The Blues continued preparations for the Premier League’s return with an emphatic defeat of their London neighbours.

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Chelsea thrashed QPR 7-1 in a friendly match on Sunday, with midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Billy Gilmour each scoring twice.

Further goals from Mason Mount, Willian and Olivier Giroud helped Frank Lampard’s side to an emphatic win at Stamford Bridge as preparations for the Premier League’s return continue.

Loftus-Cheek has not made a senior competitive appearance for Chelsea since last season due to a ruptured Achilles sustained last May.

N’Golo Kante started the match against the Championship side, the France star having only resumed team training this week.

Chelsea’s win came after a 1-0 defeat of Reading at their Cobham training base in a previous behind-closed-doors friendly.

The Blues are due to resume their league campaign next Sunday against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Lampard’s men were fourth in the table when the competition was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic – three points clear of fifth-place Manchester United

Gilmour’s strong showing on Sunday comes after a number of breakout performances this season for Chelsea with the 18-year-old backed for a bright future at Stamford Bridge.

The Scottish teenager himself has a clear idea of the player he wants to become in the years to come with Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets one player he has particularly looked up to.

“When I was real young I used to watch [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, as everyone did, but when I started analysing my game more and seeing who I would progress and hope to be like, it was more like [Andres] Iniesta, Xavi, [Cesc] Fabregas, all them type of players,” Gilmour told Sky Sports in April.

“It was just something I loved watching, seeing how they pass the ball, receive the ball and everything was sharp.

“Busquets as well, when you watch Barcelona, you watch Busquets individually and everything happens around him. But when you watch Barcelona, you don’t really see Busquets.

“But that’s the kind of player I’ve always looked up to and just wanted to be that kind of player to get on the ball and make things happen.”

After facing Villa on Sunday, Chelsea are next set to face Manchester City on June 25.

Source – Goal.com

The former Manchester United defender has singled out the Brazilian shot-stopper as the reason for the Reds’ recent record

Gary Neville believes Alisson and not Virgil van Dijk is the main player to thank for Liverpool‘s looming Premier League success.

Both players have been key for Jurgen Klopp this season with the Reds conceding just 21 goals across 29 league games to date – four fewer than Sheffield United who boast the next best defence.

Van Dijk has been regularly singled out for praise since arriving at Anfield and finished second in Ballon d’Or voting for 2019 behind Lionel Messi.

But Neville believes Liverpool’s recent domestic exploits are down more Alisson, who has brought much-needed stability between the sticks.

“I think Alisson has made Liverpool win the league,” Neville was quoted by UK media.

“When people talk about Van Dijk being the missing piece, I think that there is an element of that. But when I go back to two years or three years ago, I was very critical of the goalkeepers that were at Liverpool.

“I said I felt that they would never win the League while the current goalkeeper was in position. Jurgen Klopp came for me, I don’t know whether he was angry with me but he certainly had a go at me in the media.

“But soon as Allison came – I saw it at Manchester United with [Peter] Schmeichel then I saw it in that next spell where we had greatness with [Edwin] Van Der Sar.

“Once your goalkeeper is calm, authoritative, saves most shots on his goal, gives confidence to the rest of the team, the impact of that is absolutely incredible.”

The Reds face Everton on Sunday needing just two more wins to wrap up a long-awaited domestic title.

With the Premier League now poised to return on June 17 following the coronavirus pandemic, Neville wants to ensure the competition remains accessible for all fans across England.

“I would hope football uses this as a chance to reset – reset the pyramid, distribute the wealth more, give grassroots more and give the lower league clubs more,” Neville said.

“Make ourselves still the best league in the world but make it more affordable for fans to get into a stadium, make it more accessible, all the things that we know are right.

“There isn’t one single person in football or one single person in this country who wouldn’t believe that they are the right things in my mind, apart from potentially 14-15 Premier League owners. We have got to change.”

Source – Goal.com

The former Red Devil has backed the club’s reported pursuit of the Frenchman.

Brazilian fullback Rafael da Silva believes Bayern Munich midfielder Corentin Tolisso would be a perfect signing for his former club Manchester United.

Tolisso, 25, is contracted in Germany until 2022 but has been linked with a summer sale as he struggles to secure regular game time under Hansi Flick.

Old Trafford has emerged as a possible destination for Tolisso, who joined Bayern in 2017 from Lyon for €41 million ($47m).

Rafael played with Tolisso in Ligue 1 and rates the Frenchman very highly, noting he would be a perfect addition to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

“One of the best midfielders I’ve played with. I think he will be perfect for Manchester United. Hope he goes there,” Rafael tweeted in relation to reports of Tolisso opening discussions with the Red Devils.

Tolisso has made 24 appearances for Bayern this season, scoring three goals and contributing five assists, but has started just 15 times.

After a bright start to his time in Germany and winning the 2018 World Cup with France, Tolisso tore his anterior cruciate ligament in late 2018 but recently noted that setback has only made him more determined to prove himself.

“I think it made me grow mentally, it hardened me,” Tolisso told reporters in September last year. “It forges a mindset.

“I knew that I had to work hard to get back to the top level. I have to continue like this and find my true level before my injury. It depends only on me. I have to give myself a little time.

“With Bayern, I worked a lot too. I made good preparations. It’s up to me to continue like this.”

Rafael, meanwhile, is no stranger to giving Manchester United transfer advice, having stressed in April new signings mustn’t be coming to the club simply for the money.

“It has taken too long to get back on track. Two years should be enough to do that but now it’s been seven years. We did some things wrong. We started signing expensive players and giving them a lot of money. I don’t agree with that,” Rafael told ESPN.

“Just because a player is £150 million does not mean he’s good for the team. It depends on the character of the player. We have made some mistakes but I hope now that we can get back on track.”

Source – Goal.com

The president of the capital side has joked that his side deserve to be crowned champions of Europe.

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Atletico Madrid should be rewarded for their victory over Champions League title-holders Liverpool by being handed the trophy if it is not possible to conclude the tournament this season.

That is the view of Atletico president Enrique Cerezo, who suggested the winners of the 2019-20 edition should be the team that knocked out the reigning champions.

His comments, quite probably tongue in cheek, come as UEFA is formulating a plan to finish the competition, with Atletico having progressed past the Reds to reach the quarter-finals.

One possible solution is for a single host city to stage matches for the last eight onwards, with one-off fixtures likely to replace the traditional two-legged contests.

But Cerezo has his own ideas on how things might be settled if the Champions League cannot be finished.

“In the hypothetical case that the Champions League was not played for the coronavirus, then the champion [should be] the one who beat the champion,” Cerezo told Mundo Deportivo .

“There are still a few knockout games left, the quarter-finals, the semis and the final.

“We understand that UEFA tries to centralise all these matches in one city, there was talk of Spain, Portugal… nothing is known yet.

“There are 11 games left, plus the final phase of the Champions League, which can be four games. I imagine that the government is waiting to see how the pandemic evolves and will take the decision it considers.”

Atletico have lost two Champions League finals, in 2014 and 2016.

Diego Simeone’s side resume their LaLiga campaign at Athletic Bilbao behind closed doors on Sunday.

While there has been no confirmation when the European Cup might be concluded, reports suggest that it could take place throughout August.

Atleti are one of four sides through to the quarter-finals, with Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta and RB Leipzig having progressed to the last eight.

Source – Goal.com

Lisbon is the favourite to host an eight-team Champions League knockout tournament in August, if it is given the go-ahead by governing body Uefa.

Benfica’s Estadio da Luz could be used for the Champions League mini-tournament

Bayer Leverkusen beat Saarbrucken 3-0 away on Tuesday to reach next month’s DFB Pokal final and bring the fairytale run of the fourth-division side to a jolting end.

RONALD WITTEK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Two goals inside the opening 20 minutes swiftly ended home hopes as top-flight Leverkusen advanced to the July 4 decider in Berlin where they will meet the winner of Wednesday’s clash between holders Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt (stream live at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+)..

French flyer Moussa Diaby put Leverkusen ahead in the 11th minute and Lucas Alario added a second eight minutes later, before substitute Karim Bellarabi rounded off the scoring in the 58th.

Saarbrucken were the first team from the fourth tier to reach the last four of the cup, knocking off two top-flight and two second division clubs along the way, but had the odds stacked against them ahead of Tuesday’s game.

They had not played a game for 94 days since the German regional league was suspended and then prematurely ended because of the novel coronavirus health crisis.

This was in contrast to their high-flying Bundesliga opponents, who resumed playing one month ago and whose superior match fitness was evident almost from the opening whistle.

Diaby timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and get onto the end of a clever forward pass over the defence, which he then hooked into the goal from close range.

Alario added a second from a tight angle after a mix-up in the hosts’ defence.

Leverkusen, also still contention for another trophy in this season’s Europa League, continued their dominance and added a third goal, just before the hour, through Bellarabi after a series of slick passes.

Yet they were also guilty of squandering several good chances after that and could easily have won by a far larger margin.

Saarbrucken’s Markus Mendler miscued his effort in front of goal to squander their best chance for a consolation on the stroke of full-time.

Leverkusen, who won the German Cup for the only time in 1993, last appeared in the final in 2009 when they lost to Werder Bremen.

Source – ESPN

The 25-year-old took to Instagram to report that he had just been robbed by two men who took his watch.

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AC Milan winger Samu Castillejo says he was robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old posted in an Instagram story that he was the victim of an armed robbery, with reports in Italy saying he stopped at a traffic light in his car when two men approached him and took his watch.

“Is everything fine in Milan? Two guys have robbed me while pointing a gun at my face,” he wrote.

The Spaniard followed up to say that he emerged from the incident shaken but unscathed and has reported it to police.

Castillejo joined Milan two years ago from Villarreal in a €21 million (£16m/$20m) move.

He has since made 59 appearances and scored five goals for the Rossoneri.

Castillejo has featured 16 times in the league this term, starting 12 of those.

He has three years left on his contract and despite his limited role so far in 2019-20, he said last month that he is planning on staying at the club for a long time.

“Those who know me know how tough I am, beyond the appearance I give with my hair and tattoos. I’m a very humble boy,” Castillejo said in an interview with AS .

“The first year was adaptive, it is difficult to show what you can do when getting just 15 minutes and only starting one game every two or three weeks.

“If there is confidence and you’re made to feel important you feel better about yourself.

“I always wanted to succeed here. I want to stay at the club for a long time. The truth is that 2020 had started well. I have played every game and at a good level. I hope it continues like this.”

The San Siro outfit will be back in action later this month when they take on Juventus in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie on June 12.

Then they will return to Serie A duty when Stefano Pioli’s men take on relegation candidates Lecce on June 22.

Milan are currently seventh in the Italian top flight and three points behind Napoli, who occupy the final spot that guarantees a place in the Europa League play-offs next term.

Source – Goal.com

The Red Devils were forced to abandon a match with Stoke at their Carrington training centre.

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Manchester United had a scare at their Carrington training ground on Tuesday as a friendly was cancelled at the last minute after Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill tested positive for the coronavirus.

The two clubs had arranged a behind-closed-doors friendly at Man Utd’s training base as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side step up preparations ahead of the return of the Premier League, beginning with a visit to Tottenham on June 19.

Players from both teams were spotted arriving at Man Utd’s training base only for the Stoke players to leave shortly after, before a ball was kicked.

It is understood Stoke were preparing for the game in the Academy Building when news filtered through from the EFL of a positive Covid test which had been taken the day before in preparation for the restart of the Championship.

The visiting players left the training ground and Solskjaer’s side continued with their preparations including an inter-squad game. It is understood Stoke players and staff had not come into contact with any Man Utd players or staff due to safety protocols that are currently in place at the training ground.

Stoke announced on Tuesday evening that it was O’Neill that had produced the positive test as the manager will now enter a period of isolation as the team continues preparation for a return to play.

“Stoke City can confirm that manager Michael O’Neill has tested positive for the Covid-19 virus following the latest round of testing on Monday (June 8),” the club said in a statement. “O’Neill had tested negative in the previous five rounds of testing.

“He will now follow the relevant guidance and undergo a period of isolation, whilst continuing to be in regular virtual contact with his coaching staff and players.

“Assistant manager Billy McKinlay will take charge of training as the Potters prepare for their game against Reading on June 20.

“The Club will be making no further comment on this matter.”

Premier League players and staff have been tested six times for the virus, ahead of next week’s restart, with the latest set of results showing zero positives from 1,195 tests.

Out of the six rounds of tests there have been a total of 13 positives out of 6,274 tests carried out, and none of them have been at Manchester United.

Solskjaer’s side returned to their Carrington training base at the end of last month after the go-ahead was given for socially distanced training and preparations have been going well.

“Everyone knows that we will have to be at our best, have to be focused against Tottenham,” Solskjaer told the club website.

“We know it’s a big game for everyone. We had Chelsea when we started the league this season so I’m confident that our players can go into the Tottenham game with that mentality of going there to play a very good game of football.

“Training has been about recapping what we did well, tweaking maybe one or two things and looking at some new ideas, but hopefully we can see a lot of what we saw towards the end before the lockdown.”

Source – Goal.com

The Manchester City star says that conversations regarding race need to continue long after the ongoing protests come to an end.

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Raheem Sterling says that he believes it is vital for more minority coaches to be given the chance at the highest level as both managers and executives as discussions surrounding race in society continue.

Protests remain ongoing in the aftermath of the killing of American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

Those protests, which began in America, have moved worldwide in recent days with thousands turning out for anti-racism marches.

Sterling has long been outspoken regarding the intersection between race and football, with the Manchester City star calling racism “a disease” that is the most important problem society faces in modern times.

The England winger pointed to four former England stars: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. Gerrard and Lampard are currently manager historic clubs in Rangers and Chelsea, respectively.

Meanwhile, Campbell has managed only at the lower-league level with both Macclesfield and Southend while Cole is currently in charge of Chelsea’s U-15s.

Pointing to that fact, Sterling says that black, Asian and minority ethnic coaches, executives and other staff members are not given the same chances as their white counterparts, leading to a disconnect between those in charge and those seeking to implement change.

“The coaching staff that you see around football clubs: there’s Steven Gerrard, your Frank Lampards, your Sol Campbells and your Ashley Coles. All had great careers, all played for England,” Sterling told the BBC.

“At the same time, they’ve all respectfully done their coaching badges to coach at the highest level and the two that haven’t been given the right opportunities are the two black former players.

“The change is being able to speak to people in Parliament, people at the hierarchy at my football club, football clubs across the country, people at the national team of England, to implement change and give equal chances to not just black coaches but also different ethnicities.

“Give black coaches, not just coaches but people in their respective fields, the right opportunity. I feel like that’s what’s lacking here, it’s not just taking the knee, it is about giving people the chance they deserve.

“There’s something like 500 players in the Premier League and a third of them are black and we have no representation of us in the hierarchy, no representation of us in the coaching staffs. There’s not a lot of faces that we can relate to and have conversations with.”

He added: “When there’s someone from a black background I can go to in the FA with a problem I have within the club, that will be when I know change is happening and not just in my field, also in Parliament.

“Once we do see those numbers shifting, that’s when I’ll be happy and the people will be happy.”

In 2018, the FA found that 5 per cent of the federation’s leadership roles and 13 per cent of England coaching staff roles were filled by people from a minority background.

Additionally, the FA set targets of 11 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, for 2021 as the federation looked to increase diversity across the organization.

Sterling, meanwhile, says its important for these conversations to continue going forward, even after the worldwide protests die down.

“The protest is a great starting point, to make your voice be heard,” he said. “But just protesting alone is not going to make a change in this country.”

He added: “It’s how we move on from here. It’s about highlighting things, the society that needs changing, and then acting upon it. We’ve done a lot of talking, and it’s time now to act.”

Source – Goal.com

Brazil has withdrawn its candidacy to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, citing financial fears in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil had hoped to become the first South American country to host the Women’s World Cup

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) says the government did not consider it wise to offer financial guarantees asked for by FIFA.

Brazil has hosted a string of international sporting competitions in recent years including the World Cup in 2014, the Olympic Games in 2016 and the Copa America in 2019 – and the CBF also felt they were outsiders to host yet another major event.

Brazil are now supporting Colombia, whose domestic league was only founded in 2017

Brazil will instead join the other South American nations and support Colombia’s bid to stage the tournament.

Brazil’s withdrawal means Colombia, Japan and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand are the remaining contenders to host the 32-team tournament.

The winning bid will be decided by FIFA on June 25.

Colombia, who have qualified for two Women’s World Cups in 2011 and 2015, are bidding to become the first South American nation to host the competition.

Source – Sky Sports