Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez thanked his former Stuttgart team-mates for holding Borussia Dortmund to a draw on Friday.
Dortmund held a five-point lead over Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table ahead of last weekend s action.
But the gap was slashed by two points after Juergen Klopp s men were held to a 4-4 draw at home to Stuttgart while Bayern won 1-0 against Nurenberg .
Mario congratulated us immediately after the game. Not by text, though. He sent a video message together with a few Bayern players, Stuttgart midfielder Christian Gentner said.
The 26-year-old Gomez is a product of the Stuttgart youth academy and made well over 100 Bundesliga appearances for the club before joining Bayern in 2009.
He played alongside Gentner in sev…
The Football Association insists it “understands the concerns” of EFL clubs over the scrapping of FA Cup replays and will be sharing details with them on how new revenue will be generated.
The FA announced on Thursday that replays would be abolished from the first round onwards, sparking criticism from the EFL and its clubs over a lack of consultation.
However, football’s national governing body has moved to allay some of the fears clubs have expressed over the move.
FA statement on changes to the Emirates FA Cup
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
“We understand the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and we will be sharing more details with clubs very shortly to explain the additional revenue opportunities in the early rounds,�…
Manchester United are desperate to sign Leicester City defender Harry Maguire.
Maguire, 26, has reportedly told Leicester he wants to leave, with both Manchester clubs linked with a move for the centre-back.
But it seems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to bring the England international to Old Trafford.
TOP STORY – MAN UNITED STARS GIVE MAGUIRE THUMBS-UP
Maguire is Manchester United s number one defensive target, according to the Mirror.
The report says Solskjaer received positive feedback from the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young, the United trio having played with Maguire for England.
The Mirror also say United assistant manager Mike Phelan is desperate for the club to sign Maguire, who he worked with b…
Jose Mourinho described Manchester United as the champion of wrong decisions despite his side benefitting from some controversial calls against West Ham on Monday.
United won 2-0 at London Stadium through goals from Juan Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to extend their run to six Premier League victories in a row and close to within a point of the top four.
The game turned on referee Mike Dean s decision to send off Sofiane Feghouli after only 15 minutes, with the Algeria winger earning a straight red card after he arrived later than Phil Jones in a bruising 50-50 challenge.
West Ham were frustrated further when Ibrahimovic turned and blasted in the killer second goal 12 minutes from time after the officials failed to spot that he had strayed offside.
Mourinho…
Justin Kluivert has joined RB Leipzig on a season-long loan from Roma.
Roma paid an initial €17.25million to sign Kluivert from Ajax in June 2018 and he has scored nine goals in 68 appearances for the club.
Following the arrivals of Borja Mayoral and Pedro at the Stadio Olimpico, however, the 21-year-old has been allowed to leave for Leipzig and is looking forward to the chance to play in the Champions League.
I am glad that the move to RB Leipzig worked out. RB Leipzig showed me in the good conversations we had that the move here is ideal to develop myself further, to take the proverbial next step and to help the team in this way, said Kluivert.
My goal is to gain match practice here. The Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world w…
Raheem Sterling believes Pep Guardiola s introduction of fines to punish indiscipline has proven crucial in turning Manchester City into the Premier League s gold standard.
City s failure to win the title in successive seasons saw Guardiola hired in 2016, and although they finished third to Chelsea and Tottenham in his first campaign, the foundations for greatness were being laid.
Records tumbled in 2017-18, as City blitzed all the competition in an historic season, before holding off Liverpool s challenge this term in another remarkable title charge to become the first team in 10 years to retain their crown.
While Guardiola has been revered for his tactical approach and coaching throughout his managerial career, Sterling puts City s improvement down to something…
New York City FC will play Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup after coming from behind to beat Philadelphia Union 2-1 in the Eastern Conference final on Sunday.
An Alexander Callens own goal was cancelled out by Maxi Moralez, and a late Talles Magno winner sent NYCFC to their first ever appearance in the championship game, which will take place in Portland on Saturday.
Ronny Deila s New York side were missing star player Valentin Castellanos through suspension and struggled to impose themselves on the game until they were forced to do so when falling behind.
A nervy contest burst into life just after the hour mark as Philadelphia took a 63rd-minute lead. Daniel Gazdag whipped a searching ball into the box and New York City defender Callens diverted it into …
Jordi Alba leapt to the defence of Spain coach Luis Enrique after La Roja suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat since 1993 at the hands of Sweden on Thursday.
In what was their first game since losing to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 semi-finals, Spain were in Stockholm hoping to go top of Group B on the road to Qatar 2022.
It was initially going well too, as Carlos Soler opened his account less than four minutes into his international debut as he turned in an Alba delivery.
But the Valencia midfielder made an error almost straight after the restart and Alexander Isak netted from 20 yards, meaning Spain s lead lasted just 63 seconds.
Viktor Claesson got the winner for Sweden in the second half, producing a cleverly disguised finish after …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 4/6 @
Two sides who have their sights set on securing a top-half finish this season, Toulouse will welcome Montpellier to the Stadium Municipal on Friday evening.
Starting with the hosts, while Toulouse might have opened up 2024 in the midst of a real Ligue 1 struggle, Les Violets have come roaring back in some style. Skyrocketing their way up the table and finding a route into the top-half, Carles Novell’s men should find the mood in their camp at a real high. Last seen mounting a dramatic second-half comeback away at Lorient as they clinched a 2-1 victory, the one-time Barcelona coach has not seen his squad suffer a single defeat from any of their previous five appearances. Making a real statement last month as they secured …
Cristiano Ronaldo s exit will not be an issue for any potential Manchester United buyers, believes football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
The Portugal forward has departed the Red Devils by mutual consent following an disappointing homecoming spell with the Old Trafford outfit.
Having been the face of the club since his return last year, Ronaldo s abrupt farewell though likely in line with Erik ten Hag s vision for the club sees United lose one of their prior assets, as the Glazer family mull a sale.
But speaking to Stats Perform, Maguire does not feel his exit will be a stumbling block to future investors mulling a takeover, particularly from a commercial standpoint.
[The] club s bigger than the player, he said. Cristiano Ronaldo thought he was bigger …