The Portuguese says you have to “be born with some talent” to be successful, with two of his critics having proved life in the dugout isn’t easy.

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Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has aimed a veiled dig at Gary Neville and Paul Scholes following their forgettable forays into coaching, with the Portuguese stating that you have to “be born with some talent” in order to succeed.

Two ex-Red Devils stars were often outspoken in their criticism of Mourinho during his time at Old Trafford.

Neville and Scholes have, however, highlighted how difficult management can be, with the former flopping at Valencia and the latter lasting a matter of weeks in a role at League Two outfit Oldham.

Mourinho is pleased to see that certain ex-players are finding out the hard way that life in the dugout is not as easy as it may appear from the outside, with his record standing up to anybody following title triumphs in Portugal, England, Italyand Spain and two Champions League wins.

Speaking to RT Sport, the 56-year-old said when alluding to those who have tried and failed: “We have, even in England, former top players, amazing in front of the screen.

“They go to football clubs, and after two months, ‘goodbye, let’s go home because this is not right for us’. So there are things… you have it, or you don’t have it.”

Mourinho added: “There is one part of it [management] that people sometimes forget, even some top pundits, they forget it, which is why you have to be born with some talent adapted.

“It’s a little bit the same thing as what football academies can make with players.

“I think it’s a natural knowledge and understanding of the game.

“Leadership qualities, communication qualities, emotional intelligence because that is another thing that technology and experience at other levels can’t replicate which is the levels of pressure you are at.

“It is one thing us sat in front of a screen, analysing a game live, saying ‘I will take that one and I will put that one in’.

“That decision when you are on the touchline, can you have the same state of mind on the touchline to be calm and be an analyst of the game? Can you be brave enough to take the pressure?”

Scholes admitted upon taking the reins at Oldham in February that he expected Mourinho to be watching.

The Red Devils legend, who lasted 31 days at Boundary Park before walking away from his first managerial post, had said: “I think he will be watching results. Whether he will be watching games I am not too sure.

“That is part of the thing that bugged me a little bit. I wanted to get into it [management] anyway but I have left myself wide open. I have been quite critical.

“I don’t think we will get many pundits watching – if we are losing games I am sure people will be popping up – they can say what they want.

“I have never really understood why players and managers take notice of what pundits say anyway. They are just giving an opinion on the game and get paid for doing so.

“If anyone wants to have a dig at me, I won’t be taking any notice. The only person I answer to is the owner.”

Source – Goal.com

Manchester City have overtaken Manchester United as the most valuable Premier League club, according to a new football finance study.

Manchester City were valued at £2.364bn for the 2017-18 season

City are valued at £2.364bn, up £385m, while United are valued £2.087bn, a drop of £376m blamed on “higher wages and lower profit”.

The top six account for almost three-quarters of the combined league value.

Burnley are seventh and described as the “most sensibly run club in the Premier League financially”.

Overall, the study by the University of Liverpool’s Centre for Sports Business Group, found the cumulative value of the league’s clubs is £14.7bn, a 1.6% drop.

The two Manchester clubs are the only two valued at more than £2bn in the study for the 2017-18 season.

Spurs (£1.837bn), Liverpool (£1.615bn) and Chelsea (£1.615bn) have seen big rises but Arsenal dropped to £1.368bn without Champions League football.

The top six clubs make up 74% (£10.9bn) of the overall total with Burnley almost £1bn behind Arsenal in sixth.

Premier League club valuations 2017-18

University of Liverpool Centre for Sports Business Group

To calculate their data, the university took into account revenue, profits, non-recurring costs, average profits on player sales over a three-year period, net assets, wage control and proportion of seats sold.

The research says City are top due to a combination of “higher revenue and lower wages”. They made £39m in profit from player sales at the beginning of last season, “removing some high earners from the wage bill”.

“The ownership model of Sheikh Mansour, which effectively means that the club is debt free, means that there are no loan interest costs and no dividends are paid to shareholders either,” the study added.

United came third, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, in Deloitte’s list of the world’s richest clubs published in January – but that is just based on revenue.

Source – BBC News

The Blues midfielder is thriving in Europe and stood up as the Belgian was rested, delivering exciting attacking play in his absence.

Photo by Martin Rose

The hype at Chelsea this season has been built around Callum Hudson-Odoi and the focus ahead of Thursday’s clash with Eintracht Frankfurt was on Luka Jovic, but the first leg of the Europa League semi-final again demonstrated Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s importance as a key player.

Yes, he is 23, but the Chelsea academy product has been held back for so long that it feels like he is younger as his outing in the semi-final was only the 94th senior club match in his career.

Loftus-Cheek is now surely Maurizio Sarri’s third midfielder to complete his set as he watched his trio dominate a strong Bundesliga team at their stadium.

Jorginho produced one of his best displays this season, while N’Golo Kante surprised no one with his all-action performance, linking the midfield and attack, while also quickly snuffing out danger.

Arguably, though, Loftus-Cheek outperformed both the World Cup winner and the £57 million man on one of the biggest stages he has played in his career.

Eden Hazard was left out ahead of kick-off and someone needed to step up to score that away goal for Chelsea. Loftus-Cheek came closest in the first half and helped turn around a testing start to the game, where Jovic opened the scoring with a brilliant header.

It was Loftus-Cheek’s elegant runs that turned the tide in the Commerzbank-Arena, as he produced two shots at the end of the half to threaten Kevin Trapp’s goal.

His nine take-ons were more than any other player has achieved in a knock-out Europa League match this season.

Loftus-Cheek’s efforts were ultimately rewarded, as he supplied Pedro with an assist and gave the Stamford Bridge club a vital away goal ahead of the second leg.

His four shots and three key passes put him ahead of his more senior colleagues statistically and he was unlucky not to score in the second half as Pedro’s pull-back was slightly behind him, making a shot he pushed over Trapp’s goal more difficult than it should have been.

It seems Sarri knows what he has got in Loftus-Cheek as he earned four starts in four league games before being left out against Manchester United at the weekend. His managers may not be stunting his development anymore, but unfortunately for Loftus-Cheek his back complaint continues to be an issue.

Sarri spoke about Loftus-Cheek’s performance, but still holds concerns about his fitness and took him off in the 81st minute of the 1-1 draw.

“Loftus-Cheek is a very important player,” Sarri said in Frankfurt. “He improved a lot during the season. When he is at the top, physically, he’s a very important player. He’s always in trouble with his back, and it’s not easy for him to have training with consistency.

“But in this match, he was really fit. He played a very good match. He had a cramp in the last 10 minutes so he called me for a substitution.”

This competition is often derided but Chelsea want to win it to turn what has, at times, been a very negative season into a positive one. The development of Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi in this competition has been a source of pride for Chelsea fans, as they aim to see an academy product make it in the first team.

Loftus-Cheek has taken his chances in this competition with goals, assists and even a hat-trick to his name, which has since led to more game time in the Premier League.

The Blues should have half an eye on life without Hazard, who looks likely to move to Real Madrid this summer, and it will take many players like Loftus-Cheek improving to help absorb the loss of a talisman.

Chelsea fans have always known it, English football now knows it, and the rest of Europe is learning that Loftus-Cheek is a force to be reckoned with in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield.

Source – Goal.com

Radamel Falcao rescued struggling Monaco with two second-half goals in a 2-2 draw at Rennes on Wednesday.

Radamel Falcao earned Monaco what could prove a valuable point

The hosts, who beat Paris Saint-Germain in a dramatic French Cup final last weekend, raced into a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes as quick moves were finished off by striker Adrien Hunou.

But Monaco hit back through Falcao’s diving header (69) and superb scissor-kick volley (75), the veteran Colombia striker taking his tally to 14 goals.

The visitors move up to 16th place in Ligue 1 – four points outside the relegation zone with four games left – but face a difficult end to the league campaign with fourth-placed Saint-Etienne visiting on Sunday, before tough trips to Nimes and local rival Nice.

Rennes are in 11th place and have qualified for the Europa League through their cup triumph.

Source – Sky Sports

Serie A side Roma are not set to be taken over by QSI according to the club’s president, who branded reports of the deal “fake”.

Photo by Getty Images

Roma president James Pallotta denied reports claiming Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) wants to acquire the Serie A club.

QSI – which already owns Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain – has been linked with a takeover of Italian side Roma.

Roma are owned by an American investment group, which acquired the team in 2011, and Pallotta played down the takeover claims.

“Qatar Sports Investments want to acquire Roma? There is nothing to it. This is fake,” Pallotta told RomaPress in response to a report published by French newspaper Le Parisien.

Roma, who reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, have struggled this term.

After sacking Eusebio Di Francesco in March and appointing former boss Claudio Ranieri until the end of the season, Roma sit fifth in Serie A.

The club are a point behind fourth-placed Atalanta, who occupy the final Champions League qualifying spot with four matches remaining.

Ranieri’s Roma – who have been linked with former Juventus head coach Antonio Conte – travel to Genoa on Sunday.

The club have a tricky run in as well, with Juventus still on the schedule following the clash with Genoa.

The Serie A side made it to the knockout rounds of the Champions League again this season, but unlike last year when they pulled off an upset of Barcelona to reach the semi-finals, this season’s side fell to Porto in the round of 16.

They are unbeaten in their last five league matches, however, having claimed three wins and two draws in that time.

Source – Goal.com

The Reds dominated for long periods against Barcelona, creating several chances, but ended up on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline at Camp Nou.

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They feared Luis Suarez would hurt them and he did. He said he would celebrate and he did.

They worried about Lionel Messi and they were right to. They fretted about Barcelona and with good reason.

They talk about fine margins at the highest level and no wonder.

Liverpool face a monumental task if they are to turn around this Champions League semi-final. How can a team contribute so much to such a wonderful, absorbing contest and find themselves on the end of a 3-0 shelling?

There is no hiding place in this competition, no hiding place in this stadium. As Camp Nou rocked and rolled and revelled in another Messi masterclass, for Jurgen Klopp and his side there was only the harshest of lessons.

Take your chances. Because if you don’t, then the best will.

With 15 minutes to go this game – and this tie – was very much in the balance, Liverpool on top after falling behind to Suarez’s fine first-half strike, but unable to turn a series of promising positions into something more useful.

Sadio Mane missed a golden chance, Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied Mo Salah. James Milner hit the goalkeeper when he had to find the corner. The goal was coming, coming, coming.

It came, alright. But at the other end.

With a stroke of good fortune, Barcelona got their second. Suarez’s shot hit the bar, Messi was first to the rebound and suddenly everything changed.

A slim deficit became a mountain. A promising performance became a 15-minute nightmare, with Messi delivering the killer blow, a knife to the heart delivered in the most beautiful manner imaginable.

His 30-yard free-kick was a work of art, speared into Alisson Becker’s top right-hand corner with otherworldly brilliance. It may have broken Liverpool’s resistance once and for all.

This is the reality of this level, a level that Klopp’s side showed they belonged at for 75 minutes. How, he will wonder, can they come away with nothing having given everything?

They still should have taken something, even though they lost their shape and their heads in the closing stages.

Had Salah converted a golden chance at 3-0, we would be talking about away goals and the chance of a salvage job at Anfield. Instead the Egyptian, who had performed magnificently for the most part, hit the post with the goal gaping. It summed up Liverpool’s night.

“You can lose away,” said Klopp afterwards. “But only as long as you score. That was the problem tonight.”

His side had fallen behind to a piece of predatory brilliance, Suarez’s razor-sharp movement and anticipation allowing him to meet Jordi Alba’s beautifully-judged low cross in the 26th minute. It was his first Champions League goal in more than a year; just like the last one, it came against Alisson Becker.

Suarez, as he had promised, celebrated wildly. He gave Liverpool fans the most wonderful of memories, but there was no sentiment here. The Uruguayan was his gnarly, aggressive self, ruffling feathers, treading on toes, pulling shirts, scoring goals.

Liverpool rallied. They defended strongly and smartly, with Joel Matip excelling. They worked and they worked, and they found space with regularity. Gini Wijnaldum, the surprise choice to start as the No.9 with concerns over Roberto Firmino’s fitness, pressed and harried and opened up space, Salah terrorised Jordi Alba and Clement Lenglet, Mane might have had a penalty when bundled into by Gerard Pique.

They lost Naby Keita to an early injury, but Jordan Henderson slotted straight in. The captain’s sublime pass released Mane before the break, but he sent his shot over. What did we say about harsh lessons?

The reality is that Liverpool could now face agony at home and abroad in the next week. This most wonderful of seasons could end in heartbreak. Twice.

They must beat Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday and hope Manchester City stumble against Leicester on Monday. Twenty four hours later, they must attempt to scale Mount Everest in the second leg at Anfield.

Not impossible. Barca lost a three-goal lead against Roma in last season’s quarter-finals, and writing Liverpool off is rarely a smart move. This club, after all, has a history of glorious fightbacks.

If they turn this one around, though, it might just top them all.

Source – Goal.com

Jurgen Klopp admits he did not expect Liverpool to cope as well as they have without Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho spent five years with Liverpool, making 201 appearances and scoring 54 goals

The Brazil international departed Anfield for Barcelona in January 2018 in a £146m move, having handed in a transfer request the previous summer following three failed bids from the Spanish champions.

Coutinho faces his former side for the first time on Tuesday when Liverpool travel to the Nou Camp for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, and Klopp says his move worked out well for both parties.

“Yes we miss Coutinho, a lot, because he is a world-class player and I loved working with him,” said Klopp.

“But we had to deal without him and we really did well.

“When I first heard he wanted to go to Barcelona, I didn’t imagine we could be that good [without him]. But we did, it was all good for both sides.”

Liverpool will move a step closer to a second successive Champions League final with a positive result at the Nou Camp, and Klopp would take a draw against a side that has not lost at home in Europe for six years.

Big games are coming thick and fast for Liverpool, whose attention will quickly return to the Premier League title race after the final whistle at the Nou Camp – and Saturday’s trip to Newcastle.

It is a hectic end to the season, but Klopp says his players are enjoying the thrill of the chase as they compete for two trophies.

“It’s brilliant,” said the German. “The only thing that would be better is if someone told us we were already champions. In other years it could have been like this.

“But it’s not a problem. We’re completely fine. We like the situation – the boys created that.

“It’s a wonderful situation, flying here to Barcelona. Two years ago it was a big thing for the club to qualify for the Champions League. Now we’ve reached the semi-finals for the second year in a row.

“It’s only positive and everybody sees it like that. We don’t need a guarantee. You can’t come here and think, ‘it’s only Barcelona, we’ll play the game and then go home and concentrate on Newcastle’. That would be nice but it’s not possible. The competition is too big.

“It would be a massive mistake to play against Barcelona with 15 or 20 per cent Newcastle on your mind. It doesn’t work. You’d get a proper knock and we want to avoid that.”

AS Roma’s Nigerian defender Nura Abdullahi has been forced to retire from football on medical advice at the age of just 21.

Nura Abdullahi slides in to make a tackle while playing for AS Roma’s under-19 team

The Dutch side conquered another of Europe’s major footballing cities – with a 1-0 win over Spurs – to give themselves the edge ahead of next week.

Photo by Getty Images

We’ve seen them knock out Real Madrid, we’ve seen them knock out Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus, and Ajax are now 90 minutes away from a first Champions League final since 1996.

But where we saw a confident – even brash – team sweep away two of the grandest names in European football in previous rounds, this narrow victory over Tottenham was not so swashbuckling.

Like a promising young prize-fighter proven to have a glass jaw, Ajax had to survive on their wits at times. Their passing game was disrupted by an energetic Spurs side, who looked more at ease following the sickening collision involving Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, which necessitated replacing the former with Moussa Sissoko.

By that stage many Spurs fans might have been wondering why Mauricio Pochettino had not started with that shape if not necessarily the personnel which made up the 4-4-2 diamond after Vertonghen’s exit.

Because to that point Spurs had played into Ajax’s hands. It was as if they’d seen nothing of Europe’s most exciting pretenders since Monaco reached this stage two years ago. Frenkie de Jong was allowed to pick his head up and find passes. Hakim Ziyech was lording it in any domain he fancied. The twin threats of David Neres and Donny van de Beek had it their own way in attack.

They had a goal – a crucial away goal at that – which was well deserved. Van de Beek’s neat turn and shot from Ziyech’s through ball showed him as the calmest man inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It could have been two on at least a couple of occasions after. Spurs had no grip on their opponents, looked plotless on the break, and suffered at the hands of superior energy and ideas.

Late on – after the Spurs onslaught – they survived one more scare when Neres hit the post off a Dusan Tadic assist.

Ajax by that stage were made to survive a substantial Tottenham storm. The English team came in waves, time and again. And if in truth they created little in the way of clear-cut chances, they nonetheless made Ajax play in an unfamiliar way. They tested this inexperienced team in a way they hadn’t been tested in the knockouts to this point.

Spurs brought plenty of the discipline and urgency which helped in the first leg against Manchester City. They belatedly made use of their wide players Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier. Dele Alli occupied pockets of space, Christian Eriksen roved.

But there remained a bluntness in the makeshift strike partnership of Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente. The Brazilian edged into Ajax territory with an occasional dribble. Llorente aimed a few headers on the roof of Andre Onana’s goal.

The Cameroon international made a villain of himself in the eyes of the Spurs fans, lingering every time the ball was in-hand or while waiting to take a goal kick. The noise stays in at this place, and Onana would have felt every boo and shout.

But he never wavered in the cauldron; he continued to claim the high balls that eluded Matthijs De Ligt and Daley Blind and give breathing space to his team-mates.

They needed it. Ajax were constricted; they didn’t blow Spurs away as they have done to other, more experienced European sides.

And with Spurs severely depleted, some on Erik Ten Hag’s technical staff might wonder if this will be enough. Only one of the 17 previous teams to lose the first leg at home in a European Cup/Champions League semi-final tie has progressed into the final – coincidentally Ajax in 1996 –  but here they were agitated, jostled and knocked out of their stride.

With Son Heung-min and – possibly – Harry Kane to return, Spurs will not be fearing their trip to the Amsterdam Arena next week.

There is work to be done for Ajax and they will need to recover their composure.

Europe’s darlings they may be, but they are being made to sweat to pass Spurs.

Source – Goal.com