Eden Hazard has set his sights on a successful campaign with Chelsea following a season when the club won the Champions League and FA Cup.
Belgium international Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in June, and he is keen to become a key figure at the west London club.
Chelsea s goals for the new season? We have not discussed it with the coach yet, but I guess that we want to do as well as last season, Hazard said.
I do not really have any personal objectives. I just hope to play as many games as possible. I am not the type of person to set certain goals. The most important thing for me is to get regular first-team action and do well.
Moving in the opposite direction was Salomon Kalou, and Hazard hopes the Ivory Coast international can help Lille make an …
Over the course of the last year, it feels like France have lost some of their momentum after winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With that being said the expectation has always been that they would walk through the rest of their European Championship qualifying group, but it doesn t seem as if that s going to be the case. Earlier tonight, Turkey defeated Les Bleus in what could prove to be a vitally important result in the qualifiers.
An odd evening
In the early stages of the game Antoine Griezmann headed wide in a decent opportunity, but apart from that, the French really weren t themselves. They had a strong side out with eight of the starting XI starting the World Cup final against Croatia, and yet, they just didn t seem to get going. At the very least you d expect them to st…
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned Leroy Sane must show more desire and says Bayern Munich will be prepared to kick his butt if needed to get the best out of their big-money signing.
Sane has endured a difficult start to his time at Bayern and hit a new low when he was hauled off after being introduced as a substitute to replace the injured Kingsley Coman in the first half of a dramatic 2-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
The winger, signed on a five-year deal for an initial fee of €49million (£44.5m) rising to €60m (£54.5m) from Manchester City in July, spent just 36 minutes on the field at BayArena.
Sane had been criticised by the great Lothar Matthaus ahead of the game and Bayern coach Hansi Flick also said the 24-year-old must offer more in ord…
Torino captain Kamil Glik believes beating Juventus in Sunday s Turin derby would prompt a national celebration , as the champions close in on a fourth successive Serie A title.
A win at Estadio Olimpico could see them claim the Scudetto for the 31st time, though such an outcome relies on Roma losing at Inter on Saturday and Chievo beating in-form Lazio a day later in Rome.
With Juve boasting a superior head-to-head record against their nearest rivals, it would not be possible for either to usurp them.
But Torino and Glik are looking to ensure that results elsewhere are rendered irrelevant by claiming a first derby win since April 1995.
And Glik, who has been captain since July 2013, believes that a Torino triumph would be celebrated throughout th…
Jerome Boateng claims he is not concerned about the calf injury he is carrying and will not alter his game despite the risk of suspension as Germany prepare to face Italy at Euro 2016.
The Bayern Munich centre-back was substituted late in the victories over Northern Ireland and Slovakia at the European Championship as the world champions attempt to manage the defender s muscle problem.
The 27-year-old, though, is confident of being fully fit to take on the Azzurri in the quarter-finals in Bordeaux on Saturday.
My calf is fine, he said.
It won t be an issue.
Should Germany win, Boateng could find himself suspended for the semi-final against hosts France or Iceland if he receives a second yellow card of the tournament.
I will go into t…
Fernando Torres is relishing a new challenge at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and hopes to remain at Stamford Bridge for years to come.
The 29-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Premier League club after never really hitting top form following his 50 million-pound transfer from Liverpool in January 2011.
However, the Spaniard who is currently on international duty at the FIFA Confederations Cup has dispelled rumours of a departure by insisting he cannot wait to play for Mourinho, who has re-joined Chelsea following three seasons with Real Madrid.
Torres is aware of the Portuguese s impressive CV, and is excited by the manager s claims that he would make him a better striker if he was to remain at the club.
His words motivate me, he told As. …
Sydney FC coach Ian Crook was disappointed with some Sydney FC fans jeering skipper Terry McFlynn in Saturday loss to the Newcastle Jets.
McFlynn was greeted with sarcastic cheers by some Sky Blues supporters when he was substituted out of the game in the second half of the 3-2 defeat at Allianz Stadium.
The Northern Irishman is the only player to have figured in every A-League season for the club and led the side to their most recent title in 2010.
While the Sky Blues have been well below their best in the opening two weeks of the season, it seems McFlynn is the one who is bearing most of the criticism from the Sydney fans.
Every supporter has a right to say what they want to say but for me if you re a supporter of Sydney FC, you support Sydney FC, Cr…
Virgil van Dijk has been ruled out of Liverpool s Premier League trip to Chelsea through illness, with Mohamed Salah surprisingly named on the bench as Jurgen Klopp makes six changes to his side.
Van Dijk reportedly missed training after feeling unwell ahead of Tuesday s game at Stamford Bridge, where Liverpool are looking to end a run of three successive defeats either side of the international break.
The defender previously missed seven games with a hamstring injury in January and February, with the Reds suffering demoralising defeats at Brighton and Hove Albion and Wolves in his absence.
Van Dijk is not the only notable absentee from Klopp s starting lineup in west London, with Salah joining Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson in dropping to the bench.…
Newly Promoted Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed their goal scoring hero Sylvan Ebanks-Blake in a new four-year deal.
The 23 year old striker, who was leading scorer in the Championship for Wolves, has committed his future to the club until 2013.
The English forward has scored 37 goals in 61 league games since joining Wolves in January 2008
Chief executive Jez Moxey said: This is a reward to Sylvan for his outstanding goalscoring for the last two years.
To win the Golden Boot two years running is a superb achievement and we want him to feel absolutely magnificent going into the Premier League, where hopefully he can do exceptionally well.
We realise it s a big step-up but he s really happy about being here and he sees his …
Best Odds: 4/6
Bookmaker:
Looking to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Tuesday night, Chelsea will make the trip to St. Mary s when they meet Southampton.
Southampton
Starting with the hosts, while Southampton might have managed to snatch a last-gasp 2-1 victory away at Leicester on August 20th, Ralph Hasenhüttl s men came crashing back down to earth over the weekend. Despite smelling the chance to spring an upset against an inconsistent Manchester United, the one-time RB Leipzig boss saw his side get hit with a 1-0 defeat on home soil. Opening the 2022/23 campaign with a routine 4-1 drumming at the hands of Tottenham earlier in the month, the Saints have won just one of their opening four Premier League outings. Despite hanging onto their top-f…