Category: Sports

Hull City midfielder Jake Livermore has said “no stone is left unturned” under the new manager Marco Silva as the basement club target a run of positive results in the second half of the Premier League season.

Livermore, who missed Tuesday’s League Cup semifinal first leg defeat at Manchester United with illness, praised the impact made by the 39-year-old manager in his first week at the club.

“He’s (Silva) very thorough, no stone is left unturned,” Livermore told British media. “He’s been great. The boys are buying into it and hopefully we can continue.”

The Portuguese manager will oversee his first home league game against ninth-placed Bournemouth after enjoying a 2-0 victory over Swansea City in the FA Cup at the KCOM Stadium last weekend, prior to the 2-0 loss at Old Trafford.

“Nothing is going to change overnight, we realise that, but we’re in every day working on what we have to do to push up the league,” Livermore added.

“Given the circumstances we’ve had in the first half of the season we can maybe do with some of that confidence he brings. Hopefully that breeds in the squad and helps us in the long run.”

Hull have failed to win a league game since early November and are four points away from safety, having picked up just 13 points from their 20 games this season.

Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini struck to give Manchester United a 2-0 victory over injury-ravaged Hull City in Tuesday’s League Cup semifinal first leg at Old Trafford.

All eyes were on United captain Wayne Rooney, who is chasing a record 250th goal for the club, but it was Mata who broke the deadlock in the 56th minute before substitute Fellaini added a late second.

It puts Jose Mourinho’s men in the driving seat ahead of the return leg on January 26, although it was not until Fellaini headed home in the 87th minute that they finally put the game beyond Hull.

“We are not at Wembley, but the second goal is maybe the important goal,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“I was expecting a difficult match. I wasn’t expecting to win by four or five.”

United have now won nine games in succession ahead of arch rivals Liverpool’s visit in the Premier League on Sunday.

Hull’s new manager Marco Silva, taking charge of his second game, was able to name only six substitutes and lost both Markus Henriksen and Josh Tymon to injury.

“I’m not happy with the result, but I’m happy with the work of my players,” said Silva.

“With all the problems we had, my boys worked well.”

Despite Mourinho making seven changes to the team that had outclassed Reading 4-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, United picked up where they had left off, peppering the Hull goal with shots.

Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic had to produce a one-handed save to thwart Mata inside two minutes and moments later Andy Robertson stopped Rooney applying the finishing touch to Marcus Rashford’s shot.

ROONEY GOES CLOSE

The presence of David Meyler and Tom Huddlestone in defence and the fact there were only six players on the Hull bench told the story of the visitors’ injury problems and there was more to come.

Henriksen was left clutching his right shoulder in agony after being knocked over by Paul Pogba and had to go off in the 16th minute, with Abel Hernandez taking his place.

United, missing the ill Zlatan Ibrahimovic, continued to swarm forward, Henrikh Mkhitaryan twice shooting wide, Rashford lashing over and Jakupovic shovelling a long-range Pogba effort over the crossbar.

But Hull, the Premier League’s bottom club, began to offer an attacking threat of their own as halftime approached in the club’s first ever League Cup semifinal match.

Adama Diomande gave United a scare when he headed against the post, only for an offside flag to then go up, and both Robert Snodgrass and Hernandez tested David de Gea before the interval.

Rooney’s moment of history looked to have arrived in the 51st minute when Pogba’s fine, flighted pass set him racing in on goal from the right, but he drilled his shot inches wide of the far post.

Instead it was Mata who provided the breakthrough, stabbing in on the volley at the back post after Antonio Valencia’s cross from the right was headed back across goal by Mkhitaryan.

After Diomande had volleyed over acrobatically for Hull, Pogba came within a whisker of doubling United’s lead, his curling free-kick clanging against the left-hand post and bouncing away.

It seemed Hull would escape with only a one-goal deficit, but with three minutes remaining Fellaini met Matteo Darmian’s cross with a looping header that Huddlestone could only help over the line.

Silva’s injury woes mounted yet further in stoppage time when 17-year-old left-back Tymon had to limp off.

Liverpool, last season’s beaten finalists, visit Southampton in the first leg of the second semifinal on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool to make amends for their FA Cup flop by delivering a dominant display in Wednesday’s League Cup semifinal first leg against Southampton.

Klopp fielded Liverpool’s youngest ever line-up against Plymouth in the FA Cup third round on Sunday and the raw rookies failed to impress as the fourth-tier minnows easily held on for a goalless draw at Anfield.

Liverpool can still advance in the FA Cup when they face Plymouth in a replay, but that is on the back burner for now as the Reds focus on their other road to Wembley.

After losing to Manchester City on penalties in last season’s League Cup final, Liverpool are one step away from a return to Wembley and Klopp will send out a stronger line-up at St Mary’s as he looks to get his side back on track.

Aware of accusations that he and his players were guilty of complacency against Plymouth, the Liverpool manager said: “The question I asked this morning in the dressing room was ‘Could we have done better?’ 100 per cent yes with this line-up.

“I don’t expect perfection but I have high expectations because I see them every day in training and I was convinced we could play really well.

“I have absolutely no problem with criticism but it was not about underestimating an opponent.”

Liverpool are hoping to add to their record haul of eight League Cup trophies by winning the competition for the first time since 2012.

That would also be a first piece of major silverware for Klopp, who arrived on Merseyside in October 2015, after Liverpool’s defeats in the League Cup and Europa League finals last term.

But before they start to prepare a space in the Anfield trophy cabinet, Liverpool have to beat Southampton and then Manchester United or Hull, who meet in the other semi.

‘NO PRESSURE‘

“There is no more pressure on us. It is an opportunity. It is always a new day,” said Klopp, who welcomes back Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho after an ankle injury.

“I said to the lads last year it would not be the last final they would be involved in and this is the first chance to prove this.”

Although Klopp’s side have lost and drawn on their last two visits to St Mary’s, they thrashed Southampton 6-1 at the same venue in the League Cup quarterfinals last season.

And Liverpool’s hopes of advancing to Wembley will be aided by the absence of Southampton defender Jose Fonte.

Southampton manager Claude Puel has confirmed Fonte will not be part of his squad after the club captain handed in a transfer request amid reports of possible bids from Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.

Fonte was absent for Saturday’s FA Cup draw against Norwich and Puel has decided to leave him out again.

“Jose won’t participate for this game. We will see for the next game. It is important to keep stability,” said Puel, whose club haven’t reached the League Cup final since a 1979 defeat against Nottingham Forest.

“We do not know the future of Jose, it is a difficult situation in the market. I respect Jose, it is not an easy situation for the staff or players. It is difficult.

“It is an opportunity also for Jose to view different opportunities and it is important to respect this.

“For me, it is important to keep stability in defence first, and second, we will see what the situation of Jose in this market is.”

Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola are among the Premier League managers who will sample England’s Boxing Day football extravaganza for the first time on Monday.

While the rest of the population gorges on Christmas turkey dinners and knocks back festive drinks, 16 teams will be gearing up for matches as part of a custom that stretches back over 150 years.

With Chelsea six points clear at the summit and chasing a 12th consecutive win, which would set a new club record, Conte is approaching the visit of Bournemouth with a spring in his step.

“This is the first experience for me and my family, to work, to play football (at this time of year),” said the Italian.

“It can be, and I hope it will be, a fantastic experience. The atmosphere we find in this period is very difficult to find in another period. It’s fantastic.”

Chelsea have registered 11 consecutive wins within the same season for the first time after winning 1-0 at Crystal Palace last weekend.

Another victory will leave them one win from equalling Arsenal’s 2002 record for successive wins in the same campaign, which they extended to 14 the following season.

But Conte will be without both top scorer Diego Costa and midfield lynchpin N’Golo Kante after they picked up suspension-incurring bookings at Palace.

Guardiola, too, is full of festive cheer following his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Arsenal last weekend, which left City seven points below Chelsea in third place.

While the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach appreciates the novelty of Christmas football, he is preparing for his side’s match at bottom club Hull City by pretending it is a regular fixture.

“This is my first year here and people say that at Christmas you have to be focused, because at home you celebrate with dinner and lunch, and we have to be prepared,” Guardiola said.

“We are going to train on the 25th in the afternoon and travel to Hull to play on the 26th. We will prepare for the game as if it was not Christmas time or Boxing Day.”

Arsenal slipped to fourth, nine points off the pace, after their loss at the Etihad Stadium, which followed hot on the heels of a 2-1 defeat at Everton.

MOURINHO ‘LOVES IT’

Arsene Wenger’s side welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day and centre-back Gabriel says his side cannot afford to be distracted by seasonal excitement.

“I think all players just want to be focused on the game, rather than celebrating,” the Brazilian told the Arsenal website.

“If I do have some time, I’ll organise a dinner with my friends to make the most of the short time off. Then, I have to be ready and focused again.”

Jose Mourinho has long been an avowed admirer of England’s Boxing Day traditions and with his Manchester United team chasing a fourth straight win, he is relishing the prospect of Sunderland’s visit.

“I love it!” Mourinho told MUTV. “I know that the family miss something from us, but the family loves us.

“They know us, they know our nature, they know that we are happy playing football, giving all of the people that love football something really special in a period when almost no country has football for the fans.”

Sunderland manager David Moyes will return to Old Trafford for the first time since he was sacked by United in April 2014.

Champions Leicester City will hope to give their supporters some Christmas cheer when they host Everton in a repeat of the fixture that preceded last season’s title coronation.

Top of the table last Christmas, Claudio Ranieri’s men are three points above the relegation zone after winning just one of their last eight games.

Two points back in 17th place, Palace begin life under new manager Sam Allardyce – appointed as the successor to Alan Pardew on Friday – with a trip to Watford.

Liverpool, second, host Stoke City on Tuesday, with fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur visiting Southampton the following day.

No sooner have those games finished than preparations for the breathless turn-of-the-year schedule – 20 games in six days – will begin.

Manchester United proved they still have the ability to grind out results with their hard-fought 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, midfielder Ander Herrera said.

Consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since August have kept sixth-placed United in the hunt for a top-four finish.

“We are so happy because we showed our spirit,” Herrera told the British media while acknowledging that his team could have wrapped up all three points at Palace well before Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 88th-minute winner.

“This was not our best game but even on a day when we didn’t play our best we created six or seven chances,” the Spaniard added.

“We controlled the game when we were not at our best and that is important. It is the history of this club.”

United, who visit seventh-placed West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, are six points behind local rivals Manchester City in fourth, and trail leaders Chelsea by 13 points.

Herrera, emerging as a key member of Jose Mourinho’s United side, said they needed to be fully focused on West Brom.

“There are no easy games – this is the most amazing league in the world, and I just want to think about the next game,” he added.

“I want to win against West Brom. If you think you have to beat the next three or four teams, then maybe you won’t do that. It’s all about the next game.”