SAMUEL EKOW AMOASI APPIAH

Monday, 17 April 2017

Gary Cahill says Chelsea must rebound from Manchester United disappointment

GRAY CAHILL

Gary Cahill expects a quick response from Chelsea after revealing the squad was angry after their defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.

Antonio Conte's side suffered their fifth defeat of the season at Old Trafford, and the setback left them only four points clear at the top of the Premier League with six games remaining.

The Blues remain clear favourites to take the title in Conte's first season in charge but Cahill knows his side will have to play much better than they did in Manchester.

"We didn't click," the England defender told chelseafc.com. "It's disappointing. We tried to work hard in the second half, tried to push and create, but we were below the standards we've set.

"We weren't at the races and it makes us a bit angry. Let's hope it's an off day and it doesn't cost us too much.

"We expected them to start fast and we had to try and control that, and we never did."

Chelsea's next game comes against their closest rivals in the league and Cahill says there will have to be a response even though there will be an FA Cup final place up for grabs rather than Premier League points.

"We have to react in the right way," he said.

"We have to dust ourselves off and prepare for a huge semi-final, and then we go again with some important home games coming up.

"We reacted after Palace, we bounced back with two wins so it's a similar thing. We are still in a great position.

"There are only six games left, and we are still in a good position. We need to realise it's not over, we need to realise there are points to play for, and we have to dig in.

"No-one is going to give us this league, we have to work for it like we have done for the majority of this season."

Jose Mourinho says Manchester United 'totally controlled' Chelsea

VALENCIA AND KANTE

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho praised his side's tactical display in their 2-0 win over Chelsea, insisting they "totally controlled" the Premier League leaders.

Goals at the start of either half from Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera condemned Mourinho's former side to their second defeat in four games.

Mourinho set his team up in a similar way when United fell to a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup last month after being reduced to 10 men following Herrera's red card.

When asked what made him go with counter-attacking tactics, Mourinho told Sky Sports: "The same thing that made me go to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup with the same tactics. Maybe we didn't rest [players] we just chose the team that we thought was the best team.

"That game was totally controlled when we played with 11 players, and only the decision that made us play with 10 players gave Chelsea a chance to be dominant.

"We knew that playing this way would be very difficult for them."

And Mourinho was adamant that his side, and not Chelsea, would be playing in an FA Cup semi-final this weekend had they played with 11 men for the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge last month.

When asked by Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves what pleased him the most about his side's performance, he said: "From a personal point of view, thinking about me, my work, how I think and how I prepare for matches, it was being convinced that we would be playing in the FA Cup semi-final this weekend if we'd played at Stamford Bridge with 11 men.

"We were tactically very good and the players did an amazing job, controlling a team full of fantastic players."

Chelsea's lead over second-placed Tottenham is now down to four points with six games remaining, while United boosted their own hopes of reaching the top four by extending their unbeaten league run to 22 games.

The Red Devils are four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, with a trip to the Etihad Stadium, which is live on Sky Sports, on the horizon on April 27.

And Mourinho insists his side will continue to fight in the Premier League until it's mathematically impossible for them to qualify for the Champions League.

"I'm really happy with the team and the result because the results of Man City and Liverpool left us needing to win. The result means we keep two windows open to play Champions League football.

"I can't give up on the Premier League yet. We have to try. If one day we are in the Europa league and the distance in the Premier League is too big, then we have to prioritise and nobody can criticise us if we do things in a different way for the final few matches.

"But while it is mathematically possible we have to go with everything we have."

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has a glorious future, says Matteo Darmian

RASHFORD

Marcus Rashford can become “one of the most important players in the world”, according to Manchester United team-mate Matteo Darmian.

The 19-year-old striker opened the scoring in United's 2-0 win over leaders Chelsea on Sunday as United extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 22 matches.

Rashford has now scored nine goals this term but has been restricted to just 14 Premier League starts due to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's prolific form this season.

"I think Marcus is a great player," Darmian said. "He is still very, very young and I think he is very important for us.

"With his quality, he can be one of the top players, one of the most important players, in the world.

"I think he is very good in every part of the game, he has a very good shot, movement, speed.

"Sometimes for a striker, it is a normal there is a not as good period [in terms of scoring goals] but I hope he continues like this, because it helps the team to reach the objective."

United have a game in hand on fourth-placed Manchester City, trailing their local rivals by four points in the race for Champions League qualification through the Premier League.

The other objective for Jose Mourinho's side this season is to win the Europa League to secure their spot in Europe's premier club competition.

"We know our characteristic," Darmian said. "Sometimes, of course, we draw a lot of games at home.

"We deserve to win a lot of games but sometimes it is not possible to win and we draw.

"We lost a lot of points at home but I think we have a chance with six or seven games to go, so still the possibility in our hands.

"This kind of game [beating Chelsea] gives us confidence. I think everyone is concentrated for this end of the season because we know we play for two big opportunities.

"One is the Europa League and the second is finish in the top four because I think playing in the Champions League is a very good objective for next season.

"We have to fight and try to win as many games as possible."

Gary Neville questions Antonio Conte's demeanour against Manchester United

CONTE

Gary Neville says Chelsea's players didn't turn up against Manchester United - but neither did their manager.

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera dealt Antonio Conte's side a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford as they saw their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to four points following Tottenham's win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Thibaut Courtois and Marcos Alonso missed the game through injury and Neville felt the enthusiasm that the Italian has shown throughout the season was missing on Super Sunday.

"Chelsea didn't turn up and where was Conte today?" he asked.

"You talk about the players, but the manager has been so active on the touchline all season and you expected him to get them going, raging up and down the touchline.

"He seemed a little subdued today, like he lacked belief. For me, Chelsea didn't turn up."

Conte said after the match that Manchester United showed "more motivation" than Chelsea, but Neville was not critical of his post-match interview.

However, he insisted his demeanour during the match was a "worry" as Chelsea look to wrap up the title in the final six matches of the season.

He added: "If he was subdued in his interview after the game I think you can accept that because his team just haven't performed today. They were really poor.

"I was more worried about him being subdued during the game because he's been so active on the touchline all season. It was almost like seeing Jurgen Klopp just stood there.

"He spent most of the first half doing this [stroking his chin] today. That was the worrying thing for me; that he didn't turn up himself.

"His character, his personality and his demeanour that everyone has enjoyed all season and loved, hugging fans, running up and down the touchline and shouting at players to hurry after the ball didn't turn up today.

"He didn't turn up during the match. He was subdued and I don't know why that was."

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal fans wrong to boo Hector Bellerin

BELLERIN

Arsene Wenger has described the Arsenal fans' criticism of Spanish defender Hector Bellerin as unfair.

Bellerin was booed by some members of the away support following the Gunners' 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace last week, their fourth away defeat on the bounce.

Speaking ahead of Monday Night Football against Middlesbrough, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm, Wenger admitted the right-back's form has declined recently but says the supporters' negative reaction at Selhurst Park was uncalled for.

"I think, yes," said Wenger when asked about the criticism. "He is a guy who is genuinely Arsenal and wants to do well. He is ready to play with pain and I think it is, yes.

"The fans want to be behind the team and the way we respond on the football pitch will decide the attitude of the fans.

"The fans love the club. It's a good period to be united and not divided. Historically Arsenal has been about that. One of our values is to be together. There's no better period of the season than to show it now."

Despite going through a difficult run of form, Bellerin is expected to retain his place in the Arsenal team for Monday's trip to the Riverside, and the 22-year-old is determined to prove his critics wrong.

"You need to learn to deal with people saying bad things about you and you need to learn to deal with stuff that's not happened before," he told Arsenal.com.

"It will make me stronger, that's how I see it. Some people can be destroyed or collapse but I think I and everyone at the club needs to look at it positively.

"We just need to do our job on the pitch. We know that fans are angry, we know that people want results because we're Arsenal and that's what's expected from us."

Friday, 14 April 2017

Liverpool join race to sign Virgil van Dijk

VAN DIJK

Liverpool are ready to join the race to sign Virgil Van Dijk as they look to make a statement of intent in this summer’s transfer window.

Manchester City and Chelsea have long been established as the clubs leading the way to sign Van Dijk; City specifically sent scouts to watch Van Dijk on November 19 at St Mary’s when he was Man-of-the-Match in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool.

Ronald Koeman, Everton’s manager, is also keen to be reunited with Van Dijk when he begins what is expected to be an ambitious overhaul of his squad, having worked with him at Southampton, but Liverpool are not going to be passive.

Jurgen Klopp is determined to bolster his defence and recently explained the injuries Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip have suffered this season have meant he cannot regard them as being automatic first choices selections.

Though Claude Puel does not want Van Dijk to leave, there is no question they will be put under serious pressure as soon as the window opens; Van Dijk has been a big miss for Puel in recent months, as he recovers from ankle ligament damage.

Klopp wants to bring in quality additions to ensure Liverpool’s progress over the last 12 months does not go to waste and Van Dijk fits the profile of player they are targeting.

Liverpool are prepared to spend heavier than they have ever done before to get their manager the additions he wants.

Some Liverpool fans want to see Mamadou Sakho return, given he has been doing so well on loan at Crystal Palace; there is no clause in the contract they agreed in January that gives them first option on signing the France international and Klopp says no decisions have been made on his future.

‘You can imagine like all the plans we have for next season, we speak about behind closed doors,’ said Klopp.

‘In the moment when we have to say something we will say something. I see a lot of Premier League games so I see Crystal Palace too and I see how he is playing there and all this stuff.’

His tone was similar on Daniel Sturridge, too, and Klopp said: ‘We are in the season and around this we plan different things like transfers, as you can imagine, but who will leave we have never thought about it.’

Sky Sports pundits discloses how Manchester United can halt Chelsea's title charge

CHELSEA

Jose Mourinho is propositioned with the task of stopping his former side from cantering towards the trophy when Chelsea visit Old Trafford on Super Sunday.

Only four sides have beaten the Blues all season, including their only remaining title challengers in Tottenham, who sit seven points behind them in the Premier League table.

Here's what Soccer Saturday pundits Paul Merson, Phil Thompson, Matt Le Tissier and Charlie Nicholas think you need to do to beat Antonio Conte's side...

Merse says: Attack the flanks and keep your bottle

The only team that have really shown how to beat their system are Tottenham, which was because Chelsea had played quick games in succession. The way they play with wing-backs, it's hard to do that without a break.

The way I'd play would be like we used to at Arsenal when we played that system, with one up front and two out-and-out wingers, then the wingers stay wide and don't track back.

That way you're either asking the central defenders to come out wide, where the likes of Gary Cahill don't want to go, or make their wing-backs come back into a five, reducing their threat and giving Eden Hazard and Pedro less support.

That's what Manchester City did and they had a lot of the game but just couldn't grind out the result. It's obviously not easy to do that but I think you've got to have bottle if you want to beat Chelsea.

Thommo says: Create a carbon copy of Chelsea

Spurs did it very well when they went like for like and said let's have a go. I'm usually a person who believes you should go with your own best system, but I think with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose as wing-backs and Eric Dier, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld can match anybody, so they had the right ingredients to do it.

There's not too many teams who have the players to say they can match that system, and Mauricio Pochettino might not be a great believer in that formation, but he knew it could stifle Chelsea.

If United had the centre-backs fit, which is an issue, and they've got Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia available then they've got a chance. Their centre-backs might not be as good as Tottenham's but the pace and delivery of the full-backs would give them a chance to compete.

Mourinho won't admit it publicly but behind the scenes he'll know Chelsea are better and that he has to hurt them by getting his players to sit and and hit them on the break, which he has done countless times against superior sides.

Le Tiss says: Park the bus

How do you stop Chelsea? If I knew that I'd be making millions as a manager! There's not a lot of weak points in their side.

Spurs did it but it's a very rare occurrence. You have to defend well against them and ensure you're the side who take the chances, because it's rarely an open game against them.

I'm sure Mourinho will attempt the parking of the bus tactics and they're that strong that most teams would be happy to do that at home.

Charlie says: Don't be scared of them

I honestly think you can stop Chelsea. There's no guarantee they're going to beat Manchester United. They're not playing particularly well but with Eden Hazard's form they are getting the job done.

Spurs beat them fairly comfortably. It's the boldness to go and take them on and they're vulnerable in the wide areas. I did the Manchester City game last week and Pep Guardiola's men were the better side but just couldn't grind out the right result.

I'd love to see the stats on how many changes Conte has had to make. It just seems to be Cesc Fabregas rotating with Nemanja Matic and Kurt Zouma occasionally coming in, so he hasn't had much to deal with.

They're a better version of what Leicester did last season in terms of player quality and you'd do very well to name 15 players that they have had to use regularly.