Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior s men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot …
Luis Enrique described Gavi s abilities as out of the ordinary following his scintillating World Cup debut for Spain.
Barcelona teenager Gavi marked his major tournament bow by scoring an exquisite volley as Luis Enrique s team thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 on Wednesday, becoming the third-youngest goalscorer in World Cup history.
Only Brazil great Pele in 1958 (17 years, 239 days) and Mexico s Manuel Rosas in 1930 (18 years, 93 days) have hit the net at the tournament when younger than Gavi, who did so at the age of 18 years and 110 days.
Asked about Gavi s abilities during a Twitch livestream on Thursday, Luis Enrique said: It s not very normal, it s something out of the ordinary.
We all realise how difficult it is to do it at the age that he does it.
…
England under-21 boss Stuart Pearce says he has no concerns about his long-term future despite his contract expiring next year.
Pearce has been in charge of the England under-21 side since 2007 and has also had spells as caretaker manager of the senior team and coach of Team GB during the London Olympics.
During Fabio Capello s time as national team boss, Pearce doubled up as under-21 manager and a senior team coach but he has not reprised the latter role since Roy Hodgson s appointment.
However, despite rumours that the snub has come about because the Football Associate may not renew his contract, Pearce insists he does not have any fears over his future in the national team setup.
I don t think there is any real issue in respect to my future, the 50-…
Greek giants Panathinaikos have announced on their official website that the contract of captain Kostas Katsouranis has been terminated by mutual consent.
The Greece international has been heavily criticized for his form at the start of the new season, with club president Giannis Alafouzos reportedly unhappy with his attitude.
This has led to the club canceling the contract of Kostas Katsouranis, who is now free to negotiate to other clubs.
The news comes just a day before Panathinaikos’ is set to take on Tottenham in a Europa League match.
The 33-year-old midfielder joined PAO in a €2.5 million deal from Benfica in the summer of 2009 and has enjoyed a lot of success at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis.
Despite operating as a holding midfielder …
Ibrahim Afellay has declared manager Mark Hughes the most important factor in attracting the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan Krkic to the Britannia Stadium.
Since Hughes took over from Tony Pulis as Stoke s manager, the Staffordshire-based club have been able to lure players who were previously rated some of the hottest prospects in Europe but are now looking to reboot their careers.
Afellay fits that mould exactly, with the ex-PSV captain having joined Barcelona midway through the 2010-11 season but never having settled at Camp Nou.
At the Britannia, the 29-year-old midfielder is part of a squad that includes other Barca alumni in Bojan and Marc Muniesa, as well as ex-Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel and former Bayern Munich forward Shaqiri.
It…
Manchester City have fitness concerns over three key players as they look to improve their poor UEFA Champions League home record at the expense of Juventus.
Although Manuel Pellegrini s men have swept all before them domestically thus far this term, they have won just three of their 11 home Champions League games to date, a record that simply must improve if they are to make a serious impact in this season s competition.
But their preparations for Tuesday s visit from the Italian champions have been hindered by injury doubts surrounding Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Raheem Sterling.
Aguero looks to be the most likely absentee after limping off during the first half of Saturday s Premier League win over Crystal Palace with a knee injury.
Pellegrini …
La Liga outfit Malaga are believed to be exploring the opportunity to bring back Brahim Diaz to La Rosaleda Stadium at the end of the season.
The 17-year-old attacking midfielder began his youth career with Malaga before he moved to in 2013 in a deal worth £200,000.
Diaz waited for three years before making his professional debut for Manchester City in an EFL Cup tie against Swansea City after which he signed his first professional contract with the Citizens.
Pep Guardiola is known as a manager who likes giving opportunities to youth players and is believed to be a huge admirer of Brahim Diaz.
The 17-year-old talent is unlikely to be given a prominent role next season however given the huge competition for places in his position and Malaga are trying t…
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is determined to add an as yet elusive FA Cup winners medal to his lengthy list of personal and collective accolades.
The Belgium star has won the Premier League, League Cup and Europa League since moving to Stamford Bridge from Lille, with who he won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, in 2012.
Hazard, a two-time Ligue 1 Player of the Year and the 2014-15 PFA Players Player of the Year, has yet to win the FA Cup, though, with Chelsea last winning the trophy in the season before he joined.
Chelsea, who are 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League in Antonio Conte s first season in charge, must negotiate their way past Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Monday to reach the semi-finals and Hazard pledged to give all he can to b…
According to a recent report from Calciomercato, AC Milan are worried a club could trigger the £43 million buyout clause for Ismael Bennacer.
The clause was included as part of his contract when he first made his way over to the San Siro, and now, they believe it could unlock the key to him leaving potentially in the summer.
The 23-year-old midfielder first joined Milan on a permanent deal back in 2019 from Empoli and since then, he hasn’t looked back. He even had a spell with Arsenal but was barely given any time on the pitch throughout his stay there, although we wouldn’t rule out the Gunners coming back in for him to make up for lost time.
A lot of this will come down to whether or not Bennacer believes in Milan as a sustainable club who can really go pl…
Sevilla have continued their close-season spending spree by completing the reported €12million signing of former Spain Under-21 midfielder Oliver Torres from Porto on a five-year deal.
Torres, 24, came through the ranks at Atletico Madrid and showed real promise in his early days before Porto signed him for an apparent €20m fee in 2017, having had two successful loan spells at the club.
The first of Torres loan stays saw him coached by new Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui, who had also worked with the playmaker while in charge of the Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 sides in the Spain setup.
Torres struggled to hold down a first-team spot at Porto across the last two seasons, however, starting a total of 21 Primeira Liga games.
Signing number nine!
…