Aguero top of Lampard’s list of strikers.

 

There is praise from team-mates past and present for Sergio Aguero as we look at the Manchester City-centric stories dominating the back pages this morning.

The acclaim for the Argentine marksmen would suggest he has football friends in high places, with a Premier League legend and a man well on his way to achieving the same status, revealing their admiration for City’s No. 10.

We start with the former, and Frank Lampard has admitted Aguero is the best striker he’s had the privilege of playing alongside.

“In terms of an out-and-out goal scorer and finisher, Aguero is the best I’ve played with” the former England international said on Sky Sports.

“He can be quiet for a lot of the game and then he’ll score you a winning goal, any kind of goal.

“Around the box he’s lethal, he’s sharp.”

Yaya Toure is the second player to reflect on Aguero’s talents in this morning’s papers.

The Ivorian has witnessed his team-mate's quality first hand over the past six seasons and believes his current level of performance proves he’s up there with the the top strikers in the game.

“I think he's been in good form for some time," the midfielder told the Mirror.

"He's such an important player for us. I think he is showing he's one of the best strikers in the world.

“He's one of the most difficult strikers to handle. He's short, but he's big-legged. It's difficult to keep him quiet."

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old has also revealed that the Blues have not yet given up hope of catching Chelsea at the top of the table.

Pep Guardiola’s men will look to reduce the 11 point deficit with a win over Stoke tomorrow night and for Toure it’s important they harness the experience of the 2014 title win and be ready to capitalise should Chelsea falter.

"When you see Chelsea play, they play with confidence and they are strong. We expect them to slip up, maybe a couple of times” read his quotes in the Express.

"But they have good momentum and they also play fewer games than nearly all of the other teams in the top four because they are not in Europe. That is a big advantage for them.

"But we just have to believe, because we did that in 2014. Yeah, we have to hope it's possible again."

As far as transfers are concerned, a Serie A forward has been added to the list of City targets.

The Star claim the highly rated and much coveted Andrea Belotti of Torino is being looked at ahead of a potential summer move.

“Manchester City are the latest club to join the race for Andrea Belotti,” writes Callum Vurley.

“Known as 'Il Gallo' (the Rooster), the Italian became the youngest striker in Europe's top five leagues to reach 20 goals.

“And the 23-year-old has been linked to several of Europe's biggest clubs including Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

“Torino chairman Urbano Cairo has confirmed that Belotti has a release clause of £86m.

“"We set Belotti's clause and it's true that we would be forced to sell him abroad for that sum if he agreed to the move.””

That’s all for today, Blues, but we’ll be back again at the same time tomorrow to see what City stories the media have penned.

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Filed Under: Manchester City Tuesday, 7 March 2017 No Comments

Alexis Sanchez row reports 'completely false' - Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says reports of a training ground row between Alexis Sanchez and his team-mates are "completely false".

Sanchez is understood to have had an angry exchange with fellow players after leaving training mid-session prior to Saturday's loss at Liverpool.

He was confronted by team-mates on their return to the changing room as tempers flared.

But Wenger said: "I'm not aware, nothing happened."

Sanchez was left out of the starting line-up at Anfield but came on and set up a goal for his side in the second half as Arsenal lost 3-1.

"I explained after the game I decided to go for a more direct option - that was the unique reason for my decision," said Wenger.

"He is a committed player and sometimes with excessive behaviours but you have had that many times in the history of every squad."

Wenger was speaking before the second leg of his side's Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday at home to Bayern Munich, who lead 5-1.

Asked about his relationship with the 28-year-old, the Frenchman said: "Honest and normal like with every single player."

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Filed Under: Arsenal Monday, 6 March 2017 No Comments

Diego Costa and Eden Hazard scored as Chelsea beat West Ham to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 10 points.

 

It was the Blues' 21st victory of the league season and another big step towards winning the title in Antonio Conte's first season as manager.

The Italian was once again spot on with his tactics - nullifying the predictable aerial threat of the Hammers' 6ft 4in frontman Andy Carroll early in the match.

And then in the 25th minute his attackers cruelly exposed the hosts' defence with a devastating counter-attack.

N'Golo Kante read a pass from Robert Snodgrass deep inside the Chelsea half on the left and played the ball to Hazard. The Belgium winger drove forward, played a one-two with Pedro and then shifted the ball past keeper Darren Randolph before slotting home.

The Blues doubled their lead after the break when Hazard's corner from the left was turned in with his thigh by Costa - the Spain striker's 17th league goal of the season.

The Hammers came close after Costa's strike when Sofiane Feghouli's low drive was brilliantly saved by Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso then appeared to block Manuel Lanzini's half-volley with his arm moments later - but referee Andre Marriner deemed it to be accidental.

West Ham finally pierced the last line of defence in stoppage time. Carroll robbed Cesc Fabregas and fed Andre Ayew, who squared for Lanzini to fire in.

Chelsea quell Carroll threat

No doubt there were West Ham supporters who would have fancied their team's chances of causing an upset on Monday.

They came into the match having lost only one of their past six league games, picking up three wins. And one of the Blues' four defeats came at London Stadium in the EFL Cup earlier this season.

But perhaps what gave those fans greatest belief of a win was the return of Carroll, back after a month out with a groin injury - and the big striker was central to the Hammers' tactics.

In the opening 20 minutes, both Snodgrass and Feghouli provided the ex-Newcastle and Liverpool forward with high lofted balls. Unfortunately for Hammers manager Slaven Bilic, Chelsea had done their homework as their defenders repeatedly prevented Carroll from having an effort on goal.

He became a peripheral figure in the second half as West Ham looked for a new way of breaching the visitors' defence.

They managed to do so through Lanzini in the dying seconds, but there was too little time to find an equaliser.

 

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Victor Moses' form has been crucial for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea

Victor Moses has finally found his role. Find out why he has been so important to Chelsea.

Mario Melchiot recently recalled a conversation from his playing days. The former Chelsea defender was speaking to Roberto Martinez, his then manager at Wigan Athletic, about a team-mate. "We talked about how we couldn't believe no big club could see it," Melchiot explained. The man in question was a teenager called Victor Moses.

A couple of years later and Chelsea did spot something. However, Moses nevertheless spent the past three seasons on loan elsewhere. "The toughest time was pre-season, when you know that you've done well and the manager has never spoken to you," he admitted.

On Monday, Moses finds himself up against West Ham, the club where he spent last season. It was a campaign in which hopes of Moses' huge potential began to fade. After all, he was an unused substitute more times than he completed 90 minutes for Slaven Bilic's side.

And yet, here we are with Chelsea clear at the top of the Premier League table and Moses having played his part in that success. In fact, the 26-year-old Nigeria international can lay claim to being a pivotal figure in Chelsea's turnaround under Antonio Conte.

Diego Costa is the top scorer, Eden Hazard the star man and N'Golo Kante surely the signing of the summer. But all three were playing as Chelsea claimed just one point from three games in September. It was the introduction of Moses and tahe switch to 3-4-3 that changed things.

 

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Filed Under: Primier League No Comments