Luis Enrique took full blame for Barcelona’s humiliatingdefeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.champions at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their last 16 clash.Barca have reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the last nine years, but Enrique admits they must produce a ‘heroic performance’ at the Nou Camp if they are to extend their run.“It was a disastrous night for usand Aaron Wan-Bissaka have quickly set
tled.The pair could make their first United appearances during the meeting with Perth Glory.“They are settling in really quickly, [and] we are helping them,” said Pereira.“They have been in England already an in which we were clearly inferior,” said Enrique.“PSG did what we expected them to do and produced their best version and we were at our poorest.“I’m responsible for this.“It’s extremely difficult for us now but we go back to our stadium andon wingers Rachid Ghezzal and Fousseni Diabate.Both are close to finalizing deals that will see them leave the club before the Sept 2 European transfer window deadline.Ghezzal will head out on a loan deal, while Diabate may also exit in similar fashi really we need a heroic performance. But why not dream?”
.Koscielny picked up an injury in the warthe Reds should move for Leicester City attacker James Maddison.Maddison has been linked with a move away from Leicester this summer, with Manchester United eyeing a move for the playmaker.However, Carter has urged his old side to beat United to Maddm-up prior to on Wednesday night, ler admits there was frustration after their draw with Champions League opponents Chelsea.Soler says the applause at the end of the 2-2 result was proof the hosts had the better of the game.He stated, “It has been seen that the whole stadium has applwhile Cech pulled up with a muscleproblem after running to defend a late corner.And, predictably, Arsenal fans cannot b
elieve their misfortune as the title slips further out of their reach.Have a read of their reaction to the news that Cech and Koscileny will not feature in the north London derby…
Andy Dawson and James Brown bring you a light-hearted look back on a busy day of sporting action.This week,the boys chat to Southend United manager Ruben Loftus-Cheek has signed a whopping contract extension with Chelsea, accordi by South America’s champions. 2019 has been some year for Allan Rodrigues de Souza – the stillLiverpool-owned midfielder of Fluminense.First the update. Having established himself not only as a first-choice for Flu, but now among the most coveted yong to reports.The 23-year-old is expected to become a key figure for the Blues once he returns from a long-term Achilles injury.The Sun says Chelsea have increased his wPhil Brown, talk bubble football and 
MORE!Get all that and MORE in the latestLate Tackle Podcast. Have a listen, above,or
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte trusts he will not be burned by placing his faith in Diego Costa.Conte says the striker is committed to Chelsea’s Premier League title bid.“I can put my hands in the fire,” Conte said. “It means that you trust 100 per cent the situation.”Costa missed last weekend’s win at Leicester with a back injury amid reports of a bust-up with Conte and his backroom staff.The 28-year-old has also been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League, but is in contention to return in Sunday’s home game against Hull.Conte added: “The player wants to stay at Chelsea. He’s very happy to play with us. This idea (to move) is far from his mind.“He missed only one game, the last game. Now he’s ready to come back with us.“I’m sure about his commitment, his behaviours, his will to fight with this team, to try together to fight to the end to try to win the title.”Chelsea have a seven-point lead entering tonfidence of his players.Groves has said the club’s players have lost confidence in their manager given their summer arrivals have failed to impress and after their poor start to the season.“The thing with the Arsenal situation with Unai Emery is, his weekend’s fixtures, with Costa’s 14 goals in 19 Premier League games integral to the revival.Costa was among the players jeered by the Chelsea support in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho’s sacking 13 months ago.Conte does not want a repeat. The Italian says Costa’s loyalty should not be questioned, maintaining the one-game absence was enforced.“I don’t think this situation can happen. It’s not right,” Conte said.“Last week, he had this injury, this pain in his back.“Every time Diego played for Chelsea, he always put all of himself into it for this club, for this shirt.“For this reason, I’m sure on Sunday that, if Diego starts the game, he’ll put all himself into it for this club, the shirt and the fans, and help us to win the game.”Costa had been linked with a mega-money move to Tianjin Quanjian. The CSL club’s billionaire owner Shu Yuhui recently met his agent Jorge Mendes.Conte insisted he had no issue with “friend” Mendes, who had shown “respect” to Chelsea.Costa has also been linked with a return to Atletico Madrid and a switch to Barcelona.Conte was asked if Chelsea should try to tie Costa down to an extended contract to end speculation over his future. The Spain striker is halfway through the five-year deal he signed on joining from Atletico in July 2014.“I think now it’s better to be focused, to be concentrated on the present, not on the future,” he added.“Now it’s important to have these four months in a very strong way. Then we’ll see.”Conte refused to directly address questions over the reported training ground argument and would not confirm if he met with Costa individually this week.And the Italian was adamant Costa trained on his own on Sunday and Monday – while his team-mates had time off – only to be in the right physical condition to rejoin first-team training on Tuesday.Costa’s selection for what would be his 100th Chelsea appearance is not guaranteed. However, his only two absences in the Premier League this season were when he was unavailable – suspended against Bournemouth and injured last week.Eden Hazard played the central role in a front three with Pedro and Willian against Leicester, and Chelsea won 3-0, just as they did against the Cherries on Boxing Day.“I sleep some hours less to make the best decision,” Conte added.“I have to pick three players and if someone stays out it’s not for punishment or for other stories.”The former Italy and Juventus boss does not have automatic selections and says he will be culpable if Costa plays and is distracted by the events of the last week.“I don’t like this word, this adjective, ‘untouchable’,” Conte said.“I prefer all my players show me every single day that they deserve to play on Sunday.“If Diego is not concentrated and if he starts, the fault is mine.“(But) in this week I didn’t see the player wasn’t focused,Juventus teammate Cristiano Ronaldo after he opened the scoring their 2-1 win at Champions League opponents Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday.Just four minutes of the game had elapsed when home goalkeeper Guilherme spilled a Ronaldo free-kick behind him, wasn’t concentrating.”Conte, who has J
ohn Terry available following a ban, did confirm Chelsea are considering an offer from Bournemouth for second-choice goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, currently back-up to Thibaut Courtois.Conte said: “The club and I are evaluating this offer.”
Blackburn Rovers strer window shuts.Premier League clubs only have a few days to complete transfers, as the window closes at the end of January.However, Howe does not think his struggling side have the means to get a transfer done.Howe had previously said they were actietched their unbeaten run to seven games thanks to a 1-0 victory over Rotherham on Friday night.Luke Hyam’s goal was enough to beat struggling Rotherham in a game devoid of many chances at Ewood Park.The on-loan Ipswich player turned Chris Conw family of Gabriele Martinelli was thrilled to see him score on his Arsenal debut.The Brazilian had a first Arsenal appearance to remember after scoring in a 3-0 win over Colorado Rapids.His delight was shared by his family who jumped for joy in his ay’s cross into his own net after 31 minutes as the visitors slumped to an eighth defeat in 11 games.The win leaves Rovers two points outside the play-off places as they continue their push towards a Premier League return.Elsewhere in the Championship, a late Dexter Blackstock goal earned Nottingham Forest a point away to Wolves.Ethan Ebanks-Landell headed home Jordan Graham’s first-half free kick to give Wolves the lead after only 15 minutes.Forest saw Chris O’Grady’
s goal correctly ruled out for offside before Blackstock rescued a draw when he volleyed in Henri Lansbury’s cross on 80 minutes to continue Wolves’ miserable run of more than two months without a win at Molineux.
Liverpool fansare in for an interesting few days.The transfer window closes on Wednesday evening and, as well as new arrivals, players are expected to leave the club.Ha
ving started the new Premier League season with four points from three games – beating Arsenal, losing to Burnley and drawing with Tottenham – there is room for improveited title winner Robin van Persie has likened himself to whizkid Mason Greenwood.Although he did feature fleetingly last season, Greenwood has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Old Trafford in 2019/20 as he’s scored seven goals in 19 appearances inment if Jurgen Klopp wants his Reds to make the top four.With James Milner currently filling in at left-back, that is surely a position the Merseysiders will be looking to strengthen, while the likes of Mario Balotelli and Lazar Markovi Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola to discuss a possible new contract for the Frenchman.The talks could happen in the next few weeks, with the Manchester Evening News understanding that the club want to hold onto Pogba for as long as possible, having rejectec are surplus to requirements at Anfield.So, who could arrive before 11:00pm on deadline day?
Arsenal fans can be quite an emotional bunch, as you can see from a selection ofcallers below.Recent results on the pitch have not helped their blood pressure and there was a big fall out folloe Daily Mail says United have been asked to be kept informed over the future of Eriksen as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer aims to boost their midfield creativity next season.Eriksen, 27, could be allowed to leave Spurs for £70million this summer with the Danewing the 5-1rcelona defender Gerard Pique says he’ll never cross Lionel Messi.Messi has been critical of Pique over accusations levele
d at the board.”Messi is our captain and he has his say,” Pique explained.”But I think his words are in line with those of the d home defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.Have a listen to some callers to talkSPORT,
Sam Allardyce has suggested the Football Association should take action againsta midfielder Philippe Coutinho’s move to Bayern Munich.The former Reds star is on the verge of completing a switch to the German giants after Barcelona confirmed a deal has been agreed.The loan move with an option to buy will see the Anfield club lan Watford’s mascot for mocking Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.Zaha was booked for diving after going down inside the area in the 87th minute of , despite apparent contact from a Watford player.And Harry the Hornet, known for various antics and interaction with home and away fans,had a dig at the Eagles forward after the final whistle –diving at Zaha’s feet when the player went to applaud the Palace fans.TV footage showed Zaha taking the joke to heart, and his manager Allardyce also took offence.“The mascot is out of order, isn’t he? If someone is diving, they don’t get that angry
,” Allardyce said.“There’s contact. It wasn’t given.”According to several national newspapers, he then suggested there might be consequences for the mascot.“That’s up to Watford to sort that out, really,” he said. “The Premier League and FA can look at that and do what they want to do.“It could have made the wrong reaction, as we know. But I didn’t see it. I’m more concerned about my team, the overall performance.”Allardyce had no doubts Zaha should have been awarded a spot-kick.“That was a penalty,” he said. “There may be an argument that the first contact is outside the box, but it would have been difficult to judge.“To get nothing at all, and Wilfried booked, is very disappointing.”The 24-year-old Zaha has received a number of bookings for simulation in his career.Asked whether he felt Zaha was being judged on reputation, Allardyce said: “You’ll have to ask the referees, ask [referees’ chief]Mike Riley. If they are refereeing on reputation and not fact or incident, that’s a black mark against them.”Palace had already been awarded one penalty in the first half, but Christian Benteke missed the chance to give them a two-goal cushion and it proved costly.Troy Deeney’s second-half penalty – the 100th Watford goal of his career – cancelled out Yohan Cabaye’s 26th-minute strike.Watford manager Walter Mazzarri played down the incident involving the mascot.“Let’s laugh altogether about this,” he said. “Everything doesn’t have to be a drama.“I couldn’t see [the Zansists his players are focused despite Thursday’s clash with LASK being played behind closed doors.The Austrian government has banned gatherings of over 500 due to the outbreak of COVID-19, a.k.a coronavirus.Solskjaer admits football isn’t the same wha penalty incident]from where I was standing. Believe me, I didn’t see that. Or our penalty.”
Jurgen Klopp was pleased his side managed to sco
re four goals on th his two years with Manchester United.Lukaku has stated he felt he was made a scapegoat by United fans whenever things went wrong.But he told Globe Soccer in Dubai: “I do not see my experience with Manchester United negatively.”At Inter I reap the bee way to beating Arsenal, but he wants to see defensive improvement from Liverpool.The Reds beat the Gunners 4-3 courtesy of Adam Lallana andSadio Mane strikes and a Philippe Coutinho double, but they still struggled to deal with keeping the ball out of their own net.This is a problem which has plagued the Merseyside club for far too long, and although Klopp has bought in players to shore up his back-line, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was the only reason all three points were picked up.Klopp was pleased his attackers showed their full potential, but hehave redrawn their sponsorship agreement.The Daily Echo says Virgin Media have extended their deal with Saints – but will no longer be the shirt’s main sponsor.Saints are yet to announce who will become the club’s main shirt sponsor.The internet, t believes his players should be good enough to avoid conceding three goals in 90 minutes.The German said: “Four goals scored is wonderful, but if you are good enough to score four goals at Arsenal, you’ve have to be good enough to avoid three goals.“I know defending is easier than attacking, but we have the skills for attacking and we need to plan for defending.“Four goals are the definition of brave, but the defending in the first half was the opposite of being brave.”
As part of the build up to the New Year, talkSPORT reveals the most popular content on talkSPORT.com for every month of 2016…The likes of John Lenon at Sao Paulo, West Ham’s Willie Longnsfer speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United and Arsenal.The 22-year-old is the top goalscorer in the Russian league with 12 strikes tave decided to exercise the buy-back option they had after selling Marc Cucurella to Eibar earlier in the transfer window.The left-back joined the Basque side for €2m after a successful loan spell in 2018/19, but he will now return to Catalonia foro his name and is being touted with a January transfer to the Premier League.“I was told after t and Prince Salami at Fulham clearly tickled people.Not everyone agreed with this list, but this was talkSPORT.com’s countdown of the 25 best football grounds in Europe.As Eliaquim Mangala’s time at Man City appeared to be coming to an end (he’s now on loan at LaLiga relegation battlers Valencia, having joined City for in excess of £30m in 2014), talkSPORT ranke
d the most expensive Premier League signings – £10m and higher – who joined in the summer of 2015.Did you know David Beckham and David Moyes played together, as didAnthony Martial and Dejan Lovren? Check out players you probably never knew played together…Not everyone can be Lionel Messi and here’s proof you don’t have to be one of the best in the business to lift Ol’ Big Ears.
Tottenham have already reserved aplace in the Champions League group stage for next season, thanks to Arsenal and Liverpool.The Gunners beat Manson played out.With the campaign suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, they would stay up if the season was deemed null and void.But Francis told The Sun: “We want to prove we are good enough to stay in the Premier League.“We don’t want to staUnited at the Emirates, whihchguaranteed Spurs a second consecutive top three finish andonly Chelsea and ManCity can mathematically finish above them.Here, talkSPORT looks at the other teams around Europe who have already secured their place ghing up a raid on the French transfer market.Marca says Real are already looking at young talents who are standing out this season.First on the list is midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who is already featuring for Rennes at 16 years of age.After makingin the 2
017/18 group stage.
West Ham striker Carlton Cole admits he may need to leave the club this summer in search of regular first-team football.Cole almost joined West Brom in January because they decided they still needed him in the squad.But the 31-year-old has played just 169 minutes of Premier League football since the January transfer window shut and says he needs more game time at his age.Cole, who has played 250 league games over nearly tenyears at West Ham, is out of contract in the summer and says his future remains up in the air.Speaking at the fund-raising reception for his Football Fighting Ebola campaign, Cole said: “I thought I’d get more game time but it hasn’t worked out. I need to start games.“I had the opportunity to go to West Brom,as was well publicised, and that was a great opportunity for me to go and play games but West Ham still felt they needed me so I came back.“I’ve just tried to get on with my job and I will see where I lie in the summer but I do need games.“I need to be integral to a team, I’m at that stage of my career where I’ve done a lot and now I want to enjoy my football.“I don’t want to be a bit-part player, you can get a youth team player to do that. I need to play. People say footballers get wellpaid to sit on the bench I don’t want to sit on the bench.“It has been a longtime since I’vntus coach Maurizio Sarri admits Cristiano Ronaldo may miss their clash with AC Milan.Ronaldo was substituted during that 2-1 Champions league win because of a recurEngland U21 coach Aidy Boothroyd has heaped praise on Everton midfielder Tom Davies.Davies played in a deep
holding role for the win over Kosovo.“I thought Tom Davies was outstanding,” Boothroyd said.“They’re not playing him at his club and to give those two performances was excellent.“If they gave him a holding role I think he’d be really good at that.”ring knee and muscular issue.Sarri stated, “I don’t know if he can play yet, we’ll e been integral to a team and I need that in my life.”
Brighton climbed back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship and moved closer to promotion by beating QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road.Second-half strikes from Glenn Murray and Sebastian Pocognoli mean three more victories will guarantee the Seagulls a place in the Premier League.Despite a goal from Matt Smith and a late QPR rally, Brighton leapfrogged Newcastle again – for a few hours at least – in what is shaping up to be a battle to the wire for the title.Chris Hughton’s side endured a frustrating first half, putting the ball in the net twice only for both efforee Charnley has been impressed with Sessegnon.Spurs moved to sign Sessegnon on deadline day in a £25 million switch after being long-term admirers of the 19-year-old.But Tony Khan blasted their behaviour in the negotiations and stated the lateness of the deal meant Fulham were unable tteve Bruce this season.Bruce stepped in for Rafa Benitez in the summer and has guided Toon to 10th place on the Premier League table after 16 games.When asked about Bruce’s progress Charnley said – via the Chronicts to be ruled out for offside.However, they showed their undoubted class after the break to move a step closer to a return to the top flight after 34 years.Murray had got in behind the home defence to turn in Anthony Knockaert’s clever pass, and Tomer Hemed then diverted Pocognoli’s shot into the net – but both goals were rightly disallowed.However, QPR – who handed a first start to former Manchester United starlet Ravel Morrison following his January loan switch from Lazio back to west London – also had their first-half chances.They had a strong claim for penalty when James Perch’s header bounced up and hit Lewis Dunk on the arm – but referee Simon Hooper thought otherwise.Conor Washington burst from his own half only to fire just over and Perch saw a goalbound effort blocked by Seagulls captain Bruno, who did not know much about it.But Brighton cranked up the pressure after the interval and the goal they had been threatening arrived in the 58th minute, courtesy of Murray, who played a clever one-two with Hemed and raced through on goal.Goalkeeper Alex Smithies came out to meet the striker but he kept his cool to lash home his 21st Championship goal of the season in front of 3,000 ecstatic travelling fans.Five minutes later Murray was tripped on the edge of the area and West Brom loanee Pocognoli curled a delightful free-kick in off the underside of the crossbar.The hosts pulled a goal back in the 74th minute when Smith, who had been denied by Seagulls keeper David Stockdale, he
aded in the resulting corner.In a frantic finale Stockdale had be on his toes to prevent a Steve Sidwell own-goal as Brighton held out to move two points ahead of Newcastle and, crucially, 12 points clear of third-placed Huddersfield.
It’s Manchester United v Manchester City on Saturday – and we’ve got a ba
ttle between the two clubs on the Preview Show as win talks about a reunion in Paris.L’Equipe says the pair have spoken over the phone several times in recent days.Leonardo knows Aurier wants to leave Spurs and has assured him he’d be welcome back at PSG.The defender has found himself frozen out by Sell!Forget about Mourinho v Guardiola, we’ve got the former United defender Paul Parker and the former City man Kit Symons looking ahead to the derby. Is week 4 of the Premier League season too early to call this a title decider?Elsewhere, the former Chelsea and Ipswich striker Sam Parkime years” to achieve more success at Liverpool.The 24-year-old was tipped to leave Anfield at the start of the summer, despite his Champions League final heroics.However, Origi penned a long-term extension with the Reds on Wednesday and is already lin talks about the Blues game with Swansea on Sunday, as well as the rest of the Premier League weekend.Tom Rennie hosts.
Inter Milan are planning an audacious summer swoop for Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.The Dutchman has been linked with a move away from the SaintsHam United attacker Michail Antonio is confident he will face Arsenal on Monday night.Antonio returned after three months on the sidelines in last weekend’s win over Chelsea, but he tweaked his groin and missed the midweek match at Wolves.He said: “I at the end of the season after being the subject of strong interest in January.Back then Manchester City were chasing the 25-year-old and Pep Guardiola remains a fan of the centre-back.Inter Milan, though, according to Corriere dello Sport, are now in the mix to sign Van Dijk too t songs” being sung towards him during Sunday’s win over Tottenham.Three announcements were given over the stadium speakers asking for fans to desist with abusive chants, in accordance with the UEFA protocol.Speaking after the
game, Azpilicueta revealhis summer and they are putting together a formal offer.The Italian club have money to spend thanks to the financial backing of the Suning Commerce Group and they have their eye on the Southampton defender.Interest in Van Dijk is likely to be high, however, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United also interested in him.