Premier League giants Chelsea have confirmed that vice-captain Cesar Azpilicueta has penned a new long-term deal to keep him at the club until the summer of 2022. The Spain international has racked nearly 300 appearances during his six-and-a-half seasons with the Blues and he has now been rewarded with a fresh deal which would extend his association with the club for up to a decade.
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has indicated that he would continue to keep the faith on centre-forward duo Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud during the first half of the season. The pair have scored just one goal between them since the campaign started and this has generated doubts over their positions with a young Callum Hudson-Odoi waiting for an opportunity to impress.
Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is looking forward to fighting for a national team recall now that Luis Enrique has been appointed as Spain’s new manager. Mata barely featured under former boss Julen Lopetegui but he is now hoping for a change of fortunes under the guidance of the former Barcelona boss.
Luis Enrique would be the new coach of La Roja and the announcement was made at the event hosted by the Spanish Football Federation. Enrique said that he is delighted to take up the project. He showed excitement and said is ready to take up the challenge. He would give it his best shot and eagerly wait to win the upcoming competitions.
Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata was thankful to compatriot Cesar Azpilicueta for his assist during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton. The Spain international has had a rough time in front of goal in 2018 but he managed to contribute versus the Saints with a delightful header which sealed a 2-0 victory for the Blues.
Following the game, Morata was thankful to Azpilicueta, who has contributed seven assists in the Premier League this term. Surprisingly enough, each of those assists have been for Morata and the Spaniard was quick to praise the central defender, he said: “It was a very good match.I could have scored another goal at the last moment, I was a little bit unlucky but we are in the final and that’s the most important thing, we are happy.I always say thanks to Azpi because this year he knows where I want the ball and it’s great to have all of the assists from him.” (more…)
Former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko has urged Alvaro Morata to step up his game after the Blues’ succumbed to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League. The Spain international struggled to make much of an impression against Manchester United last month, and this saw him start on the bench for the Manchester City game, where the Blues were dominated from the off.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has urged Alvaro Morata to overcome his ‘stupid’ confidence after going through a difficult streak with the Blues. The Spain international had not scored for the club since Boxing Day, and he did himself no favours last week after he was sent off against the Norwich City in the FA Cup third-round replay.
The Blues continued to beat the Canaries on penalties, and they have since thrashed Brighton & Hove Albion by a 4-0 scoreline on the road. Speaking ahead of the League Cup semi-final versus Arsenal, Conte supported the striker through his difficult but wants the Spaniard to overcome his ‘stupid’ problems in order to regain his goalscoring form.
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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has hailed the partnership of Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata following the Blues’ 1-1 draw versus Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. The pair were in a constant presence in the Reds half during the course of the game, and Conte was ultimately disappointed to have come out with only a draw.
Spain international Alvaro Morata started the season as the main man in the Blues attack, but Hazard has left his mark on the playing field ever since his return from an ankle injury. The former Lille man has been contributing constantly towards the club’s progress in recent weeks, and the Anfield game was no different as he popped up with a defining assist for Willian’s freak goal in the 85th minute.
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Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to meet at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday in their final La Liga game of 2017.
Now that the group stages have reached it’s end, most of the qualifying national teams have been decided and for those nations that were not able to secure their direct qualifying ticket but still managed to compete in the play-offs, those final qualification rounds have also reached their conclusion.
Denmark, Sweden, Croatia and Switzerland are all of the final teams that earned the qualification after finishing victorious in their respective play-offs and Italy were surprisingly knocked out by Sweden. (more…)