Sports
English Clubs Disadvantaged In Europe-Guardiola
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola believes that English clubs have a disadvantage in Europe but is excited by the extra challenge.
Guardiola won the Champions League twice with Barcelona but has never been beyond the quarter-finals with City.
A busy schedule has been made even tighter this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic having shortened the calendar.
And Guardiola believes that the lack of a winter break and a tight fixture list already makes it harder for Premier League clubs to win the Champions League.
“Every season is a disadvantage with the rest of the leagues, this league. Not just in this special year – last season and this season for the Covid-19, for that we’ve had to adapt.
“But even when the situation is normal, no winter breaks, a lot of games, a lot of competitions, intensity, the weather condition, the pitches – many, many things. That is attractive, this is the challenge.
“On the other side when you are able to do it, that is nice. No one before could win a domestic treble or four titles in one season, so if your mind is in the right position, in the right way, you can do it.”
City need a point from Wednesday’s trip to Olympiacos to confirm qualification to the knockout stages for an eighth successive season.
Guardiola’s side were surprisingly knocked out by Lyon in last season’s quarter-finals but he believes the club will be better this season.
“It’s (winning the Champions League) not an obsession. We want to do it the best and I say it every season. We are going to try our best and we have an important chance to almost qualify, that’s so good, to be in the best 16 teams in Europe.
“We have the chance and are going to try, knowing we still have two more chances. We need one more game to be there mathematically, so that is great. With respect to the other ones, I have a feeling we will do really well this season.
“I don’t know why but I’ve felt it from the beginning. I expect a reaction after last season when we finished against Lyon in Portugal. We know what we have to do. We know we are a team who last season scored a lot but now we are struggling.
“But we have to find solutions. We have the players to find the right way to attack more fluently and I have the feeling we can score goals. The way we play is quite good, I’m quite happy”.
Sports
Arsenal Must Beat City To Shake Off Tag – Rice
Declan Rice has said that Arsenal must win at Manchester City this weekend if they want to prove they can lift the Premier League title and change perceptions of the club.
Arsenal have won their last two matches against City, in the Community Shield and at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season, but have lost on their last eight trips to the Etihad.
Victory for Mikel Arteta’s league leaders would take them four points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side as the title run-in begins for Arsenal, City and Liverpool.
“We have got to go to the Etihad, which is going to be really tough, but if you want to get past that barrier of Arsenal being labelled stuff, you have to go there and win,” said Rice.
“We have to show that steeliness and character to prove we can be one of the best teams. There’s no doubt that City are the best team in the world at the minute, but we have full confidence and belief as a group, and the manager, that we can get a result.”
Rice has excelled since Arsenal won the battle for his signature last summer, when City also tried to sign the midfielder from West Ham United.
Arsenal have beaten City, Liverpool and Manchester United in the league this season, but all of those games took place at the Emirates Stadium.
“I have obviously been in big-pressure situations this season in games where, if we hadn’t won we would be slipping away from the teams at the top,” said Rice.
“You feel that pressure before the games, you know in your mind that you have to go out there and do everything you can to win and get three points.
“I really thrive off those moments, so hopefully we can keep putting ourselves in big-pressure games. That is where you learn the most about yourself, and obviously as a team as well.”
Arsenal are hoping that Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes will all be available for the match after injuries forced them out of international duty in the past two weeks.
Saka is recovering from a muscle problem, Gabriel has an Achilles issue and Martinelli is still recovering from a cut on his foot that forced him off against Sheffield United earlier this month.
City also have injury issues ahead of the game, with Kyle Walker and John Stones both suffering fitness problems on England duty. Manuel Akanji, another defender, is also a doubt.
Sports
Former Spanish Football Boss Faces Jail Over W/Cup Kiss
Spanish prosecutors want the ex-head of the country’s football federation to be jailed for two-and-a-half years, after he kissed a female footballer against her will at Spain’s World Cup victory.
Luis Rubiales is facing charges of sexual assault and coercion after he grabbed Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the mouth last August.
Ms Hermoso and her teammates said the kiss was unwanted and demeaning.
Mr Rubiales was forced to resign, but has denied any wrongdoing.
According to a court document seen by Tidesports source, prosecutor Marta Durantez charged Mr Rubiales with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion for his alleged actions in the aftermath of the kiss. The charges carry prison terms of one year and 18 months respectively.
Ms Durantez also accused the former coach of the women’s national team, Jorge Vilda, the team’s current sporting director, Albert Luque, and the federation’s head of marketing, Ruben Rivera, of coercing Ms Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual.
The indictment said they harassed her through “constant and repeated acts of pressure”, including through her friends and family.
All three denied wrongdoing when they appeared before the court. Each could face up to 18 months in jail if convicted.
Ms Durantez also wants the four men to pay damages totalling €100,000 (£85,677; $108,000) to Ms Hermoso, and for Mr Rubiales to pay at least half of this amount.
She also requested a restraining order for Mr Rubiales, barring him from coming within 200 metres (656 feet) of Ms Hermoso and from communicating with her for the next seven-and-a-half years.
The scandal overshadowed a historic moment for Spain’s women’s team, which at the time was celebrating its first ever World Cup win.
During the trophy presentation ceremony, Mr Rubiales clasped Ms Hermoso’s head between his hands and planted a kiss on her lips.
He was also criticised for grabbing his crotch when celebrating the win, while standing next to Spain’s Queen Letizia and her daughter Princess Infanta Sofia.
The incident set off a wave of global anger at sexism at the highest levels of women’s sport and led to boycotts of the national team by Spain’s players as they called for changes to be made to women’s football in the country.
Mr Rubiales was initially suspended by world football’s governing body, FIFA, before he eventually stood down as both head of Spain’s football federation and vice-president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in September.
In January, FIFA upheld a three-year ban from footballing activities for Mr Rubiales after he lodged an appeal.
Mr Vilda, the coach who led the women’s team to their World Cup victory and an ally of Mr Rubiales, was also sacked in September amid the fallout from the scandal, but was appointed head coach for Morocco’s women’s team in October.
Sports
Chelsea Coach Sues For End To Jeering By Fans
Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino has said that it is important that the club’s fans and players move on after Raheem Sterling was booed by supporters recently.
Sterling faced criticism from sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd during Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Leicester City in the recent FA Cup quarter-final.
Pochettino was jeered for his decision to substitute Mykhailo Mudryk instead of Sterling in the 78th minute.
“We now need to move on. It will help if we do,” said Pochettino.
“What we cannot do is create bigger things from this now because we know fans love our players and I know they will support him and the rest of the team.
“Raheem is a spirited player and he understands it all.”
Pochettino’s Chelsea will have home advantage against lowly Burnley in the Premier League tomorrow, when supporters will expect another victory.
Sterling missed a first-half penalty against Leicester and blazed a free-kick well over the crossbar in the second half, which prompted jeers among the home crowd.
Before the match, Chelsea Supporters’ Trust had raised significant concerns about the club’s future in a lengthy letter to co-owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
It said there was growing concern that Chelsea are becoming a ‘laughing stock, both on and off the pitch”.
“We need to be careful in the way we talk and give our opinions because there needs to be a strong relationship between everyone,” said Pochettino.
“I just want our players to play really well. I was also suffering the anger of the fans and their disappointment; in fact, the whole team suffered in this situation.”
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