Salah soldiers Liverpool on in the battle for EPL second

Based on his current form, Salah’s name being named on the score sheet is not a surprise to anyone who watches football. Goals have become a norm for the Egyptian who has reached 29 goals already in the EPL and is leading the race to the golden boot. This time however, he had to come to the rescue of Liverpool and snatch a late win against Crystal Palace. Just these dramatic instances are what brings joy to the eye as this level of competition had been missed after the short international break. Milivojevic scored the opener for Palace from the penalty spot after Karius brought down Wilfried Zaha in the 18 area. Hodgson’s side were off to a good start and kept the Merseysiders at bay for the most part of the match until Senegalese forward Sadio Mane scored the equalizer just after the restart. It was not easier for Liverpool after that as Christian Benteke missed two glorious chances to bring back the advantage to the home side. Crystal Palace were left to rue their missed chances late on in the match as top goalscorer, Mo Salah calmly finished past Hennessy on the 84th minute. Once again, the Egyptian’s goals have made the difference, confirmed the win for Liverpool and put pressure on Manchester United on the race for runners up.

United also ended up winning 2-0 in their match against Swansea. Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez were on the score sheet and it was long overdue for the latter to contribute for the club in terms of goals.

Neymar to return sooner than expected?

Brazilian forward Neymar is set to return in two to three weeks. Many had doubted that the player would play again this season and also expected him to miss the World Cup in Russia. Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery has confirmed today that the Brazilian player will return in a space of 2-3 weeks after a successful operation and treatment back in his homeland, Brazil. This eases concerns of the player’s availability at the World Cup after a fractured metatarsal. The player missed his club’s crucial clash with Real Madrid and was probably disheartened by the poor show as his team bowed out of the Champions League. The estimated time of his return was set between 2-3 months by team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar. This explains everyone’s surprise at Emery’s statement. Neymar has since been visited by PSG President Al-Khelaifi in Brazil for he is an important player for his Paris project. The player will miss the domestic cup final but he will be following it live on television as stated by his coach. The countdown to his return begins but this will mostly be done by the Brazilians as opposed to his club supporters. This is because PSG are already in a comfortable position to win Ligue 1 and are on course to lift the cup as well. It would have been a different case had they gone through to the next round of the Champions League. We wish Neymar a speedy recovery.

Zidane talks about his intentions and the future of Isco

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has backed Isco to stay at Real Madrid beyond this season because he is an important first team player. Zidane has no issue with the comments the player gave about his situation in Madrid. The class of the coach is highlighted when he diplomatically handled the media who were looking for a juicy response from the coach as he said that Isco’s comments were open to interpretation. He used his experience as a top player and said that Isco is an important player and it is normal that a player of his caliber wants to play more. He went on to add that he is happy with his performances as he gives 100% always. It seems that the player will not be in trouble as we had anticipated.

In other news, Zidane also talked about his intentions of remaining as the Real Madrid boss beyond this season and has left the matter in the club’s hands. He acknowledges that his future depends on the results he produces as a coach. He does not feel tired of the pressure at all so is seeking to finish the season as strong as possible in order to prevent the sack. Real Madrid currently lying in 3rd with a 15 point gap between them and bitter rivals Barcelona. The UEFA Champions League could prove to be Zidane’s lifeline if he manages to win it and end the season with a piece of silverware to show for the board who expect a lot from their managers every season. Zidane has been at Madrid for 18 years, he knows how it works. Who thinks that the team will fight for him and defend the UEFA Champions League again this year? Do not forget to drop your thoughts in the comment section below.

Real Madrid want to sell Gareth Bale in the summer as according to Guillem Balague

Pictured in the shadows is Real Madrid’s most expensive player who is of Welsh origins. Gareth Bale joined Madrid from Tottenham in a deal worth £85.3m. He made an instant impact in his first season by helping Real Madrid win the La Decima (10th UEFA Champions League) in 2014. He has since been plagued by injuries including his calf which has recurred for many years. This season he has been a bit part player and has often been called off the bench to see through matches with his direct runs. Bale has basically been replaced by Spanish wonderkid Asensio, Isco and Vazquez have been preferred ahead of him. Questions are raised towards his future because his lightning pace does not seem as that much of an asset the club needed when they brought him in.

In all fairness, Bale is a threat when he is fully fit but the problem with him is that he has become injury prone. His fitness concerns do not add value to a big club like Madrid who invested a lot in him which has led to their decision to sell him in the summer as according to Guillem Balague. The Spanish football expert says that the winger is edging closer to a Premier League return after falling down in the pecking order in Zidane’s team. English teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City have the finances to carry out this deal and will be on alert. Some rumors of a move to Bayern have also surfaced and this could be a more sensible move for the Welshman as he will be a long-term replacement for the aging Arjen Robben on the right. However, it is a doubt that Bayern would fork out hundreds of millions of pounds on a player like him. We just have to wait and see what the summer brings. How do you see Bale fitting in your team of choice? We want to know where he will be playing and who he will be replacing in the Starting XI.

EPL returns: Iheanacho could play for Leicester with broken hand

Super Eagles and Leicester forward, Kelechi Iheanacho suffered a broken hand whilst on international duty for his country in the midweek friendlies. The 21-year-old featured in Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over Poland when he sustained the injury but couldn’t take part in their 2-0 humbling by Mitrovic’s Serbia.

Kelechi returned to England on Thursday and the Leicester boss, Claude Puel confirmed the injury pointing out that its gravity would need to be assessed before their Saturday match against Brighton.

"I think he fell. It's not an important injury. We will see if this injury prevents him from playing in this game. Perhaps it might be strange for him to play with a cast." - Claude Puel, Leicester City Manager

Iheanacho joined the Foxes in the summer from Manchester City in a 20 million pound deal but has struggled to get regular game time, starting only 3 times in his 12 appearances for the club in the EPL scoring once. He has thrived in cup competitions where he played six times scoring four goals.

Who should play for Arsenal in the remainder of games in the EPL?

March is usually the turning point period for the gunners in the fight for a place in the top four. This has not been the case this year as they are 13 points further from fourth and do not look like they will qualify through the league. This raises questions on who should be playing for the remainder of the games as they make no difference towards achieving their yearly objectives. Many see this as an opportunity for the youngsters to get some EPL caps under their belt and help bring some confidence to the inexperienced newcomers who have showed a lot of potential since the start of the campaign. The first being Reiss Nelson. The explosive winger has been deployed as defensive cover for Bellerin in the right-wing back position. However, his performances in the U23s as a right forward have yielded 8 goals in 10 games. This shows that the boy has the creative threat and is also not shy to dribble at defenders. Next up is Eddie Nketiah. The Arsenal fans remember this name because of his heroic efforts when he scored 2 goals as a late substitute in the Carabao Cup match against Norwich. Ever since, his minutes have been very limited for a promising introduction to a player. The Europa League was an opportunity for him to challenge for a spot against Welbeck in the absence of Lacazette but he came short. Maybe the manager will give him a run of games in these last matches to prepare him for next season. Maitland-Niles has already been introduced in many EPL games debutising for Monreal and Kolasinac when they were either injured or out of form. His natural position is central midfield but his speed makes him versatile and adaptable to any position he plays. FirstTouch Football appreciate your thoughts. Tell us whom you think should also be mentioned among these players that need to be given more opportunities by Wenger.

Conte backs Morata to be ready for the clash against Tottenham

At long last, the English Premier League resumes this weekend. The international break was welcomed by those teams that were not performing well but to those that were starting pick up form, it was unfavorable. Its time has passed and our focus goes back to the most competitive league in the world. A Super Sunday clash between Chelsea and Tottenham is on everyone’s lips and the managers have already started motivating their players. This time, it is Antonio Conte who talked about his big money signing Alvaro Morata on his fitness levels. The Italian backed the Spanish forward to be 100% ready for the clash which is as big as the North London derby. Alvaro Morata had been off form recently and the manager had been forced to deploy Hazard as a false 9 in his absence. Now he is expected to step out of the shadows and show that he can be the man that Conte bought back at Juventus and again at Chelsea last year. Do you see him being the man of the show on Sunday?

Russia 2018: 80 year World Cup streak comes to an end

FIFA has chosen 36 officials for the World Cup tournament in Russia and none of them are from Great Britain. This is the first time that no referee is chosen from either England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland in 80 years. The most obvious omission is Mark Clattenburg who was part of the list last summer. He, however, left his job with the Premier League and forfeited his place. The Football Association did ask to replace Clattenburg with another official but this request has been rejected. It is also worth mentioning that there also no British officials among the 63 assistant referees selected. What a shame it is for a country that boast about having talent and skills in all aspects of their game. This comes as no surprise to a few with managers like Arsene Wenger criticizing the referees who seem not to be working enough. Some have been culpable of committing fundamental errors and these have resulted in their omission from the final list. On the other hand, six African referees have been chosen instead and they represent Algeria, Senegal, Gambia, Egypt, Zambia and Ethiopia. Be careful England, Africa is on the rise.

Guinea: Football Federation ties down three exciting talents

Guinea Football Federation (Feguifoot) has announced that the midfield trio of Amadou Diawara, Abdoulaye Traore and Ibrahima Cisse have committed their international football careers to the National Elephants (Syli Nationale). The 20 year-old Diawara who plies his trade with Napoli had won the attention of Italy’s youth teams while Traore, 24, had played for French youth teams by virtue of being born in that country. Whether or not he would have made it into the star studded Les Blues squad is debatable but the West African nation is more than delighted to have the FC Nantes 2017/18 season’s breakout player in their ranks. The former Belgian youth international and Fulham’s Ibrahima Cisse, 24, has also joined the two most recent Guinea loyalties.

The trio will team up with Liverpool bound, Naby Keita and the Belgian gaffer, Paul Put as they eye to get a ticket to Africa’s biggest soccer showcase, AFCON 2019, in Cameroon.

The Football Governing board to probe allegations of racism between France and Russia’s recent friendly match

The match between France and Russia showcased a fine performance from Paul Pogba, however the 90 minutes were overshadowed by the ugly side of the game. It has since been reported that monkey chants could be heard from the crowd and these were obviously directed at the black players in the France national team. The Russians do not seem to be learning from their mistakes and this probed the intervention of FIFA. Evidence from the pitch-side photographer’s testimony and the audible abuse on a television broadcast after Pogba’s goal are to be considered before any decision is to be made. FIFA have also contacted the anti-discrimination Fare Network to help them investigate the racism case. No comment will be released until they have reached a conclusion on that investigation. This incident is one of the many that has been raised against Russian teams and FIFA’s punishment does not seem to work. Football is becoming toxic to the victims and this needs to be stopped. What does this mean for the World Cup which is going to be hosted in Russia? If racism is failing to be curbed in these friendlies, what more when thousands of black people tour the country during football’s premier tournament?

Gun incident results in new anti-violence measures

The Greek league is set to resume this Saturday after a long break caused by the gun incident. To those who do not know the story, it is about PAOK President, Ivan Savvidis’ clash with the referee while a gun was strapped to his waist. This caused a scene in the stadium as the Greek-Russian business was accompanied by his bodyguards to confront the referee after he ruled off a goal against AEK Athens on March 12. FIFA intervened after the incident and threatened to expel Greek clubs from international competitions unless the authorities took strict action. This is what caused the league to be suspended. Ivan Savvidis has since apologized for his actions and new strict measures have been put in place by the authorities, for clubs involved in violence. Do you think guns should be allowed in the stadium?  

Man City Women win in 8 goal thriller

The long-awaited second leg to the clash between Manchester City Women and Linkoping finally came and did not disappoint in the number of goals that were scored between the two teams. 8 goals were scored on the night with Manchester City scoring 5 but also conceding three. Jane Ross scored a goal before Georgia Stanway’s brace. Jen Beattie scored the 4th which gave the away side a comfortable 4-0 advantage before the break. They saw a different Linkoping team right after the break as Marija Basunic was on target twice a few minutes after kickoff. Izzy Christiansen eventually scored the 5th and eased the pressure off the English team. This meant that Tove Almqvist's late third barely had any impact on the flow of the game. The English side is through to the semifinals of the Champions League with a 7-3 aggregate score. Who says Women’s football is not a thrill?

Fraudsters get the Italian club to pay them £1.75m

Italian club Lazio were involved in a hacking scam on Wednesday. It is believed that hackers with the knowledge of the deal between Lazio and Feyenoord tricked the Italian club into paying them £1.75m. This was supposed to be for the final instalment of Stephan De Vrij’s deal. It is believed that the club was tricked by an email from the scammers who pretended to be the Dutch champions asking for the money and the club duly sent the money. It became an issue when Feyenoord claimed to have no knowledge of the email and received the money. The prosecutor looking into the case has since tracked the money to a Dutch bank account that does not belong to Feyenoord. De Vrij joined Lazio in 2014 after a successful World Cup with Netherlands in a £6.8m deal but is yet to extend his contract which runs down at the end of the season. He surely will be a name on everyone’s lips as some of the top clubs look for defensive reinforcements in the summer.

The Spanish midfielder takes a jibe at Zidane

Spanish midfielder Isco bagged a hat-trick in Spain’s 6-1 demolition of a Messi-less Argentina. The headlines from that match came in the post-match interview when he opened up about his situation at Madrid. The ambitious 25-year old bluntly stated that he does not have the confidence that a player needs in Madrid. This comes after he has seen a limited number of minutes on the pitch due to the resurgence of the young Asensio, and also the tactical approach to matches by Zidane. Many have seen this as an attack on his coach Zinedine Zidane as the player went on to say that, “At the national team, I have the confidence of the coach.” This clearly shows that he feels more alive when he is with Spain. Who should blame a player for being honest? Isco has stated the truth that he does not feel well appreciated at club level than at national level. However, his truth could land him in hot soup for he is a good player, but is not irreplaceable especially when considering the fact that the club can afford to send quality players like James Rodriguez on loan. Do you think Isco should have been more careful with the diction he used?

Former England boss Fabio Capello parts ways with Jiangsu Suning

Former England boss Fabio Capello has left the Chinese club after a mutual agreement. The manager had overseen some poor results at the start of the league picking up just 3 points in their first three matches. The Italian leaves Jiangsu Suning in 12th position and will be replaced by Cosmin Olaroiu who signed a three-year contract. This brings an end to Capello’s short stint at the club after joining them in 2017. Rumor has it that his reasons behind the decision include the vacant Italy national team job which many believe that he is the right candidate to take over having had some experience at the highest level coaching the England national team. Could he be the one to bring back the grit and fight that this national team lacks? Your thoughts only are what matters to us. Drop those comments below.  

Abroad: Nigeria’s Ighalo talks about life in China

The Super Eagles and the Changchun Yatai striker has opened up about what it is like playing in the Chinese Super League. Odion Ighalo moved to Asia in 2017 from English side, Watford. He seems to have adapted to life in China, alluding that football is actually competitive in CSL than he initially thought or what most people would think because of the influx of foreign players and managers. Ighalo scored 15 goals in 27 appearances in his first season and now he has 1 in 3 matches.

"When I went there I was expecting a lower class of the league but when I arrived I saw how tough it is and said this is not what I had heard about.” - Odion Ighalo

The Super Eagles striker is also encouraging other African players to consider a move to the CSL should the opportunity beckon.

"If the opportunity jumps on them and they think properly about it, they should go because it's an opportunity to make some money, play in Asia and to experience the life and culture there." - Odion Ighalo

The Spanish club is coming to terms with the likelihood of Griezmann’s departure

Guillem Balague, SkySports’ Spanish football expert talks about Atletico Madrid’s situation with Griezmann. It is believed that they are coming to terms with the fact that the player could be leaving in the summer and should be on the hunt for a replacement. Rumors of Barcelona being the favorites to land the striker have increased in recent weeks and they do not look like they will vaporize until the player signs a new contract extension before the World Cup. Griezmann is currently away with his national team France but will return to his club to play in La Liga at the weekend. Where do you think Griezmann should go? Don’t forget to drop your comments below.

Bayern Munich more attractive than Arsenal for the former Borussia Dortmund coach

The former Borussia Dortmund boss, Thomas Tuchel has today confirmed that he is interest taking the job at his old club’s rivals. Even with an enticing prospect of joining Arsenal, Tuchel showed that he prioritizes the Bayern Munich job because of how big the club is. Arsenal might be an interesting option considering how competitive the English Premier League is but the prospect of joining the biggest club in Germany gives joy to any sensible coach because they are capable to challenge with the very best in the world. Bayern Munich are currently on the lookout for a replacement for interim boss Heynckes who will step down in the summer. Tuchel who turned down the opportunity to work at Southampton a fortnight ago is believed not to be interested also in the structure at Arsenal because it does not suit him. Only he knows what he means by that. He would even prefer the Chelsea role over the one at the Emirates. Tuchel seems to be very ambitious and it would be wise if he picked any role from the aforementioned 3 clubs when it comes up because they do not just come along for they are very big clubs.