Raheem Sterling revealed Manchester City had a word among themselves before getting back to winning ways at Southampton.
The England forward got the only goal at St Mary s as City s 1-0 win over the early-season high-flyers gave Pep Guardiola s team a foothold in the title race.
On a day when Liverpool scored seven at Crystal Palace, the narrow win for City was encouraging for the visitors after back-to-back draws against Manchester United and West Brom.
And for Sterling, who admitted his own form has dipped beneath the levels he would expect, it was particularly satisfying.
He told Amazon Prime Sport: To win games and score goals has been really, really difficult for us, but we knew how important today was and we re just happy to get the three points.
As the chants of Will Grigg s on fire tore across the Parc des Princes ahead of kick-off in Northern Ireland s Euro 2016 match against Germany, a different cult-hero striker was celebrated at the other end of the ground.
The largest cheer as the Germany team boomed over the tannoy system came as Mario Gomez rounded out the XI.
During the three years and nine months between his 25th and 26th goals for Die Mannschaft, Gomez felt like a man out of time in this generation of beautiful German footballers the artisan unable to keep pace with the artists.
Somewhat symbolically, he moved on at the start of Pep Guardiola s Bayern Munich tenure a period that would change the tune of his country s football and persuade national team boss Joachim Low to dance to its beat, al…
Anghel Iordanescu is to leave his role as head coach of Romania, who expect to appoint his replacement before Euro 2016 is over.
Romania endured a disappointing European Championship, earning just one point from their three matches against France, Switzerland and Albania to finish bottom of Group A.
Monday s announcement brings an end to Iordanescu s third spell in charge of the national team, having taken over from Victor Piturca in October 2014.
Razvan Burleanu, president of the Romanian Football Federation, apologised to the country s fans and hoped the new coach would lead the team to its first World Cup since 1998 – when Iordanescu was at the helm.
I m very sorry for all national team fans, who hoped for a better or more spectacular journey of…
Fenerbahce face a second ban from European football after UEFA hit them and five officials with match-fixing charges.
The club were banned from the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League after their president, Aziz Yildirim, was found guilty of match fixing and jailed for six years.
Fenerbahce finished second in the Super Lig behind Galatasaray last season, a position that would ordinarily see them enter Europe s top competition. However, if they are again found guilty, their participation could be removed and handed to another club.
But that may not be the Super Lig s third-placed side Besiktas, as they too have been hit with a UEFA charge, with a statement from the governing body explaining the reasons behind these sanctions.
It read: Following the investigation into alleged match-f…
Chelsea F.C. No. 10 Juan Mata has rubbished reports linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer, .
For the second season running, Mata was voted Chelsea Player of the Year after leading the club to a third-place finish in the English Premier League and the UEFA Europa League title.
Recent reports have suggested newly appointed manager Jose Mourinho may be willing to part ways with the Spain international as well as David Luiz and Fernando Torres in order to raise capital to strengthen the Blues squad in other areas.
However, Mata and Torres have moved to distance themselves with summer exits from Stamford Bridge, with the former reportedly attracting interest from Real Madrid and the latter from Barcelona.
I want to stay, …
Mauricio Pochettino is the ideal man to take over at Chelsea in the eyes of Gary Neville.
The Blues are on the hunt for a new boss for the second time this season, having axed Graham Potter less than seven months after he succeeded Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea s defeat to Aston Villa proved to be the straw that broke the camel s back for Potter, the result sending the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings and way off the pace in the hunt for European football next season.
Inconsistent form plagued Potter s reign in west London, with results not improving significantly after Todd Boehly splashed the cash in a mega spending spree in the January window.
Those mid-season recruits have somewhat complicated matters moving forwa…
PSG winger Jeremy Menez has blasted the suspension of five France Under-21 players, including Yann M Vila, as hugely unfair.
The 25-year-old also spoke of his own disciplinary struggles and perceptions from the media as well as life in the French capital, with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Menez remarked that the suspension of M Vila and the other four players (Antoine Griezmann, Chris Mavinga, Wissam Ben Yedder and M Baye Niang) is extreme, given his own run-in with the French Football Federation after Euro 2012.
The suspension is hugely disproportionate. These are young players, and they did something stupid. It can happen to everyone, the former Roma player told Le Parisien.
These sanctions will cut their international momentum. Regarding Yann …
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta does not believe a temporary suspension of Premier League action is needed to slow down the spread of coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the Premier League confirmed 18 new positive COVID-19 tests in the week commencing December 21 – the highest number of positive results in a single round of tests this season.
Manchester City s game at Everton was postponed at four hours notice due to a coronavirus outbreak at the Etihad Stadium on Monday, while Fulham s match against Tottenham on Wednesday was also called off.
Eighteen positive cases surpasses the previous high of 16 recorded in the week commencing November 9, and mirrors the wider situation in England, with more people now in hospital due to the virus than at the peak of the first wave in Apr…
Jurgen Klopp feels Liverpool s struggles will make him a better manager in the long run, ahead of their game with Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Reds have been perennial silverware contenders over the past half-decade, sweeping all major domestic and international club honours.
But they have seen a dramatic dip in fortunes this season, with the German unable to keep them in contention for a title charge on multiple fronts.
Klopp, however, feels the difficulties faced this term will only help him grow going forward, adding that he does not doubt his own ability.
In the long term, definitely, he said when asked if their hardships improved him. Definitely. You need to improve to get the best out of yourself, you need to know about everything.
…
Market: Exeter to beat Lincoln
Odds:
With Exeter and Lincoln battling out a close fought 0-0 draw at the Sincil Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the pair are now just 90 minutes from booking their spot at Wembley later this month.
For Paul Tisdale s Exeter side, after doing well to halt a late second-half push from Lincoln on Saturday, The Grecians will fancy their chances at St. James Park in the second leg. Conceding under a goal per game at home this year, Exeter have now only been beaten once at home in League Two since November 2017. For the hosts, Exeter will be looking for forward Jayden Stockley to carry on his impressive form this season. The 24-year-old now has 24 goals in all competitions this year and also has seven in his last nine.
A…