PRINCEMONDAYBLOG

Lionel Messi helped book Barcelona’s place in the Champions League quarter-finals against Chelsea, with Antonio Conte seen in discussion with him after the game. The Argentine icon scored twice in a 3-0 win in the second leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, adding to his strike at Stamford Bridge in the first leg as he was a crucial factor in the victory. Chelsea arguably played better football in the return fixture as they got themselves into plenty of threatening positions throughout the game, but couldn’t take their chances while also hitting the woodwork twice. In turn, with Barcelona not at their best, they had to rely on Messi to guide them forward, as he has done on countless occasions in the past. Much was made of the exchange between the Barcelona star and Chelsea boss Conte after the game, with BT Sport commenting on it too, as seen in the tweet below, while Gary Lineker joked in the studio that the Italian was ‘tapping him up’. ...

It has been revealed what referee Damir Skomina told Lionel Messi during the Champions League round of 16 clash against Chelsea on Wednesday. Messi at a point in the game clashed with the referee during Barcelona’s win over Chelsea in Camp Nou. He accused the Slovenian official of disrespecting him. The Argentine was the Catalan giants’ star man as he struck twice to help the La Liga leaders secure a 3-0 victory over the Premier League champions. Messi was involved in an altercation with Skomina towards the end of first half as he was unhappy with one of his decisions. The Argentine captain was told to shut up by Skomina during a brief break in play, and the 30-year-old took exception to being spoken to in that way. Messi then took the referee to one side and according to ESPN, the Argentine said, “You don’t speak badly to me. “I didn’t disrespect you, did I?”

There's actually no debate that Messi is still WAY BETTER than Ronaldo. Team trophies aside (which Messi has more of despite being younger), Messi is simply the better player individually. They are both incredible  goalscorers , Cristianohas several goalscoring records (Madrid’s all time top-scorer, for example) and same goes for Messi (Most goals ever scored in a single calendar year, most Clasico goals, most league goals ever scored in one season). But that is the  only  aspect in which they are somewhat comparable. No one compares them based on  playmaking ability  because Cristiano basically has no playmaking ability, unlike Messi who actually won IFFHS’s “best play-maker in the world” award the past 2 seasons. Also, no one compares them based on  dribbling ability  because everyone knows Messi is light-years ahead of Cristiano (Cristiano has more unsuccessful dribble attempts than successful ones thi...

Chelsea goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois and defender Marcos Alonso have reacted to their 3-0 loss to Barcelona at Nou Camp on Wednesday. Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League losing 4-1 on aggregate after the first leg ended 1-1 at the Stamford Bridge. Chelsea goalkeeper allowed Lionel Messiscore two cheap goals through his legs and also give a superb assist to Dembele for another. The Belgian keeper said having played against Messi on several occasions he (Messi) already knows his weak point. He explained that putting the ball in between his legs was the weakest part of him because of his height. Speaking after the match Courtois said, “I don’t think we deserve to be out but individual mistakes made the difference. “I didn’t think Messi would shoot from there and I was a bit late to close my legs so that’s my mistake. “We had chances, hit the crossbar, it was mostly our individual mistakes that cost us. “I’...

Toni Iwobi, who has just been elected to the Italian Senate, has hit back at Mario Balotelli, after  the Nice striker criticised him for representing a political party renowned for causing racial controversy. Iwobi, who was born in Nigeria but has lived in Italy since the 1970s, became the first black Senator to be elected after the Lega party, led by Matteo Salvini, earned the majority of votes in Spirano. Balotelli posted a message on his Instagram story that said: “Maybe I’m blind or maybe they haven’t told him yet that he’s black – what a disgrace!” When asked about Balotelli’s message during an interview on Radio Capital, Iwobi replied: “I’d rather just ignore him. I’m not interested in what he writes. I have to deal with enough controversy. I just want to think about my territory and the new role I’ve been elected to. “He’s a great footballer and he will remain one, but I hope he sticks to his...

Man United legend Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alex Ferguson was sat in the stands on a disappointing night at Old Trafford on Tuesday as Manchester United exited the Champions League after a 2-1 loss to Sevilla. Manchester United welcomed the Spanish side to the Theatre of Dreams following a goalless draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash last month. The Red Devils warmed up for the European tie with a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool FC at Old Trafford last weekend courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s two goals in the first half. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho stuck with Rashford for the second leg tie, while club record signing Paul Pogba started on the bench for the second successive Champions League game. The Portuguese head coach turned to Pogba midway through the second half with the game goalless, but the France international who was sold under Ferguson in 2012 struggled to have an impact. Wissam Ben Yedder scored in the 74th and 78th minu...

Man Utd crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Sevilla on Tuesday night, and Jose Mourinho had everyone baffled with this comment. The Spanish outfit secured a 2-1 win at Old Trafford to dump United out, with substitute Wissam Ben Yedder doing the damage in the second half. It was a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing night for the Red Devils, as it came after such a great performance in their win over Liverpool at the weekend. However, it’s been made worse after Mourinho and this to say after the game, which as seen in the reaction below, left some United fans and others confused as to what the Portuguese tactician’s point was…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed he has no issue with Manchester United’s style of play, which under Jose Mourinho has been criticised – and the club have been mocked for parking the bus at times. However, it seems that he thinks United aren’t doing anything wrong defending like that – and he would be happy for his side to play in a similar way when United have the ball and make sure they keep them out the back of the net. “I have absolutely no problem with defending. I know how the situation is at the moment – people are saying they play a specific kind of football and we play a specific kind of football,”   said Klopp . “Everybody makes a big thing about it but it’s all about winning. There are different ways to win football games. “This United team has a specific way of playing football. That is all. We have to defend there, with all we have, and not gamble and thinking we are flying against Mancheste...

pogba. Plenty of stories have been published in recent weeks claiming the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba has reached breaking point. There have even been suggestions that Pogba could leave Old Trafford in the summer if Mourinho is still in charge of Manchester United. According to the Independent, United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is fully in Mourinho’s camp and is prepared to sell any player - regardless of their value - if they cross the Portuguese coach. Pogba has been criticised for his ill-disciplined performances in recent weeks by a host of big-name pundits in the media. The France international has struggled when deployed in a midfield two and hasn’t fared much better in recent weeks when played in his favoured position, on the left-hand side of a midfield three. Pogba missed out on today’s huge Premier League clash against Liverpool after suffering an injury in training on Friday and so Mourinho opted for a ...

De Gea's heroics in the first leg still leaves the Egypt goalscoring sensation some sour aftertaste, and he is going for the kill on Saturday Mohamed Salah is looking forward to getting a goal against Manchester United as he wants to complete his record of scoring against all the top six sides in the English Premier League this season. Salah is the joint top scorer in the division with 24 goals, which include strikes against Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal, with the Red Devils the only side missing in the top-six list. And the 25-year-old is willing to complete the haul in Saturday's encounter at Old Trafford. The summer signing fired blank against Jose Mourinho's side when both sides clashed in October's draw; a tie most remembered for David De Gea's stunning save from a Joel Matip effort. "I remember it [De Gea's save]. I also missed an easy chance in that game, but he is great," Salah told  Sky Sports . "Before the game you...

Manchester United hierarchy have told Paul Pogba and his teammates that they must cooperate with manager, JoseMourinho, or face being kicked out of the club. Mourinho recently extended his contract with the club to 2020, ending speculation he would leave United earlier in the season, less than two years into his reign at Old Trafford. There have been talks of a rift between the manager and United’s record signing, Pogba. A dip in form saw Pogba dropped from the team for Premier League and Champions League fixtures and the Frenchman was said to be unhappy with his role under the former Chelsea boss. A source at Old Trafford told The Independent, UK, that it was made clear to Pogba and his representatives that the club would back Mourinho in any future fall-out. The report says that Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is said to fully support Mourinho’s approach and is ready to allow players to leave if the situation becomes irreconcilable with the manager. Wo...

AC Milan manager, Gennaro Gattuso says his mistake caused his side’s loss against Arsenal. After four consecutive defeat, the Gunners bounced back and produced a spectacular display on Thursday night in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League match against Milan at the San Siro as they won 2-0. Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal the deserved victory. Gattuso, believes technical mistakes made the Rossoneri to lose the game against the North London club. When asked whether his side were outdone by the Gunners’ change in formation, Gattuso told reporters after the game: “No, it was actually what I had expected. “It was 4-2-3-1; the usual squad filled in the usual way Arsenal plays. “For sure, we suffered for the fact that technically, we made mistakes that actually followed us through the field. “We had some difficulties with what they were going through but it’s not because they played in an unexpected because...

Meet the three new Super Eagles invitee of Junior Ajayi, Stephen Eze and Gabriel Okechukwu called up by Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr for the first-time since the Franco-German took the affair of the national team. The trio is part of his 28-man squad to face Poland and Serbia in pre-FIFA World Cup friendly matches this month at the 43 000-seater Stadium Wroclaw on 23 March, before heading off to London for the clash with Serbia four days later. The 22-year-old Ajayi who plies his trade in Egypt with Al Ahly and he has consisted been in good form since switching to the land the Pharaohs from Tunisia outfit CS Sfaxien scoring eight goals and assisting nine in 23 games, as they close in a 40th league title. However, African Nations Championship star Okechukwu is the revelation of Home base Eagles in Morroco the Akwa United forward who has netted twice at  CHAN including the extra winner against Angola. While the 23-year-old defender Eze who alread...

Tiemoue Bakayoko was pleased to see Michael Essien training at Chelsea FC's Cobham base this weekend Michael Essien training at Cobham Tiemoue Bakayoko has taken to social media to snap a video of Michael Essien in training at Chelsea FC’s Cobham training ground over the weekend. The 35-year-old Ghanaian midfielder currently plies his trade with Indonesian side Persib Bandung but has been keeping fit at his former club’s base in recent days. Essien is loved amongst Chelsea FC fans after having played for the Blues from 2005 to 2014 to help the west London side enjoy many successful moments. And Chelsea FC midfielder Bakayoko was clearly delighted to see the veteran star training at Cobham over the weekend. Bakayoko filmed a video clip of Essien in training at Cobham and posted it on his personal Instagram story. Meanwhile, the France midfielder will not feature for Chelsea FC on Monday night against West Brom at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League after he was sent...

Our Chelsea fans here in the Transfer Tavern are expecting a managerial change once again at Stamford Bridge this summer. Antonio Conte’s days seem numbered after a run of just two victories so far this year and slipping within touching distance of Spurs in the Europa League places. After suffering their second three-goal deficit defeat for the first time in the Premier League since 1995, the pressure’s been cranked up on the Italian. Many reports are breaking that former Barcelona boss, Luis Enrique is  reportedly set to be lined up as a replacement for Conte for whatever point he moves on, much to the delight of the Blues in our bar right now. If Luis Enrique does take over at the helm, there should be a few players our regulars feel, that will be on their way out of Stamford Bridge. Many have not performed this season, and it could be any one of a number of players to leave but our landlord takes a look at two in particular that looks like they will have no futur...

Statistically, Wilfred Ndidi outshone Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi, who has been labelled Superman by manager Pep Guardiola, despite Leicester City's 5-1 loss to the champions-elect on Saturday evening. According to the statisticians at Whoscored, the Nigeria international had the joint-best defensive figures along with teammate Aleksandar Dragovic out of the 28 players who tasted action at the Etihad Stadium. The Foxes number 25 made five tackles, two interceptions and four clearances, whereas Dragovic finished the game with six tackles, one interception and four clearances. Manchester City's top man defensively was Argentina international Nicolás Otamendi, who made one tackle, one interception and two clearances over the course of the 81 minutes he spent on the pitch. On the flip side, Ndidi committed the most fouls during the game, five in total, and picked up a booking in the 71st minute, while the Argentina defender committed just one foul. Jamie Vardy n...

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte claimed on Friday that Alvaro Morata may not play again this season due to his niggling back injury. The former Real Madrid frontman has missed Chelsea's last five games but he appeared in decent shape in a video shared by his wife Alice Campello on Sunday. Footage posted on Instagram showed Morata and his missus dancing. It is unclear when it was filmed, but that did not stop many fans voicing their disapproval after seeing Morata twirl and then lift his partner, who is pregnant with their first child. One supporter commented: 'He's supposed to have a bad back!!!!' Another wrote: 'He should play instead of dancing.' Chelsea — who host West Brom on Monday night — have struggled in Morata's absence, losing three of their last five games since he was involved. Prior to his latest spell on the sidelines, the 25-year-old had netted 10 goals in 20 Premier League appearances. Conte stopped well short of categorically ruling...

Former Super Eagles defender and captain, Uche Okechukwu, has become a professional hunter, according to reports. An Abia based journalist, Enyinnaya Appolos met with the 50-year-old Turkish citizen, Uche Okechukwu (Deniz Uygar) at his country home in Umuoria village, in Obingwa LGA in Abia state… The journalist revealed that the former player is now a great hunter which he reportedly said is his hobby and even did it happily while in Europe. Below is what the journalist shared on Facebook; With Uche, the great Footballer and Hunter On my way back to Aba this morning from Isiko, with my brothers, Bright Eze and Livinus Nwabughogu, we saw him…one of the greatest Ngwa sons, one of the greatest Blacks and Africans, one of the greatest Nigerian citizens, one of the greatest world footballers, the Gentle Giant, a Turkish citizen, Uche Okechukwu (Deniz Uygar) at his country home in Umuoria village, in Obingwa LGA… Uche, former captain of the Nigerian Supper Eagles and o...

Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has declared himself the best-behaved manager in the Premier League. Mourinho’s antics on the touchline are well documented over the years and he has frequently clashed with match officials and opposition coaches. But the Portuguese insists he is making an effort to improve his behaviour, although he admits he is not “perfect” yet. “I am fully committed to win the award this season of the best-behaved manager on the touchline. “I am serious! “There are so many awards – performance of the week, manager of the month and this and that – they should give one (to) the guy that behaves best on the touchline and it should be the fourth official to vote. “I’m pretty sure that I would win. I’m serious! I didn’t create one problem to one fourth official on a touchline, apart from my red card at Southampton when I put a foot on the pitch. “I’m serious, I prepare mys...

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has said that Chelsea would be “stupid” to sack him. Chelsea’s recent poor run in the Premier League has heightened speculations of the Italian being shown the exit door at Stamford Bridge. The Blues play West Brom on Monday night on the back of two embarrassing league defeats and Conte’s position at the club is severely under threat. Chelsea board is reportedly in search of Conte’s replacement, but the former Juventus noss insisted sacking him would be an unwise move. He told British media, “In my opinion, you continue to work with a manager or coach not because of what he achieves in one season, but because you trust in him. “It doesn’t mean you have to win something, because that’s not simple – especially in England. In my vision, you can win but still the club might not be happy to stay with you – and for this reason, it’s right to send the coach away “At the same tim...