Author: Andrew Rogers

Arsenal are bracing for a major setback as Gabriel Magalhães could miss at least a month after suffering a thigh injury while on international duty with Brazil. The centre-back limped off during Brazil’s 2-0 win over Senegal at the Emirates last weekend, and further scans at Arsenal have confirmed a muscle issue in his right thigh. While testing is ongoing, Gabriel is already ruled out of Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham and the midweek Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. Early concerns suggest he may miss a minimum of four weeks – potentially longer depending on the severity –…

Germany booked their place at next year’s World Cup in emphatic style, thrashing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier. Four first-half goals—strikes from Nick Woltemade, Serge Gnabry, and a Leroy Sané brace—put the game out of reach long before the break. Slovakia, who had beaten Germany earlier in the campaign, struggled to cope with the hosts’ relentless tempo and must settle for a playoff spot. Ridle Baku and 19-year-old debutant Assan Ouédraogo added goals late on. The Netherlands also qualified comfortably, beating Lithuania 4-0 to finish top of Group G. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons…

A sickness bug has disrupted Denmark’s preparations for their decisive World Cup qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow. Joachim Andersen, Rasmus Højlund and a staff member have fallen ill, with head coach Brian Riemer concerned about further spread before Tuesday’s match. Denmark need only a draw to qualify. Scotland, one point behind, can reach their first World Cup since 1998 with a win. Manager Steve Clarke urged supporters to stay positive and back the team throughout the match.

Manchester City delivered a commanding 3-0 win over Manchester United at the Etihad, reinforcing their title ambitions and extending their lead at the top of the Women’s Super League to four points. Goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp sealed a dominant performance for Andrée Jeglertz’s side, who outclassed a fatigued United throughout a blistering first half. United, dealing with the strain of balancing domestic and European fixtures, looked drained after their historic win over PSG. Marc Skinner’s team suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time since May 2024, leaving them seven points off the pace. Skinner…

Celtic are accelerating talks to appoint Wilfried Nancy as their new manager, with discussions expected to progress over the weekend. The Columbus Crew boss is reportedly keen on the move, and compensation to release him from the MLS club is not expected to be an obstacle. The Scottish champions hope to have Nancy in place before next weekend’s match against St Mirren, ending Martin O’Neill’s short caretaker spell. O’Neill met majority shareholder Dermot Desmond in London on Friday following Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious exit in late October. Initially seen as an outsider, Nancy now fits Celtic’s preferred profile — a progressive…

Patrick Bamford has joined Sheffield United just seven months after leading abusive chants about manager Chris Wilder during Leeds United’s promotion celebrations. The 32-year-old striker, who left Leeds by mutual consent in August, has signed a short-term deal with the Championship club until January. Despite their past tension, Wilder and Bamford appear to have patched things up, with United in desperate need of attacking reinforcements as the league’s lowest scorers. The incident occurred in April, when Bamford led fans in a viral chant mocking Wilder. He and Leeds boss Daniel Farke later called Wilder to apologise. The Sheffield United manager…

Barcelona have identified Harry Kane as their top target to replace Robert Lewandowski, whose contract expires in June. The 32-year-old England captain has impressed at Bayern Munich since joining from Tottenham in 2023, scoring an incredible 108 goals in 113 games and helping the club reclaim the Bundesliga title. Barcelona view Kane as the ideal long-term successor to the 37-year-old Lewandowski and are reportedly prepared to activate a £57m release clause in his Bayern contract next summer. Kane has previously stated he is open to staying at Bayern until his deal expires in 2027, but a move to one of…

The Premier League has approved requests from Arsenal and Crystal Palace to move their league fixtures the weekend before they meet in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The clubs were originally set to play on Sunday, 21 December, but both games — Arsenal vs Everton and Palace vs Leeds — will now take place at 8pm on Saturday, 20 December. The adjustment comes ahead of their Carabao Cup clash at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, 23 December, allowing both sides more recovery time. Palace, who face KuPS in the Conference League on 18 December, chose to shorten the gap between their…

Manchester City made a major title statement with a dominant 3-0 win over Liverpool, cutting Arsenal’s Premier League lead to four points. Despite Erling Haaland missing an early penalty, the Norwegian opened the scoring soon after, before a Nico González strike deflected in off Virgil van Dijk before halftime. Jérémy Doku, who tormented Liverpool’s defence all night, sealed the victory with a stunning curler in the second half. Liverpool had a Van Dijk header ruled out by VAR for offside and struggled to match City’s intensity. The result marked their fourth straight away defeat, casting serious doubt on their title…

Harry Kane scored a stoppage-time header to earn Bayern Munich a 2-2 draw at Union Berlin, keeping their unbeaten run alive but ending their perfect winning streak. Union led twice through Danilho Doekhi, while Luis Díaz’s curling effort brought Bayern level before Kane’s 13th league goal rescued a point. Bayern top the Bundesliga on 28 points, six clear after RB Leipzig’s 3-1 loss at Hoffenheim. “It wasn’t our best game, but we stayed focused,” Kane said. “Sixteen wins in a row is incredible, but now we move on.” Elsewhere, Dortmund conceded in the 97th minute to draw 1-1 at Hamburg.…