List of All Articles with Tag 'f'

Joan Laporta reveals why Barcelona rejected a €100m offer for Man Utd and Bayern target Frenkie de Jong despite the club's financial crisis.

After a surprisingly tight Sunday night game in Week 6, NBC is set to broadcast a massive showdown between two high-powered offenses in Week 7.

Conor McGregor reacted to Islam Makhachev’s stunning first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 by suggesting the victory shouldn’t have stood due to illegal shots. The former UFC champion responded to Makhachev’s finish by saying Volkanovski had been put to sleep by strikes landing on the back of the Australian’s head. Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king. Makhachev followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev, the mentee and childhood friend of UFC lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The result extended Makhachev’s win streak to 13 fights, dating back to 2015, when he suffered the sole loss of his professional career. Meanwhile, Volkanovski was beaten for the third time as a pro, though he remains undefeated at his preferred weight of 145lbs. Watching along, McGregor posted on Twitter/X that Volkanovski was vulnerable: “He was always susceptible to that vs a southpaw,” McGregor wrote. However McGregor then responded to a fan pointing out that Volkanovski appeared to be hit on the back of his head, which is illegal. “A difficult sport to ref,” McGregor wrote, in comments that have since been deleted. “To stop that on a warning or a point deduction when volk was essentially out already is a tricky one. But there would be grounds for it, 100 per cent. Would have been nail biting stuff. “I’d have loved to see it happen. Back of the head shots are not good.” Read More Makhachev stuns Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 UFC 294 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev fight results after shock KO Islam Makhachev demands two words from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294

Jeremy Doku is convinced Manchester City are the best and is determined to prove it. The Belgium winger shone as the champions got back to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday with a hard-fought 2-1 success over Brighton at the Etihad Stadium. Doku created City’s opening goal for Julian Alvarez and was a constant threat on the left as City put the successive defeats they suffered prior to the international break behind them. Doku, a £55million summer signing from Rennes, said: “It was very important – not only for the table but also just for us in our heads. “It was a difficult game but we are a good team, the best team for me and we have to prove it every time, every game we are on the pitch. Here, we did it.” City looked to be cruising to victory after Alvarez’s seventh goal of the campaign on seven minutes was followed by a clinical strike from Erling Haaland 12 minutes later. Doku, who gave veteran former City player James Milner a particularly torrid time, twice curled efforts narrowly over as the hosts threatened more. The Seagulls rallied after the break Ansu Fati gave them hope with a reply 17 minutes from time. City were then left clinging on after Manuel Akanji was sent off for a second bookable offence in stoppage time, a dismissal that means he will now miss next weekend’s Manchester derby. “Some games like this are difficult but we kept on going,” said Doku. “It was 10 against 11 at the end but we showed that we are there mentality, so aggressive. “We’re happy with the result after some difficult results that we had the past weeks. It was important mentally and I hope we can keep on going like this.” For Brighton, the result was compounded by the loss of Danny Welbeck and Solly March to injury, the pair joining an already lengthy casualty list that includes Julio Enciso, Jakub Moder, Pervis Estupinan and Tariq Lamptey. Yet after being outplayed in the first half, the visitors can take confidence from their recovery in the second period. Goalkeeper Jason Steele said: “It was a game of two halves. In the first half we didn’t play good, nowhere near good enough for our level. “In the second half I think we showed what we’re about a lot more. We were braver, we pressed better and that was the big difference. “We had the chances in the second half to definitely get a point and ultimately we didn’t, so we leave disappointed. “But with the second-half performance, at least we showed ourselves a little bit more.” Read More Newcastle boss Eddie Howe praises ‘ultimate professional’ Jacob Murphy Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire ‘playing like we want him to’ Ange Postecoglou praises ‘professional’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg David Beckham leads tributes to ‘national hero’ Sir Bobby Charlton Collin Morikawa returns to winning ways with six-shot victory in Japan Tributes paid to ‘giant of the game’ Sir Bobby Charlton after his death at 86

A look at what has been said about Mykhailo Mudryk's Premier League goal for Chelsea against Arsenal and whether it was a cross or shot, including the reaction of Mauricio Pochettino and Mikel Arteta

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Vinicius Junior congratulated Sevilla for quickly ejecting a supporter and handing them over to authorities for racist behaviour during Real Madrid's 1-1 draw.

Bet365 is giving new users a guaranteed $150 bonus betting just $5 on any NFL Week 7 game! Find out how to claim this exclusive, limited-time promo here.

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United's 2-1 win at Sheffield United honoured the memory of Sir Bobby Charlton, who has passed away at the age of 86.

Eddie Howe has saluted unsung hero Jacob Murphy after watching him inspire Newcastle to Premier League victory over Crystal Palace. Murphy, a £12million signing from Norwich in July 2017, has been a peripheral character for much of his time at St James’ Park to date and was sent out on loan to West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday before Howe’s appointment as head coach in November 2021. However, it was the 28-year-old that the manager turned to for the club’s first Champions League fixture in 20 years at AC Milan last month, and he was asked to fill the injured Harvey Barnes’ boots against Palace, responding with the opening goal and setting up two of the three which followed in a 4-0 win. Asked about the contribution of a man whose future at one point looked to lie away from St James’ Park, Howe said: “He’s someone who is the ultimate professional. He’s reliable, plays multiple positions and has never let me down. “For me, it’s all about consistency. What you’re looking for from the players’ perspective is that they turn up every day and give their best. “Now, you’re going to have some good days and you’re going to have some bad days. I always say that the key response is how you handle the bad days. “Before I came here, Jacob had some difficult moments, but you have to keep coming back. “You have to be really resilient, you have to keep turning up, and I believe that if you do the right things off the pitch, then eventually you’ll show the right things on the pitch. After the PSG win, we want to continue our momentum and see where it takes us Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe “For me, he’s just been that model of consistency in his approach and attitude. “It’s great to see someone who puts that work in rewarded with an opportunity, and then it’s all about taking that opportunity. He’s done that, and it’s great to see.” Murphy’s fourth-minute opener, a lob towards Callum Wilson which looped over keeper Sam Johnstone and crept inside the far post, set the Magpies on their way, but it was two goals inside three minutes at the end of the first half which put them out of sight as Anthony Gordon, from Murphy’s cross, and Sean Longstaff found the back of the net. Callum Wilson completed the scoring 24 minutes from time with the former Canaries winger again supplying the assist to send Newcastle, who used midfielder Sandro Tonali as a second-half substitute as he awaits the outcome of a betting investigation, into Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Tyneside confident they can build upon their 4-1 demolition of Paris St Germain. Howe said: “After the PSG win, we want to continue our momentum and see where it takes us.” Opposite number Roy Hodgson left the north-east in sombre mood after a day to forget. Hodgson said: “We were unfortunate with the first goal, of course, that didn’t help, that freak goal. “If we’d have scored it, I’d have be delighted, but it’s a tough goal to have against you after a few minutes because that’s not one that really has come about because you’ve got it totally wrong defensively.” Read More Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire ‘playing like we want him to’ Ange Postecoglou praises ‘professional’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg David Beckham leads tributes to ‘national hero’ Sir Bobby Charlton Collin Morikawa returns to winning ways with six-shot victory in Japan Tributes paid to ‘giant of the game’ Sir Bobby Charlton after his death at 86 On This Day in 2010 – Wayne Rooney makes shock U-turn after Man Utd quit threat

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire is “playing like we want him to” after a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-1 win at Sheffield United. Maguire started his second successive Premier League game and stood out against his former club at Bramall Lane as the Red Devils marked the death of Sir Bobby Charlton with three points. The England centre-half’s career at Old Trafford appeared to be over after he was stripped of the captaincy and allowed to explore the possibility of signing for West Ham in the summer, but he was always committed to regaining Ten Hag’s favour. I am happy with his performance Erik ten Hag on Harry Maguire He looks to be doing that now, with the Dutchman impressed by his Bramall Lane performance. “I have to say Harry is playing like we want him to play,” he said. “Very proactive out of possession, dominating his opponent, stepping in when necessary, reading the game, good covering but also in possession very proactive, stepping in, delivering good passes, switching, yes, I am happy with his performance.” The Red Devils hardly put in a fitting performance to remember Charlton by but they got the job done against a team who are yet to win this season. They went ahead against the run of play when Scott McTominay scored his third goal in two games but Oli McBurnie’s penalty quickly levelled for the Blades before the break. Ten Hag’s men improved after the interval and won it in the 77th minute through Diogo Dalot’s curling effort. A long season is on the cards for the Blades, who have taken just one point from their opening nine games of the season. They have been hit hard by injuries, losing captain John Egan and vice-captain Chris Basham to serious knocks, and they suffered more bad news on that front. Anel Ahmedhodzic missed out with a hamstring injury, while McBurnie limped off with a groin problem. On Ahmedhodzic, boss Paul Heckingbottom said: “It’s his hamstring. He jumped for a header in training and hurt his hamstring. He’s had a scan. It will be weeks.” “Oli’s groin started impacting him. It was sore at half-time and we tried taping it up but you could see it was impacting him running. “We had to bring him off because he was hindered by that but also to protect him as well.” Read More Ange Postecoglou praises ‘professional’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg David Beckham leads tributes to ‘national hero’ Sir Bobby Charlton Collin Morikawa returns to winning ways with six-shot victory in Japan Tributes paid to ‘giant of the game’ Sir Bobby Charlton after his death at 86 On This Day in 2010 – Wayne Rooney makes shock U-turn after Man Utd quit threat Sevilla promise strong action against supporter who racially abused Vinicius Jr

Sunday's transfer rumours, including updates on Jamal Musiala, Sandro Tonali, Jadon Sancho, Lucas Paqueta and more.