Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Rostov in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash on Thursday, leaving the tie in the balance ahead of next week s return fixture at Old Trafford.
The fit-again Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the opening goal with United s first real chance 10 minutes before half-time, the Armenian finishing off a cute cutback from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mkhitaryan s return was a timely boost for United, having not featured since the win over Saint-Etienne in the last round due to a hamstring problem, but his side could not hold on to their lead.
Aleksandr Bukharov equalised for Rostov eight minutes into the second half, getting between Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to take Timofei Kalachev s lofted pass on his chest and finish we…
Arsene Wenger praised Arsenal s attitude after they secured a last-gasp opening-day win over managerless Crystal Palace.
Debutant Brede Hangeland gave the south London side a surprise 35th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium in their Premier League opener on Saturday, but Laurent Koscielny restored parity on the stroke of half-time.
Palace remained tough to breakdown, retaining many of the qualities installed by Tony Pulis before his shock departure as Selhurst Park boss on Friday.
Nevertheless, Arsenal stuck to their task and, following a second booking for Palace winger Jason Puncheon in the 89th minute, Aaron Ramsey followed his Wembley goals in the FA Cup final and Community Shield with a close-range winner deep into stoppage time.
I believe that our…
FC Zenit Saint Petersbourgh have revealed former academy player Denis Terentyev has returned to his boyhood club.
The 24-year-old Russian defender has signed a three-year deal with the possibility of extending the contract for another two campaigns.
Terentyev began his career with Zenit’s youth setup in his hometown of Saint Petersburg and was promoted to the senior side in 2010. During the five-year spell with Zenit, Denis Terentyev made only one league appearance.
His debut for the Zenitchiki came in 2012 in a match against FC Anzhi Makhackala. Terentyev was loaned out to FC Tom Tomsk the same year, but was ultimately sold to FC Rostov in 2015 where he spent two years.
Denis Terentyev won a league runners-up medal with FC Rostov.
News of his …
Atletico Madrid have bid farewell to Mario Suarez after they confirmed a deal had been agreed to sell him to Fiorentina.
Suarez rejoined Atletico from Mallorca in 2010 after exercising a buy-back clause in the deal to sell him to the Islanders back in 2008.
The midfielder went on to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Europa League as well as the Supercopa de Espana and two UEFA Super Cup titles in his second stint with Atletico.
And he will now attempt to enjoy success with Fiorentina, with Atletico confirming that a deal between the two clubs would be be formalised in the next hours .
The announcement comes two days after Stefan Savic moved to Atletico from Fiorentina.
A statement on Atletico s official website read: The club wishes the…
Robert Lewandowski has equalled David Healy s record for most goals scored in a single European Championship qualifying campaign.
The Poland captain s powerful header just before half-time against Republic of Ireland on Sunday took him to 13 in Group D, level with the former Northern Ireland striker s tally set back in qualification for Euro 2008.
Lewandowski s goal proved decisive in the encounter in Warsaw as Poland went on to secure a 2-1 win and book their place at Euro 2016 in France.
The Bayern Munich star has enjoyed a remarkable run of form so far this season and had scored 14 times in just five appearances for club and country prior to Sunday s final qualifier.
That particular scoring streak began with a remarkable five-goal haul in just nine …
Newcastle United have confirmed the sales of youngsters Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively.
The Magpies needed sales by the end of their accounting year (June 30) in order to comply with the Premier League s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
A breach of the PSR would likely have resulted in a points deduction in the 2024-25 campaign.
Numerous clubs were interested in Minteh, who thrived on loan at Feyenoord last season. A deal to Everton, which would have included Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading to St James Park, was mooted, but Brighton have sealed the signing of the 19-year-old on a five-year contract.
Minteh, who has cost the Seagulls a reported £33million, scored 10 goals and provided five assis…
Wolfsburg have signed Belgium international forward Divock Origi on a season-long loan from Liverpool.
The Bundesliga side will reportedly pay a loan fee of £6million for the 22-year-old s services.
Origi signed for Liverpool from Lille in 2014 before spending an additional year on loan with the Ligue 1 club.
He has 21 goals in 77 appearances for the Reds and his move to Germany comes as competition for places in Belgium s squad ahead of next year s World Cup heats up
1 Divock Origi is the first outfield player from to move to the Bundesliga since S. Kyrgiakos in 2011. Wolfsburg.
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz)
Origi is currently with Roberto Martinez s national side for the World Cup qualifiers against Gibraltar and Greece.
With …
Sunday Oliseh has been appointed as the new head coach of Nigeria.
Former Nigeria captain Oliseh, who won 63 caps for his country and played his part in the Africa Cup of Nations success in 1994, was confirmed as Stephen Keshi s replacement on Wednesday.
Keshi another former captain left his post last month, having applied for the vacant Ivory Coast job.
Oliseh, whose previous coaching experience came with Belgian side Vervietois between 2008 and 2009, will now attempt to lead Nigeria to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 after they missed out on the most recent staging of the competition.
NFF general secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said: There is no time to waste. The team has important matches to prosecute in the next few weeks and it is impe…
According to , Tottenham’s young French winger Georges-Kevin N Koudou is set to join Premier League rivals Burnley on loan for the rest of the season.
It seems like a sensible move for the 22-year-old, who has struggled to break into the Spurs starting eleven since arriving from Marseille in the summer of 2016. The youngster has made just one start this season in a 3-0 Champions League win over APOEL.
Hopefully, N’Koudou has a successful spell with the Clarets and returns to Spurs a better player. The deal seems to suit everybody involved at the minute.
Tottenham in a catch 22
Unfortunately, for Spurs N’Koudou’s situation illustrates their problems recruiting players. In the short cameos for Tottenham since his arrival, the winger has looked out …
Paulo Dybala began life as a Roma player by insisting he bore no ill feeling towards Inter once his expected switch to San Siro failed to materialise.
Argentine forward Dybala has joined Roma on a free transfer after his contract at Juventus was allowed to expire, with the 28-year-old confident the capital club are becoming an increasingly powerful force.
Inter appeared to be the option that Dybala would choose after his Juve exit, but Nerazzurri managing director Giuseppe Marotta last week said the club had no space and no need to do that deal. They have brought in Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the close season.
I didn t feel betrayed, Dybala said at a presentation media conference. Since ending my contract with Juve I spoke to some teams more t…