Sports

Newcastle United have been credited with strong interest in Leicester City star James Maddison, but their attempts to sign the England international haven t produced desired results as of yet. According to the Sunday Mirror, the Magpies are consequently considering a swoop for Nabil Fekir of Real Betis as an alternative target.

Fekir, who took part at the 2018 World Cup and earned himself a winner s medal in Russia with France right after his proposed move to Liverpool fell through at the eleventh hour, left Olympique Lyon for Betis a year later for half the price previously agreed with the Premier League giants.

Since then, the 29-year-old attacking midfielder has gone on to play a total of 129 matches for the Spanish club, scoring 25 goals and producing as many assist…

Tottenham have urged everyone to focus on finishing the 2020-21 season as well as possible amid reports Harry Kane has informed the club he wishes to leave.

Kane is a product of Spurs academy and has developed into one of the world s best strikers, but over the past two years the club have seemingly struggled to match his ambitions.

The England captain has regularly been linked with moves away from Tottenham over the years, though those reports have rarely appeared to carry much substance – until now.

Sky Sports News claimed on Monday that Kane has told the club he wants to leave at the end of the season, with trophies on his agenda.

Spurs have not won silverware since the 2007-08 EFL Cup, with Kane a part of the sides that lost the finals of the 201…

Eugenie Le Sommer set Lyon on their way to a fifth successive Women s Champions League title as the French giants landed a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg.

In San Sebastian, France forward Le Sommer snatched the opening goal, with Japanese midfielder Saki Kumagai and former Wolfsburg player Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir also scoring.

Eleven days after the Lyon men s team bowed out to Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final, Europe s most powerful women s side lifted the trophy they have made their own.

Le Sommer s 22nd-minute strike, tucking home after her first shot was parried, moved the 31-year-old above Brazilian Marta to fourth on the list of the Women s Champions League all-time top scorers with 47 goals.

Since joining Lyon in 2010, Le Sommer ha…

Pep Guardiola feared a Manchester City performance of the like they delivered in losing to Southampton was coming this season after years of success, and he is now calling on his team to recover who you are .

City exited the EFL Cup, a competition they have won four times under Guardiola, with a 2-0 defeat at St Mary s Stadium on Wednesday.

That quarter-final elimination was concerning beyond simply the result, however, as Guardiola s side failed to record a shot on target for the first time in almost five years.

City have little time to recover as they face rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday. Guardiola said his team had gone through normal preparation for the next game despite his concerns at what he saw against Southampton, but he had a …

Real Madrid have announced legal action against LaLiga president Javier Tebas and CVC Capital Partners.

LaLiga last week secured a €2.7billion deal with CVC to boost Spanish clubs amid the coronavirus pandemic, with 90 per cent of the investment earmarked for their use.

However, CVC will have a 10 per cent stake in a new business, which is being formed with a focus on the league s commercial ventures.

It insisted the agreement does not cover league management or broadcast rights, but Madrid and rivals Barcelona both announced their opposition to the deal, claiming audiovisual rights would be affected and they had not been properly consulted.

Madrid are now going a step further, with a rumoured legal challenge confirmed in a club statement.

The …

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer accepted the blame for a Manchester United performance that was the worst you can get as they lost 6-1 at home to Tottenham.

The Red Devils were utterly humiliated at Old Trafford on Sunday as they conceded six in a Premier League game for the first time since 2011 s loss at home to Manchester City by the same scoreline.

Bruno Fernandes put United ahead with a second-minute penalty, but Spurs were 2-1 up inside seven minutes through Tanguy Ndombele and Son Heung-min.

Hopes of a fightback were scuppered when Anthony Martial was sent off for raising a hand at Erik Lamela, and Son, Serge Aurier and Harry Kane twice inflicted further damage on an abject United defence.

You don t win games of football making individual mistakes, making a …

Neymar underwent successful surgery on his season-ending ankle injury on Friday, Paris Saint-Germain announced.

The Brazilian has been out of action since being carried off in a thrilling 4-3 Ligue 1 victory over Lille last month.

The 31-year-old had been enjoying his most productive season for PSG since the 2018-19 campaign, equalling a tally of 34 direct goal involvements (18 goals, 16 assists) in all competitions – joint second-highest in his PSG career, behind the 44 in his debut season.

PSG have won both of their Ligue 1 games in Neymar s absence to move eight points clear at the top of the table, though they were eliminated from the Champions League following a 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Head coach Christophe Galtier confirmed earli…

Antonio Rudiger has revealed he made his decision to sign for Real Madrid in April and snubbed Barcelona, declaring it was Real or nothing.

The Germany international has signed a four-year contract with the Champions League winners following the expiration of his contract with Chelsea, ending a five-year stint at Stamford Bridge.

His spell with the Blues saw him lift the Champions League in 2020-21, the FA Cup in 2017-18 and the Europa League in 2018-19, making over 200 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Rudiger explained that Madrid first made contact with his agent in September before a further follow-up in April, when he made the decision to join Carlo Ancelotti s side – and added he rejected the advances of Los Blancos rivals Barca.

…

Karim Benzema has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined €75,000 after being found guilty of complicity in the attempted blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena.

The Real Madrid and France striker was one of five people standing trial over the attempt to extort former international team-mate Valbuena in a case dating back to June 2015.

He has always denied the accusations and one of his lawyers, Antoine Vey, expressed shock after Wednesday s verdict, before confirming that an appeal will be lodged.

Benzema was not present at court in Versailles as he prepares for Real Madrid s Champions League clash with Sheriff later on Wednesday.

Valbuena, who now plays for Greek side Olympiacos, was also not in attendance.

Benzema had been accused o…

Rafael Leao is determined to silence his critics when AC Milan seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Roma.

Leao came in for criticism after last week’s first match, but showed a much better version of himself as Milan fought back from two goals down to take a 3-3 draw at relegation-battling Sassuolo on Sunday.

The 24-year-old forward, who scored Milan’s first goal, recognises he needs to bring more consistency to his game.

“I hope to help my team,” Leao told Milan TV.

on…

The first leg Bouncing back Going there to win

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

“If I don’t score a goal, I hope to play well and win. This is the most important thing, to move forward.

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