FA – Sports Africa

Vincent Kompany calls it quit after 11 years at Manchester City

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Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany will leave the club this summer.

The Belgian defender leaves the Etihad after 11 years and 360 appearances, having this season led City to a domestic Treble.

In an emotional Facebook post to fans, Kompany confirmed that “the time has come for me to go now”.

The 33-year-old’s decision comes less than 24 hours after the former Anderlecht and Hamburg star lifted the FA Cup at Wembley, after City’s 6-0 thumping of Watford.

City confirmed the news, declaring: “Vincent Kompany played his last game for Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final victory over Watford.

“The defender has decided to call time on his 11-year association with the Club having won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two Community Shields.

“In total, he has played 360 times, scoring 20 goals.”

“As overwhelming as it is, the time has come for me to go. And what a season to bow out,” he said.

“I feel nothing but gratefulness. I am grateful to all those who supported me on a special journey, at a very special club.

I remember the first day, as clear as I see the last. I remember the boundless kindness I received from the people of Manchester.

“I will never forget how all City supporters remained loyal to me in good times and especially bad times. Against the odds you have always backed me and inspired me to never give up.

“Sheikh Mansour changed my life and that of all the City fans around the world, for that I am forever grateful. A blue nation has arisen and challenged the established order of things, I find that awesome.

“I cherish the counsel and leadership of a good human being, Khaldoon Al Mubarak. Man City could not be in better hands.”

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak paid tribute to the outgoing skipper, saying: “There have been many important contributors to Manchester City’s renaissance, but arguably none are more important than Vincent Kompany.

MORE TROUBLE: Chelsea vow to appeal Fifa’s two-year signing ban, £460,000 fine

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Chelsea have vowed to appeal against the decision by World Football governing body Fifa ban the club from signing players in the next two transfer windows.

The ban which ends in January 2020 however does not prevent the release of players and will not apply to their women’s and futsal teams.

“We welcome the fact Fifa has accepted that there was no breach in relation to 63 players, but the club is disappointed that Fifa has not accepted the club’s submissions in relation to the remaining 29 players,” read a statement from Chelsea.

“Chelsea acted in accordance with the relevant regulations and will shortly be submitting its appeal to Fifa.”

Chelsea have also been fined £460,000, while the Football Association (FA) has been fined £390,000.

It comes following a Fifa probe into Chelsea’s signing of foreign under-18 players, including former striker Bertrand Traore.

Fifa said it found breaches in 29 cases out of 92 investigated.

Based on documents from Football Leaks, French website Mediapart claimed in November that 19 Chelsea signings had been looked at during a three-year probe.

Mediapart alleged that 14 of those signings were under the age of 18.

It was first reported in September 2017 that Chelsea were being under investigation.

Traore, who now plays for Ligue 1 club Lyon, signed his maiden professional contract at Chelsea in 2013 at the age of 18, but was not registered until January 2014.

Mediapart claimed Fifa found evidence that Chelsea had misled them over the dates, while Traore was found to have made 25 appearances for the Blues (under-16, under-18 and first team) despite not being registered by the FA.

Chelsea admitted they paid his mother £155,000, as well as a further £13,000 to the club she chaired – AJE Bobo-Dioulasso – in April 2011 to allow them first refusal over his signature.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both received bans for breaching rules over the signing of minors in 2016, while fellow Spanish club Barcelona were slapped with a 14-month ban after breaking rules for signing international under-18s in 2014.

However, a Barcelona appeal saw their punishment pushed back a year, allowing the club to sign Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Jeremy Mathieu, Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

FA QUARTER-FINAL DRAW: Manchester United to face Wolves as City travel to championship side Swansea

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Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Chelsea earned them a tricky trip to face Wolves away from home in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

United’s trip to Molineux is arguably the pick of the ties for the quarter-finals, which will also pit Championship side Millwall against Brighton at the Den.

Manchester City, who defeated Newport County to reach this quarters, appear to have been handed another favourable draw as they continue to push for titles in all four competitions this season. They will meet Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium

The final tie of the quarter-final is a battle between two Premier League teams Watford and Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road.

FA Cup quarter-final draw

Swansea City vs Manchester City

Watford vs Crystal Palace

Wolves vs Manchester United

Millwall vs Brighton

The matches will be played on the weekend of March 15-17.

Pogba, Herrera on the score sheet as United beat Chelsea 2-0 to reach FA quarter-finals

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Paul Pogba produced a man-of-the-match performance as Manchester United bundled Chelsea out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

United delivered the perfect response to their first defeat under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League to set up a last-eight tie against Wolves.

Ander Herrera converted Paul Pogba’s perfect cross to give United a 31st-minute lead and Pogba out-jumped Azpilicueta to head home the second of the night right on half-time.

Chelsea fans turned their ire on Sarri, jeering substitutions, mocking his ‘Sarri-ball’ philosophy and demanded the return of Frank Lampard as manager.

The home fans joined United’s fans in chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” the team laboured in the pitch to create chances.

Solskjaer had no such problems as he took the loud acclaim of United’s supporters after adding another impressive victory to his collection, despite the absence of the injured Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.

Those fans may not have the casting vote when the decision on the club’s next manager is made, but they made their feelings about Solskjaer clear on another important night for the man who hopes to succeed Jose Mourinho on a permanent basis.

Solskjaer has been presented with a series of key examinations since arriving as interim United manager after the sacking of Mourinho in mid-December.

One of his most crucial was how he would respond to his first serious setback – and how he would get his players to respond.

That setback duly arrived when United were well beaten by PSG in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie at Old Trafford, a 2-0 scoreline flattering a team who had given Solskjaer 10 wins and a draw from his previous 11 games.

The response, here at Stamford Bridge, was top class and represented another plus point for the Norwegian as he tries to build a body of evidence that will persuade executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and United’s hierarchy to give him the job full-time.

This was United second tough test in the capital after winning away at Arsenal in the fourth round, and kept Solskjaer right in the hunt for silverware.

The Blues face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, and while it would be a bold decision for the club to sack their under fire manager just days before that, it is hard to see Sarri surviving much longer as this was another grim 90 minutes.

FA CLASH: Solskjaer to tweak United squad against Chelsea due to Martial, Lingard injuries

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Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he will make slight changes to the Manchester United team when they visit tonight Chelsea following injuries to Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.

According to reports earlier this month, Solskjaer had selected the United teams for their eminent encounters against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Liverpool weeks in advance, something Sir Alex Ferguson used to do ahead of testing periods.

The fixture scheduling has helped United in that there are six-day gaps between PSG and Chelsea, as well as Chelsea and Liverpool, but their plans were compromised by the muscle injuries Lingard and Martial succumbed to in the PSG defeat.

Solskjaer has now included academy graduate Tahith Chong in the United travelling squad for the FA Cup fifth round tie at Stamford Bridge but has Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to choose from to supplement Marcus Rashford in attack.

Sanchez and Lukaku started in the previous round at Arsenal, where Sanchez opened the scoring and Lukaku created two goals in the authoritative 3-1 victory.

“It changes when you get injuries,” Solskjaer said of his team selection. “Circumstances always might change. It’s not going to be a massive difference to what I did imagine.

“The young players can always surprise you in the big games, but it might be one step too early and one step too far. We’ve got to spend the next couple of days deciding.

“You see players responding because that’s what they do. They are disappointed and hurt. There’s no one out there just walking around. The session has been really good.”

Solskjaer executed wins at Premier League top six sides Arsenal and Tottenham last month through a 4-3-3 formation with Lingard doubling as the centre forward. United have been deprived of the 26-year-old for the Chelsea trip and Solskjaer hinted he would make a tactical tweak.

“It might be,” he replied when asked if the tactical set-up would be different. “Then again, we beat Arsenal in the last cup round without Anthony and Rashy, now without Anthony and Jesse. I’m sure we’ll conjure up something.”

Manchester City reach FA quarter-finals with 4-1 mauling of minnows Newport County

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Manchester City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals after seeing off fourth-tier minnows Newport County 4-1 on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t have an easy ride in an intensed fifth-round tie against a team 82 places below them in League Two.

Troubled by the rutted Rodney Parade pitch, City were indebted to Ederson for a superb save to keep them level during a lacklustre first-half display.

City eventually hit their stride in the second half and Leroy Sane’s powerful finish put them ahead before Phil Foden doubled the lead.

Newport refused to surrender and Padraig Amond’s late goal could have set up a tense finale, only for Foden to net again 79 seconds later before Riyad Mahrez wrapped up the win.

With their Champions League last 16 first leg against Schalke to come on Wednesday, followed by the League Cup final against Chelsea, Guardiola made seven changes to the side which hammered Chelsea 6-0 last weekend.

It was still a strong side featuring Sane, David Silva, Mahrez, Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus.

The gulf between the clubs is enormous, with Newport’s squad costing just £50,000 and City’s totalling £450 million.

But Newport had already knocked out Premier League side Leicester and Championship outfit Middlesbrough in the previous two rounds, while City crashed out at this stage last season against Wigan.

Brighton’s foward Jurgen Locadia celebrates his goal against Derby County during an FA fith-round match at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. Brighton won 2-1 to reach quarter-finals. ***PHOTO: COURTESY***

Another Premier League side Brighton beat stubborn Derby county 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals for the second successive season with goals from Anthony Knockaert and Jurgen Locadia.

Chris Hughton’s side have been sucked into relegation danger in the Premier League after six games without a win.

But Brighton opened the scoring after 33 minutes at the Amex Stadium when Knockaert bent his first-time shot into the bottom corner.

The Seagulls doubled their advantage as Locadia fired home in first-half stoppage-time after Yves Bissouma’s curling shot hit the post.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal star Ashley Cole set up a tense finish when the Derby defender headed in after 81 minutes.

Championship strugglers Millwall are also through to the quarter-finals after a 1-0 win at third-tier AFC Wimbledon.

Neil Harris’s side made it to the last eight for the second time in three years thanks to a fifth-minute header from Murray Wallace, who scored their shock winner against Everton in the previous round.

Pep wary of Newport tall players, vows to change tact ahead of FA 5th-round clash

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is worried about Newport strikers’ height and has suggested a change of approach ahead their clash at Rodney Parade.

Pep said City will be forced to scrap their high defensive line in order to cope with Newport County’s strikers.

Padraig Amond and Jamille Matt have scored 30 goals between them in all competitions this season and are expected to line up together in Saturday’s David-vs-Goliath FA Cup fixture at Rodney Parade.

City are the clear favourites to make it into the quarter-finals but the Blues won’t have it easy against a side that has already dumped Premier League opposition out of the competition this season.

Newport’s main threat is Irishman Amond and Guardiola believes his players will be forced to defend deep due to the physical and aerial threat of the League Two club’s forwards.

“Normally when we play in the Premier League games, the players already know what they (the opposing teams) do. Especially in the second leg,” Guardiola said. “But they don’t know the [Newport] players… now they know a little bit with [Robbie] Wilmott, with Matt, with [Scott] Bennett, with Amond.

“Both strikers scored 14 or 15 goals this season, they are incredibly good in the set pieces and the throw-ins and they’re going to the second balls, they use the channels perfectly to provoke the collections to put the ball in the box, and we’ll defend deeper especially in our box.

“We are going to suffer because they are taller and stronger than us, so in some areas they are better than us and we have to try and bring our game in the way that we are stronger than them

“Which team is going to control these areas or bring these games in their own side in that moment, will have the advantage to go through.”

Berbatov: Lukaku deserves to start against Chelsea after Martial, Lingard injuries

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Dimitar Berbatov wants Romelu Lukaku to be recalled to Manchester United’s starting line-up for the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Chelsea in the absence of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.

The pair both picked up injuries in United’s 2-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, with Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata coming on as their replacements.

And Berbatov believes that United’s caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should turn to Lukaku for United’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

Sanchez and Mata failed to make a tangible impact on the tie, with Lukaku cutting a frustrated figure on the bench before his six-minute cameo in place of Marcus Rashford.

PSG became the first team in history to leave Old Trafford on a European night with a margin of victory greater than one goal.

“I’m sure that Lukaku will get a chance now and he will use the opportunity to press his case for a regular first team slot,” the former United said.

Lingard and Martial will miss games against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the visit of Liverpool in the Premier League six days later and the game away to Crystal Palace the following Wednesday.

A three-week lay off would also rule the pair out of the Premier League match at home to Southampton and the Paris St-Germain game on March 6 and make them doubts for the Arsenal at the Emirates four days later.

Resurgent Manchester United draw defending champions Chelsea in FA Cup fifth round

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Holders Chelsea will face a resurgent Manchester United in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup with both clubs under pressure to win the competition after falling out of contention in the Premier League title race.

United are in the form of their lives having already swept aside Arsenal away from home to advance this far, while Chelsea, who beat United in last year’s final, have struggled since Christmas before a comfortable win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend

The pairing of two members of the so-called Big Six means Manchester City will remain favourites to lift the trophy, particularly as they will take on lower league opposition, awaiting the outcome of a replay between Championship promotion chasers Middlesbrough and League Two side Newport County.

Neither Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri nor his United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have wanted the draw, but now will have to prepare to face off at Stamford Bridge.

Wimbledon’s reward for their brilliant victory over West Ham is a home tie against Championship strugglers Millwall, a south London derby which, although not the glamour tie the League One’s bottom club will have wanted, gives them every chance of reaching the quarter finals.

Crystal Palace will travel to League One outfit Doncaster and will be confident of reaching the last eight for the second time in three years, having lost to Manchester United in the final in 2016.

Brighton will be at home to Frank Lampard’s Derby County if they can beat West Bromwich Albion in a replay next week, while Watford, who will be many people’s dark horses given their excellent league campaign, will travel to Portsmouth after their impressive win at Newcastle United.

The will be challenged for the dark horses tag, however, by Wolverhampton Wanderers who, having survived a scare against Shrewsbury Town, will take on Bristol City if they can get through a replay.

All fifth round ties will take place between 15-18 February

Bristol City vs Shrewsbury OR Wolves

AFC Wimbledon vs Millwall

Doncaster Rovers vs Crystal Palace

Middlesbrough OR Newport vs Manchester City

Chelsea vs Manchester United

Swansea City vs Barnet OR Brentford

Portsmouth OR QPR vs Watford

Brighton OR West Brom vs Derby County

We are disappointed, Pochettino says after Spurs FA Cup lose to Crystal Palace

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Mauricio Pochettino is disappointed his Tottenham Hotspur team exited the FA Cup despite doing everything to avoid defeat against Crystal Palace.

Pochettino tinkered with his team for the trip to Selhurst Park after Thursday’s Carabao Cup exit to Chelsea, with only four players – Fernando Llorente, Eric Dier, Jan Vertonghen and Paulo Gazzaniga – retaining their place in the side.

Despite a spirited second-half showing, the damage was done in the first half as Connor Wickham netted his first goal in two years and Andros Townsend scored from the spot to make it 2-0, a feat Kieran Trippier could not match on the stroke of half-time.

“I think the performance wasn’t bad. It was an even game,” Pochettino told BT Sport.

“I think we created the chances, I think we had the possession, but in the end football is about scoring goals if you want to win and we didn’t score,” he said.

Pochettino said Palace didn’t do too much in the game but scored and deserve to go through to the next stage of the FA Cup.

He said they have started preparing for a league match against Watford on Wednesday before they host Borussia Dortmund in Champions League knockout stage.

Menwhile, Chelsea beat struggling second-tier Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to advance to the fifth round.

Callum Hudson-Odoi scored on what could be his final Chelsea appearance as Willian netted twice at Stamford Bridge.

Hudson-Odoi started despite reportedly submitting a transfer request in an effort to force through a move to Bayern Munich ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.

The 18-year-old winger netted Chelsea’s second goal after 64 minutes.

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