Sunderland were forced to pay for not taking their chances as Fulham claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The hosts dominated proceedings from the outset and had a number of good goalscoring opportunities through striker Jozy Altidore, but the visitors only needed one chance as Pajtim Kasami headed home from a corner in the second half.
Paolo Di Canio was without suspended duo Craig Gardner and David Vaughan for the opening fixture, while Steven Fletcher was forced to miss out with the ankle injury that ended his previous campaign in March.
But the Italian coach was able to hand debuts to five of his 10 summer signings, including striker Altidore, Emanuele Giaccherini and Cabral.
Meanwhile, Alexander Kacaniklic was the only nota…
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal has rubbished speculation linking him with a move away from Juventus by revealing that he is perfectly happy in Turin.
The highly rated footballer has been the subject of interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid, among other clubs, but he has so far remained with the Bianconeri.
Vidal now reveals that he was not concerned by the transfer talk and suggests there were no concrete offers for his services during the summer.
“The truth is I was relaxed and calm this summer, focusing only on my knee. I never once asked my agent or Juventus if something was happening,” Vidal confessed to Tuttosport.
“I have a pact with my agent: if there is something concrete, then he alerts me. He did not alert me.
“I don�…
Bayer Leverkusen are ready to become the first team in Bundesliga history to go an entire season unbeaten, coach Xabi Alonso said after Sunday s 5-0 demolition of Bochum.
Treble-chasing Leverkusen cruised past Bochum, who had Felix Passlack sent off in the 15th minute, to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
On Thursday, Alonso s team surpassed Benfica s long-standing European unbeaten record set from 1963 to 1965 with a 2-2 draw against Roma that sent them through to the Europa League final.
Sunday s win over Bochum also meant they became only the third team in Bundesliga history to remain unbeaten in every away match of a season.
After that red card it was a completely different game for u…
Arsenal are readying a summer move for soon to be out-of-contract Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick,.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has previously attempted to sign the England international on no less than three occasions, and still believes he has something to offer despite being in the twilight of his career.
The thirty-four year old has been at Old Trafford for almost ten years and in that time has made over four hundred appearances, scoring twenty-three goals and winning a host of major honours in that time including five league titles, the League Cup and the Champions League.
He has been capped thirty-four times for his country, and was part of the squads that attended the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
…
James Tomkins is eager for West Ham to quickly kill off any hopes Lusitans have of making a game of it in Thursday s UEFA Europa League first-round qualifying second leg.
West Ham head to Andorra with a 3-0 lead after Diafra Sakho s first-half double was followed up by Tomkins 58th-minute header to seal a comfortable win at Upton Park last week.
It took 40 minutes for Sakho to open the scoring, though, and Tomkins wants to see a faster start this time around.
It s always important to get on the scoresheet early on against teams like this, as that makes them quiet straight away, he told the club s official website.
We could have got the goal earlier than we did. It felt like a long time coming, but when it came we got another one quickly and that ki…
Captain Harry Maguire will be made to work for his place in the Manchester United XI as just one of the team s leaders, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
Maguire has been the United captain since January 2020, having been one of the first names on the teamsheet for much of his time at Old Trafford.
But that is no longer the case after a tough start to the season, failing to impress in defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.
Maguire played alongside new signing Lisandro Martinez in those defeats, with his team-mate also coming in for criticism.
However, Martinez stood out against Liverpool on Monday as he kept his place at Maguire s expense, with Raphael Varane brought in.
Ten Hag appears to determined to keep faith with Martinez, and f…
Lionel Messi will miss the annual MLS All-Star game in Columbus on Wednesday due to his ongoing ankle injury, MLS has confirmed.
The Argentina captain sustained the injury during his nation s Copa America final victory over Colombia on July 14.
Messi subsequently left the pitch in tears, and watched from the dugout as substitute Lautaro Martinez struck an extra-time winner in Miami.
The eight-time Ballon d Or winner was expected to be part of the annual clash between an MLS XI and Liga MX XI.
However, he was listed as unavailable on the MLS website along with fellow Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez, though their team-mates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets are both included.
The likes of Hugo Lloris, Christian Benteke and Federico Bernadeschi also fea…
Jurgen Klopp has reiterated his support for scrapping FA Cup replays ahead of holders Liverpool facing Wolves in the third round on Saturday.
Klopp has repeatedly called for FA Cup replays to be abolished in the past, and memorably allowed then-under-23s coach Neil Critchley to take charge of team made up entirely of youth players when Liverpool were taken to a second fixture by Shrewsbury Town in 2020.
FA Cup replays were removed for the 2020-21 season to avoid creating further fixture congestion in a campaign heavily impacted by COVID-19, and a report from The Times said leading figures in the English game discussed doing so permanently on Friday.
Klopp would be in favour of such a move, though acknowledged it would need to be accompanied by support for the sma…
Champions Inter were knocked off the Serie A summit on Sunday as they were forced to come from behind to play out a 1-1 draw with Monza.
Hosts Monza took the lead in the 81st minute through substitute forward Dany Mota, but the Nerazzurri would avoid a surprise defeat to their neighbours as Denzel Dumfries levelled seven minutes later.
Lautaro Martinez should have put the Scudetto holders in front inside the opening 10 minutes, when he received a perfect cross from Federico Dimarco.
His header from the centre of the box, however, sailed slightly over the crossbar before Dimarco and Davide Frattesi spurned chances of their own.
But Monza defended resolutely and they went on to take a shock lead nine minutes from time, Mota nodding home a neat lofted cross …
Bayern Munich have more talent at their disposal now than when they last ruled Europe in 2013, according to captain Manuel Neuer.
Neuer, along with David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller, was one of four players remaining from their Wembley triumph over Borussia Dortmund who started Wednesday s 3-0 semi-final triumph against Lyon.
Despite coughing up early chances to their Ligue 1 opponents, there was little doubt over the outcome after Serge Gnabry s fabulous opener – the initial part of a first-half brace from the Germany winger.
Robert Lewandowski, who played for Dortmund in the showpiece seven years ago, typically got in on the act with his 55th goal of the season, meaning only Paris Saint-Germain lie between Bayern and a sixth European title.
<…