LONDON • Twice an FA Cup winner with Chelsea, Gianfranco Zola knows the importance of the competition and what it means to win the oldest tournament in England.
The 52-year-old Italian, now an assistant coach to Blues manager Maurizio Sarri, has urged his team not to take the Cup lightly or to treat it as just one of four trophies they are seeking this season.
"For me, I always rated it as one of the best. It is open to everyone like football should be. It is an open competition and it feeds the dream of many people," he said at a pre-match conference ahead of today's third-round tie at home to Championship side Nottingham Forest.
"The crowd loves it, everybody does. We are trying to establish ourselves in this championship and we want to do well in the FA Cup. It is a pity the game comes when we have played so many games."
Zola also felt that striker Alvaro Morata, who has scored just one goal in his last eight games in all competitions, needed to be patient despite his drought.
ENGLISH FA CUP
3RD RD (SELECTED)TODAY
Man United v Reading
Ch111, 8.25pm
Chelsea v Nottingham
Ch111, 10.55pm
Blackpool v Arsenal
Ch111, tomorrow, 1.25am
Gillingham v Cardiff
Ch112, 10.55pm
Newcastle v Blackburn
Ch112, tomorrow, 1.25am
West Ham v Birmingham
Ch113, 8.25pm
Everton v Lincoln
Ch113, 10.55pm
Crystal Palace v Grimsby
Ch113, tomorrow, 1.25amTOMORROW
Man City v Rotherham
Ch111, 9.55pm
Newport v Leicester
Ch111, Monday, 12.25am
Woking v Watford
Ch112, 9.55pm
Fulham v Oldham
Ch113, 9.55pmMONDAY
Wolves v Liverpool
Ch111, Tuesday, 3.40am
All on Singtel TV
"I have been a striker... When you look for goals and they don't come, it happens. Mainly it is confidence," he added.
"Alvaro has to understand to be important for the club. The way we play it helps the front players to score, you have to keep working.
"This is also the big issue we have for the amount of time we have the ball. We don't create enough chances. It is part of the process, we are not the perfect team."
Following the clash today, Chelsea will travel to Wembley to take on Tottenham in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday and Zola hinted that Sarri will rotate his squad.
"You have to try to save some players," he said. "We have some players who cannot play, like Pedro, Willian and (Olivier) Giroud (due to injuries). It will leave space for others. We will rotate a little."
Off the pitch, a Chelsea supporter has been banned from attending games for three years after being found guilty of homophobic chants during the club's Premier League game against Brighton at the Amex Stadium last month.
George Bradley pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Thursday to the offence of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The 20-year-old was also fined £965 (S$1,663).
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Unai Emery insisted that he will not take his opponents lightly when they travel to League One side Blackpool today.
The Spaniard will be in charge of his first FA Cup tie and he hopes to avoid a repeat of an outcome similar to when his Sevilla side lost to third-tier Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey in 2013.
He said: "I think we can win, we can lose, we can draw but we must be concerned. It is important also to prepare and respect every team."
REUTERS
CHELSEA V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Singtel TV Ch111, 10.55pm
BLACKPOOL V ARSENAL
Ch111, tomorrow, 1.25am
Experienced Liverpool making a big statement, says Klopp manager Jurgen Klopp said. Liverpool beat Porto 4-1 at the Dragao Stadium on Wednesday to advance 6-1 on aggregate with their attacking
Experienced Liverpool making a big statement, says Klopp
Jurgen Klopp has condemned "disgusting" racist abuse aimed at Mohamed Salah and called for lifetime bans for the Chelsea fans accused of taunting the Liverpool star. A video circulated on social media ahead of Chelsea's Europa League match at Slavia Prague this week showed a group of six supporters chanting "Salah is a bomber" repeatedly.
Liverpool's Klopp condemns 'disgusting' Salah abuse ahead of
Last season, Conte was stubborn too. How could you sack Costa for Morata? Again, Bakayoko too was a flop. But he consistently used him. The teams had antidote to his 3 back formation taking advantage of Alonslow but he never changed.
LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relaxed about Mohamed Salah's goalscoring drought, saying the Egyptian forward remains a key part of the title chasers' attacking armoury. Salah, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, has gone eight matches without finding the net but
Football: Klopp relaxed about Salah's Liverpool drought
SINGAPORE - An employee of Singapore Premier League club Hougang United has been charged over the loss of more than $250,000 from their clubhouse Female staff member of Hougang United charged with CBT over $278,000 clubhouse funds - Times of NewsTimes of News
Female staff member of Hougang United charged with CBT over
Reds the hungrier facet, says Van Dijk. waka March 3, 2019. 0 0 2 minutes read. Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn StumbleUpon Tumblr Pinterest Reddit VKontakte
Virgil van Dijk Says Champions League Win 'Just the Start' of
Mar 07, 2019 · Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino says touchline ban is 'completely unfair' This article is more than 2 months old • Spurs manager in 'shock' after receiving two-match suspension
Pochettino feels touchline ban is 'completely unfair' | FOX
Hugo Lloris' latest mistake cost Tottenham a point at Liverpool, and Jermaine Jenas says it's now time for the goalkeeper to be dropped by Mauricio Pochettino. Lloris, who captained France to
Jermaine Jenas calls on Spurs to drop Hugo Lloris for Paulo
LONDON (AFP) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Monday (Feb 26) following his side's defeat to Burnley on Saturday..
Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham boss charged by Football
Well I get to start all over. The fact is that I haven't even touched the game since the GE because I have literally no hope of ever completing the only set I wanted to complete. I cannot imagine that's what the devs had in mind. I don't even plan on doing this exploit because I'm pretty much done with this game until the next GE.
MADRID (AFP) - Mauricio Pochettino will wait until the last minute to decide whether Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is fit enough to face Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday
Tottenham team news: Mauricio Pochettino to make final call
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said Friday that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real Madrid boss to join them after the Asian Cup. "There's no doubt that Colombia
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/01/18/iran-coach-queiroz-set-for-colombia-switch-after-asian-cup/
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup AFP January 18, 2019 AFP No Comments Abu Dhabi (AFP) - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said Friday that he was "honoured" to be courted by Colombia, who want the former Real Madrid boss to join them after the Asian Cup.
Iran coach Queiroz set for Colombia switch after Asian Cup
Crystal Palace climb away from trouble with 3-1 win at Burnley March 2, 2019 UD Sports Comments Off on Crystal Palace climb away from trouble with 3-1 win at Burnley Burnley (UK) - Crystal Palace moved further away from the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday.
Crystal Palace climb away from trouble with 3-1 win at Burnley
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar