Remi Garde parted company with Aston Villa almost five months after taking over as manager on Tuesday having failed to turn around the Premier League club's dismal season.
Aston Villa have appointed former Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo as their new manager, the BBC reported on Thursday.
Chelsea's on-loan Brazilian international Alexandre Pato scored on his debut to help push pathetic Aston Villa to the verge of inevitable relegation with a seventh successive Premier League defeat on Saturday. Pato, the former Milan starlet who has been kicking his heels since joining from Corinthians two months ago, came on as a 25th-minute substitute and was immediately involved in the move which led to Ruben Loftus-Cheek netting his first league goal.
Arsenal enjoyed an easy 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday to soar to the summit of the Premier League and leave their hapless opponents rooted at rock bottom.
Aston Villa captain Micah Richards became embroiled in a heated pitchside debate with disgruntled fans on Saturday as the Premier League strugglers' desperate season unravelled further with a 1-1 draw at fourth-tier Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup.
Manchester United should sack Louis Van Gaal and install his assistant Ryan Giggs as manager, according to former striker Dwight Yorke who wants to launch his own managerial career at struggling Aston Villa. The former Trinidad and Tobago striker said changes were needed at United, with the 20-times English champions sixth in the Premier League, out of the Champions League and suffering a 2-0 loss to arch-rivals Liverpool in the Europa League this week. "At the end of the day, it's all about results," Yorke was quoted as saying by Singaporean daily The New Paper on Saturday after a promotional event in the Southeast Asian citystate. "In the two years that he's (Van Gaal) been there, he's spent tons of money, brought in tons of players, and simply hasn't got the results that he and everyone else had hoped to. "You see a lot of young managers, Zinedine Zidane's been given the opportunity at Real Madrid, you got Luis Enrique at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola who's coming to Manchester City, Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino, they're all ex-players. "And I feel that the game is going down that road, and maybe this is the right time to give Giggsy the job." Yorke won three Premier League titles and the 1999 Champions League with United under former manager Alex Ferguson after joining from Aston Villa.
Chelsea captain John Terry is showing all the qualities of a future manager, the club's interim boss Guus Hiddink said on Friday. Terry, 35, is keen to continue his playing career at Stamford Bridge but has not yet been offered a new contract for next season. Hiddink said decision was not down to him, but in the longer term he could see the former England central defender as a manager. "In some players you see while they are playing there might be managers inside them already," the Dutchman told a news conference. "You see that most of the time in midfield positions or centre-backs. These guys are already leaders. "In my career I've had some examples like (Southampton's) Ronald Koeman in my first spell at Eindhoven, who you could see was tactically very strong and a leader. "And (Watford's) Quique Sanchez Flores at Valencia too." Terry would need "extra courses" and would be well advised to start as an assistant, Hiddink added.
Leicester City were give a Premier League reality check when the unlikely leaders lost 1-0 at Liverpool on Saturday after Manchester United slumped to a third consecutive league defeat to pile more pressure on manager Louis van Gaal.
Chelsea's on-loan Brazilian international Alexandre Pato scored on his debut to help push pathetic Aston Villa to the verge of inevitable relegation with a seventh successive Premier League defeat on Saturday. Pato, the former Milan starlet who has been kicking his heels since joining from Corinthians two months ago, came on as a 25th-minute substitute and was immediately involved in the move which led to Ruben Loftus-Cheek netting his first league goal.
Paris St Germain collected their first trophy of the season when Edinson Cavani's double secured a 2-1 victory against Olympique Lyon in the French League Cup final on Saturday.
Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to win a Premier League match for the first time since August while a late goal from Paul Dummett earned a 3-3 draw for Newcastle United against Manchester United on Tuesday.
Harry Kane may have had his thunder as England's brightest young strike hope stolen of late by Jamie Vardy but Tottenham Hotspur's own home-polished jewel sparkled once more on his 100th appearance for the club on Saturday.
Harry Kane was hailed as 'unbelievable' after the England striker's 21st and 22nd goals of the season inspired Tottenham Hotspur to a routine win at hapless Aston Villa on Sunday that boosted their Premier League title ambitions.
After seven consecutive league defeats, and one point from the last 30 on offer, had plunged Villa into crisis and cost Tim Sherwood his job, the former European champions produced a gritty display to frustrate City.
English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer.
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