Day: 3 November 2021

David Moyes prepares to clock up his 1,000th match as a manager on Thursday evening admitting that at one point he was not sure if he would even make it into double figures. A journey which began on a cold, wet night in Macclesfield and has taken in Merseyside, Manchester, Sunderland and Spain continues in Genk on the latest leg of West Ham’s European tour. The Hammers are in the Premier League’s top four and are cruising through their Europa League group – a far cry from a 1-0 Auto…

Read More

Manchester City took a big step towards the last-16 of the Champions League by claiming a second successive victory over Belgian champions Club Brugge, winning 4-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday night. Phil Foden’s opener (15) was immediately cancelled out by John Stones’ bizarre own goal (17), but Riyad Mahrez’s header restored City’s lead (54). Substitute Raheem Sterling (72) and Gabriel Jesus in stoppage time secured the victory as City made it nine straight Champions League home wins. Dominik Szoboszlai’s 92nd-minute penalty earned RB Leipzig a dramatic 2-2 draw with…

Read More

Xavi Hernandez wants a return to Barcelona but Al Sadd are not willing to let their manager leave at this stage of the Qatari club’s season. Barcelona officials Rafa Yuste and Mateu Alemany travelled to Doha on Tuesday to try to negotiate Barca great Xavi’s release from Al Sadd and met with the former midfielder’s agents in Qatar on Wednesday. The Catalan club are looking to replace Ronald Koeman, who was sacked last week following a poor start to the campaign. Speaking after Al Sadd’s 3-3 draw with Al Duhail,…

Read More

Gary Ballance has admitted using a racial slur towards his former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq Former England cricketer Gary Ballance has admitted using a racial slur towards former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq. Ballance, who played 23 Tests and 16 one-day internationals between 2013-2017, released a statement on Wednesday in which he accepted he was responsible for some of the offensive and derogatory terms that Rafiq revealed he was subjected to during his time at Headingley. The 31-year-old referenced his “incredibly close relationship” with Rafiq during their time together at the…

Read More

Raphael Varane will be out for around a month after the Manchester United defender suffered a hamstring injury against Atalanta. The France international only recently returned from injury but will now miss United’s Premier League match at home to Manchester City on Saturday, live on Sky Sports. A month-long absence would see Varane out of United’s next two matches after the international break – against Watford and Villarreal. He would also likely miss the trip to Chelsea on November 28, live on Sky Sports, and he could be a doubt for the…

Read More

Al Sadd are not willing to let manager Xavi Hernandez leave despite interest from Barcelona, the Qatari club’s CEO Turki Al-Ali said on Wednesday. Barcelona officials Rafa Yuste and Mateu Alemany travelled to Doha on Tuesday to try to negotiate Barca great Xavi’s release from Al Sadd and met with the former midfielder’s agents in Qatar on Wednesday. The Catalan club are looking to replace Ronald Koeman, who was sacked last week following a poor start to the campaign. “We welcome the visit of the administrative delegation from Barcelona, and…

Read More

Tyson Fury’s stunning powers of recovery are like ‘The Terminator’ but Britain’s world champion ‘will be beaten’, says destructive contender Raphael Akpejiori. The unbeaten Nigerian, who has won all 12 of his fights by knockout, aims to force his way into Fury’s plans next year by continuing his explosive run of victories. Fury is expected to defend his WBC belt against Dillian Whyte in April after climbing off the canvas twice to sensationally stop Deontay Wilder in last month’s trilogy clash. Image: Raphael Akpejiori returns to the ring this Saturday…

Read More