Sheffield United have started well on their return to the big time, gaining four points from their opening two Premier League games.
The Blades have been to League One and back since they were last in the Premier League in 2007, spending six seasons in the third tier before gaining promotion to the Championship in 2017 under Chris Wilder s stewardship.
Wilder, a Blades fan and former player, has ushered in a new style of play at Bramall Lane, which bore plentiful fruit as his side edged out Yorkshire rivals Leeds United to finish second in the Championship last term.
Over the course of last season, Wilder adopted a 3-5-2 system, encouraging his team to play out from the back and get forward in numbers.
A key feature of United s play their overlapping …
Real Madrid have been extremely keen on signing Jude Bellingham next summer in order to add him to their future midfield project which obviously includes Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. However, Borussia Dortmund are believed to be demanding a figure of more than €100 million for the services of the England international, and that, according to , is believed to have put Los Blancos off the idea, with Liverpool still pushing to get him to Anfield instead. There have been reports recently suggesting that Bellingham s entourage have already informed Real of his family s desire for him to return to England and play under Jurgen Klopp.
Placed in that situation, the 14-time European champions have apparently decided to move on and set sights on Benfica s Enzo Fernandez a…
Jurgen Klopp has questioned what more Robert Lewandowski could have done to win the Ballon d Or after the Bayern Munich striker missed out on the award.
Lionel Messi scooped the accolade for a seventh time on Monday, but many felt this would be Lewandowski s time to take the glory.
Klopp benefited from the brilliance of Lewandowski when both men were at Borussia Dortmund, with the Poland international scoring 103 goals before switching to Bayern.
At club level, Lewandowski has scored 53 goals already in 2021, with six assists taking him to 59 goal involvements, the most in Europe s top five leagues.
Messi sits fifth on that list (32 goals, 12 assists) but helped Argentina to win the Copa America, thereby winning one of the few trophies that had eluded h…
Interim Juventus boss Paolo Montero praised his players fight after they recovered from 3-0 down in the final 14 minutes to claim a 3-3 draw against Bologna in Serie A on Monday.
Juventus sacked Massimiliano Allegri last week in the aftermath of their Coppa Italia final victory over Atalanta, citing his fiery behaviour as a major factor in their decision.
On Monday, they came up against the man tipped to replace him in Bologna coach Thiago Motta, who saw his team race into a 3-0 lead within 53 minutes.
However, Federico Chiesa s 76th-minute effort kickstarted a stunning turnaround, with Arkadiusz Milik s free-kick soon after teeing up a grandstand finale.
Kenan Yildiz then scored an 84th-minute equaliser as the Bianconeri avoided defeat after trailing by …
Luis Enrique was not let go as Spain coach for his extracurricular activities such as his Twitch streams, Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales has insisted.
The former Barcelona boss was dismissed from his post following La Roja s World Cup exit to Morocco in the last 16 earlier this month, with former youth boss Luis de la Fuente named as his replacement.
Before and during the tournament, Luis Enrique caught the eye with several additional activities, such as announcing his Qatar 2022 squad on a bike ride and streaming daily on the video site Twitch.
Some had wondered if he had paid the price in part for those distractions, but Rubiales has now sought to shut down such speculation, stating it was simply time for a change of leadership.
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Lionel Messi and his father Jorge have filed a corrective payment with the Spanish authorities amid allegations of tax fraud.
The pair are alleged to have filed incorrect tax returns between 2006 and 2009 and a court located near Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday that a payment of just over €5million has been received.
This means Messi will not be set bail, as the State Agency for Tax Administration had requested, with the statement to the media explaining that given the global impact of the Barcelona and Argentina star, there was no doubt as to his solvency .
The statement added that the payment meant there was little chance of Messi and his father withholding further monies during the legal process of a pending tax fraud trial .
A court hearing has been set …
Putting in what was a season-defining performance on Sunday afternoon, Southampton scored an immediate Premier League return as they clinched a 1-0 victory against Leeds at Wembley.
Earning in the region of £140million following Sunday’s play-off final win in north London, it was attacking talisman Adam Armstrong who proved to be the Saints’ hero as the 27-year-old produced a slick finish midway through the first-half.
While Russell Martin’s men might have finished three points behind Leeds in the final Championship standings, the Saints caused their fellow play-off finalists plenty of issues and were a deserving winner.
With emotional scenes among Southampton’s camp following the full-time whistle, Southampton following Leicester and Ipswich in plannin…
West Ham have announced the signing of Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli on a free transfer.
The 26-year-old had been at Valencia since 2010, but will move to the Premier League after his contract expires at Mestalla.
Feghouli scored just one goal in 21 La Liga appearances last season as the six-time Spanish champions stumbled to a 12th-place finish, but he was on target three times in their Champions League campaign.
He also netted once in the 2014 World Cup group stages, where Algeria progressed to lose to eventual champions Germany in a thrilling round-of-16 tie.
The former Almeria loanee will now link up with West Ham on a three-year deal ahead of a season where the club will play in the Europa League and move into London s Olympic Stadium.
I…
Harry Kane says Bayern Munich need to use Manchester United’s issues to their advantage as the England skipper looks to shoot down his long-term admirers in the Champions League.
Kane has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford but last month moved to the German giants from boyhood club Tottenham.
He has hit the ground running with four goals in as many domestic games as attention turns to Wednesday’s Champions League opener.
: United are going through a tough period and we re expecting a reaction from them. We want to control the game at our home ground, but have to be wary of their strengths. We have to make sure we create enough chances.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
United are the visitors and the England skipper, 30, mainta…
Inter Milan are being linked with a summer bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder Mario Suarez, .
The Nerazzurri are looking at a number of players as they plan to reinforce the midfield department and they have been offered a chance to sign the Spanish footballer.
Mario Suarez is likely to be available for between €12m and €15m, and it remains to be seen if the Serie A side will be ready to meet the asking price.
The 27-year-old has been an integral part of Diego Simeone s title-winning team, although he seems to have fallen behind Tiago in the pecking order of late.
Mario began his career at Vicente Calderon, but he was sold to Mallorca in 2008 as the club officials did not believe he had a future at the club.
Los Colchoneros admitted their mis…