Category: Sport News

MADRID: Mikel Arteta has defended Arsenal from criticism, describing his team as “exceptional” ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The Premier League leaders beat Newcastle 1-0 last Saturday after going three games without a win.

Arsenal have been criticised for their lack of attacking flair, but Arteta insists that reaching the semi-finals has proven his team’s true quality.

“We need to be better and want to continue to improve in every aspect,” Arteta told reporters.

“But at the same time, to be here tonight, we have to be an exceptional team and among the top four in Europe. So imagine how difficult it is.”

Arteta said the win over Newcastle had boosted his players’ confidence ahead of the trip to the Spanish capital.

“After the victory over Newcastle, you can feel the energy and confidence of the team to face this match.

“It’s a great honour to be in the semi-finals of the Champions League two seasons in a row and to represent this club.

“We will seize this opportunity to the fullest. You will see a team that wants to dominate the game, wants to win and wants to start determining the direction of tomorrow’s match,” he said.

Arsenal have never won the Champions League, with their best finish being a runners-up finish in 2006.

“This is the stage we want to be on and we deserve to be here thanks to our hard work, passion and quality over the past nine months.

“Now is the time to prove our worth and show how much we really want it,” he said.

Arteta also confirmed that Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber are not yet fit to play, but Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori are ready.

Although a strong storm is forecast to hit Madrid today, Arteta does not see it as a major problem.

“We have played in various situations and different conditions.

“We will adapt to the situation and try to be ourselves to win,” he said.

LONDON: Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane praised the “character” of his players after they bounced back from the sacking of Liam Rosenior to beat Leeds 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final last night.

McFarlane took over at a time when Chelsea were in turmoil after Rosenior left the club last Wednesday, after just three months in charge.

The Blues have lost their last five Premier League games without scoring a goal in their worst run since 1912.

That poor run cost Rosenior his job and ended Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Rosenior’s difficult relationship with the Chelsea star was a major factor in his downfall.

However, McFarlane, who was previously part of Rosenior’s coaching staff, managed to spark a more positive action from the players at Wembley.

“We had to endure the pressure and show character and resilience when they attacked with all their might. That character was probably the most gratifying thing,” said McFarlane.

“I think these players showed how much they want to win and what they are willing to do to win important games for the club.”

Chelsea are back in the FA Cup final for the first time since 2022 and are chasing their first trophy since 2018.

They will face Manchester City in the final on May 16 and McFarlane is aware that a victory over Pep Guardiola’s men could salvage part of Chelsea’s difficult season.

“Relief is the right word. We were confident before the game. We had a good three days but you never know. We wanted to change the momentum; our performance was not that good,” he said.

“We knew Leeds would see us as a vulnerable team. We ourselves knew we were in a bit of a fragile state.

“Then we started to control the game. Robert Sanchez’s performance was very important for us. We haven’t kept enough clean sheets lately.”

Enzo Fernandez scored Chelsea’s winning goal in the 23rd minute with a header in an ironic situation given his strained relationship with Rosenior, who dropped the Argentine midfielder for two games after he hinted at a possible departure from the club at the end of the season.

Fernandez returned to his best form against Leeds and McFarlane said: “The most impressive thing about him is he’s a fighter.”

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool reportedly remain supportive of Arne Slot to continue leading the team next season despite inconsistent performance.

Slot’s position is said to be still strong, especially after the dramatic victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby, with Virgil van Dijk scoring the winning goal in the 100th minute.

Liverpool are now on track to secure a place in the Champions League, sitting seven points ahead of Chelsea in sixth place.

Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher said Slot is expected to remain if the club successfully qualifies for the European competition.

“Based on the information I have received, Slot will remain as manager next season if they qualify for the Champions League,” said Carragher.

In his first season, Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League title, but the current campaign has not gone well despite the club spending big, including signing Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.

Liverpool also brought in players such as Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Giovanni Leoni.

However, the loss of key players including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez affected the team’s performance.

Liverpool were also eliminated from domestic competition after losing to Crystal Palace in the League Cup and Manchester City in the FA Cup.

On the European stage, they were also eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite facing a challenging season, the club’s management is expected to continue to trust Slot to rebuild the team for the coming season.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes his team is capable of creating something special when facing Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Anfield.

The Reds are currently 2-0 down after losing the first leg in Paris, but Slot is confident that the result can still be overcome with an exceptional performance at home.

According to him, the first thing that was emphasized to the players was the fact that the gap was only two goals, even though the pattern of play in the first game seemed much different.

“First of all, I reminded them that the result was only 2-0 even though the match felt different. Secondly, we have proven many times that we are capable of performing well in big matches,” said Slot.

He also admitted that Liverpool’s performance this season has been inconsistent, but still believes his team has the ability to bounce back when needed.

“Yes, we believe we can do something special, but we need to be very, very special to achieve it. We are playing against the European champions, so the task is more difficult – but not impossible,” he said.

Slot is not expected to change his tactical approach much compared to the first match, despite playing in front of his own fans.

“Our approach is not much different. To take the ball away from them, we have to press high and we know how difficult that is,” he added.

Anfield, renowned for its incredible atmosphere during European action, is also expected to be a key factor in Liverpool’s revival mission.

Slot points to the epic comeback against Barcelona in the 2019 semi-final as proof of his team’s ability to create miracles on home soil.

With domestic competition not in their favour this season, the Champions League is now Liverpool’s last hope of winning a trophy, making this clash a defining moment for Slot’s squad.

Many football streaming websites offer a mobile live stream service now, with many users now preferring to watch football for free on the move rather than accessing a desktop stream.

With so many places to watch football for free, competition is fierce but Totalsportek is one of the biggest websites around, following in the footsteps of Sportlemon and other pioneer streaming pages.

Now a multi-million dollar internet business, broadcasting football over the internet via a live online stream is more popular than ever before.

Advances in technology have contributed to the growth of the free football streams industry and football prediction fans now have a range of websites to choose from.

On some occasions, it is just not possible to watch a major sports betting event via the more traditional means of television and watching online sport on the internet is the only option.

Many football streaming websites, including Totalsportek and Ronaldo7, will ask for users to register or pay a monthly subscription service. Others are free, providing the website can function through advertising.

Some social networks have also stared to get involved with the online football streaming industry, with the chance to watch live sport through Facebook and Twitter.

One of the main problems encountered when watching live sport online is location, with many events limited to certain regions.