Real Madrid 1, Manchester City 0 (Agg: 1-0): Pellegrini blames lack of creativity as City suffer European Bale-out May 4, 2016 Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini rued a lack of creative spark as his side meekly bowed out of the Champions League following an uninspiring showing against 10-time winners Real Madrid. Real set up a repeat of the 2014 final against La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid when former Tottenham forward Gareth Bale’s cross-cum-shot flew beyond City [...]
Chris Tremlett column: The secret life of a domestic cricketer May 4, 2016 I haven't missed playing at all since I announced my retirement in August last year, although that’s more to do with being in quite a lot of pain towards the end of my career due to injuries. With the domestic campaign up and running again, I wanted to give a flavour of what it’s like [...]
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp eager to harness Anfield factor again as Reds bid for Europa League final May 4, 2016 Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has backed his side to stoke the “Liverpool world” by conjuring another Anfield comeback to dispatch Villarreal in Thursday's semi-final second leg and reach the Europa League final. Liverpool trail 1-0 from the first leg after conceding a last-gasp strike from Villarreal substitute Adrian Lopez, although for large parts of their [...]
Malt from the Blue: Scotland and Sale scrum-half Chris Cusiter to start Scotch whisky business after announcing retirement from rugby May 4, 2016 Sale Sharks scrum-half Chris Cusiter is set to start a Scotch whisky business in Los Angeles after announcing his retirement. Cusiter joined Sale two years ago following spells with Glasgow Warriors, Border Reivers and Perpignan and has made 12 appearances for Steve Diamond’s side this term. The 33-year-old now intends move into the specialist market [...]
Bayern Munich 2, Atletico Madrid 1 (Agg: 2-2, Atletico win on away goals) Manchester City-bound Pep Guardiola fails to deliver Champions League parting gift May 3, 2016 Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola’s quest to deliver Champions League glory as his leaving gift before joining Manchester City in the summer was destroyed as Atletico Madrid progressed from Tuesday's semi-final second leg on away goals. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Bayern levelled the tie through former Liverpool midfielder Xavi Alonso but wasted a golden [...]
Manchester City not fretting over expected return of Cristiano Ronaldo, insists Manuel Pellegrini as he plots pathway to Champions League final May 3, 2016 Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists he is not having sleepless nights over the expected return of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo as his side bid to reach the Champions League final by toppling Real Madrid. Former Manchester United attacker Ronaldo, who has scored 47 goals – 16 in the Champions League – this term, [...]
Two-time world champion Amir Khan ready to invoke spirit of Leicester City in bid to upset odds against Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas May 3, 2016 Britain's Amir Khan has vowed to draw inspiration from Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League title victory as he bids to shock middleweight world champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Las Vegas on Saturday. The 29-year-old is moving up two weight divisions as big-punching Mexican Alvarez, whose only defeat in a 48-fight career came against unbeaten pound-for-pound [...]
Retired England batsman James Taylor feared he was about to die May 2, 2016 Retired England batsman James Taylor admits he feared his life was on the line when a previously undetected heart condition reared its head and prompted a brush with death. Taylor was forced to retire from cricket last month aged just 26 after being diagnosed with a condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC). The [...]
Villarreal 1, Liverpool 0: Klopp fumes at dozy Reds defending but shrugs off overall significance of stoppage-time goal April 29, 2016 Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp refused to hide his irritation at conceding a last-gasp winner but shrugged off the overall significance of Villarreal’s stoppage-time strike in last night’s Europa League semi-final first leg. A tactical contest appeared to be meandering towards a goalless draw until dozy defending allowed former Manchester City youngster Denis Suarez to evade [...]
Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli’s season brought to an end by three-match suspension April 28, 2016 TOTTENHAM midfielder Dele Alli has vowed to learn from his spat with West Brom’s Claudio Yacob after his season was brought to a premature end by a three-match suspension. Alli accepted the Football Association charge of violent conduct after television replays showed the 20-year-old punch Yacob in the stomach during the first half of Tottenham’s [...]