Italy became the first team to reach the Euro 2020 knockout stage after Manuel Locatelli scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Switzerland in Group A.
Locatelli scored in-form Italy s 29th goal without reply to put them ahead at Stadio Olimpico, where Switzerland failed to land a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.
The Sassuolo midfielder struck again early in the second half and Ciro Immobile added a third to ensure the scoreline reflected their dominance on a night when Roberto Mancini s men showed their 3-0 opening-game win over Turkey was no flash in the pan.
Switzerland must beat Turkey in their final group game to retain hope of finishing in the top two in Group A, while Italy can rest players when they face Wales.
2 Manuel Locatelli is the thir…
Fikayo Tomori challenged his team-mates to show the real Milan when they face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday after losing comprehensively in London last week.
Former Chelsea defender Tomori did not enjoy the happy homecoming he might have dreamt of at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday, as Milan were beaten 3-0.
That was Milan s heaviest group-stage defeat in Champions League history, as the Rossoneri barely laid a glove on their hosts.
Milan had just four attempts at goal. Only twice since at least the 2003-04 season have Chelsea faced fewer shots in a Champions League game, with Malmo managing two in October last year and Galatasaray tallying three in 2014.
Stefano Pioli s side responded on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Juventus in Serie A, Tomor…
Liverpool responded to Manchester City s thrashing of Norwich by recording a hard-fought 1-0 win at Burnley.
Fabinho struck the only goal in the first half, as the Reds continued their fine set-piece record on a day when set-plays proved decisive across the Premier League.
Elsewhere, Raul Jimenez starred as Wolves leapfrogged Tottenham with a shock 2-0 win, and Newcastle continued their revival with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, thanks to Kieran Tripper s free-kick.
The final game of the day saw West Ham rescue a dramatic 2-2 draw at Leicester City, with Craig Dawson netting a stoppage-time equaliser.
Burnley 0-1 Liverpool: Reds reap rewards of set-piece focus
Liverpool did not produce a vintage performance, but Jurgen Klopp s men kept leaders Manch…
The World Cup in Qatar is about to start, and Group G will see some old foes battling for the spots leading to the knockout stages. Brazil, Serbia and Switzerland were put against each other four years ago in Russia and are now in the same bowl again. The only difference is the presence of Cameroon, who have taken the place of Costa Rica in the mix.
Brazil
The outcome of a World Cup is never easy to call in advance, but going into the event, Brazil are always considered among the top favourites to lift the trophy and with very good reason. The country of coffee and Samba continues to produce players of incredible talents who regularly go on to dazzle the world playing for the biggest clubs, and those who have been selected to represent it in Qatar this year match this descript…
Erik ten Hag revealed his Manchester United future was settled whilst on holiday in Ibiza, though he is yet to agree a contract extension at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman s future with the Red Devils was in doubt following a disappointing 2023-24 season, in which they recorded their lowest Premier League finish of eighth.
Although Ten Hag, who has a year remaining on his existing contract, did lead United to FA Cup glory following a 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City in the final at Wembley.
The club s new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe reportedly spoke to several candidates to potentially replace the Dutchman, including former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.
Ten Hag confirmed this, before United officials visited him to confirm he would remain in…
Manchester United will be offered the chance to sign Juventus winger Federico Chiesa in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Chiesa’s agent, Fali Ramadani, will offer Chiesa to a number of clubs, and that includes United.
Chiesa is looking to move on from Juventus this summer and wants a weekly salary of £130,000 at his new club. The Italy international winger has already turned down an offer from Juve to sign a new deal. The 26-year-old is out of contract at the Serie A club at the end of next season.
The 26-year-old has been on the books of Juventus on a permanent deal since 2022 following a two-year loan spell from Fiorentina. The winger scored nine goals and given two assists in 25 starts and eight substitute appearances in Serie…
Everton have been plunged deep into Premier League relegation trouble after being docked another two points for a second breach of spending rules.
The Toffees now sit just two points clear of the bottom three with seven fixtures remaining, although they have a game in hand on each of the three sides below them – Nottingham Forest, Luton and Burnley – and are 11 points better off than bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at their plight.
What has happened?
An independent commission has deducted two points from Everton’s tally after the club admitted a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over the three-year cycle to 2022-23, leaving them on 27 from 31 games.
Haven’t we be…
Ernesto Valverde, not Marcelo Bielsa, is set to become Athletic Bilbao s next coach after Jon Uriarte won the club s presidential election on Friday.
Valverde has coached Athletic on two previous occasions, from 2003 to 2005 and 2013 to 2017. No coach has overseen more games for the club than his tally of 306.
He enjoyed success with Athletic during his second spell, leading the team to Europe in each campaign and winning the Supercopa de Espana in 2015-16, beating Barcelona 5-1.
In 2017, Valverde was appointed Barca coach. He won LaLiga in his two full seasons at Camp Nou, and a Copa del Rey title in 2018, but failure in the Champions League placed him on thin ice and he was dismissed in late 2019.
The 58-year-old has since been out of work but earlier…
Wayne Rooney believes Harry Kane deserves to be viewed as the greatest forward in England s history after the captain became his country s all-time leading goalscorer.
Kane scored his 54th international goal as England began their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with a 2-1 win over Italy on Thursday, the penalty taking him past Rooney s total of 53.
The total for Kane includes a record 12 England goals at major tournaments (World Cup/European Championship), while he overtook Jimmy Greaves to become Tottenham s all-time leading scorer last month.
Writing in The Times on Friday, DC United manager Rooney backed Kane to set a difficult target for future England strikers to reach, comparing his hunger for goals to that of Robert Lewandowski.
When I broke the…
Juventus suffered a second successive Serie A defeat as Gregoire Defrel s fine finish saw Sassuolo win 1-0 on Sunday.
Three days on from beating Sporting CP 1-0 in the Europa League, Juve turned in a tired display at Mapei Stadium, as Sassuolo dented the Bianconeri s Champions League qualification hopes.
Defrel s 64th-minute goal had been coming, with Massimiliano Allegri s team having lived a charmed life at the back while offering little going forward.
Juve found some spark late on, with Adrien Rabiot denied by Andrea Consigli and Angel Di Maria squandering a golden chance, but Sassuolo held firm to beat Juve at home in the league for the first time since October 2015.
Sassuolo carved out the only chance of a muted first half, but Nedim Bajrami failed t…