Новости за 03.12.2018

Holders Chelsea will begin their FA Cup defence with a home tie against Nottingham Forest, while Arsenal could face non-league opposition in the third round. The Blues beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley in May thanks to an Eden Hazard penalty, in what proved to be Antonio Conte's last game as head coach. Championship Forest were 4-2 winners over Arsenal in the third round last season and Unai Emery's men could have a venture into the unknown if Solihull Moors of the National League can overcome... Читать дальше...

Gareth Bale feels the Puskas Award was made to look "diminished" after his overhead kick for Real Madrid in the Champions League final was snubbed. Mohamed Salah took the prize at FIFA's The Best awards for his superb solo goal for Liverpool in a Merseyside derby against Everton in the Premier League. But even Salah's Liverpool team-mate James Milner appeared surprised by the Puskas decision, poking fun at his colleague on social media. "Congrats Mohamed Salah on your seventh best goal from last... Читать дальше...

Neymar, Paul Pogba and Luis Suarez have all missed out on the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or. Luka Modric is the favourite to be crowned winner of the prestigious individual prize on Monday, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann his main competition. Ronaldo and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi have won the award five times each in a decade of dominance for the duo. Neymar has long-been touted as a future winner of the Ballon d'Or but the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star ranked 12th in the final reckoning. Читать дальше...

Hugo Lloris, Isco, Alisson, Diego Godin and Mario Mandzukic are among the players to have their Ballon d'Or placings confirmed. Luka Modric is the favourite to be win the prize at Monday's ceremony, ending the decade-long dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Award organisers France Football have announced the first placings of the 30-man shortlist, with Edinson Cavani, Marcelo and Sadio Mane also included. Thibaut Courtois is the only remaining shortlisted goalkeeper so he will be... Читать дальше...

Perjury charges against Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric have been dropped, a Croatian court has confirmed. Modric was charged with perjury in March, the case relating to the tax fraud trial of former Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamic. Being found guilty of the crime could have led to a jail term as long as five years for 33-year-old Modric, potentially ending his football career. But on Monday, it was announced that Zagreb's County Court has upheld a ruling by the city's Municipal Court, which quashed Modric's indictment. Читать дальше...

Former Barcelona president Josep Lluis Nunez has died aged 87, LaLiga's champions have announced. Nunez took charge at Barca in 1978, with his subsequent 22-year tenure making him the longest-serving president in the club's history. His time at the helm took in a celebrated chapter for Barcelona as Johan Cruyff returned as head coach in 1988. Cruyff masterminded four consecutive league title triumphs between 1990-91 and 1993-94, while his "Dream Team" also won Barca's maiden European Cup in 1992. Читать дальше...

Southampton players and officials are tentatively celebrating finally shaking off manager Mark Hughes by telling him that the club no longer exists and everyone has found other things to do at weekends.The south coast strugglers had been attempting to get rid of Hughes for several months but found to their dismay that he continued to show up to matches regardless of their hints, entreaties and attempts to play games after they believed Hughes was in bed.However, it appears that the club has finally... Читать дальше...

Unai Emery suggested Arsenal's contract negotiations with Aaron Ramsey remain "closed" despite being impressed with the midfielder's form and focus. Wales international Ramsey claimed he was ready to pen a new deal when the Gunners withdrew their offer of an extension earlier this year. The 27-year-old is a free agent at the end of the season with Bayern Munich, who could table a pre-contract agreement as early as January, believed to be the frontrunners for his signature. Ramsey came off the... Читать дальше...

Arsenal and Tottenham have both been charged with failing to control their players during Sunday's north London derby by the Football Association (FA). The charge relates to events in the aftermath of Eric Dier's goal for Spurs during the first half of a match where Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners. England midfielder Dier headed in Christian Eriksen's free-kick to make the score 1-1 and ran off with a finger to his lips – making the "shush" gesture in the direction of the home supporters. Tottenham's... Читать дальше...

Jurgen Klopp has been charged with misconduct after running on to the pitch while celebrating Liverpool's late winner in Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton, the Football Association has confirmed. Liverpool claimed a 1-0 win over their local rivals at Anfield thanks to a late Divock Origi goal, which moved them back to within two points of pacesetters Manchester City. He has been given until 1800 GMT on Thursday to respond to the charge. Origi nodded in from close range after Jordan Pickford... Читать дальше...

Arsenal boss Unai Emery is unsure if Mesut Ozil will be fit to feature in the Premier League match against Manchester United on Wednesday. Ozil, 30, suffered a back spasm in the days leading up to the north London derby and was not included in the squad that secured a thrilling 4-2 triumph over Tottenham. The playmaker also missed last week's Europa League victory at Vorskla and remains in doubt for the trip to Old Trafford. Speculation is beginning to swirl around Ozil's future with the Germany... Читать дальше...

Raheem Sterling can improve on the sparkling form he has shown for Manchester City this season, according to manager Pep Guardiola. Sterling scored his eighth Premier League goal of the campaign in Saturday's 3-1 win over Bournemouth. The England international also has six assists to his name for City in the top flight this term and scored twice in the Three Lions' stunning 3-2 Nations League win over Spain. Those returns underline the 23-year-old's impressive development under Guardiola but,... Читать дальше...

The former Valencia star had an unsuccessful trial at Real Madrid as a youngster but, after season-long loan spells at Eibar and Celta Vigo, eventually broke into the first team at the Mestalla and formed a potent partnership with striker David Villa.Silva scored 21 goals in 119 La Liga appearances, assisting 24 more, and became one of Los Che’s prize assets at a time when the club was crippled by debt.Although both Barcelona and Real Madrid were keen to recruit him, Silva chose City as then-manager... Читать дальше...

Pep Guardiola understands the emotion that led to Jurgen Klopp tearing onto the pitch to celebrate Liverpool's dramatic Merseyside derby victory but acknowledged the importance of showing respect to opponents. Klopp ran from the touchline to embrace goalkeeper Alisson after Divock Origi secured a 1-0 victory over Everton in the 96th minute that moved the Reds back to within two points of Manchester City at the Premier League summit. Guardiola was at the centre of similar scenes last season when... Читать дальше...

The Puskas Award was launched in 2009 to hail the year’s most spectacular strike, with former winners including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.Bale, whose overhead kick settled May’s Champions League final against Liverpool, was widely tipped to scoop the latest accolade despite then-Real Madrid team-mate Ronaldo scoring an equally astonishing goal against future employers Juventus.So eyebrows were raised when Mohamed Salah topped the public vote for his solo effort against Everton... Читать дальше...

The midfielder made almost 700 club appearances for West Ham, Tottenham and Manchester United, for whom he won 12 major titles and is now a coach.Having progressed through West Ham’s youth ranks and lifted the FA Youth Cup, Carrick moved across London to Spurs after spending a season in the second tier.However, the pass master reveals that he nearly signed for Tottenham’s arch rivals – meeting Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to discuss the deal – and would have become a Gunner had a young Cesc Fabregas... Читать дальше...

Reigning European champions Portugal were drawn against Switzerland in the Nations League semi-finals, while England go up against Netherlands.Fernando Santos will be hoping to guide his team to a second successive European trophy in June, with Portugal hosting the final rounds of UEFA's inaugural competition.Portugal have avoided the highest-ranked side in the final four, with England set to go up against Ronaldo Koeman's resurgent Oranje in a potentially gripping contest.Gareth Southgate's men... Читать дальше...

Monday would seem to be a momentous day in modern football: the moment at which the Ballon d'Or escapes the grasp of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Since Kaka got his hands on the prize in 2007, Messi and Ronaldo have won five awards each, both during its years as a combined FIFA accolade and as the standalone prize given out by France Football. However, it is reported that Real Madrid and Croatia star Modric has come first in the voting for the 2018 edition, ahead of holder Ronaldo and Atletico... Читать дальше...

Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be used from the last 16 of this season's Champions League, UEFA has confirmed.

Diego Costa is to undergo surgery in Brazil on a lingering foot injury, Atletico Madrid have confirmed. The Spain international has endured a difficult 2018, scoring just four times in 26 LaLiga matches after returning to the club from Chelsea, and now looks set to miss around two months of action. This season he has been particularly poor, with his goal against Barcelona in late November being his only decisive action in 11 outings, ending a nine-month drought. However, the 30-year-old has been... Читать дальше...

Man the boats! There's an ocean to navigate.The gap between the top five and everybody else is ever-increasing and now stands at eight points after Arsenal's terrific north London derby win on Sunday, coupled with Everton and Manchester United's point-dropping. As the Long Table shows, there's another cavernous gap between Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and leaders Manchester City– the latter of whom are now just the 16 actual points clear of their city rivals.Weekly, we're seeing the three distinct... Читать дальше...

Messi’s Ballon d’Or wins: 5. Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or wins: 5. Second-place finishes for Messi: 5. Second-place finishes for Ronaldo: 5.Yawn and indeed, groan. We jest, of course: these two have dominated European football at an astonishing level for the last 10 years, justifiably hogging/sharing the Ballon d’Or during that period.But times are a-changing – and in 2018, it’s Luka Modric who’s a whopping 1/8 favourite for the prize, having helped steer Real Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League... Читать дальше...

Goalkeeper: Ben Foster (Watford)What a difference having a reliable goalkeeper makes. The 35-year-old former England man might not be a better shot-stopper than his predecessor Heurelho Gomes, but he is a much safer pair of hands and projects a sense of calm onto his defence. There’s a causal relationship between Watford’s improved defensive record (they’ve conceded six fewer goals than this stage last season) and the fact that Foster tops the Premier League charts for ‘high claims’ (with 17) according... Читать дальше...

Former Argentina great Diego Maradona appeared to aim a punch at an Atletico San Luis fan in a fracas after watching his Dorados team lose 4-2 and miss out on promotion to Liga MX. Maradona joined Dorados in September with the club struggling near the bottom of the table, but he helped inspire a significant turnaround in fortunes, taking them to the final of the Apertura play-offs. Dorados were 1-0 up from the first leg – a match in which Maradona was sent to the stands for reportedly threatening opposition coach Alfonso Sosa ... Читать дальше...

England need to start getting used to being favourites after being given a kind Euro 2020 qualification draw, according to manager Gareth Southgate. The Three Lions were drawn into Group A on Saturday and will face Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Kosovo in their bid to reach the tournament. England's Nations League exploits mean they are already assured of at least a play-off spot, as they finished top of their group ahead of Spain and Croatia, while they also impressed at the World Cup earlier this year. Читать дальше...