Swansea City 2, Chelsea 2: Antonio Conte insists Diego Costa was no villain as pumped up Spaniard rescues point for Blues September 11, 2016 Chelsea boss Antonio Conte insisted rivals Swansea should have been reduced to 10 men for the physical battering dished out to striker Diego Costa, who proved his side’s saviour during a hotly-contested clash. A fired-up Costa had given the visitors a first-half lead and salvaged a point with a thumping overhead kick after Gylfi Sigurdsson, with a penalty, [...]
Five-try Saracens continue perfect start to Premiership title defence against Exeter September 11, 2016 Saracens boss Mark McCall praised his improving side after they stormed to a bonus-point 34-13 victory over Exeter Chiefs in a repeat of last season’s Premiership final on Sunday. Two tries by wing Sean Maitland and further scores from young fly-half Alex Lozowski, flanker Jackson Wray and replacement Ben Spencer continued the champions’ flawless start to [...]
Text message from Steffi Graf inspired US Open winner, insists new world No1 Angelique Kerber September 11, 2016 World No1 Angelique Kerber has revealed a good luck message from compatriot Steffi Graf fuelled her US Open final victory over Karolina Pliskova late on Saturday night. Kerber claimed the second grand slam of her career with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Pliskova of the Czech Republic; a triumph which will propel her to [...]
Kell Brook set to return against Amir Khan or Canelo Alvarez after fracturing eye socket in defeat to Gennady Golovkin September 11, 2016 Britain's Kell Brook is unlikely to seek a quick rematch with Gennady Golovkin after suffering a broken eye socket in their IBF and WBC world middleweight title fight on Saturday in London. Brook sustained the injury in the second round but continued to trade blows with the unbeaten Golovkin until the fifth, when trainer Dominic [...]
FA vows to investigate after West Ham home match against Watford marred by crowd disturbances September 11, 2016 The Football Association has confirmed it intends to make further enquiries into allegations of fighting among spectators during West Ham’s Premier League match against Watford on Saturday. It is the third time in as many matches that disturbances have been reported at the London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium and the Hammers’ home since last month. [...]
Football betting tips: Leicester to come unstuck against Liverpool at Anfield September 9, 2016 LEICESTER only lost three times on their march to the title last season. On Saturday they return to the scene of one of those defeats – Anfield – and I think they will leave Merseyside empty-handed again. This view is backed up by the bookies. The Foxes are a best-priced 19/4 with Betway, who offer [...]
Fifa begins formal proceedings against Sepp Blatter, Markus Klattner and Jerome Valcke September 9, 2016 Football's governing body said today it has launched an official investigation into former president Sepp Blatter. In a statement, Fifa said its ethics committee had opened formal proceedings against Blatter and two other former officials, Jerome Valcke, who was secretary general, and Markus Kattner, former acting secretary general and director of finance and corporate services. [...]
Football betting tips: Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola all set for Manchester derby September 9, 2016 YOU DON’T win the league on one result, but a big loss can see the wheels soon fall of a title challenge. It was a 5-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona that put the writing on the wall for Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2010/11, and the Special One has been smarting ever since. The [...]
Dame Sarah Storey makes history as ParalympicsGB enjoy golden start to Games September 9, 2016 Para-cyclist Dame Sarah Storey was elevated to the status of the nation’s most successful female Paralympian of all time after winning the 12th gold medal of her career on a glory-filled opening day of the Paralympic Games for Great Britain. The 38-year-old moved beyond wheelchair racer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson with her latest gold after she [...]
Spanish giants Real and Atletico Madrid fail to overturn transfer bans and cannot field new signings until January 2018 September 8, 2016 Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico are not permitted to field any new signings until January 2018 after both clubs lost their appeals against transfer bans handed out by world governing body Fifa. The Spanish giants were punished by Fifa’s disciplinary committee in January after being found to have breached regulations governing the transfer of [...]