Man Utd set Premier League record with dominance over Palace

Strasbourg s fairytale rise back to the top level of French football reached a high point on Saturday as they clinched Coupe de la Ligue glory with a 4-1 penalty shoot-out win over Guingamp.

Liquidated back in 2011, Strasbourg were reborn in the fifth tier but won four promotions in six seasons to establish themselves back in Ligue 1. 

And, in contest low on attacking inspiration it was they and not Guingamp previously the last team other than Paris Saint-Germain to win a French Cup competition who held their nerve in the shoot-out after extra time finished with the score goalless.

Thierry Laurey s Strasbourg converted all four of their penalties while Alexandre Mendy and Ronny Rodelin failed to score for Guingamp the former firing over the bar and the latter …

The soundtrack to England s World Cup campaign Three Lions has been given a Dutch rewrite as Ajax welcomed Daley Blind back to the club by recording Daley s Coming Home .

The versatile defender, who emerged from the Ajax academy and broke into the first-team at his hometown club in 2008-09, returned after agreeing a transfer from Manchester United for a fee potentially rising to €20.5million.

Blind s homecoming tune makes reference to the fact that Ajax have gone four years without winning the Eredivisie and harks back to the club s glory days of the 1990s with lines like Frank de Boer still gleaming .

Where England fans sing Three Lions on a shirt as originally penned by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds, Ajax s version goes with Three st…

German great to grating presence

Ozil arrived as an established star of the game, a player who was named in the Euro 2012 team of the tournament and one who could hold his own in the Real Madrid midfield.

At around £42.5million, he was a costly investment for Arsenal, but it felt like a statement signing, with Wenger deciding his team needed an injection of world-beating midfield enterprise.

He sparkled fleetingly during his first two seasons, either side of winning the 2014 World Cup with Germany, but then had a stellar 2015-16, having 19 assists and creating 28 big chances in 35 Premier League games that term, drastic improvements on his previous modest returns.

Only Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne have had more assists in a Premier League season, w…

According to a recent report from L’Equipe, Manchester United have now made contact with the agent of Edinson Cavani ahead of a potential deal for the Uruguayan forward. 

Cavani is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the current season as a free agent, which has been anticipated for quite some time now. PSG, however, do not want to try and get money for him during the January transfer window, and are instead happy to let him ride out his contract and play his part between now and when he officially leaves. 

Cavani has been at the source of some great moments and memories for the club over the years, but despite him being their top goalscorer, it never really felt like the two parties were able to click into place as they probably should’ve done. <…

Tottenham Hotspur lost their last three Premier League games in a row something that hadn t happened since 2012. Head coach Jose Mourinho, however, doesn t seem too worried. He responded to a question about supposed pressure in his own, inimitable way.

Jose 🗣 Since 2012, without 3 defeats in a row? Correct. Since when without a title?

Reporter 🗣 1961.

Jose 🗣 Maybe I can give one.

Jose Mourinho bites back when asked about pressure

Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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Inter handed Serie A leaders Napoli their first defeat of the campaign as Hakan Calhanoglu recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-2 home victory on Sunday.

Napoli had not scored in any of their past four away league games against the Nerazzurri but Piotr Zielinski netted their first since April 2017 after 17 minutes to open the scoring at San Siro.

Calhanoglu soon levelled from the penalty spot before assisting Ivan Perisic s header that put Inter into the lead before the interval.

Lautaro Martinez added a third just after the hour mark and, despite a wonderful strike from substitute Dries Mertens, the reigning champions triumphed to close the gap on Milan and Napoli to four points at the summit, ending the visitors 21-match unbeaten Serie A run in the process.

…

Erling Haaland should follow the example of Robert Lewandowski and stay at Borussia Dortmund until he is world class , according to Hans-Joachim Watzke. 

Striker Haaland has been a revelation since joining the Bundesliga club, scoring 16 goals in the second half of the 2019-20 season following his January arrival from Salzburg.

The Norway international has continued to be prolific during the current campaign – he has 17 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions – and, unsurprisingly, that has led to speculation he could leave in the near future.

Josep Maria Minguella, advisor to Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud, had claimed a deal was lined up to take the 20-year-old to Camp Nou if they triumph in the upcoming election. 

However, Min…

While Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to record-breaking levels with an easy win over Southampton, the battle beneath them for places in the top four heated up.

The Reds thumped the Saints 4-0 at Anfield to open up a 22-point gap over Manchester City the biggest lead any team has ever held at the top of the English top-flight and Pep Guardiola s men lost 2-0 in a chaotic game at Tottenham a day later.

Fourth-placed Chelsea looked set to narrow the gap to Leicester City above them when they took the lead at King Power Stadium but the Foxes fought back in a 2-2 draw, while Sheffield United briefly moved up to fifth before Spurs win after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Two sides just outside the European qualification p…

Eddie Howe will target quality rather than quantity as he embarks upon a recruitment mission to equip Newcastle for the Champions League.

The Magpies booked a return to European club football’s biggest stage on Monday evening when a 0-0 draw against Premier League strugglers Leicester handed them the point they needed to be sure of a place in the top four.

That will place fresh demands on a squad which has been boosted by the injection of more than £250million since the club’s Saudi-backed owners took charge in October 2021, but head coach Howe insists there will be no wild spending as he once again looks for astute acquisitions.

Good morning!

Just in case you needed reminding…

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)

He said: “We’ve …

Gavi is retaining faith in Spain s style of player even if the impressive teenage star knows La Rojo must learn from the mistakes made against Japan when they face Morocco in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Spain were on course to top Group E when Alvaro Morata headed an early opener on Wednesday, but goals from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka helped the Samurai Blue leapfrog their opponents in stunning fashion.

For three incredible minutes, Spain even looked set to join Germany in making an early exit as Costa Rica briefly occupied second place.

Spain ultimately survived despite seeing their seven-match unbeaten run (excluding shoot-outs) at the World Cup halted, and Gavi says Tuesday s game represents a chance to right some wrongs.

The match against Japan has t…