Spirited Spal frustrate Juventus and shake up the bottom – and top – of Serie A | Paolo Bandini

Football | The Guardian

Spirited Spal frustrate Juventus and shake up the bottom – and top – of Serie A | Paolo Bandini

Leonardo Semplici’s minnows have a fighting chance of survival after halting the champions’ charge with a battling display that also boosted Napoli’s title hopes

Leonardo Semplici could have encouraged his players not to worry before their game against Juventus. Nobody expected Spal to get a result against opponents 15 places and 50 points ahead of them. As such, the manager might have told them to stay loose, to enjoy themselves, to go out and take a swing knowing that they had nothing to lose.

Instead he told them the truth. “We have lots to lose,” said Semplici on the eve of Saturday’s game. “We’re running out of games and we need to try to pick up points. We are facing the best team in Italy, and one of the strongest in Europe, but we still need to try to take a positive result.”

Continue reading...

more info...

Wigan Athletic v Southampton: FA Cup quarter-final – live!

Football | The Guardian

Wigan Athletic v Southampton: FA Cup quarter-final – live!

Live updates from the FA Cup tie at the DW StadiumLive scores: keep up with all today’s games as the goals go inDrop Daniel an email | Tweet @DanielHarris

11.34am GMT

Football is a simple game and football is a beautiful game – sentiments that announced themselves with clarion call when Wigan met Manchester City in the last round of this competition. City, the best side in the country, wove lovely patterns in dominating the ball and dictating the play, but Wigan, the 46th best side in the country, defended aggressively, attacked bravely, and took their chance brilliantly. Add to that a late tackle, exhibition rag-losing, unbridled ecstasy, silliness, schadenfreude and general chaos, and you have a decent answer to the question: “why are you so pitifully obsessed with something so painfully ridiculous?”

And Wigan will fancy themselves this afternoon, for Southampton are a mess. It’s possible that, after being mercilessly plundered, they’ve finally run out of players, except looking down their squad, they still have plenty of them. They might be struggling for a scorer, but they’ve no business being where they are on as bad a run as they are, so it’s far more likely that they simply compounded the error of sacking Claude Puel with the mistake of appointing Mauricio Pellegrino.

Continue reading...

more info...

Son replaces Kane up front for Spurs

ESPN FC News

Son replaces Kane up front for Spurs

Son Heung-Min is preferred to former Swansea striker Fernando Llorente. The South Korea international moves into attack in place of the injured Harry Kane as Tottenham make the trip to Wales in the FA Cup. GameCast LIVE

more info...

Barcelona vs Roma, Sevilla vs Bayern, Juventus vs Real, Liverpool vs Man City

English // marca

Barcelona vs Roma, Sevilla vs Bayern, Juventus vs Real, Liverpool vs Man City

  Leer

more info...

Paralympics boss Andrew Parsons wants Russia back for 2020

English // marca

Paralympics boss Andrew Parsons wants Russia back for 2020

  Leer

more info...

Jamie Carragher suspended by Sky until end of season

BBC Sport - Football

Jamie Carragher suspended by Sky until end of season

Jamie Carragher is suspended by Sky until the end of the football season.

more info...

Liverpool loanee Origi set to persist with dreadful Wolfsburg loan

Tribal Football - Football News, Soccer News, Transfers & Rumours

Liverpool loanee Origi set to persist with dreadful Wolfsburg loan

Divock Origi is not giving up on his loan spell at Wolfsburg, his father has claimed.

Despite a strong start to the season, the Liverpool forward is enduring a horror run of form, having only scored once since November. The nightmare run culminated in him being dragged before half-time Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Hoffenheim.

Read more on Tribal Football

more info...