football

West Ham snatch extra time win over Liverpool in FA Cup

Angelo Ogbonna headed the winner in stoppage time of extra time as West Ham United secured a 2-1 win over Liverpool to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup. Ogbonna rose to meet a free kick from Dimitri Payet and planted his header back across keeper...

February 9, 2016| Reuters

‘I want to win title with Balzan’

Alan da Silva Souza’s outstanding performances have boosted Balzan’s hopes of winning their maiden top-flight title this season. Kevin Azzopardi spoke to the Brazilian winger who joined the Premier League high-fliers last month Since his brief but...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Liverpool midfielder Emre Can (no.23) battles for possession with Adam Johnson, of Sunderland.

Klopp back in charge at ’Pool after operation

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declared himself “back in the race” as he returned to work less than 48 hours after having his appendix removed. The German missed Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland as he was undergoing surgery at Aintree Hospital...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Zouma out for six months with ligament damage

Kurt Zouma will this week undergo knee surgery which will rule him out for the rest of the season and Euro 2016, Chelsea have announced. The France defender injured his anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Ronaldo plans to see out his contract with Real

Cristiano Ronaldo has said he wants to see out his final two years at Real Madrid in the “best league in the world” before deciding where his next step lies. Ronaldo’s current deal with Madrid runs out in June 2018 and there has been plenty of...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Russia says Blatter, Platini to be invited to World Cup

Disgraced world soccer president Sepp Blatter and the sport’s European head, Michel Platini, will be invited to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said yesterday. Blatter and Platini, the two men at the top of the...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
On fire... Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain (right) is the main driving force behind Napoli’s title challenge.

Napoli and Juve look ahead to crunch clash

Serie A title rivals Napoli and Juventus extended their winning runs on Sunday but something must give next weekend when the pair meet in Turin in a much-anticipated showdown. In what increasingly looks like a two-horse title race, Napoli beat Carpi...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Massimiliano Allegri... Chelsea interest.

Allegri urged to ‘think twice’ about Chelsea move

Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta has urged reported Chelsea target Massimiliano Allegri to “think twice” about accepting any potential offer from the Premier League champions. The 48-year-old coach guided Juve to the Serie A title and the...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Delight... Valletta players celebrate one of their goals in their 3-0 win over Mosta. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

BOV Premier League statistics

Scorers and red cards

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
German referee Felix Brych.

Top ref Brych to take part in Malta seminar

German referee Felix Brych will be the Malta FA’s special guest at the annual winter seminar for match officials and referee observers, being held today and tomorrow at the Centenary Hall, the association’s refereeing department has announced. Brych,...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Football news

Swansea must kill off games – Fabianski

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Sporting briefs

Scottish Cup: Favourites Celtic have been drawn at home to Greenock Morton in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, yesterday. The draw at Hampden Park also saw holders Inverness handed a tough tie with a trip to either Hibernian or Hearts. The...

February 9, 2016| Times of Malta

Qatar considering special courts for World Cup offenders

Qatar may create special courts during the 2022 soccer World Cup to deal quickly and "very gently" with alcohol-consuming fans who break the law in a conservative Muslim state where public drunkenness is prohibited, a Qatari official said. Qatari...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta

Scoring run lifts Schembri’s confidence after lean spell

Andrè Schembri underlined his rich vein of form after hitting a brace to inspire Omonia Nicosia to a 3-1 victory over AEK Larnaca who went into Saturday’s game as leaders of the Division One championship in Cyprus. Long acclaimed as one of the most...

February 8, 2016| Kevin Azzopardi
Times of Malta

Players’ body urges MFA to enforce regulations

The Malta Football Players Association (MFPA) has urged the Malta FA to enforce regulations vis-à-vis the medical requirements at local football games in light of the incident that occurred in the Premier League match between Balzan and Sliema...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
No goals were scored in the Division One game between St George’s and Lija at the Tedesco Stadium yesterday. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Improved Saints settle for draw against Lija

No goals were scored in the Division One game between St George’s and Lija at the Tedesco Stadium yesterday. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier Lija Athletic 0St George’s 0 St George’s produced a spirited display but it was still not enough to take all three...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Spartans win to keep the pressure on Gżira

Ħamrun Spartans 3Vittoriosa Stars 1 Ħamrun Spartans scored three times in the opening 45 minutes to cruise to a comfortable victory over Vittoriosa Stars and keep up the pressure on Gżira United. It was a confident performance from the Spartans who...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Celtic progress in Scottish Cup

Celtic eased their way into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup as expected with a 2-0 win over Lowland League side East Kilbride at Airdrie’s Excelsior stadium, yesterday. Back-to-back defeats against Ross County in the League Cup semi-final and...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Luis Suarez... 36 goals for Barcelona this season.

Barca go three points clear of Atletico, Valencia lose again

Barcelona cruised to a 2-0 win at Levante and regained their three-point lead at the top of La Liga yesterday while Gary Neville’s Valencia lost again. Champions Barcelona, with Luis Suarez scoring his 36th goal of the season, equalled a club record 28...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Jose Mourinho... quick return.

Mourinho: I will be back soon

Jose Mourinho, sacked as manager of Chelsea in December seven months after winning the Premier League title, has said he is not enjoying his time out of work and will soon be back in management. He did not comment directly on media reports that have...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Football news

Liverpool fans group set for more protests

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Sporting briefs

Lewandowski: Robert Lewandowski has no plans to leave Bayern Munich and has opened talks over a new contract, his agent said. “We’ve started talking. I can confirm this,” he said in an interview with Polish TV channel Polsat Sport, yesterday. “Real...

February 8, 2016| Times of Malta

Chelsea snatch United draw in battle of Dutch managers

A goal in added time by Chelsea's Diego Costa earned a point against Manchester United and preserved Guus Hiddink's unbeaten record since returning to the London club as interim manager in December while denying Dutch compatriot Louis van Gaal...

February 7, 2016| Reuters

Arsenal back in title race with win at Bournemouth

Arsenal re-established themselves as serious contenders for their first Premier League title since 2004 with a comfortable victory at lowly Bournemouth. A first win in four games took them level on points with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, their...

February 7, 2016| Reuters

Napoli retain slender advantage at top of Serie A before Juventus showdown

Napoli will have the upper hand over Juventus heading into next weekend's Serie A title showdown in Turin after both Scudetto rivals secured narrow wins. The table-topping Azzurri are two points clear of reigning champions Juve following their slender...

February 7, 2016| PA Media
Times of Malta

Hotspurs win clash for third place

Pieta Hotspurs 1Senglea Athletic 0 Three bizarre minutes for Senglea early in the second half proved costly. First, they conceded a goal and, then, they had striker Terrence Scerri sent off for Pieta to chalk up their ninth win and move to third place...

February 6, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Torres reaches his 100th

Substitute Fernando Torres scored his 100th goal for Atletico Madrid as they came from a goal down to beat Eibar 3-1 at home yesterday and go level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Two headed goals from corners seven minutes apart by central...

February 6, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Bayern held to a goalless draw

Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich shared a goalless stalemate for the first time since 1990 yesterday as the record Bundesliga champions failed to take full advantage of Borussia Dortmund’s draw in Berlin earlier in the afternoon. After second-placed...

February 6, 2016| Times of Malta
Times of Malta

Former FIFA watchdog Watson jailed

A former member of FIFA’s financial watchdog has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the Cayman Islands after being found guilty of fraud, his lawyer said. Canover Watson, who was a member of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee, was found...

February 6, 2016| Times of Malta
The emergence of Jamie Vardy (left) is just the tip of the iceberg of good fortune for England manager Roy Hodgson (right). A wide variety of English players are either rising to the surface, confirming their excellence or starting to hit form. Photos: Nigel French/Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Hodgson strikes it lucky

When Jamie Vardy scored his wonder goal last Tuesday night against Liverpool, the cameras panned straight to the watching England manager in the stands. And, unsurprisingly, he had the look on his face of a man who knew he had just won the lottery.

February 6, 2016| James Calvert