Fiorentina reject Atletico bid for Simeone

England striker Michael Owen hit a Champions League hat-trick on Tuesday to give national coach Fabio Capello a timely reminder of his talent as Manchester United finished top of their group.

Owen, who turns 30 on December 14, demonstrated his finishing class with a well-taken hat-trick to seal United s 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg to dump the Germans out of the Champions League and boost his World Cup chances.

It was Owen s first Champions League hat-trick since joining Manchester United last summer.

After his first-half header, Owen slid home his second on 83 minutes before producing a superb effort in extra-time to claim his third.

Michael Owen is one of the best strikers in the last third of the field in terms of his movement, his positional play and al…

Chelsea fell to a fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions after a 2-0 Premier League reverse against Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Cesar Azpilicueta s first-half own goal put Brentford ahead at the break, with the Blues unable to muster much of a threat thereafter.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s half-time introduction did at least provide some energy to Chelsea s attack, though the hosts never truly looked like scoring.

Any hope of a late comeback was thwarted by Bryan Mbeumo, his deflected effort clinching a win to boost Brentford s European hopes.

West London is

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC)

A tepid opening saw few clear-cut opportunities, though Thiago Silva did head at David Raya, who made another comfortable save to…

Goalkeeper Petr Cech believes that Fernando Torres is in the form of his life after finally hitting the goal trail at Chelsea.

The Spain international striker has consistently come under fire since making a £50million switch to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in 2011, in particular for his perceived below-par goal return.

His failure to regularly reproduce the scoring feats that made him such a hit at Anfield where he netted 65 Premier League goals in three and a half years with the club have seen him struggle to hold down a regular place in the Chelsea attack.

However, the return of Jose Mourinho to the Stamford Bridge dugout during the close-season appears to have given the 29-year-old a new lease of life.

And after creating one and scoring the winner in the 2-…

Jurgen Klopp s arrival at Liverpool is a godsend , according to the club s former winger Ray Houghton.

Klopp was named as Brendan Rodgers replacement on Thursday, less than a week after the Northern Irishman s sacking.

Rodgers was relieved of his duties, having failed to follow up a thrilling 2013-14 title charge last term, as well as beginning the current campaign in underwhelming form.

But former Republic of Ireland international Houghton, who won two league titles and two FA Cup medals as a Liverpool player, expects the charismatic German s arrival to blow the cobwebs away at the club.

Houghton told Omnisport: I think Jurgen Klopp, for Liverpool fans and particularly for the media, is going to be a godsend.

It s not something that fazes him. H…

Marcus Rashford was tasked with leading Manchester United s attack at Stamford Bridge, while Timo Werner dropped to the Chelsea bench.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declared on Friday that he was unsure if Cavani, who has had a positive impact this season since arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, would overcome a knock which has kept him out since mid-February.

Paul Pogba was a confirmed absentee, however, and neither player featured as Solskjaer made five changes to his United team.

Rashford, who has been involved in seven goals in all competitions against Chelsea (five goals, two assists) – more than against any other side in his career – was instead given the central role that Anthony Martial had started in against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

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Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has pledged his support to Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior ahead of the blockbuster derby at Wanda Metropolitano.

The Brazil international was subjected to comments with apparent racist connotations by Spanish football agent Pedro Bravo.

Commenting on Vinicius dancing goal celebrations, Bravo told El Chiringuito: You have to respect your opponents. When you score a goal, if you want to dance Samba, you should go to [the] Sambadrome in Brazil. You have to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey.

The remark subsequently drew widespread criticism, with compatriots Pele and Neymar leaping to Vinicius defence, while Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes suggested Bravo should be arrested.

Speaking …

Borussia Dortmund must win at managerless Marseille to be sure of reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp s men – runners-up to Bayern Munich last season – currently sit second in Group F courtesy of their superior head-to-head record against Napoli.

Yet any slip up at the Stade Velodrome would give the Italian side, who host Arsenal on matchday six, an opportunity to qualify.

Victory will guarantee Dortmund s progression as they also have the edge over Arsenal, who currently hold a three-point cushion at the top of the group, when it comes to meetings between the two.

Striker Robert Lewandowski is confident his side have what it takes to perform under pressure in France.

He told Dortmund s official website: I am sure that we wil…

Portuguese daily newspaper that Ajax and Chelsea lead the chase for Lokeren midfielder Ayanda Patosi.

The 21-year-old has been touted as the next star of South African football and is widely tipped to make a big club move in the near future.

Dutch giants Ajax are believed to be leading the chase for his signature, but Premier League side Chelsea are also monitoring his development.

Ayanda Patosi joined Lokeren in May 2011, and has since made a total of 58 league appearances, scoring 10 goals in the process.

He has also earned his first two South Africa caps, having appeared in friendlies against Morocco and Spain.

Patosi is predicted a bright future in the game, but he obviously needs to continue playing on regular basis if he is to realise his …

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is hopeful of signing Yannick Bolasie on loan from Everton.

Bolasie joined Everton for a reported fee of £25million in August 2016 after impressing at Crystal Palace.

The forward suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in December 2016 and struggled for regular playing time upon his return to action last season.

Villa lost the Championship play-off final to Fulham in May, and Bruce is seeking to bring in attacking reinforcements as he attempts to guide the West Midlands club back into the top flight.

If we can put the icing on the cake with Bolasie tomorrow then it s exactly what we re looking for, he said after the 2-2 draw at home to Brentford on Wednesday.

He was here [watching the game] and we hop…

The true extent of crisis club Portsmouth s financial problems was revealed when their debts were revealed to be around 120 million pounds (185 million dollars) over 40 million pounds more than previously estimated.

Bad enough in itself, the chaos surrounding the south coast club s accounts was highlighted by the extraordinary disclosure they owe Tottenham Hotspur a million pounds over the sale of Asmir Begovic even though the goalkeeper has never played for the north London club.

Begovic was linked with Tottenham in January but instead signed for another English Premier League side in Stoke City.

However, Pompey have been left owing Spurs a one million pounds sell-on fee.

Portsmouth, bottom of the Premier League and already relegated after being deducte…