THE madness of Christmas over, we move into the New Year period and another packed schedule of fixtures. Pep Guardiola might not be a fan, but we love the relentless holiday period – and going into another Premier League weekend, we’ve got betting tips from three top-flight matches for you. Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood […] More

STEVEN GERRARD admits his horror slip against Chelsea still haunts him six years on.
Despite his trophy-laden success in a red shirt, the former Liverpool and England captain remains plagued by that infamous moment he lost his footing during a key title match against the Blues at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard admitted he is still not over the slip which allowed Demba Ba to score six years agoCredit: Sky Sports

Chelsea striker Demba Ba profited from his mistake to score the opener for the Londoners in a 2-0 win.
Fernando Torres set up Willian in stoppage time to rub salt into the wound and finish Liverpool’s 11-game winning streak.
And the Reds ended up finishing two points behind Premier League champions Manchester City.
It was after beating City a fortnight earlier that Gerrard gave his memorable “We do not let this slip” speech — but unfortunately he went on to do just that.

Gerrard, now manager of Rangers, describes the Chelsea episode as a “brutal, cruel low in my life”.
He told the High Performance Podcast: “I park it up but it comes back, all the time. What triggers it? I don’t know. TV. Images. Just me reflecting. I am someone who thinks a lot. I always try to tap into experiences.
“This is not a thing that happens every single day, but it was such a big moment.
“I’ve had lots and lots of moments, some incredible moments, which I never dreamed of.

The Rangers boss continues to be haunted by the events at Anfield which sparked a collapse in Liverpool’s title chargeCredit: EPA

“But your career takes you to some lows as well. It would be easy if you lifted the carpet, pushed them under and you never thought about them again. But I don’t think that’s ever going to be the case.”
Gerrard, 40, is adamant he felt no jealousy when Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool finally won the Premier League this summer, ending 30 years of hurt.
He said: “I felt like part of me healed more, than any of those feelings.”
Gerrard spent his entire playing career at Liverpool apart from a final season with LA Galaxy.
He added: “I know not only did it hurt me (in 2014), it hurt a lot of people who had followed this club for many, many years.
“Liverpool fans commit themselves to that club.

“They love the club, it’s in the heart. I’ve lived with it for 20 years and more.
“I knew what that meant, that Premier League (title), to an awful lot of people. My own family, to me. I mean, the way the club were with me, during that time, which will remain private.
“During that run-in, to win the Premier League, it was special how that club were with me.
“You’ve still got the relationships with all those people and stuff. I think a lot of people were probably wondering whether I was jealous, but no.”

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DIDIER DESCHAMPS has accused Aymeric Laporte of being a liar.The Manchester City defender has switched allegiances from France to Spain for Euro 2020.
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Laporte will be hoping to add a Euros medal to his Premier League gongCredit: PA
Deschamps has accused Laporte of telling a big fat lieCredit: Reuters
Etihad centre-back Laporte, 27, made the claim he did not receive a reply from the French World Cup-winning boss when he sent him a message – but Deschamps refutes that.
Deschamps said: “What makes me uncomfortable is what he might say, and that is a lie.
“The only message I received from him was in October about a precise situation regarding an injury he had sustained in September.
“He has that freedom. He hasn’t played for us? It could have happened, ten seconds would have been enough.
“He has always been in the list of players called up, but there has been competition for places.”
Chelsea’s trio of France stars linked up with Deschamps’ Euro squad yesterday and received a hero’s welcome on their arrival in Nice.
Following last Saturday’s Champions League triumph against Manchester City in Porto, N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud and Kurt Zouma were hailed by their team-mates and Deschamps ahead of tonight’s friendly with Wales.
Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris will captain France for the 100th time.
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Giroud and Benzema rekindle their friendship as France prepare for the EurosCredit: AFP
While Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, 33, could play for his country for the first time since 2015 following his alleged role in the sex-tape blackmail of former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.
Deschamps has reportedly forced Benzema and Giroud to sit next to each other in a bid to end their feud.
Benzema, 33, has been critical of his fellow striker Giroud during his absence from the national set-up
In March last year he was asked to compare himself to the Chelsea striker.
He replied: “This won’t take long. You don’t confuse F1 with go-karting. And I’m being kind. I know I’m F1.
“It works because he’s there. That’s all. It’s not going to be spectacular, it’s not going to be anything crazy but in his way you see more of Griezmann or Mbappe because he will put the work in.
“Does everyone like that way of playing? I don’t know.”
Chelsea star Olivier Giroud announces new TikTok account in style by sharing world-class goal he scored in training
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ODION IGHALO is set to leave Manchester United TOMORROW unless the Red Devils can agree a dramatic late extension to his loan deal. The Nigerian has already made a personal plea to Shanghai Shenhua to let him finish the season at Old Trafford, before returning to China. Odion Ighalo’s loan at Manchester United expires on […] More

FRANK LAMPARD has opened up on how his “dominant” dad would shout at him until he cried when he was just 12.
The Chelsea boss revealed the tough love that Frank Snr, now 71, would dish out – and how it turned him into a top class player and manager.

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Chelsea boss Lampard says his dad saw him as a ‘project’ to mould into the perfect footballerCredit: Rex Features
Lampard will be dreaming of his first Premier League title as a manager after his side’s £200million cash splurge this summer.
Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Thiago Silva among others have all been brought in to spearhead Chelsea’s title challenge.
But orchestrating it all from the dug out will be dad-of-three Lampard, whose drive to be the best was hammered into him by his old man from a young age.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Lamps, 42, spoke of how his dad, who played for West Ham and Southend, would never shy away from pointing out his weaknesses while late mum Patricia offered a loving touch.

He said: “My dad had a tough upbringing, much tougher than mine. He lost his father when he was very young, and had to fight to become a professional footballer.
“And he kind of carried that demeanour, very old school, very strong.
“I remember driving home from Sunday morning games and he would be sort of shouting at me in the car.
“Looking back I was like, ‘I don’t understand how you can be shouting at me when I’m 12 or 13 years of age’.

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Lampard opened up on how he had to ‘cut loose’ from the feeling of constantly having to impress his fatherCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

“And then I’d get home, and I’d be crying, and my mum would be the one that would bring me my lunch or a cake or something.
“That’s probably why I was a chubby kid.But she would be the one that would settle me down.
“And so I’d like to think that I took both of those sorts of sides to it in my professional career.
“I was driven by my dad in that tough way, but had my mum giving me those little moments.
“My dad’s actions were probably what kind of moulded me not only in a footballing sense, but in a life way as well.
Lamps said he still worried about how his dad would judge him when he signed for Chelsea in 2001 and that he had to work to “cut loose and be my own person”.
He added: “I think he took me as a bit of a project, as a son, to try and see if he could make me into a professional footballer.
“I didn’t really cut loose from that feeling with my dad until my mid-20s really, of like, I must impress dad when it comes to football.

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Lampard now loves the pressure of being Stamford Bridge bossCredit: PA:Press Association
“I used to remember looking up in the stands at West Ham, or even my early Chelsea days, and I’d think what he would have thought.”
Asked how it changed, Lampard said: “I turned from being a bit of a boy to a man.
“I think it was a bit like I relied on that, because my dad was quite dominant of me in a footballing sense, and actually in life to be honest, I became a little bit reliant on that.
“It was like, follow his word and his lead.
“And then when I moved across to Chelsea, started playing for England, started probably gaining some success, I kind of thought actually, no, no.
“When I thought everything dad said was right was when I was 12, and actually, some things I don’t agree with, some things I don’t see the same as he sees them.
“And maybe I started to look at my mum’s side then, or different things in life, and I actually started to be my own person really, and I probably moved away.”

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