The 41-year-old appeared to bid farewell to his current players after Wednesday's league match. Al-Sadd boss Xavi has urged his current club to allow him to leave and take over as Barcelona manager. Barcelona executives were in Doha on Wednesday to meet with Al-Sadd officials over Xavi, who has been identified as Barca's top choice to take over after Ronald Koeman was sacked. WhileAl-Sadd r...Full Story »

Barnsley caretaker boss Joseph Laumann praised the unity of his team after they battled to a 2-1 win over Derby.The Tykes, in their first game since Markus Schopp was sacked as head coach, came from behind to beat their Championship relegation rivals and end their miserable run of seven straight defeats.The away side broke the deadlock through Sam Baldock but Victor Adeboyejo equalised before ha...Full Story »

West Brom head coach Valerien Ismael accused opponents Hull of being ‘fake’ after a dominant 1-0 win at The Hawthorns.Karlan Grant’s 69th-minute strike was ultimately all that separated the teams but Ismael felt Hull set out to spoil the game.“It was a difficult game, as we expected,” he said. “But the opponent came here to waste time, with so many fake injuri...Full Story »

QPR manager Mark Warburton hailed a “proper Championship win” after a 1-0 victory over struggling Cardiff.Rangers striker Andre Gray scored the game’s only goal with his third strike of the season to seal all three points for the visitors, who moved up to fifth in the table.Steve Morison’s Bluebirds missed a fine early chance through Perry Ng and they started well, but Gr...Full Story »

Michael O’Neill hailed the instant impact of Mario Vrancic after the midfielder helped set up Stoke’s winner at Blackpool with his first touch.Vrancic was introduced after a goalless first 78 minutes and immediately caused chaos in the hosts’ penalty area with a dangerous free-kick which was volleyed against the post by Harry Souttar and eventually turned home by Steven Fletche...Full Story »

Managerless Barnsley came from behind to beat Championship relegation rivals Derby 2-1 and end their miserable run.The Reds came into the game on the back of a seven-game losing streak and without a permanent manager, as Markus Schopp was sacked over the weekend after just four months in charge.Derby themselves were without a win since September and have been planted firmly at the bottom of the ...Full Story »

Juventus booked their spot in the Champions League last 16 with two group games to spare after a double from Argentine striker Paulo Dybala steered them to a 4-2 win over Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday. Knowing they only needed a point against Zenit to be assured of a knockout-stage spot in Group H, Juve raced into a deserved early lead through Dybala, who hammered the ball into the roof of the...Full Story »

Antonio Conte is close to completing his first signing as Tottenham manager. The new Tottenham boss was confirmed to be taking over the club earlier today and he and Spurs are already busy trying to build the squad that the Italian is after. According to The Sun via Rudy Galetti, AC Milan midfielder Frank Kessie is close to agreeing personal terms with the North London club. His contract wi...Full Story »

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is set to return from injury after the upcoming international break. According to reports, via The Sun, the Belgian striker is set for a return to action within the next 10 days as opposed to the fears that suggested he could be out for a whole month. Lukaku, a big money summer signing from Italian Champions Inter Milan, has been out with an ankle injury since C...Full Story »

Richie Wellens was glad to see Doncaster end their dismal away record but frustrated they could not turn a strong second-half showing at fellow strugglers Crewe into a win.After a run of eight defeats on the road, Rovers secured their first away point of the season with a 1-1 draw at Gresty Road as Joseph Olowu cancelled out Chris Porter’s opener.After the break Ethan Galbraith was thwarte...Full Story »

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likened Cristiano Ronaldo to Michael Jordan after the Manchester United star once again rescued his side in the Champions League.Having responded to the humiliating home loss to Liverpool by scoring three without reply at Tottenham, the Red Devils put in an error-strewn display away to Atalanta.Josip Ilicic’s strike squirmed under David De Gea and Duvan Zapata put Atal...Full Story »

Sunderland boss Lee Johnson is confident his side can get their League One automatic-promotion bid back on track after a third consecutive defeat.Having lost 1-0 at home to Charlton and 5-1 at Rotherham, the Black Cats went down 3-0 to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.Theo Corbeanu, Florian Kamberi and Lee Gregory struck for the Owls to leave Sunderland fifth, five points off second-placed Pl...Full Story »

A delighted Russell Martin heaped praise on goalscorers Jamie Paterson and Joel Piroe after the pair earned Swansea a 2-1 win over Coventry at the Coventry Building Society Arena.Coventry-born Paterson opened the scoring inside five minutes with his third goal in five games before Dutch striker Piroe notched his ninth Sky Bet Championship goal of the season.“Joe and Jamie have been incredi...Full Story »

Portsmouth head coach Danny Cowley lamented his side’s poor start after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Cheltenham.Pompey recovered from falling behind after six minutes to rescue a point thanks to Reeco Hackett’s equalising goal.But Cowley said: “We wanted all three points.“That was the ambition at the start of the game but we had such a difficult way in, conceding s...Full Story »

Cristiano Ronaldo once again got Manchester United out of jail in the Champions League as the veteran’s stoppage-time strike secured a scarcely deserved point at Atalanta.Having wrapped up comeback wins against Villarreal and the Italians at Old Trafford, the 36-year-old rose to the occasion in Bergamo as he saved under-fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side from defeat.Ronaldo had already...Full Story »

Riley McGree made it a birthday to remember as his goal paved the way for Birmingham’s 3-0 win against Bristol City at St Andrew’sThe Australia international midfielder, who turned 23 today, scored his second goal in three games make it three wins in a row for Blues for the first time since February 2020.Blues controlled the game from start to finish and deservedly took the lead in t...Full Story »

Sunderland’s League One automatic-promotion bid suffered another blow as Sheffield Wednesday condemned them to a third consecutive defeat with a 3-0 win at Hillsborough.Having lost 1-0 at home to Charlton and 5-1 at Rotherham, the Black Cats went down to goals from Theo Corbeanu, Florian Kamberi and Lee Gregory.Corbeanu opened the scoring in the 13th minute, curling a low shot beyond Thorb...Full Story »

Lewis Grabban came off the bench to rescue a point for Nottingham Forest as old rivals Sheffield United forced a 1-1 draw at the City Ground.Grabban netted his sixth goal of the season from close range in the 83rd minute, five minutes after fellow sub – and ex-Red – Billy Sharp had set up Morgan Gibbs-White to put the Blades in front with his fifth of the campaign.It was a closely-co...Full Story »

Cheltenham defender Lewis Freestone scored his first career goal as they held Portsmouth to a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park.The visitors struck first after six minutes when Freestone capitalised on Pompey midfielder Louis Thompson’s mis-hit a clearance from a corner.Portsmouth levelled the game on 31 minutes through Reeco Hackett.Scott Flinders punched away a cross to deny John Marquis from clo...Full Story »

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has challenged Ruben Loftus-Cheek to “use his full potential” after the midfielder was praised for his performance during Tuesday’s 1-0 win in Malmo.The academy graduate started only his second Champions League match, with his full debut in the competition occurring more than six years ago.Loftus-Cheek took time to make his mark on the Group H c...Full Story »