Wenger accuses Fabinho of ´cheating´ to get Sanchez sent off

Arsene Wenger has accused Liverpool midfielder Fabinho of cheating in order to get Alexis Sanchez sent off in Tuesday s Champions League tie with Inter.

Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by the Italian champions in the second leg at Anfield but still advanced to the quarter-finals by virtue of a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Sanchez s dismissal came at a pivotal moment in the tie, the Chile international being shown a second yellow two minutes after Lautaro Martinez had struck to give Inter hope.

The former Arsenal and Manchester United player clearly got some of the ball but followed through on Fabinho, who got back to his feet once the red card had been issued.

It was the first red card Sanchez has received in his 64 games in the Champions League, and Wenger suggested…

Prediction: Georgia vs Luxembourg

Best Odds: 4/9

Bookmaker:

Two camps who are desperate to extend on their EURO 24 qualifying adventure, Georgia will welcome Luxembourg to Tbilisi on Thursday evening.

Georgia

Starting with the hosts, while Georgia might have clinched a EURO 24 qualifying semi-final spot thanks to their Nations League success 18 months ago, Willy Sagnol’s men have struggled to find any real stability over recent times. Last seen on November 19th signing off their Group A adventure with a routine 3-1 loss at the hands of European heavyweights Spain, the Crusaders also claimed just a single victory from any of their final six qualifying appearances. Alongside mustering just a sole competitive clean sheet since way back in September 2022, Sagnol’s side have also shown some exte…

Steven Gerrard wants to sign Rangers defender Connor Goldson for Al-Ettifaq

Steven Gerrard wants to sign Connor Goldson from Rangers in the summer transfer window, according to . The former Rangers manager is now in charge of Al-Ettifaq, and it has been reported that the Liverpool legend is keen on a reunion with Goldson in Saudi Arabia.

Goldson has been on the books of Rangers since 2018 and has established himself as one of the best and most important players for the Gers. The 31-year-old has two more years on his current deal at the Ibrox club. Gerrard worked with Goldson when he was in charge of Rangers. He has given one assist in 30 Scottish Premiership matches this season.

Rangers are second in the Scottish Premiership table at the moment with 78 points from 34 matches. The Gers are three points behind leaders and bitter rival Celtic. Ran…

Long a doubt for Euro 2016 play-off tie

Shane Long is a doubt for the first leg of the Republic of Ireland s Euro 2016 play-off tie after suffering an ankle injury.

The Southampton striker, who scored the winning goal against Germany last week, picked up the problem while away on duty with Martin O Neill s side.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman has since confirmed Long could be sidlined for up to four weeks, which may rule him out of first leg of the play-offs, scheduled for the week beginning November 9.

The Shane injury is a disappointment. It s an ankle ligament injury and he will be out for two to four weeks,  Koeman said on Thursday.

That s a disappointment, but the rest of the players are happy to be back.

The Dutchman could welcome back Jordi Clasie for the meeting with Leicest…

Ronaldo return has Manchester United buzzing, says Solskjaer

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the return of Cristiano Ronaldo will provide everybody around the club with a timely boost.

United announced on Friday that a deal had been agreed to bring the Portugal captain back to the club for a second spell.

Five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo will reportedly move from Juventus in a deal worth £12.8m (€15m) plus £6.9m (€8m) in add-ons.

The 36-year-old enjoyed a hugely successful first stint with the Red Devils between 2003 and 2009.

The forward scored 118 goals in 292 appearances while winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup before his world-record transfer to Real Madrid.

And Solskjaer is excited by the potential impact of his former team-mate,…

Prediction: Newtown AFC vs FC Spartak Trnava

Prediction: FC Spartak Trnava to win 3-0

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Newtown AFC and FC Spartak Trnava will face each other in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League this week. The match will be held at Park Hall in Oswestry and is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UK time on Thursday. FC Spartak Trnava won the first leg of the tie 4-1 against Newtown AFC at home.

Newtown AFC

Newtown AFC are a big club in Welsh football. Although they have not won the league title in Wales, they did win the Welsh Cup twice once in 1879 and again in 1895. Newtown AFC also finished runners-up in the 2011-12 League Cup as as well in the League of Wales in 1996 and 1998. They have never competed beyond the qualifying stages of any Europea…

´I play football for these big games´ – Kounde relishing Barcelona´s Champions League mission

Jules Kounde warned Barcelona are ready to strike a brutal blow to at least one European titan in the Champions League after landing in this season s group of death .

Drawn to face Bayern Munich, Inter and Viktoria Plzen in Group C, it is the German and Italian giants that Barcelona will be most worried about.

The Catalans start their campaign against Czech side Plzen on Wednesday, when nothing but a home victory at Camp Nou will be an acceptable result, given the challenges to come.

Barcelona, Inter and Bayern all begin as trophy hopefuls, but one or even two of the trio will have been eliminated by the time the World Cup comes around in November.

Kounde, recruited from Sevilla to fortify Xavi s defence, is determined Barcelona will not be among the earl…

Vancouver boss Sartini not worried about reception for ´artist´ Messi

Vanni Sartini has no problem with Vancouver Whitecaps fans who wish to cheer Lionel Messi when Inter Miami visit BC Place on Saturday, but he wants his players to ignore the Argentine s presence and focus on themselves.

Miami are currently leading the way in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters Shield race, with last week s 1-0 win over D.C. United lifting them to 31 points from 15 games.

Messi has contributed 10 goals and nine assists in MLS play this year, and he is expected to feature in Canada despite sustaining a knock in a training session earlier this week.

Supporters desire to see the eight-time Ballon d Or winner play has led to some bizarre atmospheres since he arrived in MLS, but Sartini will not tell Vancouver s fans who to applaud.

It …

Rumour Has It: Barcelona to extend Fati contract until 2024, Madrid follow the new Varane

Barcelona are set to re-sign Ansu Fati until 2024, while Real Madrid are eyeing the new Raphael Varane .

Fati, 17, has been linked with a stunning move to Manchester United after a breakthrough season at Barca.

But the teenage forward seems to be going nowhere.

 

TOP STORY – BARCA TO EXTEND FATI STAY UNTIL 2024

Barcelona are set to renew Fati s contract until 2024, according to the cover of Sport.

Out of contract in 2022, Fati has scored eight goals in 32 games this season, leading to links to Manchester United.

Sport also reports Barcelona are prepared to listen to offers for attacker Ousmane Dembele.

 

 Cumbre por Ansu

 Escucharán ofertas por Dembélé

— Diario SPORT (@sport)

ROU…

Neymar comes to the party as PSG superstars keep Qatar interested in its own World Cup

Qatar 2022 is a World Cup like no other, and the host nation performed like no other.

Theirs was the worst group-stage record of any home side at a World Cup, becoming the first to lose all three matches and conceding a landmark seven goals. Only South Africa, in 2010, had previously failed to make it out of the first round.

Controversially awarded the tournament months after Spain s Barcelona-inspired success at South Africa 2010, Qatar had plenty of time to prepare and soon put its faith in Catalan coach Felix Sanchez.

He worked first with the nation s youth teams before taking the top job five years out from the World Cup.

Although Sanchez led Qatar to Asian Cup success in 2019, he never considered a World Cup run a serious possibility – or so he sai…