Chelsea boss Emma Hayes insists she has no time to monitor the Women’s Super League table, despite a scenario that could see her side seal a fourth straight title on Sunday.
The second-placed Blues, fresh from lifting their third consecutive FA Cup, are one point behind Manchester United, but have a game in hand on the league leaders, who have just two remaining in their campaign.
That means victory against West Ham on Tuesday and Arsenal on Sunday would be enough for Chelsea should United fail to beat Manchester City on the penultimate day of the season.
Hayes was adamant she is unaware of how invested her players might be in potential permutations, saying: “I promise you I’ve got so much to do I’m not privy to some of their ridiculous conversations, tha…
AC Milan’s unbeaten start to the year in Serie A continued with a 1-0 victory over Napoli at the San Siro.
Scudetto champions Napoli have failed to match the form which saw them win the title last season and were beaten by Theo Hernandez’s first-half strike.
The France international latched onto Rafael Leao’s through ball and fired into the bottom corner to secure Milan a sixth win in seven league games.
Fiorentina snapped a three-game winless run with a crushing 5-1 victory over Frosinone.
The hosts were out of sight by half-time through goals from Andrea Belotti, Jonathan Ikone and Lucas Martinez.
Nicolas Gonzalez made it four eight minutes into the second half and Antonin Barak completed the rout after Luca Mazzitelli’s brilliant free-k…
Burnley have responded quickly to the departure of Kieran Trippier to Tottenham, signing full-back Matthew Lowton from Aston Villa.
Trippier sealed his return to the Premier League last week and Sean Dyche has wasted no time in acquiring a replacement at right-back in the form of Lowton.
The 26-year-old who follows Darren Bent, Andreas Weimann and Yacouba Sylla in exiting Villa since the end of the 2014-15 season has agreed a three-year deal at Turf Moor, after making 82 appearances for Villa following his move from Sheffield United in 2012.
Alan Hutton s return to favour restricted Lowton to just eight league starts last season, and his opportunities were likely to be limited further by Villa s recent capture of Micah Richards.
Lowton told Burnle…
Argentina have moved into second place in the FIFA world rankings after clinching qualification for the World Cup finals on Tuesday.
Alejandro Sabella s men made sure of their place at Brazil 2014 with an emphatic 5-2 win over Paraguay in Asuncion, Lionel Messi scoring a double as the two-time winners cruised to victory.
That success has seen them rise above Colombia and Germany and into the top two, with holders Spain remaining at the top following a victory over Finland and 2-2 draw with Chile.
Cesare Prandelli s Italy are up into fourth following a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic, which secured their place at the World Cup.
Belgium are on the brink of qualification after a comfortable 2-0 success against Scotland.
Marc Wilmots men have yet to lose in th…
Inter director Piero Ausilio jokingly dismissed the club s reported pursuit of Real Madrid star Luka Modric, while insisting the squad is complete.
Croatia captain Modric emerged as Inter s primary transfer target following the World Cup in Russia but the Italian side have been unable to lure the 32-year-old midfielder to Milan.
Madrid sent an official complaint to FIFA, alleging Inter contacted the player illegally over a potential move, while the Serie A outfit confirmed legal action against LaLiga president Javier Tebas who criticised the club s pursuit of Modric.
Modric also described a report claiming he approached Inter about the prospect of a transfer as the greatest nonsense in history .
Ausilio was asked about Modric prior to Inter s 2-2 draw aga…
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz insists he will have the final say on his next career move after being linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2018-19, scoring 17 Bundesliga goals as he helped Leverkusen qualify for the Champions League.
Havertz scored his first international goal for Germany in Wednesday s 2-2 draw with Argentina and reports in Spain suggest LaLiga heavyweights Madrid and Barcelona are interested in the player.
While open to advice on his future, including from national boss Joachim Low, Havertz who is under contract at BayArena until 2022 will make a choice that is right for him.
Good test and happy with my first goal
— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29)
Speaki…
Argentina head home on Sunday with their World Cup dream in tatters and coach Diego Maradona lamenting the toughest day of his life as he considers whether to quit.
The South American giants didn t just lose to long-time rival Germany in the quarter-finals, they were humiliated 4-0 and it appears Maradona s reign could be over.
A third-minute goal by Thomas Mueller stunned the Argentines, putting them in an unaccustomed position, and they never recovered.
Germany turned the screw after the interval with Miroslav Klose getting two more in his 100th game and centre-back Arne Friedrich scoring his first for his country.
It was Argentina s worst World Cup defeat since they lost to the Netherlands, also 4-0, in 1974 and Maradona said he felt a deep sadness.
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is not worrying about the form of other teams, instead calling on the squad to take responsibility for their disappointments.
United s four-match winning streak in the Premier League came to an end with a 6-3 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday – the fourth loss in all competitions for Erik ten Hag s side this season.
That left United nine points behind early pacesetters Arsenal in the league, albeit with a game in hand, and eight points behind their cross-city rivals.
Attention now switches to the Europa League, where United face Omonia Nicosia on Thursday, and Fernandes believes the focus should be on their games – while suggesting in recent years there has been too much comparison with other sides.
The …
that Juventus and Chelsea are among clubs showing interest in Lazio midfielder Senad Lulic.
Recent reports are suggesting the Biancocelesti would consider selling their prized asset for a fee in the region of €18 million, which has added fuel to speculations linking the Bosnian with a summer exit.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea are closely monitoring the situation.
Lazio officials could find a potential offer from Juventus the most appealing since it would probably involve a couple of players who are of interest to the Biancocelesti.
Namely, Lazio have been keeping close tabs on Fabio Quagliarella and Sebastian Giovinco, and their league rivals could include one or both in the deal for Lulic.
…
Juan Carlos Garrido will take the reins of Real Betis first team, after Pepe Mel was sacked from the La Liga club on Monday.
The former Villarreal and Club Brugge boss, 44, has been empowered to lead the cellar-dwellers of the Spanish top flight up the table with Betis accruing just 10 points from their first 15 games this season.
Mel s release was announced at 9pm local time in Seville on Monday, with enraged fans rallying behind their now former boss and taking aim at the club for their poor fortunes this season.
The departing 50-year-old gave an emotional goodbye at the press conference, breaking down in tears after his farewell message to end his three-year stint.
This is the press conference I never wanted to give, Mel said.
I m a professio…