Man City´s nervy win at Newcastle ´good lesson´ ahead of Champions League final – Guardiola

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City s wild 4-3 win over Newcastle United is a good lesson ahead of the Champions League final against Chelsea.

City returned to the pitch for the first time since clinching the Premier League title this week and Guardiola s side survived a seven-goal shoot-out on Friday.

Powered by a Ferran Torres hat-trick, City erased two deficits to set an English record with their 12th consecutive away win – one more milestone after securing their third league title in four years on Tuesday. 

Following one or two days of distractions and just one training session, manager Guardiola said he was not expecting perfection against Newcastle as he made five changes to his XI, including giving 35-year-old goalkeeper Scott Carson his club debut. 

Williams: Swansea ´suffered´ in Bristol City draw

Luke Williams feels Swansea City suffered for not pressing home their advantage during the 1-1 draw with Bristol City.

The spoils were shared at the Swansea.com Stadium, where Ben Cabango volleyed the hosts into a 15th-minute lead from Eom Ji-sung s corner.

However, the Swans could not extend their advantage with Ollie Cooper hitting the post, and were pegged back in the 76th minute via another corner as Jason Knight headed in Scott Twine s set-piece delivery.

Williams side missed the chance to move up to seventh in the Championship and within three points of leaders West Bromwich Albion and the head coach rued his side s second-half performance.

The first half, we looked a pretty good side and made the breakthrough, which is important, he said. But in t…

Premier League Fantasy Picks: Son could be the man to bring Solskjaer´s reign to an end

This weekend could perhaps spell the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s Manchester United tenure, and opponents Tottenham have a player capable of causing real damage.

Elsewhere, the form of Manchester City s sort-of-striker Gabriel Jesus and Newcastle United s possibly-only-striker Callum Wilson make them worthy considerations for your fantasy teams for this weekend.

There is also a more surprising pick from Southampton who could offer some real value.

Below are Stats Perform s weekly suggestions for fantasy football players, powered by Opta data

 

AARON RAMSDALE (Leicester City v Arsenal)

It was a signing that did more to raise supporter eyebrows than excitement levels, but Aaron Ramsdale is beginning to prove his worth for Arsenal.

Turkey 0-3 Italy: Commanding Azzurri return to the big time with historic victory

Italy made a commanding return to major tournament football as they opened Euro 2020 with a comfortable 3-0 win over Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday.

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup but have since rebuilt under Roberto Mancini, who appears to have transformed them into a credible force that dealt with one of the competition s supposed dark horses with relative ease.

Not that it was all plain sailing, however. Andrea Bocelli s pre-match rendition of Nessun Dorma  – or let no one sleep in English – was seemingly not heeded amid a dour first half, though one flashpoint just before the interval saw Italy denied a penalty.

Mancini s side eventually opened the scoring soon after half-time as Juventus defender Merih Demiral…

Postecoglou hails Johnson and Moore as Tottenham see off Ferencvaros

Ange Postecoglou waxed lyrical over the performances of Brennan Johnson and Mikey Moore as Tottenham defeated Ferencvaros 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.

Spurs made it two from two in Europe s secondary competition as goals from Pape Sarr and Johnson were enough for victory in Hungary despite Barnabas Varga s late consolation.

Versatile forward Johnson has now scored in each of his past five Tottenham appearances and has as many goals now as he did in the whole of last season (five).

Speaking at a press conference after the game, Postecoglou said of the Wales winger: He s in a great vein of form right now. He s really confident.

They thrive on that sort of stuff, but his numbers have always been good. I was always curious as to why he was singled …

Kilmarnock bring Matty Kennedy back to club on three-year contract

Kilmarnock have completed a triple signing by bringing Matty Kennedy back to Rugby Park.

The Ayrshire club earlier signed Kyle Magennis from Hibernian and brought in Bournemouth goalkeeper Will Dennis on a season-long loan.

Kennedy began his career with Killie before making a move to Everton as a teenager in 2012.

The 28-year-old joins from Aberdeen on a three-year deal and is reunited with former Dons boss Derek McInnes.

He told the club’s website: “This is my team. I love the club and it’s somewhere that always felt like home, so I’m delighted to be back here. I always wanted to come back at some point.”

Magennis joined on a two-year deal after being allowed to leave Hibernian. The 24-year-old midfielder made 49 appearances during a ne…

Tymoshchuk banned from Ukrainian football for life

Former Ukraine captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk has been given a life-long ban from engaging in football activities in his homeland amid silence on Russia s invasion and continued association with Russian club Zenit.

The Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) has also stripped Tymoshchuk of his coaching license and de-recognised his on-field accomplishments, which include silverware and a record 144 caps.

The proposals were announced earlier this week by the UAF’s ethics and fair play committee, which accused Tymoshchuk of making a conscious choice that damages the image of Ukrainian football .

Tymoshchuk, 42, was a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich in 2013. Either side of his four-year spell in Germany, he had stints with Zenit, and in 2016 he joined up a…

Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: Luis Diaz strike keeps hopes alive but draw is title boost to Man City

Luis Diaz spared Liverpool a rare Anfield defeat, but a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Saturday represents a major blow to the Reds title ambitions.

Son Heung-min left the famous old stadium shaken early in the second half when he tucked in from close range to give Antonio Conte s visitors a shock lead.

That was his 20th league goal of the season, and Liverpool knew anything other than a win would put City within sight of the Premier League trophy.

Liverpool have an unprecedented quadruple in their sights, and Diaz s deflected strike for an equaliser in the 74th minute just about kept the dream alive, but hopes might be fading. They go top for now, level on points with a City side who have a game in hand, against Newcastle United on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah an…

Gareth Southgate leaves door open after Ben White snubs England call-up

Gareth Southgate has revealed in-form Arsenal defender Ben White does not want to be selected by England at the moment.

The 26-year-old has starred for the Premier League leaders this season but has not featured in the national team squad since the 2022 World Cup.

White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland.

Southgate denied any such fall-out on Thursday, when he had hoped to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

“Look, it’s absolutely the question you should ask because clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in,” the …

Who are the late January targets that are on Manchester United’s radar?

Crashing out of the Champions League last month and coming under a huge amount of scrutiny this season, Manchester United find themselves in the midst of another public struggle.

However, with it confirmed last month that British billionaire has completed a 25% takeover at Old Trafford, the Red Devils are expected to have some cash to spend over the final days of January’s transfer window.

Although there might be continued speculation that the likes of Anthony Martial could be heading for a late from the red half of Manchester, has drawn up his wishlist.

In what could be a hectic end to the January transfer window at Old Trafford, we have taken a look at some of the European superstars that have been linked with a late move to Manchester.

Matthijs de Li…