This piece of Cup final art seems a bit more Haight-Ashbury than the so-called 60s shirts - especially Soyuncu, who has the hair to be a roadie for the Grateful Dead...
Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
Tomorrow: #EmiratesFACup final. pic.twitter.com/pxgwuotQnF
May 14, 2021
The eagle-eyed will have spotted that both Chelsea and Leicester play in blue.
Chelsea won the toss for colours so Leicester will wear all maroon.
Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
New threads ready for the #FACupFinal. 💧 pic.twitter.com/rVvG1mdbX3
May 14, 2021
Here’s the Chelsea kit for Saturday’s final and indeed next season. They’re calling it ‘60s-inspired’ which is a stretch. Mason Mount loves it though and here’s what he definitely said: “This shirt is the most eye-catching yet and is so unique from the others I’ve worn. I think it’ll be a big hit with Blues across the globe.
“I feel like it really represents this younger generation rising up the ranks and I love the sustainability behind it. It’s really important to be mindful of our impact on the environment and it’s great to see football leading the way on sustainability.”
Always good to see a different team in the final and Leicester are getting in the mood.
Leicester City (@LCFC)
Wembley... 🏟️💭
🔜 #FACupFinal pic.twitter.com/0RLmqHO3Dc
May 14, 2021
Leicester City (@LCFC)
Your favourite #FACup moment so far this season? 🤔
This wasn't bad from @JamesJustin98 😏 pic.twitter.com/IB6vjHd5YL
May 14, 2021
Thanks Tumaini. There was once a time when I knew every scoreline and scorer in FA Cup finals from, say, 1977 onwards. I’ve just tried a personal quiz to name the last 10 winners and I’m struggling. That said, Saturday 3pm should be a good one. Looking forward to Swap Shop and then Cup final Mastermind.... what’s that? It stopped when? Kick-off is what time?
Anyway, that’s all from me today. Thanks all for following. David Tindall will be taking over now.
Thomas Tuchel was asked how important it is to win a trophy so soon after becoming Chelsea manager:
“If you ask me this question, hopefully in four years time in the same place I will tell you the same. It has the same importance because once you arrive in the final, you arrive with Chelsea, you want to win the final, nothing else. I’ve won some finals and the big change to me personally did not arrive.
You’re super happy, you have the best night after that, you feel relieved. I feel so, so happy for everybody who’s involved, for everybody who suffered, for friends, for my family. I’m so, so happy for two, three days. But after that it didn’t change nothing in me. It was the same hunger the next training, the same desire, the same anger when you lose games. The same anger when training is not going in your way. I never stepped in [and said]: ‘But I won a final, now I won’t take care of this stuff.’ It’s not like this, it’s more like you want more and more and more.”
He concludes: “We are Chelsea and we are about winning. We want to win titles and as many as possible. A win tomorrow is absolutely crucial and will not change nothing for, hopefully, the next one.”
Thomas Tuchel on whether he is prepared to enjoy the FA Cup final:
“I’m not yet in the mode to enjoy it. I still have a bit of a hangover from last defeat. It’s always like this so I’m a bit of, more of in an angry mode when we will arrive in the hotel. It’s good because I’m not angry at myself or the players, just because of the result and the opportunity we missed. I will hopefully transform it into a good preparation and to put the team to the edge and let them play sharp. It’s my responsibility and we absolutely have to show a reaction.
Some good news for Chelsea: Mateo Kovacic returns after a hamstring injury.
“I’m happy to go to Porto. I’m happy to go to a final, that’s pretty much the answer. I would go anywhere to play a Champions League final as a participant.” - Thomas Tuchel on the Champions League final venue.
Thomas Tuchel was asked which of Chelsea’s two upcoming matches against Leicester is most important:
“I cannot judge it. These are two finals and we don’t think about anything else but the two finals. It’s a final for Cup and it’s final for top four. We missed the chance against Arsenal to be decisive, to have a decisive advantage, so now we have to cope with it and show the reaction of Wembley.
Tuchel says that Kepa Arrizabalaga will start the final.
The 6,000 fans lucky enough to acquire tickets to the Champions League final on May 29th may be able to enter Portugal from Monday.
Football Daily (@footballdaily)
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
Portugal's foreign minister confirms UK visitors can enter the country from Monday, ahead of the #UCLFinal in Porto pic.twitter.com/sU0bJMQeto
May 14, 2021
Klopp on the challenge of facing a relegated team, as they will against West Brom on Sunday:
“When all the pressure is off, because it is now decided that they are not staying in the league, it can give some good feelings to express yourself and just play football. And that can lead to everything. So we have to be really focussed, prepared and strong to make our things happen. It’s a tricky one.”
Jurgen Klopp on Sadio Mane’s frustration yesterday night:
“Football is an emotional game. Everyone expects from us that we control our emotions always and it doesn’t work out alway. It happened to me as a player, it happened to other players when I was their coach. So we had, so far, no real chance to talk but we will. There will be nothing left, everything will be fine. Do we want these things to happen? No, but it’s not the first time in my life and, I’m afraid to say, it will probably not be the last time.”
Netherlands have released their provisional Euro 2020 squad.
OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)
🆕 Timber & Gakpo
🔙 Karsdorp & El GhaziThis is the provisional squad for #EURO2020!
ℹ️ https://t.co/siOfazabtE. pic.twitter.com/c1JdsE6z9V
May 14, 2021
Steve Bruce has been named Premier League Manager of The Month after two wins and two draws to ensure Newcastle’s safety, which they followed up with a 4-2 demolition of Leicester this month.
It was not too long ago that people wanted him out and Newcastle’s presence in the league was seriously in doubt. Strong work from him and his team to work through those problems and numerous injuries to key players before finishing strongly.
Here is a nice read from Suzanne Wrack on Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who spoke with her family and friends to tell her story head of the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.
A proposed pre-season friendly between Manchester United and Liverpool could be scrapped following the protests that surrounded their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford.
The two rivals had discussed staging a friendly on 29 July to help with pre-season preparations in the absence of international tours and with the return of fans to stadia. A second friendly at Anfield in August was also proposed but ultimately ruled out.
July’s fixture may also be abandoned, however, with United and Liverpool concerned about the potential for further protests outside Old Trafford against the Glazer family. Their scheduled Premier League game on 2 May had to be postponed when United fans broke into Old Trafford and attempts were made to block the Liverpool team coach before last night’s rearranged game.
FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni)
📸 Última sessió abans de viatjar a Göteborg!
May 14, 2021
⏳ #UWCL FINAL#ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/4fXtInn1qQ
High praise from Marcelo Bielsa about Sean Dyche’s Burnley team. Burnley host Leeds in the 12:30 slot on Saturday:
“Burnley is a team who has their style completely defined and very developed. There are very few times I’ve seen a team who has their style so defined. Of course, it’s more natural to want to watch (Manchester) City than to watch Burnley, but all the teams that don’t that have such heights football-wise - and Leeds is an example - can’t aspire to create the same beauty aesthetically as the big team. But in the measure of our possibilities, maintaining a style and polishing it, improving it, I think it’s something to merit and is a path to follow.”
Bielsa continued: “Burnley is an example that when things don’t go as desired, the base of the way the team are playing should not change, but that it’s better to improve the parts of the function of the team that are not working well. Famously, this ‘plan B’, is a constant demand when things aren’t going well, but what I observe, is that the good teams and the coaches who manage the best teams, they don’t abandon the style in adversity, but they correct it, they better it.”
(Via PA)
3,5000 fans will be in the stands for Burnley’s match with Liverpool on Wednesday. Sean Dyche is very satisfied with that after a period that has seen Burnley secure their Premier League presence with strong away performances yet they haven’t won at home since January:
“The thing we’ve missed this year - they play a massive part at this club - is the fans,” Dyche said.
“Aside from my first year here when I got a lot of stick, they’ve stood by me and they’ve stood by the team and the club and they’ve built a nice energy and a nice connection which has been very, very important.
“To miss that this year has been very difficult for them and very difficult for us.”
(via PA)
Speaking of invincible teams, that is precisely what Chelsea will be up against in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Sunday.
Barcelona’s league record is beyond belief: 26 matches played, 26 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses. Barcelona have scored 128 goals and conceded 5. Their away record is actually 50 goals scored and 1 conceded. What some described as primarily the consequence of a weak league looks far better since they have navigated their way to the Champions League final, beating Manchester City and PSG en-route. This will be incredibly tough for Chelsea.
Earlier today, Steven Gerrard was unsurprisingly named Scottish Premiership Manager of the Year as he delivered Rangers their first league title in a decade.
Their league record: 37 matches played with 31 wins 6 draws and 0 losses. One match away from an invincible season.
Premier League (@premierleague)
𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪𝗪
🔵 @ManCity have won their last 1️⃣1️⃣ away #PL matches
A win against Newcastle would see them break the all-time record, currently held by Chelsea in 2008 and Man City themselves in 2017 🥇#NEWMCI pic.twitter.com/8ilqkIY56j
May 14, 2021
Jesse Lingard has been named Premier League Player of the Month for April.
He contributed 4 goals and 2 assists for West Ham in April as his resurgence continues.
Jonathan Liew on Trent Alexander-Arnold:
Few players have embodied Liverpool’s travails this season as faithfully as Alexander-Arnold. One minute you’re a virtual unknown; the next you’re one of the hottest footballing properties on the planet and the taker of perhaps the most famous corner in history; the next you’ve lost your England place and everyone has basically agreed that you can’t defend. This is a familiar cycle of boom-and-bust, one that has claimed many a talented 22-year-old in the past. But somehow over the last few weeks, something seems to have stirred in him: a fortitude and resilience that we perhaps expected to see, but not necessarily this soon.
Virgil van Dijk offered some words of wisdom in a book extract on the art of defending:
“Some people suggest I make the game look easy, but trust me, every game is very tough. We play against world-class strikers, very physical strikers, and never am I thinking, ‘This is easy.’ Maybe though, I want my opponent to think I am. Look at Roger Federer. If you see him play tennis, you think he doesn’t sweat. Mentally, that must be so tough for his opponent, who will think he’s not trying.
“Sometimes I think like that. Try to get into the head of the opponent, not by talking to him, not by kicking him, but trying to make him think that if he is going to play well or score today, he’s going to have to step up. Yes, you have to be confident in your own ability, otherwise people will walk all over you. There are other ways to win games; you don’t have to kick or curse people out.”
Dean Smith regularly describes Ollie Watkins as “the best pressing striker in the Premier League” and the suspended player was certainly missed last night as Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Everton. His replacement, Keinan Davis, is a different kind of forward, not as dynamic. Instead Ross Barkley, operating just behind the centre-forward, did most of the pressing from the front, at one point even pestering Séamus Coleman into backtracking 30 yards and running out of play to concede a corner. But with the ball Barkley created little. This was his last game at Villa Park as a Villa player, since he is ineligible for their remaining home fixture, against his parent club Chelsea on the final day.
Dean Smith has lauded Barkley’s attitude but has no plans to turn his loan move into a permanent transfer. “We never really had any decision to make,” says Smith. “He’s got two years left on his Chelsea contract, I believe. The deal was always to bring him in for the season. We wanted a high-calibre player on loan to add to our quality that we’d signed permanently. He started the season like a house on fire and then, with the Covid break after his injury, he’s probably been as inconsistent as we have as a team. But his future for the next two years is at Chelsea and we haven’t had any discussions about that and I think it would be wrong to do so, since it was a one-year loan.”
Here are 10 things to look out for this weekend.
From Nick Ames: “For Leicester, a first-ever cup final win would reassert the sense, five years after their league title win, that they are here to stay as a club capable of winning major honours. Their continued presence around the top end since 2016 has, in many ways, been just as impressive as that Claudio Ranieri-inspired triumph. Leicester continue to make a mockery of the idea that a “big six” exists in anything bar inflated egos, and they can prove that once again on Saturday.”
Birmingham Women head coach Carla Ward has announced that she will resign at the end of the season.
This has come after a tumultuous season in which Ward’s team contested the FA Cup semi-final and survived relegation but also sent a letter criticising their working conditions. From Louise Taylor’s article in April:
The letter alleged that some players are earning less than the minimum wage and complained of delays in medical treatment for injured squad members, a lack of access to the training-ground gym, substandard practice pitches, a shortage of pre-match overnight hotel stays, lack of payments for non-contract players and inadequate changing facilities and travel arrangements before away fixtures.
Here is Ward’s statement:
“When I walked through the door last August, with the opportunity to manage in the BFAWSL for the first time, I couldn’t have predicted what the next year would look like. It’s been some journey and one I’m immensely proud of.”
“I’ve been so fortunate to work with a group of players who have delivered every single day, taught me so much and are a credit to the Club and the BFAWSL.”
“This year will live with me forever, from our first league win at Reading, to reaching the FA Cup semi-final and the late goals that secured our safety.”
“All fantastic memories that have been made possible by this unbelievable group of players, and ultimately we achieved what many people said we couldn’t.”
FootballJOE (@FootballJOE)
Bruno Fernandes has now scored 28 goals in all competitions this season - beating Frank Lampard's record for the number of goals scored by a Premier League midfielder in a single season 💥 pic.twitter.com/xo7Qrbo2qX
May 14, 2021
Speaking of Merch Drop FC...
adidas Football (@adidasfootball)
The iconic cannon returns.
May 14, 2021
Introducing the new @arsenal away jersey for 2021/22, exclusively available May 21 through adidas and official club stores. pic.twitter.com/fwbRJ0OHco
Arsenal have unveiled the away kit that they will wear on their return to the Champions League next season. The cannon badge is back.
The men’s team will also wear this kit next season.
Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC)
The Arsenal. ✊@adidasfootball | #createdwithadidas pic.twitter.com/MdkXg3nn00
May 14, 2021
Outside of the English clubs, there is still the small matter of La Liga to sort out. With two games to go, this is how things stand:
- Atletico Madrid - 80 points (Goal difference: 40)
- Real Madrid - 78 points (Goal difference: 37)
- Barcelona - 76 points (Goal difference: 47)
All three teams will simultaneously be in action on Sunday at 17:30 BST. Atletico Madrid will be at home to 11th place Osasuna, 9th place Athletic Club host Real Madrid and Barcelona will face 8th place Celta Vigo at Camp Nou.
Hello! Welcome to today’s Friday blog ahead of one of the final weekends of this exhausting season.
There is, of course, a lot going on in and out of the Premier League this week. Newcastle will host Manchester City tonight at 8pm, then from 12:30pm on Saturday we will see Burnley vs Leeds, Southampton vs Fulham and Brighton vs West Ham. Sunday’s Premier League action will begin with Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa, followed by Tottenham vs Wolves, West Brom vs Liverpool and Everton vs Sheffield United.
However, the biggest matches of the weekend are two big cup finals. Chelsea will face Leicester City at 17:15 tomorrow in the FA Cup final, then on Sunday at 8pm the Women’s Champions League final will see Chelsea up against an dominant Barcelona.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3uQqZ4c
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