Three things learned: Liverpool v. Chelsea

By Joe Prince-WrightApr 14, 2019, 1:36 PM EDT

Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday, as Jurgen Klopp‘s side overcame their biggest remaining hurdle, on paper, in the Premier League title race.

[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]

Goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah 144 seconds apart in the second half did the damage, as Eden Hazard missed two glorious chances and Chelsea couldn’t cope with wave after wave of Liverpool attack.

[ MORE: Klopp reacts to victory ]

Here’s what we learned from an intense, dramatic encounter at Anfield, as Liverpool went back to the top of the table and put the pressure back on Manchester City.

SALAH STANDS TALL FOR LIVERPOOL, AGAIN

A few weeks ago Mohamed Salah was having a slump and was suffering during a long goal drought. But he has now well and truly regained his mojo. Salah scored a sensational goal to make it 2-0 against Chelsea, the type of goal that seems likely to be played time and time again over history. He scored a massive goal at Southampton last Friday in a 3-1 win, and his header forced Tottenham to score an own goal right at the end of Liverpool’s 2-1 win the week before. Salah is back to making key contributions for Liverpool and he couldn’t have timed his return to form any better with the Reds so close to winning their first title in 29 years.

HAZARD FLUFFS HIS LINES

Eden Hazard played very well in a false nine position against Liverpool, but he will be the first to admit he should have scored twice. When Chelsea went 2-0 down he had two glorious chances. When clean through on the first occasions he hit the post, and on the second occasion he scuffed his shot straight at Alisson. Hazard knew he should have done better and he really let Liverpool off the hook at a pivotal stage of not only the game, but the season. Chelsea look a much better team when Hazard has players close to him when he is playing in a false nine and Willian did that well on Sunday. There wasn’t much between these teams but Liverpool took their chances and Hazard missed Chelsea’s.

TITLE RACE ONE OF THE BEST EVER

When one team wins, the other answers, emphatically. This title race shows no signs of slowing down as both Liverpool and Manchester City are doing everything they can to get over the line and be crowned Premier League champions. This title race has the potential to be the best in history, and it feels like it will go down to the final day, just like it did in 2012 when Sergio Aguero delivered the title for City just when it looked like Manchester United would prevail.

Star players are stepping up for both Man City and Liverpool, with Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling in stunning form at Crystal Palace, and both Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson delivering for Liverpool. With the quality of play on show and both teams in the last eight of the Champions League, you can easily argue this is the best title race we have ever seen in the PL. If Liverpool win their last four games they will finish the season on 97 points. If Man City win their remaining five games, they finish on 98 points. City broke the record for most points in a top-flight season last season with 100, and that goes to show you how incredible this title race is.

Below is a look at the games that remain for both, as City clearly have a tougher schedule with both Man United and Spurs still to play. The crucial game in this run-in looks like being the Manchester derby on Apr. 24. Let the battle continue, as both teams continue to cope brilliantly with the pressure and both Klopp and Guardiola are saying the same things: all we have to do is win all of our games.

Liverpool: Cardiff (A), Huddersfield (H), Newcastle (A), Wolves (H)
Man City: Tottenham (H), Man United (A), Burnley (A), Leicester (H), Brighton (A)

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Real Madrid confident of signing Pogba, Hazard

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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 26, 2019, 9:37 AM EDT

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Two of the Premier League’s biggest stars could be heading out this summer, with Real Madrid increasingly confident of signing both Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba.

[ MORE: Has Pogba delivered at United? ]

With Chelsea star Hazard only having one year left on his contract, it seems he is far more likely to leave, but Pogba’s recent displays and comments after Zinedine Zidane’s return to Real Madrid have certainly set tongues wagging about his future.

Our partners at Sky Sports are reporting that Real are confident that both Pogba and Hazard will arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. It has been reported that Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, has cancelled a meeting between United and Pogba about signing a new contract (Pogba has two years left on his current deal) and is keen for his client to head to Real this summer.

Asked about the recent speculation regarding Pogba ahead of United’s clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday (Watch live, 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reaffirmed his belief that Pogba will remain at United.

But Solskjaer doesn’t seem as sure as he was a few weeks ago when talking about this topic…

“You can’t guarantee anything in football but yes I think Paul is going to be here,” Solskjaer said. “I can assure you he is now very determined to succeed at Man United. I would say yes I can guarantee, but in life you can never. He will be as far as I can answer.”

Which player would be the bigger loss for their respective club?

Hazard, no question. He has scored 16 goals and added 13 assists this season in the Premier League, meaning he has had a hand in just under 50 percent of Chelsea’s goals. With a transfer ban hanging over Chelsea, they won’t be able to replace him either, meaning more pressure will be placed on the likes of newcomer Christian Pulisic and youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to deliver.

The Belgian star has spent the past seven seasons at Chelsea and many of their fans, although reluctant, will accept it if he tells the club he wants to leave this summer.

As for Pogba at United, even though he’s scored 13 goals in his best-ever return in a PL season and was the only non-Liverpool and Man City player named to the PFA Team of the Year on Thursday, it is tough to say United would be totally lost without him.

If United do want to cash in on Pogba, the time is now. With two years left on his contract, they could probably recoup a large chunk of the $120 million they paid Juventus to sign the midfielder in 2016. Pogba’s influence in the dressing room is huge, with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard close friends, and the way his dip in form has coincided with United losing seven of their last nine outings under Solskjaer is worrying.

With Zidane undertaking a huge rebuild of Real’s squad which failed so miserably in all competitions this season, it would be a huge shock if at least one of Pogba or Hazard aren’t lining up at the Bernabeu next season. Selling the likes of Gareth Bale could enable Real to spend big, while reports of Neymar also heading to the Spanish capital also continue. In the prime of their careers, Hazard and Pogba seem like prime targets for Zizou to kickstart his rebuild this summer.

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Emiliano Sala’s father dies three months after plane crash

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By Joe Prince-WrightApr 26, 2019, 8:53 AM EDT

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The father of Emiliano Sala, Horacio, has died suddenly in Argentina.

It has been reported that Horacio, 58, suffered a heart attack and died before paramedics arrived at the Sala family home in Progreso, Argentina.

The mayor of Progreso, Julio Muller, confirmed to radio station La Red that Horacio Sala had passed away and that a ‘heart issue’ was the cause.

“The partner of Horacio called me at five in the morning. The doctors were already there. When he left his home, he had already died,” Muller said. “He could never get over Emi’s death.”

This terrible news for the Sala family comes just over three months since Emiliano tragically died in a plane crash in the English Channel. The Argentine striker was flying back from Nantes to his new home of Cardiff, just two days after completing a club-record $19 million transfer to the Premier League side.

An investigation into why the small aircraft flying Sala crashed continues, as his body has been recovered from the English Channel but pilot David Ibbotson, the only other person on board, has never been found.

Cardiff City and Nantes are currently in discussions with legal teams and FIFA over the payment of the transfer fee and other funds that were due to Sala, and now his family, after his big move to the PL in January.

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Clubs push for promotion-relegation in European competitions

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Associated PressApr 26, 2019, 7:49 AM EDT

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LONDON (AP) The head of the European Club Association says the existing Champions League format should be overhauled to introduce promotion and relegation.

ECA chairman Andrea Agnelli, who runs Juventus, wrote in a letter to the organization’s 232 clubs that “European matches with higher sporting quality and a more competitive environment at all levels” are desired.

That points to more games between elite clubs in a formatted Champions League after 2024 rather than less attractive games that can feature in the group stage.

Agnelli wrote “a pyramidal Pan European League System with continuity and opportunity to grow from within enhancement of mobility and dynamism across the system through carefully applied promotion and relegation.”

While stressing that entry to competitions should be on “sporting meritocracy, not historical privilege,” Agnelli says European competitions should be “open to all – keeping the dream alive.”

Agnelli has told his members to boycott a meeting being staged by the European Leagues group in Madrid on May 6-7.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

U.S. Soccer makes it official: USMNT’s first Gold Cup tuneup to be vs. Jamaica

By Daniel KarellApr 25, 2019, 9:56 PM EDT

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It will be a rematch of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup final as the U.S. begins its preparations for this summer’s Gold Cup.

U.S. Soccer announced that the U.S. Men’s National Team will host Jamaica in a friendly match on June 5 in Washington D.C. at Audi Field, the home of D.C. United. Jamaica, ranked No. 53 in FIFA’s latest world rankings, has made the finals of each of the last two Gold Cups, and they’ll be hosting matches at the Gold Cup for the first time in tournament history in this year’s edition.

“As we prepare for the start of the Gold Cup, this is the perfect opportunity in terms of opponent and venue,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a statement. “Playing against Jamaica we get exposure to another different style of play, and one that we may see later in the tournament. For us, there’s always something special about playing in the nation’s capital. There have been so many memorable games for the National Team in Washington, D.C., and now we look forward to beginning another chapter in the new stadium.”

For the U.S., it’s a strong test and part of a really solid 1-2 punch of friendly matches, beginning with Jamaica and then Venezuela ahead of the Gold Cup. Berhalter is hoping it will prepare the U.S. for battles with Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. Should the U.S. advance, it could face potentially Jamaica, Honduras, or even El Salvador in the quarterfinals or semifinals, with a trip to the final on the line.

Gregg Berhalter has just a few weeks before he has to make one of his first big decisions, albiet one with a lot of flexibility. By May 16, Berhalter must submit to CONCACAF his provisional Gold Cup squad, which can include up to 40 players and four goalkeepers. By Monday, June 3, just two days before this friendly match against Jamaica, Berhalter must submit his final roster of 23 players, including three goalkeepers.

Berhalter, any any coach, has up until 24 hours until the USMNT’s first game (on June 18) to make any emergency replacements. As such, it’s likely that Berhalter will carry more than 23 players with him when the U.S. plays Jamaica and Venezuela.