A first-half penalty rebound from Eden Hazard, the newly crowned PFA Player of the Year, confirmed the official end of 2014/15 English Premier League title race as the Blues clinched glory at home against mid-table Crystal Palace last Sunday with...
Author - Leanne Lu
Premier League’s smoke and mirrors
This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2015 issue of WGM. Twenty four hours after Arsenal fell agonizingly short of completing a miracle Champions League comeback against Monaco in the Round of 16, Manchester City’s slim chances of...
The Cherries rise to the top
Let’s just forget about big clubs for now. The top four in the Premier League is almost decided, with Chelsea extremely close to clinching the title with a few games to spare and Liverpool too mediocre and toothless to challenge for Champions...
Chelsea within title reach
The Premier League title race appears to be over. Despite a late surge by Arsenal that suggested a grandstand finish might be coming, Chelsea put the matter beyond any reasonable doubt after downing Manchester United 1-0 last weekend. The Premier...
Easy come, easy go for Pellegrini
It is almost certain we will see the back of Manuel Pellegrini before the end of the season, just 12 months after leading them to title glory. Memories are short in football. But after Sunday’s 4-2 loss to United in the Manchester derby...
Gone in 48 seconds
The joke went viral on Monday – Steven Gerrard’s heat map during the game against old rivals Manchester United went from the touchline to the middle of the pitch and stopped there. Why? Because he was only on the field for 48 seconds! As a...
红魔本色依旧
上周末，我们见证了本赛季曼联发挥最好的上半场。他们在老特拉福德球场迎战前四竞争对手热刺，仅仅用了34分...
Welbeck back to haunt United
Louis van Gaal’s hopes of winning a trophy in his first season at Manchester United came to a crashing halt after his side was eliminated from the FA Cup by old rival Arsenal in the quarter-finals. Making the loss even more difficult to...
Contentious decisions dominate EPL
This week must be the first time in history we have applauded Chelsea manager José Mourinho for his comments about English Premier League referees. If it wasn’t for poor refereeing, Mourinho moaned, Chelsea would be leading the title race by...
Chinese football’s new dawn?
This article first appeared in the Mar/Apr 2015 issue of WGM. The unexpected success of the Chinese national team at this year’s Asian Cup provided their travelling media with some headaches. Most had booked flights home for immediately after...
Cup magic continues
A clash between Arsenal and Manchester United in the sixth round of FA Cup almost looks like it could be an early trophy decider, particularly when you look at the other six remaining clubs and find Liverpool as the only other “big”...
The Prince of the Lane
Arsene Wenger was puzzled. “I didn’t know him,” he said after the North London derby last weekend in reference to Harry Kane. A name that wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow before this season, the Tottenham youngster scored...
Liverpool’s missing link
After a five month absence absence through injury, Daniel Sturridge made his long awaited return for Liverpool last weekend – and what a return it was! Sturridge’s late goal against West Ham United after coming off the bench sealed victory...
Crossing the line
This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of World Gaming magazine. Some might have considered it fate that technology would play such a major role in the outcome when Chelsea traveled to Liverpool early in the 2014/15 season. The two...
越过门线
此文章首次刊登在《环球博彩》2015年1月／2月刊中。 2014/15赛季切尔西做客利物浦时，高科技在决定赛果中扮演了...
Chelsea’s winning formula
This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine. It was a strange moment earlier this season when Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini bitterly labeled Chelsea a “small team” following an eventful 1-1...
Wenger’s present to Chelsea
It has been over 10 years since Arsenal’s invincible squad went unbeaten from May 2003 to October 2004. At that time, Cesc Fàbregas was just a 16 years old boy poached by Arsenal from La Masia of Barcelona, and had played just two games, in...
Rooney spoils United’s hard-fought win
Manchester United returned to the winner’s circle by beating West Ham United 2-1 at home on Saturday with Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie scoring for the home side. It wasn’t an easy win and eight attempts on goal won’t have...
No sure bets in the Premier League
Premier League is officially the best football league in the world, and that’s not just an advertising slogan! The results from Round 5 are glorious examples of the strength, competition and unpredictability of the English top flight. Arsenal...
Rodgers got the formula wrong?
It was a disappointing weekend for Liverpool fans as they witnessed an unambitious and rather dour performance at Anfield. The home side suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa who, surprisingly, remains one of only two clubs still...
Chelsea show early signs of champions
We are still in the early stages of the 2014/15 English Premier League season, but all signs are pointing to José Mourinho’s second year back at Chelsea being a successful one. The Blues beat Everton 6-3 at Goodison Park in a mouth-watering...
From zero to hero
This article first appeared in the Sep/Oct 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine. Florentino Pérez was on the verge of a significant conundrum. The Real Madrid President knew the summer signings at the Bernabéu and Camp Nou would be considered just...
Louis Van Gaal’s misery continues
Shortly after Manchester United was humiliated by League One club MK Dons in the second round of the League Cup, they officially announced the transfer of Ángel Di María from Real Madrid for a British record £59.7 million – as if the news would...
Re-United
This article first appeared in the Jul/Aug 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine. Not long after former Manchester United manager, David Moyes, took over the post, the presence of his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson in the director’s box at Old...
FIFA standard is a JOKE
I was lucky enough to be given FIFA official media accreditation for the World Cup which allows me access to almost every match I’m able to get to. And I must say it has been a pleasant journey so far in Brazil apart from a few minor problems...
Premier League’s curtain call
One of the most intriguing seasons in Premier League history finally came to an end last weekend. We witnessed something quite extraordinary over the past nine months, with Liverpool rising from the ashes and returning to the Champions League, while...
Title race out of Liverpool’s hands
Another twist. Another heartbreak. It has long felt hazardous to make predictions about this season’s EPL title race, but it is still jaw dropping to witness the frenetic finale unfold in such an incredible manner over these final few weeks...
Crucial moments in Reds’ title bid
Twenty-four years ago Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool’s current manager, was still an apprentice at Reading. Since then, as he developed from an ambitious young player to one of the most sought after managers in Europe, he has seen a number of EPL...
Defining moment of EPL title race?
It was a massive win for Liverpool over fellow title contenders Manchester City on Sunday in a dramatic match at Anfield. The timing couldn’t be more fitting, as it was 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. The FA delayed every league...
Chelsea face tough decision on title focus
There were different stories for English clubs in Europe this week, with Bayern Munich ousting Manchester United at home while Chelsea produced another classic fight-back at Stamford Bridge as they knocked out Paris Saint-Germain with a memorable...