Stung by a last-minute defeat in the UEFA Champions League, Manchester City will attempt to make up ground in the Premier League title race when they host leaders Chelsea tomorrow.
A 90th-minute strike by former player Jerome Boateng condemned City to a 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich on Wednesday and left Manuel Pellegrini’s side without a victory in three matches.
Chelsea can open up an eight-point lead over the champions if they pull off a repeat of their 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium in February and City midfielder Fernandinho says it is a game that his side must win.
Photo: AFP
“That is not easy for a big team such as City [to lose against Bayern], but the best way to recover our confidence and our best qualities is to win the next game,” the Brazilian said. “Already we think about the Chelsea game. We have to win this game because we have had a [2-2] draw against Arsenal and a [1-0] loss at home to Stoke [City]. We have to recover points to think about the top of the table.”
Chelsea are gunning for a fifth consecutive league victory, but their momentum took a blow in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Schalke 04.
A breakaway goal by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar earned the German side a point after Cesc Fabregas had put the hosts ahead and Chelsea captain John Terry has urged his team to cut out the defensive errors that have seen them concede six goals in their first four league outings.
“The first four league games, we’ve been killing teams off. We didn’t do it [against Schalke], but it was disappointing to concede the way we did, from a counterattack from our own corner,” Terry told the club’s Web site. “It was our corner, we were attacking and we got caught on the break. It shouldn’t happen. It’s the second time already this season it’s happened.”
City will restore Sergio Aguero to their starting XI and seven-goal top scorer Diego Costa will return for Chelsea after the two players started their respective sides’ Champions League openers on the bench.
Arsenal also endured punishment at German hands in the Champions League, losing 2-0 at Borussia Dortmund, and have drawn their past three games in the league.
Today, Arsene Wenger’s side visit Aston Villa, who climbed to second place in the league table with an impressive 1-0 victory at Liverpool in their last game.
Liverpool survived a scare in the Champions League, winning 2-1 at home to Bulgarian newcomers Ludogorets Razgrad thanks to a 93rd-minute penalty by captain Steven Gerrard.
With Daniel Sturridge sidelined by injury, Liverpool have been laboring in front of goal, but ahead of today’s trip to West Ham United manager Brendan Rodgers has urged their fans to show patience.
“I remember this time last year I was asked if we were going to score enough goals and we ended up with 101 [league] goals,” Rodgers told a press conference on Thursday. “We’ve had to bring in a lot of new players because of the demands of the Champions League, so that naturally takes time and we’ve got players adapting to a new country.”
Having seen their side crush Queens Park Rangers 4-0 last weekend, Manchester United’s supporters will hope their team confirm their return to form at promoted Leicester City tomorrow.
Manager Louis van Gaal must decide whether to hand a first start to new signing Radamel Falcao, who came off the bench in the latter stages of the victory over QPR.
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has rather less pleasant quandaries to ponder after his team slithered to the foot of the table following last weekend’s 4-0 loss at Southampton.
Pardew spoke to owner Mike Ashley after Newcastle fans unfurled a “Pardew Out” banner at St Mary’s and he has called on his team to produce an improved display at home against Hull City today.
“The one thing that we both agreed on was that we really need to focus on this Saturday, and try and get a win for the football club,” Pardew said.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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