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ENGLAND SEVENS TO FACE IRELAND IN QUARTER FINALS

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England would clash with Ireland in the last eight of the Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s.


George Chatterton, Mason Tonks and Alex Davis all scored tries as England defeated Italy 19-5. The victory is a much needed respite after losing the opening game to Spain 22-17.

England trailed 12-10 at the break with Harry Glover and Tonks scoring individual tries. The team lost CallumSirker but they kept the hopes alive when Henry Martin helped them take the lead. Spain kept up with the pressure, scoring and scoring until they won the game due to two late tries.

Then came Germany. Tonks kept his brilliant form but the Germans were better 17-5. The England team defeated the Italian side though. England led 7-5 at the break wither Chatterton on point. Davis, Will Edwards and Tonks then combined to take the tally to 14-5, before finishing off on a high.

Stefano Pioli Targets Derby Win to Eliminate Slump

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Inter Milan slumped to a second consecutive defeat in the Italian Serie A after losing to relegation threatened Crotone during the week and.


The club are now winless for more than a month, as their last win was against Atalanta in the second week of March. There is a possibility of the run getting worse, as the club are up against archrivals AC Milan in the next match. However, manager Stefano Pioli is hoping that the derby will inspire the players in order to produce a great performance. A victory in the derby can help the club revive the thoughts of a Europa League qualification for next season.

The manager is clearly aware that a derby game does not depend on recent form, as players are extremely focused on winning the game more than anything else. Milan come into the game on the back of a good form, which has seen them suffer just one defeat in the last five league matches.

LET’S HOPE THE CHINESE KNOW WHAT THERE ARE DOING

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The question of passion or love versus material wealth in football has over the years been asked and answered in various ways.


There was a time the former had a very big say over the latter – think for example Diego Maradona’s decision to stick with Napoli – and viewers have ever since been treated to a plethora of tales of loyalty, passion and sacred bonds players did have for their teams.

The matador-like push of club football to premium status in the early 90’s was a major factor that kick-started the dynamics of football as we know it today. Being honest demands admission that gone are those days where emotional attachments held sway – although players like Gerard and Totti tried their best to prove otherwise and for the record it did come at a price – inability for such legendary names to have a league title attached to them.

Another school of thought will tell you that the relegation of loyalty to the background did not necessarily have to do with players’ “long throats,” pinning a chunk of the blame-cake on club themselves. Like the two-way street loyalty is, a peruse at records will lead searchlights to beam on instances where clubs terminated or refused to renew contracts with even “one time” fan-favourites mainly because the “returns in value” of the player in question dipped below standard “requirements” and an extension of the said contract only “hurts” the club in the long run. This is the reason emotionally-stirred muses of supposed loyalty don’t hold water because at the end of the day football – especially at the club level – remains business, a set-up where profit is the ultimate goal.

This makes the media “pointing-of-hands” over who wronged who in contract negotiations look like airy reactions to the changes that occur in a system that runs on logic, mathematics and profit-focused book-keeping. The batting of eyelids at how easily European based players are switching to the new rich kid in the block ready to shell out wads for the street folks – The Chinese Super League – should not in all sincerity warrant such shocks & outrages.

CHELSEA MAKE SUMMER TRANSFER MOVE FOR NAPOLI DEFENDER KALIDOU KOULIBALY

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Chelsea are preparing a fresh bid to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to reports from Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport.


The reports claims that the English Premier League giant have prepared a £23.3million bid after their initial offer was turned down.

However, Napoli are said to be determined to keep hold of the Senegalese 24-year-old, but are realistic about the chances of him leaving if the price is right. Gazzetta World claim the Italian outfit would request for as much as £30 million.  Koulibaly enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in Serie A this season, making 42 appearances for the club in all competitions

Aside Koulibaly, the management at Stamford Bridge have told Everton they will not pay the £65million fee placed on the head of Romelu Lukaku after earlier showing interest. The Belgium striker signed for Everton from Chelsea for £28m in 2014 and his impressive form at Goodison Park has seen his value rise significantly. According to reports from Express Sport, The Blues, who have reignited their interest in Lukaku, will not pay the fee Everton are demanding and will turn elsewhere if the Toffees will not negotiate. There are reports also that other interested clubs such as Manchester United and Juventus will not pay such for the player.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke. The 24-year-old is said to be on the wish-list of summer transfer targets for incoming Blues manager Antonio Conte, and it is understood they will make an offer for him come July. 

INTER MILAN SIGN ANWAR EL GHAZI

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Italian side, Inter Milan have reportedly beaten off a host of competition to secure the signature of Anwar El Ghazi from Ajax.

The club was resolute in the bid for the youngster. The 20-year-old, who joined Ajax in 2012 after spending time at Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam, has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, including The Red Devils in England.


Much earlier this year, fellow Italian side, AC Milan also revealed that they were interested in the Netherlands international, but Milan have lost out to Inter Milan, who have reached an agreement with El Ghazi’s Dutch club according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The young attacker, who has a tough job to do at Inter, has scored 11 times in 33 appearances for Ajax this season. Inter Milan’s victory over Udinese was the first ever Serie A match with no Italians starting for either team.

Juventus have managed to win a ninth league game in a row

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Juventus have managed to win a ninth league game in a row after the 2-1 success over Sampdoria.

The victory comes just before the winter break and will be a major boost to the confidence of the players, who made a very poor start to the season. However, their quality was never in doubt and the sudden loss of key players like Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez was seen as the reason for the dip in form. Juventus quickly recovered from the poor form and are now challenging for the title. They are only two points below table leaders Napoli.

Massimiliano Allegri revealed that he is extremely happy with the response shown by his players to win against Sampdoria.

Bafetimbi Gomis might recover in time for Swansea City’s match against Arsenal

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A hamstring tear has forced Bafetimbi Gomis to be unable to play in the pitch for almost an entire month but now medical reports are coming in and are claiming that the recovery of the French attacker is going faster than expected and he might be able to perform in Swansea City’s Premier League match against Arsenal which is scheduled to take place on May 11.

Bafetimbi Gomis is an important player for Garry Monk as the player has scored 5 goals in this season. He is one of the top goal-scorers for the Premier League club.

The manager of Swansea City, Garry Monk announced that Gomis has already been training with the rest of his teammates but it remains uncertain if Gomis would be able to perform against Arsenal.

Garry Monk said: “Bafe is back in training and we will have to assess if he is ready to start, but it will be good to have him back as we are getting short on bodies. We have had a few injuries, but that comes back to adding to the squad.

5 goals in this season might not sound like a very high amount of goals but Bafetimbi Gomis along with Ki Sung-Yeung and Gylfi Sigurdsson are the top goal-scorers of Swansea City in this campaign.

Home form is a major reason behind club’s imposing

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Home form is a major reason behind club’s imposing themselves in the league. If a club is to win the league title, then it is of utmost importance that the home form is extremely good in such a way that other teams think it off as a fortress.

This has not been the case with the San Siro, where Inter have struggled immensely this season. The arrival of Roberto Mancini has improved form, but it is not without the arrival of several new players during January. The 2010 Champions League winners are expected to spend more in the upcoming summer, but Mancini has identified the home form as one of the areas to improve.

Since the turn of the year, the club have been able to manage only three wins in the league at the San Siro. It is not surprising that they find themselves just on the verge of going out of the top 10. The 2-1 defeat against champions Juventus confirmed the lack of any form of European football for next season. Mancini says that it will be tough to even think about the Europa League from this position. Once Inter were regularly competing for the title along with Juventus, but they now lie 31 points behind the champions.