London, Sep 4 (Ians) Manchester City head into the international break atop the Premier League, maintaining their perfect start to the season with a 5-1 home victory over Fulham.

Julian Alvarez’s opening goal for City was quickly equalized by Tim Ream. However, Nathan Ake restored City’s lead just before halftime, a goal that Fulham believed should have been ruled out for offside by Var. In the second half, Erling Haaland secured the win with his seventh City hat-trick, reports Xinhua.

Tottenham sit in second place after a dominant 5-2 victory against Burnley, who initially led with a Lyle Foster goal in the fourth minute. The match featured a hat-trick from Son Heung-min and goals from Cristian Romero and James Maddison.

Arsenal, level with Tottenham on 10 points, clinched a 3-1 home win against Manchester United, with two goals arriving deep into injury time. Marcus Rashford and Martin Odegaard exchanged goals within a minute,...

Competition was high at the Metlife Stadium this week, as a fight between soccer fans broke out during a match between Arsenal and Manchester United.

It’s unknown what or who began the fight but videos circulating online show numerous people getting into physical altercations with one another.

One video shows what looks to be a Manchester United fan pummeling a man down as a third man grabs the punch-thrower from behind and tries to hold him back by biting his left ear. A fourth man joins in on the fight and begins punching the first man before he is pushed off to the side, starting a new fight with someone else. Though that may seem a lot, that was only the first 15 seconds of the nearly two-minute video.

Torcedores de Arsenal e Manchester United no Metlife Stadium. pic.twitter.com/IriJTHCU2D

— Curiosidades Pl (@CuriosidadesPRL) July 24, 2023

A recording of the fight,...

London, July 15 (Ians) West Ham United on Saturday confirmed that they have reached an agreement for Declan Rice to leave the club.

The 24-year-old England midfielder leaves the Hammers having made a total of 245 senior appearances for the Club — the last of which finished in glory last month as he lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy in Prague to end our 43-year wait for a major honour.

“West Ham United can confirm that agreement has been reached for Declan Rice to leave the Club for a British record transfer fee,” the club said in a statement.

Having progressed from the Academy of Football at Chadwell Heath, where he began his Claret and Blue journey as a 14-year-old in 2013 before making his first-team debut against Burnley in May 2017, the Kingston-born midfielder has established himself as one of the greatest young talents in world football.

Winner of the Hammer of the Year award three times,...

London, June 8 (Ians) West Ham chairman David Sullivan has confirmed that England midfielder Declan Rice is set to leave the club this summer. Sullivan made his assertion on TalkSport in the wake of West Ham’s 2-1 triumph over Fiorentina in the final of UEFA Europa Conference League on Wednesday.

When asked about his future after the match, 24-year-old Rice, who has played 245 times for West Ham, had said he “loved the club.”

“My focus, and it has been since the World Cup, is to win this trophy and keep West Ham in the Premier League. I genuinely don’t know what’s happening at the minute. That is my honest answer,” added Rice, who explained he had “two years left on my contract and ultimately it is up to the people above.”

Sullivan told a slightly different story, saying he believed the midfielder had played his last game for the club,...

Mumbai, May 24 (Ians) West Ham United Fc star Jamal Baptiste, who is playing in the ongoing Next Generation Cup, feels that the mentality and style of play of Indian football teams is similar to English clubs.

West Ham United Fc is a club with an incredibly rich legacy and history in the Premier League. They have a famed academy that has churned out some of the most promising footballing talents in the last few decades and the 19-year old Baptiste is the latest new prospect to have come up their ranks.

Tipped to scale incredible peaks in his career, the defender penned his first professional contract with West Ham United Fc when he was 17.

Last season, he became their second youngest representative at the U23 level in addition to turning up for the England national team in the U18 age group as well. Many in the West Ham club compare...

London, March 17 (Ians) England coach Gareth Southgate has made several changes to his squad for their Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Italy and Ukraine later this month.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney is rewarded for an excellent season that has seen him score 17 goals, while Chelsea full backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James are also included after having missed out on last year’s FIFA World Cup due to injury.

However, there is no place for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Ben White or Callum Wilson, who were all present at the World Cup, while Raheem Sterling misses out through injury, a Xinhua report said.

Toney’s inclusion comes despite facing charges of breaching rules on betting, which could lead to him receiving a lengthy ban, but Southgate backed the powerful striker.

“He’s available for his club. There hasn’t been a trial or a judgement yet, so I don’t know...

London, Feb 26 (Ians) Gabriel Martinelli’s goal at the start of the second half gave Arsenal a 1-0 win away to Leicester City, which was probably easier than the final score suggests.

Martinelli latched onto Leandro Trossard’s through ball to beat Danny Ward, which will have been some consolation to Trossard after the midfielder had a spectacular first-half goal disallowed after a Var review, due to a foul on the Leicester keeper, by Ben White.

Once Arsenal got ahead, they were able to control the play and held into their lead with few problems.

Manchester City remain two points behind in the second after an easy 4-1 win away to Bournemouth.

Julian Alvarez on 15 minutes, Erling Haaland on 29 minutes and Phil Foden on the stroke of halftime put Pep Guardiola’s side 3-0 up at the break, with Alvarez and Foden both answering doubts over why they haven’t started recently.

Doha (Qatar), Dec 11 (Ians) Another England World Cup dream dies in the quarterfinals meaning they carry on the ‘tradition’ of never making it past the last-eight outside of Europe.

England have now fallen in the quarterfinals seven times (more than any other country) with Qatar 2022 joining Germany 2006, South Korea and Japan 2002, Mexico 1986, Spain 1982 (which had a different competition format), Mexico 1970 and Chile 1962.

What makes this year’s exit tough to take for England fans is that it came in what was arguably the best match of the tournament to date. A match between two top sides, after a performance that probably deserved better and after seeing captain and striker, Harry Kane fire a penalty, that would have leveled the score at 2-2, high into the night sky of the Al Bayt Stadium.

Such an uncharacteristic miss for the player who 30 minutes earlier had equaled Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 goals in an England shirt.

Doha (Qatar), Dec 11 (Ians) England captain Harry Kane on Sunday said that he is absolutely gutted after his side’s disappointing exit from the FIFA World Cup and took the responsibility for the quarterfinal defeat against France, adding that itll take some time to get over it.

England’s World Cup campaign ended in disappointment on Saturday night after they lost their quarterfinal against France at Al Bayt Stadium, with Kane’s late penalty miss turned out to be decisive.

The England captain had already levelled the score with a penalty to cancel out Aurelien Tchouameni’s 17th-minute opener for France. In the 83rd minute, Kane had another opportunity to level from the spot after Mason Mount was bundled over by Theo Hernandez.

This time, however, Kane sent his effort high into the night sky and France held on for the win.

“Absolutely gutted. We’ve given it everything and...

Doha (Qatar), Nov 19 (Ians) Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher was one of the surprises when England coach Gareth Southgate named his squad for the Qatar World Cup.

Although he is down the midfield pecking order, Gallagher believes he has plenty to offer over the coming month.

The 22-year-old came to prominence last season while on loan at Crystal Palace, where he caught the eye with his box-to-box style of play and eye for goal.

His eight league goals earned him a return to Stamford Bridge amid worries that being in such a talented squad could see him lose game time and miss out on a ticket to Qatar.

However, despite starting the season on the bench, his eight starts have been enough for Southgate to give him a vote of confidence.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect it,” admitted Gallagher about his call-up in an interview with The Independent newspaper.

London, Nov 11 (Ians) The last round of Premier League matches before the World Cup is to be played this weekend and will make England coach Gareth Southgate nervous while leaving some coaches with a selection dilemma.

With just a week before the World Cup kicks off, any injury picked up this weekend, will mean missing out on the tournament, and Southgate will be hoping none of the 26 players he named in his squad on Thursday suffer any setbacks.

Meanwhile, some coaches might consider leaving out some of their internationals to save them from the risk of missing out on one of the highlights of their careers.

Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola, will have no such dilemma about striker Erling Haaland for his side’s home game against Brentford. The Norwegian won’t be going to Qatar, but has recovered from his foot injury and will lead the City attack.

Southgate...

London, Nov 10 (Ians) Coach Gareth Southgate on Thursday announced a 26-man England squad for the 2022 football World Cup, including Leicester midfielder James Maddison along with Newcastle striker Callum Wilson.

Both the players have not played for England since 2019, but recent club form has seen them earn a call-up for the FIFA World Cup which begins on November 20 in Qatar.

On including Maddison in the team, Southgate said, “He is playing really well. We think he can give us something slightly different to the attacking players that we’ve got. He’s playing as good as any of the attacking players in this country. He is a little bit different from the others. I think we need that.”

Maddison last played for England in November 2019 while 2020 Wilson’s last international cap came a month before in October 2019.

Among English players, Maddison has had one of the highest number of goal involvements...

Madrid, Nov 9 (Ians) A quick look at Group B implies that England should be the clear favourites to breeze through into the last-16 of the FIFA World Cup, and a possible three straight wins will allow Gareth Southgate’s side to gain confidence ahead of the knockout rounds.

However, any England fan will tell you it’s rarely as simple as that, with memories of their struggles in a group comprised of the United States, Algeria and Slovenia in 2010 coming to mind, and a look at other teams in the group also suggests things may not be as straightforward as they seem.

On paper, England have a better squad and record than Wales, the United States and Iran. They qualified for Qatar with no real problems and travel as the European Championship runners-up.

Southgate will build his team around striker and captain Harry Kane, and midfielders Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

London, Oct 17 (Ians) Mohamed Salah’s excellent goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday evening to decide a bad-tempered match and end City’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season.

Salah controlled a long kick from Alisson before turning Joao Cancelo and slotting the ball past Ederson to decide the game as Liverpool built on Wednesday’s 7-1 win away to Rangers in the Champions League.

City coach Pep Guardiola was left furious when Phil Foden’s strike was ruled out for a previous foul by Erling Haaland, while Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp was sent off after losing his cool when his side didn’t get a free-kick in the closing stages, reports Xinhua.

Liverpool came into the game 13 points behind City following their worst start to a season in 10 years, but their defence improved considerably to take vital points that just about keep their title hopes alive.

London, Sep 15 (Ians) England coach Gareth Southgate has called Brentford striker Ivan Toney into his squad for the forthcoming UEFA Nations League games against Italy and Germany.

However, there is no place for Manchester United duo of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho just two months away from the start of the World Cup.

Southgate’s final squad before naming players who will go to Qatar is always going to be looked at with extra interest. Although Rashford is suffering from a slight injury, Sancho’s place on the plane must now be in serious doubt, reports Xinhua.

26-year-old Toney gets his chance after scoring 17 Premier League goals and giving six assists in just over a season with Brentford. He is an effective penalty taker and also a threat in the air and set-pieces.

Southgate’s 28-man squad sees a return for Tottenham’s Eric Dier, who has not featured since...

London, Aug 15 (Ians) Harry Kane scored a 96th-minute equaliser to give Tottenham a point with a 2-2 draw away to Chelsea, before things exploded when both coaches were sent off for an incident after the final whistle.

Chelsea played excellent football and led though Kalidou Koulibaly’s 19th-minute volley, only for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to level for Spurs with 22 minutes left. Reece James put Chelsea in front again in the 77th minute, but Kane saved a point for the visitors as he flicked home from a corner.

Chelsea complained about fouls before both of Tottenham’s goals, and Thomas Tuchel’s frustration appeared to spill over at the final whistle when he seemed to squeeze Spurs’ coach Antonio Conte’s hand extra hard in their post-game handshake and refuse to let go, promoting Conte to react angrily and for them both to be shown red cards.

England captain Kane was anonymous...

Red Nose Day, the BBC’s annual televized fund-raising event, is set to return on March 18.

Featuring comedy sketches and specials, live performances and a host of celebrity names, the live show will be broadcast from the broadcaster’s Manchester headquarters on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the U.K.

Sir Lenny Henry will return to host the event alongside former Doctor Who David Tennant, “Walk the Line” judge Alesha Dixon, former “Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two” host Zoe Ball and comedian Paddy McGuinness.

The show will include cameos from comedians Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Jack Whitehall, David Walliams and Matt Lucas as well as public figures such as Olympian Tom Daley and actor Rose Ayling Ellis.

Among the sketches and performances audiences can expect to see on the night are “Comic Opera,” which will see six celebrities given 24 hours to learn opera – and perform it in front...

London, Feb 7 (Ians) West Ham manager David Moyes reckons Declan Rice is worth over £100m with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all thought to be interested in a summer move for the midfielder. “Yeah. I think I’ve said everything there is to say about Declan. He’s a really important player for West Ham, […]...

London, May 25 (Ians) Ben White, Ben Godfrey and Aaron Ramsdale received their first England call-ups as Gareth Southgate selected Trent Alexander-Arnold among four right-backs in his provisional European Championship squad.

With the Three Lions dealing with issues such as injuries and European (Champions League) final absentees, the Football Association confirmed a larger provisional squad would be announced on Tuesday rather than the definitive group, Dpa reports.

Southgate has named a 33-man party that will be trimmed down to 26 players on June 1, allowing him to include injury doubts such as Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips.

Speaking about his decision to name a 33-member squad, Southgate explained: "I think our situation is more complicated than any other country at the moment.

"We have known for a while that we have of this 33, 12 players still to play in European finals this week so we were always going to need some additional...

London, May 24 (Ians) Liverpool and Chelsea confirmed their qualification for the last two places in next season's Champions League after a dramatic last day in the Premier League.

Sadio Mane scored a goal in each half as Liverpool breezed past Crystal Palace 2-0 to finish the season in third place, Xinhua reports.

Liverpool's win lifted them above Chelsea, who will return to the Champions League no matter what happens in next weekend's final against Manchester City, despite a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Goals from Bertrand Traore after 43 minutes and Anwar El Ghazi's 52nd-minute penalty put Villa 2-0 up before Ben Chilwell pulled a goal back for Chelsea, who had Cesar Azpilicueta sent off in the last minute of the match.

Chelsea's defeat opened the door for Leicester City to finish above them and claim the last Champions League spot, but Leicester suffered a 4-2 defeat at home to Tottenham.