Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack lauded manager Antonio Conte for guiding Chelsea back to the Premier League summit.
Chelsea faltered dramatically in their title defence last season as Jose Mourinho lost his job and the Londoners finished 10th.
But with Conte at the helm, Chelsea are top of the table, eight points clear of Arsenal after 22 matches.
And Ballack praised the work of the former Juventus boss at Stamford Bridge.
The surprise was, last year, that they were so bad, he said. That they are top of the league now is not a great surprise because they have the advantage of not playing European football.
The team looks really fit, the team have adapted really well to the new coach, who has adapted really well to English football, and…
Antonio Conte believes Tottenham need to delve into the transfer market if they are to repeat their miracle top-four finish of last season.
Spurs finished the 2021-22 campaign strongly to pip rivals Arsenal to Champions League qualification, but their attempts to finish in the top four again this season have faltered.
A 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, as well as a draw with Brentford on Boxing Day, means Spurs have lost ground on Manchester United, with the Red Devils making it three straight wins with victory over Wolves on Saturday to move into fourth.
Conte s side have been unfortunate with injuries, with key players such as Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison both spending time on the sidelines.
Former Chelsea and Inter boss Conte feels Spurs c…
Lautaro Martinez came off the bench to earn Inter a hugely important 1-0 victory over nine-man Napoli in Serie A on Wednesday.
The game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw before Martinez fired home from the centre of the box in additional time, with Kalidou Koulibaly having been sent off with 10 minutes remaining after picking up two bookings in quick succession.
Napoli finished the game without Lorenzo Insigne too, the forward shown a straight red card for violent conduct following a confrontation with Keita Balde Diao.
The win is just Inter s second in five Serie A matches and eases the pressure on coach Luciano Spalletti.
LATE GOALS x FC INTERNAZIONALE MILANO
In our DNA
— Inter (@Inter_en)
The …
Neymar s €222million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain has changed the face of the entire transfer market, according to sport finance specialist Dan Plumley.
The Brazilian s world-record switch to Ligue 1 last August caused shock waves around the football world and had a knock-on effect in the January window.
Wednesday s deadline passed at the end of a month which saw a number of seismic deals go through – including Barca smashing their own record in parting with €160m to prise Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.
That was not the only activity at Anfield, as Virgil van Dijk joined from Southampton for £75m, while elsewhere in the Premier League Arsenal concluded a protracted pursuit of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, spending a club-record £56m to …
Mikel Arteta was seemingly aiming to sidestep another Football Association charge as the Arsenal boss refused to be drawn on two contentious calls in their Premier League defeat at Aston Villa.
John McGinn’s seventh-minute strike was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for the hosts, who are now just two points off top spot and have won a club-record 15 consecutive league games.
The last time Villa failed to win at home was a loss to Arsenal in February, but this time it was the home side who secured the three points.
Arsenal wasted a number of gilt-edged chances and saw a strong penalty claim turned down for Douglas Luiz’s challenge on Gabriel Jesus, while Kai Havertz thought he had bundled in a last-minute leveller only for it to be ruled out for handball.
“I don’t know if they want me, but of course I want to continue here. This club is very special to me. I won titles here, I have the affection from the fans and from the people that work in the club.
I feel comfortable to stay. I am happy when I play well and score goals. I can give a different light.”
Those are the words of Willian, who seems to have his heart set on the idea of staying with Chelsea Football Club. The 30 year old has been at Stamford Bridge since back in 2013, and in that time he has been one of their stand-out players in a number of different competitions. He only has a year left on his current deal, but the Brazilian appears to be more than willing to negotiate a new contract.
Willian, who is also a Brazil international having made…
Arjan de Zeuw
Football fans remember him from his playing days in England with the likes of Barnsley, Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth and Coventry City.
The Dutch defender started his career at Vitesse in 1995 and finished it in ADO ’20 in 2009 after which his professional path took an unusual turn.
Namely, this former Premier League star joined the police force in his native Netherlands where he works as an investigative detective.
De Zeuw specialised in forensics and was quoted saying that PCR was among his most loved techniques.
Bixente Lizarazu
The 47-year-old former French left-back has a sensational football career to boast with as he remains remembered as Frenc international who made his name playing for the likes of Bordeaux, Athletic Bilbao, Bayer…
Joao Pedro made sure Brighton avoided the inconvenience of a Europa League play-off as his superb strike made sure the Seagulls edged Marseille to the top of Group B with a 1-0 victory.
Brazilian Joao Pedro crashed in an 89th-minute winner to continue Brighton’s dream first European campaign.
The 1993 European Cup winners, Marseille, struck the post and the bar through Jonathan Clauss and Amine Harit – and they will now face one of the Champions League third-placed finishers – Galatasaray, Lens, Braga, Benfica, Feyenoord, AC Milan, Young Boys or Shakhtar Donetsk – while Brighton skip straight to the last 16.
FT: INTO THE LAST 16 OF THE !
[1-0] //
— Brighton Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC)
Simon Adingra was offered the match’s…
Willian and Frank Lampard got the better of their former manager Jose Mourinho as Chelsea seemingly set their Premier League campaign back on track with a 2-0 win at Tottenham in an ill-tempered London derby.
Chelsea s impressive early season form under head coach Lampard had tailed away in the time Mourinho reinvigorated Spurs, having succeeded the struggling Mauricio Pochettino last month.
Indeed, Tottenham would have leapfrogged the Blues into fourth with victory, yet Willian scored twice before half-time the second from the penalty spot after a remarkable Paulo Gazzaniga error.
Son Heung-min was sent off for kicking out at Antonio Rudiger with 28 minutes left, and Lampard s men cruised to the finish at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The game was interrup…
Villarreal veteran Santi Cazorla re-signed with the LaLiga club, it was confirmed on Thursday.
Spain international midfielder Cazorla, 34, renewed for the 2019-20 season after impressing last term following his return to the Yellow Submarine.
After re-joining Villarreal – where he left for Malaga in 2011 – from Arsenal, Cazorla scored seven goals and tallied 11 assists in 46 matches across all competitions.
Cazorla, whose final three years at Arsenal were wrecked by serious physical problems, was rewarded with a return to the Spain squad for the first time since 2015.
| Una de las noticias que más esperábamos se ha confirmado: ¡Un año más para el grandísimo ! ¡Un año más de magia en amarillo!
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF)
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