ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Cardiff 1
Chelsea 2
LONDON • Football can be a cruel game at times. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Cardiff were leading 1-0 and the mood in the away end was mutinous.
"We want (Maurizio) Sarri out" reverberated loud and clear, so much so that it was tempting to wonder whether Chelsea's manager was fighting to hold on to his job.
How quickly things can change. By the time the final whistle was blown yesterday, the Chelsea fans were celebrating a 2-1 victory that kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish, leaving the Welsh side crestfallen.
The killer goal was Cesar Azpilicueta's equaliser in the 84th minute. It should never have been allowed to stand as the Chelsea captain was clearly offside as he nodded home Marcos Alonso's flick-on.
Neil Warnock was furious, which is often the case although on this occasion, it was impossible not to feel sympathy for the Cardiff manager.
A goal like Azpilicueta's will not be allowed to stand next season when the Video Assistant Referee technology is introduced in the Premier League.
That, however, is no help to Cardiff, who remain five points adrift of safety after Ruben Loftus-Cheek headed in Willian's cross to complete their misery.
ALL WRONG
The linesman must be looking at that and thinking 'he's offside', but he doesn't. What an earth can he be looking at? No one is obstructing his view. He's clearly offside.
GRAEME SOUNESS, former Liverpool manager and Sky Sports pundit, on Cesar Azpilicueta's equaliser in the 84th minute which was clearly offside.
Chelsea could not have been more fortunate - this victory and performance were about as unconvincing as it gets.
For all the Blues' possession in the first half, it had been hard to see where a goal would come from.
There was no real pattern to their play, certainly no tempo to it, and a glaring lack of creativity whenever they got deep into Cardiff territory.
Everything felt so slow and pedestrian, exasperating the travelling fans, whose patience snapped after 33 minutes when the first "F*** Sarri-ball" chant broke out in the away end followed by "Super Frank Lampard".
The team sheet had not helped the Italian's cause. His surprise decision to "rest" Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante, both of whom started on the bench, raised eyebrows before a ball was kicked.
There was also no league start for Callum Hudson-Odoi. In truth, the three of them could have been forgiven for feeling relieved to have played no part in a soporific opening 45 minutes.
The breakthrough arrived within less than a minute after the break and, in keeping with Chelsea's performance, it was Cardiff who took the lead.
Harry Arter whipped a low cross into the area and Victor Camarasa, who stood about 16 yards out, connected with a first-time volley that flew past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Cue more anger among the Chelsea fans, who started to call for Sarri to be dismissed.
Hazard was then brought on for Pedro, followed by Loftus-Cheek for Jorginho, whose only notable contribution was a yellow card in the first half for a cynical foul.
The former's introduction at least injected a little life into Chelsea, yet they still struggled to carve out chances until the equaliser six minutes from time.
Alonso glanced the ball on and an offside Azpilicueta headed in from inside the box before Loftus-Cheek broke Cardiff hearts with the added-time winner.
THE GUARDIAN
'I made a mistake': Pochettino takes blame but slams 'sloppy' Spurs getty, Laurence Griffiths Mauricio Pochettino took his share of the blame for "sloppy" Tottenham's 1-0 Champions League semi-final first leg defeat against Ajax after admitting he used the wrong tactics.
'I made a mistake': Pochettino takes blame but slams 'sloppy
The Merlion Cup returns for an eighth edition this June in a new format after a 10-year hiatus. First introduced in 1982, the invitational tournament was an annual affair until 1986 and saw
Merlion Cup returns after 10 years - news.yahoo.com
Entrepreneur Insider is your all-access pass to the skills, experts, and network you need to get your business off the ground—or take it to the next level. Join Now Are you paying too much for
Football: Philippe Aw, Fadzuhasny Juraimi, to lead U-15 and U-18 Cubs at tournies. Former Hougang United head coach Philippe Aw (left) was named the head coach of the Under-15 team while former
Scottish Cup round-up: Dundee United knock St Mirren out as
sportslifetale.com/soccer/scottish-cup-round-up-dundee-united-knock-st-mirren-out-as-hibernian-cruise-into-quarters/
Football: Philippe Aw, Fadzuhasny Juraimi, to lead U-15 and U-18 Cubs at tournies. 01/18/2019. Soccer. Paul Pogba believes Raheem Sterling is sometimes treated
Home United snap Albirex Niigata's title-winning streak
sportslifetale.com/soccer/home-united-snap-albirex-niigatas-title-winning-streak/
The long trophy streak has, at long last, been broken. After hoovering up all 11 trophies on offer in the previous three seasons, Albirex Niigata finally tasted defeat when Home United triumphed 5-4 on penalties to lift the Community Shield last night as the new Singapore Premier League (SPL) season kicked off.
Singapore U15 and U18 to take part in Jockey Club
Manchester City's hopes of retaining their Premier League title suffered a potentially grievous blow as struggling Newcastle United earned a remarkable 2-1 comeback win over the champions at St
Man City title hopes hit by shock defeat at Newcastle | The
A host of big-name footballers are behind a campaign to raise money for a private search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala. The campaign has raised £130,000 from almost 2,000 people in just a
New search begins for missing footballer Emiliano Sala
Here are 10 players to watch for at soccer Women's World Cup 2019. Americans Carli Lloyd and Alyssa Naeher and Canada's Christine Sinclair among the players to watch at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
From Stanway to Pugh: 10 young players to watch at the Women
Mar 30, 2012 · Scotland Yard is facing a racism scandal after a black man used his mobile phone to record police officers subjecting him to a tirade of abuse in which he was told: "The problem with you is you
Imformation and advice for homeless people Manchester City Councils index of documents and pages organised within the following categories, Homes & property, Homeless people We use cookies on your computer or mobile device to help make this website better.
FIFA moved a step closer on Friday to expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams and hopes to confirm the plans in June if a suitable co-host can be found. An internal feasibility study
FIFA backs 48-team World Cup in 2022 - Vanguard News
Football: Arsenal's Lacazette free to face Rennes as Uefa cuts ban LONDON (REUTERS) - Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette is eligible to play in Thursday's Europa League last 16 second-leg clash against Rennes after his three-match ban was reduced to two games, Uefa said on Tuesday (March 12).
Football news - Alexandre Lacazette free to face Rennes as
Watford's Gray strikes late winner to spoil Rodgers' Leicester debut BENGALURU: Watford's Andre Gray scored a stoppage-time winner as Leicester City began life under new boss Brendan
Football: Watford's Andre Gray strikes late winner to spoil
Qatar's Abdulaziz Hatem scored with a stunning late strike as the 2022 World Cup hosts upset Son Heung-min's South Korea 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup for the first time on Friday.
Asian Cup 2019 roundup: Holders Australia knocked out by
Football: Hougang United lose two-goal lead twice to draw 3-3
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned that some Manchester United players will not represent the club again after admitting they deserve to be in the Europa League next season and are miles adrift of the country's top clubs.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits playing in Europa League is right
0 comments:
Post a Comment