Brazil report banana thrown at Richarlison in Paris friendly

Swede Lars Lagerback, has been named as Nigeria s coach on a five-month contract through until the World Cup in South Africa, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced on Saturday.

The 61-year-old was interviewed on Friday and named after a meeting of the NFF board here early Saturday.

He takes over from Shuaibu Amodu, who was sacked after Nigeria lost 1-0 to Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals last month.

Lagerback began work with the Sweden Football Association in 1990, concentrating on the the country s junior teams.

In 1996, he took over the Sweden B team and stayed there until 1998 when Tommy Soderberg took him on as assistant coach for Sweden.

In 2000, he was promoted to the position of joint-coach, a responsibility he woul…

One bright spark

I am wondering if Sir Alex Ferguson is beginning to feel a little worried about things at Manchester United.

Competitive

His first team is still competitive in the race for the Premier League title although Chelsea are looking good for that. They have lost to Chelsea and Liverpool and been somewhat fortunate to beat Arsenal and Manchester City. Whilst they are clearly still in the top two or three, they do not seem to have compensated for the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

In Europe, United have been less than impressive despite qualifying with games to spare. They have looked vulnerable at the back and less decisive in front of goal than they have been for a long time.

Shadow

At the back, Nemanja Vidic looks like a pale shadow…

Marcelino has signed a new three-year deal at Villarreal, the Liga club have confirmed.

The former Spain youth international – whose contract was set to expire at the end of this season – arrived at Villarreal in January 2013 and guided the club to second in the Segunda Division, sealing a return to the top flight.

In their first two campaigns back in La Liga, Villarreal finished sixth on both occasions, securing qualification to the Europa League.

They reached the last 16 in 2014-15 before being knocked out by eventual champions Sevilla.

This season, Marcelino has led the club to fifth in La Liga after 11 matches, while once again they look well placed to reach the knockout stages of the Europa League.

An official presentation to an…

Harry Kane made it eight goals in his last five games as his double helped Tottenham to an impressive 4-1 Premier League victory against London rivals West Ham on Sunday.

Kane s turn and finish put Spurs in front midway through the first half, before Cheikhou Kouyate struck the crossbar for West Ham with an acrobatic effort.

Toby Alderweireld headed in a second and Dele Alli hit the bar in a frantic end to the first half, before Kane netted with a shot from the edge of the box and Kyle Walker produced a fine finish after the break.

Manuel Lanzini contributed an impressive consolation goal for the visitors, before substitute Ryan Mason smashed an effort against the post as a great day for the hosts was almsot rounded off by a fifth goal.

The convincin…

Cristian Arango scored twice in an historic performance as Los Angeles FC claimed a 3-2 win over Real Salt Lake in a thrilling MLS contest on Sunday.

Arango s brace included the fastest goal in club history for LAFC – who have won four consecutive games against RSL – after opening the scoring just 20 seconds into the match at Banc of California Stadium.

It eclipsed Eduard Atuesta s record – he scored after 85 seconds on April 24 earlier this season.

Real Salt Lake equalised through Damir Kreilach s stunner approaching the half-hour mark, when the Croatian curled a strike into the net from distance.

Guaranteed delivery in 20 seconds or less. 1-0

— LAFC (@LAFC)

Visiting RSL were only on level terms for two minutes after Arango res…

Steve Bruce took no extra satisfaction from ending Hull City s winless Premier League run against his former club Sunderland.

Hull s new strike duo Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic were on target as Bruce marked his first return to the Stadium of Light since he was sacked by Sunderland in November 2011 with a win.

Wes Brown s third red card of the season for a professional foul on Long gave the visitors the initiative after just four minutes.

Hull made the most of their numerical advantage to secure a first win in six top-flight matches.

Yet Bruce insisted the three points were no more enjoyable just because they came against his old employers.

Loads has been said. I just said that last time I came here I needed a police escort to get home, that was two years …

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and Everton boss David Moyes were sent off after a touchline row as the visitors secured a 2-0 victory at Eastlands on Wednesday which seriously dents City s hopes of a top four finish.

Goals from Australia midfielder Tim Cahill and Spain s Mikel Arteta ensured Moyes men became the first team to leave City with three points since Fulham in April 2009, but the main talking point was the bizarre late incident which led to both bosses being dismissed.

The clash started after the ball flew out of play and was caught by Moyes, standing in the manager s technical area.

As the Scotsman appeared to be looking to throw the ball to a City player, Mancini stormed into the Everton touchline area and wrestled the ball from his grasp vi…

Morgan Schneiderlin says a difficult spell at Manchester United saw him fall out of love with football.

The France international midfielder was signed from Southampton by Louis van Gaal in July 2015 for a reported £27million fee, but he failed to make a significant impact at Old Trafford.

Schneiderlin s opportunities in the first team were further restricted when Jose Mourinho took charge last year and he only managed 11 minutes of football in the Premier League this season before joining Everton in January.

The 27-year-old says it was a difficult time for him but feels liberated working with Ronald Koeman his manager at Southampton once more.

I did lose my joy of football a little bit because when you don t play, you don t play with freedom and everyt…

Cristiano Ronaldo was angry at his failure to win the UEFA Player of the Year award, according to Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri.

Ronaldo, who joined Juve in July after scoring 15 goals as Real Madrid claimed the Champions League crown for the fourth time in five years, finished second in the voting behind his former Santiago Bernabeu team-mate Luka Modric.

Modric had a fine season, capped by helping Croatia to the World Cup final, but it was nevertheless a surprise that Ronaldo was not chosen by a panel comprised of the 80 coaches in the Champions League and Europa League group stages as well as 55 journalists.

And Allegri conceded his new signing was unimpressed.

Cristiano is fine and he has trained well, he said.

On Thursday, he was angr…

What the papers say

Real Madrid have reportedly been given an opportunity to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane. The Daily Mail, citing Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, says the Spanish giants have been offered the chance to pick up the 29-year-old in a player-plus-cash deal. Kane’s contract at Tottenham expires next summer and any transfer would give Spurs the chance to cash in before risking him leaving as a free agent.

Staying with Tottenham, The Sun reports the club’s search for a new manager has taken a blow, with Paris St Germain linked with a move for top target Luis Enrique. Citing Marca, the paper says the French powerhouses are likely to sack boss Christophe Galtier and enter the race for the former Spain coach.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror says 24-year-old…