Sports

Ukraine coach Mikhail Fomenko will bear past failures in mind as he looks to end his country s disastrous play-off record by reaching Euro 2016.

A 2-0 victory in the home leg against Slovenia – courtesy of goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Seleznyov – put his side in full control of the tie ahead of Tuesday s second leg in Maribor, but the nation have been here before.

Ukraine lost a play-off against the same opponents as they failed to reach Euro 2000, with this match taking place 16 years to the day after that loss, as well as losing two-legged ties to reach the 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

The most recent failure was a memorable collapse against France. After winning the home leg 2-0, they crumbled to a 3-0 loss in Paris four days la…

Atletico Madrid have been linked with a surprise move for Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy, according to the Mirror.

The La Liga winners, who last week clinched the Europa League after beating Marseille 3-0 in the final are on the lookout for a new forward with star man Antoine Griezmann expected to move on, while Fernando Torrres is also moving on.

They are considering a move for Vardy, who has been in fine form for the Foxes and has been selected for England’s squad for this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.

The thirty-one-year-old made forty-two appearances in all competitions for the Foxes last season, scoring twenty-three goals – just one less than he managed in their 2015/16 title winning campaign.

He has scored seven goals in twenty…

Tite used the attitude of Cleveland Cavaliers icon LeBron James as the blueprint for the atmosphere and philosophy he wanted to develop in his Brazil squad.

Brazil turned to Tite after their humiliating group-stage exit at the Copa America Centenario in 2016 spelled the end for Dunga, who sidelined stars like Thiago Silva and Marcelo during his second spell in charge of the national team.

Former Corinthians boss Tite recalled Marcelo for his first match in charge away at Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier, while Silva – the captain during the Selecao s ill-fated 2014 World Cup campaign – returned to the fold at a later date.

In a bid to bring his team closer together as a unit, Tite used basketball superstar James as an example of the environment he wanted to c…

According to The Telegraph, is set to leave Liverpool this summer in search of a new club. The 25-year-old first burst onto the scene with Bournemouth during a two-year spell down south, before eventually switching to Burnley where he really made a name for himself as a hard-working goalscorer for the Clarets. He soon attracted the attention of bigger clubs, with Liverpool eventually landing his signature back in 2015.

Unfortunately, in that time Ings has really struggled to replicate the kind of form that he showcased at Turf Moor, and while nobody can deny his work rate, it still doesn t seem like it s enough as Ings prepares to move somewhere that ll provide him with first-team football.

One of the biggest issues behind his time at Anfield has been his injury proble…

After his third incredible assist of the night, Kevin De Bruyne s raw emotion spilled out in an outburst part-gladiatorial and part, well… odd.

This is our house, our house! This is our house! he exclaimed repeatedly, pointing at the Etihad Stadium turf after Sergio Aguero put Manchester City ahead on aggregate for the first time in a helter-skelter Champions League quarter-final.

Unfortunately for De Bruyne and City, Fernando Llorente snuck in through the back door before Aguero triggered the hyper-sensitive alarm that is VAR, meaning Raheem Sterling s apparent last-gasp winner was ruled out.

The heartache continued in that weekend s Premier League rematch as the Belgium midfielder hobbled out of a knife-edge 1-0 win – a result pivotal in them claiming back…

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game to give Egypt a much-needed Africa Cup of Nations victory against Guinea-Bissau at the Roumde Adjia Stadium on Saturday.

The Liverpool star struck a precise volley midway through the second half to secure his side s first points of the tournament.

The Pharaohs breathed a sigh of relief late on, though, when an apparent equaliser from Mama Balde was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for a foul by the goalscorer on Omar Kamal.

Salah had struggled to make an impression in Egypt s opening defeat against Nigeria after being played down the middle, but the 29-year-old was back in his favoured position on the right side here and gave a hint that it could pay off in just the second minute as he received the ball in sp…

Hansi Flick announced on Saturday that he intends to step down as Bayern Munich boss at the end of the campaign, bringing an end to an illustrious spell in charge of the club.

The 56-year-old succeeded Niko Kovac in November 2019, having previously worked as assistant, and has led the German giants to six major trophies in that time.

Bayern won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League in 2019-20 and have followed that up with the DFL-Supercup, UEFA Supercup and Club World Cup this season.

Another Bundesliga crown could follow with Bayern seven points clear at the top with five games to go, which would be a fitting way to bring down the curtain on Flick s tenure.

Using Opta data, we look at the extraordinary numbers behind Flick s spell in charge and…

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is wary of the threat posed by Newcastle United ahead of their meeting on Sunday.

Villas-Boas side welcome Newcastle to White Hart Lane needing a win to keep pace in what is gearing up to be an exciting title race.

Newcastle have not won at Tottenham since 2008, when they cruised to a 4-1 triumph under then manager Kevin Keegan.

Still, Villas-Boas believes his side will be in for a difficult game against Alan Pardew s men, who beat Chelsea 2-0 at St James Park in their last outing.

They are now picking up great results, Villas-Boas said.

They are always a team that want to be in the competition for the teams that qualify for Europe. That is probably their expectancy given the investment they do every year.

They com…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp personally wants Jude Bellingham at Anfield, according to . The report has claimed that Klopp is leading Liverpool’s charge to sign the England international midfielder from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023.

The report has claimed that last season’s La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid are also keen on Bellingham. Chelsea and Manchester City, too, are interested in the 19-year-old midfielder, who starred for England at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Dortmund are open to selling the former Birmingham City youngster for a huge fee or extending his current contract which runs until the summer of 2025.

Bellingham is one of the best young midfielders in the world and has been superb for Dortmund, both in the Bundesliga an…

Massimiliano Allegri has revealed Milan have made an agreement with Real Madrid for Kaka after his side s 3-1 victory over Cagliari on Sunday.

The 31-year-old playmaker appears to be on the verge of a return to Milan after falling out of favour in Madrid.

Kaka left San Siro to head to Spain in 2009, but injury hampered him and he will be hoping the move back to Italy can kickstart his career should the transfer be completed.

Milan manager Allegri said: (Milan vice-president Adriano) Galliani told me before the game that we have an agreement with Real Madrid and now need to agree personal terms with Kaka.

There are another 24 hours to the transfer deadline, so we ll see what happens.

Allegri also refused to rule out the possibility of Cagliari defender Da…