Football Mag

Maurizio Sarri has been left in a fragile situation at Chelsea after Kepa Arrizabalaga's act of defiance in their League Cup final defeat against Manchester City, according to Jose Mourinho. The club's £70 million ($91m) record-breaking signing refused to be substituted for Willy Caballero in extra-time, despite pulling up twice with a physical issue towards the end of the contest. Mourinho offered his take on the Kepa incident in the wake of the match on DAZN , revealing he has never experienced anything like it as a manager himself. The former Manchester United and Chelsea coach also admitted he now fears for Sarri's position at Stamford Bridge, as he stated: "Luckily I never had to live through anything like this. "I think on the one hand the goalkeeper wants to show his personality, his confidence and wants to say 'I'm here, I want to go to penalties and save them, and I am here with the confidence that I will go and do it'. And this is what I like

Vinicius Junior has boldly declared that Lionel Messi does not scare Real Madrid, with the Blancos preparing for back-to-back Clasico clashes with Barcelona and their talismanic skipper. The first of those fixtures is set to be staged on Wednesday, as Santiago Bernabeu plays host to the second leg of a Copa del Rey semi-final. That contest, which is currently locked at 1-1, will be followed on Saturday by another derby duel in the Spanish capital. Madrid head into those outings short of their best, but the same could be said of Barca. Vinicius insists the Blancos, who edged out Levante in their most recent outing to remain nine points adrift of their arch-rivals in the Liga title race , are ready for the challenges to come. He told reporters: “We're ready for El Clasico. “There's two in one week and we know all football fans look forward to them. “I can't wait to play in it, it's a very important match. Every player would love to be involved in a Clasico!” The Brazilian

Juan Mata admits to making the injury he picked up against Liverpool worse by chasing Mohamed Salah, but hopes to be back for Manchester United “as soon as possible”. A remarkable first half during an eagerly-anticipated clash at Old Trafford saw four Red Devils pick up knocks, while Roberto Firmino was forced off for the visitors. Mata, Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard had to be replaced inside the opening 45 minutes of a goalless draw, while Marcus Rashford nursed his way through the pain of an ankle ailment. Mata believes his knock is not too serious, but is unlikely to play any part against Crystal Palace on Wednesday. That is a source of frustration for the Spaniard, who admits luck deserted United on the injury front against their fiercest Premier League rivals. Mata wrote in his personal blog: “Everything possible seemed to happen to us. “If there is a game that no United players want to miss, it is when we play Liverpool, but you have to accept that injuries are a part of the sp

The pilot of the plane that crashed with Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala on board did not have a licence for commercial flights, investigators say. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed David Ibbotson held a private pilot's licence, which meant he could not carry passengers for reward. Its interim report said he could only fly passengers in the European Union on a cost sharing basis. It has yet to establish if this was the case with Sala. The validity of 59-year-old Mr Ibbotson's licence at the time of the 21 January crash will form part of the AAIB's investigations going forward. Sala was found in the wreckage of the Piper Malibu N264DB, which was found on the seabed 13 days after it vanished over the English Channel near Guernsey. He had completed his transfer to Premier League side Cardiff from French club Nantes just two days earlier - for a club record fee of £15m - and had returned to France to say goodbye to his former teammates.

Mike Dean will no longer act as fourth official for Wednesday's Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham after being confronted by Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday. The Argentine walked over to Dean after the 2-1 defeat at Burnley and reacted angrily towards the referee. The body responsible for the appointment of officials decided it was best for Dean to be taken off the game. Andre Marriner will act as fourth official at Chelsea instead. Professional Game Match Officials Limited has moved Dean so he will instead be on the touchline at Manchester City v West Ham. The Football Association is still to announce whether Pochettino will face any charge following the incident at Turf Moor. Pochettino did not reveal what was said or the reason for the strong reaction, although he had complained about a corner awarded in the build-up to the Clarets' opening goal. The incident : https://footballmag.blogspot.com/2019/02/pochettino-gives-up-on-spurs-title.html

Ex-Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney says he would have voted for Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or rather than Luka Modric. Ronaldo was beaten into second place by Modric at last year's ceremony, the Portugal superstar missing the chance to win the award for the sixth time. The 33-year-old ended Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's duopoly over the accolade, with both men sharing the award equally over the previous decade. But Rooney says his former Man United team-mate would have had his vote for the Ballon d'Or over Modric. "Luka Modric is a fantastic player," Rooney told DAZN. "I think his passing is great and the way he moves with the ball. "Actually he doesn't look that quick to the eye but when you play against him he glides past players. He's a fantastic player, he's had a great career. "I don't think he's the best player in the world but in terms of the year is he worthy of it? Of course, he is. He had

Re al Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat of Levante, as they made the most of two key interventions from VAR at Ciutat de Valencia. Roger Marti looked to have earned a point after cancelling out Karim Benzema's first-half penalty, but a second spot-kick, also awarded after help from the video assistant, allowed Gareth Bale to secure the victory before each side had a player sent off. Madrid were handed their breakthrough 43 minutes in, though, when Enis Bardhi was penalised for handball after a VAR review, allowing Benzema to sweep home the opening goal from the spot. But Roger finally found the net on the hour mark, sliding in front of Nacho on the sodden pitch to steer Jose Luis Morales' low cross from the left just beyond the reach of Courtois and into the right-hand corner. However, Casemiro went to ground after Cheick Doukoure appeared to make the slightest contact with his shin with a rash attempted clearance, and Bale confi

John Terry believes Maurizio Sarri should have forced Kepa Arrizabalaga off after Chelsea's goalkeeper refused to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City. City retained the trophy courtesy of Sunday's 4-3 penalty shoot-out success, Raheem Sterling scoring the winning kick after a tense goalless draw at Wembley. But the true drama had come at the end of extra time when Kepa, who had already received treatment for what appeared to be cramp, went down for a second time. Kepa's act of defiance left Sarri furious, with Chelsea's head coach heading towards the tunnel before returning to the touchline. And Chelsea legend Terry, currently Dean Smith's assistant at Aston Villa, insisted that Sarri should have done more to ensure that Kepa left the field. "I think [it leaves Sarri] in a tough place, I'm surprised he didn't come on and force him to come off," Terry told Sky Sports. "If I'm the manager there, yo

Kepa Arrizabalaga has come out to explain his on-pitch row with Maurizio Sarri in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, which threatened to overshadow Chelsea's penalty shootout defeat to Pep Guardiola's side. Sarri has described the incident as a "misunderstanding" in his post-match press conference but he was seen to be seething on the final whistle and he had to be held back Antonio Rudiger at Wembley Stadium, when confronting his goalkeeper. "I understand that on television, on social media, they’re talking about this but I am here to explain it, to say that it wasn’t my intention to go against the manager. We have spoken now, and I was only trying to say I’m fine. He thought I wasn’t fine. It was in tense moments, with a lot happening," said Kepa.  "Of course I did [see my number go up on the digital board]. But because of that, it was until the medics had got back to the bench to explain I was fine, that I could continue. It wasn’

Chelsea star Eden Hazard has the talent and personality to play for La Ligagiants Real Madrid, according to his former manager Jose Mourinho. Hazard, 28, revealed earlier this month he had made a decision on his future, but whether he is staying at Stamford Bridge or leaving remains unclear. The Belgium international is contracted until 2020, yet has been linked consistently with a switch to Madrid. Mourinho, his former coach and an ex-Madrid boss, is unsure what Hazard will do, but he believes the attacker is capable of starring at the Santiago Bernabeu. "Eden's ambitions... playing at Chelsea his whole life or going out to a giant like Real Madrid?" he told DAZN on Sunday. "Let's talk about talent. Does he have the talent to play for Real Madrid? He does. Does he have the personality to wear a super heavy shirt and play in front of a crowd like the Bernabeu? He has personality, yes."

Alvaro Morata scored his first Atletico Madrid goal as they beat Villarreal. The striker, on loan from Chelsea, met Filipe Luis' left-wing cross with a low volley from near the penalty spot. He celebrated by pretending he was speaking to a video official, having been denied goals by VAR against two former sides - Juventus on Wednesday and Real Madrid on 9 February. Saul scored a late second as he ran on to Diego Costa's long ball to lob Sergio Asenjo from eight yards out. Atleti are seven points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, who beat Sevilla 4-2 on Saturday. They could have won by more, with substitute Costa missing a one on one and Jose Maria Gimenez having a header saved.

Ch elsea boss Maurizio Sarri has played down goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's extraordinary act of defiance in the Carabao Cup final, saying it was a "big misunderstanding". The Spaniard refused to be substituted in the closing stages of Sunday's game at Wembley, despite twice going down with cramp. Sarri wanted to bring on substitute goalkeeper Willy Caballero but was left seething when Kepa refused to leave the field. Sarri appeared in a much more conciliatory mood when asked about the incident by reporters after the game. "It was a big misunderstanding,’ said Sarri in quotes published on Chelsea's official website. "I understood he had cramp so I didn’t want the goalkeeper to go to penalties in that physical condition. "I only realised the situation after three or four minutes when the doctor came to the bench. In the meantime I wanted Caballero on the pitch, and the keeper only wanted me to know he was in condition to go to penalties, so it was a