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…
Smelling what was a golden chance to lay down a real marker on Sunday afternoon, Arsenal stormed their way to north London bragging rights with a rampant display at the Emirates.
Backed by a vocal home support, the Gunners enjoyed a remarkable free-scoring start to this weekend s derby showdown as they headed down the tunnel with a deserved 3-0 lead at half-time.
Putting in what was arguably a season-best display on home soil, Sunday s hosts also managed to extend on what has become a real September purple patch.
Extending on their rampant home record against their bitter local rivals, we have taken a look at all the major talking points as Arsenal breezed past Tottenham.
The Gunners September purple patch
Opening Sunday s derby showdown with the mood i…
Spain lost at the scene of their 2010 FIFA World Cup final triumph on Tuesday after a shock 1-0 defeat to South Africa.
Vicente del Bosque s men returned to Soccer City in Johannesburg for the first time since Spain beat Netherlands 1-0 in the final of the World Cup three years ago.
However, it proved a bittersweet occasion as striker Bernard Parker scored the only goal of the game in the friendly with a delicate finish after being played through by Thabo Matlaba.
There was late controversy, though, as Spain made a seventh substitution the most permitted in a friendly is six as goalkeeper Pepe Reina replaced the injured Victor Valdes nine minutes from time.
Germany claimed victory as rivalries with England were renewed, Per Mertesacker s second-half header inspir…
Spanish champions Barcelona performed a u-turn under pressure from promoters on Tuesday and said that Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi would after all play in a match against an all-star team on Wednesday.
Their decision came just hours after Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had revealed that Messi whose World Cup ended in disappointment as the Argentinians were humbled 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals would not feature as he had just returned from holiday and was not match fit.
However, following a hastily-arranged meeting with the promoters, the Catalan club issued a statement saying that Messi would after all play a role.
The promoters of the tournament and Barcelona representatives held a meeting in which the matter of Leo Messi playing in the match was …
Manuel Neuer is ready to face an aggressive Bayer Leverkusen side as Bayern Munich look to end a disappointing run of results at the BayArena on Saturday.
A 2-1 Bundesliga victory in March 2013 was the champions only win in their last eight away games against Leverkusen in all competitions.
Bayern s preparations for the clash have been overshadowed by off-the-field news, with confirmation that Pep Guardiola will join Manchester City next season and media allegations concerning the behaviour of Arturo Vidal which prompted the Chile international to threaten legal action stealing the headlines, along with claims of a dressing-room mole unsettling the squad.
Neuer, however, is looking forward to playing under the floodlights in Leverkusen and is confident his side a…
Hatem Ben Arfa is not thinking about returning to the France squad following a series of impressive showings for Nice.
The 28-year-old signed for the Cote d Azur club in January 2015 after having his contract with Newcastle United terminated, but was ineligible to play until this season.
Ben Arfa has not featured for France since their 2-0 defeat to Sweden in Euro 2012, and, despite an upturn in form which sees him level with Marseille s Michy Batshuayi at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts, he is not thinking about an international recall.
Honestly, I don t think about it. My priority is to have fun with my team, Ben Arfa told Nice s official website.
If France need me then Didier Deschamps will call me. It s not in my head.
Ben Arfa…
Portugal made sure of a place in the Nations League Finals as they scraped a fortuitous 0-0 draw away to a dominant Italy on Saturday.
Fernando Santos side were outplayed throughout at San Siro, but the hosts wasted some presentable openings and were unable to make the most of their superiority, allowing Portugal to claim the point they needed to top League A Group 3.
Italy looked infinitely better than their visitors in the first half, with Marco Verratti and Jorginho in complete control, but the lead eluded them as Ciro Immobile spurned a couple of excellent opportunities.
While the pattern of the match remained much the same after the interval, the chances dried up for Italy and ultimately Portugal managed to cling on to the draw they needed, rendering their …