Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City, Liverpool and the other Premier League heavyweights are pushing one another on to higher levels in the manner of tennis greats Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
City beat West Ham 4-0 on Saturday and are unbeaten after 13 games of their title defence, with 35 points on the board.
Normally, such a return would see them established as runaway leaders but Liverpool s hard-fought 3-0 win at Watford means Jurgen Klopp s side are only two points off the summit.
Chelsea were also undefeated heading into the weekend before being taken apart 3-1 by Tottenham at Wembley, who themselves have 30 points.
Guardiola overcame West Ham counterpart and City predecessor Manuel Pellegrini at London Stadium, a coach with w…
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and sporting director Paul Mitchell had reportedly fallen out over the perceived failures of the summer transfer window. The club tried to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga and failed on both fronts.
However, according to , Howe and Mitchell have resolved their differences after Howe publicly called for the club to stand united ahead of the international break. They ve apparently moved on, and are now working together towards identifying potential transfer targets for January.
The Magpies are believed to have made four attempts at bringing Guehi in from Selhurst Park in the summer, and they hope Crystal Palace will lower their price which, in August, exceeded £70 million. Come January, the E…
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali and on-loan Aston Villa forward Nicolo Zaniolo are returning to their clubs from Italy’s training camp after it emerged they were being investigated by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Italian Football Federation said the decision was taken because the players “are not in the necessary condition” to be involved in the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and England, as well as “for their protection”.
The statement from the FIGC did not specify the nature of the investigations which Tonali and Zaniolo, who is on loan at Villa from Galatasaray, were facing.
Reports in Italy claim it is relation to an investigation into illegal betting. On Wednesday, it was reported that Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagio…
Anthony Knockaert s stunning goal secured a 2-1 Premier League win for Brighton and Hove Albion against rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The game appeared to be petering out for a draw before Knockaert picked up the ball on the right in the 74th minute, waltzed inside and whipped a delightful finish in off Vicente Guaita s right-hand post.
Glenn Murray s 100th league goal for the Seagulls had put Chris Hughton s side ahead in the 19th minute before Luka Milivojevic s eighth penalty of the season pulled the hosts level five minutes after the restart.
Palace looked more likely to find a winner after that but Knockaert had other ideas, curling in his second league goal of the season to move Brighton level on points with Roy Hodgson s men.
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Enzo Maresca felt Chelsea reaped rewards for getting your t-shirt dirty , as they snatched a late victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Blues endured a steady start with their hosts generating the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, with Robert Sanchez keeping out Evanilson s first-half penalty.
Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie also struck the woodwork for the hosts, but substitute Christopher Nkunku landed the decisive blow five minutes from time.
And Maresca was pleased with his side s response to a difficult first-half performance.
We played two different games, he told Sky Sports. The first half, we struggled. We didn t win duels, we didn t win second balls. The second half, we were much better.
We knew before…
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney described Charlie Wyke as “special” after his double clinched a 2-1 League One win at Derby.
Wyke suffered a cardiac arrest during training in November 2021 and now plays with a defibrillator fitted in his chest.
Maloney was delighted with his team but acknowledged the significance of Wyke’s contribution.
“Charlie Wyke is a special case,” he said. “Any recognition he gets he deserves every single bit of it.
“What he and his family have been through I can’t put words to that really. It’s taken time for him to get in the mental condition and then physically, he’s come back in incredible shape this summer.
“From the very first days of pre-season, he felt like a different player.
“We’ve bee…
Antonio Conte is ready for a new challenge as he aims to get Inter back to the highest level , not just in Italy but also in Europe as well.
After a year out of coaching following his departure from Chelsea at the end of last season, the former Juventus boss return to the touchline in Serie A was confirmed on Friday.
Inter have not won the league title since their historic treble-winning season in 2009-10 and Conte is relishing the task of restoring the club to their former glories.
For me, it s a new experience, a new chapter in my life, a new challenge. This is what I live for and I m really excited to begin this new chapter, he told the club s official website.
Through my work, I ll try to repay all of the trust that the club and directors have…
Former Nigeria head coach Samson Siasia has been banned for life from football after FIFA found him guilty of agreeing to take bribes to manipulate matches.
The 51-year-old has also been fined CHF50,000 (£42,000) for breaching FIFA s code of ethics.
Siasia had a 15-year career with the Super Eagles as a player and was head coach between 2010 and 2011 and in 2016.
The former Nantes forward also had spells in charge of Nigeria s Under-20 and U-23 sides.
FIFA did not specify when Siasia s alleged infractions occurred.
World football s governing body said in a statement on Friday: The adjudicatory chamber of the independent ethics committee has found Mr Samson Siasia, a former official of the Nigeria Football Federation, guilty of having accepted …
Troyes have become the 10th club purchased by the City Football Group (CFG).
CFG owns Manchester City and is backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which was formed to buy the Premier League outfit in 2008.
The group also has stakes in New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona, Sichuan Jianiu, Mumbai City and Lommel SK.
Its latest acquisition is Troyes, who finished fourth in Ligue 2 last season.
The French outfit have bounced between the top two tiers in recent seasons, most recently suffering relegation in 2018, having played in the UEFA Cup now the Europa League after the turn of the century.
City Football Group has today announced that Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), in France’s Ligue…
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of football s all-time greats and cannot be blamed for Juventus early Champions League exit, according to international team-mate Bruno Fernandes.
Juve were eliminated from Europe s elite club competition by Porto at the last-16 stage on Tuesday, crashing out 4-4 on away goals after extra time at the Allianz Stadium.
Sergio Oliveira scored the decisive goal late on from a free-kick that went straight through the Juve wall, with Ronaldo sheepishly turning his back on the effort.
Former Bianconeri boss Fabio Capello singled out Ronaldo on the back of the two-legged defeat, in which the five-time Ballon d Or winner failed to find the back of the net.
Ex-president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli went as far to suggest Juve should never have sp…