Month: December 2024

Edinson Cavani will miss the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie between Manchester United and Atletico Madrid.

The striker is still being troubled by a groin problem, having missed the Red Devils past three Premier League matches.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick said the Uruguay international has been unable to train for two weeks and does not feel capable of running at full capacity, meaning there is little point in including him in the squad for Wednesday s match.

No, Edi will not be able to make the trip, he told reporters on Tuesday. He didn t train and hasn t been training for the last couple of weeks.

He has problems with his groin and as long as he doesn t feel ready to fully sprint, it doesn t make sense to train him.

Cavani ha…

Aleksander Ceferin has been confirmed as the new president of UEFA after beating fellow candidate Michael van Praag in Wednesday s election.

The head of the Slovenian Football Association was the overwhelming favourite to replace disgraced former president Michel Platini during the vote at UEFA s Congress in Athens.

And the 48-year-old received 42 votes from the 55 UEFA members to easily claim the required simple majority of 28.

Dear friends, thank for your fantastic support. It s a great honour but at the same time great responsibility, Ceferin said on stage following his victory.

It means a lot to me, it means me and my family are very proud. My small and beautiful Slovenia is also very proud about it. Thank you very much.

Congratulations to …

Liverpool vice-captain Daniel Agger is confident the club can deal with the pressure of being in the Premier League title mix.

The Merseysiders head into the business end of the season very much in contention for a first top-flight crown since 1990.

Brendan Rodgers side sit second in the table, seven points behind leaders Chelsea but with a game in hand.

Liverpool narrowly missed out on winning the Premier League under the stewardship of Rafael Benitez in 2009, when they finished four points behind champions Manchester United.

The club s 2013-14 vintage travel to United on Sunday looking to complete a league double over their fierce rivals and keep in contention at the top.

And Agger, who is one of the few remaining members of the 2008-09 side that finish…

Stoke City assistant manager Mark Bowen hopes the club can continue their strong away form when they visit Sunderland in the League Cup.

Since making their Premier League debut in the 2008-09 season, Stoke have had a notoriously poor away record in the top flight.

However, Mark Hughes side have not lost any of their three away league games so far this season including a shock 1-0 victory at champions Manchester City earlier this month.

Stoke were only denied another win on the road at the weekend as Niko Krancjar s stunning 88th-minute free-kick earned QPR a 2-2 draw.

And Bowen wants the team to take their Premier League form away from home into Tuesday s League Cup tie at the Stadium of Light.

Our away form has improved however so we can take …

Alessandro Costacurta does not feel the Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter carries much weight as he does not think either side will qualify for the Champions League.

Both Milan sides have suffered severe declines in recent seasons the Rossoneri last appeared in Europe s elite club competition in the 2013-14 season, while Inter have not qualified since 2011-12.

It is a theme Costacurta – a seven-time Scudetto winner and five-time European champion with Milan – expects to continue this term.

Third-placed Milan meet Inter at San Siro on Sunday in Stefano Pioli s first game at the Nerazzurri helm, and the former defender found it difficult to separate the two.

For me, it s not an important derby in terms of the table, because, in my opini…

Andre Gray scored his first Premier League hat-trick to move Burnley nine points clear of the relegation zone and heap more misery on David Moyes with a 4-1 win over Sunderland.

Gray broke the deadlock after 30 minutes at Turf Moor, making the most of some abysmal Sunderland defending and setting the tone for another dreadful day for Moyes.

He wrapped up his hat-trick with two goals in just under three second-half minutes before Ashley Barnes 67th-minute penalty added to Sunderland s humiliation.

Jermain Defoe did restore some pride for Sunderland four minutes later, but his effort will provide little comfort for a team that lost Lamine Kone to injury 24 minutes in and saw Victor Anichebe sustain a hamstring problem.

Moyes, who went into Saturday s…

Kevin De Bruyne s gesture during the closing stages of Manchester City s Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion was one of selflessness towards a team-mate and friend, but also one that backfired.

De Bruyne ceded his penalty-taking duties after drawing a foul from Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in stoppage time at a sodden Etihad Stadium, giving Raheem Sterling the chance to step up.

Unfortunately, the England international ballooned his attempt into the deserted North Stand, leaving Pep Guardiola s side with a few more needlessly nervy minutes to see out a 1-0 win.

A key contributor as City racked up six major trophies in the three previous campaigns under Guardiola, Sterling is yet to fully hit his stride this time around, even as his colleagues…

ESPN understand that Manchester City will make a move to sign Leicester City full-back Ben Chilwell – but not until the summer.

The Premier League champions are keen to strengthen in that area of the pitch with Benjamin Mendy consistently struggling with injury since signing eighteen months ago and have made the England international their top target.

Aside from a brief loan spell with Huddersfield Town during the 2015/16 season, Chilwell has spent the whole of his short career so far with the Foxes, racking up seventy-six appearances for the club in all competitions.

His one and only goal so far came in a 6-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the 2016/17 campaign, while he has been capped five times for the Three Lions having made his debut …

Norwich City maintained their position at the Championship summit with a crushing 4-1 win away at Swansea City, while Leeds United remain three points behind them after beating Bristol City 2-0 at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke s side were in imperious form at the Liberty Stadium, securing a sixth straight win thanks to an own goal from Mike van der Hoorn and strikes from Emiliano Buendia, Marco Stiepermann and Teemu Pukki.

Leeds made light work of 10-man Bristol City thanks to goals from Kemar Roofe and Pablo Hernandez to remain on the Canaries  coattails, although they could be leapfrogged into second by Middlesbrough if they overcome Brentford in the late kick-off.

Derby County, meanwhile, kept up their promotion push with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, Pre…

Kwadwo Asamoah is seemingly poised to join Inter on a free transfer after announcing he will leave Italian champions Juventus at the end of the season.

Asamoah has been linked with Serie A rivals Inter and the Ghana international is now set to swap Turin for Milan following his decision not to sign a new Juventus contract.

The versatile wing-back and midfielder joined Juve from Udinese in 2012, and he has since gone on to win six successive Serie A titles and four consecutive Coppa Italia trophies, while he was involved in unsuccessful Champions League finals in 2015 and 2017.

Asamoah posted a letter to Twitter on Friday, bidding farewell to Juve and thanking the club s fans ahead of Saturday s season finale against Verona.

This s it, a clarification of m…