Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insisted he does not fear the sack despite seeing his team suffer their seventh Premier League defeat of an increasingly poor season at bottom club Portsmouth. Midfielder Javier Mascherano was sent-off for the third time in his Liverpool career as the visitors' fading title hopes were all but extinguished in a 2-0 loss at Fratton Park. The sorry Reds have now won just four of their last 12 league games and are struggling even to secure a top four finish and a... Read Full Story
Peter Crouch put Tottenham's stars back in boss Harry Redknapp's good books as his double secured a 2-0 win at Blackburn on Saturday. Just a day after it was revealed that the majority of Redknapp's squad had defied his ban on Christmas parties by jetting off to Dublin for a secret bash, Crouch put the focus back on the players' on-field activities. Redknapp has admitted he will read the riot act to his players on Monday for such a public flouting of his rules, but he may soften his... Read Full Story
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp praised his team's new-found grit as they kept up their push for the Champions League places with a 2-0 win at Blackburn. Redknapp has had a difficult week after discovering his players had defied his orders by holding a secret Christmas party in Dublin and then learning that he has been charged by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax. But Redknapp was pleased with the response of his team to a difficult game at Ewood Park on Saturday and he... Read Full Story
Fresh from putting Chelsea's Premier League title drive back on track, Frank Lampard returns to West Ham this weekend admitting he fears for the future of his relegation-threatened former club. Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola was one of Chelsea's greatest ever players but that will not stop Lampard and co. from trying to push his second-from-bottom squad a little closer to the drop as they seek to consolidate their three-point lead over Manchester United at the other end of the table. By the... Read Full Story
Teenager Toni Kroos scored twice on Saturday to fire Bayer Leverkusen back to the top of the Bundesliga as the home side came from behind to inflict a 3-2 defeat on Borussia Moenchengladbach. Kroos, who only turns 20 on January 4, scored the first and last goal of the game as Leverkusen wrestled back control of the German league after Schalke had briefly taken over on Friday night after their 1-0 win over Mainz. The 19-year-old Kroos opened the scoring on 18 minutes after a pass from ex... Read Full Story
Roque Santa Cruz settled a seven-goal thriller as Manchester City beat Sunderland 4-3 at Eastlands here on Saturday, but the victory might not be enough to keep Mark Hughes in a job. Hughes's future as City manager has been the subject of intense debate since Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at Tottenham, which meant that the club had won only once in 10 Premier League matches. And even during Saturday's amazing game the speculation continued, with reports coming out of Italy that the former Inter... Read Full Story
Germany striker Mario Gomez is hoping to score his sixth goal in seven games for Bayern Munich against Hertha Berlin on Saturday as his side aim to enter the winter break as Bundesliga leaders. The 24-year-old started his purple patch in the 1-1 draw with league leaders Leverkusen on November 22. Since then he has scored in all of the last three German league games plus a top class effort in the 4-1 win at Juventus which put Bayern in the last 16 of the Champions League. Bayern have risen up... Read Full Story
Real Madrid aim to capitalise on Barcelona's World Club Cup distractions by closing the gap at the top of La Liga on Saturday with victory over relegation-haunted Zaragoza. A victory for Real would put them two points behind Barcelona, who are in Abu Dhabi for the World Club final against Estudiantes of Argentina, with the same number of games played. Real have responded well since their defeat in the 'Clasico', winning their last three matches and can count on the return of Cristiano... Read Full Story
Doubles from Kenny Miller and substitute Kyle Lafferty gave Rangers a 6-1 win over Motherwell which extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League on Saturday. Miller followed up his double in the 3-0 win over Dundee United on Tuesday with two super strikes either side of Kris Boyd's 13th goal of the season. Shaun Hutchinson pulled one back for Motherwell with a bullet header but it was just a consolation as Lafferty netted either side of a DaMarcus Beasley strike to seal an... Read Full Story
England will begin their countdown to next year's World Cup with a friendly international against Egypt at London's Wembley Stadium on March 3, the Football Association (FA) announced Monday. After this month's draw in Cape Town, England manager Fabio Capello said he wanted the side to play against African opponents - something they've yet to do under the Italian - as Algeria will be one of their Group C rivals at next year's finals in South Africa. "I think we will play March 3 at Wembley... Read Full Story
