Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino ensured Liverpool kept up with the searing pace set by Premier League leaders Manchester City by scoring in a 3-0 win at Watford.
Jurgen Klopp s side struggled to find a way through the Hornets defence for 66 minutes on Saturday, the Reds perhaps having an eye on Wednesday s pivotal Champions League game away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The hosts could have taken all three points, Gerard Deulofeu having an early goal ruled out for offside while a strong penalty appeal from Will Hughes was denied by the referee.
But Salah hit a first-time finish through the legs of goalkeeper Ben Foster, scoring his fourth goal in five Premier League games, before Alexander-Arnold s wonderful free-kick put the visitors in …
Maurizio Sarri was right to question his Chelsea players, including N Golo Kante, after the defeat to Tottenham last week, according to Willian.
Chelsea s unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a 3-1 defeat at Wembley, in which they were 3-0 down after only 54 minutes.
Sarri was far from pleased with his side s display and this week criticised Kante specifically for failing to stick to his position to the right of Jorginho in the three-man midfield.
The decision to single out one of Chelsea s star performers over the past two seasons was a surprise, but Willian insists all the squad need to sharpen up.
Always in football you have to improve, even when you are winning games, he said. I think every player has to improve. Even when you pla…
Emma Hayes lauded “maverick” Lauren James’ performance in Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Women’s Super League title rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
James impressed once again and scored Chelsea’s opener when she latched onto a through ball, showed good skills to open up a shooting opportunity before drilling in a shot which Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger got her hands to but was unable to keep out.
Sjoeke Nusken then struck twice more in the first half to put the game beyond Arsenal as Chelsea moved three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
That ball through from Nüsken and the shot from James was too powerful!
— Barclays Women s Super League (@BarclaysWSL)
It was an impressive display from the reigning…
Jack Grealish has made no apologies for his high-profile celebrations at the end of a mammoth season as he claimed any “party boy” image is misplaced.
The England international helped Manchester City to an historic treble, culminating in a Champions League final win over Inter Milan.
After the match, Grealish was the centre of attention for City’s celebrations as he drank and partied with his team-mates.
Much was made of his approach but he still reported for England duty and came off the bench in Monday’s 7-0 win over North Macedonia.
Hang it in the Loooouvre
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish)
“I don’t think it is a party boy thing,” he said when asked about the response to his revelry.
“I would never sit here and…
Rafael Benitez s agent has scoffed at claims he could take over from Guus Hiddink as coach of the Turkish national team.
Hiddink has been touted as a potential replacement for deposed Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, after the Dutchman enjoyed a successful spell as caretaker boss at Stamford Bridge in 2009.
The 64-year-old is under contract with Turkey until their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign ends, and Benitez s agent Manuel Garcia Quilon denied his client had been approached to replace Hiddink before that time.
Absolutely not, Quilon said. He has not been approached by Turkey and hence, he has not held talks regarding coaching the national team.
Benitez was sacked as Inter Milan boss in December and Quilon said the 51-year-old Spaniard and former Liverp…
Newly appointed Nottingham Forest manager Steve McClaren has confirmed he was set to interview with Aston Villa before the club pulled out.
McClaren, 50, was believed to be among the leading candidates to succeed Gerard Houllier at Villa Park.
The former England and Middlesbrough head coach was scheduled to meet with Villa owner Randy Lerner and senior club officials before the interview was cancelled.
According to some outlets, the negative reaction of Villa supporters to the possibility of McClaren taking over led Lerner and his advisors withdrawing from talks.
Roberto Martinez then turned down the chance to interview for Villa job, opting to remain with Wigan Athletic.
Alex McLeish has now become the leading candidate to take over at Villa, …
Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness for his team s clash against Australia.
Vidal underwent minor knee surgery at the start of May and is expected to miss Chile s FIFA World Cup opener on Friday.
But the Juventus man s importance in midfield means coach Jorge Sampaoli is willing to wait for the 27-year-old.
We will decide in the coming hours whether Arturo Vidal will play or not, Sampaoli told a news conference on Thursday.
He has had a difficult preparation with an injury but after working with the physio, he has a chance now to play because of his character and courage.
Otherwise he would not have come with the squad with that kind of injury. So, I hope he will be fit to play tomorrow.
After their …
Switzerland hope to continue their giant-killing tradition from the past four years when they take on France on Friday.
Ricardo Rodriguez and Stephan Lichtsteiner the starting full-backs in Switzerland s 2-1 victory over Ecuador on Sunday argued their team have the quality to hurt France in their second Group E fixture in Salvador.
Since Ottmar Hitzfeld led Switzerland to a 1-0 triumph over Spain in their opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Swiss have developed a reputation for reserving their top performances for when they face the very top teams.
While Switzerland have drawn 4-4 with Iceland at home, lost 2-0 to Wales and managed just a scoreless draw away to Malta in the past four years, they have also defeated Germany 5-3 and stunned Brazil 1-0.
Rodr…
French international defender Kurt Zouma has found it rather difficult to break into the first team at Stamford Bridge under the Italian manager Antonio Conte.
The 22-year-old centre-back made only three starts in the Premier League last season and played three FA Cup matches for his club. Zouma is widely expected to leave the Blues this summer and Sky Sports has learned that there are two sides that have been earmarked to grab the highly-rated defender.
Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion are willing to take Zouma on a year-long loan and the French international is due to have crunch talks with interested parties about a potential move on Wednesday.
Zouma is keen to leave in order to play regular minutes and increase his chances of making it into the French sq…
CSKA Moscow s Roman Eremenko s two-year doping ban has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Finland international Eremenko was banned last November after he tested positive for cocaine and its metabolites following a 2-2 Champions League draw against Bayer Leverkusen on September 14, in which he scored the equaliser.
And his appeal was rejected by CAS on Friday, meaning Eremenko will remain suspended until October 5 2018. He will be 31 when his ban expires.
A CAS statement read: The CAS Panel found that a two-year period of ineligibility was the appropriate sanction and since the UEFA AB decision did not specify the date of commencement of the suspension, found it proper to clarify the point and modify the UEFA AB decision accordingly, in or…