Strootman plans long-term Roma stay to show gratitude following injuries

Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool s players to expect another half-season of tight battles after a 1-0 victory over Wolves at Anfield moved them 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Sadio Mane s goal proved the difference between the two teams as Liverpool survived a scare when Pedro Neto had an equaliser ruled out for offside following the latest in a string of controversial VAR rulings.

The Reds have played half of their fixtures for the season and look destined to win their first domestic league title for 30 years, but Klopp said the second half of the season would bring with it a shift in intensity.

We are halfway there, Klopp told reporters. We still have 19 games to play and probably 18 or 19 of them will be like this tonight, for different reasons…

Even in these extraordinary times, Barcelona letting Luis Suarez go to Atletico Madrid is starting to look like the oddest decision of the season.

Suarez s double over Eibar on Thursday secured a 2-1 victory for the league leaders, who are seven points clear at the top with a game in hand over champions Real Madrid in second.

The Uruguay star, who has netted six in his past six league games for Atleti, is joint-top of the division s scoring charts alongside former team-mate Lionel Messi.

It seems increasingly likely that Suarez, and certainly Atletico, will be at the top of the tree come the end of 2020-21.

With the majority of sides having now played half of their matches, the Stats Perform AI team have run the numbers to simulate how the rest of the …

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Okb8L6ppcc feature=related

7. Manchester United 1999

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcSt08-Qy50

6. Liverpool 1978

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDW4aH6eC0U

5. Ajax 1972

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXUlxgoAFmI

4. Milan 1989

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwx-K5UUnBQ

3. Manchester United 2009

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8t94-viLpc

2. Barcelona 2009

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuk4fY198Os

1. Real Madrid 1960

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKJA8Kq_fxU

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Arsenal teenager Aaron Ramsey piled more pressure on Scotland coach George Burley as his virtuoso display inspired Wales to a 3-0 win over Scotland in Saturday s friendly.

Ramsey, 18, played a key role in the first two Wales goals from David Edwards and Simon Church and then got on the scoresheet himself to cap a superb first half display at the Cardiff City Stadium.

This was the sort of eye-catching performance that persuaded Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to pay Cardiff five million pounds to sign the midfielder in June 2008, even though he had made just a handful of appearances for the Welsh club.

He was far too good for Burley s woeful Scots, who were completely out-classed. To make matters worse for Burley, who was handed a vote of confidence despite his fai…

Anthony Martial s transfer fee of £36 million which could potentially rise to £58 million, according to AS Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has put an enormous amount of pressure on the France Under-21 international.

Martial, 19, joined Manchester United from Monaco earlier this week, and could make his English Premier League debut against Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 12.

According to Paul Merson, the most expensive teenager in the history of world football needs a fast start to be a hit at the Theatre of Dreams.

That s a lot of money for someone who has been playing in Monaco in front of 5,000-6,000 people every week, on top of a car park, said Merson.

Then you have to go and play in front of 70,000 people as the most expe…

Hosts Equatorial Guinea will be hard to beat in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, according to Tunisia boss Georges Leekens.

Tunisia coach Georges Leekens knows Saturday s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against hosts Equatorial Guinea will not be easy.

Equatorial Guinea, who stepped up to host the event at the last minute, were given little chance of getting through Group A, but took second spot after remaining undefeated.

Draws against Congo and Burkina Faso were followed by a decisive 2-0 win over Gabon on Sunday, with Javier Balboa and Iban Salvador scoring the goals.

Tunisia ranked 22nd in the world and 2004 champions of the tournament are also yet to taste defeat.

They topped Group B with one win and two draws, but Leekens is …

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker is ready to listen to offers from other clubs in January, .

Since moving to the Emirates Stadium the Germany international has racked up two hundred and eight appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals and was part of the squads that won back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015.

However, despite being handed the club’s captaincy in the summer he has failed to play a single minute so far this season and has not even been named as a substitute with Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny ahead of him in the pecking order.

Prior to his move to England, Mertesacker spent almost a decade playing in his home country across spells with Hannover 96 and Werder Bremen while he was capped over one hundred times internationally, s…

Mauricio Pochettino believes Dele Alli can be one of the world s best players as he predicted a decade of dominance for the highly-rated Tottenham midfielder.

An unheralded arrival from League One side MK Dons in January 2015, Alli has made a seamless transition to the Premier League, winning last season s PFA Young Player of the Year award.

The 20-year-old England international has scored six goals this campaign in his second season in the top flight and Tottenham manager Pochettino has backed Alli to enjoy continued success in London.

Yes [he is a £50m player], why not? Today Dele Alli is showing a quality, a talent that it s difficult to find in Europe at 20 years old, said Pochettino, whose Tottenham face Watford on Sunday.

There s no doubt he is…

Pep Guardiola saluted the character demonstrated by Manchester City after they went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Julian Alvarez s stunning 25-yard strike proved to be the winner at Craven Cottage, where Carlos Vinicius had earlier cancelled out Erling Haaland s penalty.

Though not at their clinical best, the reigning champions displaced Arsenal at the summit of the table for the first time since February – and still have a game in hand on the Gunners, who they beat 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Guardiola was pleased with the way his players navigated their way through what developed into a scrappy contest with Marco Silva s side.

I didn t have any doubt [in my players], he told BBC s Match of the Day. The game was so …

With international football taking centre stage this week my attention has been turned to the lower leagues of English football.

Now usually I wouldn t really think much about League Two but this summers events at Notts County has raised my awareness of lower league football.

I must admit my knowledge of League One and Two in recent years was limited to looking out for local sides such as Tranmere Rovers and Chester City results.

Raised awareness of League Two

I don t know about anybody else but the summer takeover at County has added some extra interest for me. It hasn t only raised the profile of the Nottingham side its raised the whole profile of the league. People like me, who wouldn t watch League One or league Two football are suddenly paying atten…