The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Swansea City

  • FA slam Conte with £8,000 fine for Swansea dismissal

    FA slam Conte with £8,000 fine for Swansea dismissal

     

    Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association after being sent off during last week’s 1-0 Premier League win over Swansea City.

    Conte was asked to leave the dugout by referee Neil Swarbrick after a prolonged remonstration with fourth official Lee Mason with regards to perceived time-wasting by Paul Clement’s struggling Swansea.

    The former Juventus and Italy boss apologised immediately after the match, in which Antonio Rudiger headed the decisive goal, saying he expected to be fined and that he would leave complaining to the match officials in the hands of his players from now on.

    “I think it’s right to accept [the misconduct charge] and to pay the fine,” he told a news conference ahead of the weekend victory over Newcastle United.

    “As I said after the game, if the referee took this decision I have to respect it. I want to respect his decision and pay the fine.

    “They were wasting time and I think the referee has to protect the team that wants to win and play football. I was angry because, despite it happening twice, I said to the fourth official ‘look, they are wasting time’.

    “In the future I will tell my players on the pitch to try to tell the referee. I’ll try to avoid suggesting things to the fourth official.”

    Premier League champions Chelsea lie third in the table and travel to West Ham on Saturday.

    Meanwhile Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane and President Florentino Perez have made contact with Eden Hazard.

    The Chelsea forward has emerged as a key target for the Santiago Bernabeu club. He has delayed signing a new £300,000-a-week deal at Stamford Bridge as he fears it might stop a move.

    Spanish outlet Diario Gol has now claimed that the manager has been given permission by his president to sign Hazard.

    Zidane himself is a long-standing admirer of the Belgium international and, as Sportsmail reported earlier this week, views him as key to his rebuilding project at Real.

    A move for Hazard was put on the back-burner due to the stunning form of Spanish youngsters Marco Asensio and Isco towards the end of last year.

    But Real have stumbled in La Liga this campaign. They are fourth in the league, well behind leaders Barcelona, and only managed second place in their Champions’ League group.

    And that means Perez is willing to sanction a move for Hazard, especially as Cristiano Ronaldo is now seen as less integral to their future.

    Diario therefore has suggested that Zidane made contact with the 26-year-old forward this week after he delayed penning his new contract.

    Last month, Hazard admitted it would be a ‘dream’ to play under Zidane. He said: ‘Everyone knows the respect I have for Zidane as a player, but also as a manager. He was my idol.

    ‘I do not know what will happen in my career in the future. However, for sure, to play under Zidane would be a dream.’

    However, he insisted: ‘I am enjoying life at Chelsea. I still have a lot of things to achieve with them. I am focused on playing for Chelsea.’

    Hazard has previously admitted that it would be a ‘dream’ to work under Zidane

  • Nigerian-born Abraham gets first England call-up

    Nigerian-born Abraham gets first England call-up

    England on Thursday called up the uncapped Nigerian-born Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for their friendly matches against Germany and Brazil at Wembley this month.

    The Football Association (FA) in England listed them in the 25-man squad for the games against the World Cup holders on November 10 and Brazil four days later.

    Abraham and Loftus-Cheek, who are both Chelsea players out on loan at Swansea City and Crystal Palace respectively, have broken into the Gareth Southgate’s senior squad.

    This is on the back of some impressive performances in the Premier League.

    Striker Abraham who some weeks back caught the fancy of Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has scored four of Swansea’s seven league goals this season.

    He has since, in the light of Pinnick’s expressed desire to have him play for Nigeria, said he was not yet ready to make up his mind on his international future.

    Midfielder Loftus-Cheek has made six appearances for Crystal Palace in spite of missing some games with a thigh injury.

    Defender Gomez, who has rebounded well since returning from a 15-month layoff with a ligament injury in January, started seven league games for Liverpool this season.

    “We’re in a position now where we’ve qualified for the World Cup and we always wanted to look at the team and how we want it to evolve,” Southgate said in a statement.

    England team
    England team

     

    “This is an opportunity to look at new players and a different way of playing and I think the beauty of my position is that I know the young players in the system.”

    Manchester United’s Ashley Young, who last played for his country in September 2013, was recalled for his impressive run under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

    Full-back, Danny Rose and Jamie Vardy returned from injury, while Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Manchester United defender Chris Smalling were not included in the squad.

    2018: England squad against Russia

    Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (West Ham United – loan from Manchester City), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

    Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), John Stones (Manchester City)

    Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham)

    Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

    Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace – loan from Chelsea), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Harry Winks (Tottenham)

    Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Swansea City – loan from Chelsea), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester).

  • EPL: Some of The Things You Might Have Missed

    EPL: Some of The Things You Might Have Missed

    English Premier League on Saturday was action pact as expected as 17 goals were recorded from the seven matches that were played.

    Incase you missed the matches including the star match of the day at Stamford Bridge in the game against Pep Guardiola’s side, read below some of the things you might have missed.

    Chelsea 0 – 1 Manchester City

    OPTA FACT

    • Kevin De Bruyne has scored nine of his last 11 Man City goals from outside the box, including each of the last four.

    A game which didn’t quite live up to its billing – not helped, of course, by Alvaro Morata limping off in the first-half with a hamstring injury. After a goalless first-half, Manchester City’s control greatly increased and Pep Guardiola’s playmakers began to make deep incisions into a shuffled Chelsea’s defence.

    When Kevin De Bruyne eventually gave the visitors the lead, after a well-timed pass from Gabriel Jesus and scything move, it was a goal they thoroughly deserved. And, ultimately, it was an advantage they protected well: Chelsea mounted a vague response, but all the best chances in the remainder of the game fell to City.

     

    Saturday’s round-up, as Tottenham run over Huddersfield and Manchester United continue to click through the gears.

     

    Huddersfield 0 – 4 Tottenham

    OPTA FACT

    • Harry Kane now has 13 goals for club & country in September 2017; his best ever goal tally in a single month of his career.

    A real lesson. Huddersfield have begun Premier League life well, but this was not David Wagner’s best day: Huddersfield played into Tottenham’s hands, got caught too high up the field three times inside the first half-hour and conceded as many goals in the first half as they had in their previous six games.

    Spurs spent most of the second half well within their comfort zone, but two goals from Harry Kane (who is now just 14 goals short of Teddy Sheringham’s Premier League record for the club) and Ben Davies capped a performance in which they played some of their brightest football of the season. Moussa Sissoko added a fourth from close range in second-half stoppage-time.

    Goals: Kane 10′, 23′, Davies 16′, Sissoko 90′

    Bournemouth 0 – 0 Leicester

    Bournemouth certainly started like a side determined pull out of the relegation zone before the international break. Jermain Defoe had the clearest opportunity, but slammed his shot against the crossbar. Eddie Howe’s team were the better of the two and certainly posed the tougher questions but, oddly for two teams who don’t exactly specialise in clean sheets, this proved a stalemate.

    Goals: *Tumbleweed*

    Manchester United 4 – 0 Crystal Palace

    OPTA FACT

    • This is the first time that Marcus Rashford has assisted two goals in a single game for Man Utd.

    Exactly the start here that Palace didn’t want. Only three minutes had passed when Marcus Rashford knotted up Joel Ward before setting up Juan Mata to open the scoring. Ten minutes before the break, an impressive Manchester United performance was further rewarded by their second, Fellaini scoring after good work from Ashley Young. Fellaini would double his tally just after half-time and Romelu Lukaku scored a late fourth for his seventh goal in as many games.

    Goals: Mata 3′, Fellaini 35′ & 48′, Lukaku 86′

    Stoke 2 – 1 Southampton

    OPTA FACT

    • Saido Berahino is now without a goal in 31 hours & 23 minutes of Premier League football (Stoke & WBA combined).

    Stoke have quietly begun to go off the boil, having not won a Premier League game since beating Arsenal in August and having not led in any game at all since their 4-0 win over Rochdale in the League Cup. Mame Diouf gave them the lead here, heading in Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner on 40 minutes.

    It wasn’t all good news in the first half, though, as there was still time for Saido Berahino to miss a penalty. His wait for a first Stoke goal continues. Fifteen minutes before time, Maya Yoshida acrobatically converted Shane Long’s flick to score only Southampton’s second goal away from home this season. Peter Crouch would have the last word, though, scoring late against his old side to win Mark Hughes three overdue points.

    Goals: Diouf 40′, Crouch 85′- Yoshida 75′

    West Brom 2- 2 Watford

    OPTA FACT

    • Abdoulaye Doucouré has scored 3 goals in his last 7 league games, as many as in his previous 57.

    Despite losing, Tony Pulis would have been greatly encouraged by the improvement he saw in his side last Monday at Arsenal and West Brom initially built on that here, scoring twice in three first-half minutes through Salomon Rondon and Jonny Evans. A first goal of the season for each and the first time since May 2017 that Pulis’s team had scored more than one in a game. Abdoulaye Doucoure pulled one back before the interval and then late, late into second-half injury time, Richarlison headed in Jose Holebas’s free-kick to steal a point.

    Goals: Rondon 18′, Evans 21′ – Doucoure 37′, Richarlison 90′

    West Ham 1 – 0 Swansea

    OPTA FACT

    • Swansea have never kept an away clean sheet at West Ham, conceding 75 goals in 32 games in all comps (W2 D7 L23).

    Not a first half that gave anybody great reason for cheer; these really are two sides struggling for confidence. It didn’t really improve in the second period, either, and this game – if anyone chooses to remember it at all – become more notable for Slaven Bilic’s curious substitutions; Javier Hernandez’s withdrawal, in particular, proved unpopular with the home fans.

    Still, West Ham mounted a late siege and, after Andy Carroll had hit the bar minutes earlier, Diafra Sakho (remember him?) finished well to snatch the points. A relief for the home fans, less so the ones who (quite understandably) decided to leave early.

    Goals: Sakho ’90

  • Sigurdsson equaliser damages Manchester united top four hope

    Sigurdsson equaliser damages Manchester united top four hope

    Manchester United suffered a big blow to their top-four hopes as Swansea City held them to yet another draw at Old Trafford.

    Gylfi Sigurdsson free kick cancelled out Wayne Rooney penalty to secure a 1-1 draw for Swansea City at Old Trafford that damages Manchester United’s top-four ambitions.

    Rooney swept home from the spot moments before half-time after Marcus Rashford had gone to ground which was a little bit controversial with the replay showing that there was  no contact from Lukasz Fabianski, but Swansea’s set-piece maestro stole a point that could wreck the hosts’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League through domestic competition.

    Swansea, who are now just two points adrift of safety in 18th place, looked the brighter of the teams for much of the first half but chances were limited before the penalty incident towards the end of the half time.

     

  • Spurs keep title dream alive with dramatic win

    Tottenham Hotspur came from behind in the final minutes of the game to secure a dramatic 3-1 victory over Swansea City and keep the title race alive.

    Swansea took the lead early through Wayne Routledge but for the vast majority of the game they were defending very deep in their own half as Spurs piled on endless pressure.

    However as the game entered the last stretch a shot from Christian Eriksen was deflected into the path of Dele Alli, who tapped into the empty net.

    Swansea were evidently shell-shocked and things soon got worse when a long ball from the back found Son his shot found the back of the net despite the best efforts from Lukasz Fabianski.

    The Swansea goalkeeper was nearly taken off after a collision but he fought his ground and stayed on but he probably wished he had come off as Eriksen completed the turn-around with a third.

    TALKING POINT

    ‘Spursy’ is no longer a thing. Last season Spurs were in a great position to win the league. Not only did they fail to catch Leicester but they also managed to let Arsenal finish above them. That is ‘Spury,’ the definition of letting something slip when it is in your graspe. Spurs have been accused of bottling things for too long, that is over now. Mauricio Pochettino has turned them into winners, a team that doesn’t give up without an almighty fight. Were it not for Chelsea‘s incredible winning run they would be top. As it is, they are still in this title race.

    MAN OF THE MATCH

    Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) Kyle Walker and Alli were both superb but Eriksen ran this show for Spurs. He set up his team-mates on countless occasions only to see shots blocked or saved by Fabianski. He was intelligent in his movement and his passing was a joy to behold. He has really stepped up his game this season having struggled for consistency before and he is the one leading this title charge from Spurs.

  • Swansea 1-3 Man United: Red Devils destroy Swans

    Swansea 1-3 Man United: Red Devils destroy Swans

    A brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a goal from Paul Pogba helped Manchester United return to winning ways in the Premier League courtesy of a 3-1 victory over struggling Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.

    Jose Mourinho made six changes to the side beaten by Fenerbahce in midweek, but the manager was forced to watch on from the stands as he served his one-match touchline ban after being sent off against Burnley last weekend.

    It was one of the five to keep their place that almost gave United a lead after less than two minutes when Wayne Rooney – now just two goals short of Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time record for the club – curled an early effort narrowly past the far post.

    Paul Pogba broke the deadlock for the visitors before a brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent them into the halfway stage with a deservedly convincing lead, and they held out despite a Mike van der Hoorn consolation to condemn Swansea to a 10th straight Premier League match without a win.

    It is now 10 league games without a win since the opening day of the season for Swansea and just one point from a possible 12 in charge for Bradley ahead of their meeting with Everton after the international break.

    With this win Manchester United have avoid making their worst start to a Premier League campaign courtesy of the victory, climbing up to  sixth in the Premier League table with their first away league win since August.

  • Pogba injured, doubtful for Swansea clash

    Pogba injured, doubtful for Swansea clash

    Football most expensive player Paul Pogba is doubtful for Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Swansea City on Sunday after he limped off during the Europa League game against Fenerbahce.

    The Frenchman seemed to injure his thigh in a tackle with Brazilian midfielder Souza and he expressed his frustration by punching the ground before getting back to his feet.

    Pogba tried to shake off the knock and played on, even managing to create enough space for himself to fashion United’s first shot on target – albeit an effort comfortably saved by Volkan Demirel. However, on the half-hour mark he signalled to the bench that he felt unable to carry on and he was replaced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

    With Ander Herrera suspended after his sending-off against Burnley last weekend, the Reds could have some problems in midfield ahead of the return to domestic action. It will therefore be intriguing to see if Jose Mourinho calls on the services of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has just returned to training with the first-team squad.

    There was no official update on Pogba’s condition before the squad flew home from Istanbul but if he is ruled out for the weekend, he will join existing absentees Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia on the sidelines.