Categories
football Sports News

“THIS LEAGUE IS UNFORGIVING” : TIM KRUL BITTERED AFTER BURNLEY LOSS.

Norwich City goalkeeper, Tim Krul has provided an honest assessment of the Burnley game on Saturday, after a 2-0 defeat to the Clarets.


Speaking to the club website, he said: “It’s difficult to find words if I’m honest. I think we’ve let ourselves down a little bit over the last few weeks, I’ve said it before. At the start of the season I definitely thought we had enough in this squad to be staying up.


“There’s obviously been more reasons, I don’t want to chuck too many excuses on it but with injuries, seeing Zimbo [Christoph Zimmermann] back today is the only positive. We’ve definitely missed him this year, he’s a rock.
“All centre-halves have been injured in some way this season and I think there’s been a big doubt. To analyse today, you nearly can’t.


“I’m really proud of the effort in the second-half, the way we defended with nine men, Ben [Godfrey] in particular blocking and heading everything with Zimbo. It’s hard that he scored an own goal. If you go with nine men in the second-half, the game is over.”


“Zimbo is a massive player for us, he’s shown it for years now and he’s a leader we’ve been missing. I’m pleased to see him back, he’s been working extremely hard in the background, but at the end of the day the season is over and that’s the hardest thing to take.”


Speaking on performances since the restart, Krul says although the right intentions were in place, the quality simply hasn’t been present.
“We’ve been in some games; we just haven’t been able to nick a draw and it’s frustrating. This league is unforgiving, and you can see that today. It’s hard enough with eleven men and to go down with nine is highly disappointing.


“Fans are not here; we haven’t been able to give them anything after the break. It’s been very disappointing since we have returned. 
“We haven’t been able to turn things around, the intentions were there, we’ve worked hard. The quality just hasn’t been there the last few months.”

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Norwich go out on a whimper

Norwich boss Daniel Farke said the two first-half red cards which played a crucial role in his side’s defeat by Burnley were “naive, inexperienced, stupid and not professional”.

Emiliano Buendia was shown a straight red for elbowing Ashley Westwood, after referee Kevin Friend watched a replay on the pitchside monitor.

Nine minutes later, Josip Drmic’s high-studded tackle on Erik Pieters received the same punishment, before Chris Wood’s scuffed overhead kick put Burnley in front on the stroke of half-time.

“Burnley reacted in a way that an experienced, established, smart Premier League side should react. They wanted to break up our rhythm. They tried to null ourselves a little bit, bring hectic into the game, tried to provoke a little bit,” Farke told BBC Sport.

“I’m not accusing them because that’s exactly what you have to do if you’re an experienced team. My players walked into this trap and there were two red cards which of course was crucial to the game.

“You have to call this situation naive, inexperienced, stupid and not professional – all the words fit. The players know what they have done for this team. The red cards are not a doubt.”

It had been an uneventful opening half an hour before Norwich’s capitulation, with just one shot on target from either side.

The hosts defended well at times in the second half to keep the score down but Burnley’s victory was confirmed when Ben Godfrey poked the ball into the back of his own net with 10 minutes remaining.

Norwich become only the third club in the Premier League to lose five in a row at home without scoring, while Burnley move above Arsenal into ninth place.

Categories
football Sports News

Barcelona lose La liga

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi says “things have to change” at the club as they lost their La Liga title on the night their 30-game unbeaten home run in the league came to an end.

Even a win would not have been enough for Barca, as Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 to win the title.

Jose Arnaiz put Osasuna ahead before Messi levelled with a free-kick.

The visitors had Enric Gallego sent off for elbowing Clement Lenglet before Roberto Torres’ close-range winner.

Messi, who is La Liga’s top scorer on 23 goals with one game to go, said: “We didn’t expect to finish in this way, but it sums up the year for us.

“We are a weak team who can be beaten with enough intensity and enthusiasm.

“We have lost a lot of points which we shouldn’t have done. We have been very inconsistent.

“We need to be self-critical, starting with the players, but also across the entire club. We are Barcelona, and we are obliged to win every game.”

Categories
football Sports News

Liverpool to lift league in a special ceremony

Liverpool will lift the Premier League trophy in a special ceremony on the Kop following next Wednesday’s fixture with Chelsea.

Jurgen Klopp’s team secured their first league title in 30 years in June but fans will not be at Anfield to watch the ceremony because of Covid-19.

It will be aired for free on Sky’s Pick channel in the UK.

Club legend Sir Kenny Dalglish will hand out medals before club captain Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy.

Henderson – who lifted the Champions League trophy last season – will be the first Liverpool captain to lift the trophy awarded to the English champions since Alan Hansen in 1990, despite his season being over because of a knee injury.

Henderson and his team-mates will receive the trophy on a podium surrounded by banners made by fans and built in the middle of the famous Kop Stand.

The club has urged fans to “stay at home to enjoy the ceremony” in light of the ongoing measures in place to safeguard against the spread of coronavirus.

“With supporters unable to attend the behind-closed-doors fixture, the historic occasion will involve a unique presentation designed to acknowledge and celebrate Liverpool fans,” the club said.

In the aftermath of Liverpool mathematically sealing the title, fans gathered at Anfield despite being warned it was not safe to do so.

Fans also gathered at the city’s waterfront the following evening and faced criticism from both the club and the city’s mayor Joe Anderson.

Categories
football Slides

McGoldrick sent Racist texts

Sheffield United said it will support striker David McGoldrick after he was racially abused on social media.

The club shared an image from McGoldrick’s Instagram account showing the abuse, with the Blades player writing “2020 and this is life”.

“This cannot continue”, wrote the club. “Something needs to change”.

McGoldrick scored his first Premier League goals as United beat Chelsea 3-0 at Bramall Lane on Sunday to move into the Premier League’s top six.

Republic of Ireland striker McGoldrick’s abuse follows the arrest of a 12-year-old boy in connection with racist messages sent to Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha on social media.

Players in England’s top flight have been kneeling in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before every match since the season restarted in June.

Sheffield United added: “As a club we will support David McGoldrick and will do all we can to find the perpetrator of this disgusting message.

“We will work with the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice.”

Categories
football Slides

Man City Ban overturned

Manchester City have successfully overturned their two-year ban from European club competitions.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) announced the club were cleared of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions”.

Uefa issued the ban in February after ruling City had committed “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations between 2012 and 2016.

City’s fine has been cut from 30m euros (£26.9m) to 10m euros.

In delivering the ruling on Monday, Cas said City did “fail to cooperate with Uefa authorities” but overturned the decision by Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) to ban them.

City said the decision was “validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present”.

“The club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered,” City added.

Categories
football Sports News

Arsenal draw at Home

Jamie Vardy’s late equaliser gave Leicester City a vital point to keep their Champions League hopes on track and end Arsenal’s recent winning streak.

The Gunners looked on course for a fifth successive victory to maintain their own outside chance of a place in Europe’s elite competition next season after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swept in his 20th league goal of the season in the first half.

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel kept Arsenal at bay with a string of fine saves before the interval, twice denying Alexandre Lacazette as well as Bukayo Saka – and it proved to be a vital contribution.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men with 15 minutes left when Eddie Nketiah was sent off four minutes after coming on as substitute for a high challenge on James Justin, and Leicester cashed in when Vardy slid home Demarai Gray’s cross in the 84th minute, the goal finally awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside.

It was Vardy’s 22nd league strike of the season and restored his two-goal advantage over Aubameyang at the top of the Premier League scoring charts.

Leicester drop to fourth, four points ahead of Manchester United having played a game more, but this was an important point that left Arsenal frustrated in seventh.

Categories
football Sports News Uncategorized

Chelsea go Third

Chelsea further strengthened their position in the Premier League’s top four with victory over Crystal Palace in an entertaining encounter at Selhurst Park, that included a stunning long-range strike from Wilfried Zaha and a rare goal from Christian Benteke.

There was an element of fortune about the game’s opening goal, with Palace defender Gary Cahill pulling up with a match-ending injury to allow Willian to charge into the box unimpeded and set up Olivier Giroud to finish.

But the rest of the match was a testament to the kind of competitive, high-octane, see-saw football that draws so many viewers to the English top flight, even when the grounds are empty of fans.

Twice Chelsea looked to have put the game beyond the home side, first through Christian Pulisic’s rising shot to make it 2-0 in the first half and then via Tammy Abraham’s neat finish with 19 minutes to go to put the Blues 3-1 up.

But this reckoned without the input of Zaha and Benteke.

Zaha’s goal was a superb strike, fiercely fired into the net via the crossbar from an unlikely distance. Benteke’s was more routine, tapped in from point-blank range following a neat move, but almost as surprising, it being his first goal at Selhurst Park since April 2018.

And Palace came within a whisker of snatching a point when Scott Dann’s back-post header struck the inside of the post before Chelsea hacked the ball clear.

Chelsea’s win means they move above Leicester into third place in the table, five points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United.

With 42 to their name, Palace have too many points to worry about being dragged into a relegation fight, but manager Roy Hodgson and his side will be eager to end a losing streak that has now stretched to four games.

Categories
football Sports News

Inter title bid over

The 10 men of Bologna staged a stunning comeback to deny Inter Milan the chance to move within a point of second-placed Lazio in Serie A.

Musa Barrow struck the winner from inside the box late on, just six minutes after Musa Juwara equalised.

Romelu Lukaku had opened the scoring when he tapped in the rebound after Lautaro Martinez’s header hit the post.

Martinez missed the chance to double his side’s lead from the spot, after Bologna’s Roberto Soriano was sent off.

Both sides finished with 10 men as Alessandro Bastoni was shown a second yellow card with the score poised at 1-1.

Antonio Conte’s Inter remain third in the table, four points behind Lazio, while Bologna move up to ninth.

Categories
football Sports News

Mourinho Blast Arsenal supporters

Jose Mourinho says Arsenal have little “to celebrate” after they appeared to mock Tottenham’s Premier League defeat at Sheffield United on social media.

Highlights of Arsenal’s FA Cup win at the Blades on Facebook were captioned: “It’s not easy beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.”

“You only enjoy the problems of others when you are also in trouble,” said the Spurs boss.

Arsenal are seventh in the top flight, with Spurs four points back in 10th.

The Gunners have not won the Premier League since the Invincibles season of 2003-04, with their last major honour coming when they lifted the FA Cup for a record 13th time in 2017.

Tottenham reached the Champions League final in 2019 but have not lifted a piece of domestic silverware since winning the League Cup in 2008.

Arsenal have also won the league on six occasions since Spurs’ last top-flight title in 1960-61.

However, Mourinho believes attempts to poke fun at Tottenham say more about Arsenal than it does his club.

“I think if they were top of the league or fighting for top four in a really good moment they wouldn’t enjoy the problems of others,” Mourinho added.

“They don’t have much to celebrate, they have to get every opportunity to do it. They are in a very similar situation to us in the table.

“To be the champion of north London means nothing for me because I think you have to be much bigger than that and have much more ambitions than that.”