Jermain Defoe made a goalscoring return to the international fold as England chalked up a routine 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania.
The 20th strike of Defoe s international career came after 21 minutes at Wembley and four years on from his 19th versus minnows San Marino in March 2013.
Aside from the 34-year-old Sunderland striker celebrating a starting berth in familiar style, there was little else to write home about in a forgettable encounter.
Manchester City centre-back John Stones was forced into a goal-line clearance on the stroke of half-time but Gareth Southgate s side closed out victory in comfort after Defoe s replacement Jamie Vardy doubled their advantage midway through the second period.
Burnley s Michael Keane made his competitiv…
Daniele De Rossi is physically fit to face Torino but has been shaken by the loss of his friend Davide Astori, Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco has said.
Astori was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday, plunging Italian football into mourning and prompting the postponement of the day s Serie A fixtures.
The 31-year-old Fiorentina captain, who was found to have died of natural causes related to a heart problem, played alongside De Rossi at Roma in 2014-15 and also for Italy s national team.
Addressing the media on Thursday, the Giallorossi coach was asked if his skipper is in the right frame of mind to play on Friday.
He s been very down, he was really close to Davide, said Di Francesco.
From a physical point of view he s available and could pla…
Marco Asensio dismissed suggestions Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was unfair for dropping him from the European champions starting XI.
Asensio has established himself as one of Europe s most promising midfielders since joining Madrid from Mallorca in 2014.
After an impressive loan spell with Espanyol, Asensio became a regular in Madrid s squad last term and has seen his involvement further increased this season.
The 22-year-old was particularly impressive in the first half of the campaign and started nine LaLiga games before Christmas, but he has appeared in the starting XI rather more sporadically since the turn of the year.
And when it was put to him that Zidane may have been a little unfair to him, Asensio was adamant the responsibility was all his…
Suffering a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo s in their final Group G appearance in this year s Champions League on Tuesday night, Barcelona have the feel of a club really in crisis.
Suffering their first European defeat at the Nou Camp since that embarrassing 8-2 loss at the hands of Bayern Munich over the summer, it is no surprise that many around Catalonia are calling for Ronald Koeman to be given his marching orders.
Despite their former defender only taking over back in August after leaving his role with the Dutch national side, the one-time Everton boss finds his new squad sat all the way down in ninth in the La Liga table.
With their shock 2-1 defeat against Cadiz last weekend highlighting a string of issues, we have taken a look at three r…
Paris Saint-Germain have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel a day after they hammered Strasbourg 4-0, according to widespread reports.
Tuchel has come under increasing pressure this season, with champions PSG third in Ligue 1 after losing four of their 17 matches.
A rout of struggling Strasbourg on Wednesday came too late for the German boss, who was reportedly relieved of his duties on Christmas Eve.
Former Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who spent over two years with PSG in his playing days, looks poised to replace the 47-year-old.
Tuchel masterminded back-to-back Ligue 1 title triumphs after he was appointed in May 2018, also winning the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and claiming the Trophee des Champions twice.
PSG missed o…
Benfica s home form could get them across the line in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final versus Fenerbahce.
Although Fenerbahce enter Thursday s match at the Estadio da Luz with a 1-0 lead, following their triumph in Istanbul last week, Benfica will have plenty of confidence at their home stadium as they have lost there just once all season.
Barcelona defeated Benfica in the UEFA Champions League s group stage in October, but the leaders of Portugal s Liga Sagres have only missed out on victory on three other occasions, with draws against Sporting Braga, Porto and Pacos de Ferreira.
Benfica s impressive home record extends even further in the Europa League as the Lisbon-based club have not lost in 14 matches, with their last defeat coming at th…
Milan snapped a six-match winless run in all competitions with a crushing 5-1 victory over relegation-threatened Cagliari in Saturday s Serie A clash at San Siro.
The win moves Stefano Pioli s side closer to securing second place, sitting on 74 points and seven ahead of third-placed Bologna and eight clear of Juventus, who host Salernitana on Sunday.
Ismael Bennacer opened the scoring after 35 minutes, pouncing on a loose ball in the centre of the box before Christian Pulisic extended their advantage after a fast break in the 59th minute.
Tijjani Reijnders scored a third for Milan with a superb long-range effort in the 74th minute and Rafael Leao got on the scoresheet seven minutes from time before Pulisic sealed the rout three minutes later with his second of th…
Paris Saint-Germain can equal a Ligue 1 record that has remained unbroken for over 20 years when they travel to play Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
Laurent Blanc s champions are unbeaten in their last 31 Ligue 1 matches dating back to last season and are now one away from making it 32, equalling Nantes longstanding record which was set between July 1994 and April 1995.
PSG have won 19 of their 22 league games this season and go into the weekend an astonishing 21 points clear of nearest rivals Monaco, who have picked up just 10 victories.
They have picked up 60 points from 22 games, which is the best tally ever recorded in the French top flight at this stage of a season.
Saint-Etienne, meanwhile have won only five of their last 15 league contests, losing eight o…
Olivier Giroud believes spending time playing in the lower divisions in France helped mould him into a tougher player.
The Arsenal striker featured in the second and third tiers in his native country for Grenoble, Istres and Tours, finally moving into the top-flight with a transfer to Montpellier in 2010.
Giroud was the highest-scoring player in Ligue 1 with 21 goals as the Herault club claimed the domestic title in 2011-12.
The 29-year-old thinks having to work his way up to the top level of European football, rather than graduating from France s famed Clairefontaine academy like many of his international team-mates, has made him more resilient.
I definitely feel tougher because the beginning of my career was different to than if I played for Marseill…
Cristiano Ronaldo fired a broadside at the media after Real Madrid clinched their 33rd La Liga title, saying: People talk about me and do not know a damn thing.
Ronaldo was responding to questions about gestures he was alleged to have made towards Celta Vigo s players during Madrid s 4-1 victory on Wednesday, in which he was said to have suggested the home side had been incentivised by third parties to raise their game and derail the capital club s title charge.
The four-time Ballon d Or winner said the media s portrayal of him was wide of the mark, but stopped short of denying the accusations thrown at him following Madrid s 2-0 win at Malaga on Sunday, which officially dethroned titleholders Barcelona.
He told Marca: People talk about me like I m a delinquent.…