Liverpool poised to make Joe Hart move with goalkeeper fearing for his Manchester City future
Liverpool have emerged as potential suitors for goalkeeper Joe Hart with the England international reportedly fearing for his Manchester City future after revealing that the club have not spoken to him about a new deal.
As an important player with under two years left on his current deal at the Etihad Stadium outfit, Hart would have expected to have entered into contract negotiations by now, and is worried about the reasons behind the lack of activity, according to the Daily Mail.
The 27-year-old has conceded that he has heard nothing about a new contract, and is unaware of what the club’s intentions are.
‘Anything about a new contract is news to me,’ Hart said.
‘I’ve heard nothing. I’ve got a year, nearly two years, left on my deal. That is all I am aware of.’
There wouldn’t be a shortage of suitors should Hart become sufficiently unsettled at City, and interest from Liverpool would certainly make sense after some unconvincing performances from Simon Mignolet have already seen the Reds pursue a back-up goalkeeper in the form of Victor Valdes.
Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta, 29, tweeted to apologise to fans after his sending-off for two yellow cards against Chelsea, but also posted a picture of Diego Costa grabbing him around the neck to express his disbelief at how the Spanish striker avoided a red card.
Frank Lampard close to tears and lost for words after scoring the equaliser he didn't expect for Manchester City against Chelsea
Chelsea old boy Frank Lampard admitted he was almost speechless after coming off the bench to deny former boss Jose Mourinho victory at Manchester City.
The 36-year-old midfielder, who was serenaded by the visiting fans at the Etihad Stadium, struck five minutes from time after being picked out by James Milner to cancel out Andre Schurrle's 71st-minute opener.
Lampard told Sky Sports: 'It's a really difficult one. I'd be unprofessional if I didn't come on and do my job, so I was trying to get into the box and it was a great ball back from Milly.
'It's a tough one for me. I had 13 amazing years with the Chelsea fans, so I am mixed with it. I am obviously pleased the team I play for got a draw.
'I am a little lost for words. I didn't expect to come on and score like that. I came on and the Chelsea fans were singing, and that's emotional. Then I am playing for this club, who have taken me in brilliantly as well, so I am really stuck in the middle here.'
Delighted City boss Manuel Pellegrini insisted he had no qualms about using Lampard after speaking to him before the game, during which City defender Pablo Zabaleta was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
He said: 'I asked him if he wanted to be involved, and of course he wanted to be involved. That shows how great a professional Lampard is.
'I am sure he was not happy to score against such an important team in his career, but he's a good professional, he is a very good player.'
Opposite number Jose Mourinho, for whom Lampard was such a key figure during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, was pragmatic about the former England midfielder's contribution.
Mourinho said: 'He is a Man City player. I don't believe in these histories of passion and heart, I don't believe in these. Maybe I am too pragmatic in football.
'When he decided to come to Man City, a direct competitor of Chelsea, love stories are over. He did his job as the super professional he is, and he did well.'
Manuel Pellegrini criticises 'small team' Chelsea after draw
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said Chelsea played like a "small team" during Sunday's 1-1 draw and criticised their defensive style.
Andre Schurrle put Chelsea ahead before Frank Lampard levelled for 10-man City.
Pellegrini, 61, said: "I think we played 90 minutes against a small team trying to defend.
"I would not be happy to play that way. Ten players defended their own half, they scored a counter attack and they continued to defend until the end."
Pellegrini likened Chelsea's style to that of Stoke's, who beat the Premier League champions 1-0 at the Etihad in August.
"I think we played against exactly the same team we played against Stoke here," he added. "It was very difficult for us to score but finally we did. The result is not what both teams did during 90 minutes.
"I don't want to analyse Chelsea. What the other teams do, it is not my duty to analyse."
City battled back into contention following the second-half sending off of Pablo Zabaleta after the Argentina defender was involved in a tussle with Chelsea's in-form striker Diego Costa.
"I am happy because our team played in one way, we continued playing with 11 players, trying to score, and with one player less trying not to have another counter attack and concede a goal," said Pellegrini.
"We continue with the same ambition, teams will find it hard to beat us. The team performance was very good."
Play mediaJump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.Man City 1-1 Chelsea: Premier League is crazy, says Mourinho
Responding to Pellegrini's criticisms, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said: "Many times he says he doesn't speak about me or my team but he continues to do so. Don't ask me about these words."
It was left to former Stamford Bridge midfielder Lampard, on loan at City from New York City FC until January, to secure the point which ensures City remain five adrift of league leaders Chelsea.
Pellegrini said he knew the former England international, who scored 211 goals in 648 appearances for the London club, would have an impact against his long-time team-mates.
"I was sure that if Frank Lampard plays he will score, things like that happen in football," he said.
Lampard was applauded by the fans of both Manchester City and Chelsea
"He will be a very important player for us. From the beginning he has been involved 100% in every day.
"I think that maybe he was not happy to score against such an important team for him, but he is very professional."
Jose Mourinho & Manuel Pellegrini: The latest great rivalry?
Manchester City's meeting with Chelsea at Etihad Stadium was a collision of the Premier League's two current superpowers.
The game ended with honours even between the two teams likely to be contesting the title when it reaches its decisive stage, and the 1-1 draw gave both City manager Manuel Pellegrini and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho an indication as to how their seasons may unfold.
Chelsea stay five points ahead of City and three points clear of second-placed Southampton - so what are the sub-plots that will accompany their fight for the title?
The new Fergie v Wenger?
Sir Alex Ferguson enjoyed a rivalry with Arsene Wenger for many years
Manchester City and Chelsea have the look of two clubs who will dominate the Premier League title race - and who will have a managerial rivalry to go along with it.
Sir Alex Ferguson's relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in the "Pizzagate" years - which began when Ferguson was struck by flying foodstuffs hurled from Arsenal's dressing room in 2004 - only truly thawed once the Gunners were no longer deemed a serious threat to Manchester United's supremacy.
And when Liverpool briefly emerged as a possible danger to United, what had started as a cordial relationship between Ferguson and Rafael Benitez degenerated swiftly, culminating in a famous monologue from the Spaniard bemoaning the Scot's influence over officials and the game in general.
Do we have the natural succession in the barely-concealed contempt between Manchester City's Pellegrini and his Chelsea counterpart Mourinho?
The relationship was already fractured from the days when Mourinho succeeded Pellegrini at Real Madrid and appeared to scoff at the fact that the Chilean then went to Malaga to rebuild the next phase of an excellent coaching career.
And judging by their antics after Sunday's draw at Etihad Stadium, it is likely the pair will provide a running sub-plot to this season's Premier League title battle.
It was behaviour that did little credit to either man, who should have far more pressing issues to attend to as the season progresses.
Mourinho performed his usual trick of getting the City's manager's name wrong with references to "Pellegrino", while Pellegrini delivered a nonsensical barb about Chelsea playing like "a small team" - reviving memories of a Benitez insult aimed at Everton after a goalless Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The mischief of Mourinho is long in the making and is, according to his detractors, well-practised, but Pellegrini's reputation is that of the measured, quiet man.
Appearances can be deceptive, as those present when he lambasted the officials after last season's Champions League loss at home to Barcelona, and after last weekend's draw at Arsenal, will testify.
It is clear the Portuguese can get under his skin and you suspect Chelsea's manager may take the opportunity to indulge himself further should the stresses of the title race increase.
Lampard does Premier League a favour?
Frank Lampard's goal for Manchester City against the club he served with such distinction prevented Chelsea from opening up an eight-point gap over the Premier League champions, who are regarded as the team that will run them closest this season.
The advantage may not have been a deal breaker in title terms but would certainly have established an imposing lead with arguably Chelsea's toughest league fixture of the season out of the way,
The Stamford Bridge club have still made an outstanding start, despite losing their 100% league record, and hold a three-point lead over Southampton.
City are only five points behind and the suspicion remains that there is so much more to come from Pellegrini's team, who also showed great spirit and resilience to come back from a goal behind following Pablo Zabaleta's sending-off.
As for Lampard, what a moment it was for the 36-year-old, who attained legendary status at Chelsea after becoming their all-time record scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances before leaving and securing a move to New York City FC.
The former England midfielder is on loan at City until January and demonstrated that plenty of his footballing faculties remain intact as he punished Chelsea for failing to track him into the area with five minutes left, a volley expertly slid beyond Thibaut Courtois providing the evidence.
If there is one exception to the latter-day, and ridiculously overdone, habit of refusing to celebrate against a former club, Lampard scoring against Chelsea probably provides it.
He was understandably suffering mixed emotions as he turned away: a job completed with his trademark professionalism on one hand, while also respecting the Chelsea fans who gave him a rapturous reception throughout on the other, and who set aside their own disappointment to repeat the acclaim after the final whistle.
Lampard took the applause of both sets of supporters, but there was poignancy as he fell into the arms of long-time Chelsea team-mate Petr Cech in front of the travelling fans.
He will not be around when the Premier League title is decided, but Lampard has once again made his contribution.
A match made in heaven?
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany confirmed he is in the elite bracket of the world's defenders with a magnificent performance in a fierce physical battle with Chelsea's Diego Costa.
And Martin Demichelis has done much better than he has been given credit for in recent months, playing a key role in City's title win last season and also playing in the World Cup final for Argentina when they lost to Germany in Rio de Janeiro.
But the partnership between Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala on Sunday was a glimpse of the long-term future at City and the fans will have loved what they saw.
Both big, quick, powerful and tremendous athletes, they were a formidable barrier and looked the identikit of what is required in the modern defender.
Mangala has had to bide his time after his £32m summer move from Porto, but the 23-year-old French defender looked the part from the first whistle against such a dangerous Chelsea attack.
Chelsea show old steel
Jose Mourinho's side have been accused of sacrificing some of their trademark defensive steel in exchange for the attacking options offered by the arrival of £32m striker Costa and midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
Match facts
Chelsea's goal came from their first shot on target
Eight of Chelsea's last nine league goals have come in the second half
Man City keeper Joe Hart made his 200th Premier League appearance
Yaya Toure has not scored or assisted a league goal so far this season
Questions were raised, not least by the manager, after his side were opened up in the 6-3 win at Everton and even in the 4-2 victory against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
Here at Manchester City, the steel at the back made its return as Chelsea stood firm in the face of City's attacks and showed again that they have a worthy goalkeeping successor to Cech in Courtois, an authoritative and commanding figure.
Chelsea have shown their potency in attack but Mourinho will have been reassured by how his defence and goalkeeper performed against such dangerous opponents.
Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, in the January transfer window for £11m. (Caughtoffside.com)
Manchester United will tear up their loan deal for Radamel Falcao and send the 28-year-old Colombia striker back to Monaco if he suffers a recurrence of his knee problems. (Daily Express)
QPR boss Harry Redknapp wanted to sign Stoke striker Peter Crouch, 33, for a fifth time on transfer deadline day but Potters boss Mark Hughes vetoed the move. (Guardian)
Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United could be set for a transfer battle as they are all monitoring Fulham forward Patrick Roberts, 17. (Daily Mirror)
Leicester City midfielder and big summer signing Esteban Cambiasso says he used to hide before football training as a youngster - because he wanted to become a basketball player . (Daily Mirror)
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher criticised Manchester United for not signing a top defender in the transfer window after watching their 5-3 defeat by Leicester City on Sunday. (DSSC)
Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan will step up moves to secure Russell Slade as the club's new manager while Chris Hughton and Steve Clarke are also leading candidates. (Western Mail)
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has criticised current boss Ronny Deila for questioning the fitness of the team he left behind. (Daily Record)
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has promised to give Alan Pardew time to turn the club's fortunes around. (Sun )
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino accused his players of showing "a lack of passion" during their 1-0 Premier League defeat by West Bromwich Albion. (Daily Express)
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged striker Danny Welbeck, 23, to use former Gunners forward Thierry Henry as his inspiration to succeed at the club. (Daily Telegraph)
Leicester City supporters were equally as stunned by the manner of their 5-3 win over Manchester United on Sunday as they were by left-back Paul Konchesky, 33, no longer having a shaved head. Many fans took to Twitter to debate what he now looks like.
A stag party in London on Saturday dressed up as Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan - complete with replica shirts and sunglasses. (Metro)
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