Chelsea through to semis

Chelsea Through to Semis Despite Conte-Mourinho Confrontation 

 There was plenty of drama and confrontation on the pitch and the touchline after Ander Hererra was sent off for receiving a second yellow card for pushing Eden Hazard plus the foul on Marcos Alonso by Antonio Valencia. This made Conte furious and started a confrontation between himself and Jose Mourinho. Chelsea won the match by 1 goal to 0 after N’golo Kante’s strike fizzed into the bottom left corner of the net in the 51st minute.    The main talking point of the match was Ander Herrera’s sending off in the 35th minute. The Argentine picked up his second in the 25 minute for a foul on Eden Hazard whom he pushed over, but his first may have been controversial according to Mourinho’s point of view as he thought Marcos Alonso had dived and that Valencia did not make contact with him.  But you can’t say that it was just luck, Chelsea by far were the better team and had the best chances to score, but the inform David De Gea made some top-quality saves to keep the Red Devils in the tie despite Kante’s goal in the second half but the Red Devils could not find an equaliser. Chelsea will now play Tottenham Hotspur in the 1st semi-final at Wembley on Saturday 22nd April 2017.  Judging on how both teams are playing this season, we should be in for a mouth-watering London derby clash. Meanwhile, the second semi will be between Arsenal who will be looking to seek their 12th FA Cup in 87 years and Manchester City who have won this competition five times in 108 years.  Who will make it to the final on 27th May, we shall soon find out. 

Chelsea vs Manchester Untied FA Cup preview

Chelsea vs Manchester United Preview  

Mourinho returns to the Bridge

Two heavyweights of the Premier League will once again clash at Stamford Bridge in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. Mourinho will once again get the opportunity to return to his beloved Chelsea, but this time he will be seen in the opposition’s dugout rather than the home side’s.

  

Head to Head

When the two sides met at the end of October in the same venue, it was a horrible return for the ‘Special One’ as United were thrashed 4-0 by the Blues. Since then it seems as if things are starting to go well for the Red Devils thus far. This will be the 11th meeting between the two sides in the FA Cup where the Blues have won 3 of the previous ties at Stamford Bridge.

Key matchups  

De Gea vs Courtois

If you want to keep winning trophies, especially in England, a key element you need is a top-class goalkeeper. Both David De Gea and Thiabaut Courtois would easily fit into that category. Courtois has a total of 13 clean sheets. De Gea on the other hand has a total of 10 from the same amount of games.  Both keepers are having a good season thus far, however I would say that in terms of how both teams are playing, I would say that Courtois may just have the edge in the battle of the keepers should both start.

Costa vs United’s defence

The battle between Diego Costa and Manchester United’s defence will be a treat to watch as the Brazilian born Spanish international striker is having a good season for Chelsea using his upper body strength to cause problems to the defenders of the opposing team. United’s defence, it is not as solid as Chelsea’s, so you would expect Chelsea to create quite a few chances in United’s half, especially if Costa gets into the game.

Fabregas vs Rooney

These two midfielders are the most experienced in the Premier League. The thing that stands out for these two players is their match awareness as they know how play accordingly to the match situation. I would say that dictating the midfield Fabregas is the better exploiter going forward as he can pick a pass from anywhere on the pitch whereas Rooney gives more stability in midfield, protecting the defence. He can score goals from anywhere on the pitch and is currently United’s all-time top scorer.

                                                                                         

Willian vs Rashford

These two players are probably the fastest players in both teams, particularly on the counter attack, Marcus Rashford started off as a striker but has proved that he can also play out wide. Despite Chelsea’s shocking season of 2015-16, the Brazilian left winger Willian was the stand out player in the team. Last season, Willian was Chelsea’s best player in a dismal season for the Blues. Scoring 14 goals in 35 appearances.

Team form

Things are looking good for both teams thus far. United will be looking to build on their success in winning the EFL Cup a fortnight ago, Chelsea on the other hand will be looking to resume their match winning form in the FA Cup and look to seek a place in the semi-final at Wembley as will the Red Devils.     

Leisceter City interview with Mark Barden

Future of The Foxes

After shocking the footballing world by winning the Premier League season, it has been a complete turn around for the Foxes this season.  i caught up with Mark Barden the head of the BA Sports Journalism course to hear his views on a frustrating season for Leicester City.

My Tour of Lords

Lords The Home Of Cricket!

Over the weekend, I attended a party with my family at Lords Cricket ground. The place was just incredible. We were kind of lucky to be in the long room as it is generally a VIP area. during the reception we were taken on a tour of the stadium which was just magnificent. we were shown various aspects of the stadium such as the players dressing rooms and the very famous honours board which had a list of all the batsman who have scored a century or more at this ground.

When we went into the players dressing room, I was amazed that ex-India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had his own special area in which he used to sit when India played England at Lords. The main reason for this was because whenever India were playing oversees, they always brought there own chefs with them to cook their food and Dhoni used to be always near them an enjoyed eating what ever they made.

The reception party was in the long room, which is where the cricketers walk though from the dressing rooms and out on to the cricket field. We alsheo went out onto the balcony which  is where a famous incident took place in 2002 where England played India in the Natwest Series final. India were chasing a mammoth total of 326 which had never been done so far in cricket history. India managed to achieve the target with one wicket remaining.
When India hit the the winning runs, an overjoyed Sourav Ganguly removed his jersey, stood up on the balcony and started swirling the jersey in the air when nobody expected him to do so. This is why that particular game was described as one of the greatest One day international matches in cricket history.  

Overall, i thought that my visit to Lords was really good as i got to see some famous people i.e Mark Ramprakash who is an ex-cricketer, and professional golfer who looked like Pep Guardiola.