Scotland came into this game with more pressure than you d usually expect for a friendly, with their poor performance against Israel still looming large. Alas, aside from a few sparks here and there, this didn t do much to calm the nerves behind the scenes with Portugal running out 3-1 winners at Hampden Park.
Worrying times
Alex McLeish hasn t exactly done wonders for the national team since returning to the job, although you could certainly argue that they performed better in this one than they have done in a while.
The change of formation certainly helped matters for them as they showed more of an attacking prowess going forward in the first half, with the Euro 2016 champions being slow to get off the mark. Still, they weren t able to take advantage, and the home cr…
Harry Maguire called for a “big reaction” after Manchester United were stunned by a late Fulham winner at Old Trafford.
Alex Iwobi netted in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Fulham snatched a 2-1 Premier League victory on Saturday after it seemed Maguire had salvaged a point for the hosts.
Fulham dominated most of the contest and deservedly led through Calvin Bassey’s 65th-minute strike, but United produced a strong finish.
Maguire equalised when he pounced on a rebound in the 89th minute and Erik Ten Hag’s men were pushing for a late clincher themselves when they were caught on the break and Iwobi finished them off.
The defeat ended United’s four-game winning run in the league and dented their hopes of reaching the top four.
Unite…
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick off the bench to help Tottenham to a 5-1 Europa Conference League win over Mura.
The England striker was summoned along with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura to settle some nerves after Spurs had allowed their early grip on the game to slip.
Dele Alli s penalty and a fine strike from Giovani Lo Celso had put Nuno Espirito Santo s men in control early on, but a stunning volley from Ziga Kous gave the Slovenian side a lifeline and made things a little nervy for the hosts.
That was until Kane s clinical finishes killed the contest and ensured no further pressure was applied to the Spurs boss, whose position has come under scrutiny in the wake of a humbling 3-1 loss to Arsenal.
1995 Harry Kane is the first Tottenham player t…
Premier League clubs may be earning record sums but faced with rising debts and wages are largely avoiding buying star players before the new season gets underway, with Manchester City the main exception.
Top transfer targets come with high wage demands, said Wyn Grant, an expert in football business at Warwick University, central England.
In the current economic climate and when you re a club with debt it s not advisable to have large amounts of your outgoings to go on these wages, he told AFP.
For a second year running City easily stand top of the table in terms of pre-season spending on players and are on course to have splashed out more than 100 million pounds (120 million euros, 159 million dollars) by the time the new campaign starts on Saturday.
English Premier League giants Arsenal have announced record pre-tax profits of 56 million pounds (65.6 million euros) for the year ending May 31, 2010; up more than 10 million on the previous year.
The north London club also said that they have paid off all the debt on their Highbury Square development.
The group has made good progress in the last year and I am excited by the opportunities we have in front of us, said Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
The results also showed Arsenal s group turnover increased to 379.9 million pounds, from 313.3 million in 2009, boosted by the income generated from property sales.
The debt related to the Highbury Square development, which once totalled 130 million pounds, has now been repaid in full with Arsenal now …
Remi Garde has a tough start in charge at Aston Villa
The Remi Garde era begins at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon and the Frenchman could not ask for a tougher task as his new side take on top-of-the table Manchester City.
Defeat to the league leaders could see them end the weekend as many as seven points from safety with less than a third of the season played, though with another twenty-six games after this one, Garde will be confident that he will be able to get the Midlands outfit out of trouble.
The Villains have taken just one point since their opening day win against newly promoted Bournemouth, who themselves are one of the sides the Claret and Blue army will be competing against in their very own ‘mini-league’.
Beating your contemporaries
…
Ghana continue their preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday with an away friendly against Montenegro.
In December s draw for the global showpiece, Ghana – quarter-finalists in 2010 were put into a particularly tough group alongside Germany, Portugal and the United States.
While Ghana are sure to have the World Cup in their minds, Montenegro will use this week s fixture as a chance to make progress ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers, which start in September.
Montenegro have been drawn in Group G alongside Russia, Sweden, Austria, Liechtenstein and Moldova, with their qualification campaign beginning against the latter.
Coach Branko Brnovic has labelled Ghana as Africa s leading team and feels Wednesday s match will be of great benefit to his …
Tired of your mates recycling the same old football trivia questions from years gone by?
Bring them bang up-to-date and get them guessing with our Opta-powered Premier League quiz.
All the answers are at the bottom of the page, so you can claim the high ground when it comes to statistical knowledge!
1. Manchester City will look to bounce back from their first defeat of the season when they take on Everton on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side have not lost two consecutive Premier League games since December 2016 – against which two sides did those defeats come?
Bounce back quick.
— Phil Foden (@PhilFoden)
2. Eden Hazard has provided an assist in each of his previous three Premier League appearances. Chelsea face Bright…
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Chelsea boss Graham Potter has rubbished reports that Denis Zakaria s loan spell could be cut short in January.
Zakaria was signed by previous head coach Thomas Tuchel from Juventus on a season-long loan deal just before the transfer window closed at the start of September.
The midfielder is yet to make his debut for the London club and has only been a substitute on one occasion in the Premier League.
It has been reported that the Switzerland international could be on his way back to Juve when the next transfer window opens, but that is news to Potter.
He said: There s no decision been made at all on that. Denis has been in the group, he s been training well.
He s ready to help the team, obviously there s competition for places in that area, but …