Manchester City’s Frank Lampard scored a late winner to take his new club level with his old.
A month ago, Chelsea were being touted as likely to end the season unbeaten, matching the great Arsenal “Invincibles” squad of 2004. A defeat at Newcastle put that to rest. But the five goals Jose Mourinho’s team leaked at Tottenham Hotspur yesterday showed how far off those predictions had been. Having watched my own West Ham play with low energy and little ambition in a 1-1 draw against lowly West Brom, it occurred that the English Premier League teams could learn a thing or two from their oval ball counterparts. Super Rugby starts again next month and runs until the end of June. Teams have learned the hard way that the only way to meet the physical demands is through aggressive squad rotation. Although most EPL clubs have almost two dozen players to call from, even during this hectic week they ask the same athletes to don the jersey. After such high physical demands, there are sure to be some serious shocks for big clubs when they enter the FA Cup in the Third Round this weekend. (see fixtures after the last story) – AH
Spurs in five goal romp, kills Chelsea’s “invincibility” tag
by Tom WILLIAMS
Harry Kane starred as Tottenham Hotspur crushed Chelsea 5-3 in a New Year’s Day blockbuster to leave Jose Mourinho’s side dead-level with Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
Kane, a 21-year-old Spurs youth-team graduate, scored twice and had a hand in two other goals as Mourinho conceded five goals for only the second time in his managerial career.
It left Chelsea and City with completely identical records, after former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard had scored the decisive goal in the champions’ 3-2 win over Sunderland.
“It shows how good we are,” said Kane, whose side leapfrogged Arsenal into fifth place. “To score five against one of the best defences in the world shows how we’re coming together as a team.”
Even Chelsea’s brilliant Cesc Fabregas couldn’t lift the team above Spurs yesterday
Diego Costa put Chelsea ahead in the 18th minute at White Hart Lane by tapping in Oscar’s shot after Eden Hazard had hit the post, but Kane drilled in from the edge of the box on the half hour.
Danny Rose put Spurs ahead in the 44th minute and Andros Townsend extended the hosts’ lead from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after Kane had been felled by Gary Cahill.
Nacer Chadli teed up Kane to make it 4-1 early in the second half and Kane returned the favour after Hazard had reduced the arrears, with Chelsea captain John Terry netting a further consolation in the 87th minute.
“I think we made some defensive mistakes, some individual defensive mistakes,” Mourinho told BT Sport.
“The players tried a lot, but the fifth goal killed a bit our fantastic reaction.”
Lampard rescues City
Earlier, Lampard had celebrated the extension of his loan move from City’s sister club New York City FC by coming off the bench to score the winner against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium.
City, who left goalkeeper Joe Hart on the bench, went 2-0 up through a sensational 22-yard shot from Yaya Toure and a neat finish by Stevan Jovetic.
But just as they had done in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, City allowed Sunderland back into the game, with City old boys Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson, with a penalty, drawing the visitors level.
However, just three minutes after replacing Jovetic, Lampard headed home a cross from Gael Clichy to claim his seventh goal of the campaign.
“I think Frank Lampard is a very important player, particularly in these cases when you need a goal,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“But we played a very good 90 minutes, we moved the ball well and the only mistake was to give away a second goal from a penalty.”
Third-place Manchester United lost further momentum after drawing 1-1 with Stoke City at a windy Britannia Stadium, where Radamel Falcao cancelled out Ryan Shawcross’s second-minute opener.
“We didn’t deserve any more than a draw,” said United manager Louis van Gaal, whose side have drawn three of their last four games. “They were closer to a winning goal than us. We should have played better today.”
Southampton tightened their grip on fourth place and closed to within a point of United by winning 2-0 at home to Arsenal, who fell three points off the Champions League places as a result.
Sadio Mane curled home from a narrow angle on the right after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny went walkabout in the 34th minute, with Dusan Tadic adding a second in the 56th minute after a defensive mix-up.
Pardew watches Palace
“We have a good team and can beat the big ones if we show the spirit we did today,” said Southampton manager Ronald Koeman. “Everything is possible.”
Freshly appointed West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis watched from the stands as his new club drew 1-1 at West Ham United, with Saido Berahino cancelling out Diafra Sakho’s neatly constructed 10th-minute opener.
The result kept West Brom a point above the relegation zone.
Second-bottom Burnley showed extraordinary spirit to come from behind three times and force a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United, whose manager, Alan Pardew, is on the verge of joining Crystal Palace.
Steven Taylor, Jack Colback and Moussa Sissoko scored for Newcastle, but Burnley, who lost three players to injury in the first half, hit back each time through a Paul Dummett own goal and goals from Danny Ings and George Boyd.
Pardew was in the stands to watch Palace draw 0-0 at Aston Villa, ahead of his expected appointment as the successor to the sacked Neil Warnock.
Liverpool’s recent momentum was curbed as they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to bottom club Leicester City, which left them seven points below the top four in eighth place.
A pair of first-half Steven Gerrard penalties put Liverpool in control, but two goals in two minutes by David Nugent and Jeffrey Schlupp prevented Brendan Rodgers’s side from registering a third successive win.
Substitute Wilfried Bony earned Swansea City a 1-1 draw at Queens Park Rangers, cancelling out Leroy Fer’s 20th-minute thunderbolt with a cool stoppage-time strike.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic scored unanswered goals as Hull City condemned Everton to a fourth straight loss.
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reacts during their English Premier League soccer match against Hull City at Stamford Bridge in London December 13, 2014. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
Mourinho backs his team to recover after Spurs meltdown
by Darren Witcoop
Jose Mourinho insists Chelsea’s New Year’s day meltdown against Tottenham at White Hart Lane will prove to be a one-off.
Mourinho’s side began 2015 in the worst possible fashion with a 5-3 drubbing in Thursday’s London derby.
Chelsea, who at one point looked to be running away with the Premier League title having held an eight-point advantage, have now been pegged back by second placed Manchester City.
The champions and Chelsea are level on goal difference and goals scored, so the Blues are top only on alphabetical order.
But Mourinho is not concerned about Chelsea’s title chances just yet and, unhappy his team didn’t get two penalties at Spurs, he instead focused his attentions on the standard of referees in the English games and the amount of games his players faced over the congested festive period.
“We didn’t lose because of the group of players. Against Newcastle we had Nemanja Matic suspended but John Obi Mikel played a very good game,” Mourinho said.
“We lost then because we were unlucky and Newcastle were lucky. Mr Atkinson (the referee) had a completely clean performance.
“It was a different story against Tottenham and against Southampton in our previous game it’s again a similar story. But there’s nothing we can do. The only thing we can do is work and play well.”
Roughhouse tactics
The games come thick and fast for Chelsea with an FA Cup third round tie with Watford looming this week.
Mourinho will rest his key players against the Championship side, saying he has no choice but to give them a break as his flair players are also not being protected.
He fears Eden Hazard will be kicked out the English came by roughhouse tactics.
“We are going to do what we are doing up to now, knowing clearly that, in 20 league matches, the most offensive team, the team with more creative players in the attacking area, we had two penalties in 20 matches and I also think that people in love with football in this country, people must be in love with Eden Hazard,” Mourinho said.
“The way match to match he’s being punished by opponents and not protected by referees, maybe one day we won’t have Eden Hazard.
“It’s one, two, three, four, five and 10 aggressive fouls against him. They kick and kick and kick, and the kid resists. He’s a very honest guy in the way he plays, but that’s another problem.”
Meanwhile, in-form striker Harry Kane, who scored twice to enhance his growing reputation at Tottenham, won’t be ignored by England for much longer, according to Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
“We need to be careful with him. He’s still young. But it’s impossible to hide him because of his performances,” said Pochettino.
“We try to help him improve every day and, if the national team manager believes in him and wants to give him the opportunity. It’s not my decision.
“In the last few months Harry has had the possibility to play more and start to show his qualities. We are really happy with that.”
Tottenham are right back in the Champions League hunt after an upturn in results and Pochettino added: “In football, always, it changes very quickly the situation.
“We’ve started to improve a lot in the last few months. I think that we are more strong now.”
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
Manchester City’s players run towards Frank Lampard, the 36 year old whose contributions this season have been invaluable to the EPL Champions.
As Lampart takes Man City back to top, fresh focus on his future
by Ian WHITTELL
Frank Lampard’s future became the subject of fresh speculation after he sent Manchester City joint-top in the Premier League with the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Sunderland.
Lampard came off the bench to score a 73rd-minute winner in the New Year’s Day game, hours after City confirmed that he will remain at the club until the end of the season.
City officials claimed that Lampard has been loaned to the club from Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC, City’s sister club, who he signed for after leaving Chelsea at the end of last season.
He had initially been due to join up with the American outfit on January 1.
But it emerged that Lampard has not signed a loan deal with the defending Premier League champions, but has in fact signed an extension to the short-term contract that saw him join Manuel Pellegrini’s squad in August.
It calls into question the exact nature of Lampard’s contract with New York City and when asked whether the 36-year-old midfielder would ever play for the MLS side, City manager Pellegrini refused to answer.
“We are only finishing December,” the Chilean said in response to the question. “I think you can’t have all different questions about Frank Lampard.
“Frank Lampard will stay now with us until the end of the season. In the month of May, you can start thinking about what will happen in the future.”
New York City supporters have been vocal in their dissatisfaction with City’s handling of the Lampard affair, even though their club have yet to play a game.
A statement from supporters’ group the Third Rail claimed that Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan, who owns both clubs, was treating the New York version as an inferior member of his football stable.
Poyet admires City cunning
But Pellegrini said that even if City were to exit the Champions League knock-out stages early, there is no possibility of Lampard making a move across the Atlantic before May.
“That’s why, every time you asked me what was happening about Frank Lampard in December, I repeated that we were trying to keep Frank, but it was not easy because other people, other cubs were involved in this situation,” he said.
“I understand perfectly New York fans want to see Frank playing because for the fans to see Frank Lampard playing in New York City is amazing.
“I hope he will be there next year, but I think at this moment it is the best decision for him, for the club, for New York, for him to stay here with us until the end of the season.”
Lampard scored a dramatic winning goal, his fifth of the league season, three minutes after coming on against Sunderland after his side had squandered a lead handed to them by Yaya Toure and Stevan Jovetic.
Former City players Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson, with a penalty, equalised for Sunderland before Lampard’s winner.
With former leaders Chelsea subsequently losing 5-3 at Tottenham Hotspur, it left City neck-and-neck with Jose Mourinho’s side at the summit.
Meanwhile, beaten manager Gus Poyet refused to condemn City for their handling of the Lampard issue and said they deserved credit for the manner in which they had used the regulations to sign the former Chelsea star.
“For me it’s clever, it’s smart,” said the former Chelsea midfielder. “It’s legal, so I’ve got no problem with that. But his goal? Yes, I do have a problem with that!
“That’s more something I can control. When you’re playing away at the champions and you find yourself 2-0 down, you need to do something very special to come back, so after coming back we needed to do better.
“It’s Frank Lampard, we know what he does. He’s going to arrive late in the box so we need to mark (him).”
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
ManU hit with another big injury in draw at Stoke
by Nick LUCY
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal complained that the New Year had brought no change of fortune on the injury front following his side’s 1-1 draw at Stoke City.
His year got off to the worst possible start as United fell behind to an early Ryan Shawcross goal at the Britannia Stadium on Thursday and although they equalised, they also lost Ashley Young to injury.
Young, who has flourished under Van Gaal in the absence of injured team-mates, limped off with a hamstring injury and could be sidelined for a month.
“It looks like four weeks, but I am not a doctor,” said Van Gaal, whose side earned a point thanks to a 26th-minute equaliser by Radamel Falcao.
United’s manager was quick to highlight once again the concerns that he has for the health of his players after such a busy festive programme of matches.
“You have seen, for example, that Ashley Young could not bear that load,” he said.
Young will be one absentee when United begin their FA Cup campaign with a potential banana skin at League One strugglers Yeovil Town on Sunday.
Van Gaal added: “I will have to check on my players tomorrow (Friday) and then again the day after before we can begin to plan for the FA Cup match.
“The FA Cup is the shortest route to success, so we are very interested and my players are also very interested I think.”
Following his experience in the League Cup, where United were humiliated 4-0 by third-tier Milton Keynes Dons, Van Gaal knows his side are in for another tough test in the West Country.
He wore the look of a relieved man after United took a point from a game in which his side were far from their best.
Hughes ‘disappointed’
“I think we have known before the game already that this shall be a tough game,” he said. “Stoke are a well-organised team and play with the long ball.
“We started very badly by conceding from a set play that we had prepared for. They scored the same way we had thought. That’s a big disappointment.”
He added: “I think Stoke City deserved more the victory and at the end a draw is good. I cannot say we were the better team today. I have said that many, many times before, but today I cannot say that.
“We could have passed the ball quicker I think. The crosses were not so good. I don’t think one cross was good.”
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes was frustrated that his side had only one point to show for their efforts against his former club.
But he said: “It’s a measure of how far we have progressed that we are disappointed with a point from a game against one of the top clubs in Europe.
“We created by far the better opportunities and had the better momentum to our play.”
Hughes can now look forward to welcoming his home-town club Wrexham to the Britannia Stadium in the FA Cup.
“It is an occasion I am looking forward to,” he said. “It will be a great FA Cup game, because Wrexham will be bringing 5,000 fans.
“It means so much to them as a club because it will boost their finances, but we will be looking to go as far we can in the competition.
“I watched my first live football game at Wrexham when they played in the sixth round of the FA Cup so I desperately want to see them enjoy good times again in the future.”
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
Burnley grabs another unlikely point, confident of avoiding relegation
by John Wardle
Burnley remain in the Premier League relegation zone after a 3-3 draw at Newcastle, but Sean Dyche is confident his team will beat the drop.
The Clarets coped with the loss of three players through injuries and illness in the opening half and almost triumphed despite going behind on three occasions at St James’ Park on Thursday.
And Dyche’s disappointment at his side’s failure to achieve a badly-needed win was tempered by the way his team coped with the various setbacks they encountered during a hugely entertaining game.
“It was certainly an interesting day at the office,” Dyche said. “We have hit the woodwork four times and created other chances, so I’m scratching my head about how we didn’t come away with a win.
“I’ve also not experienced a situation before where three players had to go off so early in the game, but we dealt with it fantastically well.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my players. We talk about their effort and organisation, but some of the quality shown was outstanding.
“Newcastle were excellent for 25 minutes and on the front foot but we hung on. People were probably thinking it would be tough for us, but you saw the desire and belief of the players.
“We are relentless in how we play and there is a mentality here that is very, very strong. Our performances over the Christmas period have been outstanding.”
Battling Burnley
Newcastle, playing for the first time since manager Alan Pardew’s departure, led on three occasions through Steven Taylor, Jack Colback and Moussa Sissoko, but Burnley responded every time, starting with an own goal from the Newcastle defender Paul Dummett.
Danny Ings, a player linked with Newcastle, and George Boyd added the other goals for Burnley as they scored twice in the second-half, just as they did when they drew 2-2 at Manchester City in their previous game.
However, Burnley knew the game could have been out of their reach by the interval.
Newcastle were quick and imaginative throughout the first half as caretaker manager John Carver introduced a more attacking style than they had displayed under Pardew, but he is concerned at their failure to close the game down after taking the lead so frequently.
“I would love to know what changed at half-time. I’ve never been involved in a game where the cliche of a game of two halves was more appropriate,” he said.
“It could have been 3-0 at the interval, then we came up against a direct style of play and didn’t know how to deal with it.
“Burnley should have won the game. I told Sean afterwards that we got away with a point. We didn’t deserve it.”
Newcastle now face Leicester in the FA Cup and will be without Taylor, who could miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury.
“Unfortunately, we have lost Steven Taylor. It looks like he has ruptured his Achilles tendon — and it’s not the one he did previously, so I think that’s the end of him now for the season,” Carver said.
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
Dangers aplenty for exhausted top sides in FA Cup Third Round
by Tom WILLIAMS
After a frantic festive period, Premier League clubs enter the FA Cup this weekend in a third-round programme thick with historical resonance.
Improbably, the very first tie out of the hat in December’s draw, which took place in Hull, was a rematch of last season’s final between Arsenal and Hull City.
Hull manager Steve Bruce, whose side lost 3-2 at Wembley last May, described the coincidence as “amazing”, and it was to prove the first of no fewer than four final repeats.
Sunderland host Leeds United in a repeat of the 1973 final, when Don Revie’s all-conquering Leeds were beaten 1-0 by second-tier Sunderland in a match remembered for a stunning double-save by Jimmy Montgomery.
At Turf Moor, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur will face off in a remake of the 1962 final, which Spurs won 3-1 after a cagey encounter to defend the trophy they had lifted as part of the Double 12 months previously.
Liverpool travel to fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon in a tie that will rekindle memories of the 1988 final, when the original Wimbledon stunned the newly crowned league champions 1-0 in one of the competition’s biggest upsets.
Wimbledon, dubbed the ‘Crazy Gang’, subsequently left south-west London and became the Milton Keynes Dons due to falling attendances and an inability to build a new stadium, with AFC Wimbledon formed by fans opposed to the move.
“It is one of the most important milestones in our development –- from finally getting out of the Ryman Premier League to getting the rights to our stadium,” said Wimbledon chief executive Erik Samuelson.
“To be playing against a Premier League team for the first time –- it has to be up there with them.”
‘Massive underdogs’
One of the most evocative ties of the round takes place on Sunday when third-division Yeovil Town welcome 11-time cup-winners Manchester United to Huish Park.
The teams have met only twice before, with both games coming in the FA Cup. United crushed Yeovil 8-0 in the fifth round in February 1949, having beaten them 3-0 in the third round 11 years earlier.
Chelsea, crushed 5-3 by Spurs in the league on Thursday, visit second-tier Watford, who they have beaten en route to glory in the competition on three occasions, in 1970, 2009 and 2010.
Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, could be excused a sense of trepidation ahead of their visit to Chelsea’s Premier League co-leaders Manchester City, having been annihilated 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the League Cup in September.
Aside from Burnley’s game against Spurs, the only other all-Premier League ties are Newcastle United’s trip to Leicester City on Saturday and Everton’s home game with West Ham United on Tuesday.
Three Premier League teams face fifth-division opposition, with Crystal Palace visiting Dover Athletic, Stoke City hosting Wrexham and Tony Pulis taking charge of West Bromwich Albion for the first time against Gateshead.
The lowest-ranked team left in the competition, Blyth Spartans of the seventh-tier Northern Premier League, tackle Championship side Birmingham City at their 4,435-capacity Croft Park home.
“There is no doubt whatsoever that we are the massive underdogs, but we will go out and give it our all,” said Blyth centre-back Nathan Buddle. “Who knows what might happen on the day?”
Fixtures (1500 GMT unless otherwise stated)
Friday (1945 GMT):
Cardiff City v Colchester United, Milton Keynes Dons v Chesterfield
Saturday:
Barnsley v Middlesbrough, Blyth Spartans v Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic, Brentford v Brighton and Hove Albion, Cambridge United v Luton Town, Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers, Derby County v Southport, Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City, Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town v Reading, Leicester City v Newcastle United, Millwall v Bradford City, Preston North End v Norwich City, Rochdale v Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United v Bournemouth, Tranmere Rovers v Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion v Gateshead
Sunday:
Arsenal v Hull City (1730 GMT), Aston Villa v Blackpool, Chelsea v Watford (1600 GMT), Dover Athletic v Crystal Palace (1300 GMT), Manchester City v Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield United (1300 GMT), Southampton v Ipswich Town, Stoke City v Wrexham, Sunderland v Leeds United (1300 GMT), Yeovil Town v Manchester United (1530 GMT)
Monday:
AFC Wimbledon v Liverpool (1955 GMT), Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur (1945 GMT)
Tuesday (1945 GMT):
Everton v West Ham United
© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
The post EPL: The ultimate wrap – Spurs derail Chelsea with five, Lampard lifts City appeared first on BizNews.com.