Category: Football

Were we really doubting Mo Salah? Did we really believe something was irrevocably lost in the assault by that Spanish body snatcher Sergio Ramos. By increments the genius is returning to the feet of the little man. Though some way short of the player that carried Liverpool to the Champions League final in May, a mere whiff of his best was enough to ease…

Though Liverpool will have to wait until next week’s Champions League draw to find out who they will face in the Round of 16, they already know they will go into the first leg without Virgil van Dijk. The Reds’ towering centre-back, without a doubt their standout performer of the season, was cautioned for a tackle on Dries Mertens in the first half of…

In the 1979-80 season, England had two representatives in the UEFA Champions League for the second year in succession. And for the second year in succession, they were Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. But in a role reversal from 12 months previously, Forest were defending European champions with Liverpool the domestic title victors. Back then, Brian Clough and Bob Paisley's teams were drawn against each…

There are some goals which transcend football. The kind which showcase a unique talent and an unmatched level of execution, reminding us of the talent and athleticism required to make it as a top-level footballer. Thanks to Santiago Vergini, these goals don’t even have to arrive at the right end of the pitch. When Sunderland travelled to Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium in October 2014,…

For the first quarter of the season Sergio Aguero was the front runner in the Fantasy Premier League points takes, picking up 82 points in the first thirteen Gameweeks. In the past three Gameweeks, however, the veteran forward has been absent. He missed out on Pep Guardiola‘s last three Premier League squads due to a muscle injury – and in Gameweek 16 his killer…

Chelsea have suspended four supporters from attending matches while they investigate allegations of racist abuse directed at Raheem Sterling. One supporter, who has been reported to police for shouting racist slurs at Sterling, has been interviewed by the club. The man is alleged to have called Sterling a “f****** black c***” from the Stamford Bridge terraces during Chelsea’s Premier League victory against Manchester City…

It is time to end the empty words and repetitive statements and for affirmative action to be taken. Against racists. Against anti-semites. Against homophobes. Against sexists. Against anyone who thinks it is acceptable to turn up at a football match and snarl and sneer and shout discriminatory abuse from the terraces. Football is sliding back into the primordial slime of the pre-1990s, as the…

Welcome to the BetBright STATZONE, where we give you the stats and you make the decisions! No rest if you’re a Premier League football player at this time of the year as we head into another full set of fixtures this weekend for ‘Match Week 17’ We get going on Saturday lunchtime with Man City hosting Everton in a clash that seems to have…

The ball was up in the air. Everything was. It was the fourth minute of five added on to a match already eventful in terms of goals, chances and refereeing decisions. Martin Dubravka, the Newcastle United goalkeeper, had just parried Diogo Jota’s shot. For 37 minutes Newcastle had played with ten men following DeAndre Yedlin’s dismissal and had managed through both judgement and some…

The day after the wearers of yellow vests ran riot in central Paris, any fears Leicester might show a yellow streak in their visit to Racing's mind-bogglingly quirky indoor stadium in the north-west of the French capital were put to bed. Still, Leicester will probably need to win all three of their remaining pool matches, starting with the return fixture at Welford Road next…

A further depressing aspect of the Raheem Sterling abuse story is the attention it stole from his display. Sterling was Manchester City’s best player by some margin, indefatigable in his harassment of the Chelsea defence. When Pep Guardiola spoke of the pride he felt in his team’s performance despite it ending in a first defeat of the season, Sterling would have been foremost in…

What a gutting late winner for the Newcastle fans. The home support clad in black and white must have howled at the header from Wolves' defender-turned-attacking dynamo Matt Doherty, who nodded in the deflected save from Martin Dubravka in the third minute of injury time. Until then it had been pretty equal, including after the red card. If anything, removing DeAndre Yedlin, who looked…

The group stage of the 2018/19 Champions League comes to an end this week, so we reveal what’s left to play for across all eight sections ahead of the action on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Group A Borussia Dortmund’s failure to beat Club Brugge last time out means Atletico Madrid are in pole position to advance from Group A in top spot, although BVB…

Mohamed Salah was able to gratefully rifle home a close-range finish, after some questionable goalkeeping from Asmir Begovic in the 25th minute at the Vitality Stadium, enraging home fans who felt that the Liverpool forward was in an offside position in the build-up to his goal. As a long-range effort from Robreto Firmino was struck, Salah was a yard the wrong side of Bournemouth's…

Chelsea Kepa Arrizabalaga 7/10 Calm with the ball at his feet, as the young Spaniard was used a lot due to Man City's high pressing. Made own error late on, as he gave possession away cheaply, but made a great save to spare his own blushes. Not called into action anywhere near as much as he would have expected pre-match. Cesar Azpilicueta 8/10 Great…