Cristiano Ronaldo targets another landmark – Champions League in Opta numbers

FIFPro vice-president Francis Awaritefe said the time for talking and pious statements are over, football leaders must take a stand on racism and discrimination after the Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was postponed.

PSG and Turkish visitors Basaksehir will return on Wednesday to complete their match after Tuesday s Group H meeting was halted amid allegations of racism against the fourth official in Paris.

The fixture was stopped after 13 minutes with both sets of players gathering on the sidelines as Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba remonstrated with fourth official Sebastian Coltescu, saying: You never said this white guy . Why, when you mention a black guy, do you have to say this black guy ?

Both PSG and Basaksehir…

Norwich City shocked Premier League champions Manchester City 3-2 at Carrow Road despite the Canaries coping with a massive injury crisis.

The visitors first league loss since January was self-inflicted as defenders made regular errors, but Norwich, whose goals came from Kenny McLean, Todd Cantwell and Teemu Pukki, fully deserved their second home win since sealing promotion.

Rodri drilled home with two minutes to go to give City hope of a point but defeat on Saturday leaves them five points behind Liverpool in the table, with the Reds holding a 100 per cent record after five Premier League games.

Norwich were without 11 players due to injury and had to name two goalkeepers on the bench, but Daniel Farke s men took a shock lead in the 18th minute.

The Ca…

Jose Mourinho s Roma threw away a two-goal lead and squandered a late penalty as they lost 4-3 to 10-man Juventus in a whirlwind Stadio Olimpico clash.

The game was set up nicely after an early goal for each team from Tammy Abraham and Paulo Dybala, before a chaotic second period saw two strikes from distance by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini put the hosts apparently in charge.

However, a remarkable seven-minute turnaround saw goals from Manuel Locatelli, Dejan Kulusevski and Mattia De Sciglio put Juventus in front, before a Wojciech Szczesny penalty save from Pellegrini completed a miserable final 20 minutes for the Giallorossi.

Juve suffered a blow when Federico Chiesa was forced to come off with a knee injury in the first half following a tackle…

Kai Havertz scored his first Premier League goal since October as Chelsea got their top-four push back on track with a comfortable 4-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Chelsea responded to their stunning 5-2 home loss against West Brom by beating Porto 2-0 in the Champions League in midweek and they built on that performance in fine fashion.

Havertz has struggled to reproduce his Bayer Leverkusen form at Chelsea but was instrumental in lifting the Blues back above Liverpool, 2-1 winners over Aston Villa earlier on Saturday, and into the Champions League places.

The Germany international ended his drought in the eighth minute and then teed up Christian Pulisic a minute and 42 seconds later to give Chelsea command, which was furthered through Kurt Zouma s header.

…

Following Julen Lopetegui s dismissal from Real Madrid, former club president Ramon Calderon has placed the blame on his successor, Florentino Perez.

After appointing Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup, Real Madrid s 5-1 loss to Barcelona on Sunday was reportedly more of an excuse than a breaking point for Perez.

There were reports the decision to sack Lopetegui was made following his side s defeat to Levante last weekend.

Real Madrid released a statement to confirm the termination of Lopetegui s contract, criticising him for failing to maximise a talented squad with eight Ballon d Or nominees.

However, Calderon suggested Perez is at fault and not the outgoing coach.

Unfortunately it s another one of the president s whims, Calderon said. If h…

Chelsea hold Colwill cards amid Liverpool interest

According to former Liverpool Echo and Goal.com journalist Neil Jones, Liverpool s reported interest in Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is genuine, but the London Blues are the ones who hold all the cards in this matter.

The 20-year-old is contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2025, which obviously means there s no rush for the club to sell him, but it s expected he ll be offered a new deal on improved terms soon.

Colwill s fantastic displays at the just-finished UEFA Euro Under-21, where he helped England lift the trophy, will have only increased the attention he s been getting.

.

Spurs sign Manor Solomon on free transfer

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that they ve completed the …

AC Milan must navigate a tricky route through the Europa League group stage after surviving a dramatic play-off.

Stefano Pioli s team will face Celtic, a team they have frequently battled with in the Champions League, along with Sparta Prague and French club Lille in Group H.

Milan looked like being eliminated on Thursday until a last-ditch spot-kick in extra-time against Portuguese side Rio Ave gave them a 2-2 draw, and the Rossoneri went on to win 9-8 on penalties after a lengthy shoot-out.

They have been regular foes of Celtic in the Champions League, with the teams drawn to face each other in four seasons from 2004-05 to 2013-14, and Milan also lost to Lille in that competition during the 2006-07 group stage.

A 2-0 setback against the Ligue 1 side d…

Jose Mourinho took pride in Tottenham s historical victory at Manchester United and said the Red Devils had no solutions to control us in a 6-1 rout at Old Trafford.

United shambled their way to their joint-worst home Premier League defeat despite taking a 1-0 lead with a second-minute Bruno Fernandes penalty.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min each scored twice, while Tanguy Ndombele and Serge Aurier were also on target against United, who had Anthony Martial sent off at 2-1.

It meant a very happy return for former United boss Mourinho and the Portuguese was effusive in his praise of his rampant side.

Manchester United doesn t lose many matches, to lose by six is of course not every day, Mourinho told Sky Sports.

[It s a] historical victory but in th…

Mikel Arteta is hoping he will be left talking about football after his Arsenal side take on Sevilla in Spain on Tuesday.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was allegedly racially abused during Saturday’s LaLiga clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

Vinicius later took to social media to praise staff in the ground for ejecting a fan and reporting him to the authorities.

The Brazilian then said he had also seen footage of abuse being aimed at him from a child, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football.

Parabéns ao Sevilla pelo rápido posicionamento e pela punição em mais um triste episódio para o futebol espanhol.

Infeli…

Marc Albrighton has signed a new three-year extension with Leicester City, the club announced on Friday.

Albrighton, 31, featured 42 times across all competitions last term as Brendan Rodgers men secured their first ever FA Cup win by defeating Chelsea in May.

The midfielder, who has racked up 253 appearances at the club, joined from Aston Villa in 2014 and played a key role in the Foxes unlikely Premier League title win under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16.

Speaking to the club s media after extending his contract, Albrighton said: I m delighted. Obviously, it s a club that is progressing every single year. It s a fantastic club with the people here and the direction that they re going – it s great to be a part of.

I have always been the type of player …