Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley insisted the process of scrutinising has already begun after the club were relegated from the Premier League.
Not even the late appointment of former Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez could save Newcastle, who will drop to the second tier of English football after arch-rivals Sunderland defeated Everton 3-0 on Wednesday.
Sunderland s victory ensured they cannot be overhauled in 17th position heading into the final game of the season, with Newcastle and Norwich City now preparing for life in the Championship.
You can t pretend it hadn t been coming. not learned lessons from 2009. Hard as it is for me to say, well done Sam and
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer)
Benitez s future is now the…
The FIFA World Cup kicked off in Russia early this month with the hosts hammering a poor Saudi Arabia side 5-0 in the opening match. It has been a tournament of firsts, from the implementation of VAR to the World Cup debuts of Panama, Iceland and Achilles the psychic cat…
At time of writing, there hasn’t been a single goalless draw in the tournament in 30 matches, and for the first time in their World Cup history. There is no doubt that this World Cup has been a joy to watch and the . In this article we take a look at some of the stand-out stats from the tournament so far and see what it can tell us.
Goals galore
This World Cup has been called ‘boring’ by some spectators recently, but the statistics beg to differ. As well as there not been a single goal…
Simone Inzaghi hailed his Lazio side as extraordinary after their 2-0 victory over Roma in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.
The Biancocelesti had not prevailed in a Rome derby since the Coppa Italia final in 2013, but goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile capped a performance in which Lazio rose to the occasion against their in-form neighbours.
As the designated home side in the first leg, Lazio kept Serie A s joint leading goalscorer Edin Dzeko at bay and go into the return fixture in prime position to progress to the final.
Coach Inzaghi told Rai Sport: We played a perfect match. We took nothing for granted: a parade of shots were saved by [Lazio goalkeeper, Thomas] Strakosha.
My boys were extraordinary. They gave everything they h…
Mikel Arteta revealed that many Premier League managers had been in contact with him after the Arsenal boss was charged by the Football Association for comments after the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat at Newcastle earlier this month.
Arteta branded the officials’ decision not to overturn Anthony Gordon’s goal “an absolute disgrace” and waits to see the extent of his punishment.
And Arteta highlighted that he and his manager colleagues were “all in this together” when it came to making improvements regarding officiating in the Premier League.
Final touches for tomorrow
Best pictures from training ahead of Brentford
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
“I have been in contact with many of them, I know most of them for many years and we are all in…
Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti says Arjen Robben must settle for a role as a substitute for the time being as he continues his recovery from injury.
The Netherlands international scored a brilliant third goal in Wednesday s 3-0 Bundesliga win over Hertha Berlin, a full 200 days on from his last competitive appearance.
Robben stated after the match that he was keen to be sensible with his involvement in the first team, in order to avoid a recurrence of the groin injury that had kept him sidelined since March.
And although Ancelotti plans to rotate his side for Saturday s trip to Hamburg, he does not plan to include Robben in the starting line-up.
I spoke to Robben, he ll be on the bench for the time being, he said. He ll play in the second half. [Ma…
Joachim Low brought up his 100th win as Germany head coach in his 150th match at the helm as the world champions claimed a 3-1 victory over Cameroon at the Confederations Cup.
The result means Low s men progress as Group B winners and return to Sochi s Fisht Stadium on Thursday to face Mexico in the semi-finals.
After a goalless first-half, Hoffenheim midfielder Kerem Demirbay scored his maiden international goal in sumptuous style, picking out the top corner on the end of Julian Draxler s backheel before Timo Werner also claimed his first Germany goals with a brace, either side of Vincent Aboubakar pulling one back for Cameroon.
The long-serving Low collected his maiden victory at the first time of asking back in 2006, when Sweden were swept aside 3-0.
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Milan moved back to the top of Serie A as Sandro Tonali s stoppage-time goal sealed a deserved 2-1 victory over Lazio on Sunday.
Stefano Pioli s side had been usurped at the summit by local rivals Inter after their 3-1 win over Roma on Saturday, but victory at the Stadio Olimpico means the Rossoneri regained their two-point lead at the top.
Ciro Immobile had given Lazio an early lead with his 25th league goal of the season, but Olivier Giroud pulled the visitors level shortly after the interval.
Tonali then poked home two minutes into stoppage time to seal a dramatic three points and spark jubilant scenes among the travelling supporters.
Lazio started superbly and went ahead in the fourth minute when Immobile steered home Sergej Milinkovic-Savic s ri…
On a visit to Qatar in January, Kylian Mbappe predicted France would play Achraf Hakimi s Morocco at the World Cup.
The Paris Saint-Germain star was examining the surroundings in Qatar with club team-mate Hakimi when Mbappe jokingly put forward to possibility they would face one another, adding I have to destroy my friend, to which Hakimi replied, quick as a flash, I am going to kick him.
Fast-forward 11 months and that semi-serious guess came true, with the very serious prize of a World Cup final place on the line.
Separated in age by just six weeks, Mbappe and Hakimi have built a strong bond in Paris since the latter moved to PSG in July 2021, with a clear respect on the pitch as well as off it.
Mbappe called Hakimi the best right-back in the world aft…
Mauro Icardi and Thilo Kehrer were on target as Paris Saint-Germain ground out a 2-1 win against Nantes in the absence of Neymar at La Beaujoire on Tuesday.
The build-up to the game was overshadowed by talk of discontent at PSG, with Thomas Tuchel frustrated by Neymar s decision to hold a birthday party on Sunday and Kylian Mbappe reacting angrily to being substituted in Saturday s 5-0 victory over Montpellier.
The announcement that Neymar would miss the trip to Nantes with a rib injury consequently proved controversial, but Icardi and Kehrer put the visitors on the path to what looked set to be a routine win.
Moses Simon capitalised on an error from Presnel Kimpembe in the 68th minute to set up a tense final but PSG held on to make it seven straight wins in all …
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has no plans to leave the European champions, saying his dream was to win more trophies with the LaLiga giants.
Benzema, 29, has been linked with a move away from Madrid after eight seasons at the club.
The France international scored 19 goals in all competitions in 2016-17, helping Zinedine Zidane s men win LaLiga and the Champions League.
Despite reports he could leave Madrid, Benzema said his desire was to stay.
My dream is to continue winning titles with Real Madrid, the former Lyon man told Marca.
Benzema has netted 180 goals for Madrid since joining the club in 2009, winning two LaLiga titles, three Champions League crowns and numerous other trophies.
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