Petr Cech felt under additional pressure to perform well in Arsenal s 4-1 Europa League final defeat to Chelsea given speculation that he will soon be appointed as the Blues new sporting director.
The Czech played in each of Arsenal s knockout games from the turn of the year and Unai Emery opted to stick with him for the final despite rumours of an imminent return to the club he joined the Gunners from in 2015.
Despite the heavy defeat, Cech pulled off a string of impressive saves and admits he felt the pressure of needing to put in a solid performance on what was his final game as a professional.
I m proud of the way I played, he told BT Sport. When you play your last career game in the final, there s a lot of pressure.
Obviously there s a lot of spec…
Gareth Bale has failed to score in 10 consecutive LaLiga appearances, his worst run in the competition since signing for Real Madrid in 2013.
Bale drew a blank again at home to Valencia on Saturday, with an early Daniel Wass own goal added to by Lucas Vazquez s late strike in Madrid s 2-0 win.
The Wales star was withdrawn by head coach Santiago Solari in the 63rd minute, having failed to make an impact on the Valencia goal.
Bale s last goal in LaLiga was back in August, but he has scored in the Champions League since then, as well as for Wales in the Nations League.
10 Gareth Bale has failed to score in his last 10 LaLiga appearances (793 minutes without a goal), the worst run in his LaLiga career. Surprising.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose)
…
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to leave on loan before the transfer window closes as Frank Lampard attempts to whittle down his bloated squad.
Loftus-Cheek started Chelsea s opening match at Brighton and Hove Albion but was hooked after an hour and left out of the squad for the games with Liverpool and West Brom.
The 24-year-old has struggled with injuries recently and finds himself down the list of Lampard s preferred midfield starters when everyone is fit.
Aston Villa, Southampton and West Ham have all been tipped to move for the 10-cap England international and Lampard may allow Loftus-Cheek to play elsewhere for the rest of the season.
I m very open with Ruben and we ve had a couple of conversations over the past week, Lampard said…
As Cardiff City and Nantes debated the terms of Emiliano Sala s transfer to the Welsh club last week, nobody could have anticipated the events that would subsequently unfold.
During negotiations between the two clubs, Nantes had reportedly been keen for Sala to feature one last time against Angers on Sunday, but it was Cardiff who eventually got their way and the Argentine s club-record £18million move was confirmed late on Saturday.
It was a story typical of the January transfer window – a buying club desperate for mid-season reinforcements but facing stubbornness from a selling club determined not to be left in the lurch by the loss of one of their key players.
Typical, that is, until a light aircraft transporting Sala to Wales from western France disappeare…
A number of European clubs are monitoring the progress of NK Osijek striker Anton Matkovic, according to Fabrizio Romano.
At the age of 17, Matkovic has only moved from the Under-17 to the Under-19 side at the club, and he hasn t yet made a first-team appearance. Nonetheless, his talents have obviously been noted, with the likes of Everton, Sassuolo and RB Salzburg all keeping an eye on his development.
Recent years have shown that Salzburg would probably prove the best option for the youngster, given the number of high-quality attacking players that have passed through the Austrian club on their way to top European leagues Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane, Karim Adeyemi, Benjamin Sesko, Hwang Hee-chan, and numerous others.
Interest growing in 17 year old Croatian ta…
Los Angeles Galaxy are after a World Cup winner! Adil Rami is their latest target, France Football reveals. The prestigious media outlet claim LA Galaxy want to improve their defence by going after Olympique de Marseille s centre-back and the French international.
Rami has been part of Marseille s setup since 2017, playing in over 70 matches in the process and now he could be on the move. He made just 13 appearances this season and Galaxy are in desperate need of defensive improvements. After two straight seasons without reaching the play-offs, the club with the most MLS Cups to their name want to make a statement.
Galaxy conceded 131 goals in 68 games across 2017 and 2018, averaging 1.93 conceded goals per match. Rami would be brought in to improve those numbe…
Michy Batshuayi struck a first-half brace as Chelsea cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory over a lacklustre Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The striker is rumoured to be heading out on loan ahead of Wednesday s transfer deadline but demonstrated his goalscoring ability with a double to help the Blues bounce back from their midweek EFL Cup semi-final disappointment against Arsenal.
Antonio Conte has been linked with a string of strikers, including Edin Dzeko, Andy Carroll and Ashley Barnes, in a bid to add back-up for Alvaro Morata, but on this evidence the answer may lie closer to home.
Chelsea took the lead after a low-tempo opening half-hour, Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso combining to tee up Batshuayi after P…
Daniel James brilliant opener in Manchester United s 1-1 draw at Southampton continued a stunning start to life in the Premier League for the Wales youngster.
James capped an opening weekend thumping of Chelsea and was also on target in last weekend s 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
Three goals in his first four United appearances places the 21-year-old in some elite company but being prolific in your opening games for the club does not necessary mean long-term success.
Here are the other Red Devils who got off to a flyer in the Premier League era.
3 Daniel James has scored three goals in his four Premier League games for Manchester United; he only scored three in his final 22 Championship appearances for previous club Swansea City. Step-up.
— Opta…
Jurgen Klopp named Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita as Liverpool s midfield triumvirate for Sunday s crunch Premier League clash against Chelsea at Anfield.
The return of Andrew Robertson, who missed the 2-0 win over Porto through suspension, in place of James Milner at left-back presented a selection quandry further afield and Klopp has opted for the same three-man unit that impressed in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Joel Matip steps in for Dejan Lovren alongside Virgil van Dijk in the only other change for the Reds.
The centre-back pairing will confront Eden Hazard as a false nine, with Maurizio Sarri leaving both Olivier Giroud and Gonzalo Higuain on Chelsea s bench.
Callum Hudson-Odoi rested from last week s 1-0 victor…
Manchester City attacker David Silva is set for a timely comeback for his side as they approach crunch fixtures against Stoke City in the Premier League before welcoming Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini said Silva had come on well in training and should be involved against Stoke, adding that he hoped the Spaniard s injury problems were behind him.
Silva has missed the last three Premier League games with an ankle problem that has bugged him for the majority of the season, though Pellegrini said there was no ligament or muscle damage.
It was not a problem of ligament or muscle, it was a hard kick that he could never recover 100 per cent from, he said
I hope, with the last treatment, that he is …