Simply watching on this year as snatched their Premier League crown with an 18-point buffer, it is no surprise Manchester City are looking to strengthen this summer.

Failing to replace former skipper and defensive talisman Vincent Kompany last year, Pep Guardiola’s side also bid a farewell to who made the move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £54.8million last month.

On paper, it is expected to be a hectic summer at the Etihad.

Looking to get their business done early and prepare for the quick turnaround until the 2020/2021 campaign gets underway, the Sky Blues announced the arrival of exciting Valencia starlet Ferran Torres on a five-year deal in Manchester.

Have City found the perfect Sane replacement?

While Guardiola might have made…

The second instalment of Liverpool s clash with Barcelona takes place on Tuesday, with the Spanish side on the verge of the Champions League final following a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou in the first leg.

Lionel Messi was the star of the show on that occasion, scoring twice  one a spectacular free kick  to add to Luis Suarez s opener against his former side.

Liverpool s task of turning the tie around is made all the harder by injuries. Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Monday that forward duo Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah will both miss the tie, while midfielder Naby Keita is ruled out after picking up an injury during the defeat in Spain.

Either Ajax or Tottenham will be the opponents in the final, with the Dutch side holding a 1-0 first-leg lead. Ahead of the ga…

Arsenal want to sign Raheem Sterling from London and Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a fan of the former Liverpool and Manchester City attacking midfielder and is keen on bringing the England international to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2023.

Sterling has been on the books of Chelsea since the summer of 2022 when he joined from defending champions Manchester City. The 28-year-old has not had the best of times at the former UEFA Champions League winners so far this season. The former Liverpool winger has scored four goals and given three assists in 15 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League and has scored two goals and provided one assist in six…

Didier Deschamps hailed the complementary partnership between Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe after France ended their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Finland.

Benzema s deflected 66th-minute effort and a sublime individual goal from Mbappe, who had teed up the Real Madrid star for the opener, 10 minutes later ensured victory for Les Bleus in Helsinki.

The result denied Finland a place in the play-offs as Ukraine finished second in Group D. France, meanwhile, end qualifying unbeaten and are undefeated in their past 27 competitive matches, though that run includes the stunning Euro 2020 shoot-out loss to Switzerland, a streak that stretches back to June 2019.

We must not forget Antoine Griezmann, Deschamps said afterward when asked about Benzem…

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool have only been hindered by the latest international break.

The Reds 25-game unbeaten run came to an end before the latest round of international fixtures, with West Ham winning 3-2 at London Stadium.

That defeat followed on from a draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield, with the two results leaving Liverpool four points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of Saturday s home game with in-form Arsenal.

Given Liverpool s patchy form, Klopp was asked if the final international break of the year had given the team a chance to reset, but the former Borussia Dortmund boss laughed off the suggestion.

No. I hate international breaks, and it didn t help from an injury point of view, said Klopp, who confirmed Jordan Henderson, Andrew …

Mauricio Pochettino defended Nicolas Jackson after the misfiring Chelsea striker was criticised by supporters during the Blues’ 2-0 home defeat to Brentford.

Jackson has scored two Premier League goals since his summer move from Villarreal.

Pochettino clarified that a fan had told the striker to “wake up” after a poor first-half display.

Team!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Ahead of their last-16 Carabao Cup clash against Blackburn, the Chelsea boss supported his player.

“We cannot abuse, even if you say ‘wake up’, because I think it’s not right,” Pochettino told a press conference on Tuesday.

“He suffered an injury (to his hand during the last international break), it’s difficult to train, to keep fit and to sco…

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has started 2020-21 in outstanding form for Everton, leading to the possibility of an England debut in the coming days. 

Having managed nine goals in six appearances across all competitions this season, Calvert-Lewin is the leading scorer in Europe s top five leagues. 

He leads a list which also includes Tottenham pair Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich great Robert Lewandowski and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah. 

Calvert-Lewin s reward is a first call up to the England senior squad ahead of the friendly with Wales, which is followed by Nations League clashes with Belgium and Denmark. 

But just how does Calvert-Lewin compare to his England team-mates, and what are t…

The outcome of the Serie A title race is completely down to Napoli following Monday s 5-0 demolition of Cagliari, according to Lorenzo Insigne.

Napoli have been in fine form this season, winning 22 and losing just one of their 26 top-flight matches to take them top of the table.

The weather-enforced postponement of Juventus clash with Atalanta on Sunday meant Napoli had the opportunity to open up a four-point cushion at the summit, and they did so with little fuss, winning away from home in comprehensive fashion.

Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens, Marek Hamsik, Mario Rui and Insigne scored the goals for Maurizio Sarri s swashbuckling side.

And Insigne thinks the title is Napoli s to lose, with Juventus potentially set to miss out for the first time since the …

Trent Alexander-Arnold is feeling pain-free and is eager to make his return for Liverpool this week after recovering from a thigh problem.

The right-back sustained the injury during England s 1-0 win over Austria in a friendly on June 2 and was subsequently ruled out of the Three Lions Euro 2020 campaign.

He has taken part in full training during the Reds pre-season training camp in Austria, however, and may feature in Tuesday s 30-minute friendlies against Wacker Innsbruck and Stuttgart.

I m fully pain-free. I ve been doing a lot of rehab when we were off over the summer with the physios and the medical staff, which was good, he told Liverpool s official website.

I feel fit, I feel healthy and I m back in full training now, so it s good. It s good for …

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With an Olympic gold medal up for grabs this weekend, Brazil and Spain will face-off at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on Saturday lunchtime.

Brazil U23

Starting with Brazil, while The Yellows might not have been at their best earlier in the week, André Jardine s side did manage to extend on their Olympic adventure from the penalty spot. Eventually coming past what was a sluggish Mexico outfit in the semi-finals, the Seleção have largely impressed many this summer. Looking to make even more history after Neymar s heroics in Rio five years ago, the South American giants know that they re now just one win away from making it back-to-back gold medals. Opening up their Group D run a fortnight ago with a thumping 4-2 victory against 201…