Brighton were taught a harsh lesson on their Europa League debut as Greek champions AEK Athens ran out 3-2 winners after a pulsating encounter at the Amex Stadium.
Substitute Ezequiel Ponce struck the winner on the counter attack six minutes from the end of normal time as Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to heed the signs after falling behind twice previously in the first half.
Joao Pedro equalised from the penalty spot in the first period then again in the second, both times after VAR had intervened in Brighton’s favour.
FT: Defeat in our opener.
[2-3] //
— Brighton Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC)
The hosts had the better of the play but they lacked the clinical edge of AEK, who scored with two excellent finishes from set-pieces. T…
Harry Kane s surprise inclusion paid dividends for Mauricio Pochettino as the Tottenham captain struck twice to douse a potential FA Cup upset and help beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0 at Wembley.
The England international had been widely expected to be left out on Sunday, but he captained the hosts from the start and scored a pair of quickfire second-half goals, which eased Spurs passage into the fourth round.
Wimbledon at Wembley conjures memories of the Crazy Gang and their famous Cup win of 1988 and Jimmy Abdou struck the crossbar in a goalless first half to suggest the improbable may be on the cards once again.
But Kane s double – scored in the space of 111 seconds – and Jan Vertonghen s first Spurs goal since October 2013 saw off the League One side and helped…
Ilkay Gundogan has suggested Pep Guardiola is a superior manager to Jurgen Klopp, claiming the former Barcelona boss is probably the best in the world .
Gundogan played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga in 2011-12 and reaching the final of the Champions League a year later.
The midfielder joined City in June and is now witnessing first-hand the talent of Guardiola, who frequently thwarted Klopp and Dortmund s Bundesliga ambitions during his time in charge of Bayern Munich.
Both are world-class managers with their own qualities, Gundogan was quoted as saying by the Express.
It wouldn t be fair to say Jurgen is more emotional but when you see him on the sidelines living every minute, it s not hard to understand why Dortmund were s…
Tom Heaton says Zlatan Ibrahimovic nearly broke his arm with a vicious shot the goalkeeper acrobatically saved in Burnley s 0-0 draw at Manchester United.
Former United player Heaton never made a senior appearance during his eight years at the club from 2002 to 2010.
But he showed the Old Trafford faithful what they missed out on with an inspired performance on Saturday, pulling off a string of saves to deny the dominant hosts, who had Ander Herrera dismissed and manager Jose Mourinho sent to the stands.
The pick of the one-cap England international s saves featured a star jump and strong fist worthy of United goalkeeping great Peter Schmeichel.
Leaping off the ground and spreading himself wide in the second half, Heaton prevented Ibrahimovic from scoring…
North London heavyweights Arsenal appear to have reignited their interest in a highly-rated Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze.
The Gunners were close to agreeing a deal for the Nigeria starlet back in 2015 when Chukwuaze even spent time at the Emirates with Kelechi Nwakali but there was a disagreement on a £4 million fee that ruined the deal.
It was in 2015 that Chukwueze’s stock began to rise after the winger helped Nigerai win the Under-17 World Cup and three years onwards the Villarreal jewel is being described as one of the biggest attacking talents in world football.
Currently rated at £36 million, Samuel Chukwueze is said to have alarmed the likes of Leicester City and Atletico Madrid who are also interested in acquiring his services, according to Lei…
Verdict: Both teams to score No
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French giants Marseille and Spanish side Athletic Bilbao have enjoyed plenty of success in European competitions in the past and they are both keen on mounting a serious title challenge in this year’s Europa League. Even though neither side are in good form at the moment, we definitely expect an exciting encounter at the iconic Stade Velodrome.
Marseille
The ambitious new project has started to produce results at Marseille as Rudi Garcia and his side have done really well this term. For the first time after quite a while, l’OM are in a position to secure Champions League qualification through league finish, sitting five points clear of fourth-placed Lyon with ten games to go. Marseille did fail…
Manchester City have outshone Manchester United in recent years but manager Pep Guardiola believes his team are still a decade away from closing the gap on their bitter rivals.
There has been a momentum shift in Manchester since City were purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group, with the club claiming six major honours since 2011, including Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014.
City s fortunes have been in contrast to United, who have not won the Premier League since Alex Ferguson s departure in 2013 failing to qualify for the Champions League on two occasions.
However, Guardiola whose City are third in the table and seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea with United sixth feels the blue of Manchester must consistently compete in the Champions League if they ar…
The 2021/22 Premier League campaign has officially come to an end following the final set of 10 fixtures on Sunday, and what a wild ride it was. We had action at both the top and the bottom of the table and in London, we saw Leeds United defeat Brentford 2-1 to retain their place in English football s top flight.
Today, we re going to take a look at a few things we learned coming away from this dramatic encounter.
The Marsch effect
Jesse Marsch was facing an uphill challenge when he came into the fold as Leeds new manager, especially when you consider just how beloved Marcelo Bielsa was throughout the core of his tenure with the Yorkshire-based side. Still, he clearly has an inspirational message that he s able to get across to his squad, and he s managed to get them p…
Lionel Messi has wished Ernesto Valverde luck for the future after the coach left Barcelona, calling his former boss a top professional and top person.
Barca, following a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, decided to part ways with Valverde on Monday, with Quique Setien swiftly named as his replacement.
Former Athletic Bilbao boss Valverde took over Barca in 2017 and guided the club to successive LaLiga titles plus a Copa del Rey success.
However, a dramatic capitulation to Liverpool in last season s Champions League semi-finals, followed by a defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, put Valverde under scrutiny and, despite being top of LaLiga, Barca fired the coach after missing out on another title in the form of the Supercopa.
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Pep Guardiola insists he has complete faith in Riyad Mahrez despite offering sparing first-team opportunities to the Algeria winger of late.
Last January, City launched a deadline-day bid to bring in Mahrez from Leicester City – falling short but eventually getting their man in a club-record £60million deal during the close season.
The 27-year-old has nine goals in 34 appearances across all competitions for the reigning Premier League champions but has not started a top-flight game since the 3-1 win at Southampton on December 30.
Two appearances from the bench, four games as an unused substitute and a missed squad altogether at Huddersfield Town have followed, although he has been an ever-present for Guardiola during domestic cup games in 2019.
On the…