1. <\/span>Guardiola sticks to his guns over title chase<\/h2>\nPep Guardiola has refused to concede that Manchester City\u2019s title chase is over after Monday\u2019s 3-3 draw with Everton, despite insisting it would be finished if every game from last month\u2019s victory over Arsenal were not won.<\/p>\n
City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on 19 April and went on to win 1-0 at Burnley and go level on points with Mikel Arteta\u2019s pacesetters, above them on goals scored. But they now find themselves five points behind after failing to win at Hill Dickinson Stadium, so even if City\u2019s game in hand is won they cannot overhaul Arsenal without their title rivals also dropping points in their final three games.<\/p>\n
Reminded of his desire for a perfect run-in, expressed before the Arsenal game and the 1-1 draw with West Ham on 14 March, Guardiola said of winning the title: \u201cWell, it is more difficult because we are facing the team that is going to play the final of the Champions League. We dropped two points in a tough game against Everton. But we try to win \u2013 let\u2019s leave two points behind them and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
City host Brentford on Saturday at 5.30pm BST while Arsenal travel to West Ham on Sunday. Guardiola was asked if he would watch the latter game and cheer on Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo\u2019s team. \u201cLet me play against Brentford and do our job,\u201d he replied. \u201cLet\u2019s win our game against Brentford. And after you can come and ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways with these things it is a big mistake to look (ahead). It\u2019s a tough opponent. We\u2019re making a top season. So, let\u2019s do our job as best as possible.\u201d<\/p>\nPep Guardiola says Monday\u2019s fightback against Everton was proof they are not conceding the title race any time soon.<\/span> Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAfter Arsenal\u2019s loss to City, Declan Rice said of the title race: \u201cIt\u2019s not done\u201d. Erling Haaland made a similar on-pitch declaration after the draw with Everton: \u201cWe\u2019re still there.\u201d Guardiola was asked if the striker\u2019s attitude is key to City maintaining the challenge. \u201cWe proved it in the Everton game,\u201d he said. \u201cAt 1-3 it was not done and we ended as 3-3.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodri, who has not played since sustaining a groin injury in the win over Arsenal, has returned to light training. \u201cWe\u2019ll see if he is available for Brentford,\u201d said Guardiola, who expressed the hope the player would at least play again this season.<\/p>\n
This week it was announced that Phil Foden has reached an agreement in principle with City over fresh terms until 2031 despite losing his starting place this season. Guardiola backed him to return to his best. \u201cHe just needs to recover that spirit, the pleasure of being a football player,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because I have a contract. Not because I have duties to do. Not because I have to win that game. Forget about all of that. It\u2019s just a joy to play football like you were a little boy and we\u2019re in the streets or in the school or in the academy in Man City. And when that happens he\u2019ll explode again. He\u2019s not 35 years old like your legs don\u2019t run any more or you\u2019re with the wheelchair.\u201d Jamie Jackson<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n2. <\/span>Slot \u2018not hurt by Salah\u2019s parting shot\u2019 <\/h2>\nArne Slot has angrily rejected the notion that standards may drop at Liverpool once Mohamed Salah leaves and insisted a winning culture is not created only inside the gym.<\/p>\n
Salah raised the topic of standards at Liverpool during a TV interview last week when revealing he had told Dominik Szoboszlai and others to set an example after he departs this summer. The forward said: \u201cI told them: \u2018You need people to come early and go to the gym.\u2019 If this doesn\u2019t happen it will be tricky for the club, because it\u2019s very necessary you put the standards high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slot bristled at the suggestion that Salah\u2019s comments, coupled with Virgil van Dijk\u2019s claim that a lot of work is needed behind the scenes at Liverpool, implied there were problems with the dressing-room culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Virgil mean the same as what Mo is saying?\u201d he said. \u201cMo is saying that standards are really important for a football club. I cannot agree with him more. I did not hear him say that the standards are not OK now, did you? I\u2019m not worried that the standards will be lower next season than they were this season, last season or the season before. No. I\u2019m not worried. At all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The head coach became angry as he continued his defence of the squad. \u201cI wish I was able to say what I feel at this moment, but I can\u2019t. I think (standards) are in a good place right now. I am completely convinced that we have enough players next season \u2013 and the ones we will sign to add to that \u2013 to put the standards exactly into the place they are needed. The standards are not only important in the gym. It\u2019s everywhere, it\u2019s the entire culture, it\u2019s also on the pitch. You understand me? Without me saying anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slot believes it is not only on older players to set the benchmark at Liverpool and denied there was a lack of leadership among the players signed last summer. \u201cIf I look at Paris Saint-Germain, D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 is 20, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is 25. Can they set standards for another generation or for a team? I don\u2019t know what time they are in the gym, by the way. And this is what Mo did when he was 26,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all have lived experiences and know what it takes to play at this level. Come on, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitik\u00e9, Alexander Isak and all these players we signed: they are not children, they are serious professionals that know what it takes to play at this level. They now know what it takes to play in the Premier League and Champions League at this level. It can only get better but it is not only down to 34-year-olds. Standards can also be set by a 20-year-old, like Dou\u00e9, or Salah who started like that for Liverpool when he was 26. It is not age-related.\u201d Andy Hunter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n3. <\/span>McFarlane insists Chelsea built on solid foundations<\/h2>\nChelsea\u2019s interim coach, Calum McFarlane, insists the foundations for success are in place at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are on a six-match losing streak, with the under-21s coach back in charge after Liam Rosenior was sacked last month.<\/p>\n
Their worst run since 1993 means Chelsea cannot finish in the top five and qualify automatically for the Champions League. Chelsea have three Premier League games left \u2013 starting with Saturday\u2019s trip to Liverpool \u2013 as well as the FA Cup final, to secure any form of European football next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in the best form at the moment, we\u2019re not performing the way we should be, but I do think there are foundations there for this team to be successful,\u201d McFarlane said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got four games left, we need to attack every game and show our level like we have done at times this year \u2013 not recently \u2013 and put ourselves in the best position to achieve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McFarlane, who also took temporary charge after Enzo Maresca left in January, insists he is relishing the role. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge, it\u2019s tough, you don\u2019t like losing games, no one likes losing games of football, but I\u2019m enjoying the challenge, I\u2019m embracing the challenge and I\u2019ve got a job to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try and support the players and give them the best platform to win football games, it\u2019s my job. If we win I\u2019ll enjoy it, if not, just like everyone else, I\u2019ll be frustrated and angry.\u201d PA Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n4. <\/span>Nuno only focused on West Ham\u2019s survival<\/h2>\nNuno Esp\u00edrito Santo says he has given no thought to his future at West Ham whether they are relegated or not. The club\u2019s board are understood to want Nuno, who signed a three-year deal when he was appointed in September, to stay on as head coach even if they do go down to the Championship.<\/p>\n
His side face an uphill battle to stay up, with survival out of their hands in 18th spot and with a visit from the leaders, Arsenal, next up on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be honest with you, I don\u2019t have one second to think about next season,\u201d the Portuguese coach said. \u201cIt\u2019s so demanding what we have, the challenge, especially the game on Sunday, that\u2019s what we have to focus on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have enough energy to think about what\u2019s ahead. It\u2019s tomorrow, then tomorrow, day-by-day. All the club, all the staff, the board, the players, the fans, we have our mission. It\u2019s about Sunday and we just focus on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\nNuno Esp\u00edrito Santo insists he has given no thought to his future at West Ham whether they are relegated or not.<\/span> Photograph: Clive Rose\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNuno added: \u201c(Arsenal) are a tough opponent, but we are at London Stadium and that always gives us a plus of energy and especially for us, we have to give our all. There is no hiding. Being at home is good for us. Especially recently, our fans are giving us extra, so they\u2019ve been really helpful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always nervy in these final games of the season. There\u2019s always anxiety in the games so it is up to us to control our nerves and deliver what we want.\u201d PA Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n5. <\/span>Howe has no doubts about Gordon\u2019s desire<\/h2>\nEddie Howe has reiterated Anthony Gordon\u2019s commitment to Newcastle after speculation over the England forward\u2019s future amid reports suggesting they have opened talks with Bayern Munich over a possible move.<\/p>\n
When asked if he could shed any light on Bayern links, the Newcastle manager said: \u201cNo, none. That\u2019s not something I\u2019m involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton in January 2023 and has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season. Asked if he feels Gordon is 100% committed to the club, Howe replied: \u201cYes, he wouldn\u2019t be in the squad if that was the case. And I judge that, as I said many times, not on communications elsewhere, I do that with my relationship with the player and how I see them train.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newcastle are 13th in the table and have three games remaining this season, starting with a trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. With the campaign approaching its end, Howe admitted the summer transfer window was \u201cdifficult to predict\u201d, but said he was focused on a strong league finish.<\/p>\nAnthony Gordon has been linked with Bayern Munich but Eddie Howe believes such transfer talk is not a distraction.<\/span> Photograph: Owen Humphreys\/PA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cIt\u2019s difficult for me to comment too much on individual players and timescales and all that stuff because that\u2019s going into an area that isn\u2019t really my forte, so I\u2019ll leave that to other people. All I\u2019m looking to do is try and finish the season with the squad in a really strong way and the players be committed to what they\u2019re doing right here, right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no point looking too far ahead into the future. The summer transfer window is difficult to predict, it\u2019s difficult to see what\u2019s going to happen on any level at this moment in time so we\u2019ve got three big games to play and we need to focus on them.\u201d PA Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Guardiola sticks to his guns over title chase Pep Guardiola has refused to concede…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}