Daily Sports blog

Pundits Alan Shearer and Phil Neville could not come to agreement on whether the Manchester United striker is 'world class' or not. Now, Goal readers can decide! Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville has renewed his claim that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is "world class", posting a teasing tweet to fellow pundit Alan Shearer after the striker's latest goals. Ibrahimovic has scored 10 goals in his last nine games for United, but Shearer asserted that the 35-year-old "was world class", but is no longer on the same level as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Luis Suarez. Neville took to Twitter to once again highlight the striker's world class qualities as he netted twice in a 2-0 win over West Brom on Saturday, with many Manchester United fans agreeing

They’re finding it difficult to get Diego Costa into this game.” Sorry Crystal Palace fans; there were about seven seconds between me uttering those words and Costa’s header hitting the back of the net. They were finding it difficult – largely because Palace were doing an excellent job of limiting his supply line – and then they found a different route. Because, as they cliche goes, that’s what champions do. For 43 minutes, Chelsea had prodded and probed, only to find Alan Pardew’s side unusually resolute and surprisingly well-drilled. Joe Ledley and James McArthur were disciplined in central midfield, Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha all-but nullified the threat of Chelsea’s wing-backs and Costa was having practically no fun at all; the half-time statistics showed no outfield player had touched the ball less and his pass completion rate was a woeful 36.4%. “Hazard and Willian are the two that I think are the best, so those pockets are going to be important that we block ...

The Swedish striker slotted home Paul Pogba's through-ball to claim all three points for the visitors after a James McArthur goal had seemed to earn a point for the hosts Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed a dramatic, late winner as Manchester United remained in touch with their rivals for Champions League qualification with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. The away team led through Paul Pogba's strike in added time at the end of the first half at Selhurst Park on Wednesday. James McArthur netted a classy and deserved equaliser for the hosts after the break, but Palace could not halt the powerhouse combination of Pogba and Ibrahimovic, who was played in by the midfielder to snatch the winner from a tight angle with two minutes to go in normal time.   The result leaves United sixth, three points behind Tottenham and six back from local rivals Manchester City, who occupy the final Champions League qualifying berth. David de Gea was called into meaningful action ...

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s thumping strike saw Manchester United overcome Tottenham 1-0, but the in-form Armenian’s injury took the edge off Sunday’s much-needed victory. Promising displays have not brought with them anywhere near enough points this season, but United brought a frustrating run of four successive home Premier League draws to a timely halt. Mkhitaryan marked another fine display with an excellent first-half strike against Tottenham, securing a 1-0 victory that the attacking midfielder was unable to celebrate properly after exiting on a stretcher. It was a disappointing end to an impressive United display, with this victory crucial as they try to catch the top four. Mkhitaryan, so impressive since fighting his way into the team, was the architect, following-up his maiden United goal in Thursday’s Europa League trip to Zorya Luhansk with a fine first-half effort. Spurs, emboldened by comprehensive back-to-back wins, made life difficult and regularly threatened ...

Third-placed Liverpool lost further ground on Premier League leaders Chelsea after another questionable performance from goalkeeper Loris Karius in the 2-2 draw at home to West Ham. Divock Origi’s fourth goal in as many matches salvaged a point after a Dimitri Payet free-kick and Michail Antonio’s first non-headed strike of the season had turned things around following Adam Lallana’s fifth-minute opener. But despite four goals all the focus was on the goalkeepers as Karius and West Ham’s Darren Randolph both made costly errors. Karius was criticised for two of the four goals conceded at Bournemouth last weekend – pundit Gary Neville said the German was “miles away” – and he will shoulder a fair share of the blame for both of West Ham’s, particularly the first. When Payet lined up his 25-yard free-kick Karius – whose response to the Sky commentator’s comments was “He was a manager for a short bit and now he is back to being an expert again” – generously offered him about...

Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi has expressed his delight after scoring his first English Premier League goal this season following Arsenal’s 3-1 win against Stoke City at the Emirates on Saturday. Iwobi who was brought on in the second half scored Arsenal’s third goal to seal the win and temporarily take the Gunners to the top of the league table. Charlie Adams had given Stoke the lead from the penalty spot after Granit Xhaka fouled Joe Allen inside the 18-yard box. Arsenal’s two other goals were scored by Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott. It was Iwobi’s second goal of the season after scoring his first of the season in Arsenal’s 4-1 UEFA Champions League win against Basel last week. Reacting to the win against Stoke, Iwobi went on to praise his teammates for rallying back to win despite going behind. “Great team performance to come back from behind and good to get my first Premier League goal of the season,” Iwobi wrote on his Twitter handle. Read more at http://www.comp...

Pep Guardiola has warned football is going to “kill” players by demanding too much of them. The Manchester City boss was speaking a day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino reported a plan to expand the World Cup finals to 48 teams from 2026 had been met with enthusiasm. Guardiola is in favour of increasing the number of substitutes that can be used during games to give players more of an opportunity for a rest. He said: “It’s not just English football, it’s all around the world. Now they talk about a World Cup of 48 teams – we are going to kill the players. “FIFA will decide and we accept the decision and if we are not happy we go home. They are focusing on more and more and more – it affects the quality. I am thinking just for the players. They need to breathe, to (have a) break, to enjoy. “This kind of thing is impossible because we are going to finish (the season), then after one week the World Cup then after three weeks we go to the pre-season, we go to China, t...

       Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he expects a tough game against West Ham despite the London club's recent poor form. Liverpool, third in the Premier League table, welcome West Ham at Anfield on Sunday hoping to bounce back from their disappointing 4-3 loss away to Bournemouth last weekend.West Ham who are 17th on the log have failed to replicate the performance of last season which contributed to their qualification for this season's Europa League. >Speaking at Friday's press conference, Klopp said: "If there is any influence (on future matches) I have no idea. "But what we will be is more anger, angry with ourselves and that's important , but West Ham will be a really tough challenge – an interesting game. " Nobody would have expected that (West Ham being where they are in the table)." Klopp pointed out that West Ham's recent poor form will motivate them against Liverpool come Sunday.