Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester City can still mount a successful bid for the Premier League title despite having little remaining margin for error.
City return to Premier League action away to Liverpool on Wednesday, after overcoming the same opponents on penalties at Wembley on Sunday to lift the League Cup.
That triumph came on the back of an authoritative 3-1 Champions League round-of-16 victory at Dynamo Kiev, a result that puts City in prime position to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time.
But they head to Anfield, a ground where they have failed to win on their past 12 Premier League attempts, on the back of consecutive league defeats to top-two teams Leicester City and Tottenham.
Pellegrini s men are nine points be…
Eden Hazard has talked up Ruben Loftus-Cheek s ability and declared him ready for regular first-team opportunities at Chelsea.
The England midfielder enjoyed a successful loan stint at Crystal Palace last season, making 24 appearances in the Premier League and winning a spot in Gareth Southgate s World Cup squad.
Maurizio Sarri is now weighing up whether to grant the 22-year-old an extended chance to impress at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard, who went head-to-head with Loftus-Cheek in the third-place play-off in Russia, is clear on where his team-mate should spend the upcoming campaign.
Ruben is a fantastic player, the Belgium star told the London Evening Standard. He is still young, of course, but I think if we can have him in the team this season it s a pl…
RB Leipzig star Timo Werner would fit well at a club like Liverpool, according to former coach Ralf Rangnick.
Werner, 24, has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League leaders after scoring 27 goals in 36 games for RB Leipzig this season.
Rangnick, the former Leipzig coach and now the head of sport and development at Red Bull, wants Werner to stay, but feels Liverpool would suit the forward.
The league is less important, but the club, from a purely hypothetical point of view, I would better see him in good hands with a club that is not necessarily defined by ball possession football, he told BILD.
Since Timo has made progress under Julian Nagelsmann, his most important weapons, however, are the quick switching movement and his powerful finis…
Real Madrid s team bus had one window smashed en route to Anfield for Wednesday s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool.
Reports began circulating in the Spanish media shortly after Madrid left the team hotel that their bus had been struck by an object.
While confirmation was not relayed by Madrid, footage of the bus showed the damage once it had arrived at Anfield, with one window on the vehicle missing.
Although it is unclear who is responsible, Liverpool were charged by UEFA in 2018 after Manchester City s bus was pelted with bottles and cans on its approach into Anfield ahead of a Champions League knockout clash.
The Reds were fined €20,000 for the actions of their supporters on that occasion.
Liverpool are 3-1 down fr…
Fiorentina are open to selling Dusan Vlahovic in January but the Viola s director Joe Barone denied they have reached an agreement with Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta s Gunners are among a plethora of Europe s elite who are chasing the in-form striker in the mid-season transfer window, with Premier League champions Manchester City also linked.
Vlahovic has scored 17 times in 21 Serie A appearances, netting once every 109.5 minutes on average and comfortably outperforming his expected goals tally of 12.2, and his stock continues to rise.
The 21-year-old ended 2021 on a high as well, matching Cristiano Ronaldo s 21st-century record for most goals in the Italian top flight in a calendar year (33), set in 2020.
In fact, only Gunnar Nordahl in 1950 (36) has ever sc…
Pep Guardiola hailed Raheem Sterling s ability to cope with high expectations after the winger scored in the Premier League four days after hitting a Champions League hat-trick.
Sterling s treble in a 5-1 victory over Atalanta added weight to his billing as the top flight s most in-form forward and he lived up to the hype in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
After a goalless first half in which City survived a number of scares at the back, Sterling broke the deadlock early in the second half to settle the champions nerves.
Sterling s strike paved the way for David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan to increase City s lead, and Guardiola was quick to point out the difficulty many players have in delivering when under pressure in the manner that Sterling did.
We played…
Vicente del Bosque wants to remain Spain coach until 2016, despite overseeing the former world champions terrible FIFA World Cup campaign.
Del Bosque confirmed to Spanish media on Thursday that he will stay in charge of Spain s national team until after the 2016 European Championships, which will be held in France, putting an end to speculation about the 63-year-old s future.
Spain entered Brazil 2014 as reigning champions and having won their previous three major tournaments (two European championships and the 2010 World Cup) but Del Bosque s ageing squad were thumped 5-1 by Netherlands in their first match and never recovered.
A 2-0 loss to Chile followed and although Spain finished Group B with a 3-0 win over Australia, they were eliminated, sparking calls for…
LaLiga leaders Barcelona twice had to battle from behind as Fermin Lopez’s first goal for the club earned a hard-fought draw at Real Mallorca.
Xavi’s side have been the early pace-setters as they look to defend their league title but the visitors had to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Iberostar Stadium.
Vedat Muriqi and Abdon Prats goals had twice had the hosts in front but Raphinha cancelled out the opener before substitute Lopez struck to earn Barca a share of the spoils.
ATTABOY!!!!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Two early goals set Sevilla on their way to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Almeria.
Youssef En-Nesyri headed home with seven minutes on the clock after Loic Bade had hit the woodwork and just a minute later the lead was doub…
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti insists that he has no interest in succeeding David Moyes at Manchester United.
The Italian is currently among the favourites to fill the vacancy after Moyes last week paid the price for a disappointing season that has seen United fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and meekly surrender the Premier League title.
Ryan Giggs has taken on the role of interim manager at Old Trafford, but Ancelotti preparing for Tuesday s second leg of a Champions League semi-final tie in which his side lead reigning champions Bayern Munich 1-0 stressed that his long-term future is with Real.
I respect everyone, he said. I haven t had contact with Manchester United.
I want to stay at Real Madrid for a long time.
It s strange to di…
Roberto Mancini s first game back in charge of Inter ended in a 1-1 draw as Joel Obi s goal rescued a point against city rivals Milan.
Mancini returned to the club he left in 2008 last week, replacing the departed Walter Mazzarri, who paid the price for an inconsistent start to the season.
Inter claimed three successive Serie A crowns in Mancini s first reign, but they were unable to get the former Manchester City boss second reign off to a winning start at San Siro on Sunday.
Milan hit the front midway through the first half thanks to Jeremy Menez s superb volley from 12 yards.
Inter toiled in their quest for an equaliser, but they levelled just after the hour mark as Obi drove in his first Serie A goal.
Both sides had chances to win it in the fi…