Bernardo Silva eyes ´special´ Man City triumph against rivals United

Bernardo Silva is motivated by the tantalising prospect of helping Manchester City to wrap up the Premier League title by beating Manchester United on April 7.

With a 16-point lead at the summit, it is a matter of when and not if Pep Guardiola s men secure their status as champions, and next month s derby day at the Etihad Stadium could provide the decisive moment.

It is a possibility that excites Silva, who would love to provide such a memorable occasion for the supporters.

It would be special for the fans, because there s a big rivalry between the two clubs, said the midfielder, who will expect to be involved when the league leaders travel to Stoke City on Monday. 

We just want to win the competition because it means a lot, and if you can win it agai…

Spain too good to be derailed by Lopetegui saga, says Renard

Spain will have been unsettled by Julen Lopetegui s shock departure on the eve of the World Cup – but only for a couple of hours, according to Morocco boss Herve Renard.

Lopetegui s decision to accept a dream job at Real Madrid put paid to his World Cup ambitions, with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) reacting furiously to being left in the dark over the negotiations and sacking the ex-Porto head coach.

It means Spain enter Friday s opener against Portugal in Sochi on a particularly uneven keel, but, as Morocco prepare to take on Iran in the other Group B fixture, well-travelled French tactician Renard expects the enduring quality in the ranks of the 2010 winners to shine through.

When you have as much talent as the Spanish national team has it ma…

France 3-0 United States: Slow-starting hosts rally to opening Olympics win

Hosts France recovered from a slow start to ease to a 3-0 opening win over the United States at Paris 2024 on Wednesday.

There has been plenty of excitement around the home nation heading into the men s Olympic tournament, with coach Thierry Henry selecting a strong squad even with superstars like Kylian Mbappe absent.

Yet it took more than an hour for the match in Marseille to spark into life, and even then France were reliant on a moment of magic from captain Alexandre Lacazette.

The United States were the better side up until Lacazette s breakthrough goal, with Djordje Mihailovic thundering against the crossbar shortly before the veteran striker went up the other end and picked out the bottom-left corner.

A frantic spell followed in which France twice …

Portugal dream just about alive as sleep-deprived Ronaldo flops

In the football supporters playbook for riling an opposing team, being unruly outside their hotel is the first thing to be taught and it can be effective – just ask Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Iran fans spent the night making a racket right outside Portugal s lodgings in Saransk on Sunday night, so much so that Ronaldo eventually appeared at a window pleading with them to calm down.

Unsurprisingly it failed to heed much of a response – the Iran party continuing most of the night and Portugal looked jaded less than 24 hours later in their 1-1 draw.

On the eve of the vital Group B encounter, Portugal needed their talisman at his sharpest, while he would ve been eager to send Iran packing for more personal reasons.

The contest saw him come up against…

Range of armband options for Women’s World Cup as FIFA aims to avoid repeat row

Players have been shown a range of armbands highlighting social issues which could be worn at this summer’s Women’s World Cup.

FIFA is consulting with players and national associations over the bands in a bid to avoid a repeat of the row over the rainbow-coloured ‘OneLove’ armbands which dominated the early stages of the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.

The PA news agency understands there are different bands highlighting a range of issues and causes, including support for the rights of indigenous peoples, inclusion, gender equality, education for all and ending violence against women.

Other bands carry the slogan ‘Unite For Peace’ and ‘Football Is Joy, Peace, Hope, Love, Passion’.

The only bands set to feature something resembling a …

Manchester United 1-0 Omonia Nicosia: McTominay leaves it late to seal slender win

Scott McTominay s stoppage-time strike spared Marcus Rashford s blushes as Manchester United toiled to a 1-0 Europa League win over Omonia Nicosia at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Rashford, who is United s top scorer this season, had a whopping 10 shots, but a combination of wasteful finishing and fine goalkeeping from Francis Uzoho denied the Red Devils forward.

Substitute McTominay stepped up three minutes into added time to get his team-mate out of jail, though, as United sealed a third consecutive Group E win despite a listless performance in front of goal.

The result means Erik ten Hag s side only need a point from their final two group games against Sheriff and Real Sociedad to book their spot in the knockout stages.

SCOTTTTYY! ||

— Manches…

Borussia Dortmund 6 Darmstadt 0: Tuchel´s youngsters send out a warning

Borussia Dortmund made a statement of intent to the Bundesliga on Saturday, as Thomas Tuchel s youngsters thrashed 10-man Darmstadt 6-0 at home.

Dortmund were surprise 1-0 losers away to RB Leipzig in their previous league fixture, but bounced back with a crushing 6-0 win at Legia Warsaw in the Champions League on Wednesday.

And, despite being without several first-team regulars, including Mario Gotze and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, they built on that result by brushing aside Darmstadt at Signal Iduna Park, the visitors finishing a man light and taken apart by goals from Adrian Ramos, Christian Pulisic, Sebastian Rode, Emre Mor and a Gonzalo Castro double.

The result, their biggest in the league since May 2009, sees Dortmund remain three points off champions and…

Zubimendi named in Real Sociedad squad amid Liverpool links

Martin Zubimendi has been named in Real Sociedad s squad for their final pre-season friendly versus Union Berlin, despite being strongly linked with a move to Liverpool.

La Real travel to the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei to face Union on Friday, as they work towards their opening match in La Liga versus Rayo Vallecano on August 18.

Star midfielder Zubimendi has a £51million buyout clause in his contract and has been strongly linked with an exit in recent weeks, with Liverpool reportedly showing an interest.

The Reds are the only Premier League side yet to make a signing ahead of the 2024-25 season, which will be their first campaign under former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot.

Reports have suggested Liverpool are keen to negotiate a lower transfer fee for th…

Oscar Garcia takes charge at LaLiga strugglers Celta Vigo

Celta Vigo have appointed Oscar Garcia as their new head coach until the end of the 2019-20 season.

LaLiga strugglers Celta 18th in the table on nine points after four straight defeats  have turned to the former Barcelona player after sacking Fran Escriba following a 1-0 loss to Getafe on Sunday.

Garcia s coaching career has seen him work in various leagues across Europe, including a spell with Maccabi Tel Aviv where he won the title in Israel.

He was also crowned champion twice in Austria while in charge of Salzburg and was most recently at Olympiacos, leaving his role at the Greek club last April.

Garcia also had stints in England with Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford, though he was only at the Hornets for 27 days in 2014 before stepping down …

Ferdinand: Lack of Man Utd structure to blame for Varane woes

Raphael Varane cannot be held solely responsible for his struggles since joining Manchester United last year, says former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand.

According to Ferdinand, United s zero functionality  organisation under managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick was a crucial factor behind the 2018 World Cup winner s poor first season in England.

Now the United backline could be set for an important overhaul under new boss Erik ten Hag, Ferdinand believes.

Four-time Champions League winner Varane played 29 times in his debut season with United after arriving from Real Madrid, contributing to just six clean sheets as the Red Devils posted their worst Premier League points tally (58), finishing sixth.

Only four teams – relegated duo Norw…