Lippi shoulders blame

Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena hit out at the irreparable and unjustifiable threats after he was allegedly assaulted by Real Madrid s Federico Valverde following Saturday s LaLiga match.

Baena played a full part in the contest at the Santiago Bernabeu and assisted Samuel Chukwueze s late goal as Villarreal beat Madrid 3-2.

According to sports newspaper AS and widespread reports, Baena was punched while looking at his phone when making his way to the Villarreal team bus.

It is alleged that Valverde assaulted Baena in retaliation to derogatory remarks the latter made about his unborn child in a previous encounter between the sides, claims the Villarreal man strongly denies.

Valverde was not referenced by name as Villarreal confirmed Baena had filed a poli…

Manchester United are considering offers to play a friendly game in India, with the English Premier League and European champions keen to tap into the growing demand for football on the sub-continent.

Sir Alex Ferguson and his United squad are currently preparing for the upcoming English season with a four-game tour of South Africa and Nigeria.

But with plans to return to Asia in July 2009, after a hugely successful four-stop tour of Tokyo, Seoul, Macau and Guangzhou 12 months ago, United chief executive David Gill has admitted that India could be the next destination for the club s globetrotting stars.

Gill said: India is interesting. We have been approached to go there and we are looking at some soccer school opportunities there.

I know Chelsea hav…

Chelsea s Eden Hazard scored the Chelsea Goal of the Season against Tottenham in 2015/16 as his form returned in Spring.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard scored an outstanding solo goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win against Burnley, and put in a convincing performance at Stamford Bridge to make a real statement of intent about his own worth to the side after a forgettable 2015/16 season.

Hazard impressed for Belgium in this summer’s European Championships and is picking up where he left off to set the Premier League alight with a series of outstanding showings in August. Is he now back to his brilliant best?

Spring saw a welcome return to form

Eden Hazard didn’t score a Premier League goal for Chelsea until the end of April. The Belgian international went 27 ga…

Prediction: Manchester City win

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As millions around the world continue to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one slice of normality has remained the same sport. We re now in a new year and that means we re going to be experiencing a whole lost of games coming at us thick and fast between now and May, which is especially true in the English Premier League. Today, we re going to take a look at a fixture that will serve as a top of the table vs bottom of the table encounter Manchester City vs Sheffield United.

Manchester City

It s hard to remember the last time Manchester City lost a game of football and if that isn t a sign they re the frontrunners in the title race, we re not sure what is. They just seem to be functio…

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has admitted he could be interested in bringing local boy David Beckham back home in the run-up to next year s World Cup in South Africa.

The 33-year-old is on track to make Fabio Capello s squad for the finals and will need somewhere to remain match sharp during Major League Soccer s off season between December and March.

Beckham is spending the second half of this season at AC Milan, who are believed to be keen to repeat the loan deal for part of the 2009-10 season, but Redknapp has indicated that Tottenham could also be an option.

I have not thought about David Beckham, but it would be disrespectful of me to say I would not be interested in him, were he to become available, Redknapp said.

David Beckham is a fantastic pl…

Manuel Pellegrini s attractive style of football deserves a big club like Manchester City, according to Marca journalist Juan Castro.

Reports that Pellegrini has agreed his release from Malaga have made him an early favourite to succeed Roberto Mancini at City after the Italian was sacked on Monday.

The Chilean has been with Malaga since 2010, transforming them from a mid-table La Liga side into one challenging at the top of the table and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

He masterminded their progression to the quarter-final of the competition at the first attempt with a side playing neat passing football, and Castro believes the 59-year-old deserves a chance at a bigger club.

He (Pellegrini) is a great coach for me, he said. I think he deserve…

According to Sky Sports, have rejected a £12 million bid from German side RB Leipzig for . The 20-year-old, who started off with Charlton Athletic in their youth setup, has been with the Toffees since 2017 but went on loan to Leipzig last season. Whilst there he had a thoroughly successful tenure in the Bundesliga, and now, Leipzig want to try and make the move a permanent one.

The deal, which would ve included add-ons, seemingly never would have been of interest to Everton who aren t interested in selling. The club have clearly noticed how well Lookman played during his time in Germany, and they want to harness that as they attempt to try and become a team capable of challenging for the European spots once again.

Lookman is an England under-21s international and ove…

Toon army won’t be cheering now

If you didn’t know better you might think that things were pretty good for Newcastle and their fans at the moment. Clear by a point at the top of the Championship, the temporary manager who has taken them there given the job on a permanent basis and the chairman saying he will put an extra £20 million into the club.

Mess

Unfortunately, we do know better and the club remains in a bit of a mess. You can’t knock manager Chris Hughton and his players because they are getting on with things on the pitch in difficult circumstances and doing enough to be top of the pile.

The fact is that not many Newcastle fans will be pleased that Mike Ashley has taken the club off the market for the second time and, in truth, not…

Jordan and Andre Ayew both hit the back of the net as Ghana defeated DR Congo 2-1 to secure a sixth successive Africa Cup of Nations semi-final appearance.

After weathering a first-half storm on Sunday, the Black Stars, missing injured captain Asamoah Gyan, took the lead through Aston Villa s Jordan Ayew, only for Paul-Jose M Poku to smash home a stunning equaliser. It was left to Jordan s older sibling, West Ham forward Andre, to seal the victory from the penalty spot with 12 minutes to go in Oyem.

Four-time AFCON champions Ghana, defeated on penalties in the 2015 final, will face Cameroon in the last four in Franceville on Thursday as they seek to capture the continental crown for the first time since 1982, while DR Congo s longer wait for a third title continues.