Sports

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.

�…

Mauricio Pochettino admitted he empathised with Thiago Silva’s frustration after the defender appeared to lose his temper with Chelsea teammates during their goalless draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.

At one stage, whilst in possession of the ball during the first half at the Vitality Stadium, the defender was visibly angered by the team’s set-up, with little movement in front of him and huge gaps between forward players and the defence.

Silva, who turns 39 on Friday, is one of the club’s most experienced and successful players having won seven Ligue 1 titles with Paris St Germain, the Serie A title with AC Milan and the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

He has also collected 113 caps for Brazil during a 15-year international career.

It finishes g…

Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are locked in a thrilling three-way battle for the Premier League title with just six games to go.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions sit two points clear at the top after their rivals slipped up at the weekend, with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners and Jurgen Klopp’s Reds separated only by goal difference.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the top-flight run-in and what promises to be a dramatic finale.Manchester City (First, played 32, points 73, goal difference 44)

Run-in: Brighton (a), Nottingham Forest (a), Wolves (h), Fulham (a), Tottenham (a), West Ham (h).

Man City finish a round of fixtures top of the table for the first time since November!

— Premier League (@premierleague)

In-form City are …

Carlo Ancelotti s ability to build trophy-winning sides makes him the perfect appointment for Everton, according to the club s director of football Marcel Brands.

Everton s two-week search for a new manager officially concluded on Saturday with confirmation of Ancelotti s arrival on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

The 60-year-old replaces Marco Silva at Goodison Park, returning to work just 11 days after he was sacked by Napoli amid off-field issues and a poor start to the Serie A season.

Ancelotti has previously managed in the Premier League with Chelsea, winning the title and the FA Cup in 2009-10 continuing a trend of lifting the top prizes in a coaching career that includes three Champions League triumphs.

The Italian has coached in each of Europe s …

Best odds: 4/5

Bookmaker:

Bayern Munich will host Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena on Sunday in their last home game of the Bundesliga season.

This match marks Thomas Tuchel s final fixture in Bavaria before his anticipated departure, following Bayern s disappointing exit from the Champions League against Real Madrid. Despite the bitter defeat, the outgoing manager aims for a positive result against Wolfsburg, who are vying for European qualification.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich s last opportunity for major silverware in the 2023/24 season disappeared on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu when Carlo Ancelotti s team, through two goals from Joselu, overturned the game after Alphonso Davies had initially put the deposed German champions in a promising…

Tottenham stuttered to a 0-0 draw at Brentford on Saturday, handing bitter rivals Arsenal the advantage in the race for fourth in the Premier League.

Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-1 earlier in the day to open a three-point lead over Antonio Conte s men, and Spurs inability to follow suit prevented them going ahead of the Gunners on goal difference.

Spurs offered little attacking threat during a first half that Brentford enjoyed the better of, with their set-piece prowess causing the visitors problems and bringing about a great chance as Ivan Toney hit the woodwork.

The contest was more open in general after the interval but still the best opportunities fell the way of Brentford, who again hit the frame of the goal through Toney and only failed to clinch a …

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has signed an agreement with 777 Partners for the American investment firm to acquire his controlling stake in the club.

The Toffees, who are currently 18th in the Premier League table, have had Moshiri as a shareholder since 2016 and majority shareholder since 2018, with his stake accounting for 94.1 per cent.

He said in a statement from the club: “The nature of ownership and financing of top football clubs has changed immeasurably since I first invested in Everton over seven years ago.

777 Partners has signed an agreement with Farhad Moshiri to acquire his full stake in Everton Football Club, which accounts for 94.1 per cent of the Club’s shares.

— Everton (@Everton)

“The days of an owner/benefactor are seem…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is confident that Gabriel Jesus can reach an even higher level following his magnificent start to life at the club.

Having scored twice and contributed two assists in a 4-2 win against Leicester City a week ago, the Brazilian was back at it in the Gunners routine 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, playing a key role in the opening goal before teeing up Martin Odegaard s second.

While Arsenal s number nine was unable to get on the scoresheet, seeing a second-half effort chalked off after a VAR review, his all-round display offered further encouragement to the Gunners supporters.

Arteta is understandably delighted with the contribution of his new leading man, but believes he still has room to improve.

Those individual actions make…

Wolverhampton Wanderers want to sign Barcelona forward Ansu Fati in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Wolves are among the clubs who are keen on securing the services of the forward, and that his agent, Jorge Mendes, is trying to get a new club for him. Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are also interested in the Spain international.

Fati has been on the books of Barcelona since 2012. The Spain international forward has made 11 starts and 20 substitute appearances in La Liga so far this season, scoring four goals and providing three assists in the process. The 20-year-old has made two substitute appearances in the UEFA Europa League and two starts and four substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Xavi’s side this campai…