Author: WebDesk

Frank Lampard took a big step towards restoring his reputation as a football manager by leading Coventry City into the Championship play-offs with a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough on the final day of the season. Coventry, who were 17th when Lampard took over from Mark Robins, finished fifth with 69 points, and will now play Sunderland – fourth with 76 points – in the play-off semi-finals. The other semi-final will see Sheffield United – third with 90 points – take on Bristol City, who took sixth spot with 68 points. The Indian-owned Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion (WBA) and Middlesbrough…

Two early goals, and a typically resilient defensive display were at the heart of Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 win away at Tottenham Hotspur. The three points leapfrogged Forest into third place on 60, with Aston Villa in seventh just three behind. Newcastle (59), Manchester City (58) and Chelsea (57) are the other teams locked in a five-way tussle for the three Champions League berths behind champions-elect Liverpool (79) and Arsenal (66). Forest have scaled such heights while having less than 40 per cent possession across their league games this season. It was no different at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the…

Virgil van Dijk, whose current contract with Liverpool was due to expire on June 30, has signed an extension that will keep him with the Merseyside club till the summer of 2027. Van Dijk renews terms less than a week after Mohamed Salah announced that he had also decided to stay another two years. For the club’s supporters, who are getting ready to celebrate a record-equalling 20th top-flight title, this is the cherry on top of the cake. van Dijk will continue to be one of Liverpool’s highest earners, and possibly the best-paid defender in the game, taking home around…

Mikel Arteta praised Bukayo Saka’s mental toughness after the Arsenal right-winger bounced back from a first-half penalty miss to score the 65th-minute goal that effectively ended the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid. Arsenal eventually won 2-1 on the night, and 5-1 on aggregate. “It could have been a turning point emotionally in the game but the way he handles it, the personality, at his age playing in this stadium for the first time was incredible,” said Arteta after the game. “I could have given him a clip round the ear. But he decided what is best: he had…

Two goals in three crazy second-half minutes were the difference as Inter Milan withstood wave after wave of Bayern Munich attacks in the closing stages to hold on for a 2-2 draw at the San Siro. Their 4-3 aggregate win means they now face Barcelona in the semi final. Bayern, for whom two Englishmen – Harry Kane and Eric Dier – scored the goals, were the better team on the night, but as in Munich, Inter took their chances. Harry Kane had given the Bavarians a 52nd minute lead, with a fine angled finish through Federico Dimarco’s legs, but the…

Bukayo Saka’s low-key celebrations after scoring the decisive goal in the 65th minute said it all really. Arsenal didn’t just win at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, they did so at a canter. Their eventual 5-1 aggregate win was thoroughly deserved, and now it’s surely on a matter of time before Carlo Ancelotti’s second innings with Real Madrid ends with dismissal. Tellingly, Vinicius Junior’s 67th minute goal, after a rare error from the otherwise immaculate William Saliba, was Real’s first shot on target in the game. Talk had been of remontada [comeback] after Arsenal’s 3-0 first leg win, but it…

Before Tuesday night, Bayern Munich had gone 22 matches and four years without losing a Champions League tie at their Allianz Arena. But in the quarter final first leg, in what was a repeat of the 2010 final, it was Internazionale of Milan that prevailed 2-1, thanks to two stunning breakaway goals. Bayern bossed possession, with Michael Olise playing superbly, and Harry Kane struck the post in the first half. But all they had to show for 90 minutes of endeavour was Thomas Muller’s close-range finish on 85 minutes. Lautaro Martinez, Inter’s captain, started the scoring with a glorious outside-of-the-boot…

Two bowlers on either end of the experience spectrum set up the game, and a pair of batters who are frequently lightning rods for criticism ensured that India cruised to a four-wicket victory, with 68 balls to spare, in the first ODI against England at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Set 249 to win after a spectacular batting collapse from England, India suffered only one big blot in the copybook with Rohit Sharma, the captain, failing yet again. Only a late clutch of wickets gave the scorecard an illusion of closeness. For all the focus being on Virat Kohli’s absence…

Erik ten Hag’s two-year reign as Manchester United manager is over after the club sacked him on Monday, October 28. Sunday’s last-gasp defeat at West Ham finally forced the ownership’s hands, with United marooned in 14th place, already seven points adrift of the fourth place that would guarantee Champions League qualification. The Dutchman won the League Cup in his first season, and the FA Cup in 2023-24, but the lack of progress in the league ended up costing him his job. Injuries haven’t been kind to United this season, but a return of just three wins and eight goals from…

In 2021, when New England Revolution set a points record for a Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season, with 73 from 34 games, Inter Miami finished 32 points adrift. In fact, in their first four seasons in the competition, Miami’s best finish was sixth in the Eastern Conference in 2022, with a paltry 48 points. In 2023, when Lionel Messi’s arrival from Europe was tom-tommed across the world, they finished 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference, with a dismal 34 points. A year on, the landscape is very different. In 2023, Messi played just six league games, though he had…