Golden knight

Last night’s brace against PAOK means it’s now four goals in his last three Chelsea appearances for Olivier Giroud, who says the team’s sights are firmly set on winning the Europa League following our 4-0 win over the Greek side. With qualification for the next round – and first place in the group – already secured going into last night’s game, the pressure was off, and when Giroud was brought down by Yevhen Khacheridi early on, leading to a dismissal for the PAOK defender, it was clear the visitors were going to be in for a long night. Giroud got the ball rolling with a superb left-footed finish following good work from Pedro, and 10 minutes later he extended our advantage with a brilliant volley after being picked out by Cesc Fabregas’s inch-perfect pass. Second-half goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Alvaro Morata compounded PAOK’s misery. ‘Yes, that was the main target,’ said Giroud, when asked about the importance of bouncing back from last weekend’s defeat to Tott...

Victor Lindelof has been reflecting on a good month for him personally after claiming Manchester United's Player of the Month award for the first time. November proved to be a mixed month for the 24-year-old, who was in magnificent form after forging a solid partnership with Chris Smalling at the heart of the Reds defence. He was also named the Swedish Player of the Year at a special ceremony in his homeland and scored for his country in their UEFA Nations League win over Russia.   However, Victor later suffered an unfortunate injury in last weekend’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace, when he played through the pain in the latter stages of the game. Jose Mourinho praised his bravery and later confirmed that the centre-back is set to be out of action for around three weeks. “I just want to say thank you to all the fans who voted for me,” he said. “I really appreciate all your support. “It’s been a good month for me. I won the award back in Sweden and then the fans ha...

The boss expects a tough test at Fiorentina: "They'll be really fired up and will do everything possible to beat us" Massimiliano Allegri is readying his side for a testing encounter at the Stadio Franchi on what he believes could be a pivotal weekend at the top end of the league. The Bianconeri take on Fiorentina while their closest rivals Napoli and Inter travel to Atalanta and Roma, respectively.   “It's going to be a tough game,” the coach told the gathered media at a news conference on Friday. “Fiorentina is a fine team with young, skilful players and they're well drilled as a unit. They haven't lost at home yet and they've scored 14 while conceding just three. Plus, this is the biggest game of the year for them so they'll be really fired up and will do everything possible to beat us.   “This is an important weekend because all the teams at the top have tricky away fixtures. We'll need to be patient and remember that matches in Florence are...

Jürgen Klopp has dismissed the notion that Wednesday’s Champions League setback provides Liverpool with added incentive to win the Merseyside derby. The Reds’ hopes of qualifying from Group C were dealt a blow with a 2-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes earlier this week. Klopp, though, does not believe that the disappointment of that loss has resulted in negativity within his squad ahead of Sunday’s clash with Everton at Anfield. “If you would have let us play a game immediately after the game on Wednesday, we would have played - in the best case against the same opponent again, that was the overall feeling,” the manager said on Friday. “We were not happy with what we did, we were not happy with what they did, but it’s not that you really keep that for three or four days. We are all normal human beings - if you are angry about something then you are the next day exactly the same, then the same again the next day then it must be something really serious. “W...

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Harry Kane have established themselves as two of the Premier League's finest goalscorers. Since arriving in England, the Gabon international has found the net 18 times in just 26 league appearances. Meanwhile, Kane came runner-up to Mohamed Salah in last season's Premier League golden boot after scoring 30 times. So as we get set for the latest edition of the north London derby on Sunday, these two finishers will undoubtedly have a big impact on the final result. Aubameyang registered his 10th goal of the season in all competitions in our win at Bournemouth, so here are all 10 of those strikes to get you in the mood for matchday...

Mauricio Pochettino felt patience was key as we kept our Champions League hopes alive with a 1-0 victory against Inter on Wednesday night. Christian Eriksen fired home the winner after 80 minutes at Wembley to move us ahead of the Italians in Group B. We now need to match Inter’s result in the final round of matches to progress to the knockout stage. We travel to Barcelona on Matchday Six while Inter host PSV on 11 December. After facing an uphill battle with one point after three games, a win at the Nou Camp will take us through. It was a controlled performance against the in-form Nerazzurri - eight wins in nine in Serie A coming to London - in a game we had to win. Dele, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela all went close in the first half before Harry Winks struck the crossbar. Jan Vertonghen missed from close range as time started to tick away in the second half and Hugo Lloris had to keep out Ivan Perisic and Danilo D’Ambrosio before Eriksen struck, a clinical finish after Dele hel...

Chelsea’s players and coaching staff are determined to bounce back after Sunday’s disappointment at Wembley, and that means tonight and against local rivals Fulham on Sunday. Yet PAOK are in a perilous state in Group L and will be equally desperate for a result. Over in Thessaloniki, club chairman Bruce Buck handed out crisps to travelling supporters who had been ushered onto the stands several hours before kick-off. The ancient adage ‘beware of Greeks bearing gifts’ applies tonight, however. The Blues have not lost at Stamford Bridge in European competitions since September 2013 and have played 12 matches since then. After the setback at Tottenham, it would be good to see Chelsea attack and defend like ancient Spartans, and there is no time like the present. BATE wouldn’t melt last time out in Belarus, but in the last home group match of the campaign the Blues could spread some early good cheer in the run-up to Christmas tonight. The mini marathon of the group stage draws ...

Speaking this afternoon at his media conference at Cobham, the boss revealed Hazard is still affected by a minor ankle injury suffered in the Spurs game while apart from Moses, no other injury concerns were reported. ‘Hazard is not a serious injury but he will not be able to play tomorrow,’ Sarri said. ‘I think we will be able to recover him for the game on Sunday. I spoke with the doctor 10 minutes ago and he told me Moses has a back problem this morning so I think he will not be able to play tomorrow. The visit of PAOK comes in the wake of our first defeat since the Premier League season began, against Spurs at Wembley, so there will be plenty of eyes on how Chelsea respond with two home games coming in quick succession. ‘We played very badly [against Spurs], a match without determination,’ Sarri told the reporters at the conference, ‘but we lost a match after 110 days I think, so the team did well generally but we have to understand why we played this game without determina...

Jürgen Klopp insists Liverpool will be ‘brave’ in their approach as they aim to record a victory over Paris Saint-Germain in France on Wednesday evening. The Reds can seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League by securing three points from the mouth-watering tussle at the Parc des Princes. But with PSG a point behind both Liverpool and Napoli in Group C, the hosts will be aiming to bolster their own qualification prospects heading into the final matchday next month. Shortly after touching down in France from John Lennon Airport on Tuesday evening, Klopp headed to tomorrow night’s venue to host a press conference to preview the fixture with the world’s media, and you can read a summary of what he had to say below. On Neymar and Kylian Mbappe being passed fit and Sadio Mane’s availability… They were never minding games, to be honest. The players [Neymar and Mbappe] left the pitch a week ago injured and I am actually pleased for them that they are not serious,...

General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr Mohammed Sanusi has challenged players of the U20 National Team, Flying Eagles to imbibe the virtues of discipline, dedication and commitment as they prepare for the upcoming WAFU U20 Tournament in Lome and the Africa U20 Cup of Nations in the Niger Republic. Speaking while he visited the team at training in Abuja on Saturday morning, the NFF scribe also urged the players to be humble at all times in order to drink from the fountain of knowledge and wisdom of their coaches. “Discipline and dedication are very important values in whatever we do in life. For those of us who came from the academia, we know that the certificate that you are given on graduation tells you that you have been found worthy in character and in learning. It is not only learning that gets you the certificate. “Character is key in whatever we do, and character is developed through your discipline, dedication and commitment to the cause you have...

Cup holders, Super Falcons of Nigeria shot back to contention at the 11 th  Women Africa Cup of Nations after a 4-0 thrashing of Group leaders Shepolopolo of Zambia in Cape Coast. A one-goal defeat in their opening match against South Africa on Sunday had marooned the champions in third place on the Group B table, following Zambia’s 5-0 win over two –time champions Equatorial Guinea. But the Zambians could not hold a candle to the Falcons when the die was cast on Wednesday evening. The scoreline was only two goals short of the 6-0 hiding the Zambians received from the Nigerians in Namibia four years ago, but that would not have been the case had reigning African Woman Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala not, inexplicably, failed to put away any of one dozen gilt-edged opportunities that came her way. After Oshoala failed to get enough purchase on her shot in the 9 th  minute, Captain Onome Ebi and Rita Chikwelu came close with headers, but Zambia also side –nette...

The Nigeria Football Federation and leading sportswear company, NIKE on Tuesday in Asaba, capital of Delta State signed a new, robust partnership agreement that officials from both organizations termed ‘dawn of a new era.’ American kit company NIKE had teamed up with the Nigeria Football Federation in April 2015 following the departure of another global brand, but Tuesday’s contract is seen by both parties as the real deal. The agreement is for four years at the first instance, with an automatic renewal clause that will take the marriage to the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals. “We need to know where we are coming from to be able to appreciate where we are now. A few months after we came on board for our first term in office, I was told that we needed to buy jerseys for the National Team to play a football match. That was how bad it was, because the kit sponsor at that time terminated the contract. “So, I made contacts with some highly connected persons and worked h...

Bayern Munich loanee  James Rodríguez has asked to leave the German outfit in an attempt to revive his career at parent club Real Madrid, according to reports. The 27-year-old only moved to Bavaria in 2017, initially joining Bayern Munich on a two-year loan move which cost roughly £12m. Included in that deal was the option for the Bundesliga champions to sign James permanently for an additional £37m. James   was the Player of the Season in the Bundesliga last year, scoring seven goals and claiming 11 assists in just 23 appearances, helping  Bayern Munich   lift yet another league title and the DFB Cup final. However, James is no longer enjoying life in Germany and wants to return to his parent club.  AS  claim that the midfielder has already made his feeling known to the Bayern Munich hierarchy, but that ultimately it is the German side who will have the final say. It had been widely speculated that making James' loan move permanent...

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Tottenham are 'working hard' on a new deal for star midfielder Christian Eriksen.  Eriksen's current deal runs out in 2020, meaning he will be eligible to open talks over a free transfer exit in a little over a year. It's a situation Pochettino admits he wants to remedy, but he insists he isn't worried.  "I am not worried, but I prefer he is going to sign a new contract and stay a long time with  Tottenham ." Eriksen signed for Tottenham from Ajax in 2013 and has since established himself as one of the most effective midfielders in the world, scoring 57 goals and registering 73 assists in 239 appearances for the London club.  His form has been disappointing so far this season, with the Denmark international managing no goals and two assists in nine Premier League appearances, although he did net in the Champions League against Inter. He's expected to be a central figure for Spurs for the remainder ...