Villas-Boas unimpressed by Chelsea´s choices

Arsene Wenger had a message for Jose Mourinho after the Manchester United manager bemoaned his club s lack of spending power welcome to my world.

Mourinho hit the headlines following the 2-2 home draw with Burnley on Tuesday, claiming his club cannot match the financial muscle of local rivals and runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.

The Portuguese, who has spent in the region of £300million since arriving at Old Trafford in May 2016, described that figure as not enough while pointing out City s ability to buy full-backs for the price of the strikers .

Wenger faced the media ahead of Arsenal s trip to Crystal Palace on Thursday, and questions over Mourinho s remarks prompted a wry smile from the Frenchman, who claimed to know exactly how his old foe wa…

Bobo s late equaliser helped Sydney FC retain their eight-point lead over Newcastle Jets in a clash between the A-League s top two on Wednesday.

Andrew Nabbout headed the visitors in front when he connected with a cross from former Melbourne Victory team-mate Daniel Georgievski in the 10th minute at Allianz Stadium.

Milos Ninkovic netted a stunning leveller six minutes later, receiving Bobo s pass to burst into the area before dancing past two Jets defenders and lifting the ball over goalkeeper Glen Moss.

Joseph Champness restored the Jets lead when he beat Andrew Redmayne from a corner in the 62nd minute.

But Bobo salvaged a point for Graham Arnold s title-holders, nodding home Adrian Mierzejewski s cross with three minutes remaining in normal time to no…

Luciano Spalletti praised Kevin Strootman s character but does not feel the Dutchman is ready to start his first competitive match since January 2015.

Strootman returned after lengthy rehabilitation following cruciate knee ligament surgery for a first Serie A appearance in over a year as a 78th-minute substitute in the 5-0 victory over Palermo on February 21.

The midfielder, who was limited to just six Serie A appearances in during an injury-blighted 2014-15 season, has made his only other outing this term as a second-half stoppage-time replacement against Udinese on March 13.

In the eyes of the Roma boss, Strootman is not yet fit enough to play regularly in Serie A, but his mental strength has been noted.

We d planned to bring him on against Bologna [o…

Chelsea s Eden Hazard has beaten Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne to the Devil of the Year award for his performances for Belgium in 2017.

De Bruyne has played a starring role for the Premier League s runaway leaders this season, scoring six goals and setting up another nine in 21 games, but Belgium fans believe Hazard enjoyed the better year on the international stage, as they cruised to World Cup qualification.

Hazard only made five appearances for Belgium in 2017, as opposed to De Bruyne s eight, though the Chelsea star produced several fine performances, scoring three and assisting two in those games.

His outstanding displays saw him claim 10,280 votes, more than double the 4,710 that De Bruyne amassed, with Romelu Lukaku rounding off the top three with…

Tunisia coach Sami Trabelsi is expecting clashes when his side meets North African rivals Algeria in their Africa Cup of Nations opener.

The sides meet in a tough Group D opener in the so called group of death on Tuesday, with the Ivory Coast and Togo to come later in the tournament.

Both have won the tournament Tunisia in 2004 and Algeria in 1990 and Trebelsi is expecting a fierce encounter with little room for error in the group.

It s a game against brothers but it s a football game. There will be aggression for sure, there will be some clashes but it stays on the field, Trabelsi said.

I believe that the most focused team which keeps it s calm and which won t get involved in clashes will win the game.

Algeria won on the last occasion that th…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hailed the performance of Lisandro Martinez, who he believes will form an impressive partnership with Raphael Varane.

The Argentine made his debut for the club during the final pre-season match, a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford, and caught the eye alongside the World Cup winner.

Martinez is a player Ten Hag knows well following their time together at Ajax, and United s boss hinted that the centre-back could establish himself as Varane s partner for the season ahead, which could cast further doubt on Harry Maguire s status as a first-team regular.

It was a really good combination with Rapha. They played solid that s good to see. He integrated quite well into the team, he told MUTV.

United goalkeep…

Gaga Slonina has joined Chelsea on a six-year contract before returning to the Chicago Fire on loan until January.

The 18-year-old has established himself as the most exciting young goalkeeper in MLS since making his Fire debut last August.

Then 17, Slonina became the youngest goalkeeper to start a match in MLS history as he kept a clean sheet in a draw with New York City FC.

Slonina has gone on to keep 13 clean sheets in 34 appearances and is Chicago s first-choice keeper, playing every minute of the 2022 campaign.

The United States youth international, who rejected a senior call-up from Poland in May, will play out the rest of the season in Illinois ahead of joining a pool of Chelsea goalkeepers that includes Edouard Mendy.

Chelsea have reported…

Radhi Shenaishil was full of praise for Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud following victory over Iran in the Asian Cup quarter-finals.

Iraq coach Radhi Shenaishil praised the influence of captain Younis Mahmoud after guiding his team to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup with a penalty-shootout victory over Iran.

The 31-year-old without a club since 2013 scored the goal that put Iraq 2-1 up in extra time, but the sides ended the additional 30 minutes tied at 3-3 following a frantic period of play.

Mahmoud s Panenka helped Iraq to a 7-6 win in the shootout, and Shenaishil was quick to recognise his skipper s contribution.

Younis essentially played four halves today and he played amazing, he said. We have a young squad and we need a leader. He s the type of play…

Panathinaikos have signed Charis Mavrias from Sunderland on loan for the remainder of the season.

Sunderland winger Charis Mavrias has returned to his former club Panathinaikos on loan for the rest of the season.

The 20-year-old has made only six first-team appearances for Sunderland since joining the Premier League club from Panathinaikos in August 2013.

Greece international Mavrias has now been allowed to return to the Athens side for the remainder of the current campaign.

Panathinaikos are third in the Super League, eight points behind leaders Olympiacos. 

…

Cardiff City would love to talk to Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy over a return to the club, according to chief executive Alan Whiteley.

The Wales striker played and captained the Championship club in the 2010-11 season when on loan from Manchester City, however, they were unable to secure a permanent deal for the 32-year-old.

Bellamy re-joined former club Liverpool last season but only has one year left on his contract and the Bluebirds admitted they would like to re-sign him if he s not in new manager Brendan Rodgers plans.

We d love to have Craig back, Whiteley told reporters.

But he is a Liverpool player and until Liverpool and Craig decide what they are going to do, there are conversations that we can t even have at the moment.

We don t …