Timo Werner ended his goal drought as Chelsea strengthened their grip on fourth place in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at fellow Champions League hopefuls West Ham.
Werner had gone 14 games without finding the back of the net for club and country before opening the scoring just before half-time at London Stadium on Saturday.
The Germany forward also missed a golden opportunity in an entertaining derby, which Thomas Tuchel s side deservedly won to go three points clear of the fifth-placed Hammers.
Fabian Balbuena was sent off 10 minutes from time for catching Ben Chilwell after playing the ball as West Ham s hopes of securing a surprise Champions League spot took another blow with five games remaining.
20 Timo Werner has been directly involve…
Milan have announced the signing of defender Fode Ballo-Toure from Monaco on a four-year deal.
The Senegal international, who emerged through Paris Saint-Germain s academy and has also previously represented Lille, is reported to have cost Milan an initial €4.2million.
Former France youth player Ballo-Toure joined Monaco from fellow Ligue 1 side Lille in January 2019 and made 74 appearances for Les Monegasques in all competitions. That includes 24 outings in Ligue 1 last season, albeit just six of those being starts.
He ranked particularly highly for crosses, with his average of 5.4 balls played into the box per 90 minutes bettered only by Sebastien Corchia (5.9), Leo Dubois (6.6) Clement Michelin (6.6) and Jonathan Clauss (7.7) among defenders to have played…
Former Argentina head coach Alejandro Sabella has died at the age of 66.
Sabella, who led his country to the World Cup final in 2014, had been ill in hospital in his homeland.
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) said in a Twitter statement: The AFA, via president Claudio Tapia, deeply regrets the death of Alejandro Sabella, former coach of Argentina, and sends its warmest hug to his family and loved ones.
A former international midfielder who played for Sheffield United and Leeds United in England, as well as River Plate and Estudiantes, he was best known for his work as a coach towards the end of his career in football.
Sabella led Estudiantes to Copa Libertadores glory in 2009 and the final of the Club World Cup later that year, where they lost to…
Joachim Low highlighted Thomas Muller s missed chance during the closing stages as a pivotal moment in the 2-0 Euro 2020 defeat to England that brought down the curtain on his 15 years in charge of Germany.
Second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane booked a place in the quarter-finals for Gareth Southgate s side at a raucous Wembley.
But, after Sterling s third goal of the tournament, the Manchester City forward played a wretched pass towards his own half that released Muller.
The experienced Bayern Munich star bore down on Jordan Pickford s area and looked certain to score, only to fire wide.
We didn t take advantage of the two great opportunities that we had with Muller and [Timo] Werner, Low said.
It was obvious no team wanted to …
AFCON matchday preview: Holders Algeria on the brink, Tunisia with work to do as COVID-19 cases pile
Algeria could become the second major casualty of the Africa Cup of Nations as the group stages are concluded on Thursday.
The defending champions head into their final – and arguably toughest – Group E match in a desperate position after failing to impress in their first two outings.
Thursday will also bring an end to Group F, where Algeria s neighbours Tunisia have plenty of work to do as well.
Ivory Coast v Algeria (16:00 GMT)
With one point from two matches, Algeria head into matchday three bottom of Group E and staring into the abyss of elimination.
Only a victory against group leaders Ivory Coast will be enough to take them into the knockouts, otherwise they will fall at the first hurdle for the third time in five AFCON tournaments.
Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid has often felt like a never-ending transfer saga, but it appears a resolution might now be in sight.
Los Blancos are apparently confident of getting the Paris Saint-Germain star in 2022 even though their performance did not impress him in the Champions League.
However, Madrid do have a back-up plan.
TOP STORY – MADRID CONFIDENT ON MBAPPE BUT MANE IS PLAN B
Real Madrid believe they will win the battle to sign Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2022.
Carlo Ancelotti s side are preparing to announce the deal at the end of the season, according to Goal.
However, should their efforts to sign Mbappe or Erling Haaland fail, Madrid have a back-up plan: Fichajes claims the…
Putting in a rugged performance on Thursday night, Real Madrid climbed back to the top of the La Liga table as they secured a 2-0 victory against local rivals Getafe.
Getting off to a flying start as Spanish international Joselu opened the scoring after just 14 minutes, Carlo Ancelotti’s side largely didn’t have to get out of third gear as they ran rampant at the Estadio Coliseum.
Now winning all of their previous six La Liga appearances on the bounce and leapfrogging Girona, it was Joselu who wrapped up all three points for Los Blancos as the one-time Newcastle misfit produced a slick finish 10 minutes after the restart.
Suffering just a single defeat against Getafe since way back in August 2012, the Blues failed to find any kind of fluidity on home soil an…
Riley McGree returned to haunt his old loan club Birmingham with a stunning goal as Middlesbrough won 1-0 at St. Andrew’s.
Attacking midfielder McGree, 25, put Boro ahead in the 17th minute after a mistake by Alex Pritchard in a game of few clear-cut chances.
The result heaps pressure on City, who have now gone five games without a win and are only out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone by a point after their match in hand.
City have not won since manager Tony Mowbray – a much-loved former Middlesbrough player and manager – has been away from his daily duties for medical treatment.
Both sets of fans chanted his name but Birmingham looked in need of the 60-year-old’s guidance as Boro made it three wins in a row.
Birmingham had the …
The Premier League risks losing credibility in the face of points deductions for financial breaches, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have received points deductions of six and four respectively this season for breaches of the Premier League s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Forest received a deduction on Monday, which left them in the relegation zone, a point behind 17th-placed Luton Town, after they admitted a breach of the rules.
Everton, meanwhile, were initially deducted 10 points in November for a breach of the rules in the 2021-22 reporting period, before that was reduced to six on appeal. The Toffees sit 16th, having not won in 11 league matches, though Sean Dyche s team might yet have to grapple wi…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is hopeful Jude Bellingham will not come under too much pressure following his absolutely exceptional showing for England at the World Cup.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to a number of Europe s elite clubs – Liverpool among them – on the back of another impressive year.
Bellingham started all five of England s matches at Qatar 2022, which ended in quarter-final defeat to France, scoring and assisting one goal from central midfield.
He was reportedly valued in excess of €100million (£88.5m) by Dortmund prior to the World Cup, a valuation that is likely to have only risen since.
However, Klopp says that no matter how expensive the 19-year-old is, he should not be weighed down by g…