Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for €80 million, a world-record transfer fee for a goalkeeper, in 2018. However, manager Frank Lampard, a club legend who took his job a year later, says the amount the club paid for a player doesn t come into his thinking when he picks his lineup.
Frank Lampard on not starting Kepa
🗣"I don't pick players based on their price tag" pic.twitter.com/u8EfCbw8pL
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 14, 2020
Manchester United have been charged by the Football Association (FA) for their protests after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal was ruled out against Newcastle United.
Ronaldo twice had the ball in the net in quick succession shortly after half-time in Sunday s goalless draw at Old Trafford.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner s initial strike was struck off for a clear offside, before he then stole in to score again as Newcastle prepared to take the resulting free-kick.
Ronaldo claimed the ball was already in play as Fabian Schar had played a short pass to Nick Pope, who was to take the free-kick.
Referee Craig Pawson disagreed, with his arm still in the air as Ronaldo tackled Pope, prompting a furious reaction from the United forward and his team-mates.
Nin…
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is a goal machine and will only improve as he grows in confidence, according to team-mate Kostas Tsimikas.
Nunez scored his second goal in his last two Premier League starts to guide Liverpool to a 1-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday, a result which moved Jurgen Klopp s men to within four points of the top four.
The Uruguay striker was criticised by some for starting slowly following his big-money move from Benfica, but he has now hit five goals for Liverpool in all competitions this season.
That tally has only been bettered by two of his team-mates: Mohamed Salah (nine) and Roberto Firmino (eight).
Asked about Nunez s qualities, Tsimikas said: He s always there. He can score with the left, with the right, with the head – h…
Iran meet Montenegro in Austria on Monday as preparations for what promises to be a tough FIFA World Cup campaign continue.
Carlos Queiroz, who was in charge of Portugal at the 2010 World Cup, guided Iran to the top of their AFC qualifying group but a sterner test awaits them in Brazil.
Drawn in Group F alongside Nigeria, Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Queiroz s men face a huge challenge to build on their solitary World Cup finals win.
That came in 1998 against the United States in a match that was laden with off-field intrigue, given the strained political relationship between the two nations.
Controversy has shrouded the build-up to this year s tournament, too, with a falling-out occurring between the Iranian football association and the nation s top domesti…
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not mind if the Premier League title race goes down to the final day of the season.
Ferguson says just having to beat Blackpool at home to clinch the title is something he would have taken in August.
A win at Arsenal on Sunday would almost certainly put the title beyond the reach of nearest challengers Chelsea.
I would be happy if we got to the last game of the season needing to win to claim the title, Ferguson said.
Even though Blackpool are fighting against relegation and will be tough opposition, you would have taken that scenario at the start of the season.
I think there is still drama ahead and the teams at the top will drop points including Chelsea.
I have been a bit surprised A…
Portugal champions Benfica are in advanced negotiations to sing Braga defender Ricadro Ferreira, .
The 23-year-old has been a subject of intense transfer speculation, but Benfica are believed to have beaten the likes of FC Porto to the signing of the highly-rated Braga defender.
Braga beat Porto on penalties this weekend to win their first Taca de Portugal in 50 years and Ricadro Ferreira has been a massive influence in Os Minhotos’ triumphant campaign.
Speaking after the win over FC Porto, Ricardo Ferreira refused to be drawn into commenting on his possible move to Benfica.
“Now is the time to celebrate our success, I will have time to think about next season”, he said.
Canada-born defender Ricardo Ferreira began his professional career wi…
Players involved in a 2011 La Liga match between Levante and Real Zaragoza have been summoned for questioning on alleged match-fixing.
Zaragoza won the match played in the last round of the season 2-1, a result that kept them in the top flight.
Gabi Fernandez, now captain of champions Atletico Madrid, scored both of Zaragoza s goals in the fixture.
The match had been flagged as one of nine being investigated when president of the Spanish league Javier Tebas included it on a list of suspect results in June last year.
And a Spanish state prosecutor has now summoned players as the investigation continues.
Levante said in a brief statement on the club s official website that they were completely oblivious to such proceedings and unaware of their devel…
Antonio Conte is determined to ensure Chelsea avoid a Mourinho season in their defence of the Premier League title this season.
The Blues won the title under the Portuguese in 2015, but Jose Mourinho was sacked the following December with the club having endured a nightmare start and languishing in 16th.
Chelsea regained the trophy in Conte s maiden campaign, with Tottenham seven points adrift in second.
Conte, whose side head back from a pre-season trip to China and Singapore following back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Inter, knows the pressure is on to avoid a similar fate.
Antonio Conte makes time to sign some shirts on his way to the team coach
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
We know the difficulty of the next season and for su…
Matthias Ginter s decision to join Borussia Monchengladbach came from the heart after the Germany defender was won over by the club s continued pursuit of his services.
The 23-year-old completed his switch from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund for a reported €20million on Tuesday, having been courted by the club before.
And the sustained interest shown in him was pivotal to the move, which comes hot on the heels of Ginter s success with his country at the Confederations Cup in Russia.
It was the third time Borussia had tried to sign me and the second time [coach] Dieter Hecking showed interest in me, Ginter told the club s official website. This support and faith blew me away and speaks for itself.
When a sporting director [Max Eberl] and a coach a…
Yannick Carrasco is reportedly set to return from Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang to Atletico Madrid, with today (Friday) being the deadline day for the winter transfer window. According to , the winger is already in Madrid, looking to finalize a loan move back to his former club.
Having left the Rojiblancos in January 2018, the 26-year-old Belgian has been looking to leave China since this time last year. Back then he was linked heavily with Arsenal, as Unai Emery, then the Gunners boss, sought to sign a wide attacking player. In the end, he settled for taking Denis Suarez from Barcelona in a loan move which eventually turned out a complete fiasco. Last summer it was Manchester United who were considering Carrasco, but they signed Daniel James instead.
Atletico…
Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City s record-breaker Rico Lewis after he became the youngest player to score on his first Champions League start in Wednesday s 3-1 win over Sevilla.
A much-changed City team initially fell behind to Rafa Mir s header in their final Group G fixture, but at the age of 17 years and 346 days old, Lewis hammered home to beat Karim Benzema s 2005 record and level the scores.
Lewis effort kick-started a City comeback, as Julian Alvarez put Guardiola s team in the ascendancy before teeing up Riyad Mahrez to complete the scoring late on.
Speaking to BT Sport after the victory, Guardiola credited Lewis for his intelligence and said City s win showed the future is bright at the Etihad Stadium.
What a goal, he s a fantastic player. …