Erling Haaland scored yet another hat-trick as Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-1 win at West Ham.
Off the back of scoring a treble against Ipswich on matchday two, Haaland took his tally to seven goals for 2024-25 at the London Stadium.
The Norwegian produced a composed one-on-one finish for the opener before arrowing a powerful strike home for his second on the half-hour mark, after a Ruben Dias own goal had briefly dragged West Ham level.
Mohammed Kudus went close to a second West Ham equaliser after the interval, but Haaland wrapped up the points with another breakaway finish with seven minutes to play.
The victory keeps City top of the early-season standings with nine points from nine available, whi…
Best Odds: 4/7
Bookmaker:
Looking to lay down an early marker on Sunday night, Barcelona will travel to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez when they meet Getafe for their opening La Liga showdown.
Getafe
Starting with the hosts, while Getafe might have mounted a late charge as they eventually clung to their La Liga status, the Blues endured what was another La Liga struggle last season. Only mustering just a trio of wins from any of their final 12 top-flight appearances, Jose Bordalias’ men certainly gained a reputation for their extended inconsistencies on either side of the World Cup’s winter break. Knowing that they face a huge challenge when they get their La Liga adventure underway on Sunday night, many around the Coliseum Alfonso Perez are fearing that their …
Leonid Slutsky looks almost certain to leave his position as Russia coach after claiming the side needs a new boss to lead them into the 2018 World Cup.
Aaron Ramsey, Neil Taylor and Gareth Bale all found the net as Wales beat Russia 3-0 in Euro 2016 Group B on Monday, leaving them rooted to the bottom with one point from their three matches.
And, speaking after the match, Slutsky, whose contract is due to expire this month, commented that Russia would benefit from a new man at the helm heading into their home World Cup.
I want to apologise for the performance we put on tonight, he said.
The fans don t deserve what we showed tonight. I take the blame.
After a tournament like this you need someone else in charge.
We tried to give t…
Philippe Clement has handed his Rangers players a warning from his own past as he urged them to create more history and not live off Thursday’s European triumph.
Rangers swept into the last 16 of the Europa League with a 3-2 victory over Real Betis in Seville.
It was the first time a Rangers team had beaten Spanish opposition away from home and Kemar Roofe’s winner achieved what Real Madrid failed to do five days earlier and inflicted a first home defeat of the season on Betis.
Rangers have another huge match on Sunday against Aberdeen at Hampden as they look to take the League Cup back to Ibrox for the first time since 2011.
Clement has been trying to bring his players back down to earth following their Spanish heroics and ensure they are ready to fa…
Best Odds: 6/11
Bookmaker:
Looking to lay down an opening weekend marker on Saturday night, Anderlecht will welcome St. Truiden to Lotto Park.
Anderlecht
Starting with the hosts, wrapping up a Pro League bronze medal finish last season and booking a Europa League return, Anderlecht will be looking to carry on from where they left off back in May. With some around Lotto Park believing that the Purples can mount a genuine title charge this time around, Brian Riemer’s men will be hoping to make an early statement of intent here. Excited to get things underway on Saturday night, the former Copenhagen coach also saw his squad enjoy a real summer flurry. Winning five of their six pre-season showdowns over the past month, Anderlecht also found quite the clinical edg…
Dwight McNeil’s brace secured Everton’s first three points of the Premier League season, completing a comeback of their own in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Amid speculation of a takeover attempt at Everton during the week, the hosts also provided renewed hope on the pitch, as they continued their fine form against Palace at Goodison Park.
Marc Guehi gave the visitors an early lead, poking home at the near post, seeming to signal the continuation of Everton’s woes.
But Sean Dyche’s side rallied after the break, with McNeil hitting the back of the net with a delightful long-range strike in the 47th minute before adding a second at the far post just seven minutes later.
Abdoulaye Doucoure had the opportunity to put the game to bed 10 minutes from t…
It was billed as the Eden Hazard show: Belgium s global star was back in Lille, the north-eastern French town where he made his name, a stone s throw from the Belgian border.
Instead, the Euro 2016 quarter-final between Wales and Belgium was dominated not by the number 10 in blue, but in red.
Aaron Ramsey produced the finest performance of his career on that unforgettable night as Wales achieved the greatest result in their history, fighting back from a goal down to win 3-1 and reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time.
That Belgium game was a historic moment for us, for Wales, Ramsey said this week. Obviously, that s going to live in people s memories for a long, long time. We started a bit shaky, they scored a screamer, but we settled dow…
Shakhtar Donetsk delayed Barcelona’s hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages after claiming a shock 1-0 win in their Group H clash in Hamburg.
Danylo Sikan headed the only goal in the 40th minute from a cross by Giorgi Gocholeishvili, while Shakhtar had a second effort from 18-year-old Newerton ruled out for offside.
The defeat ended Barcelona’s 100 per cent start to the group and enabled Porto to pull level on nine points at the top after they beat 10-man Royal Antwerp 2-0.
Victory evening in Hamburg
What emotions! What a victory
— FC SHAKHTAR ENGLISH (@FCShakhtar_eng)
Evanilson’s early penalty and a late strike from Pepe sealed victory for the hosts and left the Belgians, who had Jurgen Ekkelencamp sent of…
Germany captain Michael Ballack, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday in three weeks, said Thursday he will decide if he will continue playing after the World Cup in June next year.
I will decide after the 2010 World Cup if I will continue playing or if I will stop, the Chelsea star told the Express newspaper while preparing for Saturday s friendly against South Africa in Leverkusen.
I will continue as long as I enjoy it and still have ambitions in the sport.
Ballack, who played in the 2002 World Cup final and the semi-final of the 2006 tournament, has scored 41 goals in 93 appearances for Germany.
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Sergio Aguero has signed a one-year contract extension at Manchester City that ties him to the Premier League champions until 2021.
Aguero is City s all-time leading goalscorer with 204 strikes and is in his eighth season at the club, having joined from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
The Argentina international, who has scored three goals in five Premier League appearances this season, expressed his satisfaction at signing a deal that would see him celebrate a decade at the club when it expires.
I am happy for this additional year, said Aguero in a statement.
My idea was being here for 10 years. I ve been here for seven years, it s going to be 10 when the contract expires.
This was the main reason I signed. I m very happy because they have treated …