NEWCASTLE (AFP) – Andy Carroll bagged a brilliant hat-trick as Newcastle romped to a 6-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday at St James Park.
Chris Hughton s team, back in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season, secured their first top-flight victory since May 2009 in stunning fashion.
The Magpies got an early break when Villa striker John Carew missed a first half penalty and they took full advantage as Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Carroll all got on the scoresheet in the space of 22 minutes.
England Under-21 striker Carroll struck twice more after half-time to underline his growing reputation and Nolan added his second to ensure Newcastle bounced back from their defeat at Manchester United on Monday.
There was more g…
MADRID (AFP) – Arsenal are in talks with Sevilla over the transfer of the Spanish club s French international centre-back Sebastien Squillaci, Sevilla s sporting director revealed on Thursday.
The player asked not to play (against Braga in the Champions League play-off round) because of the offer from such a big team but, for the moment, we believe the offer is insufficient and Squillaci is still a Sevilla player, said Ramon Rodriguez Monchi after Sevilla s 1-0 defeat at Braga on Wednesday.
Spanish sport newspaper AS claimed the transfer could be completed on Thursday for a fee of around eight million euros.
Rival paper Marca was more explicit, stating that Sevilla were waiting for the English team to put a serious offer on the table .
Arsenal are in …
Gus Poyet is hopeful of helping AEK Athens return to their previous heights after being appointed the club s head coach.
The Uruguayan has spent seven months out of the game following his sacking at Sunderland before his return to coaching with the Greek side was announced on Thursday.
AEK the country s third most successful club with 11 Greek Super League titles to their name suffered financial difficulties that led to relegation for the first time in their history in 2012-13 and played the following campaign as an amateur side in the third tier.
Poyet still believes AEK are a club of great stature that should be challenging at the top of the table, despite only returning to the top flight in 2015-16.
I know that I have come to a huge club and …
Tottenham head coach Tim Sherwood has expressed concern at what may happen to his squad if they miss out on the Premier League top four.
The north London outfit look set to be in the mix for a European berth come the end of the season, but are three points short of fourth-placed Liverpool.
And Sherwood fears a lack of UEFA Champions League football could lead to a White Hart Lane exodus, although he has no doubt the club could attract players of equal calibre.
It’s always a risk, he said. But Tottenham are a massive club and will always attract the biggest name players.
If players are coming here to build and progress with the side, they will pick Tottenham.
At other clubs, these players will go and sit on bench and pick up championship medals, which is n…
Kevin De Bruyne is concerned over the potential state of the Wembley pitch when Manchester City take on Tottenham on Monday.
The Premier League leaders make the latest step in their title defence in a crunch clash with Spurs that takes place at England s national stadium a day after the NFL meeting between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles.
City s smooth passing game appeared close to its peak in the supreme 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, but Belgium midfielder De Bruyne acknowledges things could be different against Mauricio Pochettino s men.
Spurs are just two points behind City within a congested top five after making an impressive start to the domestic campaign despite delays over moving into their new stadium – a situation that c…
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag refused to be drawn on the future of star midfielder Frenkie de Jong after the 21-year-old was linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
De Jong is the latest Ajax youth product to garner attention from across Europe after impressing since making his first-team debut in 2016.
Manchester City, Barcelona and PSG were said to be at the front of the queue for De Jong s signature, with reports in the Netherlands suggesting the Ligue 1 champions had jumped ahead of their rivals.
De Telegraaf claimed representatives of PSG and Ajax had met in Amsterdam to discuss De Jong, with a fee of €75million said to be the agreed price.
The news of PSG s interest is of no major concern to Ten Hag, who insists his squad – including De Jong – ar…
Bayern Munich are interested in signing Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, according to . It has been reported that the German and European giants Bayern are looking at Malen as a potential replacement for Poland international striker Robert Lewandowski.
Malen is one of the best young attacking players in Europe who can play as a left-winger or as a forward. The 22-year-old has made five starts and two substitute appearances in the Bundesliga and has scored one goal in two Champions League matches so far this season.
Bayern have historically signed the best players from their rivals in Germany, and it would not come as a surprise if they snap up Malen from Dortmund at the end of the season.
…
Milan midfielder Brahim Diaz has tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the club s Serie A match with Hellas Verona.
Diaz, 22, is feeling fine as he isolates at home, according to a statement from the club.
No other players tested positive in the latest round of tests ahead of the Verona clash at San Siro on Saturday.
Milan, though, are already without defender Theo Hernandez due to COVID-19.
Close monitoring with swab tests will follow according to the indications provided by the relevant health authorities, who were immediately informed, read Milan s statement.
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Diaz has played in all seven of Milan s league matches this season, starting six, and would again have been expected to be named in the XI a…
Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to Robert Lewandowski ahead of his final home match for Borussia Dortmund against Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Poland international Lewandowski arrived at the Bundesliga giants from Lech Poznan in 2010 and has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world during his time at Dortmund.
The 25-year-old who has scored 72 Bundesliga goals during his time at the club will now bid farewell to the home supporters when Dortmund host Markus Gisdol s men, ahead of his free transfer to rivals and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Dortmund head coach Klopp harbours no ill-feeling towards the forward however, and says he leaves the club a world-class striker.
He arrived as a great striker and leaves as a world-class striker, Klopp said at …
Nkana venture into uncharted waters on Saturday as they face Al Ahly in the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Zambian Premier League champions are one of six teams who make up the last eight of the competition having started the season in the CAF Champions League.
A daunting trip to eight-time Champions League winners Al Ahly awaits them in Group B, which also contains Sewe Sport and Etoile du Sahel.
Al Ahly are competing in the Confederation Cup for the first time after suffering the disappointment of elimination from Africa s elite club competition, and coach Fathi Mabrouk is not concerned about their opening game.
We have a strong team, same with our opponents, but I think it s our pedigree and determination to win that sets us apart, he said.
…