Tottenham clambered out of the Premier League relegation zone after an early Roman Pavlyuchenko strike sealed a 1-0 win against Blackburn at White Hart Lane. Aaron Lennon was the undoubted man of the match after running Blackburn, and in particular Martin Olsson, ragged all afternoon.

The diminutive winger caught Olsson napping before laying the ball off for Pavlyuchenko’s ninth-minute winner, which Blackburn never looked like cancelling out. Harry Redknapp caused much furore by deploying the strike partnership of Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent - a combination which former coach Gus Poyet insisted could not function effectively - and the pair repaid his faith in abundance.

Lennon compounded Paul Ince’s side’s woes as he repeatedly skipped past Olsson before the full-back was finally dismissed by referee Howard Webb for two bookable offences. David Bentley also got in on the act from the left, curling a delightful delivery on to the head of the Russian striker, whose attempt struck Paul Robinson’s near post. Read the rest of this entry »

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said he would “open the door” for Cristiano Ronaldo to join the London club if he decided to leave Manchester United. Ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash between the teams, the former Portugal manager was quoted in British newspapers saying he has a father-son relationship with Ronaldo.

“When I was with Portugal, I had to choose three players every year for the World Player of the Year award,” he was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Daily Mail.

“One year I chose Didier Drogba, another year I wrote John Terry and another year I voted for Frank Lampard.

“Now these three players are with me, it’s good for me - maybe next season Cristiano is with me. Tell him, if he wants to change I’ll open the door for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

Everton have completed the signing of Louis Saha from Manchester United, but prospective loan signing Victor Obinna has been denied a work permit. The 30-year-old, who scored 42 goals in 124 appearances for United, has agreed on a two-year contract with the option of a third year for an undisclosed fee.

Everton will pay nothing up front for the injury-prone Saha, with the fee entirely dependent on appearances.

Saha, who has 18 international caps, becomes Everton’s third major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Denmark defender Lars Jacobsen and Ecuador midfielder Segundo Castillo. Read the rest of this entry »

Juventus eased through to the Champions League group stages after a 1-1 draw at Artmedia Bratislava completed a 5-1 aggregate victory. Juve, out of Europe for two seasons following their involvement in an Italian match-fixing scandal, named a relatively strong team despite winning the third qualifying round first leg 4-0.

Claudio Ranieri’s side went behind when Artmedia midfielder Branislav Fodrek netted with a stunning bicycle kick after 14 minutes but they were soon level as Amauri scored his first competitive goal for the club. The Brazilian-born striker, a close-season signing from Palermo, hung in the air before powering home a header from Czech winger Pavel Nedved’s cross on 25 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Owen’s extra-time winner gave Newcastle a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Coventry and secured his team a berth in the third round of the Carling Cup. Michael Owen’s extra-time winner gave Newcastle a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Coventry and secured his team a berth in the third round of the Carling Cup. Newcastle looked to be cruising against second-tier Coventry City when a Scott Dann own goal and James Milner strike gave them a two-goal lead but Clinton Morrison’s curled effort on the stroke of half-time gave Coventry hope and Dann headed an equaliser deep into stoppage time. Read the rest of this entry »