Police are investigating an allegation of racist abuse against Manchester City s Aleksandar Kolarov.
The defender was involved in an altercation with a fan during City s 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James Park on Saturday.
A statement confirmed that the incident took place during the game, where it is alleged Kolarov confronted a fan carrying an Albania flag as he warmed up.
Relations between Albania and Kolarov s native Serbia have been tense for a number of years, with flashpoints between the two nations during the Yugoslav wars in the early 90s.
The Serbian government was also unhappy with Albania backing Kosovo as an independent state in 2008.
Kolarov played in the match as a 37th-minute replacement for Samir Nasri, but was himsel…
Mauricio Pochettino is delighted by Chelsea s progress in recent weeks following their dominant 5-0 victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice, while Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were also on target as the Blues leapfrogged Manchester United into seventh place with three games remaining.
Pochettino s side, who made it back-to-back wins in the space of three days following their 2-0 success over Tottenham on Thursday, are finishing the season strongly, having now lost just one of their last 12 matches.
The Blues came under scrutiny during their 6-0 rout of Everton last month, when Jackson and Madueke were involved in an altercation following a disagreement over who should take a penalty, with the responsibility eventual…
December 18, 2011. Yokohama, Japan. The Club World Cup final. Barcelona versus Santos.
Pep Guardiola s all-conquering Barcelona taking on Brazil s most iconic club the Santos of Pele and Carlos Alberto.
The Santos of Neymar. Teenage sensation Neymar. Future Ballon d Or winner Neymar.
This was a clash billed as Neymar versus Lionel Messi. The apprentice versus the master. The Brazilian pretender to the Argentine throne. Neymar, some said, was ready to show the world that he was Messi s equal. It didn t quite work out that way.
Barcelona won 4-0. Messi was mesmerising, his two goals bookending a masterclass from a breathtakingly beautiful and devastatingly brutal team at their peak.
The broken leg sustained by David Villa in the semi-final led t…
Jurgen Klopp believes Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski would not have been the player he is now if it were not for his guidance at Borussia Dortmund.
The recently appointed Liverpool manager coached Lewandowski at Signal Iduna Park between 2010 and 2014 and hopes to be equally important in the careers of some of his new club s promising youngsters.
The Poland international joined Dortmund from Lech Poznan as a relative unknown and has since developed into one of the most sought-after attackers in the game.
Klopp has highlighted his role in Lewandowski s development and hopes some of Liverpool s hot prospects can follow the same career path under his tutelage.
The biggest satisfaction you can get is when you take a player [Lewandowski] from Pola…
Roberto Pereyra scored one and created the other as Watford recorded a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Newcastle United, ending their poor run of seven games without a win.
Watford s struggles had seen them drawn back into the relegation equation but Saturday s success will see them playing Premier League football next season.
The Hornets had failed to score in their last three matches but took just two minutes to open break the deadlock, Pereyra tucking home after a fine move.
He then turned provider for Andre Gray to head home the hosts second of the afternoon as the Newcastle defence parted.
Deeney should have extended their advantage from the penalty spot, but he was denied by a superb double save from Martin Dubravka.
Newcastle gave themselves h…
Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas will remain at Real Madrid for many years to come if the club s president Florentino Perez has his way.
Navas future has come under regular scrutiny this season and his desire to remain with the European champions was not aided by an error in the second leg of Madrid s eventual Champions League quarter-final win over Juventus.
Madrid were close to signing promising Spain shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga from fellow LaLiga outfit Athletic Bilbao in January, while they are known to be admirers of Manchester United s David de Gea.
Perez, though, is a fan of Navas, whose standing among the club s fans was stamped by his induction as an honorary member of the Ramon Mendoza Supporters Group at their 30th-anniversary event.
K…
Bruno Fernandes could be missing through injury when Manchester United face Liverpool at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed.
The United playmaker suffered a knock in the dramatic 3-2 win against Atalanta on Wednesday, and along with Fred he is among a small group whose fitness is under observation.
Solskjaer said ahead of Sunday s Premier League headline fixture: Games like Wednesday s are always going to bring knocks and bruises.
Bruno might be one of them that might be a doubt, but he s doing everything he can to be ready. It s still just Friday, the game s on Sunday, so it will give everyone time.
We might be two or three players down. Today [in training] we weren t everyone, so let s see Sunday.
To lose Fernandes would be…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted there would be no need for a big inquest after Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Kean Bryan and Oliver Burke scored either side of a Harry Maguire header to stun the Red Devils at Old Trafford and end their 13-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.
It was the first time Man United lost at home to a team starting the day bottom of the table since suffering a 1-0 defeat to West Brom in April 2018, a result that handed Manchester City the title.
This setback was similarly a boost for City, whose 5-0 thrashing of the Baggies on Tuesday means they can now open up a four-point gap at the top over their local rivals if they win their game in hand.
Solskjaer s men produced a miserable display in w…
Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi attributed Andre Onana s suspension by Cameroon at the World Cup to a misunderstanding .
The 26-year-old Nerazzurri goalkeeper was dropped for his country s second group game against Serbia, subsequently leaving Qatar before their final game against Brazil.
Onana issued a statement in the wake of his shock demotion, which Cameroon team officials put down to undisclosed disciplinary reasons .
Reports suggested Onana s omission came after a disagreement with boss Rigobert Song over his playing style in the 1-0 loss against Switzerland, when he had the most touches outside the box by a goalkeeper ever recorded in a World Cup match (26).
A new record
Onana s 26 touches outside the box is a World Cup record for a goalkee…
Ange Postecoglou promised there is still more to come from his Tottenham side after Son Heung-min’s hat-trick helped them demolish Burnley 5-2.
Coming off the disappointment of a midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham, there was more bad news for Spurs when they fell behind to Lyle Foster’s fourth-minute goal but Postecoglou was delighted with the way his side responded.
Son got the equaliser in the 16th minute and Spurs then punished mistakes at the back from Burnley as Cristian Romero and James Maddison put them in charge, before Son scored twice in four minutes just after the hour for his first hat-trick since September 17 last year.
Taking the matchball home
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Josh Brownhill’s late consolat…