Chelsea missed a chance to go second in the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a relentless Leicester City side that finished the match with 10 men.
Leicester put on a masterclass in pressing until Ben Chilwell was shown a second yellow card for a lunge on Victor Moses, but the champions were unable to take advantage and claim the three points that would have moved them above Manchester United.
Claude Puel welcomed Jamie Vardy back after two games out with a groin injury and the England striker, along with Riyad Mahrez, caused Chelsea no end of problems his chasing of a long ball leading to returning captain Gary Cahill going off with a hamstring injury in the 33rd minute.
The Foxes had the better of the chances and Antonio Conte reacted by replaci…
Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura has slammed referee Alberto Undiano Mallecano ahead of their Copa del Rey clash with Real Madrid.
Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura has slammed referee Alberto Undiano Mallecano ahead of their Copa del Rey clash with Real Madrid.
Mallecano took charge of Barcelona s only La Liga defeat this season at Real Sociedad, and will officiate again for the semi-final second leg at Camp Nou on Tuesday.
He also refereed the 2011 Copa del Rey final between Real and Barca, won by Madrid, and the Barca assistant expressed his disappointment at the decision.
He (Mallecano) is the referee we have for tomorrow, we can t do anything about that, Roura said.
We are not supposed to judge whether he is a good or a bad refe…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 4/5 @
Two sides turning their attention back to League Cup duties on Wednesday night, Sheffield Wednesday will welcome Sunderland to Hillsborough.
Starting with the hosts, while Sheffield Wednesday might have signed off their pre-season preparations with three friendly defeats on the spin, it appears that the Owls have bounced back. After opening the 2022/23 League One campaign with an action-packed 3-3 draw against Portsmouth at Hillsborough, Darren Moore s men also put in an eye-catching display last weekend. Landing a 1-0 victory away at MK Dons, the one-time West Brom boss will be calling on his side to keep up that momentum here. Likewise, once again tipped as a standout pick to clinch another play-off finish this season, W…
Nolito and Alvaro Morata were the star men as Spain made a mockery of South Korea s recent fine form, winning 6-1 on the road to Euro 2016.
Uli Stielike had told his Korean side to play with the belief that they could beat the double-defending European champions, but a national-record run of nine games without conceding was emphatically ended in Salzburg.
David Silva s stunning free-kick brought the match to life on the half-hour, but things soon went from the sublime to the ridiculous as Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon s comical error presented Cesc Fabregas with a tap-in.
Nolito and Alvaro Morata enhanced their chances of a place in Vicente del Bosque s frontline with a pair of goals each, though this week s arrival of Atletico and Real Madrid players none of whom featured here w…
Liverpool went one point clear at the top of the Premier League table despite suffering a frustrating goalless draw at home to West Ham on Monday.
Rafael Benitez s side replaced Chelsea at the summit yet few fans felt like celebrating after watching their side miss an ideal opportunity to open up a healthy lead on their title rivals.
Liverpool were guilty of wasting a string of chances while Yossi Benayoun was denied by a brilliant save from Robert Green.
But their performance raised more questions than answers as they were held at home by mid-table opposition for the second successive home game.
It is eighteen years since the title was last celebrated at Anfield yet Liverpool fans started the final month of 2008 optimistic about their club s prospec…
Serbia sacked head coach Mladen Krstajic following their humiliating loss to Ukraine in Euro 2020 qualifying.
Despite boasting Real Madrid recruit Luka Jovic and Ajax star Dusan Tadic, Serbia were routed 5-0 by Ukraine in Lviv on June 7 as pressure increased on Krstajic.
Serbia eased past Lithuania 4-1 on Monday but that was not enough to save Krstajic, with the country third and six points adrift of leaders Ukraine in Euro 2020 Group B qualifying.
The FSS executive board and coach Mladen Krstajic have terminated cooperation by mutual consent and a decision will be made in the forthcoming period who will take over, the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) said in a statement on Thursday.
We thank Krstajic for his efforts and especially on his Nations Le…
Ryan Giggs has ended his 29-year association with Manchester United, the club has confirmed.
The 42-year-old former star player joined United s coaching staff under David Moyes, taking temporary charge when the Scot was sacked in April 2014, and was made assistant manager by Louis van Gaal.
However, new manager Jose Mourinho is expected to bring in trusted lieutenant Rui Faria to take on the role, with Giggs unable to agree a new position.
It means he will depart Old Trafford after almost 30 years of service, having joined United s academy in 1987.
After 29 seasons at Manchester United as a player and assistant manager, I know winning is in the DNA of this club giving youth a chance, and playing attacking and exciting football, he said in a statement rel…
Holders Zambia face a tough defence of their Africa Cup of Nations crown next year after being grouped with continental heavyweights Nigeria.
Zambia, who won the title for the first time this year with victory over Ivory Coast in the final, will also take on Burkina Faso and Ethiopia in Group C.
Hosts South Africa will play Cape Verde, who qualified after beating Cameroon, in the tournament s opening game after the pair were drawn together in Group A.
They will also face neighbours Angola, as well as Morocco.
Ivory Coast will take on north African giants Tunisia and Algeria in Group D, along with a Togo side making their first appearance at the competition since the shootings at the Angolan edition in 2010.
Ghana, four-time winners and one of th…
Hosts South Africa were finding it hard on Monday to get their heads around the reality that they are just one game away from the Confederations Cup final.
And that it is Brazil who are waiting for them in Thursday s semi-final makes it all the sweeter.
This is unknown territory for a side that was knocked out of the African Nations Cup in 2008 and hasn t even qualified for the next edition in January.
Coach Joel Santana gave his first XI the afternoon off aside from a spot of light training with the reserves getting the chance to state their case for inclusion.
The training session at Rand stadium in the Johannesburg suburbs came 48 hours after the Confed Cup hosts went down 2-0 to Spain, but rarely can defeat, have been so eagerly received as they stil…
Where will Lionel Messi land?
Barcelona s shock announcement of his departure set rumours flying.
Will it be Paris, Manchester or somewhere else?
TOP STORY MESSI ON THE MARKET
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are rumoured to be the top suitors for Lionel Messi.
The French giants have already made contact with Messi s representatives, according to Fabrizio Romano, and are seen in many quarters as the favourites to land the Argentine forward.
It remains to be seen wherher PSG can take on Messi after making several major moves during the transfer window, while City may be in a similarly difficult situation after finalising their £100million deal for Jack Grealish on Thursday.
A reunion with Pep Guardiola may stil…