Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa says he watches all opponents train
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has sent a member of staff to watch every team they have played this season train. Bielsa, 63, called an unscheduled news conference on Wednesday as the Football Association and English Football League investigate the 'spy' saga. Before Friday's Championship win over Derby, the ex-Argentina manager said he sent someone to watch Derby train. "I observed all the rivals we played against and watched the training sessions of all opponents," he said. "All the information I need to clarify, I gather it without watching the training session of the opponent, so why did I send someone to watch them? Just because I thought I wasn't violating the norm. I gathered information that I can obtain in another way. "We feel guilty if we don't work enough. It [watching the opponents train] allows us to have less anxiety and in my case I am stupid enough to allow this kind of behaviour." The Argentine said what he has done is "not illegal" but accepted that he will have to "respect the sanctions" that the FA or EFL may bring against him or Championship leaders Leeds.
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2019-01-17 02:00:00
Tottenham get Wembley capacity increase from council
Tottenham have been given council approval to increase the capacity for home matches played at Wembley Stadium. Brent Council agreed a capped capacity for five domestic fixtures of 62,000, while any additional home Champions League ties could hold the full 90,000. Premier League home games against Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester City will remain capped at 51,000. Spurs announced earlier in January that their new stadium will not be ready until at least March. Club chairman Daniel Levy apologised for the continued delay and said there would be another update towards the end of January. Spurs were originally scheduled to move into their new stadium in September but the project has suffered construction delays. The new ground, which will also host NFL games, has a capacity of 62,062 and is located on the site of their old White Hart Lane home.
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2019-01-17 02:00:00
Manchester City were "fantastic" despite suffering a first Premier League defeat of the season at Chelsea, said manager Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea bounced back from the disappointment of losing at Wolves in midweek to end City's 21-game unbeaten league run stretching back to April, and a sequence of 14 unbeaten games away from home. The defending champions paid for a lack of ruthlessness as they dominated the first half, only to be struck by a smash-and-grab right on half-time as N'Golo Kante fired high past Ederson from Eden Hazard's pass. Chelsea gained confidence and momentum and improved after the break, securing the win with 12 minutes left when David Luiz's glancing header following a corner bounced in off the far post. They closed out the win to give Sarri his first triumph over Guardiola, whose team are replaced at the top of the table by Liverpool. Despite slipping a point behind the Reds, the Spaniard rejected the notion his team had an "off day". "If you think that, you didn't see the game," he told BBC Sport. "In the first half, we were exceptional. "In general, we were fantastic. I don't have any regrets. We came and showed we wanted to win. We created chances. They had one in 44 minutes and we conceded a goal. Sometimes that happens. "It is emotional for me to see these players do what they do every three days. We were outstanding except for five to eight minutes." Chelsea and police investigate allegation Sterling was racially abused Analysis: What now for Premier League title race? City pay for lacking killer touch City's multi-talented squad can cover almost all eventualities, but this was a game in which they sorely missed the marksmanship of the injured Sergio Aguero, and also Kevin de Bruyne's creation. Guardiola's side were on another level to Chelsea for the first 44 minutes but when chances presented themselves, as they did to both Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane, there was either hesitation or an inability to provide the final product that proved crucial. This is not a criticism of either Sterling or Sane but there was a lingering feeling that had the same opportunities fallen to the predatory Aguero, the outcome would have been different. City could not recover from Kante's sucker punch, and it was Chelsea who were the more dangerous side in the second half. Guardiola's men must now regroup after a defeat that will be a major disappointment but one hardly likely to set them back for too long. Kante proves Sarri's point Kante's outstanding performance, including the opening goal, was vindication for Sarri's decision to play him in a new role this season. Sarri has been questioned for his decision to use Jorginho as the hub of his team while pushing Kante into a more advanced role out on the right - why have the player many regard as the finest holding midfield player in world football and not utilise him there? Sarri has stuck to his guns and this was a game - and performance by Kante - that added significant weight to his argument. The World Cup winner was magnificent, typically tireless but also getting into forward positions, most decisively when he arrived on the end of Hazard's inviting pass to power a finish past Ederson that gave the Brazilian no chance. It is certainly not the end of the argument, but evidence Sarri can use that he is coming up with the right formula.
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2018-12-10 02:00:00
Newcastle 1-2 Wolves: Chris Waddle on a pivotal time for the Magpies
A lot of my friends are Newcastle die-hards and, like every Magpies fan I have spoken to recently, they are desperately hoping my old club gets a new owner soon. Mike Ashley has been trying to sell Newcastle since October 2017 and says takeover talks are at a more advanced stage than ever, but a lot of supporters are cynical about that because they have heard it all before. I can understand why, because the same thing seems to happen every year - usually just before the January transfer window opens - when Ashley comes out and says he hopes a deal can be done. I still think we will be talking about a possible takeover at the end of the season too - when we will either be saying Newcastle have done well to stay up, or they have paid the price for the lack of investment in the team and have gone down, again.
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2018-12-10 02:00:00
Joe Gomez: Ben Mee defends tackle that broke Liverpool defender's leg
Burnley centre-back Ben Mee has defended the tackle that fractured the leg of Liverpool's Joe Gomez. Defender Gomez could be out for six weeks after he was taken off on a stretcher 23 minutes into Liverpool's 3-1 win at Turf Moor last Wednesday. "I don't think anything was wrong with my tackle personally," said Mee. "You can't take tackles out of the game." Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp asked referee Stuart Attwell to stop Burnley being so physical during their match. Asked whether his tackle on Gomez was dangerous, Mee said that "it's part of the game". He added: "I've seen Liverpool make tackles and get the crowd up and things like that. For me, you can play fair, but you can also play hard as well. "We're at the bottom of the table and we need to get out of it, so we're obviously going to work our socks off to win games. It was just unfortunate and I send my best wishes to him [Gomez]." After last Wednesday's match, Klopp acknowledged that Mee's tackle was "the cleanest" committed by Burnley during the game, but was unhappy with the standard of their challenges overall. "We all want to win football games, and there are different ways of doing it," said Klopp. "I think the referee has to make sure that things like this don't happen constantly. It's not how it should be. Let's play football." At a press conference last Thursday, before it was known that Gomez had broken his leg, Burnley boss Sean Dyche said it was a "fantastic tackle" by Mee.
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2018-12-10 02:00:00
Raheem Sterling: Manchester City forward says newspapers 'fuel racism' in football
Newspapers are helping to "fuel racism" by the ways in which they portray young black footballers, says Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling. Sterling, 24, posted on social media a day after suffering alleged racist abuse from Chelsea fans during City's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the allegations. "All I have to say is have a second thought about fair publicity and give all players an equal chance," he said. In a post on Instagram, Sterling said he "had to laugh" when he heard the alleged racist remarks during the game because he expects "no better". The Football Association said on Sunday it would support the investigations. On Saturday, police in Scotland arrested two fans for allegedly directing racial abuse at Motherwell substitute Christian Mbulu during his side's defeat at Hearts. In his post, England international Sterling cites newspaper headlines about team-mates Tosin Adarabioyo and Phil Foden buying houses. The headline referring to 21-year-old defender Adarabioyo - who is on loan at West Brom - focuses on how he spent
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2018-12-10 02:00:00
Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham: Emery hails 'important' derby win
Arsenal's relentless attacking performance to overpower Tottenham was a "special" moment, says Unai Emery. His side extended their unbeaten run to 19 matches, moving above Spurs into the top four, with a display that reflected the outstanding work the Spaniard has done since succeeding Arsene Wenger. Despite his satisfaction at beating their arch-rivals in his first north London derby, Emery has challenged his players to continue improving. "It is a very big victory; we showed our supporters and we gave them the victory because it is a very special match against Tottenham, for us it is special also," the Arsenal manager said. "But above all it is three points, like against Bournemouth last weekend. "We need to continue our process, creating our way. I want to do more."
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2018-12-03 02:00:00
Liverpool's Divock Origi scored a bizarre 96th-minute goal in sensational circumstances
Liverpool's Divock Origi scored a bizarre 96th-minute goal in sensational circumstances as a terrible Jordan Pickford error gifted the Reds victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. It sent his manager Jurgen Klopp sprinting onto the pitch to hug goalkeeper Alisson and the fans into raptures, but was cruel on Everton, who had at times played the more adventurous football in a lively encounter. The 232nd meeting between the city rivals was heading for a draw when Pickford mishandled a sliced Virgil van Dijk shot that had ballooned high up into the air. It seemed set to land on top of his net, but the England keeper clawed the ball back down from above his crossbar and spilled it out to Origi. A late substitute making his first Premier League appearance since August 2017, all the Belgian striker had to do was nod into an empty goal to secure a win that consolidates Liverpool's second place, two points behind defending champions Manchester City. In the 87th-minute Origi had missed what looked to be the golden late chance to seal victory when he smashed against the bar from three yards, unable to convert a ball bouncing loose from a corner. It was Origi's third goal against Everton - his best record against any side for Liverpool. And it was the fifth Premier League injury-time winner Liverpool have scored against Everton - again, they have not scored more against any other side in the Premier League era. The Toffees remain without a victory in their past 18 meetings with the Reds, and are winless at Anfield this century. They stay sixth in the table, eight points below Tottenham in fifth and Arsenal in fourth.
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2018-12-03 02:00:00
Arsenal v Tottenham: Spurs fan arrested after banana skin thrown
A Tottenham supporter was arrested after a banana skin was thrown on to the pitch during Sunday's ill-tempered derby with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. It was thrown from the away end after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had scored for the Gunners, who won the game 4-2. A Spurs spokesman confirmed the supporter would be banned. There were also six arrests for public order offences, at least two of which were believed to be Arsenal fans who lit smoke canisters during the match. "Behaviour such as this is completely unacceptable and the supporter in question will be issued with a ban," a Tottenham spokesman said of the banana-skin incident. BBC Sport pundit Ian Wright spent seven years at Arsenal, scoring 185 goals in 288 appearances for the club. "I've played against Spurs and I've taken a lot of abuse but never ever has it been racial," the former striker told Match of the Day 2. "Now Spurs have to deal with this because some idiot has done that. It's not only embarrassed Spurs but it has embarrassed the Premier League because it has gone around the world. "It's really unfortunate to see." There were also unsavoury scenes on the pitch during the match, with the two sets of players had to be separated following Eric Dier's equaliser for Tottenham in the first half. Dier celebrated by putting his finger to his lips, but Arsenal substitute Stephan Lichtsteiner reacted angrily to the gesture, prompting a melee. Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino ran down the touchline to help calm matters and Dier said afterwards: "I had my back to it all so I'm not too sure what happened. "But this is football. It's a derby. Football is all about emotion and I don't understand how I can get a yellow card in that situation. "It baffles me because if you take the emotion out of football you're going to destroy the game for everyone."
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2018-12-03 02:00:00
Manchester United players earning half a million more than Manchester City rivals
First-team players at Manchester United are earning on average half a million pounds a year more than Premier League champions Manchester City, according to the Global Sports Salaries Survey. United players are also picking up almost double what Tottenham are paying their first-team squad. Meanwhile, Barcelona have become the first sports team to pay an average yearly salary of more than