Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hailed the character of Alvaro Morata to overcome his long scoring drought in the FA Cup quarter-final success against Leicester City.
Spain striker Morata broke the deadlock with a well-taken finish in the 42nd minute as last season s beaten finalists prevailed 2-1 in extra time.
It was his first goal of any kind in 2018, marking a successful return to the starting XI having been overlooked for the last three matches.
The 25-year-old went close to a second on a couple of occasions and won praise for his all-round display.
For Alvaro it was important to score but I am pleased for his performance, Conte told reporters.
He showed great character and to be strong. I think his goal will be very important for the futur…
Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster has moved closer to joining Southampton after undergoing a medical at the Premier League club.
England international Forster has been the subject of long-term interest from the St Mary s Stadium club, who are thought to have agreed a £10 million deal with Scottish champions Celtic.
And, speaking after his side s 1-0 friendly defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, Southampton boss Koeman confirmed a move for the former Newcastle United man is imminent.
Of course we are interested he did the medical tests, the Dutchman is quoted by The Daily Echo.
But for yesterday afternoon, I have not spoken to the board and maybe when I go up for a drink they will tell me that.
For sure we are interested but I didn t hear he …
The big guns may not have been in Coppa Italia action on Saturday, but Spezia and Virtus Entella gave fans drama in their respective ties.
Lecce, who were in Serie A as recently as 2012, looked to have forced extra-time in their clash at Spezia, but the third-tier side were unable to hold on.
Spezia edged the encounter in general play, but their fans were made to wait as they desperately sought a late goal to secure progression.
Eventually, the winner did arrive as defender Filippo De Col grabbed the all-important goal to earn a 1-0 victory for Nenad Bjelica s men.
Benevento twice found themselves a goal behind to hosts Virtus Entella in Chiavari, but the third-tier side did manage to avoid a regulation-time defeat.
The visitors were staring cu…
River Plate striker David Trezeguet believes Juventus have what it takes to win the Champions League this season.
The former France international, who wore the Juve jersey from 2000 until 2010, was impressed with their performance in their Group E opener against Chelsea, and believes they have a number of world-class players in their squad.
Juventus really impressed me against Chelsea. They are a united team and are very well organised. They can go all the way in the Champions League if they can keep up their current form, Trezeguet was quoted as saying by Tuttosport.
The team s spine is of the highest level. Players such as Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Mirko Vucinic are all world-class.
The 34-year-old said Juventus lack a real finisher, but ad…
Bordeaux president Jean Louis Triaud has invited Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh to return to Stade Chaban-Delmas.
The Moroccan had left les Girondins on a free transfer to sign for Arsenal in the summer of 2010, but had a very disappointing start to his career at the Emirates.
After scoring 7 league goals in his first season at the club, the 28-year-old netted just once last term.
Chamakh has since fallen further behind the pecking order and has made just one substitute appearance in Capitol One Cup this season.
As a result, the player is widely expected to leave the Emirates in the near future and Bordeaux are prepared to welcome him back to Stade Chaban-Delmas.
“Chamakh? He knows when he wants too, he can return to Bordeaux, but he is happy…
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Desperate to build off of their Boxing Day success over the weekend, Arsenal will make the trip to the Amex on Tuesday evening when they face off against a struggling Brighton.
Brighton
Starting with the hosts, while Brighton might have taken the lead twice away at a lackluster West Ham over the weekend, it was another disappointing afternoon for the Seagulls. Eventually settling for a late 2-2 draw in East London, Graham Potter s side still find themselves firmly looking over their shoulder at the drop zone. With some around the South Coast even questioning the former Swansea bosses position in the Amex dugout, Brighton have drawn their last three Premier League contests on the bounce, dropping points against the Hammers, Fulham, and …
´To play in all seven games, it is impossible´ – Conte admits Tottenham will rotate during busy peri
Antonio Conte admits squad rotation will be crucial as Tottenham prepare for the first of seven matches in the space of 20 days.
Spurs are aiming to build on their positive start to the Premier League season when they travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, having collected seven points from their opening three games.
Conte bolstered his squad ahead of the campaign with the likes of Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Djed Spence all arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And the Italian knows that strength in depth will be essential for Tottenham, who also face West Ham, Fulham, Manchester City and Leicester City in the Premier League between now and September 17.
The north London side will also play the first two matches of their Champions …
Frank Lampard has been excused from reporting back for pre-season training with Derby County as he continues to thrash out a deal with Chelsea.
Former Blues midfielder Lampard was given permission to speak to Chelsea last Tuesday as the Premier League club seek a replacement for Maurizio Sarri, who has joined Juventus.
The 41-year-old took his first step into coaching with Derby in 2018-19 and came within one win of guiding the club to Premier League promotion as they lost to Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final.
Derby s players returned to pre-season training on Monday but Lampard was not there to oversee it.
A club statement read: Derby County Football Club has excused Frank Lampard from reporting back for pre-season training on Monday an…
Jurgen Klopp is unsure how long Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be sidelined but says the Liverpool midfielder has no chance of facing Leicester City or Wolves after suffering ankle ligament damage.
Oxlade-Chamberlain limped out of the Premier League leaders Club World Cup final victory over Flamengo last Saturday 15 minutes from the end of normal time.
Klopp revealed the former Arsenal man will not play again this year and is waiting to discover when he will return in 2020.
When asked about the injury situation, the Liverpool manager said at a press conference on Tuesday: No news on anyone else, which is good news.
With Oxlade, it was probably what we expected. You have three ligaments on the outside of the ankle and one of them is damaged, now we have to…
Manchester United s players were better paid than those from neighbours and rivals Manchester City last season, although a lavish wage bill could only deliver a fifth-placed Premier League finish.
City s latest financial results, released on Tuesday, revealed staff costs of £198million, while the world s most expensive footballer Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jose Mourinho have added further weight to a United wage bill that totalled £203m for 2015-16.
A run to the Champions League semi-finals in a capacity-boosted Etihad Stadium under Manuel Pellegrini last term helped City rake in record revenues of £391.8m, netting a profit of £20.5m.
By comparison, United made a gargantuan £515m over the same period, with a healthy profit of almost £50m.
Wh…