New Chelsea signing Demba Ba has revealed moving to Stamford Bridge was an easy decision to take.
The Senegal international was preparing for Newcastle s clash against Everton last week when he was made aware of the London club s offer for him.
Ba has admitted he was eager to join Chelsea because of the club s size and its squad of world-class players .
When you know a club like Chelsea wants you the decision is going to be easy, he told TalkSport.
With all due respect to Newcastle, because Newcastle is a big club with a big history.
I woke up on Wednesday and prepared myself to play against Everton, I got a text from the manager to tell me I need to come and see him and from that moment I knew that everything was fixed for me to go.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane praised the patience of his team-mates after Saturday s 2-0 win over Espanyol.
Madrid nudged clear of LaLiga title rivals Barcelona with a comfortable home victory thanks to goals from Varane and fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema.
Zinedine Zidane s side secured the points despite being reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute after Ferland Mendy was sent off.
It was a closely contested match against a rival that ran a lot and pressed us, Varane told Real Madrid TV.
We had to be strong and solid at the back in order not to concede and be patient in front of goal. It was a good game from the team.
1700 are the first team to reach 1700 wins in LaLiga history. Milestone.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose)
Aft…
Liverpool inflicted more misery on under-fire Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert with a 2-0 Premier League win on Saturday.
Goals from Fabio Borini and substitute Rickie Lambert helped Liverpool inflict more misery on beleaguered Aston Villa and their under-fire manager Paul Lambert in a 2-0 win on Saturday.
The build-up at Villa Park was dominated by talk of a supporter protest against Lambert and the Villa hierarchy during the early stages of the match and, although there was no huge demonstration from the stands, the pressure will continue to mount after a seventh league match without a win.
Italian forward Borini prodded home the opener in the 24th minute for his first Liverpool goal in the Premier League since April 2013.
Martin Skrtel saw Villa go…
It’s a proper weekend of football again, thank goodness.
Last weekend was disastrous. International weekend. I hate them. No Premiership or Championship football. No decent games to watch on television. Last weekend was so wet in England that the game for the team I coach was called off due to a waterlogged pitch, my youngest son’s game was also postponed and my eldest son couldn’t play in his team’s game because he was injured.
I had a football free weekend and that can’t be right in September! I didn’t know what to do with myself. I almost ended up having to go shopping for goodness sake!
The fact that I hate international week so much proves conclusively to …
Troy Deeney scored the only goal of the game with a rasping finish to move Watford six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with 1-0 win over Everton.
No team has conceded more top-flight home goals than the 26 Watford have shipped, and when Oumar Niasse inadvertently hit the woodwork in the first half, the Vicarage Road crowd would have been forgiven for expecting another difficult examination for their defence.
But, in a game in which opportunities were extremely limited, Deeney took his with aplomb 11 minutes from time to light up an otherwise disappointing spectacle.
Jordan Pickford had previously produced a fine save to deny Kiko Femenia, who had seen the Everton goalkeeper s clearance deflect off Deeney and into his path.
However, he …
Chelsea s in-form centre-back David Luiz said his side are hungry to claim the Europa League title after their 3-1 semi-final win over Basel.
Luiz scored in both legs of the final-four match-up with the Swiss champions, and also netted the first strike in their London derby with Fulham in April making it three goals in his past five matches for Rafael Benitez s men.
They will meet Primeira Liga leaders Benfica the team Luiz joined Chelsea from in 2011 in the final in Amsterdam on May 15
And the Brazilian defender said there was no shortage of motivation for last season s Champions League winners to secure more success on the European stage.
We have one more final to win because I want one more title, he said after the second-leg victory at Stamford Bridg…
Borussia Dortmund will not sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, according to the club s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The Bundesliga side had been linked with a move for Ronaldo after it was revealed new arrival Sebastien Haller will miss a significant period due to being diagnosed with a testicular tumour last month.
Haller had been signed as the replacement for Erling Haaland, who left for Manchester City earlier in the transfer window.
The former West Ham and Ajax striker underwent surgery in the first stage of his treatment, with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl confirming Haller would be out for a few months , but adding further treatment plans were still being discussed.
3 Cristiano Ronaldo has lost three consecutive lea…
Georginio Wijnaldum is ready to sacrifice his attacking instincts and fill in for Jordan Henderson as Liverpool seek defensive steel against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Henderson is suspended for the Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium after picking up his third caution of the competition proper in last week s rousing 3-0 victory at Anfield.
Wijnaldum usually deployed further forward by Jurgen Klopp was selected at the base of the midfield in Saturday s 0-0 draw at Everton to give him a taste of things to come against Pep Guardiola s side.
And the Netherlands international is ready to step into the breach as Liverpool aim to reach the last four for the first time in a decade.
Tomorrow.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
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