Percy Tau scored on his South Africa debut as the hosts made Guinea-Bissau pay the penalty for indiscipline with a 3-1 friendly win in Durban.
Bafana Bafana extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches, with Kermit Erasmus ending his international exile with the opener from the penalty spot after 36 minutes.
Thulani Serero was untidily brought down by Rudinilson Silva and the Lens forward, playing his first South Africa game since an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria in 2014, made no mistake.
Caretaker boss Owen Da Gama named an experimental squad for this and Tuesday s match against Angola and Tau, of African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, was quick to make an impact – clipping beyond poorly positioned goalkeeper Papa Mbaye in the 70th minute, three m…
Steve Sidwell has signed a two-year deal with Stoke City after successfully completing his medical with the club, .
The midfielder was a free agent after ending his three and a half year spell with Fulham following their relegation to the Championship.
West Ham United, Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City were also in the race to secure Sidwell’s services, though he opted to reunite with Mark Hughes, the man who took him to Craven Cottage in January 2011.
The 31 year old began his career with Arsenal, though he moved to Reading in 2003 having never made a league appearance for the Gunners.
After four-and-a-half years with Reading he moved to Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2007, though he was sold to Aston Villa after just…
Steve Bruce s days at Newcastle appear to be numbered.
Rumours of possible replacements are swirling, with plenty of managers having been mentioned.
Frank Lampard may well lead the race.
TOP STORY – LAMPARD FAVOURED TO REPLACE BRUCE
Frank Lampard is the leading candidate to step in once Steve Bruce is inevitably shown the door at Newcastle, The Sun reports.
The Telegraph claims Lampard and former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre top the new owners wish list.
The 43-year-old Lampard was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021, about six weeks after Favre, 63, left Dortmund.
ROUND-UP
Liverpool are keeping a close eye on Ousmane Dembele, who is out of contract at Barcelona at the end of the sea…
Prediction: Draw
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European football is slowly but surely starting to return with a brand new season after an incredibly short absence, and the French Ligue 1 is one of the first really elite leagues within the continent to start back up again. While COVID-19 has ensured that life will continue to feel pretty strange for many months and potentially even years to come, we re still here to talk about the beautiful game and today, we ll be discussing the impending clash between Reims and Lille.
Reims
Reims may not be the kind of team that most casual fans tip as top six contenders before every season, but 6th is where they wound up after an impressive campaign prior to lockdown. They returned to action against another heavily fanci…
Neil Warnock advised Aberdeen to give a new manager time to assess the squad before the summer before stepping down immediately after leading the Dons to Hampden.
Warnock’s departure was announced soon after a 3-1 home victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
It was a second win in eight games for Warnock – the other came against Bonnyrigg Rose in the previous round – since he replaced the sacked Barry Robson on February 5.
Interim manager Neil Warnock has stepped aside following today’s Scottish Cup Quarter Final victory at Pittodrie.
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC)
That appointment was designed to last until the end of the season but Warnock leaves the club 10th in the cinch Premiership, four points above t…
Milan Mandaric appeared to have rescued English football crisis club Sheffield Wednesday from the brink of financial collapse after his eight million pounds (12 million dollars) purchase of the Yorkshire side was confirmed by the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
Wednesday, once one of England s leading clubs but now in the third division, have been labouring under debts of 30 million pounds (47 million dollars).
But the 72-year-old Mandaric, who will quit as chairman of Championship or second division Leicester ahead of their match against Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday, has agreed to wipe out Wednesday s debts after reaching agreement with all their major creditors.
I believe this to be one of the most important days in the recent history of our g…
Enner Valencia and Sergio Aguero netted braces as Manchester City twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ecuador striker Valencia opened the scoring after just 53 seconds at Upton Park, Aguero promptly equalising from the penalty spot.
Valencia struck again early in the second half and it looked like that effort would prove decisive until the Argentina international bagged a close-range leveller with nine minutes remaining for his fifth goal in four league matches.
City have now only won one of their last eight away games in the league and trail leaders Leicester City by three points, while West Ham – who are unbeaten in nine at home in the league – stay sixth, with Aguero s leveller denying them the chance to move a…
Bundesliga champions are preparing for life after Pep Guardiola, but it seems they will have to brace themselves for another departure at the end of the current season.
Robert Lewandowski could follow the path of his current boss and leave Bayern Munich in the summer for a move abroad.
If speculation from are to be believed, the Poland striker is once again the target for Real Madrid, who are ready to pay €100 million to bring Lewandowski to Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Blancos have been following the 27-year-old ever since he scored four against the Spanish giants in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League semi-finals when Florentino Perez approached Lewandowski for a possible move to Real Madrid.
Los Blancos will have big competition in their pursuit as Manchest…
Juventus host Inter on Friday in a match that pits two of Serie A s biggest names against each other, as Cristiano Ronaldo and Mauro Icardi go head to head.
Icardi was crowned Serie A s player of the year on Monday and Ronaldo will certainly have that title in his sights as he bids to establish himself in Italy following his €112million move from Real Madrid.
But a look at the pair s stats suggest Ronaldo a five-time Ballon d Or winner will have a job on his hands to unseat the league s established star.
Friday s clash presents the first opportunity to see Ronaldo and Icardi in direct competition, but Opta s data indicates the latter has a frighteningly good record against the Bianconeri.
Since his first meeting with Juve, only six clubs have managed m…
Verdict: Leroy Sane to score anytime
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Desperate to bounce back for last weekend s defeat at Stamford Bridge, Pep Guardiola s side will welcome Everton to the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime.
Manchester City
Starting with the hosts, after slumping to a shock 2-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend, the defending champions now find themselves sat a point adrift of Liverpool at the top of the table. While the Sky Blues might have tasted their first Premier League defeat of the season in west London, Pep Guardiola s side put in yet another very eye-catching performance in their 2-1 win over Hoffenheim on Wednesday. Booking their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Champions League, City also boast a very impressive record on home soi…