John Stones believes the fight to earn a place in Pep Guardiola s starting line-up will ensure there is no let-up from Manchester City s players this season.
City eased to a comfortable 2-0 win over Fulham on Saturday to give Guardiola victory in his 250th game in charge of the club and his 700th in management.
Raheem Sterling s goal and a Kevin De Bruyne penalty secured the points as City recorded back-to-back victories in the Premier League for the first time this season.
After a slow start to the campaign City have looked more like their old selves of late and have scored as many goals in their last two league games (seven) as they had in the previous seven.
16 Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 16 meetings with Fulham in all competitions (W…
Iker Casillas has rubbished reports he is set to leave Porto and become the latest high-profile name to move to the United States.
The former Real Madrid goalkeeper had been linked with a move from Europe, with Miami named as a possible destination.
Casillas has established himself as first choice in the league for Porto after leaving Madrid at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, but the 34-year-old was unable to help them claim the Primeira Liga title.
Speculation had suggested he could follow the likes of Andrea Pirlo, David Villa and Steven Gerrard to the US, but he is keen to remain with Porto.
I m not going to Miami, he is reported as saying by AS. I m very happy here, everyone has really welcomed me.
Obviously I would have liked to have pla…
Christian Gourcuff is set to be named as the man to take charge of Ligue 1 outfit Rennes next season, according to club president Rene Ruello.
Ruello said the former Algeria coach, who has previously managed Rennes, had not yet agreed terms but that both parties were keen on a deal.
Christian Gourcuff will be the Rennes coach, Ruello told French regional newspaper Ouest-France.
We have not talked about the conditions; they are not of interest, but the sporting project of Rennes.
Rennes sit in seventh in Ligue 1 with one game still to play and Gourcuff would arrive with a fine standing in the French game, having spent 25 years as coach of Lorient across three different spells between 1982 and 2014.
Gourcuff coached Rennes in the 2001-02 season…
It has been revealed here that the Manchester UnitedÂ’s winger Cristiano Ronaldo will more than likely be ready for action by the end of September and not later that was previously expected.
Since his ankle surgery in July he has made quick progress and his rehabilitation has gone without any incident. That, according to Ronaldo, is in despite the rumours that he had suffered a setback and will only be ready by November.
The twenty three year old Portuguese winger added in an interview with News Of The World that he was also in very good mental and physical condition and that, at this stage, would be in the line up to face Bolton Wanderers in four weeks time on 27 September 2008.
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Erik ten Hag ruled out rotating his Manchester United squad for their Europa League second leg at Real Betis despite a testing schedule.
United head away to their LaLiga opponents on Thursday with a 4-1 advantage at the halfway point in their last-16 tie.
With a comfortable three-goal cushion and an FA Cup quarter-final with Fulham to come on Sunday, there had been suggestions Ten Hag would alter his XI.
But the Dutchman said he would name what he considers his strongest team for the clash, intending to treat the match with the respect he believes it deserves.
It is always serious, he said. We will play our best team. We have to put up a team that can adapt during the game.
We know our opponent can, as they have really good players. We have to b…
Bayern Munich will travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, with last season s finalists Eintracht Frankfurt visiting Schalke.
A 2-1 win over Schalke on Saturday means a sixth consecutive Bundesliga title looks to be something of a formality for Bayern, who thumped Paderborn 6-0 in midweek to secure the showdown with Leverkusen.
Julian Brandt s double brought Leverkusen back from 2-0 down at home to Werder Bremen, who they then beat 4-2 in extra time thanks to goals from Karim Bellarabi and Kai Havertz.
Eintracht lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the final last season and eased past Mainz 3-0 in the quarter-finals, while Schalke were able to punctuate back-to-back Bundesliga losses by beating Wolfsburg 1-0.
And there you have it!
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Kevin De Bruyne has been hailed as a future winner of the Ballon d Or by Pep Guardiola, but Zbigniew Boniek believes Piotr Zielinski is better than the Belgium playmaker.
Zielinski has scored four Serie A goals this season to help Napoli sit top of the table, a point clear of champions Juventus, as they seek a first Scudetto since 1989-90.
Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri has compared Zielinski to De Bruyne, whose goals and assists have sent Manchester City 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Zielinski is regarded as one of the brightest talents in European football and Boniek, head of the Polish Football Association, already rates the 23-year-old above De Bruyne.
He will be the next De Bruyne? I think Zielinski already has more quality than De …
Manchester United are in pole position to reclaim their Premier League crown but a second successive loss would send jitters through the camp.
United head to Stoke on Sunday, having had their lead on top of the table reduced after falling to a 2-1 defeat against Manchester rivals and defending champions City on Monday.
Sir Alex Ferguson s men are 12 points clear at the summit with seven games to go, and remain in the box seat to capture a record 20th title.
But having already bowed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in the past month, United midfielder Antonio Valencia says the club is determined to secure the title as soon as possible.
We re a little worried. It has already happened to us, Valencia told Ecuadorian radio station Sonorama.
La…
Steve Bruce celebrates his 100th game as Hull City boss in the club s first European match and wants an extended UEFA Europa League run.
Bruce has enjoyed a fairytale tenure at the KC Stadium since taking charge in June 2012, guiding Hull into the Premier League and then keeping the club in the top flight last season as well as securing an unlikely FA Cup final appearance.
That Wembley outing back in May means Hull will make their continental debut against either Vojvodina of Serbia or Trencin of Slovakia – the latter are 4-0 up after the first leg of their second-round tie in the Europa League third qualifying round later this month.
And it is a fixture that will hold extra significance for Bruce.
It s the perfect way to reach my century of matches …
Frank Lampard has no doubt Timo Werner will come through his difficult spell of form for Chelsea.
Chelsea are under pressure ahead of Monday s home fixture with West Ham having lost two straight Premier League games, going down to both Everton and Wolves on the road.
A third consecutive top-flight defeat would represent their worst run for over five years.
Germany international Werner, a high-profile signing from RB Leipzig, has not scored for eight matches across all competitions.
He particularly struggled to make an impact in the games against Everton and Wolves, but Lampard insists his deployment on the left of a front three is not the reason for his woes.
Asked why Werner was playing on the left, Chelsea boss Lampard said: For di…