Sports
Chelsea sack manager Lampard after 18 months
- Thomas Tuchel to take over
Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea FC after just 18 months as head coach and will be replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea’s decision, according to the club’s statement quoted by Sky Sport, on Monday, was based on poor results of the team under Lampard.
The statement said, “Results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.”
In another statement, owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, said, “This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him.
“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, the board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as head coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”
Tuchel, who left PSG in December and previously managed Borussia Dortmund, will be Chelsea’s next head coach and plans are under way to appoint him before the game against Wolves on Wednesday. The German is the only candidate for the role.
Lampard, who is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, enjoyed a good first season as Blues boss, taking them to the FA Cup final and securing qualification for the Champions League.
But after being given more than £200m to spend on new players in the summer, Chelsea find themselves ninth in the Premier League after 19 games, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United and five points off Liverpool in fourth.
Lampard took the side on a 17-game unbeaten run but away defeats to Everton, Wolves, Arsenal and Leicester and a 3-1 home defeat to Manchester City have cost him his job.
Chelsea had looked at bringing in an interim manager but RB Leipzig’s former Head of Sport Ralf Rangnick turned down the opportunity.
Tuchel won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 with Dortmund before a brief but trophy-laden spell in Paris which saw him win two Ligue 1 titles and a French Cup, as well as reaching the final of last season’s Champions League, which they lost to Bayern Munich.
“Roman Abramovich’s quotes on the sacking show just how much respect he has for Frank Lampard. Abramovich has never previously commented on footballing matters.
“The decision was difficult because it was Lampard, but easy because of what was happening on the pitch.
“Lampard lost his job because the board were very concerned by results and performances, especially the fact that he has the worst points per game record of any manager in the Abramovich era.
“The board could not see a way for Lampard to reverse the negative direction of travel.
“The board were very concerned about the lack of confidence, form and momentum.
“Lampard was told at the start of the season that the target was to close the gap on Liverpool and Manchester City and to be challenging at the top. That has not happened so a change had to be made. The aim was not just to finish in the top four.
“Chelsea felt they had no option but to make the change now in order to give Thomas Tuchel as much time as possible to turn their season around.
“Tuchel is being appointed because he is the best man for the job – it has nothing to do with him being German and nothing to do with trying to get the best out of Werner, Havertz and Rudiger.
“Lampard was told this morning. As always, he took it like the ultimate professional.”
Sports
United in hot chase for Osimhen amid transfer speculations
United in hot chase for Osimhen amid transfer speculations
Reports from Malu Mpasinkatu, Italy’s foremost pundit on African football, suggest that Manchester United is actively working on securing a deal for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen as the competition to acquire his services intensifies.
This season, Rasmus Hojlund remains Manchester United’s leading goal scorer, netting 13 times across all competitions. However, with his last goal dating back to February 13, the Premier League giants are eager to bolster their attacking options in the upcoming transfer window.
Manager Erik ten Hag’s team has been linked with several top strikers, including Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee, and Osimhen.
Manchester United’s pursuit of the Nigerian striker dates back to last summer, where both Osimhen and Harry Kane were top targets on Ten Hag’s transfer wishlist. However, neither deal materialized, with Kane eventually moving to Bayern Munich and Osimhen opting to stay at Napoli after guiding them to their first Scudetto in thirty years.
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Recent reports suggesting Osimhen’s proximity to a move to Paris Saint-Germain, with a lucrative four-year contract on the table, have spurred Manchester United to revive their interest and potentially hijack the deal.
Speaking on Radio Goal, Mpasinkatu revealed that United is ready to enter a bidding war for the 25-year-old striker.
“From my information, there is talk of [Marcus] Thuram at PSG instead of Mbappe. Osimhen wants to play in the Premier League, and Manchester United and Chelsea are keen on him. As for [Jonathan] David, he could be a suitable replacement for Osimhen, being young yet experienced in European football. Lille may demand a high fee for him, but their sold players have shown good performances elsewhere.”
While Osimhen’s goal-scoring output this season hasn’t matched his previous campaign, where he secured the Serie A top scorer accolade with 26 goals, his contribution of 15 goals and four assists in 27 appearances across all competitions still stands out, especially considering Napoli’s challenges.
United in hot chase for Osimhen amid transfer speculations
Sports
EPL: Liverpool suffer title blow in loss to Crystal Palace
EPL: Liverpool suffer title blow in loss to Crystal Palace
Andy Robertson insisted Liverpool will “keep fighting” despite their English Premier League (EPL) title hopes suffering a huge blow as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace at Anfield.
Eberechi Eze converted from Tyrick Mitchell’s cut-back to finish off a flowing Palace move early on and the visitors were deservedly in front at the break.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds ramped up the pressure in the second half but, just as in recent games against Manchester United and Atalanta, their finishing let them down as they fell to a first league loss at home since October 2022.
Defeat leaves Liverpool two points behind leaders Manchester City.
“I think we are always still in it. We are still there,” Liverpool full-back Robertson told Sky Sports. “We will keep fighting, keep going to the end, and let’s see where it gets us.
“With six games to go we will give it everything we have got. The problem is there’s two world-class teams doing it as well and that’s the difficult part.”
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Palace started brightly and led through Eze’s well-worked opener, before a slip from Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk gave Jean-Philippe Mateta a golden opportunity to double their lead.
The striker was clean through and lifted his effort past the returning Alisson Becker but Scotland skipper Robertson sprinted back to hook the ball off the line.
Liverpool rallied and Wataru Endo struck the bar after Palace failed to deal with a corner before Dean Henderson made a fine reaction save to deny Luis Diaz.
Oliver Glasner’s Palace retained a threat on the counter-attack until the break but were largely penned inside their own half in the second 45 minutes.
Henderson made another superb stop from Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota’s close-range effort was blocked by Nathaniel Clyne with the goalkeeper nowhere to be seen and Curtis Jones somehow sliced wide when through on goal.
Mateta did have another big chance to score the visitors’ second from a rare Palace attack but Alisson made a remarkable save from point-blank range.
Liverpool kept pushing for an equaliser but could not find a way through, with Mohamed Salah’s goalbound effort from inside the six-yard box blocked by Mitchell in stoppage time.
The Reds are now left to reflect on a potentially decisive loss with just six matches remaining in the league campaign.
EPL: Liverpool suffer title blow in loss to Crystal Palace
Sports
Aston Villa stun Arsenal 2-0, dent gunners title challenge
Aston Villa stun Arsenal 2-0, dent gunners title challenge
Aston Villa produced an outstanding performance to stun Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and leave Manchester City in pole position in the Premier League title race.
The game started with high anticipation for the Gunners after Liverpool’s shock home defeat by Crystal Palace but Arsenal were desperately disappointing and ended up well beaten as Villa boss Unai Emery made a winning return to his former club.
Arsenal were fortunate to remain on level terms for so long against the impressive visitors, who secured a deserved win to move three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more.
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The only surprise was that it took Villa until six minutes from the end of normal time to open the scoring – Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans hit the woodwork in each half before Leon Bailey finally broke the deadlock with a low finish at the far post.
Arsenal were kept out in the first half when Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a stunning save from Leandro Trossard, but the visitors wrapped up the win when Watkins raced clear in the 87th minute to loft a composed finish over David Raya.
It completed a perfect weekend for reigning champions City, with Pep Guardiola’s side now two points clear at the top with Arsenal ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.
Aston Villa stun Arsenal 2-0, dent gunners title challenge
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