Jose Mourinho defended the tactics used by Chelsea during their 2-0 win over Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
Goals from Demba Ba and Willian gave Mourinho s men a crucial victory at Anfield, a result that keeps their Premier League title hopes alive.
Liverpool now lead Chelsea by just two points, with the third-placed Manchester City who have a game in hand on both of their rivals a point further adrift.
Chelsea were happy to sit back and hit Liverpool on the counter-attack throughout Sunday s match, a tactic that irritated the hosts, who had their 25-game scoring streak in the league ended.
But Mourinho who also said captain John Terry has a chance of being fit for Wednesday s UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg with Atletico Madrid defended …
Former winger Suso is linked with a return to the Premier League with reportedly interested in the Spanish player.
According to Marca, the 23-year-old left-footed winger, who never quite managed to live up to the expectations and Anfield but saw his stock rise through the roof after a fine spell at, has been identified as one of the Spurs’ summer transfer targets.
Mauricio Pochettino is said to be a long-term admirer of the player who racked up seven goals and 11 assists during last season for Rossonerri.
The Spaniard has emerged as a transfer target for several European outlets, however, and the Premier League club faces fierce competition for Suso’s signature.
Pochettino is hopeful he could use the charms of the Champions League football and the …
Wayne Rooney s long-time England attacking partner Peter Crouch feels the Manchester United striker s achievements have been under-appreciated .
Since making his Premier League debut at the age of 16, Rooney has won five league titles, as well as the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and four EFL Cups.
The striker became United s all-time record goalscorer last season with a late free-kick against Stoke City, and sits second on the list of all-time Premier League scorers, behind only Alan Shearer.
His achievements are not limited to club football, either, the 31-year-old having overtaken Bobby Charlton as England s leading marksman in 2015.
Summer for me is about time with family .
— Peter Crouch (@petercrouch)
Rooney and…
Zinedine Zidane refused to be drawn into discussions over James Rodriguez s future at Real Madrid, insisting he and the squad are interested only in Wednesday s crucial LaLiga clash with Celta Vigo.
Reports this week have suggested James is set for a big-money close-season move to Manchester United after falling down the pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu.
The attacking midfielder moved to Madrid after a stellar 2014 World Cup that saw him win the Golden Boot award, but has found playing time limited since Zidane took over in January 2016.
But Zidane was keeping his cards firmly to his chest when asked about James future at a pre-match news conference.
James is here, that s not up for question. He s with us, he said.
He didn t train [on Tuesda…
Wigan hope to move out of the relegation zone when they welcome Stoke to DW Stadium on Saturday in the English Premier League.
Stoke are now a firmly established Premier League side and followed their 12th placing in the 2008-09 season with an 11th-placed finish last season.
After 15 matches this campaign, Tony Pulis men are in eighth spot on the standings with 20 points, and in their most recent encounter they had a 90th-minute equaliser from Matthew Etherington to thank for their 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
Wigan, on the other hand, are in 18th place and in the dreaded bottom three but only six points behind Stoke on 14.
In their last match, though, they were outplayed by bottom side West Ham en route to a 3-1 loss at Upton Park.
And the new…
President Dmitry Medvedev wrote Hurray! on his blog Thursday and his prime minister hailed both his country and FIFA as Russia rejoiced in the honor of finally being picked to stage the World Cup.
Hurray! Victory! Medvedev wrote in his Twitter account moments after the FIFA 2018 vote in Zurich was broadcast live on most Russian television channels.
Medvedev quickly added that all that Russia needed to do now was break its decades-long run of under-performance at the world s most-watched event.
Now we have to really prepare the way we stage the World Cup. And, of course, put up a deserving performance, Medvedev wrote.
Arctic chills across European Russia kept most of the festivities indoors as only a few dozen braved the -25 Celsius weather to launch ce…
Bolton Wanderers are facing a face fight to keep highly-rated centre-back Gary Cahill in the January transfer window.
The newly capped England star has been impressive at the heart of the Wanderers defence this season and now has the major forces of English football chasing his signature.
Solid
Cahill has been a key part of Bolton’s solid season so far. He is the man who organises the Wanderers defence and for a young guy he has showed excellent leadership skills.
He has the potential to be a top quality centre-back and is improving with every game he plays.
Bargain
If reports are to be believed Gary Cahill is now rated in the £20million bracket. Former club Aston Villa must be absolutely sick over selling the star for just £5million.…
Claudio Ranieri s Roma will be wary of an upset when they travel to face CFR Cluj in Champions League Group E on Wednesday.
Second-placed Roma are in pole position to join Bayern Munich in the knockout stages, and only need a point from their trip to the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Radulescu to guarantee their passage to the last 16.
Roma are three points clear of third-placed FC Basel, but a goal worse off than the Swiss title holders.
If Basel spring a surprise in Munich and Roma conspire to lose in Romania, the teams will trade places, leaving Ranieri to settle for Europa League football in the second half of the season.
Cluj have nothing to play for after being consigned to fourth place with a defeat at the hands of Basel on matchday five, a loss that…
Celta Vigo have announced that head coach Eduardo Berizzo will leave the club at the end of the season.
The 47-year-old is to step down from his post, along with his main backroom staff, following their final LaLiga match of 2016-17 against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Berizzo has been heavily tipped to take over at Sevilla, with Jorge Sampaoli having confirmed this week that he would be keen to accept an offer to become the new head coach of Argentina.
Eduardo Berizzo and his technical team will not continue at Celta next season, a Celta statement confirmed.
It concludes a wonderful three-year period of continued growth in the sporting, social and institutional aspect and three seasons in which a dream has been pursued that not
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only fuelled exci…
Under-fire Everton manager Roberto Martinez knows he has a fight on his hands to keep his job at the Premier League club for next season.
Martinez, who took over from David Moyes in August 2013, guided Everton to fifth spot in his first season at the club, but has struggled since.
Everton finished a lowly 11th last term and are still a mathematical chance of being relegated with four games left in 2015-16.
But despite being knocked out of the FA Cup semi-finals by Manchester United on Saturday, Martinez said he has earned the opportunity to stay on at Goodison Park beyond this season.
I understand that [he must fight to keep his job], the Spaniard said. We are a big club. You don t expect it any other way.
If I had been given ten years…