Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp reiterated his support for Luis Diaz after the forward scored a stoppage-time equaliser which snatched a 1-1 draw at Luton.

Diaz missed Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last weekend after returning to Colombia following news that his parents had been kidnapped, but he returned to training this week and came off the bench to earn the Reds a point at Kenilworth Road.

The forward’s mother has been released but he is still waiting for news on his father. After scoring, Diaz lifted up his shirt to reveal a white T-shirt which read ‘libertad para papa’ – ‘freedom for my father’.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Liverpool boss Klopp lauded the player after his header looped over Hatters goalkeeper Thomas Kami…

According to sources, Barcelona are set to activate the £108million release clause in the contract of Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann. The forward has already revealed that he will leave the club from the Spanish capital after a five-year stint. It seems that he will finally join Barcelona this summer.

Griezmann move to Barcelona almost inevitable

Last summer, Antoine Griezmann looked set to join the Catalan giants. However, instead, the French star decided to sign a new deal with Atletico. The move seemed a strange one on the part of the forward. It was a great act of loyalty to his club, though.

The previous summer, Griezmann had also been heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp. It seems that the link just will not go away and Barcelona signing Griezm…

Raheem Sterling does not feel Manchester City will come under the same level of pressure as Liverpool during the Premier League title run-in.

City forward Sterling enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough campaign at Anfield in 2013-14, when Brendan Rodgers side launched a thrilling bid for Premier League glory.

They came up agonisingly short after Steven Gerrard s infamous slip against Chelsea and a surrendered 3-0 lead at Crystal Palace allowed Manuel Pellegrini s City to steal ahead during the final week of the campaign.

That was the closest Liverpool have come to ending a 28-year wait for their 19th English top-flight crown, while Sterling got his hands on a Premier League winners  medal as he shone under Pep Guardiola last season.

That experience can be …

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is expecting tightly contested Europa League final against a Marseille side he believes possess similarities with the Rojiblancos.

Marseille needed extra-time to clinch progression to the final, beating Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final, while Atletico earned a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in London before beating the Gunners 1-0 in the second leg to set up a clash with Rudi Garcia s men.

The showpiece in Lyon will be Marseille s first major European final since they were beaten 2-0 by Valencia in the UEFA Cup in 2004, and since then Atletico have won the competition twice and played in two Champions League finals.

Nevertheless, Simeone is anticipating a close game, telling reporters: It s going to be a compe…

Seattle Sounders returned to the top of the Western Conference after ending the Colorado Rapids 12-match unbeaten streak in a comprehensive 3-0 win in MLS action on Sunday.

Cristian Roldan, Jimmy Medranda and Joao Paolo scored in a three-goal first half to inspire the Sounders against the Rapids in Seattle.

The Rapids were enjoying their second-best unbeaten run in club history, only behind the 15-game undefeated streak from April 2016 to July 2016.

But Colorado came unstuck away to the Sounders at Lumen Field, where Roldan broke the deadlock in the second minute before Medranda and Paolo s moment of individual brilliance made it 3-0 prior to half-time.

The Sounders are top of the west, two points clear of Sporting Kansas City, who beat Houston Dynamo 4-2…

At the start of the Premier League campaign, Cardiff City were one of the favourites to suffer relegation. The Bluebirds won promotion last season under the Marmite of English football Neil Warnock. A few weeks ago, the Welsh side looked dead and buried after a terrible run of form. However, going into the last few weeks of the campaign they are still alive and kicking in the top-flight.

A big win against Brighton

In the last few weeks, Brighton have suddenly become the team that Cardiff need to catch to survive the drop this season. The Bluebirds went to the south coast and picked up a precious 2-0 win against the Seagulls on Tuesday night.

The win leaves Cardiff just two points behind the south coast outfit in the table. The Seagulls may have a game in hand, but thei…

Karim Ansarifard is confident Iran will beat Portugal to qualify for the next round of the World Cup ahead of Monday s winner-takes-all Group B clash.

Iran are third and only a point adrift of European champions Portugal and Spain leading in to the third and final matchday in Saransk.

Carlos Quieroz s men were unfortunate not to at least claim a point against Spain on Wednesday, having an equaliser ruled out by VAR.

It was an impressive performance against the 2010 world champions and Olympiacos forward Ansarifard said Iran are ready to advance to the last 16 for the first time in their history.

We ve learned so many things from the previous World Cup and know how to play Portugal in this edition, Ansarifard said.

Iran is led by the best coach i…

Niko Kovac is certain Leroy Sane will improve Bayern Munich s squad if he joins from Manchester City.

Sane has been linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions following the departures of experienced wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery at the end of last season.

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed on Monday he is hopeful a deal could still go through, with Sane expected to make a decision over his future once he returns from his close-season break.

Kovac has no doubt his side would be signing a player of huge talent, saying at a news conference on Tuesday: He can definitely help us. Period. Exclamation mark. He has showed that in the national team and at City.

Our squad for the ! 

— FC Bayern English (@…

Barcelona have offered their backing to Lionel Messi after he was given a prison sentence for tax fraud offences.

The 29-year-old, along with his father, was found guilty of three counts of fiscal fraud related to image rights accrued between 2007 and 2009, and given a 21-month jail sentence by a Spanish court, along with a fine totalling €2million.

Neither Messi nor his father, Jorge, are likely to serve any time in prison as the sentence was less than two years for a non-violent offence and neither holds a criminal record.

Both men who have always denied any wrongdoing may appeal the decision, which came about despite a voluntary corrective payment of €5m made to authorities in August 2013 to cancel out the alleged amount of unpaid tax, plus interest.

…

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says the club are prepared to go a bit crazy in their attempts to keep Alexandre Lacazette.

Lacazette has scored 24 goals in 27 Ligue 1 appearances this season, but Lyon cannot finish in the top three – leaving the Europa League as their only avenue back into the Champions League for next season.

Playing in Europe s premier club competition could be vital if Lyon are to keep Lacazette out of the clutches of reported admirers Liverpool, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

After claiming seven straight league titles between 2002 and 2008, Lyon have gone a decade without winning Ligue 1 – in which time Paris Saint-Germain have dominated with the backing of Qatari investment – but Aulas believes Lyon are ready to challenge again, h…