Guardiola confirms Toure’s departure

Liverpool made it 20 Premier League games unbeaten but were left frustrated after a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield.

First-half goals from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane – his first ever strike against the Seagulls – were cancelled out by Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard.

With Chelsea claiming a dominant win over Newcastle United, Jurgen Klopp s men slipped three points off the pace at the summit.

The only negative in a bright start for the Reds was losing Naby Keita to injury after just 20 minutes. The Guinean appeared to be suffering from the same problem sustained in the incident that saw Paul Pogba sent off during last week s 5-0 win at Manchester United.

Graham Potter s side were ultimately well worth their p…

Prediction: Both Teams To Score and Aston Villa to Win

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A place in the Premier League is up for grabs as Aston Villa do battle with Derby County in the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium.

The two teams clash on what promises to be an entertaining afternoon on Bank Holiday Monday in the capital.

Aston Villa

Heading into the final itself, Dean Smith s Villa are the red-hot favourites. Having squeezed past local rivals West Bromwich Albion on penalties, the Villans now head into their second consecutive playoff final. They missed out last season as they lost to Fulham at Wembley and will hope to avoid a repeat this time around. However, their form since Smith arrived in the West Midlands has been stunning an aspect that…

According to a recent report from Corriere dello Sport, Inter Milan could be interested in bringing Valencia forward Rodrigo to the club. This news comes in the wake of the Mauro Icardi saga, as the prolific goalscorer seems to be edging closer and closer towards the exit door with the club. Rodrigo, 28, has been with Valencia since back in 2015, when he made the switch over from Benfica – where he had spent five years of his career. Rodrigo also had a brief spell with Bolton Wanderers that proved to be unsuccessful.

Rodrigo is also a Spain international having made his debut back in 2014, but it does seem like all of this talk is dependant on what happens next with Icardi.

Rodrigo currently has a £100 million buyout clause in his contract, and is one of many candida…

Fiorentina are set to complete all arrangements to sign Jonathan Ikone from Lille in January, according to . The deal will see the Ligue 1 club bank an initial sum of €15 million, with a sell-on clause to potentially make it larger to be included.

The winger joined the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 12, and made his way into the first-team squad six years later. He never got a proper chance to show his talent there, however, and he had two separate loan spells with Montpellier before making a permanent move to Lille in 2018, reportedly for €5m. Since then, he s gone on to score 16 and assist 25 goals in 146 appearances for his current club, and earned four caps as a France international.

The proposed arrival for the 23-year-old to Florence is belie…

He would have to reflect on back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester City and a damaged Premier League title defence for a little longer, but Pep Guardiola leaned mischievously forward on his desk and broke into a grin.

Speaking ahead of Sunday s restorative 3-1 win over Southampton, the Manchester City manager was asked whether the playing philosophy he was told would struggle under Premier League scrutiny – only to yield 100 points last term– might be due for a rethink during this mid-season turbulence.

Oh, I was waiting for that question, he said before adding, with a deliberate head shake: That is not going to happen.

No way. Why should I change? Because I lost two games? No way – that is not going to happen.

There had been a …

Serie A leaders Inter Milan ensured they would remain top of the table for another week with a 2-1 victory over Atalanta under heavy rain at Gewiss Stadium.

Though the hosts had the better early chances, it was Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick that ultimately broke the deadlock for the league leaders, his 36th goal in the Italian top flight enough bring him level with Sukru Gulesin as Turkey’s all-time top scorer in the league.

Inter captain Lautaro Martinez extended his side’s advantage after the break before Gianluca Scamacca swiftly pulled one back.

Victory in Bergamo!

— Inter (@Inter_en)

Atalanta substitute Rafael Toloi was sent off for a second yellow late on.

Marten de Roon had a chance to level with a late header, but the vi…

Santiago Solari said Gareth Bale helped define Saturday s derby after scoring his 100th Real Madrid goal against Atletico Madrid.

It was a memorable outing for Bale at Atletico s Wanda Metropolitano, where the Welsh forward celebrated his century of goals in the 3-1 LaLiga derby victory.

Bale came off the bench and netted Madrid s third – his 100th goal in all competitions since arriving from Tottenham in 2013 for a then-record fee of €100million – against 10-man Atletico.

And Madrid head coach Solari praised Bale following reports the Wales international walked back to the dressing room on his own following the triumph.

Vamos! 

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11)

He walked into the locker room very well and he was very happy with his…

According to a recent report from AS, Arsenal are interested in signing Djene Dakonam – also known simply as Djene. The 27 year old defender has been with Getafe since back in 2017 when he made the jump over from Sint-Truidense, and since then he’s been able to establish himself as an effective centre back for the club. Unai Emery travelled to Valencia at the weekend in order to scout him, and whilst he may have a £30 million release clause on his head, the Gunners seem to be confident that they can land his signature.

It’s no secret that Arsenal have had their fair share of defensive problems over the last few years, and taking a punt on someone has never been something Emery is shy about doing.

Djene is also a Togo international, making his debut for the senior…

Champions League debutants Sheriff pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the competition s history by stunning Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu with a dramatic 2-1 victory.

Jasurbek Yakhshiboev s first-half header was cancelled out by Karim Benzema s spot-kick after the break, given following a VAR check after Vinicius Junior went down in the box.

However, it was the visitors who claimed a remarkable win to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group D, Sebastien Thill s stupendous left-footed strike in the 89th minute earning the Moldovan club their most famous triumph.

Los Blancos subjected the minnows to a 31-shot barrage, with goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiadis forced into 10 saves, but the competition s most successful team were unable to salvage a…

Philippe Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan back in January, 2013, for £8.5 million. During his time at Anfield, he grew from a relatively unimportant youngster, but one of great potential, to arguably the best player the Merseyside club had.

He became a regular in the starting XI in 2013/14, when Liverpool launched a surprise title run which ended in failure. Playing in a deeper midfield role along with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, the Brazilian was given enough freedom in his play to express his creativity from which the deadly duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, as well as Raheem Sterling behind them, benefited a lot.

But it was actually the decline of the iconic captain, coinciding with the departure of Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 …