Новости за 13.02.2018

Steve Bruce would make for an unlikely advisor to Zinedine Zidane, but the Aston Villa boss does have one saying that rings true for Real Madrid: "You’re only as good as your strikers." Give a manager a forward who keeps missing and he might struggle. Give him two such players, and you get the kind of scenario where even the Spanish champions crash and burn.The decline of Madrid has baffled many. Los Blancos sit fourth in La Liga, 17 points behind Barcelona, and were recently dumped out of the Spanish cup by Leganes. Читать дальше...

This is goalkeeper Ricardo Ferrino, playing for the new USL expansion club Las Vegas Lights FC.This, unfortunately, is also not how you make a name for yourself as a modern-day Rene Higuita; the Colombian goalkeeper famed for his marauding forays out of his goal.Some of the nicest guys in Vegas are 375 pound strip club bouncersEver see a goalie "bear-hug tackle" a player on the other team?? It happened last night in Downtown Las Vegas. ENJOY: https://t.co/rU4e0UNF5F @SocTakes @KJboxing @lvlightsfc... Читать дальше...

Words: Seb Stafford-Bloor, Alex Hess, Amit KatwalaImportant note before we begin: We're not saying this lot couldn't play football. That they were rancid, useless, pathetic excuses for professional athletes. Well, maybe one or two – but often it's a case of bad timing.Maybe it's a decent player out of his depth, or perhaps a once fine player debilitated by age or injuries. For whatever reason, however, these players didn't show their best form in the Premier League. Sometimes they're actually top-quality... Читать дальше...

Missing out on Everton's 3-1 defeat of Crystal Palace did "not bother" £27million signing Cenk Tosun because he is focusing on getting fitter. Tosun joined Everton in January after impressing over the previous year-and-a-half with Besiktas in Turkey. Scoring goals had been identified as Everton's biggest problem in the first half of the season following the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, with the club then shelling out for Turkey international Tosun, who netted eight in 12 league starts for Besiktas before leaving. Читать дальше...

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) sub-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta is confident Maurizio Sarri and Massimiliano Allegri "wouldn't be bad" options as Italy's next coach, but accepts they are unattainable for the time being. Sarri and Allegri are locked in a battle for the Serie A title with their respective clubs Napoli and Juventus this season, with the two teams head and shoulders above the rest in Italy's top flight. Their names have often been linked as potential targets for the FIGC... Читать дальше...

Shrove Tuesday – known to much of the world as 'pancake day' – has arrived for 2018, bringing with it social media posts by the thousands as people show off their skills with a frying pan. However, four Tottenham stars might just have stolen the show after being immortalised in pancake form by Dancakes, experts at turning celebrities and pop-culture figures into artistic batter. The Premier League club shared a video on Twitter of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane having... Читать дальше...

Alexandre Lacazette is set to be out for between four and six weeks after having knee surgery, Arsenal have revealed. The France international underwent an arthroscopy on his left knee on Tuesday, with the Gunners understanding the minor operation to have been "a success". But the injury comes at a crucial juncture for Arsenal, who have important fixtures in the Europa League, Premier League and EFL Cup all on the horizon. Lacazette could miss a total of seven games across all competitions if he is ultimately out for six weeks. Читать дальше...

West Brom owner Guochuan Lai has taken the drastic decision to sack chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman in response to the club's woeful Premier League campaign. Monday's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea was their third successive loss in the league and leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table – seven points from safety. The Baggies have won just three of their 27 league games this term and Tony Pulis paid the price for their poor start to the season by losing his job in November. Читать дальше...

Zinedine Zidane has endorsed Guti's credentials as a future Real Madrid coach after the Spaniard admitted his ambition to occupy the Santiago Bernabeu hot seat. Zidane has come under pressure this season, with Madrid 17 points adrift of LaLiga leaders Barcelona having also been eliminated from the Copa del Rey at the hands of Leganes. Guti - a youth coach at the club - voiced his support for Zidane in a recent interview with El Chiringuito de Jugones but added: "How can I not want to coach Real... Читать дальше...

Playing in the round robin group stage of European football’s elite competition is all well and good. Yet we all know that the real cut and thrust occurs after the winter break as the two-legged knockout ties begin.Of course, back in the European Cup era, pre-Champs League, teams went straight into a knockout dogfight (after perhaps a qualifying round, but that was about it). But in the modern era with so many teams, well, teeming for entry, even making it to the Last 16 is a badge of honour.So, these are the clubs who have done it. Читать дальше...

Words: Andrew Murray, Nick Moore, James Maw 25. Dinamo Zagreb 1-7 Lyon Group stage, 2011/12 Hands up if you can tell us who scored the Champions League’s fastest hat-trick. Hands up if you were at a freezing cold Maksimir Stadium that December night to watch Lyon frontman Bafetimbi Gomis put hosts Dinamo Zagreb to the sword 7-1? Er, we suspected not. Needing a second-placed Ajax to lose against Real Madrid and a seven-goal swing to reach the knockout stage, Lyon trailed to Mateo Kovacic’s rebound before all hell broke loose. Читать дальше...

This is Oliver Kragl and this, quite obviously, is absolutely unstoppable.(Goal at 4.13)Palermo have been riding high in Serie B as they look to return to the top tier following their relegation last season, but this did them no good at all. The 2-1 loss prevented them from moving into the automatic promotion spots and keeps them in third place.Ilija Nestorovski had given the Sicilians the lead, converting from the spot, but Mathieu Duhamel equalised for Foggia 12 minutes from time. Then Kragl snaffled all the points for the visitors. Читать дальше...

“Who would you have in the best Premier League XI which never played in the Champions League?” Out of the blue, an old chum of FourFourTwo had sent us a poserwhich piqued our interest. An hour, and hundreds of further messages, later there was still no consensus. We gave up.FFT, however, is both made of sterner stuff and very bored. We pressed on, knowing Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp et al would be off-limits. But so were Tony Yeboah (one season for Hamburg), Sylvain Distin (10 games... Читать дальше...

Basel will need to be "perfect" if they are to beat a Manchester City team that has "basically no weaknesses", according to head coach Raphael Wicky. City head to the Swiss champions in the opening leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Tuesday as strong favourites to progress to the quarter-finals. Pep Guardiola's men have been irresistible this season, losing just twice – Liverpool and Shakhtar Donetsk the only sides to beat them. And, although Wicky's side defeated Manchester United in the group stage... Читать дальше...

Depending upon which narrative you chose to embrace, Neymar will either look to start a Paris Saint-Germain dynasty in which he is the jewel when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League or turn in an audition to be the Santiago Bernabeu's latest galactico. The Brazil forward was apparently motivated in part by his desire to win the Ballon d'Or when he swapped Barcelona for Paris last August and dumping the reigning European champions out at the last-16 stage would certainly do much to further his ambitions. Читать дальше...

A knockout tie in the Champions League, in front of a packed house at the Santiago Bernabeu, pitting Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale against Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, is an occasion the football world is relishing. But it is easy to see how Wednesday's last-16 first leg between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain may fill coaching counterparts Zinedine Zidane and Unai Emery with a degree of dread, as both head into the Valentine's Day clash knowing the tie could serve as their last act for the respective clubs on the European stage. Читать дальше...

Alvaro Morata regrets trying to play through the pain barrier with a back injury which ultimately kept him out for nearly a month before returning against West Brom on Monday. The Spain international made a strong start to life in England, scoring eight times in his first 11 Premier League appearances following a €65million move from Real Madrid. But he has struggled since, scoring just two in his last 10 league games and attracting criticism for several wasteful performances in front of goal.... Читать дальше...

The Champions League returns with a bang this week as holders Real Madrid take on Paris Saint-Germain in a blockbuster clash in the Spanish capital. Madrid have won the Champions League in each of the last two seasons, but Zinedine Zidane is under pressure due to poor form in LaLiga this term. PSG have prioritised the Champions League title since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, but they could hardly have been handed a trickier last-16 tie. Ahead of Wednesday's first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu... Читать дальше...

Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata warned his team-mates Lionel Messi would be unstoppable in their Champions League tie against Barcelona. The Premier League outfit will host the first leg of the last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge on February 20. But Antonio Conte's side are sure to be outsiders against Barcelona, who are flying high atop LaLiga. Former Real Madrid forward Morata said his team faced a huge challenge trying to stop Argentina international Messi, who has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season. Читать дальше...