Connor Wickham scored his first goal in more than two years as Crystal Palace compounded a miserable week for Tottenham with a 2-0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Selhurst Park.
Wickham had not started a match for Palace since November 2016, thanks largely to a long-term knee injury, but he needed just nine minutes to score his first goal in 799 days as a Spurs side featuring eight changes started slowly.
Palace kept the pressure on and won a penalty that ex-Spurs winger Andros Townsend converted after 34 minutes, and when Tottenham won a spot-kick of their own at the other end Kieran Trippier blasted it well wide.
Spurs improved in the second half with Erik Lamela on the pitch but, in the absence of the injured Dele Alli and Harry Kane, Mauricio Pochettino s men – …
Romelu Lukaku s reported £75million switch to Manchester United sees the Belgium international become the fifth most expensive player in history.
The Everton striker was prised away from Goodison Park by Jose Mourinho as United look to strengthen their attacking options following the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic after one season at Old Trafford.
United pipped Premier League rivals Chelsea to Lukaku s signature but had to splash the cash in order to get the 24-year-old.
The deal sees Lukaku knock Luis Suarez s switch from Liverpool to Barcelona out of the top-five transfers, but his fee is some way behind the amount United paid for Paul Pogba.
Here, we take a look at football s big movers that now includes Lukaku.
Paul Pogba Juven…
Liverpool are optimistic captain Jordan Henderson will be fit for their Premier League match against Arsenal next Monday.
Henderson had to come off with a thigh issue in the 2-0 win over Chelsea last time out and will not be fit in time to play a part in the away EFL Cup third-round match against Lincoln City on Thursday.
But assistant manager Pep Lijnders suggested the midfielder s injury was not serious, while defender Joe Gomez is poised to return to training.
Hendo, hopefully he will get back next week, Lijnders said to the club s website ahead of the Lincoln game.
[Thursday] for sure is too soon for Hendo. Maybe [back for Arsenal], yeah, hopefully. It will be tight, day by day, let us hope.
[For] Joe [it] comes too soon, he will train Frid…
Karim Benzema is the best centre forward in Europe, according to his Real Madrid team-mate Marcelo.
Marcelo netted the final goal in Madrid s 3-0 victory over Eibar, as Zinedine Zidane s side moved back to within five points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
Madrid s lead came courtesy of a sparkling first-half display from Marco Asensio, who created the opener before hammering in the second 10 minutes later.
Benzema replaced Asensio on the hour, providing an outstanding assist for Marcelo s goal during a superb cameo performance, and the Brazil full-back was quick to heap praise on the Frenchman, who was defended by Zidane following a poor miss against Tottenham in the Champions League.
Karim is a fantastic footballer. We have Cristiano [Ronaldo] who score…
Hansi Flick has given no thought to the prospect of coaching Germany as well as Bayern Munich, insisting he is focusing only on the present.
Germany boss Joachim Low has come in for criticism in recent times as Die Mannschaft have continued to struggle for consistent results.
Low s men claimed their first win since last November s Euro 2020 qualifiers when they beat Ukraine 2-1 in the Nations League on Saturday.
However, that result was sandwiched by 3-3 draws in a friendly with Turkey and a Nations League game against Switzerland.
Low has come under increasing scrutiny but Flick, his assistant during Germany s triumphant 2014 World Cup campaign, has been quick to spring to his defence.
When asked about the possibility of coaching both Germany an…
According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan have held talks regarding the possibility of Krzysztof Piatek making the jump over to North London later on this month.
Talks are not said to be at an advanced stage at this moment in time with no formal offers being made as of yet, and for now, it’s not yet clear as to whether or not it would be a permanent move or a temporary one.
AC Milan seem to be risking having more outgoings than incomings at this moment in time, whereas Tottenham are desperate to bring in a few new faces over the course of the next few weeks due to a string of injury problems.
While January alone may not give the two parties enough time to get everything over the finish line, it certainly seems as i…
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl remains hopeful Jude Bellingham could sign a new contract with the club, but he admits that may be wishful thinking on his part.
Bellingham is widely expected to leave Dortmund in the near future, with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool heavily linked with the 19-year-old.
The England midfielder s Dortmund deal expires in 2025, but reports have suggested a sale in the next transfer window is likely, in order to allow his club to extract a bigger transfer fee.
Kehl, however, has not given up hope of keeping Bellingham at Signal Iduna Park for the long term.
Asked if there was any update on Bellingham s future, Kehl told Ruhr Nachrichten: There has been no new development. We ll have to…
Neymar will miss Paris Saint-Germain s trip to former club Barcelona in the Champions League after being ruled out for up to four weeks.
The Ligue 1 club, who head to Camp Nou next Tuesday, confirmed the Brazilian had suffered an adductor injury in the Coupe de France win over Caen on Wednesday.
The estimated recovery time would also put Neymar in doubt for the return leg of the last-16 clash with Barca, which takes place on March 10.
Neymar suffered the injury around the hour mark of the 1-0 win, with the 29-year-old clutching at his groin.
Though team-mate and midweek match-winner Moise Kean told Eurosport afterwards that all is well , head coach Mauricio Pochettino was less optimistic.
His left adductor muscle is affected and they will examine…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 4/6 @
Looking to make another statement in midweek and extend on their recent purple patch, Real Salt Lake will travel to Children’s Mercy Park in the early hours of Thursday.
Starting with the hosts, while Sporting Kansas might have opened July with a stellar 3-0 romp against Vancouver, Peter Vermes’ side have continued to struggle with their consistency since opening the 2023 campaign. Suffering last-gasp heartbreak away at Houston over the weekend as they eventually had to settle for an action-packed 2-2 draw, the Wizards have mustered just a single win from any of their last five MLS appearances. Battling outside the play-off places and facing what could be a real uphill struggle in the Western Conference, Sporting shoul…
Raheem Sterling has lost his place in the Manchester City starting line-up prompting fresh speculation.
Phil Foden has taken Sterling s role with devastating effect, including scoring the winner in their midweek Champions League triumph over Borussia Dortmund.
Sterling s contract talks have also been shelved for the season, fuelling the rumours.
TOP STORY REAL REIGNITE RAHEEM INTEREST
Real Madrid have reignited their interest in Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling according to the Daily Star.
Sterling is contracted with City for another two seasons, putting them in a strong position to hang on to the England international with a reported £80million price tag.
But regular football and the lure of Madrid could be compelling fo…