SPORTS

As a pioneer of counter-pressing football, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he knows exactly what to expect from Salzburg in their Champions League clash on Wednesday. Austria’s Salzburg, managed by Jesse Marsch, play a similar brand of football to Klopp’s Liverpool, employing a high press to win the ball back early and transitioning from defence to attack at speed while ...

Antoine Griezmann has found it “difficult” to connect with Lionel Messi at Barcelona so far, while coach Ernesto Valverde admits he will take no risks with the injured Argentine against Inter Milan on Wednesday. Messi has started only one game so far this season but is close to recovering from a thigh strain ahead of Barca’s second Champions League group ...

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists he is the right man to lead Manchester United, despite his team being only three points off the relegation zone. Since being made permanent boss in March, Solskjaer has overseen just five wins from the subsequent 18 matches. The 46-year-old is second favourite to be the next Premier League boss to lose his job – after ...

Lionel Messi endured yet more injury frustration on Tuesday after going off at halftime against Villarreal but Barcelona gave their coach Ernesto Valverde some much-needed relief with a comfortable 2-1 victory. Messi received treatment in the first half for what looked like a problem with his left thigh and was then unable to continue after the interval, replaced by Ousmane ...

Lionel Messi won the Fifa Men’s Player of the Year award on Monday with Megan Rapinoe bagging the women’s prize to cap a historic year for the United States’ World Cup icon. Barcelona striker Messi’s victory in Milan was a surprise as he edged out Virgil Van Dijk, who won the Uefa player’s award last month after helping Liverpool to ...

Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster says Manchester City are in such rampaging form that it will not be long before Pep Guardiola’s side pump in 10 goals against a team in the same match. Foster was on the receiving end of City’s record top-flight scoreline at the Etihad Stadium, as the hosts racked up an 8-0 victory over Watford in the ...

Manchester United have assured disgruntled fans that the club’s priority is success on the pitch rather than making money, saying they are committed to “winning trophies at the highest level”. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s struggling team lost 2-0 at West Ham on Sunday to fall 10 points behind leaders Liverpool after just six Premier League games. United, who have been criticised ...

Pep Guardiola insists Benjamin Mendy can still be a force for injury-hit Manchester City despite the French defender’s own struggles to find top fitness. Mendy has endured a difficult time with City since arriving from Monaco in a £52 million deal in 2017. He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September 2017 and has been fighting for full fitness ...

Jesse Lingard is reportedly on the verge of a new contract at Manchester United but the midfielder is struggling for form at a club that desperately needs its attacking players to step up. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side started the season in style, sweeping Chelsea aside 4-0 at Old Trafford but have failed to score more than a single goal in ...

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has signed a new contract through to the summer of 2024, with the option of a further year. The Sweden international, 25, has made 74 appearances for the club since joining from Benfica for £31m in June 2017. “Since the day I arrived at United it has felt like home,” said Lindelof. “I’ve grown significantly ...