Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho admitted he was frustrated by his side’s over-confident approach to the first half of the 3-0 Europa League round-of-32 first-leg win over St Etienne.
A hat-trick from striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave the scoreline a flattering look after the Premier League side survived several nervy moments at Old Trafford, particularly in the first half.
“I am, especially because in the first half, we played so bad, and we managed to finish it winning 1-0 when we don’t deserve. It was down to lack of concentration,” Mourinho said when asked if he was happy with the result.
“I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room... too noisy, too funny, too relaxed, with some of the guys not really focused on the getting the right adrenaline.”
Fresh injury setback for Roma’s Florenzi
Roma midfielder Alessandro Florenzi has suffered a fresh anterior cruciate ligament injury to further extend his long absence from the Giallorossi first team.
The versatile 25-year-old, previously a mainstay for Roma across four seasons, has not played since October after rupturing a cruciate ligament in his left knee during a game against Sassuolo.
He had been expected to return to action next month, but the same ligament has this week snapped during trainings.
Florenzi will undergo arthroscopic surgery to fully diagnose the extent of the damage.
Spurs will bounce back says Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko believes Tottenham Hotspur’s recent slump is just a blip and insists they can still turn around their UEFA Europa League loss to Gent.
Spurs’ 1-0 defeat in Belgium means they have managed only two victories in their last six.
“We won seven games in a row so it was a good performance. Everyone knows how we play and they try to give 100 per cent against Tottenham,” Sissoko said.
“We still keep going in that way because that is how we work and how we did well in the past.
“It’s just a bad moment but we will come back stronger.”
Watford plan to honour Taylor
Watford will honour former manager Graham Taylor with a statue at Vicarage Road.
Taylor, who died last month, enjoyed two spells in charge of the Hornets, taking the club from the old Fourth Division to the top flight as well as the 1984 FA Cup final while he also guided them back into the Premier League in 1999.
A club statement read: “With the blessing of Graham Taylor’s family, Watford FC will move forward with two significant tributes to the late Graham Taylor OBE.
“A statue of Graham is to be commissioned and sited at the stadium, with its location to be agreed with Graham’s family.”
Clattenburg excited by new Saudi career
Mark Clattenburg is eager to build a refereeing legacy in Saudi Arabia after ending his 12-year association with the Premier League to assume a senior role in the Middle Eastern country.
Clattenburg had reportedly grown unhappy with the level of public support officials are given by governing body PGMOL.
But he hopes he will be backed to implement his ideas in Saudi Arabia.
He said: “This is an important move forward. We have professional referees in the country that I am leaving, which has been a big positive.
“One thing I’d like to do is work with the refereeing team and the president to make this happen so that it will be successful for many, many years to come.”
Barca to take Suarez appeal to the CAS
Barcelona will take their attempt to overturn the Copa del Rey final suspension of Luis Suarez to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The move comes after the appeals committee of the Spanish Football Federation rejected their attempt to overturn the decision.
Suarez will miss the final against Alaves on May 27 after being sent off for two yellow cards in the semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid.
His second yellow card came for throwing his arm in the direction of Koke minutes after having been booked for a foul on Juanfran.
Barcelona believe the second booking should not have stood.
Zeman replaces Oddo at Pescara
Zdenek Zeman has been unveiled as the new coach of Serie A strugglers Pescara.
The Czech coach replaces Massimo Oddo who was fired from the post earlier this week after the league strugglers managed only one win so far in the Serie A.
“I have come back because I owe Pescara,” said Zeman during his presentation.
“If the team is bottom of the table, it means there are certain limitations. We want to overcome them as soon as possible.
“I don’t want anyone to be embarrassed. We have to take each of the next 14 games one at a time, remembering we start from 0-0 each time.
“I am here to work and to build a team that can entertain the fans.”