Towards the end of a fairly torrid first 15 minutes at Wembley for Croatia, Mateo Kovacic shuffled away from his penalty area with the ball at his feet and boos swelled up.
It was notable that the England supporters had not had cause to goad any significant spell of Croatian possession up until that point. Still, on Kovacic went and found the normally sure-footed Marcelo Brozovic, who duffed the ball out of play.
England gained a measure of revenge for their World Cup semi-final defeat to these opponents three years ago in the 2018-19 Nations League, but the more comparable stakes of this Euro 2020 opener meant talk of a rematch dominated the build-up.
In Moscow, Luka Modric and his midfield cohort deftly cut away England s early advantage via a thousand passes (…
Frank Lampard never expected to avoid the mind games of his former manager Jose Mourinho as their respective high-flying Chelsea and Tottenham sides prepare to meet on Sunday.
Blues legend Lampard was an integral cog in Mourinho s Chelsea machine during the Portuguese s first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Playing under the Portuguese, Lampard won the Premier League and EFL Cup twice and the FA Cup once.
However, the duo had a well-publicised touchline exchange during Spurs EFL Cup penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea back in September, while Mourinho seemed to aim a dig at Lampard when suggesting he had used a system akin to that of ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte following a 2-0 defeat of Tottenham last December.
Asked if he thought he would be spared M…
Manchester City are interested in signing Federico Dimarco from Inter Milan in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that City, who won the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup last season, want Dimarco in their squad for next season and are keen on securing his services.
Federico Dimarco has been superb for Inter Milan and is one of the best left wing-backs in Serie A. The 25-year-old has scored one goal and given three assists in six Serie matches and has played 35 minutes in the UEFA Champions League so far this campaign.
Manchester City are at the top of the Premier League table at the moment with 18 points from six matches, two points clear of second-placed Liverpool. Meanwhile, Inter Milan currently find themselves …
Bruno Fernandes has signed a new deal with Manchester United to stay at Old Trafford for at least the next four years.
The 27-year-old has more than justified United s initial outlay of £47million (€55m) to sign him from Sporting CP two years ago, even if his form has dipped this campaign.
Fernandes was already tied down until the end of 2024-25, though his new contract – on substantially higher wages – is considered a reward for his performances.
He has signed until June 2026, with the option for another year on top of that.
And while uncertainty remains over the managerial position at Old Trafford, whoever is in charge from next season can build around Fernandes.
Here, Stats Perform looks at just how important Fernandes has been for Uni…
Paul Pogba s future at Manchester United has drawn speculation.
The France international has one year left on his United contract and is yet to re-sign with the Red Devils.
The 2018 World Cup winner has numerous big-spending admirers and impressed at Euro 2020.
TOP STORY PSG PLOT CUT-PRICE POGBA DEAL
Paris Saint-Germain are lining up Manchester United s French mdifielder Paul Pogba for a cut-price £50million (€58m) deal, claims the Daily Star.
Big-spending PSG have already landed Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum this off-season and will need to sell players to fund the deal.
L Equipe reports PSG are confident they can land Pogba on a cut-price deal given his contract status.
PSG are confident they can land Pogb…
Villarreal have announced the signing of Barcelona midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, subject to a medical, after agreeing a five-year deal.
The 24-year-old struggled to establish himself at Camp Nou after coming through the ranks to make his first-team debut in the Copa del Rey in October 2009.
Dos Santos made 28 first-team appearances for the club he joined 12 years ago as a youngster, but injuries limited him to only three last season.
La Liga s 2013/14 runners-up wished him well for the future and thanked Dos Santos for the efforts he had shown when called upon.
FC Barcelona wishes to publicly thank the professionalism and dedication of Jonathan dos Santos this season, and wishes him the best for the future, they said on their official website.
…
Charlton Athletic have signed former Manchester United winger Chris Eagles until the end of the season, .
The 29 year old spent the first half of this season with Blackpool, but made just seven appearances, scoring his only goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Charlton at the Valley in December.
Eagles began his career with Manchester United, where he played seventeen times before signing for Burnley in 2008.
Prior to his move to Turf Moor, he had two loan spells with Watford either side of a stint with Sheffield Wednesday, while he also spent time with Eredivise side NEC.
He also racked up over one hundred outings for Bolton Wanderers, ending his time with the Trotters last summer.
He could make his Addicks debut tomorrow evening as they …
Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal became the youngest-ever goalscorer in LaLiga history as his side came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Granada.
Yamal, aged 16 years and 87 days, hauled Barca back into the game after they had trailed to Bryan Zaragoza’s first-half double and substitute Sergi Roberto’s late strike rescued them a point.
Granada forward Zaragoza opened the scoring after just 17 seconds – the fastest goal in LaLiga this season – and Xavi’s side missed the chance to close to within a point of leaders Real Madrid.
ACED!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Barca, who made it back-to-back Champions League wins this season with a 1-0 win in Porto on Wednesday night, were stunned by Granada’s lightning start.
T…
Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after failing to break down Juventus at Camp Nou in a goalless draw which confirmed a 3-0 aggregate quarter-final defeat.
After recording the biggest comeback in the competition s history in the previous round against Paris Saint-Germain, Barca were unable to repeat the feat against Juve, who backed up their stunning first-leg win with an obdurate rear-guard display.
Lionel Messi missed the home side s best opportunities, firing off-target from close range in either half, the story of a match that saw his side rack up 19 shots but only test Gianluigi Buffon with one of them.
Juve – beaten by Barca in the 2015 final – have now reached the semi-finals in two of the last three years as they look to win a first Europe…
that Stoke City have reached an agreement to sign Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu from Udinese.
The Potters reportedly had a €6.5 million proposal accepted by the Serie A side, with the Ghanaian expected to sign a four-year contract at Britannia Stadium in the coming days.
Stoke have also agreed a £12 million deal for Inter Milan s Xherdan Shaqiri, but it appears the player has his doubts over joining the Potters.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has spent last five and a half years at Udinese, having joined from Berekum Arsenal in January 2010.
The Ghana hotshot went on to make 104 Serie A appearances for the Zebrette, scoring 6 goals in the process.
Meanwhile, Badu has been a member of the national teams since 2008 and has so far been capped 62 times, playing…