. The 32-year-old centre-forward has scored six Bundesliga goals since re-joining Stuttgart from Wolfsburg in January, netting braces in away victories over Cologne and Freiburg to steer the team to eighth in the table. That form has prompted Joachim Low to select Gomez for Germany's international friendlies against Spain and Brazil this month, as the coach considered his attacking options ahead of the... Читать дальше...

RB Leipzig are determined Bayern Munich will not win the Bundesliga title in Saxony on Sunday, according to forward Jean-Kevin Augustin. Bayern can clinch their sixth successive championship this weekend if Schalke and Borussia Dortmund drop points and they win at Leipzig. But Augustin and his team-mates do not want to suffer the ignominy of seeing another side celebrate at Red Bull Arena, giving last season's runners-up extra motivation. "Bayern are an outstanding club internationally, but we... Читать дальше...

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has apologised following the scenes that marred last weekend's 3-0 defeat to Burnley. A series of separate pitch invasions occurred during the second half of the loss at the London Stadium and fans also protested in front of the directors' box, leading to members of the board leaving early due to concerns over their safety. Tempers boiled over following West Ham's third defeat in a row, which left them just three points clear of the relegation zone. The Hammers... Читать дальше...

Christian Eriksen is hopeful his fine form has not yet hit its peak after he helped fire Tottenham past Swansea City and into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 triumph.  The Denmark international produced an excellent display at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, breaking the deadlock early on and then completing the scoring in the second half after Erik Lamela had struck.  Though content with his recent showings, Eriksen expressed an eagerness to strive for more as Spurs seek to secure a top-four berth and silverware this season. Читать дальше...

According to Jose Mourinho's "dictionary of life", people with a lot of ideas are either idealists or idiots. As such, writing an opinion piece on the Manchester United manager's recent musings probably qualifies as a fool's errand, but Omnisport's Dom Farrell has nevertheless done just that. Here are his thoughts on Friday's remarkable news conference. --- Jose Mourinho's attempts at damage control in the hours and days following Wednesday's meek Champions League exit at the hands of Sevilla ... Читать дальше...

Luciano Spalletti has challenged his Inter players to replicate their performance against Napoli for the remainder of the season as they chase a spot in Serie A's top four. After holding the title challengers to a 0-0 draw at San Siro last time out, fifth-placed Inter travel to Sampdoria on Sunday for a pivotal game in their quest to secure Champions League football for next season. Spalletti believes the performance against Maurizio Sarri's side demonstrated how Inter can compete with the best... Читать дальше...

Ernesto Valverde believes Barcelona can cope without Sergio Busquets, despite believing the midfielder to be the world's best in his position. The Spain international hobbled out of the last-16 Champions League win against Chelsea and a toe injury will now keep him out of Sunday's clash with Athletic Bilbao, while Luis Suarez is also missing. Valverde is hopeful Busquets will return after the subsequent international break, but he is also confident in Ivan Rakitic's ability to occupy a deeper role... Читать дальше...

Sydney FC lost a second A-League match in succession for the first time since 2016 on Saturday and had their lead at the top of the table cut to five points by Newcastle Jets. Returning to action domestically for the first time since a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, and on the back of two winless AFC Champions League outings against Kashima Antlers, Graham Arnold's men went down 2-1 at home to Brisbane Roar. Captain Matt McKay and Jacob Pepper – the latter scoring his first A-League goal since 2012 ... Читать дальше...

Lionel Messi believes he has become more of a team player than he was earlier in his career. The Barcelona superstar has been in typically incredible form this season, scoring 34 goals in all competitions for Ernesto Valverde's LaLiga leaders. Three of those came over the course of a 4-1 aggregate victory against Chelsea in the last-16 of the Champions League that concluded with a 3-0 win at Camp Nou this week, where Messi also supplied a wonderful assist for Ousmane Dembele. In an interview with America TV's La Cornisa programme... Читать дальше...

Antonio Conte cast doubt over Chelsea's pulling power in the transfer market as his side fight to finish in the Premier League's top four. Failing to qualify for next season's Champions League is a real possibility for Chelsea, who are fifth and four points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool with eight matches remaining in the Premier League, following Wednesday's European exit to Barcelona. Conte has lamented Chelsea's transfer business throughout the season after claiming the title last term, having missed out on signing Romelu Lukaku ... Читать дальше...

During a remarkable news conference on Friday, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho turned his ire on the pundits who dismissed the threat posed by Sevilla in the Champions League. Some media commentators wrote off Vincenzo Montella's side before the round-of-16 tie, former United and Chelsea player Ray Wilkins notably claiming the Andalusian team, who won the Europa League three times in succession between 2014 and 2016 and are fifth in LaLiga, would struggle to avoid relegation were they to play in the Premier League. Читать дальше...