Month: April 2022

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Van Gaal reveals cancer diagnosis as Netherlands coach undergoes treatment

Louis van Gaal has announced he is receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

Speaking on Dutch TV show Humberto, the Netherlands head coach said he had been battling the condition for some time and has undergone 25 rounds of radiation treatment.

Van Gaal, 70, oversaw two international friendlies with the Netherlands last month, with his team beating Denmark 4-2 and drawing 1-1 with Germany.

The former Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax boss said he kept his diagnosis hidden from his players, and revealed he was snuck into hospital to undergo private treatment during the international break.

Van Gaal told presenter Humberto Tan he had wanted his players, who have qualified for the World Cup, to stay focused on their task in hand.

“You don’t die from prostate cancer, at least not in 90 per cent of the cases,” he said.

“It is usually other underlying diseases that kill you. But I had a pretty aggressive form, got irradiated 25 times. Then you have a lot of management to do in order to go through life.

“I did have preferential treatment in the hospital. I was allowed in through the back door when I went to an appointment and was immediately pushed into another room. I have been treated wonderfully.

“You will of course tell your friends and relatives about it. The fact that nothing has come out yet also says something about my environment. That’s great.”

Van Gaal, who had announced his retirement in 2019, was appointed coach of his country for a third time in August last year, taking over from Frank de Boer after the Netherlands’ last-16 exit from Euro 2020.

He was first in charge between 2000 and 2002 but stepped down after failing to secure qualification for the World Cup.

He returned for a second stint in 2012, guiding his nation to third place at the World Cup in Brazil two years later before departing for the Premier League with Manchester United.

A league winner in three different countries, having secured domestic titles while at Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Van Gaal has enjoyed a hugely successful managerial career.

He also won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, then guided Bayern to the final 15 years later.

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WOLVES MAINTAIN EUROPA CHARGE WITH NARROW PREMIER LEAGUE WIN OVER ASTON VILLA

Wolves maintained their European charge after a deserved Premier League derby win over Aston Villa.

Jonny’s rocket and Ashley Young’s own goal earned the hosts a 2-1 win at Molinuex.

Ollie Watkins pulled a goal back with a late penalty but Wolves held their nerve to keep the pressure on in the race for Europe.

Villa have now taken just four points from 39 against teams above them in the top flight this season, underlining both their consistency issues and fallibility against the sides they wish to emulate.

They suffered again to slip 13 points behind their rivals, who move above West Ham into seventh to sit just two points adrift of the top five.

Without the banned Raul Jimenez and injured Ruben Neves there was a sense Wolves were underdogs but they tore into Villa to take a seventh-minute lead.

John McGinn slipped to allow Joao Moutinho to motor forward and then Ezri Konsa stumbled trying to cut out his pass to Daniel Podence.

It allowed the forward into the area and his shot was blocked by the covering McGinn. Lucas Digne then threw himself in front of Fabio Silva’s follow-up – only for the ball to fall to Jonny, who rifled into the top corner from 12 yards.

Wolves were dominant and Silva wasted a fine chance to double their lead when he shot too close to Emi Martinez after beating Tyrone Mings.

Villa then lost Digne – only just back after a hamstring issue – as their problems continued and Young replaced him.

Yet Wolves allowed Villa to sneak back into the game having lost their early ferocity and the hosts began to see more of the ball.

Leon Bailey forced a fine fingertip save from Jose Sa with a 25-yard effort but Villa were unable to make meaningful inroads into a home defence which stood firm.

It was a crucial spell as, nine minutes before the break, the hosts grabbed a second in another moment Villa will be desperate to forget.

Again they were too open, Marcal was left with too much space on the left and his cross was headed into his own net by Young.

It was another calamitous moment for Villa – who blew a 2-0 lead and conceded three goals in the final 10 minutes against Wolves in October to lose 3-2.

Leander Dendoncker then should have settled the game in first-half injury time rather than slashing the ball wide after a quick break from Francisco Trincao.

It almost came back to haunt the midfielder 11 minutes after the break when Watkins missed a glorious chance to pull a goal back.

Young’s throughball caught Wolves napping and with Sa backpeddling, Watkins ran through only to curl his effort wide.

Villa at least showed more bite but Hwang Hee-chan nearly added a third for Wolves when he dragged wide with 19 minutes left.

Philippe Coutinho, who failed to exert any influence on the game, forced Sa into a smart stop soon after and Silva then saw Martinez turn his drive over before Villa grabbed a lifeline with four minutes left.

Watkins and Sa collided, with referee Darren England controversially giving a penalty, and the England forward fired in off the post.

There was still time for Sa to turn Matty Cash’s volley wide in injury time but Villa could not complete an unlikely comeback.

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Pedri strike sends Barca second in LaLiga

Barcelona moved up to second in LaLiga as Pedri’s strike secured a 1-0 win against Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday.

The goal from Pedri was a well-taken effort with just under 20 minutes to go and proved enough to seal the points for Xavi’s side.

Sevilla defended well for large parts but offered little going the other way as Julen Lopetegui saw his team slip to fourth place.

The result also means Real Madrid end the weekend with a 12-point lead at the top of the table after their win at Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Barca started the stronger of the two sides, with Ferran Torres and Frenkie de Jong going close in the opening minutes, but the first save of merit did not arrive until first-half stoppage time when Yassine Bounou palmed away an effort from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after a neat ball from Ousmane Dembele.

Sevilla showed more intent in the second half and had their first shot on target when Erik Lamela was unable to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The hosts did not have a shot in the second period until just after the hour, with Torres forcing Bounou to tip over from a Dembele pull-back, while Gerard Pique struck the crossbar with a header from a corner soon after.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 72nd minute when Dembele set up Pedri on the edge of the box, with the teenager delightfully working the ball onto his right foot before drilling a shot past the despairing dive of Bounou.


What does it mean? Barca show credentials again

It is not typically a wild assertion to suggest Barcelona are among the two best teams in Spain, but if you had proposed they would be in this position just a couple of months ago, you may have been looked at with quizzical eyebrows.

If the 4-0 Clasico thrashing of Madrid last time out was a statement of intent, this merely supported the theory that fast-improving Barca are more than a promising side, they have substance to them.

Up against the best defence in LaLiga, the Blaugrana did not create a high number of big chances (many of their 19 shots were speculative), but they wore their opponents down and when Pedri’s goal came, it had been on the way.

As easy as it is to get carried away by young players at Barca, Pedri keeps convincing that he will be a star of the future, and in truth, is already a star of the present.

His goal was top quality, but his overall performance was equally impressive, making a team-high two interceptions and four tackles as well as winning two fouls himself.

It will be a gutting feeling for Sevilla, with this putting an end to a 15-game unbeaten run in the league.

While they defended as well as they often do, Lopetegui’s men offered little in attack, having just one shot in the first half and rarely testing Ter Stegen even after falling behind.

Barcelona travel to Germany to play Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday before returning to LaLiga action at Levante next Sunday. Sevilla host Granada in league action on Friday.

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Calhanoglu’s penalty seals Derby d’Italia triumph

Inter kept alive their Serie A title hopes with a 1-0 Derby d’Italia win over Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Simone Inzaghi’s side were second best in the first half, yet they went ahead moments before the interval courtesy of Hakan Calhanoglu’s twice-taken penalty.

Juve huffed and puffed in the second half but they were unable to find the leveller that would have stretched their unbeaten run in the Italian top flight to 17 games.

The result meant Inter remain in third, three points behind leaders Milan, while Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve stay in fourth, seven points behind the Rossoneri having played a game more.

Juve started at a breakneck pace, and they almost went ahead in the ninth minute when Giorgio Chiellini diverted Samir Handanovic’s dismal punch onto the crossbar from close range.

Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado went close from distance soon after, while Alvaro Morata headed across the face of goal from a promising position.

Despite Juve’s dominance, Inter went in at the break ahead in dramatic circumstances.

Wojciech Szczesny kept out Calhanoglu’s initial spot-kick after Morata had clipped Denzel Dumfries, yet the ball ended up in the back of the net following an almighty scramble.

Referee Massimiliano Irrati chalked that off, though, after a Juve player had stepped into the area too early, with Calhanoglu making no mistake from 12 yards at the second time of asking.

Dusan Vlahovic whipped wide after a smart turn shortly after the hour mark, before substitute Denis Zakaria thumped the post as Juve’s unbeaten run ended with a whimper. 

This was only Inter’s second away victory over Juventus in their past 16 attempts across all competitions, and there is little doubt they rode their luck.

A dominant Juve finished the game having had 23 shots, while the Nerazzurri managed a mere five, with just one on target. That was the one that mattered, though.

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TOTTENHAM THRASH NEWCASTLE 5-1 TO HEAT UP TOP-FOUR BATTLE

Tottenham moved into the top four of the Premier League with a statement 5-1 win over Newcastle which piles the pressure on north London rivals Arsenal.

After falling behind to Fabian Schar’s first-half free-kick, goals from Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn moved them above the Gunners in the table on goal difference.

Mikel Arteta’s men will reclaim fourth spot on Monday night if they take a point from their visit to Crystal Palace, but Spurs are firmly in the race for a Champions League place having seemed out of contention a few weeks ago.

Five wins from the last six games, inspired by the front three of Harry Kane, Son and Dejan Kulusevski, has boosted hopes of a return to Europe’s top tier and their fate could come down to their home game with Arsenal, which has yet to be rearranged.

They were simply too good for the Magpies, who have now lost three in a row and sit nine points above the drop zone.

Eddie Howe’s side came and deployed a tactic that Spurs are known to struggle with as they sat deep and denied the hosts space in the final third.

And it worked for the majority of the first half as although Spurs had plenty of the ball they could not create anything clear-cut.

Then things got even better for the visitors as they went ahead in the 39th minute.

Son fouled Joe Willock on the edge of the area and Schar sent a low free-kick around the wall and past Hugo Lloris, who got a hand to it and was disappointed not to keep it out.

But that was as good as it got for Newcastle as Antonio Conte’s men hit back in style.

They got back on level terms quickly as Davies glanced home from Son’s cross after Spurs recycled a corner.

That gave the hosts the platform to go on in the second half and win the game and they took the opportunity with both hands, scoring three goals in 18 minutes.

Doherty put them ahead in the 48th minute, arriving late at the far post to nod home Kane’s superb ball across the face of the goal.

The goal of the game came six minutes later as Spurs’ in-form front three combined in style.

Kane set Kulusevski free down the right, the Swede picked out Son, who controlled and fired into the corner from 10 yards out.

The fourth goal, in the 63rd minute, came from a more unexpected source as Emerson, only playing because of an injury to Sergio Reguilon, poked home at the near post from Doherty’s cross.

Spurs should have made it five, but Son rolled an effort wide after Kane’s 40-yard pass played him in on goal.

They eventually did score a fifth – for a second time in three home games – as Bergwijn scored two minutes after coming on, slotting home having been sent clear by Lucas Moura.

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CHELSEA CRUMBLE AT HOME AS JANELT SCORES TWICE IN SHOCK BRENTFORD VICTORY

Vitaly Janelt’s quickfire double put Brentford on the brink of Premier League safety after their 4-1 rout of a Chelsea side beset by unrelenting takeover talk.

Christian Eriksen also netted in a win that puts Thomas Frank’s Brentford on the verge of cementing their top-flight status following a hugely impressive debut campaign.

Toni Rudiger hammered home a long-range strike to stun Stamford Bridge and hand Chelsea a 1-0 lead just after half-time.

But Brentford punished Chelsea’s out-of-character defensive disarray three times in six minutes to seal a memorable win for the Bees.

And by the time Yoane Wissa drilled home a fourth at the death, the travelling Brentford fans were in dreamland.

Chelsea’s fine run of six wins on the spin in all competitions came to a crashing halt in West London, with the Blues now perhaps looking over their shoulders in the league.

Fourth-placed Arsenal could cut their deficit on third-placed Chelsea to two points with a win at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Chelsea had shut out all the takeover noise to fine effect with those six wins in a row, but now boss Thomas Tuchel will need all his powers of man-management to set the Blues back on track.

Chelsea’s fans had started the day promising a protest against prospective new owners the Ricketts family.

But perhaps only 100 supporters took to the streets around Stamford Bridge before kick-off, and plans to unveil a banner in the ground never materialised.

Roman Abramovich will sell the club after 19 years as owner, with four consortiums locked in a bidding battle.

Boss Tuchel had kept his players’ minds off those boardroom wrangles so impressively in a flawless March schedule.

But after the international break a refreshed Brentford executed a classic smash-and-grab victory.

A tepid protest before the match gave way to a lukewarm first half, where Brentford spurned several half-chances and Chelsea failed to get going.

Chelsea returned after the break reinvigorated and ready to crank up the level.

And Rudiger’s thunderbolt provided a magical moment for the Stamford Bridge faithful.

The Germany defender finally struck gold – and the net – on his latest long-range attempt.

Chelsea’s players were as adoring as the supporters for their cult hero’s howitzer goal.

Such lingering celebration could perhaps account for the speed of Brentford’s equaliser – but assuredly not the two further rapid Bees goals.

Janelt swept home a smart finish after Chelsea ceded possession too cheaply in the middle of the field, and less than two minutes after Rudiger’s strike the match was back on level terms.

Tuchel’s Chelsea would so often steady the nerves and wrestle control after such a setback.

Frank’s Brentford had other ideas, with Mbeumo racing down the left and playing in Eriksen for a tap-in to put the Bees 2-1 to the good.

By the time Janelt dinked in Brentford’s third, from Ivan Toney’s ball, just 12 minutes had elapsed from Rudiger breaking the match’s deadlock.

Four goals in 12 minutes that must surely set Brentford en route to Premier League safety, but also a sequence of strikes to add another layer of intrigue to the race for a top-four finish.

Wissa added a fourth at the death to gloss Brentford’s fully-deserved victory, but also potentially dragged Chelsea back into an unwanted top-four scrap.

Beat Crystal Palace on Monday and fourth-placed Arsenal will be fired up for a tilt at Chelsea’s grip on third place.

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MANCHESTER CITY MAINTAIN TOP SPOT AFTER WIN OVER BURNLEY

Manchester City made sure they ended the day on top of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley.

Responding to Liverpool’s 2-0 lunchtime victory over Watford, first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan restored City’s one-point advantage ahead of a huge week, which includes the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid and next week’s visit of the Reds.

City had gone 13 points clear after beating Chelsea in January – a figure inflated by the games in hand held by Liverpool – but kicked off at Turf Moor in second place after Jurgen Klopp’s side dispatched Burnley’s relegation rivals for a 10th consecutive league win.

Liverpool would have been hoping for City to feel the pressure, but they needed the fixture list to have thrown up something other than a meeting with Burnley for Pep Guardiola’s men.

The City manager may previously have described trips to Turf Moor as being like going to see the dentist but his players usually emerge with pearly white smiles, and this result means they have now won their last 10 meetings against Sean Dyche’s side by an aggregate score of 34 to one.

The first chance went to Burnley, Josh Brownhill meeting a sweeping cross from Aaron Lennon and heading narrowly wide, but it was pretty much one-way traffic after that as the hosts, having switched to a 4-5-1 formation, failed to pressure the ball.

City led with five minutes gone, with Raheem Sterling cushioning Rodri’s cross-field pass into the path of De Bruyne, who marked his 200th Premier League appearance for the club by rifling beyond Nick Pope for his eighth league goal in the last 13 games.

Rodri had tested Pope with a curling shot and sent a volley wide before City doubled their lead in the 25th minute. Sterling again got the assist, exchanging passes with De Bruyne before cutting the ball back for Gundogan to stroke home.

It was already looking like a question of how many City might fancy as a patched-up Burnley defence – in which Kevin Long made his first appearance of the season in the absence of Ben Mee and Nathan Collins – was pulled this way and that.

Having registered two assists, Sterling had a chance to get on the scoresheet himself before the break when Phil Foden lifted the ball over Burnley’s backpedalling defence, but could not get the right connection.

The pressure continued, with Pope doing more in the first five minutes of the second half than he did in all of England’s 3-0 win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, first keeping out a front-post flick from Foden, then a more powerful shot from Gundogan, then a curling effort from Kyle Walker.

Sterling was close to a hat-trick of assists with 20 minutes to go as Gabriel Jesus, just on for Foden, stretched to poke his cross over.

Burnley finally registered a shot on target in the 74th minute when they pressed high, winning the ball off Jack Grealish, but substitute Jay Rodriguez’s shot was comfortably held by Ederson.

Bernardo Silva had started a league game on the bench for the first time since August, a run of 28 matches, but replaced De Bruyne late on and almost immediately set up Jesus, who saw his first shot hit the post before bending a follow-up wide.

Burnley’s survival hopes rest not on meetings with City but fixtures like Wednesday’s match against fellow strugglers Everton.

Having raised hopes by taking seven points from a possible nine in the second half of February, the Clarets have lost four in a row since, and have won only two of their last 24 games at home.

Unless they can change that form soon, they will not need to worry about facing City next season.

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JARROD BOWEN SCORES WINNER ON WESTHAM RETURN AS EVERTON MISERY CONTINUES

Jarrod Bowen returned with a bang as West Ham inflicted more away-day pain on Everton with a 2-1 victory.

The striker, back after a month out with a foot injury, hit his 13th goal of the season to floor Frank Lampard.

West Ham led through Aaron Cresswell’s spectacular free-kick but were pegged back by Mason Holgate’s deflected effort.

Toffees boss Lampard had questioned his players’ bottle – or words to that effect – after they capitulated at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup last time out, but they folded again just five minutes after equalising when Bowen struck.

To compound Lampard’s misery they finished the match with 10 men after captain Michael Keane was sent off.

The travel-sick Toffees still boast the worst away record in the country and are only one place above the drop zone in what has been a torrid season.

West Ham are still just about challenging for a place in the top four and look at the very least capable of back-to-back top-six finishes, something manager David Moyes used to deliver regularly when he was in charge at Goodison Park.

They sniffed blood from the off with Michail Antonio seeing a shot blocked by Keane, before Jordan Pickford held a curler from Bowen.

Then a slick move involving Antonio, Bowen and Said Benrahma sent Pablo Fornals through on goal, but Pickford was out quickly to make the block.

Everton could have taken the lead on the half-hour mark when Alex Iwobi slipped Richarlison in behind. The Brazilian nudged the ball round Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianksi, but full-back Ryan Fredericks got back to clear the danger.

Moments later West Ham did go ahead, in sensational fashion. After Bowen was fouled by Holgate, Cresswell curled a stunning free-kick beyond the wall and Pickford into the top corner.

Richarlison should have equalised before half-time after giving Fredericks the slip, but his attempted lob floated tamely over the crossbar.

After the break a mistake by Benrahma and Declan Rice allowed Iwobi to slip the ball through to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose angled drive clipped the bar.

The equaliser came in the 53rd minute when an unconvincing punch from Fabianski at a corner fell to Holgate – who was only on the pitch after an injury to Donny Van De Beek in the warm-up.

The midfielder fired through a crowd of players and into the net with the help of a big deflection off the foot of Fornals.

But just five minutes later West Ham retook the lead when Bowen clipped home the rebound after Pickford saved Antonio’s shot.

Keane, booked in the first half for cynically pulling back Antonio as he was about to race clear, fouled the striker again with 25 minutes left to earn a second yellow card and cap another miserable road trip for Lampard.

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JAMES WARD-PROWSE FREE-KICK MAGIC EARNS SOUTHAMPTON A POINT AT LEEDS

James Ward-Prowse produced more free-kick magic to earn Southampton a 1-1 draw at Leeds and halt their four-game losing run.

The England midfielder curled home a trademark free-kick early in the second half after Jack Harrison had given Leeds an interval lead.

Southampton had lost their previous three Premier League games before a thumping home FA Cup defeat to Manchester City and will be happier than Leeds with a point.

The home side, chasing a third straight win in their relegation fight, deserved their half-time advantage, but lost their way after the break before being roared on by their fans for another grandstand finish.

Leeds, who edged a point further away from the bottom three, had won their last two games with stoppage-time winners, but it was not to be against the Saints, who were good value for a share of the spoils.

Leeds made their accustomed breakneck start and only Mohammed Salisu’s brilliant last-ditch tackle denied striker Dan James a clear shot on goal.

Diego Llorente headed wide from a corner and Mateusz Klich’s effort was blocked as Leeds laid seige on Southampton’s goal.

Southampton responded and Mohamed Elyounoussi fired straight at goalkeeper Illan Meslier and at the other end Fraser Forster did well to block James’ angled shot after a sweeping Leeds counter-attack.

Leeds fans thought their side had taken a deserved lead when Harrison turned the ball home after Raphinha’s corner had hit a post in the 20th minute, but referee Anthony Taylor had blown for a push by Rodrigo.

Southampton caused several moments of alarm in the home defence as Che Adams’ shot was deflected wide before Llorente made a vital interception inside the area.

But few would argue Leeds did not deserve their 29th-minute lead.

Raphinha’s superb cross from the by-line was parried by Forster and Harrison nonchalently stabbed home his sixth league goal of the season.

Leeds preserved their half-time lead, but were indebted to Meslier as his brilliant low save denied Adams before Kyle Walker-Peters fired inches over the crossbar.

The Saints hauled themselves level through Ward-Prowse’s brilliant free-kick, the England midfielder curling his 25-yard effort into the top corner after Luke Ayling’s foul on Walker-Peters.

Leeds had a real fight on their hands now. Armando Broja fired inches wide as Southampton took control and although Raphinha threatened with a rising drive, the home side were struggling to stem the tide.

Joe Gelhardt replaced James in the 58th minute and Kalvin Phillips received a rousing reception when he replaced Klich soon after for his first appearance in four months.

Leeds began to find their passes again to lift the crowd and Forster palmed away Stuart Dallas’ volley after some frantic Southampton defending.

The home fans screamed for a penalty when Raphinha and Ibrahima Diallo tangled, but Taylor waved away Leeds’ appeals.

It was Southampton’s turn to batten down the hatches as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

Taylor turned down another penalty appeal when Gelhardt went tumbling under another timely Diallo challenge, but Leeds failed to work a clear opening despite their late pressure.