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Luka Modric set to sign new Real Madrid real

Dean Smith admitted he did not see Leicester’s poor first-half performance coming as they were beaten 5-3 by Fulham at Craven Cottage to plunge them deeper into relegation trouble. The visitors were overrun before the break by Marco Silva’s side, with Leicester – porous and disorganised in defence – allowing Fulham to rip into them and build a three-goal lead by half-time. Willian and Tom Cairney both hit braces either side of the interval whilst Carlos Vinicius also netted to affirm the home side’s dominance, with two second-half goals from Harvey Barnes and a James Maddison penalty lending a respectability to the score that did not reflect Leicester’s frailties. It leaves Smith’s side in serious danger of being relegated from the Premier League with three games remaining, and he said: “The game was lost in the first half. “The performance in the first half was nowhere near what it has been and what the players can produce. I’m disappointed because I didn’t see that coming. We’d had a good week in training, good attitude, good application, good quality. “I expected a far better performance and a better start to the game than we got. At this level, if you give the kind of goals away that we gave away it’s going to be an uphill battle. “I don’t like basketball games, I don’t think it suits us given the fact we haven’t kept a clean sheet for so long. The first goal was really disappointing, a soft free-kick and it goes straight in. From there you could see the buoyancy in their players. “It was far too easy to get into our penalty box and create chances. We were quite happy to get in at half time to try and stem the flow. “I wasn’t happy (at half-time), the players weren’t happy with their performance as well. We started the second half better, had a chance early on then got done on the counter-attack ourselves.” It ended a three-game unbeaten run for Leicester which had seen them rise to 16th, but with only a point separating four threatened sides at the start of play the Foxes could ill afford to make the kind of start the travelling fans witnessed. Their woeful first half means no amount of effort after the break was likely to rescue the game, though the team did at least make a fight of the final 10 minutes with two late goals. By then they already trailed 5-1, and now face an uphill struggle in their final three games against Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham if they are to avoid dropping into the Sky Bet Championship for the first time since 2014. “We had a reaction (in the second half), said Smith. “We got some chances, had two penalties, we’ve scored three goals. I think we’ve had more shots than Fulham today, but the first half is what’s killed the game. “I was certainly very worried in the first half today. It got better in the second half. That’s the first time I’ve seen (a lack of fight) with these players. I hope I don’t see that again and I’m sure I won’t. “I can’t talk for the players but what I saw on the training ground this week, I thought we would be ready for this game. But the game was never going to be a given, any game in the Premier League is tough. “I believe there is (enough quality to survive). There are signs I had seen prior to the first half today that they’re good enough. The first half certainly was a step backwards, the second half was a step forwards again. We have to make sure we put in a 90-minute performance next week.” Fulham boss Silva felt the two-goal margin of victory for his side did not represent the gulf in class between the teams. “We were the best team on the pitch, no doubt about it,” he said. “We should have won this game much more comfortably. Great moments of football, great goals. From the first minute we were the team that started to command. “We started really intensely with desire, the will and quality to play. The dynamic we played in the first half and beginning of the second, I was really pleased to see it, the way the players expressed themselves on the pitch.” Read More Aleksandar Mitrovic ban ‘really tough’ for whole club – Fulham boss Marco Silva Steve Borthwick returns to Leicester to strengthen England’s coaching staff Dean Smith believes Jamie Vardy still has a lot to offer Leicester Marco Silva delighted to prove Fulham’s doubters wrong with fine campaign Everton showed character needed to avoid drop in Leicester draw – Idrissa Gueye Frida Maanum keeps Arsenal within reach of WSL title with winner against Leicester

Follow live coverage as Nottingham Forest take on Southampton in the Premier League tonight. This is a huge battle at the bottom of the table as 19th placed Nottingham Forest host bottom of the table Southampton. Should they win Forest would jump above Leeds and Leicester and move three points clear of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, the Saints need to pick up three points against their relegation rivals to keep themselves in with a chance of getting out of the bottom three. If they lose, they will be eight points from safety and would need to win their final three fixtures to stay up. We’ll bring you all the action and updates from today’s game in the live blog below: Read More ‘Hard to say’ whether Steve Cooper will work with Dean Henderson again Ruben Selles believes Southampton deserve a win ahead of crucial Forest game

Explaining the purpose of the plane that flew over Newcastle's Premier League match with Arsenal, including what the banner said and what it was referring to.

Predicting the Real Madrid starting XI that Carlo Ancelotti could pick to face Man City on 9 May 2023.

This Week in Playoff Mode, James Harden and Joel Embiid are clicking, no one can stop Devin Booker and the Warriors have a lineup problem.After going down 0-2 against the Nuggets and losing Chris Paul to injury, the Suns admitted they were “desperate.”The Nuggets knew what was co...

Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre: two Packers all-time greats. Both great at playing football, but one clearly beats the other in a different department.Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre are just as similar as you might think. The Green Bay Packers legends each spent 15-plus seasons in Wisconsin, threw...

Everything you need to know about the Champions League semi-final first leg clash between Real Madrid & Man City on 9 May 2023.

Predicting the Man City starting XI that Pep Guardiola could pick to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on 9 May 2023.

Sunderland snatched a place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs at Millwall’s expense in a dramatic final round of regular games, while Coventry also secured a top-six finish. Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats took sixth spot following a 3-0 win at Preston, where Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke netted after the break. Millwall had started the day in that position and looked set to seal a play-off berth at half-time against Blackburn, leading 3-1 with Duncan Watmore having scored a brace either side of Adam Wharton’s reply before Oliver Burke added a third for Gary Rowett’s men. But things turned around in remarkable fashion in the second half as a goal from Joe Rankin-Costello and two from Ben Brereton Diaz secured a 4-3 victory for Rovers. It left Millwall in eighth place, with Blackburn coming seventh as their own top-six hopes came to an end as they just missed out to Sunderland. Coventry, meanwhile, claimed the point they needed with a 1-1 draw at fourth-placed Middlesbrough, who had already secured their spot in the play-offs. Gustavo Hamer put Mark Robins’ Sky Blues ahead before Cameron Archer equalised in first-half stoppage time. West Brom were the other team starting the day with a chance of making the top six but they suffered a 3-2 defeat at Swansea, for whom Joel Piroe scored a stoppage-time winner. Albion had led twice, with efforts from Okay Yokuslu and Semi Ajayi being cancelled out by Luke Cundle and Olivier Ntcham. Luton, already confirmed as finishing third, drew 0-0 at home against Hull and will now face Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals, while Middlesbrough take on Coventry. Champions Burnley beat Cardiff 3-0 at Turf Moor, Josh Brownhill, Ashley Barnes and Scott Twine getting on the scoresheet as Vincent Kompany’s men finished with 101 points, while second-placed Sheffield United – also with automatic promotion already achieved – won 2-1 at Birmingham. Oliver McBurnie and James McAtee scored in quick succession for the Blades early in the second half, with Dion Sanderson pulling a goal back for the hosts. Among the three relegated teams, Blackpool finished on the most positive note as Morgan Rogers’ early goal earned them a 1-0 win at Norwich. Bottom side Wigan drew 0-0 at home with Rotherham, while 22nd-placed Reading lost 2-0 at Huddersfield, where Josh Koroma and Joseph Hungbo got the goals. Elsewhere, Watford beat Stoke 2-0 at Vicarage Road, Imran Louza and Keinan Davis netting, and it was the same scoreline as Bristol City triumphed at QPR, with Mark Sykes and Sam Bell on target. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sunderland snatch play-off spot on dramatic Championship final day Ros wins Badminton title at a Canter Newcastle’s Dan Burn refuses to criticise Arsenal’s ‘stifling’ tactics

Quite the scene.

The Atlanta Braves are nearing full strength, which should terrify the rest of baseball. Atlanta activated Travis d'Arnaud off the injured list.While it was thought Travis d'Arnaud's inclusion on the roster would lead to a Marcell Ozuna DFA, that may no longer be the case due to t...