Graham Alexander revealed a pep talk with Connor Shields paid off when the Motherwell attacker opened his Fir Park account in the well-deserved 2-0 home cinch Premiership win over 10-man HeartsThe 24-year-old attacker was signed from Queen of the South in the summer but after failing to pin down a regular spot a loan move was mooted.However, the Fir Park boss persuaded Shields to keep plugging a...Full Story »

Micky Mellon was frustrated with the officials despite his Tranmere side battling back from two goals down to earn a point in a 2-2 draw at Bristol Rovers.Josh Grant and Sam Nicholson struck to put the Gas ahead, but Callum MacDonald pulled one back for the visitors in the 25th minute.The second half was evenly fought, but Tranmere always carried a threat and Mellon’s side equalised throug...Full Story »

Chris Wilder’s first game in charge of Middlesbrough ended in a 1-1 draw with Millwall at the Riverside Stadium.Matt Crooks fired Boro ahead before Sol Bamba’s own goal secured a point for the Lions.Wilder almost got off to the perfect start as Boro manager when Duncan Watmore was released through on goal 12 seconds into the game only to see his effort saved low by Bartosz Bialkowski...Full Story »

New Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder felt disappointed at coming away from his first game in charge with just a point against Millwall.The Championship clash ended 1-1 as Matt Crooks gave Boro the lead in the 15th minute with a back-post header before a Sol Bamba own goal 12 minutes later brought Millwall back into the match.The point for both sides left Middlesbrough 14th in the table, five plac...Full Story »

Aberdeen boss Stephen Glass admitted Funso Ojo should not have given referee Bobby Madden the chance to send him off in the narrow defeat against Dundee United at Tannadice.The home side had already been reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time with Calum Butcher receiving a straight red for a low blow on Dons striker Christian Ramirez.Then just minutes later, Ojo’s momentum took him int...Full Story »

Forest Green cruised to a 3-1 win at 10-man Hartlepool to stay top of League Two.Unbeaten away from home this season, Rob Edwards’ side made it six wins on the road thanks to a dominant first-half performance.It took them just four minutes to go ahead, a near-post corner being nodded in from close range by Jordan Moore-Taylor.Pools did have a couple of half-chances but some organised defen...Full Story »

A late Keshi Anderson equaliser secured Blackpool a 1-1 Championship draw against Swansea in south Wales.This was an evenly-contested match for the most part with a first-half goal from Joel Piroe putting Swansea ahead, but a late effort from Anderson meant the Welsh club had to settle for a draw.Swansea had the first real chance of the game when Ethan Laird put Olivier Ntcham straight through o...Full Story »

A brace from skipper Ollie Clarke helped Mansfield chalk up a fifth win in a row with a 3-1 home win over bottom club Scunthorpe.An entertaining first half saw United go ahead against the run of play after 15 minutes when Myles Hippolyte netted from the spot after keeper Nathan Bishop had brought him down trying to go round him following a defence-splitting pass down the middle by Hayden Hackney...Full Story »

Dean Smith started his Norwich tenure with three points after Grant Hanley’s 79th-minute header earned a 2-1 victory at home to Southampton.The result made it back-to-back triumphs for the Canaries, who moved off the bottom of the Premier League table after Teemu Pukki had cancelled out Che Adams’ early opener for the visitors.Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was at fault for Hanley&r...Full Story »

Exeter manager Matt Taylor called for recognition for his players after they made it 20 games unbeaten with a 2-1 win against Carlisle at St James Park.After Jon Mellish had been shown a straight red card for a poor tackle on Archie Collins, the Grecians’ pressure finally told when a Jonathan Grounds cross evaded everyone and crept in at the far post, despite Sam Nombe claiming he got the ...Full Story »

Boreham Wood edged closer to the top of the Vanarama National League after claiming a comfortable 4-0 win against Maidenhead.A brace from Scott Boden and goals from Josh Rees and Jacob Mendy saw the Wood move up to second in the table, while Maidenhead still remain in 19th.Boden opened the scoring for the hosts in the 19th minute, tapping home Rees’ cross at the far post.Rees turned from p...Full Story »

Sam Vokes ended a six-game winless run in all competitions for Wycombe as his header earned a hard-fought 1-0 League One victory over Bolton at Adams Park.It also ended a streak of four-straight home losses in all competitions for the Chairboys, who remained fourth in the league table after shrugging off the disappointment of missing a first-half penalty through Anis Mehmeti.Wycombe came within ...Full Story »

A Michael Cheek brace rescued Bromley as they came from behind to beat King’s Lynn 3-2 in the Vanarama National League.Goals from James Alabi and Cheek sealed the three points for the Ravens, resulting in a sixth successive defeat for the Linnets.The visitors took the lead through Jayden Davis just six minutes into the game.Cheek came close to scoring for the hosts but his headed effort we...Full Story »

Anton Dowds scored a late winner as Arbroath beat Scottish Championship leaders Kilmarnock 1-0 at Rugby Park.Dowds struck in the 84th minute to extend the visitors’ unbeaten run to six games and move them two points behind Killie.Arbroath’s Derek Gaston, who has a job coaching young keepers at Killie, produced a fine save to keep out Oli Shaw’s effort as the first half ended go...Full Story »

Cove Rangers climbed above Airdrie to the summit of cinch League One after a 2-0 win at the Excelsior Stadium.Mitch Megginson headed home a cross from Blair Yule to break the deadlock in the 79th minute, and Fraser Fyvie hit the second with seven minutes left.Montrose climbed to third after Cammy Ballantyne’s goal sank Falkirk 1-0, for whom Callumn Morrison missed a late penalty.Queen&rsqu...Full Story »

Premier League leaders Chelsea got back to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 demolition of Leicester on Saturday.First-half goals from Antonio Rudiger and N’Golo Kante put Thomas Tuchel’s men on course at the King Power Stadium before Christian Pulisic added a third after the break.The European champions could have had more with Ben Chilwell hitting the crossbar and the offside flag...Full Story »

New Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said Philippe Coutinho can become an important player for the club if he can rediscover his confidence. Coutinho, 29, has failed to live up to expectations at Barca since signing from Liverpool in a club-record transfer worth €160 million in 2018. The Brazilian has struggled with injuries since returning from a loan spell with Bayern Munich in 2020,...Full Story »

Paris Saint Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has taken fire at Chelsea for being a ‘defensive team’. Answering questions about his PSG sides lack of defensive solidity, Pochettino branded Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea a defensive team. Via The Athletic, the former Tottenham manager said: “Chelsea have a defensive team. They play in transition and on the counter.” ...Full Story »

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Augsburg who struck twice against the run of play in the first half to snatch a memorable victory in Friday's Bavarian derby. Goals from Mads Pedersen and Andre Hahn in the 23rd and 36th minutes put the hosts in the driving seat, before Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back in the 38th, as Augsburg earned their third win in 21 Bund...Full Story »

Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku will remain sidelined for Saturday's trip to Leicester City. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Romelu Lukaku will miss Saturday's match against Leicester City as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. The Belgian marksman has been sidelined for each of his side's last three Premier League outings after he was forced off with a problem during the...Full Story »