Etherington praises Pulis´ work at Stoke

Stoke City winger Matthew Etherington believes Tony Pulis can be proud of the work he has done at the club.

Pulis left the Britannia Stadium on Tuesday following a seven-year stint and Etherington praised the Welshman for guiding the club to the Premier League and then consolidating.
If you look at where Stoke were when he irst came in mid-table in the Championship you can t argue he s done a fantastic job, Etherington told talkSPORT.
He s a great man, a fantastic man. He s done a lot for me personally, a lot for the football club and for the people of Stoke-on-Trent as well.
Some supporters of the club had become keen for a change after their side could only finish 13th in the Premier League, despite investing in proven top-flight players at the start of the campaign.
Howe…

Navas shaves head in support of cancer sufferers

Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas revealed he shaved his head to send support to families and kids fighting cancer.

The Costa Rica international kept a clean sheet as Madrid recorded a 2-0 win at Malaga on Sunday, capturing the LaLiga crown for the first time since 2012.

Navas, 30, arrived to face media with a shaved head and said he wanted to dedicate the title triumph to those battling cancer.

I pray to God for all of them, that they can recover from their illness, he said.

For all of the kids fighting cancer. For their families, for those who continue fighting. This title is for them.

Despite constant speculation over his future, Navas was instrumental in helping Madrid this season, making 27 league starts.

He was delighted that hi…

Mexico 1 United States 1: Bradley stunner thwarts hosts in thrilling qualifier

CONCACAF World Cup qualifying leaders Mexico and rivals the United States played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in Mexico City.

With political tensions high among the two nations, this was billed as the must-see international fixture of the weekend, and it did not disappoint after Carlos Vela cancelled out Michael Bradley s sensational opener at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday.

The Azteca cauldron was silenced when USA captain Bradley chipped Guillermo Ochoa from outside the penalty area in the sixth minute, though Vela restored parity before half-time in the fifth round – Hexagonal – of qualifying.

Hector Herrera and Bradley both hit the woodwork in the second half as the points were shared on the road to Russia 2018, with Mexico improving to 14 points, six clear o…

Guardiola: No Champions League win at City would be judged a ´failure´

Pep Guardiola believes he will be judged as a failure at Manchester City if the club do not win the Champions League before he departs.

While City appear certain to cede their Premier League crown to runaway leaders Liverpool this season, Guardiola s impact at the Etihad Stadium has been undeniable.

Since his arrival in 2016, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has won two Premier League crowns, the first with a record haul of 100 points and the second with 98, an FA Cup title and two EFL Cups.

In addition, City s football has often been exhilarating during Guardiola s tenure, yet the Catalan knows that will not be enough to satisfy some observers if one further objective is not met.

Winning a certain way is what helps you to win the titles, he s…

Cafu tips Neymar to lead Brazil to World Cup glory

Two-time World Cup winner Cafu believes Neymar will lead Brazil to glory at Russia 2018. 

Cafu, who won the tournament with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, insists Tite s side has everything in place to erase the memories of their failure on home soil four years ago. 

In 2014, Brazil reached the semi-finals but were thrashed 7-1 by Germany, who completely dominated the game and scored five goals in the opening 29 minutes. 

The former full-back thinks Neymar and Philippe Coutinho will play key roles in the Selecao s campaign.

It s really easy to say that a key player for Brazil is Neymar, Cafu, speaking as an Uber Eats ambassador, told Omnisport.  

He s very exposed and he s the best player in the Brazil squad, in Brazil and, for me, he s one of …

Sissoko stronger than ever after Pochettino ´hurt´ him

Moussa Sissoko claims he never considered quitting Tottenham despite feeling hurt by team selections by Mauricio Pochettino that affected his international career.

The midfielder is a key member of Pochettino s Spurs side and has started all four of Tottenham s Premier League matches in 2019-20, but two years ago it was a different story for Sissoko.

While preparing for France s Euro 2020 qualifier with Albania, the 30-year-old reflected on a 2017-18 campaign in which he started just 15 league games for Spurs and missed out on a place in Didier Deschamps World Cup-winning Les Bleus squad.

Not being at the 2018 World Cup was of course a disappointment, but not an end in itself, Sissoko told Le Parisien.

I was aware of having a complicated year with my …

Brighton won’t sell Mac Allister

According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, Brighton do not intend on selling Alexis Mac Allister despite rumours suggesting otherwise.

Over the course of the last few weeks, the 23-year-old Mac Allister has been making headlines as one of the driving forces behind Argentina s success at the 2022 World Cup. He scored in their final group game against Poland and as they prepare for the upcoming semi-final against Croatia, you d have to imagine he will feature heavily.

The report in question indicates that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in making a move, perhaps as soon as the January transfer window. Alas, the Seagulls understand how important Mac Allister is for their own European push, which is why they ll do everything in their power to keep hold of him.

Salah and Foden, but no De Bruyne or Ronaldo: Who deserves a place in the Premier League team of the

Reigning champions Manchester City end the year as hot favourites to win the Premier League again, but how many of Pep Guardiola s players should make it into a team of the year?

Do any of the Manchester United players Gary Neville described as whingebags deserve a place in an elite XI? And is there a case to be made for any players from beyond the big six ?

The answers to those questions are: a) five, by our estimations; b) yes; and c) yes.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform selected a dream team for 2021, packed with standout performers from the calendar year.

Safe hands? It has to be Mendy

Chelsea s Edouard Mendy had a save percentage of 74.36, which put him fourth among goalkeepers with five or more Premier League appearances. Curiously, his Blue…

Real Betis want to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool

Real Betis are interested in signing Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool in the summer transfer window, accepting to . It has been reported that defending Premier League champions Liverpool are willing to sell the Switzerland international, and that Betis want to pay an initial transfer fee of €11 million for the 29-year-old winger.

Shaqiri has been on the books of Liverpool since 2018 and is essentially a squad player at the Reds. The 29-year-old winger won the Premier League title last season and the Champions League the year before, but his overall contribution to the team’s success has not bene great.

According to , the winger has made five starts and eight substitute appearances in the Premier League and made one start and four substitute appearances in the Champion…

Xavi compares Pedri to Iniesta, hails Dembele showing against Athletic

Barcelona head coach Xavi compared Pedri to Blaugrana legend Andreas Iniesta, while he hailed the performance of Ousmane Dembele against Athletic Bilbao.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s fourth goal in his past two LaLiga appearances put the Catalan side in control against Athletic on Sunday, before a late flurry added deserved gloss to the scoreline.

Substitute Dembele, whose future remains in doubt after failing to agree to an extension on a contract that expires at the end of the season, scored one and assisted two more for substitutes Luuk de Jong and the fit-again Memphis Depay.

With those involvements, Dembele become the first Barca substitute to play a part in at least three goals in a single LaLiga game in the 21st century.

After moving back into La…