Category Sports News

Wolves striker Matheus Cunha suggests he could leave the club, Arsenal eye Sporting forward Viktor Gyokeres and Man City target AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

Brazil striker Matheus Cunha, 25, says he rebuffed offers to leave Wolves in the winter window, but has told the club he needs “to take the next step” in his career as he wants “to fight for titles, for big things”. (Guardian)

Arsenal could be a possible destination for Cunha, who has a £62.5m release clause, as new Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta helped sign the forward for Atletico Madrid in 2021. (Mail)

Berta has also been a long-term admirer of Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres and the 26-year-old Sweden forward is a prominent candidate as Arsenal look to bolster their attacking options. (Athletic – subscription required)

AC Milan’s Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is a target for Manchester City this summer, although the 26-year-old recently signed a new deal which does not include a release clause. (Football Insider)

Ajax are interested in re-signing Manchester United’s Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, 33 – who started his professional career in Amsterdam – when his contract expires this summer. (Manchester Evening News)

Everton are plotting a shock £25m move to sign Liverpool’s Scotland winger Ben Doak, 19, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough. (Sun)

Manchester United could hold an advantage in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike as the 22-year-old France forward is a boyhood fan of the Old Trafford club. (Mirror)

Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton refused to reveal if striker Liam Delap has a release clause in his contract but said the club are “well protected” when it comes to the 22-year-old England U21 attacker’s deal. (East Anglian Daily Times)

Bayern Munich are not expected to give Germany forward Thomas Muller a new contract beyond the summer, but the 35-year-old could move to the United States with Major League Soccer clubs interested in signing him. (Sky Sports Germany – in German)

The FA Cup “seems to have its sparkle back” but could Manchester City be party poopers and prevent a “fairytale ending”?

Seven-time winners City will be aiming to reach a third consecutive final when they face Nottingham Forest at Wembley on the weekend of 26-27 April – as part of an intriguing last-four line-up without most of the cup’s traditional heavyweights.

City are the only team in the semi-finals with any recent record of success in the oldest national football competition in the world.

Forest last got to the final in 1991 and have not won the trophy since 1959, while Aston Villa have been beaten finalists twice since they tasted success for a seventh time back in 1957.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have twice lost in the showpiece and never won the cup – and as a result Pep Guardiola’s team are very much the bookmakers ‘ favourites.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Chelsea and Everton winger Pat Nevin said: “Many of the big dogs have gone out already – not because they didn’t care, but because they simply weren’t good enough.

Fourteen-time record winners Arsenal, Manchester United – who have won the cup 13 times – and Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool, each with eight victories, have already been knocked out.

And that means the stranglehold the Premier League’s so-called ‘ big six ‘ – the five teams above plus City – have had on the FA Cup in recent years could be broken.

Since Wimbledon’s shock triumph in 1988, only four teams outside of the ‘ big six ‘ have lifted the trophy – Everton in 1995, Portsmouth in 2008, Wigan in 2013 and Leicester City four years ago.

Even Spurs, technically part of the elite group, have lifted the FA Cup just once in that period – in 1991.

That means five teams have accounted for 31 of the past 36 FA Cup victories.

But this could be the year an unfancied team triumphs – unless City, who have reached the semi-finals a record seven times in a row, prevail again.

Palace, Forest and Villa will all believe they have the firepower to prevent City from winning the cup for the second time in three years.

City’s last trophyless season came at the end of the first year of Guardiola’s tenure in 2016-17.

And in Forest they face a club six points above them in the league and who have won four of their five previous meetings in the FA Cup, dating back to 1902.

” Pep has always taken the domestic competitions seriously and it’s a great record he’s got, “said former Manchester United captain Roy Keane on ITV.

” The two semi-finals are hard to call. They’re two really good games.

” Nottingham Forest are going along nicely. They’ve had some good breaks with the penalty shootouts but they’re more than capable of sitting in and beating City”.

Palace have been eliminated by Villa in all three FA Cup campaigns in which they have met.

As well as a trip to Wembley, Unai Emery’s Villa are also gearing up to face Paris St-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals and are still in contention for a top-four finish in the league.

Emery said: “We can take two objectives through the FA Cup – to get a trophy and play in Europe. In a case like that, it’s fantastic.

” To be consistent in Premier League is really the]main] objective we have but being like we are now, in the FA Cup, we have to enjoy with the supporters because this competition means a lot for them. “

But Palace will be no easy task for Villa, with only Liverpool in better form than the Eagles over their past 10 league matches.

Boss Oliver Glasner said:” I think it’s something special that the two semi-finals are played in the same stadium as the final and this is something very English. I really like it and we will be ready in four weeks to win this game. “

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Middlesbrough and Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, added:” This is what the FA Cup is about – being able to dream.

The Grand Prix of the Americas’ main MotoGP race was won by Francesco Bagnaia after Marc Marquez crashed.

On lap nine of 19, Spain’s Marquez slid off the track and fell near the back, allowing Bagnaia, a Ducati rider, to take the lead and win the race.

Italian Bagnaia expressed his happiness in a praising manner. What a relief to return to the top of the podium after a challenging period.

Marquez, who had previously won the sprint and main races in Thailand and Argentina, entered the third round of the series.

His 100% season debut was ended by his failure to finish the main race, which he had previously won in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

With 87 points, Marc Marquez, his older brother, Marc Marquez, Marc Marquez, Marc Marquez, and Bagnaia, who came in third, moved to the top of the MotoGP standings.

Francesco Bagnaia took advantage of a Marc Marquez crash to win the main MotoGP race of the Grand Prix of the Americas.

Spain’s Marquez slid off the track and dropped to near the back on lap nine of 19, leaving fellow Ducati rider Bagnaia to move into the lead and go on to claim victory.

“I’m super happy”, said Italian Bagnaia. “What a fantastic feeling to be back on the top step of the podium after a difficult period”.

Marquez went into the third round of the series having won the sprint and main races at the previous two rounds in Thailand and Argentina.

He had also claimed victory in Saturday’s sprint race in Austin, Texas but his failure to finish the main race ended his 100% start to the season.

Alex Marquez was second and moved into the overall lead of the MotoGP standings on 87 points, with elder brother Marc Marquez behind him on 86 and Bagnaia third with 75.

Pep Guardiola’s frantic body language released every frustration suffered in a season of mediocrity as the clouds lifted and the sun finally shone on Manchester City at Bournemouth.

Guardiola has cut a tortured, agonised figure for most of a campaign in which the form of his City side fell off a cliff after claiming a historic four successive Premier League titles.

It left the FA Cup as the only target left to stop Guardiola suffering the rare ignominy of finishing a season empty-handed for the first time since his opening one at City in 2016-17 – which was the only campaign he has not won a trophy as a manager.

And watching Guardiola at close quarters at Vitality Stadium as City came from behind to win 2-1 made a mockery of Guardiola’s own assertion that not even winning the FA Cup could make up for failing to make a dent in the Premier League and Champions League.

It was pure theatre watching a man so used to glory – who lives for success – exude relief, celebration and then uncontained joy when City deservedly got over the line.

This was Guardiola publicly savouring the sweet taste of victory after so often failing to find solutions to the crisis, certainly by their own standards, that has dragged City down this term.

He said City came to the Vitality “with flip-flops” when they suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season in November. This was strictly business.

“In November, we came here for a holiday against a team that competes”, he added.

The only thing that smacked of a holiday here was the glorious south-coast weather as British Summer Time arrived – and City had to survive a storm of their own making before securing the win.

From the first minute, Guardiola burned with desire for victory, a livewire in the technical area throughout and at the final whistle after a win that sealed a remarkable seventh successive FA Cup semi-final appearance, this time against Nottingham Forest.

And, as all the great managers do, Guardiola still kept his analytical mind ice-cold throughout the fiery touchline behaviour to make the change that turned the tide of this quarter-final when City trailed to Evanilson’s scrambled goal at the interval.

Guardiola removed the struggling central defender Abdukodir Khusanov, switching Josko Gvardiol into the middle and introducing talented 20-year-old Nico O’Reilly at left-back.

At the heart of it all was Guardiola – excitable, animated and showing with every action just how important the FA Cup is to him and City.

Even by his own standards, Guardiola has rarely looked as engaged and involved as this.

He has a huge rebuild on his hands, and some cracks were still visible here, with an ageing squad containing the players he described as “legendary” called into action such as Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne.

This might be the last shot at glory as City players for some.

And the use of Matheus Nunes at right-back, a position even his greatest admirers would not suggest he has the qualities for, showed how Guardiola has had an air of desperation about some resources he has juggled this season.

This was, however, about the here and now – not the future. The old trophy-winning muscle memory of Guardiola and his players kicked in when it mattered.

If the FA Cup really is struggling to count as a consolation prize for Guardiola and City this season, you could have fooled everyone inside this ground who watched him.

Winning the cup would not disguise the scale of the renewal Guardiola must oversee to restore City to their former eminence, but the great old prize will certainly be something to be going on with.

The club also expects to learn the outcome of the hearing into 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches imminently.

Guardiola’s fist-pumping reaction to Haaland’s equaliser was a wild outpouring of joy, as was his reaction to Marmoush’s winner. The manager even picked up a booking for an altercation with the officials.

Haaland suffered a mixed day, missing a third penalty from his past six attempts, then limping off with an ankle injury after his goal.

The strike for the equaliser means he is the first player to score 30 goals or more in all competitions in each of his first three seasons while playing for Premier League clubs since Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester Utd from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

It looked like it was all Guardiola could do to stop himself entering the action at some points, mixing applause for his players with furious expressions of discontent at moments of carelessness.

And at the final whistle Guardiola’s elation overflowed in front of City fans basking in the glorious sunshine.

Guardiola then joined the celebrations with the travelling supporters, conducting their “We’ve got Guardiola” anthem along with other songs before grabbing the young hero O’Reilly, shoving him towards the stands to take the acclaim his match-winning turn deserved.

And who can blame Guardiola, as O’Reilly is emerging as City’s FA Cup talisman?

He has been directly involved in five goals in four appearances in the competition this season, with three goals and two assists.

O’Reilly is also the first City substitute to assist two goals in a game since Gundogan against Leeds United in December 2021.

Guardiola said: “Nico is a number 10. He possesses such quality in the final third and has so much vision. We thought he could do it for us on the left as well, and he did”.

If Guardiola is looking for vital signs of a brighter future, the composure and class of O’Reilly certainly provides one.

The Spaniard added: “We played an outstanding game and had incredible chances, missed a penalty. We conceded with one chance we gave away. Our approach was magnificent.

” Seven times in a row into the semi-final of the FA Cup. No team has done it and it will be difficult for any other to do what these legendary players, the new ones and the old ones, will have done. “

Manchester City’s “legendary” players found their heart after coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the FA Cup, said boss Pep Guardiola.

City trailed 1-0 at the break but goals from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush took them into a seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final.

It remains their only chance of winning a domestic trophy this season, with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League.

City have won six of the past seven Premier League titles under Guardiola.

Of the current squad, goalkeeper Ederson, defender John Stones and midfielders Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne were at the club for all of those.

“There are minimum requirements that we have to show – respect for your mate, you have to make the effort. And today we did it”, said Guardiola.

“I spoke with the team at half-time so we are good. We are in your hands. We conceded just one shot on target.

” That means how Bernardo, Kova]Mateo Kovacic], the senior players, the legendary players that give the most incredible things in the club, they make a step up again and made an excellent performance. “

Guardiola has only failed to win a trophy in one season since his managerial career began in 2008 – his first season with City in 2016-17.

The ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was asked why the heart had been missing from his team this season.

” It was many things, many things. I will write it in my memoirs. A lot. Not just one, “he said.