Van Persie rescues sinking Moyes

Robin van Persie came to Manchester United’s rescue on Wednesday night, scoring a hat-trick against Olympiakos to ensure safe passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Red Devils went into the game 2-0 down after a dismal display in the first leg in Greece and with David Moyes coming under intense pressure following Sunday's 3-0 humbling by Liverpool in the Premier League.

Yet Van Persie was not to be denied, scoring all three goals at Old Trafford to seal a dramatic comeback victory and throw Moyes a lifeline.

Thursday, 20 March 2014 11:49

Tweet Follow @omomani

Eto'o sees off Drogba to emerge as top dog

Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Galatasaray at Stamford Bridge saw Samuel Eto’o overshadow Didier Drogba as the Blues secured a 2-0 second leg victory.

The two sides came into the game still on level terms, after a 1-1 draw in Turkey, but Eto’o's fourth minute goal gave Chelsea the lead in the tie.

Gary Cahill added a second as the Blues ran out 3-1 winners on an emotional night for Drogba who could not find the target on his return to Stamford Bridge.

Wednesday, 19 March 2014 09:30

Tweet Follow @omomani

Return of the king: Chelsea welcome back Drogba

Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Chelsea and Galatasaray sees Didier Drogba return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since he left the club in 2012.

The Ivorian enjoyed great success during his time with the Blues winning the three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and, famously, the Champions League in his last ever game for the club.

Jose Mourinho has already insisted Drogba will return to Chelsea in some capacity one day as he prepares to welcome the striker on what is sure to be an emotional evening in west London.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014 12:15

Tweet Follow @omomani

Rooney rocked by Liverpool nightmare

Wayne Rooney described Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool as one of the worst in his career as Manchester United are left to pick up the pieces from another uninspiring display.

The Premier League champions find themselves miles off the title pace, while pressure continues to mount on manager David Moyes, who was at a loss to explain the manner of his side’s defeat at Old Trafford.

"It's a nightmare,” Rooney told MUTV.

"It's one of the worst days I've ever had in football.

"It's hard to take. You have to give Liverpool credit - they played well - but it's difficult to take.

"Nobody wants to lose, especially in this way, in your own stadium. It's not nice."

Monday, 17 March 2014 12:00

Tweet Follow @omomani

Liverpool look to knock Manchester United off their perch

"My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their ******* perch," former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously once said of the rivalry between the two clubs.

But now, after almost 20 years of dominance in English football, Sir Alex has stepped down and Liverpool have the chance to do the same to their most bitter rivals at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Anfield outfit is resurgent under Brendan Rodgers, sitting seven points off the top of the Premier League with two games in hand over leaders Chelsea.

United, meanwhile, have struggled during a transitional period under new boss David Moyes, who has described the clash as the biggest in the Premier League.

Is now the time for Liverpool to knock the Old Trafford giants off their perch?

Sunday, 16 March 2014 07:30

Tweet Follow @omomani

Taxi! Bendtner looks set for Arsenal exit

Nicklas Bendtner has edged closer to the exit door at Arsenal following his altercation with a taxi driver in Copenhagen on Tuesday evening.

When asked if the incident was the final straw for the forward, the Arsene Wenger told reporters: "He is at the end of his contract at the end of the season.

"Nobody gave him any permission to go to Copenhagen and he will be fined for that.

"Honestly I don't know really what happened because I haven't spoken to him.

"The only thing that is for sure is he had nothing to do in Copenhagen."

Saturday, 15 March 2014 12:00

Tweet Follow @omomani

Moyes, RVP & the Man Utd happy family

It appears that David Moyes and Robin van Persie may have kissed and made up.

The Manchester United striker denied that he was unhappy at the club and provided his full backing to Moyes in an interview on Thursday and stated: "The truth is I’m very happy here at this club. I signed for four years and I’d be delighted to stay even longer, beyond the next two years I have left on my contract.

"This is how I feel, although it’s not what has been suggested in the media.

"I’m very happy with my team-mates and I’m very happy with my manager and his staff."

So all seems well in the Manchester United family, for now...!

Friday, 14 March 2014 10:30

Tweet Follow @omomani

Groundhog Day for Manchester City in Europe

You can forgive Manuel Pellegrini for feeling a sense of deja vu as he wakes up on Thursday morning.

Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League by a clinical Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday night, and it was an all too familiar story for the Premier League side.

Just as in the first leg, Lionel Messi and Dani Alves were on hand to score the goals that would seal City's exit while Pellegrini's men suffered another red card, after Martin Demichelis' dismissal at the Etihad Stadium, as Pablo Zabaleta was given his marching orders.

Thursday, 13 March 2014 10:00

Tweet Follow @omomani

Champions League circus comes to town

So the first two teams are in the hat for the Champions League quarters following Tuesday night's action, with Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid going through at the expense of Arsenal and AC Milan.

On an eventful night in Germany, Arjen Robben caused controversy for the manner in which he earned a penalty against the Gunners, which Thomas Muller would miss during the 1-1 draw, with Arsene Wenger insisting after the match that the Dutchman was a master at diving.

In the other game of the evening, Clarence Seedorf's Milan side were forced to jump through hoops as Diego Costa and Co. proved too strong for the Italians in what turned out to be a thumping 4-1 win.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014 12:00

Tweet Follow @omomani

Bayern attempt to stop Arsenal by any means necessary

Arsenal face a monumental task of repeating their Allianz Arena heroics from last season and claiming the victory that would take them through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Gunners need to win by two-clear goals in Germany following their first-leg loss to Pep Guardiola's side and, speaking ahead of the game, the Bayern boss admitted his side will lose out if they allow Arsenal to have the ball.

He said: "If we let Arsenal keep the ball, we will have a lot of problems.

"They have a lot of quality, every single player has unbelievable technical skills with the ball. They have players like [Santi] Cazorla, [Mesut] Ozil, [Tomas] Rosicky and [Mikel] Arteta - it is no problem for them to keep the ball in their lines.

"So the only way to avoid that is to keep the ball for ourselves - and obviously we have to be aggressive."

Tuesday, 11 March 2014 12:00

Tweet Follow @omomani